The last stop on our adventure was in Beijing – we spent three wonderful days here on the Great Wall and exploring the many historical sites – Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, etc.

The Great Wall was definitely a highlight for all of us, surpassing expectations. We hiked up to the Wall from our nearby hotel, and fortunately came into a less traveled area. From there, we saw the wall stretching up a ridgeline above us, and opted for the climb. Scrambling at times over steep, less maintained areas, we reached points with amazing views in all directions. So amazing to see the Great Wall stretching off into the distance in either direction, up and over craggy ridges, hard to imagine the work and engineering that went into constructing it.

Though a bit of a whirlwind, we also really enjoyed seeing the Forbidden City and other sites in Beijing. A bit crowded, especially in comparison to the relative solitude we enjoyed on the Great Wall, but beautiful and interesting for sure.

We are now home from our journey. We so loved our trip – just under three months away, 8 countries, staying in 26 different hotels / apartments. It was a wonderful experience that all of us will savor forever – both the memories of the places we visited, but also the time together, traveling as a team. Look forward to seeing everyone!

Great Wall:

Forbidden City:

Temple of Heaven

Summer Palace, and other Misc Beijing Pics:

From Shanghai, we flew down to Yangshuo for three days to explore the beautiful karst mountains. A spectacular spot, but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate to give us the views we were hoping for, such a bummer. On from there to Chengdu, primarily to see the pandas, which did not disappoint! So fun to be able to feed them and help to care for them, as well as to watch the babies romp around. They really couldn’t have been any cuter, we ended up doing a second visit as we couldn’t get enough of them.

From there it was on to the town of Xizhou, outside of the city of Dali, for a stay at the Linden Centre. The Linden Centre is a wonderfully restored heritage hotel that is run by two Americans. The hotel is beautiful – the location and the traditional architecture / design – but also they do a great job of helping their guests engage in the local community and culture. We loved our stay here and would go again for sure – hiking, cooking classes, local markets, hot springs visit, and just meeting some very warm and interesting people.

From there we went to Xi’an for a far-too-short visit to see the Terracotta Warriors. Amazing to see, both the age of the site (2,220+ years) as well as the tremendous work and detail that went into it. Wish we’d had more time to explore the city itself as there is much history here.

From there we went on to Beijing for our final stop!

Chengdu – pandas and local historical sites:

Xizhou (Dali) – Linden Centre:

Yangshuo

Xi’an / Terracotta Warriors:

Leaving Hong Kong, we flew up to Shanghai for three nights. We visited the ancient water town of Zhujiajiao, traditional neighborhoods in the French Concession, the Bund waterfront financial area, a pets market (primarily crickets for sleeping, as well as for fighting!), multiple markets and temples, and snuck in some time for the aquarium! Busy but fun, fascinating city with change evident everywhere.

Zhujiajiao Water Town, and nearby local market:

French Concession and Old City:

Bund, markets (including duck tongue and pressed pig face) and various Shanghai:

Yep, so I fell a bit behind in updates to put it mildly (as I write this from home)…Will post a series of smaller updates, showing our stops in Hong Kong and China over the final three weeks.

We spent essentially two days in Hong Kong, it was quite the contrast to small / laid back Luang Prabang, but a fun and welcome change. Our first day we went to the Peak to get a view over the city, but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with us. Brief snippets of seeing the city that quickly disappeared in the fog. From there we ventured outside the city to see the Giant Buddha, which was beautiful and fun. On our second day we decided to hit an amusement park, Ocean Park, which proved to be far less crowded than feared on a weekend, and was a great change of pace for everyone. Then a ferry over to Discovery Bay to see Dave Kurtz, a friend from Middlesex, who lives there. Fun to see him and to get a glimpse into expat life.

Too short a time here, but fun and memorable nonetheless.

The Peak: tram ride up, not quite the views we were hoping for!

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Giant Buddha

Amusement Park and other HK Pics:

Leaving Thailand, we flew over to Luang Prabang, in northern Laos. We loved the laid back feeling in Laos, much needed after running around in Thailand and knowing we have Hong Kong / China ahead of us. Swimming in waterfalls, kayaking, giving alms to Buddhist monks, feeding elephants, visiting temples and tribal villages, and lots of pool time. Fun and relaxing for sure.

Leaving Vietnam, we went to Thailand for the next two weeks – Chiang Mai, Khao Sok and Khao Lak.  We were fortunate that we were joined by our close friends the Daniels for our time here, as well as my girlfriend Suzanna who joined us for the second week.  It felt amazing to be reunited with them all, and the time in Thailand was a highlight of the trip for all of us.  To put it mildly, we were so grateful to them all for traveling such a long distance to be with us.

