Our Top Ten

One of the most frequent questions we got after our return home was, ‘where was your favorite place?’ This question makes a lot of sense. Everyone wanted to know a bit more about our trip and they were also hunting for some travel recommendations. But truth be told, we hated this question because it was so hard for us to answer. So much had happened over the last 16 months and we had been to so many places that it seemed impossible to pick a single favorite. Our activities were also highly variable. How were we to compare a week of deathly strenuous hiking in Peru to a week spent on the beach in Thailand or to a week of exploring one of China’s massive cities? We enjoyed all these experiences, but for different reasons. So after we each stumbled through non-committal answers to this question the first few times (and probably giving the false impression that we weren’t impressed with anywhere we had been), Travis and I got together and we strategized how best to respond to this inquiry. It was almost like practicing an elevator pitch for our trip, but we each found our answers and were finally able to provide more succinct responses to this question.

So where were our favorite places? Fortunately, this blog allows us to go into some detail, so we are skipping the elevator pitch and providing the lengthier list of our top ten favorite destinations. Importantly, this list is not in any order. These are the destinations that most bubble up to the surface of our minds when we think back on the trip. Some are entire countries while others are single cities. There are many places we liked that did not end up on this list, but regardless, here are our top ten...

Colombia

I still remember when we were trying to catch a bus in a small town a few hours outside of Bogota that a man approached us at the bus station. Bus stations anywhere in the world are notorious for petty crime, so we always had our guard up around them. But this man came up to us and asked if we needed help getting wherever we were going. Our instinct was to dismiss him, but we took a chance and told him which bus we were trying to catch. He then walked us over to the correct bus, introduced us to the bus driver, wished us a pleasant journey, and left. An interaction like this without there being an expectation for a tip was unheard of on our trip up to this point in time. Across Colombia we interacted with some of the most friendly and helpful people we met on our whole trip.

Colombia has a distinct cultural vibe. There were  festivals, tons of music, and all sorts of food to try. While Colombia’s major cities, like Bogota and Medellin, are surprisingly modern, a few hours’ drive got us out to smaller towns where horses share the streets with cars and firewood is collected to warm houses. Colombia’s environment is also enormously diverse. On a past trip we had been to the Caribbean waters of Cartagena and the rain forests of Tayrona National Park. On this trip, we got to explore the snow-covered Andes and the rolling hills of the coffee triangle. We still have not made it to the desert or the Amazon rain forest, which are all accessible within the country. Another perk of Colombia is that there are not many US tourists there. Colombia is still trying to shake off its association with the illegal drug trade. Of the tourists there, most are European, and they don’t have the same association between Colombia and drugs like most from the US have. Unfortunately, we did find the big cities like Bogota and Medellin to be a little sketchy at night, but this was in stark contrast to the small towns were we always felt perfectly safe all hours of the day. But if you’re up for an adventure, Colombia is a must.

New Zealand

New Zealand is simply stunning. We arrived there after having spent four months in the Andes. We had seen so much mountain scenery in South America that I honestly didn’t think that anything could continue to impress me. I was dead wrong. There was something different about New Zealand. I think it was the colors. Blue skies, gray mountains, white snow, pink and purple flowers, and every shade of green imaginable. New Zealand’s South Island in particular, felt like a whole world of untouched nature. I have never in my life seen such crystal-clear water in mountain streams and in giant lakes. It’s so deeply blue it almost looks like something is wrong with the water. We’re just not used to seeing something so unspoiled.

New Zealand is outdoorsy to the extreme. It is a place that exists for exploration. You have to go on a hike, paddle down a river, or spend a night in a cabin to really get the most out of the experience. And  New Zealand makes this easy. Their national park system is second to none. Trails are easy to find, expertly marked, and a huge system of huts cover both islands. Beds in these huts can be reserved online and many are quite nice with stainless steel kitchens, pot-belly stoves, and running water from rain collection units. You have to see it for yourself to really believe that a place like this can still exist and wasn’t lost to development and modernization. New Zealand is expensive, with prices similar to what you would find in the US, which is why we spent most of our time sleeping in a tent to make it work on our budget. It does rain an awful lot, but all that water is what makes the whole ecosystem work and creates all the natural beauty that makes New Zealand worth visiting.

