Homeward bound. Reflections and travel tips.

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We go home tomorrow after 6 months on the road. A trip that took us to 3 continents, 18 countries, many islands, and dozens of cities. We traveled by airplane, boat, bus, train, minivan, car, bicycle, rickshaw, funicular, foot, horse carriage, and elephant. We went to countries that were Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist. It was the trip of a lifetime... so far. We hope to do something similar every 4 or 5 years.
Our favorite countries? That's easy, and we both agree. France and Thailand. And for very different reasons. Thailand for its incredible natural beauty, its fascinating and exotic markets and temples, and its friendly people. France for the man made beauty of its art, buildings, gardens, and the loveliest cities, towns, and villages in the world. Our least favorite countries? Lithuania (too mean, too grey) and Monaco (too fake and shallow).
We also realized that in this globalizing world, traveling is sadly becoming a little less exciting than it was 20 or 30 years ago. Almost every country we went to had modern shopping malls similar to the ones back home in the U.S., and most locals seemed to prefer these, even recommending us to visit them (this happened quite a few times). The old ways are dying out, as countries seek to "modernize", and as people all over the world discover and embrace pop culture, the internet, video games, etc.

Some of the things we will miss about traveling:
No alarm clock (unless there was a train to catch in the morning)
Lots of free time to read, relax, etc.
The excitement of seeing new places
Staying in some beautiful places, like a beach bungalow in Thailand or an old castle in Estonia
Colorful local markets, many at night
Cheap prices (sometimes; e.g. a $6 hotel room in Siem Reap, Cambodia with hot shower and satellite TV, or $1 delicious street food in Bangkok)
Not knowing or caring what day of the week it is
Specific places, like our beach on Phi Phi island in Thailand, or walking the streets of Paris
Endearing local customs like the Indian head wiggle or the Thai hands-in-prayer greeting/thank you

Some things we won't miss about traveling:
Constant haggling and negotiating for everything
Packing and unpacking our bags (well, for Erin, anyway)
Living out of our bags
Not knowing a good place to eat or stay; taking a gamble every time, and hoping for the best
Not being able to communicate clearly due to language and cultural barriers
Bad (or different concept of) customer service, like hovering around you while waiting for you to order, or just standing really close and staring at you for no apparent reason. This recently happened to Erin in Malaysia when she was going through her bag looking for something.
Aggressive touts
Constantly being on the move
Feeling like you are being scammed (at times, like Cambodia)
Not being able to spend time with our friends and family

