Hello everybody,
last blog post! Yes, by the time this blog is posted I am back in Somerville at good ol' Raymond Ave. Well, I am actually typing this on the flight from Honolulu to Chicago, which sadly is yet another flight on an old tired plane, this time from American Airlines' fleet. What is it with airlines using the oldest planes they have for the super-long flights? To give you an idea how old this plane is, it still has an ashtray in the armrests. Has anyone reading this ever been on a smoking flight?!
To summarize last week, not too much to tell! I spent 6 days in Honolulu, Waikiki to be exact. It's exactly how you would imagine it to be, with beautiful beaches and lot of tourists and shops. What I didn't expect however was the number of Japanese there, at any given time about 50% of all people there.
I did try some surfing (twice actually), but I have to admit that it didn't live up to my expectations. You spend a lot of time sitting around waiting for a good wave, and while the beginning part is kinda cool (catching the wave), once you're on it you are gently pushed forward. I am sure it gets more exciting once the waves are bigger, but I was already freaking out because of the number of people next to me (balancing on a piece of plastic while some dude does the same 3 feet away from you), so I didn't feel like increasing the potential danger.
Sooooo ... to summarize my trip then! I am certain some people reading this expect some deep realization that I arrived at over the months, but despite having seen far more spiritual places than I ever imagined I would (Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, you name it), this trip was for me really about seeing different countries and cultures. And of that I had a LOT :)
Would I do it again? Absolutely. That is btw me speaking, not my wallet. I will not name any numbers, but hadn't I gotten an unexpected money injection halfway into the trip, it probably would have been about a month shorter, most likely without Australia and New Zealand (which really were crazy expensive).
Speaking of money and other things measured in numbers, during the trip I (of course) needed to keep track of all those things. So, here some stats!
Total days of the trip: 162 (5 months, 10 days)
Number of flights: 23 flights
Train rides: 18 (Counting my marathon 12-hour train ride from Kagoshima to Sendai as one)
Kilometers traveled (from Google Maps): 71,051 km. Almost twice around the world!
Hours in cars/buses: Infinite
Number of countries visited: 14
Number of difference time zones: 11
Total blog views: ~4,000 (thanks guys!!!!!!)
And here the most ominous statistic, my finances:
Yes, I deleted the axis labels, because I don't want to deal with the inevitable "WHAAAAT? You spent XYZ dollars on this?!" :)
(Oh, and don't read too much into the slopes over each country. There was a good amount of pre-booking going on, making costs appear in previous countries)
Well, obviously there were countries I liked more, and some I liked less. So, here's my top 5:
1. New Zealand: Just plain amazing. Incredible landscape, very nice people, and even after spending 3 weeks there I still only saw the Southern Island.
2. Japan: Just navigating in this very different and refined culture is incredibly cool. Once again, the people are very nice, to the point that I once got walked by a convenience store employee several blocks because she wanted to make sure I end up at the place I asked for.
3. China: Amazing landscapes once again, and that interesting feeling of a culture smack in the middle of a big transition. And damn good food.
4. Australia: Maybe a bit too low on this list, but I strangely enjoyed it less than any of the above. Definitely something I will need to revisit.
5. India: That one is the interesting entry on this list. I have very ambivalent feelings about this country, but I also know that I am in very good company (since many fellow travelers said the same about it). I am very glad I went there and also spent that amount of time there, because it really is very diverse. That all said, I see it rather unlikely that I will return to it any time soon. It is a country that slowly wears you out because it pushes a lot of (my) personal limits, be that the heat, the smells, the dirt, or just the sheer number of people.
If you don't see your favorite country on this list, don't fret. With the notable exception of Jordan, I enjoyed every place I stayed at. The European countries were all too "familiar" to end up in the top 5.
Pictures, pictures, pictures. One of the things I did in Hawaii while chilling out at the hotel restaurant was to identify the best-of of my pictures. I brought it down to 120, which discounting the various travel days, is about one pic per day of my trip!
I am planning to do a I'm-back party at our place (no exact details yet) where I will show those pictures with a narrative, but obviously not everybody can come, so I uploaded those 120 pictures into my final online folder:
( direct photo link )
That is it then! Thanks for reading my blogs, and I hope to see all of you soon in person again. I am certainly happy to back in reality :)
Cheers,
Ralf
last blog post! Yes, by the time this blog is posted I am back in Somerville at good ol' Raymond Ave. Well, I am actually typing this on the flight from Honolulu to Chicago, which sadly is yet another flight on an old tired plane, this time from American Airlines' fleet. What is it with airlines using the oldest planes they have for the super-long flights? To give you an idea how old this plane is, it still has an ashtray in the armrests. Has anyone reading this ever been on a smoking flight?!
To summarize last week, not too much to tell! I spent 6 days in Honolulu, Waikiki to be exact. It's exactly how you would imagine it to be, with beautiful beaches and lot of tourists and shops. What I didn't expect however was the number of Japanese there, at any given time about 50% of all people there.
