Tour Your Hometown:
Kach and Jonathan of Two Monkeys Travel

1. For starters, where is your current hometown and how long have you lived there?
My hometown is an awesome little town called Stroud, in The Cotswolds, south England. When I was born there, back in 1984, it was a ‘nice little town’ without much more to say about it; a hangover of a once booming textiles industry that has long since passed away. The town itself sits in the base of one of seven valleys, in a national Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Today Stroud is a place where people move for a better life away from the city and has become a thriving hub for artists and alternative living. Even Damian Hurst has a studio here. Fun Fact – Stroud is the World’s first ‘Bee Guardian Town!’

2. For many people, travel is not always feasible or desirable all year round. How do you make the most of your hometown when you are not traveling?
We love to travel and we work really hard to keep going for as long as possible by working on-the-road, but when we do return we’re extremely lucky to have a place like this to come back to. There’s nature all around you, yet a town full of people, pubs, bars, and shops is only a 20 min walk away. You don’t need to be entertained here; simple pleasures like walking the dog in a field or riding a bicycle or an old motorbike down a country lane are perfect ways to pass your time here.

3. What is the most creative technique you use to save up for your travels while you are at home?
I’m not sure that you’d call it creative, but a while ago we cut out using banks altogether and got into the habit of separating our cash into envelopes, each with a different purpose and specific target amount. Little by little, each envelope fills up. So rather than taking forever to reach one total savings goal, we get the satisfaction of fulfilling numerous smaller targets that keep you enthusiastic about what you’re achieving every day. Try it out for yourself!

4. What is the best part of your hometown that other visitors should know about?
The Saturday market near the centre of town is a weekly festival of food, arts and crafts, from traditional local butchers and organic vegetables to Falafel and handmade furniture.

Stroud even has its own website and a hilarious Facebook page – Not Unusual For Stroud, where you can see all the weird and bizarre antics that take place in a town that’s become well-known for its artisan community and quirky local residents.

5. Finally, we can’t forget about the food! Where is your favourite place to eat in your hometown and why?
I really can’t think of any one specific restaurant in the town itself that deserves a special mention. What I love about eating in Stroud is actually to be found outside of the town, in any one of the countryside pubs perched on the side of a valley, looking out onto beautiful scenery, eating simple, traditional country pub food, like steak and ale pie and scampi and chips!

Also a little outside of town, on top of the common amongst free-roaming cattle and horses, you will find Winstones ice-cream parlour and factory, which has been in operation since 1925, with every flavour from vanilla to fiery ginger!

About Kach and Jonathan
Kach Mu and Jonathan Howe are working-on-the-road couple behind twomonkeystravelgroup.com. They are both certified Tantra Yoga Teachers, Ayurveda Massage Therapists and TEFL Certified Teachers. Working wherever and whenever they want! Travelling status: 18 months of being on the road and currently based in Arequipa, Peru… Their next major travel goal- Antartica via Argentina!

Jonathan is the British traveller and writer behind twomonkeystravelgroup.com, working his way around the world finding new and interesting ways to support a life of long-term travel. He loves tropical beaches, surfing, hiking, the outdoors, yoga, adventure sports and motorbikes.

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