Europe (January – Febuary 2014)
We started off in late January 2014 by taking the Eurostar to Paris for a romantic start to our adventure. We spent 3 nights in the city of love before heading to Frankfurt.
From Frankfurt we took a train to Weisbaden and spent a day there and a day in Koblenz visiting Katy’s family. After a brief night in Frankfurt we took a train to Berlin, where we spent three days exploring one of the coolest cities in Europe. Read about it here and here.
We were soon on the move again, this time to Poland. First stop was Poznan, and then we headed to Warsaw, we stayed 3 nights in each city.
Russia (Feburary 2014)
After an overnight train from Warsaw, we arrived in Moscow for a short stop in the capital, before 3 days in beautiful Saint Petersburg. We then headed back to Moscow to start our Trans Siberian trip across Russia. Our first stop was in Yekaterinburg, and our second was Irkutsk. All in all we were in Russia for 2 weeks.
We then headed into Mongolia for a brief stop in Ulaanbaatar, before leaving for Beijing and our first experience of China.
China (Feburary – March 2014)
Arriving in Beijing, we had a much needed relaxing 5 night stay, and then headed onto Xi’anwhere we battled the terracotta warriors to end up in the bright lights of Shanghai.
We then took our first flight to the high rise city of Hong Kong.
Vietnam (March – April 2014)
We flew to Saigon, saw family and travelled onwards to the island of Phu Quoc for a few nights of fun, before heading back to the mainland and taking our first bus to Dalat in the mountains then onto the small fishing village of Bai Xep near Quy Nhon. We travelled on our first Vietnamese train to Danang to get to the beautiful town of Hoi An, then another train to Hue. After a few days we took another one to Ninh Binh before reaching Hanoi. In between a few days of chilling in Hanoi, we checked out Halong Bay.
Philippines (April – May 2014)
We flew from Hanoi to Manila, spending a few days in the usually crazy, but at the time very quiet (due to Easter) capital. We then headed down to Cebu City to ride out Holy Week before ferrying over to Bohol and chilling on Panglao Island, taking some trips to see the Chocolate Hills and the Tarsier Sancturary. After Bohol we sailed over to Siquijor, the incredible paradise island of the Visayas, for some serious relaxation. We then went overland via Dumaguete and Bacolod to where else? Boracay, the beach hotspot of the Philippines, which well lived up to expectations. We flew back to Manila for a few days before jetting off to Thailand.
Thailand (May-June 2014)
We stayed for a few days in the capital before flying to Krabi, staying in the town for a night and then heading to Railay. Then we sailed over to Ko Phi Phi, one of Greg’s favourite islands from his travels 5 long years ago, before taking 2 boats and 2 taxis to the stunning island of Ko Yao Noi.
Cambodia (June 2014)
We crossed into Cambodia from Thailand overland, which was long but scam free and went to Siem Reap for 3 nights. After seeing the famous Angkor temples we moved to Battambang for 3 nights and did a lot of sightseeing.
Laos (June – July 2014)
We crossed into Laos from Cambodia and settled down in Don Dhet, one of the 4000 Islands for just under a week. We then made our way up the country to Savannakhet, then to the capital Vientiene. We skipped Vang Vieng and went straight up to Luang Prabang, visiting Nong Khiaw for a few days in between.
We finished off our Laos trip by taking the slow boat to the border, stopping at Pak Beng and Huay Xai, before taking a minivan to Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai, Thailand (July – August 2014)
We went back to Thailand for the second time, this time to stay in Chiang Mai for 5 weeks, rent an apartment and give ourselves a rest from travelling. Katy volunteered at Care For Dogs while we were there.
Burma (August – September 2014)
We had 2 weeks in Burma, which we started off with 3 nights in Yangon which got us used to this fascinating country, before taking a night bus up to Bagan. After another 3 nights we went to Mandalay, which we didn’t love, and left for Inle Lake, which we did love and stayed for 4 nights before heading back to Yangon for our flight out.
Malaysia/Singapore (September 2014)
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur for a few days, then took the train to the beautiful colonial town of Ipoh. While there we took a day trip out to the Cameron Highlands.
We next headed to Penang which we adored and then took a ferry to Langkawi. Next we had an arduous journey to get across the mainland to Perhentian Kecil, which was stunning and our definition of paradise. We spent 3 days in the rainforest of Taman Negara, before heading back to KL to see off Katy’s brother who joined us for 3 weeks.
Our time in the country finished in Melaka, which we loved, before we went to Singapore for 3 days.
Indonesia (October 2014)
We arrived in hectic Jakarta and met up with some friends from home who had come out to see us. From there we all travelled together to Yogyakarta, then on to Bali where we quickly made our way to Gili Air.
