In addition to the statistics for our trip and answers to the standard questions I ask in each round-up, I thought it would be fun to put together a “Top Three” list of our favorites (and a few not-so-favorites!). Jon and I each have our own list, although there are definitely some answers that are the same! I won’t go into detail with our answers on most of these, as many have already been explained in previous blog posts, but feel free to contact me with any questions!
Top Three Natural Sites
Jon: The barrier reef in Belize, the Andes Mountains on the border of Chile and Argentina, and the Okavango Delta.
Lana: Sunsets anywhere in Africa, Custer State Park in South Dakota, and the barrier reef in Belize.
We took a bus from Valparaiso, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina which passed over the Andes Mountains. It was a long bus ride, but the scenery was incredible!
Top Three Manmade Sites
Jon: Machu Picchu in Peru, Palenque in Mexico, and the Nazca Lines in Peru.
Lana: Palenque in Mexico, Machu Picchu in Peru, and Angkor temples in Cambodia.
Having a knowledgeable guide like Salvador helped bring Palenque to life for us and understand more about the Mayan people who built and lived here.
Top Three Accommodations
Jon: City Express in Mexico City, Mexico (because of the shower!!); Pamela’s house in Los Quirquinchos, Argentina; and camping that we did in Namibia and Botswana, especially the bush camps in the middle of nowhere.
Lana: Ngoma Zanga Lodge in Livingstone, Zambia; Asiri Cascada del Inka in Cuzco, Peru; and Golden Bay Cottage in Koh Lanta, Thailand.
One of my favorite hotels was Golden Bay Cottage in Koh Lanta, Thailand. We had our own little bungalow, just steps from the beach.
Top Three Apps
Jon: Injustice (video game), Google Maps, and XE currency converter.
Lana: Trail Wallet for budgeting, Kiwi to research and book flights, and WhatsApp to text and call families and friends.
We logged every single penny that we spent using the Trail Wallet app.
Top Three Meals
Jon: The five-course lunch in Mendoza, Argentina; a “strolling” dinner with drinks, lobster, and a backyard restaurant at Willy’s place in Caye Caulker, Belize; and the junkyard dog at Jerry’s Burgers in Cape Town, South Africa.
Lana: Jerry’s Burgers in Cape Town, South Africa; the five-course lunch in Mendoza, Argentina; and Bun Cha in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Yes, I know I listed the asado as my favorite meal in Part 2, but these were the 3 that came closely behind that I wanted to list as well!)
I don’t think I need to talk any more about Jerry’s Burgers in Cape Town – we both drool just thinking about our many lunches and dinners there!
Top Three Activities
Jon: Camping in the USA and Africa, stargazing in Chile and in Africa, and eating everywhere – just trying new foods everywhere we went.
Lana: Scuba diving in Belize, game drives in Africa, and road-tripping in the USA and in South Africa.
We could see the night sky clearly from our campground in Namibia (photo credit: Yousup Lee).
Top Three Modes of Transportation
Jon: Cruz del Sur buses in Peru, renting scooters in Asia, and the Intrepid truck in Africa.
Lana: Cruz del Sur buses in Peru, boat rides in Belize, and tuk-tuk rides in Cambodia.
Top Three Most Disappointing (things that didn’t live up to expectations)
Jon: Yellowstone National Park in the USA, the amount of garbage that we saw on our first day of touring the Angkor Complex in Cambodia, and the way people treated us in Vietnam.
Lana: Yellowstone National Park in the USA, Mayan Medicine Museum in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, and our overall feelings on Vietnam.
I had researched and thought visiting the Mayan Medicine Museum would be interesting. Once we got there, we were rather disappointed in the small size, lack of explanations, and run-down exhibits.
Top Three Worst Experiences
Jon: Falling off scooters in Asia, Emerites airlines and our horrible travel day from Argentina to South Africa, and having traveler’s diarrhea in Mexico City.
Lana: Getting robbed in Ecuador, getting an infection and really sick in Palenque, and our scooter crash in Vietnam.
We both had bandages covering our scraped elbows and knees after our scooter crash in Vietnam.
Top Three Things I’m Glad I Took (aside from a passport and phone/camera)
Jon: Laundry soap, Charles Schwab debit cards (best bank account for international travel!), and my Gerber multi-tool.
Lana: Travel wine glass, a reusable water bottle, and rechargeable external batteries.
Definitely a ‘luxury’ item that most people wouldn’t take, I’m glad I had my travel wine glass with me!
Top Three Things to Leave at Home
Jon: Nice walking sandals (I sent those home and bought a pair of Croc flip flops that I wore all the time), extra batteries (we had taken a ton of AA and AAA batteries which weighed down my bag, and they are so easy to buy around the world), and the coloring book and colored pencils that we took (fun in theory, but we didn’t use at all).
Lana: Money belt (I’ve never used one in all my travels and yet I still take it with me whenever I go somewhere), special ‘travel’ clothes (I wore a $5 t-shirt from Walmart way more than the $50 travel shirt from REI), and most medicines (We had a well-stocked first aid kit but only used a handful of items in it, like ib profin and band-aids. We ended up going to pharmacies and buying what we needed along the way, which was better than trying to guess at what we would need before leaving).
I wore this blue travel shirt from REI only two or three times on our entire trip. It was expensive, so I hadn’t wanted to throw it away. In hindsight, I would have just bought a cheap shirt from Meijer or Target to wear instead!
Top Three Cities
Jon: Cape Town, South Africa; Caye Caulker, Belize; and Cuzco, Peru.
Lana: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Cape Town, South Africa. (runners up for me are Livingstone, Zambia and Cuzco, Peru – too bad this isn’t a Top Five!).
Cape Town was a favorite for both of us – somewhere we could see ourselves living if ever given the opportunity!
Top Three Best Memories
Jon: Self-driving through Addo Elephant Park in South Africa, our three-week tour with Intrepid in southern Africa, and exploring Machu Picchu in Peru.
Lana: Scuba diving in Belize with Jon, making friends while exploring southern Africa, and learning how to cook in Thailand with Rhonda.
One of the highlights of our travels was our tour with Intrepid. We made some amazing friends and went to such unique places in Africa.
Did you miss the rest of our world round-up? Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2!