Frequently Asked
Questions
Questions asked by the skeptics and
doubters:
Why are you doing this?
The short answer: because I want to. The answer for aesthetes: to
see all of the most divinely beautiful places in the world. The
answer for wanderers: to explore new horizons that I never even knew
existed. The answer for achievers: to see as much as I can
while I'm alive and in good health. The psychological answer:
because I've had the compulsion to do this for over a decade. The
sociological answer: to meet interesting people, both locals and other
travellers, and to figure out how different cultures work and view
things, and thereby come to integrative ideas about all of humanity and
human nature. The linguistic answer: to learn different languages
and communicate nonverbally as well. The philosophical answer: to
seek out more options about what I want to do in the future, because I
believe that you can't see all of your horizons sitting at a desk
behind a computer. And I am a possibilities-seeker at
heart. Almost everything is possible.
When did you start this trip and how
long are you going for?
Started November 2003 and the end is not yet determined but the trip
will
last until 2008.
How can you afford to do this?
I worked and I saved money. $10000 per year is more than enough
to budget a comfortable round the world trip, and I'm spending
considerably less than that. The keys are to avoid spending too
much time in expensive countries, to drink in moderation, to omit
unnecessary purchases, to walk whenever possible (the whole essence of
backpacking in my opinion; if you need a taxi to get 1 km from the bus
station to your hostel, why not just haul around a Samsonite suitcase?)
and to be careful not to be cheated too badly. The truth is that
almost
anybody living in the developed world can easily do a round the world
trip, no matter how much they may sigh ruefully about how they wish
they could do it. The real obstacle, as I've told so many people,
are the relative priorities in your life, whether it be career, family,
friends, and lifestyle issues. If you really want to do it,
you can do it and it's probably much easier and cheaper than you
suspect. I've met countless teenage Europeans who work a
year as a waittress in London or flipping schnitzels in Munich and then
have
enough money to go around the world. As with almost all important
decisions in life, the hinge points lie not "out there" but within
yourself.
Where will you end up living after the
trip?
Somewhere interesting I hope.
Do you ever get tired of it?
Not so far. Some travellers hit the wall at 6 months, others at a
year or longer, but it hasn't hit me yet. I think it's important
to take
meaningful long breaks of a month or so from time to time, as I've done
in Paris (to work), Antigua Guatemala (to study Spanish), Buenos Aires,
Taipei, Bishkek, and Sana'a.
Don't you get lonely travelling alone?
The truth is, you meet far more people while travelling than while
staying at
home or hanging out with a circle of friends. And the kind of
people you meet can sometimes be very exceptional and
interesting. Locals
are a bit harder to meet, but I've discovered the Hospitality Club site and Couchsurfing site
during this trip that has been very
fruitful. They're free and you end up meeting generally bright,
curious, educated, knowledgeable, English-speaking locals who can help
you see and experience things that you wouldn't have otherwise.
It's especially useful in large cities which can be confusing and it
takes time to learn them. After years of travelling, you do get
bored of seeing yet another mediocre museum or monument or beach or
park, and you really want sometimes to just do normal things that a
local person would do, whether it's shopping at a mall, hanging out at
cafes, attending parties, whatever. That said, I do still pattern
my trip route to follow the most spectacular sites in the world.
My tastes are quite compatible with the ones on the UNESCO World
Heritage Site list.
Have you gotten sick?
Only once. An acute parasite infection (probably giardia) in
Nepal was quickly
doused by cheap and powerful Indian pharmaceuticals
Have you been a victim of crime?
Twice. My daybag was stolen in the bus terminal of Mendoza,
Argentina, in a 2-man distraction ploy. I lost a camera, agenda,
and my passport, but the passport was found by police the next
day. I was pickpocketed while changing buses in Abasha, Georgia.
What's the most dangerous place you've
been?
Tehran: the traffic is insane. Followed by China. I saw
almost a traffic accident per day in Iran and China. For violent
crime, Quito, Ecuador. And parts of northern Central
America. For theft, La Paz, Bolivia. For those who
are curious, Myanmar, Colombia and Iran are among the safest countries that I've visited.
What do you think of the voyeurism
aspect of travelling in "exotic" countries. Is it just a human
safari?
See my discussion of this here.
