December 20, 2005

05:24:04 pm Nick's Ranking of Countries He Enjoyed Most in 2005  

The question people asked us most often once our trip was underway is "What was your favorite country?" So here is my ranking--not Deanna's--of every country (plus a few special destinations that are not actually countries but merit a special listing--see explanatory note at the bottom of this list).

What to base the rankings on is more difficult than it sounds. So let's be clear what this list is not. This is not my recommendation of the places others should visit. Everyone has different interests and compiling one list that tries to consider everyone's interests would be difficult. Beyond that, though, there are some places I rank high for a personal reason (e.g. Philippines--I lived there previously) that I would not recommend at all. Also, this is not a list indicating my desire to visit each country again. There are some countries ranked high on this list to which I may never return. There are others ranked low that I likely will want to see again.

After considering various ways to rank the countries, I concluded the only way I could do so would be to rank them by how much we enjoyed being there in 2005. This does result in some places I would not recommend that highly showing up high in the rankings, and vice versa. An example of the former is South Korea, which after five weeks in less developed countries was a welcome oasis of development and Americana. An opposite example is China. Although I do rank it in the top third for 2005 enjoyment, it would absolutely be number one on my list of which country I would recommend others visit. Having just been there in 2004, our 2005 trip did not have the newness and wonder of my maiden trip, and thus I ranked it lower here.

You'll note some general themes here--I tend to prefer developed places to undeveloped. I prefer places that have interesting history from the past 150-250 years (and good museums documenting it) over those who peaked centuries or millennia ago and are still living off that glory. Beautiful nature sites are of some interest, but seeing the best the world has to offer does raise the beauty bar for me. For example, I loved the natural scenery of New Zealand when I first saw it in 1990. Now I find it good, but not great--Argentina has prettier glaciers, mountains, waterfalls, and lakes.

An extremely important thing to consider is how much time to spend in a given place. For example, we spent four nights in the Netherlands--just the right amount of time I think. We enjoyed our visit and the country has a high ranking here as a result. But if we spent a fifth night, it might rank a few places lower. If we spent a week, it would probably fall toward number 30 or so. More than a week, and it might not be on the top half of this list. On the other hand, we spent nine nights in France, ranked similarly to the Netherlands. A few more nights in France probably would not affect its ranking much. France is a much bigger country than the Netherlands with far more to see before you run out of things to do. Many of the countries we visited truly merit only a few days on a world tour itinerary.

Finally, I would note that many of these countries are very close--e.g., the difference between number 30 and number 40 or even 45 is hardly distinguishable. Every time I review this list, I move a bunch of countries around, and at some point I just had to call the list complete even though the rankings still feel unfinished to me. I should point out that virtually all of these countries were enjoyable--a ranking in the 50s does not mean that we had a bad time there or wished we had not visited the country or that you should not go.

Without further caveat, then, below is my listing of what countries I enjoyed visiting the most in 2005. I imagine it will not be long after posting this that I will I receive the first email, "I cannot believe you did not rank [insert your favorite country here] higher. My spouse and I had a lovely time there a few years ago, and it could not have been more perfect. You must have gone to the wrong place..."

