Shannon Osztonits

“I live to travel, and travel to live.” With gypsy blood running through my veins, I'm a freelance travel writer who has lived on five continents, endlessly inspired by new cultures, countries, and landscapes. Writing has been my passion since I could talk, and I live and breathe delicious words and stories. Originally from sunny South Africa, I have a particular affinity for Southeast Asia and all things spiritual, and I’m also a qualified Reiki practitioner. When I’m not immersed in storytelling or books or watching sunrises in new lands, you can find me in the kitchen or with a paintbrush in my hand. My work has been featured in major travel publications such as TripCanvas.

From living in the Big Apple to the chaotic streets of Hanoi, my love for new places, faces and experiences continues to grow with every destination added to my global bucket list, travelling since 2010. Frolicking around islands in Greece, spotting Africa across the waters in Spain, uncovering the beauty of the South of France, falling in love with the whole of Italia, Holland, Portugal and Germany: I love Europe’s culture.
But it’s Southeast Asia that has my heart, adventuring around Vietnam, Sri Lanka (favourite country in the entire world), Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia. I’ve also worked and played in Aus and Abu Dhabi, but those are tales for another day.

Inspired by the romanticism of life, there are too many travel wonders now unforgettable lifetime memories! Mountain motorbike trips up to Phù Long in Northern Vietnam, giant Buddhas and ancient temples in magical Pai, snorkelling around Malaysia’s Redang Island and waking to a crystal ocean floor in Koh Rong Samloem (Cambodia). 
Backpacking parts of Europe with my bestie like a tell-all travel novel, private chartering a yacht around Limnos in Greece and walking around San Gimigano’s medieval 11th-century streets was one of the most awe-inspiring moments, knowing every single brick has remained untouched (that’s a fact a local told me while buying gelato and rosé-flavoured balsamic).