A lot of you have asked or
emailed questions about the trip.
I will
apologize for the delay in getting these answers out, but I’ve compiled them
all into one list and the answers are below.
1) What were your favorite places you visited?
I would say this is a bit like asking which
child do you like better, but what do I know about that? For all I know, maybe parents really do
secretly like one child more than another.
So, I’ll just say it’s hard to narrow it down. We were lucky in that we didn’t have too many
places we truly disliked, but here are some of the standouts in my mind:
New
Zealand was a real highlight, it’s a place everyone should visit sometime
in their lives. Granted, it’s a long way from the US, but what awaits is a
country whose beauty is beyond words - punctuated by nearly 4,000 lakes, two
mountain ranges, fjords, glaciers, beaches, and endless meadows/fields home to
the more than 40 million sheep that make up a substantial portion of the New
Zealand economy. Throw in the
opportunity to push yourself to the limits in the thrill sport-centered
Queenstown, along with the affable New Zealand locals, and you’ve got yourself
one hell of a good time.
Oman
(Musandam area) was another place that stands out – being in the desert, it is
unexpectedly beautiful. The main highway
is along the coastline, which offers stunning views of the Persian Gulf, and
the terrain includes both mountains and fjords.
The people, too, are warm and have a strong sense of nationalism which
makes them eager to show their country.
Wachau
Valley, Austria – a lot of our experience was shaped by our hosts who
rented us their apartment for the week, but the string of small towns that line
the Danube River between Melk and Krems are exceedingly charming and boast some
beautiful churches, castles, and monasteries, are connected by a wonderful bike
path that meanders through wine vineyard after wine vineyard, and are home to
outstanding taste treats like the Wachauer-Laberl roll, anything made with
Apricots, and of course great white wine.
A wonderful place to experience some local Austrian culture out of the
hustle and bustle of Austria’s big cities.
Italy. No surprise there, right? Rome in particular stands out – from St
Peters to the Spanish Steps to the Pantheon, there’s no end to the famous
things to see in the city. The food is
outstanding (more than I can say for Venice) and the people are quite
friendly. I can’t wait to go back and
explore the other parts of the country we didn’t have time to do – could have
done 2 months in Italy alone!
2) What were your top three
experiences?
Again, like picking children. But….
We took an overnight trip out in a fjord in New
Zealand called Doubtful Sound. We eventually anchored for the night. As most people headed to bed, we grabbed one
last glass of wine and headed up to the main deck. I have never seen stars like this in my life
– clear, bright, captivating. Combined
with the utter silence of the surrounding area and the people on board, there
was complete peace. Quite a contrast to
the chaotic NYC life I had left just a week before!
The early
mornings in Angkor in Cambodia – before the temples become overrun with
tourists or the temperature reaches unbearable levels – are a magical
time. The road to the temples from the
main town (Siem Reap) winds around the formidable Angkor Wat which, in the
early morning, is covered in a misty haze that emanates from the surrounding
moat and is illuminated by the sun that has begun to spill out from the
horizon. There is true calm, and a
feeling of awe at the natural beauty of the region and how it intertwines with
the man-made treasures of an ancient civilization.
Interacting with
animals. We had many opportunities
on our trip to interact with different animals, including dolphins racing our
boats in New Zealand and Oman, seals posing for us on the rocks of a town in
New Zealand, monkeys clamoring about as we walked through Ubud in Indonesia,
and wonderful elephants exuding their gentle kindness as we fed, bathed, and
rode them. In each instance we were able
to establish communication, in some way, with these animals and share an
experience with them that was probably more entertaining for us than for
them. Astounding and exhilarating, these
moments reminded me that animals see, experience, understand, and interact with
the world just like humans do. I wish we did a better job of sharing the planet
with them.
3) What were your least favorite cities/moments?
Kuala Lumpur was my least favorite city – the Petronas
Towers are beautiful, however beyond that it’s just a big city with a lot of
people who are not particularly friendly.
Bangkok is a close second for least favorite city,
although at least Bangkok has a really nice palace to visit (even if it is
completely packed with people). But, in
Bangkok, the people on the streets trying to rip you off are everywhere and
particularly aggressive. They are so
ubiquitous, in fact, that they make walking around the city quite difficult and
not enjoyable. It’s also fairly dirty.
Finally, the indifference toward animals – and their
general living conditions – of animals (especially dogs) in certain parts of
Southeast Asia were particularly hard for me to witness (as many of you know, I’m
a complete sucker for animals and dogs in particular).
4) Did you develop any funny traveling
rituals? Like seeking out something immediately upon landing in a new place?
Because of the extreme heat in Bali and Southeast
Asia, we came up with this idea of "indoor only" clothes. Since every
time we went outside we would just sweat buckets, we each identified a shirt
and shorts that we would only wear inside, principally to bed, and only after
we had taken showers.
We also tried to get into a new city either first
thing in the morning or late at night, so we'd have a full first day to check
things out. We'd typically start at the main "center" of the town,
get our bearings, see the more "touristy" things, and then figure out
what else we wanted to do from there. We
also scoped out where to eat fairly carefully as, we felt, eating
establishments were a great way to try and get a more local feel.
5) Any particularly good stories of
people you met?