1. Australia. We saw every part of this vast country with the exception of Tasmania during our 3 1/2 weeks there. The perfect weather and friends living in strategic places throughout the country made this my favorite destination. I find it a fascinating mix of UK (its heritage and culture) and the US (a vast and relative new country), with its own Australian identity that is neither British nor American emerging as well. Their Australian identity seems more pronounced to me in 2005 than it did in 1990 and it's good to see the country maturing in this way.
2. Botswana. A fabulous African safari. People we queried who have been on multiple safaris to different countries praised Botswana over Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. So we deviated from our plan to go to Tanzania and we could not be happier with our choice. Deanna ranks Botswana number one on her list.
3. Germany. A positive surprise, prettier than I expected and of course full of 20th century that I find interesting. More affordable than most of the rest of Western Europe, another positive surprise.
4. United Kingdom. Great museums and culture in London and full of friends we stayed with and met up with throughout the country.
5. Singapore. One of the great national success stories of the 20th Century. People who say Singapore is boring are ignorant of what this country has accomplished against long odds.
6. South Africa. I did not know whether I would like this country or not--I suspected I would not. I was wrong--the Cape Town area is a world-class destination and I would like to see more of the country.
7. Japan. Extremely orderly and efficient and not as expensive as it used to be. A pleasure to visit.
8. South Korea. We almost did not go to South Korea--I had been there and had no inclination to return, but Deanna wanted to go as she had several American friends of Korean heritage, so she wanted to see the place for herself. Itaewon, full of garish Americana, was a welcome and enjoyable change after five weeks in China and Mongolia. You are unlikely to enjoy it as much coming straight from the US and would likely rank it much lower, as I did the first time I was here. I found the Korean War history very interesting, something I did not pay attention to on my first visit.
9. Galapagos Islands. Part of Ecuador, but completely different from the rest of the country so I list it separately. If you like nature, you will love the Galapagos. The people on our boat made this trip special--we later stayed with three couples in Europe. Deanna ranks Galapagos number two on her list.
10. Argentina. Argentina's natural sites--Patagonia, its glaciers, and Iguasu Falls--are among the best in the world and the world outside of South America hardly knows them.
11. The Netherlands. You don't have to be a stoner or a horny male to enjoy the charms of the Netherlands for a few days.
12. France. Even conservative Americans can have a nice time here if they try.
13. Philippines. Not a country I recommend to others, but interesting to me because I lived there in 1990. Tremendous change has occurred since then, mostly positive, and in sharp contrast to the negative press the country receives.
14. New Zealand. I loved New Zealand when I was there during a too brief, three-day visit in 1990, putting it at the top of my favorite countries list (until China displaced it in 2004). It's still lovely, but no longer the bargain it once was, and this time our two-week stay was enough time, whereas before I longed for more.
15. Denmark. Perfect for a three or four-day weekend.
16. Estonia. The old town of Tallinn is what you expect from a centuries old European capital city but without the prices of Western Europe. Go now before the prices double.
17. Vietnam. Unbelievably friendly toward Americans.
18. Iceland. Marred a bit by senseless graffiti that seems completely out of place for an area with such a small population, but still a good place to go.
19. United Arab Emirates. Rivals China for most dynamic place in the world today.
20. Lithuania. We stayed with Darius and his parents, so we had the insiders' view of Vilnius. Estonia comments apply here also. This was Deanna's favorite Baltic country.
21. China. My first trip in 2004 was the most interesting trip I have ever had. This time, like a second date, exposed all of the shortcomings I was willing to overlook the first time around. Still, I would recommend a visit to China more strongly than any other country on this list.
22. Russia. A positive surprise. I expected Russia to be one of the most difficult countries we traveled to. Because of this, we took a high-end tour to make things easier. It worked and the other six people we were with made the trip more enjoyable than it would have been if we were solo.
23. Italy. I liked it, but a bit less than I might have expected. I actually grew somewhat tired of pasta. Still I could see going back.
24. Hong Kong. Part of China now, but still different enough to rank separately. My visits in 1989 and 1990 made it my favorite foreign city. Now, I'm older and its in-your-face brusque charm is less charming to me. Moreover, my interest in shopping has dwindled to nil, nullifying one of its strongest attributes for me. Rain every day we were there did not help. It is still quite a place to see though.
25. Costa Rica. Rain forest, desert, and beach resort all within a couple hours drive--a nature lover's paradise. But the worst roads of any country we traveled to in 2005.
26. Indonesia. Bali remains a good destination, bombings aside.
27. Uruguay. Punta Del Este is the best South American beach resort. South Americans flock there; North Americans have never heard of it.
28. Monaco. Its natural beauty and cosmopolitan city is enjoyable for a short visit.
29. Finland. I wouldn't recommend it by itself, but good for a short stopover if you were in the area. I'm probably ranking it higher than I would otherwise because it is more developed than the countries we visited prior to it (Russia and the Baltics), and modernity is always a nice change on a long trip. Deanna ranks it significantly lower.
30. Latvia. Estonia comments apply here also. The place to go for 20-something bachelor parties in Europe.
31. Austria. If you like monarch-era European cities, then Vienna may be tops in the world. Some Austrians, though, act as if they are unaware the Hapsburg Dynasty collapsed a century ago.
32. Brazil. We were there recently--New Year's 2002/2003--so in 2005 we just had a short visit to the capital of Brasilia. If I were to include our experience at Rio and Iguasu Falls from our first trip, Brazil would rise to be about equal with Argentina, around number 10.
33. Easter Island. Here is hard-to-get-to place that is really away from it all. Relaxing, although too much time here could quickly become boring for Type A types. You can see everything in one long day or chill out for three days, but that's about all you'll want. Check the non-daily flight schedules carefully.
34. Ireland. A bit more American than the UK, but similar overall. I was not as taken with it as I expected and I cannot fully explain why (no it was not the relatives!). I think most Americans will really like it and would rate it more highly than I have here.
