If you love to travel and have an Instagram account, chances are you've spent your fair share of time scrolling through gorgeous tropical scenes featuringequally gorgeous full-time vacationers.
And while we can appreciate an artistically shot bikini photo as much as the next personespecially when the photographers share their tips and trickswith the rest of us the truth is, sometimes it starts to feel like you need an inbox bursting with hungrysponsorsand thousand-dollar photo requeststo make your travel dreams a reality.
Enter Dean and Julie Couchey, a world traveling husband and wife teamfrom upstate New York and Pennsylvania, respectively, who quit their jobs after tying the knot and have traveled to 20 countries together before their first wedding anniversary.
The fun-loving duois dedicated to eating and drinking our way around the world (while doing some other fun things too),according to the tagline on their travel blog, Two Fat Americans. And while they do get a kick out of watching people react to their site's cheeky name, the Coucheystold Travel + Leisure there's more to it than appearances.
We wanted to think of a name that would be both funny and representative of who we are,they told T+L via email fromYogyakarta, Indonesia. Yes, we're on the larger side, but also there is a stigma in the world that Americans are just fat people who, if they do travel, only go to the tourist spots and eat at the tourist places. By having a funny, catchy name, we have hopes that it will intrigue people enough to check us out and see that we couldn't be further from that stigma. (Aside from the fat part!)
The Coucheysdefy this American stereotype byvisiting spots less traveled, and taking their quest to find the best local food very seriously: Dean, 34, is atrained chef, and Julie, 28, is a foodie and photographerwho lives to taste (and document)every bite.
The travelers have chowed down on everything from pain au chocolat in Paris and choripan con chimichurri in Argentina to gado-gado (a potato and vegetable salad with peanut sauce) in Indonesia.
But the best meal they've had so far was at 1884 by Francis Mallmann in Mendoza, Argentina.
We had an amazing grilled potato cheddar flatbread and salt poached pear with burrata for starters. For our mains we had chivito, baby goat braised in a clay oven,and a clay oven-cooked gnocchi with tomato pesto sauce,they said. The most memorable meal in the most memorable setting.
After Indonesia, the couple will head to Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. After that, they will make their way through Southeast Asia up to Japan, and fly from there to India and beyond.They also have three months in Europe in their plans.
But how do they manage to do all this without earning an income?
The Coucheys saved money by cutting back expenses before leaving home no Starbucks, no eating out and saving up vacation days at their respective jobs. "We were the typical Americans that had saved many many weeks of vacation and luckily we were able to get it paid out," they said.
In the future, they hope to advertise on their website,and they are open to working in restaurants along the way.
But for now, they make each dollar go a little further by using rewards programs and choosing flights wisely: Pack lightly and be okay with a cramped more affordable flight because the destination will always he much more enjoyable than the trip to get there, regardless of what your seat is like on the plane.
They also use cash back rewards and loyalty programs.
We figured since we will be staying in a lot of hotels, we will use Hotels.com because they give you onefree night after 10 nights,they said, adding that when you're spending 180 or more nights on the road like they are, the savings add up.
They have also made over $500 back so farshopping for necessary items (and hotels)through Ebates. Hotels.com is a participant, and they earn 3to6 percent cash back on those transactions, while taking advantage of special promotions. They also use a Citi Double Cash card for airline and hotel bookings, which gets them 2 percent cash back, and aCapital One Quicksilver card that gets them 1.5 percent back (with no foreign transaction fees).
They use frequent flier benefits fromStar Alliance and Air Asia, but won't tie themselves to an airline. Instead, they use deal comparison sites like Kayak and Google Flights, but make sure to check for hidden fees.
We also promote Ebates and Hotels.com on our blog, because if we can get people to sign up and through our link we get a bonus,they said. We're hoping more people sign up so that can start to add up for us.
They originally planned to travel for sixor eightmonths, or until the money ran out,but if possible, the Coucheyshope to prolong their dream. They see themselves toasting to their anniversary in July in Paris.
And as they go, their main goal is to spread the message that you too can make it happen, even without a fancy portfolio or famousInstagram account. (They currently have 449 followers.)
We want to represent the real traveler that is going to accessible places and not a world famous chef's house or staying in 5-star resorts far away from the real destinations,they said. Most of all we just want to show and tell people that you don't have to be young, beautiful, thin, fit, free spirited or whatever you think the stigma is to travel and see the world.
That goes for whatever your dream is in life. If you love it and are passionate about it, do it for you and enjoy every minute.
More:
- Seaching for Condors in the Andes - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Visiting "The Mayor" again - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The fantasy boot in my dream of childhood - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Day 53 54 55 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- www.acb.my - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- day 22 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Hoover Dam Grand Canyon Byrce Canyon and another little incident... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Amazing first week - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- It's Been Awhile - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Busan - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Existential Migration: Feeling at Home as the Foreigner - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Passport Chop - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Travel Photography with a Disposable Camera (it’s NOT an oxymoron) - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Miss Travel Girl - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cape to Cairo - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Alison Travels - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- True Nomads - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- How the Economy Affected 16 Travellers in 2009 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Do Travel Disasters Make the Best Travel Stories? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Mother of All Trips - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- A story by Kudra Ricketts - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Auckland City - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Another Published Article Penny - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- A Sparkling Xmas Surprise Penny - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Sandboarding - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Way Of Make Money In Runescape - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Highway 1 California - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- cancun on thanksgiven - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- On tour with Louise and Zane 46 students - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Hvad vi har lavet siden Gili - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Thailand Check. Laos here we come. - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Team America - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Tour Operator of Bangladesh Sundarbans Adventure Tour Package - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Last Leg - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Dec 13 2009 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Latest Border News - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Wandering Soul’s Wander Tales - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Adventure Rob - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Golden Papaya - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Support Passports with Purpose 2009 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Vagabonding at 60 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Books that Inspired Us to Travel in 2009 - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Zululand drakensberg Lesotho and the wild coast - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- The Beautiful Higlands - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Loch Ness to Inverness and Culloden - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Aqaba The Little Merman - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Royal Deeside and the Castle Trail - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Southward in the Rain to Glamis Castle and Crail - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Iguassu Falls - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Stirling Castle and Edinburgh - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Edinburgh Old Town - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Galapagos II - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- El Chalten and Fitz Roy Massif - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Semuc Champey - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Mechanical Problems in Flight - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- "ACDC Tour Budapest without a satnav" - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Liat Airlines Stay Away - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Bariloche - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Lundi Macon - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Planning Australia Tour in Best way - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Family Fun In Breckenridge Colorado - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- 5 Weeks in Australia - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- The Movies and Music that Inspired Us to Travel in 2009 - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- A wonderful Japanes experience - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- So traveling again to a new part of the world - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Kangaroo roo roo a pinapple shake a tree.... - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Cutting wedding cost in the depression - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Pineapple Farm - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- South India Chennai Pondicherry Auroville... - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Back to Amarpurkashi Village Life... - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- MIA - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- The most northern of Thailand - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Photo's - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Trip to Marleshwar - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Season's Greetings from Berkeley - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Small hiccup - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Thailand Laos and Vietnam in Three Weeks - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- On the road again - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Part Two The Map Part Way in Cabal - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Heading Back North - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]