(Ep. 143) Solo Trip Around the World with Marissa Karpack Part 1

Take Me With You Podcast

Marissa joins us to talk about her post-college solo trip around the world to Iceland, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam

• Captivated by Rwanda
  • First time in Africa
  • Had a stereotypic idea of what it’d be like
  • Rwanda is the Switzerland of Africa
  • Has an interesting and important past
• Iceland
  • Traveled with a friend from college
  • They lost her bag at the very beginning of the trip!
  • Laugavegur trail (4 day backpacking trip)
  • Reykjavik’s favorite food is the hot dog
• Croatia
  • Went to islands, saw ruins, great food
  • Was in Dubrovnik during the height of Game of Thrones...quite touristy
  • In Zagreb - the museum of broken relationships
• Bosnia - Herzegovina
  • Got to hear stories from people who were there when Sarajevo was under siege
  • Mostar - beautiful bridge & old buildings
  • Some east meets west architecture
    • Austrian-esk & Turkish influence
  • When visiting someone, they will always offer you coffee, but they only want you to stay if they offer you food
• Slovenia
  • An amazing tiny country that has the best of the countries around it
  • Julian Alps
  • Coast (similar to Croatia)
  • Food from Italy
  • Caves
  • Many people were happy to have tourists there
  • Many Slovenian cities have their own cakes
  • Got to stay on a friend of a friend’s sheep farm
• Rwanda
  • Borders lake Kivu (on one side) that has CO2 building up in the bottom of the lake and could kill life if there’s an earthquake
• Tanzania
  • Went on a safari in Serengeti National Park
    • You seem to step out of the culture in these experiences because the locals often can’t afford to stay in places like that
  • Stayed near Kilimanjaro
  • Sitting in the back of a bus with chickens and a goat
• Kenya
  • Maybe don’t stay in River Road in Nairobi
  • Easier to navigate because more people spoke English
  • Went to Mombasa on the coast
    • Lots of Muslim heritage
    • Can get chai on the beach
  • Took a train called the “Lunatic Express”
    • Long train ride, about 24 hours
    • Like a high speed safari with sleeper cars
• Nepal
  • Kathmandu
  • Trekked the Annapurna Circuit: 12 - 14 days
  • Got chased by a cow, hid up a tree
• The emotional side of the solo travel:
  • It was really hard to say goodbye to people over and over again
  • When you’re traveling alone for that long, you do want to meet people and make new friends
  • You can take breaks and take care of yourself while traveling

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