An anniversary is upon us, 2 anniversaries actually. On this day 6 years ago, we left our home in the US for a life unknown to move to Costa Rica sight unseen! And one year ago today, we left that new home in Costa Rica to become a nomadic family.
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| Penang, Malaysia |
If someone told us seven years ago that we would be living this lifestyle, we would have thought they were crazy. For all intents and purposes, we were living the '
American Dream' until we realized that it was actually a rat race on a wheel that goes nowhere.
In the 6 years since we left the US we have seen so much, learned so much, and fundamentally changed who we all are. So many questions have been asked of us since then, and so many people wonder if everyone in the family likes this lifestyle we have chosen. The answer is YES, and how could we not?!
Where we've been:
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| Crater Lake, Oregon |
After a month long road trip around the US which helped us to remember the natural beauty of our home country, we left for our adventure in
Costa Rica. During our time there we also explored Nicaragua and Panama, as well as flying back to the US here and there. We made our home there, a life of our own, independent of the family and friends we had left behind.
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| Costa Rica |
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| Granada, Nicaragua |
We spent five years in Costa Rica and although we loved it there, it became a bit stale. So, one year ago we left that home, our friends, and things we collected to become a nomadic family! We had no idea we could feel even happier and more grateful for our lives but we are!
We started a new adventure in Asia. We knew the cost of living would be low and we knew it would challenge us, which is something we are always seeking...stepping out of that comfort zone we find ourselves in. Over the past year, we have visited 5 countries in Southeast Asia and fallen in love with the entire area.
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| Grand Palace in Bangkok |
Thailand was our first stop! After the thrill of Bangkok we played with tigers and hit up temple after temple in the walled city of
Chiang Mai, played with elephants and visited waterfalls and caves in Pai, dripped buckets of sweat wandering around UNESCO heritage sites in Ayutthaya, got sick as dogs and fought with overpriced taxis on Phuket, hung with my sister in law at fire shows on Koh Samet, and visited "The Beach" for Dylan's 13th birthday on Koh Phi Phi island.
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| Tiger Kingdon, Chiang Mai, Thailand |
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| Chinese New Year in Thailand |
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| Koh Phi Phi island, Thailand |
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| Elephants in Pai Thailand |
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| Ayutthaya, laughing through the heat! |
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| Tham Lod cave outside Pai, Thailand |
We also made 2 quick stops, 1 in Chiang Dao and 1 in Burma (Myanmar) to renew our visa.
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| Burma border! |
In Laos, we walked along the Mekong and watched a pleathora of amazing sunsets in Vientiane and tubed, caved, got over fears and met some great friends in Vang Vieng.
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| Scooter riding around Laos |
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| Buddha park, Vientiane, Laos |
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| Caving in Vang Vieng |
In Cambodia we marveled at the ruins of
Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, propelled ourselves through Phnom Penh and Battambang, and relaxed along the beaches near Sihanoukeville.
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| A bamboo railroad ride |
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| Ta Phrom, Siem Reap, Cambodia |
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| Sihanoukeville, Cambodia |
We put down short-term roots so to speak in Malaysia, logging the most time in this amazing country that was not even on our radar before the trip began. We thoroughly enjoyed the tea plantations of Cameron Highlands, Orangutan Island in Bukit Merah, cave temples of Ipoh, incredible snorkeling on the Perhentian Islands, and one of our favorite cities; Kuala Lumpur, but
Penang is where we settled down a bit to save money and connect with people for a longer period of time.
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| Snorkeling in the Perhentian slands |
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| Cameron Highlands |
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| Kek Lok Si in Penang |
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| New friend fun! |
We also recently added a trip to Singapore where we marveled at the cleanliness and over abundance of FUN activities, but questioned how anyone could live with such over bearing rules.
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| Marina Bay Sands! Amazing architecture! - Singapore |
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| Universal Studios, Singapore |
From here we head to Thailand again to marvel at the amazing lantern festival in Chiang Mai this month, and then finish up the year celebrating the holidays together in Langkawi, Malaysia where we have a wonderful house sitting job right near the beach. After that it will be Europe but when, where, and how...yeah we just don't like to commit like that!
It's been an amazing journey so far and we have no plans of stopping. We're grateful for the experience and all of the wonderful people we have met along the way.
*Keep following our adventures, next week we will be talking about what we have learned from the road!*
