Three continents. Twelve countries. 201 days. From the most western of worlds to the most eastern of worlds we have taken every conceivable form of transport to negotiate countless miles over the past 6 months. Memories upon memories....we have climbed mountains and snorkled with the fish, ate anything from duck tongue to the most succulent of steaks, partied in practically every place we've visited with some of the most amazing people we've ever met....ahhh - the people! we have met some of the best, some of the craziest and some of the most genuine...people from all over the world...thank you all for helping to make this trip so memorable.
Want some stats? Want the best memories? and the worst? Here's what we've come up with - so many memories...
Countries visited:
USA – New York State, Massachusetts, California, Navada, Washington
Canada – Quebec, Ontario, British Colombia, Alberta
New Zealand – North Island, South Island
Australia – Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory
Indonesia
Thailand
Vietnam
Cambodia
Laos
Hong Kong
Macau
China
No. of days:
201 - from 29 September 2008 to 17th April 2009
No of £ spent:
Unthinkable amounts!
types of transport used:
car
overnight train
seated train
seated bus
overnight sleeper bus
local bus
rickshaw
cyclo
plane
dragon boat
cruise boat
junk boat
chinese trekker wooden boat
canoe
row boat
motorbike
scooter
bicycle
tandem bike
tube/underground
taxi
tram
jetboat
gondola
bamboo rafting
elephant
tuk tuk
and many miles on our own two feet!
Most delicious meal:
It had to be Aussie....juicy aussie surf and turf accompanied by aussie red on the banks of the Brisbane River.
Worst meal:
Matt – yellow-ish lasagna served at Italian restaurant in Chiang Mai, thailand...he was quite ill the next day!
Kirsh - Just the thought of a scorpian kebab - Beijing, China
Weirdest food:
Matt – duck tongue in Yichang, China
Kirsh - licking chicken's feet, Xian, China
Top 12 nights out (this was a hard one and try as i might i couldnt get it down to Top 10!!):
1) On 'the island' in Vang Viene, Laos - with our favorite spaniards, Jo, Blanca, Alberto and Jordi and a few Canadians thrown in for good measure...add some happy shakes and buckets and OH what a night!
2) Halloween. Vancouver, Canada with John (aka Buddy Holly!), Jorden, Marty and Christine...dress ups and live bands in THE funkiest nightclub in the whole of Canada!
3) Welcome home party. Toowoomba, Australia - Megs, Clare, Stace and the rest of the gang! home sweet home really doesnt get better until you fall down the stairs!
4) Full Moon Party, Koh Phangagan, Thailand - Em, Emily, Katie and some awesome Swedes...add a drinking game or two, buckets and a full moon on a thai beach - it doesnt get better
5) Belinda and Scott's wedding, Inverell, Australia - with a great crowd and a karaoke machine!
6) 1+1 bar, Xian, China - with our awesome Gap tour group, Serena, Doug and Andy and a bit of beautiful D-floor action from the boys
7) New Years Eve. Newcastle, Australia - with some of my fave people in the world - Ashman, Bundy, Toad and Jbot - plus all their mates and an awesome live gig
8) Gas Lamp District, San Diego – with Christy....the coolest yank in the USA and some of the worlds biggest margaritas!
9) Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong - with South African randoms, Hong Kong Rugby 7s and 'litre' beers...
10) Vegas, USA - with Erik and Lovisa, Charlene and Jo and a very lucky streak on the Roulette table
11) Banff, Canada - with our fab and funky 'Moose' tour group and more than a couple of 'ski shots'
12) Kao San Road, Bangkok, Thailand - with many a random on the street and the obligatory buckets
Top 4 Best Alcoholic Drinks
1) fishbowl margaritas in the Gas Lamp district of San Diego
2) buckets in Koh Phangan, Thailand and Vang Viene, Laos
3) glass of aussie red on the streets of Luang Prabang, Laos after drinking nothing but beer and spirits for 2 months
4) rice wine infused with dead roosters and snakes..for vitality...mmmm. The Mekong Delta, Vietnam.
