Acendas Vacations

Chasing the Sun – Two Young Women Take on the World

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by Sara Jane Crane —

[su_spacer]What makes a wanderer? An adventurer? A chaser of new vistas, new faces, new experiences?

For two young Overland Park, Kansas women who met by chance, a shared drive to explore the world led them down many winding roads together. With several short, but action-packed trips as a duo already under their belt, the pull towards a longer and more immersive world trip began forming in their minds.

Travel as a Lifestyle

mady and kim in colombia

Previous trips to Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand and Colombia formally installed the travel bug into Mady Johnston and Kim Farrell’s hearts. After months of careful planning and daydreaming, they decided to take the leap, give up their good 9-to-5 jobs and answer the call of the wild and wonder-filled world. With a goal of being as absorbed as possible in each of their planned locations, an 18 month “chasing summer” itinerary was planned.

mady and kim in thailand
When they shared their plans with family and friends, no one was surprised. Everyone was supportive and many shared that they wished they were so brave. Older friends and relatives remarked that they wished they had done such a thing at a young age. With no responsibilities like mortgages or children yet tying them down, the time was perfect for Mady and Kim.

They scrimped and saved, sold their cars and other belongings, and plotted their journey. With the rise of social media and blogging, Mady and Kim were able to make connections all over the world, gaining advice for everything from cheap and clean places to stay, eat and sightsee.  Catching up with friends that they made on previous trips to Southeast Asia will allow them to explore their friend’s hometowns as a local.

Mady and Kim in Siem Riep
When asked for a brief synopsis of their planned adventure, here is what they had to say:

“We made a list of all the places we’d like to have a full cultural immersion – more than just a vacation. Any other places can be saved for trips later in life. Once we had our top picks, we organized the route based seasons, cultural celebrations and holidays in those places. Nothing is worse than arriving somewhere and learning you missed something extraordinary just a few days prior. We purposefully optimized the route to “chase summer” around the world so we didn’t have to pack for cold weather. You can follow along with our journey on Instagram at @aboutlastflight. Our outlined plan has us beginning in SouthEast Asia, heading down to Australia for Christmas/New Years, up to India and Sri Lanka, then moving over to areas of Southern Africa during the summer 2019 and finally working our way through the Middle East in the fall!”

While Mady and Kim planned the majority of their trip on their own, Acendas Travel has partnered with them to provide advice on long-term travel insurance options and will be tracking their progress. If an issue should arise, our Travel Advisors stand ready to assist immediately.

Check back here for more updates and videos of Kim and Mady’s big world adventure. We can’t wait to follow them and share, at least vicariously, in their upcoming experiences.

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