Oh, Santorini. What can I say? You stole my heart and reminded me how nice it is to just relax and enjoy the surroundings. Thank you for that. But before we get too far, I have to give credit where credit is due – and that’s to all the fabulous friends I made while on the island. While I think I would still have thoroughly enjoyed Santorini, the great group of people I hung with made it SO much more fun! So, a BIG thanks goes out to the hostel crew! Love you guys!!

I cannot believe it is June already! I guess as the old saying goes, “Time flies when you’re on holiday!” Or something like that.

After spending a few wonderful months in Kilronan, Ireland, I needed to get my itchy feet off the island for more travel adventures. First up? Singapore.

Before my first solo overseas trip (to Ireland), I armed myself with as much knowledge about the destination as I could. I pulled this information from various sources: guidebooks, the internet, friends, and even strangers. I wanted to maximize my time and money while making sure I saw as much as I could and staying at safe, clean hostels.

One of the best (and worst) things about working in a hostel is constantly making new friends. I know you’re probably wondering how I could possibly think that making friends is a bad thing. Well, it’s really not but sometimes I get frustrated about the constant revolving door. Getting close to people just to have them leave for a new destination. I told you about how much fun I had during my holiday over St. Patrick’s Day. The result of all that fun was a negative impact on my body. I felt that I looked overly tired, older (dare I say I looked 30?), and that I’d gained some weight. And the truth is, I did. After four days of drinking more than normal eating late night fast-food, in combination of not exploring and walking around the island, my body turned against me. And I had to face the sad reality that I’m not in my 20’s anymore.

During the summer tourist season, Inis Mór can see as many as 1,200 tourists a day. That’s quite a good amount of people coming to an island only 12 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide. To help the ferries serve this amount of people, construction on a new pier has been underway for the past two-and-a-half years. Many of these people simply come on the morning ferry and leave on the evening ferry – taking a bus tour of the island and sampling a Guinness or seafood chowder in one of the pubs or restaurants. Probably the most famous and most visited attraction on the island is Dún Aonghasa.

Things people associate with Ireland:

1. Leprechauns
2. Guinness
3. Green
4. Rainbows
5. St. Patrick’s Day

While I haven’t found a leprechaun just yet, I have been lucky enough to experience the other things on the above list. Many of my friends know St. Patrick’s Day has long since been one of my favorite holidays. I mean, what’s not to love? With flashy parades, free-flowing beer, live music, and green aplenty – people of all ages and nationalities can enjoy being Irish for the day.

When I first arrived in Inis Mor the most common question people asked was how long I was going to stay. Once they realized I was going to be around for at least two weeks, they would respond by saying, “Oh! You’ll be here for TedFest!” Ok. Whatever that is. In retrospect, I’m not sure I would have been better off knowing. Since most of my readers aren’t from Ireland, I will give you a brief background on the hit Irish television show, Father Ted.

Most people think that on an island only 6 km long by 3 km wide, one would be able to see most everything there is to see in one or two days. While many tourists do explore much of what Inis Mor has to offer on a day trip, I have had plenty to see and do over the past month. And there are still many places on the island I’ve yet to find.

As many backpackers know, getting a haircut while traveling around is not high on the list of priorities. There are plenty of better ways to spend one’s time and money. Thus, many people find themselves with longer hair than they would normally have if they were at home.

Well I’m getting settled into island life here in Kilronan. For those of you who have never heard of Kilronan – you are not alone. Kilronan is a quaint seaside village located on the island of Inis Mor in Ireland. Located just off the west coast in Co. Galway, Inis Mor is the biggest of the three islands that make up the Aran Islands. In fact, “inis” means “island” and “mor” means “big” but by most peoples’ standards, Inis Mor is anything but big. With only 900 residents you really get the opportunity to truly immerse yourself and feel like a member of the small community. And I love it.