We left on June 6, 2016, direction South Africa. 6 months later, we arrived for the first time in South America

Here is the balance sheet of the first 6 months

The trip

• 15 countries visited

  • Round the world tickets: South Africa – Qatar – India
  • Dry flights: Nepal – Thailand – Burma – Vietnam – China (Hong Kong & Macau only) – Philippines – Indonesia
  • Round-the-world tickets: Singapore – Malaysia – New Zealand – France (French Polynesia) – Chile (Easter Island + Santiago)

• Among these 15 countries/areas, only Vietnam is the one we have already visited
• Average time spent in each city: 2.5 days
• 2 countries that werenot initially planned but that were added at the last moment: Thailand (the ticket to Burma from Nepal was too expensive); and the Philippines (they boycott Beijing because of their attitude in the China Sea)
• 2 countries visited in express mode:Indonesia (they kindly lent us a villa with sea view in Batam) and Malaysia (mandatory to go from Singapore to New Zealand)
• 2 countries that make us seriously want to live there: Burma and the Philippines . Thailand is part of JB’s list but Anh does not like to live there.
• 5 main modes of transportation: Plane – Train – Boat – Bus/Car – Scooter. Unfortunately, the plane remains the main means of transportation

JB & Anh

• We thought we knew each other at our fingertips after 5 years of marriage. Well, by being together 24 hours a day for 6 months, we discover each other even more. Don’t worry, we still love each other 🙂
• For me (Anh), this beginning of the journey was a real revelation. Previously, I was very much in control and planning (the first 1.5 months of the trip were planned to the day; my LIFE was planned years in advance). Now I can live day to day and it’s much more enjoyable that way.
• For JB, this beginning of the trip was the confirmation that his goal to be a “nomad worker” is possible. Provided that he has a good Wifi connection.
• Both of us are surprised to realize how easy it is to live with few objects. Anh’s toilet bag is still to be optimized, but for the rest, we can consider ourselves as minimalist apprentices.
• One gets used very quickly to the changes in comfort: living without a mobile network in South Africa, with permanent power cuts in Nepal, sleeping in a car in New Zealand, in 6m2 in Hong Kong, …

Ranking

• The cheapest country: India
• Most expensive country: New Zealand
• Best swimming pool: 90 meters long swimming pool (more or less) at the Daewoo hotel in Hanoi (Vietnam)
• Best Beach: Koh Phangan (Thailand)

• Best dishes: Vietnam (North) and French Polynesia
• Best snorkelling site: Coral Garden in Coron (Philippines)
• The most beautiful monuments/wow (in order of preference)

  • The Taj Mahal (India)
  • RanakpurTemple (India)
  • The moais of Easter Island (Chile)
  • The temples of Bagan (Burma)

• The most beautiful landscapes/wow

  • The panorama of all Moorea from The Magic Mountain
  • All of New Zealand (with a preference for Mount Cook)
  • The panorama seen while paragliding over Pokhara (Nepal)

• Most wow experiences (in order of preference)

  • Swimming with sharks in Moorea (French Polynesia)
  • Being surrounded by elephants on the first day in Kruger Park (South Africa)
  • Watching dolphins swimming in Akaroa (New Zealand)
  • Barbecue in the middle of the desert on a Ramadan day with the Couchsurfers (Qatar)
  • Wreck diving in El Nido (Philippines)

• The most unexpected experiences

  • Earthquake in Burma
  • Earthquake in New Zealand
  • Get a superb house on loan in Batam (Indonesia)
  • Being encircled by elephants in the Kruger Park (South Africa)
  • Barbecue in the middle of the desert on a Ramadan day with the Couchsurfers (Qatar)

 

• The most unpleasant journeys

  • A whole night on the train in India with a guy who snores
  • The return Birgunj – Kathmandu by bus with a few hours waiting for the road construction to be finalized
  • A day and a half to go from Coron to Puerto Galera with 3 different modes of transport

Health

• One week being sick in Thailand because of a poor iced tea bought in the street
• Stings of all kinds: including one that made us think of bed bugs (total flipping) but fortunately it was not the case
• Frequent skin problems due to humidity in Asia
• Small sores, cuts: JB opened his heel just before the visit of the Taj Mahal

So, we were sick more often than usual, but everything got better very quickly

The fail(ure)s

• Having nothing to eat on the first night of the world tour (in South Africa)
• Having to buy an emergency return ticket to be able to fly to the Philippines
• Think you can make Coron – Puerto Galera (Philippines) in one day.
• Problem starting a car in Papeete when you have to take the plane a few hours later
• Book the campervan for New Zealand one week before our arrival, because we completely forgot about it

There you have it, the first 6 months have been very positive. As far as landscapes are concerned, we’re going up in crescendo. After New Zealand, we were afraid to find nothing more beautiful than the New Zealand landscapes. Fortunately, we were wrong!

The next 5 months (and more) promise to be just as rich in emotions, landscapes, experiences… as we leave our comfort zone to visit South America and Cuba, where we’ve never set foot before.