1 year in quick review

 After one year of travel, it is definitely very easy for me to say that this is a trip of a life time. We have visited so many countries different in many ways. We have also learnt a lot about ourselves in unfamiliar environments and learnt how to handle issues with our travel experience. We have also met a lot of friendly and funny people – both locals and travellers.

 

Here is Paul's top 3 favourites according to different categories to 10/02/2010:

Favourite countries overall

No 1 – Mongolia

No 2 – Laos

No 3 - Taiwan

Favourite natural scenery

No 1 – Mongolia – the Gobi dessert was amazing. The Mongolian steppe was just endless and beautiful

No 2 – Mt Everest, Tibet - .Got to see the highest mountain in the world. What more can I say?

No 3 – Nepal – the mountains in the Annapurna circuit was definitely one of the most clean and majestic places I have ever been.

Favourite food

No 1 – Taiwan – the street food and the snacks here were just limitless. You literally can find some new snack or street food everywhere you go, ranging from stinky tofu, to blood cakes to oren.

No 2 – China – You can eat wherever and whenever. I loved the food in China. Especially the local restaurants that sell dishes for $2 and beer for $0.50. Special mention of Peking duck, Shanghai dumplings, eggs and tomato and the Muslim noodles in Xian.

No 3 – Vietnam – Gosh, every region has their own speciality. The bun, the spring rolls, the pho. Yummmmm.

Favourite man-made ancient wonders

No 1 – Great Wall of China – ok, hands down to the Great Wall. I still can't believe that people constructed that monster thing! And it was mostly built 2000 years ago.

No 2 – Angkor ruins of Cambodia - my gosh, these sandstone structures were just beautiful. All hail the great Angkor Wat. So beautifully conserved.

No 3 – Terracota Warriors.

Favourite man-made "modern" wonders

No 1 - The Forbidden City, China

No 2 - Taj Mahal, India

No 3 – Tie between the Winter Palace in Beijing, China and Taipei 101, Taiwan.

Favourite cities

No 1 – New York City - What can I say? The whole NYC was awesome. The Empire State Building, Time Square, the subway, Central Park, Broadway...the list goes on and on.

No 2 – Taipei – All the sights and things you need were very conveniently located and the city was very hi-tech and everyone was really friendly. Not to mention the food.....

No 3 – Xi-an, China – The fusion between the Muslims and the Han people. The food, the Warriors, the history.....

Top things out of my backpack

No 1 - Ear plugs.

No 2 - Head torch.

No 3 – Swiss Army knife.