Questions asked by the dreamers and
free spirits:
What is your favourite country that
you've visited on this trip so far?
Too many to rank just like that. I can say that I did especially
enjoy
Mexico, Guatemala, Nepal, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Rapa Nui, Myanmar,
Vietnam, Indonesia and Yemen. But of course, there are wonderful
places
in almost every country. In addition, some countries like Cuba,
Turkmenistan,
and India are extremely fascinating in their pecularities.
What do you think are the most
beautiful and spectacular and amazing places that you've seen in the
world?
See my list of The Big Thrills in the
world.
I don't care about culture stuff and
cities. How about just beautiful natural places?
See my list of Natural Wonders of
the world.
Where are the greatest ruins in the
world?
See my list of the Great Ruins in the
World.
What are the greatest places built for
Gods in the world?
See my list of the Greatest places
built for Gods.
What are the most beautiful medieval
cities that you've seen on this trip so far?
Kathmandu, Patan, Bhaktapur (Nepal), Hampi, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur (India),
Angkor
(Cambodia), Bagan (Myanmar), Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, Lopburi (Thailand),
Khiva (Uzbekistan), Yazd (Iran), Sana'a (Yemen) and many other villages
in Yemen.
What are the most beautiful colonial
cities that you've seen on this trip so far?
Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Oaxaca, San Cristobal de las Casas,
Campeche (Mexico), Antigua (Guatemala), Leon, Granada (Nicaragua),
Panama City (Panama), Bogota, Cartagena (Colombia), Quito, Cuenca
(Ecuador), Arequipa, Cuzco (Peru),
Sucre, Potosi (Bolivia), Sao Joao del Rei, Tiradentes, Diamantina, Ouro
Preto, Salvador da Bahia (Brazil), Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay),
Georgetown, Melaka (Malaysia), Hoi An (Vietnam), Vigan (Philippines),
Christchurch (New Zealand), Pondicherry (India), Bombay (India),
Zanzibar (Tanzania), Ilha de Mocambique (Mozambique), Lamu (Kenya)
Where are the friendliest local people?
Mexico, El Salvador, Panama, Nepal, Paraguay, Brazil, Myanmar, Laos,
Philippines, Taiwan, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
How many different airlines have you
flown on in your life? (OK, nobody's ever asked this
really! :)
Current count is 94. See my complete list of Airlines Flown.
What are some of your favourite movies?
See my list of favourite movies.
Questions asked by the travellers:
What has been your route?
USA - Mexico - Cuba - Mexico - Belize - Guatemala - Honduras -
Guatemala - El Salvador - Honduras - Nicaragua - Costa Rica - Panama -
Costa Rica - USA - India (via Hong Kong and Singapore) - Nepal - USA
(via Thailand and Korea) - France - Switzerland - France - USA -
Ecuador - Peru - Colombia - Peru - Bolivia - Argentina - Bolivia -
Chile - Paraguay - Argentina (via Brazil) - Brazil - Uruguay -
Argentina - Chile - Argentina - Uruguay - Argentina - Chile - Argentina
- Chile - Argentina - Chile - France (French polynesia) - New Zealand -
Australia - USA - Australia - Indonesia - Malaysia - Thailand - Myanmar
- Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Singapore - Taiwan - Thailand - Laos
- Thailand - Malaysia - Philippines - Malaysia - Brunei - Malaysia -
Indonesia - Japan - Taiwan - China - Hong Kong - China - Kyrgyzstan -
Kazakhstan - Uzbekistan - Turkmenistan - Iran - United Arab Emirates -
Oman - United Arab Emirates - Yemen - Qatar - Lebanon - Syria - Turkey
- Georgia - Azerbaijan - Georgia - Armenia - Karabagh - Armenia - Iran
- Bahrain - UAE - Pakistan - Afghanistan - Tajikistan -Kyrgyzstan -
China - Hong Kong -Taiwan - UK - France - Morocco - Mauritania -
Senegal - Gambia - Senegal - Guinea-Bissau - Senegal - Mali - Burkina
Faso - Niger - Benin - Togo - Ghana - South Africa - Botswana - South
Africa - Lesotho - South Africa - Swaziland - South Africa - Namibia -
Zambia - Zimbabwe - South Africa - Taiwan (via Hong Kong) - South
Africa - Mozambique - Malawi - Tanzania - Burundi - Rwanda - DR Congo -
Rwanda - Uganda - Kenya - Ethiopia - Somaliland - Ethiopia - Sudan -
Egypt - UAE - China - DPR Korea - China - Hong Kong - Macau - Thailand
- Philippines - Taiwan - Philippines - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand
- Sri Lanka - India - Yemen (via UAE)
Where have you stayed in every place
and when were you there?
