“For six months I became a traveler; stronger, braver, more independent and resourceful than I have ever been and maybe will ever be again,” says Bill B in his travel recap. “For six months I saw all the wonders of the world (four out of the new seven anyway) and experienced everything I possibly could. I slept in hovels, saw the worse poverty in the world, argued with crooked taxi drivers over 3 cents, and overcame stress that would have popped arteries just weeks before I departed. I also saw that we really all are the same. Regardless of language, color or creed, every one I met was just trying to get by, just trying to be happy.”

Back home after his exciting around the world adventure, Bill B is reflecting on what he experienced during the first half of 2007. In his tally list, he writes he’s been to 14 countries, received 17 passport stamps, visited six continents, taken 30 flights, and walked countless miles instead of paying for a taxi or bus. The total value of his trip? Priceless.

For an interesting read, check out Bill B’s homecoming entry, but first check out this excerpt from his interesting lists:

Best Adrenaline Rushes Around the Globe
10 - Exploring Jungle Ruins in Ta Prohm, Cambodia

9 - Sea Kayaking Railey Beach ,Thailand

8 - Rapelling/Abseiling China’s Yangshou pinnacles

7 - Longboard surfing Kuta Beach, Bali

6 - Motorcrossing the Inca Trail, Peru

5 - Drift Diving with Mantas in the Andaman Sea, Thailand

4 - Road motorycycling the switchback mountain roads of Bali

3 - Skiing and boarding a meter of powder at Portillo, Chile

2 - Ticking off a grumpy Lion in the Serengeti, Tanzania

1 - Nitrox diving a WWII wreck off the Gili Islands, Lombok

Best Food

10 - Gnocchi in Rome, Italy

9 - Tapas in Madrid, Spain

8 - Carrot Soup in Arusha, Tanzania

7 - Egg-n-Chive dumplings in Beijing, China

6 - Grilled Roo (yep, that’s just what I mean), Alice Springs, Australia

5 - Fish Burger - Zanzibar, Tanzania

4 - Baja Fresh Steak burrito, LA

3 - Fisherman’s breakfast soup, Sea Dragon liveaboard, Thailand

2 - Falafel in Alexandria, Egypt

1 - Coconut Curry Shrimp, Thailand

Most Amazing Animal Sightings (no relation to the food list above)

10 - Giant Guinea Pigs, Amazon Rainforest, Peru

9 - Scorpion Fish, Gili Islands, Lombok

8 - Golden Monkeys, Guilin, China

7- Elephants, Lake Tarangier, Tanzania

6 - Zebras and Wildebeest herds, Ngorogoro Crater, Tanzania

5 - Rhinos up close, Lake Nakura, Kenya

4 - Condors in Flight, Las Andes, Chile

3 - Lions at dawn, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

2- Giant Manta Rays, Ko Bon, Thailand

1 - Cheetah kill, Serengeti, Tanzania

Most Glorious Views

10 - Sunrise over the Serengeti

9 - Full Moon over a Zanzibar Beach

8 - Sunrise over Angkor Wat

7 - Bali Sunsets

6 - Sunset over the Pyramids Sinai, Egypt

5 - Sunrise beams onto Machu Picchu

4 - Snowcapped Andes in the Moonlight

3 - Where the blue of the Red Sea meets the red of the Sinai desert

2 - Sunrise at Ayers Rock, Australia

1 - My family waiting for me at JFK

(more…)

~

For more of Bill B’s great lists, as well as a fascinating read about each destination he went to over the past six months, be sure to visit his travel blog. With entertaining stories and a plethora of photographs to go with them, his blog is sure to inspire you to travel!

To share your own set of travel tips or a Top 10 list, visit this topic on our Forums or send an email to: carrie-at-realtravel.com.

Useful links for planning your own around the world adventure:

Round the World Travel
Travel Deals
Other Realtravelers’ Top 10 Lists

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From Hiking Mt. Rainier by irvine

Looking to cool off this Summer? Snow in June, wildflowers, deer and other woodland creatures, and gorgeous, expansive views are just some of the things you will find on a hike up Mount Rainier. Located in Washington state just about an hour’s drive southeast of Seattle, Mount Rainier is a stratovolcano and the highest peak in the Cascade Range, rising an impressive 14,410 feet.

irvine, a Realtraveler from Breda in the Netherlands, went hiking with his father at the lovely Mount Rainier National Park and snapped this gorgeous photograph. He wrote the following description in his travel blog:

“Driving up Mt. Rainier there are quite a few nice views. It’s a shame that it wasn’t fully clear, or we would’ve been able to see it in Reflection Lake as well. But we were able to see a nice little creek from Box Canyon. As we drove further up the mountain we got closer to the clouds, and yes, there was… SNOW!

Beautiful flowers were growing everywhere in the brightest colours, lovely creeks along the paths, with nice clear water flowing over the stones. At one point the path was still covered with snow, but it was still possible to walk around it. Always nice to see the white white snow!”

Here he describes his encounters with the deer:

“We even ‘bumped’ into a deer on this trail! And a little further up another one…they’d probably be used to the amount of tourists coming through, but it’s still nice to see these animals in the wild from so close. A couple of mountain climbers came back from climbing just then and we had a little chat as we watched the deer. Pretty nice people around here I’d say!” (more…)

To plan your own trip to Washington state and Mount Rainier, visit:

Seattle Travel Guide
Washington Travel Guide
Washington Travel Information

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