Global Nomads

19/01/2025

So waaaaay too many photos but…..We had the most incredible 2 full day safaris at Yala National Park. Day 1 started off rainy but we saw so many different species from elephants, monitor lizards, mongoose, deer, water buffalo, langur monkeys, wild jackal, an eagle eating its prey, so many different birds, crocodiles…..but not the elusive leopard….day 2 we were feeling positive we were on a mission to spot a leopard! There are only around 30 to 50 in block one of the park where we were able to visit, much of the other areas are flooded and inaccessible, and our driver was highly skilled in spotting wildlife while navigating the very rough off road trails. We got word a leopard had been spotted and we were off! We did see it high in a tree and our driver suggested we wait for the other jeeps to leave the area. We waited….about an hour later we headed back and got a full face view of this beautiful animal. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, he made his way down from the high branches of the tree and crossed the road right in front of us, where the jeep drivers had left a space for him, and there he sat for a few minutes before he moved along in to the jungle. His name is Lucas and he’s 9 years old and literally one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen, he was just beautiful. The afternoon saw more crocs and birds and a friendly elephant on the driveway to our hotel. As a wildlife lover this was truly a once in a lifetime memorable experience. I am working my way through my big girl Nikon camera pics (about 1300 of them) and will post some in a few days, I am beyond happy with some of the images I captured. Shout out to Saman Weeratunga for being a great spotter, guide and organizing our Jeep and great driver and making sure I could get in and out of the Jeep while still wearing “the boot”!

14/01/2025

Today we rode the iconic Ella Odyssey from Kandy to Ella, one of the most scenic train journeys in the world. Climbing up to over 6000 feet over the highlands and through the many small towns and tea plantations of Sri Lanka and offering panoramic views, well at least it usually does…..The weather did not want to co operate and so we were in clouds for much of the journey and our “window” was mainly strutt for the carriage and the woman in front of me reclined her seat fully immediately reducing even more what little window we had! Oh well….we did get to enjoy the open doors of the train and hang out to take photos like those kids on instagram! 😂 had waited years to do this so pretty disappointed, especially after having to wrangle my way on and off with the boot, but at least we did it! For info the train does a max speed of less than 20mph so you’re not catching flies in your teeth speed!

13/01/2025

Finally some sun and no hospital visits! Wearing my new fashion accessory boot we managed to get out and see the city! First stop was a a Buddhist temple, then the sacred temple of the tooth relic (crazy busy due to today being a holiday as it’s a new moon and as such celebrated by Buddhists as a day when good things happened to Bhudda) then a quick tour and tasting at a tea factory and finally a visit to a wood carving store. Yes I saw many things I’d like but resisted, from this store anyway…..😜

09/01/2025

We traveled to our next stop on the island today to the town of Kandy. We had another wild elephant sighting along the main road and arrived at our hotel with only 5 rooms, a bit of a white knuckle drive in, and epic views over the valley and town below.

07/01/2025

Today was a visit to Polonnaruwa, a UNESCO world heritage site, the second capital of Sri Lanka containing the ruins of the garden city. We visited the royal palace, citadel and the sacred quadrangle and part of the location for Duran Duran “save a prayer” video! This lovely lady prepared a fresh coconut for us to enjoy and another wild elephant encounter as this big fella was crossing the road we were driving on. There are 3 national parks in the area where the elephants are free to roam between and this includes the public roads and traffic will stop to let them through.

06/01/2025

Post 2 of 2 today! Elephant safari (again) and we saw elephants! Lots of lovely wild elephants! A few more hours of even more extreme off roading, we had a much newer and capable vehicle today, meant we saw calfs, males and females, about 40 in total!!!! We also saw eagles, Osprey, tortoise, water buffalo, crocodile and more birds! I was busy on my Nikon so didn’t get too many shots but an amazing day!

06/01/2025

Post 1 of 2 today because well post 2 is elephants and needs one all to itself! On our way to Lions Rock today we saw this elephant (Ravi) being bathed by his mahoot. Sadly this is one of many tourist elephants used for rides and is kept roped up. I truly hope one day this magnificent animals will only be seen in the wild. Standing 200 meters tall, Lions Rock was a fortress built atop the rock in the reign of King Kasyapa 477-495AD and was accessible only through the mouth of an enormous carved lion, that sadly all that remains are the feet. You can climb to the top, we walked the gardens and some steps but opted for a tuk tuk tour around the base instead! There are numerous mischievous wild monkeys and you need to watch your bags!

