FAQs
|
| Answers to the most frequently asked questions |
| |
People generally ask
similar questions about my travels: "What was your favourite place?";
"Where were the best views?"; "How ill did you get?";
"Who were the best and worst people?"; "What was the most
interesting thing you saw?"; etc. etc. etc.
So here is an inexhaustive
list of the answers to the most common questions, based on my experiences only.
As for an answer to
"What was your favourite place?" I think you should be able to see
that it would be impossible to say, but let the list speak.
Either scroll down to find a section that interests you or click on
the heading below.
To return to these contents, click on the section heading.
-
Accommodation
-
People
-
Restaurants and Food & Drink
-
Transport
-
Worst
Illnesses
-
Barbers
-
Wildlife
-
Great Scenery / Nature
-
Great
History
-
Great
Architecture
-
Museums
-
Dead People Observed
-
Toilets
-
Folly / Odd
-
Border
Crossings
-
Airports and Executive Lounges
-
Animals I
have eaten
Countries
Visited To Date - 107
|
| Accommodation |
|
| Best Food |
- Gangaur
homestay, Jodhpur, India |
| Best Comfort &
Service |
- Quyen Thanh, Saigon,
Vietnam |
| Best Breakfast |
- White House, Yangon,
Myanmar |
| Best Views |
- (view of
Everest) Rombuk Monastery, Tibet |
| Best Meeting Area |
- Amir Kabir, Esfahan, Iran |
| Most Helpful |
- Abdullah at Riadh
Hotel, Hama, Syria |
| Most Expensive |
- Marriott Hotel,
Islamabad, Pakistan (kindly paid by American Express) |
| Filthiest |
- Muslim
Hotel, Quetta, Pakistan |
| Bedbugs |
- Only two, forgot the names - Bombay and Bangkok |
| Underground |
- Hotel Sidi Driss, Matamata, Tunisia |
| Landlord who said wanker most |
- Davie Dias, Calidad House, Cali Colombia |
| Landlord with most comprehensive info. |
- German, Platypus, Bogota Colombia |
| Hotels built of Salt |
- Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia |
| Best Youth Hostel |
- Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Best value apartment rental |
- Colonia, Uruguay |
|
|
| People |
|
| Most Hospitable |
- Pakistan |
| Least Hospitable |
- Kenya |
| Most Inquisitive |
- Bangladesh |
| Most Sombre |
- Russian |
| Most Unhelpful |
- Chinese |
| Most Annoying
Traveller |
- Michael,
Dutch Rent Boy, Chengdu, China |
| Strange to Meet |
- President
Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, my accomplice tracking the Mountain Gorillas |
| |
-
Mongolian Olympic Wrestling Team |
| |
-
Jorge Mario Garcia, world record-breaking diver. |
| Surprisingly
good-looking women |
- Russia |
| Best looking women |
- Estonia |
| Model looking women |
- Argentina |
| Moustached women |
- Cuba |
| Best dancers |
-
Ethiopia |
| Sexiest Dancers |
- Brazil |
| Party People |
-
Brazil |
| Deepest singers |
- Mongolia |
| Interesting and amusing tribal folk |
- Mentawai,
Pulau Siberut a small island off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia |
| Maddest monk |
- Vien
Thuc, Da Lat, Vietnam |
|
Most
hospitable people in Latin America
|
- Colombia |
| Best salsa dancers |
- Colombia |
| Most beauty queens |
- Venezuela |
| Party people |
- Cali, Colombia |
| Most on horseback |
- Venecia, Antioquia, Colombia |
| Most women wearing pork pie hats |
- Indigenous folk, Ecuador |
| Most women wearing bowler hats |
- Chollas, La Paz, Bolivia |
| Impressive stamina on costumed dancing folk |
- Oruro Carnaval, Bolivia |
| Biggest noses on costumed dancing folk |
- Ollantaytambo, Peru |
|
|
| Restaurants
and Food & Drink |
|
| Best Food                                           |
-
Anonymous white tile place, Chengdu, China |
| Best Vibe                                            |
-
Paul's Oasis, Chengdu, China |
|
-
@ Home, Vang Vieng, Laos |
| Best Coffee |
-
Ethiopia |
| Best Hot Chocolate |
- Bambu Cafe, Leon, Spain |
| Best Snack |
-
Lamacun, Istanbul, Turkey |
| Best Street Food |
- Syria
(Shwarma or Falafel) India (Samosas, Pakoras, etc) |
| Best Hamburgers |
- Uruapan, Mexico |
| Funniest and Friendliest Staff |
- Bel
Air Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| Worst Food |
-
Kihihi, Uganda |
| Worst Booze |
- Any
local spirit, Thailand |
| Worst Beer |
- Syria |
| Most Monotonous Food |
- Ethiopia |
| Second Best Crepes in
the world |
- Pancake Kingdom,
Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar |
| Best Crepes in Latin America |
- Crepes & Waffles, Colombia |
| Best Steaks outside Argentina |
- Lenos & Carbon, Cali, Colombia |
| Most balanced diet in a hamburger |
- Street vendors, Porlamar,
Venezuela |
| Biggest burgers |
- Brutus, Merida, Venezuela |
| Most roasting Guinea Pigs |
- Banos, Ecuador |
| Excellent Indian food, not in India or UK |
- Bukhara, Stellenbosch, South Africa |
|
| Transport
|
|
| Best Road for Views |
- Karakorum Highway,
Pakistan - China |
| Worst Views |
- I-90,
South Dakota, USA |
| Easiest Road to Drive |
-
I-90, South Dakota, USA |
| Worst Roads to Drive |
-
Tibet |
| No Roads |
-
Mongolia |
| Worst bus |
-
Nairobi, Kenya - Kampala, Uganda |
| Worst buses |
-
Indonesia |
| Most exciting and
dustiest bus ride |
- Bwindi -
Kampala, Uganda |
| Best train |
- Beijing, China- Ulan
Bator, Mongolia |
| Cheapest Flight |
- 2 hours,
Esfahan - Shiraz, Iran, 11USD |
| Best looking
stewardesses |
- TAM,
Brazil |
| Longest Camel Ride |
- 3 days, Rajastani
Desert, India |
| Longest Single
Journey |
- Irkutsk
- Moscow, Russia, 80hrs, 5185km |
| Highest Road |
-
Karakorum Highway, over 5,000m |
| Lowest Road |
- Kings
Highway, Jordan, 400m below sea level |
| Worst bus companion |
-
Taftan to Quetta, Pakistan, I was feeling ill, sweltering in
the bloody hot desert, on uncomfortable seat with bloke next to me trying
to hump me and me having to elbow him in face and gut repeatedly and him still
not getting the point. |
| Most impatient to arrive |
- Tabriz - Tahran, Iran. Chronic Diahorrhea,
16 Imodium in 14 hours and still needed to sprint and fight my way to a toilet
on arrival. |
| Best looking metro |
- Moscow |
| Most efficient metro |
- Singapore |
| Most interesting
metro |
- Cairo |
| Most time on top of a train |
- "Nariz del Diablo" Riobamba -
Alausi, Ecuador, 6 hours |
| Longest and highest cable car |
- Merida, Venezuela, 12kms to
nearly 5,000 metres at Pico Espejo |
| Dodgiest cable car |
- "Pailon del Diablo", Rio Verde,
Ecuador, one cable, a truck engine, and a 600m drop. |
| Slowest bus ride |
- Cochabamba to Torotoro - 130
kms in 9 hours, first 30 kms on good road. |
| Most dilapidated taxi |
- Trinidad, Paraguay |
| Comfiest vehicle |
- My Van in New Zealand, slept in it for a couple of months,
like a home on the road. |
| Endurance vehicle |
- My Car in Australia, 24,000kms in seven weeks, also
off-roading and slept in it. |
|
| Worst
Illnesses
|
|
| Food poisoning |
- Burger King in Bangkok Airport, even water wouldn’t stay
down. |
| Several weeks of amoebic dysentery / giardia |
- Picked up in Turkey, gestated in Iran, cured in Pakistan |
| Bizarre ankle infection |
-Shortly after a dive, in Thailand it swelled to twice its
natural size. |
|
| Barbers
|
|
| Best Shave |
-
Aqaba - Jordan |
| Second Best Shave |
- Sousse, Tunisia |
| Worst Shave |
-
Lhasa - Tibet |
| Worst Haircut |
-
The Tintin cut, Gilgit, Pakistan |
| Cheapest shaves |
-
Kathmandu, Nepal - 10rupees included massage |
|
|
Wildlife
|
|
| Africa’s most
authentic |
- Okavango Delta
& Chobe National Park, Botswana |
| Very National Geographic |
- Mongolia |
| Best night-time
noises |
- Hyenas, Tarangire
National Park, Zimbabwe |
| Best night time
lightning |
- Okavango Delta,
Botswana - Tropical storms all around |
| Funkiest Looking |
- Gelada Baboon, Simien
Mountains, Ethiopia |
| Total Empathy |
- Mountain Gorillas,
Uganda |
| Also Empathic |
- Orang-utans, Sumatra,
Indonesia |
| Very Powerful |
- Full grown male
tiger, Bhandavghar National Park, India |
| Most Surprising |
- Whale Shark, Chumphon
Pinnacle, Ko Tao, Thailand |
| Most Playful |
- Bernie and Muzza,
Lion cubs, Gweru, Zimbabwe |
| Most Cuddly |
- Baby giant panda,
Chengdu, China |
| Most Sinister |
- Marabou Stork, East
Africa |
| Most Elusive |
- Leopard |
| Smelliest |
- Seal colony
during pupping season, Walvis Bay, Namibia |
| Biggest Boner |
- Elephant, Tanzania |
| Most Aggressive |
- Titan Triggerfish, Ko
Tao, Thailand |
| Impressive moves |
- Orcas attacking seals on
the beach, Peninsula Valdez, Argentina |
| Most Comfortable |
- Bactrian Camel, Mongolia |
| Most |
- Voles,
Mongolia |
| Lots of creepy
crawlies |
- Amazon, Brazil |
| Best land-based whale-watching |
- De Kelders, near Gansbaai, South Africa |
| Best Great White Shark viewing |
- Gansbaai, South Africa |
| Deadly stuff |
- Australia |
| Wildlife dodging on the road |
- Australia |
| Roadkill |
- Australia |
|
| Great
Scenery / Nature
|
|
| Hunza, Karakorum and
Hindu Kush Mountains |
-
Northern Pakistan |
| Plateau and
Himalayas |
-
Southern Tibet |
| Himalayas |
-
Nepal |
| Namib Desert |
-
Namibia |
| Steppe |
-
Mongolia |
| Mojave Desert with
snow on the Joshua trees |
-
USA |
| Victoria Falls |
-
Zimbabwe / Zambia |
| Iguacu Falls |
-
Brazil / Argentina |
| Simien Mountains |
-
Ethiopia |
| Yangshuo |
-
Ganxi, China |
| Tian Shi |
-
Gansu, China |
| Lake Baikal |
-
Russia |
| Chimaera |
-
Olimpos, Turkey |
| Beagle Channel |
-
Argentina / Chile |
| Patagonian Fjords |
- Argentina / Chile |
| Perito Moreno
Glacier |
- Argentina |
| Valle de la Luna |
-
Chile |
| Altiplano |
-
Chile |
| Salar |
- Chile |
| Easter Island |
-
Easter Island |
| Ha Long Bay |
-
Vietnam |
| Mount Bromo |
-
Java, Indonesia |
| Keli Mutu |
- Flores, Indonesia |
| Most of the coast |
- Ireland (Republic and North) |
| Giant's Causeway |
- Northern Ireland |
| Omatepe |
- Nicaragua |
| Various National Parks |
- Costa Rica |
|
Lake Atitlan |
- Guatemala |
| Volcan Paricutin |
- Mexico |
| Draa Valley |
- Morocco |
| Atlas Mountains |
- Morocco |
| Sahara |
- Tunisia |
| Orinoco Delta |
- Venezuela |
| Gran Sabana |
- Venezuela |
| Angel Falls |
- Venezuela |
| Canaima |
- Venezuela |
| Cotopaxi |
- Ecuador |
| Galapagos Islands |
- Ecuador |
| Huacachina |
- Peru |
| Islas Ballestas |
- Peru |
| Lake Titicaca |
- Bolivia |
| Torotoro National Park |
- Bolivia |
| Tupiza |
- Bolivia |
| Laguna Verde |
- Bolivia |
| Laguna Colorada |
- Bolivia |
| Salar de Uyuni |
- Bolivia |
| Colca Valley |
- Peru |
| Llanganuco |
- Peru |
| Huaraz |
- Peru |
| Lake Tahoe |
- USA |
| Bora Bora |
- French Polynesia |
| Aitutaki |
- Cook Islands |
| Vava'u |
- Tonga |
| Waya Lai Lai |
- Fiji |
| Togo |
- Niue |
| Savai'i |
- Samoa |
| Milford Sound |
- New Zealand |
| Marlborough Sound |
- New Zealand |
| Catlins |
- New Zealand |
| Rotorua |
- New Zealand |
| Cape Foulwind |
- New Zealand |
| Northland |
- New Zealand |
| Cape Le Grand |
- Australia |
| Nullabor |
- Australia |
| Kangaroo Island |
- Australia |
| Shark Bay |
- Australia |
| Karijini NP |
- Australia |
| Bungle Bungle NP |
- Australia |
| Kakadu NP |
- Australia |
| Daintree Rainforest |
- Australia |
| Uluru |
- Australia |
| Fraser Island |
- Australia |
|
Great History
|
|
| Lalibela |
- Ethiopia |
| Various |
- Egypt |
| Petra |
- Jordan |
| Palmyra and Apamea |
- Syria |
| Various |
- Greece |
| Taxila |
- Pakistan |
| Ephesus |
- Turkey |
| Moai |
- Easter
Island |
| Borubdur / Prambanan |
- Indonesia |
| Castles and Abbeys |
- Ireland |
| Copan |
- Honduras |
| Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa |
- Guatemala |
| Tikal |
- Guatemala |
| Chichen Itza |
- Mexico |
| Uxmal |
- Mexico |
| Palenque |
- Mexico |
| Teotihuacan |
- Mexico |
| Ingapirca |
- Ecuador |
| Sipan |
- Peru |
| Tucume |
- Peru |
| Huaca de la Luna |
- Peru |
| Chan Chan |
- Peru |
| Nazca |
- Peru |
| Cuzco |
- Peru |
| Ollantaytamo |
- Peru |
| Macchu Picchu |
- Peru |
| Choquekirao |
- Peru |
| Chavin de Huantar |
- Peru |
| Torotoro |
- Bolivia |
| Trilithon |
- Tonga |
| Uluru |
- Australia |
| Kakadu |
- Australia |
| Warwick Castle |
- England |
| Stratford-Upon-Avon |
- England |
| London |
- England |
| York |
- England |
|
|
| Great Architecture
|
|
| Temple of Karnak |
- Luxor, Egypt |
| Temple of Bacchus |
- Baalbek, Lebanon |
| Hagia Sophia |
- Istanbul, Turkey |
| Sultan Ahmet |
- Istanbul,
Turkey |
| Masjid e Emam |
- Esfahan, Iran |
| Arg e Bam |
- Bam, Iran |
| Potala |
- Lhasa, Tibet |
| Samye Monastery |
- Samye, Tibet |
| Boudinnath Stupa |
- Kathmandu, Nepal |
| Taj Mahal |
- Agra, India |
| Khajuraho Temples |
- Khajuraho, India |
| Sigiriya |
-
Sri Lanka |
| Pollonarruwa |
- Sri
Lanka |
| Bagan |
-
Myanmar |
| Angkor |
-
Cambodia |
| Great Wall |
-
China |
| Forbidden City |
- Beijing, China |
| Old Town |
- Lijiang, China |
| St. Basil's Basilica |
- Moscow, Russia |
| Old Town |
- Tallinn, Estonia |
| Old Town |
- Riga, Latvia |
| Prague |
-
Czech Republic |
| Various |
- Bangkok, Thailand |
| Old Sukothai |
-
Thailand |
| Perfume River Tombs |
- Vietnam |
| Petronas Towers |
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Various |
- Leon, Spain |
| Barcelona |
- Spain |
| London |
- England |
| Venice |
- Italy |
| Troglodytes |
- Tunisia |
| The world's largest wooden structure - Cathedral |
- Georgetown, Guyana |
| Largest adobe structure in the world - Huaca Larga |
- Chiclayo, Peru |
| Largest mud brick structure in the Western Hemisphere -
Huaca del Sol |
- Trujillo, Peru |
| Aquaducts |
- Nazca, Peru |
| Various |
- Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Nice old town |
- Colonia, Uruguay |
| Jesuit Ruins |
- Jesus, Paraguay |
| Jesuit Ruins |
Trinidad, Paraguay |
| Nice Incan stuff |
Cuzco, Peru |
| Nice colonial buildings, built of
volcanic stone. |
Arequipa, Peru |
| Nice colours, basically a
confined eccliastic village within a city. |
Santa Catalina Convent, Arequipa, Peru |
| Odd stained glass windows |
Palacio del Congresso, Lima, Peru |
|
|
| Museums
|
|
| Most ridiculous
display of wealth |
-
Jewellery museum, Tehran - Iran |
| Scariest display of
Arms |
-
Armed Forces Museum, Moscow - Russia |
| Most boring - Revolution
museum, Beijing |
- China - just
photos with no English |
| Most expensive
bibles |
-
Armouries collection, Kremlin, Moscow - Russia |
| Decomposing stuffed
animals |
-
Palace museum, Udaipur - India |
| Strangest thing |
-
Kunming - China - Trying to sell the exhibits |
| Oldest person |
-
Lucy, Homo Austrolapthicus, Addis Abeba - Ethiopia |
| Art |
-
Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia |
| Worst Art Gallery |
-
Museum of Foreign Art, all poor imitations - Riga, Latvia |
| Thought Provoking |
-
Holocaust Museum - Washington D.C., USA |
| Socialist Sculptures |
-
Grutas Parkas, Lithuania |
| Denial of History |
-
National Museum, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Eye opening |
-
War Remnants Museum, Saigon, Vietnam |
| Best Museum |
- British Museum, London |
| Most Random Collection |
- Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala |
|
Best Murals in a Museum |
- Palacio des Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico |
| Best collection of Mosaics |
- Bardo Museum, Tunis, Tunisia |
| Most impressive selection of gold |
- Gold Museum, Bogota Colombia |
| Unbelievably random |
- Church mueum, Baños, Ecuador |
| Shrunken head displays |
- Museo Banco Central, Cuenca,
Ecuador |
| Impressive funerary collection |
- Tumbas Reales, Layembeque, Peru |
| All about Coca |
- Coca museum, La Paz, Bolivia |
| Nice exhibits but repetitive explanations |
- MAP Pre-Colombian Art Museum,
Cuzco, Peru |
| Nice pottery |
- Museo de la Nacion, Lima, Peru |
|
|
| Dead
People Observed
|
|
| Most gruesome burial
style |
- Tibetan Sky burial,
Langmusi - Tibet |
| Most public
cremation |
- Burning Ghats, Varanasi
- India |
| Left to be sorted
later |
- Quetta - Pakistan |
| Embalmed |
- Ho Chi Minh
-Hanoi, Vietnam |
|
-
Mao Zedong - Beijing, China |
|
-
VI Lenin - Moscow, Russia |
|
-
Various old Egyptians - Cairo, Egypt |
| Ice mummies |
- National Museum, Bogota
Colombia |
| Lots of shrunken heads |
- Museo Banco Central, Cuenca,
Ecuador |
| Various mummies |
- Peru and Bolivia |
| Necropolis |
- San Juan, Bolivia |
| Lots of Bones |
- San Francisco Catacombs, Lima,
Peru |
|
|
| Toilets
|
|
| Worst Toilets |
- Tibet |
| Least Hygienic |
- Tibet |
| Smelliest |
- Tibet |
| Filthiest |
- Tibet |
| Least Convenient |
- Tibet |
| Most encrusted |
- Tibet |
| Most bizarre |
- Hundertwasser Toilets, New Zealand |
|
|
| Folly / Odd
|
|
