People generally ask the same questions about my trip: "What was your favourite place?"; "Where were the best views?"; "How ill did you get?"; "Who were the best and worst people?"; "What was the most interesting thing you saw?"; etc. etc. etc. So here is an inexhaustive list of the answers to the most common questions - as for an answer to "What was your favourite place?" I think you should be able to see that it would be impossible to say, but let the list speak.
3. Restaurants and Food & Drink.
Countries Visited To Date - 105
Best Food - Gangaur homestay, Jodhpur, India
Best Comfort & Service - Quyen Thanh, Saigon, Vietnam
Best Breakfast - White House, Yangon, Myanmar
Best Views - (view of Everest) Rombuk Monastery, Tibet
Best Meeting Area - Amir Kabir, Esfahan, Iran
Most Helpful - Abdullah at Riadh Hotel, Hama, Syria
Most Expensive - Marriott Hotel, Islamabad, Pakistan (kindly paid by American Express)
Filthiest - Muslim Hotel, Quetta, Pakistan
Bedbugs - Only two, forgot the names - Bombay and Bangkok.
Underground - Hotel Sidi Driss, Matamata, Tunisia.
Landlord who said
wanker most
- Davie Dias, Calidad House, Cali Colombia
Landlord with most comprehensive info. - German, Platypus, Bogota Colombia
Hotels built of
Salt
- Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Best Youth
Hostel
- Vilnius, Lithuania
Best value apartment
rental
- Colonia, Uruguay
Most Hospitable - Pakistan
Least Hospitable - Kenya
Most Inquisitive - Bangladesh
Most Sombre - Russian
Most Unhelpful - Chinese
Most Annoying Traveller - Michael, Dutch Rent Boy, Chengdu, China
Strange to Meet - President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, my accomplice tracking the Mountain Gorillas
- Mongolian Olympic Wrestling Team
- Jorge Mario Garcia, world record-breaking diver.
Surprisingly good-looking women - Russia
Best looking women - Estonia
Model looking women - Argentina
Moustached women - Cuba
Best dancers - Ethiopia
Sexiest Dancers - Brazil
Party People - Brazil
Deepest singers - Mongolia
Interesting and amusing tribal folk - Mentawai, Pulau Siberut a small island off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia
Maddest monk - Vien Thuc, Da Lat, Vietnam
Most
hospitable people in Latin America -
Colombia
Best salsa dancers
- Colombia
Most beauty
queens
- Venezuela
Party
people
- Cali, Colombia
Most on
horseback
- Venecia, Antioquia, Colombia
Most women wearing pork pie
hats
- Indigenous folk, Ecuador
Most women wearing bowler
hats
- Chollas, La Paz, Bolivia
Impressive stamina on costumed dancing folk - Oruro Carnaval, Bolivia.
Biggest noses on costumed dancing
folk - Ollantaytambo, Peru
Best Food - Anonymous white tile place, Chengdu, China
Best Vibe - Paul's Oasis, Chengdu, China
- @ Home, Vang Vieng, Laos
Best Coffee - Ethiopia
Best Hot Chocolate - Bambu Cafe, Leon, Spain
Best Snack - Lamacun, Istanbul, Turkey
Best Street Food - Syria (Shwarma or Falafel) India (Samosas, Pakoras, etc)
Best Hamburgers - Uruapan, Mexico
Funniest and Friendliest Staff - Bel Air Hotel, Addid Ababa, Ethiopia
Worst Food - Kihihi, Uganda
Worst Booze - Any local spirit, Thailand
Worst Beer - Syria
Most Monotonous Food - Ethiopia
Second Best Crepes in the world - Pancake Kingdom, Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar
Best Crepes in Latin
America
- Crepes & Waffles, Colombia
Best Steaks outside
Argentina
- Lenos & Carbon, Cali, Colombia
Most balanced diet in a hamburger -
Street vendors, Porlamar, Venezuela
Biggest
burgers
- Brutus, Merida, Venezuela
Most roasting Guinea
Pigs
- Banos, Ecuador
Excellent Indian food, not in India - Bukhara, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Best Road for Views - Karakorum Highway, Pakistan - China
Worst Views - I-90, South Dakota, USA
Easiest Road to Drive - I-90, South Dakota, USA
Worst Roads to Drive - Tibet
No Roads - Mongolia
Worst bus - Nairobi, Kenya - Kampala, Uganda
Worst buses - Indonesia
Most exciting and dustiest bus ride - Bwindi - Kampala, Uganda
Best train - Beijing, China - Ulan Bator, Mongolia
Cheapest Flight - 2 hours, Esfahan - Shiraz, Iran, 11USD
Best looking stewardesses - TAM, Brazil
Longest Camel Ride - 3 days, Rajastani Desert, India
Longest Single Journey - Irkutsk - Moscow, Russia, 80hrs, 5185km
Highest Road - Karakorum Highway, over 5,000m
Lowest Road - Kings Highway, Jordan, 400m below sea level
Worst bus companion - Taftan to Quetta, Pakistan, I was feeling ill, sweltering in the bloody hot desert, on uncomfortable seat with bloke next to me trying to hump me and me having to elbow him in face and gut repeatedly and him still not getting the point.
Most impatient to arrive. - Tabriz - Tahran, Iran. Chronic Diahorrhea, 16 Imodium in 14 hours and still needed to sprint and fight my way to a toilet on arrival.
Best looking metro - Moscow
Most efficient metro - Singapore
Most interesting metro - Cairo
Most time on top of a
train
- "Nariz del Diablo" Riobamba - Alausi, Ecuador, 6 hours
Longest and highest cable
car
- Merida, Venezuela, 12kms to nearly 5,000 metres at Pico Espejo
Dodgiest cable
car
- "Pailon del Diablo", Rio Verde, Ecuador, one cable, a truck engine,
and a 600m drop.
Slowest bus
ride
- Cochabamba to Torotoro - 130 kms in 9 hours, forst 30 kms on good road.
Most dilapidated
taxi
- Trinidad, Paraguay
Comfiest vehicle - My Van in New Zealand, slept in it for a couple of months, like a home on the road.
Endurance vehicle - My Car in Australia, 24,000kms in seven weeks, also off-roading and slept in it.
- Food poisoning from Burger King in Bangkok Airport, even water wouldn’t stay down.
- Several weeks of amoebic dysentery / giardia, picked up in Turkey, gestated in Iran, cured in Pakistan
- Bizarre ankle infection, that made it swell to twice its natural size
Best Shave - Aqaba - Jordan
Second Best Shave - Sousse, Tunisia
Worst Shave - Lhasa - Tibet
Worst Haircut - The Tintin cut, Gilgit, Pakistan
Cheapest shaves - Kathmandu, Nepal - 10rupees included massage
Africa’s most authentic - Okavango Delta & Chobe National Park, Botswana
Very National Geographic - Mongolia
Best night-time noises - Hyenas, Tarangire National Park, Zimbabwe
Best nigh time lightning - Okavango Delta, Botswana - Tropical storms all around
Funkiest Looking - Gelada Baboon, Simien Mountains, Ethiopia
Total Empathy - Mountain Gorillas, Uganda
Also Empathetic - Orang-utans, Sumatra, Indonesia
Very Powerful - Full grown male tiger, Bhandavghar National Park, India
Most Surprising - Whale Shark, Chumphon Pinnacle, Ko Tao, Thailand
Most Playful - Bernie and Muzza, Lion cubs, Gweru, Zimbabwe
Most Cuddly - Baby giant panda, Chengdu, China
Most Sinister - Marabou Stork, East Africa
Most Elusive - Leopard
Smelliest - Seal colony during pupping season, Walvis Bay, Namibia
Biggest Boner - Elephant, Tanzania
Most Aggressive - Titan Triggerfish, Ko Tao, Thailand
Impressive moves - Orcas attacking seals on the beach, Peninsula Valdez, Argentina
Most Comfortable - Bactrian Camel, Mongolia
Most - Voles, Mongolia
Lots of creepy crawlies - Amazon, Brazil
Best land-based whale-watching - De Kelders, near Gansbaai, South Africa
Best Great White Shark viewing - Gansbaai, South Africa
Deadly stuff - Australia
Wildlife dodging on the road - Australia
Roadkill - Australia
Hunza, Karakorum and Hindu Kush Mountains - Northern Pakistan
Plateau and Himalayas - Southern Tibet
Himalayas - Nepal
Namib Desert - Namibia
Steppe - Mongolia
Mojave Desert with snow on the Joshua trees - USA
Victoria Falls - Zimbabwe / Zambia
Iguacu Falls - Brazil / Argentina
Simien Mountains - Ethiopia
Yangshuo - Ganxi, China
Tian Shi - Gnsu, China
Lake Baikal - Russia
Chimaera - Olimpos, Turkey
Beagle Channel - Argentina / Chile
Patagonian Fjords - Argentina / Chile
Perito Moreno Glacier - Argentina
Valle de la Luna - Chile
Altiplano - Chile
Salar - Chile
Easter Island - Easter Island
Ha Long bay - Vietnam
Mount Bromo - Java, Indonesia
Keli Mutu - Flores, Indonesia
Most of the coast - Ireland (Republic and North)
Giant's Causeway - Northern Ireland
Omatepe - Nicaragua
Various National Parks - Costa Rica
Volcan Paricutin - Mexico
Draa Valley - Morocco
Atlas Mountains - Morocco
Sahara - Tunisia
Orinoco
Delta
- Venezuela
Gran Sabana
- Venezuela
Angel
Falls
- Venezuela
Canaima
- Venezuela
Cotopaxi
- Ecuador
Galapagos
Islands
- Ecuador
Huacachina
- Peru
Islas Ballestas
- Peru
Lake Titicaca
- Bolivia
Torotoro National
Park
- Bolivia
Tupiza
- Bolivia
Laguna
Verde
- Bolivia
Laguna Colorada
- Bolivia
Salar de Uyuni
- Bolivia
Colca
Valley
- Peru
Llanganuco
- Peru
Huaraz
- Peru
Lake Tahoe -
USA
Bora Bora - French Polynesia
Aitutaki - Cook Islands
Vava'u - Tonga
Waya Lai Lai - Fiji
Togo - Niue
Savai'i - Samoa
Milford Sound - New Zealand
Marlborough Sound - New Zealand
Catlins - New Zealand
Rotorua - New Zealand
Cape Foulwind - New Zealand
Northland - New Zealand
Cape Le Grand - Australia
Nullabor - Australia
Kangaroo Island - Australia
Shark Bay - Australia
Karijini NP - Australia
Bungle Bungle NP - Australia
Kakadu NP - Australia
Daintree Rainforest - Australia
Uluru - Australia
Fraser Island - Australia
Lalibela - Ethiopia
Various - Egypt
Petra - Jordan
Palmyra and Apamea - Syria
Various - Greece
Taxila - Pakistan
Ephesus - Turkey
Moai - Easter Island
Borubdur / Prambanan - Indonesia
Castles and Abbeys - Ireland
Copan - Honduras
Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa - Guatemala
Tikal - Guatemala
Chichen Itza - Mexico
Uxmal - Mexico
Palenque - Mexico
Teotihuacan - Mexico
Ingapirca
- Ecuador
Sipan
- Peru
Tucume
- Peru
Huaca de la
Luna
- Peru
Chan
Chan
- Peru
Nazca
- Peru
Torotoro
- Bolivia
Cuzco
- Peru
Ollantaytamo
- Peru
Macchu Picchu
- Peru
Choquekirao
- Peru
Chavin de Huantar
- Peru
Trilithon - Tonga
Uluru - Australia
Kakadu - Australia
Temple of Karnak, Luxor - Egypt
Temple of Bacchus, Baalbek - Lebanon
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul - Turkey
SultanAhmet, Istanbul - Turkey
Masjid e Emam, Esfahan - Iran
Arg e Bam, Bam - Iran
Potala, Lhasa - Tibet
Samye Monastery, Samye - Tibet
Boudinnath Stupa, Kathmandu - Nepal
Taj Mahal, Agra - India
Khajuraho Temples, Khajuraho - India
Sigiriya - Sri Lanka
Pollonarruwa - Sri Lanka
Bagan - Myanmar
Angkor - Cambodia
Great Wall - China
Forbidden City, Beijing - China
Old Town, Lijiang - China
St. Basils Basilica, Moscow - Russia
Old Town, Tallinn - Estonia
Old Town, Riga - Latvia
Prague - Czech Republic
Various, Bangkok - Thailand
Old Sukothai - Thailand
Perfume River Tombs - Vietnam
Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia
Leon - Spain
Barcelona - Spain
London - England
Venice - Italy
Troglodytes - Tunisia
Cathedral,
Georgetown, Guyana -
The world's largest wooden structure.
Huaca Larga, Chiclayo,
Peru
- Largest adobe structure in the world.
Huaca del Sol, Trujillo,
Peru
- Largest mud brick structure in the Western Hemisphere.
Nazca,
Peru
- Aquaducts
Buenos Aires,
Argentina
- Various
Colonia,
Uruguay
- Nice old town
Jesus,
Paraguay
- Jesuit Ruins
Trinidad,
Paraguay
- Jesuit Ruins
Cuzco,
Peru
- Nice Incan stuff
Arequipa,
Peru
- Nice colonial buildings, built of volcanic stone.
Santa Catalina Convent, Arequipa, Peru - Nice colours, basically a confined
eccliastic village within a city.
Palacio del Congresso, Lima,
Peru - Odd stained glass windows
Most ridiculous display of wealth - Jewellery museum, Tehran - Iran
Scariest display of Arms - Armed Forces Museum, Moscow - Russia
Most boring - Revolution museum, Beijing - China - just photos with no English
Most expensive bibles - Armouries collection, Kremlin, Moscow - Russia
Decomposing stuffed animals - Palace museum, Udaipur - India
Strangest thing - Kunming - China - Trying to sell the exhibits
Oldest person - Lucy, Homo Austrolapthicus, Addis Abeba - Ethiopia
Art - Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia
Worst Art Gallery - Museum of Foreign Art, all poor imitations - Riga, Latvia
Thought Provoking - Holocaust Museum - Washington D.C., USA
Socialist Sculptures - Grutas Parkas, Lithuania
Denial of History - National Museum, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Eye opening - War Remnants Museum, Saigon, Vietnam
Best Museum - British Museum, London
Most Random Collection - Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala
Best collection of Mosaics - Bardo Museum, Tunis, Tunisia
Most impressive
selection of gold
- Gold Museum, Bogota Colombia
Unbelievably
random
- Church mueum, Baños, Ecuador
Shrunken head displays
- Museo Banco Central, Cuenca, Ecuador
Impressive funerary
collection
- Tumbas Reales, Layembeque, Peru
All about
Coca
- Coca museum, La Paz, Bolivia
Nice exhibits but repetitive
explanations
- MAP Pre-Colombian Art Museum, Cuzco, Peru
Nice
pottery
- Museo de la Nacion, Lima, Peru
Most gruesome burial style - Tibetan Sky burial, Langmusi - Tibet
Most public cremation - Burning Ghats, Varanasi - India
Left to be sorted later - Quetta - Pakistan
Embalmed - Ho Chi Minh -Hanoi, Vietnam
- Mao Zedong - Beijing, China
- VI Lenin - Moscow, Russia
- Various old Egyptians - Cairo, Egypt
Ice
mummies
- National Museum, Bogota Colombia
Lots of shrunken
heads -
