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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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.

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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.

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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.

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03:33:18 am Monday, December 19, 2005 - Marrakech and Casablanca, Morocco, Lisbon, Portugal - Overcast, mid 50s in Lisbon.  

Two flights, Marrakech - Casablanca, Casablanca - Lisbon, on Royal Air Maroc to get to Portugal, our final destination of the trip. Portugal is the 65th country we have set foot in this year. These are our 101st and 102nd flights of the year. Two more flights to go--Lisbon to London and London to Chicago in three days time.

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December 19, 2005

03:54:42 am Sunday, December 18, 2005 - Marrakech, Morocco - Sunny, mid 60s.  

We walked to the Museum of Marrakech, which had an exhibit of items hanging on the wall, pretending to be art. The building was nice, full of the standard Moroccan mosaic tile pattern in green, gold, blue, and black colors. Next door was the Ali ben Youssef Medersa, another remarkable building full of mosaic tiles. In the afternoon, Kamal, whose father owns the Riad Kniza, drove us around to see other sites such as Jardin Majorelle & the Museum of Islamic Art, Jardin Menara, and the Saadian Tombs. This may sound like a lot, but actually, we continue to be lethargic--sick with colds and low on energy and motivation at the end of a long trip. While Deanna has been sick many times throughout the trip, for me this is only the third time--I have had colds in Cusco, Peru; Tibet, China; and now the end of Egypt/and all of Morocco. Each time I have been sick, so has Deanna--I'm just generous that way. I've been lucky to never have food poisoning--Deanna had this once in Punte del Este, Uruguay--other than a number of funny tummy incidents not serious enough to note.

I have to amend my Casablanca observation--Moroccan vendors in Marrakech do in fact know how to chase you down in the street. Still, it is not as annoying as in Egypt. Taxi drivers in Morocco know well the art of ripping you off by either overcharging directly or agreeing one price and then asking a different price at the destination, pretending there was a misunderstanding. Islamic cultures are funny this way. You can walk in the streets at nights, with never a concern for your safety, but beware the person you deal with face-to-face--they will rip you off without any remorse. You can debate the merits of each culture--would you rather have to watch your back or would you rather not be able to trust anyone you deal with? Actually, the winner of this debate would be Japan, where you don't have to worry about either. For Westerners, though, the bazaar mentality of Islamic culture is disorienting--what you have to fear is the opposite of what you learned in your own land.

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December 18, 2005

04:48:38 am Saturday, December 17, 2005 - Marrakech, Morocco - Sunny, mid 60s.  

We toured the city with a guide the hotel provided as part of our room package. The design and decor of the buildings is extremely ornate, enough so even for me to notice! We both have colds, I'm on day six, and Deanna is on day two, so we aren't too lively right now. It's warm here in the afternoon, but cool at night--40s--and Moroccan homes and buildings tend to be open air and full of stone, making it hard for us to get comfortable. We've run the heat in our room full blast and had a space heater brought in. The thought of much colder weather in Chicago is not appealing right now. Still, we are very ready to be home, having been gone since January.

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04:46:52 am Friday, December 16, 2005 - Casablanca and Marrakech, Morocco - Sunny, low 60s.  

Casablanca is a large city with a famous name and nothing to see. So we did not stay. We flew on Royal Air Maroc to Marrakech, where we will stay three nights at Riad Kniza. Statistically, Egypt and Morocco have the same per capita GDP, between $1300 and $1400, but you would never guess this by what we have seen so far. Morocco seems well ahead of Egypt--more development, better roads, and less poverty. I walked around outside our hotel on the streets of Casablanca for 20 minutes and not once did anyone approach me to sell me something I did not want or to beg for money. No "Hello, sir" or "Bonjour Monsieur" here! This welcome silence would not have lasted 20 seconds in Cairo.

I read about the Riad Kniza in a travel magazine in the UK. A riad is a house with a courtyard, and the Riad Kniza is a seven-room hotel run by a family. Two years ago, they renovated an old riad, turning it into a fabulous boutique hotel, with intricate Moroccan decor and--importantly--wireless internet access for Deanna's last minute Christmas shopping needs.

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04:40:09 am Thursday, December 15, 2005 - Cairo, Egypt - Sunny, Mid 60s & Casablanca, Morocco.  

On our last day in Egypt, we toured sites in Cairo: mosques of Mohammed Ali (ruler of Egypt 1805-1848) and Sultan Hassan, Khalili Bazaar, and panorama of the 1973 war with Israel. The latter was not part of our standard Abercrombie itinerary but something we requested be added when we drove by it earlier in the week. It was a propaganda exhibit to extol the heroics of the Egyptian Army and the commander of the air force, Hosni Mubarak, now president. The panorama left out some key details, such Egypt losing the war! By linking the war to a later negotiation of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt--where Israel relinquished control of the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for Egypt recognizing its right to exist--the panorama made it seem that Egypt's invasion of the Sinai in 1973 was successful. Never mind that the invasion was quickly repelled in a few weeks.

I read where the Egyptian government guarantees all college graduates a job upon graduation. The result is educated people employed in jobs they are overqualified for, with many times more people than needed assigned to certain roles. Overemployment like this pervades Egyptian society. Nevertheless, employees ignore certain basic tasks, such as keeping public facilities clean, preferring to sit around chatting, smoking, and drinking tea.

We flew Egypt Air on the 5 1/2 hour evening flight from Cairo to Casablanca. We stayed one night at the Le Royal Mansour Meridien in Casablanca because there was no late connecting flight to Marrakech, our ultimate destination.

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04:32:24 am Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - Aswan and Cairo, Egypt - Hazy, High 70s. Includes comments on the US, UK, and New Zealand.  

Flew on Egypt Air from Aswan to Cairo. Flight delayed about two hours due to haze in Cairo. In Cairo, we toured the Egyptian Museum, home to the full King Tut exhibit and other Egyptian artifacts spanning thousands of years. Spent one night at Four Seasons Nile Plaza, which opened about a year ago and is fabulous. We were upgraded to a suite, which put us in a ridiculously large set of rooms, the largest we've had since our night at Burj al-Arab. Deanna stayed up to 3AM shopping for Christmas presents over the web. We've gotten numerous emails from people surprised that we (and this year that was 100% Deanna) were able to send out Christmas cards. That's the beauty of the internet. We did not buy a single postage stamp, lick an envelope, or print a single card. Yet we were able to custom design a card with multiple pictures from this trip, and send off dozens of cards to people in numerous countries. Go to shutterfly.com and you can probably still get your cards in people's hands before Christmas.

Now for a look at interest and exchange rates (normal readers may tune out here). The US dollar has had a couple of tough days, with the price of a euro increasing to $1.20 today. The dollar is weakening on the thought that the Fed is nearly done raising rates (4.25% after yesterday's increase) while the European Central Bank is just getting started with their increase to 2.25% a few weeks ago (their first increase in five years). I think the Fed is fairly certain to raise to 4.50% at the end of January, but a further increase to 4.75% at the meeting after that in March is only a 50/50 proposition at this point, in my opinion. If US economic growth slows next substantially next year (it is likely to slow, the question is by how much), then rate cuts at some point are possible, more likely in the second half than the first. Nevertheless, the Fed would be less likely to cut rates if inflation does not decrease, and oil prices will influence that. I can't predict oil prices, but my best guess is that they will remain in a $50-$60 range, but neither $30 nor $100 would stun me. My best guess is that Fed rates will end 2006 around where they are now, at 4.25%. That is, the Fed may follow one or two increases with one or two decreases. I expect the present two percentage point gap between the US and Europe to narrow to one percentage point as Europe ends 2006 around 3.25%, intermittently raising rates throughout the year as (and if) the EMU country's economies gradually improve (it is not certain that economic growth in the EMU will improve, though). I'm neutral on the dollar/euro exchange rate now. The dollar remains undervalued to the euro on a purchasing power basis but interest rate parity says the euro is due for a boost. The euro has greater political risk as the strains revealed in Europe in 2005 are not going away any time soon. On the other hand, the dollar has a greater issue with the US trade deficit possibly leading to a dollar decline. Thus, things could go either way. In any event, I no longer have the conviction of my March 20 call that the dollar was due to rise against the euro, so I will close out this prediction with a 12% gain (the dollar rose from 74.6 euro cents to 83.3 euro cents as the euro fell from $1.34 to 1.20). I am not saying that I now expect the dollar to fall; rather, I just don't feel as strongly that it must rise against the euro. My best guess is that the euro will range from $1.15 - $1.25 next year, but then I wouldn't be surprised to see it down to $1 or up over $1.35. About the only thing we can be sure of is now that I've closed out my prediction, the dollar will likely be very strong over the next week, hitting new highs for the year, and making my timing look foolish!

The yen also has also moved sharply up against the dollar this week after months of sliding. It is now 117, up from 121. Japan's central bank has not yet increased rates from near 0, but it sure looks like they will next year.

