December 22, 2005

12:00:01 am Thursday, December 22, 2005 - Lisbon, Portugal; London, UK; Chicago, USA.  

My final diary post. I'm writing this ahead of time; hopefully, the day will unfold as expected. Flew from Lisbon to London on British Airways, then from London to Chicago on American Airlines, the final leg of 20 on our around-the-world ticket. Altogether, including these two, we took 104 flights this year. Our first flight leaves Lisbon at noon, our second flight lands in Chicago at 7:10 PM, plus a 6-hour time change. The year has been phenomenal, but naturally, we are very much glad to be home. I've captured all of my meaningful summary thoughts in other recent posts (click on the Lists category), so I'll close out now.

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December 21, 2005

10:58:58 am Wednesday, December 21, 2005 - Lisbon, Portugal - Mostly Cloudy, mid 50s.  

I took another walking tour, this time of Lisbon's Old Town. Deanna sat this one out, as she is still not feeling well. I'm well on the road to recovery, still coughing, but otherwise about 90% normal. She is about four days behind me though. The Old Town guide said that about half of the homes in the area, built in the 18th Century after the 1755 earthquake, still do not have running water. Can you imagine this? There are public baths in the neighborhood where residents shower and use the toilet. Our two nights at Ayer's Rock, Australia--where the only rooms available had shared bath facilities a short walk away--taught me how different it would be to have to go outside every time you needed to use the toilet or run some water. I had not heard of a similar area like this on our trip where such a high percentage of houses in a central part of a city in a developed country did not have running water. The guide said that as owners renovate units, they install water. There is a lot of renovation, but I would have thought this would have completed a few decades ago. Portugal joined the EU in 1986 after all.

In the afternoon, I went to the city museum. It had some interesting drawings of the 1755 earthquake, but no English. I breezed through in 15-20 minutes.

Overall, I liked Lisbon. I would not necessarily want to spend more time here, although in summer more time could be called for. From the plane on the way in it looked like there are beaches close by. The city is a reasonably good bargain for Europe--like Spain, it is cheaper than the rest of Western Europe. It's a bit more expensive than Eastern Europe, but definitely more developed, so I'd have to rank it, again along with Spain, near the top in terms of European value for money.

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December 20, 2005

06:10:56 pm Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - Lisbon, Portugal - Sunny, mid 50s.  

I went to the Military Museum in the morning. Deanna stayed in the room resting up for our afternoon walking tour. She did not miss anything. The museum had limited English, and was mainly a collection of weapons, with no insight provided. Like many museums around the world, the building was more impressive than its contents. The walking tour focused on the areas affected by the 1755 earthquake that destroyed the city. While Lisbon was inhabited in the Roman times, it is a relatively new city because the earthquake meant the city started over 250 years ago. We stayed the second of three nights at Clarion Suites Lisbon. Our room has a kitchenette, allowing us to eat breakfast and dinner in the room. After a year of traveling, this is probably the best hotel amenity we could ask for.

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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.

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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!

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