Love this thread topic idea! Five years ago, my wife and I spent a full month in Southeast Asia in between medical school graduation and the start of residency. We did Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam- absolutely spectacular trip. I think that Angkor Wat at sunrise at 4 AM is the most breathtakingly spectacular thing I’ve ever seen in my life. The Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam were a really interesting experience, as well. I am a big military history buff, so visiting the Vietnam War museum in Ho Chi Minh City and then the Hanoi Hilton where John McCain was held in Hanoi, were really educational experiences. We also did a couple night cruise on Ha Long Bay.
I had been travel for work for about two years by the time we went on that trip, and I had saved up enough airline miles and hotel points for us to essentially fly to and from, and spend 31 nights in Asia, without paying out-of-pocket. The two islands which we went to and spent some time, Ko Sami in Thailand and Phu Quoc in Vietnam are the two most incredible beaches I’ve ever experienced.
Most recently, we spent a week and a half earlier this year in Rome, Florence, and Venice as I mentioned, I am a big history geek, and it was my first time in Europe so it was an incredible experience for me. My wife and I come from completely opposite end of the socioeconomic spectrum, so whereas she and her family had travel experience in Europe when she was growing up, I had never traveled outside of the United States until we went to Asia together in 2019. So Europe has always been a bucket list destination for me, in particular Italy because I am fascinated by ancient Roman history. My favorite part of the whole trip was getting to visit the ruins in Pompeii, whereas I think my wife’s favorite part of the trip was visiting Florence and the art museums.
I have definitely got the international travel itch now. There are so many places I want to experience. Our international traveling will probably slow down a little bit for the next few years as we have a young toddler, and as my wife transitions from medical training into her attending position. I think we may have a trip to Germany in the spring 2025 as my wife completes her fellowship training and is scheduled to present at an international pediatric surgery conference in Munich. But otherwise I imagine the next couple of years we will stay closer to home as we hopefully have a chance to grow our family.
But it is a huge priority for me to continue to travel abroad, and when our son gets old enough to be able to enjoy it, I would like to take him to places internationally. I could’ve never even dreamed of traveling internationally when I was a kid, so I want that for my family.
