My first unorganized trip overseas was back in January of 2013.
It was a 9 week backpacking trip through Southeast Asia, and it changed my whole perception of the word travel. Growing up, backpackers were fictional characters from books and movies (I’m thinking of you Leonardo Dicaprio from “The Beach”).
I used to think 2 week vacations and study abroad programs were the only logical way to see the world. That was how the “real” world worked, and everything else was in the realm of fantasy or fiction.
But, that first trip changed my outlook for the better.
I decided that travel was forever going to be a part of me. It’s now been over 8 years since that first adventure. While I’ve been back to the United States a few times in those years, it has become less frequent each and every visit.
Each time I arrived back home, I kept thinking to myself “when can I leave next?”
It got to the point where I started treating home as just the next travel destination.
This way of thinking turned my life into a great big blob of travel experiences. Which is amazing! It motivated me to start this blog. However, it’s become increasingly more difficult to remember the dates and places of all these adventures.
So I’ve decided to create a basic summary of my travels. Not only as a reminder to myself, but also as a way for you to learn a bit more about my travel history!
I’ll start with that first trip to Southeast Asia and end right now (a few months into the blog).
A BRIEF TIMELINE OF MY TRAVELS
January, 2013
- I Flew into Bangkok for a 9-week trip with a friend and a 38-liter backpack, and no real plan
- Traveled through Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia
April, 2013
- Arrived back to North America and immediately went on a cross country from San Francisco to Chicago with quite a few detours along the way
May, 2013
- Spent the next year back in the Bay Area working and saving money for a longer more open-ended backpacking trip
May, 2014
- Traveled to Australia for a year on a Working Holiday Visa
- Spent the first couple of months in Melbourne working a couple of telemarketer jobs before heading to Sydney to visit family
- Flew to Fiji for a few weeks as winter started to enjoy some warmth and good diving, and experience a little more of Oceania
- Back to Sydney before heading north
- Stopped in Byron Bay and ended up working at a hostel and café for the next 8 months until my visa ran out
May, 2015
- Traveled Vietnam for a month starting in the north and ending in the south
June, 2015
- Headed back to Australia for 3 months
- Most of my time was spent in Byron Bay visiting with friends
September, 2015
- Traveled back to Indonesia
- Spent just over a month between Bali, Lombok, and the Gili Islands
October, 2015
- Back to Australia for another 3 months
- Spent time between Sydney and Byron Bay (if you can’t tell, I enjoy it there!)
January, 2016
- Flew back to the US for 8 months to work and set myself up for a life abroad
- Received my TEFL certificate
September, 2016
- Traveled to Europe for the first time
- The majority of my time was spent between Germany and France
- Had brief stops in Denmark, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic
- Went on a road trip from France to Spain as well
November, 2016
- Flew back to the US for family reasons
- The next 7 months were spent mostly in California, besides a trip to the Pacific Northwest and Canada
July, 2017
- Traveled back to Europe for the next 4 months
- A friend and I went on a trip that started in Germany and went through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania
- Traveled to France, Italy, and England on my own
October, 2017
- Flew from Europe back to SE Asia
- For the next 8 months I traveled between Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Malaysia
- Volunteered at hostels in both Kuala Lumpur and Penang
May, 2018
- Flew from Kuala Lumpur back to Europe
- Spent a few weeks between France, Belgium, Germany, and Austria before heading to the Balkans
- Traveled between Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia
- Volunteered at hostels in both Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia
December, 2018
- Went to Munich for the Christmas markets
- Flew to Australia to visit family for the holidays
January, 2019
- Flew to New Zealand to start my Working Holiday Visa
- Worked and traveled between the North and South Islands for the next year
- Spent about 5 months working at a hostel in Te Anau and traveling the South Island
- Did various jobs in the agriculture industry over 7 months in Hawke’s Bay to extend my visa
December, 2019
- Flew back to Australia for the holidays again
January, 2020
- Again back to New Zealand to work and travel for the next 8 months
- Road tripped from the North Island to the South Island
- Worked at a factory in Motueka for about 3 months
- Spent about 4 months in Nelson during the lockdown (this is when I started working on the Blog!)
- Spent my last month traveling around the Northland
August, 2020
- Flew back to the US
- Put the Blog online
March, 2021
- Flew to Albania to meet up with my partner
- We spent 5 months traveling between Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia
July, 2021
- Flew to the Czech Republic at the end of the summer
- Spent 3 months visiting towns and cities in Bohemia and Moravia
October, 2021
- Flew to Georgia for a visa run and some more exploration
- Started on the Black and slowly traveled for the next 3 months
December, 2021
- Headed back to the Czech Republic for the holidays
January, 2022
- Started the year off by traveling to Egypt for the month (history and scuba!)
February, 2022
- Headed back to the Czech Republic to wait out the winter
April, 2022
- Went to the USA to visit family and get ready for a working holiday visa in Canada
- Roadtripped around California and visited Washington
July, 2022
- Went to Canada on a working holiday visa
- Spent time working in Whistler
October, 2022
- Flew to Europe for a quick trip
- Visited Spain, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Ireland
- Flew back to Canada to finish my 1-year visa
- Worked and skied in Whistler
May, 2023
- Back to the US
- Made trips to California, Hawaii, and Florida
July, 2023
- Went down to Mexico and Guatemala
- Spent 2 months traveling Puebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Yucatan
- Lots of temples and volcano hikes!
September, 2023
- Flew from Guatemala to Peru
- Traveled around South America for almost 4 months
- Visited Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia
December, 2023
- Flew back to Europe for the holidays
- Spent time between the Czech Republic and Austria
January, 2024
- Flew to Turkey
- Spent around 3 months exploring the country
Currently
- Working on new ways to improve the Sandal Tan Man website
- Planning a few new adventures, hopefully somewhere sunny!
Well, that’s about all – for now at least! Maybe in the future, I’ll update this or make a part two.
As you can see there was a lot of zigzagging around the globe and brief spells of working/volunteering. I rarely go anywhere with much of a plan, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
In the end, I just hope that this article – along with some of my other posts – can give you some idea of my travel background.
I’m pretty happy that I forced myself to sketch this basic timeline out. It got me thinking about all my previous travels and motivated me to add more to the list.
If you ever get the chance (or are feeling a little nostalgic), I suggest writing out your travel timeline…at the very least it will get you excited about your next trip!
