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| Settling
Down!
Settling Down After nearly 15 months of country-hopping around the world, we have finally landed home...in Sydney, Australia! It's hard to believe that it has been so long since we left Japan, started ExploreNow.net, and bought an around-the-world ticket. We have seen so many amazing places, met fantastic people, sampled world cuisines, learned more history and culture than we ever could in school, and had the time of our lives together. They say that all good things must come to an end, but for us, we feel like we are simply moving on from one good thing to the next, and our next venture, "settling down" is no different. Though our globe-trotting was spectacular, after 15 months of always being on the move and living out of a backpack, we are more than ready to stay in one place for a long while, and Sydney is just the place. Before we flew back to Sydney, we still had a few more stops after we left Cambodia. First back to Bangkok, our Southeast Asia base, for the usual great shopping, eating and partying with fellow travelers. Then, flying Cathay Pacific to Tokyo, we had to go through Hong Kong, so we thought, why not explore Hong Kong for the weekend? We were really happy we did, as it was better than we expected, with fun markets, amazing architecture, great food, pretty beaches, bays, natural reserves, and spectacular views all over the place. Getting a little tired of sightseeing at that point, we were happy to just wander and explore a bit, but mostly relax at a nice home for the weekend, thanks to our friends Mandy and Randy. Then it was over to Tokyo, which was a fabulous weeklong reunion for us, back in a country that had really captured our hearts and had been our home for two years. Every day and night, we were out with friends, old students, bosses and clients, reminiscing, catching up, gorging on all the Japanese food and drinks we had missed so much, and trying to remember all the Japanese we had learned. We surely weren't used to Tokyo prices anymore, but luckily, our old roomate gave us her room for the week while she was out of town. It was hard for us to believe that we used to live in such a small space and that we used to be able to afford Tokyo life. It just made us realize even more how eager we were to get back to Sydney to work, earn money again, and get our own 'western-sized' apartment. Of course, it's a big change to go from constant traveling to everyday routine, so we are easing in slowly. The first week back in Sydney, Brad's parents flew down from Cairns to spend some time with us. We stayed in a hotel with them for a few days, then went with Brad's mum down the south coast to Gerringong to spend the weekend with Brad's aunt, uncle and cousins in their great house between the countryside and beach. Back in Sydney, we have been staying with our good friend Steve in the suburb of Mosman, then will go stay with Brad's brother in the northern beach town of Dee Why for a bit, until we start renting our own place there. Brad is working on getting his personal training business started again, and Bex will soon be applying for Australian residency. And for those of you who have been asking for years, yes! we are finally going to get married very soon - in a private informal ceremony at the registry (courthouse). After seeing so many places around the world, Australia still blows our mind. The beaches are stunning and nature is abundant. It is just so green here in Sydney! The bushes are full of exotic flowers, and the trees are home to white cockatoos by day and curious possoms at night. In a place like this, our travel bug is happy to lie dormant for awhile as we create our own little nest in paradise. THE
FUTURE OF EXPLORENOW.NET
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