The End

Well this has been a fantastic year for us. We have traveled to many exciting destinations and hopefully this blog has been useful in sharing our thoughts and emotions with you.

Now that we are back to our old lives, it is time to reconnect with loved ones and friends. We’ve met some great people this year and we sincerely hope we can keep in close touch with them. To our readers from France, Oman, Indonesia, Argentina, etc, our door in Ottawa is open for you.

That’s it for now. Thanks for having followed our adventures.

Final wrap-up - Ania`s version

I wanted to prepare a similar ranking to what Marc has published. But I found it too hard to compare places that I loved (or hated) for so many different reasons. So instead, I decided to name my favorites in different categories. I can already see where Marc will disagree :)

Best city: I think I will go with San Francisco – I liked the look of the city, I loved strolling through all the different districts, I appreciated the balance between the high-rise, big-city feel and nature in numerous parks. And, of course, I adored the food!

The close second place I would give to Hong Kong. I wouldn’t like to live there but it was incredible to experience the liveliness of the city (especially by night) or to visit some of its electronic markets. The huge sky scrapers and all the lights in the night and all the traffic – it all left me very impressed, if slightly dizzy.

I would have added Buenos Aires at the third place but unfortunately my memories from this places are skewed – first Marc and I got really, really sick (no heating anywhere) and when we got better, our backpack was stolen. I might like Buenos Aires but, obviously, Buenos Aires doesn’t like me :)

Best for trekking: Hawaii will take the first place in this category. Hiking around huge volcano craters was absolutely out of this world. And if one is fed up with dry lunar landscapes, there are plenty of trails leading along lush greenery as well. It’s a great place for half a day walk, as well as a multi-day trekking experience.

Philippines also deserve a special mention – the few days Marc and I spent in the village of Batad, hiking around rice terraces, were absolutely magical.

Best for interpersonal experience: Definitely, absolutely the first place goes to Oman!!! My time in Oman certainly changed my way of seeing this part of the world. The warmth of the people is unparalleled to any other country I have ever visited in my life. And I made friends there with whom I sincerely hope to stay in touch for a long time. Of course, there are a number of cultural issues on which I will probably never agree with my Omani friends.

While there is no other destination comparable to Oman, I would like nevertheless to give the second place to Indonesia (but NOT Bali). I was shocked by the openness of the people of Java, their sincere interest in the world beyond Indonesia, their enthusiasm in learning foreign languages and their hunger to learn more about other countries.

Best for landscapes/natural wonders: Definitely Bolivia. This country has a variety of different but equally stunning landscapes that is unequal to any other place I have seen; Salt lakes, red lakes with pink flamingos, stunning mountains, and the Amazon jungle with one of the richest biodiversity in the world.

The second place I would give to Argentina for the most beautiful glacier I have ever seen (Perito Moreno), and the northern part with beautiful rock formations.

Argentina shares the second place with Australia for the Great Barrier Reef and magical places hidden in the desert such as Karijini Park or Uluru.

Best monument/human-made landmark: this is hard to decide but I think the most impressive for me was the Buddhist temple Borobudur in Indonesia. It was built in the 7^th century, then forgotten for ages and ages, until it was re-discovered in the 20^th century. It is impressive enough to constitute a sole reason to visit Java Island, even if one is not interested in anything else the island has to offer.

The second best thing might be the twin towers in Kuala Lumpur. Overall, I wasn’t too much impressed with Malaysia and I would go somewhere else (i.e. Singapore or Hong Kong) to admire contemporary architecture. But I must admit, the Kuala Lumpur towers are impressive because of their grandeur and because of the architecture. It’s a beautiful mix of contemporary high-rise architecture and traditional Arabian patterns and motives. Definitely worth seeing.

Best to kick back and relax: definitely Fiji, no question about it. Fantastic people, beautiful islands and nothing to distract me: no big mountains to climb, no famous ruins to visit – one can just lay down and admire the surroundings without feeling guilty :).

Southern Thailand will take the second place in this category. The beaches are very picturesque with dramatic rock formations around them, the coral is reasonably healthy, and for all the nice places in the northern part of the country, there is nothing incredible enough to see that one would want to sacrifice an extra day or two of enjoyment on the beach.

Places I want to visit again, as soon as possible: Oman, The Philippines, Hawaii, Indonesia (NOT Bali)

Places I don’t think I will be coming back to: Bali, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand (for the last three places, it is not that I didn’t like them. I simply saw enough to feel satisfied about them and ready to move on)

Well, this is about it. This was my last post in the blog. I can’t honestly say that I will miss writing my posts (especially with so many other things to do around the world…) but I must admit I’m nostalgic. This means that there will be no more exciting places to describe and adventures to relate. Well, I can always re-live last year by reading the blog. Or, I can bore my friends to death with endless stories from the trip - Beware!

Final Wrap-up - Marc`s version

We finally made it to Ottawa a few days ago. There was a snowstorm in Newark which delayed our arrival. To make a long story short, we missed our connection from Newark to Ottawa on Saturday. Instead of landing in Newark, we landed in Philadelphia and had to bus to Newark. We lined up in front of the Continental office from, get this, 3:30 AM until 11:00 Am. It took us more than 7 hours to be able to talk to an agent. This was an absolute debacle. Well anyway, we made it safely back home.

