Meet The Waltons

Hola amigos! Qué tal? Saludos from Costa Rica. We’ve been here for about one month now, which brings us to month 10 of our adventure. Our last blog post was 6 months ago, so we have a bit to catch up on ;) To keep a long story as short as possible: After 4 months backpacking Asia, we spent a week in Istanbul with friends before heading to Europe. We stopped through 5 countries, making the most out of our 90-day visa. Here are some of the highlights (with links to photos/videos, if you want to see more): Three weeks in Germany : We made a pilgrimage to the Beatles’ earliest haunts; absorbed the deep history, music, and weirdness of Berlin; and experienced the pure, wholesome joy of Oktoberfest. One and a half months in Italia : One of our favorite countries on the planet ❤️ We scaled mountains with friends in the Dolomites; explored the historic cities of Verona and Venice; soaked up the food and culture in Bologna, Florence, and Rome; and visited yogi friends in Naples. Our final dest

We’ve just wrapped up 4 long weeks in Indonesia. Most of the time we spent on the island of Bali, one of the world’s top tourist destinations. Then, during our last 8 days we traveled by train across the entire island of Java – covering 657 miles over 19 hours – to catch our flight out of Jakarta.   The Island of Bali Our first stop in Bali was Ubud, a town in the middle of the island surrounded by rice paddies and volcanoes. It’s known as the cultural heart of the island, which is primarily Hindu (whereas the rest of Indonesia is mostly Muslim). We happened to arrive during two Balinese holidays, so the streets were adorned with handmade offerings to the gods and towering, ethereal arches called penjors.   Pete & I actually spent the first few days in Bali apart. After traveling together for 3 months – and with several months to go – we both felt it would be refreshing and fun to have some adventures on our own. Wanting to escape the typical tourist track, Pete motorbiked across t

It's low season in Thailand and we've been enjoying the sparse sprinkle of tourists. However, the cost of being here in low season is weathering all the rain and storms. After a few weeks in Chiang Mai, we headed to Southern Thailand with our newlywed friends Brian and Mars to check out the world-famous Full Moon Party. To get there, we flew to the island of Koh Samui, then rushed to the pier to board a boat to the island of Koh Phangan. We lined up on the pier, dropping off our luggage along the way, and boarded the boat. Stormy conditions were brewing, blowing hard winds and rolling hard waves. Suddenly, there was a gasp from a group of passengers – several bags had rolled off the pier into the water. The boatmen immediately dove in to the water to rescue the luggage. The luggage was saved, but was returned sopping wet. Our watercraft was a 30-person speedboat with an expected journey of 30 minutes. As we set course, the sea was covered with huge rolling waves forming liquid

We've been in Chiang Mai, Thailand for just over 2 weeks now. Chiang Mai is in Northern Thailand – it's the country's second largest city (the first being Bangkok) and is a valley surrounded by mountains. One of the first things we did after arriving in Chiang Mai was attend a yoga retreat, about 40 min south of the city. Every morning we woke up at 5:30 AM, attended a yoga & meditation class from 6:00 AM - 8:15 AM, then ate breakfast. The entire morning was in silence, meaning we weren't allowed to talk until after breakfast. Pete took this rule very seriously – when we woke up the first morning I tried to tell him about a dream I had, and he shushed me 😂 Our view at 5:30 AM each morning.   All-you-can-eat vegan food (it was sooo delicious) After breakfast and lunch we had free time until our next yoga & meditation class in the afternoon. Occasionally there would be workshops throughout the day – for example, one day we worked on headstands & handstands. W

Hello from Chiang Mai, Thailand! We arrived here last night after spending 6 days in Taipei. Before we settle in, we wanted to share some updates on the rest of our time in Japan & Taiwan. Back in Japan, we spent 4 days in Kyoto, which was Japan's capital before it moved to Tokyo. Kyoto was an interesting mix of old vs. new Japan. We saw a few temples, a world famous zen rock garden, and even a few Geishas (but didn't want to take any photos because it felt rude/tacky to do so). Funny story - we ran into one of my former coworkers in a random whiskey & jazz bar in Old Town Kyoto! We ended up closing down the bar with him and his wife. Unfortunately we didn’t get a photo together but here’s a cool shot Pete got of the bar. We took a day trip to Nara, a nearby town that’s famous for its history and its population of wild deer that roam the city. The deer are friendly and have learned to bow to humans in exchange for special deer crackers that are sold throughout the city.