35. Spain. We only spent three days in Barcelona--I would like to take more time and see Madrid and the rest of the country.
36. Hungary. Budapest is not the same bargain as other Eastern European cities, but it is still interesting.
37. Poland. We only had time for Auschwitz and Krakow (two days total). I have heard this is the most interesting part of the country and that Warsaw is not nice, but I would have liked to see that for myself. I suspect, though, if we did see more, Poland's ranking would be lower.
38. Egypt. If you prefer ancient history to modern, then Egypt will rank much higher on your list.
39. Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls is the only reason to go to Zimbabwe. Worth a day--the country's troubles will not affect you.
40. Norway. Lists of the world's most expensive large cities rank Oslo often at the top. That is accurate. Bora Bora (an island) and Reykjavik, Iceland (a small city) were the only more expensive places we encountered.
41. Sweden. We enjoyed staying with Dan and Victoria, but became frustrated with parking and getting gas, two processes not designed for non-Swedes, and ridiculously more complex than elsewhere in Europe. Tip: try the fermented herring at your peril! Despite the herring, Deanna ranks Sweden ahead of Finland and Norway.
42. Malaysia. Worth a day or two for a quick stopover in Kuala Lumpur if you are in Southeast Asia.
43. Ecuador. Note I list the Galapagos Islands separately. US dollars are the official currency and that seems to have led to a greater degree of foreign investment here than elsewhere in South America (proportionate to the size of the country).
44. Cambodia. Angkor Wat is an amazing complex. Good to tack on for two days as part of a longer trip elsewhere in the region.
45. Portugal. Lisbon was a nice return to the Western world for us after two weeks in Turkey, Egypt, and Morocco.
46. Taiwan. Unfortunately, one downside of China turning to capitalism is that Taiwan is less unique now and thus less interesting. Still, with a several decades head start, Taiwan remains well ahead of the mainland. For now, it has the world's tallest building.
47. Chile. The economic transformation of the country over the past two decades has not yet translated into urban beautification. Fortunately, the natural scenery compensates.
48. Peru. Machu Picchu is the reason to go and it is well worth seeing. Cusco was marginal for me--I don't see why others rave so vigorously about it. Lima is polluted--there are a few sites to see if you are there, but I wouldn't stop over just for it.
49. Czech Republic. Prague deserves most of its good press, but the Baltics have most of the same charm at a lower price.
50. Macau. Don't believe the hype--Las Vegas is in no immediate danger of Macau overtaking it. But there is a lot that is going to happen here.
51. Mongolia. The countryside will appeal highly to adventure travelers. The capital city Ulaanbaatar remains post-communist drab.
52. Croatia. Everyone raves about the Dalmatian Coast, but unfortunately, we did not have time to see it. Nevertheless, Zagreb is far nicer than I expected, although it is destination for only a day or two. Because this is where I determined my PC issues were definitely not immediately solvable, I was in a state of mental anguish that may have affected Croatia's ranking negatively. Hopefully, tourism there will not suffer too much as a result. Note that of the countries aspiring to EU membership in the next round of expansion, Croatia is far more developed than Romania or Bulgaria.
53. Turkey. One of the world's most historic cities, Istanbul is on the rise once more, but it has a ways to go to become world-class again.
54. Greece. Don't rely on a pre-Olympics guidebook--the traffic and noise have improved. The basic advice still holds: see the ancient sites quickly in a couple days, and then leave Athens.
55. Morocco. Our next-to-last stop and our energy is nearly gone. The design and decoration of the buildings is impressive.
56. Luxembourg. Worth a drive through or a day trip.
57. Vatican City. Yes, it is actually a country separate from Italy, so we list it here.
58. Slovenia. We just drove through, but Ljubljana looked like it has a nice old town area.
59. Belgium. The country that is the headquarters of NATO and the EU seems unaware that non-French speakers would ever visit their museums. Actually since there are no foreign language translations, they are correct through a self-fulfilling prophesy.
60. Romania. I would not recommend Romania unless you want to see it (or say that you have seen it) before it really begins to develop once it becomes part of the EU. That is why we went there.
61. Bulgaria. Similar to Romania, but even more so. The local English-language newspaper talked about how much things had changed in the prior five years, which means it must have been an even tougher place then, as there remains a long way to go.
62. Andorra. Watch out for license plate thieves in this low-tax haven!
63. Slovakia. The most interesting part of our drive through Slovakia was shopping for snacks at Tesco.
64. San Marino. A miniscule country surrounded by Italy that is identical to Italy. There's nothing wrong with it, but the only reason to travel there is to say that you have been.
65. Zambia. Useful only for its airport near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
66. India. The world's most fascinating country in both extraordinarily good and shockingly bad ways. Next to China, India is my number two recommendation for places to see and experience. Anyone who travels often should go there once. Unfortunately, for me this was my second trip in two years. Much of the good I saw on my first trip, while the bad becoming increasingly annoying the longer I was there.
67. French Polynesia (Bora Bora and Tahiti). Its breathtaking beauty is topped only by its breathtaking prices. We felt like we were being held up every time we tried to do anything. If you must go, book a package through a travel agent and get absolutely everything possible included--transfers and as many meals and activities as possible. This has three advantages: 1) you will likely pay less in total; 2) if the total cost is too high, you can decide to go elsewhere before you have spent anything; and 3) you will focus less on the cost while you are there.
68. Bolivia. Something about the horrible driving, poverty, tourist scams, and mob rule politics interacted in a way to make this our least favorite stop. These attributes exist in other countries, but for whatever reason the combined effect was more irritating here for us. Look for the country's long, troubled history to continue. They just elected a leftist president, after overthrowing the president in power when we were there. A civil war or the eastern part of the country trying to secede is not out of the question. Look for another president to putsch his way into power before 2007 begins. Deanna wholeheartedly agrees: Bolivia finishes last.

