It has been 10 years since we left South Africa and 10 years since we started blogging. In the first year we enthusiastically blogged about everything; a total of 69 blog posts in just 12 months. We soon realised that blogging takes time and decided to focus on our travel experiences.
We left South Africa on 27 December 2010. Over the last ten years we have lived in four countries on four continents (five countries and five continents if you include South Africa). This blog post is an overview of the last 10 years.
Part 1. Living in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Europe.
The last 6 months had been spent planning our move to Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Justin had been offered a job with an engineering consultancy firm and Bronwen was in the process of writing up her Doctorate in microbiology. Justin's new job would only start on 1st April 2011, so we had three months to travel and get to know some of Europe.
Following a three day stop over in Dubai, we arrived in London on 31st December 2010. The first month was spent in London, Dublin, County Meath, Cambridge, a village called Bishop Wilton, and we even made it to Stonehenge. We then moved on to Rotterdam to find an apartment and deal with a few other admin tasks. During the next two months we managed to get to Germany (Berlin and Munich), Czech Republic (Prague), Austria (Innsbruck to trying skiing for the first time), Italy (Florence and Rome), Spain (Barcelona and Madrid), Portugal (Lisbon) and France (Paris). Once April arrived it was time to settle in to our new normal, with work being the focus from Monday to Friday, and weekends spent exploring the various parts of the Netherlands.
Living in the Netherlands, and with Europe on our doorstep, we managed to find time over the next 2.5 years to travel to Belgium (Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp), Scotland (Glasgow and the Highlands), and Switzerland (from Geneva to Interlaken to Bern). We also had return trips to parts of Spain (Andalusia and Valencia), Ireland (County Kerry), and Italy (Venice) that we had not yet visited. And a bit further afield we had a holiday to USA to visit family which included a stopover in Iceland. Not bad for the first two and a half years abroad.
An inquisitive squirrel, Washington, USA
Whilst on holiday in Switzerland we received a call from Justin's work. The company had just won a big project in Brazil and we were asked to relocate to Vitoria Brazil for the next 8 to 10 months. This was June 2013.
Part 2. Living in Vitoria, Brazil, South America.
Straight after our Swiss holiday, Justin unpacked one bag and repacked another to head off to Vitoria Brazil. Bronwen stayed on for a further 6 weeks to finish up her job and pack up the apartment. The 8 to 10 month assignment ended up turning into a two year posting. During this time we managed to explore a small part of Brazil, with Rio de Janeiro, Iguaza Falls and Floripa being the highlights. We also spent a large amount of time in Peru (approximately 6 months of the two years that we were in South America), visited dear friends in Chile on a few occasions, had an amazing holiday in Costa Rica, and got to explore the Chilean and Argentinian sides of Patagonia. There was also a trip back to South Africa to catch up with family whilst dealing with visa paperwork.
Here is in in Rio de Janeiro.
Our favourite place to visit whenever we are in Cape Town.
Part 3. Living in Perth, Australia, Oceania.
In June 2015 we needed to make a decision, extend our visas and stay for another year in Brazil, or leave. Whilst we had enjoyed our time in South America, and especially the travel opportunities that we had, we decided it was time to move on. We were presented with a few opportunities and decided to take up the offer of moving to Perth. First though a stop over in South Africa to visit family.
Australia is a massive country. It is a five hour flight just to get from Perth to Sydney. By comparison a five hour flight from Amsterdam would take you well out of Europe, no matter which direction you decided to fly. Whilst living in Perth we managed to explore most of Western Australia, from Albany in the south to Exmouth in the north. Swimming with Whale Sharks in Exmouth is definitely one of the highlights from our time there. Within Australia we also managed to get over to the east coast to see Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef.
Travels outside of Australia took us to Indonesia (Bali and Lombok), Vietnam (Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay, and Hoi An), and Thailand (Phuket, Chang Mai and Bangkok).
In February 2018, after about two and a half years in Perth, it was time to move on again. Once again we were presented with a few options, and this time we selected Vietnam.
Part 4. Living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, SE Asia.
As had by now become normal, we started our move with a stop over in South Africa to visit family and friends. This included a road trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town via the Kruger National Park, south coast of Natal, St Francis Bay, and the Garden Route.
Once back in Vietnam, the usual work routine took over. We managed to find time to explore more of Vietnam, and also a few other countries. We visited the impressive temples of Angkor in Cambodia, spent two weeks doing a road trip through New Zealand, and visited the very relaxed town of Luang Prabang in Laos. In January 2020 we were fortunate to be able to make another trip back to South Africa. We got back to Vietnam just as the Covid19 pandemic was starting to spread and have been here since. There have been opportunities for a few short trips around Vietnam thanks to the control measures that were put in place at an early stage to prevent the spread of the corona virus.
This year, 2020, has been a very different kind of year. Hardly any travels and a great opportunity for the two of us to spend more time at home together. General expectations seem to be that international travel will recommence in 2021, but perhaps only towards the end of the year. We look forward to seeing what the next 10 years has in store, but for now we have no plans to leave Vietnam and will continue to enjoy the travel opportunities in and around this region.
Thanks for reading our blog. We hope you have enjoyed the armchair travels and that we have helped to inspire some of your travel plans. Until the next blog post...