I still think the dollar is still in good shape versus the British pound. The pound began the year earning 2.50 percentage points more than a dollar (4.75% versus 2.25%) but now the rates have converged (4.50% versus 4.25%). With the UK economy looking weak heading into 2006, I expect it US rates to exceed the UK at some point in the first half. The UK also remains silly expensive on a purchasing power basis. Fair value in terms of purchasing power is probably for the pound to fall to $1.25, a 29% drop from $1.77 presently. I don't think we will see anywhere near that drop, but I do think the $1.40-$1.50 range that the pound traded in for much of the 1990s would be a reasonable target over the next couple of years based on purchasing power if Britain's economy stays weak, and if the US economy remains somewhat stronger than the UK.

Finally, I note that New Zealand's central bank raised rates to 7.25% last week. I continue to think--as I have since March--that New Zealand's economy is so good right now, that things there are far more likely to get worse than to improve or even stay where they are. Their currency is down some since I first said this, but their stock market is not. So I will keep saying it.

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December 14, 2005

10:10:04 am Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - Aswan and Abu Simbel, Egypt - Sunny, Mid- to High 80s.  

We left the boat for good in Aswan at 7:30 AM and took a 40-minute flight to Abu Simbel less than 200 miles away. There are two large temples of Ramses II there. As impressive as the temples themselves, in our opinion, is that they were moved in their entirety in the 1980s after the Aswan High Dam was completed. Picture cutting Mt. Rushmore into over a thousand stone blocks, moving them a few hundred meters, and then reassembling them so well that you could not tell the monument was not in its original location. You can see where the stones were cut if you look for it, but you would never guess that the entire temple had been moved. The Temple of Philae that we saw yesterday was similarly moved. The flight back put is in Aswan by mid-afternoon and we stayed one night at the Old Cataract Hotel, a British colonial era hotel. I think if you are to see it, Abu Simbel is best placed at the beginning of your trip to Egypt. It's impressive, but after several days of impressive sites, I'm not sure it is incrementally impressive enough to take three-quarters of a day with travel to see it.

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10:09:31 am Monday, December 12, 2005 - Nile River Cruise ending in Aswan, Egypt - Sunny, Mid- to High 80s.  

Our final day of cruising down the Nile. We had two more temple visits. We arrived at the destination, Aswan, around lunch time. We visited Kom Ombo temple in the morning and three sites around Aswan after lunch (unfinished obelisk, Aswan High Dam, and Temple of Philae). At the first site, our traveling group of the International Red Cross was pressed into service. A German woman from another group tripped on the steps and sprained her ankle. The South African doctor from our group was on the scene first and tended to her. After determining that she had not suffered any serious injury, he had done all that he could do, when the Saudi Arabian doctor happened upon the scene. He spoke German, having studied and practiced there, and so his opinion was immediately sought out. He came to the same conclusion that there was no serious injury, but somehow this determination delivered in the patient's native tongue was more reassuring, and she got up and hobbled back to her bus. The doctor's spouse, the nurse from Taiwan, stood by ready to assist if needed.

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10:08:24 am Sunday, December 11, 2005 - Nile River Cruise, Egypt - Sunny, Mid- to High 80s.  

After a full day yesterday, today was a more leisurely day with only two stops: Edfu Temple and Kom Ombo Temple. These temples were built in the Greco-Roman period (beginning 323 BC, with the Romans morphing into the Byzantines at the end of the third century AD), unlike everything we that saw yesterday that was built by the pharaohs. The pharaohs ruled from around 3200 BC to 341 BC, although most of the remains they left were built prior to 1000 BC. Their native rule was followed by outside rule by the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines (Eastern Roman Empire), Arabs, Mamelukes, Ottomans, and British, before Egypt finally returned to native rule in the 20th Century. Formal independence came in 1922, with the present republic established in 1953 after King Farouk abdicated. Anyway, while the Greco-Roman temples have some differences to the pharaonic temples, they are more similar than different to what we saw yesterday. The Greeks and the Romans both found it easier to rule if they observed local customs.

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December 11, 2005

06:51:10 am Saturday, December 10, 2005 - Luxor, Egypt - Sunny, Mid- to High 80s.  

We toured the sites around Luxor. Yesterday, it was just Deanna and I, our guide and driver. Today, though, there was nine of us, plus the guide and driver. The other seven included a couple from Saudi Arabia and a family of five from South Africa. Both of the men are doctors, and wife of the Saudi man is a nurse, originally from Taiwan. So we are covered for any medical emergencies.

At Luxor we saw (on the west bank) the Valley of the Kings, the Cliffside Temple of Hatshepsut, the Colossi of Memnon; and (on the east bank) the Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor. For me the Temple of Karnak, which I had never heard of before, was one of the best archaeological sites we have seen this year. We arrived just before sunset, so the colors were perfect and the sky was ideal--blue with streaks of white clouds.

After seeing these sites, we drove about an hour to board a boat for a three-day cruise down the Nile. This is the fourth overnight cruise we have taken this year. In the Galapagos Islands, we were on a 16-passenger boat that was full; in Vietnam, we had a similar sized boat, where Deanna and I were the only passengers; in China, we sailed down the Yangzi River on large boat that probably had about 75 passengers. Our boat in Egypt is the nicest of any of them, slightly larger than the boat we had in China, but with only the nine of us as passengers. In a week or two, the same cruise will probably be at capacity.

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06:50:15 am Friday, December 9, 2005 - Cairo and Luxor, Egypt - Sunny, Low 70s.  

We toured the archeological sites around Cairo: the ruins of Memphis (statue of Ramses II); the Step Pyramid at Sakkara (the first pyramid, 4700 years old); the pyramids at Giza (aka the Great Pyramid or the Pyramids of Cheops), including the Sphinx and the Solar Boat Museum. We had a late night one-hour flight to Luxor, where we will stay one night at the Old Winter Palace.

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December 09, 2005

09:21:39 am Thursday, December 8, 2005 - Istanbul, Turkey - Overcast, Mid 50s. and Cairo, Egypt.  

We took the double decker tourist bus tour around Istanbul on our last day here. We then had an early evening two-hour flight to Cairo on Egypt Air. Our first night is at the Mena House Oberoi with a view of the pyramids. We booked our week in Egypt through Abercrombie & Kent's London office. They are a high-end tour company that began by offering safaris in Africa over four decades ago. On one of their tours, everything is taken care of from the moment you land to the moment you leave. This is both good and bad. In poorer countries this can be almost a necessity as the country can overwhelm you. But the overhelping nature of the people you are paying to help you can be overwhelming in the opposite direction as well. It's nice to not have to worry about small details, but it can be annoying--especially for us, having traveled so much--to not be allowed to do anything for ourselves. Try to lift your own carry-on bag and you are going to have an argument--no, really, I am quite capable of carrying this bag the short distance to my room--how do you think I got it on and off the plane?

Our short time in Egypt so far is reminiscent of our time in India. Probably any country with a large population, low wages, and significant unemployment is this way. Far more people than necessary are employed in service industries. Everyone is extremely polite and tries hard to be useful, but often these extra people just end up getting in your way and slowing everything down. Our experience is that tour companies in developing foreign countries catering to Westerners often do not do a good job of training their locally born employees to judge when help is not wanted. Their MO seems to be help with everything, all of the time, and ignore any nonverbal hints--or any direct verbal requests--from the person you are helping, to the contrary. Men in these countries often seem incapable of listening, certain that they will provide you the best service by doing it their way. We try to seek out the women because they are better listeners and have a lifetime of experience dealing with the know-it-all, chauvinistic men in their country.

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09:05:06 am Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - Istanbul, Turkey - Partly Cloudy, Low 60s.  

We visited two sites--the Ataturk Museum and the Military Museum. Both were in Sisli, a more modern section of the city, across the Halic (Golden Horn) River from the old town area where we were staying, about a 20-minute taxi ride away. The Ataturk Museum, located in his former house, contained personal effects of Kemal Ataturk, the first ruler of the Turkish Republic from 1923-1938. He was a modernizer, dropping Arabic script for a Latin alphabet, and making Turkey one of the most secular of the Muslim countries. He is considered the father of modern Turkey--their George Washington. And with good reason. He had not led his armies against the post-World War I treaty, Turkey would have been sliced up among the victorious powers: the UK, France, Italy, and neighboring Greece. While these would-be Turkish colonies of the UK, France, and Italy would have likely gained their independence at some point, at the latest probably after World War II, the treaty boundaries might have remained, and today Turkey could be a patchwork of several different countries instead of one, unified country. This might have been better for some groups--such as the Kurdish minority who were destined to get their own country before the Ataturk campaigns--but overall the world is likely better with how things turned out. A modern, secular Turkey is a stable force in the Muslim world.

Turkey has wanted to join the EU for at least 15 years that I can remember, but their membership likely remains 10 years off at the earliest. The reasons are mainly political. Countries like Germany and France fear the addition to the union of 70 million people making relatively low wages. There is an unspoken unease with allowing a Muslim country--and a large one at that, only Germany has a larger population--into the Christian EU. These are valid issues, but I think the pros outweigh the cons. Further integrating Turkey into Europe and the institutions of the Western developed world will increase political stability in the world, I believe. Turkey can become a leader in the Muslim world, to an even greater extent than it is now, and it can be an example of successful, capitalistic, democratic and secular Muslim country. The world needs this. Europe needs this. I hope Europeans can put aside their narrow, and at times shortsighted and even jingoistic views, and make this a reality before several more decades pass.

