Today’s travel memory comes from the authors of one of my favorite travel blogs out there, Cam and Nicole from Traveling Canucks.
The Traveling Canucks are Nicole and Cameron Wears, a Canadian married couple that currently live in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. You can follow their adventures on their travel blog, facebook fanpage and twitter.
What is our favourite travel memory as a couple?
Though it appears a simple question, narrowing the list to just one has been quite the challenge. We’ve been extremely fortunate to have traveled the world together, experiencing several unforgettable moments that are worthy of this title.
But if we must make a decision, the travel memory that has had the greatest impact on our relationship is, without question, the first time we traveled overseas together.
Nicole in the Perhentian Islands, Malaysia
Let me set the stage.
It was the summer of 2004. Nicole was just accepted into the International Student Exchange Program in Penang, Malaysia. She would be gone for close to six months, a mighty challenge for our young relationship. After countless emotional discussions, it was decided; Nicole was leaving. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. How could she not?
Not one to let Nicole have all the fun, I quit my unsatisfying account manager job and quickly followed. We were unsure how this experiment was going to work but we had youthful curiosity and impulsiveness on our side.
Though we had both traveled overseas before this great adventure, we had never been to Asia, or even a third-world country for that matter. Not only was the culture shock a personal challenge, it quickly put our relationship to the ultimate test.
Cam in front of the Singapore skyline
Nicole had arrived a month before me, enough time to secure an apartment and get the lay of the land. We spent months bouncing around Southeast Asia, using Penang as our home base. Nicole would go to school from Tuesday to Thursday and we would travel from Friday to Monday (sometimes I would do her homework while she was in class so that we could spend more time together exploring – but don’t tell her instructors that!).
One weekend was spent in Singapore, the next Kuala Lumpur, then the island of Langkawi, and so on. Every few weeks Nicole would get extra time off, which gave us sufficient time to explore neighbouring countries like Thailand and Laos.
It was an interesting way to experience the region and its fascinating cultures. I don’t think we realized how perfect it was until many years later.
Cam and Nicole in Langawi, Malaysia
We didn’t need to carry a heavy backpack or worry about laundry. In fact, we often only had one medium sized bag between us. The trips were short and sweet and required limited planning because other international students would share their tips or even join us. But the best part was that we had a comforting home to return to after each mini-adventure.
That trip changed us forever. Not only did it open our eyes and make us better people, it strengthened our relationship in ways we cannot describe. It was the bite that infected us with what has become a fairly serious case of the travel bug!
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Don’t forget to follow Cam and Nicole on their blog and various social media outlets:
great post
What a great way to start your traveling life together!! Cheers!
Thanks Gillian!
Thanks Adam! Happy to contribute
Great story. I love solo travel, but I also really admire couples who can go out and travel together, and still want to be together. Also I think it’s pretty sweet that you did her homework just to spend more time together.
thanks Alouise! Maybe I’m a romantic after all?? I just need to convince Nicole now
This a very sweet story. I love that you quit your job to follow! What a great way to follow your dreams and keep you relationship going. Plus look where it has you now!
Thanks Debbie! Quitting my job was a tough decision at the time, but it turned out to be the best move I could have made. I guess being bold and taking a chance is the right thing to do sometimes
Great story! So nice to read about your experience and how it strengthened your relationship as well as gave you the travel bug bite!
Thanks Cathy!
Sounds like heaven! Love the traveling canucks- always fun to learn more about some of my favorite travel bloggers!
Thanks for the kind words Kim!
Have you heard the expression that travel either makes or breaks a couple? You were lucky that it MADE you! I once broke up with a friend on a long trip through Europe!!
Indeed! We were actually quite curious to see how it would play out. We’ve learned that our relationship actually works better when were traveling… yet another exccuse to keep traveling!
Oh, what a great story!
I’m glad you made the most of the fantastic opportunity of studying overseas. We’re off to Penang (for a paltry two weeks) in July. I can’t wait.
Have fun! We miss Penang. The food is sooooo good
That is such a cute story! It sounds like a wonderful time and a great way to get to know each other. I loved the part where Cam said he did Nicole’s homework.
Haha… ssssshhhhh… gotta keep it quiet!
What a fantastic opportunity to live abroad and be able to do so much travel. Sounds great!
Aw, sweet post! Funny seeing the photo of you guys in 2004, pre-world travels. You look so different!
It turned out to be the best move I could have done. I think the brave and having the opportunity is right sometimes.
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Wow..!! You both are looking awesome in the pics..especially Nicole in the very first pic…Actually i like the way she gives a shot here…..Cam don’t feel jealous,you too are good…..
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Nice pics .Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It
was really a great idea to travel together hope so you get enough time to
understand each other. Sometime we really need these types of trips so that we
can spend some time with our love ones .
Hi.. Pics are looking pretty cool..