sabbatical (2nd attempt)

If you’ve somehow miraculously managed to keep reading from the beginning, you’ll remember that one of the most heartbreaking points in the whole cancer journey was having to cancel the 3-month sabbatical / honeymoon my wife and I had planned for August, September, and October 2024 to travel the world directly after our wedding, to instead return home to start chemotherapy. But actually, “cancel” isn’t the right word there – because we always saw it as a postponement. We felt confident that I would eventually come through the chemotherapy in good shape and we’d be back on the road soon enough. And I’m so happy that our confidence wasn’t unfounded, because at the end of February 2025, less than 5 months after finishing chemo and 6 since entering remission – we boarded the plane for our trip of a lifetime.

I’ll try not to brag too much and I recognize this post is liable to make readers quite jealous and this is anyways not a travel blog, but I write about it because of how truly soul refreshing it was. Getting to travel the world and totally disconnect from work was already an incredible opportunity I know we are lucky to have gotten. But you can imagine that after the crazy ride we’d been on, attempt 2 was surely even more special once it happened. Silver linings.

Our travels took us from Africa (Kenya and Tanzania – focused on the safari circuit and seeing the amazing animals), to SE Asia (Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and Indonesia), Taiwan, Micronesia (the tiny island nation of Palau), and ending off in Japan. The most common question we got when we returned was of course – what were your favorite places / experiences. So I’ll pre-empt that one with my Top 10 list:

1. Trekking in the Sumatran jungle to see the Orangutans

2. Scuba diving in arguably the world’s top underwater destination - Raja Ampat, Indonesia

3. Safaris in the Serengeti and Ngorongo Crater (Tanzania)

4. Living with the monks in a monastery in the center of Japanese Buddhism, Mt. Koya

5. Flying over the incredible archipelago of islands that make up Palau

6. Swimming amongst manta rays in Nusa Penida, Indonesia

7. Eating everything in the famous food markets of Taipei

8. Exploring the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia

9. Michelin star sushi omakase in Tokyo

10. Seeing elephants herds grazing at the base of Mt. Kiliminjaro

Travel and adventure were a core part of who I was pre-cancer, and I am so happy that going through cancer only re-enforced my love and appreciation for those things, and the feeling of how privileged I am to get to travel. Life can change pretty quickly, so my advice is that (if you can), explore as many corners of the world as possible, don’t put it off too long!