Now then, that said…

g-knows I’ve got my hands-full here lately – primarily with a new mega-project (announcement coming soon).  And I swear, I still have a fab post on my (can you spell h-i-g-h-l-y  p-o-i-s-o-n-o-u-s?) “fugu” dinner in Tokyo up my sleeve, not to mention an urgent need to get back to chronicling the remainder of my marathon adventures in the Balkans (Bosnia, Montenegro and Turkey).  But…

STOP.THE.PRESSES!

Today is arguably a mega-LANDMARK DAY for this “TravelnLass”. If you gaze over there to the upper right – you’ll notice my trusty “count-up” clock has been merrily ticking away – counting up the cumulative days, minutes and seconds since I blew my native U.S. popsicle-stand, and hopped on that one-way plane to Vietnam.  And just yesterday?

OMG – it turned SEVEN FULL YEARS!

Now – given that I’ve long been a firm believer in marking life’s (both large and small) special moments – I simply had to drop everything at Casa Dyannita here in Cuenca, Ecuador – and mark this personal monumental occasion with a (not-so) little Walk-Down-Memory-Lane.

Indeed, a fond look-back on my many precious memories over the past 7 years (2,557 days – including 2 extra days in leap years 2012 and 2016)) – through no less than TWENTY-FIVE different countries!

First stop: Vietnam, then swiftly followed by: Sumatra in Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Mongolia, Nepal, Malaysian Borneo, the tiny nation of Brunei, a dash into Singapore (including a whirl-wind in-transit tour of the city’s highlights), Australia and Myanmar. Then a major move west and DOWN to another hemisphere here to my new home in Ecuador, along with forays to: Cuba, Easter Island in Chile, my (not-so) little 6 week skip through Germany, Austria, lovely Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Turkey, a dash to see those Monarch butterflies dripping from the trees in the highlands of Mexico, a $200 lunch plus Machu Picchu in Peru, and most recently – a dash back to Asia to eat my way through Japan.

Yesireee – that’s a goodly bundle of 25 new countries for me (on top of the 25 I already had under my gossamer travel belt before I hopped that one-way plane out of the U.S. of A. in 2011).  Now some might well have clocked that many countries racing to ‘n fro over a month or three.  But me?  One of the reasons I opted to move permanently abroad, was to explore this wondrous globe at a more leisurely pace, basing myself first in Asia, and now here in South America.

In any case, on this 7 year anniversary of living-on-the-lam, the question izzz… How on earth to honor it here at digital Casa de TravelnLass?

No small task to somehow encapsulate it all here in a single TL post.  At first I thought… “Well I’ll just select a single pic from each country to mark my favorite memory of that place.”

WRONG!

No way could I possibly limit it to 1 pic per country – not even for tiny Brunei.  So instead, I resorted to a compromise – a single collage for each of all 25 countries, plus a short blurb of my fondest memories of each place (and even that – I dare say, has taken more than 2 full days and 4,000+ mots to whittle!)

But before we begin this anniversary tome, how ’bout I first share a link to my FIRST EVER TRAVELNLASS post published nearly 8 years (and no fewer than 455 posts) ago, when I first concocted this zany notion of forever wandering far from my native land.  Plus a final note sent via my phone exactly 7 years ago today – whilst at the SEATAC airport just moments before I boarded that one-way plane to Vietnam (a.k.a. what turned out to be: ANYWHERE UNKNOWN). 😉

First TL post: 1 December 2010: And so it begins – my greatest travel adventure yet

29 October 2011: Whew! I’m on my way!

And now – in the order in which I visited them – on with the sheeeeee-ow!

1. Vietnam

Ah Vietnam, how I miss you!  2 years there – tough to narrow it down to but a handful of pics.  No surprise, most of them would be of dear friends I’ve now left behind, but who remain fondly in my heart and mind daily.  Indeed, I’d still be living there were it not for the insufferably difficult (*6* tones!) Vietnamese language.