Note on the Number of Places Listed Above

Technically, we set foot in 65 countries outside of the US this year, but I don't list two above--Thailand because we just connected through the airport (Deanna spent two weeks there in 2000, and I had been there before also, so we did not stop within the country) and North Korea because stepping over the dividing line in Panmunjeom is not really visiting the country. I list five other places beyond the 63 countries: Hong Kong, the former British colony, now part of China but still under a separate political system; Macau, the former Portuguese colony, now also part of China, but also still under a separate political system; Easter Island, part of Chile but distance and different from the mainland; the Galapagos Islands, part of Ecuador, but a unique place in the world; and French Polynesia (we visited Tahiti and Bora Bora), a territory of France in the South Pacific. Thus, there are 68 places listed above.

Many of you have our trip card, a business card we created in December 2004, listing all of the places we planned to visit. How closely did our actual travels compare to our plans? Quite close. The trip card listed 64 countries. We did not visit three countries that we listed on the card--Bhutan, Nepal, and Tanzania. We substituted Botswana (not listed) for Tanzania and we ventured into Zambia (not listed) while visiting Victoria Falls. We also did not anticipate our Thailand flight transfer and North Korean border incursion by listing those countries on our card. The card lists five other special destinations, all of which we visited. We listed Tahiti and Bora Bora separately on the card, but combine them in this ranking since they are next to each other and you cannot get to Bora Bora without flying through Tahiti. The card does not list Macau, which we also visited.

Send feedback • Permalink

05:22:41 pm Nick's Ranking of Cities He Enjoyed Most in 2005:  

I won't repeat it here, but see the text that precedes my ranking of countries I enjoyed the most in 2005 for an explanation of how I construct these rankings of most enjoyable places. The synopsis is that this is strictly my ranking of personal enjoyment in each place in 2005. It's not where I recommend you go, it's not where I am most likely to return, and it's not how I would order a listing of the top cities in the world. Yes, I know, English-speaking cities dominate the list. If you spend a year outside of home country, it's only natural that you will enjoy the comfort of being in a place somewhat familiar.

1. London. The best non-US city in the world for museums.
2. Berlin. Most interesting city for 20th Century history--epicenter of World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.
3. Canberra. I know this is a total shocker to include on this list, because Australia's capital has reputation for boring. If you want to go to rave parties or shop 'till you drop, then do skip Canberra. If you want to understand Australia, go--the museums here are incredibly good.
4. Singapore. The melting pot of Asia. Exotic, yet accessible and familiar.
5. Adelaide. We stayed with our friends, the globetrotting Macks, and found this place is a paradise. Perfect weather, cosmopolitan without being large, pretty neighborhoods with a small-town feel, good food, etc. Steve said, "This is the nicest place I've ever lived," and I understand why. I am not sure though that you would appreciate Adelaide as much if you were not staying with someone who lives there.
6. Cape Town. A world-class destination that is a bargain.
7. Tokyo. After 15 years of economic malaise, it may still be the most energetic city in the world.
8. Shanghai. The city of the future. Why haven't you see it yet?
9. Sydney. Remember the 2000 Olympics? A great place.
10. Munich. We were there less than 24 hours and did not really see anything in the city. By complete coincidence, though, it was the last night of Oktoberfest and we had a rip-roaring good time!

Send feedback • Permalink

05:21:04 pm Laundry List of Things the US Should Adopt  

The rest of the world has these things, we should too.

1. $1 coins that people actually use; $2 coins would also be nice. Get rid of dollar bills. Accept $50 bills widely.
2. Stoplights that countdown in seconds how long before the green changes to yellow and the red changes to green. Also, red light changes to yellow for a few seconds before going green.
3. Scoreboard street signs that indicate in real-time how many open parking spaces exist in nearby parking lots.
4. In all subway stations, displays that show how many minutes until the next train. Same at bus stops.
5. Total non-smoking bans in all indoor places, including restaurants and bars, in the remaining cities and states that have not yet adopted this. Entire countries like New Zealand, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the UK (effective 2007 I think) have this. Our political system is different and I am not advocating national legislation--I just want the remaining states to get on with the inevitable ban. That Chicago passed a ban last week mollifies me greatly (even if the bar ban is not effective until July 2008).
6. 0 or negligible (e.g. .02) blood-alcohol content drink driving laws. Many countries in Northern and Eastern Europe, some of them less densely populated than the US, have this. If you can't drink at all, you will not plan to drive.
7. Speed cameras. Redeploy police to activities that are more productive--they do not need to play radar any more.
8. Flat income tax rates. Sweeping Eastern Europe and hopefully heading west.
9. German restaurant bill paying. Waitstaff brings bill, waits for you to pay, produces change immediately from moneybag he or she has on person. Great for impatient diners like me who just want to go once they put their money down.
10. Clean public toilets.
11. FM stations that send out text info that displays on car radio, such as station name, song/artist name, station phone number, and so on. Europe has had this for over a dozen years.
12. Cell phone coverage that does not drop calls and provides a decent signal, including GPRS (for receiving email), in the remotest of locations.
13. The metric system. A thoroughly superior and logical system of weights and measures.
14. True bike lanes that are physically separate from auto traffic.
15. Reserved seats at movie theaters so that you don't have to show up early to avoid sitting in the front row.

Send feedback • Permalink

05:19:48 pm Nick's Packing List  

I started this post at the beginning of our trip because the question we were asked most frequently by friends and family before our trip commenced was, "How do you pack for such a trip?" I promised months ago to post on this, and now nearly a year has passed without me finishing the post. All I can say is that the only thing more boring than reading a list of someone's luggage contents is to have to write that list.

The key, of course, is to take as little as possible. Moving from city to city and country to country every few days is not something you want to do while hauling a lot of luggage. So we limited ourselves to two pieces each, one checked, one carry on. Not only is hauling luggage tiresome, but many airlines limit you to 20 kilograms (44 pounds) on domestic flights, so unless you want to pay excess baggage charges constantly, we needed to limit what we brought. Two airlines we flew--Ryanair and Aerolineas Argentinas for domestic flights--limited us to 15 kilograms and we had to pay.

