Why Asia?

A lot of people have asked “why asia?” Well, for starters, if we were to plan something similar across Europe we would probably be back in a few short months after our money ran out. In Asia, our dollar will allow us to travel a lot further for a lot longer. The other main reason for Asia is because of my (Bel’s) love affair with the region. It started in high school when I was introduced to Bahasa Indonesia and continued through university as I completed a Bachelor of Asian Studies majoring in Bahasa Indonesia and spending a year in Yogyakarta ‘studying’ Indonesian. In the year 2000 I then did a similar gap year to the one we are doing now with my bestie, Fi. We like to think of it as our ‘beach and bar tour of South east Asia’. This time round it will be a little different. Probably won’t drink so much, may skip the full moon, half moon, quarter moon and every other party Thailand has to offer. We also aim to be awake before midday each day and I dare say jumping on the back of random motorbikes might be a bit tricky with the three kids. Then again never say never. I am especially looking forward to revisiting some of the places I travelled 17 years ago , getting a fresh perspective and seeing it through the kids eyes. We have also planned plenty of new experiences for us all. I am hopeful we will make it to Sri Lanka if the political situation settles down and can’t wait to experience Hong Kong, China and Taiwan for the first time. Asia is crazy, vibrant and completely different to our life here in Australia. It is also exciting, affordable and reasonably close. It’s somewhat familiar ( to me anyway) and I can’t wait to get started. Indonesia here we come. Let’s hope I can still remember some of the lingo..