No matter where we went in the world, as soon as people found out we were travelling over such a large area, we were always asked “so what have you liked best?”. Since we are now at the end of the travels, it is easier to answer, since we have all the places covered now. Here goes, in no particular order, with the Top Ten list of things we enjoyed most in all the travels.

• Hiking in the Brazilian rainforest. Although intensely humid, it was spectacular to be there in the jungle where jaguars and transparent butterflies live.

• Seeing snow fall for the first time ever in Virginia on April 1st. It was very exciting to actually see real snow fall from the sky, not man-made stuff at a resort, and not just on television. We never realised there was no sound at all to snow, figuring it was like rain and would make *some* noise, but it was deathly silent.

• Bryce Canyon, Utah. This is photographically rich country, and not to be missed. It does take a while to get there if you drive from the coast, but it is definitely worth it. The surrounding countryside is beautiful also, but the hikes down in the canyon really give you the best views of Mother Nature’s erosion skills.

• Dodge County Fair, Minnesota. Probably a contentious choice for some, placing a small county fair in the Top Ten, and excluding things like the Grand Canyon, but this was a great experience. Pig racing. Fried cheese curds on a stick. Projects on Australia by kids that had very dubious research sources. It all added up to a great night out and lives on as one of the highlights of the whole US trip.

• Wandering through ancient ruins in Rome, stumbling from site to site around each corner. The concept of walking through a major city and just finding buildings and statues and fonts that were thousands of years old is staggering. Until you have been there and seen it for yourself, you do not realise just how old the city is. More to the point, you realise that the discovery of Australia is an incredibly recent event in comparison.

• Bargaining over how many baht to pay for an item in the Bangkok night market. Admittedly, it was nice to ultimately leave a country where there were three prices for everything (the price the locals pay, the price the tourists pay after haggling, and the price the stupid non-haggling tourist pays), but it was also a lot of fun to figure out what we wanted and what we wanted to pay for it.

• Baby elephants at Samphran Elephant Grounds and Crocodile Farm. Gorgeous little elephants with no real control over their trunks which made them all the more endearing.

• Cable TV in the USA was a highlight for Di. I felt that having even more channels with nothing worth watching was a little silly, but Di was enraptured with the possibilities for watching utter manure at any time of day or night.

• Re-learning to appreciate a spectacular sunset or sunrise. We did not see so many of the latter, of course, but we presumed they existed. And since it was our Odyssey, we had the chance to decide whether or not to get up to see them.

• Donuts for breakfast in North America. There is no finer way to start the day than with a couple of chocolate-iced ring donuts, and a glass of orange juice. Almost feels healthy, but you know it is isn’t, which makes it all the better.

I am sure there are quite a few of you out there looking at this list and wondering how the heck some of these managed to make an appearance. It really all boils down to what WE enjoyed the most. Other people doing the exact same route would probably get something completely different out of the travels, but that’s what it is all about.

Categories: Travel, Odyssey 2001