About Us
We’re Preya (American) & Med (British), an adventure-loving couple based in beautiful Cornwall, England.
We’re international travel experts who have spent our whole lives living and traveling around the globe, and our mission is to inspire you to achieve your bucket list travel dreams! If you’re into adventure travel, RVing and exploring different cultures, then you’re in the right place!
When it comes to creating our travel guides for Roving Soles, Med is chief navigator and drone flier, while Preya is all about capturing the beauty of the places we visit through the written word and photography.
Meet Preya & Med
Preya
The product of an American mother and an Indian father, I was born into expat life due to my parents’ humanitarian work and spent most of my childhood running around the streets of Hanoi and Bangkok.
(Fun fact: my first blog was called Dreaming of Hanoi, which I started way back in 2007 while I was living in Colorado, my home state. It was filled with woeful posts about how much I missed the city I grew up in!)
After completing my MA in English and Education from the University of Colorado, I taught high school English Literature in Boulder, Bangkok, Bombay and Bali for nearly a decade (I call it my B phase!).
Med
I’m a PADI and SSI-certified scuba diving instructor with over 2000 dives under my belt, most of them in the tropical waters off the coast of Thailand and Bali, where I taught scuba diving for 5 years.
I spent my childhood making the most of Cornwall’s stunning coastline, so it’s no surprise that I’ve always been drawn to the world beneath the waves, but I’m also half Swiss (on my mother’s side) and grew up skiing the slopes of Valbella, so I’m just as crazy about the mountains!
I’m also an avid Cornish gig rower (go Falmouth!) and moonlight as a wedding singer in my band, Boogie Juice.
Why We Started This Blog
There’s no shortage of travel blogs out there, so you might be wondering what makes ours different. In a nutshell, since turning 40, we’ve noticed that adventure travel is often seen as the realm of the young, and we want to change that.
Whether it’s diving with whale sharks in the Maldives or camping in the Dolomites, we believe that it’s never too late to seek adventure, and there’s no better time to start crossing places off your bucket list!
(Case in point: We took up paddle boarding a few years ago, and now it’s one of our favorite ways to explore new places.)
What You Can Expect From Us
We’ll skip the full moon parties and instead show you the best adventures and cultural activities a destination has to offer, from exploring roman ruins to eating our weight in cicchetti on a food tour in Venice.
We’ll provide you with as much information as we possibly can about the top activities, attractions, landmarks, as well as where to stay, eat, hike and camp, so you can base your travel decisions on our real experiences.
Our goal is to complete the top 50 things on our bucket list in the next 10 years – and hopefully give you lots of bucket list trip ideas of your own!
So, if you’re into adventure travel, culture experiences, good food, and relaxing retreats, then let’s be friends!
How We Met
Our love story sounds a lot like the meet-cute scene in a beach read:
In 2012, Med was teaching scuba diving in Thailand, while, I, Preya was teaching English Literature at the American School of Bombay.
That summer, I decided to conquer my fear of the ocean and signed up for an open water scuba diving course in Koh Tao, Thailand and, well…I ended up running off with my diving instructor!
(Did I mention I woke up an hour late for the course AND had a sinus infection the whole time and couldn’t stop sneezing? I figured if he didn’t mind the girl with the snot dripping down her face, then I’d found a keeper!)
And so Med left island life behind and moved to bustling Bombay to join me for the final year of my contract.
We made the most of our time in India, from marveling at the Taj Mahal (yes, it’s worth it!) to watching rice barges drift along Lake Vembanad in Kerala – it was simply magical.
Then, I somehow managed to score my dream job at an international school in Bali, Indonesia! And thus began a new adventure…
(Another fun fact: we almost got engaged in Nungnung waterfall, but when we arrived, the entrance was closed due to a mudslide, so Med popped the question under a DIY showerhead “waterfall” in our hotel bathtub!)
After two years in Bali and scores of amazing adventures, from climbing Mount Agung, Bali’s highest point and an active volcano, to diving with Manta Rays in Nusa Penida, we decided it was time to begin another chapter in our lives.
We moved (along with our four Bali rescue cats) to Cornwall, a stunningly beautiful county in southwest England, where Med was born and raised.
With its countless sandy beaches, stunning coastal walks, and fascinating history and culture, Cornwall proved to be the perfect place to put down roots.
In 2015, we eloped in beautiful Cyprus, sealing the deal on the amazing Zenobia wreck, which couldn’t have been more perfect!
Then in 2016, we launched our eco-friendly beauty company, Bloomtown, which has been a wonderful passion project, but even after almost 12 years as a couple and 8 years of marriage, we still share one common dream: to experience as much of the world as possible – together!
Where We’ve Lived & Traveled
📍Andorra: Arinsal, Soldeu
📍Australia: Bondi Beach, Blue Mountains, Manly Beach, Sydney
📍Belgium: Brussels, Durbuy, Liege
📍Cambodia: Phnom Penh
📍Canada: Alberta, Yukon
📍Cyprus: Larnaca
📍Egypt: Hurghada, Luxor
📍France: Paris
📍Hong Kong
📍India*: Agra, Bombay (Mumbai), Calcutta (Kolkata), Dehra Dun, Goa, Jaipur, Kerala, Madras (Chennai), Matheran, Mussoorie, New Delhi
*Preya taught at the American School of Bombay from 2011-2013 and is from Mussoorie on her father’s side.