Further, I think allowing Turkey to join the EU may help stem Turkish immigration to the rest of Europe. The more opportunity there is in Turkey, the less need there will be to leave Turkey. With the enlargement of the 10 Eastern Europe countries in 2004, Western Europe has learned so far that their own stagnant economies are not as attractive to Eastern Europeans as they expected. The people in Eastern Europe for the most part are staying put, content to work in the growing and familiar east versus the static and unfamiliar west. Finally, I think that Muslim Turkey could also become a magnet for Muslim immigrants from North Africa, who are now going to Spain and France instead. So I'm not sure Turkey's entry will increase the perceived problems that Europeans fear--it could help mitigate these issues instead.

We found the Military Museum as described in one guidebook--large and rambling. I think they had about every weapon ever discharged by a Turk in battle on display. Still if you can get through it all, there is a fair amount of information and it is in English, which the Ataturk Museum is not.

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December 07, 2005

09:37:56 am Reading List  

Reading List

Last update: December 20, 2005

Here's what we read during the year we were away.

Top 10 Recommendations for Travel Reading:

Downtime during travel gives you plenty of time to read, and reading about subjects related to where you are traveling has two benefits. First, it makes the destination more interesting because you know more about it. Second, it makes the book you are reading more interesting because you are traveling to the place described. Here are the top 10 books we read about places we visited.

- The New York Times Almanac 2005. Issued annually, this reference book is the one book to take with you if you only have one book. It has a summarized history and facts on every country in the world and that's just one-fifth of its contents. What's the population of Botswana?, what size is Peru?, who won the Oscar for best actor in 1948?, who was the first pick in the NFL draft in 1979?, what is the ethnic composition of Singapore?, who was the Roman Emperor after Constantine, what is the history of the United Arab Emirates?, what are the 50 tallest buildings in the world? All of these questions and thousands of others are answered in this one volume that accompanies us throughout our trip. If you are on an extended trip, you are going to ask yourself dozens of questions about the places you visit. Do yourself a favor and bring this one book that has all of the answers.

- In a Sunburned Country (aka Down Under in the UK) by Bill Bryson. Hilarious travelogue through Australia from an American/British perspective. Interesting, educational, hard to put down. The most enjoyable book we have read on the trip. Especially relevant if you are actually traveling through the country while you are reading it, but a good read even if you are not. Thanks to Mark and Dana Strong for loaning this book to us while in Australia.

- A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous. A gripping diary of the horrors of war as experienced firsthand by a German woman at the end of the war when the Soviets took over Berlin. We have said many times the Soviets were absolute brutes in World War II; only an enemy like Germany could make us allies. Very disturbing.

- Vietnam by Stanley Karnow. Excellent history of western involvement in Vietnam by a journalist who was there for large portions of time in the 1950s through the 1970s. Book is more thorough on the Johnson administration than the Nixon administration, and author's dislike of Nixon shows through a bit too clearly. In addition, two updates since original publication, while useful, occasionally make it confusing as to which period the author is discussing (late 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s). Nevertheless, this book is generally considered the best book on Vietnam and rightly so.

Author also wrote In Our Image, a history of American involvement in the Philippines, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1990. Nick read that book that year while he lived in the Philippines.

- Three Swans by Jung Chang. True story about the author, her mother, and her grandmother and their life story in China. The grandmother was a concubine, the mother was a communist true believer, later persecuted by the state, and the daughter was a member of the Red Guard, who later questioned Mao, resulting in her parent's persecution. The author is now in her 50s and has moved to London. Banned in China. Excellent.

This author and her husband Jon Halliday have just written a new biography of Mao Zedong. It is reviewed in the May 28-June 3, 2005 Economist. You can buy the Economist in China, but if you buy this issue as we did, you will find that page 83 containing the review, is ripped out. Censorship lives, at least in China. We suppose the review is positive on the book, and the book is negative on Mao, but we do not know. Don't expect this new book to be available at your local Beijing bookseller.

- Warrior Politics by Robert Kaplan. We stumbled onto this book in a small English section of a bookstore in Quito. Kaplan writes regularly for Atlantic Monthly, and has published a half-dozen or so travelogues to the worst countries on earth, examining why those countries are at war or economically hopeless from a historical and cultural perspective. This book is more analytical in nature and looks at modern geopolitics from a turn-of-the-century perspective where the Cold War is a decade in the past and the developed economies seem to have no problems. Written before the event, it predicts a 9/11-type catastrophe. It's not an optimist read, but is very insightful.

- Empire, How Britain Made the Modern World by Niall Ferguson. Ferguson is an unapologetically not politically correct writer of history who has strong views that the British Empire, for all of its flaws, was more good than bad, and thus advanced humankind as a whole, even if not for all of the people it governed. We agree. Ferguson states plainly that the British were better, more benevolent colonizers, on the whole than any other country. We have made this point in our blog before we ever knew of this book, so we couldn't help but like it.

- Europe 101 by Rick Steves and Gene Upshaw. A very readable compendium of European art and history from the ancient Greeks to modern day, with listings of travel sites related to the topics discussed. Its breeziness makes it a bit light at times, but that saves you from falling asleep and drooling all over the book. It's sort of a For Dummies version of A History of Knowledge (reviewed separately), but we'll have to admit that Europe 101 was the more enjoyable of the two books to read.

- Investment Biker by Jim Rogers.
- Adventure Capitalist by Jim Rogers. Listed last, but actually our top recommendation if you are going to do anything approaching an around-the-world trip. We are cheating a bit by including these two books as we read them before the trip began. Nonetheless, they did help they help inspire our trip, and thus they deserve inclusion here. In the first book, Investment Biker, Jim Rogers and his girlfriend ride motorcycles around the world over a two-year period. Like Robert Kaplan, there is no place they won't go--desert, war zones, you name it, they travel through it, often encountering and escaping from life-or-death situations. Also like Kaplan, Rogers makes many predictions, which are thought provoking, even when they often prove wrong. Unlike Kaplan, Rogers is more optimistic, which may make his books more balanced, even if they are more opinionated. This is due to different backgrounds. Rogers was a partner of George Soros--they worked together on the Quantum hedge fund in the 1970s. So while as a reporter, Kaplan finds problems, as an investor, Rogers uncovers opportunity. His first book, took place over two years in 1990-1991, while the second took place over three years, 1999-2001. You can literally feel the Soviet Union collapsing as he rides across it in the first book, while you can visualize the changes that have occurred as he revisits it about a decade later. Thus, the second book reads as a sequel to the first. Given his investment orientation, Rogers likes more of what he sees at the beginning of the 90s, where the collapse of communism creates opportunity, then at the decade's end, where a decade of peace and prosperity mean there are few values remaining. In this sense, like Kaplan, he is not so sanguine on the immediate future.

Rogers and his gal pal are on the road the entire time, not returning home. In the second book, Rogers upgrades his transportation from a pair of motorcycles to a custom-built, bright-yellow Mercedes, figuring that dictators worldwide drive Mercedes, so repairs should be easier. He also changes girlfriends, and ends up getting married to the new woman on the second trip.

Next Best Travel Related Books

We read dozens of books during the year, most of them about places we were traveling to. Above we list only the top 10 travel books, leaving many other worthy travel books unmentioned. Here then are the other travel related books we read, most of which were quite good and we would recommend.

- Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl, The Definitive Edition; Edited by Otto Frank and Mirjam Pressler. Deanna bought this and read it after visiting Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam. Having viewed where the author wrote the book in hiding made it that much more powerful.

- The Ends of the Earth by Robert Kaplan. Having loved Warrior Politics by the same author, we sought out this earlier Kaplan book while in Australia. While we were on a boat in Chile, an American couple saw us reading Warrior Politics, and after hearing of our trip, said we should read The Ends of the Earth, written in the mid-1990s. In this book, Kaplan travels mainly by land from western Africa through the Middle East and central Asia to Cambodia. While we have a few countries in common with him, he is seeking out the worst places and traveling, eating, and living like a local, two things we generally are not doing. Again, generally pessimistic, and with the passage of time we can see he was too pessimistic on Cambodia, and ironically too positive on Iran, one of the few times he was optimistic. Nevertheless, the predictions and his perspective make the book interesting and thought provoking. Very few westerners would ever travel the way he does which makes his insight unique.

- The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel Huntington. Like Kaplan's The Ends of the Earth, this mid-1990s geopolitical survey has a different view than the conventional wisdom on the end of the Cold War--namely, that the future for the West could be more dangerous, not less, after it vanquished the Soviet Union. Huntington's lens through which he views the world is to identify the major civilizations--cultural groupings based on common culture and religion--that are likely to clash with each other in the coming decades. He foresees the rise of Islam as a major source of violence and a challenge to the Western world. Like any bold book on the future that has been out for a while, some predictions have already been proven inaccurate, but in total this book seems more right than wrong. It's unique view of the world order is still very relevant one decade after its writing.

- A History of Knowledge by Charles Van Doren. A history of the major developments of human civilization. Readable at times, quite dry in other places. If you want something lighter, go with Europe 101 by Rick Steves and Gene Upshaw (reviewed separately) instead. Overall, though, a good overview of recorded history for a trip like ours.

