30 Countries by 30

Our 2017 world tour!

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Trip Stats

Some fun statistics from the trip!

🎢 We averaged a theme park every 25 days! 

✈  We traveled 60,795 km’s, which is nearly the equivalent of circling the world twice: https://www.travellerspoint.com/planner_print.cfm?tripid=1013052 

🌎 Visited 30 different countries on 4 of the 6 continents. 

🗽 We saw 1 of the 7 classic wonders of the world. 2 of the new 7 wonders of the world. 3 of the 7 engineering wonders of the world and 2 of the 7 natural wonders of the world.

🍔 Ate McDonald’s in 23 different countries.

🛌 Slept in 142 different hotels, motels, hostels or Airbnb’s.

🚇 Caught 72 trains, not including subway lines.

💼 Crossed 23 borders, only lost one bottle of sunscreen and a couple of bullet shells. 

💻 Connected to over a million Wi-Fi networks!

🚍 Slept the night on 3 buses and 2 sleeper trains.

📷 Took over 4000 photos.

📖 Read more than 20 books between us.

🤠 Been asked ‘where you from’ a million times!

Had one unbelievable adventure together!

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Getting in as many last minute touristy photos as we can! Second time in Singapore and have really enjoyed both visits, the place is so clean and the architecture, pristine. The mainland of Singapore only measures 50km from east to west and today we walked a little over 15km of it, almost a third of the country! Not bad. 

Can’t help but to continually be impressed with the Marina Bay Sands and the Gardens by the Bay. Would have loved to have spent a night there just to see the view from the infinity pool. Oh well, maybe when I’m Prime Minister one day. 

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Ho Chi Minh City

The king of the Saigon skyline, the Bitexco Financial Tower. Love the helipad design.

This has to be up there in the ranking for the world’s hardest jobs. The Uber Scooter! 

“I know the Notre-Dame of Saigon is around here somewhere..”

Ho Chi Minh City, looking fly.

At the Chu Chi tunnels to learn first hand what the underground life of Vietnamese soldiers was like back during the war. The site had over 120km of underground tunnels, with trapdoors, living areas, kitchens, storage facilities, hospitals, command centres and an armoury built below ground.

No chance I would have survived here..barely made it back out alive without a war raging on!

An aforementioned trapdoor booby trap which the Viet Cong camouflaged in order to maim unsuspecting US troops.

Could hear the Rolling Stones ‘Gimme Shelter’ playing in my head as I looked upon these devastating bad boys.

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A few days out by the coast of the South China Sea in Vung Tau. Spent our first two nights in what we now know as a holiday resort for the locals, and while no one spoke a word of English, we did have access to our own private beach with virtually no one around. Winning.

Plenty of churches out this way, with Vung Tau having its own ‘Christ the Redeemer’ statue creating beautiful scenes while you’re swimming at the beach, with the giant statue stretching his arms over Mount Nho and gazing into the distance ocean.

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Known as the ‘rice bowl’ of Vietnam and home to swamps, snakes, floating markets, coconut candy ‘factories’ and a giant big belly Buddha, I present, a day on the Mekong Delta! 

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Da Nang, Hoi An & Mỹ Son

If I had one word to sum up the last couple of days in central Vietnam it would be ‘wet’. Just a few weeks ago Hoi An, where we are currently residing, was hit with days of heavy rain and a typhoon (Typhoon Damrey), putting the entire town underwater. Well, it seems the weather wasn’t finished with this place just yet.

A nice climb up the Marble Mountains of Da Nang.

Our second dragon bridge of the trip. This one, from what I’ve heard, breathes fire on Saturday and Sunday nights. Hot stuff.

A classic OH&S ‘what’s wrong with this picture?’

The major river in Hoi An, the Thu Bon keeps flooding, leaving the town under about a metre of water. Thankfully, we missed the worst of it a few weeks back; it was so bad that apparently some of the other people doing our North to South tour were stuck on the night train from Hanoi for two days, resorting to train snacks to sustain them. Couldn’t imagine anything worse!

