SE Asia Wild Flowers Tour

December 2023 - March 2024

Destination: Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and then wherever the road takes us.
Goal: To celebrate the gifts of love and life through music.
Trading Currency: Smiles generated through rock n roll. Read more

33footprints
7countries
90days
188photos
14videos
17.3kkilometers
11.8kkilometers

Follow Calendar Share Bucket list

Traveler SE Asia Wild Flowers Tour
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 20, 2023, 7:14am
- 🌬 13 °C
- Altitude: 92 m
- Portugal Leiria Sobral 39.350003, -9.18396939°21’0” N 9°11’2” W
Day 1
At the airport, here we go!
December 20, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
Sitting in an airport for the 1st of what will no doubt be many similar hours before we arrive in Bangkok.
We were up and out before the sun was. What a delight Joe is to travel with. Entertained my crazy desire to walk from home to the bus stop and set off with a smile.
It felt significant to walk out of the house carrying everything that we will need for the next 3 months.
It was only as we walked down the hill in the dark wearing mostly black that I realised we were at risk of never even making it to the bus, let alone to Thailand. Fortunately, the morning commuters had drunk their coffee and spotted the crazy foreigners on foot.
It was beautiful walking to the castle as the sun rose. Portugal has been good to me. How will I feel coming back next year. Will it still feel like home?Read more
Traveler have a blast!!!!!
12/20/23Reply
Traveler Yay! And the journey begins ✈️ xx
12/21/23Reply
7 likes
Traveler SE Asia Wild Flowers Tour
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 20, 2023, 6:46pm
- 🌙 4 °C
- Altitude: 116 m
- Hungary Budapest Budapest VI. kerület 47.497006, 19.06318647°29’49” N 19°3’47” E
Day 1–3
Budapest
December 20, 2023 in Hungary ⋅ 🌙 4 °C
Budapest is very cold (I'm wearing 7 layers and 2 hoods!) and actually has a seriously cool vibe too. We stumbled across Szimpla Kert. Several stages and bars in a ruin bar with cosy seating areas all over. We added a touch of class to the graffiti with a Wild Flower sticker 🌻 Delicious coffee stout and then we had to have ghoulash for dinner!
Already struggling to arrange the self transfer at DMM on Friday... fingers crossed.Read more
Traveler Awesome, I thought you started your travels yesterday but Ange and Ed persuaded me it was Friday! 🙈😅 The goulash looks well yummy. Loadsa love and hugs 💕🤗 xx
12/21/23Reply
Traveler We take 3 flights tomorrow and then we'll get to Bangkok on Saturday lunchtime. Fingers crossed anyway, the airline can't check us in.... visa confusion already!
12/21/23Reply
3 likes
Traveler SE Asia Wild Flowers Tour
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 21, 2023, 11:35am
- ☁️ 4 °C
- Altitude: 109 m
- Hungary Budapest Gellérthegy Great Market Hall (Budapest)47.486616, 19.05895247°29’12” N 19°3’32” E
Day 2
Great Market Hall, Budapest
December 21, 2023 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C
Traveler Walked miles and miles in Pest and climbed and climbed in Buda. We were blessed with a dry day. Gluwein ✔️ beef stew ✔️ everything with paprika ✔️
12/21/23Reply
Traveler I thought the Portuguese wore saudade as a badge of honour. The Hungarians wear strive harder. Joe did manage to get a smile out of a waitress wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt by giving her a wild flowers sticker!
12/21/23Reply
Traveler It all looks so amazing x
12/25/23Reply
3 likes
Traveler SE Asia Wild Flowers Tour
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 22, 2023, 9:00pm
- ☁️ 18 °C
- Altitude: 22 m
- Saudi Arabia King Fahd International Airport 26.469003, 49.79508626°28’8” N 49°47’42” E
Day 3–4
Stuck in Saudi!
December 22, 2023 in Saudi Arabia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
It's only an adventure if you have to overcome challenges! So here we are still in Saudi... our 2 1/2 hour transfer is now 21 hours, and the 25 dollar transit visa has cost 1000 dollars; that's my entire months salary. I had done everything in my power to prevent this but despite messages and phone calls to embassies and airlines, and paid for transit e-visa applications we were forced to wait 2 hours to buy 1 year visitor visas and miss our connection. Oh well, after that much effort, it was clearly meant to be. We met 2 wonderful gentlemen, Faro and Baibao, whose brightness far out shone the terrible succession of 'pass the buck' duty managers. We found a clean and comfy carpet to overnight on and time passed as it inevitably does..... when you're being passed from pillar to post.
We're still smiling and embracing the adventure.Read more
Traveler Hmmm..... That looks comfy..... NOT! 🙈
12/25/23Reply
4 likes
Traveler SE Asia Wild Flowers Tour
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 23, 2023, 8:05pm
- 🌙 21 °C
- Altitude: 32 m
- United Arab Emirates Dubai Al Qarrayen Sharjah International Airport 25.322761, 55.52001225°19’22” N 55°31’12” E
Day 4
UAE next stop Bangkok!
December 23, 2023 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ 🌙 21 °C
Wow, what a transfer should be.... it felt like such a different energy. Just like a bustling Indian bus station, channeled noisily but efficiently in the right direction. The Arab men have been replaced by Indian men and a couple of white faces that stick out like sore thumbs.
I thought that Joe liked pretty dark and ethnic, right now he looks pink and honky tonk!
Next stop Bangkok... at last!Read more
4 likes