- The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. Nick is currently reading this best seller about how globalization and the rise of India and China are changing the world. Friedman is a newspaper columnist for the New York Times, not an academic, and it shows in his writing to both good and bad effect. On the downside, his breathy generalities are not always 100% true or supported completely. On the flipside, the book is readable, and every now and then, there is an insight that will surprise even those who have been to India and observed offshore work firsthand. Those who do not work in the corporate world may get the most out of this book of revelations, but we think everyone will find something of interest in it.

- Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson. Written in 1990, nearly a decade before In a Sunburned Country, this travel romp through Europe features a younger and earthier Bryson, and we are not talking about his environmental awareness. It's not as good as his Australia book, but nonetheless it provides a good overview of the continent, and is a good book to read before or during a trip to Europe. Full of bawdy tales.

- Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson. This effort on Great Britain, written in the middle of the 1990s, is somewhere between Neither Here Nor There and In a Sunburned Country (written at each end of the decade) in terms of its humor and ribaldness. Reading each book shows how Bryson has matured as a writer. The Australia book at the end of the decade is his best, while this one improves upon the Europe book but still has some flaws. Namely, his too often stated distaste for anything modern, be it architecture, shopping malls, or cars. It's not so much that he's wrong, just repetitive. Nevertheless, a worthwhile book with some brilliant insights on Britain and the British.

- British History for Dummies. Of course, you feel like an idiot buying a book in this series, but British history is somewhat incomprehensible to Americans, and this book does a good job of breaking it down into easily digestible morsels. It is a textbook that does not read like one. Nick read most of it.

- The Kitchen Boy, A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander. Deanna was given this book by Marilyn Stillman, one of the six others we traveled with while in Russia. It’s a fictional history of the Romanov's, the last monarchs of Russia, as told from the perspective of one of their servants. A good way to learn about the czars, says Deanna, for people who prefer stories over a recitation of facts.

- Bound Feet & Western Dress by Pang-Mei Natasha Chang. Similar China themes to Wild Swans. Good.

- Modern Latin America by Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith. A textbook of sorts that you could find on Amazon.com. It covers the political, economic, and social history of the major countries of Central and South America (including Mexico and the Caribbean). Probably the best English-language academic history of the region. Readable.

- Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry. Fictional story set in India about a man and his friends and how they are affected by various intrigues during the rule of Indira Gandhi. Author is a well-known Indian writer, who won several awards for this book that provides insight into the customs and rituals that comprise daily Indian life.

- The Samurai Way of Baseball by Robert Whiting. 15 years ago this author wrote the definitive book for Americans on Japanese baseball, You Gotta Have Wa, which examined the experience of US players in the Japanese professional leagues. This new book, looks at the experience of Japanese players in the US. In addition, it covers US ballplayer experiences in the 15 years since You Gotta Have Wa Came Out. While the subject matter obviously will appeal most to baseball fans, the books provides a good look at the differences in Japanese and American culture. The contrasts on the ballfield are probably not that different from the contrasts in business or society in general. Note this book is the second edition, which is current as of the end of the 2004 season. The first edition was titled The Meaning of Ichiro.

- The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, Where Their Future Lies by Michael Breen. Breen is British newspaper reporter who has covered Korea for two decades. Some chapters are page turners, hard to put down, while others such as those chronicling the country's ancient history, are necessary, but less interesting. Written in a conversational, humorous style, rather than from an academic perspective. Good overview if you are traveling to Korea, or just want to know more about the country.

- 1914: Why the World Went to War by Niall Ferguson. A 50-page Pocket Penguin backgrounder on the causes of World War I. The author's thesis is that the conventional wisdom that this war was unpreventable may be wrong. Harder to read than we expected, as the names of European diplomats from nearly a century ago have are not well known to Americans any more. They have faded from memory and teaching in a way that World War II figures have not. The book would benefit from a roster of who's who at the front, or a reference to nationality and title whenever someone is mentioned. Otherwise, you get a bit lost trying to figure out who is who. Because of this, we do not recommend this book for someone looking for the Cliff Notes summary of World War I. This book is a highly abridged version of Ferguson's 500-plus page effort on World War I that we have not seen.

- The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Abridged (Penguin Classics) by Edward Gibbon, abridged by David Womersley. Nick really wanted to like this classic book, but its late 18th Century writing style was just too dense and it defeated him. Unless you are a better person than he, Nick recommends you reach for a more contemporary and shorter volume should you want to learn about ancient Rome.

- Australian Rules Football for Dummies. Arriving in New Zealand after six weeks in South America meant a steady stream of English media that we had missed since leaving home. Nick rejoiced over the 20-page sports section in the Sunday edition of the Auckland newspaper, and then quickly realized that it contained 19.5 pages of uninteresting sports. Not so in Australia. Australian Rules Football is a great game that any American football fan can appreciate, even if the two sports are much more different than their similar names suggest. This book provides a great overview to Australia's national game.

- Australian Prime Ministers. A chronological list of Australia's prime ministers from independence in 1901 to the present with 5-10 pages on each. We bought this in parliament in Canberra. It's like a book you would buy in the US at a presidential museum, detailing all of the presidents. Good for an overview of Australian history, especially the past few decades.

- History of Modern Malaysia. Nick bought this at a history museum in Kuala Lumpur. He wanted to hear the story of Singapore and Malaysia's wedding and divorce in the 1960s, from Malaysia's perspective, having read the Singapore side in its museums.

- Know the Game Cricket, produced in collaboration with the Marylebone Cricket Club. You can watch 15 minutes of Aussie Rules Footy and get the jist of it. Cricket is different. You can stare at it for hours (we have) and not understand what is going on. This book helped some. A For Dummies cricket book would be better but we could not find one. As a postscript, we can report that by the end of our trip, Nick understands about 80% of the game of cricket. He has learned to like it, and he looks forward to the latest England results.

Guide Books We Used During Our Trip

- The Footprint Guide to South America. Convenient in that it covers all of South America in one book, so it was the only guidebook we needed for the first six weeks of our trip. But it necessarily sacrifices thoroughness for its comprehensiveness, and we did not always agree with its recommendations. Nevertheless, the best book we know of if you only want one book on this continent. We thought better of Footprint once we got to Europe because our experience was that Footprint covered the continent of South America better and more comprehensively than any of the Europe guide books did for Europe.

- Lonely Planet guides to New Zealand, Australia, China, Japan, India, the Baltics, Russia & Belarus, Germany, and Mediterranean Europe. Over the past five years, Lonely Planet has come to dominant the global guidebook business, pushing Fodor's, Frommer's, and others aside. We generally look for its book first and for the most part consider them to be best. This is not always the case, though. In South America we preferred Footprint (although we often complained about it) and for Southeast Asia, we did not buy the Lonely Planet guide as its Singapore section was too thin and its Philippines section was too focused on backpacker areas, completely ignoring Makati, the main expatriate locale where we will be based. In general, our one complaint with Lonely Planet is that as they provide ever more detailed country and sub-country guides, the quality of their regional offerings (e.g., South America or Southeast Asia) seems to not be keeping up or to be disappearing. That may be a rationale business decision on their part, but it's inconvenient for people like us who want to minimize the number of books we carry. Their Mediterranean Europe guide, an abridgement and compilation of their individual guides from the countries bordering the Mediterranean, was a disappointment--too heavily edited to be useful. Often the 30-plus country Let's Go Europe guide had info not present in the 11-country Mediterranean Europe by Lonely Planet. So with Lonely Planet, stick to their individual country guides.

For the countries we listed above, the Lonely Planet guides were good, with China probably the best single guidebook we have ever used. It's overdue for a new edition, having been published in 2002, but it's still quite useful. Update: in late June we met Delmar, an energetic American traveler in Kyoto, Japan, who said the new China edition just came out, with the Terra Cotta Warriors on the cover.

- Rough Guide to Southeast Asia. We spent an hour looking at multi-country guides to this region, found obvious flaws with each, and settled on this one as the least objectionable. It came out in 2001, so it's dated, and its backpacker-orientation means it is not great for lodging or restaurant recommendations. We bought it for its background information and activities listings. A lukewarm recommendation. If Singapore and the Philippines are not important to you, buy Lonely Planet instead, but it's not great either.

- Rick Steves' guides on Europe: Europe through the Back Door, The Best of Europe, and Europe 101 (reviewed separately). We requested and received these as Christmas presents. Rick Steves is the best-known European guidebook writer in the US. You may have seen his TV specials on PBS. We saw him in person at Savvy Traveler in Chicago (bookstore devoted entirely to travel), and his enthusiasm and knowledge won us over. His books are somewhat different from other guidebooks in that they do not aim to be comprehensive. Instead of listing every top attraction, they discuss only the ones that Rick finds interesting. The Best of Europe is just that, his top picks on what to see, ignoring everything else. When he does cover something, he devotes far more detail to it and provides more insight and useful tips than any other guide book we have used. But he may not mention something you are interested in, so you may need to supplement his book with a more traditional book. Europe Through the Back Door covers travel secrets and hidden gems, country by country. It is really intended as a travel-planning book to be used before you leave. About half of its content is repetitive with The Best of Europe. Our back door tip is to skip the Back Door book and just use The Best of Europe. Note that his books are much stronger on Western Europe than Eastern Europe, and he is also light on Scandinavia.

