The First 100 Days
We shall not cease from exploration
And at the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
-T.S. Elliot
As of today, January 8, 2005, we have been traveling for 100 consecutive days. It has been amazingly fun, educational, sometimes challenging, and incredibly, incredibly cool. Our travels have taken us across a continent and back again, with much more to go. A quick recap:
China: Hong Kong-Shenzhen- Guangzhou-Guilin-Yangshuo-Chengdu.
Tibet: Lhasa-Gyantse-Shigatse-Sakya-Shegar-Tashi Dzom-Cho Dzom-Rongphu Monastery-Everest Base Camp-Tingri-Zhangmu.
Nepal: Kodari-Kathmandu.
India: Delhi-Rishikesh-Agra-Jaipur-Ajmer-Pushkar-Udaipur-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Delhi.
Sri Lanka: Colombo-Mirissa-Unawatuna-Galle-Ella-Kandy-Columbo.
Cambodia: Phnom Penh-Battambang-Siem Reap.
Vietnam: Saigon-Mui Ne-Saigon-Mekong Delta-Hoi An.
Here are some of the highlights:
Coldest Temperature: Everest Base Camp (-17C).
Hottest Temperature: Everywhere else.
Best Food: India.
Cheapest Food: India (cheapest sit-down meal was $0.80 for the two of us).
Coolest Bar: (tie) Riverside Balcony Bar, Battambang, Cambodia & Tam Tam Café, Hoi An, Vietnam.
Highest Cow Density: Rishikesh, India.
Highest Elephant Density: Pinnewala, Sri Lanka.
Highest Monkey Density: Rishikesh, India.
Highest Panda Density: Chengdu, China.
Highest Camel Density: Pushkar, India.
Best Beach: Mirissa, Sri Lanka.
Highest Monastery: Rongphu Monastery, Tibet – 16,334 feet above sea level.
Best Meal: Christmas Dinner, Grand Hotel d’Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Most Expensive Lodging: Hong Kong - $34.01.
Least Expensive Lodging (not counting free lodging): Cho Dzom, Tibet - $3.40.
Best View: (tie) Ella, Sri Lanka & Everest Base Camp, Tibet.
Best Hike: 4-day trek to Everest Base Camp in Tibet, at, 17,056 feet above sea level.
Worst Illness: Lynn- Explosive Diarrhea, Rongphu Monastery, Tibet; Scott- Technicolor Puking, Agra, India.
Best Cooking Lesson: The Spice Box Spice Shop, Udaipur, India.
Best Shower: Zhangmu, Tibet (first shower in a week; paid 10 yuan, or about $1; would have paid $10!).
Best Monument: Temples of Angkor, Cambodia.
Best Shopping: Hoi An, Vietnam.
Worst Traffic: (tie) Delhi, India & Chengdu, China.
Most Amazing Statistic: 3/4 of the world’s population lives in a village; 1/7 of the world’s population lives in a village in India.
This is a big, big world, and we are just scratching the surface. There is so much more to see and do, and there simply isn’t enough time. We both agree this is the best thing we have ever done (well, except for getting married), and we count our blessings every day that we found a way to make this happen. The bulk of the trip is still ahead, so stay tuned and see what the next 100 days have to offer.
And at the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
-T.S. Elliot
As of today, January 8, 2005, we have been traveling for 100 consecutive days. It has been amazingly fun, educational, sometimes challenging, and incredibly, incredibly cool. Our travels have taken us across a continent and back again, with much more to go. A quick recap:
China: Hong Kong-Shenzhen- Guangzhou-Guilin-Yangshuo-Chengdu.
Tibet: Lhasa-Gyantse-Shigatse-Sakya-Shegar-Tashi Dzom-Cho Dzom-Rongphu Monastery-Everest Base Camp-Tingri-Zhangmu.
Nepal: Kodari-Kathmandu.
India: Delhi-Rishikesh-Agra-Jaipur-Ajmer-Pushkar-Udaipur-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Delhi.
Sri Lanka: Colombo-Mirissa-Unawatuna-Galle-Ella-Kandy-Columbo.
Cambodia: Phnom Penh-Battambang-Siem Reap.
Vietnam: Saigon-Mui Ne-Saigon-Mekong Delta-Hoi An.
Here are some of the highlights:
Coldest Temperature: Everest Base Camp (-17C).
Hottest Temperature: Everywhere else.
Best Food: India.
Cheapest Food: India (cheapest sit-down meal was $0.80 for the two of us).
Coolest Bar: (tie) Riverside Balcony Bar, Battambang, Cambodia & Tam Tam Café, Hoi An, Vietnam.
Highest Cow Density: Rishikesh, India.
Highest Elephant Density: Pinnewala, Sri Lanka.
Highest Monkey Density: Rishikesh, India.
Highest Panda Density: Chengdu, China.
Highest Camel Density: Pushkar, India.
Best Beach: Mirissa, Sri Lanka.
Highest Monastery: Rongphu Monastery, Tibet – 16,334 feet above sea level.
Best Meal: Christmas Dinner, Grand Hotel d’Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Most Expensive Lodging: Hong Kong - $34.01.
Least Expensive Lodging (not counting free lodging): Cho Dzom, Tibet - $3.40.
Best View: (tie) Ella, Sri Lanka & Everest Base Camp, Tibet.
Best Hike: 4-day trek to Everest Base Camp in Tibet, at, 17,056 feet above sea level.
Worst Illness: Lynn- Explosive Diarrhea, Rongphu Monastery, Tibet; Scott- Technicolor Puking, Agra, India.
Best Cooking Lesson: The Spice Box Spice Shop, Udaipur, India.
Best Shower: Zhangmu, Tibet (first shower in a week; paid 10 yuan, or about $1; would have paid $10!).
Best Monument: Temples of Angkor, Cambodia.
Best Shopping: Hoi An, Vietnam.
Worst Traffic: (tie) Delhi, India & Chengdu, China.
Most Amazing Statistic: 3/4 of the world’s population lives in a village; 1/7 of the world’s population lives in a village in India.
This is a big, big world, and we are just scratching the surface. There is so much more to see and do, and there simply isn’t enough time. We both agree this is the best thing we have ever done (well, except for getting married), and we count our blessings every day that we found a way to make this happen. The bulk of the trip is still ahead, so stay tuned and see what the next 100 days have to offer.
posted by Scott and Lynn at 11:15 PM
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