UCL Backpackers: Yang Yuxin

TO START OFF 2015, JESSIE LIM AND ELLIE SYKES CAUGHT UP WITH GEOGRAPHY STUDENT YANG YUXIN AND CHATTED TO HER ABOUT SOME OF HER MORE RECENT TRAVEL ESCAPADES

DID YOU TRAVEL ANYWHERE DURING THE DECEMBER BREAK?

“I went to Hong Kong, and just spent Christmas admiring the whole of Hong Kong from its peak. I went to Kyoto in Japan too, and it was such a beautiful place! It snowed really heavily the day I arrived, so when I visited major attractions such as The Golden Pavilion, they were all covered in snow and the scenery was absolutely spellbinding.”

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE PLACES YOU’VE TRAVELLED TO?

“The Rift Valley in Kenya, and a small market town called Naivasha! There’s a national park called Hell’s Gate National Park there, and you see wildlife in it! It’s one of the few national parks in Kenya which you can cycle around. You get to ride through this awesome wilderness, and there’s all these zebras and wildebeest roaming around too.”

HOW LONG WERE YOU IN KENYA FOR?

“3 months, for a volunteering project with Education Partnerships Africa.”

WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU WHILE TRAVELLING?

“The worst experience I had was trying to get to the airport from this town in western Kenya, and it was a 10-hour journey by car. It was supposed to be eight hours, but the driver took us in the wrong direction.”

WHAT’S YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY?

“My ideal holiday would be one in a nice coastal town with a lot of sun, such as chilling on the beach somewhere in Santorini, and doing nothing all day but feasting on cherry tomatoes and feta cheese.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY TRAVEL GOALS YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH IN 2015?

“There are so many places I want to go to, but I’d really like to visit more countries in the Mediterranean. The other regions of Greece, and of course Croatia!”

WHAT’S YOUR TRAVEL ESSENTIAL?

“Wet wipes, they get rid of all the germs on your hands when you want to eat but can’t find a tap around you. When you are desperate, wet wipes are your answer!”