After years of searching for the perfect partner, I found him on the other side of the world while living in London.

We were compatible in almost every way except when it came to travelling. This we discovered six months into our relationship when I got an invitation to attend my cousin's wedding in Bali.

He jumped at the opportunity to travel with me, he'd already told me at length how Bali was his favourite place in the world.

Watch: Health kit essentials from a travel expert (with IBS!). Post continues below.

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I remember watching his eyes light up as he talked about riding a bike barefoot around Gili Trawangan, an island just off the coast of Lombok.

I didn't tell him that I had a sneaking suspicion I would absolutely hate Bali and that I had never travelled there because of the humidity, the heat and its general likeness to the small coastal town I grew up in.

And yet I boarded that plane thinking that the perfect man could change my perspective.

Paige and her partner in-flight going to Bali. Image: Supplied.

It took two days for me to shit all over my boyfriend's idea of the perfect holiday.

Turns out that humidity and heat were the least of my worries. 

While he was in his element eating local cuisine from street vendors, I was seeking out "healthy" options from modern cafes. In doing so, I gave myself diarrhea for 13 days straight.

By the time we made it to the island, Gili Trawangan, I was holding on by a thread, only just getting by with courtesy flushes and timing my bathroom trips with the kettle boiling.

All hope faded when I saw the villa he booked. The toilet and shower were outside!

Villa in Bali with outside shower and toilet. Image: Supplied

While he spent time on the island completing a stress and rescue scuba dive course, I lay under the fan, reading a book.

One day I took myself on an adventure around the island to find a green smoothie and I remember unknowingly watching the woman put the ice into her battered old machine. For the next four days, I became one with the outdoor toilet.

I thought for sure my new boyfriend was going to break up with me for some carefree backpacker he'd met on the diving course. Someone who's travel style matched his.

Paige sitting by a pool at a villa in Bali holding medication for diarrhea. Image: Supplied

He craved adventure and I travelled for comfort and relaxation.

The truth was when it came to travel we were not a match.

Paige in Gili Trawangan, an island just off the coast of Lombok. Image: Supplied

By some stroke of a miracle, he didn't break up with me. Instead, he hand fed me Oreos, travelling far and wide across the island to source my Western comfort foods.

I got very lucky!

You can tick every compatibility box. However, I think it's true what people say — you don't really know someone until you travel with them.

I thought there was still a chance that he might give me the flick when we got back to London, but he never did.

In fact, in April we are going to be celebrating nine years together with a trip to Japan.

Paige and her partner. Image: Supplied.

Our travel styles haven't changed, if anything we're getting more set in our holiday ways.

He wants to stay in traditional Japanese ryokans and eat with our legs crossed on tatami-mat floors, and I'm most excited about shopping and sampling foods from the 7-Eleven.

Sure, it takes a lot longer to agree on an itinerary, but not all is lost if your travel styles don't match. 

In fact, we have learnt a lot from each other.

Image: Supplied.

My partner pushes me out of my comfort zone and encourages me to try new things and I take care of all the planning and accommodation.

Thanks to me come April, he'll be washing his bottom with a state of the art Japanese toilet with sound-masking technology. Win, win!

Listen to The Quicky unpack how safe it is to go overseas this year.

Feature Image: Supplied.