Andrew's Activities

Tl;dr tour to the Rainbow Valley, lunch at La Picada Del Indio, World Cup watching at ChelaCabur, and shopping, Moon Valley, and dinner at La Picada del Indio – 4 activities and 15,601 steps

Activity 1 – Rainbow Valley

This tour takes you through the valley between the Salt and Domeyko mountain ranges and has a stop to view some petroglyphs. The pickup time was around 7:30am and after a short drive we went for a quick hike while the tour guide made breakfast (same breakfast as the day before). See pictures of the Rainbow Valley below:

And pictures of the Petroglyphs:

I’ll let you go on this tour and learn about the meaning and significance of the glyphs.

Activity 2 – Lunch, World Cup, and Shopping

We got back to San Pedro around 1pm, so I quickly grabbed lunch. I went back to Il Picado del Indio, but this time I got the lunch special, which is probably the best deal in the entire town. You get a small salad, small entree, and dessert.

After lunch, I caught the end of a World Cup match, but wanted to spend my time preparing for the tour I had lined up for tomorrow – a trip to the geysers. I had heard from other travelers that the the temperatures can hit -10* celsius because you reach the Geysers (around 4,200m above sea level) for sunrise. I decided to buy gloves, a hat, and leg warmers (they were cheap enough and nice enough that I would wear them back home).

After my little shopping spree, I ran back to the hostel to drop off my goodies and prepare for my next tour – the Moon Valley.

Activity 3 – Moon Valley

The Moon Valley was very cool. I definitely recommend this tour. We did some exploring and saw the Three Marys. They used to let you slide down the sand dunes, but they stopped allowing people to do that a few years ago.

After leaving the Moon Valley area, we hopped back in the van to drive to a snack spot. The snack was nice: Pisco sours, cookies, cheese, meats, crackers, chips, and *a block of cream cheese covered in sesame seeds sitting in a pool of soy sauce. Yes – it was exactly as described. You scrape a chunk of the mixture onto a cracker and enjoy. It was…interesting. I didn’t hate it, but can’t say that I want to have it again.

For the final portion of this trip, we went to a lookout point to watch the sunset over the dessert. If you ask me, we left too early. We saw the sun go down over the horizon, but the beautiful orange cover I that took the sun’s place across the sky was much more impressive (as seen in the last picture).

Activity 4 – A fast dinner

We got back to San Pedro around 8:45pm. I decided I needed to be quick with dinner since the Geyser tour has a 4:30am pickup. I went back to La Picada del Indio and did a dinner special (basically the same as the lunch special). It was fine, I was just happy to get some fuel quickly and get ready for bed.

I made it back to the hostel and got ready for bed. I think I tried going to sleep around 11:30, but even with how tired I was, I wasn’t able to fall asleep very quickly.

Tl;dr Woke up early for a tour to Piedras Rojas and had breakfast on the Tropic of Capricorn, explored mountain ranges and salt flats, pit stops and photo opps, lunch, saw flamingos, dinner at Jardin Meraki – 6 activities; 15,939 steps

For those that don’t know – the temperature can fluctuate considerably across morning, evening, and elevation. For a tour that picks you up at 6:30am, you are going to need some warm clothes (but also bring comfortable clothing to change into). This tour, because of the altitude and wind, requires some warm clothing and maybe even a wind breaker.

Also, you ABSOLUTELY NEED SUNSCREEN. The sun is very strong in the Atacama desert and the wind can do a number on your skin (so moisturizer is smart too).

My hostel had a bagged breakfast ready for me when I woke up. It consisted of juice, yogurt, a sando with cheese, and a snack. I stashed the breakfast since I wasn’t hungry yet (I was likely 80% still asleep). The tour bus picked me up at the hostel making it super easy. One point to note, the pickup time is variable within a 30minute window (depends on where the patrons are located and the optimal route to pick everyone up).

Activity 1 – Tropic of Capricorn and Inca Trail

About an hour in, we made our first stop. The tour guide explained that we had stopped at a junction of the Inca Trail and the Tropic of Capricorn. He gave us about 15 minutes to explore and take pictures while he prepared breakfast.

Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, bread, cheese, meat, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and snacks. (I should have taken a picture, but I was too busy eating and taking pictures).

We got back on the road to continue climbing higher and higher through the mountain passages.