Museo Banco Central, Cuenca, Ecuador
Various
mummies
- Peru and Bolivia
Necropolis
- San Juan, Bolivia
Lots of
Bones
- San Francisco CAtacombs, Lima, Peru
Worst Toilets - Tibet
Least Hygienic - Tibet
Smelliest - Tibet
Filthiest - Tibet
Least Convenient - Tibet
Most encrusted - Tibet
Most bizarre - Hundertwasser Toilets, New Zealand
Sesfontein Fort - Namibia
Crazy Horse Mountain
- South Dakota, USA
Crazy Hotel -
Da Lat, Vietnam
Hill of Crosses -
Siauliai, Lithuania
Nazca and Palpa
Lines
- Massive drawings in the ground and geometric figures and lines. Peru
Torro Muerto
- Thousands of Petroglyphs, Peru
Big
Things
- All over Australia, big banana, croc, pineapple, merino, gala, etc.
Most spectacular - Pakistan / China - Going over the Karakorum highway and its
spectacular scenery.
Most physically arduous - Tibet / Nepal - scaling down a waterfall with backpack
on as the road had collapsed.
Most helpful people - Turkey / Iran - Mr. Mohammed the Iranian official gave us
more information than we had asked for.
Most bribes demanded - Venezuela / Colombia - Most of the Venezuelan police
wanted a backhander.
Dodgiest border bridge - Panama / Costa Rica - Walking over a disused rail
bridge with numbers of the sleepers missing or broken.
What border? - Most of the Shengen States - Europe
Stupidest and most racist border guards - USA
Most ridiculous questions on immigration card - USA
People living in between the borders - D.R. Congo / Uganda
Pedantic Officials - Trinidad and Tobago
Underwater Border - UK / France
Not an Official Border - Cambodia / Laos - Although with a visit to the local
immigration official and a ten dollar bill, suddenly we had the letter that made
it an international border.
Backdoor borders - Guyana / Suriname / French Guiane
Can't Find the Border - Greece / Albania - Spent ages driving through mine
fields looking for the Albanian side.
Disabling Border - Albania / Greece - In another place getting to the
immigration window involved a level of aerial dexterity usually reserved for the
circus.
Most Flies at the Border - Macedonia / Greece - for some reason they were not in
Greece but stopped at the border.
Fluctuating Rules - Almost anywhere in Africa, where rules sometimes changed on
a daily basis.
Most insults traded at a border - Tibet / Nepal - Many of the people once having
crossed the red line hurled insults, made gestures and showed lower body parts
to the Chinese representative on the other side who generally seemed
unimpressed.
Did we do immigration? - Argentina / Uruguay - Had to go back to confirm that
the Uruguayans had stamped us in.
Most basic airport - Lalibela, Ethiopia - a shed, a table and some scales to
weight the baggage.
Worst baggage security - Miami International, Florida, USA - anyone from the
street can just walk in and take baggage from the carousel.
Least practical design - Charles De Gaulle, Paris, France. Getting anywhere
involves at least one bus ride.
Least helpful staff - Charles De Gaulle, Paris, France. - Gallic charm
Always making me late for flights - Frankfurt, Germany
Most fun executive lounge - Heathrow Terminal 4, London, UK - Playstation,
Internet, Air Traffic Control information and a viewing tower, milkshake
machine, TV, Personal Music players and all the usual bits too.
Best Sofas in an executive Lounge - Madrid, Spain
Good Food - Hong Kong
Alpaca
Beetle
Crocodile
Impala
Kudu
Llama
Ostrich
Python
Wildebeest
Zebra
Too many bloody flies
and probably a lot more that I was unaware of at the time.