Hey there, I’m Layla — aka Alial Travel Gal
Welcome to my travel blog!
I’m a freethinking, globetrotting, candid travel writer and blogger.
About Me: Who Am I?
I LOVE to travel this world of ours, I’m a freethinking, world explorer and I’ve been travelling long-term for over 15 years now.
I have lived in lots of different countries and had adventures travelling in many more.
I identify as a Slomad
So, my style of travel is long-term, slow, immersive travel so I can really get to know a country and see what it’s like to travel it or spend time living there — not just see it as a tourist.
I love to travel because I love exploring and learning about countries and their cultures. I love to ask ALL of the questions about why someone lives where they live or why people live the way they do 🙂
I believe travel is about exploration, understanding of cultures, learning how to take care of the planet and self-development.
There’s so much I have learnt about myself through travel and I like to focus on showing others how they can use travel for personal growth and self-development too.
I have spent 5 years living in Australia, 4 years living in New Zealand and half a year living in Thailand. I know what it’s like to travel long-term in these countries and I know what it’s like to live there too.
During my travel life, I have travelled to:
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Thailand
- Bali
- Myanmar
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Turkey
- Greece
- Spain
- Germany
- Cyprus
- Egypt
- England
- Wales
I’ve not only lived in but have extensively travelled around Australia and New Zealand and consider myself a travel expert on these destinations.
From this immense background of travelling, I have created this travel blog so I can share my advice and wisdom on how I do it — and how you can do it too.
(You totally can, by the way).
My life is about freedom and living life on my own terms. Freedom is one of my most important values.
You don’t have to do what everyone else does, I don’t and I’ve been able to make travel my whole life — so travel is my lifestyle now.
Who is the Real Person Behind Alial Travel Gal?
I’m a freethinking, introverted yet candid, sassy, nomadic world explorer.
I love travel obviously, but I also love lots of other things.
I love writing, discovering beautiful beaches, yoga, pet sitting, house sitting, dogs, nature & wildlife, hiking, coffee, quirky cafes, (did someone say coffee?!), street food, discovering unique cities or towns, geek-tech & sci-fi, collecting unique jewellery, gluten-free food, natural health, mindfulness and meditation.
I focus on staying healthy physically and mentally whilst travelling and keeping it natural as much as I can.
Additionally, I am hugely interested in conservation & sustainability, and the effects of climate change. And I’m making an effort to learn more about responsible travel and eco-tourism.
NZ Fur Seal pup in Kaikoura
I’m also a Freelance Writer and I love writing, blogging and content creation.
I’ve trained myself in the areas of Content Writing, SEO, Social Media Management, Virtual Assistance and WordPress, and I use these skills to earn money while I’m on the road.
I have always earned my own money to travel. I have never had anything handed to me. I’ve never owned a house that I could sell to fund my travels, not even a car. I have no job payout and no apartment to rent out as a side income.
In the past, it was always: work, save, travel, (spend really frugally), then repeat.
I’ve never lived in a big city and had a corporate job in the UK, so all my savings came from very modest, small-town wages in semi-skilled roles and it was often a huge struggle to get to where I wanted.
Now after many years of trial and error, I have found sustainable ways of earning money whilst I travel and affordable living costs. So that I can stay on the road and travel forever.
My Story: Why I Gave up My Life to Travel
Before travelling and starting this blog, I lived what most would call a ‘conventional life’ back in the UK.
Originally I’m from a tiny market town in Shropshire and I lived a pretty conventional life there.
I worked full-time in many unfulfilling office jobs that I hated, I lived with a partner (who didn’t want to travel), and I had a group of awesome friends – but I was restless.
I’d always dreamed of travelling to countries like Australia one day, I was so keen to experience all the amazing wildlife and beautiful beaches they had there.
And I felt like there must be more out there in the world, than my daily existence of work, sleep, repeat, save, go on holiday once a year and repeat.
And I never really felt OK about it all. The societal expectations and the conventional life we’re supposed to live.
Why work long hours, 5 days a week, so that you can fund a mortgage for a house you only get to spend weekends in?
Why is the workplace so infantile, that we have to explain our every move, reasons we’re late or why we have an appointment, or why we need a day off because we’re burnt out?
There’s just not enough work-life balance.
