14 Countries. 10 Months. October 2002 - July 2003.

The eighteenth year of my life was awesome. Beyond Insane. I have hundreds of pictures that I need to scan, and trip updates to post. In the meantime, here's a brief overview of my ten months traveling after high school and before MIT:

- October-November: Stopoff in Iceland for a couple days, meeting up with Mugur in Amsterdam for a week. Fly to Katmandu, Nepal. One month trek through the Himalayas, to Everest Base Camp. A week on the lake in Pokhara, kayaking, motorcycling, hiking, and learning the Tibetan thangka art. Visit Buddha's birthplace, head into India.

December-January: Varanasi, the holiest Indian city, Agra (Taj Mahal), Delhi. Long train to Goa. RIDICULOUS parties in Goa, living in semi-crackhouse, nonstop partying for days straight... 11 day silent meditation with loin-cloth man/guru Baba Gosh in the jungle. A week in Palolem, Goa, recovering. Find out my credit card doesn't work and I have no money. God Bless Western Union. Hampi, Bangalore, Kochi. Meet up with Shaun. Down to Kanyukamari, the very Southern tip of India. 5-day trip, mostly on trains, up to Jaipur.

February - whirlwhind tour of Rajasthan with Shaun. Palaces and the glorious remains of the Raj. Jaipur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer. Three-day camel trek through the Great Thar Desert near Jaisalmer with our guide "Desert King" in which we endure a massive hailstorm (amazing). Jaisalmer festival, camel polo, Mr. Moustache competition. Bikaner - rat temple. Gross. Rishikesh - rafting on Ganges, Khajuraho - stunning erotic temples. Shaun goes to England, I head to Calcutta.

March - In Calcutta, alone, I get very ill. Thinking it's *just* dysentery, I fly to Myanmar (Burma) alone. Am the only Westerner to disembark in Burma, as the plane is actually headed to Bangkok. Get even sicker in Burma, have to be flown out to the hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. Spend the rest of the month in hospital/bed, doctors never figured out what I had. Good Times. Upon recovery, I go skydiving off a Royal Thai Airforce Jet.

April- May- June: Travel around Thailand with my friend Steph, whom I lived with in Goa. Island-hopping in the South, beaches, snorkelling, scuba diving. Living in a treehouse in the Khao Sok Rainforest. Motorcycle accidents in Chiang Mai, Chaing Rai, bamboo rafting, jungle trekking. Party party in Bangkok. Travel to Laos - Vietiane, the quiet capital city, beautiful Vang Vieng (caving, trekking, tubing), French influenced Luang Prabang. Steph goes back to Thailand......'Nam, baby. On my own. A crazy week in Hanoi - eating snake, getting drunk on $.35/liter beers, tour of stunning Halong Bay. Rich and I take a wild motorcycle tour of remote Northern Vietnam. Bikes break-down, guides run off with our money, we hitchhike out of the middle of nowhere. See sunset over the Chinese border. More Vietnam - Hue and DMZ. Live in Hoi An for a week - $2/night housing includes room service and a pool. Beer is cheaper than water, scooter for $1/day, gorgeous coastline and beautiful beach. Life is good. Off to Saigon, where we party like rock stars. Shoot machine gun. A week in Cambodia, the chiling capital Phnom Penh and architectural marvel Angkor Wat in Siem Riep. Back to Thailand, where I live in Shaun's house in Sri Racha for a week as he teaches English, and I successfully complete my housewife duties.

July - Australia, land down under. 1 week in Melbourne (wonderful city) with distant relatives. 1 week tour of Outback from Adelaide to Alice Springs, through red deserts, Ayers Rock, and Kings Canyon. Kangaroo is delicious. Fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tallest building in the world. Singapore, the uptight island/city/state/country that is focused solely on wealth. Accidentally leave plane ticket from Kuala Lumpur - Bangkok on plane, and can not get it re-issued. Spend 3 days on trains overland to Bangkok. 36-hour journey from Bangkok - NYC, stopping off in Taiwan, Alaska, Washington DC on the way. Marvel at the miracle of water fountains.

 

A few VERY poorly scanned pictures from India... I think I used a scanner in Delhi for these.