Dan's Adventure

Its hard to believe that I am already 6 months into my year long around the world adventure. I have had so many amazing experiences, met some great people and had a hell of a lot of fun along the way. By the end of February I will have spent 2 months in Africa and 5 months in Asia. Admittedly a lot of my journey so far has been a highlights trip, with flying visits in many places, but I have always been of the mind set that if I like somewhere enough, then one day I’ll be back.

Since this is the half way point, it seems like a good time to feature some more of the highlights.

Halong bay

Sailing through the limestone karst formations aboard a rather beat up junket in Halong bay was most definitely a highlight. Spectacular scenery, a bit of hiking, some caves and a night of guitar and drinking games on the boat made for a great trip.

Kitesurfing

The feeling of being dragged along in the water by a kite is exhilarating and when you throw a board into the mix it gets even better. After learning to control the kire, standing up for the first time is the biggest challenge, often resulting in a similar effect to catching an edge when snowboarding – you end up falling face first into the water. Kite surfing is a lot of fun.

Temples of Angkor

The temples of Angkor are fascinating. Each one beautiful and unique in its own way. I thoroughly enjoyed spending three days exploring the temples, constantly being amazed by the architecture and the level of detail in the carvings covering the temples.

Phnom Penh

It feels a bit odd including Phnom Penh in a list of highlights considering the grim past that makes this city so interesting. The killing fields and Tuol Sleng museum both provide an insight into the atrocities committed by Pol Pot’s regime, with an excellent photo exhibit in Tuol Sleng.

Four thousand islands

Chilling out on Don Det over Christmas was a very welcome break to travelling. Without a doubt, the most laid back place I have ever been to.

Mahout training

I spent two days at an elephant camp near Luang Prabang in Laos learning how to be an elephant mahout. We were taught commands to direct the elephants, fed the elephants in the jungle and washed them in the river, basically everything that the mahouts at the camp do on a daily basis to care for their elephants.

Learning to dive

Learning to scuba dive is one of the best things I have ever done. The feeling of going underwater for the first time and having your eyes opened to a whole new world is incredible. Since learning to dive on Koh Tao in Thailand I have been diving on Koh Lanta and plan to dive again from the Tioman islands very soon. I love diving.

Koh Lanta

Koh Lanta provided some excellent diving, beautiful sunsets and a week of chillaxing. It was my favourite place in Thailand.

The remainder of my trip has changed a bit from what I originally planned. At the end of 2009 I made the decision to spend longer in South East Asia and less time in Australia as I realised that my money would go a lot further in Asia than in Australia. I also decided to completely cut the USA from my plans and instead spend longer in South America. The rest of my trip, after Malaysia and Singapore, now looks like this:

• 3 weeks in Australia travelling from Cairns to Sydney
• 3 weeks on the south island of New Zealand
• 4 months travelling in South America travelling from Chile to Ecuador

There are so many things that I am looking forward to – diving in the Great Barrier Reef, trekking in New Zealand, Patagonia, the mountains of northern Peru, and the Galapagos islands to name but a few. The second half of my adventure is shaping up to be even better than the first!