Where have we been?

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Note: the post below was originally written on 8 September 2015. We can now add a few more countries to the list, having started our round-the-world trip in Vietnam in February 2016. We then went to Cambodia (March 2016) and Nepal (May 2016). 

 We were in India in April and Italy in May and June, but these two countries have not been added to our list because we have visited them before. 

 Other countries we can now also add to the list include Germany (June 2016), Spain (June & July 2016), Portugal (July 2016), Iceland (July & August 2016), the United States (August to November 2016), the Bahamas (November 2016), and Peru (November and December 2016). 
This now puts us at 31 countries visited!
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When I say 'where have we been' I don't mean it in the philosophical way, as is 'what were you doing with your life up to this point'.  I am referring to the practical side of the places we have been fortunate enough to travel to in the past.

So excluding destinations where we were simply in transit, like several hours in Atlanta, US, or Abu Dhabi, UAE, we have managed to get to quite a few amazing spots and create great memories.

So here is the list:

  1. Argentina (9 June 201 - 23 June 2010 - here we did a home exchange which is an interesting story for another day))
  2. Australia (14-29 December 2013)
  3. Canada (4-16 March 2011)
  4. Egypt (12 December 2006 - 2 January 2007)
  5. Greece (24 April -  2 May 2009)
  6. Hong Kong (Schalk: 1994)
  7. Lesotho (Schalk: 1999)
  8. India (Lauren: June 2013)
  9. Ireland (26 April - 2 May 2015)
  10. Italy (5-18 September 2005; Lauren: 9-16 Aug 2009)
  11. Mauritius (Lauren: July 1989; Both: 13-20 December 2011, December 2014)
  12. Mexico (5-25 April 2008 - a favourite destination because we got married here)
  13. Mozambique (5-8 April 2007; 28 June - 4 July 2015)
  14. South Africa (home)
  15. Singapore (14-17 April 2006)
  16. Switzerland (September 2005 - but this was just a day trip from Italy)
  17. Thailand (14 April - 25 April 2006 - got engaged here; April 2013)
  18. United Arab Emirates (2-5 September 2005 (Dubai))
  19. United Kingdom (Schalk: few times for business in 2009-2010; Lauren: 16-22 March 2011) 
  20. Vatican City (September 2005; Lauren: Aug 2009)
  21. Zimbabwe (Lauren: 1996?)
Countries Schalk and Lauren have already visited (August 2015)
The interesting thing is that we would love to go back to many of these places. Every location has something wonderful to offer and our quick visits have not allowed us to really get to know the people and truly understand what makes the place tick.

So in future we want to take a slower pace and not treat our travels like a checklist.

Please comment below on any countries you have visited that you think we should go to, and why they were so special to you.

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