Plymouth couple plans to travel to 12 countries on three continents
Most travelers would consider seeing the Day of the Dead in Mexico, the penguins in Patagonia or the Great Wall in China as singular vacation destinations.
But for Kelly Westhoff and Quang Nystrom, a married couple from Plymouth, those are just three stops of 12 countries on their travel itinerary that will take them to three continents in seven months.
The two 30-somethings began their adventure last week, heading for Mexico City, the biggest city in the world.
After Mexico City they will go on to South American cities Buenos Aires and Santiago. From there, they head to Asia, where they will visit Bangkok, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. In Europe, Rome and Amsterdam are on the itinerary.
“Everyone lives a relatively normal life. It’s the same old, same old. You need to smell the roses along the way. Go have life experience,” said Nystrom.
Their travels came from an engagement promise Nystrom made to Westhoff more than two years ago.
He wanted to see all those places he learned about in school, and she was a willing companion.
“I caught the travel bug in college,” said Westhoff, who studied in Spain for a semester. “I don’t have to get talked into travel.”
Planning for a trip of this magnitude takes many months and the two began saving for it a year and a half ago.
Both Westhoff and Nystrom owned houses when they married, so the sale of Westhoff’s house helped in financing the trip.
In addition, they’re taking full advantage of the frequent flyer miles they racked up from travels and from credit card offers.
“We spent plenty of money to get more miles,” said Nystrom.
Their careers gave flexibility for a long absence.
Nystrom works in the car business, where sales are slow in Minnesota winters, and Westhoff is a freelance writer and a teacher.
There were other practicalities of planning for a trip that takes them away from home for seven months.
Family members will be watching the house, bills will be paid online at Internet cafes and taxes, though due in April, had to be figured out before they left.
“You learn not to worry about things you can’t control,” said Nystrom.
They also had to decide which cities and countries would make it on their list of destinations.
While they generally know which cities they will be visiting, they are not holding themselves to a strict agenda.
They still haven’t bought some of their needed airplane tickets, and they may decide to stay longer in some cities than they expected.
They are planning on returning in May of 2006, but they’ve put flexibility on the return date, too.
They’ve planned their travels to mostly avoid any winter temperatures, which makes for lighter packing.
“You realize how little you need,” said Westhoff, who will be living out of a backpack in coming months.
The trip, which they’ve dubbed Kelly and Quang’s Global Roam, is about adventure and cultural immersion.
“We’re going to a lot of places that are new to me,” said Nystrom.
Along the way, the two will be blogging about their various destinations.
For Westhoff, she sees it as a way of turning the once-in-a-lifetime experience into a book.
For Nystrom, it’s also a way to reflect on their travels.
“In the end, I want to answer the question, ‘Is it worth doing?” said Nystrom.
Having the blog, which can be accessed at www.kellywesthoff.com, also can answer questions friends and family have about their travels.
“My mother is freaking out about the bird flu,” said Westhoff, laughing.