See my route calendar. It's not
very
user friendly but all the info is in there. The lodging
references with prices paid could be useful to backpackers currently on
the road. The original Excel version
of this file might be faster to transfer.
How much do you pay for your
haircuts?
A haircut turns out to be an excellent barometer for assessing the
economic realities of a place, because almost no materials or transport
are involved
and you are paying only human labour and infrastructural costs, and
these go hand in hand with cost of living and per capita productivity
of the nation. See my list of haircuts
here. I always look for the cheapest available haircut,
because you know how fashion conscious I am.
Statistics
&
trivia from this trip:
- Number of listed UNESCO World Heritage Sites visited: 164, as of
6 Apr 2008
- Number of transits made across the equator: 12
- Number of total airplane take off-and-landings (or flight legs):
103, as of 6 Apr 2008
- Most entries into plus exits out of a country: 14 for
Argentina (across 12 different border checkpoints), Thailand (5
checkpoints) and Hong Kong, 12 for South Africa (7 checkpoints), 10 for
Chile (9
checkpoints), Malaysia, Taiwan, and UAE, 9 for USA, 8 for China, 6 for
Senegal (5 checkpoints) and Singapore, 4 for
Peru, Bolivia, Honduras, Costa Rica,
Brazil,
Australia, Indonesia, Georgia, Iran, France, Kyrgyzstan, Ethiopia,
Rwanda, India, Yemen.
- Biggest checkpoint assholes: Pocitos (Argentina), Damascus (Syria)
- Cheapest international airmail postage: $0.03 (Myanmar)
- Cheapest off-the-rack postcard: $0.05 (Myanmar)
- Cheapest single room: $1 (Muang Ngoi, Laos & Moni, Indonesia)
- Cheapest dormitory bed: Free (Amritsar Golden Temple,
India), or else $0.60 (Udaipur, India, and Everest base camp, Tibet)
- Cheapest single room with air conditioning: $3 (Nyaung U,
Myanmar)
- Most nights spent in air conditioned room: 9 in UAE, 4 in
Bahrain, 6 in Myanmar, 4
in Malaysia
- Nicest airports: 1) Singapore, 2) Seoul-Incheon, 3) Hong Kong, 4)
Kuala Lumpur
- Most time spent in airport: 8 hrs in Yangon (Myanmar) due
to flight delay
- Cheapest international airport departure tax: $6 from Clark
field (Philippines) and Bandar Abbas (Iran)
- Cheapest beer: $0.12 for a 750 ml bottle in Chengdu (China)
- Cheapest liquor: $0.50 for a 700 ml bottle of vodka in
Turkmenistan
- Most expensive drink: $8 for a Coke in the Shinjuku Hyatt
roofbar, Tokyo (Japan)
- Cheapest meal: $0.18 for two wrapped rice balls with a piece of
meat and vegetables, plus deep fried fritter plus a glass of iced tea,
in Yogyakarta (Indonesia)
- Cheapest internet: $0.13 per hour (Western China)
- Most expensive internet: $10 per hour (Papeete, Tahiti)
- Best street-grade coffee: Colombia (tinto), Brazil
(cafezinho), Vietnam (caphe phin) and Ethiopia
- Cheapest long distance bus: $6 from Yangon to Mandalay
(Myanmar), 16 hrs bus ride with AirCon and video.
- Cheapest train: Turkmenistan,$0.75 for a sleeper berth on
an overnight train, Mary to Ashgabat.