With the rain pouring and the streets starting to flood, it’s as Russel Coight would say ‘time to hit the road’.

But first, a quick stop for some delicious banana pancakes. Still can’t get over how insanely cheap the food is here!

This is the closest we got to visiting the famous My Son Sanctuary. We left early to get there before the rush only to be turned back by a newly formed ‘river’.

On the way into the sanctuary this path was dry. 25 minutes later, on our way back to the bus, the path was barely visible.

All day rain means more time to hit the Mr. Bean Bar. I was thinking is Rowan Atkinson’s career over yet? If so, then they should call him ‘Mr. Been’. 

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Back on our legs for a few days, while we trekked the beautiful rural district of Sa Pa. Established as a hill station by the French in 1922, Sa Pa is an incredibly picturesque town when seen from afar, as the terraced rice fields look like incredible land waves. This picture has its colour changed seasonally, exhibiting its most alluring charm when the new crop begins and the field is lush with green ripening rice. We happened to rock up at the end of the rice picking season, but still found many of the views breathtaking. 

Sa Pa is also a homeland to indigenous tribes, which the Vietnamese fondly call ‘minority people’, who have been growing rice and establishing terraced rice fields for many generations. One after another, they add a new level each year that has them starting from the foot and reaching nearly to the top of the mountains. We visited a number of local villages during our two days here, with the largest being the Cat Cat Village, a super touristy spot with some nice waterfalls, along with some smaller villages where the townspeople would follow us for hours trying to sell us their crafts. They even had the tiny salesman out to intercept us! 

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Hanoi

We love being back in Southeast Asia; the people are lovely, the food is yum (and cheap), rules are more of an indication, everything is negotiable and scooters are everywhere! 

While beginning a nice afternoon walk of Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake, we were approached by a man who instead of wanting to sell us something, pegged us for a free Vespa tour of Hanoi on the condition that I write him a stellar review at the end.

Needless to say we took the deal!

According to Vietnamese belief, the four sacred animals are the dragon, unicorn, tortoise and phoenix, symbolising power, intellect, longevity and nobility. With the tortoise being the only one found here (that I’ve seen 😅), its ‘sacredness’ gets a little exploited. This lady was selling tortoises of all sizes with the intent of having people buy and then free them, throwing them back into the red lake for good luck. Meanwhile, her minions (probably her children) are just up the road waiting to catch them again!

“I know this French Cathedral is around here somewhere..”

Getting all artistic with the Turtle Tower in the centre of Hoan Kiem Lake.

Another thing to add to the ‘things we love about Southeast Asia’ list - fresh fruit smoothies. Currently averaging two a day since we got here! 💪

Really disturbing picture, but this is the reality here..they breed dogs for eating. Disgusting.

Modelling our sweet rides out the front of the Hanoi Opera House. The traffic was hectic that day, apparently more than usual, because none other than Mr. Trump was in town.

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Halong Bay, one of UNESCO’s new 7 Wonders of Nature, is absolutely stunning. The panorama setting on the camera must have been made for this place as the bay includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars.

Serious fun cruising the bay, fishing for squid, kayaking, exploring caves, making spring rolls, eating like Kings and of course, cracking punny jokes at its expense. “Ha long do you think the cruise will be?” “Wanna come ha long for a ride?” “What if I want ha longer bay?” 😅😅

Off to a great start in Vietnam!

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Kathmandu

Swayambhunath Temple, or ‘the Monkey Temple’ in Kathmandu. The UNESCO World Heritage site and its surroundings are home to hundreds of monkeys, which some consider to be holy. Legend has it that the monkeys were formed from the head lice of the Manjusree Bodhisattva, who in Buddhism represents the embodiment of wisdom and, according to folk tradition, raised the hill upon which Swayambhunath stands. 🐵🙈🙉🙊

After two weeks of hiking through mountain dust, a 365 stone step climb to the temple should be easy right? 