Top-left: Dear Hang, from Ho Chi Minh City – I taught her how to geocache!  Top right: My dear Vietnamese “sister”, Mai.  Oh the joyous times we had amid your lovely “Laberge Ami” garden.  Middle left: Just hangin’ out with the hill-tribe lasses in Sapa.  Middle right: The splendor of Ha Long Bay.  Bottom: One of my ILA English classes.  Earning my CELTA in Saigon was no walk-in-the-park, but by golly – they made a teacher out of me!
 

2. Sumatra, Indonesia

It didn’t take me long to start exploring the many exotic lands surrounding my new home in Vietnam.  The moment I finished my CELTA studies, I treated myself to a few weeks tracking wild orangutans at Bukit Lawang in Sumatra, taking my first wobbly ride on a motorbike at Lake Toba, and waking up on Christmas morning in a rustic cabin on the isle of Pulau Weh.

 

3. Cambodia

My (part-time) teaching schedule was uber-sweet – all my classes were on the weekends, leaving me 5 full weekdays to… why whiz to gawk at those incredible ancient temples at Angkor Wat, of course!

Top-left: A fun Khmer cooking class in Seam Reap.  Top-right: Visiting a tiny school in a floating village on Tonle Sap Lake.  I brought (sorely needed) school supplies.  Bottom: A glimpse of the splendor of Angkor Wat.
 

4. Laos

Ah yes, the “Land of a Million Elephants”.  As we rang in the New Year (2013) in Vietnam, I was hell-bent on making my way to the annual Laos Elephant Festival come February.  Held in the middle of nowhere (in an obscure town called “Sayaboury” a 4 hr. bus ride from Luang Prabang), online info on it was elusive at best.  Nonetheless, it proved SPECTACULAR – no fewer than 64 regal pachyderms, decked out in all manner of colorful ribbons and pom-poms.  Led by their mahouts, many of these gentle giants trekked to the festival from all over Laos – for some, it was a week-long slow, lumbering journey.

Needless to say, I took a bazillion pics and even got my first bi-line in an international print travel mag: Saigon’s “Oi” magazine! “Trumpeting the Elephants“.

Right-top: crossing the river on a dubiously OSHA-inspected ferry.  Middle: Bareback at the Elephant Conservation Center.  Bottom: dipping a scarf in an indigo bath at my Ock Pop Tok natural dye workshop in Luang Prabang.
 

5. Thailand

I’d been to Thailand years earlier of course – I even once ran one of my “Imagine Travel Alternatives” group trips there.  But after 2 years in Vietnam, I thought I’d give living in Chaing Mai a try.  Um, not-so.much.  A fine place to visit, but way too many gringos/farangs for this off-the-grid lass.

That said, witnessing the spectacular “Yi Peng” lantern festival was truly a bucket-list worthy experience.  Oh and… I couldn’t resist including a pic of (a much younger) me learning to spin silk in a tiny Thai village on my first visit to Thailand in the ’90s (note, after the silk threads were unraveled off the cacoons floating in the hot water – my host passed around a bamboo tray of the “cooked” silk worms as a snack! And yep – but of course I tried one – it would have been uber-rude to decline).

Top-left: New Year’s Eve in Chiang Mai, 2013; Middle: A much younger TravelnLass spinning silk.  Right: Wat Rong Kun (a.k.a. The White Temple”) in Chiang Rai – my last Thailand excursion before moving to Ecuador.  Bottom: The magical Yi Peng Lantern Festival.
 

6. Mongolia

My month in Mongolia was especially tough to narrow down to a handful of pics.  So many glorious landscapes, along with amazing experiences: sleeping in dung-heated gers, milking yaks, riding horseback through the wilds of western Mongolia for 2 weeks (ouch!), and sipping untold GALLONS of “milk tea” (salted yak milk) at every turn – to name but a few.  In short, it was decidedly the most physically challenging country I’ve ever explored – but also among the most memorable.