TRAVEL TIPS:
First of all, we highly recommend that anyone who is able and interested, take a trip around the world at some point. It was a wonderful experience. We we would like to give share some travel advice, much of it learned that hard way. Many of these apply whether you are taking a long trip like us, or a shorter trip. Of course, it depends on what kind of trip, what kind of traveler you are, and your budget size.
*If you are doing a long, multi-stop trip like us, try flying in and out of different cities as much as possible; this will keep you from having to backtrack. Sometimes, it may make sense to buy airplane tickets as you go if you have a flexibility schedule and itinerary. This doesn't always make sense, though, for our trip, buying the tickets separately would have cost a lot more than our single, round-the-world ticket.
*If possible, take the smallest backpack you can find and take as little as possible. Most things you can buy at your destination, if you end up needing them. Carrying big bags around is not fun (especially if you are squeezing onto a train in India)!
*Passport size photos are very handy for getting visas overseas, bring them with you.
*Bring a sarong; you can use it as a towel (beach or bath), or a sheet or blanket when your hostel or hotel doesn't provide one. Also, bring your own alarm clock and flashlight (some places don't have electricity 24/7).
*Even if you are on a fairly tight budget, be prepared to splurge once in a while, it can make a huge difference. Often, it can make the destination special. Our budget was about $100 a day; we had many great experiences that didn't cost much money, and we had some of our best memories doing things, or staying in places, that we had to splurge a bit for. For example, our traditional Moroccan riad in Marrakesh wasn't cheap. But if we stayed anywhere else, like in a budget guesthouse or some random hotel, it wouldn't have been such a great experience. Our best day in India was our most expensive day of this trip, when we stayed in the lodge at Cicada and did a river safari. It was absolutely magical, and worth every penny. We had to watch every penny for a week to splurge on that, and it was well worth it. The castle in Tallinn, Estonia also wasn't a budget accommodation, but so worth it. Too tight of a budget can have a bad impact, our experiences in St. Petersburg and Kuala Lumpur were very unpleasant, and a lot of that had to do with the horrible, dirty, cheap hostels we stayed in.
*Shop around. You can sometimes find the exact same thing for less down the road. If you are in most non-Western countries, haggling is important too. A rule of thumb is to offer 1/3rd of what they are asking, and be prepared to walk away.
*Have at least two bank accounts, with debit cards that are Visa or Mastercard. You can use these for purchases as well as cash withdrawals, so you don't need to carry a bunch of cash or travelers' checks. Why two accounts? We have both had our accounts suspended due to (false) "fraud alerts" from our banks. Even with online banking, we had to call them to fix this. Calling home from Laos trying to get your bank account unfrozen is expensive and not the funnest thing to do. Neither is being stranded without money. Have at least two bank cards.
*Bring postcards of home. They're cheap, light, and most people love them.
*We didn't do a lot of it on this trip, but if you are going to take a long trip (3 months+), consider doing some volunteer work or at least visiting an orphanage, library, hospital, or school. I have done it before, and volunteering overseas is a great way to meet other foreigners and locals. Some of my (Jason) best experiences overseas were volunteering in Ghana and Poland. One of our best experiences in India this time was our visit to the El Shadai home for street children in Goa.
*As an absolute minimum, learn to say "thank you" in the local language, and smile.
*Doing one long trip is cheaper, on a per day basis, than doing several shorter trips. For example, our trip to Africa last year, which was only 3 weeks long, cost almost half as much as this 6 months trip. One reason for this is you can budget better when you have more time. Time pressure is the biggest enemy of budget travel. With time flexibility, you can often get better deals on flights, hotels, etc. Spending more time in a place also lets you learn the local system, which leads me to the following travel tip:
*Learn the local system. For example, when we just arrived in Paris, we went to lunch and asked for water. We were given two small water bottles and charged 4 Euros ($6 US) each. That's 12 bucks just for water! Within a couple days, we learned that in France, you ask for a "carafe d'eau" and are given a free jug of tap water, perfectly safe to drink. In Thailand, we were paying to make calls home, 30 or 40 cents a minute. Then, a couple days before we left, someone told us that we could buy a phone card for $5. That $5 phone card let us call home for almost 4 hours! We wish we knew about it earlier.
*If you are on a budget at all, only carry as much cash in your wallet every day as your daily budget allows. We kept going over budget, until we started doing this.
*Realize that anything you bring with you, is something you might not bring back with you. We've had things stolen, lost, and forgotten. If you are on a long trip, the same will probably happen to you. If it means that much to you, leave it at home.
*Most importantly, bring lots of patience. Other cultures work in different, and sometimes mysterious, ways. It's hard not to lose your patience when you go to a restaurant with your partner, and your meal arrives half an hour after hers, as has happened to us many times. Or when the person working at your hotel stands right next to you and stares as you go through your bag, for no apparent reason. Or when everyone is talking loudly in the movie theater. Or when they look at you funny when you ask for toilet paper. Or when there are dry cleaners everywhere, but no laundromats. Or when your taxi driver honks his horn non-stop for two hours, even when there is no traffic on the road. But, try to take it all in stride. Yes, these things are annoying, and they can get frustrating. But when they really start bothering you, it's time to either chill out, or go home.

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Comments

[Jodi]

WOW!
A very safe journey home!! I'm sure every moment and memory will forever be stored in your mind and heart - how fortunate are we, your friends and family, to have lived vicariously through your around the world experience! I imagine the re-entry to the blessed USA will take a while to adapt to but it'll be good to have you "home". Blessings to you both!! =)