The price of travel?

ITV2 has recently announced a new TV show in which Tom Daley goes backpacking around the world. Now, don't get me wrong, I do love Tom and it is likely I will end up watching the TV show, but I am a bit peeved about this concept.

What bugs me about it mainly is that these celebrities already have a significant amount of money behind them from previous things they have done, yet they are being paid by TV stations, in this case ITV2, to do something that many people have to save years for.

This is something that has really ruffled my feathers recently because travelling is something that I really want to do after I graduate next year, but after a massive reality check I realised that there is pretty much no way in hell that I will be able to afford to do this until a few years after graduation. Some of you may think that I should be patient and stop complaining, but as someone who will come out of university with debt exceeding £50,000 and a degree that I probably won't be able to start a profession in for many years due to budget cuts in the Ministry of Justice, I want to get as much life experiences under my belt as possible before I have the opportunity to settle in to a full-time job. 

Travelling is something that many people tend to do on a gap year, or normally when they are a little older further on in life. However, due to the shit nature of the industry I want to work in, there is a possibility I can get a job straight from university or I could go back to working in a cafe and have a grueling few years job hunting. Travelling offers life experience and the opportunity to see the world that is otherwise almost impossible to get - and travelling is something of a bit of a passion for me, and I love nothing more than seeing new places.

Don't get me wrong, the program will probably be a good watch and I will watch it to see the places they visit. The trailer for the program shows Tom and his friend experiencing many adrenaline-fueled activities including bungee jumping, skydiving, off-roading, camel riding and many more activities that the average person would have to pay hundreds of pounds for to be able to enjoy. They also get the cultural side of travelling, with something different in each country. The ITV2 website states that it isn't all "VIP packages and hotels" and that they "rough it backpacker style" - what is wrong with that?! I would absolutely love to do that, and definitely wouldn't call it 'roughing it', it's all part of the experience and would be incredible!

The show sees them go to 6 countries over six weeks including Japan, Australia, Thailand, Morocco and New Zealand - which happen to be some of the most expensive places to visit. It costs on average approximately anything around £10,000 to travel similarly to what they have done in this program. It will take me around 5 years to save up to be able to achieve that sort of level of travelling, and I would also like to travel Europe on top of this.

What I don't understand is why ITV2, or any other television company, doesn't pay a normal bunch of friends to go travelling and experience these activities and opportunities. It would be an authentic reaction and probably pretty good viewing on television, and would provide that group with an experience they could probably only dream of. Or even allocate a budget to the group and follow them as they plan, book, and embark on their own journey, without the interference of anyone else. This would definitely be something I would watch, and could turn in to something that inspires many people to go travelling! 

I am definitely volunteering myself and my friends for this if anyone wants to take up my proposition! 

I am expecting a significant amount of backlash from this where people are saying I am ungrateful, or that I should have done a different degree, or not gone to university at all if I want to do all these things. I went to university to better myself as a person - it has significantly changed me for the better, and I went to hopefully get myself a better career in a few years time than just being stuck in waitressing all my life. Travelling is something that has always been on the agenda for me, and I didn't take a gap year because of the sheer fact I knew I wouldn't then go to university and I would regret it for the rest of my life. The opportunity to travel will probably be very small, or I won't get to do it at all, but it is my goal whether it takes me 5 months or 5 years to save for.

So this is my rant over, for any of you wishing to watch Tom Daley Goes Global it starts Thursday April 10 at 9pm on ITV2.

As always thank you for reading, don't forget to follow me on all my social media over on the right, and I will see you next time!

If I took over the world

Hello there, buddies.

So I recently came to the conclusion that I worry too much about ridiculous things, so I thought I could put all these worries in to one massive world domination post....don't judge me.

I started to think about things that I would do if I took over the world, and things that I would get rid of, introduce and whatnot. Expect some crazy things to happen if I took over the world, but there are some more serious things chucked in here because we don't want the world to fall apart, do we?

So first of all, and probably most importantly I would most definitely make universities offer a degree in Disney! Mainly because I would pass with the highest first in the entire world. Can you imagine a better and more fun degree to study? It could be all like the history of Disney, Disney in application, the future of Disney. OK, I am getting far too in to this. Maybe I should propose the idea to like the university board of education? Is that even a thing? Comment below if you would study a degree in Disney.

Then I would make it completely socially acceptable for people to spend hours on the internet. Considering I have only had the internet for like not even 10 years yet, it is a relatively new development in the world so is not widely accepted with every person. So by the time that I get to take over the world, maybe it would be more acceptable?