06/01/2025

Check out our 2024 year in review video

2024 Review of our first year as retired full time Nomads traveling the world

In 2024 we completed our first year as Global Nomads. We retired and sold our house and we travel full time. In 2024 we rode trains across America, Cruised t...

03/01/2025

After leaving the craziness of colombo behind we made a 4.5hour drive to the tranquility of Sigiriya. The hotel lives up to its name and is indeed in the forest down a long dirt track road. Rooms are stand alone villas on stilts and are really nicely appointed with wrap around balconies but we are advised to not feed the monkeys! Large clean bathroom and what seems like a comfy king size bed and even a sofa top things off! We plan on sightseeing some archeological sites and at least one elephant safari while we are here! Video tour at the end if you’re interested!

02/01/2025

Got ourselves tidied up before we move on to another part of the island tomorrow. James had a $4 haircut at Raja’s barbers and I got a mani pedi at Elite spa, where the pedi chairs had mini sinks in each arm to start your mani! A first for me!

02/01/2025

So I’d seen people eating these and asked chef at the hotel what they were and how I was supposed to eat it! It’s a traditional Sri Lankan dish called a hopper. I had an egg hopper and it’s made from a batter consisting of coconut milk, sugar and rice flour and is cooked paper thin in a big type of ladle. You then eat with all sorts of spicy sambols. I particularly liked the onion one with the egg one. Chef did suggest I might want o be careful of one of them (Sri Lankan food is spicy!) so as I have to go out today didn’t risk that one! You can also add dhal and curry to them!

01/01/2025

2024 What a year! We sold everything and officially became nomads!

We traveled a total of 35,273 miles to 15 countries (not including 3 we just traveled through), visited 17 US states, took 3 cruises, including a transatlantic, 36 trains, 12 flights, slept in 71 different beds and used 7.7million points that saved us $135k!

We are beyond blessed to live this life and have much to look forward to in 2025, although we will be slowing down a little! We’ll be visiting (some new and some re-visiting)Qatar, taking an African cruise, Mauritius, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, Florida and Argentina before finally reaching our 7th continent next Christmas on an Antarctica cruise!

31/12/2024

Tuk Tuk City tour! First stop was Galle face beach, with fisherman, families and colorful food stands it’s not that different from a British seaside! We then learned about the Chinese, Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch and of course British influences here as well as the two languages spoken, Sinhala and Tamil, although English is widely spoken too. Visited Hindu and Buddhist temples as well as the Islamic red and white mosque. Visited Victoria Park with its golden Buddha, elephant bathing pond (yes for real elephants when they visit for festival’s) and WWII memorial in honor of the people of Ari Lanka who fought alongside the allies. Saw the crazy Pettah Market, the train station the Brits built and then ventured 244 meters to the top of the Lotus Tower for epic views of the city and Indian Ocean!

29/12/2024

New year coming so headed to a new country! After our speed boat ride to the airport we are headed to Sri Lanka for the coming month.

25/12/2024

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25/12/2024

Check out our latest video about our journey on the Rocky Mountaineer

Rocky Mountaineer Rockies to Red Rocks

In this video we take the Rocky Mountaineer from Denver Colorado to Moab Utah in Silver Leaf Service.We show you the process of check in, boarding, the overn...

25/12/2024

How Santa arrives in the Maldives! Merry Christmas! 🎄

24/12/2024

Well for us it will be Christmas Day in an hour and we had a wonderful Christmas Eve here at the gala dinner. Greeted by a guy on stilts and some fairies (?) to go with the theme and we enjoyed cocktails and one of the biggest Christmas buffets I’ve ever seen! King crab legs (yum) and western, Asian, Indian, Maldivian, Italian, sushi:…it went on and on! There were entertaining acrobats, a live band and we finished the night with a DJ. A very different but enjoyable Christmas Eve! Sincerely wishing you all a very very happy Christmas, peace, happiness and everything you wish for! 🎄🎅🏻