I can’t believe it’s been one year since I embarked on a life of adventure. After leaving my career in Finance, I decided to have some fun and began bartending for a nightclub in Hollywood. The glitz and glamour of the city was new and exciting, but I felt like something was missing.
It was then, June 2011, that I decided to do something “crazy.” I left for a four month travel expedition through Australia, Southeast Asia and New Zealand. The past year has proven to be the most remarkable of my, now 24, years.
Watch my Year in Review Video **Click play and then the gear icon to watch in HD**
So, before I set off on my next adventure, I want to share some travel highlights from the past year!
Australia Highlights:
– Singing “The Horses” by Australian legend Daryl Braithwaite with a bunch of drunk Aussies
– Trying a kangaroo meat pie
– Almost getting left out at sea while snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef
– Crashing a wedding and cuddling a koala in Cairns
– Powering through a 48 hour bender in Sydney
– Falling in love with Bondi Beach and sipping cocktails at Icebergs
– Cheering on the Reds at the Super Rugby Finals
– Riding the world’s tallest free-fall ride at Dreamworld amusement park
– Having a “Goodtime for Goodwill” at a Russian Winter’s night charity dinner party
– Attempting to surf in Gold Coast
– Hiking to the Byron Bay lighthouse
– Walking Melbourne by foot
– Eating my way through Melbourne’s food finds
Destinations: Brisbane, Cairns, Mossman Gorge, Port Douglas, Sydney, Gold Coast, Melbourne
View all photos from Australia >>
Thailand Highlights:
– Getting a pedicure by Doctor Fish in Phuket
– Over-eating hot sauce, coconuts, pad thai and thai iced coffees from local markets
– Snorkeling off the islands of Koh Phi Phi
– Watching the sun set behind Thai longboats
– Getting a glass bottle thrown at me during a monkey attack
– Climbing 1,237 stairs to the top of Tiger Cave Temple
– Cliff jumping from waterfalls in Koh Samui
– Dancing all night until the sun came up at the Full Moon Party
– Having a drink at the Sky Bar in Bangkok
– Shopping at the largest market in Thailand
Destinations: Phuket, Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao, Bangkok
View all photos from Thailand >>
Cambodia Highlights:
– Almost missing my flight to Cambodia
– Exploring the temples of Angkor Wat
– Watching a traditional Apsara dance performance
– Catching a ride in Phnom Penh from a local… down to Kampot… in the pouring rain… with 7 other people… in a 5 passenger car
– Finding a hidden treasure: a French-Cambodian bed and breakfast
– Visiting an arts center for disabled children
– Staying at a Cambodian Eco-Lodge in Kep
– The best meal I’ve EVER had: Kep pepper fried crab with an ice cold Angkor beer
– The scariest thing I’ve EVER done: Giving my passport to a courier to get a Vietnamese visa
Destinations: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kampot, Kep
View all photos from Cambodia >>
Vietnam Highlights:
– Getting my first bowl of steaming hot Phở for $.25 and having a serious Blonde moment
– Eating noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner
– Squid fishing from a Vietnamese junk boat in Halong Bay
– Discovering the Old Quarter in Hanoi
– Taking a night train to the north of Vietnam
– Visiting local Hmong and Red Dzao tribes in Sapa
– Learning to cook traditional spring rolls with a Vietnamese family
– Getting a “power suit” custom tailored in Hoi An
Destinations: Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa, Hoi An
View all photos from Vietnam >>
Bali Highlights:
– Getting stuck in Singapore on my flight to Bali
– Eating fresh & organic balinese food
– Repairing my relationship with monkeys at Monkey Forest in Ubud
– Getting drunk off arak (Balinese moonshine)
– Staying in private bungalows
– Sipping a Bintang beer on the beach
– Learning that kopi luwak is a delicacy… even if it’s coffee made from mongoose poop
– Sitting in silence with hundreds of people during the largest ever meditation in Bali
– Taking a motorbike to Dreamland Beach
– Going on a date I’ll never forget
– Visiting the island temple of Tanah Lot
Destinations: Ubud, Seminyak, Legian, Kuta, Jimbaran Bay, Uluwatu, Dreamland Beach, Tanah Lot
New Zealand Highlights:
– Chasing sheep
– Playing BYC (Backyard Cricket) on Waiheke Island
– Getting after the nightlife in Auckland
– Food & wine tasting at The Cloud exhibition for the Rugby World Cup
– Extreme Activities in Queenstown: Luging, paragliding, eating, jet boating & bungee jumping
– Sky-diving for the first time over Lake Wanaka
– Crushing veggie pies from Ferg Bakery
– Hiking Rangitoto Island
– Succumbing to my sweet tooth at the Matakana Village Farmer’s Market
– Rugby World Cup festivities and celebrating until the sun came up
– Walking from Coast to Coast in Auckland
– Jumping off sand dunes at Lake Wainamu
– Shooting a gun for the first time (Possum hunting. Not Kiwi hunting.)