Activity 2 – Salt Flats

We reached the Salt Flats and began some super light hiking. I was definitely feeling the altitude a bit, but not as much as others. By this point, I had started chatting with a few other people from the tour and continued to chat as we made our way to the various lookout points. I found myself out of breath just from chatting with people.

We took in the scenery and took a bunch of pictures. Really amazing views.

We also tried to take a group photo of all of us jumping…only took 3 takes to get it right. Not sure it was the smartest picture to take at altitude, but we got some good laughs and fun photos.

Activity 3 – A Bunch of Pit Stops and Photo Opps

Just great stuff…see the photos below.

Activity 4 – Lunch

Our tour guide set up a great spread for us…see picture below.

Activity 5 – Salt and Flamingos

Another pit stop and more salt, sights, and flamingos. After this we started our final trek back to San Pedro De Atacama.

Activity 6 – Dinner at Jardin Meraki

Once we got back, I watched some World Cup soccer (the very end of the game) and then went back to shower and relax. I picked a ‘nicer’ restaurant for dinner: Jardin Meraki. It has a cool vibe and cute dogs walking around. Had a bruschetta trio and grilled eggplant. Cool place, decent food.

After dinner, it was time for bed because I had another early morning coming up.

tl;dr Flew to the desert, took a bus to San Pedro de Atacama, booked some tours via my hostel – Hostal Mamatierra, grabbed some salmon for lunch and watched the World Cup, toured Laguna Cejar, and had a crap dinner – 6 activities; 22,276 steps

I had an early morning flight to Calama (CJC) from Santiago (SCL). The hotel I stayed at provided a to go breakfast for me – a cheese sandwich, yogurt, and juice – but it was too early for me to eat so I stashed the cheese sandwich for later.

Quick note on San Pedro De Atacama – it is over 3,100 meters (10,000ft +) above sea level and the impacts of altitude are very real. Some people were feeling it right away.

Activity 1 – Latam flight to Calama

Latam has a cool feature where you can make a bid for an upgraded seat – when I made the booking, I put my bid at the lowest possible amount $15 thinking that the extra space from a Premium Economy seat would help me get some additional sleep considering the early flight.

I stopped by the Priority Pass lounge in the SCL domestic terminal for a snack and to refill my water bottle before my flight.

The flight was relatively uneventful and I did catch up on a tiny amount of sleep (maybe 30mins). The flight itself is less than 2hours in the air. Latam gave me a nice egg sandwich for breakfast and a bag of chips.

Activity 2 -Transvip bus to San Pedro de Atacama

Once I landed, I found a Transvip.cl stand and booked a one way transfer to San Pedro de Atacama. I could have used a local bus service, but that would have required me to uber to a bus station and all that extra time and effort did not outweigh the convenience of door to door service.

The cost was $15,000 CLP one way (~$17 USD). I could have booked roundtrip and saved $1,000 CLP each way, but considering I didn’t know my exact return plans I decided it would be smarted to book two one-ways.

The transport was a comfortable van and had me at my hostel within an hour and a half.

Activity 3 – Hostal Mamatierra checkin and tour bookings

I stayed at Hostal Mamatierra – a hostel I found using hostelworld.com. The reviews were great and the location was 3 minutes from the main street of San Pedro de Atacama. I booked a private room, which had two beds (meaning I ultimately paid the price of two people to reserve the room for myself). I did not have an en-suite bathroom, but that didn’t matter to me.

The hostel provides breakfast every morning and if you have an early morning tour, they will package the breakfast in a to go bag. They would even do this for the 4am tour I was arranging!

The hostel had a TV with DirecTV so we could watch the World Cup and a hammock to relax in. The hostel manager quickly checked me in and asked what activities I wanted to do – we formulated a plan and booked me a tour for later that day (Laguna Cejar). The tours are all planned so that you either do a morning tour and an afternoon tour or a whole day tour (and they ensure to get you back from your morning tour with enough time to eat lunch and get ready for your second tour).

I could have walked into town to find tours using any of the dozens of tour companies that line the streets, but I decided to trust my hostel manager’s recommendations and the people she likes to work with.

Activity 4 – Lunch at La Picada del Indio

On the hostel manager’s recommendation I went to La Picada del Indio for lunch and had salmon with a fried egg on top. It was actually pretty decent. The restaurant has two areas – an indoor seating an area and a backyard that is partially covered. I opted to sit in the backyard and enjoy the cooler air.

After lunch, I strolled through the town a bit and bought a lot of water. I quickly realized that the town is tiny and 100% catered to tourists. The town is very expensive and there isn’t much local culture. I did stumble across a sports bar and popped in for a bit to watch some World Cup soccer at ChelaCabur.

Activity 5 – Laguna Cejar tour

This was my first tour – a trip to the Atacama salt flats, a lagoon you can float in, and viewing the Tebinquinche lagoon. Really cool trip. My favorite part was floating in the lagoon; it was super relaxing. Quick note, the water in the lagoon was actually really really cold. Getting my body submerged was not the easiest activity.

After floating in the lagoon, you can shower outdoors in cold water to get the salt off. FYI, there is an attendant that will limit how long you can shower because they only have water tanks and need to ensure there is water for everyone. They will usually give you up to three minutes to shower, so be quick!

When we walked by the Tebinquinche lagoon, my tour guide grabbed some salt and offered it to everyone to try. It tasted salty, but surprisingly not nearly as salty as I expected. Apparently there are other minerals in the salt piece, which impacts the saltiness.

The tour ended with a snack and Pisco Sour as the sun began to set over the desert – a great way to end the first tour.

Activity 6 – Dinner and sleep

The tour got back to San Pedro at 8:30pm and I desperately needed a shower. This meant that by the time I was cleaned up and found a place for dinner, it was already after 9pm.

I stopped by a pizza place that was decently crowded. It was beyond terrible. Inedible. I tried to eat it since I was so hungry and needed to get to bed…but couldn’t. I found an empanada place and had that instead. I decided not to go to one of the few bars because I wanted to continue adjusting to the high elevation since tomorrow would get up to over 4,000meters.

tl;dr Brunch from Gabilondo, USA match, planning, Museum of Memory and Human Rights, Chipa Libre, Papachecos, Jose Ramon 277 for dinner, drinks and Chocolate Chip Cookies – 8 activities; 19,217 steps

After several early mornings, it was time to *try* to sleep in. While I got to sleep later than previous nights, I slept less overall because I went to sleep so late.

Anyway, the USA vs Netherlands match was today so that my focal point for the day (had my USA jersey with me, but no face paint).

Activity 1 – Brunch from Gabilondo and planning

First things first, need to refuel – I went to this little bakery called Gabilondo a few blocks from me to buy a few pastries. They don’t have any eggs, but my hotel did so I figured pastries and protein would be a solid combo.

Also, I didn’t know where I was going to next on my travels (I didn’t even have a room booked for the evening). So after grabbing some food, it was time to get to work. I decided to go to the Atacama Desert and booked flights to Calama. By this point, it was time to head to a bar for the USA vs Netherlands World Cup match.

Activity 2 – USA USA USA

I found an ‘American’ bar called California Cantina – it was not a good bar (food was not good and drinks were overpriced), but there were a few other Americans there. While the USA didn’t win, it was fun to watch the game with other Americans. It would have been better if it was more crowded though.

Activity 3 – More Planning

I still hadn’t booked lodging to intra-transport, so after the game it’s as time to figure out phase 2 of my trip. I found and booked a hostel and transportation to San Pedro De Atacama from Calama.

Activity 4 – Museum of Memory and Human Rights

Chile is now a democratic country, however for many years it was under a dictatorship. This museum helps to educate patrons and remember those that lost their lives to the dictatorship.

The museum is mainly in Spanish, but the major signage does have English translations.

After the museum, I walked around a nice park before heading back to ‘my’ neighborhood.

Activity 5 – Chipe Libre Snack

I was sooo hungry by now (probably because the food at the California Cantina was so bad that I could barely eat it).

I decided to go back to Chipe Libre because the Ceviche looked delicious and I hadn’t yet tried it.

I was not disappointed; it was delicious! I also had a Pisco Sour for good measure.

Activity 6 – Papachecos round 2

I had to go back to this french fry place for two reasons: 1. It was delicious; 2. It was right next to Chipa Libre. I changed up the sauces this time and was quite pleased.

