I love this time of year, I really do. It’s not just the food and the decorations and the smell of the pine tree, it’s the time spent with family. This year, I feel incredibly blessed to be able to see all of my loved ones on Christmas day; my dad and sister Zalie, who both live in Winnipeg, my mum, who lives in Toronto, and my brother, who lives in Vancouver. We’ve already shared tons of laughs (and drinks) together, and the festivities will continue until I fly back to London on the 29th.

But OK, I’ll admit, I love the presents, too. Which brings me to the point of this blog post – I’d like to send ten gifts out to say thank you for another wonderful year of your comments, emails, messages, likes, and general support.

I recently got an email from a reader; let’s call her Olivia. In her email, Olivia told me about her plans after college and of how she was excited to get a job in the field that she studied. She then asked me this question:

“I love the idea of travelling; I love reading travel blogs and studying maps. The thing is, I don’t really know if I want to travel beyond a couple of weeks away at a time, and only with my boyfriend or my friends. I like my life here and I’m happy with what I’ve created. I feel like a fraud by saying that it’s not really my dream to travel. What do you think? Am I being crazy?”

When I was a little girl I really only dreamt of one thing: to travel. It’s what I wrote in all my journals, it’s what I told people I wanted to do, it’s what I thought about when I couldn’t sleep. I would make lists of all the places I’d go and all the things I’d see. But is this dream for everyone?

I’ve received a few emails from readers over the years asking the same question: “How do you know you’re ready for long-term travel?” I totally get it. You know you want to travel. You’ve read the packing lists and advice blogs. But how do you know that you are definitely ready to take the plunge to travel for two months, six months, or… indefinitely? Long-term travel may not be for everyone, as it is vastly different than a week holiday to the beach. It requires a bit of planning, a lot of optimism, and a healthy dose of an open mind. And while it can be incredibly rewarding, exciting, humbling, and FUN, it can also be stressful, challenging, and eye-opening (none of which are necessarily bad experiences to go through in life).

So, how do you know if you’re ready for long-term travel?

I waded into the warm water, the shock of crushed corals and shells under my feet almost instantly turning into smooth, soft sand. In the distance I could spot the island of Koh Phi Phi, a dark green against the blue sky. A few other people were in the water, but not many, and on this little stretch of sand – aptly named Relax Bay – there really was nothing to do but laze around in the shade. And it was then, floating in the calm water, that I decided I’d finally found my favourite island: Koh Lanta.

I will be back in Nepal in less than a month. I’m actually in Thailand for about two weeks beforehand, and then in Bhutan for a week after, so I will have to pack accordingly. While I’m usually quite confident with what to pack, for some reason I keep humming and hawing about what to bring on this particular trip, perhaps because I’ll be in various climates (from the sunny beaches of Thailand to the chilly temperatures of the Himalayas) and because, well, I’m not backpacking. That’s right, I’m bringing a – wait for it – suitcase. This means don’t have to worry as much about trying to fit everything into a smaller space or wrinkled clothing.

That being said, when I started to think about what to wear in Nepal, and what to bring on this trip, I still thought back to the backpacking trip I took around Southeast Asia and the Subcontinent in 2011. I can’t help it – the clothes I wore then and the outfits I put together were some of my favourites ever.

Because I’ve also been fortunate enough to stay in London a bit longer, I’m seeing this as an opportunity to see more of the UK and of Europe in general. It is incredibly cheap to fly to many European countries from London; with airlines like RyanAir and Easy Jet, it’s possible to fly to some European cities for less money than my weekly Oyster card update to travel around London. I don’t know what the future holds after those couple years in London, so I thought I should take advantage of the proximity to Europe as much as possible in the upcoming year. While I’ve visited a lot of the major cities around the continent, there are a lot of smaller cities and towns I haven’t seen yet. More than that, there are experiences I’d really love to have if I can.