You can get your laundry done at any hotel--there is no need to pack a lot of clothes. Sometimes this is expensive, but more often than not you can save money by finding a laundry a block or two from the hotel where someone will wash, dry, and fold your clothes for little more than you would pay at a self-serve Laundromat. Occasionally, hotels have their own self-serve Laundromat facilities for guests to use. This is most common in more developed countries such as Australia and New Zealand where labor is more scarce and costly. And finally as all world travelers quickly become accustomed to doing, you simply wear the same thing multiple times. You might never do this at home, but on the road, the same pair of tan-colored shorts will do nicely several days in a row. No one is the wiser.

A trip of this duration requires that you ship anything you purchase home. We did this about every month or two when we were in countries where it was easy to ship from, or immediately whenever we purchased something too big to keep with us. Despite this constant shipping, you'll note that the contents of my luggage increased as the trip continued and my discipline decreased. It was vital to have plenty of excess capacity in my luggage at the beginning of the trip. By the end of the trip, my 20-kilogram duffel bag was up to 24 kilograms, although I could have reduced it down to 20 if necessary by shipping.

Here, then, are the contents of my luggage at the start of the trip, including whatever clothes I wore on a given day.

Checked luggage (Delsey duffel bag):

4 T-shirts: two white, one light blue, one black.

2 collared short sleeve shirts: one gold, one black. By July the black shirt was finished--it was badly spotted and faded. In Goa, we splurged and bought two replacement shirts, one gray, the other navy blue. I felt guilty for weeks, having an extra piece of clothing.

2 long-sleeved collared shirts: one gray, one tan. Not used in warm locations, but increasingly necessary once we got to Europe.

1 pullover windbreaker. You've seen me wearing this in dozens of pictures.

1 fleece. Other than the windbreaker and fleece, I did not have a coat. The coldest weather encountered in South America was in the high 30s Fahrenheit at night, and a layered combination of a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, windbreaker, and fleece was sufficient for short periods outside. In Europe, the coldest weather we faced was also in the high 30s. We made sure we were in the Mediterranean countries and Africa in November and December.

3 pairs of shorts: one brown, one tan, one off-white. Until Europe, I wore shorts 80% of the time and three pairs were sufficient. I would trade off-white for a darker color though, as this pair showed dirty too easily. Once in Europe from late July onward, I rarely wore shorts other than our time in Southern Africa and Egypt, as it just wasn't warm enough (we did the northernmost countries first in Europe and summer was already ending in August). If we started our trip in November instead of January with the same itinerary (or started in January, but moved South America from the beginning to the end), I think I could have worn shorts for about 80% of the entire year. As it was, I probably had them on around 50% of the time.

1 pair of jeans. This was sufficient until Europe, but once there, I had to add a second pair, a much needed birthday gift from Deanna's mom.

1 pair of green casual pants. This is as formal as our dress ever got--long sleeve shirt and non-jean long pants.

8 pairs of boxer shorts. Deanna mutinied on me and forced another four pairs on me on my birthday, September 21, so that we did not need to do laundry as frequently.

4 pair of white athletic socks.

4 pair of black casual socks.

1 pair of brown casual shoes. Worn infrequently during the early part of the trip, more frequently once long pants were an every day requirement.

1 pair of Nike all-purpose trail-running waterproof shoes. I wore these virtually every day for six months before they literally fell apart. Affectionately known as the Space Age Shoes of the Future in several image gallery shots, their reflective material glowed in response to a camera flash. I purchased a less sophisticated pair of replacement Nikes in Goa once the originals met their end of life. Originally, I used the Space Age shoes for jogging in addition to every day use but as they were wearing down, I purchased another pair devoted exclusively to running. So I had two pairs of tennis shoes for the last seven months of the trip. In hindsight, I could have continued with only one pair, provided I replaced them every four months or so.

1 baseball cap. This headgear was later supplemented with a pair of sunglasses to offset the blinding whiteness of New Zealand's glaciers and a fly net to cope with flying pests at Ayer's Rock, Australia.

Two data CDs, with a backup copy of key laptop files from before the trip began. I saved data files created during the trip on a third CD, and eventually I needed a fourth once the third became full. When my laptop died, it was vital I had these backups. Until the PC death, I made CD backups of pictures we took and sent them home sent home whenever we shipped something. After the PC death, the trip was close enough to ending that I just kept all of my picture backup CDs with me. Thus, by the end of the trip my original two CDs had increased to 10.

Health insurance information packet.

Excess trip cards. We had hundreds of business cards printed, with our picture, email addresses, website address, and a list of all of the countries we intended to visit. The country list was a hit and a conversation starter everywhere we went.

Guide books for future destinations. Management of guidebooks took more effort than you would think. When planning future itineraries, it is far more convenient to have a book in front of you, than to try to figure everything out over the internet. You can always access a book, while you cannot (yet) always access the internet. Actually, even if you could always access the internet, a good guide book is more useful anyway. But you only have room for a few extra books beyond the one you need for the country you are in presently. So you have to constantly think about when you are going to plan what future countries, where you are going to next buy books (the exact English-language books you need won't be available in many countries you are in), and what countries you are going to buy books for.

