Driving Richard Branson.

“The story of a flight attendant, a billionaire and my not-so-luxury car.”

Once upon a short stint as a flight attendant, I packed up my life and moved cities, swapping newsroom chaos for red lipstick, slicked-back dos and a crew just as adventurous as I was. It was a brand-new airline, a brand-new chapter and I was down for all of it.

Because the airline was still young, Richard Branson — the founder himself — had a habit of appearing at parties, often blending in with the crew as if he’d always been on the roster. Not in a flashy kind of way, but more like someone who genuinely enjoyed chatting to everyone who was part of building the thing. So seeing him at this particular event wasn’t exactly headline news.

What was a little unusual was that after the party, I somehow ended up driving him to the pub in my crappy little Toyota Echo. I called my kind-of-boyfriend with, “Hey, can you come pick me up? Oh, and by the way… we’ve got Richard Branson with us.” To this day, I’m not entirely sure how I convinced him to ride along – probably a mix of Bacardi Breezer confidence and my firm declaration that “we’re all going to the pub!”

So there I was, a little dusty in the back seat, the boys up front talking business, while my little Toyota Echo buzzed its way through traffic, moonlighting as a VIP shuttle. And honestly, if Richard Branson was happy cruising to the pub in a clapped-out Toyota, it’s fair to say, that good stories don’t need perfect conditions — just a little room for the unexpected.

And that got me thinking..

Maybe the best moments — the ones we actually remember — aren’t the ones we meticulously plan. Maybe they’re the unexpected, slightly odd, delightfully unpolished experiences we stumble into without a second thought. The ones that make you look back years later and say, “Did that seriously happen?”

So that’s what this blog is really about: sharing tips, hacks and finds that make exploring easier and a bit of a wild ride — without the need for perfection.

I’ve always lived thinking travel, (and honestly, life) is far more interesting when you leave room for the unexpected. When everything isn’t scheduled to the minute. When you allow space for the fluke moments, the funny detours, the stories you never saw coming and sometimes..winging it.

Dodgy Toyota optional.