thinner

15 Countries visited in 2025📍🌎😎

by All you can flyAsiaAustriaBangkokBarcelonaCountriesEuropeFreedom 50Frontier - AYCF!GreeceHCMC / SaigonItalyKoh Phi PhiLondonMadridMexicoNorth AmericanPersonal HistoryPhilippinesRocky PointRomeSingaporeSlow travelSpainThailandTravel bucket listTravels StoriesUnited KingdomUnited StatesVietnamVolaris - AYCF!Wizz - AYCF!

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.

plane3

Three months looking out windows!

by AccommodationsAirBnbAsiaBarcelonaEuropeHCMC / SaigonItalyLondonMadridRomeSingaporeSpainThailandTravel bucket listTravels DealsTravels StoriesVietnamWizz - AYCF!

I left Arizona on January 12th and didn’t return until April 7th, 2025, heading first to Vietnam and then bouncing across the globe. In order, I visited:

Vietnam → Cambodia → Thailand → London (twice) → Singapore → Greece → Turkey → Egypt → Italy → Spain

Eight of those ten countries were brand-new pins on my map, which made the whole thing feel even more unreal. 📍🌍

I spent the first three months slowly moving through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. After that, I flipped the switch and went full chaos mode with my all-you-can-fly pass—whizzing (Wizz Air style) through London, Singapore, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Italy, and Spain.

Here’s the actual chain of planes, trains, ferries, and buses that somehow all worked:

✈ Phoenix → Los Angeles
✈ Los Angeles → Singapore
✈ Singapore → Saigon (HCMC)

🚆 Saigon → Nha Trang
🚆 Nha Trang → Huáșż
🚆 Huáșż → Da Nang
🚆 Da Nang → Hoi An
🚆 Da Nang → Saigon
🚱 Saigon → PhĂș Quốc
🚱 PhĂș Quốc → Saigon

🚌 Saigon → Phnom Penh
🚌 Phnom Penh → Siem Reap
🚌 Siem Reap → Angkor Wat

🚌 Angkor Wat → Bangkok
🚱 Bangkok → Koh Tao
🚱 Koh Tao → Koh Phangan
🚱 Koh Phangan → Koh Samui

🚱🚌 Koh Samui → Bangkok
✈ Bangkok → Singapore
✈ Singapore → Athens

✈ Athens → Istanbul
🚱 Istanbul → Princess Islands (day trip)
✈ Istanbul → London
✈ London → Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
✈ Sharm El Sheikh → London
✈ London → Naples
🚆 Naples → Rome

✈ Rome → Madrid
🚆 Madrid → Barcelona
🚆 Barcelona → Madrid
✈ Madrid → Rome
✈ Rome → Los Angeles
✈ LAX → Phoenix

(That doesn’t even include all the local buses, metros, tuk-tuks, and 25+ ride share ((Grab/Uber/Bolt/InDrive)) rides along the way.)

Three months in Southeast Asia.
Then a rapid-fire lap through Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

It sounds insane written out like this—and honestly, it kind of was.

But that’s part of the fun.
And after traveling like this for three straight months


Sometimes all you can do is drop a blog and watch miserable people be jealous. 😄

This was, by far, the longest—and most expensive—trip of my life.

I blew through my budget. And once that happened, I made the call to keep going anyway, because I was already there. I ended up canceling my Eurail pass and coming home three weeks early to stop the financial bleeding.

At the time, I didn’t think I’d ever use my all-you-can-fly pass again, so I went into “see everything now” mode and stacked as many countries as I could. I still missed a few, which means there’s a pretty good chance I’ll give it one more run someday—especially since I’m not renewing the pass.

And here’s the truth:

I have zero regrets about spending money on travel.
Not at the end of this trip.
Not at the end of any trip.

What I do have is better awareness.

Travel is worth it.
The memories are worth it.
The experiences are worth it.

I just need to be smarter next time in Europe and use train travel—pace it better, plan a little tighter, and learn from the mistakes without losing the magic.

That’s not regret.
That’s learning and sharing.

noods

Asia – getting fat eating with two sticks!🍜

by BangkokBoholCebu CityKoh Phi PhiPhilippinesPhucketSingaporeSiquijor/Dumaguete islandsThailand

I have loved Thai food since visiting Thailand back in 2022 but forgot how much until returning in 2025!

I have since visited many Asian countries and fallen in love with their food. Vietnam Pho/Bahn mi/noodles, Cambodian Amok/Hhmer curry/noodles, all held the title until I was reintroduced to Thai again.

