Looking Back on an Amazing Adventure

Note: I wrote this blog prior to the untimely death of Anthony Bourdain this morning.  He was a major influence in where and how we travel.  This blog is dedicated to him.  Wherever you are now, I hope you continue traveling........

Well, its been quite the adventure.  We made it through with our health intact (a big worry of mine before we left), our marriage intact (although there were days....), and no emergencies back home to stress over.  We did miss Eitan moving into his own condo, Arik’s marriage proposal to Charlotte, and our granddaughter Mia’s first birthday.  Travel means compromise and making hard choices- there are always going to be occasions you will miss, weather that will be less than perfect, places you hoped to visit but can’t get to for one reason or another, or even nature's way of saying not to go, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, monsoons, etc.  But none of these are reasons not to travel.  It's a big world, and it would be a shame not to go and experience it.  It’s pretty amazing out there.

Sooooo, first for the statistics:

• 14 countries
• 31 flights
• 26 boats and ferries
• 9 trains (4 of which were high-speed bullet trains)
• 2 rental cars
• 12 tour vans
• 1 borrowed car
• 6 cable cars
• 4 long-range buses
• 3 rickshaw rides
• 3 motorcycle/scooter trips
• 1 electric bike
• 1 zipline forest canopy adventure (with 14 individual ziplines and two vertical drops)
• 1 people mover
• 1 Maglev train
• 1 alpine toboggan
• too many to count tuk tuk rides, taxis, Uber rides, trolleys, local buses, and subways

As we traveled and met so many people, we were most often asked which country was our favorite?  We usually responded that each country was so different from one another that it is difficult to pinpoint one favorite location. The other most popular question (once we acknowledged that we were Americans) was what we thought of our current president?  Nathan’s response was usually shaking his head indicating disbelief, and I usually went into a ten-minute tirade.  Most foreigners had the opinion that he is a joke with negative international repercussions (and they were being kind in their comments...)

Reflecting back on our experiences, we offer several observations:

• That America clearly can no longer be considered THE world leader
• When compared to the countries we visited, Americans appear to be a more spoiled society than elsewhere
• In SE Asia, the family institution is top priority.  Adult children marry and then move in with the husband’s parents and take care of them until they pass on.  Several generations live together in most homes.  No retirement communities or nursing homes in SE Asia
• Religion is a priority, and the poorer the country, the more important religion becomes.  In fact, people would rather do without and make sacrifices in their present life in order to be able to donate money and/or food to a temple (and most often multiple temples) in hopes of a better afterlife
• Monks.  They are everywhere in Buddhist countries, and they appear to me as a drain on an already impoverished society.  It is fine to be a devout monk for life, serving as a spiritual leader for the community.  But in Buddhist cultures, children as young as the age of three go to live in a monastery for a week or two, and many men become a “monk for a week” to get a break from work or family.  The monks and the monasteries they live in depend upon donations of food and money from the local citizenry.  Monasteries can range in size from housing three monks to over 1,600 that need to be fed, and thus require money to maintain both their lifestyle and the monastery itself.  Most often, this responsibility falls on the shoulders of people that are already impoverished.  But, making a donation means a promise of a better afterlife, so they are compelled to donate daily.  AND then you see monks walking around with smartphones or in a shopping mall with designer shopping bags in hand.......
• In the more developed countries, urban planning was clearly an important aspect of development and redevelopment.  Money was clearly and purposely invested in infrastructure, open space, public places, and public institutions.  I see very little evidence of such public investment in the United States.  Where is our high-speed rail network?  Modernized transportation centers?  Urban gardens?  Bicycle infrastructure? Public art? 
• Climate change is evident everywhere.  Locals have noted changes in the weather patterns from their past norms, and have stated that current patterns are clearly different
• Pollution.  Plastic bottles are clogging small and large waterways just about everywhere we went.  Since most of the countries we visited do not have a potable water supply, buying bottled water is a necessity and very few countries have recycling processes available.  Happily, we observed many small scale, grass-roots efforts to eliminate plastic bags and use reusable bamboo straws 
• Selfies.  I could go on for hours about my loathing of selfies.  I’m not talking about the occasional selfie photo you might take while on vacation.  I’m referring to this upcoming generation that wherever they go, are so focused on taking a selfie that they forget to photograph the beauty around them.  Hello......no one wants to see photos of you when you travel, they want to see pictures of the amazing places you are visiting.  They already know what you look like!!!  Many travelers are obsessed with selfies- pursing lips, hair and scarves blowing in the breeze, and other provocative poses.  And it goes beyond tourists traveling.  We witnessed this behavior by locals in subways, on buses, at restaurants, on the sidewalk, well, you get the point.  Social media has created a monster with an unending appetite!
• Chinese Tourists. Another topic I can rant about for hours.  With new found wealth, China’s middle/upper-middle class is out and about traveling.  They are numerous, and are making a major impact in tourism wherever they go simply due to their sheer number.  They are well dressed but also very pushy.  Literally.  We've been pushed aside by a Chinese tourist trying to take a selfie as we were in their way.  They walk in front of you without hesitation while you are trying to take a photograph.  They push in line with no regard for the existing queue.  We experienced this just about everywhere we went during our trip, and other travelers we met noted that they also experienced the same behaviors
• Traffic.  It’s a global phenomenon.  It's everywhere.  Governments lack the funds to support the infrastructure necessary to keep up with the growing wealth of their populaces, and so roadway volume exceeds capacity (borrowing jargon from my former profession).  What differs in SE Asia however, is the sheer number of scooters and bicycles added to the congestion.  They are relatively affordable, do not require a drivers license, and the fact that the scooters are not required to follow any rules exacerbates an already difficult situation.  They can drive on sidewalks, in opposing lanes of traffic, are not required to stop at traffic signals, can drive down one-way streets in the opposite direction, no helmets required, and no limit to the number of persons that can fit on a single scooter.  Makes for exciting experiences as both a passenger and pedestrian
• Regardless of where you are, people are basically the same- same wants, needs, dreams, hopes, desires

Given all our adventures, good and bad, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again in a heartbeat.  Anthony Bourdain, one of our favorite world travelers summed it up best:

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

I believe we are changed people.  We know we can make do with less and still be happy.  We have witnessed wonderful people living in what we would consider poverty and yet their attitude was so positive.  They are thankful for what they have, rather than focusing on what they don’t have.  I hope some of that attitude rubbed-off on us as we move forward.  And to all the amazing people we met throughout this trip, I’d like to believe that we left a positive impression as representatives of the United States.

To those that followed us through this adventure, I thank you for your interest and loyalty.  I will continue to update this blog (less frequently of course) as we embark on our new life in Mexico and on future travels (we have already booked a six-week trip to Israel the end of September).  It is a big, amazing world out there- go out of your comfort zone and experience it!