We returned home last week, our six-month journey having ended. It was a blast and we can’t believe how quickly time went by.  It seems only yesterday we left.

One thing we were able to see first-hand was how other countries and economies work in comparison to ours. We normally feel our way of doing things is superior, otherwise we wouldn’t do it that way – right? However, we witnessed firsthand how many other places match or exceed our way of doing things. Of course, there were places that were doing things in a manner we left behind years, if not decades ago.

We started exploring in Japan

Japan is known to be a world leader in technology and progress. Despite an economy that has stalled for the last number of years, they have a transport system that is efficient, affordable and simply amazing. Their culture is based on respect. They don’t invade your personal space. No one honks their horns, either in cars or on bikes.

I experienced this first hand as a tourist when I was walking on a road and unwittingly blocking traffic. I’m not sure how long I was doing this, however when I looked over my shoulder, there was a car that I was creeping along behind me. I’m not sure how long this poor fellow had been following me, patiently driving his car at 5 km/hr . I immediately moved over to the side and bowed deeply to apologise and show respect for blocking their way. The driver smiled, nodded and waved. He didn’t honk his horn as his actions might bother me. In North America, there would have been a short horn, which in our culture, would not be out of place. It would likely be a “hi there, you’re blocking me, can you move over?”. Of course, there are times when the horn could mean something else. 

Further south to Taiwan

During our time in Taiwan, which is also a very high-tech area, we saw some great things. We were served by robots at a local diner, technology is used to assist day-to-day living. At the restaurant we were at, a human waiter took our order and, a few minutes later, a robot came out with our food. It was similar to a giant iRobot vacuum cleaner that had shelves on it. The robot was programmed with a table number and then weaved around the other tables to bring you your food. Once you had your meal, you tapped the robot’s hat and it went back to the kitchen to repeat. Taiwan is hugely important to the world for technology. The computer chips that are powering the device you are reading this on were likely made in Taiwan. They make more computer chips than any other country.

Singapore was old vs new, however cleanliness was probably better than anywhere else we saw on our trip. The subway was air conditioned which was much needed for a country only one degree from the equator. 

Sri Lanka – a very interesting place and worth another visit

Our few days in Sri Lanka showed us a country that is not quite where we are in many areas, however everyone seemed happy. There was thriving commerce, shops were open, local people were dining in cafés, and there was traffic coming and going. The infrastructure, however did look as if it could use improvements. A year ago, there were news stories of protests and when I asked our guide about those he shrugged. He said there were some people unhappy, however most people simply went about their business.

India – exotic, enchanting, and polluted

India was another story. A complete juxtaposition of wealth and poverty. Efficiency and inefficiency worked in harmony beside each other. An example would be a world class subway system in Delhi that moved the masses. As you exited the subway station, you could see people digging a foundation for a new building. Amazingly, this digging was being done with a shovel by hand. Fill was removed one pail at a time by a person on a bike. Who knows where they took it.

That India can feed 1.6 billion people every day is impressive, although not everyone eats a full meal. That they can survive with the wretched pollution, is a wonder. We were worried about the pollution in Mumbai when we were there as it was in the 300 parts per million (PPM). Then we got to Delhi. On some of the days we were in Delhi the pollution was just below 500 PPM. With the exception of Goa, which is on the ocean, there was always air pollution to worry about. 

Many towns we visited in India had “good” air with readings between 50 and 100 PPM. At home, when the numbers cross 25 PPM, people go crazy and lock themselves inside. We both developed coughs in Delhi. I guess it could have been COVID, however we wrote it off to pollution and breathing the continual bad air.

Nepal – magical

Travelling to Nepal from India didn’t help the cough. In fact we both developed full-fledged “smokers cough”. Hacking at all times day and night. Kathmandu was the worst, followed by Pokhara. Open fires, for warmth, would burn in common areas of restaurants and other buildings, trapping in smoke. Even if you were outside, with everyone having a fire, you smelled like a campfire. There was no getting away from it. We would look out from our hotel balcony in the morning and evening to see the countless plumes of smoke drifting up. All of which was trapped in the valley, reducing the view of the Himalaya mountains. Even when we were hiking in the Himalaya’s, unless we were between outposts, the smell of smoke was hanging. 

Mauritius was a charming place. Located 20 degrees south of the equator, the weather there is likely as close to perfect as you can get, other than the odd cyclone. There are trade winds that keep the air moving and as it is an island, 50 miles from the other nearest island, the incoming air is always clean.

