Welcome To My World

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I’m Ryan Cook and I am the guy behind www.travelwithcooky.com and ‘Travel With Cooky’ across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

I love to travel and see new, exciting and beautiful places. Plus, I never leave home without a camera in hand.

Ever since I was young I was lucky enough to go abroad on family trips; from road trips through France to cruising the Caribbean. I’ve been so fortunate to see so many diverse cultures and beautiful destinations our planet has to offer.

As most teenagers do, family trips began to be replaced by journeys with friends or solo. From ski trips to; USA, Switzerland and Andorra, to more stereotypical teenage travels to the likes of Majorca, Zakinthos to name but a few. But there was one solo trip that really launched my love for travelling to a new level. From this point, I have never looked back. This place… AUSTRALIA!

At the age of 18, I left home to travel down under, originally as a way of not applying (or be pushed) into a university. Going to study a subject I really wasn’t sure I liked had always been a doubt when going to university. A tutor at college kept insisting I HAD to apply to a university as time was running out. One day, out of nowhere I glanced at a poster with ‘Australia’ written on it from the corner of my eye.

‘Well, I’m taking a gap year out to travel Australia’ was my response to which had very little substance…until it began ringing in my ears. Australia. Why not?

Managing to travel such a vast amount of the country and fell in love with every aspect of it; the people, culture, weather, working as I went but there to do what I loved most. Travel.

I also chose the ‘backward’ way of doing so (this is just me!) Honestly, I didn’t want to do a trip that everyone does when travelling Oz, or any country for that matter. Start in Melbourne, get a bus gradually up to Cairns with many of the same people and do as the tour guides push you. Instead, I did it a little all over the place. Sydney to Cairns. Down the Queensland coast and into New South Wales and the Gold Coast. Then down to Melbourne. Over to Perth. An epic journey over to Adelaide via the ‘Indian Pacific’. A 48-hour cross country train journey taking me through the vast Nullarbor desert plain. I then decided on taking the ‘Ghan’ train journey up to the ‘Red Centre’. This train is named after the Afghan explorers who helped navigate these incredible lands. Eventually making my way back to Sydney again.

Typical me…my way! One of the amazing advantages of solo travel.

From this point on my view on what was expected and what I wanted never looked clearer. I have never looked back since. Personally, I don’t believe all the hype over going to (or being pushed into) going to University or getting a 9-to-5 to make ends meet just because society dictates its ‘the done thing’? Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for those who choose that path. However that just was not for me, and I believe that the world is the biggest educator we have. It’s the only place in which you get taught the harsh reality and lessons of life around each and every corner… one thing we all have in common.

Since that life-changing trip, I developed a love for travel and seeing new places which has turned more into an addiction. Visiting places all over; Europe, Caribbean, Mexico, USA, Africa, South East Asia to name but a few. I have now hit over 50 countries and only being hindered by Covid-19. Check out my full list on my ‘Destinations’ page to see all the countries I have visited so far.

Thailand really rekindled my love of travel once again, especially being another lone ranger adventure. The country is just unbelievable. The people, the culture, the food. And I have never heard anyone say any different.

Since this point, I have travelled all over the world with no plans of stopping any time soon. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, this has put a halt on proceedings. However, all being well my next adventure is set to be my biggest yet.

Having currently over 50 countries under my belt, I cannot wait to get back on the road!

I love to travel and am also an avid amateur photographer and throughout this website, I will combine the two and let you see the world through my eyes and through my lens! Here, you will find blogs and reviews on places I have personally visited and equipment I actually use. You will not find posts for advertisements on ANYTHING I would not put my own name to! I will also pass on any kind of advice or offers I find to save YOU money!

Every person reading this blog will have had their lives affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Whether that be plans to visit dream destinations or once in a lifetime trips thwarted due to the current global coronavirus pandemic or perhaps even worse. My own plans have been rocked due to the current global situation. The 5th October 2020 will mark the trip of a lifetime that will not be for me.

With plans to leave the UK indefinitely, October marked the beginning of my next dream adventure. Starting in Thailand, my journey would have taken me through Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia over a 7 week period. I was then to land in New Zealand. This is where I planned to reside for the next few years on my working holiday visa (WHV).

However, due to the nature of the visa, this will mean that from December 3rd 2020, my WHV will now run out and expire. This will still remain the case as the NZ immigration has decided not to honour any visa’s issued and paid for even if travel to the country has been impossible due to the coronavirus pandemic.

New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to completely close their borders, and so have arguably been one of the greatest success stories in overcoming the current situation. Unfortunately, as things stand, I will never be able to get another WHV for NZ now due to age and expiration of my visa as I was not able to activate it by stepping foot in New Zealand. Now it seems my only opportunity at a WHV in New Zealand has now been wasted.

For my partner and I, this has been devastating yet we are still smiling. Fortunately, plans and dreams are the only things we have lost during this incredibly torrid 2020. I know many people all over the world will have lost friends and loved ones and my heart goes out to all those who have been affected.

We remain as determined as all travel lovers to get back out there and start our epic adventure together as soon as this awful situation has cleared. Positivity is what the world needs more than anything right now, and that’s how we shall remain. Our dreams are merely on hold while the nightmare of Covid-19 still hangs over the world.

I hope you find my blogs enjoyable, insightful and interesting and hope my experiences (or usually mistakes) will make sure your travels are smooth sailing!

Would be great to hear about your travels or even get in touch if you think our paths may cross. Make sure you say hi! 👋

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