| Sesfontein Fort |
- Namibia |
| Crazy Horse Mountain |
- South Dakota, USA |
| Crazy Hotel |
-
Da Lat, Vietnam |
| Hill of Crosses |
-
Siauliai, Lithuania |
| Nazca and Palpa Lines |
- Massive drawings in the ground
and geometric figures and lines. Peru |
| Torro Muerto |
- Thousands of Petroglyphs, Peru |
| Big Things |
- All over Australia, big banana,
croc, pineapple, merino, gala, etc. |
|
|
| Border Crossings |
|
| Most spectacular |
- Pakistan / China - Going over the Karakorum highway and its
spectacular scenery. |
| Most physically arduous |
- Tibet / Nepal - scaling down a waterfall with backpack
on as the road had collapsed. |
| Most helpful people |
- Turkey / Iran - Mr. Mohammed the Iranian official gave us
more information than we had asked for. |
| Most bribes demanded |
- Venezuela / Colombia - Most of
the Venezuelan police wanted a backhander. |
| Dodgiest border bridge |
- Panama / Costa Rica - Walking over a disused rail
bridge with numbers of the sleepers missing or broken. |
| What border? |
- Most of the Shengen States -
Europe |
| Stupidest and most racist border
guards |
- USA |
| Most ridiculous questions on immigration card |
- USA |
| People living in between the borders |
- D.R. Congo / Uganda |
| Pedantic Officials |
- Trinidad and Tobago |
| Underwater Border |
- UK / France |
| Not an Official Border |
- Cambodia / Laos - Although with a visit to the local
immigration official and a ten dollar bill, suddenly we had the letter that made
it an international border. |
| Backdoor borders |
- Guyana / Suriname / French Guiane |
| Can't Find the Border |
- Greece / Albania - Spent ages driving through mine
fields looking for the Albanian side. |
| Disabling Border |
- Albania / Greece - In another place getting to the
immigration window involved a level of aerial dexterity usually reserved for the
circus. |
| Most Flies at the Border |
- Macedonia / Greece - for some reason they were not in
Greece but stopped at the border. |
| Fluctuating Rules |
- Almost anywhere in Africa, where rules sometimes changed on
a daily basis. |
| Most insults traded at a border |
- Tibet / Nepal - Many of the people once having
crossed the red line hurled insults, made gestures and showed lower body parts
to the Chinese representative on the other side who generally seemed
unimpressed. |
| Did we do immigration? |
- Argentina / Uruguay - Had to go back to confirm that
the Uruguayans had stamped us in. |
|
| Airports
and Executive Lounges
|
|
| Most basic airport |
- Lalibela, Ethiopia - a shed, a table and some scales to
weight the baggage. |
| Worst baggage security |
- Miami International, Florida, USA - anyone from the
street can just walk in and take baggage from te carousel. |
| Least practical design |
- Charles De Gaulle, Paris, France. Getting anywhere
involves at least one bus ride. |
| Least helpful staff |
- Charles De Gaulle, Paris, France. - Gallic charm |
| Always making me late for flights |
- Frankfurt, Germany |
| Most fun executive lounge |
- Heathrow Terminal 4, London, UK - Playstation,
Internet, Air Traffic Control information and a viewing tower, milkshake
machine, TV, Personal Music players and all the usual bits too. |
| Best Sofas in an executive Lounge |
- Madrid, Spain |
| Good Food |
- Hong Kong |
|
|
|
|