Activity 7 – Jose Ramon 277 Dinner

Before dinner, I went back to my hotel and checked out. I had decided to switch hotels to go somewhere for half the price since my flight was at 7:20am (the other hotel was walking distance to my original hotel). Once I got to the hotel, I relaxed and almost fell asleep.

Fun story time…I asked the new hotel’s front desk person for a restaurant recommendation (I had an idea of where I wanted to go, but figured I would see if there were any places I was missing). To my astonishment, the front desk attendant suggest “Subway”. I was a bit bewildered by this response and asked a follow up question about sit down restaurants with local food. The front desk attendant told me that there was a place around the corner for some food, but that was it.

Needless to say, I did not take this recommendation. Instead, I went to Jose Ramon 277 and got a great table outside to enjoy the warm summer air. I had a classic sandwich and an empanada – it was delicious – to go along with a couple of beers.

Activity 8 – Drinks and Cookies!

After dinner, I made my way to a local bar that had a nice second floor balcony. Nothing special, just a nice place for a drink.

I hadn’t really been able to find any standout chocolate chip cookie places in Santiago and was going to be leaving the city very shortly, so after some digging, I found a chocolate chip cookie place from Uber Eats and had two cookies delivered to my hotel.

The cookies were actually very good. Decently crumbly, but with great flavor that makes you take more and more bites.

Being that it was already past midnight and I had to leave for the airport in less than 6 hours, I made the difficult decision to forgo any more bars/clubs and call it a night.

tl;dr Bodega Re Winery, Villard Fine Wines, Boragó Tasting Menu and Wine Pairing, drinks at Krossbar, drinks at Liga Urbana, and a great club with a great name (Club Chocolate) – 5 activities; 6,291 steps

I reserved a wine tour through Airbnb experiences, which ended up being a private tour. I was picked up at 9am after having a small breakfast at my hotel (eggs, toast, and an espresso). The tour was set up to explore the Casablanca wine region – a relatively young wine region. 

The ride to the first winery took about an hour (thanks to some standard morning commute traffic). My guide has been living in Chile for several years, but originally hails from the UK. He was friendly and chatty and shared his knowledge on the wine industry in Chile. Some fun facts:

• Pre-pandemic, 95% of wine tourism was from foreigners, now it’s about 50/50 (not sure of the accuracy and if the hard numbers changed much though)
• Something around 80% of Chilean wine is exported (I did not fact check this)
• The Casablanca wine region is running into drought issues and many vineyards have had to close because the cost of water is too great. The first Winery, Bodega Re, used to own their own vines, but had to sell the property and purchase grapes from another region of Chile that has greater access to water

Activity 1 – Bodega Re Winery

The first stop on the tour was Bodega Re. A small winery that exported to the US during pre-pandemic times and is looking at restarting exports in the near future. The tour was with a few other groups. The winery showcased some of the vines that they use in their wines. This winery specializes in a specific type of wine – Carignan. 

The tour’s first stop was a room where the winery was crafting several different liquors that were using all kinds of fruits and herbs. 

The second stop on the tour was a room in which they were experimenting with making balsamic. Smelled great in there!

The third and final stop was the barrel room. This was also the room where we got to taste 4 wines and eat some snacks. The winery uses some of the oldest wine making techniques – like using clay pots. The wine was interesting; I enjoyed drinking them, but I am not sure I would purchase a bottle of any of them – they were all just a little too different and would really need to fit the occasion. We tasted:

• Chardonnoir (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir)
• Enredo (orange wine – the funk hits a little after the sip, but not exciting enough)
• Carignan (100% Carignan and it was not overly acidic at all)
• Cabergnan (90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Carignan)

Activity 2 – Villard Fine Wines

The second and final stop on the tour was another small batch producer. This vineyard was a little bigger than Bodega Re and had a beautiful property. Upon arriving, I was greeted with a private tour and learned about their wine making process and their emphasis on conserving and reusing water. 

After the tour, it was time for the wine tasting! We sat down outside to take in the scenery. The tour guide brought out three bottles for the tasting and was happy to pour a few extra tastings for me:

• Sauvignon Blanc from 2002
• Le’ Assemblage from 2020 (45% Syrah, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petite Syrah, and 1% Petit Verdot)
• Le Pinot Noir from 2020

They were all very very good – I definitely would have bought some bottles if there were any easy way to get them home. I had heard that the Chardonnay was the best of their wines, but unfortunately they were completely sold out and wouldn’t have any for a few more months.

I was getting decently hungry by now, so I ordered some salmon tartare to go along with a glass of Syrah. Since it would take some time for the food to be prepared, I took the opportunity to walk through the vines with my glass of wine and enjoy the surroundings.

The salmon tartare was delicious and paired well with the Syrah. Unfortunately, it was time to head back to the city since I had an early dinner reservation.

Activity 3 – Dinner at BORAGÓ

Some context here – BORAGÓ is ranked as a top 50 restaurant in the world. It had been recommended to me by several people, but I had also been warned that the food would not be the ‘yummiest’, but that the food would be super interesting and creative.

The only option is the tasting menu and the restaurant reaches out beforehand to understand if you have any restrictions. The restaurant has a super modern feel and was very comfortably spaced out between tables. My table had a small view of a clay tennis court outside (gave me the urge to play some tennis).

I was greeted with a glass of wine to start the evening and offered a wine paring to go along with meal – after much consideration, I decided to do the wine pairing. 

The wine pairing was really good – some amazing wines!

The food was…super interesting, but not the yummiest. See pictures below for the creativity of the dishes. The meal was very good and I think the experience was worth it, but the food itself was nowhere near the best food I’ve had. The last dish was amazing. I don’t want to spoil the surprise in case anyone goes to theirs restaurant, but the last dish was super tasty and super COOL.

By the time dinner ended, it was only 9pm (my reservation was for 5:30). 

Activity 4 – Krossbar

Krossbar had been recommended to me as a cool bar with great beers in the bellavista area. To be honest, it was a standard bar with a great beer selection. I also heard that the food was really good, but I definitely didn’t need anymore food.

Activity 5 – Liga Urbana

This bar is on the ‘main strip’ of bars in Bellavista. There were like 10 bars on this one block and many more in the surrounding streets. Admittedly, This bar is a big open air spot with two sections – a front bar area for hanging out and a back bar area for dancing (with two different DJs).

It was a fun spot with people dancing and having a good time. While I saw people of all ages, I think this bar would have been more exciting for me 5-10 years ago. It was cool and unpretentious, but lacked any refinement. Still was a good time though.

Activity 6 – Club Chocolate

I love this place! It was so much fun – great vibes, solid music, and the perfect amount of crowdedness. You know those scenes in movies where you see the characters dancing in a club and everyone has space and yet it is still full – that was this!!! This club also had steps leading up to a second level, but in between the steps there were large levels for people to dance on and overlook the main dance floor. It was a really cool setup.

One point to note, to get a drink, you first have to order and pay for it with one person, you then get a receipt and hand that to a bartender who will then make/get you your drink. Interesting system (I see pros and cons, but that’s for another discussion).

Super fun, but after a long night of dancing, it was time to all it a night and head back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

tl;dr breakfast tour stop with terrible wine, Pablo Neruda’s house, streets of Valparaiso, boat ride with sea lions, Vina Del Mar and lunch, Moai!!, delicious dinner and drinks, and barrio Italia – 8 activities and 19,362 steps

I signed up for a tour to explore Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar to make it easier to see the things and do the things…in retrospect, I could have gone solo and probably explored more of the city.

Activity 1 – Breakfast and Wine Tasting

The tour bus made a pit stop at a winery that also serves breakfast. The food was less than mediocre (eggs and toast), but the wine was…terrible. It was way too sweet and just disappointing. Also, having wine at 8:00am when it still feels like 6am (time difference), was less than ideal.

Activity 2 – Pablo Neruda’s House (La Sebastiana)

Our first real stop was at Pablo Neruda’s house. It was a quaint house decently up the hillside. We only viewed the house from the outside – would have been cool to go inside. Pablo lived on the top two floors as those floors inspired him the most – even from the viewpoint we had (on the ground level), I could see why he wanted that view.

We also stopped by a small park down the block from La Sebastiana where there are three statues (Plaza de las Poetas) – Pablo Neruda, Vicente Huidobro, and Gabriela Mistral.

Activity 3 – Valparaiso 

Valparaiso is a really interesting and exciting city – it is built into the side of a steep hill and has ~30 funiculars to get people up and down. Even with the funiculars, you need strong quads to get you up and down the steep slope.

