One year ago, we quit our jobs, packed up our entire apartment and moved away from New York City. We took a huge leap of faith.
We said goodbye to our old way of living, and hello to our new nomadic life.
Both the good:
And the bad:
Since then, we’ve embarked on an incredible journey, filled with new experiences.
In one year, we accomplished more things than we could have ever imagined. In one year, we have:
- Visited 10 countries: West coast of the US, Canada, Mexico, Sint Maarten, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saba, England, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan
- Traveled by plane, train, car, bus and boat
- Took off and landed more than 20 times and accumulated more than 80,000 miles
- Spent 2 harrowing nights in an airport waiting for a connecting flight
- Climbed to the top of Mount Fuji and swam with sharks in Redang
- Taken over 4,000 photos
- Started this travel blog
We’ve learned that:
- Mexico City is the best kept secret
- London is cold in the winter, but it doesn’t stop people from eating and drinking outside
- It’s best not to look when riding in a bus across the mountains of Malaysia in a thunderstorm in the middle of the night
- Driving in Los Angeles is the worst
- Singapore is not as strict about rules as it is made out to be
- Japan never gets old
We experienced monumental moments in history:
- We were in the Caribbean when the Zika virus scare began
- We were in London when David Bowie died
- We were in Sapporo when Emperor Akihito addressed the public for only the second time during his reign
- We were in Mexico during the Copa America Cup and the Euro Cup
- We were in Tokyo for the closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe channeled Mario to promote the next Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
- We were in Malaysia when Pokemon Go launched.
It’s been one year since we’ve broken out of the cube and into the real world.
As we enter year two of this adventure, with each new destination, we hope to never stop exploring, learning and growing.
Grace and Matt climbed Mt Fuji in the “bullet climb” fashion, going up and down within 24 hours without a sleep over in one of the mountain huts. So, they started in the evening, climbed and hiked in the night, and submitted before the sunrise. Also, since they have to travel light, the climb is accomplished without using much usual hiking sticks, etc, accessories.
Grace also had summited the highest mountain of Netherlands. (Surprises !! it is in Saba, Caribbean teritory.).
Life is a journey. Grace and Matt have plunged into the great adventure that most of us talk about but never dare to do. By reading your blog, we went with you to your travel and exploration. Wish you a happy second year on your exploring, growing and learning.