The Thai pad and variations of soup won my heart and my belly over once again. Here are some choices from a food court in Bangkok. You could eat three times a day for 365 days and not try them all in this food court. It was almost impossible to choose:

 

Here were some of my absolute favorites from around Samui—and yes, choosing was a daily struggle:

Mango salad (top left) — fresh, spicy, sweet, and dangerous if you underestimate the chili đŸŒ¶ïž

Tom Yum coconut spicy soup (middle left) — rich, tangy, and soul-cleansing in the best way

Chicken Pad Thai (top right) — the classic that never misses

Tom Yum chicken (extra spicy) (bottom left) — I survived, barely

Ice-cold Chang beer (bottom right) — it was so hot they literally put ice in it
 and I fully support that decision đŸș🧊

Thai food doesn’t just win—it laps the competition. My heart, my stomach, and my sweat glands all agree.

sing2

Singapore! Amazing place to visit!!

by Singapore

Just when you thought this blog was a waste of time with zero useful information
 here’s a random-but-handy travel fact:

You can chew gum in Singapore—but don’t get cute with it.

The sale of chewing gum has been illegal since 1992. The reason? People kept sticking used gum in places it absolutely did not belong—like subway door sensors, lock cylinders, and elevator buttons. Singapore responded the only way Singapore knows how: hard rules, zero tolerance.

Since 2004, there’s been a small exception for therapeutic, dental, and nicotine gum, which you can buy from a doctor or registered pharmacist.

Important clarifications:

Chewing gum itself is not illegal

Importing and selling it (with limited exceptions) is

Travelers can bring in a small amount for personal use

Spit it out improperly? 💾 There’s a fine for that

So yes—this blog did just save you from a mildly embarrassing (and possibly expensive) international gum incident.

You’re welcome. 😄

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

This was my sixth time passing through Changi Airport—but the first time I actually left the airport.

I grabbed a hostel right in the center of Singapore and picked up a two-day MRT (subway) pass to explore the city properly. The subway system was clean, fast, and stupidly efficient—exactly what you’d expect from Singapore.

The hostel? Honestly
 it sucked. But it was the only affordable option I could find in an otherwise very expensive city—unless you’re cool paying $100+ a night to stay in a rougher area. That said, there are tons of options on Booking.com if you’re willing to hunt and compromise a bit.

Singapore isn’t cheap—but it’s incredibly easy to navigate, even on a budget, if you lean on public transport and keep expectations realistic.

Here was my route from Changi Airport into the city—smooth, fast, and almost comically efficient thanks to the Singapore MRT.

And then
 the destination.

After that flawless transit experience, I checked into what can only be described as an absolute cubby—a tiny hostel bunk that barely qualified as a sleeping space. Two nights. No privacy. Questionable airflow. Just enough room to lie down and reconsider my life choices.

Was it glamorous? Not even remotely.
Was it cheap (by Singapore standards)? Unfortunately, yes.
Did it get the job done? Also yes.

That’s the tradeoff sometimes: world-class infrastructure on the way in, followed by a brutally humbling reminder that budget travel in expensive cities is all about lowering expectations and raising tolerance.

I survived.
I slept (kind of).
And I got out into the city—which was the whole point anyway.

The first thing most people think of when they hear Singapore is Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay.

And to be fair—they’re incredible. Seeing the building and the landscape in person absolutely lives up to the hype. It’s futuristic, perfectly manicured, and feels like something dropped in from another planet.

That said
 this is as close as I’m getting.

Rooms at Marina Bay Sands run $560+ a night, which is—no exaggeration—more than I paid for my hostel. For that price, I’ll happily admire it from the outside, take a few photos, and keep my money for food, transit, and actually doing things.

Singapore does spectacle extremely well.
I just don’t need to sleep inside the spectacle to appreciate it.

Some people collect infinity-pool selfies.
I collect stories—and a much lower nightly burn rate.

Singapore is undeniably clean, efficient, and impressively built. The infrastructure is world-class. That said, I didn’t personally find much beyond that pulling me in.

That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t love it—this is just my opinion. Travel is subjective, and different places click with different people. Honestly, you could visit Singapore and never even leave the airport and still feel like you saw something special
 which is a little wild when you think about it.

And that’s the strange part for me: one of the coolest things in the city was the airport.

To be fair, Changi Airport isn’t just an airport—it’s routinely ranked as one of the best in the world. Inside, you’ll find an entertainment corner, the world’s tallest airport slide, a butterfly garden, a movie theater, a swimming pool with runway views, the Skytrain, the massive Rain Vortex, and multiple indoor garden spaces. It’s less “terminal” and more “destination.”

So yeah—Singapore does precision, cleanliness, and efficiency better than almost anywhere. It just didn’t light me up the way other places have. And that’s okay. Not every stop has to be a favorite to be interesting.

Sometimes the takeaway isn’t “I want to stay longer”—
It’s â€œI’m glad I saw it.” The airport was enough for me now.