Travelling Couple Reveal How Life On The Road Has Driven Them Apart

It is easy to be jealous of globetrotting travelling couples on [/tvshowbiz/instagram/index.html Instagram] who appear to live in paradise - but behind the scenes it may be a different tale. 
An Australian couple who traded in their jobs for a life of adventure have revealed the stark reality of their seemingly perfect travelling life. 
For over seven years, Jarryd Salem, 28, and h[ Scroll down for video 
Jarryd Salem and Alesha Bradford pictured at Kuang Si Falls in Luang Prabang as they enjoy their time
The engaged couple, here pictured in Turkey, have decided to take their first physical break away from each other, after feeling the strains on the road
Travelling on their journey of a life-time - the Aussie couple pictured on their first day trip in Singapore
For over seven years, Salem, 28, and Bradford, 31, have explored the world's most remote locations and documented life on the road together on their travel blog, Nomadasaurus. This is the couple's picture of Sapa View in Vietnam
In a recent blog post, entitled '][ ],' the pair stated the stress of their nomadic lifestyle eventually lead to a strain on their relationship. 

Opening up to MailOnline Travel, the pair, who have travelled all over the world together and even got engaged in the world's largest cave in Vietnam last year, said that it was important for them to share that their life hasn't been one big holiday.
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'When you follow a "travelling Instagram couple" all you see is the great photos of sunsets, beaches, amazing architecture and fun activities that people get up to on the road,' Alesha said.  
'What you don't see is the days where you are getting hopelessly lost in cities trying to find cheap accommodation, being holed up in dodgy hotels due to bad weather, getting scammed by taxi drivers, hours (or days) spent sitting in buses or trains moving from place to place or being bed-ridden with food poisoning.'
Being away from friends for long periods of time, living on a poor diet with a lack of exercise, and not always seeing people their own age as they went 'off-beaten-track,' started to drive a wedge between them
Happier times: The couple got engaged last year in the largest cave in the world, Hang Son Doong
Their honest blog post, detailing the highs and lows of life on the road has inspired a positive response from readers, who praised them for shedding light on the realities of travelling for long periods of time as a couple
From uploading their spectacular images on social media from countries like Thailand, Turkey, Iran and Vietnam, the pair received a barrage of emails from readers.
Followers were keen to seek advice for their own travels as a couple, thinking Salem and Bradford were 'living the dream with our perfect partner.'
Behind the scenes, it was a different story. 
Being away from friends for long periods of time, living on a poor diet with a lack of exercise, and not always seeing people their own age as they went 'off-beaten-track,' started to drive a wedge between them.
'At some point in China, we started bickering with each other,' Jarryd wrote on the blog post.
'Even though we have sung China's praises on this blog and social media, and saw some of the most incredible landscapes imaginable, the truth is we struggled there. 
'China turned us into bad people. The pushing, the shoving, the pollution, the spitting, the lack of respect towards the environment and their fellow human beings, the oily food, the wasteful attitude that is now ingrained in their psyche, we could go on.'
Bradford partying at the Thingyan Festival in Mandalay Myanmar
The couple purchased two cheap motorbikes and rode through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam
Walking away from the life of comfort, the couple pictured backpacking through Tulum in Mexico
[ ] Despite their issues, their blog's reach grew dramatically while they were in the country. 
'We began freelancing a lot more, working with more tour companies and brands, our social media followers grew and we started to earn a half decent income,' the post said. 
'This resulted in us spending less time relaxing and exploring and more time sitting in hotel rooms or cafes trying to catch up on work.' 
Even though this was going on behind the scenes, the pair still uploaded incredible shots on Instagram and Facebook which portrayed their travels in a falsely positive light. 
Behind the pictures of sweeping landscapes and sunset cocktails, Alesha started to resent travel, kynghidongduong.vn and Jarryd started to become numb to it.
'Very few things excited us anymore,' the post stated. 
The duo travelled to Luang Prabang in Northern Laos where they explored the beautiful Kuang Si Falls
Mr Salem drinking and mingling with the locals during a motorbike stop at Phonsavan Laos
Ms Bradford embracing the picturesque view and serene surroundings in Dalat, in Vietnam
In a bid to save their relationship and discover the next step on their journey the pair are currently taking five weeks apart. 
Alesha has flown to home to see friends and family in Australia, while Jarryd remains in Turkey and Bulgaria. 
'We believe this break will help bring us closer together in the end,' Jarryd said. 
'We got engaged because we love each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together, but the older we get the more we realise that we can't keep living this permanent nomadic existence. 
'Even though we still want to explore the world for as hạ long as possible, we need to change our travelling style to restore the healthy relationship we had. 
'Slow down, make regular bases for ourselves, take more breaks and spend more time with our friends and family.'
The couple pictured 'hanging out with Leonardo' at Maya Bay in Thailand where 'The Beach' movie was filmed 
Ms Bradford pictured as they prepare to head off on the Maeo Hong Son Loop for five days on their scooters
After kayaking around Halong Bay in Vietnam, the pair found a private inlet, describing it as 'incredible place'
Upon their reunion in Istanbul on January 20, the pair plan to evaluate how they can have a healthy relationship on the road, but have plans to proceed to Cape Town by land. 
'We're spilling our hearts out in this post, the most personal we have ever written, because we've recognised that it is ok to feel like this,' the blog said. 
'On our social media we put on a brave face, continued on, put up lots of nice photos and talked about how great our experiences were.
'Just like you can lose your passion for a hobby when it becomes a job, we're starting to become jaded with travel.
'But recognising the problem and fixing it are two different things. I guess we're just showing you what it's really like for us, behind the scenes.'
The heartfelt confession has had a great deal of positive response, with couples praising them for sharing the reality behind their nomadic lives. 
One reader wrote: 'It definitely helps other travellers to hear this as we all have issues and should share them otherwise our lives look perfect on social media and our blogs when it's simply not true.'
Pictured at Phong Nha in Vietnam as the couple write, photograph and share their experiences to others

The couple pictured at Da Nang in Vietnam where they visited the Marble Mountains and Son Tra peninsula
Before their life-changing experience took place, the duo lived their own separate lives in different states in Australia.
Mr Salem was bouncing in between dead-end jobs in Sydney while Ms Bradford operated machinery on her family farm and worked as a receptionist for agricultural companies in Western Australia.
Chasing their travel dreams at the age of 20, Ms Bradford set out on her own adventure in 2004, while Mr Salem jumped on the backpacking wagon in 2007.
But one night in September 2008, the pair had their first encounter in Vancouver in Canada before Ms Bradford packed up her entire life Down Under and made the big move just three months later.
'I was working as a bar security at a hostel in Canada when Alesha was staying as a guest,' Mr Salem said.
'After that first night, we ended up spending a week together before she headed back to Australia for a few months but I convinced her to move back - and the rest, as they say, is history.'
The couple pictured after riding their bikes for more than 2000km in Cambodia before entering Vietnam




Pictured with the Mad Monday Hostel group in Siem Reap on Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia as they party
Mr Salem pictured trekking through mud to get to the beginning of the Tu Lan Cave System in Vietnam
 





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Read more:

[ NOMADasaurus - Redefining The Travel Experience]
[ Behind The Scenes - It's Time To Fix Ourselves - NOMADasaurus]



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