9 Months

We have now been traveling for nine months, or around 276 days. In that time we could have conceived and birthed a child, made a lot of money, or built a house, but instead we...

Ate silk worm larvae, partied, sang and dance with old Korean ladies, visited the super secretive North Korean border, were fed the delicacy raw crab by our host’s super eager to please mom at 7am, listened to the soft chants of the monks in countless temples and visited one of the world’s top amusement parks in Korea.

Trying Silk Worm Larvae in Pohang. 

Bathed naked with hundreds of Japanese in onsens, visited the northernmost sake factory, climbed an active volcano and looked into its steaming center, partied on a rooftop of a snazzy apartment building in Tokyo, and ate at the oldest sushi restaurant in the world in Japan.

Sushi at the world's oldest sushi restaurant in Tokyo.

Jumped from cliffs into a crystal clear turquoise river, worked on a farm, hitchhiked around the entire country, ate countless snacks in crowded night markets in Taiwan.

The crystal clear waters between the cliffs near Taroko Gorge. 

Saw the most paradisiac beaches, made best friends, saw the world's second smallest primate, karaoked all night with our crazy Filipino friends, ate duck embryo and drank too much beer in the Philippines.

The beautiful coast of Bantayan, not far from Cebu.

Visited one of the world’s most advanced cities and experienced Ramadan with our Malay friend’s Muslim family in Singapore.

The modern metropolis of Singapore.

Saw the most beautiful mix of three cultures, religions, and languages, photographed hundreds of monkeys, got lost in a jungle and attacked by very angry monkeys, and ate a traditional hotpot with a Chinese-Malaysian family in Malaysia.

One of those attacking monkeys not far from Kuala Lumpur.

Learned how to catch, gut, and cook a fish on an open fire, got invited to stay at random strangers’ houses, learned a lot about Islam, made some amazing friends, got acquainted with one of the most open and welcoming cultures, learned how to really ride a motorbike, snorkeled among incredible reefs and colorful fish, and ate snake in Indonesia.

Learning the real way to catch, gut, and cook fish.

Ate dog, journeyed into the less traveled north with a motorbike, an inaccurate google maps, and a lot of hope, taught English to both children and the handicapped, drank 8 beers for less than one dollar, got lost in random tribal villages, ate, slept, made friends with and felt like locals for 1 month in Vietnam.

Lost in traditional Hmong villages in northern Vietnam.

Saw the rare Irrawaddy dolphin, saw monks with smartphones on vacation, were followed around by an entire village (over 20) of children who had just seen their first foreigner, shared a house and played guitar and sang with Russians, Chinese, an American-Chinese, and Italians, and saw the most traditional of traditional villages in Laos.

Monks visiting the Buddha Park near Vientiane.

Visited the world famous Angkor Wat and surrounding temples, were invited by poor, very rural villagers to share rice whiskey and try dog’s head, and swam in the clearest, bluest sacred lake surrounded by little mostly naked Cambodian children splashing around us in Cambodia.

Braiding little "sales"girls hair outside one of the temples around Angkor Wat.

And finally, stayed one weekend in a Buddhist monastery and spent one month teaching English in a rural village in Northeastern Thailand, learning more of the culture, people, food, and lifestyle than we ever could have visiting all the famous sites and staying in hotels in Thailand.

Our first grade students at Klong Bai Phat school.

Best of all though we got to experience the culture and people of each country through hitchhiking, Couchsurfing, and HelpX. We ate with, slept, and lived almost like locals.

Hitchhiking with this sweet family ended up at a restaurant with a huge lunch and their friends.

Though in nine months we could have accomplished a lot, we have experienced more in each month than we could ever hope to in an entire year at home. This is what we love about traveling each day brings a new surprise and a new discovery, and we never know what to expect of tomorrow.

Road tripping with our new friends in Sumatra, Indonesia.