First of all, thank you to everyone for all of your well wishes and support. This is a huge and intimidating transition for Tanner and I but we can’t wait to experience it.
I will be using this blog as a way to track my experiences, thoughts, and photos while traveling to and throughout Southeast Asia. I cannot promise I will keep it up or even have internet while I am away. I promise to do my best though.
For some background information to those newcomers:
I am 28 and just dropped everything - left my job and moved out of our apartment in California - to backpack in Southeast Asia for 3 months with my husband, Tanner.
Our plan? Well, it's quite simple. Volunteer and work on an island and travel through Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines. A loose itinerary we put together will guide us through our travels. We may stick to it or we may change course. Who knows. Wherever the wind takes us we will go, I suppose.
For those of you who are interested in how we planned for our trip or how you can plan one yourself, I've included some links below with more information and some additional resources. If you are interested in our journey, please do it! You can do it if you commit to it and really want it. Feel free to email me with any questions. I would love to help!
Here is where we applied for our visa (only necessary in Cambodia):
http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/
The organization we're volunteering with:
http://www.marineconservationcambodia.org
The insurance company we signed up with (to also cover our extreme adventures):
http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/
And some other resources we used to plan our trip:
http://www.kayak.com to find cheap flights.
http://www.tripadvisor.com and
http://www.hostelworld.com to scope out or accommodation options.
http://www.couchsurfing.org to find people to stay with while abroad.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/ and
http://www.virtualtourist.com to seek travel advice.
http://www.budgetyourtrip.com to calculate our budget.
http://www.onebag.com for packing checklists.
We used Lonely Planet guides for travel information and purchased most of our gear at REI and Amazon.com.
Know that this was not a whim or a quick endeavor. We have been slowly paying off debt, saving and planning for this for almost a year. It was challenging at times but it is real now. We did it!
Our flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia departs in 2 hours. I'll write again when we arrive on the other side of the world.
I will be using this blog as a way to track my experiences, thoughts, and photos while traveling to and throughout Southeast Asia. I cannot promise I will keep it up or even have internet while I am away. I promise to do my best though.
For some background information to those newcomers:
I am 28 and just dropped everything - left my job and moved out of our apartment in California - to backpack in Southeast Asia for 3 months with my husband, Tanner.
Our plan? Well, it's quite simple. Volunteer and work on an island and travel through Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines. A loose itinerary we put together will guide us through our travels. We may stick to it or we may change course. Who knows. Wherever the wind takes us we will go, I suppose.
For those of you who are interested in how we planned for our trip or how you can plan one yourself, I've included some links below with more information and some additional resources. If you are interested in our journey, please do it! You can do it if you commit to it and really want it. Feel free to email me with any questions. I would love to help!
Here is where we applied for our visa (only necessary in Cambodia):
http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/
The organization we're volunteering with:
http://www.marineconservationcambodia.org
The insurance company we signed up with (to also cover our extreme adventures):
http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/
And some other resources we used to plan our trip:
http://www.kayak.com to find cheap flights.
http://www.tripadvisor.com and
http://www.hostelworld.com to scope out or accommodation options.
http://www.couchsurfing.org to find people to stay with while abroad.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/ and
http://www.virtualtourist.com to seek travel advice.
http://www.budgetyourtrip.com to calculate our budget.
http://www.onebag.com for packing checklists.
We used Lonely Planet guides for travel information and purchased most of our gear at REI and Amazon.com.
Know that this was not a whim or a quick endeavor. We have been slowly paying off debt, saving and planning for this for almost a year. It was challenging at times but it is real now. We did it!
Our flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia departs in 2 hours. I'll write again when we arrive on the other side of the world.
