RTW Tips: bags and backpacks

People say the best time to pack is after you get home from a trip. That's when you know what was most useful, what you didn't use much, and what you wish you had. This is the first in a series of RTW Tips about what to pack.

Bags and Backpacks
I only had two bags for my entire trip (though at the end I added a shopping bag to take back some of my snowboarding gear from my last stop in New Zealand). Having only two bags is one thing I definitely wouldn't change.














My "big" bag is the REI Vagabond 2.0 on the right. I loved it. At only 40L capacity, it's tiny in comparison to most backpacker backpacks, but that meant that I could actually carry it onboard as cabin baggage on many of my flights (United, South African on my international flight, and Singapore). Plus, it's short enough that it can go in "head first" in the overhead bins on narrow-body aircraft. But if I did have to (or want to) check it in, the straps conveniently fit inside a stiff back panel to avoid getting caught up in any baggage convery belts. If a hostel did have a large locker available, it could always fit inside. And the bag opens up like a suitcase (i.e. big opening) vs. a traditional backpack with a small opening on top, making it easier to pack and unpack. The downside is that everything is a very snug fit, and you have to be really judicious with what you put into it (I'll go into clothes and shoes next). Unfortunately REI has discontinued this model, but I would definitely look for the qualities I've described if you're into traveling light.

My "personal" bag is the black Timbuk2 "medium" messenger bag on the left. I've had messenger bags just like this one for more than 10 years, and Timbuk2 definitely makes the sturdiest one. I also like all of the pockets to organize small things, whereas the main compartment is huge. If I don't have a lot of stuff in it, it's slim enough to not have to check in at most museums. But it's commodious enough to fit toiletries, spare clothes, netbook, diary, spare batteries and chargers, camera, etc. if needed. And actually looking at the picture, the bag is not that much smaller than my backpack (or I guess my backpack's not much bigger than my messenger bag).

Whatever bags you get, do keep the number of bags down to two. It just makes things so much easier to keep track of. Plus you get to keep your hands free to grab on to bus handles, take pictures, eat, etc.

City I'd Most Like to Live In: The Rest, in Five Words

Finishing up my previous posts on the top 3 Cities I'd Most Like to Live In, as encountered on my RTW trip, here's the full ranking. To keep things succinct for the cities that didn't make the top 3, I present a summary of each city using five words only.

#1 Melbourne: previous post here
#2 Buenos Aires: previous post here
#3 Sao Paulo: previous post here

#4 Istanbul: Lively locals, impenetrable as tourist.
#5 Sydney: Great Chinatown, feels like California.
#6 Bangkok: Gigantic shrines to shopping, nonstop.
#7 Auckland: Safe, cute, polite, sometimes dull.
#8 Cape Town: Gorgeous but dangerous, weekend's enough.
#9 Rio de Janeiro: Juice bar love, danger paranoia.
#10 Vientiane: Expat local blend, yummy food.
#11 Luang Prabang: Laid back attitude, backpacker playground.
#12 Phnom Penh: Friendly people, dirty, overzealous tuk-tuks.
#13 Siem Reap: Town exists for tourists, period.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#1,000 (tie) Pretoria / Johannesburg: Can't go outside, like jail.

Best cooking classes around the world

I found on my trip that taking a cooking class was not only a great way to learn how to cook a region's cuisine, it could also be a great way to meet other travelers, find out from the teachers what the best restaurants are to visit in town, and sometimes have a meal that's even better than at any restaurant. I was lucky enough to have taken six cooking classes around the world in five months; here's the very best and a run down of the rest.

