thinner

15 Countries visited in 2025📍🌎😎

2025: My first full year taking a run at retirement!

2025 turned out to be my most traveled year ever—and somehow, I feel that I’m just getting started.

January – Vietnam
(HCMC, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue, Phu Quoc)

February – Cambodia & Thailand
(Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao)

March – UK & Europe
(London, Greece, Iceland, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy)

April – October–US & Mexico

(Mesa and Rocky Point—two incredible home bases)

November & December – SE Asia
(Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Bali)

Every trip felt different. Every move resets my brain. And somehow, it all worked out absolutely perfect!

2026: Already Booked (Of Course It Is!)

January to mid-April
Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Philippines

May to October (Homebases in Mesa/Mexico)

Volaris + Frontier all-you-can-fly chaos—route TBD, cheap is guaranteed

Nov and Dec– Europe by Rail-pass

Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Southern Spain/Portugal…
Eastern Europe is still being self-negotiated with my grade-three attention span.

wienerschnitzel

Vienna, Austria! Schnitzel!! 😋

I flew to Vienna from Varna, Bulgaria, on my all-you-can-fly pass on Wizz Air.

The flight was delayed six hours, and we sat in the Varna airport. The good thing is that European law states we need to be compensated. I made $300 for a $20 flight, hell yeah!

Make sure you understand the laws, so you do not miss out on compensation. It is available in Canada, the USA, and Europe, and I wrote a post here to explain the parameters. 

Essentially, it has to be outside the airline’s control, so weather will not work, which is most of the delays.

Just familiarize yourself with them and do not use a third party to collect, as they will take a cut for simply filling in an online form.  I will get paid to sit in an airport bar any day, LOL!

I finally arrived in Vienna well after midnight and checked into my Airbnb. It was an overpriced bedroom that only fit the bed and nightstand. I did not mind and slept like a dog for 12 hours.

The problem is that when I woke up, it was time to check out, and the owner wanted $200 for another night, as it was a holiday. There was zero chance that was happening, so I found an amazing hostel down the road. 

Europe is known for its hostels, and people from all age groups use them, but this one was beyond recommendation. It had over a hundred rooms of all types and prices. I spent the first night in a studio for $75, which was over budget. That’s USD 2300 a month for anyone who feels that they need to judge me from first class while I am back here in coach.

The next two nights, I spent in a dorm room for $35 a night, and here is a tour of the hostel:

There were so many cool things packed into Vienna, and I barely scratched the surface. Between the architecture, the streets, and the overall vibe, it’s one of those cities where you constantly feel like you’re walking past something important—even if you have no idea what it is yet.

Here are a few more shots of Vienna before I quietly exited with my tail between my legs.

I’ll be back—guaranteed—but next time I’m heading north to the mountains, pacing myself, and seriously rethinking my strategy of trying to keep up with crazy Austrians and their drinking culture. 😂🍻

Lesson learned.

Vienna won this round, but I will have schnitzel there again someday!