Top-left: An example of my sleeps for a month, this – set beside the Khongor Els sand dunes in the Gobi Desert; Middle: Our trusty camel that carried our gear (incl. all our food and water) through the Altai mountains for two weeks; Right: My all-time favorite travel photo: my “traveln’ toes” embracing an Mongolian “powder room” out in the middle of nowhere. Middle-left: I stayed with the legendary “Eagle Hunters” in western Mongolia and learned how they train and hunt with them.  Middle-right: Yours truly, tossing down shots of vodka with her Mongolian host!; Lower: sipping a steamy bowl of the ubiquitous “milk tea” in my 5-star, unheated ger.
 

7. Nepal

Another all-time favorite land, and likewise tough to narrow down my many memorable experiences there.

Top-left: Swayambhunath (a.k.a. the Monkey Temple); Middle: Seriously, you really haven’t traveled til you’ve hitched a ride with monks in the back of a pick-up.  Middle: Nepal is a fabulous destination – just don’t count on enjoying the marvels of electricity.  Outages daily for hours on end.  Oh well, at least I could read my Kindle after dark.  Bottom: Never let it be said that I don’t fully embrace “When in Rome…”.  Here, duly face-painted to watch a championship soccer game (Nepal vs. Afghanistan, alas we lost); Middle: My beloved Nepal tattoo!.  Right: Trust that I’ll not soon forget “That Time I Pushed a Rickshaw to the Kathmandu Airport“.
 

8. Malaysian Borneo

I had but a single quest for Borneo: to see those legendary Pygmy elephants in the wild with my own baby-blues.  Happily – I DID! They truly are extraordinary – the adults are the size of ordinary baby elephants.  And their babies?  The size of a largish dog!

 

9. Brunei

Just a quick overnight dash into the kingdom of Brunei – but a couple of ferries from Kota Kinabalu on the coast of Malaysian Borneo.  One of the smallest and richest countries in the world, I just had to see it for myself.  That said, nothing much to see there (save to grab a geocache called “The Billionth Barrel” – the tiny kingdom is uber-rich from oil: healthcare is free, housing is subsidized and income tax doesn’t exist!)  Nonetheless, a few pretty pics from a land many have never heard of, and even fewer manage to visit.
 

Weary of reading yet? Sorry, but we’re not even halfway through…
 

10. Singapore

Scoring an uber-cheapo air ticket to Oz (a mere $250 *round-trip*, thanks to Singapore Airlines launching its new “Scoot” economy subsidiary airline), I necessarily enjoyed a few hours layover at the Changi airport in Singapore (voted the best airport in the entire world) which… happily offers in-transit passengers the option of a 2.5 hour tour of Singapore’s sights.

Top-left: Even better than the free city tour on the outbound, passing again through Singapore for an overnight on my return from Oz, I enjoyed a couchsurf with a most remarkable lass, Ching Hua – and we of course made a hell-bent run to one of the famous “hawkers” food stalls for a delish plate of “Chili Crab”.  Right: Of course the “globalgirl” couldn’t resist grabbing a geocache – in the butterfly garden at Changi airport!  Middle-left: Glittering Singapore cityscape thanks to my free, in-transit tour.  Right: The magical “Kinetic Rain” art installation at Changi airport – not to be missed if you ever find yourself at Changi airport.  Bottom: Never let it be said, the TravelnLass doesn’t make the MOST on even a quick in-transit airport layover. 😉
 

11. Australia

Arguably one of the most pricey lands to visit (especially when one has been living in cheapo Vietnam for nearly 2 years).  But (after getting over my initial sticker-shock), I was able to explore quite a bit of this HUGE land – thanks to plenty of couchsurfs (where I met the BEST Ozzies), along with the handy Hop-on, Hop-off bus from Sidney all the way up to Hervey Bay (which admittedly is only half-way up the eastern coast of this – did I mention – HUMONGOUS “Down Under” land).  lol, little did I know then, that I too would end up in a new home likewise “Down Under” – albeit on an entirely different continent (South America).

