Who are the Globetrotting Gleesons?
Hello, we’re Helen & Simon from Yorkshire in the UK.
We’ve always loved to travel. It’s what makes us happy.
The more off the beaten track, obscure or, as many people put it, ‘bonkers’, the better.
Until now, we’ve had to fit travelling into 2 or 3 week stints as work enabled. We’d frequently leave the office on a Friday afternoon with our backpacks, head straight to the airport and return a few weeks later towards midnight on a Sunday evening, jet-lagged, half asleep and ready (or not) for work on the Monday morning. We were always trying to squeeze everything into a short amount of time and everything was a rush.
So, on our many wanderings in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, we hatched a plan….
And as of 2024, we put it into effect. We gave up the jobs (we’re not calling it retirement or even early retirement as that makes us sound old!) to go on an adventure. Travel for a year…..or maybe more. Take things slightly slower. Though no doubt we’ll still need ‘just a few more days’……
We started Globetrotting Gleesons to keep our lovely friends and family up to date with what we’re doing – we know we’re hopeless at staying in touch so this seemed a good way to let them, and anyone else who finds this – our tales and show everyone the amazing places we’ve been. And hopefully, inspire others to get out there and see the wonderful world we live in.
We’ve been travelling as a couple for over 20 years and been to well over 100 countries. We’ve had some fantastic experiences, met some wonderful people and we’ve only fallen out occasionally (believe that and you’ll believe anything!)
This is where we’ve been so far (hover over or click on the map)
Our passion is to travel independently and to be in control (or not) of where we go and when we go.
We always try to support local communities wherever we travel too, staying in locally run accommodation and using locally run services where we can. We much prefer the places we stay to be ‘of the area’ where we can wake up and know where we are, rather than stay in identikit chain hotels that look the same the world over. We do have different standards though – Simon’s quite happy to rough it, but Helen has more refined tastes. Whereas Simon loved the rather basic Al Nasser hotel in Karima, Sudan, it still gives Helen nightmares for being horrendously ‘sticky’. Simon’s still not been forgiven for making her stay there…..
What we’ve termed our ‘Big Trip’ will see us travel around Asia & Oceania in 2025 and 2026, taking in about 25 countries. Over half will be new ones, but we’ve been to some before and now want to see more of them. We’re trying to avoid flights as much as possible and overnight bus journeys too (they’re just not so much fun anymore!) but we love travelling by train so we’ll do as many overnights on the rails as possible.
There are some countries we’re not sure will be possible and some of our choices might be controversial for some, however we’re firm believers that the benefits of travel override everything else and that interactions, even though on an individual level, can help cultivate a bit of mutual respect and understanding. That said, we may change our minds if things go completely off-kilter!