Trip Reflections

And just like that, it's over! After 374 days and 28 countries we made it to our final destination, San Diego. It's been about a month since finishing up and we've started to settle back into our routines and reunited with friends and family. Conversations with loved ones have helped us to reflect on our epic trip and listed below are some of our thoughts in no particular order.

We have a new appreciation for:
-Drinking water from the tap
-Silence (the world is so loud!)
-Clean air
-Paved roads with wide footpaths 
-Access to education and healthcare
-Access to sanitation
-Keeping all of our products in the shower without them being taken 

Things Whitney didn't want to do but was so glad she did:
-Jumping into freezing water in Bariloche and off high things
-Mountain biking down Peruvian roads on the way to Machu Picchu
-Becoming advanced SCUBA certified
-SCUBA diving with sharks and also through caves
-Walking the jungles of Nepal to seek out tigers, rhinos, and elephants with only sticks to protect us
-Scooter riding 
-Most of our bus rides. One of my biggest fears on this trip was plummeting off a cliff on some small mountain road on a packed local bus 

Not all of this trip has been beautiful views and magical adventures. We have definitely had our lows:
-We both got food poisoning on Koh Phi Phi island making us miss our rock climbing adventures in Railay
-Lots of “gastro” issues in less than ideal places 
-Feeling that people are constantly trying to scam you and get something out of you. It can make genuine interactions hard in more touristic places 
-Stress and the instability of constantly moving your life every two or three days 
-India's sensory overload. The honking, smells, noise, masses of people, and lack of personal space bubbles. Specifically the time I was overwhelmed and cried on a packed six hour bus ride in India. They put both Andreas and I into a small compartment made for one person fondly known as “The Coffin”
-The time I sat on the floor of the Bogota airport and just cried while eating my food quietly. This was after a stressful airport experience and there were no chairs for us to sit on. I admit it was a little dramatic
-When I injured my knee in Switzerland and how difficult it was to treat on the road.
-Access to healthy foods 
-The occasional pointless argument Andreas and I got into because we were hot, tired, hungry and always together... It's funny how these stopped as soon as we took a little space
-Animal cruelty and human suffering that we couldn’t do anything about 
-The difficulty of maintaining relationships with the people we love and missing important events like the birth of my niece Gracyn, Chelsea and John's wedding in San Diego, and Jess and Brook's wedding in Auckland 
-One night in Malaysia when I was SO HOT I couldn’t sleep. I took about six cold showers that night while Andreas slept like a baby 

We had countless high points on this trip which unquestionably outweighed the bad:
-Meeting incredible people from all over the world (fellow travelers and locals)
-SCUBA diving off the coast of Malaysia and Columbia as well as the Gili Islands
-Sleeping in a treehouse deep in the jungles of Laos at the Gibbon Experience 
-Visiting ancient wonders such as Angkor Wat, Sigiriya rock, the Taj Mahal, the Burning Ghats, the Sagrada Familia, and Machu Picchu
-Hiking for eleven days through small villages in Nepal to the Annapurna Base Camp
-Visiting an elephant sanctuary in Chaing Mai
-Our overnight camel adventure through the desert of northwestern India
-Extreme sledding in Switzerland
-Hiking in the snow in Switzerland with Andreas' aunt Fran. We made a fire on the snow to cook sausages
-Our three day jeep tour through Bolivia to the Uyuni Salt Flats
-SCUBA diving with sharks in Columbia

Thank you to the friends who encouraged us to pack very light, this was the best advice we had. We each fit our lives for a year into a 46L backpack.

Our most used item:
Whitney - $10 cheetah print scarf from Kmart (it’s a scarf, a sarong, a shirt, sun protection, and headwear for temples)
Andreas - Sunscreen, a year in the sun is hard on the skin

Our most superfluous yet loved item:
Whitney - Four bottles of nail polish. This made me feel somewhat pretty during a year of no makeup, dirty clothes, and constant sweat
Andreas - Ukulele until it broke in two just before a live performance at our hostel in India

Our stupidest item:
Whitney - Andreas would say it was my bluetooth selfie stick... however I would say a money pouch to dangle around my neck. We kept a normal wallet in our bag and we stayed aware of our surroundings
Andreas - My belt with a secret money pouch sewn into it. Never used it, not sure I even had pants that needed a belt

Our year of travel was an unbelievable experience. Andreas and I feel so lucky that we were born in countries where we were able to work hard, save our money, and experience our world.Read more