In Chiang Mai, we enjoyed a mix of different activities – visiting temples and exploring the city, feeding for / caring / riding elephants, zip lining in the jungle, cooking with a local family, biking around the old city, and visiting with a hill tribe / exploring their farm.  Chiang Mai was bustling and fun to explore, including the night market, but the up close interactions with elephants was the highlight for everyone.  Bananas eaten out of your hands, bathing the elephants, just being able to be around them in such a peaceful and beautiful environment, the whole day was so memorable and fun.

Leaving Chiang Mai, we flew down to Phuket, and from there drove a few hours up to Khao Sok.  We stayed on floating lodges on the lake, surrounded by limestone cliffs and untouched jungle.  Beautiful sunrises and sunsets, tons of kayaking and swimming, and exploring the jungle and caves, including close encounters with monkeys!  Wish we’d had a bit more time here, as it was so quiet and beautiful.

From there, we drove down to Khao Lak, along the Adaman Sea.  We slowed things down a bit – we enjoyed a few wonderful days of diving and snorkeling on the Similan Islands, and also a day of kayaking through the limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay, but managed to carve out a few days of pool / beach time as well (which allowed time for Muay Thai classes!).

Tremendous sadness to leave our friends at the end, we loved every second of our time together, and Thailand was beautiful and welcoming.  On to Laos…

Elephants:

Zip Lining:

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Khao Sok:

Diving in Khao Lak:

Mix of other pics:

Leaving Cambodia, we took the short flight to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. We spent roughly two weeks in Vietnam, heading south to north, with stops along the way in Nha Trang, Hoi An, Halong Bay and Hanoi.  

Ho Chi Minh City was full of energy, though it felt huge and super chaotic from the outset. I have never seen so many motorbikes, and the traffic patterns here are something to behold. I suppose there are intended to be traffic rules, but they are certainly not evident – motorbikes weaving through and across traffic (and often down sidewalks), cars bearing down on them honking incessantly, pedestrians trying to cross streets in groups so that bikes and cars are less likely to hit them. Fascinating to see the vibrancy of the city, with people, stores and restaurants spilling onto the streets, but also a bit overwhelming trying to walk around with the dudes, a few scary moments for sure.  

We did two day trips from here, first heading down to explore the Cu Chi tunnels that the Vietcong used, and then the second day to the Mekong Delta. The Cu Chi tunnels were so interesting to see how extensive the network of tunnels were/are, and the amount of life / activity that happened underground in such incredibly tight spaces. In the Mekong, we explored the river via boat, visited a local market as well as a coconut factory, explored canals by canoe, and had lunch with a local family. A beautiful place, and great to understand a lifestyle that revolves around the river, though you could see effects of pollution and urban sprawl.  

From HCMC, flew up to Nha Trang. Nha Trang is largely a resort town, right on the ocean. Our plan in stopping here was for scuba diving, as we wanted Sam to do his certification dives, and also giving Henry (and me) a chance to do some refresher dives in clear, calm waters. All went well, Sam nailed all of the skills he needed to learn, and Henry and I had fun diving together (Jack snorkeled). The diving was good, not world class, but plenty of good fish and coral. Funny to see many of the signs in Russian in Nha Trang, apparently a frequent destination with direct flights.

Next we flew up to Hoi An, another coastal town further north. Though very much a tourist destination, the old town in Hoi An exudes old charm, we loved wandering the streets, particularly in the evening. We spent a day touring the area with a guide – biking through the countryside, learning local farming techniques, riding on a water buffalo, fishing with nets, exploring the river and riding on the circular bamboo boats. A full day, and obviously a bit staged for tourists, but super fun and interesting nonetheless. We spent a chunk of a day also at the beach, getting tossed around by the waves as well as doing parasailing. Our last day at Hoi An we went to a bar at 6 a.m.…to watch the Super Bowl. Probably 75 people there, ended up sitting next to a bunch of Pats fans, great time.

Leaving Hoi An, we flew up to Hanoi. We headed down to Halong Bay, and spent a night on a boat, cruising through the small islands and visiting caves. A truly beautiful place, wish we could have stayed longer and gotten into some more remote areas. From there we went back up to Hanoi for three nights. These will probably not go down as our most memorable days, a bit hard with much closed for the lunar new year, and some activities that didn’t go quite as planned. Nevertheless a beautiful city and fun to also have some pool time and western food mixed in.

Off to Thailand to meet up with our good friends the Daniels as well as my girlfriend Suzanna!  

Cu Chi Tunnels used by Vietcong:

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Mekong Delta

Diving in Nha Trang:

Biking and Farming in Hoi An:

Buffalo Ride & Fishing in Hoi An, as well as pics of town:

Beach Day & Parasailing, plus 6am Super Bowl:

Halong Bay:

Leaving Singapore, we flew up to Siem Reap, Cambodia for three days. It was quite the contrast, to say the least, to leave the order and cleanliness of Singapore for the chaotic, dusty streets of Siem Reap.

