Celebrating a recent engagement, Cody and Krysia have decided to fly over a few oceans and kick off their union with a 6-month adventure to Europe and Southeast Asia—heck, why not right!?

Completing the Spanish leg of their trip they have begun their deep dive into Southeast Asian territory as they explore the cultures of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia.

We caught up with Cody and Krysia as they enjoyed Ha Long Bay and the other beauties of northeast Vietnam — here's what they had to say.

Before we dive in could you both give us a brief background about yourselves, and what inspired your 6-month travelling adventure?

Cody: I come from a family of 6 boys of which I am the 5th born. We all seem to have picked up a creative gene in some sorts. I personally took up photography in early high school and it has taken me all over the world. Krysia and I both grew up in small towns which definitely has caused our need to travel as much as we do.

We recently got engaged in Toronto, and after a series of good news from her work and continued success with my wedding photography business, we were able to take off 6 months to go travel before we relocate to Halifax in the spring.

Krysia: I grew up in a small village in the Cotswold’s in England, it wasn’t until I was 15 did my family move to Toronto, which has been home for the last 15 years. From an early age my parents took me and my brothers travelling to a variety of different countries to experience different cultures, landscapes and people - therefore I have always had a passion for travelling.

Our 6-month adventure came about with both of us sharing a love of travelling, and feeling that we needed to shake up our life in Toronto a bit and go and see the world. I was able to take a sabbatical from work, and when we return to Canada we will be relocating to Halifax.

So far you and Krysia have visited 4 countries on this 6-month leg - Portugal, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam. Nice contrast of European and Southeast Asian cultures.

Has the transition been smooth so far?  Also what has been the least expected thing (or surprise) that you've come across visiting these countries?

Cody: Leaving our jobs and setting off on this epic journey has only been made possible entirely thanks to all of the planning and organizing that Krysia has done. She has planned out all our hotels and flights and even our budgets. I wouldn’t be able to to do all this if she wasn’t around helping. Don’t get me wrong, I help too! Just in other ways.

The biggest surprise or least expected thing for me has to be the tourists I’ve seen so far. It makes me sad to see huge groups of people visiting these locations only to take really terrible selfies no matter how many other people are also in the photo. I didn’t want to accept that it has gotten this bad. It may be ironic coming from a photographer, but there comes a time when travelling where you should put down the technology and experience the places through your own eyes - In real life!

Krysia: I think that the transition from Toronto-working life, to travelling life, had a few hiccups, but we have learnt how to travel with each other and around the different countries and now everything is smooth. We have only taken vacations before which is a different way of travelling than for 6 months, so at first, we were sightseeing a lot, moving locations and making sure we didn’t miss anything, though after a few weeks it was exhausting and craved days where we relaxed, and Cody could do some work. So now we make sure that we stay in each place we visit for at least 4 days so we have a place to call “home” for a little bit.

As photographers, the camera is always a great bridge to connect with people. While enjoying quality time together abroad are you guys also making time to photograph? What genres of photography are you drawn to while travelling and why?

Cody: I actually have the opposite problem when it comes to photography and travel. I try to make a habit of putting the camera down occasionally and taking in the moments. However, I have been making time in each location we visit to do at least 1 day of shooting for the photo book I’ll be making and my new YouTube channel launching sometime this year.

Krysia: We’ve also started an Instagram page to post pictures of our travels for friends and family - a kind of visual blog you could say. Each day one of us is in charge of the account and posts the picture for that day and also does the story.

Including all of your travels plus this recent adventure, what has been one of the most memorable aspects (the people, new friends etc.) of your travels to date?

Cody: I am a big fan of heights, so any chance I get to sit on the edge of a cliff or epic mountain top overlooking the view, I’ll take it. Those moments have always been the most memorable. So far, Benalauria, Spain and Ha Long Bay have been the best.

Krysia: I think for me I am constantly in awe with the outstanding natural beauty in the world - Ha Long Bay in Vietnam; Canadian Rockies; fall colours in Ontario; rolling countryside hills in England. We are so quick to get bored with the environment that we live in and shaking things up by going to see different places, landscapes, wonders of the world gives us a new sense of pride and appreciation for our home.

Would you have any advice/tips for other travellers and other travelling couples? Anything that you've learnt along the way?

Cody: For anyone wanting to travel for a long time and also wanting to bring with them some photography gear, I would recommend seriously picking up some mobile photography lenses to bring with them. Carrying heavy camera bodies and lenses AND a drone has been a bit of a hassle, especially going through customs. Leave your heavy gear at home and bring a strong camera phone with some attachable lenses instead. Shoutout @moment !

Krysia: I think that my main one would be that if you are travelling for a long time (months, not weeks) make sure that you do give yourselves some days where you can relax, binge watch something and re-charge. If you were at home you would have the weekends, to recharge, so think of it the same way. It ok to take a day off from touring when you are travelling. Also, what you think you need to pack, ½ it - typically we have been wearing a combination of 10 items while in SE Asia, so why carry the other obsolete items around with you?!

Lastly looking ahead, which other countries are you planning to visit during your trip? Excited for what's ahead?

Cody: Krysia knows where we are going more than I do, I’m just along for the ride. But I am really looking forward to our friend’s wedding in Scotland in March and island hopping in Greece. I just love everything about Greece and it’s really going to be a great end to this trip before we start our new lives out east.

Krysia: To finish up our SE Asia tour, we will be back in Thailand to visit the southern islands since we were re-routed due to the tropical storm; Cambodia and Bali. Then we head to London (UK), and up to Edinburgh to shoot a wedding for a good friend of ours. From there we will stop back in London, and then fly to Malta and Greece before heading to Canada to find somewhere to live in Halifax! Paris may pop in the route somehow since Cody has never been, and I love the city...but we will see closer to the time! It’s a bit of a random group of countries, but it's working well for us, and we are checking places off our bucket lists.

To connect with Cody & Krysia visit their IG travel channel here: https://www.instagram.com/tilldeathdoustravel/

And their personal channels below! 

Cody - https://www.instagram.com/codymturner/

Krysia - https://www.instagram.com/krys.g/

Also in case you missed it, check out our last Venque Traveler Brodie the traveling barista.

https://www.venque.ca/blogs/venquetraveler/traveling-the-world-through-coffee-meet-brodie-vissers