Top-left: One of my favorite Oz experiences was utterly FREE – volunteering to watch for migrating whales off the glorious coast just outside of Sydney.  Right: Never too old to don a wet-suit and snorkel at Byron Bay.  Middle-left: Yup, I made it to the Great Barrier Reef (albeit via an uber-pricey one-day excursion); Right: Thanks to my couchsurfing host, I managed to spot a kangaroo in the wild.  Bottom: The one, the only ULURU (a.k.a. Ayers Rock).  Another pricey splurge, given that it’s out in the middle of freekin’ NOWHERE!  But still… when was I ever going to get a chance to see it with my own two eyes again?  In short: it was worth.every.penny.
 

12. Myanmar

The toughest assortment of pics to choose from my final stop before leaving Asia for Ecuador – oh so many exotic and special memories from a land only recently open to travelers (a.k.a. Burma).  First and foremost – the serendipity of meeting my dear friend “Nook” from Thailand.  Meandering through the thousands of crumbling temples at Bagan was such a treat, and surely neither one of us will ever forget that NUTSO train ride (perpetually bouncing uncontrollably a foot in the air!) from Bagan to Mandalay.

Then there was my penchant for gambling in the streets of Yangon – an innocent game of BINGO, but still, for “kyat” (i.e. money), so it might well have gotten me tossed into a Burmese prison along with the local lasses who invited me to play.  My epic 4 day motorbike trek visiting hill-tribe villages between Kalaw and Inle Lake.  The pre-dawn (let’s be honest – middle-of-the-night) market in dear, sweet Hsipaw in northeastern Myanmar.  I could on and on – sigh…

Top-left: a single glimpse of one of the thousands of ancient temples at Bagan.  Middle: Yeah, gambling in the streets, that’s the TravelnLass’ style all right; Right: New pal Nook (and 5 years later, still in touch daily on Facebook).  Middle row: precious young lad daubing on his “thanaka” cheek paste at dawn (I’d been sleeping on the floor of his room, and awoke just in time to silently take the pic); Hsipaw night market; My trusty motorbike guide for 4 days; Right: that unforgettable train ride (check out the video for the full effect).  Bottom: The 1.2 km U Bein footbridge in Mandalay – the oldest and longest teak wood bridge in the world.
 

13. Ecuador

Oh dear – no really, ECUADOR is the toughest of all to condense into but a mere handful of pics.  I mean, gimme-a-break here.  I’ve lived in this fair land for nearly FIVE FULL YEARS now, and you expect me to somehow break all my wonderful memories down to what? A half dozen still images?  Geez, you guys are sure tough hombres.

BIG SIGH…

Well o.k. then – if you insist.  It truly leaves out an ENORMOUS amount of fond memories, but here goes:

O.k. you asked for it – Left: just one of a boatload of fine pics from my most wondrous visit to those luscious isles off Ecuador’s coast – The Galapagos Islands, of course.  Right-top: My precious permanent visa that allows me to live here as long as I please; Those gorgeous blue domes of the New Cathedral – the icon of Cuenca.  Right-middle: Just two (of a bazillion) pics to represent the boatload of fiestas that seem to spring up daily around here.  Right-bottom: My beloved “Dulce” of course, plus a single pic to represent good friends who visit, as well as all the yummy street-eats here in Cuenca.
 

14. Cuba

Though my visit to Cuba was magnificent, choosing a few representative pics is easy-peasy compared to what I just went through for Ecuador.

Left: View from the bell-tower of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Trinidad.  Top-right: Vroom, vroom, vroom – ah, those shiny classic wheels from the 50’s.  Middle: My kind of Paradise: an icy mohito along the sunny shores of the Bay of Pigs at Caya Larga; Yep, I simply had to take a toke of a Cuban cigar in Vinales.
 

15. Chile

Though I’m eager to return to Chile for a wider explore of the mainland, my initial visit was all about a tiny isle 2,300 miles off the coast.  I’m talkin’ about – OMG, I never dreamed I’d ever get there! – Isla de Pasqua (Easter Island).

The best part was getting up before dawn on my last day to witness the sun rise behind the 15 moai at Ahu Tongariki.  That and… just hours before I boarded my plane for the return flight – I managed to get inked with an iconic “birdman” tattoo.  Needless to say, a most treasured souvenir of a once-in-a-lifetime travel adventure.

