I’m tagging myself in a fun meme seeing as I never ever get tagged in anything (not entirely true – I think I was tagged in a meme last year but slacked off on it). It’s travel themed! Fuunnnn! I found this over at Twenty-Something Travel.
Speaking of: there is some low-level but quite serious travel planning happening here at the moment. I’m thinking of a 4-5 week sojourn to South East Asia in June/July (aware that this is rainy season) — Laos & a bit of Thailand? Or Laos & parts of Cambodia that I haven’t yet been to? I need it to be super cheap & fun & tasty. Laos is definitely happening, and I feel like I need more time to do Thailand so I might just go back to Cambodia.
A ge you went on your first international trip
I believe I was almost three years old, and we went to Singapore. My sister was a tiny baby still and I’m 2.5 years older than her, so it must’ve been almost three. I ate chilli and threw up and my dad yelled at me. It’s one of my earlier memories. (Hi Dad!) We also went to the science museum & watched the water show on Sentosa Island.
B est (foreign) beer you’ve had and where
In Vietnam last year (edit: 2010!), my sister and I sat in a little bar on the street in Saigon and drank local beer from a plastic petrol flagon that cost us about 80c for 1.5 L. It wasn’t the best beer, but probably the cheapest. The best beer? I really like huge, icy cold Tiger beers in humid Singapore street markets. I really don’t like Peruvian beer – it’s never cold enough and all tastes the same.
C uisine (favourite)
I’m a complete guts so this is hard. Probably Vietnamese. The greatest thing I have ever tasted on the road, though, was the Chicken Mythic burger from McDonalds in Greece & Portugal. I’d be ashamed of myself for saying that if it hadn’t been so life changingly awesome.
D estinations, favourite, least favourite, and why.
Favourite: it’s a tie between Croatia and Vietnam. Croatia because it is stunning, Vietnam because it is intense and beautiful.
Least Favourite: When I was there, I hated Bosnia. It was SO cold (for me, anyway), and the people weren’t very friendly. Of course, I can’t wait to go back. Same thing happened with India: it’s not one of my least favourite places, but it was very intense and overwhelming, yet I can’t wait to return.
E vent you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”.
In Rishikesh, India, the ashram I stayed at put on a fire ceremony each night. I’m not a religious or even particularly spiritual person, but sitting on the banks of the Ganges while people chanted and sang and cried with their feet in the water was really moving.
Also, arriving at the Sun Gate on the Maccu Picchu trek after four days of really challenging hiking brought tears to my eyes. Walking up out of the underground in Rome and seeing the Colloseum looming above was really cool! And of course, being one of 100,000 people seeing Muse at Wembley Stadium in London was just an amazing experience.
F avourite mode of transportation
I love pretty much any mode of transport that isn’t an aeroplane.
I love the auto rickshaws of Cambodia, riding a pushbike around sleepy towns, and taking long road trips.
G reatest feeling while traveling
When you arrive in a country where you know no one, and don’t speak the language, and still manage to find where you are supposed to be.
Also, that feeling that you’re experiencing something which, for whatever reason, many people will only ever dream on.
H ottest place you’ve traveled to
It was 47-48C when I was in Granada and Seville, Spain. I can’t even begin to describe how hot it was.
I ncredible service you’ve experienced and where
Everyone in Vietnam and Cambodia was beyond lovely.
J ourney that took the longest
In 2009 I went to visit my friend Carla in Umea, Sweden.
To come home, I had to fly Umea – Stockholm – London – Singapore – Perth.
Between catching a taxi from Carla’s apartment in Umea and arriving at my home in Perth, 68 hours passed. I didn’t sleep.
Other than the flights, I spent two hours on a bus (from Stockholm’s main airport to their budget airline air shed) plus eight hours waiting in an airport in Stockholm. I then spent an hour or so waiting for a bus at an airport in London, another couple of hours on a bus, and then 14 hours in Heathrow airport (I got drunk and sobered up twice). Then I spent three hours in Singapore airport, and an hour getting home from the airport in Perth. I didn’t sleep a wink.
K eepsake from your travels
I generally buy jewellery & things like prints and fabric pieces – stuff that doesn’t take up much room in my bag. Otherwise, it’s just lots and lots of photos.
