Travel Meme

Well, my friend Jen tagged me to do this travel meme and I figured, why not!? I love talking about traveling, so doesn't take much to get me going... Enjoy.
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• The A to Z Travel Meme was created by Julie Fox.  You can find the original post here.

A: Age you started travelling?

Well, my first real trip was at 13 years of age, my family went to Kotzebue, AK for 3 weeks. Then at 14, we began traveling the Western side of the USA several months of the year. But my own personal travels began when I was 19, when I went to Arctic Canada for a winter.

B: Best beer you’ve had and where?

I don't drink. How about best baked good or something.... well, that would be too hard to choose, so let's just skip it.

C: Cuisine (favourite)

ooh... I'd have to say right now, it's Greek or Mediterranean- love me some kebabs, or donairs, or whatever else you want to call them.

D: Destinations, favourite, least favourite and why

Choosing a favorite destination is like choosing a favorite star in the sky, nigh unto impossible... a few of my favorites- countries would be Mongolia (cause its one of the first places I lived internationally, love the wilderness and barren land and the amazing people) and Lithuania (cause of the rich history, unique language, friends I've made and they love basketball) :) Cities would be Kashgar (such an interesting blend of modern and ancient all in one location) and Vancouver, BC (it has mountains and ocean all together, what more could you want?)

Least favorite? I don't like to say I don't like a place cause there is always something about everywhere that is unique and interesting. Guess I would have to say Beijing and parts of India, though I would go back to both places.

E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”

A completely black night with no manmade lights in sight, where the world becomes an ocean of starlight, complete with billions upon billions of tiny stars stretching from horizon to horizon. Unreal. So close that you can almost reach out and grab one!

And then walking on the Great Wall of China (past the restored area) on a semi clear day, when you can see the far distant hills dotted with watchtowers and know that where you are standing, others have walked- a couple thousand years ago!

F: Favourite mode of transportation

Sometimes plane, sometimes car. Depends on where I'm going and what I'm doing.

G: Greatest feeling while travelling

Stepping onto an airplane, knowing you are headed thousands miles away, to an strange and unknown place, where you discover culture, places, history and make remarkable memories. 

H: Hottest place

Fiji Islands - HOT and HUMID! this Alaskan girl didn't think she would survive!

I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where

Flying on Emirates Air from Dubai to Seattle. Long flight, but the flight crew was great. I think I spent half my time in the back galley with the flight attendants. Even got cheesecake from first class. Also, Sri Lanka Airlines had great service. On both though, I think I got preferential treatment cause I was friendly... haha always make friends with the flight attendants!

J: Journey that took the longest

I've been on several long ones.... when you come from Alaska, you can just tag on about 5-7 hours more than if you were flying directly from the Lower 48. Probably my longest has been about 40 years to Mongolia. Though if you count the time I was stranded in Beijing for 2 days because of a missed flight, then that would be the longest, at about 3 days.

K: Keepsake from your travels

Memories. I have other things I've bought over the years, but memories are precious and can never be taken away. :)

L: Let-down sight, why and where

Taj Mahal, Agra, India - well, it was supposed to be a 9 hour train ride from where I was staying, turned out to be 19 hours on a train. By the time we got to town, it was too late to go, so we went the next morning, but it was closed (always closed on Fridays). So we went to the park across the river where you could see the backside of the Taj, but it was so incredibly polluted. Pictures were a disappointment.

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel

wow, hard to pinpoint a time. Maybe the first winter I spent in Mongolia... we went to Beijing for a week and there was so much to see and do. I had always known there are amazing places around the world, but I actually got to see some in person and not just in someone else's picture. Walking on the Great Wall, I knew I wanted to see other amazing things, both natural and manmade, in other countries.

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in

Radisson Hotel in Kaunas, Lithuania. I don't stay in hotels very often overseas, but that trip was part of group travel/event, so accommodations were chosen for us. Very nice place!

O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while travelling?

mountains, clouds, basically nature. But people too. Anything that I want to remember. :) 

P: Passport stamps, how many and from where?

Uh, dunno. I almost filled one passport and just got a new one a couple years ago, with 52 pages instead of 24. Not everyone stamped my passport and some countries I've been to more than once. Currently, I've been to 18 countries and 43 states. 

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where

Maybe the three Buddhist temples in UB, Mongolia. I'd say there were more on the creepy side, than simply quirky.

R: Recommended sight, event or experience

Great Wall of China, Broadway show, eating authentic ethnic food

S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while travelling

mmm hard to say, I like eating the ethnic food, so am willing to pay for that. If it's a really great historical place, I don't mind paying to go inside. Other than that, I'm pretty tight with my money.

T: Touristy thing you’ve done

uh, stop to take pictures of moose on the side of the road in Alaska. haha I had friends visiting and they wanted to stop and take pictures. I wanted to keep on driving.

U: Unforgettable travel memory

Too many to recount. Ask me in person sometime and I'll choose one.

V: Visas, how many and for where?

I love traveling to countries where I don't require a visa as a US citizen. I think I've applied for 3 different Chinese visas and 2 Indian visas over the years. The rest I've been able to get when I arrived in country.

W: Wine, best glass of wine while travelling and where?

Again, I don't drink alcholic beverages... but if we are talking wine, as in fruit juice, it would definitely be freshly squeezed pomegranate juice on the street in Kashgar. So strong, sour and powerful! It was only a small glass full, but it was enough. And after we drank, we watched as they took our glasses back, set them back on the table and promptly refilled them for the next customer.... guess a little germs don't hurt? ;)

X: eXcellent view and from where?

So many amazing views! Sunrises and sunsets on the barren rolling hills of Outer Mongolia, the coast of Iceland... but one of the most spectacular was driving through the Canadian Arctic in the peak of Autumn. The mountains were ablaze in color and it went on for miles and miles. Then driving home 2 weeks later, I watched as the sun set on my right hand, casting it's last light on the mountains, coloring the freshly snow-covered peaks with golds, oranges and pinks. Indescribable.

Y: Years spent travelling?

Going on 11 years, though I didn't go out of the country every year during the past decade.

Z: Zealous sports fans and where?

Don't think I've been to a real sporting event outside the country. NHL Blackhawks game was pretty cool, but the next hockey game will be better! When I was in Lithuania walking around town, there was a street 3x3 basketball tournament going on; that was pretty cool. Everyone there loves basketball and I watched a couple really good games.