A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD | September 2025
When I learned that our small airport would be closed for runway repair for the entire month of September, you can imagine the ideas that crossed my mind. ;) I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to take an extended trip...how about a trip around the world??
I decided to travel west, thinking that would help with jet lag (I think it did), starting with Australia, then heading to Thailand, then Dubai (with an unexpected side trip to Oman), then Turkiye, and finally Portugal. I hit quite a few things on my hoped-for list for 2025 and had a great time exploring new places!!
Adding Australia, Thailand, Oman, and the UAE to my list of countries this month brings me to 32 visited so far! How cool. :) Think I'll make it to 18 more countries before I turn 50? #50before50
Sydney is actually soooooo dreamy. Being right on the water, with public transportation so easy (use your Opal card for ferries too!), and with developed walking tracks all along the coastline, AND gorgeous beaches and pools to swim in... I can definitely see this as an escape from our winter OR summer (the weather is so nice there in September, low 60's and sunny). I want to go back for some beach time in January!!
Next up was Thailand, another WINNER of a destination. Bangkok wins in the categories of food, budget, and transportation!! I was blown away at how cheap and yummy the food was (favorites = Thai tea, Pad See Ew, toasted red bean cakes, street pineapple, mango sticky rice), and transportation was actually a BLAST using the Grab app. I really really enjoyed the tour I took with Get Your Guide. The evening storms were an adventure and the weather wasn't too bad (compared to Oman or Dubai)!!
My plans at this point were originally to go to Krabi for two nights (now I regret changing things), but being monsoon season, the forecast for the coastal areas was freaking me out (I want to do a boat tour) AND the flights from Bangkok to Dubai looked very full. So I decided to get over to Dubai by way of Oman, which meant taking a flight to Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. This was a mistake because I didn't know the visa to Saudi Arabia costs around $100 USD and that the airport is such that without a connecting flight (I had two separate flights), I would have to leave the secure area, officially enter the country through customs and then check in for my next flight, immediately exiting the country. They wouldn't let me transfer through without paying for a VISA!!!! So frustrating. I asked a lot of people for help and almost missed my flight to Muscat.
Oman was HOT, but I managed to get out on the water with a dolphin watching tour which was nice. I can't say I would ever want to return to this country (I'm not a desert lover) from what I saw. You would have to rent a car and explore on your own for the most part.
I made it to Dubai (also incredibly hot and more humid than I was anticipating) and found myself on a VERY crowded train to the city (I hit rush hour). Apparently more than 85% of Dubai's residents aren't local, but immigrants coming to work. There are people from Pakistan, Nepal, Philippines, India, and more. Many of the restaurants in the city actually serve Indian food, not Arabian. That surprised me. Seeing the Burj Khalifa was very cool (the tippy top was up in the clouds) and the city has an incredible number of tall buildings (more being constructed all the time). It definitely has a modern, rich feel, but contrasted with the crowds of immigrant workers keeping the city alive. You can Uber around easily, but it's not cheap. I tried to use the bus and train systems, but they just didn't align very well or get me to all the places I wanted to visit. I ended up walking around a LOT, sweating profusely, stopping in stores to get a few minutes of AC along my way.
I managed to find a very nice Arabian restaurant that served traditional (soooo good) bread and chickpeas, along with an iced chai. The Filipino waitresses here were so nice to me, pointing a fan right on me so I could cool down while waiting for my food!
Another highlight was the camel ride and sand dune "busting" (air down the tires and zoom around on the dunes!!). I met another enthusiastic-about-travel couple (from the UK) also on the tour and we exchanged photos and videos of each other. Such nice people.
SO MUCH FUN and my trip is only half over...
Ready for more??
Next up is Turkiye, a place I've been before. I loved Istanbul so much on my visit last year, but wasn't able to get on flights to Cappadocia as planned, so this was redemption time. I paid full fare this time (around $100 round trip), not trusting the standby process for these local, in country flights. Everything worked out perfectly, even the shuttle from the airport to the hotel that I booked using Get Your Guide.
I stayed at a beautiful place (with the best Turkish breakfast), about 4 km out of the tourist hub (Goreme). It was a challenge to figure out the public transportation, but I was a pro by day three, and it wasn't too bad. The balloons were canceled on my first morning, but on days two and three I was able to hike out to viewing areas and catch the sunrise launch both days! It is MAJESTIC and EXHILERATING to watch the hundreds of balloons in the sky! The ones flying through Love Valley get so close to the rocks, but safely! It's incredible. Definitely a bucket list item to check off, even if you're not riding inside the balloon basket.
The countryside in this area is so unique, with most of the fairy chimneys hollowed out into cave houses and churches. The ancient history of the region is so interesting. I definitely recommend taking a tour where you can have someone drive you to different places (including the pottery studio) and teach you a few things about the place.
I wasn't an immediate fan of Turkish tea, but with a little sugar, it was much better! Everyone drinks it there, all the time...
Ready to head to Portugal? I didn't get the direct flight from Dubai to Porto that I was hoping for, but managed to connect in Madrid (crazy busy airport).
Porto was crowded with tourists. I had heard about the over-tourism in Portugal, but was surprised to see the THRONGS of people in the streets. Like I'm not even sure what the city is like from a local's perspective. My walking tour guide said tourism and digital nomads living more long-term in the country is making it nearly impossible to be able to afford to live in many big cities in Portugal, due to housing costs being so inflated.
But they do have delicious pasteis de nata and gorgeous iconic tiling. I took the bus along the river out to the coastal area and on a sunny day, this area is very beautiful.
And if you're still here with me (not sure I was even fully present with myself at this point in the trip, haha), we have ONE MORE place to go -- MADEIRA.
I had really hyped this place up in my mind. It was going to be absolutely spectacular, somehow better than Hawaii and Norway and any other island destination in the world. Um, nope.
Cool things: the top of the island is very high, so you can hike above the clouds; pretty ocean views; a variety of climates on the island, from more dry and rugged to very wet and rainforesty; a very nice highway system, including over a hundred tunnels, has been built throughout the island to help connect things and increase accessibility (I can't imagine what it was like thirty years ago).
Annoying things: narrow roads, steep roads, winding, switchback roads (that are narrow and steep); incredibly full parking lots with people parked on the side of the afore-mentioned roads for a mile or two down from hiking trailheads; over-tourism; beaches made of huge boulders (not sand); one-way, difficult to navigate, city streets, without easy parking; lack of accessible or connected public transportation; tiny grocery stores without easy parking; did I mention the lack of parking? LOL
To be honest, I'm not sure how the earliest settlers who came to this island managed to build it up as much as it is. The mountains are just so steep.
So, to be fair, Madeira is a gorgeous place that I just found very hard to navigate and access. I found enough parking spots to take a few hikes and managed to find barely enough food to sustain life. I enjoyed as much of the island as I could, but probably wouldn't choose to come back.
I flew home through Lisbon and Miami...and then...We dropped off our firstborn to live in the dorm at college!!
Currently:
Eating | Tim's delicious spaghetti sauce concoction with zucchiniEnjoying | our new freshly painted white walls
Watching | season 49 of Survivor!!
Thankful | the skies are free of smoke from the nearby fires
Planning | a trip to Quito, Ecuador
Anticipating | seeing a Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas