Summary and Reflections: Around The World Trip 2010-2011

So, I am home, and Nomadic Joe is no longer on the road. Sad but true, but hopefully not permanently. All good things must come to an end at some point. This post is a short reflection of the totals, in particular the countries visited and the number of flights.

A total of 35 different countries or destinations. Here is the complete list (red countries mean they were visited for the second time on the trip):

United States, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Easter Island, Argentina, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Kenya, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, India, Nepal, Thailand, Bali, Lombok, Giles Islands, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, China and finally Canada.

Flights

Toronto – Bogota, Columbia

Bogota, Columbia – Quito, Ecuador
Quito, Ecuador - Santa Cruz, Galapagos
Santa Cruz, Galapagos - Quito, Ecuador

Ecuador – Lima, Peru

Cusco – Porto Maldonado, Peru

Porto Maldonado - Cusco, Peru

Santiago, Chile – Easter Island

Easter Island – Santiago, Chile

Foz du Iguacu, Brazil – Rio De Janairo, Argentina

San Paulo – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires – Cape Town, South Africa

Nairobi, Kenya – Amman, Jordan (via Dubai)

Istanbul, Turkey – Cairo, Egypt

Cairo, Egypt – New Delhi, India

New Delhi, India – Varanasi, India

Varanasi, India – Khajuraho, India
Udaipur, India - New Delhi, India

New Delhi, India – Kathmandu, Nepal

Kathmandu, Nepal – Bangkok, Thailand (via New Delhi)

Bangkok, Thailand – Puket, Thailand

Puket, Thailand – Samui, Thailand

Samui, Thailand – Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand – Denpasar, Bali

Denpasar, Bali – Bangkok, Thailand

Vientiane, Laos – Hanoi, Vietnam

Hoi An, Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
Bangkok, Thailand - Beijing, China

Beijing, China - Toronto

And then there were several short flights over scenic spots:

Grand Canyon (helicopter)

Nasca lines, Peru

Iguacu Falls, Brazil (helicopter)

Okavanga Delta, Botswana

Cappadocia, Turkey (balloon)

Valley of the Kings, Egypt (balloon)

Mt. Everest and Himalayas, Nepal

Plus there were innumerable buses, mini-vans, trains, boats, scooters, taxis, cars, donkeys, camels, elephants and miles and miles on my own two feet!

News worthy relevant items that happened before I got there:

February 28th, 2010 - six tourists die in a flight over the Nasca lines
http://enperublog.com/2010/02/28/with-another-fatal-accident-over-the-nazca-lines-will-action-finally-be-taken/#disqus_thread

Thursday 30 September 2010 - Ecuador has a mini coup, when the police kidnap the President after he threatens their pensions (the borders are closed and I have to stay in Bogota jeopardizing my Galapagos tour)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/30/ecuador-chaos-police-rafael-correa

Friday 1 Oct 2010 - the army finds the President and re-instates him (thus allowing the border to reopen and me to enter)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/8036376/Ecuador-unrest-president-Rafael-Correa-escapes-coup.html 

January 2011 - the Arab Spring uprising affects many of the Arab countries
http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline

Tuesday January 25th 2011 - beginning of Egyptian revolution (causing GAP to have to cancel my tour and Intrepid re-organize my Middle East trip, eliminating the Egypt portion and extending the Jordan section)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/30/egypt-revolution-2011_n_816026.html

News worthy things that happened after I left:

April 2011 - the civil war in Syria erupts
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/world/timeline-unrest-in-syria/207/

Egypt undergoes another revolt
http://enperublog.com/2010/02/28/with-another-fatal-accident-over-the-nazca-lines-will-action-finally-be-taken/#disqus_thread

March, 2011 - a Zambian guide at Devil's Pool on the lip of Victoria Falls falls to his death saving female tourist
http://www.victoriafalls-guide.net/tour-guide-dies-as-he-saves-tourist-at-the-devil-swim.html 

September 26, 2011 - a scenic tour flight around Mt. Everest crashes in fog in Kathmandu killing all the tourists aboard
http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/south-asia/mount-everest-sightseeing-flight-crashes-killing-19 

June 25, 2012 - Lonesome George, the Galapagos tortoise who was the last of his sub species dies
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/25/giant-tortoise-lonesome-georges-death-leaves-the-world-one-subspecies-poorer/

26 February 2013 - a balloon crashes while flying over the Valley of the Kings killing 19 tourists
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-21584413

20 May 2013 - two balloons collide while flying over Cappadocia killing 3 tourists
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-22597878