So what a year it’s been!

Sjoerd came out to see us in Thailand for a few weeks and together the three of us rang in both Sjoerd’s birthday and Ray’s and my one-year travelversary. It was so awesome to see him again. He was here and gone in the blink of an eye, and now it’s our last day in Bangkok, Thailand, and the last of this first chapter of an epic journey.

Tomorrow we fly on to Taiwan to begin our China-region explorations, taking us through Taiwan, Tibet, China, Hong Kong, and South Korea. In January we’ll arrive in Japan to enjoy three months in one spot and snowboard all day every day in some of the world’s best powder.

But before we close this chapter and begin the next, I wanted to take some time to look back on this Year-in-Review.

The Top 20 Most Memorable Experiences of Year 1
(in no particular order)

1. Seeing the Taj Mahal
2. Cuddling with tigers in Thailand
3. Elephant bathtime in Nepal
4. 4-day kayaking clinic in Nepal
5. 9-day whitewater rafting trip through Nepal
6. Seeing the Dalai Lama
7. Swimming with whale sharks
8. The Good Friday Live Crucifixions in the Philippines
9. Beach Hut living in the Philippines
10. Seeing Kevin
11. Seeing Sjoerd
12. The Road from Manali-Leh
13. The baby white camel
14. The Epic 25-day Expedition through Mongolia
15. The Jeep getting stuck in the water
16. Taking a 4-day horsetrek to the taiga to see the Tsaatan reindeer people
17. The Pushkar Camel Fair
18. Riding mopeds in Goa
19. All the friends we’ve met along the way
20. My close friendships that have made it this far and even gotten closer

* * *

The more realistic-length list of highlights from our First Year on the road!

1. Seeing the Taj Mahal
2. Laying with my head on a full-grown, unrestrained, unsedated tiger
3. Elephant bathtime and standing on top of an elephant in a crocodile-infested river
4. Learning to kayak in one day on a lake then going on a 3-day trip on a river with Grade 3 rapids
5. 9-day Grade 4-5 whitewater rafting trip through Nepal
6. Seeing the Dalai Lama
7. Swimming with whale sharks
8. Seeing the Live Crucifixions on Good Friday in the Philippines
9. Living the good life in a beach hut with a hammock and a Porch Dawgg and a whole lot of time to just enjoy every ounce of our perfect days
10. Seeing Kevin, my grade-school penpal whom I’d not seen since we met in person 14 years ago
11. Seeing Sjoerd, whom I’m continually discovering what a wonderful friend and person he is, and how deep and permanent our incredible bond remains
12. Experiencing and surviving the unbelievably insane Road from Manali-Leh
13. Getting baby white camel cuddles
14. Taking a 25-day epic expedition from the bottom to the top of Mongolia
15. Getting stuck in the middle of a flooded crossing and seeing water come in the door of the jeep up to my knees in Mongolia

16. Living in a teepee with the shamanic Tsaatan reindeer people and interacting with their reindeer
17. A 4-day horsetrek over some crazy muddy rainy trails and galloping across the open Mongolian landscape
18. The absolutely incredible and mind-blowing Pushkar Camel Fair
19. Riding a moped along the palm-fringed beaches of Goa
20. The close friendships that I had to leave behind but have made it this far and even grown stronger in the year plus apart
21. All the friends we’ve met
22. Seeing wild monkeys
23. Going on camel safari through the Thar Desert in India
24. Seeing the birthplace of Buddha
25. Seeing the exact spot where Buddha achieved enlightenment
26. Walking on the Bridge Over the River Kwai and learning about its shocking history
27. Drinking cobra-infused whiskey
28. Visiting the Golden Triangle between Thailand, Burma and Laos that was used to grow opium
29. Going on a 5-day liveaboard scuba trip to the Similan Islands
30. Being in Bangkok at different times for the beginning, middle and end of the Red Shirt Protests in Bangkok

31. Meeting Chris Guillebeau
32. Meeting GotPassport
33. Meeting Legal Nomads
34. Meeting Gary Arndt
35. Meeting some of my distant relatives in the Motherland
36. Seeing Arnaud, whom I’d not seen since we met for a short 3 days in Paris 8 years ago
37. Seeing a wild rhino 5 meters away from where we stood on foot – with nothing more than a guide with a stick
38. Taking an elephant safari through the jungle and marshlands and seeing more wild rhinos bathing in the water hole
39. Staying overnight in a jungle tower
40. Seeing the biggest stupa in the world
41. Drinking and picking Ceylon tea in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
42. Waving to smiling Sri Lankans from the train on one of the most beautifully scenic train journeys in the world
43. Living for a week in the guesthouse of the most adorable elderly Sri Lankan couple on the face of the earth
44. Not getting on the internet for 25 days in a row

45. Riding a reindeer
46. Staying in a ger
47. Seeing the Gobi Desert
48. Meeting nomads
49. Hearing the singing dunes at Khongorin Els – beyond bizarre
50. Learning to read Russian Cyrillic
51. Teaching myself to read Sanskrit
52. Catching 8 fish with just a line, a hook and some leftover food bits
53. Yakkity yaks
54. Drinking vodka with Mongolians – definitely not recommended if you want to live!
55. Seeing the big Naadam festival in Ulaanbaatar
56. Seeing a local Naadam
57. Visiting the erotic temples at Khajuraho
58. Scoring some kama sutras from their place of origin
59. Getting a chessboard from the country where chess was invented

60. Sitting on a yak
61. Holding a giant eagle on my arm
62. Staying in a fort
63. Celebrating Diwali in India
64. Getting a blessing from an elephant
65. Seeing a Bollywood movie
66. Drinking a beer with a bullethole next to my head in the famous Leopold’s Cafe (one of the venues involved in the terrible 2008 Mumbai Attacks)
67. Going on tiger safari and seeing a wild tiger in the jungles in India
68. Walking in the final footsteps to the exact spot where Gandhi was shot
69. Holding a baby tiger on my lap
70. Visiting a temple dedicated to rats
71. Starting the EBK (Empire Building Kit) and beginning my life as an entrepreneur

It’s been a hell of a year. Bring on the Year 2!!!