Having had my car for a few years now, I am starting to realise how bloody damn expensive it is to run a car and make it road legal etc. So I would make petrol (somehow) cheaper and have the likes of insurance and tax cheaper because I know it is all very expensive for some people. Mine was bad enough, all coming in at £1000 for the year. Not to even mention the fortune I paid for driving lessons after having to switch due to getting ripped off and taught badly by one company. Luckily I passed both my theory and practical test first time, but they come in together at £130 ish, which is very expensive. 

As a MAJOR rugby fan, I would make it a more popular sport. I know you're all thinking, ah it already is popular, but the difference in popularity between football and rugby is huuuuuge. So making rugby more popular would be awesome. Then I could meet all the Wales rugby team and make one fall hopelessly in love with me....yep sounds like a good plan.

I would make internet free. It isn't overly expensive now, but it should be free! I mean, we all use it don't we?

As the unfortunate student who has the joys of paying £9000 plus rent to be at university a year, I would reverse the STUPID idea to raise university fees and lower them again. I'd also want to give more options for students who are less fortunate than the likes of you or I so they could go to university also.

I would also ask to get paid to blog. I do love my blog a lot (as you can probably tell) and I put more work in to doing this and making it awesome for you guys, that I would just love to get paid for it. Maybe one day my blog will get published? Who knows? Then that means I would want to get any person who has a blog a little bit of recognition as there are so many awesome bloggers out there who are undiscovered. 

I am a little bit of an anime fan, so I would introduce anime to EVERYONE. People miss out on it because they just don't get introduced to it.

Then (as a bit of a selfish move) I would befriend YouTuber's which would be soooo cool. Especially the ones who I watch now. Do have a little bit of a soft spot for Joe Sugg (you can search his channel ThatcherJoe on YouTube). Deary me. 

Then I would have to lower house prices and mortgages because I know that I will be renting for a very long time before I will even be able to think about buying my own flat. This makes me sad because I would love to have my own house, but I know it is just going to be impossible for at least 10 years yet. Maybe this could help a lot more people become more independent? 

On a serious note, I would offer education to every single person. Whether they choose to accept it is up to them, but I think an education is the best thing you can ever offer anyone. It would then give everyone else such a better outlook on life and allow them to go further. 

I'd also make benefits stricter because there are so many people who just live off of them and don't bother to get a job. I understand that there are circumstances where a person has no choice, but in the circumstances where they do have the option to find work I think that they shouldn't be allowed to live off our money. Obviously child benefits would be kept along with disability benefits etc.

Then I would obviously be able to control the weather (duh) so I would make it warm and sunny everywhere always. Obviously not too hot because we don't want all the water drying up and crops dying and shit, do we? But would be nice to have some nicer weather everywhere for once!

To fuel my addiction to Pepsi Max, I would make it really, really cheap. Like 30p a bottle or something ridiculous like that. Yep that would make Mr Pepsi Max unhappy, but needs must.

Attractions over the world like theme parks and whatnot would offer a student discount. I have found that having not major amounts of money is affecting my summer, with me having to borrow money or just have to say no to things I really want to do. Disney World should do student discounts also, do you not think? Maybe a student discount on holidays? Too many discounts.

Prescriptions for EVERYTHING would be free. I dislike the fact that I am having to pay for my hay fever tablets (which essentially keep me alive at times). I didn't ask to have hay fever, so why should I have to pay for them? I miss the times when I was 18 and had free prescriptions. 

I would make it my priority to sort out this shitty economy. It is in one hell of a state, and someone really needs to hop to it. Hopefully it won't have to wait for me to take over the world for this to happen....

In relation to this....the UK needs someone like Obama to come along and sort everyone out. He doesn't take any shit, and he then gets shit done. That really does need to happen here, people...Then again, I'm not politician, so what do I know?

I'd also chuck some more funding in to youth rehabilitation. Considering the biggest cuts in 2015-2016 are going to the Ministry of Justice, this is an area that is most likely to be affected. That is really bad because I think it is one of the most important areas in the criminal justice system. I am not being biased because this is the area I want to work in either!!

Then I would give more options for students to get more opportunities. Like things such as working abroad, travelling, stuff like that. It is something that I really want to do, but I just feel like it is going to be years before I can even think about doing it. Then if I get a job I won't be able to give it up to go travelling as I won't get another job for a very long time after that. Sad times.

Everyone should be a Harry Potter fan. That would be something I would introduce! 


Well, I hope you enjoyed reading the things I would do if I took over the world. If you did please subscribe by clicking "join this site" at the top of the page!

Comment below the things you would do if you took over the world, and I will reply to them all! alternatively tweet me @LovelyChubly with #WorldTakeover 

Tune back in tomorrow (or maybe tonight) to see what I have in store for you! You won't want to miss it!

