2012
Indonesia, Australia, Denmark, Sweden and Thailand, 2012-12-31 12:00 by Laerke and Martin
An overview of our travels in 2012. It was such a busy year; moving from Jakarta to Bangkok, starting Uni and luckily lots of travelling.

January

As we spent New Year’s in Bali, we woke up in our beautiful and luxurious cliff site hut on the very first day of 2012. We toured the southern peninsular of Bali in our rental car, taking in the many beautiful views and inhaling the last bits of sweet Bali air, before heading back to Jakarta.

February

At the end of January, Lily finished her internship at the Danish Embassy in Jakarta and we flew to Perth, Western Australia for a one month road trip. We headed north through the outback, free camped in the bush and almost melted in the heat at stunning Karijini National Park. Then we cooled down at the coral coast, with its pristine beaches and crystal clear waters. Heading south again, away from hurricanes and bushfires, we ended up in wine country, where we sampled delicious wine and cheese, while once again being blown away by the magnificent coastal scenery.

Big trees, more dry outback, cute marsupials and again the most beautiful white sand and turquoise water; Western Australia was indeed a nature lovers paradise.

Read more here: Australia

March

Lily’s mother and her two younger brothers came to Asia for almost 2 months; they arrived in late February in Singapore. We stayed in Little India, ate Indian food off banana leafs and shopped for bangles. We of course also explored the rest of the city, we checked out the beautiful mosque in the Arab Quarters and all the shiny new architecture down by the water. After a few days we hopped on a bus to Melaka, we found a cute little family owned hotel and settled in for a few days of enjoying this lovely city. We finished our time in Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur where we went to the huge zoo and bird park and took in the Petrona Towers from all possible angles! A short flight, a drive in a jeep and a bit of a trek and we were in Bukit Lawang in Sumatra, Indonesia. We swam, tubed and snorkeled in the clear river and got up close and personal with the gorgeous orangutans on jungle treks. We also found time to laze in hammock, read comic books and play games. Our next stop in Indonesia was Flores where we embarked on an adventurous 3 day sailing trip in the Komodo National Park. The gorgeous scenery, the friendly crew and the encounters with komodo dragons, huge manta rays and turtle all contributed to make this an unforgettable trip!

After all that excitement we bunkered down in a rental house in the rice paddies in Bali for two weeks. We did a lot of great daytrips in our rental car, to various beaches, the mountains, markets and we got to snorkel the beautiful wreck at Tulamben! Incredible :)


Our time in Indonesia was up, so we flew to Bangkok where my sister and her friend meet up with us for the last two weeks of family traveling. We got drenched celebrating Songkran in Bangkok, we volunteered at a gibbon farm in Mae Sot and we kicked back with beach time on Ko Wai. After that we waved goodbye to my family.
Read more here: The Family Trip

April

Come mid-April we moved into our apartment in Bangkok, but soon after we went on a trip to Penang, partly to get our visas sorted and then also because we like the city! We had great food and enjoyed the many street scenes; the old crumpling buildings, many Chinese temples and cool displays of street art.

June

In June we headed for some cool and refreshing mountain air at Khao Yai National Park. We were lucky to bump into elephants, see and hear gibbons, there were hordes of sambar deer, a few cute barking deer, monitor lizards, a giant squirrel and a big black scorpion. We looked at some pretty waterfalls, took a hike through the jungle (where we almost got eaten alive by leeches) and relaxed at the campsite.
Read more at: Khao Yai


Later in June, we needed some beach time and headed to Koh Samet. We didn’t do much, simply relaxed on the beach, swam in the cooling water and read some books. The food was better than we remembered and the Ao Wai shakes we still miss!
Read more at: Koh Samet

July

Lily went back to Denmark first, with me trailing a week behind; and on we went for a week’s holiday in the Swedish skærgård (archipelago). The summer had finally arrived in Scandinavia, so we actually got tan! After Sweden we headed back to Denmark for some more time with family and friends – enjoying a barbeque on the long summer nights is really something.

August

A few days after Lily came back from Denmark, we rented a car and went on a road trip from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi and further on to Sangklaburi for a week. The western mountainous part of Thailand provided us with beautiful sceneries, mellow towns and peaceful nature. We stayed in raft houses and swam in natural pools under waterfalls – all in all a perfect way to unwind.
Read more at: Road Trip to Kanchanaburi

September

Lily had read about Ang Thong National Marine Park online, a slice of Thailand we had for some reason never known existed. Close to Koh Phangnan, but yet with only one campsite and a few national park run huts, it sounded ideal to get away from the crowds. While getting there involved some logistics, we were more than thrilled about our time among these stunning limestone karst cliff islands. Paddling around in a kayak with our tent and provisions in waterproof bags strapped on tight, we enjoyed picture perfect, deserted beaches and aquamarine waters.
Read more at: Ang Thong Marine Park

November

In early November we headed down to the gulf coast and stayed in a rental house close to Sam Roi Yot National Park. Driving around in this peaceful and laidback part of Thailand was a fun experience – we visited a temple with a full on Thai market, boated around on backwaters and found some nice deserted beaches.


Loi Kratong was spent in Bangkok; our nearby park was alive with people floating candles on the small lake and a few candlelit lanterns sailed through the dark evening sky. We joined the buzzing atmosphere and launched our own offering onto the already somewhat crowded lake. Pictures were taken, food was eaten and many smiles exchanged.


Later in November we headed with some of Martin’s school friends to Hua Hin for a weekend and then continued on to Pratchuap Kiri Khan. At the former we enjoyed some of the best barbequed beef we’ve had in Thailand, drank beer and talked late into the night, while in Pratchuap Kiri Khan we enjoyed some luxury in a cute little holiday village, with tough choices to be taken: Swim in the seaside pool or from the beach?

December

For the holiday season we got impulsive and bought last minute flight tickets to Denmark, but we actually spent Christmas at Lily’s uncle in the Swedish forests. With a setting blanketed in white snow, a cute typically Swedish wooden house as the accommodation and family all around, it was a perfect, “hyggelig” Christmas. New Years was spent with Martin’s family, were the delicious menu was definitely a priority! While the flu had unfortunately gotten its hold on Lily and Martin’s parents, we enjoyed the fireworks, jumped into 2013 and sang the national anthem as tradition prescribes.
End of 2012!