Around the world in 80 weeks
Trip Start
Nov 06, 2009
1
354
Trip End
May 28, 2011
Where I stayed
Continental flight 1742
Newark, New York
Friday, May 27, 2011
The sound on the in-flight entertainment system is rubbish so instead I'm passing the time reflecting on the places we've been, things we've done, and friends we've seen and made in the past 18 months and 23 days.
Since leaving Cookham train station...
...and passing through London, Belgium and Germany....
to our first stop: Warsaw, Poland, with the lovely Ania.
On to Moscow, where we recieved wonderful hospitality from Irina, Barbara and Vladimir in Orechovo Zuevo, and Inara in the city.
Then back on the train...
...before stepping on to the Europe-Asia divide and two feet of snow in Ekaterinberg...
...getting off the beaten track in Abakan and Sayanogorsk with Marina and Alexey...
...vodka shenanigans in Irkutsk with Anastasia, Neil, John, Laura, Daniel and Stefanie (the first of several meet-ups we were fortunate to have with the lovely Daniel and Stefanie)...
...the breath-taking Lake Baikal...
...the first of many beautiful Buddhist temples in Ulan Ude...
...home sweet home on the train...
...and enjoying Mongolian hospitality, transport and cuisine with Marketa and Tomas.
We got literary on the train...
...had a wonderful welcome to China from Natasha, Morag and Dan in Beijing...
...walked the great wall with Sandra, Jonathan & Tyler...
...and with Freddy trekked the gorgeous Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Had our second meeting with Stefanie and Daniel, for Christmas in Sanya...
Fell in love with Hong Kong...
Made a pit-stop in Macau...
...had fun and games and Sangsom with Andy and Nat in Bangkok...
...and lived it up in the lap of luxury thanks to George's lovely folks, Ane & Chris.
'Settled down' in Khao Lak, and had a cracking time with Ken, Nat, Graine, Sharon, Lane, Emily, Lauren and all the kids at school...
...and Andy, Joo and Enya at the wonderful Walkers Inn.
Fun in the sun and cocktail bars with Nat and Nadia in Railay.
Michael & Eija joined us in Vietnam to celebrate Risto's big Three-Oh.
We travelled by bus...
...by boat...
...by jeep...
... by train...
...by bike...
...by motorbike...
...and by foot...
We lived it up in Laos...
...making new friends in Vang Vieng...
.... with Mae Nam and Mae Buakham in Luang Prabang...
...and Roger & Jo in Vientianne.
...were amazed at Angkor Wat
...and biked around the Bolaven Plateau with Julie & Dave.
Had a lovely time with Anna & Mike...
...watching Muay Thai
...cooking Pad Thai
...biking through Pai...
...fishing piranhas...
...water-fighting ...
...and flying through the jungle....
Fun at OPC...
...at work
...at play....
...and in the water.
We joined Nick & Nui for their nuptials in Chiang Rai...
...and were reunited with Sofia, Zak & Jools in Kuala Lumpur.
Had a marvellous welcome from Harry, Becks, Sil, Vinnie, Em, Dee, Enzo and the magnificent Mezzas in Melbourne....
...made furry new friends...
...drank birthday wine in the Yarra Valley...
....backed the Bombers....
Everybody needs good Neighbours...
Toured around Tassie with Becks & Harry...
Back to work for Risto (temporarily - phew!) in Sydney...
.....where we recieved a very warm welcome from Vicky and Mark...
....and Hannah made friends at Unions NSW...
...got in the papers a few times....
...and rubbed shoulders with the PM...
Got back to the 80s with Brett Easton Ellis and A Tribe Called Quest...
...and Harry filmed the marvellous Mumford & Sons.
We ran the biggest road race in the world in Sydney...
...and made lovely housemates with Brett, Mags, Crevan, Costy, Mauricio & Dave in Rozelle.
We road tripped around New Zealand's south island with Dee...
....hung out on the beach....
...trotted on the Fox Glacier....
...got puzzled in Wanaka....
and had our breath taken away by scenes like this:
We hung out with penguins in Oamaru...
....cheeky Keas in Milford...
...sealions in Surat Bay...
...and baby seals in Ohau.
We learnt that Kiwis like L&P...
...and to hang things on fences.
Their undies... ....their shoes....
...their hats....
and their 'jandals'...
We got world famous in Whangamata...
...bathed on a (very) hot beach...
...and drank wine in Marlborough.
We took a road trip with Matt...
...kayaked....
...hung out on the beach...
...and watched Sonny Bill vs the Naki in Taranaki.
We ate honey in Havelock...
...carrots in Ohakune...
...and drank more wine in Napier.
We visited world-record breaking Taumata whakatangi hangakoauau o tamatea turi puka...
We caught up with with Chris & Nadia in Palmy...
...and again with Stefanie & Daniel in Tongariro.
Fell in love with Sulphur City....
....ran in the Redwoods, made friends at the Funky Green and skydived over Rotorua...
We crayfished (badly) with Esther on the East Cape....
The Van Dyks spoiled us rotten in Auckland, where we ran the Waitakere half...
...saw penguins...
...and gannets...
