For a long time, adventuring alone, let alone to another country wasn’t something I could consider. Ongoing health issues meant it had never been an option, or even something I’d let myself imagine. As my health improved, it became possible for the first time through the LEAP programme, although still a large worry for both myself and those around me.

When the opportunity came to apply , I was determined to push beyond my own boundaries and the worries of my loved ones. I chose to visit China, visiting Hong Kong, Yangshuo and Beijing, wanting to immerse myself in a culture foreign to me but beautiful in so many ways. With some basic Mandarin learned from friends and language courses, I also hoped to improve and practice my language skills.

As this adventure was mentally quite a challenge for me to consider, I felt a strange mix of anxiety and excitement throughout the summer. To get a grip on my nerves, and to keep those around me confident too, I planned every aspect I could foresee as meticulously as possible, ensuring I had everything I thought I needed until it was time to fly out.

Fuelled by adrenaline, I spent my sole night in Hong Kong, the city that never sleeps, wandering through bustling markets and crowds and seeing the night-time skyline from its highest point. I had quickly grown comfortable with the city and how it worked or so I thought. In the morning, on my way to the high speed rail station I spent twenty minutes searching for the right minibus stop, which had no clear signage. When I finally found it, I got talking to an older man waiting there, who told me about his own adventures travelling around Europe and the UK in his twenties.

When the minibus arrived, the visa card option was there, but I couldn’t get it to work, and without cash or a local transport card I had no way to pay. Being unable to pay was embarrassing enough,but being shouted at in Cantonese by the driver while still jet-lagged was making me panic, until the man I’d just met kindly paid my fare. He even helped me find my way to the high-speed railway afterwards. I was so grateful for his kindness, which came when I really needed it.

From Hong Kong I headed straight to Yangshuo, navigating through the railway terminals and my transits on the way. A week in Yangshuo felt shockingly short, though perhaps however long I stayed I would always have felt this way. It is an incredibly beautiful place, surrounded by karst mountains that form an ever-present landscape, like something taken out of a painting.

I spent the week training with a local climbing coach, learning to climb and set up single-pitch sport routes on the limestone walls. Before this, I had only ever bouldered indoors, a sport I truly love for its independent challenge of solving a puzzle set by the gym. Outside, the routes are set by the formation of the rock, and the view from up high is both an ecstatic reward at the top and a source of fear on the way up. The climbing itself was freeing, but the hardest part mentally was setting up the route and clipping the final rope into the anchor. There, I had to put my full trust in the person belaying me and the quickdraws holding me up, staying calm and ensuring I’m tying the right knots and setting up the anchor point in a safe manner. Having a strong hold on your current position isn’t enough; you also need to believe in the stability of the next step when you’re so high up. Over time, I recognised the same truth applies to adventuring alone.

Between climbs, I talked with my instructors about their own journeys in a mix of broken Mandarin and English, using translation apps to fill the gaps. It helped improve both my Mandarin and their English. I also rented an electric bike and, on the recommendation of the lovely owner of the inn I was staying at, explored the ancient towns and the Yulong River, visited limestone caves, and picked my own tea leaves at a plantation, learning about the history of osmanthus tea afterwards.

By the time I reached Beijing, the non-stop adventuring had caught up with me, and some days it took real effort to keep going. Even so, I spent the week exploring historical and cultural sites. The Forbidden City and the Summer Palace were both breathtaking, their ancient architecture far more vast than I could have imagined. My favourite part of the Forbidden City was an exhibition on the journey of porcelain and pottery through different eras, showing the experimentation it took to develop such skilled art. As I continued to walk around, reading the stories of each site and the lives of the emperors, I felt a little sad that the artists and architects who created them were never credited, and that most of their names are likely lost to history.

At the Summer Palace, I attended a jade workshop and carved my own pendant from stone. There I became friends with the instructor, who loved Chinese culture and history. We talked in depth about the forgotten makers behind so much of what I’d seen, which I really enjoyed. They taught me more Mandarin and recommended places to visit, and we talked about their life in such a busy city and their goals for the future.

Finding vegetarian food was sometimes difficult, but it gave me a chance to wander the city without a set plan. One of these wanders led me to a vegan restaurant, whose owner helped me understand more about the Mid-Autumn Festival which my trip coincided with. I finished my time in Beijing at Gubei Water Town, exploring the ancient town and the Simatai Great Wall, with the Buddhist temple and grand pagoda as highlights.

Leaving China was quite sad, I had gotten used to an exciting schedule, which took me around new and exciting places.

Although my adventure was busy and sometimes exhausting, it gave me memories I will never forget. I set out wanting an independent journey, but I found myself remembering to the people I met: the man at the bus stop in Hong Kong, the inn owner and my climbing instructors in Yangshuo, the restaurant owner in Beijing, and my friend from the jade workshop, who I still keep in touch with. The pictures and souvenirs I brought home are beautiful, but the conversations and connections I made are far more valuable. Along with the challenges I overcame, they have shaped my thoughts and actions in ways I’m still discovering. The independence and confidence in myself I developed across this trip I am sure will help me push through for my future goals in my career and life.