Looking out over Kathmandu from the top of the Monkey Temple.

Durbar Square; consisting of temples, open courts, water fountains, tourists and unfortunately, serious damage from the 2015 earthquake. 

Probably the nicest shot of Durbar Square, without too much of the damage.

Amediva Buddha Park. Still not sure why there are soo many statues of Buddha around the world, especially when the Shakyamuni (original) Buddha did not advocate worship of himself or of anyone or anything else. The dude was more about encouraging people to live an ethical, harmless life and using meditation to understand, for oneself, the nature and origins of suffering. 

The streets of Kathmandu are epic for shopping, every second store sells North Face and Columbia gear! I wonder if those companies know that...

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Around 3 in the afternoon, the team reaches our first (and main) goal, Everest Base Camp! Base Camp, as in the spot where expeditions pitch their tents for the beginning of the Everest summit! Even though the camp is essentially just a pile of rocks and prayer flags, we are so happy to have made it this far and to be surrounded by the beautiful giant glaciers, mountains and a solo Australian flag! 

After returning back from Base Camp to our unforgettable stay in Gorekshep, we try and get an early nights rest so that one; we’re not stuck in the main dining hall with all the sick people and two; we’re up ready to face our final challenge of the trip: a hike up to Kala Pattar! Known as the best viewpoint of Everest, Kala Pattar sits at 5,643m above sea level, a full 155 metres higher than Base Camp. It’s a 4am start, so no light, no breakfast, (what feels like) no oxygen, it’s -20° outside and it’s a two hour trek, uphill. Needless to say this was the hardest hike of our lives. Thankfully, the views at the top are indeed stellar and after 10 days of hiking, we finally have some good photos of Everest itself! 

Immediately after we summit Kala Pattar begins the long trek back to Lukla. It took us just four days to make the reverse trip, almost a third of the time it took us to get to B.C. With each step downhill, our oxygen intake increases and our bodies are happier. In one of our stops, at Tengboche, we visit the world’s highest monastery and after a week of vegetarian food, I get to eat a chicken burger with chips. Amazing. A couple of days later we fly back out of the Himalayan wonderland and back to the nation’s capital of Kathmandu. Unbelievable sights from above of the morning fog filling the valley, instill in us the surreal beauty of our last two weeks. We did it!

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Beautiful villages, sensational mountains, crystal blue lakes, sparkling white glaciers and terrifying suspension bridges. What more could you want? Well, for starters; a hot shower, a toilet with a seat, a T-Bone steak (or just any animal meat at this point), a warm fireplace and a coke. Actually, the last one I got, though somehow it just wasn’t the same after being brought up to 5,000m on the shakey back of a porter.

The further we climb the colder it gets and the closer we get to our goal - Everest B.C! At this point it’s been over a week worth of trekking and acclimatizing. Our Intrepid group is amazing and we’re having lovely conversations as we walk for over 6 hours and 15km each day. At night, it’s all about eating, singing and card games! Needless to say, I’m loving the whole experience, though with the higher we climb into the altitude, every uphill has you feeling like you’ve just ran a marathon…Sherpa’s are beasts!

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After an early wake up and our first epic swinging suspension bridge crossing, we’re off, headed to Namche Bazaar, the largest village on the Everest trail. The final two hours to Namche have us heading straight uphill, but the views are unbeatable. As we elevate above the tree line, high altitude sickness starts to kick in for the first time for Lish and I. Lish is completely exhausted from the trekking mixed with the persistent headache, until the Diamox tablets come to the rescue! How did Hilary summit without them?!

Continuing on, we have our first encounter with the magnificent Ama Dablam mountain. Ama Dablam starts where the Matterhorn ends, with the peak of the Matterhorn measuring a tame 4478m, while the base camp alone of Ama Dablam comes in at an elevation of 4600m! The picture of the Yak ahead of us winding its way through the mountains with Ama Dablam popping out its head has to be one of my all time trip faves. 

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The adventure begins!

