Around the World - Wrap Up
As
if in a blink of an eye, our 13-month long sabbatical around the world has come
to a completion. We visited 42 countries on 6 continents, all with their own
history, traditions, and nature. We traveled to as far north as Fairbanks,
Alaska (64.8378 N), as far south as Te Anau New Zealand (45.4145 S), as high in
the elevation as 6000 km above the sea level in Peru, as low in elevation as 2
meters below sea level in the Netherlands, watched the moon rise along the
Southern cross in the darkest night sky on earth with minimal light-pollution in
New Zealand, stood with one foot in the southern and one foot in the northern
hemisphere, spent nights on the floating islands of Lake Titicaca in Peru, flew
in a helicopter over Mount Cook in New Zealand, bathed and fed the elephants in
Thailand, endured a heat of 107 degrees Fahrenheit in Australia, snorkeled and
scuba dove with the world’s most elusive species such as manta rays and whale
sharks, petted wombats and Tasmanian Devils, stood face to face with the only known
dragons of Komodo, bathed with snow monkeys, and much more.
Most
importantly, our travels helped us learn more about the world history.
Specifically, we visited museums and memorials dedicated to the ancient
civilizations of the Khmer, Egyptian and Inca empires, World War I, World War
II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Armenian Genocide Museum,
Chilean Museum of Memory and Human Rights, and Brazilian Museum of
Tomorrow. We also experienced many local protests and riots firsthand (our car
got hit with a stone). But, what we have come to realize is that no matter
where you go, people are trying to make a living and take care of their
families. As Luke Bryan sings in his song “I believe this world ain't half as
bad as it looks. I believe most people are good.”
Having
said that, we would like to thank our parents for the unconditional love and
support that they showed throughout our sabbatical. We would also like to thank
our siblings and their families for their support and patience throughout our
journey. Additionally, our thanks go out to our extended families (uncles,
aunts, and cousins) who joined us on our adventures or who have otherwise
showed us their support. Also, many thanks to our former employers and
coworkers for their continued support and encouragement in our decision. Many
thanks to our overseas friends and family without whom our adventures would not
be as exciting and informative. Finally, we thank all the people who have made
our experience as memorable as it was. This includes, restaurant and bar
service staff, hotels staff, airline crews, call center staff, land transit
drivers and captains and their crews, walking tour guides, social media followers, and everyone
else!
Section
1
To
wrap up our blog, we would like to share with you our top memories and
experiences by country each country in chronological order. *M stands for Michael's favorites and J stands for Julia's favorites.
- Ireland – M = red beer at Reilly’s Bar; J = DoDublin Hop On Hop Off Bus
- Switzerland - M = Bernina Express; J = InterContinental Davos and homemade 3-course dinner
- Bulgaria - M = Vitosha Mountains; J = the Bulgarian tradition of Martenitsa and local food
- Turkey – M = Hagia Sophia and Ephesus; J = the Bosporus Strait and baklava
- Greece - M = black olives and the daily living of the island of Samos; J = homemade food and the monasteries
- Indonesia – M = the Tegallalang Rice Terrace and the Komodo dragons ; J = InterContinental Bali Resort and manta rays
- Japan – M = Dewa Sanzan pilgrimage (mount Haguro, Gassan, and Yugono), traditional Japanese green tea house; J = rice fields and onsen
- Hong Kong – M = A Symphony of Lights Show and Temple Street Night Market; J = swimming in the outdoors pool at night at Conrad Hong Kong and trying dim sum
- Macau – M = ruins of St. Paul’s; J = enjoying the House of dancing Water show
- Philippines – M = snorkling with whale sharks and scuba diving to see the WWII sunken ship; J = sea activities, sunsets, and Manila Ocean Park
- Brunei – M = Omar Ali Mosque and exotic Bander Sari Begawan; J = strolling the manicured and beautifully lit gardens of the mosque at night
- Malaysia – M = hiking in Gunung Mulu National Park and Bako National Park; J = feeding the parrots at the Kuala Lumpur Taman Burung Bird Park and experiencing the night markets at Malacca
- Singapore – M = visiting the Gardens by the Bay and the Jewel; J = free botanical garden with black swans and monitor lizards and getting around the city without ever going outside
- Vietnam – M = Ho Chi Minh and the Saigon Sunset River Tour; J = beauty spa day and Park Hyatt Saigon
- Cambodia – M = Angkor Wat and tuk tuk rides; J = local youth theater and mango's
- Thailand – M & J= Elephant sanctuary, Thai food, and relaxing in Koh Samui
