A man who found himself out of work decided to take the cheapest flight out of the UK and travelled the world with just his rucksack in tow.
When Kevin John Smith lost his job as a social media manager, instead of looking for another one, he booked the cheapest flight out of Manchester, which led him to unexpectedly travelling the world and visiting 23 locations.
The 30-year-old took a £10 Ryanair flight to Carcassonne, France, with a rucksack packed with just seven t-shirts, two pairs of shorts, his camera, and the trainers and hoodie he was wearing.
Kevin made his way across Europe from France, through Italy, Slovakia, Austria and a number of other countries before making his way to Turkey and then on to Egypt to see the pyramids - one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
He then ventured to the UAE, visiting Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai, before taking a £91 flight to the Maldives, moving on to Thailand and Singapore before heading to the US.
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Kevin spent three months travelling the world, avoiding staying in any one place too long or getting too comfortable anywhere, as he wanted to remain out of his comfort zone.
"I'd always wanted to see the world. I had so many great opportunities in my career that it was hard to just leave and go into the unknown of travelling," Kevin said.
"However, everything happens for a reason. I ended up losing my job, and instead of looking for another job, I packed my work rucksack and looked for the cheapest flight out of Manchester, which was a £10 Ryanair flight to Carcassonne in France. I'd never ever heard of it.
"I spent a couple of days exploring before taking a train to Toulouse. From France, I took a £9 flight to Bergamo in Italy.
"I wasn't a huge fan of Bergamo, so I made my way to Lake Como and visited Lecco, Varenna and Bellagio. It was incredible and stunning.
"Next, I went to Bratislava in Slovakia. I liked it as a place, however I ended up in a mosquito ridden hostel the first night which gave me a bad first impression. So, after some exploring, it was time to move on, and I got the train to Vienna.
"I really enjoyed my time there and spent a couple of days checking out the city. Next, I got myself a £40 ticket from Vienna to Istanbul.
"Istanbul was an incredible place and super cheap. I loved my time there."
After his time in Turkey, Kevin really wanted to see the pyramids in Egypt, so he made his way to Hurghada and then Cairo.
He got to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and even went inside of the pyramids, as well as experiencing camel rides with a local, but he said that the poverty in the area was on another level.
Kevin added: "After seeing the pyramids, I was tempted to make that the end of the trip and go home, but I looked for the cheapest ticket out of Egypt which was to Abu Dhabi.
"During my time there, I visited the Grand Mosque and also went to Sharjah and Dubai. The cheapest flight out of the UAE was from Dubai to New Deli, however, I couldn't do that because of some issues with visas.
"So I headed back to Abu Dhabi on a bus and found that the cheapest flight out of there was a £91 ticket to the Maldives.
"I had no internet or accommodation booked when I arrived in the Maldives, so I got a 20p boat from the airport to Male and luckily found a place to stay for a few nights.
"I wasn't in the touristy parts of the Maldives, and I was getting lots of attention from locals because visitors don't usually stay there.
"I visited local beaches and explored the area, however, as it wasn't a tourist-popular area, some parts were really run down.
"The cheapest flight from Male was to Bangkok, so I made my way to Thailand. Everywhere I was going was on a whim. I had no accommodation booked in Bangkok either, but I wasn't scared the entire trip.
"Although at some points I felt like I was losing myself, because I was so exhausted from the travelling, and sometimes felt lonely, it was so good because I wanted a challenge."
After finding a hostel in Bangkok and making his way around the bustling city, Kevin then moved on to Chang Mai, before getting a bus to Pai.
He said: "Pai was so remote. There was nothing around at all, but it was stunning. It looked like something from a film.
"I was just booking hostel day by day, as I went along. It was a lot easier to plan in Thailand because there are lots of travellers.
"I hadn't had any jabs or anything, because I had no idea where I was going to end up, which meant I ended up getting really sick, and I was wiped out for days.
"After riding out the sickness, I then went to Singapore. It was so expensive while I was there, and the hostel I stayed in was awful, but I had no job and was living off of my savings so I had no choice.
"Somehow, I managed to blag my way into Raffles Hotel to use their spa facilities, which were insane. That gave me the confidence to continue blagging my way around Singapore and I managed to explore for so much less.
"I then spent £700 on a flight from Singapore to San Francisco, and then to LA. I arrived at 1 am, and there were no hotels available, so I slept at the doors of the airport with my blanket from the flight.
"I was freezing, and I woke up next to a homeless person. I thought to myself that this is too far now, and dangerous. I booked the cheapest place I could find the next day, which was in LA near Cecil Hotel and Skid Row."
Kevin said he didn't "really get the hype of LA", so he booked himself onto a cheap flight to Las Vegas as soon as he could.
"I did all the touristy stuff there, but I was running out of money and needed to try and work my way home. I had $50 spare to spend and since I was in Vegas, I went to Caesars Palace to gamble," he said.
Luck was on his side as within two hours, Kevin managed to turn $50 into $800. As he now had more money, Kevin flew to New York before heading back to the UK.
He said: "I did all the sights in New York and treated myself to a hotel. I then found a flight back to London for around £180 and then got the train back home to Manchester.
"I arrived home in the same pair of trainers that I left in three months earlier, with the same seven t-shirts on rotation. I felt like a shadow of the person I was when I set off on my trip.
"However, after everything I had experienced, I couldn't stay in Manchester doing a typical nine to five and getting the bus into town every day.
"I wanted to stay out of my comfort zone and keep making more memories. So I ended up going to live with a friend in Dubai, and I have had some more amazing work opportunities. I have packed my bags and moved out to Dubai to start another adventure."
