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So 2013 is almost over so I thought this would be a good time to look back at what has to be not only the craziest year of travel I have ever had, but also undoubtedly the most exciting year of my life.

I’ve been on the road travelling for 7 months out of the last year traveled in 4 continents,From sailing through the carribean on a  to Colombia from Panama, Trekking through the amazonian jungle,Riding elephants in Thailand,drinking Guiness with locals in Ireland and exploring the underground catacombs of Rome, it sure has been one hell of a ride

. So sit back as I recap some of my favorite experiences of 2013.

Latin America

2013 started off with a bang,I was already 2 months into my Latin American Backpacking trip, I brought in the new year by saying goodbye to Central America and Hello to South America with an awesome 5 day cruise on a yacht from Panama City to Cartagena.

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Sail boat from Panama to Colombia for New Years 2012 to bring in 2013 with some awesome people.

In January I got my first taste of South America when I landed in the beautiful walled city of Cartagena

Old walls that used to protect Cartagena from pirates and attacks

Old walls that used to protect Cartagena from pirates and attacks

I even got down and dirty in the Cartagena mud pools

Me coming out of the mud pits a new more muddy man

Me coming out of the mud pits a new more muddy man

After a short stay in Cartagena, I was feeling a little burnt out and over the hot weather of Colombia so I booked my first flight of the year and my Latin America trip and flew to Quito in Ecuador where I spent a month getting up to some awesome things….

Like exploring the town of Quito

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and Climbing Cotapaxi Volcano, One of the highest most active volcano’s in the world.

cotopaxi

Walking along the equator line at “Mitad Del Mundo”

Walking Equator

I then went and spend an amazing two weeks in one of my favorite towns in South America, Banos

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Banos during Carnivalle

Partied it up with lots of foam in for Carnival in Banos

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I did white water rafting for the first time and fell in love with it.

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me in my stylish rafting getup

I also got robbed by a one handed monkey in Puyo

Me and Monkey

I did my first bridge jump and maybe even my last haha, that would have to be the most terrifying thing i’ve done all year.

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I took a trip into Ecuador’s slice of the amazon basin and went piranha fishing

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I then left Ecuador for Peru where I trekked through the jungle to Machu Pichu

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Home Bound

After an amazing 4.5 months travelling Latin America and 2 years living overseas in Canada I headed back to my home country Australia,where I reconnected with old friends and my family for 4 months and even got to be an uncle when my brother and sister in law had their first baby.

baby

Thailand

In september I packed my backpack for the second time and left Australia once again, On a 3.5 weeks trip through Thailand on my way to do a 2 year working holiday in UK/Europe, Here are just some of my highlights.

I hung out with a tiger in Chiang Mai

me with tiger

Trekked through the jungle on an elephant in Northern Thailand

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Partied it up in the worlds biggest beach party “Full moon party” in Koh Phangan

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Rented a mini van with 8 other travelers and drove 18 hours straight across Thailand.

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Europe

After a crazy few weeks in Thailand I touched down in my 5th continent in a 12 month period when I landed in Europe.

I found my blogger family when I stayed in a castle in Ireland with a bunch of other awesome bloggers

The amazing Bansha castle where we spent 4 days living

The amazing Bansha castle where we spent 4 days living

I attended my first travel blogging conference in Ireland….and then another two in Italy and London.

Me at travel blogging conference Italy

Me at travel blogging conference Italy

I fell in love with Ireland during the 3 weeks I spent there.

Me at Cliffs of Moher Ireland

Me at Cliffs of Moher Ireland

Visited the Colosseum and traveled Italy for 3 weeks

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Oh and don’t forget the beautiful coastal town of Cinque Terre omg!

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I then  spent an amazing few weeks in Scotland visiting, Inverness,Isle of Skye and Inverness  and fell in love with Edinburgh’s charm.

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oh and I even saw the Loch ness monster 😉

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I then landed one of the most bizaare jobs in my life, living on site in London working for a company that does themed christmas parties for business’s, during those 3 weeks I had my first introduction to the hospitality industry  where I lead teams of waiters, worked behind a bar and even in a weird turn of events managed 3 bars of over 12 staff for 700 people when I only had one week of bar experience. 😀

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Christmas/Birthday/New Years

With christmas in Bocas Del toro, My birthday (28th december) in Panama City and new years in the carribean in 2012, the bar was set really high for 2013, But I gave it my best shot

With a traditional christmas in Prague, Czech Republic, along with numerous pub crawls

Prague xmas tree 640

For my birthday I was in Vienna Austria where I enjoyed a day of sightseeing and some good schnitzel

schnitzel

and right now I am in Budapest in Hungary where I am bringing in the new year by having a giant pool party in the thermal bath’s complete with lasers and disco music.

pool party

What an absolutely insane year!

This is only just some of the crazy things I have been up to this past year, there are to many to list,It’s only when writing this that it really sunk in what an absolutely crazy year 2013 has been.2013 has definitely been a year of experiencing new things and making new friends. Thanks to all of you for sharing this amazing year with me and I am really looking forward to see what crazy new adventures 2014 will bring.

2017-08-29T01:42:35+00:00 6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. Val December 31, 2013 at 9:12 pm

    Happy New Year! So happy we met on Twitter and in person at TBEX this year! Keep up making some bad decisions in 2014! Hopefully we’ll meet again!
    Val recently posted..Buns ‘n’ All (Or, that time I won a hot dog eating contest by default) (Or, I’m going to Coney Island, bitches!)My Profile

  2. Hogga January 3, 2014 at 5:17 pm

    happy new year!

  3. Helen January 5, 2014 at 8:29 pm

    Amazing year for you Brendon, wow!!!!

    Was great to spend time with you in Ireland and I hope we have some more adventures together soon! 🙂
    Helen recently posted..5 Goals, Hopes and Dreams for 2014My Profile

  4. Murissa January 14, 2014 at 3:35 am

    Congrats on the amazing things you have experienced in 2013!
    It was a pleasure to have met you at the BlogHouse.
    I can’t wait to see what 2014 brings you and I do hope our paths cross again one day.
    Murissa recently posted..Sunday Pranzo: Dinner at the Movies with Foreign Cinema, San FranciscoMy Profile

  5. Marysia @ My Travel Affairs February 6, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    Looks like a super amazing year, I think I’m most jealous about Quito and piranhas fishing, looks like a lot of fun!
    Marysia @ My Travel Affairs recently posted..Friday Lens Affair #55My Profile

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