we’re claire + nick
A short about us:
Best bit | we love dogs + sunshine + food. We will never say no to hanging out if they are involved.
Who we are | late 30s, happily child-free, slowish vegetarian travellers from the United Kingdom, who are usually away on worldwide adventures for much of each year.
Who we aren’t | photogenic, overly brave, millionaires, or athletically fit.
If you’re looking for standard, relatable humans, it’s possible you’re in the right place!
Also, we both call each other ‘Bean’. Our nicknames are not imaginative, but it does explain the name of this blog.
Read on for a little description of what our blog is, how we travel, and some obligatory facts about ourselves that everyone seems to be doing nowadays.
If you’d like to get in touch, we would genuinely love to hear from you!
so, is our blog for you?
Our little travel blog is a labour of love that we originally created just for us, but it’s always better to share!
Here at the Restless Beans transitory global HQ, we’ve got itchy feet, a passion for travel and a deep love for photography. Our meandering route, which started four years ago with a one way ticket to Mexico (and some debatably misplaced ambition), has opened our eyes and pushed our limits. It’s the best decision we’ve ever made and we love empowering more people to do the same.
So, thank you for visiting our tiny slither of the internet, and we hope that you can find something helpful, thought-provoking or inspiring.
our writing
Our blog includes highly detailed guides on locations we visit, ethical topics in travel and occasional curious thoughts, which we hope are useful to people (well, maybe not the curious thoughts).
We’d also like to emphasis that nothing is written by AI and every single photo you see was taken by us – there’s no stock footage here.
Generally, our jam is documenting the reality of a destination – both the good and bad, especially through the lens of a camera. We write about topics that help visitors have a more enjoyable, better prepared trip.
We’re also all about demonstrating that adventurous, independent travel needn’t always be difficult, expensive, or uncomfortable. So, if you want to see the big wide world but also struggle to get a decent night’s sleep or tolerate hot temperatures; if you find large crowds uncomfortable or just the mention of local food makes you fat (this is us); if camping is uncomfortable but you want to experience the outdoors anyway, then you’re in the right place.
Here’s a not-so comprehensive list of things we ramble about:
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adventurous road trips
independent travel without a guide
travelling with minor disabilities
managing mental health
highly detailed guides and itineraries
travel photography and locations
travel budgeting
long-term travel tips and tricks
vegetarian food abroad
thoughtful travel and sustainability
backpacking, hiking and camping
mid-range – not luxury, not hostel – adventure travel
being not-so-young backpackers
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If these topics pique your interest, you can sign up to our not-so-regular mailing list to find out what we’re doing, what we’ve written recently, and a rundown of the myriad of awkward and embarrassing things that will have inevitably happened to us.
our travel ethos
Budget | as moderately budget-minded humans, our ethos is to prioritise a comfortable bed over fine dining.
Respect | every country we visit is someone else’s home (it’s surprising to us how few people seem to remember this). We care that we do not intrude or offend, and are eternally gratefully to have the opportunities to see the world as we do.
Trip length | generally, we spend a decent length of time in countries that are less traditional tourist haunts (we do love Thailand too, though). We also try to max out our visa/waiver allowances in most countries we visit – the best guides and itineraries are written by people who get to know a destination.
Style | we are *magnificently* unathletic and unfashionable, so you’ll not catch us changing into a dress at the top of a mountain (sweating and regretting everything while hiking up a mountain is much more our style). We also travel with three changes of almost identical clothes, so it’s not exactly fashion central over here.
Photography | this makes us look at the world a little differently; the beauty of our planet is in the small details, ones we’d otherwise miss without a camera. This is the thing we enjoy the most and something we want to focus on as we take more trips. It’s a growth area for us. Any budding photographers out there, feel free to get in touch.
Accessible | the journeys we share from around the world are adventurous, never with a guide or tour, but achievable by most. There’s no high budget ‘inspo’ or unrelatable content – accessibility matters to us.
some facts about us
Our self-deprecating humour hides the fact that we have no skills and are criminally unemployable.
We are vegetarians that try to be as vegan as possible, although we love cheese. And butter. And ice cream. We’re shit vegans.
We recently stopped drinking alcohol and got right into the NA beverages scene.
Both of us studied Physics and Engineering at university. This was clearly an error considering our recent life choices.
Claire is the main ‘photographer’, so (luckily/unluckily?) you’ll mostly see pictures of Nick. Unless it’s a shameless selfie.
claire | hates about pages
Age | my back has started to hurt.
Bucket list countries | Tajikistan, Peru, Nepal, China, Iran
Proudest moment | teaching Nick to tie his shoelaces at age 37. Seriously.
Favourite beverage | I am, regrettably, addicted to Coke Zero.
Famous person you would like to meet | definitely the Dalai Lama. And also my celebrity love George Clooney. And Jamie Lee Curtis.
Favourite city | Los Angeles; in another life I was definitely a California girl. In this life, I’m a potato.
Biggest fear | spiders. Also, despite my intense love for travel and mild understanding of physics, planes still terrify me.
Superpower | it’s a shit one, but I’m a packing maestro – cupboards, drawers, backpacks, you name it. I was really good at Tetris as a kid and it seems to have paid off.
nick | list maker
Age | spritely.
Bucketlist countries | India, Peru, Indonesia, New Zealand
Proudest moment | I can bench press an entire bag of pasta.
Favourite beverage | I love Vietnamese coffee.
Famous person you would like to meet | I have zero celebrity crushes.
Favourite city | Bangkok and London
Biggest fear | heights and ledges. And cardio. And phoning people.
Superpower | the ability to take a nap, absolutely anywhere. Tuktuks, kayaks, dog baskets; you name it – I’ve slept there.
