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Last Minute Decisions & How Saying “Fuck it” Can Be The Best For You

Ok I figured I needed to get an opinion piece out there or whatever you may call it and this is how I believe last minute decisions can change your life.

I need to tell you some of the thoughts that go around my never resting brain.

Whether it be travel, or life in general, it can be a hell of a lot more fun with the quick “fuck it, let’s do it” mentality.

Fuck it.


 

Last Minute Decisions

last minute decisions travel

When I started travelling all the way back in 1997 (seems like soooo long ago now) it was partly because I was unsure what to do with my life.

I was 20 years old, a lot of my friends had gone to university or were trying to get themselves into a career, my best friend had just gone to jail (mental breakdown after his dad died sent him in the wrong direction).

Also the general clubbing party scene of London (I’m British) was not as great as the early-mid 90’s, my party heyday. Has dance music been the same since? Anyway…

I had always had the feeling to travel (I guess from my upbringing moving around countries) and happened to see in a bookstore a guidebook saying how I could see Egypt on $10-15.

‘Fuck it’ I thought. And went for it.

So I got a crappy job in a factory for a few months packing boxes to get enough money for a few months of travel and the rest is history.

Within the first few days in Cairo I got a job as a film extra in Egyptian movies.

22 years later and I’m still abroad and married to the love of my life who I met when she was travelling to where I was living in Thailand.

Now we both (currently 2020) still live in Thailand and planning a future that will most likely come with quite a few “fuck it let’s go for it” decisions.

That’s how we ended up with a Victorian/Steampunk themed wedding in a castle (post about our wedding, opens in new tab) on a remote island in the U.K. 🙂  (see cover photo and end of the post).

Whatever seems difficult can be achieved with the right mentality.

With my wife travelling in Pakistan:

last minute decisions naran

I left to travel like so many young people to experience new things but also to try and figure out what  to do in life.

Travel is a form of escapism which I learned very quickly and realised I wanted it to be my lifestyle, it was what I wanted in life – see and experience everything life has to offer.

Sometimes you just have to go for it and take the risk.

If I had not taken that fast decision to say fuck everything I knew in life and just go, then who knows what may have happened in my life.

I would not change anything that has happened in my life as it all leads to new things. I would never have met the love of my life.

The opportunities that travel can bring.

Since I started travelling I have generally lived by the same rule of making last minute decisions as it’s a lot more fun being spontaneous.

For example one of the best travel experiences I ever had was hanging out with tribes in the Central Papuan Highlands back in 2006.

It came about while I was aimlessly wandering around Sulawesi Island in Indonesia and came across a Polish couple who had hiked and stayed with tribes in the middle of nowhere in Papua.

Their stories convinced me and the very next day I was on a flight to the Papuan coast followed by a flight to the central highlands.

Next thing I knew I was staying with these tribes way away from anything and having a mass celebration feast with thousands of tribal people (post about the experience, opens in new tab) and not another tourist in sight.

All that came about from a quick last minute decision just to go and got me one of my favourite travel photos ever:

papua-tribes

After travelling down from Ethiopia to South Africa overland I was hanging out in Cape Town not sure where to go next. I started searching for cheap flights around the world to practically everywhere.

I found one leaving the next day to Singapore for very cheap and just booked it and went.

Upon arriving in Singapore I still didn’t know what to do (I had been in Singapore around 10 times before that) so checked cheap flights around Asia.

Before I knew it I was finally in Japan and seeing one of the best countries I’ve ever been to.

All that from a quick last minute “fuck it, let’s do it” decision.

I ended up living in Amsterdam for a long time and using it as a base for travelling from.

Amsterdam happened back in early 2000 when I was in Tel Aviv in Israel and at the time I thought I would pop back to England to work, and asked a travel agent for a cheap flight to London. Street travel agents… the old days…

Anyway they didn’t have a cheap flight to London for a few days but had a very cheap flight that evening to Amsterdam, and I figured I could get a cheap bus to London from there.

So with a quick last minute decision I headed to Amsterdam arriving with a bottle of vodka from Israel and got taken to an illegal hostel from the train station.

I met the owner of the hostel who was a bit crazy to be honest, but we downed the whole bottle of vodka and talked shit before I vaguely remember going out and having a look around Amsterdam. The rest of the night was a blur.

