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Would I do it Again? … Part 1
July 28th, 2010

Over my years of travel, from pseudo backing in Australia & New Zealand to posh hotels in Paris, I’ve had some incredibly intriguing, thought-provoking and just plain fun experiences. While I could easily list 100 reasons to get out there and see the world, I thought sharing some of these might provide a better example of what you can encounter – from the ridiculous to the awe-inspiring.

These certainly aren’t the only fantastic activities I’ve done, just some of the most memorable. The list also serves as a reminder  when I get stressed out about the soaring prices, delayed/changed/cancelled flights, rising exchange rates and more, that without dealing with all of that, I would not have memories like these.

1. DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) in Korea. For those not familiar, this is the region between North and South Korea that served as a “safe zone”. However, in 1975 it was discovered that tunnels were being dug for a surprise attach on Seoul. So far four tunnels have been discovered, as recently as 1990, and it’s expected that more remain hidden. This is one of those experiences that is simultaneously eery and amazing. Knowing the battles that were fought and the purpose of these tunnels sends a chill up your spine. Getting to explore the actual tunnels (albeit on a Disney World-type ride) and learning the history is fascinating. “X”s are still visible on the walls where explosives lie behind.

2. Ranch stay and bucket sheep in Australia. If you haven’t guessed, this was during that pseudo backpacking period. I participated in a hop-on-hop-off type of bus trip from Sydney to Cairns, and on one stop we stayed at a ranch. We slept in the converted animal stalls (in bunks, not the stalls themselves) and participated in an activity known as bucket sheep – a giant barrel tied to the ceiling by rope and covered with a blanket to look like a sheep; people pull on each of the rope, and you hold on for dear life as you bounce around until you finally can’t and fall onto the mats below (you end up more sore than you’d think). This falls into that ridiculous but just plain fun category. The ranch stay itself was a learning experience – it was a working ranch and meals came straight from the owners’ oven.

3.  Swimming with sharks and rays in Bora Bora. By swimming with, I mean the sharks were a few feet away and I could touch the rays. This wasn’t in an aquatic park type setting, it was in the actual water surrounding Bora Bora.

4. Taking a shower in Victoria Falls. This wasn’t intentional. We were told that there may be “a little bit of mist” from the falls. It was a bit closer to a downpour. Still, looking out over the expanse of Victoria falls with the “mist” splashing around you until you have to run for cover, is an incredible experience. It was even worth the camera that was sacrificed to water overexposure.

4.  A stare down with an elephant in Botswana. Our open air jeep was headed one way on the dirt track, a gigantic male elephant was headed the other. He continued steadily in  our path until his ear actually brushed our jeep. We could have reached out and touched him (we knew better). The picture below is using no zoom.

5. Getting speeding ticket in Croatia by a cop on foot. Never has a speeding ticket been so funny, or really even remotely funny. The cop stood on the side of the road, and walked out in front of our car with a hand written sign that said stop. We couldn’t contain our laughter, which I suspect upped the fine. Regardless, the drive down the Slovenian and Croatian coasts was worth the ticket. Though we probably would have gotten a better look if we hadn’t been speeding.

So, given the sore muscles, broken electronics, speeding fines and reminders of historical tragedy, would I do it all again? In a heartbeat.