The Numbers Game:

For today's post, I figured I would tackle the question: "How do you summarize a trip around the world?????" 

Frankly, I have no clue. But maybe some statistics will help......

Number of Currencies Spent: 14

(and not because we were in 14 countires- remember the UK made up 3 of our countries!)

Thai baht, Laotian kip, Cambodian riel, Vietnamese dong, Nepalese rupees, Indian rupees, Egyptian pounds, Ethiopian birr, Tanzanian shillings, Turkish lira, Euro, Pound sterling, Norweigan krone, Icelandic Krona

Number of museums visited: 23

2 of my favorites, the Hao Lo Prison museum in Hanoi, Vietnam....and the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway

Number of beds slept in: (an easier way to qualify the amount of hostels/hotels/friend's apartments/cruise ship rooms/airplanes/tents we stayed in.....essentially just how many different places did we sleep in over the course of our journey?)  87!!!

From the worst.......

Not living up to expectations in Luang Prabang, Laos

To the best....

Living in the lap of luxury while on safari

But, most likely- somewhere in the middle-

Sleeping in a cave in Cappadocia, Turkey!

And lets not forget the great friends who let us shack up for a week.......

And the occasional (okay, 12) overnight journey (be it on bus, plane, or train)

One of the best ON journeys, from Bangkok to Chiang Mai via train

Local beers sampled: 35

This number is not an exact figure (although Katy might actually know the answer to this), but I am going to give it a best estimate shot:

Some Chang in Bangkok, Thailand

Cider blacks on Iona in the highlands of Scotland

Cambodia :)

Nepal!

Ahhhh, Zanzibar- and my birthday!

Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Number of bugs removed off of Michelle by Katy:

Gross, this blog is getting personal.

But its no fun if it's not :)

The number that goes with this post is......(drumroll)....2!  I had a friendly leech latch onto my ankle in Annapurna (perhaps I should have checked my drenched shoes in the morning), and a tick (sick, I know) that made it onto my wrist after (this is my hypothesis) a brief little hike in some very long wet grasses while on the Isle of Staffa in Scotland (I realllly wanted a picture at the top of a hill).  She's a good friend :)

See? Wasn't it worth it?? That's me wayyyy out on the ledge :)

 Number of elderly drivers who passed us while driving in the UK:
2 cars worth :)  (Hey, we expected this number to be much higher- those two were on the first day....thank goodness we got a little better with time!)

Number of airports visited: 19
Chicago, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Luang Prabang, Hanoi, Varansi, Kathmandu, Delhi, Addis ababa, Mumbai, Cairo, Istanbul, Athens, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar, Heathrow, Reykjavik, Minneapolis (as of Monday night!)

 

Number of buses traveled on: 23
Some were comfortable, many were not....some were wicked sweaty, some we met friends on :)  All in all, I would have to say I am quite pleased with my bus experiences around the world.....

New friends in Laos

A few stool sitters....

Katy's ready to snuggle in for a 14 hour journey through Vietnam!

Number of hikes completed: 13
(ranging from day hikes around the tors in Dartmoor all the way up to and including Kilimanjaro!)

World Heritage Sites Visited: 28
We probably wouldn't have even made note of this but our friend Pras was all about the UNESCO sites, so I became intrigued as well :)

Number of times where my main task for the day was sit and watch either the sunrise or the sunset: 
I can't even begin to count, but I know that while in the Annapurna region, in Santorini, during our time on the cruise and Iceland (where the sun didn't ever actually "set"), and while on the mountain, seeing the sun dip below or come above the horizon was frequently the daily goal :)

Freezing but happy at Gilman's Point in Nepal

Sunrise on the Ganges in Varanasi, India

Does life get any better than this? Have to credit Katy with this picture on Kili :)

On the ferry in the Cyclades, Greece

Again in the Cyclades

On Safari in Tanzania, Africa....in the foreground is our resort pool :)

On Santorini, Greece (at Santo Wines, overlooking Nea Kameni, a completely volcanic island)

On our way back down from Gilman's Point in Annapurna (Nepal)

Sunset in Oia, Santorini, Greece

Waking up to this on Kili....not bad :)

Stone Town, Zanzibar....my birthday!

Middle of the night while cruising through Norway......

And finally (get ready for some cheese.....)- Number of times I ever doubted the decision to quit my job, put all my belongings in storage, and hop on a plane headed for Asia with some loose plans of what to do for the next six months:
Zero!!!!!