The day has arrived! We’re currently at Al Maktoum International Airport waiting for our flight to Doha. From there we fly to Ho Chi Minh City and should reach at around 8am Dubai time tomorrow.

Yes, quite the trip! And what will make it even more difficult is the fact that we’ve been on our feet all day every day for approximately a week trying to get everything sorted before the big day.

But we’re so bloody happy to finally be setting off on our trip! So we thought for this blog post we’d both write a little something about how we’re feeling right now.

He says:

I haven’t absorbed it yet. I’m all checked in and sat here typing all this but it hasn’t hit me yet. My legs hurt as I’ve been running around for days and my sleep has been incomplete. Still, my eyes are open and I’m wide awake.

I met Andrea almost two years from today. Back then I was very much money-oriented and the world revolved around making cash for myself.  She used to speak to me about traveling and I used to tell her off by saying that it was going to cost us a fortune even though I really wanted to do it deep inside. Eventually, we managed to go to Cyprus for almost a week and I absolutely loved it there. I believe that marked the change in the way I used to perceive travelling.

Today, after almost eight months from the trip to Cyprus, I am sat at the airport with my gorgeous girlfriend waiting to start a fantastic new chapter of our life. I want you guys to pray for us and wish us success, and, most importantly, keep reading our blog. Also, some free advice: never pack your backpack the way I did, it’s just too heavy.

She says:

As I sit here waiting for our flight, I can’t help but wonder whether this is second time lucky for me leaving Dubai. Most of you will know that I attempted to leave two years ago. I sold my car, got rid of my apartment and most my belongings, quit my job and I was off to see the world.

Long-term travel has been a dream of mine for as long as I remember. From as young as 14-years-old I used to print pictures of faraway lands from the Internet and stick them all over my wall as inspiration. I moved to Dubai because of my thirst to see more of the world, and I’m thankful to this city for the amazing seven years that I have spent here.

I’m also thankful to the city for helping me to grow as a person, for enabling me to further my career to the point where I can now make a living from wherever I want in the world, and for giving me so many memorable experiences that I will cherish forever. And best of all, Dubai will always have a special place in my heart for being the city in which I met the love of my life.

It is for the said love of my life that I cut my world trip very short two years ago. At the time I did wonder if I was insane – an independent, fearless woman like myself isn’t supposed to abandon her life plans for a guy. I met Ankit three days before I was due to leave Dubai for good, so cynics would say I was mad to give up travelling the world for him.

But I followed my heart, and today, as I sit here ready to embark on a trip of a lifetime with the man I love, I am testament to the fact that if you’re prepared to be vulnerable, wonderful things indeed can and will happen.

I’m exhausted and look like utter crap, but I couldn’t be happier than I am right now! Look out, world, we’re coming for you!

Now where’s the bar in this place?