The Best: Baan Thai Cookery School, Chiang Mai Thailand














This was by far the best Thai eating I've had anywhere in the world, since the ingredients were so fresh (we did buy them in the morning after all) and knowing about each ingredient that went in heightened the flavors overall. Here are the highlights of Baan Thai:

* The best market visit, with thorough explanations of each ingredient - now when I eat Thai or Lao food for example, I know that the tiny green things are pea eggplants.
* 100% hands on - each student gets their own workstation and prepares their own ingredients (with the exception of curry paste which everyone makes together). This helps you better learn the different techniques like cutting limes to avoid seeds or thinly slicing kaffir leaves, and also allows you to tailor the spiciness to your personal preference.
* The menu is up to you - for each course, you get to choose one of three options. Even if you're the only one to choose an option (I was the only student to choose the water chestnut dessert), a teacher will still help you make that one dish.
* Fun teachers and convivial atmosphere.

Click here for the full write-up.

The Rest

- Melbourne, Australia: Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School. The most hardcore class I took, this was one where I felt like actually working towards mastering a new skill. Full review here.

- Istanbul, Turkey: Cooking Alaturka. You didn't make everything on your own, but each student got to practice specific skills like roasting and peeling an eggplant. Definitely learned some recipes I'd want to make regularly. Full review here.

- Sydney, Australia: Sydney Seafood School. The only class I took that wasn't full of tourists, this was a surprisingly authentic lesson in Chinese-style seafood. The best part was learning how to clean, take apart ("hold the flaps in a tight little death grip"), and cut the squid ("put your fingers over the eyeballs as you cut..."). Full review here.

- Luang Prabang, Laos: Tamnak Lao. On the bright side, I got to make larb which has become one of my favorite dishes - clean tasting, light, spicy, protein-packed. On the downside, the instruction was lacking and there were too many concessions to western taste. Full review here.

- New Orleans, Louisiana: New Orleans School of Cooking. The only cooking I class that was 100% demonstration with no hands-on component, it was more like being in the audience of a TV cooking show. Entertaining, with a great meal in the end, but some things like praline-making are hard to replicate and I would have loved to have had some hands-on practice with that. Brief write-up here.

Most memorable toilets around the world

Going to the bathroom is a necessity, but when you travel abroad, it can also be an adventure. Here's a collection of the most memorable bathrooms on my RTW trip.

Most comfortable: Transfrontier Safari's Madach Camp, Greater Kruger South Africa

A spectacular view towards the flora and fauna of the African bush out the window, partners up with the odor eliminating properties of a dry climate and the frequent warm breeze. This is the most comfortable, and the most scenic, bathroom of all. Oh and for those keeping track, yes, you can also find the most comfortable bed here at Madach Camp.

Most Historic: Topkapi Palace, Istanbul Turkey

Tucked inside one of the historic buildings right by the exit from the Harem, using the facilities here almost seems naughty like you're actually pooping on a historic monument.

Most Geometric: Everywhere in Argentina

This particular toilet is in the Sheraton in Iguazu, but all of the toilets I saw in Argentina had a square seat. And the bidet was always square too, even in the Buenos Aires hostel.














Most Minimalist: Boat Landing Lodge, Luang Namtha Laos

When I walked our room's bathroom at the Boat Landing Lodge, I thought, "hmm, that is a very simple looking toilet, very sleek." And then I realized it was missing the water tank. Basically to flush the toilet, you fill up he urn to the left, and using a metal pail, you pour the water directly into the bowl.

Most Minimalist Part 2: Roadside restaurant on the road from Luang Namtha to Oudomxay, Laos

Not only is this one of those toilets where you scoop water from the receptacle and pour to flush, you actually share a common water trough with your neighboring toilet! (And yes you can actually see them in the reflection of the water.)

City I'd Most Like to Live In: top of the list

#1 City I'd Most Like to Live In: Melbourne

Melbourne doesn't have the "exotic" appeal of the Latin cities BA or Sao Paulo, following in the tradition of the UK and US culturally-speaking. But it fits like your favorite pair of jeans - maybe they're not the most physically attractive, but they're comfortable, versatile, something you wouldn't mind wearing every day.

Food: You can find anything here, and it's good stuff too. I spent about 50% of my meal times on Victoria Road in Richmond which offers all of the banh mi, pho, and even Thai and Chinese that you could want.

