Yes, that’s right: we quit our jobs! And that’s not all: we are going to travel full time again! How, what, where and when this will happen, will you read in this blog!
We are going on our second trip around the world!
On February 24, 2018, we returned to Amsterdam after four months of travelling. We had a great time and visited: Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia and ended with Los Angeles! Back on the plane home, we were already homesick to this travelling lift. That’s why we agreed and made the commitment to each other that this would not be the only time that we would make a trip around the world.
Flash forward to last week (April 2019(. We have just told our managers that we are resigning from our jobs because we are going to travel again. We both were a bit afraid of how our managers would react, but they respond so nice! And now time starts ticking because on May 31 we are already leaving for our first destination!
Where are we going to?
You might already know our first destination, which is Madagascar! We have wanted to go here for a long time and since summer is a good time to visit this huge island, we have decided to start here. In total, we will stay here for eight weeks, after which we will fly to Kenya! That will be country number two. In Kenya, we are of course going on a safari. Next, to that, we are considering to climb Mount Kenya and we want to spend some time relaxing on Kenya’s beautiful beaches. From Kenya, we will travel to Uganda and perhaps Rwanda. In total, we have about eight weeks for Kenya, Uganda and maybe Rwanda.
Half of September we will fly back to the Netherlands, where we will see our family, after which we will fly on to Turkey! In Turkey, our good friends Axel and Gokce are getting married and of course, we don’t want to miss that. We are planning to visit Istanbul and Antalya and perhaps also Cappadocia. After Turkey, we will continue to Nepal, for some hikes. After this, we plan to go to Sri Lanka and from there we don’t know yet.
No planning?!
Wait a minute, did it really say ‘we don’t know yet’? Yes, we will travel completely different this time compared to our first world trip. Back then, everything was completely planned out and our route was determined in advance. We currently only have tickets for the routes Amsterdam-Madagascar, Madagascar – Kenya and Kenya – Amsterdam. Everything that happens between and after that is still open!
Secretly this no planning thing is something that I find quite difficult. I am a bit of a control freak and I love planning ahead. But during the past few years, I have noticed often enough how pleasant it can be when you do have flexibility while travelling. That is why we decided this time not to commit too much beforehand, and to take more time for each country. I am curious how that will work out!
How long are we travelling for? How do we do this financially?
We do not know for sure how long we will stay on the road. We currently have about nine months in mind, but this can become shorter or longer. Of course, it also depends on our budget. We have saved up for this trip and also work together with partners, which means that we sometimes earn money or get a discount on accommodation/activities.
To travel around for nine months, we will have to be a lot more careful with our budget than during our previous world trip. That means more hostels, self-cooking, public transport (also in Africa) and sometimes not being able to do certain activities. Is the latter bad? No, as long as the balance remains good!
We rent out our rental house in Amsterdam. We are currently in contact with some potential tenants, but nothing is certain. If you are interested, please send me a message.
“But you just got engaged?”
Yes, that’s right, we just got engaged. However, when Ries asked me to marry him, we already knew we wanted to make this trip. Of course, we won’t get married before leaving (that would mean doing this whole wedding-thing in just two months). Besides, we don’t mind being engaged a little longer. This means that we will get married when we come back from this trip. It will happen, but it just takes a bit longer.
For the coming time, there are still some nice trips and events planned out, such as our road trip through Scotland and the wedding of our friends Thomas and Christine. We will be leaving at the end of May, but before that I will keep you informed about the progress of arranging this trip! We are really looking forward to it!
Do you have any tips on one of the countries mentioned above? Let us know!