Lukla, a short 40 minute flight from Kathmandu and the starting point for our two week trek of the Himalayas. It’s also known as the home of the world’s most dangerous airport, with a heart-stoppingly short runway of only half a kilometre long! Despite the danger, Lukla airport should be ranked as one of the most beautiful airports in all the world, set among many sharp Himalayan peaks. It is here in Lukla that we taste our first mountain air and oatmeal porridge, hear the near distant sound of bells clanging on yaks, pass by our first pack of energy deprived dogs and begin to learn what life will be like for our trekking team over the next fortnight.

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Bethlehem, Capernaum, Galilee, Tiberias & Nazareth

The title could easily have been ‘The Jesus Trail’, for we have been following Jesus’ movements in Israel like true pilgrims!

Trying to stick to the chronological biblical timeline of events, I’ll start the trail here in Nazareth, where Lish and I agree lies the most beautiful church we’ve ever been to, the Church of the Annunciation. Here, it is believed, the archangel Gabriel told the young Mary, that she would become the mother of the Son of God. And here Mary uttered her consent: “Let it be done to me according to your word.” The outcome of Mary’s consent is carved in Latin across the facade over the doorway entrance: “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” John 1:14.

One of the things that makes this church so beautiful and unique is the mosaic gallery. 43 different countries are represented, having their mosaics on the subject of the annunciation hung around the church walls and courtyard. This one was our favourite, not Australia (though we did have one) but none other than the USA.

‘A long time ago in Bethlehem, so the holy bible say. Mary’s boy child Jesus Christ, was born on Christmas day. Hark now hear the angels sing, a new king born today! And man will live forevermore, because of Christmas day. About to enter through to the spot where the miracle took place, the Church of the Nativity!

The Church of the Nativity is built over the Manger where Jesus was born. Crazy to be standing there and think ‘wow, this is the exact spot, the cave, where we believe our Saviour was born!’

Travelling through the barren Judean desert, we came across this special site.  After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus retreated to the wilderness to meditate and fast. This is the mountain on which Jesus is believed to have spent the 40 days and 40 nights of spiritual contemplation, in which the concept of lent arose.

Sometimes the sites we visit are where the archaeologists consensus the events happened. Other times, like our visit to Capernaum, Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee, everyone is 100% sure that this was indeed the place the scriptures depict. Capernaum was the centre of Jesus activities in the Galilee region. It was home town of the apostles Peter, James, Andrew, John, and the tax collector Matthew. Jesus taught in the local synagogue and stayed with Peter in his house, healing, teaching and instructing his disciples in the area and even performing some amazing miracles, such as calming the wind and the waves and walking on water, that proved he was none other than the Son of God

The famous mosaic at the Church of Multiplication, the site where Jesus fed 5,000 people with just five barley loaves and two small fish. 

Mount Tabor, also known as the Mount of Transfiguration; it is the traditional site of the Transfiguration described in the Gospels, when Jesus became radiant, spoke with Moses and Elijah, and was called ‘Son’ by God.

Amazing panorama of the evaporating Dead Sea from the ancient fortress of Masada. 

Wanted to have them all as birthday cakes!

Israel is a dream visit for any Christian. We have loved every minute of reading the scriptures where they were written about and growing in our understanding of the Bible, not just with the locations but also the people groups involved. I have many more stories about our time in Israel and Jordan that I look forward to sharing with friends, family and students, as this visit to the Holy Land has definitely changed our lives. Tomorrow, we fly out of this amazing place headed for Kathmandu and ultimately, the base camp of Mount Everest! Will be signing off from the blog for a few weeks while we shred some holiday calories, but will definitely be taking plenty of pictures of the Himalayas and writing about the beast once it has been conquered! 

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Yesterday was a special day. Not just because it was my 27th birthday, but because, in the Jordan river, the very one that Jesus himself was baptised in by John, I was able to re-declare my faith, love and eternal following of Jesus Christ.

“And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” Mark 1:4-5

“Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” Colossians 2: 12

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28: 19-20