Art & Design Culture: The whole spectrum of art is represented and thriving here, from establishment-y contemporary art museums to small galleries to open studios. Here's a great gallery guide in my favorite neighborhoods.

Public Transport: Excellent. You can get everywhere by train and tram. And walking. I didn't even have to take a bus anywhere.

Overall Energy: Not buzzing like Sao Paulo, and not quite as 24/7 as Buenos Aires, Melbourne

Safety: Except for the recent violence against Asian students, I felt like Melbourne was a fairly safe city.

Shopping: Awesome on Brunswick St in Fitzroy. Not just Australia-based designers, the street hosts Melbourne-based designers who have just one or a few stores open in the country. Plus really personable and knowledgeable service. By comparison, I thought the stores south of the river were more generic and pretentious, so I recommend staying in the Fitroy area.

City I'd Most Like to Live In: first runner up

#2 City I'd Most Like to Live In: Buenos Aires














People say Buenos Aires is a city that's easy to fall in love with. For me, it was instant love. I can't really name any important tourist attractions. BA is more about just being there. The cafe culture is what I think of as Parisian, but have never actually experienced in Paris before. You're tired from walking around all day, and just pop into a cafe and order a coffee (which comes with mineral water and a cookie), and sit there as long as you'd like with no one bothering you. The people are very polite, always lining up for things, and friendly to tourists. And dare I say it, the people are also consistently, across age ranges, both male and female, the most attractive people in the world.

Food: Between the rich lattes, lots of sweets, and the best meal in the world, this is a place where you can eat nonstop.

Art & Design Culture: Pretty good. MALBA was a decent art museum, and Fundacion PROA an engaging contemporary arts space. Not quite as bountiful as Sao Paulo. And the modern and contemporary Argentine work seem to still reference Europe a lot vs. finding their own voice.

Public Transport: Excellent. The Subte (subway) is terrific, and buses are frequent.

Overall Energy: A true 24/7 city (since people don't have dinner until 8 or 10pm, and clubs don't close until dawn). At the same time, it's a bit more calm and sophisticated than Sao Paulo.

Safety: Since it's a 24/7 city, I felt pretty safe walking around after dark. But there were reports of muggings and pickpocketing among others I met, so it's important to keep your wits about you. People said that buses, parts of San Telmo, and La Boca are places to be cautious about.

Shopping: Unfortunately I didn't do much shopping here. Next time!

City I'd Most Like to Live In: second runner-up

#3 City I'd Most Like to Live In: Sao Paulo














This is definitely not a city for everyone. There's no plan, and no real landmarks. There are buildings as far as the eye can see. But I think that may be why I liked it so much. You have to dig a little to love Sao Paulo, but you'll be rewarded by discovering neighborhoods of all different characters from posh to hip, and all sorts of cultural centers like a museum for image and sound.

Food: Not my favorite place to eat. I preferred the simple sandwich and fruit shake cafes to anything else I had in SP.

Art & Design Culture: One of the best in the world. The contemporary art and design scene that can stand on its own without comparisons to Europe or America. There are heaps of exhibits, many of the free.

Public Transport: The metro was great. Very clean, very easy to figure out. I didn't attempt the buses, though I wish I had because there are a lot of places that aren't so accessible by metro (e.g. Ibirapuera Park).

Overall Energy: The whole city is a concrete mass of energy!

Safety: I didn't encounter any problems, but that's because I was already trained in Rio to take tons of precautions, and I didn't venture out of my neighborhood, Jardins, after dark. Supposedly not a very safe city (evidenced by the popularity of armed cars and the prevalence of security guards and tall fences), you should be on your guard all the time. This is probably the one aspect that keeps Sao Paulo from the #2 or even #1 spot for cities I'd most like to live in.

