Erin Bender

We left Australia in May 2012 and have been travelling ever since. Our journey has taken us from the jungles of Bali to the beaches of Thailand through the cities of Malaysia and then a giant leap to the other side of the world where we traversed the roads of the US, played in the cenotes of Mexico, discovered the ruins of Guatemala, walked the sacred grounds of Israel, hot-air ballooned in Turkey, road-tripped Southern Europe, house-sat in Ireland, survived the tube in London, enjoyed Christmas in Prague and water-slided with sharks in Dubai. And we are still going!

Join us on an open-ended travel adventure around the world with our 2 young kids. Over 600 days so far. We look forward to bumping into you around the world.

You can work pretty much where you want to – on the road, do you find it hard to work or do you just have fun and work when you come back home?

There are times we have to put our foot down and take a day or two to work and rest. But most of the time it is have fun and then come home and work... Doesn't leave a lot of time for sleeping.

Do you feel many people are envious of your lifestyle?

Well we know they are, they tell us all the time. But we are just as envious of other people lives, even the "normal" ones with schools, and big houses. Choosing one life is to not choose the other and sometimes the grass can look greener on the other side.

In which countries have people recognised you, even when you thought nobody would?

Our craziest story was when we were in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. We were following a Chinese dragon parade when someone yelled out, "Bender!" I turned around and a Malaysian lady trotted up to me and gushed, "I've been following your journey since Hong Kong and now you are here, you are here and I am meeting you." That was crazy!

Which three items would you never travel without?

Only 3? Well my laptop, my camera and my sunglasses... and then the rest.

Are there any specific souvenirs or other things you collect from the places you go to?

We use to do that, but now that we are travelling permanently there is no room in the suitcases. I'd love to start a sticker collection now I have a hard plastic case, but have yet to. For now it's just photos and memories.

Tagged as: Australia

ErinBender
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