Mark and Bree Unleashed

markandbreeunleashed

Mark and Bree Unleashed

Late last year (2011) we had a brain explosion of an idea to quit our long-standing jobs (of 4 & 6 years) and pack up all of our belongings and store away in a shed for safe keepings whilst we travel the globe.

We plan on going through South East Asia, South America, Canada, New Zealand & road-tripping North America. We had very little time to plan the trip so we are literally taking things 1 day at a time. Our timeframe is non-existent although our insurance company will be chasing more money when our yearly cover runs out.

We departed Australia in March of this year (2012) and spent our first 4 months of travelling in South-East Asia tripping around Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia & Singapore.

The next leg of our trip takes place in the US, where we hired a car for 28 days and drove 13,472 km’s across 28 states. Our plan is to explore the US then move on to Canada and South America eventually.

How plans change... we are now in Turkey...

Turkey complete, we made our way to the bustling city of Cairo which began our 2 weeks in Egypt.

All shook up on our way to the Windy City

North America » United States » Illinois » Chicago July 31st 2012

Here

markandbreeunleashed

Very dodgy accommodation but we can’t blame Canada for that We only got lost once leavingNew Orleans. We are heading north to eventually hitChicago; first stop isMemphisto see if Elvis is really all shook up. By the time we had finished driving today we will have passed through 5 states. Our stop at Graceland was just ok, very cool to see where Elvis lived and is buried although we did have to capture our photos from the side walk as we refused to pay $32 each to go onto the grounds…. The life of a backpacker, too many things coming up we would rather spend our hard earned on. After staying the night in sleepy Sikeston, Missouri it was onwards to Chicago today with one stop to make on the way. The small town of Arthur ... read more

Texas, Gators and all that Jazz

North America » United States » Texas » Austin July 25th 2012

Over Water Bungalow

markandbreeunleashed

The only sign of life anywhere nearby was a conveniently placed taco stand opposite. Our usual 6am rise for the hotel breakfast. No cereal on offer today, so we had our first Waffle. Quite a skill to cooking them. Today we set course for Amarillo, Texas via New Mexico. The first thing we needed to do on the road was to stop at the state line for our now customary photo with the new state we are entering and then it was onwards towardsTexas. Fuel in Americahas averaged so far at around $3.45/gallon which converts to around $0.91/litre. Compare this to Australia where you can pay anywhere between $1.35/litre in the city up to $1.70/litre in remote country towns, and it is no wonder no one our age can afford to road trip around Australia. New ... read more

Beers, Deers and the Famous Rocky Mountains

North America » United States » Colorado » Rocky Mountains July 22nd 2012

Rough

markandbreeunleashed

We have discovered that everything has a drive-thru. Why walk to an ATM when you can just drive straight up to one? A 6:30am rise to have our routine continental breakfast of cereal & juice before we hit the road again. Cornflakes seems to be the flavour of our trip. Bree has also discovered ‘coated cornflakes’, no extra sugar sachet needed. Our scheduled drive today was 5 hours + an extra hour to visit Mark’s Aunty & Uncle’s old ranch just our of Fort Collins and take a few photos. In our 6 days and 3,500km’s we have discovered that RV-ing is America’s favourite pastime. Most RV’s carry a combination of their car or boat. We have also discovered that everything has a drive-thru. Why walk to an ATM when you can just drive straight up ... read more

Yellowstone Old Faithful Geyser & Men at Mount Rushmore

North America » United States » Wyoming » Yellowstone National Park » Old Faithful July 21st 2012

Yellowstone

markandbreeunleashed

The sign at the start of the walking trail told us to “Carry Bear Spray at all Times...” After 1 nights rest in Idaho Falls we were up at 6am ready for our drive through Yellowstone National Park. A continental breakfast and a coffee and we were raring to get the 3 hour drive to the entrance done so we could explore the world’s first National Park. We entered through the North West corner in Wyoming where the majority of the park is found although overall the park is spread over 3 states. This would be the second time using our annual National Park Pass. After reading that 3.4 million people visited the park in 2011 we knew we would be part of a big crowd and noticed this when the traffic stopped to watch 2 ... read more

The Grandest of Canyons, a Monumental Valley and Some Flat Salt

North America » United States » Arizona » Grand Canyon National Park July 16th 2012

The Road Well Travelled

markandbreeunleashed

Where do you start on describing something that is essentially a big hole where millions of people have been and thousands of people have blogged about? After our first night staying in Flagstaff it was time to hit the road for the 90 minute drive to the South rim of the Grand Canyon. The drive towards the Canyon made us feel like we were already seeing so much from forests to farmland and then into the National Park area. Before entering we stopped at the village to pick up an annual parks pass, hoping this will be a money saver as we wind our way East across the country zigzagging through as many National Parks as possible. We then took in an IMAX movie on secrets of the Grand Canyon, this could have been missed but ... read more

What happens in Vegas.........? Is the following.