- Let's Go Europe. A more comprehensive guidebook on all of Europe that we used to fill in the gaps in Rick Steves' books. Having this book allowed us to leave Rick's books in London while we spent a month traveling through Scandinavia, the Baltics, and Russia, areas he covers in only minimal detail or not at all. The benefit of a continental book like this and the book we used in South America is that one book covers everything, a real convenience. The downside is two-fold. First, with one book covering everything, it of course cannot cover a country as in depth as a more focused book. That's to be expected. The other downside is that these continental books are focused at backpackers, so all of their hotel and restaurant recommendations are oriented to really cheap places and are not that useful for us. Let's Go Europe is more budget conscious--i.e., less useful for us--than Footprint South America. Its competitors Europe on a Shoestring by Lonely Planet and The Rough Guide to Europe have the same limitation. There was not a Footprint Europe guide at the bookstore where we made this purchase. Having used Footprint, Lonely Planet, and Rough Guide during our trip, we wanted to try Let's Go to see what it was like. Like the other continental guides, it's okay, very convenient to cover over 30 countries in one book, but often not as good as we hoped for.

Non-Travel Books We Read During Our Trip (not included on other lists)

- Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. Deanna could not put this down. Read this first before Da Vinci Code, as the events of this book occur first.

- Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Having rushed through Angels and Demons in a few days, Deanna then breezed through this in a few days. Another book she could not put down.

- Freakonomics: A Rouge Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. This book uses economics to explain human behavior. The headline-grabbing finding these authors have found is that the decline in the crime rate in the US in the 1990s is statistically linked to an increase in abortions following Roe v. Wade. This finding is supported statistically as well by results in countries other than the US. Abortions and crime rates are just one of numerous phenomena the authors examine. Provocative. For a similar book, see Mean Genes.

- Mean Genes: From Sex to Money to Food: Taming our Primal Instincts by Terry Burnham and Jay Phelan. One of our friends called this the best book he read in 2004. We don't rate it as highly (we would give the 2004 honor to Adventure Capitalist), but it is a good read, offering scientific explanations for basic, often destructive, human behavior. Similar to Freakonomics.

- Mean Markets and Lizard Brains by Terry Burnham. Here is a good example of sequel overstretch. Burnham tries to use his Mean Genes framework to explain and justify his personal views on future financial market trends. He may be right in the medium term on the markets (next decade or so), but the framework seems a bit of a contrived way of explaining it. So read it for the conclusion, even if how he gets there is not necessarily compelling. And in the long run, Nick does think that Jeremy Siegel is more right than Burnham. We'll see in a few decades.

- Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Here's a rarity in publishing--a non-fiction author with back-to-back bestsellers (Gladwell's first book was The Tipping Point) where the second does not regurgitate half of the original. A quick, enlightening, original, and joyful read says Nick who read it all during a daytrip to the Greek islands.

- The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography/Autobiography in 1919, but Nick shed no tears when he finished this self-absorbed autobiography. Read John Adams (Henry Adams's great-grandfather) by David McCullough instead. Much better.

- Moby Dick by Herman Melville. The classic book about whale hunting in which the whale, like a late dinner guest, does not show up until the end. Okay says Deanna, but not her favorite.

- Three Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger. An in-depth look at the job of baseball managing by the author of Friday Night Lights. The book explains the job by dissecting Tony LaRussa's every move during a three-game series with between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs in August 2003. Nick, as a Cardinals fan and Cubs hater, saw this book for months on the US bestseller lists, but was unable to acquire it in any of the non-baseball-oriented countries he was in. His desire piqued, he tore through the book in September once he received it for his birthday. The result? Mild disappointment. The book is good, but not great in the way Moneyball by Michael Lewis was. Moneyball was full of insight you had not thought of before as a baseball fan. Three Nights in August has interesting stories, but it does not offer the same insight or quality of writing as Moneyball or as Men at Work, written by George Will in 1991. The players featured in Men at Work may seem dated now--although Tony LaRussa is prominent in that book also--but similar methods and managerial strategy are revealed there, nearly 15 years earlier. In the end, Three Nights in August, tries too hard. It tells you it is giving you great insight, when you have read it before; it tries to put down Moneyball, a book that it is inferior to; and it tells you what a great writer Bissinger is, when frankly he is not the equal of Lewis or Will. This misplaced boastfulness makes you dislike the book a bit in spite of its other qualities.

- Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell. Upwardly mobile career women experience the similarities and differences of their lives versus their male counterparts. Written by the author of Sex in the City. Read by Stacy on our safari, she passed it on to Deanna. Nick chimes in that in his exhaustive five minute perusal of the book, the sex scenes are too brief, too nondescriptive, and too few to interest heterosexual male readers.

- State of Fear by Michael Crichton. A mystery that Deanna is currently reading on environmental terrorism. Another safari leave behind from Stacy. Perhaps most interesting for Crichton's personal view that the global warming movement has become so detached from provable fact that it will be regarded at some point in the future as a lamentable episode of human folly on par with witchcraft trials of earlier centuries and the eugenics movement in the first half of the 20th Century. He supports this view with page after page of footnotes and a bibliography more in line with a scholarly work than a fictional novel.

- The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan. A collection of autobiographical stories that apparently is not selling well because in London it came packaged free with a daily newspaper. Deanna read a chapter or two and then moved on.

- Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie. A guilty pleasure quick read from the limited English selection hotel in Beijing. "I enjoyed it more than I expected or should have," quipped Deanna.

- The Nanny by Melissa Nathan. UK chic lit. An example of what you read when you are on a boat for four days in China with a limited selection of English reading material. Okay, but nothing special, according to Deanna.

- Girl Meets Ape by Chris Manby. More UK chic lit. Came bundled free with UK Cosmo. That says it all, Deanna quipped. Lots of stories about knickers and hen parties. A leave behind book.

- A murder mystery on show horses in Florida that was at the Llao Llao Hotel in Bariloche, Argentina, title and author long forgotten. An example of what you read when you at a resort hotel in Argentina with a limited selection of English reading material. A time filler, according to Deanna.

Notable Periodicals:
- The Economist. World's best newsweekly.
- The International Herald-Tribune. The best international daily newspaper, even if it is run by the New York Times. Be aware, though, that every good US economic report will be followed one or two days later with a gray sky editorial saying that the numbers beneath the surface are not really that good. The prior sentence does not apply in case of a Democrat president. This is so predictable as to be laughable if it were not maddening. Nonetheless, it remains the best overall daily read when you are outside of the US.
- Now. Australian version of People magazine.
- People. Australian weekly focusing on paparazzi shots of celebrity nudity. Seems to have a much high level of male readership than People in America.

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01:36:31 am Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - Istanbul, Turkey - Sunny, High 50s.  

Toured the Old Istanbul sites today: Hagia Sophia, cathedral built by Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Emperor Justinian in the 6th Century, then turned into a mosque once the Muslims took over Constantinople in the 15th Century, and finally made a museum by Ataturk in the 1930s; Blue Mosque, an active Muslim mosque--we could not enter as it was prayer time, so we may return another day; Grand Bazaar, with hundreds and hundreds of shops; and the Archaeological Museum, which despite poor lighting and no maps as to its layout, was phenomenal--one of the best archaeological museums we have been to.

While all of our time has been in tourist-heavy Old Istanbul, and thus not necessarily representative of the country as a whole, the prices we've experienced are higher than what I would have expected. Food, drinks, museum fees all seem high for a country with a per capita GDP under $3,000 ($7,000 on a purchasing power basis). Taxi and hotel prices are okay, but not a bargain. I think the currency, which is up about 5% against the dollar over the past year, needs to depreciate a bit from its present level of 1.36 new Turkish lira to the dollar to account for the 7.5% annual inflation here (although the US inflation rate of 4.3% over the past year through October is not that much below this due to higher energy prices).

With putting much thought to it, I might rank Istanbul second (with Rome first) in terms of most important cities in world history, due to its 1000-plus year legacy as the successor to Rome and its 400-plus year run as the capital of the Ottoman Empire and the center of Islam. Here some of the key dates in its history:

Key Historical Dates in Late Roman/Byzantine/Constantinople/Istanbul History

313 Roman Emperor Constantine legalizes Christianity. Previously it was illegal. Pagan religion and Christianity now co-exist in the Roman Empire.
330 Constantine moves the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium, which is renamed Constantinople after him.
383 Theodosius, the last Roman emperor to rule over both the east and the western parts of the empire, makes Christianity the official religion of the empire.
476 Demise of the last Roman emperor in the west. Only the eastern empire centered in Constantinople remains. This becomes known as the Byzantine Empire.
527-565 Under Byzantine Emperor Justinian, east Roman rule spreads back to the west, recapturing many of the lost territories of the western empire. This is the final hey day for the Romans in the west. It is short lived--the territories are lost after Justinian dies. In Constantinople, Justinian constructs the Hagia Sophia.
1204 The misguided 4th Crusade from Europe diverts its attention from Muslims to fellow Christians, sacking Constantinople. A Latin Empire rules Constantinople until 1261.
1261 Byzantine rule returns to Constantinople.
1453 The Byzantine Empire, a shadow of its former self, ends as Ottoman ruler Mehmet the Conqueror takes Constantinople and converts the city to Islam. The Ottomans make Constantinople the center of their empire that eventually spreads from Iran to southeastern Europe, including much of the Middle East and Egypt.
1918 The Ottoman Empire, after decaying for several centuries is on the losing side in World War I and is reduced to a small, insignificant state in the post-war treaties with much of modern Turkish land designated for the victorious powers.
1923 Turkey is declared a republic by Kemal Ataturk. His armies nullified the post-World War I treaty and expanded Turkey by force from the small territory designated for it in the war treaty to its present-day size.
1930 Constantinople officially renamed Istanbul.

