Where it all began
My journey in photography started in late 2014. I had been talking to my dad about getting a DSLR, and he graciously offered me a Nikon D5200 he had bought for work but didn’t end up using. This also correlated to when I started to think and plan my journey of embarking on a long-term international backpacking trip.
Throughout 2015, I took my camera everywhere, taking pictures of everything. And I stress, I was “taking pictures”, which means I was pointing it at something pretty and clicking the shutter. My photography wasn’t very advanced, but I was doing enough to continue to drive my curiosity.
Then it happened. In the summer I told my job that I would be leaving, I’d be doing a long-term backpacking trip around the world. I didn’t have much direction, but I was excited to go with the wind. I started in Nepal and ended in Spain 7 months later; see below for my journey.
Nepal
I landed in Kathmandu on Halloween, and what a day to get there. I was at the hostel less than 15 minutes before meeting a few people, going out to watch the Rugby World Championship (with a bunch of guys from rugby-playing nations), bar hopping, then going to a Halloween party until about 5 in the morning. I hadn’t slept in about 48 hours by the time I finally got to bed, but I’ll never forget the energy of that night.
When I first heard of Kathmandu years earlier, I had heard that as a traveler it’s one of those places you get to, and just end up staying. And this is definitely true, spending 10 of my 30 days in Nepal in the chaotic city. But in my exploits outside of Kathmandu, I flew in and out of one of the most dangerous airports in the world, trekked to Everest Base Camp and watched the sun set on Everest, went for a jungle hike looking for tigers in Chitwan National Park, and paraglided by the Annapurna over Phew Lake in Pokhara.
Hiking in the Himalaya showed me there are still relatively untouched and wild places in the world, and this is one place I will definitely visit again.
India
I have so much love, and it’s impossible to capture all of the words that describe it. India is WILD. The reason I wanted to go here more than anywhere else, was I had been told years before by some girls I met in Peru, that if you could travel in India, you could travel anywhere. So this was my test as a traveler, and it really pushed my patience. But I loved it. If you love chaos, you will love India.
Over the 3.5 weeks I spent in India, I went from the smog of New Delhi, to the grandeur of the Taj Mahal in Agra, then began the tour of Rajasthan: Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Pushkar, and Udaipur. From Udaipur I caught a flight down to Kerala for a week to soak up some much needed sun and warmth. Kerala was also a little more developed than Rajasthan, so I got somewhat of a “break” from the chaos.
Colombia
Oh Colombia, how I love you so. Colombia makes the question “What’s your favorite country to visit?” so easy.
I had always heard Colombia was the most amazing country, and I wasn’t disappointed. I had wanted to learn Spanish for a long time, and Colombia seemed a great place to do it. I spent the first month of my trip in Medellin, which is the most incredible city in the most incredible country. Why don’t I live there?
Anyways, instead of embarking on an additional two months of travel through South America (as planned), I stayed in this incredible country. Canoeing in the Amazon to see pink dolphins and walking through the jungle at night to feel as if I was standing in the middle of the universe. Then making my way to the northern coast, which I’m convinced is the epicenter of heat on this planet. Next, exploring the wild Pacific Coast, free of roads but not of rebels. Upon arriving back in Medellin, I had planned to stay until the end of my visa, until I met some girls who convinced me to go to Cuba. So two days later, I was on a plane to Havana.
Cuba
A place I’m so glad I visited, but feel no need to go back to again. Cuba was surprisingly expensive, not only because exchanging US Dollars to CUC’s costs a 10% commission (pro tip: exchange either euros or pounds to avoid this), but most food and services here are almost as expensive as in the US. The people of Cuba are wonderful though, so helpful and they really go out of their way to make sure you enjoy yourself and help out in any way.
I spent about one week in Cuba, split between Havana and Viñales. It was interesting to visit the museums in Cuba and see how they portrayed the US, and just as in Vietnam, you could clearly see the propaganda they pushed. Although, it was interesting to see their side, as not everything was as rosy as the US portrayed it to be. And most Cubans were used and forced to suffer for the egos of those in powers, as they still are today.
My days in Havana were spent visiting cultural sites and markets, talking to locals to get the inside information on good places to go, and drinking good Cuban rum. In Vinales, I spent my short time visiting tobacco farms, horseback riding, and hiking.
