Our world looks different when we see it from the outside looking in. To leave one’s comfort zone stirs the imagination and inspires thought. Landscapes, cultures, food, furniture, and transport that are unfamiliar can awaken dormant parts of ourselves, and reveal new ways to interact with our own part of the world.

How we travel

Our style of travel is about much more than destinations and “sights.” It’s about the everyday lives of the people who live in the places we visit. It’s also about the unexpected encounters and unusual discoveries along the way.

Unless we’re crossing an ocean, we only travel by train, bus/coach, ferry and public transit. We avoid posh hotels in favor of campgrounds, hostels, modest guest houses, and discount motels. We try to eat where the locals eat. Our time in new places is usually spent walking around and absorbing the sights, sounds and smells that make them interesting and unique.

A different attitude

It’s important to acknowledge that travel experiences are not all beauty and spectacle… there is also ugliness and exploitation. It’s dishonest to talk about the tranquility of the Grand Canyon while ignoring the constant drone of helicopters. When discussing the dolphin in Dingle Bay, we can’t look past the mountains of trash washed up on shore.

This is a story about life in different parts of the world at a particular moment in history, as seen through the eyes of two particular people navigating their way through traffic, trains, and life.

The story of the stories

Most of these stories began as “travel update” emails to friends and family. They quickly evolved into a series of web pages recounting the latest events. (In fact, we were blogging about our travels before it was called “blogging.”) What was written, compiled and posted while we were on the road remained as the record of these adventures for many years.

In the early 2020’s, we revisited this project. The text got a once-over to fill in gaps and improve the readability. We had room for more photos, and added a viewer so images could fill the screen. We added maps to trace our routes and pin down exactly where things happened.

As we release this new Oddyzee site to the world, we know it is far from finished. There are more stories to be told, more images to be shared, and videos to be edited and posted.

So come watch over our shoulders as we take a look around. We hope you find something here that’s interesting or useful, and that inspires you to get off the couch and embark on an adventure of your own.