A New Adventure

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  ~ Mark Twain

 

About four years ago, Stacey and I traded our relatively secure and stable lives in the U.S. for something more challenging -- moving to New Zealand.  We've enjoyed the opportunity to explore much of the country, and also done a couple of short excursions to Australia.  But while we're in this part of the world, we thought that it might be fun to travel in places that are (by our standards) a bit more adventurous. We decided on a tour of Southeast Asia. Although these countries certainly sound exotic to many Westerners, the truth is that much of the region is quite geared to tourism these days and we'll hardly earn any "intrepid traveler" titles.  Indeed, as the tourism infrastructure grows, it will become more expensive -- yet another reason to go now, while we can. Tourism in SE Asia is set to be one of the fastest-growing in the world in the next twenty years.

 

That timing is right for us on a personal level. Both of our work contracts have ended (in other words, we're unemployed) and there may never be a better time to do an extended trip of this sort.  Ironically, it's cheaper for us to travel in Asia than it is to live day-to-day in New Zealand or the United States. This is going to be budget travel, backpack style.  We're targeting $20-30 a day average, which supposedly is average but sounds incredibly cheap to my ears.  

 

Even with the modern amenities, there's sure to be plenty of culture shock and amusing stories...which is one of the reasons we created this blog.  And to help family keep tabs on our whereabouts. We aren't sure how often we'll be able to update it, but hopefully it will be often enough to provide a good overview of the experience.

Our itinerary is still taking shape, but here's the plans so far...

 

We leave on August 25, heading to Sydney, Australia for a week, and then flying on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  We haven't worked out any other itinerary items beyond that, yet, but most likely we'll then head to Hanoi, Vietnam.  Indeed, Vietnam is where we will spend the majority of our time as we intend to explore the country from North to South, with jaunts over into Cambodia (to see such places as Angkor Wat) and Laos.  On our way out, we hope to have the time (and money) remaining to see Thailand.  

 

We'll post more soon.  Until then, here's a link to Luke Nguyen's TV show website - one of the many sources of inspiration that's been fueling our desire to take this trip!

~W & S