South Africa
South Africa was a real highlight of my 7 months abroad. Instead of having to make friends along the way (which I like doing but is tiring!), two of my friends from DC flew to meet me for a 5 day self-safari in Kruger, followed by a road trip on half the Garden Route to Cape Town. I then got to spend the next two weeks in Cape Town with one of my friends who lives there, which was a great way to slow it down, enjoy the beautiful coastal city, and hike around amazing places. We spotted the Big 5 all in one day, on two separate occasions, came around a corner and slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a rhino 20 feet in front of us in the middle of the road, and bungee jumped off the third highest bungee in the world. We visited South African wineries (hello $5 bottles), hiked Lion’s Head at night, went sea kayaking in the Atlantic, and ate some of the best steaks in the world.
I left Cape Town on a 12 day overland of South Africa and mostly Namibia. On the way to the Orange River Delta (last stop in South Africa, we stayed at a rural farm that is guarded against the big cats by two big Rhodesian Ridgebacks (who were very sweet), then made our way up to the Orange River Delta to camp along its banks. Then we set off for Namibia.
Namibia
Namibia is one of those places you see on Instagram, and you think, this is what a desert should look like. Many of the deserts I’ve been to, in Morocco, the US, and India, have been scruffy and little more than small sand banks. The Namib desert is THE place to go if you want to explore the desert. We got a little unlucky in trying to get out to the dunes for sunrise, when our truck wouldn’t start and we had to spend 3 hours fixing it. But once we were on the dunes, life was good again. Further up the road from Sossusvlei, we rented four wheelers to race around the dunes unchecked for two hours. What a blast! We rounded out our time in Namibia doing safari in Etosha National Park. This was interesting because Kruger was so much more fertile and green, and in Etosha it was like these animals were living in the desert (the scruffy kind).
Once my group dropped me off in Windhoek, I flew back to Joburg, where I missed my connection to Berlin because I forgot there was an hour time difference, killing my 9 hour layover sitting around drinking coffee and eating and going to the gate 30 minutes after my flight left. Whoops!
Germany
My trip to Germany was brief, and cut even shorter by my aforementioned missing of the flight, costing me a precious day of what was only supposed to be 4 days in Berlin. I flew to Berlin for two main reasons: 1. In my travels in Germany back in 2010, I never made it to Berlin and had heard such great things and 2. It had a good connection from Africa to mainland Europe.
I can’t recall a ton of highlights other than Berlin was a really fun city. There was just so much energy about, and from what I understand, it’s also really affordable for all its residents. And has a big international community as well. Seeing the Berlin Wall and the Cold War Museum was pretty cool, I’m not a huge history buff but have read a lot of books on the history of Europe.
Spain
Spain is my original European love. I’ve been there more than any other country in Europe, and it’s served (and might again in the future) as my kind of safe place. If I’m in Europe and plans go awry, Spain is where I’m familiar and happy to be (Barcelona specifically). On this trip I wanted to go to Basque country, where I had been close to that area on a previous trip in Northern Spain. I chose San Sebastian; which I had heard many good things about in my previous travels. It’s mountainous, coastal, and lush. What could make it better? Having the most Michelin-starred restaurants per capita in Europe. I’m not much of a foodie, but man did I eat well here.
Leaving San Sebastian with only a few days left until my flight back to the U.S., I chose to ride in style, booking a first class seat on a train to Madrid. Train travel is my favorite mode of transportation after all, so why not indulge?
I stayed two nights in Madrid, and although it’s a perfectly nice city, I had spent enough time there to know I’d like to explore elsewhere. I took a short train down to Toledo for a long day trip, which I’d highly recommend if you’re ever in the area. Spain has a lot of interesting history in its location between mainland Europe and North Africa, and Toledo served as the historical capital of what is now Spain.
If you made it this far, congrats! After flying home from Spain, my 7 months of international travel were done. Thus would begin 5 months of traveling around the east coast, exploring new areas and planning my next move. It’s after all of this traveling, and reviewing my pictures along the way (which you see posted above), that I realized how much I loved photography, but had a long way to go.