Round The World Finis

 It has been quite a trip- round the world in 68 days (not sure it would make a good book title though). I think the most fascinating part has been the transitions from one culture and country to the next, even though my stay was too short in most cases.  Just so much variation even in simple things like how people drove or dressed or whether they used cash or cards or whether they drank alcohol or not. And how people viewed their own country’s politics or history, or geopolitics (I found people frequently willing to engage on these subjects- in many cases they introduced the topics themselves- but usually in a respectful way which I appreciated). 

In any case, it was a trip full of wonders from

Stunning Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, a cityscape rivaled only by Rio in my experience-

To Beautiful Phong Nha and colorful Bangkok in oh so friendly Thailand-

To unique Angor Wat eerie in the Cambodian dawn 

To a young Cambodian girl earnestly trying to learn English-

To gorgeous Ha Long Bay in Vietnam-

To the stunning and way fun Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam-probably the world’s most thrilling motorcycle ride and so pretty Hoi An-

To surprising central Vietnam-

To exotic India and the peerless Taj Mahal- 

To the trekking mecca of Nepal, the stupendous high Himalayas, Annapurna Base Camp and, of course, Mt Everest- 

To the starkly beautiful sands of Arabia and its truly grand canyon-

To the worlds most famous and beautiful mosque, the amazing Blue Mosque of Istanbul- 

And the historic Bosphorus-

To a beautiful lake and unique high rise building in quirky Albania 

And finally to one of the world’s prettiest and most fun cities - Budapest- and its grand and beautiful Parliament building- 

But of course meeting so many kind and curious people from all parts of the globe was a huge part of the experience such as this kind couple from Vietnam and these Aussie couples who must stand in for the rest- 

Well that’s all folks   Thanks for all who followed.   

City of Statues, Large and Small - Budapest

 I arrived in Budapest just after the election and with the change in Government evidently came a change in passport control. Most of Orban’s cronies must have had jobs in the passport operation as only one remained to process hundreds of us.  

An any who has visited knows, Buda and Pest is lovely city with Pest being subordinate despite the fact that it is 5x larger.  But as my walking tour guide noted , there are 2 types of people in Budapest: those who live in Buda and those who want to live in Buda. My hotel wa in Pest. 

Unsurprisingly Budapest reminds one of Paris, after which it was modeled in the late 18th century tho I think it less formal and a little livelier.  But beautiful with the brown Danube intersecting it-

It is a city known for its statuary, grand and petite, as well as sometimes whimsical-

Yes Kermit the Frog.  

It admires an American President as one helped bring down the Soviet empire and helped Hungary gain its freedom- 

It seems totally dedicated to convivial drinking as I think if you walk down the sidewalk and trip and fall down you will land in a cafe full of people.    

Not all of Budapest is light and festive however as they have various museums and exhibitions dedicated to the terrible Nazi and Communist periods including this one showing the shoes of Jews who were tossed in the freezing Danube minus shoes in the winter of 1945-

Moving. 

The Hungarian Parliament building is one of the largest parliaments in the world- from the glory days of the Hapsburg Empire-  and arguably the most beautiful (sorry Westminster)- 

It is good to have aspirations.  Just a beautiful and fun city and my last stop on the RTW tour.  One final post to wrap it all up.