I mentioned in my last post that we had some good news. I’m not sure what you guys thought it was — actually, I know what a couple of you thought it was — but it’s travel-related, natch. Friends, we’ve booked our next ticket!
On June 4, we bid farewell and a big mahalo to Hawaii and say hello to…
…where we’ll meet up with one of my great college friends, who’s lived out there for a few years, and then fly directly to Hanoi, Vietnam (!) a week later. From that point onward — how we get to the next location and how long we spend there — will be plan-as-we-go, a method that served us quite well in South America.
The general outline after Vietnam is Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and India — and we’re open to any detours, the way Colombia presented itself to us in South America. At the same time, Asia can be Backpackersville, so we’d love to hear if any of you have any recommendations for little towns, activities, beaches, hostels, restaurants and everything else.
You may remember that we had always planned about continuing to travel to Asia, but as I had mentioned, once we got to Hawaii, without any real deadlines, we realized we could stay in Hawaii semi-permanently if we so desired. Our landlord was even open to a longer stay. And to be honest, there was a point when we were making some moves — which involved developing a business idea that ultimately didn’t pan out — that would call for keeping our bags unpacked a bit longer.
But as time went on — as much as we loved the surf and sand — we missed backpacking, not to mention the fact that going home — Eaman for his Persian New Year and me for my grandmother’s funeral — made us realize that it was way too easy to slip back into our normal lives. It made us feel like the last 6 months had gone by even quicker than we had felt it go by ourselves. We want, nay, we need more!
Ah yes, Asia feels so right at this point in our travels. The food, the people, the nature, the peace. South America was one particular type of adventure, but we’re ready to make the next chapter of this trip about feeding our souls. We’re hoping to try meditation retreats, interact with more locals and volunteer. (Recs for those, too, please!)
And no, it’s not easy to bid farewell to paradise — especially for Eaman who has really connected to island life — but we still have more than a month to take advantage of everything here, so it’s not goodbye yet. We’re on island time anyway.
Image via
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CANNOT WAIT!
“myanmar, or as you may know it, burma.”