I did try some surfing (twice actually), but I have to admit that it didn't live up to my expectations. You spend a lot of time sitting around waiting for a good wave, and while the beginning part is kinda cool (catching the wave), once you're on it you are gently pushed forward. I am sure it gets more exciting once the waves are bigger, but I was already freaking out because of the number of people next to me (balancing on a piece of plastic while some dude does the same 3 feet away from you), so I didn't feel like increasing the potential danger.
Sooooo ... to summarize my trip then! I am certain some people reading this expect some deep realization that I arrived at over the months, but despite having seen far more spiritual places than I ever imagined I would (Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, you name it), this trip was for me really about seeing different countries and cultures. And of that I had a LOT :)
Would I do it again? Absolutely. That is btw me speaking, not my wallet. I will not name any numbers, but hadn't I gotten an unexpected money injection halfway into the trip, it probably would have been about a month shorter, most likely without Australia and New Zealand (which really were crazy expensive).
Speaking of money and other things measured in numbers, during the trip I (of course) needed to keep track of all those things. So, here some stats!
Total days of the trip: 162 (5 months, 10 days)
Number of flights: 23 flights
Train rides: 18 (Counting my marathon 12-hour train ride from Kagoshima to Sendai as one)
Kilometers traveled (from Google Maps): 71,051 km. Almost twice around the world!
Hours in cars/buses: Infinite
Number of countries visited: 14
Number of difference time zones: 11
Total blog views: ~4,000 (thanks guys!!!!!!)
And here the most ominous statistic, my finances:
Yes, I deleted the axis labels, because I don't want to deal with the inevitable "WHAAAAT? You spent XYZ dollars on this?!" :)
(Oh, and don't read too much into the slopes over each country. There was a good amount of pre-booking going on, making costs appear in previous countries)
Well, obviously there were countries I liked more, and some I liked less. So, here's my top 5:
1. New Zealand: Just plain amazing. Incredible landscape, very nice people, and even after spending 3 weeks there I still only saw the Southern Island.
2. Japan: Just navigating in this very different and refined culture is incredibly cool. Once again, the people are very nice, to the point that I once got walked by a convenience store employee several blocks because she wanted to make sure I end up at the place I asked for.
3. China: Amazing landscapes once again, and that interesting feeling of a culture smack in the middle of a big transition. And damn good food.
4. Australia: Maybe a bit too low on this list, but I strangely enjoyed it less than any of the above. Definitely something I will need to revisit.
5. India: That one is the interesting entry on this list. I have very ambivalent feelings about this country, but I also know that I am in very good company (since many fellow travelers said the same about it). I am very glad I went there and also spent that amount of time there, because it really is very diverse. That all said, I see it rather unlikely that I will return to it any time soon. It is a country that slowly wears you out because it pushes a lot of (my) personal limits, be that the heat, the smells, the dirt, or just the sheer number of people.
If you don't see your favorite country on this list, don't fret. With the notable exception of Jordan, I enjoyed every place I stayed at. The European countries were all too "familiar" to end up in the top 5.
Pictures, pictures, pictures. One of the things I did in Hawaii while chilling out at the hotel restaurant was to identify the best-of of my pictures. I brought it down to 120, which discounting the various travel days, is about one pic per day of my trip!
I am planning to do a I'm-back party at our place (no exact details yet) where I will show those pictures with a narrative, but obviously not everybody can come, so I uploaded those 120 pictures into my final online folder:
( direct photo link )
That is it then! Thanks for reading my blogs, and I hope to see all of you soon in person again. I am certainly happy to back in reality :)
Cheers,
Ralf
------------------------- Deutsch ------------------------
Hallo alle,
letztes Blogpost! Zum Zeitpunkt des Postens bin ich mittlerweile wieder in Somerville, in good ol´ Raymond Ave. Ich hab dieses Post allerdings auf dem Flug von Honolulu nach Chicago geschrieben, welcher leider wieder eine uralte Kaschemme ist in die die uns reingepackt haben. Wie kommt es eigentlich das Airlines ihre ältesten Flieger für die richtig langen Flüge einsetzen? Dieser Flieger hatte noch Aschenbecher in der Armlehne. Wann war denn der letzte Flug in dem man noch rauchen konnte?!
Um die letzte Woche zusammenzufassen, gibt eigentlich nicht viel! Ich war 6 Tage in Honolulu, in Waikiki um genau zu sein. Ist genau so wie man sich das vorstellt, mit wunderschönen Stränden und vielen Tourists und die Shops die die so brauchen. Was ich nicht erwartet hatte waren die vielen Japaner, übers ganze Jahr sind mehr als 50% auf der Insel Japaner.
Ich hab mich am surfen versucht (zweimal sogar), hab´s aber danach sein lassen, weil´s dann doch nicht meinen Erwartungen entsprochen hat. Man sitzt superlange auf dem Wasser rum und wartet auf ne gute Welle. Wenn man dann mal eine gefangen hat, ist das am Anfang ganz lustig, aber danach schiebt die einen nur relative gemächlich vor einen hin. Wird bestimmt interessanter um so größer die Wellen sind, aber ich hatte schon genug Sorgen um meine Sicherheit wegen der vielen Leute um mich (man balanciert halt auf nem Stück Plastik, und 1 Meter neben einem versucht jemand das gleiche).
