2014: Where we traveled , what we liked and what we didn’t

Doha and its seeming competition to create the, err, highest erection.

2014 was the year that we went from casual travel users to wild-eyed travel addicts. And, following in the footsteps of the late Amy Winehouse we won’t go to rehab. We say “no, no, no” (but we do hope for a happier outcome).

So, without further reference to dead rock stars here’s our travel year in review:

Doha

The Museum of Islamic History – the curator’s notes were oddly basic things like “bowl” but the grounds and building are extraordinary.

What we liked:

The architecture of the Museum of Islamic Art
Wandering around the Souq Waqif
Friday brunch at the Four Seasons
Dinner at the Paper Moon

A wheelbarrow man in Souq Waqif, Doha. These old men go around with groups of women and fill the wheelbarrow with things the women buy. It sure beats having a husband sighing and grumbling around about why do you need to buy your 327th abaya.

What we didn’t like:

The whole place is basically a gigantic construction site in large part to prepare for the (questionably obtained) 2022 FIFA World Cup
Not being able to have a glass of wine with dinner in a restaurant, unless it’s in a hotel which somehow makes it OK. Not too arbitrary! (Some of Brunette’s behavior when she found out she couldn’t wear her thong in public was, quite frankly, asinine.)
No natural beauty other than the water (and us); high rises and traffic abound

Abu Dhabi

What we liked:

The overwhelming magnificence of the Grand Mosque (if not the nearly smothering clothing requirements for women).
The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital with its fascinating female Director, pampered clients and devoted owners.
Dining at Bord Eau and being allowed to have wine with their fine cuisine.
Cappuccino with gold dust in it at the opulent Emirates Palace.

Blonde trying to project “I come in peace” to the murder-oriented falcon on her arm.

What we didn’t like:

A pervasive sense of creepiness. We dressed very modestly and did our best to behave ourselves but could often tell that we were being watched carefully and sometimes followed. We thought they might have worried that we were escaped AARP hookers!
An oil spill at the beach of the St. Regis that made it impossible to experience the white sand and turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf. (Major First World problem; not expecting expressions of sympathy.)
No public transport and lots of traffic

The Maldives

What we liked:

The friendly, helpful, humorous people.
We loved our resort (Kurumba) for many reasons. Two were the good food and the proximity to the main island which saved us a lot of transit time and additional expense.
The soft sand and healthy reefs teeming with Nemo and his friends

Kurumba Resort where we almost had to be dragged sobbing onto the boat back to the mainland when it became time to leave.

What we didn’t like:

The time and cost of getting there.
Vague uneasiness about the government’s relationship with tourism. For a while in 2012 the government closed massage parlors and spas at resorts by claiming they were brothels.

Bhutan

What we liked:

The people who are gentle, kind and fervent Buddhists with a remarkable reverence for life.
The traditional architecture of the monasteries and homes.
Climbing (even if Blonde rode a pony halfway due to bronchitis) to the iconic Tiger’s Nest monastery.
Meeting , albeit very briefly, the King and Queen of Bhutan

What we didn’t like:

The national highway with its endless hairpin, high altitude turns, lack of guardrails and diesel spewing trucks from India. (And hours between places to stop and pee.)
The expense and restriction of only being allowed to travel as part of a group
Wild dogs everywhere
The food

Thailand

Wat Pho, the Reclining Buddha who is doing the only sensible thing in that climate, reclining.

This time it was only Bangkok and after Blonde’s third visit she can definitively say she doesn’t like it.

What we liked:

The history and temples
The food
The aesthetic: decorating even the smallest things with pretty flowers.

What we didn’t like:

Horrible pollution and traffic (made worse by anti-government protests)
Overall lack of public hygiene
Feeling that human sex trafficking is still big business there

Fiji:

What we liked:

Being on a Captain Cook cruise so we could see a variety of islands instead of only staying at one resort.
Lovely climate
Very nice people who really seemed to like tourists and care about showing us a good time and teaching us about their history and culture. Also they don’t smoke and have good manners. Let’s keep the outside world away from them for a little longer…
Snorkeling in brightly colored soft coral reefs twice a day.
Meeting kids at an island primary school and learning how they get educated and how they feel about it (very cheerful).
Taking a helicopter flight back to the mainland from a resort.
Getting upgraded to Fiji Airways business class on the way home!
Being invited to come back in 2015!

Picture taken by Blonde as she nearly pushed Brunette out the window of a helicopter flying over one of many atolls.

What we didn’t like:

The mere prospect of drinking kava which we had been told tasted like men’s dirty socks only worse.
The government’s 20% tax on everything that is rarely included in listed prices for resorts (Captain Cook includes it in their prices).
Surcharges of typically 3% for using credit cards and resorts that would not accept cash thus causing everything to cost an extra 3%.
Coming home.

Sneaking in an extra Fiji picture of one of their standard sunsets.

Peru

Machu Picchu is a PIA to get to but it’s worth it if you get there early in the morning as we did.

What we liked:

The staggering amount of history and mystery.
The food (except for the guinea pigs)
Baby alpaca sweaters (not “maybe alpaca” sweaters as one fellow traveler dubbed the fakes peddled many places).
Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca
Relative ease of finding free wi-fi

A hurriedly and illicitly snapped photo of a large painting of The Last Supper with an entree of guinea pig in the Santo Domingo church in Cusco.

What we didn’t like:

The widespread poverty
The death-defying (if you’re lucky) road to Machu Picchu

Hungary (Budapest)

What we liked:

The elaborate beauty of the city, its different styles of architecture ( Baroque, neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau), the bridges and the Danube.
The way they light the city at night so you can see the beauty of the buildings from an evening cruise on the Danube.
The food, especially at Divin Porcello and Gundel Etterem.
The emotionally moving Shoe Memorial illustrating the atrocities of the Nazis shooting Jews on the shore of the Danube and having their nude bodies fall into the water to be washed away.
The pool and bathhouse culture and architecture.
The Fisherman’s Bastion and the Roman-Catholic Matthias Church on Castle Hill on the Buda side of the Danube.
The enthusiasm and positive outlook of the younger people who have grown up since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Good, clean, reliable and easy to use public transportation.
Szechenyi Spa and Baths, is one of the largest spa baths in Europe with 15 indoor baths and 3 outdoor pools.

What we didn’t like:

That they don’t use the euro even though they’re in the EU. Converting forints is a pain and you have to make sure you don’t end up with extra cash because it can’t be used in any other country.
Trying to pronounce the name of anything!

Prague

Prague from Castle Hill

What we liked:

The fairy tale and ancient feeling of the city at night with the dim, often flickering, lights.
Walking down from the castle to The Lesser Quarter (if you walk down the right side it’s less commercial and prettier than the left side).
Good food, especially at Terasa U Zlate and Divinis.
The beautiful Strahov Library with items from as far back as the 9th century.

The Baroque style Strahov Library built in the 1500s.

What we didn’t like:

We didn’t have enough time to properly explore the city.
Spotty public wifi (We’re trying to come up with something to say we didn’t like!)

Greece

The caryatids of the Acropolis. One tourism site describes them as: “These pensive girls with their broad, ripe, thrusting breasts seem eagerly poised for marriage.” Indeed.

What we liked:

The friendly, loud people who were always willing to try to help us no matter how inept we were.
The tasty, lovingly prepared food that put 6 pounds on Blonde (her own behavior had nothing to do with it).
The centuries and centuries of history and pride in the country.
The very low crime rate of Athens.
Discovering the Pelion region of Greece which we had never before previously visited and which was almost like its own country with its own charms.
Good, clean easy to use public transportation in Athens.
It’s Greece!
A replica of the ship from Jason and the Argonauts in the seaside town of Volos, Greece.

What we didn’t like:

The smoking by everyone everywhere. They have the third highest rate of smoking of all of the countries in the world.
We didn’t get to an island this time – no fair!

Germany

What we liked:

Although Brunette’s crabby lungs kept her home, Blonde loved everything about being on a Viking River Cruise.
The history and realizing that it’s more than the horrors of the Nazis and that they are still finding it painful to come to terms with that era.
The bratwurst (didn’t expect to like that).
The regional wines
The Christmas markets
The lock system on the Danube.
Good public drinking water

What we didn’t like:

A fair bit of bland food (had to come up with something).

Austria (Melk and Vienna)

What we liked:

The very helpful people who were kind to a bunch of travel writers begging to be allowed to take pictures from unreasonable locations.
The tasteful Christmas decorations.
The coffee houses and pastries.