No return ticket, no plans, few clothes…
They are travelling light, with no plans, no destinations in particular, and no plans about when to return home.
University graduates Kayla Wood-Gibson and Jessica Valvoi are taking the traditional students’ “overseas experience” or OE to another level by completely changing their way of living.
They are travelling with no return tickets, no timetable, and the minimum of baggage.
The two women each have just a 30 litre backpack – much smaller than the standard–issue 50 litre kit.
All of their belongings, for however long, have been separated into snap-lock bags, with their everyday clothes fitting into just a snap-lock bag each.
They started their adventure this month by jetting more than 10,000 kilometers to their first destination, Sri Lanka.
After they had each completed four years at tertiary level study, the 22-year-old kiwis were itching to detach themselves from their busy, student lives in Hamilton.
Now they plan to spend as much time as they like, anywhere they please – there is no return ticket home.
“Living without the burden of a planned schedule is rare if you are trying to just live a normal life within New Zealand,” Jessica says.
“We’ve worked hard for a long time, so we should be allowed to not have to work for a while.”
Kayla and Jessica will spend around a month in Sri Lanka, then fly to India for “at least” a few months, before making their way to Mexico.
They have no plans to do anything specific on their journeys and through this technique they hope to have a more natural experience away from tourist traps.
The duo are taking their writing skills with them, keeping everyone updated on a blog at dirtybabyelephants.wordpress.com.
