Hindia Shmindia!

Why do tuk tuk, rickshaw, autoriskshaw, and taxi drivers, exclaim they know exactly where you are going, drive around in circles asking anyone they see for directions, bring you to your destination after much hassle and frustration, and then have the nerve to ask for extra money because it took so long?! Sheesh.

Toilets

There are Western toilets. There are "third-world" toilets. And then there are Japanese toilets. No need to describe the Western variety, so let's dive right into the third world kind. Let's just say these toilets are more like holes in the ground, decorated with a nice ceramic hood to catch the pee. We call them squatters. Though they are fairly inventive, they certainly don't do a good job. These toilets, without fail, stink. The floors is always soaking wet, either because people can't aim or because of the hose used for cleaning your butt. Also, they normally do not have a flush, so a bucket of water with a scoop is supplied to flush down your business. And all this escalated of course by the open garbage can of used toilet paper you are squatting over because in no way can this be flushed. This makes for a lovely time in flip flops!
But then, well then there are Japanese toilets. They truly deserve a word better than toilet because they are worlds away from what you think. They are sparkling clean ceramic machines equipped with more buttons than one knows what to do with. The moment you enter the stall, you can avoid the embarrassing sound of peeing by pressing the music button, which starts the fake flushing sound and will continue through the duration of your bathroom visit.And have no worry, you can always control the volume. God, what if someone hears you pee! No need for toilet paper as there are a variety of controls for cleaning. And of course there are different settings for males and females. You can choose the single spray or the shower spray. A number of buttons will also control the pressure of water as well as the temperature. Have no fear, as if the toilet seat wouldn't be heated!

Travel

Travel. It's funny sometimes. You show up in a place with all these expectations, and a place can either blow you away or bore you to tears. Sometimes you get somewhere and there's no tourist attractions per say, nothing to see but people living their lives, as that is what people do. And that is when the real travel happens. In the dinky towns with nothing to see but smiling faces and curious children. That is when you see the true spirit of a nation and its' people. After all, two women with white skin is somewhat of an anomaly in some places. You get offered crazy foods, invited into personal studios, use a bathroom inside of an old indigenous ladies home without one word being passed, get your photo taken, get asked to take the photos of strangers on your camera. And sometimes the real travel is on the road, and I do believe many will attest to this. Whether it is live goats traveling on the roof of a bus, sharing a seat with way too many people, babies being passed off to neighbors for more room on the mother's lap, music blaring so damn loudly, bus karaoke, chickens in bags on passengers' laps, anything, and I do mean anything being sold through the windows, etc., the road is always bound to be a memorable journey. Of course you could opt for the tourist buses which will arrive at your destination in shorter time with little excitement. But why would you choose that option really?

Then there are other times when travel is out of this world- blow your mind--does this really exist-where the hell am I-what the hell is going on- fantastic. And that's when the fun begins. Speaking with locals in Ecuador, hiking in Peru, sun bathing in Chile, tango in Argentina, being among the Japanese, haggling in Thailand, wildlife spotting in Malaysia, discovering hidden nooks in Indonesia, finding Nirvana in Cambodia, praying to survive moto rides in Vietnam. That's the real fun. Those are the things that make us never want to come home. (don't worry M&G). All the craziness and all of these experiences make us realize this is the best thing we could possibly be doing with our lives right now and we are so, so grateful that we have this opportunity.

Fun times

How do we survive all these overnight buses you ask?
Well, well, well...bus karaoke of course!

What do you need to travel around the world?

Apparently, this is all.