A year's worth of experiences are almost impossible to process. The beginning of our journey on July 13th seems so long ago. Mediterranean Turkey and Greece and Israel - all of which we visited in our first month of travel - seem like distant dreams.
The days when there was an entire journey in front of us were both exciting and a little nerve wracking. We weren't completely sure we could really make it through a year let alone work in all the places we wanted to travel. In the end, we didn't back away from a single place or thing. We did it all our way. Sometimes with some cost and pain - but our way, and we're glad.
Of course, there were the better and worse moment and the things we loved and hated. Over the past two months, we have been compiling our list of "best of's" and "worst of's." We hope they help someone, somewhere in some small way....
Best Hotel(s)
Emily: Keraleeyam Resort, Kerala, India and Anjani Haveli, Udaipur, India
Eric: Royal Asia Resort, Bangkok and Empress Hotel, Saigon
Worst Hotel
Some decieivingly nice looking hotel that turned out to be moldy, smoky and loud that we stayed in for one night in Cochin, Kerala, India
Best Shower
Both: Bali
Worst Shower
Both: Monumental Paradise Guesthouse, Kathmandu (We had to go to room 708 if we wanted hot water)
Eric: Alexis Hotel, Crete (close second because it flooded the bathroom)
Best Flight
Emily: Jet Air, First Class cabin Kathmandu to Mumbai
Eric: Etihad Airlines, Istanbul to Delhi via Abu Dhabi
Worst Flight
Emily: Air Asia, Bangkok to Bali - plane was too cold
Eric: Rhodes to Crete, Greece - plane was so small our bags needed their own seats
Best Cuisine
Emily: Indian
Eric: Balinese
Worst Cuisine
Emily: Israeli (lack of food that was different from home), Hong Kong (specialties aren't her favorite)
Eric: Israeli (often bland, limited selection), Northern Indian (too heavy)
Favorite Destination
Emily: Patmos, Bali, Kerala, Jodhpur
Eric: Patmos, Bali, Kerala, Istanbul
Most Disappointing Destination
Emily: Penang
Eric: Crete (I expected so much more), Kathmandu (too hard with work)
Favorite Surface Transportation
Emily: The Jodhpur Express
Eric: Train de Grande Vitesse (TGV), France; Ferry from Patmos to Samos
Worst Surface Transportation
Emily: Mui Wo - Hong Kong Ferry when she was nauseated by the typhoon waves
Eric: Bus from Jodhpur to Udaipur
Best Snack Item
Emily: Pani pourri (Indian/Nepali), gundruk (Nepal and roasted squid and liver on sticks (Thailand)
Eric: Baklava (Yes, I snacked on it in buses and taxis)
Worst Snack/Food Tried
Emily: Durian
Eric: "Little Fish" on Patmos
Scariest Moment
Emily: The fire in Kathmandu
Eric: When our taxi driver made a u-turn in across five lanes on the largest road in Kathmandu
Would Have Done Differently Had We Known
Emily: Gone straight to Hotel Vadra in Kathmandu, rather than our first guesthouse
Eric: No 16-hour bus from Istanbul to Alanya, no hotel by the airport in Crete the night before we flew and no first, crappy guesthouse in Kathmandu
Wish We Had Packed
Emily: A watch for her husband
Eric: Deet mosquito repellent for Kerala, electric clippers
Didn't Need To Pack
Emily: Long underwear
Eric: Long underwear
Glad We Packed
Emily: Q-tips
Eric: Extra sweatshirt (because my wife always steals mine), Benadryl gel, flashlight, sarongs
Favorite Hotel Staff Or Owner
Emily: Nicholas and family in Patmos, everyone at Keraleeyam Resort, Kerala
Eric: Nicholas in Patmos, George in Kerala, everyone at Evsen Hotel Istanbul and Royal Asia Resort Bangkok
Grossest Moment
Emily: Walking through an outdoor food market outside Vientiane, Laos (but she also liked it)
Eric: Stuck in a crowd near the bathrooms at the Kathmandu Airport while waiting to board. (I didn't also like it)
Most Embarrassing Moment
Emily: One block away from our hotel in Vientiane, Emily realized she couldn't make it and ran into a restaurant to use their restroom. They didn't want to allow her since she wasn't a customer, but she begged and ran into the bathroom, then bought a bottled water and left in shame.
Eric: in Thailand, I asked a 7-Eleven cashier if they had a machine that dispenses Thai iced tea (most stores do). She said they didn't. I meant to say, "That's a shame," but instead said, "You should be ashamed. Thank you, see you again," and left. I realized the mistake seconds after leaving.
Saddest Moment
Emily: Emily encountered a very sick, injured tiny puppy in Kathmandu. It was probably going to die soon. She didn't know what to do and regrets not having scooped it up with her pashmina and taken it for help.
