From break-up to backpack

DECEMBER 2005 -
HEATHROW, UK
Sitting in the airport, I can't stop sobbing. After 10 years in a relationship, I expected my next big step to be kids. Instead, on my 27th birthday, my divorce was finalised. And in the 20 months since, I've taken a long look at my life. After impulse-buying a round-the-world ticket and booking tours in 14 countries, I quit my job and said goodbye to my friends - and now it's hit me. My mum keeps saying: "If you don't want to do it, don't go," but I'm determined not to be beaten. I've got to go for it.

JANUARY 2006 -
NEW ZEALAND
I arrive jet-lagged in Auckland, still wondering if I'm doing the right thing. The hostel is huge and everyone seems to know what they're doing except me. Undeterred, I stick to my plan of heading north to Paihia in the beautiful Bay of Islands and make the effort to start chatting to people - just saying "Hi" works fine. A group of us from the hostel see in the New Year on one of the stunning beaches - beats doing a conga up my nan and grandad's road!

FEBRUARY - BRAZIL
Wow! I'm at the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, dancing in the rain with the locals. I realise that my whole year is going to be a string of once-in-a-lifetime events.

MARCH - ARGENTINA
Someone from my tour ran into an old schoolfriend in a supermarket. He joins us for some drinks - the red wine here is amazing - and mentions he has a six-bed dorm to himself, so I ask if he fancies any company - he says yes! I can't believe I have the nerve. I used to be so shy, and I'm still rebuilding my confidence after the divorce. At home, I'd have thought he was out of my league.

APRIL - CHILE
My 29th birthday has been the best ever! I'd been dreading spending it away from home, but even though I don't know the people in my tour group that well, they make a huge effort for me. I end up drinking pink champagne in outdoor pools under a starry sky in Pucón. I'd never have done this before the divorce - my ex wasn't adventurous at all.

MAY - PERU
One rule of travelling is that you should always sample the local drink, but pisco sours in Peru are especially good - and if you collect vouchers from the touts in the main square in Cusco, you can do a bar crawl for free! If you then want to snog a bouncer and dance on the bar like me, that's up to you...

JULY - AUSTRALIA
The thing that scared me most about the divorce was being alone, so heading to Australia without the safety net of a tour group was tough. But, after working in an Outback pub for a month, I realise I don't need to be with people constantly to be happy. I've even overcome my fear of heights and climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge to watch the sun set over the Blue Mountains.

AUGUST - THAILAND
After visiting the north of Thailand, I head south. Big mistake. It's more expensive and touristy, so instead of the unspoilt tropical paradise I hoped for in Koh Samui, there are tacky guesthouses and packed beaches. I've been away for eight months and feel really homesick, but I promised myself at the start that I had to wait three days to see if I felt the same, and only then could I book my flight home. Three days later, I head to Beijing to walk the Great Wall of China.

SEPTEMBER - CHINA
This country is fascinating - the culture is so alien. At first people seem rude because they push and shove, but the rules are just different here. I work out the metro system and get across Shanghai on my own to see the city's famous acrobats. And the night-time view from The Bund - one of the main waterside streets - is breathtaking. To top it all, a friend emailed: "I'm pleased you're doing something exciting - everyone else is still here and having babies."

OCTOBER - INDIA
This country's like Marmite. You love it or hate it. The Taj Mahal is amazing, and I wish I had someone to share it with, but Delhi is hard work. One of my best moments is reading on a train while people sleep in luggage racks. This time last year, if you'd told me that I'd experience this and not freak out, I'd have said you were mad!

NOVEMBER - SOUTH AFRICA
On a wall in Cape Town, somebody has written: "Fear is temporary, regret lasts forever". I adopt it as a life motto. When I return home I plan to have a new career as a writer, and I'm sure it won't be long before I meet a man too, thanks to all my new-found social skills!

JANUARY 2007 - UK
The trip changed the way I look at the world. I'm less materialistic and I feel I can achieve anything. I'm working in HR while I save for my next adventure, but I'm writing a book about my travels. I'm more confident, too - if I'm worried about something, I remind myself I spent a year going around the world on my own. Best of all, waiting at Arrivals were my parents - complete with two other things I'd missed most, a Dairylea and Marmite sandwich and proper tea!

High Heels And A Head Torch (Pan, £8.99) by Chelsea Duke is out now.

AS TOLD TO CATHY WINSTON PHOTOGRAPHY: CAMERA PRESS, ALAMY, GETTY

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