Hello, and welcome to my travel blog! I’m not travelling just yet, but I figured now would be a good opportunity to talk about my plans and answer some of the questions that come up frequently.

What are you doing?

I’m taking 5 months away from work to travel and relax. I’ll spend most of September in Seattle while the weather is nice, October through December backpacking in Southeast Asia, and January in Salt Lake City snowboarding. I’ll be back in Seattle (and at Ada) in February.

How did you get that much time off work?

It’s all about planning. I let my boss know before I accepted my offer in 2016 that taking substantial time off to travel is a priority for me, and laid out the timeline for this trip a full year ago. Then I spent a ton of time working to get Ada to a place where I wouldn’t feel guilty stepping out for a while.

Why Southeast Asia?

Because it’s beautiful, because I haven’t been there before, because it’s different than anywhere else I’ve been. Because the food is delicious. Because 3 months feels like a reasonable amount of time to explore the region, and that’s how much time I have.

Where specifically are you going?

I’m spending a week each in Japan and Korea – not Southeast Asia, but kind of on the way. I have a friend who lives in Japan I want to visit, and Korea has been on my list for a long time.

I’ll spend a month travelling Vietnam from South to North. I’ve done my research, but I’m leaving this part of the trip intentionally open-ended. The goal is to have an adventure!

I’m spending 10 days in Laos and Cambodia on a multi-sport trip I booked through REI, bicycling, hiking and kayaking through the jungle to ruins, religious sites and the like. This will probably be the most structured part of the trip, and it’s one of the things I’m most excited for.

I have 5 weeks after that, and I’m not sure how I’ll spend them yet. My current theory is that I’ll spend a few weeks working my way down the Malay peninsula toward Singapore, then hop over to Java and Bali in Indonesia before returning home for New Years.

Can I join you?

Sure! I’d love to meet you in SE Asia – pick your favorite country. Or come stay in my AirBnB in SLC – it has a hot tub!