"What are your Favorite..."
Trip Start
Sep 13, 2006
1
85
Trip End
May 25, 2007
Seattle, Washington
Thursday, July 5, 2007
What kind of tickets did you buy?
The biggest cost was airline tickets, which we bought mostly in advance. We bought point to point tickets ahead of time instead of an around-the-world ticket. It allowed more variety in the stops and it made it easier for visas since we were traveling on passports from two different countries. We went through Air Treks out of San Francisco and found them easy to work with. They got us on very respectable airlines.
Did you mostly fly?
We did fly a lot, it is safer and faster. We did use a lot of trains as well. It is easier to buy train tickets at the last minute and it is always easier to get to the train station compared to the airport.
How much does a trip like this cost?
After we took out airfare and Eurorail passes our daily budget was $100 total ($50 each) per day. We managed to stay at $106 a day when we averaged the whole trip, including all ground transport and trip insurance. If you are thinking about doing a trip like this and you want more details on the exact numbers, drop us an e-mail!
How did you keep the budget down?
We stayed at cheap places in the more expensive countries, like large hostel dorm rooms. We got free breakfast at many hostels in Europe and tried to keep down to two meals a day. We took public transport everywhere. As two people helps because hotel costs are cut in half. We only bought alcohol when it was cheaper than anything other beverage. Our time in Asia really helped. It is very hard to spend over $100 a day for two people in Asia. Lovely hotels can be booked for $50, hostels for $7 and food is about a dollar a meal. People could travel all over SE Asia and China on a very low budget. If you are planning a two week trip to a European Union country, however, this will be a very, very tight budget. Budget more so you can have more fun. The dollar is now $1.36 to the Euro today, a new record! Everything will be more expensive.
Favorites
Since we have been back our most common question has been "What was your favorite place?" It is a hard one to answer because we liked most of our destinations and loved a lot of them. So, we will use this chance to break down our favorites.
Favorite Place
Sara: I had so many favorites but Southern Croatia was right up there. I also loved Thailand and Vietnam.
Julius: New Zealand. It was very green, great natural scenery and clean. Italy was also a favorite because of all the historical sites and churches.
Least Favorite Place
Sara: Amsterdam. It poured rain the whole time, it was very expensive, the fellow tourists the week we were there were all very young party girls/frat boys or stoners. It had a "tourist ghetto" feel with tacky shops full of drug paraphernalia and plastic "wooden shoes". Plus, I had to do CPR on a 20-something tourist at the hostel who ended up dying. I did like the art museums and Heiniken tour, though.
Julius: Cambodia. Surprisingly, we encountered the most racism in this country. He was given a hard time at the airport before they would issue a visa, even though this country is as poor as his. Other people expressed racist attitudes in our time there. Angkor Wat was amazing but the weather was so hot you felt like melting. Everything was more expensive than the rest of SE Asia and the food wasn't that good.
Scariest Moment
Sara: Two night buses we took were very scary. In Croatia the buses were safe, but we were driving on these cliff-top curvy coastal roads in the middle of a huge wind storm. The ocean was very far down the cliff and the wind felt like it could blow us off. The night bus in Vietnam was on the Sunday night after Vietnamese New Year. All the buses were on the road returning people from the villages to the cities. The driver was not safe, passed as many buses as he could and it was very terrifying.
Also, less life threatening but still scary was the "Devil's Throat" waterfall in Iguazu, Argentina. The river was very swollen and standing above all that water was a rush!
Julius: Julius votes for the bus ride from Rovinj to Split in Croatia that I mentioned above. He stayed awake the whole time and saw how close we were to being blown over the edge.
Favorite Foods
Sara: Overall I loved the food in Vietnam and Thailand because I love Vietnamese and Thai food. Other countries had some specialties that made the visit worthwhile:
Sweden: Breakfast
Belgium: Chocolate, Fries, Beer
Germany & Austria: Pork Knuckle, Saurkraut, Weinerschnitzel
France: Everything in the bakeries
Italy: Everything; especially when cooked by Aunt Lilliana
Croatia: Satsumas, Seafood, Cheese
Turkey: Kebab
Hong Kong: Pot Stickers, Noodles, Dim Sum
New Zealand: Fish and Chips, Blue Cheese Pizza at Whitestone Cheese Factory in Oamaru
Argentina: Steak, Dulce de Leche and Malbec wine
Julius: Argentina Steaks; all the food made by the nuns in Sevilla, Spain; Phad Thai in Thailand (street carts are the freshest and cheapest); and the Fried Rice at Miss Ly's Cafeteria in Hoi An, Vietnam
Favorite Airline:
Singapore Airways: This was for both of us an easy choice. Good food, amazing service, dozens of first run movies on demand, lots of leg room. Even the uniforms are fabulous. You didn't even want to sleep because the flight attendants were always coming around with more snacks and drinks.
Least Favorite Airline
American Airlines: Also an easy choice. How can we be one of the richest countries in the world and have such crappy airlines? Our full nightmare is recounted on our Argentina blog.
Prettiest Scenery
This is so difficult because so many countries had gorgeous scenery. We will have to pick Southern Croatia because some of the scenery on the coast literally took our breath away. The Great Ocean Road in Southern Australia and the southern island of New Zealand were also up there.
Most Adventurous
Sara: Traveling around China with only a guidebook was really an adventure and we only stuck to the three major cities: Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing! Taking public transport everywhere made it all the more exciting.
Julius: Vietnam was a place where walking across the street was an adventure. The few times we had to ride motorcycles was very thrilling.
Places We Will Return To
Sara: We want to visit our family in Croatia and Italy in the warmer months. I do want to see China and Dubai again just because they are in this huge growth trajectory at the moment. I want to see how they turn out.
Julius: Dubai and China to see the progress, Australia because we only saw a small bit if the country.
Where we recommend going where fewer Americans go
Sara: Americans need to get into Croatia (avoiding July and August) and not just as a cruise ship stop. Dubai also deserves more American attention along with Vietnam and Cook Islands. For a "European" Country for a third of the price, check out Argentina (especially if you like steak and shopping).
Julius: Turkey is a great place to visit, especially all the religious sites and Croatia because it has the most unspoiled coastline.
Friendliest People
Sara: The New Zealanders and Thai have a well deserved reputation for friendliness.
Julius: The Thai and Austrians were very friendly
Most Livable City
Helsinki seemed like a good city to live in. No garbage, dog poop, graffiti, beggars, homeless. Great public transport, buildings, infrastructure, coffee, public parks and groceries. They have the best cell networks and have the highest internet access in the world. Finns are friendly and quiet and speak English well. We both agreed that this city would be a pleasure to live in.
Does anyone have a question about a country or traveling around the world? Leave it in our comments and we will get back to you!