We explored the city, took a fun slide down (video below), and admired some of the amazing street art.

I had heard that this city is extremely dangerous and you need to be super careful – while I believe there is truth to this – I never felt unsafe, but did remain vigilant (especially as it relates to pickpockets). I also felt that the city had become overly touristy and much of the local grunge had been washed to an extent. Still, it was a really fun experience.

Activity 4 – Boat ride through the Valparaiso harbor

I did not realize this activity was part of the tour. We hopped on a small boat – they made me switch sides to better distribute the weight (apparently I need to lay off the empanadas). We saw container ships and a ship repair station, but the highlight was seeing sea lions hanging around.

Activity 5 – Lunch in Vina Del Mar

This city, super close to Valparaiso, is beach front, nice, and expensive. The food, however, is not great. We ate at a spot right on the beach, which was really nice, but the food was OK (was lacking flavor depth). This city is viewed as Chile’s Miami (not sure how apt the comparison is, but who am I to argue).

Activity 6 – Real Moai from Easter Island

We stopped by a museum that had a Moai hanging out front. This guy was definitely one of the smaller ones, but it was still really cool to see in person. The Moai are human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500.

After this stop, it was back to Santiago.

Activity 7 – Boca Nariz for dinner

Boca Nariz is a wonderful wine bar! I had two dishes (an amazing fried potato dish that takes 25 minutes to prepare and a trout tartare). The trout was pretty good, but the fried potato dish was out of this world. The signature cocktail was really tasty and the wine pairing for the trout was pretty solid as well. I definitely recommend grabbing a bite and drink at Boca Nariz.

Activity 8 – Drinks

After dinner I stopped by Bar Berri for a beer before walking to Barrio Italia for another drink. Barrio Italia is a great spot for food, drinks, and people watching. There were so many options to choose from, but I stopped by two places that were recommended to me: Bar y Vuelvo and The Jazz Corner. Bar y Vuelvo was really crowded (I got the last table), but it was definitely more of a bar to go with friends, hang out, and drink some beer. It had several different rooms and levels with drinking spots throughout.

I reached The Jazz Corner at the worst possible time – right after a band had completed their set and before the new one had even begun to set up. I had heard that The Jazz Corner is an amazing late night spot where you can even spot the President of Chile hanging out. For those wondering, I did not see him, but that’s probably because I was there too early in the evening (he has apparently shown up after 2am). 

I wanted to hang around for a set, but decided that 1 something am was a late enough night, especially with a wine tour tomorrow.

On July 14th, 2017 I quit my job. Three days later, on July 17th, I was on a plane flying to Singapore. One year later (today), I am posting a follow-up entry capturing stats, insights, and lessons learned.

When I embarked on this journey, I had only booked my departure flight into Singapore, lodging for Singapore, and my return flight from Tokyo…everything else would be planned during the trip. I had collected recommendations from friends and had some ideas of the places I wanted to visit, but most of all I wanted to see where this trek would take me.

I often get asked: “What was your favorite place?” As much as I want to answer that question with a one word response, it is just not possible. Each city was amazing in its own right and much of it has to do with my own experiences. It also depends on who YOU are and what YOU are looking to do. I will say that my favorite activities were: Marina Bay Sands Infinity Pool, the Petronas Towers, the Elephant Sanctuary, Angkor Wat, Tuna Auction, and MariCar.

As you have noticed, these posts can get kind of long…there is just so much to share from each activity, that it becomes difficult to limit the number of words.

Stats

# of flights: 13

Total # of miles flown: 23,459

# of airlines: 3 (Delta, AirAsia, and Bangkok Airways)

# of countries: 6 (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Japan)

# of different accommodations: 3 (hostels, hotels, and Airbnb)

Methods of transport: 6 (walking, planes, trains, boats, automobiles, and busses…no scooters though)

Priority Pass Lounges: too many to count

Methods of payment: 6 (Delta miles, SPG points, Barclaycard miles, Thankyou points cash, and credit cards)

# of blog posts: 34

# of total days: 26 (blog posts do not match up as the blog did not officially start until day 3 due to flights)

Insights

A year later and I still am proud of myself for embarking on such a trip.

I often did not book transport/lodging until day of and also sometimes did not know what to do in a given city until I landed.

