Before I begin to try to answer – we both want to say a big thank you and ‘wow’ in response to all of the feedback we’ve had so far on this blog.
There’s lots more we could say, and I imagine we will in time, but for now we’ve been blown away and really moved by the reaction we’ve had to sharing our story. There’s a lot to think about and ‘do’ just now – with planning, packing, organising and finishing up at work – but the support we’ve had from family, friends and colleagues is giving us the energy to move forward. To this big next adventure!
We’ve also been asked quite a few questions which has given us some ideas for future posts. The one most frequently asked, which we’ll attempt to answer now is…
Where are we going?
We’re wondering too, as to be completely honest, we don’t have a fixed plan – entirely on purpose. One of the things that appeals to us about taking a more extended time off work, with no (or very few) commitments is that we don’t need to have a detailed plan.
However, for anyone who knows us – having no plan isn’t an option either (Matt does love a spreadsheet after all). So we’ve probably landed somewhere in the middle, with a bit of thought having gone into the early stages with less specificity as time moves on.
The current vague itinerary looks something like this (photos from previous trips for illustration purposes, we do plan to take some as we go!)
Stage 1: Goodbyes
We plan to set off from Matt’s parents’ house in Lincolnshire before cycling to my parents in Norfolk. We’ll then head south to catch the overnight ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland.
Stage 2: Eurovelo-ing
Weather, terrain and whatever takes our fancy dependent – we think we will utilise the EuroVelo routes (plus variations) to cycle down and across Europe, with the hope of making it to Istanbul in June.
This should mean a fair amount of time alongside the Rhine in Germany:
Some Alpine action:
Possibly into Eastern Europe via Austria:
And Slovenia:
With some exploration of the Balkans and Greece:
Before reaching the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Istanbul.
Stage 3: Southeast Asia
We do have a commitment in July – Luke and Jiji’s wedding in Bangkok. Depending on our pace to Istanbul we are aiming to fly to Bangkok or possibly Singapore and explore some of Malaysia/Thailand/Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam:
…before reacquainting ourselves with the sights and sounds of Bangkok properly (please can everyone wish Matt good luck for a two night stag do).
We have another commitment in August! (Who said we didn’t have a plan?) The Cope-massive (Matt’s parents, brother and sister-in-law and nephew and niece) have realised that they can’t do without us for longer than a few months and so have booked flights to meet up with us in Bali for a fortnight. We’re already looking forward to the airport reunion.
Stage 4: South Korea/Japan? Maybe?
This really is where the plan starts to get vaguer. We’d both love to go back to Japan and whilst Matt claims to have been to South Korea, we think there might be a bit more to explore than a few hours spent in Seoul between flights. Plus we love kimchi! Late summer/autumn should be beautiful.
Stage 5: Australia/New Zealand, we hope
By now we should be heading towards northern hemisphere winter which we fully intend to avoid, so hope to make our way to Australia and then New Zealand.
So a plan? Yes.
A plan plan by our normal standards? Not quite.
But let’s see where the road takes us. (And you can follow our progress here!)
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