“What motivates you to travel?”

This is a question I frequently come across on the multitude of travel guides that have graced my monitor over the past month, and it got me thinking about my own reasons – aside from my passion for ridiculously ambitious pursuits and unjustifiable spending sprees.

I’ve been in the education system for almost 19 years, but the final curtain will fall on this chapter of my life when I hand in the final dissertation for my master’s degree in September. Providing I don’t fail in an epic manner, of course.

As I enter the twilight of full-time education a little wiser, and disproportionally poorer, the even scarier prospect of employment looms over me like a sinister figure ready to welcome me into his arms before crushing whatever youthful exuberance remains. It dawned upon me earlier in the year that I desperately need a break from the pressures that full-time education places upon you, despite being told numerous times (mostly by my mum) that you don’t get a break in the real world, whatever that is. It was this kind of incessant rambling that made me realise I probably won’t have the time for anything other than a long weekend break to Hull when I finally plunge into the world of work.

As I plan and research my trip my level of optimism is taking a serious hit, but I’m still grasping to the deluded belief that organising, funding and partaking in a pan-Asian tour is somehow less stressful than reading online journals and putting some fancy formatting on a word document, which is essentially what a degree is for those not in-the-know.

Having decided that a break was needed the next port of call was the location. I’d already discussed with Kirsten the possibility of visiting her in Australia for an extended period of time and this seemed like the perfect opportunity! The original plan was to go in November during the Aussie summer holiday (I know, those crazy ‘roo loving bastards!) and come back for my tickertape parade/graduation in January. However, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray, and at around the same time murmurs amongst the Leeds posse about potential holiday destinations began to materialise. Reykjavik, Prague and Stockholm were just a few of Ben’s usual pitches, but having wanted to visit the land of Japan for a while now I threw it out there like a crumpled McDonald’s bag out of a Nissan Micra (only four people will get that reference, but those are probably the only people who will read this so…).

To my surprise Jim jumped straight on the bandwagon and we went about planning the initial stage of the trip. We thought we’d better ask Mat and Ben but didn’t hold much hope as Ben was busy at college and Mat has stringent selection criteria. After much procrastination both men stepped up to the plate and decided to brave another two weeks together, clearly in denial about the horrors of the Australian trip not twelve months earlier. Deciding to go to Japan in September meant that I could add to my trip by travelling around the rest of Asia before embarking on my journey to Australia and thus the plan evolved from there.

There was one more factor which influenced my decision to go to Australia - In 2008 I ventured with the above three friends to Queensland on the East cost. We stayed in Brisbane and Mooloolaba before journeying to the incredible sandy beaches of Moreton Island. The holiday stood in complete contrast to my current plans and the traditional treks across the expansive outback or road trips down the East coast. It was, in fact, an incredibly luxurious stay in one of the most beautiful parts of the world which has such a wealth of things to offer the curious traveller. The problem was that the group didn’t really fall into that pro-active group of travellers. Don't get me wrong, it was never my intention to spend every waking minute exploring the sights of Queensland or to break the bank with extravagant excursions, but it was a little depressing that we sacrificed some once in a lifetime opportunities to visit places like Fraser Island, especially considering we’d travelled 10,000+ miles to get there!

I guess this time around I didn’t want to have any regrets. I know it’s impossible to experience everything in a lifetime, never mind four months, but I’m hoping to redress the oversights of the last trip and grasp what might be my final opportunity for an epic journey before the realities of job hunting and becoming a productive member of society start to weigh on my mind!