We are happy to say that today marks our 365th day of travel since we boarded an Asiana flight headed towards Thailand and the unknown! Since our arrival in Phuket one year ago, we have made life long friends, made everlasting memories, tried things we never thought we would and never regretted a second of it. We had no idea what to expect when we stepped foot on that airplane and the last 12 months have been nothing we could have planned. There is an amazing feeling of freedom and terror when you sell all your belongings, move out of your house and leave all you know behind in hopes that the unknown provides the adventure and satisfaction that you are craving.
While we had absolutely no idea what we were getting into (and no idea where we were going to live!) we faced every challenge with a smile on our faces (most of the time…) and took every opportunity we had to try something new, do something that scared us or take one step further out of our comfort zone and into the unknown.
Below are some of the highlights of the last 365 days of travel, from the good to the bad, the hysterical to the mysterious. We have loved sharing our journey with you all this last year and so thrilled to be able to see so many of our friends along the road the last few months as well as make so many more life long friends during our travels.
1 – Landing in Phuket with no idea where we were going to live
2 – Playing with tigers, elephants and monkeys all across Thailand
3 – Jeff getting dengue fever on his birthday and laughing the whole way through it!
4 – Visiting Kuala Lumpur and the Patronas Towers with Jeff’s sister
5 – Filming a documentary about Malaria on the border between Thailand and Burma
6 – Meeting an amazing group of expats from all over the world in Phuket (we can’t wait to get back!)
7 – Visiting our friends in Ireland and being shown the best of the Emerald Isle with true friends.
8 – Snorkeling in Phi Phi with our friends and seeing some of the most colorful sea life imaginable.
9 – Taking a thai cooking class and learning how to make some of our favorite dishes.
10 – Falling in love with Paris!
11 – Taking our first cruise through Italy, Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
12 – Sledding in the Alps of Austria with childhood friends
13 – Visiting Jeff’s sister Julia in Boston and visiting the Sam Adam’s Brewery
14 – Being able to see friends and family in California for the holidays
15 – Visiting Finland for the first time and discovering it to be one of our favorite countries!
16 - Driving our motorbike in the pouring rain through Phuket.
17 – Watching Marina experience her first snowfall in the Arctic Circle
18 – Experiencing the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, the craziest on Earth!
19 – Finally experiencing Carnevale in Venice, Italy
20 – Visiting 18 countries on 5 continents (Australia we are coming for you!)Driving our motorbike in the pouring rain through Phuket.
21 – Jeff waking up at 3am every Monday morning to watch the Redskins lose.
22 – Driving our trusty motorbike all across Phuket and only pay $3 to fill it up
23 – Riding snowmobiles to the Russian border on a frozen lake and eating snow to stay hydrated
24 – Eating the creepy, crawly fried insects
25 – Taking pictures every day and documenting our wild adventures
26 – Being able to experience the world together as best friends and truly live the life we dreamed about back in California
I do not believe in luck, I think people create their own paths and therefor make happen what they wish, but I will say that we are very happy and blessed to be able to chase our dreams and see the world together the way we dreamed of, but in no way how we planned. I never would have believed 365 days ago that I would be writing this post while sitting in a hotel room in downtown Helsinki, but I could not be happier at how our path has unfolded. We have remained happy, maintained our love for adventure and reinforced our strong belief in the amazing benefits of world travel and leaving your shell, comfort zone and familiar surroundings. We cannot remember life before we jumped on the road and what it was like without the amazing friendships we have made and maintained.
Travel has given us so much and we absolutely love sharing all of our mishaps, victories, funny stories and wild experiences with you all. So heres to another 365 days and the unknown adventures it will bring us, we only hope you will join us and we will cross paths somewhere along the road.
Cheers and travel like you mean it!
Jeff & Marina