The next day I woke up in the dorm room of the hostel with a serious hangover and the owner telling me I had to get out and work.

Work? Yes it turns out in my drunken stupor I had mentioned that I was going to London to look for work as my money was running out and I needed some money to keep travelling.

He had offered me a job working for him bringing backpackers from the station to his hostel, and I had accepted.

Again the “fuck it, lest do it” mentality came into affect and I stayed in Amsterdam for over 10 years!

Nowadays I have been in Thailand for over 2 years and having the time of my life with Sidra, my love.

 


 

 

Everything in life happens for a reason

You’ve probably heard that phrase a gazillion times but it can be very true.

One more short story on the fun of not knowing what to do and just going along with the flow.

I visited the Arctic up in Svalbard, somewhere I had wanted to go for a long time, but was put off by the costs. I was up in Iceland in January which is a pretty cold time to be around that part of the world and figured if I’m getting cold I might as well try and keep the same vibe going.

So jumping on flight search engines I started searching for cheap flights and was super happy to find a really cheap flight to Edinburgh, fly over to Oslo, and then up to Svalbard.

Awesome! Only problem was that once there things get seriously expensive with the few hotels that exist in Svalbard costing around $200 a night upwards. Fuck that for a budget traveller.

But then I was super happy to find couchsurfers way up in Arctic! Got to love couchsurfing.

One local guy said he could put me up for a few nights, so I thought I would just go for a short time, the flights were cheap enough anyway.

Within the few days there I had met some of his friends while out drinking and one offered for me to stay with them. So I ended up staying a few weeks in the Arctic in the middle of winter going dog-sledding, seeing the Northern Lights, ice caving, going drinking in some of the more surreal bars I have been to.

All that again from some quick last minute decision and I managed to do a whole lot of stuff I had always wanted to do, as well as meeting some fun new friends.

Freezing my ass off in the Arctic:

Freezing my ass off in the Arctic. I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

The future for all of us, if you want it…

The reason I’m writing this is not only to give you a glimpse into travel and life thought making processes, but also because I get a lot of messages from readers curious about it.

I get questions about wanting to quit going to college to travel the world and live a life of adventure.

I get questions about not knowing where to go and what to do.

And more.

My opinion is…

Following your heart leads to a gut feeling that often comes with a last minute decision, and often that decision will be the right one, because it’s what your mind is screaming at you to do.

Not sure about college/university?

Well naturally you could take a year out and travel the world while figuring out if you want to go to college/university etc.

Bored with your current career and yearn for something else?

You would be surprised at the amount of opportunities that travelling can bring.

Would you prefer to be teaching English in Japan (post giving advice to do that, opens in new tab) and learn a new culture and be totally blown away by a new experience?

Everything is possible and waiting for you.

Of course for some people it will be easier due to their circumstances with where they are from etc.

But if you want it you can get it, trust me.

I know people from Poland who taught English in China for a year and then went travelling with the money they saved.

I know people who had a stressful job at home and ended up quitting, took their savings and set up a cheap hostel in the Philippines.

Fight the power!
Fight the system!

 


 

 

Getting out of the comfort zone

It may sound easy to say, but I’ve said it before that it’s not easy, but how the hell will you know if you don’t try.

Sometimes it can be more difficult to make this decision, if you have children or a career for example you need to obviously think more.

So for all of you out there who have come across this post and are trying to figure things out in life, from the young beginning their journey, to the older looking for a change, you will never know if you can make the change you want until you just go for it.

It can be scary. It can be hard, but –

It can be life changing.

For the better…

Ok, I hope I didn’t ramble to much.

P.S. For the haters.

I love you guys too!

Go say “Fuck it” sometime and live your life.

And I’ll leave this post with a photo from our wedding:

steampunk wedding

If you’re looking for some great adventures to do take a look at my adventure guides here.

I recommend using SafetyWing Travel Insurance for your trip, just in case, it’s best to be prepared.

If you liked this post about last minute decisions a share would be cool!

25 thoughts on “Last Minute Decisions & How Saying “Fuck it” Can Be The Best For You”

  1. I loved reading this. I basically made a similar decisions myself. I’ve graduated college and the natural thing to do would be get a job and settle down around where I live. But the thought of doing that sounds just so dissatisfying and confining. So instead I decided I want to teach English in South Korea by this time next year. I hope to travel a lot because if I don’t take that first scary leap, I’ll always regret not doing it.