Sooooo ... um also meinen Trip aufzusummieren! Ich gehe davon aus, daß manche Leute darauf hoffen/erwarten daß ich irgendeine tiefgreifende Erkenntnis erlangt habe über die Monate, aber trotzdem ich mehr spirituelle Orte gesehen hab als ich mir jemals vorgestellt hatte (Christen, Muslim, Hindu, Shinto etc.), ging´s mir bei dem Trip doch darum die verschiedenen Länder und Kulturen zu sehen. Und davon hatte ich ne Menge :)
Würde ich´s nochmal machen? Auf jeden Fall. Das sage ich übrigens gerade, nicht mein Portemonnaie. Ich werde natürlich keine Ziffern nennen, aber hätte ich mitten in der Reise nicht ne unerwartete Finanzspritze bekommen, wäre ich wahrscheinlich schon nen Monat früher zurückgewesen, wahrscheinlich ohne Australien und Neuseeland (welche wirklich schweineteuer waren).
Wo wir von Geld sprechen und allen gemessenen Dingen, auf einer Reise hab ich (natürlich) gewisse Statistisken verfolgen mussen. Also, hier ein paar Statistiken!
Insgesamt Reisetage: 162 (5 Monate, 10 Tage)
Anzahl Flüge: 23
Zugfahrten: 18 (die Marathon-Zugfahrt von Kagoshima nach Sendai ist hier als eine angesehen)
Gereiste Kilometer (laut Google Maps): 71.051 km. Fast zweimal um die Welt!
Gereiste Kilometer (laut Google Maps): 71.051 km. Fast zweimal um die Welt!
Stunden in Autos/Bussen: Unendlich (besonders Indien)
Länder besucht: 14
Zeitzonen besucht: 11
Besucher meines Blogs: ~4.000 (danke!!!!!)
Und hier die ominöseste Statistik, meine Finanzen:
Ja, ich habe die Axen gelöscht. weil ich keine Lust auf die unausweichlichen "Waaaaas, du hast XYZ Dollar ausgegeben dafür?!!" Emails habe :)
(und man mag nicht zuviel in die Steigungen des Graphs über den jeweiligen Ländern hineininterpretieren. Ich musste viel vorbuchen, was dann über vorigen Ländern auftritt)
Logischerweise gab´s Länder die ich mehr mochte, und welche die ich weniger mochte. Hier also meine Top 5:
1. Neuseeland: Einfach unglaublich. Unfassbare Landschaften, nette Leute, und selbst nach 3 Wochen hab ich nur die Südinsel gesehen.
2. Japan: Einfach nur durch diese sehr andere und interessante Kultur zu navigieren ist cool. Und auch hier waren die Leute supernett, einmal hat mich ne Supermarkt-Angestellte 3 Hausblöcke begleitet nur um sicherzustellen, daß ich den Ort fand nach dem ich gefragt hatte.
3. China: Tolle Landschaften, und das interessante Gefühl in nem Land im Umschwung zu sein. Und super Essen.
4. Australien: Vielleicht ein bisschen tief in der Liste, aber interessanterweise gefiel es mir weniger als die Länder hier drüber. Muss ich auf jeden Fall nochmal hin.
5. Indien: Der interessante Eintrag in der Liste. Ich hab ein bisschen zwiespältige Gefühle über das Land, aber ich weiss auch daß ich gute Gesellschaft habe damit (laut Aussagen anderere Reisenden die ich getroffen habe). Ich bin sehr froh daß ich´s besucht habe und daß ich auch so lange da war, weil das Land wirklich sehr divers ist. Aber, es ist auch sehr unwahrscheinlich daß ich es nochmal besuchen werde. Das Land mergelt einen langsam aus und brachte mich an meine persönlichen Limits, wegen der Hitze, des Gestanks, dem Dreck, und einfach wegen der vielen Leute.
Wenn Du dein Lieblingsland in der Top 5 nicht findest, denk dir nichts dabei. Mit der Ausnahme von Jordanien hat mir wirklich jedes Land gefallen. Die europäischen Länder waren mir auch zu "geläufig" um in der Liste zu sein.
Bilder, Bilder, Bilder. Eine der Dinge die ich in Hawaii gemacht habe war im Hotel abzuhängen und meine Bilder zu sortieren. Ich hab´s dann geschafft die auf 120 zu reduzieren. Wenn man die Reisetage nicht mitzählt, ist das ungefähr ein Bild pro Tag der Reise!
Hier also die besten 120 Bilder meiner Reise:
Das wär´s dann mit meinem Blog! Vielen Dank fürs Lesen, und ich werde euch ja alle über die Monate wieder persönlich sehen.
( Fotodirektlink )
Bis denne,
Ralf
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