Yes! We met a lot of world travelers along the way, as
well as others. One of the real special moments of the trip was meeting this
group of ~70 year old women in New Zealand who were in the midst of a 2 week
bike tour of the South Island. They would ride 25+ miles a day, almost every
day, for two weeks. The oldest one had just turned 80.
One of the volunteers we taught with in Bali was a
British woman in her 60s who had spent the previous two years battling (and
eventually beating) lung cancer. Once that was done, she felt she needed to do
something different and on her own. So, for the first time in her 30+ year
marriage, she went on a trip all by herself to go teach English for 2 months in
a remote village in Bali.
Finally, on our flight from LAX to Sydney, right on
Day 1, we ended up sitting next to the father of a family -- his wife, two 12
year old girls and 9 year old boy were sitting across the aisle. Eventually, we
started talking and told him our story. His was similar: a lifelong dream to
travel the world, he and his wife saved for 3 years so they could take their
kids on an around the world trip for a year. Having obtained permission to home
school their children, they first went to Costa Rica for two months, and were
on their way to a 4 month stay in Australia and New Zealand when we met.
And I thought Carrie and I were crazy!
There were others, including our newest friends from
Sweden Oscar and Annika, but these three each were unique and inspiring and
worth re-telling here.
6) What was the most unexpected
part of traveling around the world? Something you maybe didn't prepare
yourselves for.
Well, I have a lot to say on this subject. So much so, I will make it another blog post
in due course. For now, we were truly
surprised at how expensive New Zealand was (think New York City prices). Also, we were surprised at the two universal
things that people in Southeast Asia knew of the USA.
Whenever we were asked where we were from (and responded “USA” or “America”),
the response from folks rich or poor, whether in a city or on a remote island, old
or young, would first be “Obama!” They
would then ask if we were from California.
When we responded that we lived in New York, there were a surprising
number who did not know where that was.
I guess the allure of Hollywood brings California more attention on the
international scene!
7) Did you and Carrie want to kill each
other?
I started writing this answer by saying "I wish I
could say the answer was 'no'", but then that seemed crazy to me. We spent
126 days together and, with the exception of our time in Bali when we had our
own set teaching schedules, and spent only 2.5 days (total) doing independent
things. So, we had our moments where we would disagree, annoy, or argue…but I
think that's to be expected. The key was both of us having short memories, so
we could get over our disagreements quickly and go back to being each other’s
travel partner.
8) Do you think you gained weight
or lost weight?
Gained! I stopped running once we got to Bali, and
that continued throughout Southeast Asia. It's just too hot, too polluted, and
too chaotic (even if there were sidewalks to run on (which, in most cases there
were not), they would no doubt be traveled by motorbikes and/or cars). So, a
drastic reduction in my normal exercise combined with me eating more than I
usually do (there is always an opportunity to try something new that you can't
pass up) contributed to me definitely gaining weight. Now that I am back, and
starting to train for the NYC marathon, I am trying to get rid of those extra
pounds!
9) Any bad food adventures?
We were lucky to avoid food poisoning on the
trip. Which isn’t to say we played it
safe all the time – street food in Asia can be some of the finest cuisine
available, provided you to go to the right place and order the right dish. We also were taken to an Indonesian restaurant
in Bali where you eat with your hands, with all but a cold dish of water to clean your
hands before, during, and after the meal. We escaped that experience unscathed I am happy to say. And, all in all, we had pretty good luck with the food and managed to
avoid a true horror story.
10) How did you entertain yourselves on
the longer traveling portions (trains/flights)?
Carrie, for the most part, always had some work she
could do while we were traveling. I spent a fair amount of time writing this
blog while we were traveling, as well as cataloging the 2800+ pictures I took.
Beyond that, there was always reading to be done in our guidebook about our
next destination, or in our current book/magazine. And, of course, sleep! On
long plane rides, there was also on-demand tv so we watched what we wanted. On overnight trains, we always brought plenty of beer on board with us to make
it a fun night.
11) Any scary experiences? Times you
felt like you were in danger?
Hmmm, makes me think that we didn't take enough
chances because the answer is really no. We had a couple of unsettling flights,
including the absolute worst landing I've ever experienced that was as close as
I ever want to come to having something structural happen to the plane I am in.
We also took a van from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap in Cambodia, which was a
hair raising experience -- a lot of time spent in the "shadow" middle
lane that both directions of traffic (on a two-lane road) use to pass other people, which eventually
leads to near head-on collisions just about every two or three minutes. And
then our trip from Saigon to Phnom Penh was also interesting (see my post
"On Traveling in Southeast Asia”) -- I never felt like I was in danger but
kept wondering what would happen next as we lived out one of the stranger
experiences of the trip. Finally,
driving in Dubai is another tense experience – they love their Formula One
racing there, and it seems every driver in Dubai thinks they are on the brink
of being discovered as the next great racing champion. Consequently, they drive extremely fast
everywhere, even if it’s just between lights.
12) Did you miss anything particular, beyond family and friends,
from back home?
Being stationary! I loved our trip, but moving around
every 2-3 days got a little tiring toward the end. If I ever do something like
this again, I would employ the model where we stay in a country for a longer
period of time (say two months) -- in a more permanent housing situation -- and
use that as a base from which to explore and to get to know an area really well.
Not sure if that would be more or less expensive, but that would be my plan.
