Hello Hello! It's been so long!

We waited a good time, before we ventured off to another place and of course we picked something extraordinary, ICELAND!






All pictures (c) Anna :)

In the last 8 months we have lived a life that we never thought we would, here are some facts.

To travel around the world it took us 20 plane rides (16 hours being the longest ride and 45 minutes being the shortest ride), 7 ferry/boat rides, 7 overnight/day trains, 4 long haul busses, 2 car rentals, and 2 campervans, (sorry EMU didn't mean to kill you).

We visited 4 continents, 11 countries,  and 34+ cities and slept on 48 different beds.

We had one big suitcase, small carry on, day pack and a purse for two people for 8 months.

I think it's safe to say, we adapted quickly and without hesitation.

How do you write the end to a journey that you can't summarize or explain. The only thing that lingers are the memories engrained forever.

I began thinking of a trip similar to this a while back, when I was broke and google by my side. It was only supposed to be a volunteer trip in Asia and by myself. Then I dreamt bigger and bigger and said why not? You live once? I have been saving for 5 years it was time for us to spend some money and run away from the stressful life.

That early morning on January 1st, 2013 our great friends Jason and Ashley drove us to the airport. All we had was a one way ticket to Melbourne and a hotel for 6 nights. With faint lines on what countries we wanted to visit. The rest came along on a day by day, week by week and even sometimes a month by month.

This trip changed us, in ways we weren't expecting. Our eyes opened to things we didn't know. It's impossible to say what was the favourite place, or the favourite part. The shitty days were just as important as the amazing ones. But if I were to choose a few places that I would come back to for sure it would be:

1. Chiang Mai, Thailand
2. Rothenberg, Germany
3. Prague, Czech
4. Singapore, Singapore
5. Great Ocean Road, Australia.

I could go on forever writing on this experience, but I want to keep it short and sweet, besides Ali already explained some great things.

I don't have any regrets about any places we went to. I miss it everyday and euphoria has not come off just yet, and I am hoping it will never come off. This trip gave me a travel bug the size of Russia, making me hungry for more. So stay tuned as this blog will be updated as another trip of our lifetime begins. But do give us some time, as the money needs to be replenished first.

Thank you all for reading, we enjoyed seeing our page views get higher and higher.

Anna <3

PS. Couldn't end this one without pictures!

Here is my selection of one favourite picture from every single country we visited (idea suggested by my travelling friend Elise).

12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Australia - January 2013 It was a windy day, and about 1000 people, but that couldn't take away the beauty of this place.

Matamata, Hobbiton, New Zealand - January 2013 It was a super warm and sunny day, we were with a group of 20 and our guide was absolutely hilarious.

Monkey Forest, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia - February 2013 It was a steamy hot day, we were surrounded by 100s of monkeys who terrified me.

Orchid Garden in the Botanical Gardens, Singapore, Singapore - February 2013 It was so hot my camera kept pausing from overheating, the mutant orchids were breathtaking.

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - March 2013 It was a hot summer day, where the heat off the metal towers were felt, this tower made you feel tiny.

Elephant Sanctuary, Chiang Mai, Thailand - May 2013 This explains the moment when an elephant gets so happy and excited to have a bath, we bathed a few ourselves.



Café in Rothernburg o.d.t, Germany - June 2013 An awful freezing wet day but the beautiful little café was enough to get us excited.

Gothic Church, Vienna, Austria - June 2013 The way the sun streamed through the stained glass made me speechless.

Astronomy Clock, Prague, Czech - June 2013 The most unique clock I had ever seen. The detail in that is incredible.

Castle Region, Budapest, Hungary - June 2013 The horse and rider as one.

Cherhoness, Sevastopol, Ukraine - July 2013 The ruins that made me feel uber young, with the cold black sea.

All pictures were taken by me! (C) Anna B!! Don't steal, or I will use my genius skills to find you :)

Trying to summarize a trip like this is a daunting task. There were so many memories
that I can recall and so many more that I need to review all the blogs just to trigger. This
was by far the most amazing experience of my life and it wouldn't have even happened
if it wasn't for Anna, so a big shout goes out to her for that. The challenges of our trip
are recalled just as fondly to me as the joys if it. The intense heat of Malaysia and
Singapore; the overnight trains in Thailand; the crash in Wellington that claimed the life
of "Nathan The Emu" and the resulting events that it triggered. Almost every expectation
we had about the places we were visiting were completely dashed, and this isn't said
lightly as we did a lot of research before hand on each country. One question I get
asked a lot is this, "what was your favorite place you visited?". As you can imagine, this
is not a simple question to answer. There were so many wonderful moments that I can't
think of one place that really grabbed me more than the others. I can say my experience
in Ukraine was quite singular in that I was welcomed with open arms to the Anna's
clan and all the kindness and food that came with it had a huge impact on me.  Since
each place and experience that went with it was unique it’s tough for me to pick one
over the other.