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01:35:32 am Monday, December 5, 2005 - Athens, Greece and Istanbul, Turkey - Sunny, High 50s.  

Arrived in Istanbul mid-afternoon on a short flight on Turkish Airlines. Checked into Best Western Empire Palace where we will stay for three nights. Location is good, right in the heart of all of the Old Istanbul historical sites. Went to Topkapi Palace, the compound of the Ottoman rulers. It reminded me of the Forbidden City in Beijing--completely different architecture and smaller than the Chinese royal compound, but it had a similar feel.

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01:34:50 am Sunday, December 4, 2005 - Athens, Greece; day trip to islands of Aegina, Hydra, and Poros - Sunny, Mid 60s.  

We wanted to see more of Greece than just Athens, so we took a cruise to three islands in the Aegean Sea. The islands were pretty, but by this point at the end of the trip, natural beauty is losing its appeal to me. As are boat cruises! We have three days in Egypt cruising the Nile; I'm hoping to be more enthused for that.

With apologies to my relatives of Greek descent, I have to confess that I did not find Greece that interesting. After it peaked in the classical period some 2300 years ago, it does not seem to have done much that is unique or noteworthy. Athens has grown tremendously over the past 175 years of Greek independence from a small village of a few thousand people to a city of several million, yet--aside from the ancient sites--it is utterly nondescript. There is not a single prominent or interesting modern building on the skyline. The city has a tremendous ancient focal point in the Acropolis, but the modern city offers nothing, content to rely on its past glory. This is not a total surprise--most travel books pan Athens and praise the countryside and the islands. We did not get to see much of the countryside, but we did spend a day visiting three islands. They were pretty as I said, and I can see why people like them. They have a decidedly unmodern, unhurried pace of life that is appealing when you need to get away from it all. But if you are at the end of a two-year period of being away from it all, having seen beautiful places all over the world, you long for something more.

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01:33:54 am Saturday, December 3, 2005 - Athens, Greece - Sunny, 70.  

I went to five museums within walking distance of our hotel: National History Museum (okay, but only takes 20 minutes to breeze through it); National Archaeological Museum (good); Museum of the City of Athens (actually more of a collection of paintings, drawings, and models of the Acropolis from the last 200 years); War Museum (disappointing, everything up to 1943 is under renovation and the rest does not have enough English); and Byzantine & Christian Museum (surprisingly good, the most informative of all of five of these museums--details the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine Empire, from roughly 330 - 1453 AD). Deanna joined me for the last two. More about the Byzantine Empire when we get to Turkey, since it was ruled from what today is Istanbul.

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01:31:53 am Friday, December 2, 2005 - Athens, Greece - Sunny, Low 70s.  

Deanna and I took a walk tour of the Acropolis of Athens. Afterward, we walked to Pynx Hill and the Ancient Agora. At night, we went to a movie, The Constant Gardner. This is director Fernando Meirelles's second film--his first, City of God, set in Rio, was my favorite film of 2003. Constant Gardner was a disappointment, full of ridiculous conspiracy theories that removed all credibility from the film. If you think corporate CEOs have hit men on the payroll and scheme about taking out their enemies and if you think the pharmaceutical industry controls the US and the UK government, then you might like this lame effort.

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01:28:42 am Thursday, December 1, 2005 - Athens, Greece - Sunny, High 60s.  

Our flight from London was delayed due to "improper loading of chemicals" so it was around 4 AM Thursday in Athens once we got to bed, 23 1/2 hours after we awoke in Cape Town, South Africa. We are staying five nights at the Astor Hotel, close to the Acropolis. Today was a non-event. After only getting about four hours sleep our last night in Cape Town (I was up late getting all of the pictures on our website up to date), and not sleeping much on the plane rides, I slept from 4 AM to 3 PM, expect for an hour from 10 AM-11 AM to eat breakfast. Since many tourist sites in Athens close around 2 PM or 3 PM in the off-season, there was not much to do once I did get up. That was fine with me, I would have been too drained earlier in the day to do anything anyway. I think the 5 AM Botswana wake ups may have also caught up to me.

Cities have reputations for certain things. Our experience is that sometimes the reputation is accurate, but other times not. Athens is known for bad traffic, noise, pollution, and taxis trying to rip you off. We can report that--with the completion of two ring roads for the 2004 Olympics and the closing of some city center streets to vehicles--traffic, noise, and pollution all seem to have diminished. We have no prior observation on this, but what we found did not match what we read (which was written pre-Olympics). Taxis have become more sophisticated as well. They now are polite and willingly use their meter without argument, and then, only at the end of the ride when you have a false sense of security, do they invent made-up charges to try and get you to pay an amount above the metered amount.

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December 03, 2005

08:15:13 am Botswana Safari--written by Deanna  

Saturday, November 19, 2005 - Chitabe Camp, Botswana

An African safari was the top destination for me when we started planning this trip. Before the trip began, we planned to go to Tanzania and thus we listed that country on our trip card. But as we traveled around the world and met various people, we asked those who had been to Africa what country they would pick. Botswana won out, with Tanzania second, and Kenya third. In addition to gathering the most votes, Botswana also received the most enthusiastic support, so we decided to go there instead of Tanzania.

Botswana has turned to eco-friendly tourism to boost its economy and it is working. A company named Wilderness Safaris has about 80% market share--deservedly so, as they do an excellent job. Most camps are owned individually, but operated by Wilderness. This allows for consistency throughout the camps. Even menus are coordinated so that you do not eat the same thing twice in a row when you switch camps. They also own the shuttle flight company that moves you from camp to camp. It all comes at a hefty price, but in our opinion, it is worth it.

We arrive in Joburg airport at 6:30 AM from Europe and clear the long customs line by 8 AM. Stacy and Bill meet us at the check-in counter. They are traveling light, but not by design--KLM lost their luggage. They are optimistic that the bags should arrive the next day in Botswana. After checking in, Stacy and Bill go on a quick shopping spree at the airport to purchase what they can to tide them over until their luggage arrives. Meanwhile, Nick and I are at the gate asking Air Botswana not to close it because Stacy and Bill are still shopping. Our pleas are ignored and the gate agent has to stop the bus to allow Nick and I to board it to get to the plane. Once we arrive at the aircraft, I plead with bus driver to radio and see if he can locate Stacy and Bill. A few minutes later, they arrive on their own shuttle bus.

After 24 hours of non-stop travel, we arrive at our first safari camp. As we approach the landing strip, we see giraffes grazing in the treetops and elephants sloshing around in the mud. We eat lunch and go over the rules of the camp. The rules are necessary--this is not Disney's Animal Kingdom with its hidden electrical fences to protect the guests. Here the animals are truly free and roam in and out of camp. The number one rule is that we cannot walk back to our tented rooms at night without an employee escort, even though all of the walkways and rooms are elevated on wooden platforms. The word tent here, while descriptive, is deceiving, as these rooms have all of the amenities of a hotel room. The beds have mosquito netting and the rooms are outfitted in safari chic. All have an en-suite bathroom and a shower, plus an additional outdoor shower for the daring. Our daily schedule is set for us: 5 AM wake up; 5:30 AM breakfast; 6 AM excursion; 10:30 AM brunch; 11 AM free time or nap; 4 PM tea; 4:30 PM excursion; and 8 PM dinner. The three to four hour excursions to see the animals are centered around sunrise and sunset, as those are the daylight hours when the animals are most active. Also, this avoids the hottest part of the day. We are in the southern hemisphere where it is light from 5:30 AM to 7:30 PM this time of year, with high temperatures around 90 degrees and low temperatures around 60 degrees.

Bill, Stacy, Nick and I meet for tea at 4 PM and then head off at 4:30 for our first African safari adventure in our open-air Land Rover with our driver and guide Ebs. To say the first time is always the best would be an understatement. We are so fortunate on our first excursion that we do think we are at Animal Kingdom and that we will see such abundant animal life on all our excursions. We started by watching eight lion cubs playing in the bush waiting for their moms to return after a successful hunt. Dad was not too far away fast asleep under a tree as he babysat while the lionesses were away. Next, we saw impalas, a form of African antelope. We also came upon a handful of wildebeest grazing in the high grass. The highlight of our excursion was watching two cheetahs stalk unsuspecting impalas. There was no chase as the impalas were too far away, but the sleekness and gracefulness of the cheetahs was amazing.

We have dinner and retire early for our early morning wake-up call.

Sunday, November 20, 2005- Chitabe Camp, Botswana

Our wake-up call came a little early when a troop of baboons used our tent roof as a path from the trees to the grasslands that our camp overlooks. Then came the African drums, signaling it was 5 AM and time to get up.