- Taiwan – M = the National Palace Museum and driving around the coast of the island; J = Modern Toilet Restaurant and making a scroll at Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum
- South Korea – M = partying at J Club, learning KPop, and a day at the traditional Korean photo shoot at Jeonju Hanok Village; J = beauty treatments, watching an artist create personalized scrolls for us, and seeing the night Seoul
- Alaska – M & J = walking on the glaciers and driving into Valdez, animal encounters
- Spain – M = city of Toledo and the Magic Fountain of Montjuic show; J = Catalan architect Gaudi and Plaza Del Sol
- Andorra – M & J = taking an outdoor nap in the Pyrenees Mountains and The Miniature Museum
- Sweden – M = getting cooking lessons from Gustav and exploring the Fulufjallets national park; J = visiting Gustav’s family on their island and enjoying fika in Stockholm
- Norway – M = learning about the WWII history in Nybergsund town; J = eating wild raspberries
- Germany - M = trying vegan kebab at Vegan Summer Festival Berlin, spa day at InterContinental Berlin, dinner with the Bonackers in Munich, and exploring Cologne; J = having dinner and beer at Hofbrauhaus and Rathaus-Glockenspiel show
- Czech Republic - M = National Marionette Theater show; L = following in Mozart’s footsteps
- Latvia - M = seeing House of the Blackheads; J = enjoying the Priority Pass lounge at the airport and seeing Art Nouveau architecture in Riga
- Georgia - M = Georgian orthodox churches and visiting the Uplistsikhe cave town; J = walking tour of Tbilisi, the food, the performance at Tsiskvili restaurant
- Armenia - M = Dancing Fountains in Erevan and day trip to lake Savan; J = food and the Armenian Genocide Museum
- Austria - M = Austrian National Library; J = the architecture and Karlskirche
- Hungary - M = Szechenyi Bath and daytrip up the Danube river; J = relaxing at the Petnehazy Club Hotel and visiting the Budapest downtown
- Slovakia - M = Bratislava city art on the communist buildings; J = learning from the walking tour about the Soviet past
- Egypt - M = the Giza Necropolis and Coptic Rubbish City; J = the Giza Necropolis and visiting the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities
- Colombia - M = the Walled City of Old Cartagena; J = enjoying the Hilton Cartagena
- Ecuador - M = animals and scenery of the Galapagos islands and feeding iguanas in the Parque Seminario; J = visiting the Middle of the Earth (Equator line)
- Peru - M & J = visiting Machu Picchu and hiking Huayuna Picchu and staying on Lake Titicaca; animal encounters throughout the country
- Brazil - M = getting together with Naim and trying local vegetarian soups, visiting Iguazu Falls; J = Iguazu Falls and visiting Christ the Redeemer, soccer game at Maracana Stadium
- Chile - M = going to Petrohue Waterfalls Park and hiking the snowy volcano of Osorno; J = hiking the Muelle De Las Almas and visiting the penguin sanctuary
- Argentina - M & J = paragliding in Mendoza and relaxing at the San Carlos de Bariloche resort, playing golf in Patagonia Mountains
- New Zealand - M = exploring Mount Cook by helicopter and from across the lake Te Anau, hiking lake Wanaka Isthmus Peak Trek; J = seeing Mount Cook, helicopter ride, visiting all the Lord of the Rings filming sites and the Dark Sky Project
- Australia - M & J = cricket game at Optus Stadium in Perth, getting caught up in Australian Open 2020, and all of the hiking and nature of Tasmania
- Netherlands - M = enjoying the Van Gogh museum ad relaxing at Waldorf Astoria; J = visiting De Wallen (the Red-Light district) and enjoying the architecture
- Croatia - M & J = enjoying the view of Zagreb out of Westin hotel
Section 2
Finally,
we would like to share with you our top memories and experiences across the
board, organized by various categories.
Top
5 Beaches
Mike
|
Julia
|
|
|
Top 5 National
Parks
Mike
|
Julia
|
|
|
Top
10 Hotels
Mike
& Julia
|
|
Top
6 Airport Lounges
Mike
& Julia
|
|
Top
5 Unique Food Experiences
Mike
|
Julia
|
|
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Top 5 Challenges
Mike
|
Julia
|
|
|
Top 10 Animal
Encounters
Mike
& Julia
|
|
Top 11 Natural
Wonders
Mike
& Julia
|
|
Top
10 Man-Made Wonders
Mike & Julia
|
|
Top
10 Water Activities
Mike
& Julia
|
|
Overall Top 11 Unforgettable
Experiences
Mike
& Julia
|
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Top 10 Hikes
Mike
& Julia
|
|
Top
5 Cities
Mike
|
Julia
|
|
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Top 6 Museums
Mike
|
Julia
|
|
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5 things I wish I
had in my luggage
Mike
|
Julia
|
|
|
2019 and 2020
world events that impacted our travel one way or the other
Mike
& Julia
|
|
Thank you for being a part of our amazing year around the world experience!