Thailand

You simply can’t go wrong with Thailand. It’s a solid pick from our top ten list. When we imagine dramatic tropical islands with palm trees, white sand, and steep cliffs plunging into teal blue waters, those are all images we think of from our time in Thailand. We never found a better (or more affordable) beach destination. And beyond the beaches, there are still a hundred more reasons why we liked it. The food, first and foremost, is some of the best in the world. Of course, we could eat Thai curries every day and never complain, but everything is always fresh and vibrant and packs a punch of flavor. The atmosphere is relaxed and easy going. It’s always scorching hot out so dress codes are casual and are simply meant to deal with the heat. But when it cools off in the late afternoon, everyone heads out to the beach for a drink, or to walk along the sand, or to watch the sun go down in the more tolerable evening air.

Thailand also has its hectic side. Bangkok is a dense, frantic, and congested city with all the excitement that comes along with it, but it provides a contrast to the laid-back beaches. Admittedly, Bangkok is not my favorite city in the world, but you can’t claim that Thailand doesn’t offer variety. Even on the small island of Koh Phangan, we spent a few days on one side of the island indulging in the hedonistic full moon party, only to retire on the other side of the island for a time of recuperation with an international hippie community where we got exposure to yoga, ecstatic dance parties, and shamanic sound healing. We will be back in Thailand again, it’s only a matter of time.

Japan

 

Japan really stretched our budget, but we had a blast. It was just so much fun to explore. There was an endless list of cultural quirks that we encountered every day. These included everything from people waiting in single file lines to board the subway, to divided counter seating at restaurants, to finding fully stocked vending machine on even the most desolate and empty of streets. And we certainly will not forget the smart toilet seats. There was so much contrast in Japan – the new right next to the old. Skyscrapers  built right next to ancient Shinto shrines. Women wearing kimonos walking onto subway cars packed with suit-wearing businessmen. It was all so different and interesting to take in.

Japan is also a culinary powerhouse. Even at the smallest little diner, the quality of the food and the service was astounding. We could simply not get enough of the ramen, udon, sushi, tonkatsu, and curry. Deciding where to go every night was always a difficult decision because we couldn’t decide what we were in the mood for most. Some of the restaurants we went to were legitimately hard to find – hidden in small alleys or buried in the depths of huge shopping complexes, which made the whole experience that much more fun. Most of our travels brought us through Japan’s cities, but we also spent time in the mountains and hot springs of Magome, which was a wonderful little trip. We’d love to see more of Japan, but we both agreed that if we went back, we would like to have a little more spending money in our pockets.

Georgia

Georgia was such a pleasant surprise. It was a combination of the food, the wine, the history, and the scenery that all made Georgia an interesting destination. It’s also very manageable. Georgia is not a huge place, so it was easy to get around the country by shared vans called marshrutkas, and the cities are of a good enough size for us to simply walk to most places we wanted to go. Tbilisi, the capitol, is very quirky with a strange blend of old and new architecture. The wine region is stunningly beautiful. The Caucasus Mountains were steep, rugged, and covered with snow. I wish we had set aside more time to explore them. And the Black Sea coast was fun to see too.

The highlight of every day, however, was sitting down to a delicious meal of bread, salad, cheese, and wine. It could be difficult at times to find enough veggies on our plate, but not in Georgia. Every meal included a salad and other appetizers from eggplants, beans, nuts, and pomegranate seeds. And, of course, they have their bread, in all sorts of shapes and sizes but most often baked with varying amounts and types of cheese. And this is all washed down with a bottle of Georgian wine. And most of our eating was done at small, intimate restaurants with comfortable and relaxing atmospheres or from home cooked meals provided by our guesthouse hosts. The Georgian landscape is also littered with castles, grand churches, and historical buildings. So everywhere we went we also got a little dose of history.  

Georgetown

Out of all the cities we visited on our trip, Georgetown was perhaps my favorite. It is an intersecting point for so many cultures and cuisines. You can find Chinese, Malaysian, and Indian food all out in force, but the real gem of Georgetown is the street food scene. Countless food stalls across the city each serve up a single dish that has over the years been perfected to excellence. They combine flavors from all over into new foods that have become local staples of Georgetown. It’s amazing what a person can do with a few square feet in a mobile kitchen.