After breakfast, Ebs drove us to a different area of the camp than what we saw the day before. We first spotted two warthogs having breakfast with several giraffes grazing the treetops in the background. Next we caught up to another vehicle who had spotted mating leopards and we arrived in time to watch the proceedings--just like an Animal Planet episode, except I believe the female was not pleased with all the spectators. We asked to see elephants and like that, we were off to find them. We spotted a herd. There were many moms with their teenagers and babies. We soon found out that a female elephant is very protective of her babies as several threatened to charge us because they thought we were too close. After this thrill, we head back to camp for brunch.

Stacy and Bill's luggage has not arrived and their hopes of on receiving it any time soon are dwindling.

After tea, we head out again. This time another couple joins our foursome. He is a Professor of Biology at the University of Washington. They are very keen birders, which excites Ebs who is also a birder. Unfortunately, our guide's bird knowledge is wasted on the four of us. The excitement of the evening drive comes when we see a huge dust cloud in the distance. It is a herd of African buffalo. They look like they are wearing wigs but it is really the formation of their horns (see image gallery). The horns form a helmet (with a part) for protection. We watch the sunset over drinks in front of a waterhole full of hippos. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Monday, November 21, 2005- Chitabe Camp morning and Kwetsani Camp afternoon

The next morning we head out on our last excursion at Chitabe camp. Our first stop is to say goodbye to the lion cubs. They seem very hungry. Their mothers have not returned. If they do not return soon, some of the cubs will not make it. Buzzards sit in the trees watching over them. Even the kings of the jungle are never far from death in this environment. We see zebras, giraffes, elephants, and wildebeest. We see many birds along with a crown crane (see image gallery). This must be a rare sighting, because all camp staff and other guests are impressed we saw it.

After brunch, we fly to our second camp, Kwetsani. This camp is supposed to be on an island on the Okavango Delta. We land and are picked up by Conrad, who runs Kwetsani with his fiance Kerrie. They prove to be gracious hosts. He drives the Land Rover on soft sand roads--making for a very bumpy ride--for close to an hour. We go over a small bridge over what appears to be a large puddle and a short distance further arrive at camp. We are arriving at the start of rainy season and the end of dry season. There is no island currently. The island exists from May - July during flood season. The seasons are confusing. During the rainy season, there is no standing water. During the flood season, there is no rain, but there is standing water. The standing water comes from Angola and it takes several months once the rains end for the water to reach Botswana. The rooms are more impressive than our last camp with actual glass doors and double sinks in the bathroom. It is amazing when you consider that all these camps can be torn down in a couple of days and there would be no evidence that they ever existed.

We have lunch and then head back to our tents to wait out the heat of mid-day. Stacy and Bill's luggage still have not arrived.

In the afternoon, we go for a sundown cruise in a mokoro, a traditional African canoe with a flat bottom, dug out from one piece of wood. The sunset was spectacular. On our way back to camp, our guide Dan spots a lioness on the prowl in the dark. We watch her for a while, but there is no prey to be found, so we return to camp.

At dinner, the camp staff put on a wonderful show of traditional songs and dances for us.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005- Kwetsani Camp, Botswana

We awake at 5 AM, get ready, eat breakfast, and head off on the day's excursion. The four of us join a second couple from Virginia. We spot the 3 Brothers--three male lions that call the Okavango Delta home. Their bellies are plump so we suspect they had a successful hunt last night. One has a slightly grungy mane and looks as though he is blind or crazed in one eye. Our guide hypothesizes that he was injured while hunting--perhaps a zebra kick to the side of his head. They walk in a regal line with about 20-30 feet between each other. When you see this, you understand why they are called king of the beasts. As we search the area for hippos, we spot a jackal playing with her cub. Many of the animals have migrated south of us in search of water and greener plants. As the rainy season gets underway, many of the animals will return.

In the afternoon, we spot a wildebeest herd with a brand new baby. Most animals (antelope, wildebeest, giraffe, elephant, and so forth) are able to walk within moments of their birth and are running within an hour. This is essential for their survival for babies are the easiest prey for the predators.

Next, we spot four male elephants enjoying the cool late afternoon while munching on some small trees. They do not seem to mind us even though we are less than 20 feet from two of them. We watch them for a while. One rule of the safari is that you must not stand up in the Land Rover. Animals view the vehicle essentially as just another solid structure that moves, smells like petrol, and is non-threatening. If you break this rule by moving in the vehicle, the animal will become scared and charge. I am not sure exactly what happened but I think one of the elephants heard a camera shutter or saw the slightest of movements and became upset. Dan pulled away as the animal was staring us down, swinging its trunk, and threatening to charge. He was showing us what he was made of. We headed back down the road and came across one of the males eating the leaves of a tall acacia tree. We watched for a while, amazed at his gracefulness. We wanted to snap some pictures from the other side of the tree so we moved around the tree. As we sat and watched, the elephant turned and decided he did not like us there and started blowing his trunk and showing us how big he was. We were straddling the road. Dan was trying to move the vehicle but was having difficulty because we were wedged in the sandy ruts. As all of us held our breath, the adrenaline rushed through us while Dan managed to move us out of harm's way. In the meantime, the first enraged dominant male came up the road behind us so we proceeded ahead down the road. We pulled off to watch the elephants pass on the road. Two came up and started play jousting right in front of us. It was spectacular.

We watched the sunset behind a herd of zebras and wildebeests and discussed our day's exciting adventure.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005- Kwetsani Camp morning and Duma Tau Camp evening

No hot water this morning as some elephants broke one of the pipes during the night. On our morning excursion, we see the three lion brothers one last time. The sickly one seems to be doing much better. It is as though he has had a wash and blow-dry. The hot water was running again when we returned to camp mid-morning.

Duma Tau camp is located near Chobe National Park in the Linyanti Reserve. Our flight over was on a small Cessna with six seats. Both Stacy and I were ill after our 30-minute flight. There was good news upon arrival: Bill's luggage showed up. Stacy's is still missing though.

The highlight of our afternoon excursion was spotting hyenas. There were two of them eating the remains of an elephant carcass. It is a good thing that it is dark so that we could not actually see what they were eating (see image gallery). Everything is recycled out here. When an animal dies, within a few days, only the bones remain. Even the horns of a wildebeest are eaten by parasites. This was our first hyaena spotting. Our guide Moses also spotted a bushbaby. They are 6-inch long animals with really big eyes.

Thursday, November 24, 2005 (Happy Thanksgiving) - Duma Tau Camp, Botswana

We inform Moses that we would like to see hippos. He drives us to the camp's hippo pond. The hippos are all huddled together with their snouts barely visible. They are trying to keep warm. We watch a baby hippo jump out of the water as it plays while everyone else seems to be sleeping.

We move on from the hippo pond and see impalas, red lechwes, and zebras. It is the largest herd of zebras we have seen on our trip. On our way back to camp, we spot a hippo far from the pond in a very small waterhole. He has scratches all over his back. Moses speculates that he is an older male that has been defeated by a younger male for his harem. Birds are pecking at his wounds, eating his torn flesh. The water hole is too shallow for him to completely submerge and shoe them away. He is annoyed with them, and they could ultimately prove fatal to him, but there is little he can do. It is too hot for him to move to another water hole. Sunburn can be a killer of the mighty hippo.

Stacy's luggage makes it!

Another couple joins us for our afternoon excursion. They are from South Africa and own a travel agency. They provide us with recommendations for when we are in Cape Town. We spot two cheetahs and watch them search the grasslands for impala. The cheetahs have very poor luck. After all the impalas we have sighted on our safari (hundreds), there are none in sight now.

We join a vehicle from another camp that carries two couples we had met at our previous two camps. We swap stories over drinks and watch the sunset. On our drive back to camp, Moses shows what an expert he is. He spots a chameleon (see image gallery) in a tree in the dark of night. Amazing! Later we see the battle-scratched hippo from this morning. He has finally shed the birds.

Friday, November 25, 2005- Duma Tau Camp, Botswana, morning

This is our last day on safari. Moses promised us leopards, so we spend the morning tracking them. By chance, we stop to look at a bird and happen to hear the leopard's low bark. Moses fires up the engines and heads into the bush. It is very thick and hard to maneuver our large vehicle. Just as we are heading back to the road, Moses spots the leopard's tracks and we circle back around into the thick brush. After driving in circles, we give up. Another vehicle has spotted wild dogs and we decide to head in their direction. We stop to "check the tires" (aka use the bathroom) and decide to take it easy, giving up on the long drive to see the wild dogs. Instead, we have a quiet drive along the river before heading back to camp.

We pack and head to the airport. We have a new concern--now that Stacy and Bill have their luggage, not all of our luggage will fit in the small plane. We did not receive any information on packing or luggage restrictions prior to landing in Joburg. Upon arrival we learned we were to pack light in small soft-sided (duffle) bags. One of the great things about these camps is that they offer free laundry, so you really can pack light. Nick and I have packed light but that is to travel around the world--not for only one week on safari. Luckily, there was a second plane going to the same airport as us at the same time. We were able to put a suitcase on that plane.

As we flew over the African grasslands for the last time, I thought to myself just how fascinating and wonderful it is--full of life, death, and beauty.

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December 01, 2005

01:33:43 pm Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - Cape Town, South Africa; London, UK; Athens, Greece.  