Toodle-oo, peeps!

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Final city list for my world tour!

Hello there, buddies!

So if you are a regular reader you will be aware that I am planning on travelling the world with my trusty companions +James Martin (Blog God), +Ryan Steppel (Mr Milk), and +Vikki Lamb. We had an extremely long conversation the other day where we have finally managed to put together a final list of all the cities we will be visiting! So naturally, I thought I would share this with you guys! 

We have also decided to pitch our idea of travelling with a few companies who might be interested so that we can get both publicity for the company and more expertise on travelling! As you might have heard, the 2015-2016 budget cuts have been announced and the departments with the most cuts are the criminal justice system and the Ministry of Justice - which kinda screws me over as these are the industries I will be trying to work in and 2015 is the year I graduate from uni, so I am kinda stuck. So I am going to attempt to get a job. save for a few years and go travelling to make me more employable - and because I am an ultimate tourist!

Here is an awesome map I spent hours putting together with all our destinations on it:

Thank you to Google Maps for allowing me to do that!

As you can see, we are going to be extremely busy bee's.

We have come to the conclusion that we are going to take two years to travel this, including spending approximately 6 months in Australia as we want to travel the entirety of the country instead of just select cities like in the other countries.

We also came to the idea that we could drive through Europe. We would love to travel in one of those old VW Campers, but then had a bit of a reality check as we found out they are like £10 000 each.....bit over expensive for us really......so we are back to flying and trains and whatnot.

And we thought that as we have shared all this stuff with you guys already that we should document the entire thing on YouTube! We came up with a name for our channel: 730 Days In Transit! My travelling section of my blog will now be under that name and anything about our trip will be found on there. This includes updates between now and going, and when we are on the move!

Above is the banner for our channel! Go onto YouTube and search for 730DaysInTransit and hit the subscribe button! I can promise you our videos will be insane!

Now, here are a selection of the cities we will be travelling to. I can't include them all as there are hundreds and it would make the post very long and boring.

Paris (France)

Lapland (Finland)

Barcelona (Spain)

Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

Easter Island (Chile)

Ifaty (Madagascar)

Serengeti (Africa)

Melbourne (Australia)

Queenstown (New Zealand)

Rotuma (Fiji)

Bangkok (Thailand)

Marina Bay Sands (Singapore)

Instabul (Turkey)

Mumbai (India)

Las Vegas (USA)

Arenal (Costa Rica)

Honolulu (Hawaii)

Moscow (Russia)

These are such a small selection of cities, and we have so many more!

Feel free to contact me if you actually want to know more on this, I am more than happy to answer any questions.

If you live in any of the cities above, or think it would be awesome for us to visit your hometown, then comment below!

Don't forget all the buttons to your right - click on them and so some following. Also subscribe to my blog (top left) and happy days!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more updates!

Toodle-oo!

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I am planning a world tour!

Hello there, buddies!

Random post incoming! 

This really is random and has nothing to do with anything that I usually write on here but I thought I should tell you anyway.

I am going to travel the world, yaaay!

I am planning a World Tour with +James Martin (BlogGod), +Vikki Lamb (if she wants) and possibly +Ryan Steppel (Mr Milk) (if he so accepts this mission) where we will be visiting almost every country in the world.

I know, we are crazy. We won't be doing hotels or any of that crap, we are talking proper backpacking round the world. How bloody awesome is that!? 

I have just spent about 3 hours putting together a list of all the cities and countries we want to visit. 

Now this will take us about 5 years to save for, and we are looking at taking about 2 years to do the travelling, give or take 5 months.

Here is a list of AALLLLL the countries I am going to be visiting (in no particular order):

• Slovakia
• Spain
• Italy
• France
• Sweden
• Germany
• Greece
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Tahiti
• Finland
• Poland
• Croatia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Netherlands
• Switzerland
• Portugal
• Chile
• Ecuador
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Madagascar
• Main Africa
• Egypt
• Zimbabwe
• Morocco
• South Africa
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Fiji
• Thailand
• Singapore
• Turkey
• Israel 
• Cambodia
• Malaysia
• India
• Vietnam
• Indonesia
• Dubai
• China
• Jordan
• Korea
• Japan
• Sri Lanka
• Cambodia
• The Bahamas
• USA
• Canada
• Costa Rica
• Hawaii
• Mexico
• Cuba
• Guatemala
• Russia
• Antarctica 

I did tell you it was a lot of places! These will include about 100 cities in total, so there is A LOT to do. 

If you live in any of these countries and know of anything absolutely awesome we should do then do please comment below!

Thank you for reading, don't forget to subscribe and follow me on everything to your right.

Speak to you laters,

Toodle-oo!

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