I’ve had fond memories of my Deutsch familie for as long as I can remember. My sister and I would anxiously open our Christmas care package from Germany, brimming with Kinder chocolates, Haribo gummies, glittery stickers, and lebkuchen. Back then, I reveled in my own, personal chocolate/hazelnut renaissance, while it was still the dark ages of Nutella for most Americans (muahahah!). I savored those treats over bittersweet stories from my expat Oma, about what it meant to be a kid growing up in WWII Germany.

Seeking my own perspective on the homeland, we ventured to Eddersheim for a few days to connect with my great aunts, uncles, and cousins for an authentic taste of my heritage. Having family overseas is the best. We were greeted with the biggest smiles, warmest hugs, and lots, and lots of cake (afternoon tea/cookies/tarts is kind of a big deal here). The gratis personal guide through Frankfurt, along the Rhine, and to the old house my ‘greats’ grew up in was pretty nifty, too.

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Highlights for me: touring Medieval Burg Rheinstein (the castle), catching a glimpse of the fabled Lorelei (the siren), bratwurst and potatoes in Frankfurt, and seeing the old home (the crooked house) where Oma grew up. It went by in a blink, and I’ve sworn to return for a longer stay, partly in response to shameful looks given by my great uncle Hermann, and partly because there’s just too darn much to cram in three days from this rich country. Saved for next time >>> Bavaria, the Black Forest, and more of the Rhineland!

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When planning for our longest trip to date, Shannon and I boldly decided we’d each only take one carry on bag and one backpack.  Just before departing last October, we gave some insight on what would be in those bags (check out the original post here). That was all great in theory, and mostly in practice, but I think it’s time for an update on how it all worked out for us. 6 months, 17 countries, and at least a dozen climates later; here’s the breakdown on What We’re Thankful We Took, What We Could Have Done Without, and What We Should Have Brought.

Michael’s Carry On

What I’m Thankful I Took

• Roller Luggage – Every “real backpacker” out there may stick up their nose at this, but as they’re spending hundreds on chiropractors, I’ll be laughing in comfort.  I can’t tell you how many times I saw someone carrying a giant pack on their back as I wheeled right by.  Now, I will say that we saw several people with luggage the size of a VW; that I don’t get either.  In six months, there were only a handful of times that I really needed to pick everything up off the ground. I really encourage a debate on this, ‘cuz I just don’t get the opposition. Our High Sierra luggage is the best and we’ll put it up to yours any day.
• Layers – Shannon may disagree with me on this, but I really am glad I did NOT bring a heavier coat.  Sure, I froze my ass off in the Swiss Alps for a few days, but I’d rather do that than carry around a giant jacket that only got used 5% of the time.  If I wanted to, I could wear an undershirt, t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, and coat all at once.  It worked out just fine, and made sense for the variety of weather and seasons we saw.
• Flexible Tripod – Aside from clothes and a camera, I need my tripod. My tiny, flexible one at that.  This thing barely takes up any space, is very strong (even for our dSLR), and provides me with the only real proof that Shannon and I actually went on this trip together.
• Reusable Zip Ties – (the ones that can zip and unzip)  Small and easily forgettable, these suckers come in handy!  I use these all the time to lock up zippers on our luggage and backpacks.  Whenever we’re in a crowded area, it can be a real pain to fumble around with a lock and key, so I zip tie our things to safety!

What I Could Have Done Without

• Power (Voltage) Transformer – Not the outlet converters (prongs) – those are a must.  No, I mean the voltage converter.  In the U.S. our electricity commonly runs on 120V, but in many other countries it’s 220V.  Thus, your electronics could explode if you plug them into the wrong outlet.  Well, I should I realized this before we left, but every electronic we brought had a transformer built in (i.e. that big block in the middle of your laptop cord), so having an external one is useless.  Make sure to check your power cords before you leave; if it says something like “Input: 100 – 240V,” you should be good to go.
• Too Many Umbrellas – We brought along one small, cheap umbrella and one slightly larger, not-as-cheap umbrella.  Well, the cheap one barely got any use; it would virtually crumble whenever it was hard enough to rain, and turns out the other one was good enough for both of us.

What I Should Have Brought

• More socks – 8 pairs sounded like enough, but I guess not.  With all the walking we were doing, I burned holes through my socks like nobody’s business!  I had to buy additional pairs in China and Lisbon.
• Small Knit Gloves – I brought heavier, leather gloves, but those small knit ones – the ones that cost like $2 – those would have been good.  In fact they were, after I broke down and spent three times as much on them in France.  More often than not, I needed something lighter than leather, and heavier than nothing.
• Camera Remote – As we were packing, I realized our camera remote was missing.  I should have run out and spent the $15 – $20 to buy a new one, but nooooooo.  I thought to myself, “We’ll just use the built-in timer, that’s just as good.”  WRONG!

Shannon’s Carry On

What I’m Thankful I Took

• Boots – I’ve had a love/hate relationship with my black riding boots. As with the coat, these were essential once we got to Paris and I wore them every, single day, unless we were hiking in which case I opted for sneakers. Until then, though, they were an absolute nuisance. If I had shorter boots in more of a combat style (that I didn’t mind destroying) that would have been ideal. I couldn’t have imagined not having the boots in the cool weather; from snow to rain, mud, and city streets, they were great.
• My bulky, winter coat – As you may have noted, Michael knocks the heavy coat. Sure, I had to lug that sucker around for 2 months in sticky, sweaty SE Asia, but when I got to Europe I was very happy to have my thick, outer layer.
• Ear Plugs – From street noise at 2 am to screaming babies on airplanes, on several occasions I thanked my lucky stars for being able to dull the chatter.
• Flashlights – Nothing huge, just small, LED flashlights we bought at the dollar store. I can’t tell you how many times we needed them.  Whether it was for a power outage, walking home on a dark road, or who knows what, we were happy to have this one hand!

What I Could Have Done Without

• A few tees – We planned to pick up some things in Thailand, so I brought along some shirts I thought I could replace once we got there. I should have known I wouldn’t throw anything away. Come to think of it, I should have stuck with one sweater as well. I wound up finding this chunky, cable knit sweater in Switzerland for 5 CHF, but it was tough to squeeze in the luggage with the smaller ones I brought.
• Makeup & Jewelry – I’m a pretty simple girl, and people that know me would agree I’m not one for many frills and getting all gussied up for everyday stuff. I didn’t bring much, but enough that I could have saved some room in my toiletry bag. For jewelry, I wore my basic earrings, necklace, and stand-in wedding ring (left the engagement ring and band at home!), but took a few extra pieces along to switch it up. Next time, I’ll skip any extras and leave room to pick up some of those things while traveling! A pair of pearl earrings from Thailand or coral bracelet from Venice would have made a great souvenir.

What I Should Have Brought

• Sweatpants – I probably would have replaced my dark pair of jeans with those… even though that would have seriously cut down on my daytime ‘looks’ (i.e. I would look exactly the same in every European photo), but I would have been a zillion times more comfortable when we were indoors. From Paris on, I froze my butt off in poorly insulated apartments. I really wished I had something warm to lounge around in.
• A smaller computer – Not only was it dead weight 30% of the trip, you know… because it died on us… but we had a bia of a time with its size. From the packing/unpacking at airport security, to trying to use it on a French, bistro table, to having to simply lug its bodacious self around for miles on end, it was a pain.
• Extra ziplocks – Because you can never have too many and they ALWAYS come in handy.
• Cold and Flu Medicine – If my future self could travel back to communicate with me pre-six-months-of-travel self, I would have said, “Pack some meds, because you’ll have a hell of a time trying to tell the Chinese pharmacist all the pollution gave you a head cold.” We got sick on a few occasions where we needed something to help get us back on our feet. Broken French or German, pictograms, and charades usually get the job done, but not without serious effort.

…And that’s what we thought about fitting our lives into less than 3ft³.

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“Look there! Okay everyone… get ready!” the captain commanded over the rumble of the motor. We turned our attention west as the boat kicked into high gear. In the distance, I caught a glimpse of it. Water swished and swirled as the black crest emerged and maneuvered at the surface. “Let’s go! To the left side of the boat!” Scrambling for fins and snorkel masks, we hastily geared up and positioned ourselves port side among the other three passengers. After a morning of false alarms and unfulfilled anticipation, the pressure for this one was building.

It was our second trip out in pursuit of the ever-evasive butanding, or whale shark. On the first search off Donsol’s shore just days prior, Michael had seen one at close range, from massive head to swaying tail. Aware our quest came at the very beginning of the season, we were lucky just to get a glimpse of a few active dorsal fins near the boat. Still, I was keen for my own encounter with the biggest fish in the sea.

The last few seconds above water were a blur. Over my shoulder, shouts from the crew urged us to move quickly. “Now! Go!” I secured on my mask, took a deep breath, and plunged over the edge. The water was murky with plankton and I focused my eyes to see through the haze. Not more than a few yards away, little, white dots were fast approaching and growing in size. I knew those spots. Whale shark skin! Google image searches, YouTube videos, and the mandatory ‘before your interaction’ video at the tourism center prepared me for what I would see, but not how I would feel in the company of that which I sought. I was stunned but intrigued, and somehow resisted an urge to reach out and touch the shark to make sure it was real (I like to play by the rules… we’re told we can look, but not touch). I held my position, taking in the sight of the giant that passed beneath me. Then, realizing that very soon it would be gone, I kicked my feet as fast as they would propel me. Must. Not. Lose. Sight. Steadfast, I followed the shark for a few seconds before it took off into the abyss. “Farewell, fishy,” I thought.

The whole thing couldn’t have lasted more than 60 seconds, but that moment overflowed with intensity. My senses were buzzing. I felt electric on an adrenaline kick, and yet so vulnerable, just feet from the massive creature, which I estimate to have been between 20 and 25 feet long. The big blue ocean is a thing of wonder, but for some, a source of fear as well. Perhaps it has something to do with all the unknown. To be there, to have that experience, to feel the adventure… Jumping into the deep with little visibility, and hoping to find a huge shark is not part of my general repertoire. But what’s life without a little risk and pumping up the heart rate?

Back on the boat, my grin spread from ear to ear. I shook my head to indicate that yes, I had seen the butanding. The captain nodded back in approval. Michael squeezed my hand and we spent the next 45 minutes on the boat enjoying the warmth of the sun and salty breeze. There were no other sightings in our remaining time on the water that morning, but I was okay with that. My experience in Donsol was complete; I’d be going home with a spectacular memory of the day I swam with a whale shark.

Some things to know about searching for whale sharks in Donsol…

• The excursion is about 3 hours long, 85% of which is primarily comprised of what I like to call hurry up and wait, because that’s just what you do. Sadly, many times a whale shark is spotted, it will dive too deep before you have a chance to get to to it (hence, all the aforementioned false alarms). But what can you do? Just cross your fingers and hope you see one!
• There are a few guys on the boat that make up the crew, along with a captain (or BIO = buntanding interaction officer). The boat itself is quite simple, but serves its purpose well. There is covered area just large enough room for the max 6 passengers, and a nice open spot in the front where everyone gathers before the scramble to jump in.
• There is no equipment, per se, for ‘spotting’ whale sharks; at least not in our experience. The crew look toward the horizon in all directions searching for signs of activity. I guess when you live here and have been doing this for a while, your sight is as good a tool as any.
• Guarantees are not made that you will see a whale shark. It’s helpful to go in the height of the season, which has varied slightly over the last few years with warming trends, but tends to be toward the beginning of the year. Even the locals will tell you that it’s never a sure thing, and to see one is very lucky!
• Seeing a whale shark first hand is truly amazing. Highly recommended!!!

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The ride down the Li River in China is truly an amazing site.  The most popular stretch of the river is from the metropolitan Guilin to backpacker friendly Yangshuo, with the most extraordinary bits of scenery being between Yangdi and Xingping.  There are a few larger boats that tourists can enjoy the splendor on, or you can hire a private “bamboo” boat to slowly move you (and possibly your sweetheart) through the feats of nature.

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If you’re planning ahead, you’ll probably only find two tour options; one ferry-like boat that holds approx 60 passengers, and one that holds approx 40 passengers.  These will run you about 350¥ – 450¥ per person ($60 -$75), and consist of a ferry boat and bus transfer.  Like most tours we found in China, it’s not the price, but the tour itself that we didn’t like.  The traditional way to get down the river is by bamboo raft.  I’m sure you noticed the quote marks I put around bamboo above.  Well… that’s because today the boats are actually made of PVC, then painted to look like bamboo, and are always referred to as such. For whatever reason I refuse to not use quotes (or air quotes).  Anyway, Shannon and I wanted to take the small raft, and I would certainly recommend it.

We found it extremely difficult to figure out how to do this.  In Guilin you’ll only find the ferry boat options, and all the articles we found online were years old and really not helpful.  We read that you simply can’t take a raft down, or that it’s possible but illegal. One writer even mentioned having to pay the “Chinese mafia” for passage.  The whole thing was a bit of a process, but actually quite simple if you eliminate the guess work.  Ta Da!  It’s guess work elimination time!  The trip takes a full day, so make sure you have the time. Starting in Guilin, boating from Yangdi to Xingping, spending some time in Yangshuo, and then back to Guilin:

1. Take a taxi or local bus to the Yangdi port  – Starting in Guilin, we took a taxi for 160¥ flat rate (the driver started at 300¥, but we’re negotiating masters).  The bus is much cheaper, maybe 10¥ – 15¥/person, but took a lot longer, and we just weren’t up for it.
2. Get a “bamboo” boat at the port – You can get a ticket from the tourist office for 216¥/person, or there are a number of locals trying to buy it for you. Locals are entitled to a massive discount on the tickets, so they’ll buy the same ticket, resell it to you, and pocket a profit.  This involves trusting that your new friend won’t just run off with your money.  Since I’m not that trusting, I only gave her half upfront, and the rest when she came back with the tickets.  I don’t know how much she paid, but after a TON of haggling, we ended up spending 300¥ for the two of us.
3. Get on your personal raft and enjoy! – It’s a 1.5 to 2 hour journey to Xingping.  I think the first half has the best views, so be ready!
4. Get off the raft in Xingping – At the dock is where you’ll find the stunning view illustrated on the back of the 20¥ note, so make sure to bring one along for reference.
5. Get on a bus in Xingping – Xingping is a great little village, but there’s not a ton there.  You can take a taxi to the bus station for 15¥, or walk for 40 minutes.  It’s a little confusing where the bus station is.  If I had to do it again, I’d probably take the taxi.
6. Get off the bus in Yangshuo – The bus costs 7¥/person and takes another 45 minutes.
7. Explore Yangshou – I have to say, I thought Yangshuo was going to be a bit more… quaint? Guides say this is a backpacker haven. Never the less, get some food, and spend a few hours wandering around.
8. Get back to Guilin – Take the express bus from Yangshuo for 22¥/person.  It’s a straight shot on an air conditioned bus, with no additional stops.
9. That’s it, you made it! – Woohoo!!!

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I have to admit, China isn’t my favorite destination… not even close.  However, with all the garbage that knocks China down on my list, there are a few really amazing things that made our whole trip worth while.  Enter the Great Wall!

It’s hard to put my finger on it; I mean its just a really large wall, but there’s a certain something.  Maybe it’s just the sheer age and size of it, but its kind of awesome.  Unfortunately, its hard to put it into words, or even pictures, alas I try.  There are several really popular spots to get to the wall from Beijing; Badaling, Mutianyu, Juyongguan, and a few others.

Almost every tour from Beijing goes to Badaling, as its one of the most restored sections, and busiest.  For that reason we wanted to avoid it, but then we realized one crucial fact – every other section is really freakin’ hard to get to!  So we went to Badaling.  We specifically went mid day on a Wednesday to avoid crowds (most tours hit it first thing in the AM), and we did pretty well.  So for an easy, cheap trip I’d definitely try that.  A tour to the wall will cost anywhere from $25 to $100 per person.  A bit pricey for Asia, but not too bad.  The biggest problem we saw with the tours is the itinerary.  You spend about 3 hours waiting and driving, maybe an hour or two at the wall, and a few hours doing other crap that most people don’t want to do (like “forced” shopping stops).

We decided to take the much less publicized S train.  Its only 6¥ per person, and quite simple.  For step by step instructions check out the article here.  One thing to note, get there early!  Arrive at the station at least 45 minutes before departure, even on off-peak times.  The train does not have assigned seats; it’s first come first doesn’t have to stand.  The train station is the first stop on your Great Wall adventure, and it is an adventure.  China has a real problem with queue lines; they don’t form them, or use them if they do exist.  So a quasi-line / mass of people forms in the “holding area” for the train.  Then about 10 minutes before the train is scheduled to leave, the gates open… like flood gates.  Thankfully, we befriended two other Westerners in line who gave us a warning, but imagine Godzilla attacking.  Like out of a horror movie, hundreds of ticket holders run as fast as they can toward the train.  Oh, and the train is several 100 feet down the track – possibly just for the train crew’s amusement.  Somehow mid run Shannon was able to start recording a video on her phone.  We already had a pretty good lead at this point, but take a look.

After making the train, its really smooth sailing.  You can easily spend a few hours climbing the wall, and it does turn into a bit of a hike; I mean LOTS of stairs!  Most tourists seemed to turn around at about tower 5 or 6 (thus our photos after tower 6 are nicer with few people in them).  We made it to tower 12, which to our surprise had a serious shortcut back to the start.  So aim for that.  It really is an amazing sight to see if you can.  China opened up a 72 hour visa program recently, so if you even happen to be in Beijing on a long layover, it’s really good reason to leave the airport (maybe one of the few).

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