In the first part, we have been driven from Austria all the way through Central Asia to the end of the „driveable“ world, Vladivostok. You can find the first part here.
In the second part, our journey leads us from Vladivostok via South Korea to Japan. After a snowy winter in the Japanese Alps, we have moved on to Borneo, crossed Brunei until we have spent a few incredible, shocking, scary, marvelous and surprising months in Indonesia.
In the first part of our trip, many people were asking, if we have won in the lottery and have been worried about our son´s education. Scroll through part 2 to get some answers or visit our website to get a more detailed insight into our real life.
This is our story in pictures from our second year, driving overland from Vladivostok to Indonesia.
Stay tuned for part 3 – Australia!
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From Vladivostok, we have shipped via South Korea
To Japan! The land of castles
And Ninjas!
We’ve had heaps of troubles with our heater in Japan and a lot of snow to shovel, in fear that our roof would collapse
However, Japan was stunning and a great experience!
After Japan, we moved on to Borneo, the third-largest island on this planet
Which has some of the deepest caves
Borneo is still pretty wild
Best accessible by boat and really fun to explore
We were looking for something special and rare
The Orangutan. Borneo and Sumatra are the only places where you still can find these apes
Their last, small habitats are shrinking super fast. Rainforests are still getting cut down, sizes of multiple football fields daily!
We have crossed Borneo from north to south and have seen way more palmoil plantations than Rainforest
Nature is getting destroyed, locals exploited, animals expelled and killed for the sake of human “needs” and consumerism
Southeast Asia is very rich in different tribes and cultures
It is amazing and interesting what the “modern” world could learn from these “underdeveloped” people
Unfortunately, a lot of these cultures and their knowledge is getting lost
The western world, technology, and tourism are conquering the whole planet, cultures are vanishing and only ruins remain
Indonesia gave us a pretty tough time when it comes to finding camping spots and driving
Electricity lines are hanging low and everything is narrow and tight
Nusa Penida is a very small island. Way too small and narrow to go there with the truck. So we rented some scooters to get around. 3 generations on a single motorbike! Not that bad.
However, Indonesia has some magical places
Which are worth staying for the whole night
Waking up the next morning with a view like this
For us, it is the land of waterfalls
Epic rice terraces
Magnificent beaches!
It also comes with a lot of problems
Dirt, rubbish, and junk all over are omnipresent. It would be easy, blaming this ecological disaster on this very land and the local people. Some of them may be uneducated, some may be lazy. But that´s not the majority and not the major reasons for all this trash.
A couple of decades ago, Indonesia didn’t even have plastic
Tourism is rising and western companies are importing western products. Neither these companies nor the government itself is providing proper facilities dealing with all the rubbish. In addition to this, many “western” countries shipping their trash in third world countries for having a “green” and “clean” home country.
After living on the ocean for more than a year now, we got drawn to this element. Not only for fun sports but also for learning, understanding it
The oceans are the largest ecosystem on this planet with an immense diversity of flora and fauna. And therefore the most important, but also vulnerable, area. If the ocean dies, we all die!
The oceans and our beaches are polluted – heavily! Almost everybody knows that nowadays. But still, way too few people care about that big problem.
The last generation failed to handle this situation and even our generation failed. Picking up some rubbish (5 diapers on the beach! Seriously?) from the beach is a Sisyphus work and just the proverbial drop in the ocean. After 15 minutes the bag was full. And that was a „clean“ beach. But we think there is still a possibility to make a change and probably the best solution is called education. Education to our children. Let’s provide our kids, the future generation, with information on how to treat our planet and raise a smarter generation, a generation that is able to make a huge impact on this disastrous situation. Live comes from the ocean and without the oceans, all of our lives end.
To the people who are worrying about our son’s education
We don’t have a strict curriculum like in a schoolroom. But we have the ability, to raise and educate our son in the very environment, we are traveling in. Teaching him about different cultures, learning new languages, experiencing the hospitality and love from people all over the world – no matter where we are. Pointing out environmental issues and exploring the immense diversity of wildlife. Learning to appreciate, understand and conserve this planet is a better education rather than focusing on economic growth, wealth and consumerism. At least for us! Of course, we are teaching him basic stuff like reading, and writing.
And you don’t have to be rich for a lifestyle we are living, nor do you have to win in the lottery
You just have to know the right people. Just kidding!
From the outside, our life looks like a holiday. However, you can be certain, even people like us have to work, even harder then you might think
Living on the road, and especially earning money on the road, is much harder than it seems and much more challenging than in our previous life back home
On one side, it is a life filled with challenges and we are always exhausted. However, it is also filled with so many magical experiences. It is worth living it. Stay tuned for the next leg of our journey!
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