Get to know us
Hello and welcome!
We’re Aly and Mike; the storytellers and travel bloggers behind AM Travel Life.
Our journey begins in the prairie province of Manitoba, the geographic centre of Canada and North America. We grew up in Winnipeg, the capital city of Manitoba. This may be one of the only places in the world where you experience freezing cold winters of -45 °C and then sunny lake life summers at a balmy 40°C a few months later. A city that has four wonderfully unique seasons and a whole lot of snow!
We went directly from high school into university and we weren’t sure if Winnipeg was going to be the rest of our story or just a part of it. It was at this point in our lives that we decided to veer off the path of going to school, buying a house and settling down and instead, took a chance on the unknown and chose to travel the world.
Join us on our adventures and follow us for tips, tricks and lots of laughs as we share our journey across this planet with you.
Aly
University is a privileged time for many Canadians where you’re supposed to figure out what you want to do with your life, make new friends and gain your independence. You’re simultaneously making the best and worst decisions of your life all while spending thousands of dollars on a degree you’re trying to be successful in.
I completed a Bachelor of Science and was working on my Bachelor of Education. The university had an international program for education students to finish their final year teaching in Thailand. I was accepted into the Thailand program and completed the most rewarding and challenging year of my life thus far.
I was blessed with countless opportunities to travel Asia and develop my skills as an educator. Mike even had an excuse to fly halfway around the world to come visit. An experience like this changed my perspectives on the work life balance and set me on a path of exploration and adventure.
Mike
I was lucky to have had a privileged childhood. Throughout my youth, my parents would take us on family camping trips. We would spend a couple weeks every summer camping where we had the chance to travel all over Western Canada and the USA. From across the prairies, to the Rocky Mountains, and down to the Wisconsin Dells, I was lucky enough to have had the opportunities to experience and explore many different cities, attractions, and everything the outdoors had to offer. Little did I know, these memories and travel experiences were just a taste of what was to come.
In my teenage years I came to the conclusion that Winnipeg wasn’t going to be the end all be all, but instead a place I could always come back to. There were simply too many places I wanted to explore and see!
After spending several years in university obtaining a bachelor’s degree, and then a few more in a community college, I was “ready for the real world”, or so I thought. I decided to cut my college degree short and take a risk to move to Australia with Aly. Although I was excited to make the move, there was both nervousness and hesitation not knowing if this was the right decision.
This adventure provided me with a new outlook on how I wanted to live my life. Experiencing something new, one place at a time!