  2. I love your stories, insight, and photography Jonny! To me it’s so amazing to see your spontaneous flexibility with travel and adventure. Your openness for opportunity creates your path. Thank you for writing about it and bringing it to us to live it vicariously through you. Myself being a middle aged mother of five, now all grown, children I’m especially encouraged by your blog. I’m looking forward to a jaunt somewhere meaningful. Gone are the days of tourist trap boring predictable experiences. Thank you for showing us a different side of travel and life.

  3. Pretty much the same for me! Graduated school, went off for a 6 months trip in Asia, but never came back! a series of weird circumstances and decisions changed everything! Now my life is totally oriented towards traveling. Where am I gonna go next? That is a good question!!

  4. cheers mate. I really needed to read this.
    I use to be on the road (not quite as you are, but close enough) and in 2013 I thought I should pick up my career where I left it.

    Big mistake!

    I’ve been frustrated and daydreaming everyday about future travels…

    Last week I handed in my resignation. Now I’m planning the next move and I’m very excited about it 🙂

  5. How did you managed to get visa at last moment for travelling? As most of the countries needs prior visa application atleast a month in advance.

  6. Thanks for your stories, I love reading them.
    I hope to do the same things when my son is grown up.
    I suppose you must now and then run out of money. What do you do in these cases ? you find a new job easily ?

  7. A solid message, and you get an additional +1 for using a photo from beautiful Bishkek! Glad to hear you’re enjoying Kiev, that place was such a good experience for me that I ended up skipping my flight out and hanging around for 3 or 4 extra weeks. Have fun!

  8. you are only given a certain amount of givafuks for your life so use your givafuks wisely other than that who really givsafuk

  9. Yes! The random, spontaneous, crazy things you never planned but just ended up doing are always the best experiences.
    I’ve been living abroad for the past 4 years and had actually got a bit ‘stuck’ in China at an office job. I recently quit and have been freelancing and blogging – I feel like I have so many more options open to me now 🙂 Whenever friends want to go on a trip or I see a good price on flights I’m off!

  10. Hey Tarun, most countries, especially the ones mentioned I haven’t needed a visa in advance. Like I said in the article sometimes it can be harder in certain circumstances and i understand that from some countries it can be harder to get a visa for places…

  11. Yeah I generally stop and do some work. I mat even do some English teaching in East Asia within the next year, although you can also make money from travel blogging if you work hard at it for a few years, which is something I am doing.

  12. Great story!
    I honestly respect your gut to get out of the comfort zone, but please think twice before stating something like “But if you want it you can get it, trust me.” It sounds quite ignorant coming from a British guy …

    Yes, I do want to do RTW, but no I can not do it. I can’t even get into a lot of countries with my passport, and I could definitely not save money to fund it with the average salary in my country being around 260 GBP.

    Considering you traveled a lot trough poor countries, where people are having it even worst than I do, the one would expect you’ve become aware that for a lot of people around the world life is about trying to reach a comfort zone, not getting out of it. :/

  13. Hey,

    Thanks for your comment, I like to hear all different kinds of opinions. That’s why I stated in the article that due to circumstance it can be more difficult. I am not ignorant, I have travelled for over 18 years and have seen and experienced a lot. I tend to stay with local people when I can, I have visited slums in Africa etc. Trust me I’m not ignorant, I understand the world.

    But the main audience of my site is mostly people in the U.S.A, Europe, etc and obviously this article is talking mostly to them.

    Having said that I know people who have left poor countries behind and travelled. Yes it was hell of hard for them but they managed.I know an Ethiopian guy who moved to Amsterdam with nothing, got an illegal job and saved, and more stories like it.

    I hope someday you can do what you want…you never know…

  14. I’ve been thinking about your comment a lot actually and it does really piss me off how there is not equality in the world. I wish I could help people with advice in the countries that have difficulties, but the reality is I can’t, I can only try and help the people I know I can help with my advice. But it is seriously shit that some have it better than others. I’m richer than a lot of people obviously, but for someone from a first world country I’m just an average guy who has worked hard for what he does, I’m just lucky with where I was born…

    Where are you from?

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