Shopping: SO much fun. There are Brazilian brands that you can't find (easily) in the US, so when someone compliments you on what you're wearing and asks where you got it, you can smile knowingly and say, "Sao Paulo." Plus, all of the stores I went to had a set up where basically the staff who greeted me is also the staff that followed me around and brought me different sizes. But it's not like in the US where if you need a smaller size, they bring you a smaller size. Here, they not only bring you that smaller size, they also bring 5 different styles that you might also like. And when you say, "I like how this pair of jeans is darker," they then bring you 10 more styles. So you could end up leaving the store with something much different than what you came in for. Sort of like the city itself.

Best and Worst of RTW Eats: South America edition

I saved the best of the best for last. And the worst of the worst. All from South America.

The Best
I've already written about the bife de chorizo I had at El Desnivel, as the "best of Buenos Aires." Well, four months later, it's still on top. It's the simplicity of the meal - really it's just one ingredient, grilled - that made it shine.

I was the first customer the day I went, and I'm always a bit worried being the first customer - what if the grill's not heated up? What if the meat's been sitting around on the grill just waiting for the first person to walk in? So I was a bit apprehensive when the waiter came with his silver platter, used a fork to place the steak on my plate, and drizzled the leftover juices from his plate to mine.














Cut it open, and there's this beefy beef that just melts away with a bite or two.














Even the sign's really cool, in an old-school Argentina sort of way. "Desnivel" means "step" in Spanish, and the letters step downwards! Remember it: El Desnivel at Defensa 855 in San Telmo.














The Worst
The worst meal in the entire world was in Sao Paulo. There were actually quite a few meals in Brazil that vied intensively for the title of "Worst," from overly salted feijoada at Brasil a Gosto to soggy, lukewarm, and gooey noodles at a weekly Japanese food fair.

But this meal actually came with anticipation. In my walks around Sao Paulo my first day, I noticed at lunchtime that it seemed like everyone was eating this dish which I later learned was stroganoff. Well, maybe not everyone, but at least everyone who was pretty and looked like a model. So I thought, it must be worth a try.

And what better place to try stroganoff than at a place called "Strogonophy's." It sounded just so perfect. But what it turned out to be was fatty salt served with pellets of salt, topped with fried salt sticks. There was no flavor at all except for table salt. Plus the nauseating texture and look of yellow goop.

Best and Worst of RTW Eats: South Africa edition

Dining in South Africa was a bit boring. The food for the most part is quite like what you can find in the US (Asian, Mediterranean...), with only a few exceptions being the kwota, Cape Malay (too sweet and not spicy enough for me), the minced beef curry called bobotie (see Cape Malay), and a few other foods. Even in Cape Town which a lot of people say is a foodie's city, I was rather underwhelmed.

The Best
I already wrote about Nando's Portuguese-inspired chicken here, having had it my last day in Australia (Nando's operates on five continents now, but not in Portugal not surprisingly, and unfortunately can only be found in DC in the US). The signature dish, peri-peri chicken, is just addictively spicy, sour, and juicy...my mouth is watering as I type this. Served with fries topped with peri-peri sprinkles, on nice china, with an ocean front table in the upscale Cape Town beach suburb of Camp's Bay, foodies will riot but Nando's was by far my best meal in South Africa.














The Worst
This meal is a reminder of all of what I didn't like about Pretoria/Johannesburg: few signs of life in walking distance to each other, and a depressing guesthouse. Oh yeah, and (at least the perception of) widespread crime. You're not supposed walk around after dark (and actually most people just don't walk outside, period), so I had to buy my dinner at a supermarket in the daytime since I didn't have a car. Result: soggy ham and cheese sandwich in a box.

Best and Worst of RTW Eats: Turkey edition

Turkey was so full of new eating adventures. Sure, there were the endless variations of meat: meat balls, meat logs, meat patties, meat strips... but at the same time there was such a diverse range of foods I'd never heard about before. With that, this edition of "Best and Worst of RTW Eats" is expanded to include not just overall best and worst, but also highlights of the more unique dishes I'd tried.

