You never know what you’re going to get when you arrive in a new country.  We've found that those first few hours and even moments after emerging from the airport can entirely colour the way you feel about the place; while we immediately fell in love with Melbourne, for example,  we just as instantly detested Jakarta. Unfortunately, those first few days in Jakarta really stained our whole experience in Indonesia, so I was nervous about what we'd encounter in our next destination. Would Malaysia be the tonic we needed to help us fall back in love with travel?
11 August, 2013 /

When some poor travel planning and a surprise twist of fate left us with a chance to completely change our travel plans we were left with a dilemma – should we stay in Indonesia as planned or head off somewhere completely new? Here’s what we decided.

07 August, 2013 /

I knew full-well when we set off on this trip that I’d have to confront many issues that morally outrage me such as the global sex trade, homelessness and animal cruelty. These issues are prevalent enough in so called ‘developed’ countries like the UK but we found that as soon as we hit Indonesia they became even more visible; in particular we were struck by the plight of Indonesian street animals.

28 July, 2013 /

We all want to make our hard-earned travel savings last as long as we can on the road, but when Andrew and I got to Indonesia we became obsessed with spending as little as possible, with disastrous results – here’s how becoming travel budget fanatics almost ruined our trip.

25 July, 2013 /

Compared to Australia and New Zealand, we found travelling in Indonesia a bit of a challenge. For a start, we were dealing with a completely new language that neither of us spoke; we were travelling huge distances by often dubious public transportation, coping with strange new foods and an unfamiliar currency – that’s all part of the fun when it comes to travel though, right? When you are heading to a new country though it’s nice to have some insider tips; if you're planning to travel Indonesia we've put together some tips to help you make the most of your trip.

21 July, 2013 /

Thinking of renting a car for your travel adventure? We’ve had great experiences with hire cars so far on our trip; we spent a month exploring New Zealand and also took road trips along the East Coast of Australia and the Great Ocean Road in our very own rental car. Here’s why we recommend travelling by car and some top tips on how to make renting a car as hassle-free and cost-effective as possible.

18 July, 2013 /
Feel like getting away from everything? One of the best lessons we’ve learned during our round the world trip so far is that travel doesn’t have to be planned. There’s often no need to book things months in advance or do hours of research beforehand, in fact, some of the best experiences we’ve had on the road have been spontaneous and unplanned. With that in mind, here are some great last minute travel ideas to inspire you.
18 July, 2013 /
The best parts of our turbulent trip to Indonesia were without a doubt the days when we were out exploring the country, as opposed to working in a hotel room or killing time hanging around in one place trying to stick to our stringent budget. Our happiest days were those spent visiting Borobodour temple and Mount Bromo, snorkelling on the Gili Islands and taking on the Campuhan Ridge walk in Ubud.  Another highlight was our one-day Eco Cycling tour; we got to explore the countryside and get an insight into Bali life as we biked through the heart of the island – here’s how it went.
13 July, 2013 /

One of the things we had been looking forward to about Indonesia was the prospect of slowing down after two hectic months of zipping around New Zealand and Australia. Back in London I’d organised 60-day visas so that we’d be able to stop and catch our breath once we arrived in Indonesia. I had pictured us staying in luxurious, cheap hotels where we could go swimming; I imagined days filled with relaxing and exploring combined with plenty of time to write and catch up with freelance work – it would be perfect.

09 July, 2013 /