Future books to read. Need to manage like guidebooks. You can't just walk over to Borders or have Amazon ship something to you when you finish a book.

Umbrella. I almost did not bring this in a foolish moment that somehow it was not going to rain on us for a year. Absolutely necessary.

Flashlight, batteryless. Turned out not to be necessary--we never camped, not that we were planning to. Never really had a power outage problem. The flashlight was sort of insurance that we never needed.

Nylon backpack, weighing only a few ounces, which we could fold into a few inches square when not in use.

Nylon carrying bag, similar to the nylon backpack. We used these two nylon bags constantly as a day pack or to separate items before we shipped them home. Highly useful.

Vacuum bags. I'd never heard of these before packing for the trip but they are common in travel/luggage stores. Put things like underwear and socks in them, seal them, and then roll them up. They push out all of the air, so they take up a miniscule amount of space in your bag. I had enough room in my bag that I didn't really need their space saving ability (but Deanna did), but it was convenient to have all of your socks in one bag, underwear in another, dirty clothes in a third bag, etc., rather than have these items strewn throughout your luggage.

Toiletries case. All the usual stuff. Additionally, Deanna packed a first-aid kit for both of us that she carried in her luggage. Most important in her kit: Imodium (I'd bring more than you think you need--you don't want to have to search this out in a foreign country when you need it), Cold-Eeze (not available outside the US), and any other cold medicine you use when you get a cold (I had three colds during the year, always in a non-English speaking country).

Extra toiletries case. I had a Kanban system. One of everything I used daily in the toiletries case, one extra in the extra toiletries case, along with anything I did not use daily. When I ran out of something in the toiletries case, I then had until the extra item ran out to buy a replacement. There is no way to take everything you'll need for a year with you--it will weigh far too much. There are a few exceptions to this--prescription medicine, or any extremely small or hard-to-find items. People use toothpaste, deodorant, and Gillette Mach 3 Turbo shaving cartridges all over the world--you will not have trouble finding these things. But you may not like the price! Wal-Mart pricing is not present in many countries.

A few extra plastic bags of various sizes, from sandwich baggies to Ziploc freezer bag. You will use these. I have no idea for what, but trust me, you will.

Electrical converter. Converts 200-240 volts to 110 voltage for both low wattage and high wattage devices. All of my electronics--PC, camera, Blackberry--automatically switch to any current from 100-240 volts, as did Deanna's hair dryer. However, we needed this converter for Deanna's electric toothbrush that she could not live without.

About a dozen other miscellaneous items not worth itemizing.

Carry-on (Tumi briefcase and computer bag):

With all of the contents below, this bag weighed 12-13 kilograms, or 26-29 pounds. In other words, heavy!

Laptop PC
Laptop power adapter
Ethernet LAN cable
Four sets of electrical plug converters for all continents
Camera battery charger
USB cord to connect camera to PC
Second camera memory card
Second camera battery
Blackberry battery charger and electrical plug converters that came with Blackberry
USB cord to connect Blackberry to PC
Glasses
Zippered bag with contact lens container, wetting solution, cleaning solution, and weekly cleaning tablets and vials.
Future air tickets. We used e-tickets wherever possible, but many locations do not yet have them, nor could American Airlines ticket our around-the-world ticket electronically. E-tickets are supposed to be mandatory worldwide in 2007; I'm skeptical.
Passport
Vaccination card
International driving permit. Our US drivers license worked everywhere we rented a car, but you never when a particular worker or company might insist on this, so I highly recommend obtaining it. Get it from AAA for about $10. It's easy.
Calculator
Pen
Mechanical pencils, lead, erasers
Foreign currency. ATMs are present in every country. We never exchanged money at a currency exchange. We used up all currency as we left a country by paying part of the hotel bill with the local money we had remaining. We visited some countries multiple times, mainly due to flight routings, so we usually had currency from a few countries on hand.
Folder of receipts, notes, vouchers, and any other paper items we needed.
Guidebook for the country we are in presently.
Book I am reading currently.
New York Times Almanac. Our one-stop resource book.
One or two water bottles.
Small pocket notebook. I always had a pencil and a mini notebook (1-2 inches square) in my pocket. Invaluable for writing down addresses and making notes. We were always in an unfamiliar place for an entire year--we had to write things down. By always writing it in the same notebook, we could always find it--we saved hours of time not having to sort through our luggage and pockets looking for scraps of paper from earlier in the day, week, or months ago.
About a dozen other items not important enough to itemize.

Send feedback • Permalink

04:09:19 am Nick's Big Picture Thoughts from One Year of Traveling  

Nick's Big Picture Thoughts from One Year of Traveling

One question we hear a lot is, "What did you learn on your trip?" While that is so open-ended as to be unanswerable--after all, tell me concisely what did you learn while we were gone?--here are some of my big picture thoughts, synthesizing a year of traveling around the world. I'll say once in this beginning paragraph that anything that follows that is not a statement of fact is my opinion. Thus, below I avoid qualifiers such as "I believe" or "in my opinion." Hopefully, you can tell where this qualifier is missing. Also, I deliberately don't support every big picture thought conclusively because I didn't want this post to get any longer than it is, and, well I got tired of typing.

