It was the early 2000s when Jessica Mudditt spent months wandering through Southeast Asia, immersing herself in the stories of locals, channeling the spirit of Martha Gellhorn, an iconic journalist, and jotting down thousands of words of stories in hostel rooms. Little did she know, these diaries would become the foundation of her new life, which she skillfully described in her latest book, “Once Around the Sun.”
In this book, which is the first of two, Mudditt shares her transformative journey, stepping away from her ‘ordered’ life, leaving behind family, friends, and a career to embrace her “freedom.”
Mudditt began her journey in Southeast Asia at just 25, humble, lost in life, and unsure about her future. She is now an accomplished journalist with over a decade of experience, “I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to stay and have a boring 9-5 job in Melbourne, so I took off and traveled,” Mudditt said. “Asia called me, and there I went.”
Her experiences in Asia encompassed love, culture, friendship, and risks, illustrating a young adult’s deep dive into the region.
In Laos, one of her first stops, she began her journey with a backpack heavy with uncertainty.
Mudditt’s story resonates with many, evoking memories of their own transformative journeys in Asia. Her account of traveling from Cambodia to Tibet, through Vietnam, China, Laos, and Hong Kong, shares the highs and lows of backpacking.
“Traveling could be totally amazing and intensely uncomfortable – all within the space of a day,” she writes.
In her insightful narrative, Mudditt depicts the dual nature of travel, where moments of solitude intertwine with shared connections, often with fleeting companions whose names may fade from memory over time.
Through her storytelling filled with sensitivity, honesty, and humor, readers are transported to lesser-known landscapes of Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China, such as the then-unique experience of tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos.
“It was in early 2000, not many tourists were there and there certainly was no social media,” Mudditt said. “It was just me with a few other backpackers and nature. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.”
But it was only a few months later, in Pakistan, that clarity found her unexpectedly. Over tea at a military museum, a simple question—”Are you a journalist?”—ignited a spark within. Suddenly, the path ahead seemed clearer, and Jessica dared to believe that, maybe, she could really be a journalist.
“It took someone else saying it for me to believe it,” she said. “But that wasn’t the end of the story. I’d still have to fight imposter syndrome.”
Soon after that backpacking trip, Mudditt decided to take a step in a new professional direction and after two years of hard work, she became an accredited journalist in the United Kingdom in 2009, but Asia never stopped calling for her. From unpaid internships in the UK to an unexpected journey in Bangladesh, Jessica’s path took another surprising turn.
But things weren’t easy for the industry. The media landscape in the UK was facing a severe crisis. The London newspaper scene was bleak, with local papers shutting down. Journalists lost their offices due to unpaid rent and were forced to file stories from park benches in freezing conditions, highlighting the severe lack of resources. Amidst this turmoil, Mudditt found an opportunity in Bangladesh, where what was intended as a short-term gig quickly blossomed into love, marriage, and motherhood. Bangladesh became more than a stopover; it became home.
“Well, I married my translator so things got pretty personal in Bangladesh,” she admitted.
Three years later, Southeast Asia’s flourishing media environment secured her a position at a local newspaper in Myanmar. It felt like the chance of a lifetime.
In stark contrast, Asia’s media environment was booming. In Myanmar, for instance, the media landscape was thriving, with between 20 and 40 newspapers publishing in both Burmese and English. That growth in Myanmar stood in sharp contrast to the decline of print media in the UK, marking a period of media expansion in the region.
During her extensive overland backpacking trip, she missed out on visiting Myanmar. However, while in Bangladesh, from 2009 to 2012, she got in touch with a mutual friend who owned the ‘Myanmar Times.’ She reached out to him and asked to go over there for a trial period. He agreed, and she arrived in Myanmar in July 2012.
She couldn’t miss the chance, she said. After two years at The Myanmar Times, she became the first foreign editor at the state-run newspaper in the lead- up to the historic elections. Mudditt spent a total of seven years reporting in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
“It was in 2015 when Aung San Suu Kyi won by a landslide. We watched the results in the newsroom, we watched the votes being counted and everyone knew it was history unfolding in front of your eyes. That was my life.”
But only a year later, she left Myanmar and returned to Australia.
Even though she separated from her husband after a decade and now lives in Australia, Bangladesh remains a significant part of her life. “My heart still beats for Asia,” she said, reflecting on the lasting connection she feels to the region.
Mudditt is the author of two memoirs and the founder of Hembury Books. Her first book, “Our Home in Myanmar,” was published in 2021 and she is now preparing for the launch of the second part of “Once Around the Sun,” “Kathmandu to the Khyber Pass,” slated for publication in 2025.
