Hi there, and welcome to Explore Du Jour! If you’d like to find out more about me, aka- the brains behind this establishment (or should I say: ‘mastermind of tomfoolery?’) then please feel free to watch the video above. It’s not Oscar nominee material by any means but until I get used to talking to myself in a lonely room without pangs of idiocy running through my veins then of course, I’m sure this will do.

So, what are my plans for Explore Du Jour? Well as my video has outlined (you’ll all have seen it by now, right?) I’m going on a trip of a lifetime to Asia- and I wanted to share it all with you, dear internet folk. I’ll be blogging, ‘vlogging’, tweeting and instagram-ing my way around the continent later this year. In this day and age packing up and leaving a job behind is a bloody hard thing to commit to- so I built my bitesize Asia trip around a two and a half week itinerary. I’ll be doing A LOT within a short space of time, but I wanted to prove that you don’t have to give up everything to see, well…. a bit of everything. However my trip isn’t the typical hitchhikers paradise, backpacking isn’t quite within the realms of my DNA yet unfortunately so I’ll be travelling around with my suitcase in tow within the luxury of hotels until I grow a big enough backbone to do it properly!

I also felt that the travel blogging world (particularly within the UK) is saturated full of the same sort of characters- you know the type: they write for established newspapers, happen to be planetary geniuses and they (more often than not) don full blown khaki ensembles? Of course they’re lovely chaps in their own right, but my aim is to show you all that travel can be affordable and that nice people like you and me can enjoy their own adventures within this dreary economic climate. The real travel geniuses of our time can rely on big pay packets and sponsored trips to get around- but I want to prove that even on a part time salary of a 21 year old, it’s possible. And believe me that really is saying something; talk about scrapping the barrel! 

Whilst conducting my research however, I did come across some AMAZING travel blogs full of life, inspiration and in trepidation. They provided afternoons full of entertainment and awe as I read about trips beyond my wildest dreams- and the kick up the backside they provided me to book a big, fat trip is what I want to pass on to you lovely lot, but you won’t get a nasty bruise- promise! When you find yourself feeling a bit down and out it’s hard not to get sucked in- but remember, the world doesn’t revolve around you and your problems, your life and your town and really, we live on a beautiful planet that just happens to experience many up’s and down’s. So, if Explore Du Jour can go anywhere and inspire even a single person to become their ultimate alter ego in Indiana Jones then frankly, I’ll be very happy indeed.

So here’s to a new start full of adventure, excitement and of a hotel-snoozing nature!

Best wishes, Laura