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Maltese Couple Quit Their Jobs To Backpack Asia And Their Stunning Shots Are Inspiring Thousands Of Travellers

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It was back in October that Wayne Grech and Bernice Chetcuti threw caution to the wind and bought a one-way ticket to Asia, and they have since become a massive Instagram hit among travel lovers.

“Travel has always been part of our lives, it makes us feel sane and alive,” Wayne, a 28-year-old former taxi driver, and Bernice, a 26-year-old former primary school teacher, told Lovin Malta. “Before we ever met, we both traveled as much as possible, mostly in Europe. We had also been to Asia separately and were fascinated by what we had experienced: the people, the culture, the way of life and the simplicity. The little taste we had only made us want it more.”

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The couple have set up an Instagram account called Travel.love.couple to document their travels and it has proven a massive hit among travellers, hitting over 10,200 followers in just a matter of months.

“We think that growing up on a tiny island like Malta is the best, but when you start to explore different countries you’ll soon realise that we know nothing about the world we live in.”

“During the years we have been together, we always felt the urge to get a great understanding of our planet as a whole. We daydreamed every single day about it!”

“We truly believe dreams are meant to be pursued and not postponed and because we are not getting any younger we decided to start traveling full time.”

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“Like any other young Maltese couple who save most of their income to buy an apartment, we instead made travel the number one priority in our lives. We learnt that working with your mind is a lot wiser than working with your hands.”

“Our passion for traveling outweighs our desire for material objects. This mindset helped us live in such a way that we could save the majority of our income. It wasn’t an easy ride to get here, but knowing exactly what we wanted made us fight harder to get it.”

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Wayne and Bernice’s travels have so far taken them to South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, China, the Philippines and Thailand, but the travellers could not speak about their future plans, simply because they don’t have any!

“The only plan was a one-way ticket from Malta to South Korea and that was it,” they explained. “We feel that the trips you plan will pale in comparison with the ones you make spontaneously. We strive to surprise ourselves with unplanned adventures and see where it takes us. As much as our family and friends won’t like hearing this, ‘No, we have no return date’.”

Yet lack of planning has certainly not translate into a lack of adventure. They have so far hung out with wild deer on Mount Wakasura in Japan, trekked to the summit of the Avatar Hallelujah mountain in Zhangjiajie National Park, China, and swum with wild turtles in crystal clear waters in Logbon Island, the Philippines.

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But as any backpacker will tell you, what is even more beautiful than the places you visit is the people you meet along the way. It has been no different for Wayne and Bernice, who recounted their encounter with Patrice, a man who educates the few children on Logbon, a sparsely populated island of only 900 people.

“He invited us in his beachfront home to experience an isolated life far from the materialistic world we live in,” they said. “He is the type of person we look up to. He has been on a quest to help out the small community of the island mainly with educating the children. We carried out all kinds of activities, such as gardening, meditation, yoga, cooking fresh local food, as well as making music.”

“We believe that every child deserves people like Patrick to allow them to be creative in their own way and to grow up to be the best version of themselves, even in places like this. This was surely the most interesting person we met who shared with us an unforgettable experience.”

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And their advice to people wondering whether they should take the plunge is frustratingly simple – just do it.

‘With our Instagram account, we want to inspire more people to travel,” they said. “We think that spending the best part of our lives not following our dreams would be a waste and life is infinitely richer after breaking free from the rat race. The most precious resource we have is time! Shouldn’t we be spending it wisely? No one really finds time for anything, therefore you must make it.”

“The hardest part is definitely making that leap and once you do, things seem to start falling into place.”

“We can both confirm that this is by far the best decision of our lives. Traveling makes you a happier person by building self-confidence, providing new experiences and memories, breaking routine and allowing you to meet people around the globe.”

All photos: Instagram: Travel.love.couple

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Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

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