My last few weeks in Southeast Asia are ending on an upbeat note: wedding festivities in Jakarta Indonesia, a week in Bali with Amber, and scuba diving in Flores.Five months, nine countries, and less than ten thousand dollars later, below are some of my highlights (in no particular order):
Most friendly kids: Vietnam
Most friendly adults: Indonesia
Most helpful adults (especially considering the language barrier): China
Best karaoke song: Total Eclipse of the Heart, Philippines (sing it, Sue!)
Most relaxing beach: Koh Jum, Thailand
Favorite fruit: (tie) Philippine mangoes and pineapples
Best scenery: Laos
Best temple: Angkor, Cambodia
Best handicraft shopping: Bali, Indonesia
Cleanest city: Singapore
Best ATM: Phnom Penh, Cambodia (dispenses US dollars with no fee)
Best coffee and pan au chocolat: Hanoi, Vietnam
Best clothes shopping: Hoi An, Vietnam
Best shoe shopping: Singapore
Best night craft market: Luang Prabang, Laos
Most fun mode of transport: Jeepneys (Philippines)
Cutest small village: Ban Na, Laos
Best bike ride: Yangshuo, China
Most crazy traffic: Vietnam
Best ancient architecture: Great Wall, China
Best modern architecture: Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai, China
Best diving: Pulau Sipadan, Malaysia
Best sunset: Boracay, Philippines
Best airport: Singapore
Favorite airline: Air Asia
Most fun food: Sticky rice, Laos
Best dim sum: Hong Kong
Best seafood: Cambodia
Best hike: Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia
Best rice terraces: Indonesia (Bali and Flores)
Most fascinating animal: ornate ghost pipe fish (Flores, Indonesia)
Best beer: Beer Lao, Laos
Best night food market: Singapore
Most bizarre item for sale on the street: Power tools (Philippines)
Finally, a short list of places I missed and hope to see another time: Melaka (Peninsular Malaysia), Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo), Similan Islands (Thailand), Sulawesi (Indonesia), Tibet (China), plus Japan and Australia/New Zealand/Fiji.
Tomorrow I'm off to Africa. I land in Cairo and am planning to head south to Kenya and Tanzania for some safari action.
No comments:
Post a Comment