What I will offer is a list of the 10 that stand out for me in no particular
order.

• Thailand
• Singapore
• Rothenburg OBT
• Vienna
• Prague
• Bali
• Great Ocean Road
• Hobbiton
• Kuala Lumpur
• Melbourne

I’d go back to any of these places in a heartbeat! The one thing I can tell you is that
in all of the places we went we experienced many different religions from western
christianity to eastern buddhism to islam. All the places in the world are changing and
developing. The impact on me was astounding to see that my outdated perceptions
were completely wrong. It was a good thing to know that even though many places have
their old traditions, they are also embracing the new world as best they can. They all
love really good action movies and going out with friends and family and great food!
Standards of living were definitely not all equal, which made me very thankful I come
from Canada and quickly became very sympathetic to those who fight very hard to
come to Canada, United States, or any country that has a higher standard of living or
a middle class. Despite adversity in all these places we found the people were always
strong in spirit and happy for what they do have. No matter how little they had they were
always generous with food and accommodations.

Best country to drive in was definitely Germany. They have the best road system I
have ever seen. No traffic hangups. Lights for everyone from cyclists to pedestrians,
and great drivers who NEVER clog the left lane! The most beautiful and challenging
was New Zealand. Australia has the Great Ocean Road, but New Zealand was pretty
everywhere. So many sheep, undulating hills, valleys, rivers, and mountains. It's really
breathtaking to see. New Zealand also has the worst drivers of all the countries we
drove in. Sorry guys. Insurance isn't compulsory and the age of full licensing is very low.
Best country of nature exploration is Australia. It has the most unique ecosystem in the
world, and so many beautiful places to explore. We find ourselves constantly stopping
at the side of the road to explore trails, observe animals, and just enjoy the natural
beauty of it all.

Best country for sitting on a patio and having a coffee would be Vienna, with Germany
as a close second. Cafes are always full of people and the streets are always lively and
fun to observe. Germany was similar, but Vienna had a certain liveliness to it that was
hard to match. The sheer amount of places to see, festivals to experience, and cultural
activities happening at any given time are mind boggling. It makes Toronto look like the
North Pole in the middle of summer! We found some of the best parts of Vienna were
free to explore and enjoy. The only downside against it was that it was one of the most
expensive places to have a coffee as well.

Best place to eat besides with Anna's family on Datcha is Chiang Mai, Thailand. Why?
It's cheap and the curries are amazing! I couldn't get enough of them. So many varieties
and all of them taste incredible. We were rarely disappointed. Now this doesn't apply in
Bangkok or the islands. Chiang Mai spoiled us considerably. Behind Thailand, I'd say
Germany. Such high quality food and not nearly as expensive as you might expect. If
you hit up a grocery store you'll save a tonne while enjoying some great food.

Best place to appreciate modern architecture was Singapore. Europe has a lot of old
architecture, which is absolutely beautiful, but Singapore is the most forward looking
place of all we've been. Modern, unique, and very ambitious in all respects. Everything
from the Marina Bay Sands hotel to the airport to the alien trees are all statements of
innovation and creativity. Easy to get lost in it all. The city is special in that it offers so
much both during the day and in the evenings. The architecture takes on a whole other
life when the sun goes down as well.

Friendliest people: This one is very difficult. It is a tie between New Zealand and Bali.
The people of Bali are very spiritual and open. They always greet you with a smile and
are have overcome great adversity without affecting their beliefs and way of life. It is not
uncommon to end up in someone's dining room for dinner. New Zealanders were also
exceedingly friendly. There were times we needed help and they bent over backwards
to help us, many times at great expense to themselves. They really go out of their way
to be friendly. They're proud and outgoing, but not arrogant.

I can say we definitely learned a lot from our travels. Having seen all the countries we
have truly impacted how we see the world today. There is much beauty in the world and
diversity that you can't imagine until you see it for yourself. We're very lucky we live in a
time and in a country where we have access to travel and accommodations around the
world for relatively little money. In the past only the wealthy travelled, but today almost
anyone can, and should. Let yourself get lost in it and you'll see, like we did, that the
world and people in it are not nearly as different as you think. In fact, those differences
are fading with each passing day. One thing I've learned, is that I have a lot to learn.

Thank you all for following our blogs over the past year. I hope this isn't the last trip of
our lifetime that we take.

Stay tuned for Anna's last words
Ali

PS. Enjoy ...FOOD!

