Round the World, A Review

Now that we have been home for a few weeks, we have had time to process and really absorb what this adventure really meant to us. Of course, me being me, also took this opportunity to fully analyze all of the information I tracked while traveling. Part of our effort to not spend too much money was a budget spreadsheet that tracked all of our spending in various categories: housing, food, activities, transportation, other. I meticulously wrote down everything we spent money on in my journal. I have also have updated all previous blog posts to include notable hotels and restaurants, our transportation into and around each location, and the activities we did in each. Here are the results of all of this information.

Most of our hotels were booked for 1-3 nights on either TripAdvisor or Booking.com. If we didn't like it, we'd walk around town looking for a better one. Conversely, if we did like it we'd extend our stay. Similarly, many restaurants were found on Tripadvisor. However, we often found it skewed toward American style food. Our other method was either asking other tourists and locals, or finding the restaurant with the most people. We found some amazing back alley street food and restaurants this way. We bought a sim card for my cell phone in Mexico and Peru, but discovered that it was fairly expensive. Instead I signed up for a Skype account and discovered that $10 lasts several months. I have now forgone a cell phone plan now that I have returned to the USA.

Our Equipment list from the beginning had a lot of stuff on it, which we expertly stuffed into each of our backpacks. Out of those items 26 were trashed at the end of our trip, 6 were lost, and 2 were broken. We found that 63% of the items were very useful and 15% of the items not useful at all. All of the clothes were well worn and thrown away before we got home. My cell phone and Ian's Kindle were the most useful giving us the ability to pre-book and decide where we wanted to go next. They also provided a source of entertainment on long bus rides or flights. The camera, of course, was also one of our most prized posessions. Otherwise, we would not have been able to document this epxerience for all of you. Even though we only used them on treks, the water purifer and camelbaks were also incredibly useful. The things we wish we hadn't taken with us include: hammock, sleeping pads, and cards against humanity. That being said, we found a use for most of stuff. When you live out of a backpack for as long as we did, it really puts things in perspective. How much stuff do I really need?

Here are some fun facts compiled about our trip:
-We visited 63 cities in 12 countries over a 10 month period
-We took 82 taxis, 28 buses, 21 airplanes, 12 boats, 7 trains, 5 tuk tuks, 2 colectivos, 2 water taxis, 2 scooters, 2 kayaks, 1 jeep, and 1 bicycle
-We have hiked over 250 miles: Annapurna 185, Corcovado 22, Cerro Chato 3, Colca Canyon 14, Rainbow Mountain 9, Thai Village 18

Below is a breakdown of all of our spending by category for the 10 months. Categories include: housing (hotels/hostels), food, flights, activities (all fun stuff with transportation to and from), and other (souvenirs, transportation, random purcases, etc). Total spent was $30,281 for two people or roughly $15k per person.

After seeing the big picture, it is interesting to break it down by month. Overall, April and May were the most expensive months for us spending the bulk of our budget on housing and food. October came in third mostly because of the set budget of $100 per day on the Annapurna Circuit. For most of April we were in Costa Rica. We found that hotels were a lot more expensive ranging from $45-$60 a night, whereas many locations have averaged about $20 per night. Food was also more expensive, commonly at or exceeding American prices. We were in Peru and Chile in May. Our housing was more expensive becuase we spent the bulk of it in a hotel that also taught Spanish. While we got a discount on our room rate, it was still higher than normal. Food in Peru was cheap, but it was far more expensive in Chile. We also had some activities that we paid for (Colca Canyon, Salar de Uyuni tour), which drove up how much we spent that month. July, August and September were our cheapest months as we spent most of that time moving through Southeast Asia.

We can break it down even further and average our daily spending in each country. Chile, Spain and Hong Kong were the most expensive places we went to. I separated Hong Kong from China to highlight the difference between there and Chengdu. Food in Hong Kong is crazy expensive, and while we managed to find the cheapest hotel (in a not so savory location) in the city, it was still more money than our average. We were in Barcelona and Hong Kong for the same amount of time, and the only reason why Barcelona was so high was that we splurged on a $100 per night hotel room. Looking at the opposite side of the spectrum, Southeast Asian countries fall into the cheapest countries to travel to with food and housing at incredible low prices. Some of the hotels we stayed at in Thailand were below $10/night, and food was a fraction of the price of other countries. Most expensive was Hong Kong, and the cheapest was Vietnam.