A traveling day with a 12-hour flight to London, followed by a 3 1/2 hour flight to Athens, both on British Airways. We leave Cape Town at 8:15 AM and are scheduled to arrive in Athens at 1:20 AM, same time zone, the next morning. I think there were direct flights from Johannesburg to Athens on Olympic Airlines, but not every day of the week, and not from Cape Town. Also, those tickets cost a lot more than our booking, which was around $1160 per person for Paris-London, London-Johannesburg, Cape Town-London, and London-Athens. There was no way to include Africa on our around-the-world ticket, so we had to purchase a separate ticket. To include it, we would have had to visit Africa before arriving in Europe, skipping both India and Dubai or backtracking to Hong Kong to get to Africa.

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01:30:38 pm Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - Cape Town, South Africa - Sunny to mid-day, cloudy in the afternoon, High 70s. Includes comment on Argentina, Japan.  

Took a walking tour of downtown Cape Town that was quite interesting. Cape Town has good colonial architecture and also Art Deco architecture from the 1930s and 1940s. Before I went to bed, I finally got all of the pictures on the web site up to date, adding over 100 pictures today. The web site is now back to normal after five weeks of being behind due to death of my old PC.

We leave South Africa tomorrow morning and I'm not sure what to conclude about it. We had a great time here, better than anticipated. I arrived expecting to be bearish on the country's future. Now I see reasons to be bullish, although I recognize that the short amount of time we spent here was entirely in one of the nicest parts of the country, so my perspective could be skewed. The reasons for my bearishness before arrival were that: 1) from afar, what little I had read on the country, indicated to me that government policy was from the two-wrongs-make-a-right school (I'll explain that) and 2) African countries have a poor record post-independence. Although South Africa's independence dates from 1910, you could consider 1994--the end of apartheid and the beginning of non-white rule--as a second independence. I wish the second fact were not the case, but you only have to look to the northern border with Zimbabwe to see a country that has been an absolute disaster since its independence in 1980. It used to be a significant food exporter, now--due to seizing of white farmland--Zimbabweans are starving. South Africa is no Zimbabwe, but with its elaborate quotas since 1994 as to what percentage of jobs and ownership each business must provide to blacks, I wonder if it has abolished one race-biased system for another. This is not to suggest that the present system has the mean-spiritedness of apartheid. It is well intentioned. But history is full of examples of good intentioned government policy with unintended consequences. I wonder about the consequences of South Africa's present policies when I hear of a 28-person business artificially divided into seven different companies--each with four employees--to avoid the quotas and rules that kick in once you have five employees.

So before my visit to South Africa, I thought this might be a chance to see the country before it deteriorates economically. Now I am not sure it will deteriorate at all. Its future could be bright. I hope it will be. But I am still not sure. Talk to a few people with knowledge of the country and you will get widely different views of its future. Opinions range from former citizens who have left the country permanently, disgusted with the new rules, vowing never to return, expecting it to sink slowly into the abyss that consumes much of Africa. Others I know who are familiar with the country, but not resident there are sadly pessimistic, against their desire to see it do well. On the opposite end of the spectrum though, we met people widely enthusiastic about South Africa's prospects. Many people are in the middle--hoping for the best, fearful of the worst, with at least a vague exit strategy in the back of their mind should their fears play out.

In assessing countries, I think it helps to have a long-term view and to consider the position contrarian to the common view. From afar, this calls for a negative view on South Africa as 1) the long-term view is that over the past several decades much of Africa has moved backwards and thus South Africa might slowly, imperceptibly, do the same even if things look good on the surface; and 2) the jubilation over the end of apartheid may be misplaced. If those with the technical abilities to run the country are no longer in power or even no longer in the country (e.g. as Zimbabwe has learned, expropriating farms and giving them to unskilled people who do not know how to farm increases hunger, not equality), the country could fall apart. However, this negative view from afar is common enough, especially in conservative circles, that it may have become the conventional wisdom. Thus, maybe the contrarian view ought to be that South Africa will actually prosper.

Visiting--again admittedly we were there only four days and only in nice parts--you can construct the case for optimism. Positive factors include cheap prices, good infrastructure, and great weather, attracting people for vacations or to live there. Also, labor is inexpensive, plentiful, and English-speaking, making the country a possible location for outsourcing (I do not understand why this has not occurred with greater frequency). The consistent friendliness of blacks to white outsiders was noticeable and commendable, and in stark contrast to the indifference displayed often throughout Caribbean countries. At first impression, everyone in this multi-racial, multi-ethnic society seems to get along remarkably well--far better than one would expect given the history.

Negative factors are high crime, concern that current infrastructure investment is inadequate (but relative to India the infrastructure is light years ahead), and fear that government policy may not protect property rights or may create onerous bureaucratic rules.

Cape Town is doing well. There is obvious investment in retail, restaurants, and housing. Tourists are plentiful. Real estate prices, according to what I read, have risen rapidly in recent years. But it still feels like a small city, known and cosmopolitan, but still undiscovered by most of the outside world. The local newspaper is running a series on traffic congestion, but the streets seem pretty empty to me. There are condos along the oceanfront, but compared to other world cities, the coast is less developed and the prices cheaper. What may seem like out-of-hand growth to locals appears to me to just as likely be the early stages of a prolonged boom. If the government does not screw it up.

Anecdotally, a person I was talking with in Botswana told me that many people who left the country after 1994 have returned because they found they could not have the same standard of living and quality of life in the UK or Australia. I was skeptical of this, but after visiting I understand it. A middle class person in South Africa could have big house on a big lot in a good location with several domestic helpers. In the UK, this person might be in a cramped apartment with a long commute and of course no domestic help and poor weather. Australia can match South Africa's weather and does have lower prices than the UK, but prices are still higher than South Africa and with low unemployment, domestic help is not common.

My conclusion is that I am less certain of which future South Africa will have--optimistic or pessimistic--than before I arrived. That is unusual. With most countries on this trip, I have a strong view of the country, good or bad, by the time I leave. Sometimes the view is the same as before I arrive, sometimes it is different, but I have a view. With South Africa, I'm not sure of my view. I am leaning toward optimism. Offhand, the other country that comes to mind where I was less certain about its future at the end of my visit than at the beginning is Argentina. Arriving in Argentina, I was down on the country because of its recent 2001/2002 debt default, the shameful way it has handled that default, and its long history of always screwing up just when things are going its way. Leaving, I thought Argentina might be--and I say might, without deep-seated conviction--continue to be a good investment for a few years (it certainly was in 2004 and so far in 2005 as it bounced off the bottom). But I still suspect the country will screw things up at some point down the road, as they did for at least the last century. Thinking more, maybe Japan is another example. My long-term bearishness on Japan remains because of their demographic crisis and their opposition to immigration, but I think they could be in an upswing in the short- to medium term that will put off their day of reckoning for a while. These short-term views on Argentina and Japan aren't put forth as unique insight; I largely am just pointing the recent positive results in their financial markets. Where I differ from the markets might be that I think those two countries are just having a positive interlude without the negative long-term picture having changed.

Finally, with most countries we visit, I don't see myself returning right away, as--even if I liked the country--our visit satiates my interest for the time being. With South Africa, our visit stimulated my interest and I would like to spend more time there. If only it was not so far away!

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01:28:14 pm Monday, November 28, 2005 - Cape Town, South Africa - Sunny, High 85.  

Took a tour of Robben Island where political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, were held from the 1960s to the early 1990s. The boat left from Victoria & Albert Waterfront, a shops and restaurant area redeveloped in the late 1990s, with similarities to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The food in Cape Town is good--very flavorful and spicy, with noticeable influences from India, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. But bring a book and don't expect to get your meal quickly. Our dinner at Haiku took about an hour to arrive from the time we ordered. Nevertheless, in terms of the food, it was one of the best meals I can remember. Our experience the night before was similar, with long wait times between ordering and receiving food.

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01:27:29 pm Sunday, November 27, 2005 - Cape Town, South Africa - Sunny, High 70s.  

Deanna and I drove around surrounding area with Stacy and Bill, tasting wine at two wineries in the late morning/early afternoon and then driving down to Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope in the late afternoon/early evening. The terrain in the wine country is mountainous and beautiful. The wineries were nice (surprisingly nicer than around Adelaide) and the weather was perfect, a gorgeous day. Many people told us before we arrived how pretty Cape Town is, but it is even better than I expected.

I'm going to begin to post each day separately, rather than string many days together in one longer post. Reason for this is that when I make comments on other countries and cross-reference the posts under those countries (in addition to the country I am in), you won't have to read several days just to get to the couple of sentences on the cross-referenced country. For example, my November 29 post mentions Argentina and Japan. Under this new system, only November 29 will show up in the Argentina and Japan category. Before everything written (November 27 - November 30) since the last time I updated the web site would be listed in Argentina and Japan, even though only one paragraph on November 29 referenced them. If I get ambitious, I could go back to past diary posts and break them into individual days, but more likely this will never be done. Thus, there will likely continue to be long posts from earlier months that show up under a country where you have to hunt to find a passing reference to that country. Also, and of more benefit to the average reader I suspect, if I post each day separately the entire log (from this day forward) will be in reverse chronological order. Why I did not think of this obvious point back in July escapes me. Actually I did think about it, but I didn't want to be bothered to post each day separately. But now with the trip nearly over, I have newfound energy to keep things in order.

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