Back to Bali, we spent a few days in Ubud before finishing off the time with our friends in Seminyak. Me and Katy liked Ubud so much we went straight back for 5 nights, before heading to the southern coastal town of Sanur, and finished off with a few nights in Kuta, which wasn’t as bad as we expected.
Taiwan (November 2014)
We spent 2 weeks in Taiwan which was nowhere near enough. We started in Taipei for 5 days where we ate tons of street food and celebrated Katy’s birthday, then got atrain down to Hualien. We used this as a base to visit the incredible Toroko Gorge and scenice Highway 11.
Our last stop was Taitung which was nice but not amazing, before we got the train back to Taipei for our flight to…
Japan (November – December 2014)
We were originally supposed to visit New Zealand in December but decided on Japan instead due to cost and the fact we just fancied it more.
Over 3 weeks we spent 6 days in Tokyo, and got a 2 week rail pass which took us to Matsumoto, Osaka (where we visited Kyoto and Nara for a day each), Fukui, Kanazawa, Hiroshima and Onomichi.
We saw so much, ate everything and fell in love with this amazing country.
USA (December 2014)
We flew into LA in early December, and spent a day at universal as well as seeing lots of the City Of Angels. Then we got a bus up to San Francisco for a few days, and then began our road trip. We drove to Sacramanto, Yosemite National Park, and the Grand Canyon, before heading to Las Vegas for a few days where we failed to win our fortune.
Before Christmas we flew to Billings, Montana, where we stayed with Katy’s dad, wife and family for nearly 2 weeks, which was slightly more than planned due to our flight to Mexico being cancelled. Best news of all – we had a white Christmas!
Mexico (January 2015)
Our Mexican adventure was delayed due to bad weather so our planned NYE party in Mexico City didn’t happen. However we did eventually make it, loving the crazy capital before moving north to beautiful Guanajuato, then back south to Oaxaca where we ate like crazy. We then flew to the Yucatan where I spent on birthday on Cozumel island, we then went to the state capital of Merida for a week before finishing in Tulum, where we enjoyed ruins and incredible beaches.
Belize (February 2015)
We loved Belize but the stories are true – it is expensive. For this reason, we only spent 10 days here – a week in Caye Caulker, where we enjoyed great food and laid back Caribbean vibes, and then headed to San Ignacio for 3 nights before crossing the border to Guatemala.
Guatemala (February 2015)
A hectic 3 weeks of uncomfortable yet rewarding travel started with a few nights in Rio Dulce, before chilling in colonial Antigua for a few days. After meeting a friend from home, we headed to Lake Atitlan, then north to Flores and the impressive Mayan ruins of Tikal. Finally we visited the amazing turquoise pools of Semuc Champney.
El Salvador (March 2015)
We didn’t spend long in El Salvador, we first hit Santa Ana, then relaxed by the beach for a bit in El Cuco.
Nicaragua (March 2015)
After going right across Honduras we arrived in Nicaragua at the small town of Somoto, to see the slightly underwhelming canyon. We then travelled to Leon, a city we loved, and did some volcano boarding! We spent just a night in Granada, then headed to Isla de Ometepe before finishing with some beach time in San Juan Del Sur.
Costa Rica & Panama (March 2015)
We needed to get to Panama for our flight to Colombia, so by necessity stopped in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose as well as Panama City. I wouldn’t say we did these countries justice in a few days but we enjoyed it.
Colombia (March 2015)
We flew into Medellin, before moving onto Guatepe, Salento, Popayan and Ipiales in a hectic week and a half of travel in this amazing country. Sad we didn’t have more time but everything we saw was fantastic.
Ecuador (April 2015)
We hunkered down in Quito for Easter Weekend to enjoy the parades and to see the equator, before chilling in Cuenca for a bit. Sadly we didn’t have the budget for the Galapagos.
Peru (April/May 2015)
After what seemed like a lifetime of bus journeys we arrived in dusty northen Peru to volunteer at a small animal shelter for 2 weeks, which was easily one of our best travel experiances. When we reluctantly left, we headed south to Trujillo, Lima and then to Cusco. From there we of course saw majestic Machu Picchu, before finishing off at the border at the world’s highest lake in Puno.
Bolivia (May 2015)
We started a whirlwind last few weeks by visiting Isla Del Sol on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca, before hitting the capital – La Paz. After weeks in 3000m+ altitude, we were happy to fly down to practically 0m and 100% humidity for an incredible Bolivian Pampas tour, before heading back to La Paz, then onto Uyuni to see the salt flats…a simply incredible experience. Our last two stops were Sucre and Santa Cruz, the latter being a very low key way to end the trip of a lifetime.
England (25 May 2015)
We touched down at Gatwick on 25th May 2015, very sad and poor but extremely happy to see family and friends after so long!