Leg 1 of 8 · Thailand
Chiang Mai
Thailand is where the seven months began: Bangkok, then north to Chiang Mai and Pai, and back again later for Phuket and Krabi.
Seven Months in Southeast Asia →The MapEvery way into the record, on one page
The Map
Eight years, one van, and every one of the lower forty-eight, drawn the slow way.
We never set out to collect states. But the map filled in mile by mile, and every drive we took is on it. Pick one from the list and watch it trace itself across the country, stop by stop, the way it actually went.
That is every drive we have taken. Take one of them slowly:
Every trip
Thirty-two road trips
The map above marks the places. These are the drives between them, reconstructed from the dates and locations our own photographs were carrying. A trip starts wherever we were based and ends at the next one. Pick one to trace it.
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Farther Afield
Fly the loop
Eight countries, seven months.
Then We Bought One-Way Tickets
Seven months across Southeast Asia. And in sage, the chapters we lived before we found each other: Jesse's month in South Africa, Karlee's five seasons on St. John.
Leg 2 of 8 · Laos
The River That Gave and Took
The whole story is in the essay.
The River That Gave and Took →
Leg 3 of 8 · Vietnam
A Plastic Stool in Hanoi
The whole story is in the essay.
A Plastic Stool in Hanoi →Leg 4 of 8 · Cambodia
Sihanoukville and Koh Rong
Cambodia for us was Sihanoukville and the island of Koh Rong, between Vietnam and Bangkok.
Seven Months in Southeast Asia →Leg 5 of 8 · Malaysia
George Town
Kuala Lumpur on the way in and on the way out, and George Town for all of the art.
Southeast Asia on $70 a Day →Leg 6 of 8 · Singapore
Singapore
One stop in Singapore, between Kuala Lumpur and Manila.
Seven Months in Southeast Asia →Leg 7 of 8 · The Philippines
Manila to El Nido
Manila, then Bohol and Cebu, then Palawan: Puerto Princesa, Port Barton and El Nido.
Seven Months in Southeast Asia →
Leg 8 of 8 · Indonesia
Nusa Lembongan
Indonesia was the last stretch of the seven months: Bali, Lombok, Flores and Komodo, Gili Air, and back to Bali to finish.
Southeast Asia on $70 a Day →12
countries together
7
months across Southeast Asia
5
seasons Karlee called St. John home
Europe we've mostly each crossed separately, a dozen countries between us, and only Switzerland shared. Those other maps belong to lives before we met. This one only keeps count of the miles we've made together.
The sage chapters are ours from before we met. Those pins open too.
The map is the outline. The stories are the point.
Planning a drive of your own? The same photographs, read by season: The Pacific Coast by Season · The Mountain West by Season · The East Coast by Season
Been a few places yourself? Make your own map and we will draw it for you, ready to share.
Together we have visited all 48 continental United States, plus Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Switzerland. Before we met, Jesse traveled South Africa and Karlee lived five seasons on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands; we each backpacked Europe separately. 23 places on these maps open a short story and a link to the full essay.