Traveler SE Asia Wild Flowers Tour
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 23, 2023, 8:33pm
- 🌙 21 °C
- Altitude: 32 m
- United Arab Emirates Dubai Al Qarrayen Sharjah International Airport 25.322756, 55.51999425°19’22” N 55°31’12” E
1
Day 4
Sharjah. Spot the honky tonk!
December 23, 2023 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ 🌙 21 °C
Traveler Spotted.
12/24/23Reply
Traveler EASILY spotted!
12/24/23Reply
Traveler The smile gave him away 😁
12/25/23Reply
2 likes
Traveler SE Asia Wild Flowers Tour
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 24, 2023, 6:32pm
- ☁️ 25 °C
- Altitude: 16 m
- Thailand Bangkok Khaosan 13.757489, 100.49882813°45’27” N 100°29’56” E
Day 5
Bangkok at last!
December 24, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Merry Christmas from Bangkok!
8 likes
Traveler SE Asia Wild Flowers Tour
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 25, 2023
- ⛅ 28 °C
- Altitude: 17 m
- Thailand Bangkok Khlong San Khlong Wat Thong Pleng 13.72311, 100.5151413°43’23” N 100°30’55” E
Day 6
Multicultural Christmas
December 25, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
What a memorable and beautiful Christmas. The clear, resounding message was that 'God is love, He loves us ALL'. Whether He be God of the baby Jesus or God of the whole universe.
We took the boat bus to the Csthedral for Christmas Mass in English. Naturally, the boat broke down in the middle of the river. I thought that was the end of making it to Mass in time. Not with the efficient, co-operative Thai people. Not 1 but 2 boats came flying to the rescue and tied themselves to the boat to take us to shore. Just 5 minutes later, a replacement boat arrived. Unbelievably efficient and no drama.
The church was packed and the congregation spilled outside for the beautiful Mass. Next stop was The Golden Mount. A collection of Buddhist temples and a breathtaking view of Bangkok. We even found bells to ring for Christmas.
The street food here is living up to its reputation but we've yet to be given anything truly spicy.... we'll keep trying! The chilli sauce is good enough to drink. Christmas Dinner was a hot and sour beef soup and a duck salad. The alleged beef pieces were white and soft, so we questioned if it was beef... complete with mooing. It turned out to be beef tendon, even better than the gelatinous ends of chicken bones! Our new friend, Oi, brought us fresh herbs and beans to add to the bubbling broth. Amazing, I'll take that over turkey every Christmas!
The day ended with wonderful video chats around the world with our beautiful families.
Happy Christmas one and allRead more
9 likes
Traveler SE Asia Wild Flowers Tour
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 27, 2023, 3:00pm
- ⛅ 32 °C
- Altitude: 9 m
- Cambodia Phnom Penh 11.553296, 104.93085811°33’12” N 104°55’51” E
Day 8–9
Phnom Penh
December 27, 2023 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
Here we are in Cambodia, excited about the Fish Island festival in just a few days. I've been listening to the Cambodian Space Project on Spotify excessively, hoping that bass lines are getting into my head. It's certainly groovy.
Cambodia already feels so different. The Thai public transport system was beyond impressive. There is no public transport in Cambodia other than a fledgling bus service. We arrived at the airport in Phnom Penh armed with the knowledge of the existence of the number 3 bus to get you downtown. The Tuk Tuk and taxi drivers feigned disbelief and shook their heads. We'd have to wait a long time and it was a bad idea. We did have to find our way out of the airport complex, which was a challenge but as we stood with the rabble of Tuk Tuk drivers, a brand new bus arrived. We felt victorious, the only savvy travellers Unsung the cheap bus....until we were dropped off at the end of the line... no where near where we were staying. Then, the endless calls from tuktuk drivers for our fare.
We were staying in a hotel recommended by a local ex-pat musician. It turned out to be an area of bars, not so exciting. We had an African meal of all things and a good rest up ready for the community living on Fish Island.
Cambodia is more basic than Thailand but more expensive. Peculiar....Read more
5 likes
Traveler SE Asia Wild Flowers Tour
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 27, 2023, 3:36pm
- ☀️ 31 °C
- Altitude: 8 m
- Thailand Bangkok Ban Na Song 13.756158, 100.56527413°45’22” N 100°33’55” E
Day 8
Farewell Bangkok already
December 27, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Our farewell to Bangkok was an open mic set at a dive bar run by a Wisconsin native and frequented by musicians from all corners of the globe. Fatty's bar is where the Wild Flowers Tour will kick off on 13th Jan. The bar is just outside the swanky modern shopping mall, skyscraper area of Bangkok. We took the cleanest, fanciest metro and then walked around the outside of a Mall that felt like it was a virtual reality projection. Then, through a tunnel, that could have been a diagon alley because the other side was down and dirty, food stalls, mud roads, and a dingy hotel room. However, in true Thai style, smiles were bright, and the welcome was sincere. Proof of the depth of the Thai genuineness was when we dropped the keys off when we left. The owner was sleeping on the sofa in reception, rubbing his reclining Buddha belly. He was startled awake but broke into a big smile and wished us a happy new year.
Farewell Thailand, shame that we have to go so soon but we'll be back.Read more
5 likes