After three months in Southeast Asia it's time for us to move on to colder climates and different time zones. When I reflect on the people we were when we first arrived in Bangkok, I'm a bit surprised at how much we've changed in three months.
- No ice please
- I'll have the pad thai with chicken please
- Street food? I don't think so - we'll get sick!
We were so uptight. Now we have ice in our drinks, prefer street food over restaurants, and I hardly ever order pad thai because there are far too many more delicious options. No doubt I was more uptight than Jake to begin with, but we've both improved for the better and have been able to enjoy what this region has to offer more because of it.
We have both been looking forward to spending time with friends and our first stop is four nights with Jose Luis and Paulina in Hong Kong. Jake and Jose Luis met during their MBA program in Boston. From there we fly to Japan where we'll spend six nights on the U.S. Navy base at Yokosuka with my friend from RPI, Justin, before meeting up with Mo and her sister Laura in Kyoto. We were fortunate to have my friend and former roommate Mo also meet us in Italy so this is quite a treat that we get to see her again! In addition to being excited about spending time with good friends and exploring new places, I'm also looking forward to a costume change. I have cold weather clothes that have been lying dormant in my suitcase since our chilly October days in Poland and they are ready to make an appearance. We are going to miss $3 meals and lounging on white sand beaches, but I know that I speak for us both when I say that we are ready to move on from southeast Asia. What I'm not looking forward to is the cuisine in Japan but my fingers are crossed that I'll have a similar transformation to the one I had in Thailand.
This past Sunday marked seven months since we left the United States and we thought it would be fun to put together some trip stats:
- Days on the road: 218
- Countries visited: 15
- Longest stay in one city: 15 nights in Florence, Italy
- Longest stay in one accommodation: 10 nights in Nha Trang, Vietnam and 10 nights in Ko Chang, Thailand
- Flights: 19
- Trains: 26
- Buses: 16
- Ferries: 20
- Unique Accommodations: 67
- Favorite Accommodation: Culgower House, Helmsdale, Scotland (back before we really went low budget!). This was hard to pick because we also really loved our Air B&B apartment in Krakow.
- Favorite Island: Milos, Greece
- Favorite City: Berlin, Germany
- Friends and Family we’ve been able to see while on the road: 11 and looking forward to more!
Two of my favorite photos from Milos, Greece
The transportation stats above represent how we got from point A to point B. For instance, to get from Nha Trang, Vietnam to Phonm Penh, Cambodia, we took one night train to Ho Chi Minh City and then a bus into Cambodia. We didn’t include times spent on subways, intracity buses/trains because we’ve taken far too many trips on those to count. We counted train travel that was more like taking the Amtrak back in the U.S. In addition, we rented a car in Scotland, Norway and twice in Italy. We also rented motorbikes in order to explore the islands of Milos, Cres, Mljet and Ko Chang.
Since Jake met up with Lynn and Rob in Budapest while I explored more of Italy with my Dad, I’ve technically been to one fewer country.
In Europe we mostly had private rooms within hostels or we used Air B&B. In southeast Asia we have found plenty of budget hotels within our price range, but in retrospect we should have splurged at least once and stayed in a five star place because nowhere else in the world could we afford that. Oh well! Maybe in Central or South America?
As for what comes next after Hong Kong and Japan, check out our updated plan, specifically all the new details in Phase 3 - New Zealand and Australia. We also recently added a lot of new photos to our website, most of them are taken by Jake and I'd say his online photography classes are paying off. As for the photos I'm taking, I'm having a lot fun posting them on Instagram (_no_permanent_address_).
~ Jesslyn