1. Capitalism is more important than democracy in raising people's living standards. Examples: Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea all had authoritarian regimes while they zoomed past the democratic Philippines economically in the 1960s. Communist China passed up democratic India, because China turned to capitalism first. The US is not wrong to support democracy, but it ought to put more muscle behind capitalism and free trade. In many parts of the world, capitalism would serve US interests better than democracy (if you have to choose between one or the other--ideally, you want both, along with a just and fair rule of law).

2. Farm subsidies in developed countries hold back the world's poor countries, by not allowing them to compete in world markets at one of the few things they can do well. The world increasingly will view these subsidies as immoral over the next decade or two, during which time they will largely be phased out. This will benefit the US and the world as a whole, but it does mean that fewer family farms will survive in developed countries, as they just are not economically viable without subsidies. Developed countries that eliminate farm subsidies can also eliminate much foreign aid, which would no longer be necessary.

3. Despite numerous faults, the British were the best colonizers of any country. Examples: compare some of the most prominent colonies of the UK versus Spain. How about the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore versus Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru, and the Philippines.

4. When conflict occurs (whether war or a zoning battle), whoever has the most willpower is who will triumph. Every time I think I have an exception to this, I realize that I was not defining willpower correctly. Hitler may have had more willpower than Stalin initially as he attacked the Soviet Union in World War II, but Stalin was willing to sacrifice millions more soldiers than Hitler (if for no reason other than he had a much bigger population to sacrifice), so ultimately his willpower prevailed. I worry though that I may be stretching my definition of willpower to fit the known outcome, such that this thought carries no insight. I'm not sure. Anyway, I find this thought useful.

5. Megalomania can create an impressive legacy. Maniacal rulers created the centuries-old relics we visit today. Centuries from now what will people visit from our time? Place your bets on the creations of the communist Chinese, the emir of Dubai, and Donald Trump.

6. Wars usually do not end when the history books say they do. For example, a partial list of countries who continued fighting for up to five years after 1918, the end of World War I, include Lithuania, Poland, Hungary (it turned communist briefly), Russia (it nearly overthrew communism), Greece, and Turkey. Wars that solve one conflict may immediately start another. Example: World War II to the Cold War. A diplomatic or military solution that changes power in an area, but which is not backed by the threat of force, will lead to a new war. Ignore this rule and watch it happen.

7. Wars have unintended consequences. World War I ended powerful monarchies, but led to fascism; World War II ended colonialism, even though this was not a goal of the victorious Allies.

8. No form of human political organization is permanent. All cities, countries, and empires have periods of decline. Many cease to exist altogether or at least lose all relevancy to the world scene. One day the US will not exist. (Relax--this could be centuries away.) The people living in what is known presently as the US will still be governed somehow when this occurs. The successor government may be worse, but who knows it could be better, so I am not presenting this necessarily as a pessimistic scenario. No form of human political organization is permanent, yet positive human evolution does occur, after all.

9. Language binds people together. An obvious point, but still less appreciated than it ought to be. All over the world, when groups of tourists are thrown together, it does not take long for people from different countries to find those who speak the same native language. In one group you will see the Americans talking with the British and the Australians, in another group Swiss, Germans, and Austrians who just met will be carrying on like old friends, while a third group will have the Spanish, Argentines, and Mexicans conversing loudly. Common language means common culture and background. Disparate language separates people. Bilingual education programs may be well intentioned, but they are sowing the seeds for a rupture across the US in coming generations. All young immigrants within the US must learn English if we are to avoid this. Examining demographic changes in other countries throughout history, it is not improbable to suggest that at some point in the second half of the 21st Century, Mexico could attempt to reclaim significant territory in the southwestern US if a majority of that region no longer uses English as their primary language. This land was after all, once part of Mexico. I am pro-immigration, but I am against benignly letting part of our country melt away from us because we don't have the courage to instruct everyone in a common language.

10. The idea of the noble savage is a farce. Everywhere around the world, less developed cultures show a disregard for life, sanitation, and beauty. Show me a primitive culture that values life more than developed society, or one that does not live amongst litter and garbage.

11. The US has many, many problems. But so do most other countries. The US is in relatively better shape than pessimists in the US acknowledge. They probably are not aware that many other developed countries have our problems to an even greater degree. This should not allow us to be complacent in addressing the problems that we tend to ignore. But it should reassure us that others face the same issues and we can look to them for examples on what to do or not to do. On most social and business issues, one or more countries are ahead of the US, even if the US overall--across many issues--is ahead of most. People opposing change in the US are usually blissfully unaware that people in other countries have previously felt, addressed, and mitigated their criticisms and fears. The US--and any country for that matter--could save itself a lot of pointless debate by looking more often at the experience of other countries. No country is as different or unique is its people think. I'm not saying there are no special qualities that distinguish different countries. There are. But usually a solution that works for one country is at least a good starting point, framework, or indication of what will work in other countries. Examples of this: privatized social security (over two dozen countries have this, but Democrats in the US act as if it is a radical idea), raising retirement ages beyond 65 (the US did this for social security in the early 1980s for my generation and beyond, but politicians across Europe today sound as if this is an unnecessary step they can put off forever, ignoring the facts of rising life spans and declining birth rates. They can't. Other social examples: gay rights, total indoor smoking bans (including bars), speed cameras, traffic congestion charges, and blood-alcohol content laws with limits near 0. Hint: you are going to see all of these with increasing frequency throughout the US and the world.

