The common saying of time fly’s could not be more appropriate to this post. It is about time flying as well as me and one of my best mates flying to Europe to begin an adventure in which our combined alias commenced, The Backpacking Battlers. Departing Sydney airport, I can’t deny that I was sweating from my eyes as my stomach churned with nervousness and my brain buzzed with excitement; Eddie and I really were starting the adventure of a life time.

The memories I have of my six months backpacking throughout Europe will never leave me and are strong enough to outlast the cruel illnesses of Alsymas or Dimensia if I am ever unlucky enough to succumb to either. As the next flock of summer travellers pack their bags and head on the trip of their lives, my heart sinks knowing that the experiences they are about to entail have come and gone for me. Sure, I can go back or go to other countries and continents but I will never again experience ‘my first backpacking trip around Europe’. I guess that signifies how much I value that second half of 2012.

As I sit in traffic and I get caught up in the madness of everyday life, thinking back on the days of backpacking where the only aim for the day was finding food, water and shelter and making sure that whatever happened along the way was soaked into our minds. It was only six months ago that I was still in Europe leaving my mark and I can’t believe one whole year has gone by since we embarked, yet it feels like a lifetime ago. I look back and think about all the things that the Backpacking Battlers achieved in that half a year and it was so much. Everyday we learnt and grew and I suppose for me, there is now an emptiness inside that begs for more travel and more real living as the cycle of one day in this repetitive lifestyle isn’t enough. I believe they call that feeling the travel bug.