Let’s start off 2012 with a look back using this alphabetical list of Travel Questions:(A) ge When You Went on Your First International Trip
I was 20 years old when I left for Tokyo to study abroad for a semester. I guess technically my first international trip was when I was around 8 years old and I went to Niagra Falls. I spent 90% of the time on the New York side of the falls, though I probably set foot in Canada for all of about 15 minutes. Nah, I really can’t count that.

(B) est Foreign Beer You’ve Had and Where
Paulaner beer at my first Oktoberfest in Berlin, Germany

(C) usine (Favorite)
Damn – I can’t choose just one. But for now I’ll say Japanese because it is delicious and for the most part healthy so I don’t feel hours of guilt after eating it. Mexican and Italian are close runners up, but I normally overindulge on calories with those two.

(D) estinations, favorite, least favorite and why:
Favorite – There are so many contenders for this designation. I have a special spot in my heart for most places I’ve been, but I’ll have to put London at the top for the amount of time I’ve spent there and being able to love it even with rainy, cold weather and mile high prices.

Least Favorite – Djiboutiville. Wanna know why? Read more here.

(E) vent you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”:
Diving in the Red Sea during my stay in Egypt. I spent about 5 days on a live-aboard boat and had some amazing dives. The water was so clear, the fish plentiful and seeing a hammer-head shark swim by was the ultimate reward.

(F) avorite mode of transportation:
Anything involving an animal…provided they are treated well. Mostly because I don’t do this at home so it really reminds me I’m “not in Kansas anymore”. Camels, Elephants, Horses, Donkeys. But again I must stress that this only applies if the animals are taken care of. If I see them locked in small, dirty cages or beaten for no reason, then all bets are off and I’m in taxi or on a bike.

Filling up the tank

(G) reatest feeling while traveling:
The feeling of being super aware of your surroundings, when your senses are at their peak and you just know something good is about to happen. Being someplace new always puts me in this state of mind.

(H) ottest place you’ve traveled to:
I’m going to have to say in the Namibian desert, though Djibouti was a close second.

(I) ncredible service you’ve experienced and where:
The ground and flight crews on Virgin Atlantic. They are always friendly, welcoming and they just seem like they have a great time doing what the do.

(J) ourney that took the longest:
The bus ride between Vang Viang and Louangphabang in Laos. I am sure it wasn’t the longest journey I’ve taken for sheer time duration, but it sure felt like the longest. The bus was packed so those who didn’t get a proper seat had to sit in plastic chairs lined down the center aisle of the bus. Plastic chairs that were meant to hold a kindergartener, mind you, not a full sized American adult. I was sitting so low that I couldn’t see out of the windows and every time the bus made a turn, the chair leg would buckle and throw me on to the floor or the lap of the person sitting next to me. That was the bus ride from hell.

(K) eepsake from your travels
I alway buy souvenirs, but the best keepsake are all my passport stamps. I like to thumb through my passport and remember all of the places I’ve been.

(L) et-down site. Why and where?
I’d have to say the Sphinx in Giza, Egypt. Its much smaller than I expected and right across the street from it is a shopping complex with a Pizza Hut and and other fast food joints. Just not what I expected from ancient Egypt.

(M) oment Where you fell in love with Travel

When I arrived in Del Mar, California. I flew in from cold wintery Pittsburgh as a high school student and was just blown away by the beauty and warmth of southern California.

(N) icest Hotel you’ve Stayed in:
The Chedi Hotel in Muscat, Oman

Infinity Pool at the Chedi Hotel, Oman

(O)bsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling:
Doorways and windows. I’m a sucker for a good archway that frames a beautiful countryside or the ocean.

(P) assport stamps, how many and from where?
My first passport has approx. 95 passport stamps. My current one has about 82 and I still have a year and a half to go before it expires. Couldn’t possibly list all the stops but they were from all continents except Antartica.

(Q) uirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where:
I can’t remember the exact name of the caves but they were near the Hilton hotel in Budapest, Hungary. You pay your admission and begin walking through these caves. At first everything started out normal as you passed from room to room looking at cave paintings and rudimentary tools and weapons. Then you started to notice odd things. Doesn’t that cave painting appear to resemble a bottle of Coke. Is that rock carving in the shape of a laptop. Heyyyy…wait a minute. These are all fake carvings and we’d been had since the beginning. I think it as the carving of the fake ATM machine on the wall that finally confirmed our suspicions.

Does that fossil have sneaker treads??

(R) ecommended sight, event or experience:
Oktoberfest in Munich – great beer, hearty German food and oompah bands. How can you go wrong?

(S) plurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling:
A very good meal of local foods at a top restaurant.

(T) ouristy Thing you’ve Done:
Oh dear Lord, the Duck tour in Seattle Washington. Initially I thought it would be a great way to see the city taking a tour bus that could convert into a boat to go onto the water. Instead I’m surrounded by middle age tourist listing to a recording of Disco Duck as it blasted from the van through the Seattle streets. Embarrassing and boring at the same time. Never again.

(U) nforgettable travel memory:

Waking up in a tent to the sound of a lion roaring in a wildlife park in Botswana

(V) isas, how many and for where?
Brasil (3), Japan, UAE, UK, Canada, China, Viet Nam, Laos, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania. That’s about 14 Visas.

Application for Brazilian Visa

(W) ine, best glass of wine while traveling and where
I am honestly not sure what it was, but any wine tastes a bit more delicious when you’re siting in your first class seat on a British Airways flight – LAX to LHR.

e(X)cellent view and from where:
The Beijing countryside from a perch high atop the Great Wall of China. Not the touristy part, but the part where you have to climb ladders and scramble over loose stones to get there.

(Y) ears spent traveling:
18 years

(Z) ealous sports fans and where:
British football fans are pretty damn intense!