Georgetown also has a lively public art scene. The whole city is covered with murals and art installations. It was fun to run around the city, albeit sweating as it is always a million degrees there, finding the city’s hidden art collections. A walk through the city also brings one through different neighborhoods, each with their own cultural identity. It’s like taking a trip around the world all within a few city blocks.

Czechia (and Prague)

We had a lot of fun in Czechia and I think it embodied everything we expected from our travels through Europe. European architecture, cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes, and more pilsner being poured than anyone knows what to do with. Prague is a shining star of Europe. It has the tourist crowds to prove it too, but there is just something about that city that makes it fun to be in. The old buildings, the huge river, the blue trams running all up and down the streets give the city a lot of character. Outside of Prague, we also saw picture-perfect little Czech towns, exactly like you’d expect out of a fairy tale. Town squares surrounded by brightly colored buildings with a church in the very center of it all.

We had a car for a couple weeks and we managed to get around a lot of the country. We got our fill of winding back county roads, panoramic views from the tops of church towers, and exploring vast castle grounds. And for lunch and dinner every day we’d have a heaty plate of Czech food. We certainly didn’t go hungry there. Or thirsty for that matter. There was always beer. It was excellent and affordable and served at every meal. Fortunately, they also do non-alcoholic beer quite well too, which most often got me through lunch.

Adriatic Coast of Montenegro and Croatia

We had no idea how beautiful this part of the world was. After a late-night arrival, we woke up in Montenegro the next day to be greeted by palm trees, sunny blue skies, and a backdrop of rocky gray mountains on one side and teal waters of the Adriatic on the other. Taking a bus along the coast was among the most scenic journeys of our entire trip, following the rocky shoreline up and down mountains that plunged into the ocean along huge yellow cliffs. It makes you want to take things just a bit slower, relax at a café or at the beach, and soak in the scenery.

Destinations like Kotor, Dubrovnik, and Split all have historical downtown areas that are a blast to explore. Built long before the invention of the car, buildings are connected to one another through a series of cobblestone roads, alleyways, and steep staircases. Half the fun is wandering through town getting lost and turned around as you find yet even more cafes hidden in the nooks and crannies of oldtown. We could also be outdoorsy when we wanted to be. The beach was never far away and many of the mountains have hiking trails to get you to the top. Overall, the coastlines of Montenegro and Croatia make for a really fantastic holiday destination. 

Hong Kong (and China for the more adventurous)

Hong Kong is, both before and after our trip, one of my favorite large cities of the world. It’s just so much fun to explore, although it really does make you feel about the size of an ant. There is only a small amount of buildable land around Victoria Harbor and the only way to expand is upward. Enormous skyscrapers line every street, both for commercial and residential needs. You’re sure to get a great view of the impressive skyline at some point during a trip to Hong Kong. The public transportation is easy to use and got us anywhere in the city, and this includes up the giant hills which are served by a series of outdoor escalators.

English is widely spoken, although not everywhere, which makes getting around relatively easy. I loved the Hong Kong diners. They were reminiscent of old school New York City diners, but served up giant bowls of noodles, dumplings, and rice dishes. It’s also easy to cross over into mainland China with a quick high speed rail trip to Shenzhen or Guangzhou. Mainland China is a whole different story from Hong Kong. It was one of the more memorable parts of our trip and certainly the most culturally different, but we’d also rate it as requiring an expert level of travel savviness to manage on your own. China was a serious test of our navigation abilities when we weren’t able to speak the language, but it was entirely worth the effort.

Cusco

The final destination on our top 10 list is Cusco. Most people are in Cusco to visit Machu Picchu, but we thought the city of Cusco itself is more than enough reason to visit that part of the world, even if you skip Machu Picchu. The city is saturated in Incan, European, and Peruvian history. There are still roads, staircases, and buildings built by the Inca that have literally become the foundations of modern-day buildings. Walking around the city feels like a trip back in time. It also makes you feel winded. At an elevation of 11,000 feet the air is thin, and you certainly feel it climbing the giant staircases around town. 

There is also plenty of Peruvian food to try, including alpaca and guinea pig for the more adventurous. And your arrival is sure to be greeted by a hot cup of coca tea, which is said to alleviate symptoms of altitude sickness. It’s easy to get lost in the streets and the history of Cusco, especially with all that catchy Andean music playing everywhere, and we found ourselves not wanting to find our way back out again.