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Seventh Annual World Travel Awards 2023

A Year in Review

January 19, 2024

Location: Planet Earth

I absolutely love writing this blog post each year. Throughout the year I think about what experiences and places might make this list. And when it’s time to write – it’s a fun walk down memory lane as I reminisce about the previous year of travel. Maybe I can inspire you to travel to some of these places. I know for a fact several of my followers traveled to Malta this past year. Malta was last year’s winner of our favorite country! I hope it’s fun for you to read and enjoy the awards we bestow on our favorites and the best of the best (and a few duds too) from our year of travel; the Seventh Annual World Travel Awards 2023.

Seventh Annual World Travel Awards 2023

I’m surprised that I am already talking about the “seventh annual” travel awards 2023! We are now well into our eighth year of travel as part of The Grand Adventure. What a remarkable ride it has been. Not sure exactly what year nine will bring…but it’s already open for discussion.

2023

We have had a wonderful year of travel; both long stays and short, independent travel and guided. The list includes; Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Bolivia, Barbados, Curacao, Grenada, Bonaire, Trinidad and Tobago, USA, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Philippines and Australia. The states included Washington, Nevada, Alaska, Georgia, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington DC.

So sit back and get ready….here are the winners! Our Seventh Annual World Travel Awards 2023. By the way see our First Annual, Second Annual, Third Annual, Fourth Annual Fifth Annual and Sixth Annual awards by clicking on the links. Each one special in its own way.

Destinations – 14 Countries and 8 USA States

Favorite Country – Australia

Australia – Our favorite country of 2023

We spent the last two and a half months of 2023 in the amazing country of Australia. It’s our second visit to Australia since we started the Grand Adventure in 2016. The first time we spent three weeks. Oh but there is so very much to see in this amazing country and even two months didn’t cover it all. We loved Brisbane and spent four weeks in our Aussie Nest, the caravan we took more than 2400 miles. Also, Melbourne was incredible and then an entire month in Hobart enjoying the beauty of Tasmania. If you haven’t been to Australia…it’s time!

Favorite City – Melbourne and Honorable Mention Hong Kong

Unlike most years, 2023 included several big cities. Not on purpose really, it just worked out that way. We loved Mexico City, La Paz Bolivia, Atlanta Georgia, Washington DC, New York City, Hong Kong, Brisbane and Melbourne. But, if we must – and we must – our choice for favorite is a tie. Beautiful Melbourne is a place I could go back and spend a few months. Astonishing Hong Kong was sparkling clean and HUGE, delicious and just a wonderful surprise.

Cutest Town – Savannah Georgia and Honorable Mention Hobart Tasmania Australia

Despite having traveled quite a lot around the US South, I had spent almost no time in Georgia. So this year we made it to both Atlanta and Savannah. Savannah is a fabulous town, historic and charming. We had great weather, ate great food, spent time with dear friends. It was worth the wait. On the other hand, Hobart on the island of Tasmania, Australia was such a wonderful surprise. With an incredible and diverse collection of things to do. We enjoyed both.

Favorite Island – Panglao Philippines

We arrived in Panglao Bohol with absolutely no expectations. I knew it wasn’t Maui. Or the island of Malta. But I was intrigued and curious. What we found was unexpected and fabulous. Nothing fancy..but ridiculously inexpensive, beautiful, friendly and sunny.

Most Expensive Country – USA

Snoqualmie Falls and Salish Lodge — Snoqualmie Washington State USA

Second year in a row that the USA is our pick for most expensive country. Granted we own a small house in the USA, so while in that part of the country we don’t need to pay for lodging. But groceries, dining out, excursions, flights and anything else to do with day to day life or domestic travel is more expensive than nearly anywhere else in the world.

Least Expensive Country – Philippines

It was frankly shocking how cheap the Philippines were. I mean an entire four course meal with drinks for 2 people was $20!! What? A manicure was $3! Our lodging with private swimming pool was $60 a night. Yep, hands down the Philippines is this year’s least expensive country.

Accommodations – 11 Airbnbs, 15 hotels, one cruise ship, one Glamping tent and one motor-home

Favorite Airbnb Hobart Tasmania, Australia – Honorable Mention Washington DC

The Airbnb in Hobart was such a lovely surprise. It’s a bigger house than we need, but we wanted something quaint and cozy for the holidays. We got that and a whole lot more in the historic Gatekeepers Lodge in Hobart for $170 per night. Although we never met our hosts, they left us delicious treats and were kind and generous. But the tiny basement studio Washington DC Airbnb in the beautiful Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington DC was also lovely. A perfectly appointed small space so well thought out. We loved it for our short visit at $150.

Favorite Airbnb for service – Panglao Philippines and Roatan Honduras

We rarely have complaints of any kind with our Airbnb choices, most are acceptable and usually better than expected. But once in a while we have an exceptional host that takes the customer service level up a notch. Of course those same hosts also know to give us the privacy we need. Our hosts in the bungalow in Panglao Philippines were so helpful with any questions, booking drivers and much more. Our host on the island of Roatan Honduras was also superb. We loved that big, beautiful third floor walk up and thanks to our host we had absolutely anything we needed and more.

Most Expensive Airbnb – New York City.

Airbnb Upper East Side Manhattan New York City USA

The second year in a row New York takes this category. Everything is expensive in New York. At least the Airbnb we had this year was much more comfortable and bigger than the one we rented last year. We paid $320 per night. However, since we stayed there in April, New York City has passed a new law and Airbnb’s can no longer rent for less than 30 days. So, I’m not sure what that means for any future visits to NYC.

Best Value Airbnb – Panglao Philippines

At only $60 a night our four week stay in Panglao was one of the least expensive, yet completely relaxing stays we have ever had. The private pool was wonderful, although rustic I had a nice running route, and we could walk or take a Tuk Tuk everywhere we needed to go. It was simple, with a very small kitchen but we made it work. We would visit here again in a minute.

Best View Airbnb Roatan Honduras

The West End Roatan Airbnb was awesome. It involved ALOT of stairs, and since we didn’t have a car we also walked up and down a steep hill each day to town, but the hill and the stairs resulted in a lovely 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment with a beautiful deck and gorgeous view of the Caribbean for $140 per night.

Favorite Hotel – Red Tree House, Mexico City and Honorable Mention Clarion Suites Gateway Melbourne

Upgraded to a full suite at the Clarion Gateway Melbourne

Staying at the Red Tree House in Mexico City last March, was the first time we had ever returned to the same hotel again just because we loved it so much. The Red Tree House won our Favorite Hotel award in 2021, and our second stay was just as lovely. When in Mexico City it’s the only choice. Ask for a room that looks at the garden. But we also really loved the Clarion Suite Gateway in Melbourne – our suite was perfect and we could have stayed forever. The location is perfect for exploring Melbourne.

Most Expensive Hotel – Hilton Logan Boston

Well we often have an early morning flight out of Boston to Seattle, so it’s very convenient to stay at the airport. But it still is a sticker shock to me every time…The Hilton Logan Boston is lovely, but $400 plus per night.. Not our usual that’s for sure.

Least Expensive Hotel – Sempre Premier Lapu Lapu, Cebu, Philippines

Sempre Premier Lapu Lapu Cebu Island Philippines

We spent one night in the Sempre Premier in Lapu Lapu before taking the ferry to the island of Bohol/Panglao. We stayed in the same hotel for one night again, on our way back, returning to the airport. The hotel room was compact but comfortable, spotlessly clean with all the comforts we needed. The hotel included a restaurant with a great breakfast (included) and dinner service for an added fee. We paid $40 per night.

Most Unique Accommodations – Salt Hotel Bolivia

Our eleven day tour with Intrepid Travels around Bolivia we stayed in several different lodgings…some nicer than others, but all acceptable enough. But one stood out above all others – The Salt Hotel. On the salt flats of Uyuni, we spent one night in a hotel made of salt. The walls, the floor, even the bed was made of salt. Apparently some people lick the walls to be sure. I declined, but it was interesting.

Tiny But Fun Award – The Aussie Nest Motorhome, Glamping in Millersylvania State Park Washington

Spending a month in a tiny motorhome traveling 2400 miles in eastern Australia was one of our favorite things this year. The space was tiny, unique and very memorable. But I also have to give a shout out to the Glamping Tent we stayed in back in Washington State USA in the summer. I highly recommend it a visit to Pampered Wilderness at Millersylvania State Park.

Food and Drink

Favorite Country Cuisine – Mexico

Breakfast at the Red Tree House Mexico City

Returning to Mexico City, one of our favorite cities in the world, was a special treat. We ate nonstop during this second visit to this beautiful, historic and delicious city. I can’t wait to go again.

Best Food Tour – Hong Kong

Hong Kong Food Tour all the dumplings I could eat

Angel our tour guide, who we found through With Locals ,took us on such a wonderful tour of delicious Hong Kong. We would never have found the hidden gems she took us to, or learned the hidden stories about delicious Hong Kong. It was a wonderful tour!

Best Cooking Class – Hong Kong

What a wonderful private cooking class we had in Hong Kong with our new friend Bill at Pots n’ Pans Cooking Studio. It was fun talking to Bill about Hong Kong, the cuisine and learning to cook multiple delicious dishes. We ate till we thought we would burst and then we took home even more!

Best Meal Carmine’s Italian Restaurant New York City

We eat well on our travels. Even though we try to cook in our airbnb’s as often as possible, we still dine out and enjoy local cuisines everywhere we go. While in New York for five nights we ate out each night and enjoyed delicious meals. But our evening at the famous Carmine’s Italian Restaurant, where we met up with good friends, was memorable. The family style (huge portions) was delicious, the service on point, the atmosphere boisterous and fun.

Most Overrated Restaurant – Pujol Mexico City

I hadn’t known about this restaurant the first time we visited Mexico City. So when I knew we were going again I made a reservation seven months in advance at Pujol – the highest rated restaurant in Mexico City. But, I was underwhelmed. It was unique, most certainly, but not up to the hype I’m afraid. As a matter of fact, the authentic meal we had at the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City restaurant called Sala Gastronomica was so much better.

Most Unique Meal – Popular La Paz Bolivia

We learned about this restaurant from our walking tour guide. Otherwise I don’t know if we would have found it. Popular is only opened for lunch and reservations are required. Hands down one of the most unique, beautiful and delicious meals I’ve experienced.

Best Beer – Australia

Well it’s Australia Mate! And they love a cold one here. Australia’s Microbrewery scene is fantastic, throughout the country and we enjoyed each regional specialty. We also had a wonderful tour in Hobart Tasmania of the oldest brewery in Australia – Cascade Brewing, established. BTW – Australian wine…also really great.

Culture

Best Overall Cultural Experience – Goroka Festival Papua New Guinea

Most Authentic Cultural Experience – Goroka Festival Papua New Guinea

Two categories – one winner. It was a stretch for us to book this tour with Indigo Tours, more expensive than our usual choices, but Papua New Guinea was not a place we felt we could tackle on our own. Lots of back and forth with the owner of the company before we pulled the trigger. And I’m so glad we did. This experience, participating in the annual Goroka Festival with more than 150 tribes of Papua New Guinea was once in a life time. Papua New Guinea, one of the least understood places in the world, lost in time, beautiful. The tribal spectacle that is the Goroka Festival is undeniably one of the most incredible shows on earth…and I was there.

Most Amazing Man Made Structure – Teotihuacan Mexico

This place blew my mind. So incredibly underrated…I had actually never heard of it until we visited Mexico City the first time. So, on our second visit it was top of my list. Construction of Teotihuacan began in 100 BCE, long before the Aztecs. The actual name of the people who built it and lived here is unknown and there is no written record. But they left behind this vast site that today is still being discovered. The Aztecs settled here and ruled the region much later from about 1200 CE until the Spanish obliterated them in the 1500’s. Archaeological research and discovery first began in 1904.

Best US History Site – Martin Luther King Museum and Ebenzer Baptist Church Atlanta Georgia

Martin Luther King National Historic Site, Atlanta Georgia

MLK National Historic Park is Atlanta’s top tourist attraction and it’s free! We visited this moving and inspiring site on two different days. The first day we visited Ebenezer Church where King preached as did his father. We also visited the beautiful memorial area where both Martin and his wife Coretta’s tombs are.

The MLK museum was so good, and actually made me cry. This is worth going to Atlanta for more than anything else.

Best Garden – Royal Botanical Gardens, Melbourne – Honorable Mention Rhododendron Spieces Garden Federal Way Washington

Rhododendron Species Garden, Federal Way Washington State USA

We visit a lot of gardens in our travels. But Australia has been an absolute paradise when it comes to the botanical gardens in every town we have visited. Every single town. And every one was free. The pinnacle of all these gardens was the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne. Fabulous.

Honorable Mention goes to a garden very close to my home – The Rhododendron Species Garden in Federal Way Washington. This little beauty was such a surprise I don’t know why I had never visited. And a bonus was the remarkable Pacific Northwest Bonsai Gardens. I’ll be taking my out of town visitors to this place in the future.

Best Museum – Anthropology Mexico City and the African American Museum WA DC

African American Museum Washington DC USA

The Anthropology Museum in Mexico City is one of the finest museums in the world. Astonishing the story it tells of the cultural history of this amazing land we know as Mexico. And by the way, don’t miss the cafe. It too was remarkable as it explored the ancient tribal foods of Mexico.

BUT, there is another museum that was just as remarkable. The African American Museum in Washington DC. The depth of this experiential museum will blow your mind. I wish we had known, we would have gotten tickets two days in a row. It is worth it. Entrance is free but booking is definitely advised.

Most Bizarre Museum – Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart Australia

The strange Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), located on the Derwent River in Hobart is definitely the most unusual museum I’ve ever been to. I’m still not sure what it was…art? Culture? Or was it about architecuture? Maybe the goal is just to be different…and it certainly suceeds there.

Best Walking Tour – La Paz Bolivia

La Paz is, frankly, a strange place but strange in a wonderful way. The cultural history, the incredible people living at 11,000 feet, and the architecture will blow your mind. And then there are the myths and religions and witchcraft. We learned all about this on our amazing walking tour with a local.

Best Historical Sight – City of La Paz, Bolivia

We spent about three times more time in La Paz than most people do – a full 12 days. We planned the time so I could acclimate to the altitude because I have suffered from altitude sickness in the past. And for the most part, it worked. And, over those 12 days we discovered this remarkable city. A place unlike anywhere we have ever been from the way of life, the people, the myths and the construction. Mind boggling.

Best Performance – Ballet Folkloric Mexico City

Not only was this performance the best of the entire year, it was honestly one of the best things I have seen anywhere in the world. The Ballet Forkloric in Mexico City is an ethnic cultural dance and music performance, professional and mesmerizing in a beautiful and historic theater. Stunning.

Best One Day Tour – Roatan Honduras

One of our most favorite things was a full island, full day tour of Roatan Honduras. If you only have one day this might not be for you, but those staying longer definitely should do this. We booked with Omar Tourist Transportation and our driver Dario was amazing. We discussed the things we were interested in seeing and he made sure we saw those and much more. He also took us to the most amazing place for lunch, an out-of-the-way, over-the-water spot with delicious food called La Sirena.

Best Multi Day Tour – Bolivia

We wanted to cover a lot of territory in Bolivia, and didn’t feel confident to handle those logistics as independent travelers in this country. So we took a recommendation from a fellow full-time traveler and booked our tour with the highly regarded Intrepid Travel. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Intrepid, and particularly our guide Wendy, who made this tour the once in a life time experience it was. She is amazing. If you have ever considered Bolivia…Intrepid is the way to go. You will be so amazed by this country, the quality of the tour and the adventure.

Best Tour Guide

Hands down our guide with Intrepid Tours in Bolivia, Wendy was the best this year and honestly probably the best guide EVER. I experienced some altitude sickness, and we encountered some other strange situations (see below under Travel) and Wendy handled everything with a stealthy ease and a touch of humor.

Unexpectedly Fun Tour – San Juan del Sur Nicaragua ATV Tour

We booked a one day tour with Pacific Adventures. Using a rugged ATV, we spent hours with our guide on a private tour of the mountains of Nicaragua. We swam in hidden pools, climbed waterfalls and had lunch with a local family who made us an authentic Nicaraguan farm to table meal. It was a fun day.

Nature

Best Sunrise – Eden, Australia

While traveling in our Aussie Nest motorhome we enjoyed an early morning walk on the beach to watch the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean

Best Sunset – Uyuni Salt Flats Bolivia

Another remarkable experience on the Uyuni Salt Flats, watching the glory of sunset turn everything you could see pink and purple, then star studded black. Spectacular experience.

Best Beach – Nobby Beach Gold Coast

We actually spent less time on beaches this year than we have the past few years. So when we did have some beach time I really wanted to enjoy. We were lucky to have beautiful weather when we were on the Gold Coast in Australia. It’s stunning.

Best Hike – Booderee Australia Honorable Mention Papua New Guinea

So MANY hikes to try to chose from this year! Since we hike at least once a week, year round and in every country. Australia alone provided at least 6 candidates for this category. But we chose Booderee National Park in New South Wales Australia. We spent three days there and were astonished with the bird and wildlife. We did a long hike one day where I almost stepped on a venomous snake…that was memorable! But what a place it was! Honorable mention too in this category, because hiking in Papua New Guinea in a successful search of the exquisite Bird of Paradise will always be a great memory.

Best View Hike – Fluted Cape Bruny Island Australia

Fluted Cape, Bruny Island Tasmania Australia

Spectacular weather, no other hikers and views to rival anywhere in the world made this day hike on Bruny Island near Hobart just so memorable and breathtaking.

Best Natural Sight – Uyuni Salt Flats Bolivia

A bucketlist for me was visiting the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia and it did not disappoint. One of the most incredible natural sights I have seen anywhere in the entire world. It’s out-of-this-world beautiful and worth the effort it takes to get there.

Best Overall Wildlife Viewing – Australia

Mama and Baby Wombats Maria Island Tasmania Australia

At every turn in Australia there is something unique to see…especially in the wildlife category. From kangaroos to wombats, platypus to wallaby, the wildlife of Australia is unlike anywhere else in the world…worth a trip just to see it.

Most Unexpected Wildlife Moment – Bohol Philippines

Despite the abundance of wildllife in Australia, the winner of the most unexpcted wildlife moment for 2023 was seeing the teeny tarsier on the island of Bohol in the Philippines. These shy little nocturnal creatures return to the sanctuary during the day because they feel safe there. So with a guide we wandered only a short distance into the jungle to see these darlings up close and personal. A breathtaking experience.

Best Bird-Watching – Australia

We track our birds through out the world, and Australia hands down wins the award of all time for the MOST new to us birds spotted. During our two month visit we marked over 80 new birds from the teeny Fairy Wren to the giant Pelican and dozens in between. So much fun!

Athletic Pursuits

Best Snorkeling – Panglao Philippines

Such a great snorkle experience in Panglao Bohol

Without even going on a boat we were able to snorkle the Napaling Reef on the eastside of the island of Panglao. With a guide we snorkled through literal millions of sardines, lots of other fish too in the crystal clear waters. One of the best snorkeling experiences we have ever had.

Best Golf – Washington State

Golfing all summer long in Washington State

Our home course in Port Orchard Washington where we spend the summers takes the prize this year for best golf. During our four months back in Washington State we played golf at least once a week and sometimes more often. It’s a great golfing community.

Best Place to Run – Brisbane Australia

Riverwalk ancient lava flows, Kangaroo Cliffs, Brisbane Australia

I run usually five days a week when I can, and I really loved running on the beautiful river trail in Brisbane. With nearly endless possibilities this trail is really the lifeline of this beautiful city.

Weather

Hottest Day – Barbados

We spent five brief days in Barbados. And though we didn’t love the island, we did enjoy a couple of nice days at the beach when the temps soared over 90 fahrenheit on Easter.

Coldest Day Australia

Cradle Mountain National Park Tasmania Australia

We expected Australia to be warmer than it was but we saw a little bit of everything during our visit. One very hot day and some very chilly days too. Our hike in Cradle Mountain produced the coldest day and we wore every bit of clothing that we had with us in the icy wind at 3500 feet.

Wettest Day – Philippines

Tropical storms can produce a whole lotta rain, and rain it did on three different occassions while we were on Bohol/Panglao Philippines. An absolute deluge.

Travel

Longest Travel Day – Los Angeles to Port Moresby 9730 miles

First Class all the way! A great flight to have an upgrade since it was 10 hours. Philippine Airways was great.

