 Trip summary in statistics Duration: 21 January 2005 to 21 March 2005 Countries (not including airport layovers or home country): India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, South Korea, Japan
Flights: 7
Airports in the top 30-busiest visited for the first time:
Trains (not including subways or Tokyo area commuter lines): 22
Other modes of transportation:
Longest in any one place: 3 full nights Highest elevation: Tiger Hill, Darjeeling, around 10,000 ft. Major world icons seen (or glimpsed): Taj Mahal, Everest, Angkor Wat, Fuji Percentage of Americans who own valid U.S. passports, according to the State Department: 21% (hot topic among Americans abroad right now, but the statistic is only an estimate based on annual passport issuance figures) Most fatiguing journey: Vientiane to Siem Reap Country (of those I visited) I would like most to go back to or learn the language of: Japan or Thailand Country (of those I visited) with the most historical anger on display in museums: South Korea Country (of those I visited) that seemed the poorest and least developed: India 2004 per capital PPP of countries I visited: Japan, $28,800; S. Korea, $17,800; Thailand, $7,400; India, $2,900; Cambodia, $1,900; Laos, $1,700 Most expensive country: Japan Cheapest country: Thailand Time zones visited, using the U.S. Naval Observatory chart: E (GMT +5), though India is off by 0:30; G (GMT +7); I (GMT +9) Continental plates visited: Eurasia, India Biggest tourist trap visited (in terms of atmosphere, not prices): Siem Reap Most dangerous situation: motorcycle ride in cow-thronged Ahmedabad to catch up with already-departed bus Sickest: Kyoto (was it the sushi?) Most unplanned thing I did: Tiger Hill jeep ride in Darjeeling Place I'd least like to live: Ahmedabad Place with the most blatant poverty I saw: Mumbai CST (AKA Victoria Terminus) and rail yards Most blatant example of American cultural & corporate imperialism spotted: NY Metropolitan Museum of Art store in Bangkok mall. Best example of Ugly American or Ugly European spotted: older American woman on a train addressing an anti-Bush tirade to Indians she'd just met, then asking if they knew that India had never invaded any country. Presumably they know more than she about their own country, but as a statement of fact it's controversial at best. There was an awkward silence and nobody followed up or seconded her. Best spot for drinks I went to: Red Piano Bar, Siem Reap Biggest scam encountered: shared truck to Siem Reap scam Biggest (and costliest, and dumbest) mistake: lost $350 when I sent my pants to the laundry at Hotel55 in Delhi with emergency U.S. currency in the secret pocket I'd had sewed in. Toughest bureaucracy: Indian railway reservations Best deal: River View Guest House, a hotel in Chiang Kong, $8/night, a/c, toilet, uninterrupted view up and down the Mekong, TV, restaurant nearby, entire hotel to myself, breakfast, taxi ride to border in rental car early in the morning; they took care of speedboat reservation and offered a good deal on advanced Laos visa which I regretted not taking. Best Internet connection overall (price, speed, setting): Chiang Mai Hotel Montri (I made my reservation back to NYC there) Most beautiful sight: Taj Majal Most beautiful place overall: Darjeeling Place I had the most difficulty communicating and getting what I needed: Delhi Place I felt the most unwelcome and uncomfortable: Friday Mosque, Old Delhi Best food: South Indian food at the wedding hall, Chennai Worst food: noodles I ordered at street vendor in Siem Reap and, in an attempt to get Pad Thai, ended up with raw egg. Worst overall deal on food (price and quality): Coimbatore Hotel Residency (with Dave), laughably slow and uncoordinated service, profoundly overpriced food at a luxury/business hotel. Worst examples of American chains I frequented for comfort food: 7-11 (now Japanese owned), Pizza Hut (Bangkok, once), Mister Donut (several times in Japan). Place I learned the most: Japan (language and history - I didn't know much about Japan before I went, in contrast to India which I'd been studying) Three biggest take-aways: (1) It's even easier to get around the world that I thought; (2) English is even more widely spoken that I thought (or feared); (3) some so-called developing countries seem fully developed (Thailand, South Korea), but I don't know why they are classified that way. |