We’re all made to believe that it’s just expected to run ourselves into the ground. We’re made to believe sacrifice is rewarded.
And when I think of all the days I’ve spent in an air-conditioned office, sitting cramped at a desk, in a huge building full of other miserable people.
Why do I HAVE to do that? Turns out I don’t! Well, no one does really, I just decided to take the risk and make the change.
There’s no right time.
Because if you wait until it’s right to do everything, you’ll never do much of anything.
So I quit my job, gave up my flat and bought a flight to Australia — alone.
And it was one of the bravest things I’ve ever done.
My first backpacking trip was to Australia, back in 2007 and one day whilst I was on a 4X4 mini-bus, somewhere in the coastal outback of Western Australia — I realised although I missed people back home, I didn’t want to return to my conventional life at all.
As soon as I returned and caught up with my family and friends, I felt that wanderlust pull once again. So I started planning and preparing to leave again.
Eight months later I left for Australia again — this time on a student visa.
I spent one glorious year living and studying in sunny Perth, the state capital of Western Australia and I developed a great network of friends, most of whom I still see.
View of Perth city skyline
Then I was back in the UK again for some time catching up, with my beloved Nan and my friends.
But I felt I had now adapted to my new travel life and that I just didn’t fit into my old life anymore. This just made the desire to keep on travelling, grow even more.
After the obligatory few months of working in temp jobs and saving up some more cash, I was off to Australia again.
Then after that, on to live in New Zealand for a couple of years.
I even lived in Thailand for a while too, plus I travel to anywhere else I can explore.
And it’s been that way ever since — now I make travel my lifestyle.
The UK will always be my homeland and I’ll always visit but I don’t think I could ever live in just one place now — the world is too big and too fascinating.
Where in the World I’ve Been
I’ve lived in Perth, Western Australia for around 3 years, sometimes as a backpacker on a working holiday visa, sometimes on a student visa.
I’ve lived in Sydney twice — once living rent-free for two years by house-sitting all over the city.
I have travelled to the stunning coastal outback of Western Australia and travelled up and down the buzzing east coast of Australia from Melbourne up to Cairns.
I have been using the Gold Coast in Queensland as my home base for four years now.
I have travelled to and explored Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.
In New Zealand during the last 4 years, I’ve travelled both the North and South islands extensively on foot and by camper-van.
I have had a New Zealand working holiday visa for two years.
I’ve lived and worked in both the cities of Wellington and Auckland, volunteered through HelpX & Workaway, completed many house sitting assignments in amazing beach locations and lived for a long while in Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty.
Mount Maunganui is an awesome little beach town on the North Island of New Zealand and is a uniquely special place for us both.
It’s where we’ve spent the most time living together in NZ and made many happy memories, plus there’s a regular house-sit there that we often get asked to do, for the most awesome dog.
Mount Maunganui beach, New Zealand
Mount Maunganui, NZ – Just look at that gorgeous beach, with nobody on it!
We spent two years living in Sydney, Australia (Sydney is where we spent the initial lockdown and most of the pandemic) and after that, we moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland.
I’ve lived in Thailand for 8 months, in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and time house sitting on Koh Lanta.
So…if you’re here because you’re thinking about travelling, you’re in the right place!
You’ll find all the resources you need here, whether you are a first-time or an experienced traveller.
Travel can be many things. It can be amazing, exciting, exhilarating, adventurous, uplifting, awesome, insightful, inspiring and life-changing.
However, it can also be overwhelming, nerve-wracking, stressful, confusing, difficult, expensive, and lonely.
Travel is as awe-inspiring as it is challenging and I want to show everyone the real world of travel, both the good and bad sides — and how to use the experience as growth in your travel journey.
Here on my travel blog, I write posts that follow my adventures around the world and through my honest, firsthand experiences and hilarious travel tales — I want to share my stories, advice, wisdom and travel tips with you.
I share with you the best ways to:
- Book cheap flights
- Save thousands on accommodation
- Volunteer or do help-exchange
- How to save & budget for travel
- What to pack for travel
- How to start your own travel blog
- Find work online as a freelancer
- Ways to make money on the road
Come with me on this journey we call life, as I travel around our beautiful and amazing Planet Earth and show you how to do it too.
