“We’re going traveling,” he says to me with a cheesy grin.

It was 6:30 a.m. on our last day in Malapascua, Philippines and our first day traveling together. Though I was feeling a bit rough from my snorkel test the night before, the final stage of any good divemaster course in which candidates funnel a concoction of booze, I couldn’t help but smile also.

Anyone whose followed my blog or even just looked at the about me page knows that solo travel was my thing. I’ve always prided myself on being able to go anywhere in the world alone. But something changed on this trip.

It all started about eight months ago in the tropical village of  Port Douglas, Australia when I started waiting tables at a place called Mango Jam. I was a bit nervous to be doing a job I hadn’t in years, but my friendly co-workers made me welcome and at ease. I liked everyone that worked there, but one chef named Ric in particular stood out a bit more.

That first night we all went to Iron Bar for karaoke. Ric and I spoke a bit, but he seemed a bit shy or uninterested, so I left it at that. I asked another girl there about him and she just said,” He’s parsley!” which was a code word for hot one of her friends came up with when she first saw him.

If he was uninterested when we first spoke, then he would want nothing to do with me by the end of the night as I sang “Jessie’s girl.” I’m probably the worst karaoke singer, but I just love it too much to resist.

We stayed friendly with short conversation as I came in and out of the kitchen to pick up food, but that was it. Then one day he came into work on his day off, slightly pissed, and came out of his shell to me by means of licking my face and picking my nose.

I was in love.

Ric and I picnicing in the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, Australia.

He wasn’t uninterested, just shy. Since I was leaving about ten days after that I figured what the hell and went for him. We started a little work romance that we both knew was just a fling since I was going and he was staying. I felt more, but knew it didn’t matter. I was content with bouncing around the town with him and sneaking into his tent.

And I thought he was too.

Then came my last night. He stopped at my hostel to say hang out for a bit and say goodbye. In the middle of it, he got a call from a friend.

“Nah, I can’t make it. I’m doing something,” he said. “I know. I know. I’ll catch the end of it.”

When he hung up I said if he needed to go I would understand.

“Nah, it just the first Liverpool game of the season,” he said. “My mates were wondering where I was.”

That’s when I knew it was true love.

Living in England for six months, I know how important footie is to them. Knowing Ric for just two months, I knew how important Liverpool was to him.

I left Port Douglas for a month and we kept in touch. I came back  and a week later we moved in together. He left before me and we met in Melbourne. We celebrated the holidays together. He met my dad. We were both upset to say goodbye when I had to leave Australia in January for the Philippines.

He stayed in Australia and saved up with plans of making it out in two months.

Two months?

I couldn’t even get through a day without him.

We made it five weeks, then he made the ridiculous journey to meet me in Malapascua.

He was the last thing I expected in the travels and the best thing I found. While we’ve been living together for about four months, technically we still have not traveled together until now.

Our travels together officially started when we left Malapacua in route to Hong Kong. Since this site is about my travels, it only seems logical for him to join it. So as of now, Heels and Wheels is no longer about solo travel, but about traveling as couple.

Together on our last night in Malapascua, Philippines.

Ric and I both know traveling together will not always be easy. All couples fight and travel can add extra stress. So to prepare for this big change in my travels I went to traveling couples Amy and Kieron of Don’t Ever Look Back, Laura and Roberto of Travel for Love and Mike and Luci of 1000 Fights for tips and advice. Read what they had to say here.

Welcome Ric to Heels and Wheels and the wonderful world of travel blogging. Be kind to him-he’s still writing with the outdated form of English.

What a difference a year makes?

That’s the biggest understatement of my 2010.

More so than any other year of my life, this one has been the most changing and unexpected.

I came to Australia in a drought and leave it in floods. I arrived with one friend on the continent and depart with heaps all over. All I wanted to see last January was a koala, now I won’t settle for anything less than a cassowary. I expected to head directly out west and spend most of my year there, but found my heart in tropical Queensland.

My wardrobe to consisted of J. Crew, Old Navy and Anthropology. My wardrobe from contains Cotton On, Witchery and Country Road. I didn’t know of another Bobbi this time last year. Now I know three, one of which is one of my greatest friends-that’s going to be confusing. I came thinking I KNEW good coffee, but leave Melbourne realizing I had NO IDEA!

I thought I’d meet and make friends with tons of Aussies, but the majority of mine came from the UK. A year ago the thought of Manchester, England wouldn’t have even crossed my mind, now I’ve adopted a family of “Mancs.”

I arrived single, selfish and uninterested in anything other than business and travel and leave committed, in love and counting the days till I see him again.

It’s definitely been a year of surprises, but best of my life thus far.

I’ve thought of how I would write this post a million times throughout my trip. The first draft explained it as just a nice, impacting visit filled with a few good people and great photos. The next was written as just a one year anniversary, rather than a good bye. The following was a letter to the government, begging them to let me stay just a little bit long. But the last, this one, is a huge thank you and can’t wait to see you again.

This year and this country has made me a happier person.

Through a lot of great times and even some bad, I can honestly say that I love this country for better or worse. It’s home to some of the most beautiful places on earth. The culture changes over and over from top to bottom. The only thing its people are serious about is being proud of their homeland, and sport. They never miss an opportunity to celebrate life and they’ll take the piss out of just about anyone, including themselves.

It’s just a care free and easy place to live- and I got a whole year here.