North America » United States » Nevada » Las Vegas July 11th 2012

The Bellagio

markandbreeunleashed

As far as birthdays go I must say strolling around casinos such as the Caesars Palace and the Bellagio without spending and losing a fortune was very cool. An early bus from downtown LA got us to Vegas around midday and we were definitely not ready for the 42 degree plus heat that welcomed us, we soon jumped into a cab and made our way to Imperial Palace – our home for the next 5 nights. After finally finding the check in counter and signing up to a royalty program just so we could check in early we finally found our room, and then a message from Dennis & Nicole to meet up that night for drinks. Our catch up started with 2 for 1 cocktails over dinner as we caught up on the last 4 ... read more

Trying to be a backpacker in Los Angeles

North America » United States » California July 4th 2012

Fun & Games at Santa Monica Pier

markandbreeunleashed

...It was off to see the best of the worlds plastic stars, and no we weren’t stalking a well known plastic surgeon After 4 months our first feelings are it is weird to be in western civilisation. Do we want to be here? Our time to adjust started with Downtown Los Angeles – our home for the next 5 jam-packed days. With no time to waste here we headed straight to Santa Monica beach for the afternoon on the local transport. It is impossible to have a bad time at this beach – the sun, the people, the side shows and general atmosphere ensures you can people-watch for hours and be entertained. After checking out the pier and taking a walk down Venice beach we rounded the afternoon off with a drink at one of the ... read more

Had a Cracker in Melaka

Asia » Malaysia » Melaka » Pulau Besar June 27th 2012

Line 'em Up

markandbreeunleashed

Bree booked our departure flight for the 93rdday of our allocated 90 day visa... What's that saying about being up some sort of creek without a paddle? Today we head to the world heritage city of Melaka as our time in South East Asia is rapidly coming to an end. A comfortable bus ride took us back over the border and into the town to find our first 2 nights’ accommodation. The area we stayed was out of the way to say the least and we actually spent the 2 days pretty much room bound researching America and finalising different details, knowing we would be staying in town for the other 2 nights of our stay. Marks aunt and uncle have very close friends in Melaka (David & Eric) who we were put in touch ... read more

Raffles – Peanuts For What You Pay For

Asia » Singapore » Bugis Village June 22nd 2012

Overheated Car & Driver

markandbreeunleashed

We have arrived in India! Well, Little India. After a quick and relaxing 4 hour bus ride we arrived in Kuala Lumpar, we had arranged to stay in Little India as it was a 5 minute walk from the train station, which we would be using to head to Singapore in 2 days time. Our hotel was actually really nice and even though the Bollywood music blaring from most shopfronts prevented any conversation on the street all was quiet indoors. In a town in which we were only spending one full day it was important to fully take advantage of it by pre-booking a fully guided tour. This meant no excuses of laziness – we had to do it. The tour was a free walk around significant sites around Chinatown. Our guide was informative and we ... read more

No Dilmah but plenty of BOH

Asia » Malaysia » Pahang » Cameron Highlands » Tanah Rata June 20th 2012

BOH Tea Plantation

markandbreeunleashed

I was pretty surprised to spot 3 ‘ladies of the night’ still plying their trade out front, obviously a slow Tuesday night. The 4:50am banging on our bedroom door this morning was not necessary. We opened the door to a weary-eyed receptionist saying our bus was here to go to Perhentian Islands. Two problems with this – 1, we were going to the Cameron Highlands and 2, more importantly we didn’t leave for another 3 hours! Later that morning....... now fully awake ready for the bus, I took the opportunity to grab some snacks from the local shop. I was pretty surprised to spot 3 ‘ladies of the night’ still plying their trade out front, obviously a slow Tuesday night. We arrived in Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands fairly unscaved after a pretty standard mini bus ride ... read more