40 Countries and 200 Cities!

So now that I’ve hit a 40/200 milestone – 40 countries and 200 cities visited – I hereby humbly offer my “5 Best Countries to Visit” and “10 Best Cities to Visit” lists.  To be “fair,” I’ve only included countries I’ve visited at least twice and saw at least three cities.  After all, it wouldn’t be fair to judge Indonesia on a one-time visit to (shudder) Jakarta.  Also, for a city to make the list, I had to go on at least two different occasions.  While I feel confident that, say, Barcelona would make the list, it could also be that the one time I went I just got really “lucky” and saw/did everything cool, or had great weather, etc.  SO, without further ado, let’s start with my top 5 countries:

#1 UNITED STATES – Remember, this is best places to VISIT, not live.  And while the U.S. is one of the most dangerous countries in the world—and includes large swaths of, er, “unfriendly to foreigners” folks—you can’t deny the sheer diversity of amazing places to visit/see.  Any country that includes a mix of places like San Francisco, NYC, L.A., New Orleans, Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, the Pacific Northwest, Las Vegas, Disneyland and Disneyworld, etc.  is a must for the true traveler.  Of course it’s huge and spread out, but still #1 just coz of that diversity.

#2 FRANCE – Of course Paris is a big draw here, but you’ve also got the French Riviera, cool historical cities and castles, beautiful countryside and wine valleys, etc.  As for that famous French prickliness and snobbishness towards Americans/visiting, I’ve been three times to Paris now, and also spent time in Marseilles and Carcassonne and never experienced it.  In fact, Parisians have been very polite and helpful whenever I’ve gotten lost wandering the streets of Paris.

 #3 ITALY – While to many, this would seem like a no-brainer for a top spot, numbers 3 through 5 (and a few beyond that just missed) were hard for me to decide upon/rank.  My recent trip to Venice and Padua helps push Italy up here.  Even then, there are probably others that like this “classic” more than I do.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the history of places like Rome, the architecture, the uniqueness of places like Venice, etc.  But for some reason it just doesn’t GRAB me like other places – and I don’t feel any need to return/see any places I haven’t already seen.

#4 CHINA – Gasps from the studio audience!  J  But, again, we’re talking about places to VISIT.  While I could see myself living in Hong Kong, that’s about it, and I’ll spare everyone my rants about the mainlanders, but in terms of sheer “travel entertainment” it’s hard to beat China – and for similar reasons to the States: size and diversity.  Sure, put your pollution masks on to visit Beijing and the Forbidden City and other cool things there, but also with Xian/the Terra Cotta soldiers, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, Shenzen, those mountains I just forgot the name of they used as inspiration for Avatar, and more.  Also, the food, history, architecture are among the very best.  Plus, TWO Disney parks now! J  Finally, if you really do consider Tibet part of China, well then BONUS!  Honestly, I would put China above Italy if the people just weren’t so hateful and uncouth.

#5 GERMANY – While I’ve enjoyed my trips to Germany, I’m a bit on the fence over putting them here, but, again, after last week’s Christmas Market experience, they deserve to be on the list just for that!  J  But seriously, I haven’t even been to Berlin or Hamburg or some other “biggies” but still love visiting Germany for the history, architecture, food, etc.  Oddly enough, I’ve only spent 3 nights in Germany, but I’ve been to the country on 4 separate occasions and seen Frankfurt (twice), Cologne, Regensburg, Passau, Warnemunde, and Rostok.  Germany is clean, orderly, diverse, and CHRISTMAS!!  J

SPECIAL NOTE: I would put THAILAND in the top five and almost did even though I’ve only been there once.  But it was for 30 days, and I did visit three different places: Bangkok, Phuket, and Koh Samui.  Bangkok is one of the most amazing cities in terms of modern stuff/convenience with gobs of ancient history.  And Phuket and Koh Samui are totally different island experiences that would make a good combo trip.  And the FOOD!  And so CHEAP!  Honestly, Thailand would probably be #2 or #3 on my list.

Eligible countries that just missed the cut: Greece, Mexico, Canada

Countries that would probably make the list if/when I’m able to visit again/see more cities: Ireland, Spain, England – and maybe Turkey, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, South Africa

Now for favorite cities.  Let’s get to it:

#1 SAN FRANCISCO – With the Bridge, the architecture, the food, the culture, the hills, the Redwoods, the ocean, the Bay, the diversity, the history, the pyramid, Golden Gate Park, the weather, the sports, the Progressive/advanced attitude, and more, “The City” is a rock star among rock stars.  It beats NYC because of the weather/striking natural surroundings, and it beats L.A. just because.  J

#2 PARIS – Paris rocks for many of the same reasons as SF: the culture, the history, the architecture, the food, etc., and then replace the Bridge and the Pyramid with the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe.  Paris even is a bit above SF in some areas (history coz it’s longer, and culture), but SF gets the nod because of the weather.  Sure, Paris is great in the Spring, but SF is awesome nearly year round (even with that over-used cliché about cold SF summers).

#3 (TIE) NEW YORK CITY/LOS ANGELES – I went back and forth on these two and finally decided to “cheat” with a tie.  I mean New York has Broadway, but L.A. has Hollywood—and MUCH better weather.  They both rock on architecture (edge NYC), food, culture (edge NYC), and diversity.  NYC has Central Park, but L.A. has Universal Studios (and, kinda, Disneyland).  NYC has a much more fascinating history, but L.A.’s got the beach and the desert nearby.  And did I mention the weather?  J

#5 AMSTERDAM – After the top 4, it got difficult to rank/choose.  But having recently visited Amsterdam (three times now), and seeing something different (the huge/amazing flower garden), Amsterdam gets the nod here.  Plus, there’s the cool/uniqueness of the canals. They also have an amazing history, great architecture, culture, etc.  And yes, the fact that marijuana is legal makes it even better.  As Seth Rogen said, “Pot just makes everything better!”  J

#6 LAS VEGAS – I know people are gonna hate on this, but every single time I’ve been to Vegas (and I’ve been at least a half dozen times by now), I’ve had a blast.  It’s a City as Amusement Park.  And it’s just SO. MUCH.  The lights! The architecture!  The shows!  The food!  And it’s definitely not your grandpa’s Vegas any more.  Seriously, if you haven’t been – or haven’t been in the past 15 years or so – GO.  Just like the movie.

#7 HONG KONG – Like Paris, I figured I’d be “disappointed” once I finally made it to this city that everyone raves over.  But it’s got all the biggies: food, culture, history, and architecture, plus stunning natural surroundings.  And of course: Hong Kong Disneyland!  J

#8 BANGKOK – You could consider this a cheat, but technically I have been here twice.  Spent two weeks, then left my rented room behind to spend a week in Phuket & Koh Samui before coming back for one more week here.  As mentioned above, one of the best cities in the world for pairing an authentic/”exotic” local experience with all the amenities of the modern world (their malls alone!).  Any place where you can get Krispy Kremes and see a first run movie in a modern establishment, followed up by a visit to a gorgeous historical temple and some top notch dirt cheap street food, gets my vote!  And did I mention how CHEAP it is?  Seriously, this city should be higher – and if I go again, it probably WILL move up.

#9 WASHINGTON DC – My favorite thing about DC is that everyone I know who has visited says – like me – that they were surprised at how clean it is.  J  But the history’s not bad, too – as well as the architecture, the food, etc.  AND you can’t go wrong with the plethora of free museums.  And museums of every kind.  If I can’t get back to SF when I’m done working abroad, DC is my co-backup choice with L.A.  Bonus: Cherry Blossom season!

#10 HONOLULU – Duh, it’s in Hawai’i

Eligible cities that just missed the cut: Vienna, Portland, Shanghai

Cities that might make the list with a second visit: Copenhagen, Barcelona, Istanbul, Stockholm, Vancouver, Bruges, London, Venice, Singapore, Cape Town

Postcard from Lesotho IV

So this is old news, but I had the second worst employment-related experience of my life some months ago when I had to let someone go.  We had a new employee that we'd gotten a temporary security clearance for so we could bring her on board while waiting for the Embassy to go through the full process (the position had been vacant for some time, we had a conference we needed the new person to attend, etc.).  Anyway, after said employee went to the conference, and was here for almost a month, the Embassy called to tell me she wouldn't be getting a clearance coz it turns out her husband is one of the Lesotho Defense Force "bad guys" who was kidnapping and torturing police officers who'd supported the previous government.  Ugh.  So I had to bring her in my office and, without giving specifics, let her her know she didn't clear.  So she's totally confused, says she's a good person, has nothing bad in her background, etc., and starts crying.  I tried to delicately explain to her that the Embassy does a THOROUGH background check, and that denial of clearance also could be because of "close associations" (you can bet I wasn't going to tell her the real reason and have her husband come after me). 

Now, this woman is either REALLY naive, or is totally clueless/blind about her husband, because she still kept crying, said she didn't understand, she's a "good girl," etc.  It was awful.  I told her it was all on the Embassy - that even though PC is a separate entity, we still rely on them for security checks, etc.  She wanted to know what it was they found, I kept hiding behind "confidentiality," etc.  Finally, I had to "pass the buck" and tell her any more concerns would have to be expressed with the Country Director.  I rarely play this card, don't like doing it, etc., but it also reminded me why I never want to be an Executive Director again.  Ugh.

In other old news, I unwittingly caused a bit of a scandal at the Embassy 4th of July party. Apparently, this is THE big annual event for the Embassy here.  They have a "BBQ," invite lots of locals as well as all the expats, lots of government folks, etc.  As it turns out, the Country Director was out of the country, the DPT was sick, so it was up to me to "represent" - along with the local staff and a handful of PCVs who happened to be in town.  Now, since it was a 4th of July thing, I decided to dress the part.  Wore my red sneakers, blue jeans, white dress shirt with red tie, and then put on my U.S. Flag shorts on over my jeans.  

Unfortunately, as I discovered upon arrival, this event is "formal dress."  The Ambassador, diplomat that he is, covered well when greeting me on arrival, laughing it off, but as I found later he was NOT amused at all.  His secretary threw me ALL kinds of shade when she saw me, told me I should NOT have come dressed like that, etc.  And all I could think was, "Oh, well, how stupid of me not to think that a 4th of July BBQ was a formal dress up!"  I mean, how stupid is that?  Luckily, the handful of PCVs that were with me were not dressed up, either, so for many folks it was just a sort of "Oh, those wacky Peace Corps folks!"  And, as it turned out, I was actually quite popular with the locals who all wanted their picture taken with the crazy PC guy - including the King's brother, HRH Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  Still, when Wendy (the CD) got back, she still got called in to the Ambassador's office to "do some 'splainin"  Whatever.

So I finally got around to trying the local (as in South Africa) soft drink.  One of my big "misses" from the states is Dr Pepper.  They've got just about everything here EXCEPT that - hell, they still sell TAB here!  I mean, do they even still sell that in the states?  Anyway, RSA makes this thing called "Iron Brew" and I finally got a can in the hopes it would maybe be their version of Dr Pepper since no one sells that.  Not even.  In fact, I can't even describe it except to say it's gross.  I guess it MAYBE kind of tastes a LITTLE bit like Ginger Ale.  Ginger Ale that a rat died in.  Sigh.

But speaking of food/drink, I feel pretty sure now that I've eaten more french fries (excuse me, chips) in the past year than in the previous five years combined.  Maybe longer.  They LOVE their chips here!  And I will say the local supermarket (Pick N Pay) across the street from the office makes really good chips.  Another surprising thing I've eaten more in the past year than the past 5 or more years combined is guacamole.  Go figure.  Not coz I get it when I'm out (although I do, on occasion), but because they almost always have avocados here, and I realized it's just not that hard to make considering how good it is.  So yay on that.

One more "fun fact" before I go.  Until my recent cruise out of Venice, I realized that the last NINE countries I'd been to in a row all drive on the left.  I got so used to it that I actually had a panicky moment when my mom and I were on a shore excursion in Greece and I thought "OMG, the bus driver is on the wrong side of the road! We're going to die!" 

It's an amazing, complicated world we live in - full of french fries and chips.