Jen's Travels

As you can tell from my site, I am a really big traveller, I just love to travel and meet new people and see the sites.

My favorite type of travelling is backpacking, but sometimes I only have 2 weeks vacation, so I will do an organized trip. I have started to collect some of my travel photos and emails here,

If you have any questions about the Countries that I have travelled to, then send me an email at me@mewren.com and I will post a response.

I started counting the number of countries I have visited. My rule is that you have to spend at least one night in the country to call it a visit (airport stopovers do not count). The only exception is the Vatican City, since I don't think they would let me sleep over even if I wanted to. I also count Tibet as its own country because it is.

This means I have now visited 27 countries. Only 165 to go.

Countries I have visited

Canada birth-1975,1976-current

Well I was born here so it doesn't really count. I live in the Province of Ontario, but have also visited: Nova Scotia, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, BC.

1 Spain 1975-1976

We lived in Spain when my Dad got a job transfer there. Unfortunately I was too young to remember much of it.

2 England

Lots of relatives there. One of my favorite trips was going for my Grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. My sister and I had matching dresses and it was probably the first formal event I ever went to.

3 USA

I don't really consider this "travelling", because it is not very different from home. However I have enjoyed many vacations there. We used to vacation in Cape Cod and Florida when I was little so I have driven through all the States in between there. Also went on a great trip to visit more relatives in California. One of my friends from university lives in Hartford and I have visited her many times, and had a great time going with her to Rhode Island, New York and Boston. Might go next year (even though Bush got re-elected somehow), I think New Orleans would be interesting.

4 Mexico 1991,?,?

I have been to Mexico three times now. The first time was to Cancun for reading week in 1st year. Then a few years later went to Playa del Carmen with my friend Jill. It was fun, but we ended up at a resort full of couples and were more interested in the night life. Going to Chichen Itza (beautiful Mayan ruins) was fabulous. I also went to Club Med, Playa del Blanco, and tried Flying Trapese for the first time. There were lots of sports and activities, and every day was full of things to do. I think I spent only 3 hours on the beach the whole week.

Four Months in Europe 1991

After Graduating University I went on my first real travels. Thanks especially to my Sister, Katy, for being the one to encourage me. 5 Greece, 6 Turkey, 7 Italy, 8 Vatican City, 9 Switzerland, 10 France, Spain, 11 Portugal, Spain, France, 12 Jersey, England, 13 Scottland, 14 Northern Ireland, England, 15 Netherlands
Details on this trip

16 Peru / 17 Bolivia

I met a great friend in Turkey on my Europe tour and we decided to get together again and visit Peru and Boliva. We backpacked most of the month-long trip on our own, but also signed up for two treks with "Explore Worldwide"
Details on this trip

18 Egypt

I had two weeks vacation and no one to travel with so I decided to go to Egypt on a package tour with "Imaginative Traveller".
Details on this trip

Six Months in South East Asia

I decided that I wanted to do another big trip. This time I got a leave of absense from IBM and took off again. 19 HongKong, 20 Thailand, 21 Laos, 22 Cambodia, Thailand, 23 Myanmar(Burma), Thailand, 24 Vietnam, China, 25 Tibet, China, Thailand, China Every few weeks I sent back a travelling journal to my friends. I have posted these emails and a few others.
Details on this trip

26 Ecuador and Galapagos Islands

Since my Sister and I had both travelled all over the place separately, we decided it was finally time to go on a trip together, and we both wanted to go to Ecuador. This time we booked with "Gecko" (as you can see I am not very loyal to any one travel company :).
Details on this trip

27 Jamaica Honeymoon

On July 3 2004, Chris and I vowed to spend the rest of our lives together, a couple days later we were on a plane to the beautiful Jamaica. Our Wed-Site
Details on this trip

My Favorite Travelling Resources

My favorite travelling book has got to be Lonely Planet. Their books are a necessary travelling companion. They help you find a decent place to stay in a strange city, and provide information on the sites you are visiting. Their web site is a good resourse, especially when you are trying to decide which Country to go to. Hint: avoid rainy seasons.

My favorite travel agency is The Adventer Centre/WestCan Treks. We used them when Tanya and I booked our Peru treks and I have gone to them ever since to book small-group trips. They are all travellers themselves so go ahead and ask them if you have any questions. They were not much help on Honeymoons, but then that is not their specialty.

Next Trips on my List

Calgary for my brother-in-law's wedding in July 2005

England for my cousin's wedding and to visit all the rellies

New Orleans or elsewhere in the states with Stephanie and Sheldon

Introduction to travelling - I want to take Chris with me on a intro trip before we go to Nepal and India

Annapurna circuit in Nepal (will need at least 3 weeks)

India (will need at least a month)

Austrailia - I have always wanted to go, but kept getting tempted by other countries because they are so different. But definately one day, maybe when we retire.

December 3, 2008 Copyright © 2002-2006 Jen Nolan