She’s all over the place.

Hello. I’m Serla, and I’m a little bit awkward when it comes to introducing myself, so I will break this into a few chunks.

What is this blog about?

This is my travel blog, where I write stories and share pictures from my trips, dabbed occasionally with useful tips, but mostly with my self-deprecating sense of humour and stories of my misadventures.

How did you start travelling so much?

I guess it has always been in my upbringing to travel – our family would go on annual trips together to see some new places and that would be the highlight of our year. But I only started having this desire to explore the world after I went to Copenhagen for 4 months in 2009 for a study abroad programme at Copenhagen Business School. It was my first time in Europe, and I spent the greater part of the semester discovering various countries in the continent and being awed by them (I only skipped two classes during the semester and still passed my exams, don’t worry).

After that, I never stopped. After my (first) graduation, I was lucky to get a job that paid me well enough, with enough holidays, and a very cool boss who understood my passion for travelling, for me to have two or three trips each year – most of those to Europe.

Where in the world are you now?

Good question. At the moment, I’m based in London as I’m trying to complete my Master’s courses to be a journalist.

Right before this, I was in Berkeley and before that Aarhus, Denmark, also as part of the same programme.

I have previously been lucky enough to call Jakarta, Beijing, Copenhagen and Singapore my home. And soon, I will be based in another (very cool) city – watch this space. 🙂

How did this blog come about?

I went for a trip recently to see the Northern Lights, and our tour guide told us that in order to see this beautiful phenomenon, a few things must be in your favour:

1. There must not be any light pollution.
2. The sky must be clear.
3. The Northern Lights themselves need to be ‘active’.

I guess that was how this blog happened. Even though I had been travelling extensively for four years before the birth of this blog, it did not even occur to me to write about my travels until these few things sort of fell in place at the right time:

1. I was bored in December 2013, which rarely happens since I’m always too busy for my own good.
2. I bought a new laptop after surviving with only my phone for internet for close to a year.
3. I discovered the Everywhereist, who immediately became my heroine and inspiration in travel blogging.

And I guess the rest is history.

As I have moved away from most of my family and friends, this blog has become very important in updating them on what is going on in my life and what places I have seen. Some have even told me that they would explore the world through my eyes, so I have a pretty noble task to fulfill right there.

What kind of a traveller are you?

Probably the worst. I don’t have any sense of direction, I can’t read maps (and still struggle with Google Maps), I am scared of virtually everything (cockroaches, ghosts, height, insects, cockroaches, darkness, lightning, thunder, loud sounds, and did I say cockroaches?), I pack way too much but still manage to forget some things, I do things at the last minute, I lose things and drop them everywhere, I attract weird strangers on the road and get attacked by drunk people, I’m slow, I don’t drive, I oversleep, I miss flights, I’m forgetful – you get the idea. Oh and I’m not one of those cool girls who travel on a budget, work as a toilet cleaner while travelling, though I have slept at the airports numerous times, if that counts.

But I love this big, beautiful world we live in and have a sense of curiosity so big it somehow conquered all my fears (except for the cockroaches). And I guess that is enough. 🙂

(And I have this ability to trick people into travelling with me. Those poor people.)

Contact

If you want to get in touch with a fellow awkward traveller (or want to have stories written by one), drop me an email at serla[dot]rusli[at]gmail[dot]com. You can also follow me on Instagram: @missruslee.

Oh, and this is how I look like. These days, I can be seen mostly in my bright pink rain coat. Do say hello if you spot me.

In the meantime, enjoy reading!