Our Travelling Digest

This entire blog has been of epic-proportions! We've detailed our every stop, travel and sight-seeing moment in these pages. We don't blame you if you haven't had the time (or couldn't be bothered!) to read each one. We also know lots of you will ask us the same questions when we return. So to make it easier all-round, here is our handy 10-minute summary digest for you to enjoy whilst sipping on a cup of tea. Consider it our way of bringing you bang up to date on what we have been up to in the last 6 months... all in 1 teeny weeny blog post!

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Some FAQs to begin with:

How long have you been away for? 6 months

Where did you go? USA, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan, India, Dubai

What was your favourite country? Peru - for all it had to offer: fascinating Inca culture and ruins, Macchu Picchu, amazing scenery and great trekking, lovely kind people.

Did you have a good time? Absolutely! Unforgettable!!

Were there any difficult bits? Yes, some, but fortunately we stayed safe and well throughout the trip. Of course we had moments of missing family and friends and the comfort of our own home but it was all worth it for what we got to see and do.

How much did it all cost you? Wouldn't you like to know!!! Ask us if you need advice on travel budgeting, we under spent by 14% against projected budget (Google docs - zindabad!)

What was your biggest splurge? Diving with Quicksilver in the Great Barrier Reef

What was your cheapest meal? 2 masala dosas for 54 Rupees (US$1.10) in Kerala, India (might have got a touch of Delhi Belly with this though!)

Did you get ripped off? Not really, but got taken on the 'long way round' taxi journey which cost 10 USD but should have been 1 USD! Small amount taken from my credit card in San Fransisco. Others were generally just local scams and misinformation which were more annoyance then attacks on the wallet.

What was your worst toilet experience? Alkesh - round the back of a shack on day 2 of the Macchu Pichu Trek. Navita - at an Angkor temple... best not to ask the specifics!

Did you meet any 'special' characters? Yes! Only Brazil's #2 Michael Jackson impersonator! He sang and danced for us at the hostel barbecue in Iguazu.

Any memorable quotes? Someone on our Galapagos trip told us not to worry about bottled water, cause he had an 'expedition standard, water filtration system' with him! Priceless...

When did you fear for your life? Definitely traversing up and down landslides on our way to Macchu Picchu. If this was known before, there's no way we would have ever done this!

Where did you have the best food? Vietnam, due to the quality, low cost and variety of cuisine, especially the delicious food at 'Morning Glory' restaurant in Hoi An - yum!

Where was the worst food? Argentina, for sure. Unless you like steak every day of the year, or rubbish pasta and thick crust pizza, not much going on here.

What did you argue over most? Where to eat within a certain cost bracket. Throw in a vegetarian and things get interesting!

What experience surprised you the most? The Temples of Angkor. Relatively understated in worldwide appeal, but seriously cool and worthy of at least 3 full days of your trip.

What was your worst night sleep? Non-AC house boat in Kerala. Hot, humid and room fan was running on 1/4 power.

What have you gained from this experience? A greater interest and thirst for knowledge of this fascinating world than ever before! Also, knowing I can live side by side with my life partner for 6 months straight, 24/7!

What was the best decision you made on the fly? Cancelling our pre-booked over priced Inca trek during the landslides and getting all our money back using small print to our advantage (others who did same got nothing back)!

What was the most regrettable decision you had to make? Avoiding Thailand due to the civil unrest.

Did the backpacker thing ever go too far ever? Yes. Alkesh haggled tooth and nail over 1 soles in Peru (25 cents) showing frustration over bad computers in an internet cafe.

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Next, we've put together some of the bits which we didn't need or want to write as part of the normal blogs. Just coming up with this list was entertaining enough, and done whilst sipping an iced-coffee in a peaceful garden in Tokyo. Enjoy!

Travelling by numbers:

Visted 40 major towns/cities,
across 14 different countries(excluding those visted in-transit).
Stayed in 54 different hotels, hostels, friends/family homes, tents and campervans.
Taken 36 flights,
20 buses,
2 trains,
1 boat,
1 car drive,
and 1 campervan tour for 7 days.
Spent 180 days abroad,
144 hours blogging,
and 40 hours calling family and friends with skype.
We've used up 15 bottles of shower gel,
4 cans of bug spray,
180 malaria tablets,
and 750 ml of sunscreen.
We've taken 5 GB worth of videos,
and 15 GB of photos snapped.
We've spotted 2 celebrities.


Highlights (in no particular order):

• Parasailing in Nha Trang, Vietnam
• Trekking to Macchu Pichu, Peru
• Snorkelling with penguins, turtles, seal lions, iguana, and reef sharks in Galapogos Islands, Ecuador
• Seeing Neeta, Jilan, Siana, Joshan in Dubai
• Scamming free drinks in Las Vegas, USA
• Partying hard at the Rio Carnival, Brazil
• Getting soaked in the worlds biggest waterfalls in Iguazu, Argentina/Brazil
• Campervanning on the South Islands, New Zealand
• Diving with white tipped sharks in colourful Great Barrier Reef, Austrailia and the wreck of the USS Liberty, Bali
• Watching Ramayana Ballet in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
• Reacquainting with freinds and family in Indonesia and Singapore
• Exporing the temples of Angkor, Cambodia
• Playing with the latest gadgets in Tokyo
• Relaxing on a house-boat through the backwaters of Kerala

What we'll miss...

• This type of freedom
• Complete selfish indulgence
• Living from one day to the next, everyday looking for fun things to do
• Experiencing new sites, sounds, cultures, food, people and language
• Avoiding the rat race

What we won't miss...

• 2 attacks of bed bugs
• The major cut to Alkesh's finger, needing 2 stitches
• 1 turd found in our hotel shower cubicle (from the house dog!)
• Travel clothes - they need burning!
• Living in hostels
• Excessive budgetting
• Long and tiring transits
• Recycling underwear
• Early morning flights with 3-4am starts
• Missing family birthdays and friends weddings
• Constant regurgitating of our travels plans to other travellers
• Repacking our backpacks
• Attack by mosquitoes in Haast, New Zealand

Wish we'd done...

• Patagonia, Argentina
• Salt flats in Bolivia
• Thailand
• Oz with more time and money
• Driving across the USA
• Amazonian rainforest in Brazil
• Getting tailoring done in Hoi An, Vietnam
• Cooking course in Hoi An, Vietnam
• Goa, India