...and lots of doggies....
and Christmas came early! Then to the other side of the world, landing in Chile, where we...
...sampled pisco in Santiago....
...saw graffiti, and many dogs, in Valparaiso...
...drank beer in Valdivia...
..climbed a volcano with Matt in Pucon...
...and got back to nature in Chiloe and the Lake District.
Drank Welsh tea and Italian Fernet in Trevelin with Ben, Caroline, Sam, James and John...
Watched whales...
... and seals and ice in Patagonia.
Got blown away - literally - on the 'W' with Andrea, Maddi, Ilise, Nadine & Alex...
Stayed with Estefi & Pancho at the end of the world...
AMAZING ANTARCTICA!
An indescribably incredible time on the White continent with the Andreas, Mark, Marton, Michelle, Dylan, Guy, Laurent, Byrce, Anjali, Dhruve, George, Bettina & lots of penguins...
Christmas Eve with Rob, Sonia, Julianne, Hernan, Jenny, Juan & kids.....
....and Christmas Day with Alison, Matt and Nick in Buenos Aires.
Pit-stopped in Uruguay...
...passed through Paraguay.
Hooked up with Andy in sunny Salta....
...saw many pretty coloured rocks....
....and tasted wine, wine sorbet & goats cheese in Cafayate with Melanie.
Hola Bolivia!
...where we had fun in the desert, the incredible Salar de Uyuni, and a train graveyard with Emily, Andy, Sophie, Aimee, Justin and Jared....
We nested in Sucre for a bit.....
...while Risto went to school...
...Hannah went to work with the shoeshine kids...
...and we made lovely friends in Michelle, Ruaidhri, Sandy, Ron and Philly.
Risto celebrated turning 31 with some hiking in Huaraz, Peru...
We got panama-hatted in Ecuador...
.....and rode horses......
...steam-bathed....
...ate guinea pig...
...hiked inside a volcano...
...enjoyed a mojito or three with Kat & Ian...
...met up with George again...
...carnavalled
...and journeyed to the centre of the Earth.
Partied with friends old and new in Colombia...
....Elise, Joja & Nestor in Bogota....
Johanna & Candelario in Medellin....
...Emily, Eugenia & Teresa in Caribbean Cartagena....
Got wet & muddy with Johanna in the Darien...
... and caught a private jet to Panama, where...
...we were reunited with Sven in Puerto Obaldia...
...Sarah & Simon in Panama City...
...and Karima in Boquete...
Back to nature with Benny, Dillon, Yasmin and Caroline in Costa Rica.
Slept on a volcanic island, bathed in volcanic thermal pools, swam in a volcanic crater lagoon, surfed down an active volcano, and peered into a molten lava-filled volcano crater in Nicaragua.
Roasted cashew on Volcan Telica with Anry....
....and made chocolate in Granada with Si & Sarah...
Semana Santa in El Salvador with Carlos, Nellie, Sam & Raine.
Ancient caving in Belize.
Ruins galore in Honduras, Guatemala & Mexico...
Back to beautiful Chiapas...
... and San Cristobal de las Casas...
...where we met up with Si, Sarah & Sven, again...
...and finally to the wonderful Ramirez muegano in Mexico City...
...and being spoiled rotten by Pepe, Chelo, Danny & Diego in Guanajuato & Jaliso...
...before returning to the wonderful Ramirez muego in Mexiquito lindo, and flying back to Blighty.
The End.
p.s. if you have enjoyed following this blog please post a comment below - I'd love to know where it is being read, thank you!
Comments
Hannah and Chris,
AMAZING! It looks more incredible when you look at it all in one post.
Welcome home though! We are so glad you're back!!
Thanks Anna, it almost feels like we've never been away now!
Thanks for sharing yours journey with us. My travel fever at least not relieved when i read your blog entries.Hopefully we see you soon in finland.
thanks Katri - see you in Finland (or brighton!) again soon, hope you're well! x
what an incredible trip! can't believe you're actually home. LONGING to know how it feels to be back.
was great to see you, but TOO SHORT! bad timing, short notice and all that. you'll have to come again. :)
so, back to work now, huh?
love joolz and tribe xxxxxxxxxxx
Wow.
No tengo palabras con que dar gracias a Dios por tenerlos de regreso en casa, por tener una hija como tu, que nunca dejo de estar en contacto en este maravilloso viaje, sin tus blogs no hubiera sobrevivido gracias te adora mamaxxx
Good work wife, helps me remember the trip.
Joolz - would love to come back out and visit you, but may be some time before another holiday! Being back is nice though, not having to live out of a backpack, and having money.
What a trip. Thank you for sharing it in such honest, humorous, and intimate detail. I especially enjoyed your trip to Antarctica, and the New Zealand adventures. I only joined the blog halfway through, so I'm looking forward to going back and reading about Russia, China and southeast Asia.
We're back in the UK for Christmas, so I hope we get to see you both. Congratulations, and thanks again.
Thanks Hawk. NZ was a real suprise to me, a beautiful place. And Antarctica was undoubtably the highlight of the entire trip. Am looking forward to seeing you all when you're back at Xmas. Chris