As I promised, here is my ranking of the destinations we visited this year :

1 = Oman

Pros: The weather, the people, the landscapes, the sultan, and pretty everything else in the country. That’s the one destination you want to visit ASAP before mass tourism catches on this gem.

Cons: Well, if you are ideologically against visiting a Muslim country, then well, avoid Oman. So that means local women take the back seat when it comes to enjoying life outside. Also, Oman gets boiling hot in summer and there is not much to do during the siesta.

2 = Australia

Pros: Ahh, Australia. Great diversity of landscapes with some of the most stunning beaches, canyons, and gorges in the world. Fossicking for precious stones! Our friend Marty!

Cons: Horribly expensive: food, hostels, gas, everything is expensive. Australians treat Aborigines poorly.

3 = Hawaii (United States)

Pros: Stunning landscapes for such small islands. Terrific trekking options. The beach is gorgeous and the waves fantastic (but not in winter – see my post on the subject). The astronomy centre and Volcano Park on Big Island are unique attractions. DO NOT MISS.

Cons: Not much in that department. Maybe the flights between the islands could be cheaper. Also it is a bit hard to find hostels, and the placement for road signs is terrible.

4 = Fiji

Pros: Such nice locals! They really enjoy talking to strangers. Stunning islands and stunning snorkeling. Cheap.

Cons: Some resorts are poor quality. Not much to see outside of the beach. Nadi isn’t great.

5 = Bolivia

Pros: One of the most diverse countries we’ve seen this year: it has jungle, mountains, deserts, you name it! The town of Sucre.

Cons: Quechua people are not very warm to strangers. Food served in restaurants revolve around fried chicken and French fries. Garbage is everywhere as there is no environmental awareness whatsoever. Bolivia would rank higher if it wasn’t for the terrible state of the environment.

6 = Hong Kong

Pros: Incredible show of lights. Hong Kong by night is breathtaking and vibrant. Cheap food, cheap beer, cheap wine. The best place in the world to buy electronic gadgets – at a discout.

Cons: Space is an issue, so hotel rooms are minuscule. Lots of restaurants have menus written only in Chinese.

7 = Singapore

Pros: Singapore is a island of order and cleanliness in chaotic and polluted South-East Asia. So refreshing! Marina Bay Sands resort!

Cons: Singapore is not an exciting destination. The city won’t hesitate to can your behind if you drink coke in a subway or spit on the floor.

8 = Philippines

Pros: Best trekking in South-East Asia. Filipinos are very nice, franc, and direct.

Cons: Manila is terribly poor and overcrowded.

9 = Chile

Pros: The most well-organized country in South America. The amazing night sky around San Pedro de Atacama.

Cons: San Pedro gets cold in winter!

10 = Java (Indonesia)

Pros: Beautiful Buddhist and Hindu temples in Yogyakarta. Fabulous kids we met in a local school (we are still in contact with a few of them!).

Cons: It’s VERY poor and quite polluted.

11 = Argentina

Pros: Perito Moreno Glacier, the most spectacular we’ve seen this year. Great variety of landscapes. Cheap, excellent wine across the country. Beautiful Patagonia!

Cons: Horrible security in major urban centers. Violent assaults for thefts are too common. Also a bit of milk-the-tourist attitude around major attractions.

12 = Thailand

Pros: Pleasant across the board and the easiest country to travel to in South-East Asia. Thai food is the best!

Cons: Overrated. We’ve heard so many people rave about Thailand but the country has nothing unique to offer. Thai people have made an industry of the Karen people and are treating animals (elephants in particular) very poorly.

13 = San Francisco (United States)

Pros: Great city, very pedestrian friendly, great and cheap asian food. The walk along the ocean is very pleasant.

Cons: The temperature is never really perfect.

14 = Miami

Pros: Relaxing! Finally feeling “secure” after leaving South America.

Cons: Well, Miami is primarily about the beach. So no excitement here.

15 = Peru

Pros: It is better organized than neighbor Bolivia. Trekking around Huarez?

Cons: Absolutely overpriced in so many respects. Machu Pichu is a bit overrated.

16 = Malaysia

Pros: The twin towers in Kuala Lumpur!

Cons: Restaurants often try to cheat the clients. Taxi drivers as well. Malaysia suffers from being a “transitory” destination: if you are in Malaysia you are either on your way to Singapore or on your way to Thailand.

17 = New Zealand

Pros: Beautiful mountains.

Cons: Overrated as there are no unique attractions or landscapes like Australia. Quite a bit expensive for what it offers.

Bali (Indonesia) = 18

Pros: hmm…maybe Ubud is OK.

Cons: Where do I start? Horribly polluted, drugs, rampant prostitution (“massage, massage, massage”), and constant harassment to buy all kinds of useless trinkets. Contact with the locals is virtually impossible. There are a few million other destinations I would like to go to in my life before I go back to Bali. Avoid.