 

Do take a break here. I understand. ‘Tis quite the travel tome here, I agree. Just be glad you didn’t have to PECK it! 😉
 

16. Germany

My first landing in my 6 week marathon skip from Ecuador through eastern Europe and the Balkans was Munich, Germany.  And what I loved most about my first visit to the land of my ancestors was of course – the delicious eats.  Trust that I have a boatload of pics that I snapped just before I shoveled many a Bavarian yummy into my mouth.

But when it comes to the one thing that I choose to remember most from my brief visit to Munich, is my great honor to be able to pay my respects at Dachau – the once unimaginably horrific WWII concentration camp on the outskirts of Munich.  And for that, I offer but a single somber image:

We must never forget…
 

17. Austria

Next stop, Austria.  First a quick overnight to catch a glimpse of that fairytale village of Hallstatt set amid the towering “Hills are alive with the Sound of you-know-what”.  It truly was a most picturesque little hideaway, and I especially enjoyed sampling the local varieties of “schnapps” in all manner of flavors.

The next day I returned to Salzburg and spent the day seeing the sights, sampling the (justifiably renowned) “cremeschnitte” custard pastry, and… adding my own “Solo Travel ROCKS!” heart lock to the menagerie of similar “love locks” dripping from the Makartsteg bridge over the Salzach River.

 

18. Slovenia

And then it was further south to what turned out to be among my all-time favorite countries.  First, a relaxing 4 day pause along the shores of beautiful Lake Bled.  And then on to Ljubljana, a most alluring college town (that I could easily see myself hanging out in for a year or so, were I not so deeply in love with dear Cuenca, Ecuador).

Top: scenes from Ljubljana; Middle: the making of my icy peach cream “curls”; Bottom: Lake Bled.
 

19. Croatia

My first stop in Croatia (Motovun, on the Istrian Peninsula in northwest Croatia) turned out to be one of the highlights of my entire skip through the Balkans.  Not only was the tiny medieval village of Motovun (pop. 531, perched on the top of a lofty hill above acres of forests and vineyards as far as the eye can see) purely magical, but it was those Istrian forests that I romped through with a trio of pups in search of TRUFFLES that proved a most exceptional travel treat.  As a once avid wild mushroom hunter in Oregon, you can only imagine the thrill I felt when the pups sniffed out a elusive truffle buried in the forest floor!

The bazillion cascades at Plitvice Lakes were another Croatian treat, and better still – I was able to rendezvous in Zadar with one of my Cuenca English students (a polyglot French lad) who’s now teaching French in northeastern Croatia.  And Dubrovnik, you may ask?  Though many travelers rave about it, for me is was nice enough, but nothing to write home about.

btw, Croatia is also the country where I left off in my duties here at TravelnLass – chronicling my 8 country marathon solo backpack through the Balkans and Turkey.  Shame on me!  But do stay tuned to TL – I SWEAR I shall post details on my adventures in the three remaining countries – Bosnia-Herzegovina, spectacularly beautiful Monenegro, and OMG – FAB-u-lous Turkey one day soon.

Top-left: The pups unearthed a truffle!; Right: my lovely “home” for 4 days amid the cobbled streets of Motovun (note: NOT an evil “airbnb” #dontgetmestarted).  Middle-left: Plitvice; Right: Marian and I, after dark at the famous “Sun Salutation” in Zadar.  Bottom: Dubrovnik.
 

20. Bosnia-Herzegovina

But a 4 hour bus from Split (a Croatian town verily DRIPPING with cruise ship tourists – ugh!), I couldn’t resist taking a peek at Mostar across the border in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  A fine little overnight excursion – just enough time to enjoy a delish traditional dinner and of course, snap a few pics of the iconic Stari Most (Old Bridge), a reconstructed medieval arched bridge.

 

21. Montengro

After more than 3 weeks on the move, it was time for a goodly pause.  And what better place than the exquisitely serene land of Montenegro?  First a couple of nights in Kotor, then a 5 night stay in my own little apartment (again, NOT an evil “airbnb” thankyouverymuch) overlooking the bay in the little-known, off-the-tourist-trail town of Lepetane.

