The ABC’s of Travel- Take Two

I did a post with this template over three years ago, and I thought it might be fun to see how this changes every few years. I had Stacey help me out by telling me what each of the letters stood for so my answers wouldn’t be swayed by previous answers. Here are my answers to 26 prompts about my favorites from each category!

AGE you went on your first international trip

» I technically went to Canada at age 11, but I really count my trip to France at 15 as my first international trip. It was my first time experiencing a culture that felt different from mine, especially at the time.

Best foreign BEER you’ve ever tasted

» My favorite foreign beer is Chang Beer from Thailand. I loved a lot of the beers I tried in Southeast Asia, but Chang is my favorite not only because it tasted good, but the good memories that go along with the times I drank it as well.

Favorite CUISINE

» Italian, Italian, Italian! When I think about the countries I’ve visited Italy is the only one that I ate that country’s food for every single meal! Pizza, pasta, cheese and gelato… What more could a girl want?!

Most and least favorite DESTINATIONS

» I had to break ‘Most Favorite’ down into four categories. My favorite Natural Destinations: the Moab-area of Utah & Olympic National Park in Washington. My favorite cities are Chicago, IL & New York City, New York. My favorite spot for culture / lifestyle is Luang Prabang, Laos. My favorite spots for serious history lessons are Florence, Italy and the Peloponnese of Greece.

» My least favorite destination is Vientiane, Laos. It wasn’t even that I hated it, it was just not a place I would want to revisit nor would I recommend someone go out of their way to visit.

EVENT you experienced that made you say “Wow!”

I have had several WOW moments, so this one is hard to pick! Views from hikes, seeing grizzly bears in the wild, going to a Buddhist service in Phnom Penh and abseiling down waterfalls in Vietnam have all made me say wow! This is a seriously tough call!

FAVORITE mode of transportation

» My favorite is and always will be CAR! I cannot pass up a road trip! Whether it’s a 3-hour or 30-day road trip I’m in!

GREATEST feeling while traveling

» I think the greatest feeling I have had while traveling is anytime I overcome an obstacle. Nothing boosts your confidence or educates you like facing a fear, ordering your food in a foreign language or playing with leopards!

HOTTEST place you’ve traveled

» Hanoi, Vietnam. Not only was it really hot, but it was also oppressively humid! I don’t think that I’ve ever sweat so much in my life!

INCREDIBLE service you’ve received & where?

» The best service I’ve ever received was playing tourist in my own town of Asheville, North Carolina. My fiancé and I went to the Grove Park Inn to eat dinner on the sunset terrace for a celebration and our service was phenomenal!

JOURNEY that took the longest

» The longest trip I’ve ever taken is my 101-day adventure in Southeast Asia, but as far as getting from one place to another, my drive from Missouri to Alaska was the longest!

KEEPSAKE from your travels

» I love to buy things for my home, and not just kitschy little trinkets, but legitimate decorations or things I can make into decorations. I also like to pick up jewelry from places I travel.

LETDOWN site; where & why?

» Halong Bay in Vietnam. From photos I had seen online I was expecting these stunningly, mystical rocks sitting in jade-colored water with fog surrounding them. Instead, I just saw rocks, though pretty, they were sitting in dirty green-ish-brown water.

MOMENT that you fell in love with travel

» I was 8-years-old and my family took a road trip to the American Southwest. We went to the Grand Canyon and to Zion National Park and I was hooked from that moment on!

NICEST hotel you’ve stayed in

» The Indraprastha Homestay in Ubud, Bali. It’s not that this was some five-star resort or a luxury suite, but it was incredibly cozy, simple & pretty room with a dreamy, lush courtyard, and we had breakfast & coffee delivered to my patio every morning. Oh, and it was only $19 per night!

What are you OBSESSED with taking photos of?

» As a lover of photography I LOVE to take photos of everything, but my top three categories are probably landscapes, portraits & culture.

How many PASSPORT stamps & from where?

» I have 31 stamps in my current passport from The U.S., Sweden, Mexico, Peru, Germany, Liechtenstein, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines and Vietnam.

QUIRKIEST attraction you’ve ever visited & where?

» The quirkiest attraction I’ve ever visited is The Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake, Canada. This beautiful little site was started in 1942 by a homesick man who was working on building the AlCan Highway and has grown into this! So quirky and so fun!

RECOMMENDED site, event or experience

» Volunteering at Safari Park Zoo near Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Stacey first found this park, and it was totally her thing for the trip, but I completely fell in love with the animals, the people and the park itself. It is work, but it is so rewarding! I loved my time here and I greatly look forward to going back with Matt so he can experience this amazing place!

SPLURGE Something you have no problem spending money on while traveling

» An amazing experience! I will shop around and try to find a good deal, but nothing can replace those experiences like visiting top sites, taking treks through rice terraces, volunteering at a zoo, swimming with whale sharks and even more!

Most TOURISTY thing you’ve ever done

» Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. I have been to quite a few touristy things, but this always feels like it’s the one that should take the cake.

UNFORGETTABLE travel memory

» This is hands-down swimming with whale sharks in Oslob, Philippines. It was one of those experiences that makes your heart race, makes you smile and makes you realize what a small part of this world you actually know and understand.

How many VISAS & from where?

» I have 4 visas from Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Best glass of WINE & from where?

» I’m not a huge wine drinker, so I typically like sweeter wines. The best wine I’ve ever had is still the glass of blueberry dessert wine I had in Paris…. At least, from what I can remember.

EXCELLENT views & from where?

» I have a top three for this one, I just can’t decide between the three because they’re each so beautiful and so different: the top of Devil’s Courthouse in North Carolina, the top of Mount Phu Si in Luang Prabang and the view from the Duomo in Florence.

YEARS spent traveling

» 21 years! My parents took us all on a family trip to Florida when I was 4-years-old. I started actively asking to travel at the age of 15. We took a multitude of family trips in the years between, but at 15 I asked my parents if I could go to France with my high school French Club.

ZEALOUS sports fans & from where?

» I honestly haven’t been to an outrageous amount of sporting events, so this would still have to be the New Orleans Saints fans. They were especially zealous  because they were on a winning streak and it was also the year they won the Super Bowl for the first time! They were a lot of fun, though, offering me drinks from flasks and giving me a hard time, but never in an over-the-top way!

There are my ABC’s of Travel! If you’d like to do a fun little list

/ post out of your ABC’s make it and leave a comment with a

link back to it! I’d love to see what yours are! Cheers!

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