It’s been over a year since Charlie and I returned from our trip around the world. In May, we did a quick extended weekend in Moab, Utah to spend time in Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park. For the first time since we returned, I had an urge to take some photos of our adventures and post them to the blog!
Read MoreAfter two really increadible days of diving in French Polynesia our cruise continued east. We visited two more islands, Nuku Hiva and Pitcairn Island, however we didn't go ashore. In total we spent eight days sailing from Fakarava to Easter Island. It was pretty crazy looking at where we were on a map, with no land in any direction for about a thousand miles.
Read MoreAfter a quick day in Rangiroa, we headed north to another atoll called Fakarava. There isn't much to see on land here, as its just a narrow ring of sand and palm trees surrounding a huge lagoon, but the diving was incredible. We booked two dives and everything we read said that the diving here would be very similar to the diving in Rangiroa. Other than the unbelievably clear, 80 degree water, we found it to be a completely different experience.
Read MoreAfter visiting our friends in Hawaii, we flew south to Tahiti to board a cruise that would end our final three weeks of our year of travel. The cruise crossed the South Pacific Ocean, starting in Tahiti and ending in Valparaiso, Chile.
Read MoreAfter a very full 30 days in Vietnam, Samantha and I were very much looking forward to our next stop. Our friends Greg and Kathy live in Honolulu and we felt like a visit with some friends was in order. We planned to spend two weeks in total in Hawaii, and split that time evenly between one week on Kauai followed by a week with them on Oahu.
Read MoreAfter exploring the center of Vietnam at Hoi An and Hue, we flew south to Can Tho, a city on the Mekong Delta. The delta is filled with canals, rivers, swamps and rice paddies. There isn't all that much to do there, but we booked several extra days to relax after a busy travel schedule. One of the highlights of Can Tho is the floating markets.
Read MoreAfter spending about 10 days up in the North part of Vietnam, we flew south to Da Nang in central Vietnam. In the north we were wearing our biggest jackets and many layers, it was probably 55-60 degrees, but we'd gotten so acclimated to 80-90 that we couldn't stay warm. Just an hour and a half flight south meant back to tropical temperatures and loads of humidity. We had heard only good things about Hoi An from all the tourists we met, and were really excited to spend the lunar new year there.
Read MoreWe arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam after a couple of flights from Bali, steeling ourselves for more crazy Southeast Asian traffic and bustle. And while it was definitely busy, it wasn't nearly as hectic as some of the other Asian cities we've visited. Sure, the roads were filled with a high number of cars, motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians, but at least there weren't many cows.
Read MoreWe left Cairns heading north to Indonesia for a two weeks on a tiny little island called Gili Meno. We were looking for a little beach time after what was a fairly fast paced month and half beginning in New Zealand, and Gili Meno proved to be exactly what we needed.
Read MoreDiving the Great Barrier Reef has always been on my bucket list. Charles and I booked a liveaboard dive trip, which basically means you live on the boat and dive as often as possible. From Kangaroo Island we took a ferry and a couple of flights to get up to Cairns, where our boat would embark from.
Read MoreAfter about a week in Sydney, Sam and I headed south to Kangaroo Island by way of Adelaide, in Southern Australia. We both knew we really wanted to spend some time in the outback but hadn't really counted on exactly how hot the Australian outback gets in the summer time. Kangaroo Island was the perfect solution because it is home to all of the wildlife that we wanted to see and was a pleasant 70-80 degrees each day.
Read MoreAfter our adventures in the camper van, Sam and I flew from Auckland to Sydney, Australia. We were excited about moving from our tiny little shared van to a bit more spacious AirBnb in a proper city. I was really excited about our time here, as everyone I know that has visited Sydney has raved about it, and I was also jonesing for a bit of urban exploring after a few weeks in New Zealand.
Read MoreWe took a ferry from Picton on the South Island of New Zealand across the Cook Strait to Wellington on the North Island. The seas were really rough that day, and unfortunately I had the worst seasickness of my life! When we got to Wellington all I wanted to do was sleep and do laundry. Chuck, Justin and Tania went out and met some locals and had a few beers. We didn't get to explore Wellington too much, but there's only so much you can do in a limited timeframe!
Read MoreAfter our weekend in Kaikoura, we had a few days to relax and take in Christchurch. Both Sam and I really loved the city, though it is a bit small and definitely a bit sleepy. Everyone we spoke to told us that before the big earthquake several years ago the city was a bit more bustling, and you could definitely see how that would be true. Though they have come a long way in rebuilding, the signs of the damage are all around in the central business district (where we were staying).
Read MoreAfter lots of time away from family in unfamiliar cultures, we were very excited to travel to New Zealand to visit my brother and sister-in-law, Justin and Tania Peterson, for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. After a few very long flights, arriving in Christchurch, New Zealand felt a little like coming home with clear-cut rules, clean restrooms, and native English-speakers everywhere. Our first weekend in New Zealand the four of us traveled north from Christchurch to Kaikoura, a tiny beach town on the South island with a lot of tourist activities.
Read MoreChuck and I were really excited to visit Angkor Wat, the famous temple complex in Cambodia which is the largest religious monument in the entire world. I expected it to be a lot like Bagan with thousands of temples spread across a plain divided only by low brush and tall grasses. Instead, I was surprised to find that there are a lot fewer temples, which are individually quite large. Each one was very unique, and since the climate is wetter, many temples have massive moats around them. The jungle is slowly taking over many of the temples, and you see huge trees growing from the walls.
Read MoreThe main place to visit in Phnom Penh is the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields, which is actually a collection of sites where about 2 million out of the total population of about 8 million people were killed in the 1970s by the Khmer Rouge regime. In order to save ammunition, the Khmer Rouge executed this genocide by using all manner of horrific tools to try to kill as many people as quickly as possible. That included children, whose heads were bashed against the trunks of trees before they were tossed in mass graves next to their parents.
Read MoreAfter our few days in Yangon, Samantha and I took an overnight bus north to Bagan. The bus ride took about 9 hours, and we started at 8pm. We sprang for the VIP class for a whopping $4 extra, and it was definitely worth it. While not luxurious by any means, the bus had only three seats per row, two on one side and one on the other. The seats were like first class airline seats, though much less legroom.
Read MoreWe visited Yangon mainly to visit Shwedagon Pagoda, the largest and most beautiful Buddhist pagoda in Yangon. Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon) is the largest city in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and is also the capital. Travel websites frequently mention Yangon's colonial architecture as a major reason to visit, and while Yangon certainly had its charms--mainly the friendly people and delicious food--I'm not sure the architecture is anything to write home about.
Read MoreWe had heard about some cool places in Northern Thailand to check out from some people we met along our way. We knew for sure we wanted to go to Pai, about 3 hours north west of Chiang Mai, and also Chiang Rai, about 3 hours north east. After doing some checking, it seemed like the best way to visit both would be to rent a car, which we did on our last day in Chiang Mai. We had been warned by literally everyone we spoke to that had been that the road to Pai is a little bit crazy, which was one of the main reasons we decided not to rent mopeds and opted for the car. It was a good thing we did.
Read MoreSamantha and Charles Parsons went a little overboard when planning their honeymoon. Instead of a few short weeks of travel, they opted for a year-long adventure around the world! Follow along as they leave their home in Denver, Colorado in the United States to travel the globe.
Just click on the logo of the store you want to shop at, and every purchase you make at that retailer will get the Parsons team around 4% - 8% of the cost of your order!
It costs you nothing!
Charles & Samantha Parsons
parsonsworldonline@gmail.com