– Horseback riding over rolling green hills
Destinations: Auckland, Waiheke Island, Queenstown, Lake Wanaka, Rangitoto Island, Matakana Village, Waitakere Range, Piha Beach
View all photos from New Zealand >>
Back in the USA Highlights:
– Two spontaneous trips to New York – Organizing 5 fundraisers to raise over $5,000 for Peruvian Hearts
Peru Highlights:
– Enjoying fresh ceviche and pisco sours in Lima
– Visiting the ruins of Sacsayhuamán and Ollantaytambo
– Trekking for four days along the Inca Trail
– Arriving at the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu just after sunrise
– Taking a shower after trekking for four days along the Inca Trail
– Meeting fellow travel blogger Tourist 2 Townie in Cusco
– Watching fireworks light up the city of Cusco on Christmas Eve
– Presenting our donation and spending Christmas with the orphans at Hogar de Jesus Molina
– Crashing a high school prom
– Forgetting my vaccination card and missing my flight to Costa Rica
Destinations: Lima, Cusco, Sacsayhuamán, The Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo, Vilcabamba, Quillabamba
Costa Rica Highlights:
– Unwinding at a surf hostel in Avellanas
– Waxing off an eyebrow from a surf board to the face (thanks off shore winds)
– Skinny dipping in bioluminescent waves on New Year’s Eve
– Falling in love with Nosara
– Watching a private performance by G. Love (hold the special sauce)
– Getting in a car accident while hitchhiking to Montezuma
– Snorkeling at Isla Tortuga
– Sunset yoga
– Zip lining, jumping off a Tarzan swing and volcano trekking in Monteverde
Destinations: Avellanas, Tamarindo, Nosara, Montezuma, Monteverde
View all photos from Costa Rica >>
Back in the USA Highlights:
– Bartending for Grey Goose at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah – Celebrating a bachelorette party in Palm Springs (not mine of course!) – Taking a road trip to San Francisco – Helping fundraise for Biblioworks, an organization that promotes literacy – Volunteering with The Dream Center Los Angeles
Bolivia Highlights:
– Getting attacked by pigeons in La Paz
– Cycling the World’s Deadliest Road… and surviving
– Volunteering at the Proyecto Horizonte daycare center
– Ending up in a Bolivian hospital
– Suffering the travel transportation travesties of Bolivian buses
– Getting stuck in a road block government protest
– Making bread in the pueblo of Morado K’asa
– Feeling like family in Sucre
– Eating pizza in Tupiza
– Spending four days on a 4×4 exploring the Wild Wild West on an Uyuni Salt Flats Tour
– Discovering how SEXY mother nature can really be
– Exploring volcanic geysers, natural hot springs, lagoons of every color and seeing flamingos in their natural habitat
– Licking the world’s largest salt flat and visiting dead trains
Destinations: La Paz, Cochabamba, Ushpa Ushpa, Sucre, Morado K’asa, Tupiza, the Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa, Uyuni
View all photos from Bolivia >>
Back in the USA Highlights:
– Sinking my teeth into an In-N-Out grilled cheese (animal style) – Having the best weekend ever at the Coachella Music Festival – Hearing the Dalai Lama give a speech on human compassion – Helping raise more money for Biblioworks with a crossfit bootcamp fundraiser – Investigating the Food Truck phenomenon – Taking a girl’s trip to Las Vegas – Seeing Calvin Harris, Sugarland, Foster the People and The Beach Boys
Nice round-up post. I like the sentiments in your first paragraph. It’s been just over a year since I came back from my 9-month trip and have already kicked off another big trip, this one just being three months. I find myself saying that I can’t afford NOT to travel after seeing how that first big trip changed me.
Amen!
Congratulations, a year is such a big milestone. Love the video, what a great way to compile memories.
Thank you! I was surprised how emotional I got making the video… Definitely a huge milestone.