Malaysia is an up-and-coming place. The prices are reasonable. The weather is a bit on the hot side with a lot of humidity. Most places are air conditioned unless they are open air venues such as hawker stalls. Malls are modern affairs with all the usual stores, Lululemon, Bata shoes, etc. Western goods are priced similar to North America, unless you buy knock-offs at the stalls. The one thing that we enjoyed in Malaysia was losing our “cough”. We arrived there from three weeks in India/Nepal and our lungs cleared up. Well at least our coughs went away.

Bali – a magical island, but maybe not for everyone

Bali is where we ended our journey. It’s not a place that we will rush back to. There seems to be two camps on Bali, love it or hate it. I would not say we hated it, but the issues we saw there made us think we would go back to Thailand before Bali. To be clear, Balinese people, for the most part, are wonderful. They are kind, welcoming and truly wish you to be happy in their home country. Some of the “annoyances” included a mafia run taxi service that serves only to rip-off tourists. The overrun tourist spots, where you wait for hours to take a picture make the experience less than enjoyable. Of course, the masses of tourists who overtax the system didn’t help.

We did many things: here are some of our numbers:

• Length of trip:                                                  182 days
• Number of countries visited                           15
• Number of hotels/AirBnB’s/Homestays        40

Cruises are a great way to travel

• Number of cruises 3
• Number of days on cruise ships 45

Air travel is necessary

• Number of flights:                                           11
• Number of “red-eye” flights                           3
• Number of airports travelled through:       15
• Nicest airport:                                                 Singapore (sorry YVR, Singapore has you beat)
• Sketchiest airport:                                           Kathmandu

It’s all about the food!

• Number of different restaurants dined in (many more than once)     157
• Best meal – tie                                             Takayama Japan and steakhouse in Khatmandu
• Best street food Chole Bhature – New Delhi
• Number of times we ate street food – Waaaaaayyyyy to many to count
• Number of times we were sick from street food – Nil – (we used a lot of hand sanitizer)

The still frames in our minds – I hope they will always be there

• Number of tours / activities                           14
• Number of cars rented                                   2 (both were right hand drive!)
• Number of trips to Disneyland                       2
• Best memory                                                  Overnight hike in the Himalayas
• Worst memory                                                Meg having to go to the hospital in Japan  

Arriving back in Vancouver – and much cooler temperatures

When we arrived back in Vancouver, we were picked up by my Mom and Doug. One of the first questions they asked is “would you do it again?”. I answered “absolutely” and at the exact same time Meg said “yes”. The trip was not a vacation. We started out in vacation mode, likely reinforced by the 16-day trans-pacific crossing on a luxury cruise ship.

To vacation for six-months is too hard, at least for us. When we readjusted our thought process to do one, maybe two “outings” per day we started to relax more. On a vacation you generally do not have to do chores. When you travel for six-months, there are chores. Laundry is a weekly chore. So is paying bills. Yes they do come in while you are away. Internet and online banking make it easier, however you need to log in, pay attention and keep on top of things. Of course, having your iPhone stolen, as happened to me in India, makes that a bit harder.

Travel to learn and where possible, give back

For us, the trip was not so much about a vacation, but about learning. We learned so much about the places we visited. There is history beyond Europe and Canada. Much of the history we saw in Asia and Africa was influenced by European cultures. In some cases, quite heavily. During the age of exploration, England, Portugal, Spain, France and others explored and claimed foreign lands as their own. This led to massive shifts in wealth for some and impoverishment for others. The spice and slave trades are prime examples of this. Zanzibar was one of the leading places for the slave trade and it flourished there into the 1900’s. 

Travel is, for us, about enrichment. We go to seek new and exciting things. Of course, there are days when we rest by the pool/beach to recharge. There are also days where we challenge ourselves with excitement such as white-water rafting and hiking. One of the things we learned is we don’t care for winter all that much. This new knowledge is leading us to consider a way forward, possibly with annual extended travel to warmer climes. As many before us have found out, retirement arbitrage is possible. 

Skip the time change – go for jet lag instead

Another thing we were fortunate enough to do was miss the time changes at both ends. The clocks went ahead an hour the weekend before we came back. This greatly benefited us as sunset in Victoria was now 7:30 PM, us 6:30 PM a week ago. We’ll try and make note of that on any future trip, if we still do time changes in the future.

Cam and Meg

Thanks for reading, feel free to leave any comments or suggestions.