Sevastopol, who goes to Sevastopol for a beach vacation? Is what everyone in Dnepropetrovsk asked us when we were boarding the night train. We really didn't have an answer to that question, only that we heard somewhere, somehow this was the place to be. Sevastopol is a beautiful city which is only 230 years old, surrounded by the beautiful black sea and monuments to remember the dark side of the wars.

Sadly Ali wasn't with us to enjoy the last world adventure. His world tour ended on July 9th, and he will be writing his insights in the next post.

Sevastopol was all about enjoying life the Ukrainian way. Some sort of alcohol from the morning until the next morning when it was time to sleep, followed by borsht for breakfast and sheesha for dinner. Of course this wasn't done in the same place all the time, we explored Sevastopol the proper way, saw everything (so we thought) we could see.

• Chersonessos, the beautiful ruins that are only 2,500 years old, with amazing history and continuous archaeology explorations.
• 35 Seacost Battery, which explained what happened in the war, while we stood almost in tears looking up all the names and the only pictures they have restored of the fallen. Which was an amazing tour and surprising completely free of charge.
• Balaklava Bay, a hidden little bay but with a secret underground tunnel-plant for submarines repair. Which is an awful tour and you should never ever go unless something changes in the next 20 years.
• Cape Fiolent, one of the most beautiful, hard to get places in the Crimea. Takes 800 steps to walk down to the beautiful beach, where the only way out is a ship to the Balaklava (see above) or up those 800 (which feels like 1500) steps.
• And various, various beaches the curved our craving for a cold beer, and a good game of cards.

On our last day, we met some people who were also tourist who asked us where we had been, and what we had seen. We felt proud to answer the questions as we felt like seasoned locals of Sevastopol, it could of been the false confidence of the downtown Sevastopol apartment and the great energy of our friend Igor. Only to be squashed down and pushed off our pedestal by the tourists saying, "Really, that's all you have seen?". On that sad note we learned, we only saw about 10% of Sevastopol. But now at least we knew the real answer to the question, "What is there really to do in Sevastopol"? The true answer is a mild laughter followed by "are you kidding me?".

The last night in Sevastopol crept so fast it seemed only I was feeling the walls closing in. This meant that was my last night on my world tour, the next couple nights would be in a train to Kiev and a flight to Toronto. This meant, I was going back to homeland, English speaking civilization, with  responsibilities and stress. It has been almost three weeks since I landed in Toronto, where I am taking a breather before going back to Calgary to face reality. Can't wait to see what our minds comes up with for our last 2 blog posts on this incredible journey. Stay tuned for the finale.

Anna

The home and land of the Anna's clan. This is where Anna's family lives. We've already met Sergei, Anna's father, as he helped us find our way from Kiev to here, and upon arrival we met Anna's aunt, Alla, and her cousin Pavlic. They were kind enough to pick us up from the train station at 6am when we arrived and drop us off to Sergei's apartment in town.  Dnepropetrovsk is a large city actually, but feels like a bit of a town. It's very green and downtown isn't tall and imposing like it is in most cities. The central square is surrounded by shopping malls and is anchored by a 2 story marry-go-round. The city gets it's name from the Dnepr River, which is quite wide and runs almost 3000kms throughout the Ukraine and divides the city pretty much in half.

We found our way to Sergei's place and spent a day or so there getting organized. It is being renovated so it was a little chaotic. Almost everyone in Ukraine either lives in an apartment or in the countryside in a home. There's no in between. The majority are in apartments in town. The apartment buildings were all built between the 40's and 70's, so no new glass skyscrapers are to be found anywhere. The people living there however, do update their apartments from time to time, so from the outside the buildings will look old, but on the inside some of them are brand new with the latest finishing. Truly you can't judge a book by it's cover.

I mentioned that the city has the Dnepr River divide it. What I didn't mention was the flurry of activity that takes place along the river. There are several kilometers of boardwalks along the river that are host to many restaurants, small shops, street vendors and performers. When we were there we saw a street fitness festival getting under way. They brought some a couple of people in from New York and held this street festival to promote local fitness without the need for special equipment. Some of the people just walking were performing amazing feats of strength I didn't know were possible! Backwards pull ups on the bars and such. There's a reason a lot of Olympic gymnasts and coaches are Ukrainian & Russian.

We actually took a river cruise down the Dnepr river one day. It was arranged by one of Tatiana's/Anna's friends. We all went as a large group on a boat with a full compliment of food, drinks, and good spirits. We were able to see the city from the river itself and get a good look at many of the sites. Along the way we passed a number of bridges, took pictures, and stopped for a swim. The best part was on the way back. One thing I've seen is that Ukrainians can turn almost any waterfront into a beach. Where the boat was docking was a tiny beach full of people sun bathing & swimming. There were a lot of kids in the water who saw us coming in from the river. They all swam out to the boat like we were the main attraction and started to climb into the boat! It was like World War Z, but with laughing children.

