Doug and Kerry Hudson's World Trip

World Trip

In April 2002, we left our jobs, we left our friends, we left our home and we left our families. Furthermore, we were very happy to do this. And admittedly a little bit nervous too, for we were leaving behind all our security to embark upon an adventure that over the next twelve months would take us all the way around the world.

Our first destination was Canada where we would experience the beautiful cities of Vancouver and Toronto, as well as the magnificent scenery of the Rockies and the Pacific Rim National Park.

From Vancouver we took the bus down to Seattle, our first destination in the United States. After a few days there, we flew down to San Francisco and spent the next four weeks driving in a loop that took in the beautiful California coastline of the Big Sur, the wide open spaces of the Mojave Desert and Death Valley, the superficial glitter of Las Vegas, and the spectacular National Parks of Yosemite, Zion and the Grand Canyon.

Our next destination was Europe. We packed our tent in the car, headed out with only a vague plan and winged it for the next eight weeks. We saw a rich variety of culture and tradition, not to mention the fabulous architecture. By the time we had returned to England, we had driven over 3,000 miles. More importantly, we had seen some of Europe's most impressive cathedrals, castles, cities and art. The climax of our trip had to be Paris, and Doug showed Kerry as much of it as it is possible to see in three days.

We spent a total of four months in South Africa. Some of this time we spent with Kerry's parents in Pietermaritzburg, but we also had some excellent adventures in Zululand, Cape Town and Namibia, among others. Notable experiences included getting charged by a bull elephant, Doug swimming with a Great White Shark and coming face-to-face with a black mamba.

Our final trip was to South East Asia. First stop was the ultra-modern, ultra-clean and ultra-organised Singapore. But we only had three days there before flying north up to Thailand, and that quintessential Asian city: Bangkok. Our visas limited us to only thirty days in which to explore Thailand, so we maximised our use of this time snorkelling and relaxing in the beautiful island paradises of Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Lipeh, paddling around the famous floating markets at Damnoen Saduak, cycling around the seven hundred year old temple ruins at Sukhothai, and trekking through the unspoilt jungle wilderness of Khao Sok National Park. We still had time to sample some of the culinary delights of Malaysia, before returning to Singapore for our flight home.

In anticipation of the inevitable question, "What were your highlights?", we have listed them here. We also made some conclusions about our trip, here.

Oh yes. We didn't go to Australia...

World Trip

Last updated: Sunday August 27, 2006