L etdown sight, and why
I have been fascinated by Ancient Greek culture since I was a kid, but I absolutely hated the Acropolis in Greece. It was so busy, so hot, and everyone was so pushy & rude. I also thought that the Taj Mahal was overrated – I visited much cooler sites in India & Greece.
M oment when you fell in love with travel
I’m not really sure. I’ve traveled since I was really young, and I kind of just always assumed that I would travel when I was old enough and could afford it. And I have.
N icest hotel you’ve stayed in
I stay in a pretty nice hotel when I go to Singapore with my family, but on my own travels, my sister and I stayed in an awesome hotel (more of a guesthouse – The Villa Paradiso) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia that was beautiful. I’m sure I’ve stayed in lovely places in Bali but I don’t really remember (I was 15 last time I went).
O bsession – what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while you are traveling?
Food! And doorways! No, really. I also love street scenes, and ordinary people going about their day.
P assport stamps, how many, and from where?
I don’t have my passport on me, but I (think) I’ve got Australia (obvs), Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, England, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Austria (do we still get Austrian passport stamps? I arrived from Croatia), New Zealand (again – can’t remember whether Aussies get NZ stamps), Argentina, Peru, Chile, Bolivia. Yehhhh.
Q uirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where
I’m not really into weird, tacky touristy things, but I’m going to say Park Guell in Barcelona is pretty quirky from a purely visual perspective, as is much of Barcelona, really!
R ecommended sight, event, or experience?
Trekking Maccu Picchu. A big summer music festival in the UK (I went to Global Gathering, and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done!). The Amalfi Coast in Italy. The outer temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Everything. Do everything.
S plurge
I think it’s important to spend money on things that you’re never going to get to do again. There’s no point traveling around the world and turning down an opportunity because you think it’s too expensive. I would pay obscene amounts of money for a really great meal.
T ouristy things you’ve done
The most recent one that sticks in my mind is the junk trip in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. Totally touristy but so incredibly beautiful.
U nforgettable travel memory
This one’s really unique to my personal experience, but the few days that I spent in Granada, Spain, were some of my favourite & most fun of my life. We met an Pakistani-English beat boxer, a German yoga instructor, Australians (one of whom we called Australia and kept bumping into in other towns), a New Yorker who gave her apartment keys to an Argentinean that she’d just met, who was traveling to NY (I wonder if it all worked out okay?). We drank wine, ate food, sang, and laughed for three days in the sweltering heat of the Spanish summer, and it was truly amazing.
On the other hand, Euro Pride (a gay pride parade attended by in excess of 1,000,000 people of all persuasions) in Madrid that same summer was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. We drank Coke and red wine (as the Spanish do, apparently?) and had a ton of fun. Then I spewed outside Burger King. Stay classy.
Swimming between rocky bays in Portugal was also really wonderful. I still have an underwater film that I need to get developed from this! I must dig that camera out (this was in 2007).
V isas
Being an Aussie, I haven’t needed to get a visa for many places I’ve been. My current passport has Indian, Vietnamese, and Cambodian visas in it.
X cellent view?
The Amalfi Coast. Simply spectacular. The Andes.
Wine, best glass of wine traveling and where?
I don’t remember what it was called, but my first try of Malbec in Bolivia introduced me to a world of South American wine that I still love.
Drinking glasses of red wine on the hot, dry nights of days that had been in excess of 47 degrees in Granada, Spain is a memory that stays with me. We paid about 2 Euros for a one litre bottle (okay – a few one litre bottles) and it tasted like liquid heaven.
Y ears spent traveling?
I’ve been traveling with family since I was a little tacker, but I started traveling without family in 2003 (just to Sydney & Melbourne at first). In 2007 I took my first international vacation by myself (4 months in Europe), and then in 2009 I went to Melbourne, Europe again, and to South America on a separate trip. In 2010 I went to Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and India, and last year to Adelaide, Sydney, and Melbourne. This year I’m going to go to South East Asia and (hopefully!) New York & Central America. (Yeh, my travel plans have changed. More on that later.)
Z ealous sports fans
Every. Single. Restaurant. in South America has a TV in the corner and, inevitably, a bunch of men sitting around shouting GOOOOALLLL!
On the other hand, everyone – everyone – in India asks you about the cricket if you’re Australian. Everyone.