My friends, prepare yourself. Because this monthly summary? It’s going to be all over the place.

When I left you last, back in May, I was in a bit of a funk.

Melbourne had entered strict lockdown, I’d developed shingles from overwork, Dave had cancelled my surprise birthday getaway, it was cold and wintry, and I missed so much of my old life. Things felt so greyscale in comparison to the technicolour I’d experienced in New Zealand, and indeed my pre-pandemic existence.

Well, this update is being typed by the hands of somebody who’s currently in strict lockdown, has had to cancel her 10 years of travel celebration, is stuck in Australia for the foreseeable future, and is fretting over still not being able to access a vaccine.

Holy shit, Lauren, things sound really bad there.

Nah, it’s alright, really.

And I must stress, I haven’t been in a continual hard lockdown. Oh no. I’ve actually been in three separate lockdowns. Seriously, guys. It’s kind of unbelievable. But also, I enjoyed these lockdowns? As, I said, all over the place!

And so, expect this summary to be chaotic as hell.

(Also, just a quick note that I rolled together my June and July monthly summaries together because I didn’t have all that much to share by the end of June. Lockdown lends itself to monotony, so I wasn’t doing anything particularly shareable or exciting!)

Let’s get started.

Portugal might just be one of the greatest countries in Europe.

In fact, it took just two days for me to decide to uproot my nomadic life and move there. I’m not kidding: I rocked up in Lisbon for the first time back in 2016, fell deeply in love with the city, then began looking for an apartment two days later. I found my dream home after a month of searching, signed a lease, and the rest was history. I love this country.

To me, Portugal has it all. It’s home to a massively underrated food scene, welcoming locals, the most beautiful buildings, and fantastic weather. For a long time, it’s been overlooked by it’s more popular neighbours like Italy, Spain, and France, but in recent years, Portugal has been rising in popularity.

While those extra tourists have caused some prices to increase, Portugal is still one of the more affordable countries in Western Europe — and especially when you travel outside of Lisbon and Porto. Which you should, because Portugal has so much to offer outside of its two most famous cities.

I’ve been recording every single dollar, peso, and baht that I’ve spent on my travels since 2011 (I now have over 50 budget breakdowns on my site!), aiming to give you an accurate picture of how much you can expect to spend in every country around the world. Today, it’s Portugal’s turn and I’m so excited to start sharing.

Pushkar felt different.

From the moment I arrived, it felt unlike anywhere else I had visited in Rajasthan. This is one of the oldest cities in India, and one of the holiest on the planet.

And yet, it felt so laid-back — laid-back for India, anyway. Pushkar is a beautiful small city, situated around a sacred lake, and has long been a major pilgrimage destination for Hindus. In the 1960s, however, Pushkar developed into a popular spot on the infamous Hippie Trail, and attracts just as many spiritual visitors today.

Many choose to stay for weeks at a time.

Because of that, Pushkar has a reputation for being touristy and full of faux-hippies, so I originally planned to just spend one night in town. I wanted to see as much as possible and then flee for somewhere less popular. In the end, though, I found myself with a few extra days to spend in Rajasthan and decided to allocate them to Pushkar.

It was the best decision ever.

G’day, mates!

G’day from, uh… lockdown.

Yup.

As I type this, Melbourne’s currently dealing with an unexpected COVID outbreak and we’ve been placed into lockdown until it’s under control.

Dave’s been vaccinated! I have shingles! My birthday’s been cancelled!

It’s been a rollercoaster of a month.