- Cheapest flight: $26 (includes all taxes) from Hanoi to
Singapore on Tiger
Airways, a 5 hr flight
- Coolest animals: the armour plated Indian Rhinoceros (Royal
Chitwan Natl Park, Nepal and Kaziranga Natl Park, India) and Orangutan
(Sepilok reserve, East
Malaysia), Giant panda (Chengdu Panda centre, China), Tiger
(Bandhavgarh Natl Park, India), Tarsiers (Bohol, Philippines)
- Coolest insect: Glowworms in Waitomo Cave (New Zealand) and
butterflies at Iguazu falls (Argentina)
- Coolest bird: Quetzal in Monteverde park (Costa Rica)
- Coolest tree: Arrayan (Argentina), Baobabs (West Africa)
- Coolest animal sound: the chilling roar of the Black howler
monkey (Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica)
- Worst water bottle design: Laos (I could only open it correctly
less than half the time)
- Most colourful costumes: San Juan Chamula (Mexico), Las
Tablas carnaval (Panama), Lago Atitlan indigenous peoples (Guatemala),
hill tribe peoples near Sapa and Bac Ha (Vietnam) and Muang Sing
(Laos), Jaisalmer and many places in India, Java and Bali traditional
dress (Indonesia), women's traditional dresses in Kyrgyzstan,
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, Minab (Iran), men's
traditional robe with
jambir dagger (Yemen), kurdish costumes in Howraman valley (Iran),
women's clothing in Kalash valleys (Pakistan)
- Highest place I've climbed: 6075m (20,000 ft), summit of Chachani
volcano (Peru)
- Highest public telephone in the world: at the last
checkpoint on Mount Kinabalu, about 3600m elevation (East Malaysia)
- Largest palace in the world: the Sultan's residential
palace, Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei)
- Largest dam in the world: Itaipu (Paraguay-Brazil).
10 km across the top of the dam. 1 out of the 18 turbines
supplies all of Paraguay's electricity needs
- Longest reclining Buddha in the world: Shwethalyang in Bago
(Myanmar)
- Tallest and biggest standing Buddha in the world: Dafu in Leshan
(China)
- Largest uncracked bell in the world: Mingun pagoda (Myanmar)
- Best coins: Indonesian coins made of lightweight aluminum
so they don't weigh down my pockets
- Largest school: Katherine School of the Air serves the
northern Outback (Australia)
- Best beer countries (cheap, big, readily available and tasty):
Paraguay, Argentina, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, China
- Worst beer country: Iran
- Best beer: Baviera (Paraguay), Quilmes (Argentina), Beer Lao
(Laos), San Miguel (Philippines)
- Best wine countries: Argentina, Chile, New Zealand,
Australia, Lebanon, Turkey, South Africa
- Worst wine country: Iran
- Best street food in Latin America: salteñas and
tucumanes (spicy meat pastries), Bolivia
- Best street food in Asia: bun cha (roast pork with rice
vermicelli), Vietnam
- Most novel hostel: Napier Prison hostel recently converted
from a real prison, New Zealand
- Steepest road in the world: Baldwin Street, Dunedin, New
Zealand
- Biggest rainfall: Easily the 12 inch (30 cm) downpour in
Volcanoes National Park one very soggy evening.
- Worst transportation incident: motorboat from Nong Kiaw to
Muang Ngoi, Laos, suffering an engine failure while still in whitewater
rapids, heading upstream. All passengers had to jump out into the water
to stabilize the boat.
- Taken intercity trains in: India, Switzerland, Bolivia,
Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong,
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Syria, Georgia, Azerbaijan,
Morocco, Mauritania, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Egypt, Sri Lanka
- Crossed an international border on boat: Nicaragua to Costa Rica,
Uruguay to Argentina, Cambodia to Vietnam, Malaysia to Brunei,
Mauritania to Senegal, Sudan to Egypt
- Most countries with the same water bottle: 33 (Argentina to
current), originally a 600ml bottle of Mirinda soda
- Smallest largest bill value: 500 Shilling note (Somaliland),
worth $0.08
- Smallest bill value: 50 Manat note (Turkmenistan), worth $0.002
- Largest postage stamp: Horse stamp in Turkmenistan, 9 x
11.5 cm
- Cheapest national ballet/opera: Tashkent (Uzbekistan) Teatr
Navoi. Best seat in house for $0.75/$1.25.
