Two Months and Counting

"We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us."

                      ~ Anonymous

It’s hard to believe that in under two months, we’ll be boarding not one, but several flights, embarking on an exciting journey to explore Australia and Asia. Our desire to visit this incredible part of the world has been growing ever since we formed lasting friendships with some remarkable individuals during our 2016 European adventure. 

If you'd like to revisit that experience, feel free to check out our blog: Curt & Laureen - Europe 2016 

I am fascinated how certain connections can feel as though you've known someone for years, even after only a brief meeting. Throughout the European trip, we shared wonderful moments together, whether it was the girls enjoying shopping and café excursions or the guys squeezing in a few rounds of golf. We always knew we’d cross paths with these amazing couples again someday. And in a few short weeks, that will happen.

The "Crew" in Germany

The "Crew" in Amsterdam

"The travel bug is a pest you’ll never want to rid yourself of.”

                            ~ Anonymous

The other thing that helps to spur on these adventures comes as a bit of a surprise to me. The item was originally purchased to remind us of the places that we have been fortunate enough to experience the scenery, the people and the cultures in the past. However, it seems to have had almost the opposite effect. It hangs above the fireplace in our family room and silently proclaims previous escapades through a simple pin with a flag pressed firmly into a cork cutout of our amazing world. Each dot brings back poignant memories of something from that part of the world. 

It could be recalling sipping a peach flavoured bellini while looking out over the grand canal in Venice, Italy on a hot summer day; or relaxing on a powder-white sand beach next to crystal blue water in the Caribbean. It might be walking along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France; or being struck by the stunning view from the Eagles Nest in Austria. It may even be recalling an incredible sunset over the Serengeti, in Tanzania; or driving on the opposite side of the road we are used to in the UK. These experiences somehow become part of who you are.  The famous philosopher Anonymous said, “"You can shake the sand from your shoes, but it will never leave your soul”. And I think we both agree that this is true. It’s the experiences that can never be taken away.

But there is a dark side to this simple piece of wood adorned with cork-shaped continents. One glance at its entirety reveals the shocking reality regarding the size of our giant blue marble and the vast number of places that are yet to be explored. The pile of flag-pins, each calling out to be next, in a near taunting manner. It can be deafening.

The Cartographic Tormentor

What aided us in choosing this next set of destinations was one of those times looking at this cartographic tormentor and deciding that most of the pins were on the left and at the top of the board.  Maybe it was time to populate some on the right and at the bottom. The most obvious place would be that kidney shaped chunk of earth protruding from the Pacific Ocean. Combine that with the desire to re-connect with the couples mentioned earlier, and I think it was the shortest discussion regarding our next destination that we have had thus far. We will be spending time in Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns while in Australia.

But since we are in the neighbourhood, what else might we want to experience? I mean, it’s a long way to travel, so we might as well take advantage of being down-under and see where else we could explore. We first thought about heading towards Polynesia, but the logistics of getting to the places we wanted to spend some time at proved to be a little challenging (although, we still have this area on our travel-list for another time). Next came the idea of some locations in Asia, which seemed far easier to get to. After looking at flights and the area in some depth, we decided on the following locations: Bali, Vietnam, Thailand and Hong Kong. 

The Destinations

I know, I know. If you look at this you are likely asking, “Well, if you are in the area, why don’t you just stop in, say, [insert your Asian destination here]? It’s beautiful there!”. And you would be right.  However, if we did that, we would be travelling for 5 months, rather than for 5 (and a bit) weeks. So, we landed on these places, simply because we had not been to them before, and they were in the vicinity of where we would be to visit Australia and the friends we made. 

Suffice it to say that we are super excited about this voyage. As of writing this, we have our passports out, our prescriptions ready (not much more than we have had for other destinations), and our power converters sitting near the empty suitcases. It’s going to be a wild ride, and we would love to have you join us by following this blog. 

As with other bigger trips we have taken, we have kept a blog.  This is mostly so that when we get home, we can look back at all the fun that we had. It’s surprising how much you forget of the things that you have done, and how quickly that happens.  So, the blog is our way of documenting the adventure so that we can make sense of the pictures we take along the way. Each day, we’ll post some photos and a description of the things we experienced, and we would love to hear from you in the comments, as you follow along.

It almost doesn’t seem real, but like all our crazy adventures, it will be here before we know it. Join us, won’t you. 

Curt & Laureen