Conclusion? It really isn't that much money to travel the world. All you need is to set travel as your number one priority and save, save, save. According to 2015 US Census, the median annual income is $56k a year. We traveled for 2 people for much less than that for 10 months including housing, food, and paying bills at home like student loans and power for our house. We made our motivation for reducing our overhead. We don't live in a fancy house, we don't have nice cars, we don't buy awesome toys. After traveling in many developing countries, I realize that I still don't need those things enabling us to live for our experiences and our future. If we can do it, you can too.

The number one question I get asked is "Which country is your favorite?" This is a difficult question to answer because the world is a big, beautiful place and everyone experiences the world differently. I can tell you that I loved Vietnam, but Ian will tell you he loved Peru. I can't dictate what you will and will not like. I have by no means seen it all, and cannot tell you where is best for you. So, get out there and see it for yourself.

The Hullabaloo of Kathmandu

The best way to end a long trip is to spend time in the craziest, busiest place you can think of. That way when you get home, you can truly appreciate the peace and quiet. Kathmandu is perfect for this. We spent our last two weeks of our epic journey in the dusty, crowded city enjoying the few sights that Nepal's biggest city has to offer.

Temples are the most popular attractions to see in Kathmandu. A strange mix of Buddhist and Hindu religions, most make for a unique and interesting experience. The first one we visited is one of the oldest religious sites in Nepal called Swayambhunath aka the monkey temple. Not far from Thamel, this temple is appropriately named as hundreds of monkeys scamper across the grounds. They jump from trees, strut across stairs and sculptures, and lounge around picking fleas off each other. Hiking to the top of incredibly steep, slightly crumbling stairs you are greeted with an enormous pair of eyes looking out over the city. People meander clockwise around the enormous stupa occasionally spinning the numerous prayer wheels set about its base. Some are crowded around the walls soaking in the amazing view, some pray amidst gold and incense, and some browse the many booths with locals selling their handicrafts. There are still several piles of rubble blocking much of the walkways, as the temple is still being repaired after the 2015 earthquake. So, it doesn't take long to explore the whole area.

Probably the most popularly visited temple in Nepal is Boudhanath. A UNESCO world heritage site, this stupa is one of the largest in the world. Set in the center of a shopping neighborhood, it towers over the many visitors circling it's base. People of all sorts come to see this place: tourists, monks, and many people dressed in traditional fashion of from different regions in Nepal. Similar to Swayambhunath, prayer wheels are set along the entire base of the stupa. While it is not fully restored after the earthquake, it is impressive nonetheless.

Not far from our hotel in Thamel is a small escape from the craziness of the city. The Garden of Dreams lay abandoned for decades, Kathmandu's own secret garden, until it was renovated in recent years. Gorgeous pavilions and buildings surround a courtyard filled with flowers. A cafe is attached, serving Nepali coffee and snacks, and you can lay out on the grass of the amphitheater to soak up a bit of sunshine. It's hard to believe that outside of the walls lies dusty, crowded streets and the continuously honking horns of traffic.

Kathmandu, like most cities, is a conglomeration of several sprawling and connecting neighborhoods. One such neighborhood was actually a city of its own once, but now the line that separates Patan from Kathmandu is indistinguishable. We spent a day wandering around the area marveling at the ancient architecture and quirky streets. The Patan Durbar Square has several old buildings, each in its own state of repair from the earthquake. A museum housing Buddhist and Hindu sculptures occupies the center of the square and takes some time to explore. Locals hang around talking and lounging on the steps of many of the buildings. Walking the neighborhoods, you see vibrant colored flags hanging across the alleyways, and an occasional temple appears in the middle of nearly every block. Next time we visit Nepal, we decided to stay in Patan instead of Thamel.

While there are many things to do and see in Kathmandu, we didn't have time or energy to see them all. We did get to the most popular ones, and did a fair amount of shopping since we have not been able to get souvenirs until the end. Much of our time was spent recovering from our trek and preparing for our long flight home. After 24 full hours of travel time, we finally made it home, and just in time for Thanksgiving turkey. It feels good to be back, and to see our family and friends again.

