Final Statistics (still in manila)

last post of the trip, here are the final statistics:

15 seperate flights (including the ones back home)

12 ferry/boat trips

12 intercity buses (including the one from seattle to surrey)

1 intercity train

7 different modes of public transportation (different either in operation or design or both)

I have broken laws in atleast 4 of the countries i visited

swam in 3 oceans

walked on 3 continents

got stamps for 9 countries (only really visted 7)

handled 8 currencies (not including american or canadian)

took 1 malaria pill; used 0 bug spray; slept under a net less than a dozen times

started 6 books (bought or traded for 5 of those)(not including journal or travel books)(i also bought one more book that i haven't started yet)

finished 6 books

 -the biggest and the best-

2 of the worlds largest rivers (source of the nile and mouth of the amazon)

worlds largest water falls

worlds highest output hydro electric dam

summited the worlds tallest freestanding mountain, worlds tallest volcano, and africa's highest peak

worlds tallest building (not yet completed)

worlds biggest and first indoor ski slope

worlds biggest artificial islands

worlds classiest hotel (self acclaimed and uncontested 7 stars)

 -awards-

biggest billboards: manila, philipines

nicest colour of water: nungwi, island of zanzibar, tanzania

funnest place: ihla do mel, brazil

cheapest: philipines

biggest jaw dropper: iguacu falls, argentina (worlds largest water falls)

most luxurious airline: air emerites

sketchiest place i stayed: breves, brazil

most harassed by touts and street venders: tanzania

favorite foods: borscht in paraguay, empinada's in brazil, shawarma's in dubai, pastries in manila

most hecktick public transportation: kampala, uganda

hottest: i think its a tie between most places i went

least hot: dubai

-highlights-

seeing my friend bri and her new husband, my cousins wedding, steve and debs and the family, mt. kilimanjaro (with acompanying monkeys), sleeping in a hammock on the amazon river, eating a mango while watching the sunrise, ihla do mel in general, snorkeling off of zanzibar

-lowlights-

having my shirt ripped by two guys who tried to mug me at knifepoint, not getting to see my family in the amazon, not being able to go through kenya, mass polution in dubai/manila, not seeing nell in the philipines.

back in manila, philipines

i took a trip up north, mainly to san juan. stayed in yet another place on yet another beach. don't kill me but this beach front living is kinda getting boring. its a good thing i'm not rich, i'ld get so bored. food in my budget range is exceptionally good. especially when you have a different course at a different street vender for a meal. anyway, i'll wait out the rest of my trip in manila, i think there are plenty of good day trips around. i'll post once more with final statistics of the trip before i fly back on the 28th.

M

Manila, Philipines

man, last country of the trip. my passport will not come out again until i head home. there are a ton of stamps in there. well my last day in dubai i went to the shore right by the palm diera (one of the set of fake islands) and they were building super close so i got to see it. then i went to the top of the adjacent hotel (of which i was not staying) and got to take pictures of this island from 21 stories up.

i was in the mall of the emerites (the behemoth mall with fake ski hill attached) and i saw advertised this tower of appartments and get this: if you buy any one appartment (penthouse was 41m dirham) then you get a free car (bently or bmw) and you are entered in a draw where the grand prize is a private jet and the mega grand prize is a private island! that is some seriously high living. the dubai airport is the most commercialized airport i have ever seen and it is huge! our gate was switched from gate 9 to gate 45 and it took so long to walk all that way, nelly.

manila is thus far pretty cool. cheap. the shared taxi here is called a jeepney and they look super funny. jeep front then really long back with benches. of course, wildly decorated.

M

Dubai, UAE

the article about the uae customs inspections were most certainly not even close to my experience. they didn't even make me fill out a decleration card let alone search me. they asked me if i had commercial goods but that was only after i approached them cuz i wanted to be thorough. so i'm here in dubai safe and sound and unhurassed. i saw a bunch of the cool stuff i wanted to see today and tomorrow i will hopefully see the rest. the air quality here is terrible and its actually a little cold at night and they have a whole market dedicated to gold. every kind of jewelery made out of just gold gold and more gold. i've never seen so much gold in all my life.

my research and diversity of sources has led me to ask the origin of the word "infidel". i have spoken to muslims in canada, tanzania, and the UAE and none of them have professed to have even heard of the term. i always thought it came from islam but this is becoming increasingly suspect. i thought at the very least it was arabic but again i'm finding just the opposite. where did it come from?

thats all for now.

M

nungwi, island of zanzibar, tanzania

ah tropical beaches again, white sand, turquoise water, grass roof huts. its hot and the water is nice. wish you all were here. this is pretty much the middle of nowhere. though i must say, i enjoyed brazil more than africa. i'm starting to think that i might just finish this book before i get home. OH, i was looking at the bbc news the other day and they had a story about the UAE and how theres a mandatory 4 year jail sentence for any trace of contriband. a british guy is getting 4 years for having a piece (0.003g) of cannabis stuck to his shoe. this list of contriband is extensive so i threw out the rest of my altitude medication (i won't need it anyway) and i'm not sure about my malaria pills. i think they would let it pass because theres no drug in it but you never know. i may mail them home or throw them out. check out the story at www.bbc.co.uk then find news for the middle east. see you all in 18 days (or 4 years if i'm unlucky)

M

ps. mom, i'm just kidding. i'll be home in 18 days for sure.