Those who have followed me through this trip know what I’ve taken from it. But besides a few comments, I’m not sure what they’ve taken. So on my last day here, I’ll say what I hope it is.

Possibility.

I spent a lot of my last year in college on the computer, trying to figure out what to do next. After 22 years of following what in America people are just suppose to do, I finally had a chance to make my own decision. I wanted so badly to travel, but was scared and lost hope quite a few times. Whether because of money, work or circumstance, I didn’t think it was possible for me at that moment.

I followed “the American dream” a bit more and landed a sweet job. I was happy, but it wasn’t what I wanted. So I revisited my dream, this time with determination. It started with putting a bit money aside, continued with a passport application and finished with a plane ticket.

I’ve received so many emails from people saying they wish they could do what I’m doing. My response will always be, “You can.” It may not always be easy, but anything is possible.

Maybe travel isn’t your passion. That’s fine. Follow whatever makes you happy. But for those with who dream of life abroad like I did, stop reading about it and do it. Stop Googling to make sure it’s okay and just see for yourself. Stop limiting yourself to one place and realize the possibilities available to you all over the world.

Never have I felt as many possibilities as I did during this past year in this country.

For that, thanks Australia. You’ve made more opportunities possible for this little American than you’ll ever know.

I hate writing about relationships, which is why I’ve put off a post like this several times in my travels.

But I’ve reached a point in my trip where it can’t be avoided.

Throughout this trip I’ve met boys, kissed them, liked them, left them, broken hearts and had my own broken. But up until now I’ve never actually fallen for one of them.

It started with flirtation at work, continued with a kiss in the middle of the main street in town and progressed to spending every day together. The whole time I thought it was just fun, fun, fun. Then one day I realized I was changing my own plans in order to spend more time with him. It was just little changes in my day-to-day routine, but nonetheless changes to suit someone else, from a girl who actually encourages selfishness.

Travel is selfish. It’s not a bad thing, just the way it is. A person spends months, sometimes years, saving up for the trip of  a lifetime. So when that person reaches his or her destination, he or she has every right to spend his or her money and time how he or she chooses.

That mindset was easy when I was constantly moving and never really forming lasting relationships. But when I finally stopped, my selfish self slowly faded away. I met friends that made me want to think of more than just myself and formed relationships that made me want to give more than just a day.

Even if I felt like Port Douglas was my home, I always knew it wouldn’t last. I was going to leave here at some point and leave all the people I has become so close with. Still, I never thought that “just a fling” would make the move this difficult.

It’s probably the most nerve-wrecking thing for independent women to find themselves rethinking their plans. I changed my departure date twice, because I wanted more time with another person. It’s hard to tell what’s the right thing to do in a situation like this and I think inevitably you just need to follow your heart and do what makes you happy, but even that can be shaky.

Say you’re both on the road and want to try to make your encounter more than brief. Someone has to compromise. You both came to a place with things you wanted to see and do. If those things are the same than that’s luck, but they’ll most likely be different, especially if you’re at different points on your trip. So who is going to change their plans and how do you know the person that does won’t feel subconsciously bitter about it.

Further, people aren’t always themselves abroad. I know I can be a bit different from place to place and I’m definitely more relaxed while traveling than I am at home. So how do you know you won’t discover a new person in your significant other after only a few weeks traveling together and when you do, what do you do? Where do you go? It’s not easy to up and change your plans when your on a budget.

It’s not easy to leave someone you like, but sometimes it can be even harder to stay with them.

Relationships can bring on a level of stress to someone who is constantly on the go. So why bother? Is it even worth it?

Yes.

One shouldn’t avoid dating abroad for fear of getting too attached. The people you meet, the moments you have with them and things you learn are worth any heart ache or loss.

Everyone has needs and they shouldn’t be neglected. Dating people abroad can produce some exhilarating experiences; spending the night kissing a stranger along the waterways in Amsterdam, running off with someone for a few days to Paris, shacking up with someone for a few months in Thailand.

Further, dating people outside your own culture is fun and intriguing. It adds a difference in dating that most people never experience. Every culture has differences in everything from kissing to cuddling. It keeps you on your toes, because you really don’t know what to expect.

Inevitably, I think it’s important to give a bit of yourself to romance during your travels, but never lose yourself completely. The most important person on your trip is you and the last thing you want to do is leave a place thinking, “God I wish I hadn’t of wasted two months following some guy around.”

When you find yourself neglecting what you want to do for another, stop and think about it.

If you’re meant to be with someone you will be again…at some point, somewhere in the world. But you may never have the freedom you have in this trip. The time and the choice to just go wherever and do whatever you want. Embrace it.

It may sound corny, but you’re the most important person in your life, because if you’re not happy, you can’t be happy with other people.

Have I mentioned how much I love Port Douglas yet? Something about the tropical village just takes hold of you and causes you to act in ways you wouldn’t normally act. Love, or something like it, is an often occurrence and sporadic is a way of life. Everyday I woke up there I didn’t know what my day would entail and planning just never seemed like a good idea.

One random day, my good friend Dorcey and I turned a trip to Jai Gallery into a proper photo shoot. Amongst countless photos of her and I posing to look like Kate Moss and Anna Wintour, this one just happened by accident. Nico, an artist working in the shop at the time, had left out flowers that sat perfectly around the word “Love” written in black marker on a table in the porch out back.

Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

To see more photos, check out the gallery “Chai at Jai” on my facebook page.