Round the World in 48 Days

Sorry it's been a while. Time is short when you're busy adventuring and eating! I promise that I will update soon. At least when I arrive to NYC in a week. In the meantime, I have just uploaded a ton of pics of India, Egypt (mostly food) and Greece to Flickr, if you've got time.

PS - Some people have commented that they like my food commentary. If anyone wants to introduce me to someone that would be interested in hiring me as a food writer, I'd be the happiest (unemployed) eater on the planet!

I forget all the details of the Odyssey, but I feel like I'm embarking on a similar journey. Across several lands and not quite sure what I'll come across. Well, I do know that I'm meeting old family and friends at each destination (with the exception of Thailand). But I hope that there are not too many one-eyed creatures, singing temptresses or multi-headed monsters on the way. We shall see...

Most likely, there will be an abundance of adventurous good eating and much loosely-guided wandering and exploring. I will try to document the most interesting bits for your perusal. Enjoy!

(Ok, I have just read the synopsis of the Odyssey. My trip really has very little similarity to it. I have not escaped being a goddess's lover on a distant island to return to my wife and child back home... there is just a lot of traveling involved. Ah well. I am futilely grasping at literary analogy -- apologies, apologies.)

I wanted to keep the same address, hsustyle.travellerspoint.com, for my new trip, so the entries before this are from my 2006 trip to Angola and entries after this are from my 2008 Round the World (RTW) trip.

Just so it's not confusing. =)

Goodbye favorite T stop...

Goodbye Boston.

Hello New York!

Had a great dinner and then woke up to this beautiful view. There's nothing like the hospitality and company of old friends...

I'm off to the airport!

Mosquito net: $12.00
Insect repellant for clothes: $10.00
Insect repellant lotion: $9.90
Mefloquine antimalarial pills: $85.14
Typhoid vaccine + antidiarrheal pills: $44.07
Iodine pills for water: $5.95
Tetanus shot, Hep B booster, Hep A booster, and rabies series: free

Not getting malaria, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, tetanus or rabies: priceless.

I LOVE the World Cup. There's a craziness about the sport in every country except the US. Then to bring that craziness together as each country vies for ultimate football glory? There are no words to capture the excitement. Just watch the fans... 'nuff said.

But this year will be great - Saudi Arabia is in again (but they usually lose quite quickly), AND Angola is in! World Cup runs all through June and I'll be right in Angola for it all. Angola's played some international friendlies (unfortunately losing 0-2 to Argentina on Monday) and is in Group D for the World Cup. Schedule below:

June 11, Group D3 Angola vs. Group D4 Portugal in Cologne
Friday, June 16, Group D3 Angola vs. Group D1 Mexico in Hanover
Wednesday, June 21, Group D3 Angola vs. Group D2 Iran, Leipzig

This is big for Angola; coming out of the civil war with team of Angolan players coached by an Angolan, and the first match against Portugal, their former colonial ruler. Read more at the NY Times

Their chances of winning the World Cup are 380/1 and winning their group 16/1 - but hey, I love an underdog...

Country:
Slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Border countries:DR of the Congo, Congo, Namibia, Zambia
Terrain: narrow coastal plain that rises abruptly to vast interior plateau.
Main natural resources: petroleum, diamonds, iron ore

Population:
Total: 12,127,071
(Of that, 5 million people are living in Luanda, a city built for 400,000 people)
Angola has a very young population due to the war (0-14 years: 43.7%, 15-64 years: 53.5%)
Religion: indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15%
Languages: Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages
Living below the poverty line: 70%
Infant mortality rate: 185.36 deaths/1,000 live births

Weather:
Semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April)

On the war:
Angola is slowly rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but UNITA renewed fighting after being beaten by the MPLA at the polls. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century of fighting.