After a couple of days we headed out into the countryside. Here we are visiting Anna's grandparents on their farm, known locally as "Datchya". I've heard much about the Datchya in Calgary and how all the kids in the family spend their summers here. Now after 5 years, I'm finally going to meet the rest of the family and see the famed Datchya. We travelled for an hour or so to get here by bus. Once we arrived we were warmly greeted by Anna's grand parents (whom we call Baba & Dada), Alla and her husband Archie (from England), and their 2 dogs, Bex and Santa (named after the soap opera "Santa Barbara"). The Datchya is a small farm that has been in the family for over 25 years and was built by Dada. He built the house himself in many stages from the ground up. As the family grew, so did the house. In addition to the house there is the land. Here they grow almost all the food they need. They have greenhouses full of their special tomatoes that people come far and wide to have, grapes, apricots, strawberries, gooseberries, currants, cucumbers and potatoes. In addition they have a chicken coupe with about 8 hens all laying eggs daily. In the past when they were younger they used to have pigs  on the property for meat, but now they buy meat from the store. Dada loves fishing so he goes daily to the river to catch some fish. When he's successful we're eating fish that day. Mmmmmm fresh fish. The day I arrived was the day after they just sold their harvest of strawberries. They taste just like candy out of the ground, so they had no problem selling their 200kgs in the market. There is no indoor plumbing, the home is heated by boiler, and water comes from both a well and the river. The shower is gravity fed with a tank on the roof, the washroom is outside, and In Russian/Ukrainian fashion, they also have a sauna. This is real country living, which is something I've never experienced before in my life, but the family here all grew up with it.

My first impression was how beautiful everything is. Fruits and veggies are growing everywhere and the home was built with love and care. They are on the corner of their street next to a large field where we can watch the sunsets at night. The food tastes amazing and the family is as warm and welcoming as you can imagine. No pressure either. Do what you want when you want. The only negative are the insects. There are a lot of bugs here on the farm, which is to be expected with such a lively operation. It doesn't take long to get used to them, but some days are worse than others. That's when the bug spray comes out.

The hospitality here has been amazing. Everyone as been exceptionally nice and welcoming to us, and I can easily say I've been completely full for a week straight! I don't know what it means to be hungry anymore, and it's scaring me a little bit. When here we eat only traditional Ukrainian cuisine. Ukrainian food is very rich food that fills you up quick. Hearty "young" potatoes which are only grown here; tomato & cucumber salad; small pirogues called "pelmeni" (I know I’m not spelling that right) with sour cream; borscht; egg salad; rye bread; and much much more. Breakfast are very thin pancakes with sour cream and coffee. Dinner is always had with either vodka, beer, or cognac. The reason is because dinners are always a good time to toast and celebrate, which is a regular occurrence here. I can't confirm whether or not it's because I'm a guest or not, but I think it's safe to say that toasting at dinner is much more common than the odd birthday or stat holiday. The toasts are very serious, but very jovial all at the same time. You never put your drink down until you drank from it. Never touch it until the toast is finished, and everyone takes turns toasting. Usually you toast love, family, a special occasion, guests, health, happiness, home, your blessings, etc. We've toasted the Datchya, future, the grandparents Baba & Dada, and more. This hospitality isn't limited to the Datchya. Our second day here, Sergei's girlfriend sent us a care package that could've fed 5 people when she heard we had no food in the house. We had a change of plans this one time and were in need of a place to stay that night, so on short notice we called a family friend and within 2 hours Anna, myself, and Tatiana (Anna's mother) were all being accommodated in their apartment downtown. We were picked up, taken to the grocery store, and fed a royal dinner with some of the best food I can remember having. Naturally we were celebrated and toasted repeatedly, and invited back for more. Ukrainian hospitality is so unconditionally generous. They are eager and happy to help and always celebrate new friends and family. I was told outright that I'm family now, which was a big moment for me and I instantly felt right at home. There is very little English being spoken ever, except to translate for me, but I don't feel out of place at all. That's a true compliment.

This blog is much more personal than most because of the very nature of our visit here. We're here visiting family and meeting new people that will be part of our lives for years to come. The families here all have deep roots in this city. Most of the time spent here is with the family and not touring around the sites, which is fine with me.

Once Ali had written this post, he had to jet off back to the homeland due to complications in life. I (Anna) continued the rest of the trip. Once Ali left, it was my birthday and we gathered pretty much almost all of my family and celebrated in a true Ukrainian style. Up next is the sea trip to Sevastopol!