ABOUT US

Having spent more years than we can care to remember working long hours and commuting long distances (albeit for a decent reward), we concluded in 2012 that we just couldn’t put it off anymore.

The time had come to sell up, buy a couple of backpacks and realise our joint burning desire to explore the world.

The inspiration came from Nicky who, in a rare moment of clarity (and after more than one glass of Sauvignon Blanc) piped up with the visionary, “Tell you what, why don’t we just sack the rat race and galavant around the world for a few years”?

And so off we went, in March 2015, on the first leg of our Big Trip around Asia, Australia and New Zealand, eyes wide open like a couple of eager kids fresh out of school. Only we’re a couple of mid-forties and fifty-somethings who should probably know better.

But, having taken the leap of faith and headed off into the unknown, our outlook on life has changed considerably. We no longer intend to be constrained by the daily routine of commute-work-recover-sleep-commute. In fact, we yearn for a much simpler life, where the only restraints are those that we put upon ourselves.

And, in the meantime, there’s a whole world to discover.

What To Expect From Above Us Only Skies

When we announced our decision to sell everything and buy our one-way tickets to Bangkok, the reactions we received were a curious mixture of shock, amazement, bewilderment and, yes, envy.

People were happy for us. They felt we were brave. That it was something they’d love to do themselves if they could.

Other people thought we were mad. They couldn’t get their heads around how we could live for today and not worry about the future. That it was something completely alien to them and their way of life.

We agree with all of them. It’s a life that’s not for everyone. And that’s fine. People are perfectly entitled to make their own choices.

We’ve made ours and, as “mature” travellers, we believe we can inspire people in their thirties, forties, fifties, sixties and beyond to take that big step and live the life they’ve perhaps not even dreamed about before.

So, in this blog, we’re writing about and photographing our experiences as we travel around the world. That means the good, the bad, the funny and the downright bizarre.

We’re telling it as we see it. And we’re telling it in a way that will hopefully entertain, inform and, of course, inspire.

And we’d love to have you along for the ride. So, if you like what you’ve read so far, you can keep in touch in several ways.

You can head over to our social media channels. Or, if you wish, you can have all our blog posts sent to your email inbox by subscribing to our monthly newsletter (see below).

About Nicky

Having spent most of her working life managing teams, Nicky’s desire to travel extensively has now become strong enough for her to leave her corporate background behind her forever.

And, having backpacked around India for five months after graduating from university in the early 90s, she’s fought back the urges of wanderlust for far too long.

Her interests include scuba diving, for which she qualified at the age of 14 with the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC). She still can’t get her head around how it took her six months of intensive training to qualify in the freezing waters of the UK when it’s now being achieved over the course of one long weekend at Thai beach resorts.

Bizarrely, she has a morbid fear of bananas. So much so that a short stroll along the fruit aisle at the supermarket is a trial in itself. Avoiding those yellow packages of gorgeousness has proved difficult in the tropics, where a full-on confrontation with her fears is a daily occurrence.

A prolific consumer of books, she proudly claims she’s read each Harry Potter book in one sitting. A tendency to exaggerate should be taken into account, however.

And, at just under five feet fall, she remains in search of that magical growth serum. Has a theory that stretching out on a tropical beach for hours on end might just do the trick.

Deluded.

About Ian

After spending nearly 30 years in management, specialising in internal communications, Ian has come to the conclusion that life is frighteningly short.

So he’s decided to reinvent himself as a kind of latter-day explorer. Sort of a cross between Michael Palin and Neil Armstrong. Only without the book deals and the fancy moon-walks.

He’s a writer of blog posts, too. And an aspiring photographer. Probably useless at both but he’s a born trier.

Has a fear of spiders. But at least he’s stopped squealing at the sight of them since he came face-to-face with an army of arachnids in a Thai cave. Seriously, they were the size of dinner plates.

And, as a lover of spicy food, he likes to think his version of Lamb & Spinach Curry is right up there with some of the Great Dishes of the World.

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