Best Sporting Event Attended
Ice Hockey, Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto, Canada
Best Late Night snack
Poutine, delish canadian snack of chips, gravy and cheese curd - sounds gross but OH so nice!
Worst hangover
Kirsh - Beijing, China...it's the rice wine that did it!
Matt – after night out with randoms drinking too much whisky in Bangkok
Longest time spent in transit
Vang Viene, Laos to Hong Kong – 28hrs via bus and plane
Top 2 hotel rooms
1) The Luxor, Vegas, USA
2) The Rio Casino, Macau
Worst hotel room
Boat on Yankse River, Three Gorges, China - think grotty, small and a bathroom in which you could shower whilst sitting on the toilet complete with the smell of sewerage.
Best hostel
San Diego, Downtown HI - funky rooms and within stumbling distance of the action
Worst hostel
New York – Central Park Hostel - old lady wandering round in only her undies the whole time didn't exactly create a wholesome family atmosphere.
Accommodation set in the most picturesque place
Matt – Franz Joseph, NZ - mountains and green green grass...and the occasional mooing cow
Kirsh – Junk boat on Halong Bay, Vietnam - looking out the window to majestic limestone mountains towering out of the sea...
Top 3 Shows:
1) 'Cirque du Solei', Las Vegas
2) 'Shanghai Acrobats', Shanghai, China
3) 'Chicago', Broadway, New York
Best Adventure Activity
Matt – Bungee jumping in Queenstown, NZ
Kirsh – Shotover Jet, Queenstown, NZ
Best Airline
Bangkok Airways from Bangkok to Koh Samui...free pastries and coffee...yum!
Top 4 Most Scenic Drives
1) The Canadian Rockies - everywhere you look is yet another eye-popping mountain or breathtaking lake...waterfalls, glaciers....for picturesque scenery you really can't go past the Canadian Rockies...
2) Boston – NY - autumn leaves...say no more.
3) Arthurs pass, NZ - the most breathtaking of mountains...
4) Te Anau – Milford Sound, NZ
Most Interesting Animal
Matt – Cresent Bear, luang prabang, Vietnam
Kirsh – glowworms, Te Anau,, New zealand
Best Beach
Box Beach, Nelson's Bay, Australia...with Ashman, Mitch and Elise...a beach to ourselves and the bluest, clearest water.
Top 3 hottest bars/clubs
1) 1+1, Xian, China
2) 'Ivy', Sydney, Australia
3) 'Roxy', Vancouver, Canada
Best Tourist Attractions
USA - Universal Studios,LA
Canada - Maid of the Mist boat, Niagra Falls
NZ - Boat cruise on Milford Sound
South East Asia - The Temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia
China - The great wall of China, Beijing
Best Natural Wonder
USA - Whales Watching, Boston
Canada - Lake Louise
NZ - Milford Sound
South East Asia - Halong Bay, Vietnam
China - Limestone Mountains, Yangshuo
Most Breathtaking Moment
Matt - Bungee Jumping, Queenstown, NZ
Kirsh - first sight of Lake Louise, Canada
Scariest Moment
Matt - Bungee Jumping, Queenstown, NZ
Kirsh - About to get a tattoo, Auckland, NZ
Funniest Moment
Matt - 'I'm so Happy!' night out in Vang Viene
Kirsh - Matt, Doug and Andy and a stage in a nightclub in Xian
Most Interesting Cultural Difference
China - spitting on the street, talking loudly through shows....let alone the things they eat! ;-)
Best City (this could only be narrowed down by country and there were many contenders
USA -Matt - San Diego; Kirsh - New York and Vegas (i couldn't choose between them!)
Canada - Vancouver
NZ - Queenstown
SE Asia - Matt - Chiang Mai, Thailand; Kirsh - Luang Prabang, Laos
China - Hong Kong
What a trip of a lifetime...!!
and now, back to normalcy (whatever that is). stay tuned for wat happens next to bart and the bomb! xx
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