Top-left: A glimpse of the medieval charms of the center of Kotor (a UNESCO World Heritage site); Right: my digs amid the heart of Kotor.  Middle-left: View from my (much more spacious but still only $15 per night) private balcony in the blessedly peaceful (read: nary a single tourist) haven of Lepetane; Right: Time for a globe-trotter regroup and a bit of laundry!  Bottom: Many a relaxing sunset from my balcony.
 

22. Turkey
Oh dear.  Yet another herculean challenge to somehow whittle my (many, many!) extraordinary adventures in Turkey down to a handful of images.  Seriously, Turkey proved so very enchanting and diverse, I’ve since considered moving to Istanbul for a spell, just to explore its many amazing corners more fully.

Left-top: Ballooning at dawn amid the fairytale landscape at Cappadocia – EPIC!; The Sultan Ahmet (a.k.a. the Blue Mosque) by night; The aquamarine salt pools at Pamukkale.  Left-bottom: Yours truly grinning after successfully negotiating for her coveted silk ikat vintage coat; demurely head-scarfed at the magnificent Blue Mosque.  Right-top: red-faced and blissful following my exquisite traditional Turkish bath in Istanbul; Right-bottom: Touching the THOUSANDS of years old ruins at Ephesus.
 

23. Mexico
I’d been to Mexico many times before, but for this trip it was all about those BUTTERFLIES!  Indeed, decades earlier I’d vowed to one day witness the annual Monarch migration amid the mountains of Mexico, and by golly last year I finally did it!  And oh my, it was purely SPECTACULAR!  Tens of THOUSANDS of glittering orange Monarchs – literally DRIPPING from the trees!

Later, I descended from the mountains back down to Mexico City and managed to squeeze in both an after-dark mezcal tasting tour, as well as a most fabulous gourmet foodie tour in the upscale Colonia Roma neighborhood.

A bazillion butterflies, plus good eats and sips – what more could a girl want?
 

24. Peru

Oddly enough – though I’ve been here in Ecuador nearly 5 years now – I only last year (finally) made it to that legendary hillock in Peru (Machu Picchu).  And trust that it proved worthy of all the acclaim to be sure.  But when coupled with my ***$200*** lunch at one of the World’s best restaurants (“Central”) in Lima – suffice the combination made my visit to Peru truly extraordinary.

Top-right: a single delicate morsel from my *17 course* lunch at Central; One of the extraordinary works of street-art from my fabulous guided tour in the Barranco neighborhood of Lima.
 

25. Japan

And last but not (at all) least – if you’ve been following my recent posts here on TravelnLass, then you already well know that the handful of images here hardly even scratch the surface of my many, many eclectic adventures in the Land of the Rising Sun.  Truly worthy of my 50th country (and the 25th in this 7th anniversary saga since I became a permanent expat).

Top: My traditional “Kaiseki-ryori” dinner at my cozy ryokan in Yudanaka; Close-up of one of those amazing Snow Monkeys at Jigokudani Park.  2nd Row: An early morning (blessedly deserted) Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in Kyoto; A paradise of late-blooming “sakura” (cherry blossoms) in Osaka.  3rd Row: An utterly deeelish bowl of the World’s first Michelin-starred ramen at Tsuta in Tokyo; A delectable (albeit potentially highly poisonous!) morsel of “fugu” (a.k.a. “blowfish” or “puffer fish”) – stay tuned for a (coming soon) TL post with the full details.  Bottom Row: Paying my respects at the Hiroshima Memorial; Itsukushima Torii Gate at Miyajima

Whew!!!

And there you have it!  More than *4,000* mots plus 100+ different pics.  Verily a TravelnLass RECORD here!  No small herculean peck but nonetheless – as always, thanks goes to my loyal TravelnLass readers for giving me an excuse to take the time to review and relive the many amazing moments of these past 7 years bouncing around this wondrous globe!
 
 

 
 
 

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