The Best
This meal at Urfalim (on Muradiye Cad. in Sirkeci) brought to mind the phrase "simple pleasures," in the I-would-eat-this-at-home-everyday sort of way. The Ezogelin çorbası was satisfyingly sour with great depth of flavor (I posted the recipe for this from my cooking class here). Lahmacun is a super thin pizza with minced meat and tomatoes on top. I wrapped the little pile of herbs to the left and made a little wrap out of it. Carbs, protein, and veggies all in a crunchy wood fired crust - what more could you want?














The Worst
On my first day in Istanbul, I didn't know where to go so I just got a döner kebap from an open-to-the-sidewalk restaurant close to the Blue Mosque. I saw a huge crowd of people outside, so I figured it should be decent. Well, the crowd turned out to be tourists who didn't know any better either and were probably following each other just like I had. What was handed to me was a loaf of bread with the most meager slices of dry and greasy meat strips and a couple cold and greasy french fries on top.














Most Unusual - in a good way
You can see people eating kumpir all over Turkey. First a baked potato is cut open, and filled with butter and cheese. This is all mixed up quickly by hand. On top of this masehd potato is a variety of toppings. I tried a classic version, with salami cubes, olives, pickles, corn, chili paste, and the best topping for a stuffed potato of all: potato salad. This all is then topped with ketchup and mayonnaise. I really liked the mix of textures and flavors, and of course the rib sticking goodness of mashed potato on the bottom. Half way through I was happy and satiated. After I finished it all, I was ready for a nap. I had my kumpir at Otantik Kumpir in the Cevahir mall.














Most Unusual - in a not so good way
This was a tie between Tavuk Göğsü, the pudding dessert made with chicken breast meat, which I'd already written about here, and the dish below called Hemsin Mihlana. I'd eaten at this restaurant Fasuli (several locations, including one on Muradiye Cad. close to Urfalim) before where I tried their namesake dish of "famous bean and lamb stew." I liked the restaurant a lot - clean and brightly lit, with a menu full of dishes I'd never heard of. I returned and tried "famous Hemsin style corn with butter and special cheese." If it says "famous" in the menu, it must be good!

They really weren't kidding about the butter and cheese part. Imagine one part corn meal, one part white cubes of cheese, and two parts butter. I tried to scoop out the cheese bits because those were actually the least greasy part of the dish.

Maybe I was supposed order some other accompaniment (besides bread), or maybe there's some other method of consuming this. If someone who is more familiar with Turkish food knows, please let me know!

Best and Worst of RTW Eats: Southeast Asia edition

My month in Southeast Asia took me to Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Certainly there were highlights in each of these countries, so it was tough deciding but here goes:

The Best
I wasn't expecting much eating at our Luang Prabang hotel Le Bel Air, the first night we stayed. We requested it just a couple hours before eating, and the hotel didn't have a bona fide restaurant. We were to eat by ourselves in the outdoors breakfast dining area (while it was pouring rain). But it turned out to be so atmospheric, our table lit by a single candle. And our dishes had an awesome range of flavors and textures. There was kaipan, dried river grass coated in sesame served with jeow dip; this was crispy and savory. The "Luang Prabang curry" with bamboo shoots, pea eggplant, beef, and leafy greens was spicy and bitter all at the same time - quite nice. The pork and buffalo sausages were perfectly done, with crispy exterior and moist interior. And the green curry with chicken was suitably spicy.











The Worst
The race for "worst in Southeast Asia" was a statistical dead heat among a dozen meals I had in Cambodia, from the ubiquitous and coyingly sweet and creamy amok, to the entirely forgettable meals in the Angkor temple areas. But the one eating experience that is directionally even worse than the others was one that initially brought me a lot of excitement. After a couple days of lackluster eating in Siem Reap, we went outside to eat breakfast at a streetside stall. Then I noticed a man pushing a food cart in front of us, and I lept up at the chance to try some street snacks which I'm a big fan of. They looked like Chinese baozi: how can you go wrong with carbs and some sort of filling inside? They're steamed, so you know they're hygienic too.

