03/01/2026
2025. What a year.
It’s honestly hard to put into words everything we did. ✈️🌏
Starting on the very last day of 2024, we travelled through 19 countries:
Qatar, India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, USA (LA), Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, back to LA, Thailand again, Bali, Vietnam, Japan, Korea… and full circle to Qatar.
That’s 11 new countries for me (12 for Shorty), 31 flights, over 56,000 miles, and more than 5 full days spent in the air - plus buses, trains, motorbikes and some wildly dodgy taxis.
We reunited with family and lifelong friends in Qatar, Australia and NZ, road-tripped New Zealand, crossed the Pacific to LA, and experienced the beautiful chaos of India and the Taj Mahal.
We flew one-way to Colombia with four nights booked and winged it - Medellín, Bogotá and Cartagena. Brazil brought Sugarloaf, Ilha Grande swims, and football heaven at the Maracanã.
Argentina gave us Iguazú Falls, Salta’s colours and an unforgettable stay in Buenos Aires. Chile surprised us with epic views, Valparaíso vibes and lovely locals.
Crossing into Bolivia at nearly 5,000m and exploring the Salt Flats was truly otherworldly. We fell in love with La Paz, then crossed into Peru - Lake Titicaca, life in Cusco, Rainbow Mountain and finally the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, a lifelong dream ticked off.
An Ecuador detour followed - incredible views, savage food poisoning, but still half of Cotopaxi in shorts 💪
After a brutal run of flights, we returned to Southeast Asia - chilled weeks in Thailand, then two months in Bali: work, gym, friends, a monkey chase and unexpected rabies jabs.
Vietnam slowed things down but we still got a motorbike trip in, Japan blew our minds (and wallets with Pokémon cards), and Korea wrapped Asia perfectly with friends, theme parks and a very chaotic DMZ tour.
We finished where we started - a week with family in Qatar - before flying home to cold, rainy England just in time for Christmas.
Thanks 2025. You were unforgettable.
