You Asked, We Answered
Ideally, we are not. There is so much we want to see and do and we have fallen in love with our lives the way it currently is. Our goal is to keep travelling for as long as possible. We will stop by home once in a while to see family, but it won’t be a permanent thing for a long time.
Johnathan – This is a very hard question to answer because I love all of the countries for different reasons. If I had to pick 1 though, I would say Japan. The people, food, nature, architecture, I could go on. If I had to settle down tomorrow and I could pick anywhere, I would move to Japan in a heartbeat.
Robyn – I love many things about a lot of the countries I have visited, and my enjoyment usually depends on my mood. Denmark was a surprise country that wasn’t planned, and I fell in love. A great place for families. Jordan felt Iconic and Scotland was mesmerizing, a hiker’s dream. Peru was my #1 and I loved it. I thought I would never make it to Peru and making it there had me in tears. I don’t think I can say which one is my number one. The ones I have mentioned have definitely left a positive impact on my life.
We saved for years to travel because we knew that “one day” we were going to travel the way we do now. We are using those funds to travel the way we do. It takes much sacrifice and dedication to make it happen.
Currently, we have been using Home Exchange for our accommodations. The entire length of our Canada and USA road trip will be Home Exchange. Before this, it was a mix of hotels, hostels, Airbnb’s, Home Exchanges, and house sitting. Doing Home Exchange and house sitting has afforded us to stay in and visit a variety of places we otherwise would have not due to expense.
Johnathan – Honestly, no. I do not want to go back home at all. I would be more anxious about having to go home than never going home again. I do miss my Family though. I have no desire to go back home but I do wish I could see my family more often.
Robyn – Not at all. I do miss family and friends and wish they had the time to come see us. But I can’t imagine having to return to my old life. I left for my health and well-being. I finally feel like my old self and that’s important to me. I am a changed person after this much travel and a home base in a city I no longer relate to doesn’t entice me.
The food options. We never realized how spoiled we were with food options while living in Toronto. There is food from all over the world which honestly tastes better than where the food is originally from. We miss having access to such a variety, on the cheap, whenever we wanted. Oh, and the sunrises and sunsets. We have seen some amazing sunsets and sunrises in our travels, but none have been able to match the spectacle and beauty of colours the sky presents in Toronto. They are truly awe-inspiring in Toronto.
No, we plan to “slow down” a bit but not stop. Ideally, we find a place to call home where that is our base of operations. Stay there for 3-6 months out of the year and spend the rest of the time travelling the world.
Johnathan – I don’t think I could narrow down a favourite part about travelling. I suppose it would be learning, learning about new places and people. Learning about myself, how much I can do, how far I can grow, how much more I am willing to push myself. For me to travel is to learn. Being an inquisitive person who loves to learn this is always achieved while travelling.
Robyn – I love learning. Being able to see history has been amazing. Seeing where battles took place, art and architecture were created, geography was formed, and more is mind-blowing. I have always drifted to new learning experiences so I think that if I wasn’t learning, travel wouldn’t be so interesting to me.
Johnathan – I would not have skipped any place we have gone. Even if I did not like the place at the time, I have found that over time I came to appreciate the places I thought I didn’t like. Everywhere gave me an experience and a valuable lesson about myself and future travel. There are some activities I would have skipped though; a lot of places have some terrible walking tours and I generally felt we could have used our time better if we had skipped some of them.
Robyn – When I hear this question Egypt comes to mind first. We spent 30 days in Egypt, and we did everything on our own. The tip culture here was overwhelming. You are asked for a tip to cross the road, open a door or even if you smile at a person. I loved seeing the sites in Egypt and I love koshary. But I would not recommend others to visit here. If this is a bucket list destination for you. Get in and get out as fast as possible. We constantly felt like we were being ripped off or taken advantage of. Most tours were uninformative. I feel disappointed that this was my experience. We had some positive and great interactions; however, they were with fewer people.