Our First Big Trip: A Timeline

NYC Nandi, Fiji

Leaving freezing NYC for sunny Fiji felt glorious. We spent about 5 days lounging on a beach, hiking, and relaxing.

Nandi Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealand was where we got a bit more of adventure. I was able to catch up with my family, and a few friends joined us to go on an excellent hike in the South of the Island.

Christchurch Wellington

Towards the end of our stay in New Zealand, we flew up to Wellington to visit my brother. Natalie had never been to any other big city in NZ so it was nice for her to explore. I really enjoyed seeing Vince in the town that had been his home since soon after I moved to NYC.

Christchurch Melbourne, Australia

My first time in Melbourne, and Natalie’s first time in Australia. We stayed with some great hosts here, and really enjoyed exploring the city and surrounding areas.

Adelaide Melbourne

One of my old school friends lives in Adelaide, so we thought we’d fly there for a few days before leaving Australia. We had an excellent time, and it was great to catch up with old friends!

Melbourne Singapore

My sister lived in Singapore for several years, so I’d been hearing a lot about it. We happened to arrive for a week were it was raining much more than normal (apparently). Despite this, there was a lot to see and do, and we definitely left with some things still on the list. We loved it so much we went back in 2018 for another couple days.

Singapore Colombo, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was a complete surprise. We hadn’t been intending on coming here, but whilst in Fiji we had it recommended to us several times. We spent a bit over two weeks here, and got to see a good mix of what the country has to offer during that time. I’d highly recommend visiting. We wound up going back in 2018 for a friend’s wedding and spending another two weeks touring places we hadn’t seen.

Colombo Bangkok, Thailand

Natalie’s second time in Thailand, and my first. I really enjoyed Bangkok, it was a fascinating mix of modern Asian city, with traditional elements dotted about the place. The food carts are legendary here, and for good reason. We ate like kings.

Bangkok Chiangmai

After Bangkok, we did a bit of a loop within Thailand, heading up to Chiang Mai, and then on to the Loei region and going on an epic hike, before returning to Bangkok for our flight to Cambodia.

Bangkok Siem Reap, Cambodia

The main reason for coming to Siem Reap was for Angkor Wat. Natalie had been before, and had really enjoyed it. Since she was last there, it had gotten a lot more popular and crowded, however I still thoroughly enjoyed exploring the many ruins and temples. A must see, for sure.

Siem Reap Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

We spent about 3 weeks in Vietnam, and while it wasn’t our favourite country, there were some really lovely moments. We started off on the island of Phu Quoc, then returned to Ho Chi Minh to spend a few days there. After that it was out to the coastal town of Nha Trang, and then back inland to the mountain town of Dalat.

Ho Chi Minh City Hanoi

Our final stop in Vietnam was Hanoi city. After Ho Chi Minh, we were a little apprehensive that Hanoi might not be so great, but I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed our few days there, and were we to return to Vietnam, I’d prefer to focus in on Hanoi and the surrounding attractions.

Hanoi Hong Kong

Hong Kong was another opportunity to catch up with old school friends. A friend of mine has been living there almost as long as I’ve been in NYC, so he was able to really show us around. Hong Kong the city is really cool, as you get a fantastic juxtaposition of modern skyscraper riddled city, right next to verdant green mountains.

Hong Kong Osaka, Japan

Japan was a treat right from the get go. We spent 2 weeks zipping around on bullet trains, exploring temples, relaxing in hot springs, strolling through mystic gardens, and eating our way through some delicious food. We already plan to come back, ideally focusing on Hokkaido, Kyushu, and maybe one of the little beach islands far in the south…

Osaka Kagoshima

Kagoshima Tokyo

Kagoshima Tokyo

Tokyo Kyoto

Kyoto Mito

Mito Sendai

Akita Tokyo

Tokyo Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Towards the end of our time in South East Asia, we’d begun to look forward to more of a dose of the familiar that Europe would bring. Leaving Japan however, we were struck with the sadness of having to leave what was one of our favourite spots. Thankfully, Europe delivered, and we had a fantastic time travelling throughout. First up, a quick visit with friends in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Paris, France

Again, Paris was a place we hadn’t originally planned to visit. Over the course of plotting our route through Europe, it seemed like it was worth a stop. I’d been before (10 years prior!), but Natalie had never been. We ended up having a fantastic time, so good choice!

Paris Cologne, Germany

Cologne was a opportunity to visit a new friend (whom we met in Vietnam), but also marked the start of a potion of our trip we we were bouncing around every few days.

Cologne Berlin

Berlin Wroclaw, Poland

Natalie really enjoyed here 2 months here last year, and so it was really great for me to finally see all of the places she frequented. Poland is a really cool country.

Wroclaw Prague, Czech Republic

Were we to do it all again, we might skip Prague. It’s a great city, and we both enjoyed ourselves, however we’d both been here before. We did get some see somethings that neither of us had seen on previous trips, but in hindsight, being able to take our time somewhere else might have made for a nice exchange.

Prague Krakow, Poland

Back up into Poland, we spend a few days in Krakow before heading out towards Katowice and Bielsko Biala to visit some of Natalie’s friends. The more I saw of Poland, the more I liked it.

Krakow Katowice

Katowice Budapest, Hungary

About midway through our few weeks of bopping around, we decided we should just plant ourselves somewhere for a while at the end of it. We’d heard a lot of great things about Budapest, so we decided to spend a week just exploring a single city and relaxing a bit.

Budapest Zagreb, Croatia

Facing our final two weeks of our trip, we weren’t quite sure what to do. We managed to find a cheap (very) car in Zagreb, to be dropped off in Dubrovnik, which made up our mind. We grabbed a rideshare from Budapest to Zagreb, and then embarked on a two week road trip around Croatia.

Zagreb Istrian Peninsula

Istrian Peninsula Zadar

Zadar Split

Split Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik NYC