Explore the content by country/ trip (Original MHIS)
3 Trips across 16 countries. Click any country below to see the related Photos and Podcasts
The plan for the project is best described in the Intro Episode of the โMy Home is Specialโ podcast. However, sometimes the best plans have to change because… life happens. The original November 2023 travel plan is here. Below is what actually happened. You can click on any of the countries below to see the content (podcasts & photos) from that country.
If you’re curious, here’s the sabbatical “by the numbers“:
Time:
- 182 days off with 135 days away from home
Travels & transit getting to/ from each destination:
- 16 Countries (15 capital cities) across 4 continents
- 42 flights and 42 hotel checkins (coincidence)
- 6 trains, 4 buses, 2 cruises, 7 private cars, 4 buses
Creative pursuits:
- 21,630 photos taken (by both of us – Tasha was probably 1,000 or so)
- 3,791 โfavoriteโ photos published in 63 galleries (Asia: 22, South America: 22, Africa: 10, Europe: 9)
- 810 IG story posts at @KBevPhoto (theyโre still up, in the โhighlightsโ)
- 27ish podcast episodes published (more coming)
Loop 1: South America (40 days)
We started in Peru ๐ต๐ช with some time in Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. After that, we visited Bolivia ๐ง๐ด to see La Paz, Lake Titicaca, and the Uyuni Salt Flats. Uyuni was even more magical that I could have imagined. There is no place like it on Earth. Over land, we spent a day touring and making our way to the Atacama Desert in Chile ๐จ๐ฑ for a few days before resting in Santiago for a bit. From there, we hit the Chilean side of Patagonia. It was the most exclusive place we stayed and the only place I got bad food poisoning. We ended the trip with almost 2 weeks in Buenos Aires, Argentina ๐ฆ๐ท and Montevideo, Uruguay ๐บ๐พ. The pizza in Argentina and the ubiquity of Mate in Uruguay were both underestimated.
Loop 2: Korea & SE Asia (43 days)
Because there’s a K-drama fan in the house, our first stop was South Korea ๐ฐ๐ท. Getting settled into the time zone was the plan for this first stop. However, the DMZ and Jeju Island were fun stops. Korea was just a lot colder than I expected. From there, we hit Cambodia ๐ฐ๐ญ to see the capital and the temples up north. After a short hop, we spent a lot of time in Vietnam ๐ป๐ณ and made out way through 3 cities with an extended stop in Da Nang for Radkial Forze Jan. After the frenetic pace of Vietnam, Laos ๐ฑ๐ฆ was amazing stops for us and worthy of a visit if your anywhere in the region. From there, it was another quick hop to spend some time in Chang Mai. Then, we had “family” from Chicago join us for our last stop in Thailand ๐น๐ญ (Bangkok).
Loop 3: Africa & Europe (48 days)
After some crazy visa drama, the only stop we made in West Africa was Ghana ๐ฌ๐ญ. We had a chance to spend a week in Portugal ๐ต๐น with the boys after that. Once they went home, we continued on to Greece ๐ฌ๐ท. The highlight of the trip was certainly the time we spent in Egypt ๐ช๐ฌ. Words can’t do it justice, nor can my photos (but I tried). If you can get there, you should go for sure. England ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ was a stop with two plans: (1) Go see all the stolen stuff in The British Museum and (2) see our “family”. We didn’t expect to hit a 16th country, but Cardiff, Wales ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ was so close we made the stop.