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Kate and Kris by Lake Victoria

TEACHING ENGLISH ADVICE, EXPAT LIFE AND TRAVEL STORIES AND TIPS

TEACHING ENGLISH

As well-qualified, long-term English teachers, let us guide you on how to start out

TRAVEL STORIES AND TIPS

Wildlife travel, history, food and drink – enjoy our stories and tips 

EXPAT LIFE

Having lived in Thailand twice, Ukraine twice, China, Vietnam and Spain, we've got lots of advice on how to successfully live abroad.

Who are Kate and Kris?

  • We met doing PhDs in Evolutionary Ecology at Liverpool University
  • In 2006, we left the UK to find a different life and fell into English teaching. Turned out we loved in and were good at it so we continued.
  • We consider ourselves to be professional English teachers, now holding Diplomas (Delta/DipTESOL) in it.
  • We've been blogging since 2006. Find more of our first posts on www.travelblog.org
  • We are really bad at selfies, and generally at posing for photos so we are going to be terrible Instagram Influencers (not that that is an aim)
  • We love a good sunset, preferably with a cocktail, gin and tonic or cold beer.
  • We don't like football or watching sport of any kind, which confuses people wherever we travel to: “what team do you support?” is a common question around the world.
  • We are 'not so young' travelbloggers, and hate clubs and late nights. Nothing good happens after midnight.

10 Facts about Kate

  1. Kate in UkraineKate is the only member of her whole family that wasn't born in Yorkshire
  2. her sister and mum are also teachers
  3. played cello as a child in various orchestras
  4. has a PhD in feral goat sexual behaviour
  5. doesn't like shoes – she only owns them when necessary
  6. loves musicals, particularly those by Andrew Lloyd Webber
  7. is scared of falling off things, and things falling off edges
  8. can't burp
  9. isn't naturally red-headed, she's been dying her hair since 16
  10. has mysterious coloured eyes – what colour are they?

11 Facts about Kris

Kris Kristofferson Nashville
  1. His hometown is the home of Billy Elliot
  2. Dad was a coalminer
  3. played the euphonium as a child in a brass band
  4. has a PhD in host-virus evolution (moths, basically)
  5. loves insects
  6. hates magicians
  7. can smell sneezes and hear TVs on standby
  8. has 11 tattoos from 5 different countries
  9. babies love his face, no matter which country we are in.
  10. worked in pest control for 2 years yet has never been stung by a wasp
  11. buys a new guitar in each place we live, and then gives it away when we leave

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UKRAINE

After arriving in Ukraine for the first time in February, 2014, during the Maidan Revolution, we spent a nearly 7 years living in both Odessa and Kyiv. During this time we traveled around the country, exploring cities, beaches and nature. Obviously, when war broke out in February 2022, we had to leave. We would still recommend you read our posts on Ukraine and see through our eyes what and amazing country it is. 

Advice on Ukraine Travel

TEACHING ENGLISH

Back in 2007 we became English teachers and have taught in Thailand, Ukraine, China, Spain, Vietnam and the UK. We both have postgraduate diplomas in teaching English as a foreign language (Delta and DipTESOL) and have had roles in TEFL management and teacher training. 

We remember how confusing it was when we started out, so we've dedicated part of this blog to giving advice to new TEFL teachers, using information from personal experience and that of friends and collegues. We've got blogs with tips, country guides and stories of how many different teachers started out. 

WILDLIFE WATCHING TRIPS

We may have left ecology/zoology behind after our PhDs, but wildlife is still one of our main loves. Where possible, we combine traveling with wildlife watching. Over the past few years, we've done Bucket List trips to see mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in Uganda, Asian and African elephants in Thailand, Uganda and South Africa, komodo dragons in Indonesia, and orangutans on Malaysian Borneo, been cage diving with great white sharks in South Africa, and on safaris in Kruger National Park. 

Our list still includes visiting the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon rainforest and tigers in India as well as many other trips. 

Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park, Uganda
Queen Elizabeth National Park Uganda
Komodo national park, Komodo dragons

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Southeast Asia is the region we've explored the most, while living and teaching English there for many years. We've lived in Thailand and Vietnam, visited Cambodia multiple times and also spent time in Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and The Philippines. It's a region with a fascinating history, amazing scenery, great wildlife watching and awesome food. 

Indonesia cover page
Myanmar cover page
Thailand cover page
Vietnam cover page

FOOD AND DRINK

Who doesn't love trying out the food and drink when they visit a new place? Something we do whenever we travel is to buy the local dishes and go to the bars to sample the beers, whether lagers or craft brews. We're also big fans of cooking courses so we can recreate the dishes at home.

Read our posts on the best cooking courses in Chiang Mai, taking a food tour in Yangon and the street food we ate while working in Silom, Bangkok, as well as craft beer in Ukraine.

Food cover post
Beer cover post

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