2017 – Year in Review

Wow, where to begin… It’s hard to believe we’ve already been on the road for an entire year! When we started our journey over a year ago, 2018 seemed so far away yet here we are writing a “2017 Year in Review” post.

As we reviewed our 30 posts from the past year, we were reminded of all the beautiful places we visited and the many “local” encounters, both fun and challenging. This post contains a slideshow highlighting our 2017 destinations, a few “Year in Review” statistics, and some general overall comments about our year of travel.

Slideshow

Here’s a slideshow highlighting a few elements from each country we visited in 2017.

Countries Visited

We had our passports stamped in 8 different countries in the last 365 days:

Summits Reached

We reached a total of 9 summits this past year. The summits ranged from high mountain peaks in Nepal to dormant and active volcanos in Malaysia and Indonesia.

→   Mt Kinabalu (13,435 ft) – Sabah, Malaysia

→   Mt Tambora (8,930 ft) – Sumbawa, Indonesia

→   Mt Kelimutu (5,544 ft) – Flores, Indonesia

→   Mt Bromo (7,641 ft) – Java, Indonesia

→   Mt Ijen (9,183 ft) – Java, Indonesia

→   Dingboche Ri (16,676 ft) – Everest & Gokyo Trek, Nepal

→   Kala Patthar (18,208 ft) – Everest & Gokyo Trek, Nepal

→   Cho Lo Pass (17,782 ft) – Everest & Gokyo Trek, Nepal

→   Mardi Himal Viewpoint (13,779 ft) – Mardi Himal Trek, Nepal

We reached all summits without any aid from pain or altitude sickness medication.

Transportation

We experienced many different modes of transportation over the last year… Planes, trains, automobiles, boats, etc. We logged 25 flights and walked a total of 1,202 miles, an average of 3.3 miles per day. Our overland travel consisted of numerous (too many to count) vehicle rides by taxi, uber or grabcar, tuk-tuk, private car, mini-van, bus, train, and others. Some rides were more of an adventure than others.

One thing we learned about ourselves over the last year is we prefer the actual destinations much more than the travel required to reach them. The options from getting from Point A to Point B while “culturally enriching”, can be crowded, uncomfortable, stressful, frustrating, exhausting, and overwhelming. It didn’t take more than a few months to realize we preferred to minimize certain options whenever possible. While sometimes certain methods of transportation can be cheaper, we quickly learned to evaluate all factors when making a method of transportation decision. There are some locations where there are no options other than undesirable ones to get from place to place. Therefore, if we want to visit a destination bad enough, we simply work through it. We know transportation is part of the overall experience and we could not have seen or done any of the things this last year without it… We coined ourselves “Destinators”, and when a quicker, more convenient, comfortable, and/or safer transportation option is available, we usually take it.

The New Normal

A few things which a year ago seemed foreign to us, now seem normal. Early on, we would comment each time we would see them… Now, we only notice and comment when they are missing.

“Wet” Bathrooms

99% of all bathrooms in this part of the world are “wet” bathrooms. “Wet” bathrooms house the shower, sink, toilet, and “bum-gun” in one room and in close proximity. They are mostly all tile (walls and floors) and have at least one floor drain. When using the shower, typically everything in the bathroom gets wet and the water runs directly into the floor drain. Also, the bum-gun serves 2 purposes… it’s not only used to clean your bum 😉 it’s also used to easily clean the bathroom by simply spraying everything down. **It goes without saying that it is important to remove all items you do not want to get wet prior to showering or cleaning. A year ago these types of bathrooms felt awkward to us. Now having gotten used to them, we are actually disappointed when the set-up is different. The whole concept is very practical, efficient, and sanitary. This same process is used in many public bathrooms which allows the “caretaker” to hose down the bathroom several times a day which keeps them cleaner and less funky.

Streets

Early on, we were amused at all the odd things we would see while walking the streets which included just about anything and everything – thousands of motor scooters (going in all different directions, including riding on the sidewalks), random parades or weddings, goats, cows, monkeys, etc. All of these items are normal to us now. And, once again we find ourselves only noticing when they are gone. Weddings are interesting in that roads are often blocked off, tents are set up, large amounts of food are brought in and HUGE speakers are set up to blast music towards the bride, groom and closest family members. In certain countries, wedding parties start early in the morning and last all day (this includes the shockingly loud music).

Locals & Selfies

Early on, we found it strange, the number of people (of all ages) that wanted to have their picture taken with us. The scene starts with someone walking up to us with their camera in hand. At first you think they are asking for assistance in taking their picture. In reality, they want to take a “selfie” with one or both of us included in their picture. We have had many instances of locals (in all countries) wanting photos of us together with them. At first it was both strange and confusing as often the language barrier created some issues. Now, we don’t even think twice about it and gladly snap a photo with them. It has almost become second nature and is always quite humorous.

Food

The food we’ve eaten this past year has been some of the best we’ve ever had. It’s really hard to choose one country’s food over another. We have eaten fantastic, fresh dishes everywhere we’ve visited at extremely reasonable prices. Here’s a sampling of some of our favorites. Our only regret – we wish we could eat more 😉

Average Travel Costs

Our average costs below are inclusive of all travel costs which include all accommodation, all modes of transportation, food & beverage, visa fees, all tours / treks and guide fees, any entrance fees, and any other “in country” related items. We track all our expenditures by country to help us understand the cost for a return visit and to also keep us within our travel budget.

$  Overall average cost per day was $110/day for 365 days.

$  Least expensive average cost per day at $66/day for 59 days was in Vietnam.

$  Most expensive average cost per day at $200+/day for 4 days was in Singapore.

The “style” of travel reflected in our costs is: (1) Accommodations: are most often simple, clean, budget-level type with ensuite bathroom. (2) Site-seeing or tours: we hire local guides for private tours which offer a more tailored local experience versus the cheapest large group “cattle car” option. (3) Transportation: we try and use modes of transportation other than “local” public transportation, when available. Even though “local” public transportation is usually very cheap, it’s often extremely overcrowded, less reliable, and often takes much longer. We consider safety, comfort, reliability, and convenience worth the extra cost. (4) Food: our food choices are typically dependent on our location. We usually look for the small local family owned restaurants or stalls as the food is usually much better with the added bonus of being less expensive.

You can definitely travel in and around SouthEast Asia for “much less” or “much more” depending on your preferences and what’s important to you. You can find all levels of accommodations, hire group or private guides for tours, use public or private transportation, and eat food ranging from “local street cart” and “hawker stall” types to the very expensive fancy sit down “western” style restaurants. We’re sharing this information to illustrate the level of travel included in our 2017 spend. Ultimately, your budget and spend rate will be completely up to you and what makes you happy 🙂

In Closing

Over the last year, we’ve seen and experienced so many beautiful and unique things in each country. One consistent thing, regardless of country, is how happy and friendly all the locals are. To date, we can honestly say there isn’t one country we prefer over another as we enjoyed different things about each. That being said, there are new things to see in countries yet to be visited and still things to see in countries previously visited. We don’t yet have a definitive itinerary for 2018, but we do know our “Destinating” will continue in this part of the world for at least the next year.

Happy 2018! We hope you enjoyed our 2017 travels. We’re looking forward to sharing more with you this year!

If you have any questions about our travel experiences or you would like to comment on anything we’ve posted, please let us know. It’s always nice to hear from you 🙂 You can contact us by email at pointsonacompass@gmail.com or you can simply reply to one of our previously sent posts.