Hotels:
Hotel Osho Home: $34/night
Hotel Mums Home: $27/night

Restaurants:
OR2k
Friends Restaurant
Rosemary Kitchen
Frens Kitchen
Places Restaurant
Western Tandoori
Utse Restaurant

Transportation:
Airplane to Kathmandu
Taxi to and from Boudhanath: 1,500 rupees
Taxi to and from Patan: $30
On foot

Activities:
Swayambhunath: 200 rupees ea
Boudhanath: 250 rupees ea
Patan: $10 ea
Kathmandu Durbar Square: 1,000 rupees ea
Garden of Dreams: 250 rupees ea

Trekking the Annapurna Circuit and Mardi Himal

I'm not even sure how to begin this post. I guess I'll start with a warning that it will be long and detailed with probably too many pictures. Although, how can I choose fewer when everything is beautiful? I want to inspire everyone I know to make this journey. OK, without further ado, here is our account of 28 days around the Annapurna Circuit.

We knew we wanted to go on this trek upon arriving in Nepal. It is reported to be one of the most beautiful in the world. It is also a very popular one that every trekking company in Nepal advertises. You can easily do it without a guide or porter, and many do. However, this was our first long distance hike, and tourism is down 70% in Nepal due to the 2015 earthquake. We felt it was better to hire a guide to support the local economy. So, our first big challenge was to find the right company to work with, of which there is an overabundance. Kathmandu is a bombardment of potential companies, and there certainly isn't a shortage of them in Pokhara either. We spent a lot of time researching the right company who has great reviews, has years of experience, and treats their guides and porters well. Eventually, we narrowed it down to a company called Beauty Nepal. The owner was very good at responding to all of our questions and working with us to craft the best trip. Our guide Kaji and his partner in crime, Milan, were very knowledgeable and pleasant to spend time with.

Our trip started October 1st with a packed, long, and crazy bus ride to Besisahar, the typical starting point of this trek. It was where we began our walking and steady climb to the highest mountain pass in the world, Thorung La. The first few days were spent climbing up and down steep hills to avoid the road built from Besisahar to Manang. We hiked among small villages adorned with slate walkways and surrounded by steep terraced hills. The locals greeted us with smiles, and the children pressed their hands together saying, "Namaste." The countryside was so green with the rice and millet not yet ready for harvest. Down below us wound the same river we'd follow for some time, right to its mountainous source. We only occasionally crossed it on long suspension bridges.

Eventually, the valley narrows and we follow a now raging, wild river up a ravine. We pass several massive and beautiful waterfalls, some flowing over the very path we hike on. Just when we think the valley cannot get any narrower, we haul ourselves up the last steep trail and it opens up into a new, wide valley where the river meanders toward the narrow passage behind us. It was breathtaking! From there, it's like we are suddenly in a whole new country as the terrain changes rapidly from jungle to the beginnings of alpine. Loamy pine forests remind us of home, and in the distance are some of the first great glimpses of mountains.

As we increased in elevation the temperature dropped, the vegetation grew more sparse, and the valley began to get narrow again. We had an acclimatization day in a village called Braka where we climbed to a viewpoint with stunning scenery of the river, the valley, and a monastery built into the hillside. This was also our first sighting of fluffy yaks. Every morning from there on we woke to incredibly monstrous mountains all around us. It seemed that every day was new, refreshing scenery. After 11 days, we finally made it to Thorung Phedi, the last town before going over the pass. I'm not sure if I was giddy from actually making it that far or the staggering altitude of 14,800 feet, but I felt great being there. Thorung Phedi is a bowl of rock and dust at the base of the Annapurna mountains where the river begins its journey back to where we started. The guesthouse beds were comfortable yet basic, the food was good, and the coffee was great. It was a great, relaxing place to spend the night before rising early for the hike over to the other side.

The time had come to make the ascent for Thorung La. We woke up in the wee hours of the morning and followed the many other headlamps twinkling up the steep trail to high camp and beyond. It got increasingly difficult to move our feet and catch a full breath of air the higher we went. There was fresh snow on the ground when we left Thorung Phedi, and by the time we reached high camp our Camelbak straws were frozen. It was cold. It was difficult. However, when the sun started to glimmer on the horizon, it was stunning. We were distracted enough to not care and push on. We were surrounded by mountain peaks that gradually turned from twilight blue to pink to shining gold and orange. Just when we thought, "how much more up can we possibly go?" We came over the last Ridge, and saw the hundreds of prayer flags blowing in the wind next to a sign congratulating us. We made it! We made it to the highest pass in the world at 17,769 feet of elevation. We were ecstatic albeit gasping for breath, dizzy from the effort and lack of oxygen, and freezing in the bitter wind. We took a few quick photos and promptly hit the trail again, as we had several more hours to go before reaching our destination for the day. The views didn't stop at the top of the pass, however. As we wound our way down the steep back side of the pass, we were awarded with phenomenal scenery of the drier side of the mountains. Snow fields led on to desert hills and more peaks in the distance. After 6.5 hours, we were on the other side sipping tea and looking up in awe at what we had just done.