- Most deserted city: Tashkent
- Most crowded city: Hong Kong
- Longest trolleybus taken: Urgench to Khiva, Uzbekistan. 35
km long, cost 250 cym ($0.20)
- Cheapest local bus: Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) 50 Manat
($0.002)
- Largest fountain in the world: Ashgabat (Turkmenistan)
- Largest statue of a book in the world: Ashgabat
(Turkmenistan)
- Largest 12m high gold statue of a current dictator revolving
around the sun: Ashgabat (Turkmenistan)
- Largest statue of a dictator where visitors are forced to kneel
before: Pyongyang (DPR Korea)
- Most police checks: Ethiopia 21, Syria 10, Turkey 5, Uzbekistan
5,
Turkmenistan 4, Iran 3...Cuba,
Paraguay, Myanmar, China, Indonesia, DPR Korea, Somalia: 0
- Craziest traffic for pedestrians: 1) Tehran (Iran), 2)
Saigon (Vietnam)
- Most dangerous traffic for accidents: 1) Iran, 2)
China
- Best food: North America -Mexico; South America - Peru (chicken)
& Chile (seafood); Asia - Thailand, Vietnam, China, Malaysia;
Africa - Morocco, Mauritania/Guinea-Bissau (fish), Senegal, Niger
(beef), South Africa/Namibia/Botswana/Zimbabwe (meats), Tanzania
(fish), Ethiopia
- Worst food: North America - Cuba; South America - Colombia;
Asia - Iran; Oceania - Australia; Africa - Sudan
- Most unieyebrowed people: Iran
- Most mustachioed women: Georgia
- Best named consumer product: Barf cleaning products in
Central Asia
- Most ludicrous money: the Iranian rial, because nobody in
Iran ever actually refers to it. Prices are always cited in toman
(=10 rial) or sometimes in Khomeini (10000 rial), except to
tourists. Runner up honours goes to Azerbaijan that
simultaneously circulates old Manats with new Manats. One new
Manat is worth 5000 old manats. Hundredths of new Manats are
called qepiks. So 20 qepiks is 0.20 new manats or 1000 old manats.
- Fewest people wearing glasses: Uzbekistan
- Fewest tourists: Paraguay, Philippines, Taiwan, Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan, Oman, Azerbaijan, Niger, Benin, Togo, Burundi, DR Congo,
Somaliland, Sudan, Lesotho, Guinea-Bissau
- Most tourists: Thailand, Mexico, China
- Hottest place: 43°C in Jaisalmer, India (March 2004)
- Coldest place: -15°C?? in Moynaq, Uzbekistan (December
2005)
- Most dirty: India
- Most chaotic: India
- Most dishonest: India
- Most aggravating: India
- Most animated: India
- Cheapest country: India
- Most expensive country: Tahiti (France)
- Most armed country: 1) Yemen, 2) Afghanistan
- Highest density of shopping malls: Dubai (United Arab
Emirates)
- Most posters of leader: Syria and Iran
- Most expensive petrol: Turkey (about $8 per gallon or $2.10 per
litre)
- Cheapest petrol: Turkmenistan (about $0.05 per gallon or
$0.01 per litre)
- Most invitations into homes 1) Uzbekistan, 2) Syria
- Countries where I never set foot in the capital city:
Australia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras, Zimbabwe, Zambia,
DR Congo, Somalia (technically)
- Airports that I walked to or from: Batken (Kyrgyzstan),
Dubai (UAE), Puerto Jiminez (Costa Rica)
- Cheapest automatic weapons and ammunition: Darra Adam Khel
(Pakistan)
- Heads of states crossed: China's Hu Jintao in Bariloche,
Argentina; Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade in Fatiya, Senegal
- Tropical paradises: Moorea, Bali, Ko Phi Phi, Ilha Bubaque, Isla
Mujeres, Pemba,
- Fabled cities of legend: Kathmandu, Samarkand, Timbuktu, Lhasa,
Jerusalem, Damascus, Shangri-La, Zanzibar, Xanadu
- Nations in civil war (where rebels occupy land) at time of visit:
India, Nepal, Colombia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Yemen,
Georgia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Niger, Burundi, DR Congo, Somalia,
Sudan, Sri Lanka
- Other nations with violent rebels: Laos, Turkey, Lebanon,
Morocco, Senegal, Mali, Uganda, China
Website Links here
Updated 6 April, 2009 in Sana'a, Yemen.
Send feedback, suggestions, or questions to htchang@yahoo.com
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