I met people from all across the world. Americans were not very common throughout SE Asia compared to European, Asian, and Oceanic nationalities. I met people from:  16+ countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Netherlands, Mexico, USA, Italy, France, UK, Spain, and other places). Many of these people were friends for only the day, evening, or specific activity, but each added value to my trip. Some of these friends I am still in touch with, while others I never exchanged contact information with.

The people I met were often extremely nice and engaging. Everyone wanted to connect and meet. Travel stories and advice were free flowing and I often saw people adjust their plans to spend more time with new friends.

Hostels are amazing. The community is great and staying at one is a tremendous way to meet new people and try new things. Stay open to new ideas, sights, and activities. The people you meet might have some great ideas, so give it a shot!

Lessons Learned

Traveling solo can be tough, but is an incredible opportunity that everyone should experience at least once. It can get lonely when you are having another meal alone, but it is also liberating. You are forced to put yourself out there and meet new people.

It is also important to lean on your support network when you need to. I would occasionally text friends from home just to strike up a conversation and have that pseudo face to face contact.

Do not sweat the little things. Trips are bigger than singular events. I am sure that I got ripped off at some point along my trip (once I knew for sure), but I did not let it detract from the overall experience. I dwelled on it for too long, but at the end of the day…it was only $5.

Blogging (at least in my detailed manner) can be quite time consuming. Having a portable keyboard that connected via bluetooth to my iPhone was clutch; it enabled me to blog while eating lunch, enjoying a beer, or flying from one place to another.

Thank You!

This trip was truly an incredible experience. I have a passion for travel and plan to use this blog to continue exploring the world. There are many places that I have already visited and those entries will appear in due time.

If you have any questions/comments feel free to add a comment below or use the contact link to send me a message.

 

 

Brief Recap

On July 17th, 2018 I will post a recap of my trip. In the meantime, this trip was absolutely incredible. I learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of. I met people from all over the world, experienced new cultures, and tried new foods. Each place I visited has a special place in my heart. This trip has only further fueled my desire to travel to new places and experience different cultures.

Thank you to everyone I met along the way for filling my trip with excitement, intrigue, and knowledge. Thank you to my friends and family for supporting me and being there for me (especially a few of you). A special shoutout to my sister for embarking on a similar, yet different trip a few years before, thus setting a great example to follow.

AND THANK YOU FOR READING SKIMMING LOOKING AT THE PICTURES! I started this blog as a way to keep people up-to-date with my trip, but it turned into a journal that at times was as much for me as it was for you.

tl;dr Last day of my trip, one last sushi run, and a flight home – 3 activities

 

Activity 1 – Sushi for Breakfast

I had to get sushi one last time, so I went back to my favorite sushi place (the standing sushi restaurant). I decided to walk all the way there…taking me along a nice park. I devoured the sushi and walked around a bit to take in the last minutes of my trip.

Activity 2 – Haneda Airport

Upon arriving to the Delta counter, I noticed a sign that the flights into the US were oversold and they were looking for volunteers. Me being me decided to see if I could solicit a better offer. They were originally offering $600 in Delta credits to fly home on a flight the next day. They would have put me up in a hotel for the night. After a little back and forth, I said I would be willing to give up my seat for $950 and first class seats back to NY. Initially they said that it was not possible, but eventually agreed. The only caveat was that the passengers needed to arrive to the airport for me to officially give up my seat (the tickets had been bought within the last few hours and the passengers had yet to check-in).

While at the gate, I anxiously watched the monitors and listened to all the announcements to see what my fate would be. Although the extra day would have been nice, I had already checked most boxes and would not really have much extra time in Tokyo – therefore it was mainly about getting the money to fund future travels.

Finally, as zero hour approached and boarding began, I learned that I would not be staying the extra night in Tokyo as all but one of the passengers made it. I was hoping that the passenger that made it was an economy passenger because then I would have been rolled-up to first class, but instead it was the first class passenger that made it, relegating me back into economy.

Activity 3 – Flight Home

The flight home was relatively uneventful. I had a layover in Minneapolis. My flight officially landed in LGA. Right after boarding, I took a selfie and sent it to my family to inform them that I was on my way back. My sister happened to be traveling internationally as well, so she combined our selfies into the image below. We also ‘waved’ to each other mid-flight.

And just like that my travels were complete.