All Good Things Must Come to an End

After traveling through 6 countries in 6 months Ariel and I are packing our bags and heading home. This has been a wonderful journey, full of many new experiences and interesting people, but I miss my friends and family…and the tomatoes of Israel.

If you have not had a chance to read the blogs since we have been away, this one will bring you up to speed. It would be too hard to try and sum up this past half a year in one blog, so here are some highlights to leave you with:

Thailand: No place could have been better to start our trip than the island of Kho Chang. We went scuba diving, rode on elephants, explored with motorbikes and met some great people. Of course we also got our first sunburn, but learned our lesson.

Laos: Trekking through the forests of Northern Laos was difficult and rewarding. Meeting local villagers who have not been tainted by “tourism gone bad” was a true plus and even the leeches couldn’t get us down.

Vietnam: Traveling by motorbike is a great way to experience the country. What was even more fun was hanging out with 5 Vietnamese children when one of our bikes broke down. They spoke no English and all I had was a basic phrasebook, yet we seemed to get along just fine with smiles, pictures and lots of laughing.

Cambodia: The most rewarding part of this trip was working at the orphanage. Each day was a new adventure and after cycling 12 km home I was tired, but excited to do it again the next day.

Singapore: While many parts of this city are very expensive, there is also a great infrastructure in place to give back to the people with free events. In 4 days we took advantage of a free music festival, museum admission and tours through Chinatown and the Arab Quarter. And yes, it really is as clean as you imagine.

Indonesia: This country takes the cake for natural beauty. Climbing the Ijen crater was truly magnificent and watching the hills roll by in Flores was also beautiful. I would wake up again at 4 am for any climb in these parts.

And so after reading more than 15 books, watching even more stupid movies in various guesthouses and restaurants and meeting people from all over the world, I am ready to come home…and so is Ariel.