Where does a RTW trip take you?

Let's start off with something easy.  I can barely keep track of all of the places I have been over the past months, so I doubt that even my most loyal blog readers can remember.  So, I figured I would take you on a brief journey around the globe, starting Feb 10th, 2012 :)

Our first flight!

Asia:

We left Chicago after being taken to ORD by my parents and flew 16 hours to Hong Kong, and following a brief layover and another quick flight, landed in Bangkok to start our adventure on the famous Kho San Road:)

After seeing the temples and taking in the nightlife, we headed to Khao Yai National Park for a jungle safari, followed by a short stint in Ayuthaya before taking our first overnight train all the way up to Chaing Mai. Here, we trekked in the hilltribe villages, took in Muay Thai Boxing, and explored the city.

After Chaing Mai, it was on to Luang Prabang in Laos, followed by a crazy five days in Vang Vieng, a frightening eighteen hours in Vientiane, and  a very sweaty and long journey down to the 4000 Islands via the town of Thakek. After doing a whole lot of nothing on Don Det (although this was where we found the King Kong burger!), we were on to Siem Reap, Cambodia to explore the famous Angkor Wat. A short bus journey took us on to Phnom Penh, where we saw the moving Killing Fields and spent a day freeing the Bears. An overnight bus got us to Ho Chi Minh, where we met up with our friend Megan and spent 2 weeks working our way up the coast of Vietnam to Hanoi via Nha Trang, Hue, Hoi An.

One failed Halong Bay attempt and many new friends later, we left Megan and SE Asia for Nepal, where we headed straight to Chitwan National Park in search of hippos (via walking safari!).  After 3 days in Chitwan, it was back to Kathmandu to meet our group of fellow trekkers, and we were able to explore the towns of Kathmandu and Pokhara before embarking on a breathtaking 10 day hike of the Annapurna region.

Leaving Nepal and our group, we took a short flight over to Varanasi, the holiest city in India, where we spent 3 days learning a lot about all of the rituals that happen here. It was then on to Agra to see the Taj Mahal (how could you not when you are this close?), Jaipur ("the Pink City"), Ranthambore for a very short but very cool tiger safari, and Delhi, to see the more modern side of India.

And on to continent number two......

Africa:

Africa was a place I fell in love with when I was there 2 years ago, and this was quite possibly the part of the trip that I was most excited for. After a few days of getting settled into Moshi and getting all of our gear in order, we found ourselves at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, at the Rongai gate entrance, and  five and half strenuous and life-changing days later, we summitted Kili at a stunning 5895m, along with our amazing guides, Johnnie and James. Once off the mountain, there was a brief attempt at volunteering at a Moshi hospital, but the program wasn't quite how it had been described, so unfortunately we had to leave but we filled our extra time with a last minute trip to the island of Zanzibar!  And after 4 days of relaxing over there, we were back to the mainland and headed towards Arusha, the base for our weeklong safari in the Serengeti, Ngrogongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire. Words can't describe all the amazing things I was able to see while in Africa....

The good thing about Arusha.....if you get confused about where you are headed, you can just check out one of these signs :)

And now on to continent number three....Europe....or wait, Asia?

That's right! After Africa it was on to Turkey, where you can find yourself in Europe and then Asia and then Europe again all following a short ferry ride.  We spent nearly a week in Istanbul, partaking in all the city had to offer, and then headed to Cappadoccia to explore the magical valleys and fairy chimneys of the region. There was a brief stop in Pammukale to see the travertines before moving onto Bodrum for some beach time....and then to Selcuk which served as a base to explore Ephesus and as an exit point to ferry over to Greece. Speaking of, it was then on to the islands of Samos, Syros, Mykonos, and Santorini for some mind-blowing scenery before meeting up with our friend Nick in Athens to explore the Acropolis.

And now, the UK!

Ahh, the UK. Within a few days in this amazing region, any of my pre concieved notions regarding the dreariness of England and Scotland were gone. Our first plan of action after landing in Heathrow was to meet up with our friend Brandon (not hard, he was waiting for us at the airport), and use his Hammersmith, London apartment as our homebase for exploring England and London. Lucky for us, he had taken most of the week off of work and was able to join us on excursions to Stonehenge, Cambridge, Dartmoor National Park (where we spent a couple of days admiring the BEAUTIFUL landscape) and Alcester to see the Olympic Torch Relay!  When he had to go back to work, Katy and I showed ourselves around London for a few days.

It was then on to Norway via the MS Ryndam and an additional two friends (Emily and Kelli, my friends from home!). We cruised to Oslo, where we were able to explore the city a bit, Kristiansand, Stavanger (where we climbed Pulpit Rock), and Ulvik, a teeny town set against a beautiful mountain backdrop.  Countless hours were also spent playing games and singing along with Paul the piano man.

And back to the UK as the cruise docked in Dover........we picked up a rental car at the port and headed north immediately to again meet up with Brandon and his family! From there, it was over to Wales to see Snowdonia National Park, and then up to Scotland, where we spent a breathtaking 5 days exploring the Highlands (Inverness, Isle of Skye, Oban, Mull, Iona, Staffa), before moving on to Dalkeith, just outside of Edinbrugh, to stay in Katy's study abroad digs for a few days (and also to explore the city, of course).

And from there....on to Iceland!  We started in Reykjavik, picked up a rental car--and are now working our way clockwise around the island via Ring Road.  More details to follow on this portion of the trip when I return home!

And that brings us to present time, July 16th, 2012.....and as I have slowly worked my way back West towards home, I am truly in awe of everything I have seen over the past months....