It is hard to believe that our three month adventure has come to an end; but it lived up to all our expectations and exceeded them! We had a great time abroad in Southeast Asia and Japan; and really appreciated this opportunity to explore these parts of the world and better understand their cultures. A big thank you to everyone that helped give us this opportunity, supported our decision and followed our blog along the trip!
Now that we're back, probably the most common question, we get asked is "Which country did you like the most?" To be honest, this is the most difficult question to answer! Each country and its people were so unique that it is hard to choose just one place. The Lao people were so laid back; Singapore was very clean; Malaysia was super easy to travel in and had many modern conveniences at cheap prices; Northern Thailand was friendly and had some nice places in the mountains; Vietnam had beautiful scenery; and Japan was so modern and efficient that it was amazing to think so many people lived in such a populated area, even when the big city emulates the sound of a country town. But if we had to pick just one.....the winner of Southeast Asia would be Vietnam! Overall the nicest to travel in -- the people were friendly, the prices were inexpensive, and there were so many great places to see there without too much hassle in transportation. However, Japan would also come in at the top for its great transportation system, the VERY friendly and polite people and the cleanliness in both noise and air.
We flew from Narita to San Francisco and had one day there before catching our flight back to Omaha. We ended up renting a car and heading out to Napa Valley for some wine as a final celebration to our trip. However, I kind of felt like our backpacking attire didn't quite fit the vibe of this posh region....ha ha!
And of course, a few of the San Francisco highlights - Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard Street...
As we sat waiting for our rental car we could immediately tell we were back in America though - everything was just bigger, louder and more commercialized. The reverse culture shock was Real!
However, we were happy that we were able to make it back in time to spend Easter with Kristin's extended family. But as of Monday, we will both be back in the full swing of things -- I go back to work and Alex starts job searching.
We are so blessed that God gave us this opportunity to see His creation and we are eternally grateful for this experience! Thanks again to everyone who traveled with us in spirit! Until next time.... Sayounara (Japanese)! Tam Biet (Vietnamese)! Selamat (Malay)! Saukdee (Lao)! Sawatdee (Thai)!
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