As we board the flight to Perth we have realised that it is just over 7 months travel in Asia that has just been completed. To commemorate this here is some Top 7 lists of our incredible journey so far. (n.b Each item has a link to that post!)
Written by John AND Karen!
7 Best Experiences
Great moments can’t to be replicated!
- Climbing Poon Hill in Nepal
- Attending Traditional Asian Weddings in India and Cambodia
- Elephants – Elephants everywhere in India and Thailand
- On safari in Borneo – So many animals!
- Hui Van Pass Motorbiking – Some breathtaking views
- Getting Engaged – on a wee beach in Goa
- Beach time in the Gili Islands
7 Worst Experiences
Scary, boring or just plain wrong decisions…
- Bandipur, Nepal – why visit!
- Overnight Bus to Bangalore – one of us was sick, the other on edge!
- Night time TukTuk ride in Hampi – Under the cover of darkness we rushed to get that bus!
- Toilets in China!! – Karen is scarred for life
- Vietnam Visas – missing passports and wrong dates!
- The long long journey from Yogyakarta to Malang – never again!
- Ijen Crater – scary but an experience – our only scar is the smell of John’s coat after it!
Our chariot awaits!
Ijen: – Great day out!
Annotation: This week’s guest word!!
Bandipur: Go on I dare you to visit!7 Random Experiences
Yep these all happened!
- Getting kicked off a bus in Cambodia to give up our seat to a Giant Durian Fruit!
- Getting free accomodation in Shanghai from a new friend.
- Our Ayr College educated tour guide in Patan!
- Seeing all our Irish London pals in Kurtas and Saris, Ollie Deane dressed like Aladdin on a horse!
- John’s Haircut in the backwaters of Kerala
- Meeting a guy in a car park and then getting the best safari trips ever in Borneo
- Tea and cakes with an Indonesian Royal family in Bali
7 Best Meals
An army marches on it’s stomach – said Napoleon Bonaparte. This army is no exception.
- Dinner at Beena’s Homestay in Kochi (all of them)
- Chottaram’s Rural Offerings in Jodhpur
- Peking Duck in Peking China
- Pad Thai from the Sisters in Bangkok
- That Takeaway in Sisophon, Cambodia – best beef ever!
- Food in Vietnam – every meal was amazing but best was in Hoi An
- Warung food in Amed, Bali
7 places that blew our minds away
No description needed or photos….just click the links guys!
- Taj Mahal
- Great Wall of China
- Angkor Wat in Cambodia
- S-21 and the Killing Fields in Phnom Penh
- White Temple & Black House in Chang Rai Thailand
- Bodnauth Stupa (Nepal)
- Huangshan Mountains in Southern China – as featured in Avatar!
7 places as nature intended
Neither man-made or man-destroyed just nature at it’s best!
- Halong Bay – Vietnam
- Kerala Backwaters – India
- Palolem Beach – India
- Nong Khiaw – Laos
- Sapa – Vietnam
- Li River in Yangshuo, China
- Mount Bromo – Java, Indonesia
7 Biggest Points of Contention
Those little things that made us fight!
- Getting John’s phone unlocked – Karen’s biggest bugbear
- Sun cream!! – John refusing to put it on and Karen chasing him with it
- Getting lost – This happened quite a bit
- Where to eat (in China) – You need to have been to China to understand this
- Convincing Karen of the absence of Bed Bugs or other critters
- Lonely Planet Maps!!
- Topping up our amazing Chinese Mobile SIM – a real meltdown generator
7 Best Pictures
We have taken over 15,000 photos so far so this is a real tough category
7 Roads Not Taken
Places we could have gone to but didn’t. Next time Gadget, next time!
- Jaisalmer in India – A Living breathing Sand Castle in Rajasthan. We needed to get to Mumbai so had to skip it.
- Burma – Potential Honeymoon choice after we couldn’t make it this time
- Battambang Bamboo Railway in Cambodia – We were so close to going here…aaagh!
- Dragon backbone rice terraces in Guillin, China – We got our days wrong and couldn’t fit these in. Afterwards we kept hearing of their greatness 😦
- Muang Ngoi Neau in Northern Laos – Thunder and lightning kept us at bay
- Varanasi in India – Overlooked but not the next time.
- Flores in Indonesia – With limited time available, the expensive flights and dodgy boats made this a no-go
7 Lessons Learnt
Personal growth without jobs!
- You wouldn’t like Karen when she’s hungry
- John’s biggest fear is wasps for some reason
- Bug spray washes off in the rain
- Salad in India is bad. Ask John
- When it comes to best seats in the bus/jeep, John looks after himself.
- Always question John’s research
- With less items in her handbag, Karen still loses things in it!
JKRoaming - Travel Blog 
Sounds like you two had fun making these lists! One of my favourite posts from you both! Xx
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Thanks Laura. It was initially going to be about 6 months on the road but there was a month of negotiations re. content so we had to change it to 7 Months in Asia.
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This is a fabulous post ,loved all of it.
It just makes you realise what a fantastic experience you are both having and how great it is to feel part of it through your blog.keep up the good work it is certainly worth all the effort. Take care, miss you loadsxxx
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Thanks Bernadette. Its been just a crazy 7 months. Having all our family and friends following the blog and leaving comments has kept us going. We miss you too
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Missing here: Pakistan & Philippines – your next dream destinations? 🙂
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We have been to the Philippines but not Pakistan yet… one day!
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