12. The US often derides the UN and usually for justifiable reasons. But countries throughout the world respect the UN, including the allies that we respect the most. In country after country, museums proudly display the contributions of those nations toward UN missions. We walked away from the UN's predecessor, the League of Nations, in a moment of shameful insularity, with terrible consequences for the world and for us. We need to direct our anger toward fixing and strengthening the UN, not undermining it. It won't be easy or satisfying, but US conservative badmouthing of the UN is self-defeating.

13. Bad news reported from far away usually sounds worse than it is. Shortly after you read this, you are going to hear about violence in an area you previously thought about visiting. Does that mean you should not go there? Probably, you should still go there and not worry. Ask yourself two questions: 1) Is the violence in the exact area I would be? For example, rioters burned thousands of cars during the nine nights we were in France--but we did not see a single burned out car because the burnings were largely occurring in places where tourists do not go. 2) Is the violence different statistically from what could happen in my home city at any time? Just because subways were bombed in London, does not mean that you are safer staying home in Chicago and riding the subways there. Assuming the answer to each question is no, then go ahead with your trip without a second thought. Let your friends at home worry while you have a good time!

14. The up-and-coming 20-somethings and 30-somethings in India and China don't really care about work/life balance. They want to work long and hard to make lots of money to buy lots of stuff. You would too if suddenly economic possibilities beyond your wildest dreams became available. The generations that follow will care more about work/life balance, but not this generation.

15. Democracy is not that important to the current generation of Chinese. It will be more important to the next generation. This is not to predict that democracy will not occur for 20-30 years (i.e., the next generation), although it is possible that it will not. Rather, democracy is not the front-and-center issue that Westerners might assume.

16. China is going to have many hiccups in the coming years and decades--financial crises, political scandals, environment problems, income disparity challenges, faulty corporate governance, trade disputes, geopolitical disputes with Taiwan, Japan, Korea, India, Russia, and the US, an awkward transition to democracy, mass migration to the cities, and so on. None of this is likely to disrupt the country's long-term positive trajectory, even though the media will present the bad news as if China's future is in doubt.

17. Gay rights are an issue on which US public opinion is split, just as it was on civil rights 50 years ago. Whatever your personal view is, I think the outcome is going to be the same as the earlier battle. Over the coming decades, gay rights will become widespread. What exactly it will look like--for example, will we have gay marriage or civil unions that are a de-facto equivalent--is not necessarily clear. But those who hold out against any form of gay rights and continue their opposition as the tide turns could look foolishly out-of-date and on the wrong side of history to future generations. This path, though, will not be straightforward nor without setbacks, and the outcome will be neither obvious nor easy. It will take time, and if activists push too hard to make things happen too quickly, there will be a backlash that delays overall progress. For example, backlash occurred in 2004 when overzealous civic officials performed gay marriages without legal foundation to do so. A not-so-fast citizenry slapped them down by banning (for now anyway) gay marriage outright in numerous states.

18. If you hear a politician blaming foreigners, there is probably something very wrong with that politician or the area he or she governs. Aside: politicians in all countries blame foreigners. Note: foreigners usually have little to do with what politicians blame them for.

19. Countries that focus on their glorious past probably are not making the most of their here and now.

20. For some ideas to take hold, an entire generation (sometimes multiple generations), have to die off. Generational change is one reason why geopolitical alliances can change rapidly. The next generation may have no animosity toward their father's enemy. They also may have no loyalty to their father's ally.

21. One of the biggest destroyers of the artifacts of past human civilizations were the early Christians doing what they thought was right. By our standards today, they were like the Taliban destroying Buddhist statues, or the communists creating a cultural revolution.

22. It is an unfortunate trait of human nature to oppose--often irrationally so--whoever is on top. Much of the flack leaders like the US, Wal-Mart, and Microsoft get is due to this trait. Being a leader makes you a lightning rod for criticism. Google is an example of a company starting to attract criticism through no fault of its own. Although these are US examples, the phenomenon exists everywhere. UK-based hypermarket Tesco gets criticism, much of it silly, in Europe, similar to Wal-Mart in the US. Note to those who do not like Wal-Mart or Tesco: most of the criticisms you have of these merchandisers are similar to the criticisms opponents of supermarkets made generations ago. If you wish Wal-Mart or Tesco did not exist, do you also wish supermarkets did not exist? Where do you draw the line at rolling back economic evolution? Get rid of Wal-Mart and you are going to unravel many things you never thought of. Prices, inflation, and interest rates will all be higher. That means your mortgage payment will be larger, or alternatively, your house will be smaller. And forget that new car you bought recently--with higher interest rates present in a Wal-Mart-free USA, there was no zero percent financing to make that new car affordable.

23. Flat income tax rates are becoming the norm in Eastern Europe. This idea could spread to Western Europe and the US. I do not know if it will, but I hope it does. Russia now has a more enlightened income tax policy than the US.

Send feedback • Permalink

:: Next Page >>