It’s hard to summarize our journey into bullet pointed lists. There were very few, if any, truly bad experiences so as we think back through each country and each city, there is a highlight or fun memory from nearly every one. Certainly, some rise to the top over others, but let it be known that we really enjoyed each country we visited. We have no regrets about the way we distributed our time in each place and feel so pleased with the way it all shook out in the end. What follows is our attempt at spelling out the best of the best, with a little note about the not-so-hot bits too.
Top Overall Moments
1am moonrise-Mueller Hut, New Zealand
- Mueller Hut, Mt. Cook, New Zealand (this is a definite #1 for the whole trip)
- Cat Ba Island, Vietnam
- Masai Mara Safari, Kenya
- Bag End, South Africa
- Zimbabwe
- New Years Eve, Koh Lanta, Thailand
- Time with the girls, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa
- Muang Ngoi, Laos
An un-favorite moment: Getting our bike stolen in Luang Prabang, Laos and the attempt to search for it among the thousands of bikes in town that looked just like it really sucked.
Top Accommodations
- Bag End, South Africa
- Dreamlands, South Africa
Living room at Dreamlands - Jeffery's Bay, South Africa
- Kim Grimes’ Home, Kenya
- Thien An Hotel, Dalat, Vietnam
- Thien Nga Hotel, Hoi An, Vietnam
- Lake Wanaka Holiday Park, New Zealand
- Golden Tour Eiffel Guesthouse, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Muan Baan, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Our Tent, New Zealand
One of the worst accommodations: The foam pad and neon green colored lighting of our guesthouse in Nha Trang, Vietnam left much to be desired. Not to mention they only had twin bed rooms. You really do pay for what you get as this was one of the cheapest places we stayed in Vietnam. Thankfully we were only there two nights and we spent
most of our time on the beach or on the sweet rooftop balcony.
Top Cities Visited
- New Plymouth, New Zealand- surf and snowboard in the same day!
- Wanaka, New Zealand - every thing you’d want in a lakeside resort town
- Dalat, Vietnam- the quietest town in Vietnam, set in the mountains north of HCMC
- Luang Prabang, Laos – culture, activity, and the vegetarian buffet, Laos sandwiches, crepes, and yummy fruit shakes
- Cape Town, South Africa – beauty, outdoor activity, and a fun waterfront scene
One of our least favorite cities: Phnom Penh. Loved the people, hated the pollution.
Top Meals Eaten
Thanksgiving Feast - Wanaka, New Zealand
- Passion Fruit Chicken – Hanoi, Vietnam
- Thanksgiving Feast – Wanaka, New Zealand
- Tacos at Jeff & Jan Bauers – Bangkok, Thailand
- Seafood cooked by Ali including red snapper, white snapper, crab, tuna, and prawns – Diani Beach, Kenya
- All Thai food consumed in Thailand – massaman curry, tom yum, panang curry, phad thai, khow soi…
- Anything cooked up by Rebecca Le Roux – Midrand, South Africa
One of the worst meals eaten: Chicken fingers basket with fries and mayonaise in New Zealand. It should have been called the Mayo with a side of fries and chicken fingers basket. We had to scrape half a jar of mayo off the fries just to find them!
Cheetahs on safari - Masai Mara, Kenya
- New Plymouth, New Zealand
- Mt. Cook, New Zealand
- Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa
- Halong Bay, Vietnam
- Safari in Kenya
- Zimbabwe
We are least likely to return to: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We hit HCMC during an off time as it was New Years and most things were closed. The city didn’t have particularly great character or atmosphere. It was just a big city with lots of noise. Perhaps if we had come at another time our experience would have been different.