📍Indonesia: Bali* (Amed, Bedugal, Denpasar, Kuta, Menjangan Island, Munduk, Pemuteran, Sanur, Tulamben, Ubud), Flores, Gili Meno, Gili Trawangan, Komodo National Park, Lombok, Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida
*We lived in Bali from 2013-2015 (Preya taught English Lit at Bali International School (NOW BALI ISLAND SCHOOL), and Med taught scuba diving at Joe’s Gone Diving)
📍Italy: Rome
📍Malaysia: Penang, Perhentian Islands
📍Maldives: Emperor Leo Liveaboard, North Male Atoll, South Male Atoll, Rasdhoo Atoll, North Ari Atoll, South Ari Atoll, Vaavu Atoll, Dhigurah
📍New Zealand: Abel Tasman National Park, Coromandel Peninsula, Fox Glacier, Franz Joseph Glacier, Kaikōura, Milford Sound, Mount Maunganui, Queenstown, Rotorua, Wānaka
📍Philippines: Manila
📍Romania: Bucharest, Transylvania
📍Singapore
📍Spain: Canary Islands, Gibraltar
📍Switzerland*: Basal, Geneva, Interlaken, Lucerne, Valbella, Zurich
*Med’s mother’s side of the family is from Basal
📍Taiwan: Keelung, Taipei
📍Thailand: Ayuttaya, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Khao Yai, Koh Lanta, Koh Panang, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Samet, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Pai, Pattaya, Phuket, Railay, Sukothai
*Preya taught English Lit at an international school in Bangkok between 2008-2011 + lived there as a child / Med taught scuba diving at Big Blue Koh Tao between 2009-2012 (until Preya stole him!)
📍United Kingdom: Bristol, Cornwall*, Devon, Isles of Scilly, London
*Med’s home county and where we currently live
📍United States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado*, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming
*Preya’s home state – Go Broncos!
📍Viet Nam (Vietnam): Cat Ba, Da Nang, Ha Noi (Hanoi)*, Ha Long Bay, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Nha Trang, Sa Pa, and pretty much everywhere else!
*Preya first began visiting Vietnam in 1989 as a wee 6 year-old, then moved to Hanoi in 1992 and attended the UN International School until her graduation in 2000. Why Vietnam? Read HER mom’s book!
Our Travel Bucket List
A note about our bucket list: For simplicity’s sake, we chose one or two bucket list travel experiences per location, when in reality, we’d of course like to spend a good chunk of time seeing and doing lots of different things in each destination!
We cheated a little with #1 because it’s not one location, but it’s EPIC:
- Motorhoming across Europe
And the best part about this one is we’re doing it very soon!
We’re going on a month-long roadtrip around Europe with my (Preya’s) Dad, who has always dreamed of traveling Europe and never, ever takes vacations.
Can’t wait to share everything with you when we get back!
We’ll also be posting regular stories and reels, so make sure to follow us on instagram!
Okay, now for the rest of the list, organized alphabetically:
- Dive the SS Yongala Wreck and Ningaloo Reef, Australia
- Dive with Dolphins in Bimini, The Bahamas
- Hike to Tiger’s Nest Monastery, Bhutan
- Visit the salt flats of Uyuni and stay in a salt hotel, Bolivia
- Explore the ancient city of Angkor Wat, Cambodia
- Snowboard and explore Whistler, Canada
- Sail around the Caribbean
- Trek Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
- Dive with Whale sharks (again!) in Costa Rica
- Explore the terraces of Plitviče Lakes National Park, Croatia
- See giant tortoises and swimming iguanas in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
- Dive the Thistlegorm Wreck and more from a liveaboard, Red Sea, Egypt
- Attend a performance at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, England
- Cycle through the Luberon valley during lavender season, France
- Skydive in Bora Bora, French Polynesia
- Watch the sunset in Oia, Santorini, Greece
- Dive between tectonic plates in Silfra Fissure, Iceland
- See Bengal Tigers in Ranthambore National Park, India
- Dive Raja Ampat, Indonesia
- Explore the ruins of Pompeii, Italy
- Explore the temples of Kyoto, Japan
- Experience Petra by night, Jordan
- Swim in Kuang Si Falls, Laos
- Swim and dive in the cenotes of Tulum, Mexico
- Take a hot air balloon ride over the Temples of Bagan, Myanmar
- Climb Dune 45 in Sossusvlei, Namibia
- Explore the Glowworm Caves in Waitomo, New Zealand
- Hike to Trolltunga Cliff and see the northern lights, Norway
- Witness nesting Green Sea Turtles, Oman
- Dive with jellyfish in Jellyfish Lake, Palau
- Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru
- Hike to Pico Ruivo, Madeira, Portugal
- Kayak through bioluminescent waters in Mosquito Bay, Puerto Rico
- Hike to the Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye, Scotland
- Paddle board along the coast of the Seychelles
- Cage Dive with Great Whites, South Africa
- Hike the Camino de Santiago, Spain
- Dive with Blue Whales, Sri Lanka
- Paraglide in Interlaken, Switzerland
- Safari in the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
- Stay in a tree house hotel (and Banyan Tree Spa), Phuket, Thailand
- Take a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia, Turkey
- Whitewater raft down the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
- Take a historic walking tour of Savannah, Georgia, USA
- Dive with hammerhead sharks, Lahaina, Hawaii, USA
- Spend Halloween in historic Salem, Massachusetts, USA
- Visit Son Doong Cave, Viet Nam (and show Med Hanoi!)
- Hike Snowdonia National Park, Wales
- Explore the unique flora and landscapes of Socotra Island, Yemen
We created this list using 1000 Places to See Before You Die and 100 Dives of a Lifetime, as well as through watching travel shows and reading popular travel blog and websites.
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