Eric: We went to one of Delhi's most famous restaurants. It turned out to be in a very poor section of Old Delhi. Between the people lying all over the streets, struggling to keep warm and get food - many very sick - and us going to eat a great meal along with Delhi's upper classes, I felt very badly.
Most Elated Moment
Emily: When she saw her mom and Aunt Penny come out of the airport in Bali, when we landed in Kathmandu and seeing her friend Rabina again in Kathmandu.
Eric: When we got confirmation we could have the house in our Bali compound, when I arrived in Cannes, seeing Ziv in Israel after so many years and when Emily and I reunited in Istanbul.
Best Activity
Emily: Halong Bay cruise
Eric: Boat trip off the coast of Hania, Crete where we got to jump off the boat, swim and snorkel with Sharon and Autumn.
Biggest Challenge
Emily: Working in Nepal
Eric: Working in Nepal, establishing working Internet systems in Kerala.
Place That Most Surprised Us
Emily: Mumbai - She expected it to be like Delhi, but it was wealthier and much more developed.
Eric: Vietnam - I liked it much more than I expected and it was far more developed than I had imagined.
Best Beverages
Emily: Cold - avocado juice in Bali, Hot - Bali coffee, Alcoholic - ouzo in Greece and Beer Lao
Eric: Cold - Thai iced tea, Hot - Indian chai with cardamom
Best Dessert
Emily: Vietnamese mung bean and ice dessert, Patmos chocolate cake and chocolate infused camembert from Cannes.
Eric: Paris Match pastry from Casa Luna in Ubud, Bali and pumpkin candied chestnut pudding in Istanbul.
Best Bed
Both: Tune Hotel, Penang, Malaysia.
Best Laundry
Emily: Bali because it was best, but also Hania, Crete because they gave us raki to drink with Sharon and Autumn.
Eric: Bali.
Best Music
Emily: Nepali, Hindi and Greek pop
Eric: Greek pop
Best Massage
Emily: Thai massage on Soi Rangnam, around the corner from our Bangkok hotel, Milano Day Spa in Ubud, Bali and barber who also gives massages near our hotel in Udaipur, India.
Eric: Milano Day Spa in Ubud.
Worst Massage
Emily: Saigon
Eric: Hanoi when the masseuse turned out to be a prostitute who got grabby and wouldn't take no easily.
Most Innovative Concept
Emily: Automated fly swatter in Laos. People hung mobile-like devices that spun over their street food stands to keep flies away.
Eric: First class movie theater at the Paragon mall in Bangkok. Unreal.
Best Internet
Emily: Israel
Eric: France
Worst Internet
Both: Nepal
Best Taxis
Emily: Rhodes, Greece (all Mercedes) and Singapore.
Eric: Singapore with Hong Kong as a close second.
Worst Taxis
Emily: Kathmandu
Eric: Kathmandu followed closely by Delhi
Favorite Sight
Emily: Halong Bay, Vietnam, Jodhpur Fort, Boudanath Stupa in Kathmandu
Eric: Old Grasse, Taj Mahal and Udaipur Palace
Least Favorite Sight
Emily: Ubud Palace
Eric: Pashupati Temple in Kathmandu (cremation temple)
Favorite Decorative Item Purchased
Both: Paintings from Bali we bought from a local artist with a roadside gallery.
Best Book Read
Emily: Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
Eric: Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk
Most Touching Thing
Emily: Seeing her friend Rabina
Eric: Etz Hayim Synagogue in Hania, Crete - which a single man restored and is trying to keep alive after Nazi destruction.
Easiest Currency
Emily: Nepali Rupees (familiar)
Eric: Indonesian Rupiah and Vietnamese Dong (divisible by 10,000 and 20,000) respectively
Most Difficult Currency
Both: Lao Kip (confusing)
Most For The Dollar
Both: Bali, India and Vietnam
Least For The Dollar
Both: Israel and Greece
Most Romantic
Both: Patmos, Kerala, Bali, Halong Bay
Least Romantic
Emily: Saigon and Hong Kong
Eric: Kathmandu and Delhi
Friendliest
Emily: Nepal
Eric: Kerala and Laos
Most Impactful
Emily: Nepal and India
Eric: India
Best Surprise
Emily: When she opened up the doors to our bungalow the first morning at Keraleeyam and saw the backwaters - and that her husband actually wrote a blog entry every single day.
Eric: All the friends and guests - Sharon, Autumn, Tony, Ziv, Hila, Alisa, Ori, Arti, Conlan, Susan, Aunt Penny, Jacob, Diana, Chad, Rina, Jay.
Well I sure am going to miss reading this daily blog. Its the end of an era! Eric, I will email you when you get back and settled, have a little gift for the two of you in the next stage of your life. xxxooo
Posted by: Arti | 06/27/2011 at 11:16 AM