Our primary purpose for going here was to see the Angkor temples, which certainly didn’t disappoint. Amazing to see structures built 800+ years ago, the mixtures of Buddhist and Hindu influences, and gaining a sense for how vast this area was at its heyday.

The boys held up well as I asked them to visit temple after temple in the heat, but we also made time for other activities as well. Had a great excursion out into the countryside on ATVs our first afternoon. We went to see the Phare Circus one evening – it’s a Cirque du Soleil style performance, but with performers who are impoverished or were impacted by the war. So fun to see the mixture of acrobatics, as well as dance, artwork, etc. We also went in to explore Siem Reap itself, and loved getting fish foot massages, exploring markets, trying “fried” ice cream and new foods.

Lastly, we enjoyed some good time around the pool, everyone needed a bit of relaxation time in the afternoons given the heat and how much we’d been running around.

Beautiful place that I would high recommend visiting. Leaving Cambodia, we flew down to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam…

Angkor Wat at Sunrise:

Angkor Thom, “Tomb Raider” temple, etc.:

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Phare Circus:

ATV riding in countryside (stopped at a crocodile farm along the way):

Downtown Siem Reap and hotel pics, including fish foot massage:

Leaving Niseko after a week of awesome skiing, we headed south (3,700 miles) down to Singapore. As we’d originally built this itinerary, there was a direct flight to Singapore – 8 hours, but all manageable. The airline later cancelled that on us, so we ended up with roughly an 18 hour travel day from door to door. Boys held up well considering the chaos of dealing with returning rental car, sprinting to our connecting flight, etc.

We were unfortunately only in Singapore for a few days the way the flights turned out. Given the long day arriving there, we took the first day fairly easy – Starbucks pancakes for breakfast, explored the botanical garden and then headed to a fun water park for the afternoon. We were at the botanical garden during overtime of the Pats vs. Chiefs game, everyone thought we were fairly crazy huddled around my phone and then screaming when the Pats won. No real pics from the water park unfortunately. Leaving the water park, we wandered around Chinatown and the various markets/food stalls, ending up at a seafood place to try a few well known Singaporean dishes such as black pepper crab and hainanese chicken.

Next day we met up with the McDuffee clan, who lived in Singapore and happened to be back for a few days in between their own travel adventures. They generously showed us around the Gardens by the Bay, and the kids got to cool down in the water play area. We spent the day from there checking out the cloud forest, supertrees and skyway, hiked over to the Ferris wheel (boys weren’t too happy about that hike in the heat, and I took us the long way by mistake). Later went to a famous hawker market to try a variety of local foods, and then finally went to see the famous light / water show at the Sands. Long day but super fun.

Wish we’d had more time in Singapore, you could immediately sense the many cultures coming together here, wish we’d been able to explore Little India and other spots. Next time.

From here we flew up to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat…

Stumbled into a Hindu celebration our first morning, ouch:

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Botanical Garden:

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Chinatown dinner, and our first time trying durian (yuck):

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Gardens by the Bay / Cloud Forest / Supertree & Skyway:

Singapore Flyer Ferris wheel, 2nd or 3rd largest in world:

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Lay Pa Sat hawker centre for dinner, followed by light / water show:

Leaving Hiroshima, we flew north up to the island of Hokkaido for a week of skiing at Niseko and Rusutsu. These areas are known for their high snowfall and light powder, and they certainly didn’t disappoint.

Arriving into Sapporo, we rented a car and drove the few hours to Niseko. Driving on the left and on snow most of the time was a bit nerve wracking, but all worked out fine, though happy to drop it in one piece at the end. We rented a wonderful cabin through a family friend which gave us good space to decompress after long days of skiing. The prepared foods at the grocery store were so good (sushi, meat skewers, etc.) that it was nice to have an easy option to eat in several nights. That said, the kitchen table is clearly cursed as I lost to Henry in chess multiple times there…

We were fortunate to get a few sunny days at the beginning to get our legs under us, and see views of Mt. Yotei, and then the snow started and didn’t stop for essentially the rest of the time. Many amazing runs with the dudes through the woods, finding fresh powder tracks all day. Jack did a few days of ski school, which he really enjoyed, allowing Henry, Sam and me to explore a bit more of the mountain. Winds prohibited us from getting to the top areas as much as I would have liked, but we still found plenty of amazing spots.

Niseko in general is far more westernized than other spots in Japan – many, many Aussies who live and work there.

Our last day of skiing we went to the nearby mountain of Rusutsu. More laid back and plenty of good powder. The most memorable part for sure though was the hotel at the base of the mountain which had a singing tree in the lobby, a merry go round, a band setup playing American dixie tunes, the whole thing was a bit surreal.

From here we flew all the way down to Singapore…

Niseko:

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Rusutsu: