My Favorite Places

I have had the most incredible opportunities to travel in the past few years, so picking a single perfect place is nearly impossible for me. The most common question I get asked about my travels is "which country is your favorite??" which I almost always answer "I'm not really sure, they were all so amazing in their own ways." BUT if i have to choose..... my top three are Capetown, South Africa, Jaipur, India, and Tokyo, Japan (not in a specific order). So here it goes!

Capetown, South Africa

Capetown is incredible for a number of reasons. It was number 3 out of 10 stops we made on Semester at Sea, and definitely sticks out as a more memorable visit. Capetown has such a rich hisotry and culture that is vastly different from the United States, but the English influence is stilll very prevalent. There are also incredible beaches, mountains to hike, penguins to see, wineries to visit, and endless adrenaline junkie opportunities like sky diving and shark cage diving. It was a jam-packed week full of so many different experiences, but that it was made it so memorable and I wouldn't change it for the world (except maybe I would have gone sky diving).

I took this picture from the top of Lion's Head mountain, how beautiful!!

Jaipur, India

During our pre-port meeting (where all of the students are told about safety, travel tips, currency, cultural norms and expectations, etc.) before India, we were told that our senses were going to be in overdrive when we got to India. Smells, tastes, colors, and sounds. And boy were they right! We ported in Kochi (which was amazing as well), but a few of my friends and I desperately wanted to go to Jaipur, so we caught a redeye flight the day after porting to go. Jaipur is a bustling city with people covering nearly every square inch. Everywhere we went, people wanted to get to know us, they offered us masala chai in every restaurant and shop we entered, and the food was to die for every. single. meal. It became a normal thing to see camels, cows, goats, chickens, and even monkeys in the streets. I would love to go and explore more regions of India and see how they differ from Jaipur.

Jaipir is often called the "Pink City" and the Hawa Mahal definitely proved that name right!

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo was the second to last stop on our voyage and our last international port, and MAN was it a great way to bring our international journey to a close. Tokyo has everything you probably would ever ask of it. Tons of shopping, heated toilet seats, unique restaurants, a variety of different shows, and even real life Mario Karts, where you get to dress up in costumes and race around Shibuya??? Count me in! One of my favorite parts though was undoubtedly the sushi. There was one place in particular where you sit at a counter, order food on an iPad, and then it zooms straight from the kitchen to you on a conveyor belt. The best part? The most fresh sushi I have ever consumed and it was CHEAP! The amount of rolls you get on a single plate is much less than a sushi restaurant in the US, but they were around $1 for each, and if you're still hungry, you can order more! My friends and I went twice during our 3 day visit because it was so good.

My friend Katie and her seven plates of sushi.