It's all down hill from there, right? That's what I kept telling myself. Not quite. For the next few days we got a great glimpse of what the upper Mustang region is like, another popular hiking area. It was some of the most beautiful desert scenery I have seen. We made our way down a valley and along a very wide and meandering river bed. The gray rocky river was a stark contrast to the brown hills and vibrant blue sky. We passed through several wonderful villages that were built along the river, and seemed to be all made of stone and mud. There were some long days, but it was always beautiful to look at. Our guide did his best to find paths that avoided the dusty, busy road built along much of the main trail. We definitely appreciated the effort.

Desert gave way to trees again as we quickly descended. It seemed that we went from Eastern Washington to Western Washington in one day. Soon green pines interspersed with yellowing alder and the occasional apple tree were a common sight. In fact, Marpha is well known for its apples, of which we saw boxes hauled by truck or mule all over that side of the mountains. At some point, mud homes turned into moss covered slate homes. We saw less fluffy goats and more hairless water buffalo. The temperature got warmer and the road less dusty. We had a well deserved rest day in a village with hot springs before beginning to go up again for the second part of our journey.

Most people who do the Annapurna Circuit catch a bus back to Pokhara somewhere between Jomsom and Tadopani. We decided to torture ourselves and keep going, for some reason. The original plan was the hike the circuit plus Annapurna Base Camp, but it was peak tourist season and we had heard it was crazily crowded. Therefore, our guide suggested we do the Mardi Himal Trek instead. It is more remote and takes the same amount of time. So... Up, up, up we went again. We weren't disappointed.

We were in the hot jungle again, and spent the first several days of this part traversing hillsides. It felt like we were constantly going up one side then down another only to go back up again. It was this part that we learned the meaning of Nepali flat: a little up, a little down. Being back in warmer temperatures, the green hills were vibrant green again with a touch of yellow as harvest time was getting closer. We spent a morning walking up to the Poonhill viewpoint in Ghorepani, one of the easiest spots to hike to with a full view of the Annapurna mountains. At sunrise we stood with hundreds of other people packed onto a tiny hilltop, all taking photos of one of the most gorgeous panoramic views. I now understand why this viewpoint is so popular.

From there we headed up into the alpine, quickly gaining altitude again all of the way up to Mardi Himal High Camp and a little beyond to a viewpoint. It took us only a few days to make our way up, which was easier than climbing the pass. Unfortunately, it was socked in by clouds most days. However, there was a window of time every morning where you'd suddenly be rewarded with the sight of enormous, close mountains. This forced us to wake up early again for stunning sunrise views. We were looking up at Annapurna South and Machapuchare, both base camps visible to us in the distance. The steep hills we hiked on were covered in low grass that rapidly fell away to cliffsides and rolling hills toward Pokhara. We were practically alone up there, proving how remote it was.

That was the last uphill. It was truly all downhill from there. It was a short 3 days to get back to Pokhara with one last sunrise viewpoint at Sarangkot. We had already spent nearly a week there previously, so we were more anxious to get back to the city. I was longing for a hot shower, since I got only cold ones in the full 28 days of hiking. We also hoped for some food that was not the standard mountain village menu. We arrived in town just in time for Diwali with 5 days of marigold garlands, dancing in the streets, and children singing at storefronts. Animals are given garlands and food, and beautiful designs are painted outside of storefronts. What a cheery time to return.

Here is a full Elevation Profile from start to finish:

Here is a day to day breakdown of the trek:

Average food prices: 500-700 Rupees per meal
Average tea prices: 50-100 Rupees per cup
Average Guesthouse prices: 500-1000 Rupees for double room per night
Extras: Snickers bars 150 Rupees, Pringles 300 Rupees, Beer 450 Rupees



Reflecting back on the whole 28 days, I am glad I did it. There were some hard days, but more good than bad. I have such a great sense of accomplishment after completing something this epic, something way beyond anything I've ever done before. Even though hundreds of people cross Thorung La every day, I can now count myself among them and I feel like I can do anything. We had a great guide, the friendliest and toughest porter, and met many wonderful people along the way.