Our overnight flight from LA to Manila was luckily made bearable because of a last minute upgrade to business class. What an unusual luxury for us.

Shortest Flight – Papua New Guinea

Finally boarding after being delayed an entire day for only a 30 min flight

A quick 30 minute hop (that was delayed about 16 hours) was worth the wait to get us to the amazing Goroka Festival in Papua New Guinea. When traveling somewhere like PNG you always need to be prepared for the unexpected.

Worst Airport Manila Philippines

I’m not giving a best airport award this year, but for the second time in our travels the worst airport award goes to Manila. It is just an awful airport and there really is no excuse for it. Signage is non-existant. Escalators rarely work. The Public Address system is awful. Even worse the Domestic and International terminals are a long ways apart and you have to ride a bus, and so if you are trying to make a connection it is stressful and frankly tricky.

Craziest Travel Day – Bolivia

What a strange thing to happen – but it makes a good travel story.

On our first day of the group tour in Bolivia our bus got stopped in the road where strikers from the lithium mine had put up barricades and were threatening. We waited six hours and our AMAZING guide Wendy finally decided we would walk across. She arranged for us to quietly walk through the strikers while drivers in 4-wheel-drive vehicles snuck through the desert, lights off, to meet us and whisk us away into the night. It was totally like a movie, frightening but also exciting, especially in hindsight. We learned the next day the road remained closed for several days…if we hadn’t taken this chance we would not have been able to do the tour. And of course this tour ended up being one of the highlights of the year. It’s a good travel story too.

Most Incredible City Transportation System – La Paz Bolivia

A city wedged into the mountains at more than 11,000 foot elevation means driving is difficult…and walking even harder. But La Paz has an ingenious, thorough, and even colorful system of gondolas, built specifically as public transportation, in this densely populated city in the sky – it is beyond astonishing.

Miscellaneous

The Ouch Award – Bug Bite Australia

Australia is known for things that can kill you…from snakes to jellyfish. Luckily the thing that got me was a Red Bull Ant. Evolved from a wasp, this little red devil actually stings rather than bites and the sting was one of the most painful things I’ve ever had. As I write this it’s been two months since my rumble with the mean fella, and my leg still has a bruise and scar. It may never go away.

Expensive But Worth It – Papua New Guinea

It was a stretch for us to book this tour to Papua New Guinea because the cost was a lot… for two people for a week we paid $7500. This included most everything, from lodging to most meals. But that said this was still really roughing it. It’s not an easy place to travel, with terrible roads and unreliable air travel. It certainly isn’t a place I’d want to navigate without a guide. So this is how we did it, expensive but worth it.

Favorite Photo

I love this photo because this man asked me for water….the dancers have no access to food or water and they are sweating in the hot sun. His request helped me engage even more with the incredible spectacle of the dancers. I was happy to provide him water and he was happy to provide me a photo.

A life long dream for me to see the Uyuni Salt Flats and it was even better than I had imagined. In the sun and at sunset the other worldly nature phenomenon did not disappoint.

I try to chose a single photo each year, out of the tens of thousands of images I take on our travels around the world. This year I have chosen two because I just could not decide. My photography is a big part of both our world travels and this blog. It hopefully takes my followers to these unique places and into my life experiences. I hope you enjoy seeing these images as much as I enjoy taking them.

Seventh Annual World Travel Awards 2023

There you have it. The best of the best of My Fab Fifties Life travel of 2023. Amazing, memorable and unique experiences with new cultures and fantastic experiences around the world. What a grand adventure it is. We sure hope you will consider visiting some of these places and enjoying some of these unique experiences too – the seventh annual world travel awards 2023.

As I post this annual awards I am in the country of Thailand. Over the next few months we will visit 12 more countries before returning to the USA in early May where we spend our summers. Beyond May we don’t know yet.

It takes me weeks to write this post so I hope you have enjoyed the Seventh Annual World Travel Awards 2023. My goal is to inspire you. The world is so amazing…not everyone is going to want to go to places like Papua New Guinea. I understand that. But I hope you have learned something and perhaps are motivated to step beyond your comfort zone. We hope you will continue to follow us around the globe, comment, pin and share this post so others can follow as well. Thank you and stay fabulous. This travel blog wouldn’t be possible without all of you. And if you are ready to begin a travel life of your own, see our post Becoming a Traveler here.

See last week’s post Tasmania – Australia’s Island Paradise. Come back next week for our post all about Singapore.

HAPPY NEW YEAR OF TRAVEL!!! We appreciate it when you comment, share and pin our blog posts – especially this one!! The Seventh Annual World Travel Awards 2023. Thank you.

2019 World Travel Awards

From My Fab Fifties Life

January 17, 2020

Laureen

DESTINATIONS

12 Countries

Favorite Overall Country – Guatemala with honorable mention to Myanmar (title photo above, Lake Atitlan Guatemala)

You’ll find a clear pattern through out the awards this year with Guatemala winning several awards. It is just a very unique and special country, with few tourists, fantastic food, gorgeous scenery, amazing history and quiet and hard working people. And it’s cheap.

This all can be said for Myanmar as well. We hope to return to both of these countries in the future.

Aantigua Guateamala — Semana Santa, Antigua Guatemala

Favorite City – Antigua

Well there it is again – Guatemala. Antigua is a remarkable city of ancient history in the shadow of a live volcano and for us visiting the weekend of Semana Santa gave us the most unique and incredible experience we could ever hope for.

Most Beautiful City – Shanghai China

Shanghai is the antithesis to Beijing – brand new, sparkling clean, stunningly beautiful (especially at night), easy to maneuver and very pedestrian friendly, Shangahi was our favorite beautiful city of the year.

Cutest Town – Big Fork Montana USA

We spent four months in the USA this year, getting out to visit some new places and some old favorites. Big Fork Montana was a new addition to our travels and it is just so quintisential America; cowboys, artists, wildlife and good food too. We hope to visit again.

Most Expensive Country – Oman and the USA

Oman and the USA tie for most expensive, although neither was outrageously expensive and should not deter anyone from visiting.

Least Expensive Country – Malaysia

Malaysia doesn’t feel poor like some African countries, but the cost of visiting there is dirt cheap. One of the least expensive destinations per day we have visited and we enjoyed all four of the Malaysian areas we visited.

Most Disappointing City – Mandalay Myanmar

Although Myanmar lands at the top of our list this year for many things, the city of Mandalay was a disappointment and I would skip it when recommending a Myanmar tour.

ACCOMMODATIONS

15 Airbnbs, 19 hotels, 1 boat

Best Airbnb Overall – Mal Pais Costa Rica. We spent two weeks with our friends Randy and Sue in this gorgeous beach front Airbnb on the southwest coast of Costa Rica far from the crowds. We were well cared for by an onsite staff person, we witnessed the most incredible wildlife right in our own front yard, and had the most perfect nightly sunset show I’ve seen anywhere in the world. See it here.

Best Airbnb for Service – Diani Beach Kenya. Our lovely little cottage in Diani Beach Kenya came with daily maid service (she even washed the dishes), laundry service (a tiny additional cost), wonderful onsite owners who helped with tours and questions. We spent Christmas with these people and enjoyed having them around us for the holidays. See it here.

Best Airbnb for Authenticity –Antigua Guatemala

Our one-room loft with small kitchen in a historic Antigua home included an outdoor patio that overlooked the traditional inner courtyard as well as the ACTIVE volcano which at night we could see shooting lava into the sky. Wow. Unforgettable. See it here.

Least Expensive Airbnb – Diani Beach Kenya (see above for Best Service Airbnb) at $65 a night. We spent three weeks in a darling cottage with pool. It was an incredible value for everything we got and we felt right at home.

Most Unique Airbnb – Lake Atitlan Guatemala. Hands down one of the most beautiful yet also somewhat strange accommodations I have ever stayed in. We lived for 8 days in a cave basically, with the kitchen, living area and deck built in and around the boulders of the cave, a bathroom one level below in another cave and the bedroom, another level below that. Unforgettable. It was 270 steps to access the cave house from the road below. But oh what a view. See it here.

Favorite Hotel – Inle Lake Myanmar, The Myanmar Treasure Resort. Far and away above any other hotel we stayed in this year, the beauty and uniqueness of the Myanmar Treasure Resort had us giddy with joy during our two week stay in our over-the-water bungalow. And the staff and service was impeccable. See it here.

Worst Hotel – Crooked Tree Resort Belize. I’ve tried to block the one horrible night we spent in this dirty and rodent infested house with broken furniture and mold, from my mind. We were supposed to be there for four nights. We packed up at first light and disappeared.

FOOD

Favorite Country Cuisine – Guatemala

Healthy use of local and fresh vegetables and beans with just enough protein I fell hard for the unique spices and flavors of the Guatemalan people’s cuisine.

Cuisine of Guatemala — Vegetarian meal in Guatemala

Best Meal – Myanmar Treasure Resort offered a wonderful menu of local specialties and the local “Butterfish” was my favorite meal of 2019.

Best Cooking Class – Antigua Guatemala and Hopkins Belize. We couldn’t decide between these wonderful experiences. In Antigua I had a private class at La Tortilla Cooking School from a Mayan woman with an English interpreter. We made at lease 8 dishes and all were spectacular. In Hopkins my entire family enjoyed an afternoon with Garifuna Chef Gloria where we learned so much about the local Garifuna traditions, local produce and fish and gorged ourselves on the delicious cuisine.

Cooking Class in Belize — Cooking in Belize with Chef Gloria

Best Beer – USA all the way on this one, particularly since we didn’t spend any time in Europe, the beer of the USA is hands down the best.

Best Coffee – Guatemala. There is Guatemala again (I bet you really want to go there now dontcha?). I loved the coffee in Guatemala where they produce the best from the America’s – a deep rich and almost chocolaty brew. Kenya rivals it with their mountain grown beans that are often touted as the best in the world. For me though I preferred the dark beans of Guatemala over the lighter somewhat fruity Kenyan roasts. Both however got the job done and the smell was heaven on earth.

Best Food Experience/Tour – Taipei and Kuala Lumpur Two of the all-time best food tours we have ever taken happened this year, the first in Taipei Taiwan with Taipei Eats and the second in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia with Food Tour Malaysia . For both these tours the food was beyond abundant but it was the guides who really made sure our experience was remarkable and unique.

Food Tour Kuala Lumpur — Arne on our food tour in Kuala Lumpur

CULTURAL AND NATURAL EXPERIENCES

Best Sunset – Mal Pais Costa Rica. For fourteen glorious nights in a row we sat on a log on the beach, gin and tonic in hand, and watched the show…a fiery blend of orange, pink and purple as each day in Mal Pais came to an end. It was truly remarkable.

Most Authentic Cultural Experience – Muscat Oman dining with a local family. We were lucky to stumble onto the Website of Zayr, a local organization who brings visitors together with local Omani’s. Our experience dining in the home of a lovely local family included delicious food, but more importantly wonderful conversation and cultural exchange. We enjoyed it immensely. Shukran to our new friends.

Cultural exchange Oman — Dining and cultural experience in Muscat Oman

Best Beach – It’s a tie! Cenang Beach Lankawi Malaysia and the greater Diani Beach area of Kenya both deserve the gold statue this year. Diani’s baby powder fine white sand and turquoise blue water is one of the reasons it shows up so often on lists of the most beautiful beaches in the world. But Langkawi’s Cenang Beach, is a clean, long expansive golden beach with incredibly warm waters all with easy access and lots of restaurants and services to make your beach visit comfortable. We loved them both.

Best Tour – Inle Lake Myanmar. Our favorite one-day tour was our all day tour in a local boat seeing all of the beautiful and historic sights around Inle Lake. It was truly unforgettable.

Best Driver – Alehandro in Guatemala was our favorite driver who was not only a safe and exceptional driver, but was a great tour guide, passionate about his country and understanding when I was dealing with severe motion sickness. We became friends. If you need a driver in Guatemala let me know and I can get you in touch with him.

Best Tour Company – China Connections China we don’t use many tour operators, but for our time in China we were taken great care of by several operators and guides secured for us by China Connections, who also booked and organized our Yangtze River Cruise. Everything done without a hitch.

Best Bucket List Historic Site – Bagan Myanmar. I had read so much about Bagan and the unique and ancient temples there but I still was not prepared for it’s ancient religious beauty and the reverent and dedicated Buddhists who come to this place.

Best Natural Site – Glacier National Park, Montana USA. For wildlife spotting in the United States you can’t beat big and beautiful Montana and our visit to Glacier National Park did not disappoint. A top site in the USA you should not miss.

Best Waterfall – Mayan King Waterfall Belize. When our two adult sons visited us in Belize this waterfall was one of the unexpected and fun things we did just outside of Hopkins Belize.

Hopkins Belize — Mayan King Waterfall Belize

Best Manmade Site – Tikal Guatemala. When I first started researching visiting Guatemala it was because I had heard so much about this remarkable Mayan site. And it was very remarkable. And we were surprised by all of Guatemala but the fascinating Mayan history here was the cherry on the sundae.

Best Mosque– Muscat Oman, Honorable Mention Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is one of the most beautiful if not the most beautiful (better than the Blue Mosque in Turkey even??) I have ever seen. Only a few years old the tiles, hand-knoted carpet and astonishing chandeliers are phenomenal. Our honorable mention goes to the Wilayah Mosque in Kuala Lumpur for the incredible customer service provided visitors there. Where we had a private tour for free and an opportunity to watch the mid-day prayers.

Best Day Hike – Wadi Shab Oman. After not being able to do this on our first try because of a big flood and mudslide the day before, we are so glad we returned a few days later to try again. I think most people would be pretty surprised at the rugged yet beautiful terrain of Oman, and it makes for exceptionally challenging and beautiful hiking.

Best Multi-Day Hike – Hiking from Inle Lake to Kalaw. This two day hike was longer and harder than I thought it would be (I should read the fine print) but the experience was amazing. Our guide was great, the food was surprisingly abundant and delicious and even sleeping on the floor in the home of a local Myanmar family with no electricity or running water was a memorable experience.

Kalaw Myanmar — Hiking across the rice fields Myanmar

Most Unique Outdoor Experience – Learning to Goeduck Even though I was born and raised in Goeduck country, I had my first experience this year in Gig Harbor Washington USA.

Key Peninsula Washington — Goeyduck Hunter

Expensive but Worth it – Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride over Bagan Myanmar $700. Ridiculously expensive. Once in a lifetime memorable.

Best Wildlife Experience Orangutan watching in Borneo Malaysia with Honorable Mention to seeing sloths and toucans in Costa Rica. We love it when we can see wildlife in its natural habitat. Our time in Borneo was all and more than I ever could have dreamed of seeing up close and personal the endangered orangutans as well as proboscis monkeys. In Costa Rica a lifetime goal of seeing sloths in the wild was fulfilled.

Most Moving Experience – Journey for Purpose Kayak Trip Belize. If you have a chance, you should do this experience. It was such a wonderful way to stop and appreciate my own self-worth, while getting to know and rejoice together with a group of women I had never met before. The kayaking was hard but the scenery was beautiful with weather that challenged us. And such wonderful memories were made with these women as we held each other up when a family tragedy back home for one women gave us a unique opportunity to show our female nurturing strength and come together as one. I will never forget it. This trip happens annually, learn more here.

Kayak in Belize — Journey for Purpose Belize

Best Performance Marionette Show Mandalay Myanmar. Although Mandalay was not my favorite place, the best thing we did there was attend the Myanmar Puppet Theater and enjoyed exceptionally talented puppeteers who have kept this Myanmar art form alive. Who knew marionettes’ could be so lifelike?

Least English Spoken – Guatemala wins again. Although we were always able to find people who spoke English when necessary, a large portion of the Mayan population in Guatemala who are older than a teenager do not speak any English. English has only been taught in the schools for the past ten years.

WEATHER

Hottest Day: Diani Beach Kenya 91 degrees F and 77 degree dew point. We swooned.

Coldest Day: Port Orchard Washington USA. During our time in the USA we had a couple of very chilly and wet weeks in June that kept us decidedly indoors

Wettest Day: Waking up in Placencia Belize to water all over the floor of our Airbnb and sewer bubbling up out of the holding tank after a torrential downpour all night long.

EXERCISE

Best Yoga – Balance Yoga Retreat El Tunco El Salvador. I enjoyed a lot of great yoga around the world this past year with memorable moments in Kota Kinabalu Malaysia (where I did sound healing for the first time) and in La Fortuna Costa Rica, and Punta Cana Dominican Republic but my favorite of possibly all time was the ten days I enjoyed yoga both morning and evening at Balance Yoga Retreat in the tiny paradise of El Tunco El Salvador. Who would have thought?

Yoga as part of My Fab Fifties Life — Balance Yoga Retreat

Best Place to Run – Cenang Beach Langkawi. Getting up early before the heat of the day and running on the safe, flat and fabulous ring road and along the beach boardwalk of the small town of Cenang Beach gave us an entire month to really get back in running shape.

TRAVEL

28 flights, 1 train ride, 2 small boat rides, one river cruise

Smallest Airport – Punta Gorda Belize. I am not joking when I say the terminal was a shack about 10’x10′.

Worst Flight Experience – Getting sever motion sickness on a tiny plane from Florez to Guatemala City and then needing to do a three hour drive on winding roads to our final destination of Antigua.

Airport Most in Need of Upgrade – Heho Airport outside of Inle Lake Myanmar. It’s actually pretty busy, but very rundown. The check-in counter looked like something used as a ticket booth at a carnival.

Best Airport – Muscat Oman was shiny and new and very comfortable.

Worst Day of Travel – We had to spend one night in Nairobi before flying on to Mombassa where we would go by car for the 40km trip to Diani Beach. We didn’t know that due to a ferry, that 40km trip usually took 4 hours and on the day we were doing it took 6 and half because of high traffic from the Kenyan holiday of Jamhuri the day before. Not sure how we missed that information in all of our research but it made for a very long and exhausting travel day indeed.

AND FINALLY

Just Because It’s Unusual Category – Dental Work in San Jose Costa Rica. I didn’t have a category to fit this in but I needed to mention it because it was quit unusual. But I had a wonderful experience at Meza Dental having an extraction and implant done for a third of the cost of doing this in the USA. A year later it is perfectly healed and I would do it again in a heart beat.

Dental work in Costa Rica — Implant in Costa Rica

Sad But True Category – Photographer Death in Belize While our sons came to visit us in Belize we did some family photos of all of us on the beach with a female photographer I found online. She did a wonderful job and she was creative and nice. We received all the photos via email about a week later. Tragically just a few days after that, she died of a stroke. Rest in peace Marian.

Family portrait in Belize — Family Portraits in Belize

So there you have it. The winner of the Fab Fifties version of the Oscars for 2019. What a great year full of incredible experiences around the world. We are the luckiest people on the planet. Who needs a little gold statue when you have a Fab Fifties Life?

What a fabulous life it is. WATCH OUT! 27 countries planned for 2020!

Please comment and share. We appreciate your love.

Second Annual My Fab Fifties Life World Travel Awards

And the Winner is…

January 18, 2019

Laureen

Location: Around the World

And the Winner Is…

If you’ve been following My Fab Fifties Life for awhile you will remember our 2017 World Travel Awards from last January. I definitely feel with all of our travels in 2018 (covering 57,000 miles and 26 countries) we are well positioned to bestow the World Travel Awards – our version of the Oscar or the Razzy – on many people, places and travel experiences that have touched us this past year. Just like the famous movie awards, we have seen a world of real life

Australia

drama, fantasy, comedy, mystery, nature and animation. Enough to last a lifetime.

Berlin Germany

This is a long blog. But I believe it offers some valuable travel insight to the world. I hope you will find it informative and entertaining. So in keeping with the time of year for awards, I give to you our picks for World Travel Awards, Best and Worst of 2018 – My Fab Fifties Life.

(For reference – our 2018 countries visited were; India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Singapore, Guam, Australia, Indonesia, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, USA, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Romania, Greece, Egypt, Jordan, Portugal, Spain, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Chile, Brazil.

DESTINATIONS

26 Countries

Australia

Favorite Overall Country – Australia

Australia takes the top award this year edging out a few others (Greece, Poland) but we both agreed. Australia is the best. The only negative about Australia is it’s expensive. But we believe the beauty, culture, nature and environmental awareness helped us choose it as our favorite destination of 2018. We plan to return in 2019.

Favorite City – Sydney and Krakow

Well there it is again – Australia. Sydney Australia and Krakow Poland take our award this year for favorite city, and basically for the same reason. Both offer a variety of cultural, historic and scenic options for visitors. Sydney also has beaches while Krakow has great food.

Most Beautiful City – Singapore

Singapore

Everything you ever heard about Singapore is true – sparkling clean, stunningly beautiful (especially at night), easy to maneuver and very pedestrian friendly, Singapore was our favorite beautiful city of the year.

Cutest Town – Brugge

Brugge Belgium

Singapore might take the big city award but we are more small town folks, and Brugge was a perfect little package of history, beauty, beer, delicious food and very friendly people. We spent four days and could easily have stayed on even longer.

Most Expensive Country – Australia

Australia has so much to offer, but inexpensive it is not.

Least Expensive Country – Indonesia

Mount Batur Bali

With some of the nicest people and most beautiful scenery Indonesia is a bargain, and we loved our time there.

Most Disappointing City – Ubud (Bali Indonesia) Ubud is no longer the sweet little artists/yoga village we all imagine from Eat Pray Love. When I saw the American brand chain stores I was so disappointed (Ralph Lauren, Starbucks, Nike).

ACCOMMODATIONS

29 Airbnbs, 42 hotels, 5 boats

Airbnb Antiparos

Best Airbnb Overall – Antiparos, Greece. We loved our relaxing three weeks in this gorgeous, private, and big airbnb with a stunning view and wonderful host. I hope to return someday. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20657689

Best Airbnb for Service – Rio de Janeiro. Our short visit to Rio (we really should have stayed longer) was extra special due to the hospitable and generous host at our sweet Airbnb. She was one of the most thoughtful hosts we have ever had. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1149627

Best Airbnb for Authenticity –Santorini

Santorini

Greece. Hands down the most expensive Airbnb we have ever stayed in, and yet it was also incredibly authentic Greek cliffside dwelling with a stunning crater view. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/15926564

Most Expensive Airbnb – Santorini $220 a night (see above)

Maldives

Best Value Airbnb – Maldives our tiny room

in a tiny resort on the tiny island of Huraa was $90 a night but included three meals a day for both of us. We loved our relaxing three weeks here. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4490934

Lombok

Most Rustic Airbnb – Lombok, Indonesia. spending a week in a traditional Javenese cottage far from civilization was a favorite experience. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/15991971

Least Expensive Airbnb – Lombok at only $52 was a bargain and so relaxing (see above)

Most Unique Airbnb – Key West, USA I thought spending four days onboard a 30 foot sailboat would be fun. Not so much. It was definitely unique. And cute. But also uncomfortable.

Favorite Hotel – Puri Lumbung Cottage, Bali this beautiful hotel complex made out of

Puri Lumbung Cottage Bali

traditional rice barns was not only beautiful, but it offered so many activities as part of our package and an incredible view at a bargain price. We loved our time here with our friends John and Carol

Worst Hotel – Singapore. Because Singapore is so expensive we booked this inexpensive $117 hotel and our room was literally a closet in the attic with no windows. It felt like a jail cell.

Friendliest Airbnb Family – Exmouth, Western Australia. We spent ten days in the

Exmouth Australia

tiny Western Australia town of Exmouth and we loved our little Airbnb and the darling family that lived next door. We would love to go back. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/18258544

Worst Hotel Experience – Bucharest Romania. Arriving at our booked and paid-for hotel near the Bucharest Airport, we learned there was a “septic” problem. No room at the inn. Nearly five hours later we finally laid our heads on a FUTON, in a teeny apartment of some guy who wasn’t using it, well away from the airport but grateful to just go to sleep. We had a very early flight and it was not a great way to end our three weeks in Romania.

FOOD

Favorite Country Cuisine – Poland, rich and

Poland

hearty comfort foods make Poland our fav in 2018. But Greece comes in a close second.

Spanish Tapas

Best Meal – Tapas Tour in Sevilla Spain our self guided Tapas Tour in Sevilla’s Triana neighborhood was so delicious and fun. A perfect Spanish memory.

Best Cooking Class – Krakow Poland I really enjoyed learning to make handmade Pierogi in the tiny communist era apartment of our sweet cooking instructor.

Best Beer – Brugge runs away with this

Brugge beer

award, nowhere else even in the running. Brugge is a beer lovers town and we are beer lovers. Our visit to Brugge was memorable for many reasons including the wonderful selection of really outstanding beer.

Best Food Experience/Tour – Brugge wins this one too! We really enjoyed having dinner in the home of a lovely Brugge couple who through the website With Locals offered a home cooked Belgian meal in a typical Belgian home. What a lovely treat.

Port Wine

Best Drinks Tour – Port Tour Porto Portugal. I wasn’t sure I was going to like this tour but it ended up being so wonderful, educational, delicious and fun. I highly recommend this if you are in the beautiful Portuguese city of Porto.

CULTURAL AND NATURAL EXPERIENCES

Guam

Best Sunset – Guam. With Gin and Tonic in hand and enjoying some family time while visiting my niece Bekah and her husband Davy, we enjoyed our favorite sunset of the year on the little Dungcas beach in Guam.

Most Authentic Cultural Experience – Bangladesh Tour. Who goes to Bangladesh? Well just about no one, and it is exactly the

Bangladesh

reason we enjoyed our time there so very much. By far the most authentic and least touristy country we have been to in a long time. The people were so interested and amazed by us and they treated us like celebrities. We loved our time there.

Antiparos

Best Beach – It’s a tie! Antiparos, Greece and Ilha Grande, Brazil both deserve to be winners, even though they were quit different. Antiparos was amazing for the solitude, beauty and spectacular turquoise water. Ilha Grande had such warm water and the beaches were clean and beautiful despite being challenging to get to, we loved exploring the Ilha Grande beaches

Egypt

Best Tour – Memphis Tours Egypt was one of the best tour companies we have ever dealt with providing us incredible detail prior to arriving, and being present and on top of every detail throughout our ten-day visit to Egypt and Jordan. Our guides, drivers, accommodations and everything else were flawless.

Best Driver – Kadek in Bali. I found Kadek on Trip Advisor and he served as our driver for our entire three weeks on the island of Bali. He was a very good driver, spoke great English and in addition to picking us and dropping us at our destination he made sure we saw lots of interesting things along the way. I hope to meet Kadek again some day.

Berlin Germany

Best Free Walking Tour – Berlin Germany. We have done so many free walking tours over the past several years and only once did we NOT like our guide. But the young lady we had in Berlin was hands down one of the most charming, interesting, factual, fun and entertaining humans I have ever met. It made for a most memorable experience and a big tip for her.

Best Tour Guide – Cristian, Santiago Chile. Cristian was our guide on a bus tour we took the day we left our cruise ship and headed to Santiago for our flight. We spent the day touring the wine region of Chile as well as seeing a small authentic rodeo and dancing. Cristian was patient,

Hard to answer questions to a travel nomad

India

informative, interesting and entertaining.

Best Bucket List Historic Site – Winner Taj Mahal. Runner-ups The Great Pyramids and Petra. I cried the day I stood in front of the Taj Mahal. It was even more beautiful than I imagined. And lucky for us, we hit it on an unusually clear blue sunny day with hardly any people. Magnificent site to

Cairo

behold. Totally worth it. Of course the Pyramids and Petra are a close second. After seeing these sites your whole life in pictures, it’s surreal to finally see, touch and feel such awesome history and beauty first hand.

Best Snorkeling – Maldives. You might be surprised we aren’t giving this award to The Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Yes that was amazing. But our best one day snorkeling actually took place in the crystal clear

Maldives

blue waters of the Maldives, on a tiny sand island of only about 20 yards wide and 75 yards long. Here we witnessed the most beautiful coral reef I’ve ever seen, and the most amazing variety of fish and sealife.

Best Natural Site – Uluru Australia. It’s a trek to get to Uluru. And like everything in Australia it will be expensive.

Uluru

But standing next that incredible natural phenomenon will be something you will never forget.

Best Manmade Site – Panama Canal Panama. I had no idea how much I was going to enjoy our eleven hour crossing of the amazing Panama Canal. Truly a modern day wonder of the world.

Malaga Cathedral, Spain

Best Cathedral – Malaga Spain. We see a lot of cathedrals. Sometimes individual ones are difficult to remember. Malaga is not one of those. A distinctively beautiful design inside makes it my favorite and most memorable cathedral in 2018.

7 Ladders, Brasov Romania

Best Day Hike – We have a three way tie for this one with 1. Canyon of the Seven Ladders, Brasov Romania 2. Campuhan trail in the rice fields outside of Ubud, Bali. 3. Coogee to Bondi Beach ocean trail Australia. All providing us wonderful days outdoors in three very distinctively different natural settings.

Best Multi-Day Hike – Well, the Camino Portuguese of course!

Most Exhilarating Outdoor Experience – Morning swim Denmark. Even though it was August, jumping into the North Sea before breakfast was an eye-popping way to start your day – and a very Danish thing to do!

Australia

Expensive but Worth it – Climbing the Harbor Bridge Sydney Australia $467. I had to really convince Arne to do this because it was outrageously expensive. But in the end he agreed it was worth it. An impressively well done and safe operation with a spectacular view to boot.

Platypus Australia

Best Wildlife Experience 1. Platypus spotting Australia 2. Aligator Spotting Florida. We love it when we can see wildlife in its natural habitat, untouched by humans. Seeing a wild platypus in Australia was so incredible. I still can hardly believe our luck and timing to spot the elusive and shy creature. On the other hand, seeing literally dozens and dozens of alligators within just a few feet of us as we rode bikes on the Shark Valley trail in the Florida Everglades was one of the strangest experiences of my life.

Auschwitz

Most Moving Experience – Auschwitz, Poland Hands down – seeing and learning about the extermination of Jews in Auschwitz and in Krakow was the most astonishing and moving experience in all of our travels. I tried to put it into perspective in a blog. It was difficult. Some people choose not to visit. For us it was the reason for going to Poland and I believe EVERYONE should go.

Performance, Ubud Bali

Best Performance 1. Bali 2. Sydney 3. Krakow It’s one of our favorite things to do when traveling, attending a local performance. And this past year we saw several remarkable shows including two fascinating and authentic indigenous dance shows in Ubud Bali, a circus/dance show at the Sydney Opera House as well as an outdoor spectacle of La Boheme on Sydney Harbor. In Krakow we enjoyed a piano solo performance of Krakow’s favorite son Chopin and LOVED a string quartet concert inside the tiniest historic chapel.

Best Museum Skagen Denmark A surprising find in this tiny historic seaside town in Northern Denmark, Skagens Museum featured the remarkable art of the amazing talents of the area’s 1800’s artist colony.

Ecuador

Best Cultural Art Experience Ecuador Panama Hat Making in the tiny mountain town of Monticristi a tradition endures where skilled artists produce these works of beauty known as Panama Hats.

Berlin Wall

Best Historical Art Experience Berlin Wall The reason we came to Berlin was to see the iconic wall, which did not disappoint, and the rest of this amazing city made it one of our favorite stops on European adventure.

Count Dracula Romania

Kitsch Award – we make an effort to avoid tourist kitsch, but sometimes we fall for it, as we did in Sighisoara Romania. Touted as the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler (Count Dracula), we paid a couple of dollars to walk into a dark and spooky room where an open coffin waited with the Count himself asleep. Well until he jumped up and scared me to death. LOL.

Least English Spoken – Brazil. Portuguese is the official language of Brazil and we found through out the country even in high tourist areas English is rare. Much like in Portugal and in Spain, there are few fluent English speakers. Even in the airport and on the flights English is unusual.

WEATHER

Hottest Day: Ilha Grande Brazil 95 degrees F and 76 degree dew point. We swooned.

Muxia Spain

Coldest Day: Pontevedra Spain 39 degrees F on our Camino de Santiago we froze and this was the start of my chest cold that lasted 8 weeks.

Wettest Day: Muxia Spain a four day monsoon kept us indoors, stuffing paper towels into the frames of the windows to keep the water from pouring in.

Windiest Day: Antiparos Greece – a rare October cyclone closed down shops, the ferry, and toppled trees.

TRAVEL

30 flights, 8 train rides, lots of small boat rides, one river cruise, two ocean cruises

Smallest Airport – Paros Greece

Worst Flight Experience – Iceland Air lost luggage. It took three days before we saw our luggage again.

Worst Airline – Scoot. Worst flight I can remember in a while from Singapore to Perth. Everything cost extra including baggage, drinks, food and even a blanket.

Train Travel

Best Travel Experience – Europe Train Travel. We had a wonderful experience using the trains from Belgium to Germany to Poland and throughout Andalucia and I would do that again in a minute.

Worst Airport – Manila We had a long layover here and there was nowhere to sit. There was no ATM to get local currency and none of the concessionaires took credit cards. The part of the airport we saw was old and dirty.

Camino de Santiago Portugal

Best Airport – In contrast and like everything else in Singapore, the airport is new, shiny, efficient and beautiful.

Dead Sea Jordan

Worst Security Line – Seattle WA USA. Way to go USA. My flight from Seattle to Nashville was a near disaster when I arrived more than two hours ahead of schedule to find a more than two-hour security line. Seattle’s inability to separate out domestic and international travelers and offer expanded security lanes has made it one of my least favorite airports in the entire world.

Worst Travel Experience – missing our flight in Perth. Expedia took the blame and even gave us a $200 credit for this flight debacle, but it didn’t help our situation as we had to stay an additional day in Perth and did not get to see the town of Alice Springs before heading on to visit Uluru. Hope to see you again someday Alice Springs.

So there you have it. The winner of the Fab Fifties version of the Oscars for 2018. But you do know, the real winner is me. Me and my husband. The luckiest people on the planet. Who needs a little gold statue when you have a Fab Fifties Life?

What a fabulous life it is.

Please comment and share. We appreciate your love.