Wow, someone must have used a lot of brainpower to come up with a filling that combined the taste of metallic gelatin and the mouthfeel of soft boiled knuckles. I think there was onion and bits of pork parts inside, but I can't be too sure.

Best and Worst of RTW Eats: Australia / New Zealand edition

For my roundup of the best and worst meals around the world, I'm starting from the very end: my last month in Australia and New Zealand.

The Best
I've already waxed rhapsodic in my posting here about Nhu Lan's banh mi, so there's not much more to say. Culinary perfection.














The Worst
This was a tossup between eating the same pastrami and cheese sandwich for the sixth time in three days (I had to make my own lunch for the Franz Josef glacier hike, so needed to use up an entire loaf of bread and package of meat and cheese), and the Lao food from the International Food Court on Ponsonby Rd in Auckland. The Lao food won. Totally unlike the food I had in Laos (will post about that next), this curry was creamy, sweet, and not spicy. I couldn't finish it, and not just because the portion size was so large.

RTW Roundup: Best and worst places for internet

Getting online was really important to me in my four months around the world, so every hostel, guesthouse, and hotel I chose had to have internet access. Of course, this sometimes meant, "I know nothing about computers, you'll have to wait for my husband to wake up," or "we're in the process of getting our wireless fixed." I got in the habit of asking specifically if wifi was "in room" or "lobby only," and how much it was whenever I made a reservation. Without further ado, here are the best and worst places around the world for internet:

The Best: South America

Maybe I had great luck, but from my hostel in Buenos Aires, to the Sheraton at Iguazu, to the two guesthouses in Rio and Sao Paulo, all of the internet connection worked as advertised. They all had fast, in-room access, and with the exception of the Sheraton, they were all free and unlimited.

The Worst: New Zealand

Okay, I am excluding Laos because seriously, you've got to cut it some slack since even electricity was a scarce commodity in most places we went.

The worst place for accessing internet was New Zealand. It was free (though slow) only at one hotel; at every other place not only was internet expensive, it was CONFUSING!

Here's one example of internet access terms:

$0.68 per minute up to $33.69 for 24 hours from when you first connect. $0.10 per MB if you use over 100 MB within the 24 hours.

Did someone just roll a few dice and come up with these numbers? My first day, I racked up close to NZ$50 for just two hours of internet; that's more than US$30.

Here's another example:

One Hour Access - No Limit - 256/320kb 6.00 NZD

Two Hour Access - No Limit - 256/320kb 10.00 NZD

24hr Access - 500mb - 256/320kb 15.00 NZD

One Week Access - 800mb - 256/320kb 30.00 NZD

Two Week Access - 2Gb - 256/320kb 40.00 NZD

Four Week Access - 5Gb - 256/320kb 50.00 NZD

And believe it or not, these were not the worst. At one hostel, the internet provider created a pricing scheme that combined four different variables: duration of time online, duration of access validity, amount of data upload/download, and price. So you could choose, e.g. 3 hours of access expiring in 3 hours with 20 MB of data for $10, or 2 hours of access expiring in 48 hours with unlimited data for $12. There were about six or seven of these options.

Seriously, NZ internet providers need to learn that when presented with too much choice, consumers will get paralyzed and run to the nearest coffee shop with free wifi (like what I did in Queenstown).

RTW Roundup: Funniest hotel breakfast

Pousada Dona Zilah in Sao Paulo had the best breakfast, and I don't think I ever had a breakfast that I would be able to call "the worst." But certainly one breakfast deserves the title of "funniest."

We were in this Lao town called Muang Sing, in the far northern region on the border with China. This was our base for a trek to see some villages, as part of an 8-day tour. Though it's the biggest town for miles around, there still wasn't electricity for the first day we were there, and judging by the people we saw in town, there were only a few other foreigners staying here.

And we were pretty much the only customers staying at our guesthouse, Phou Iu 2. It's a group of maybe a dozen bungalows facing a central grassy garden area that doubled as the parking lot. There wasn't a reception desk; our driver just honked his horn and someone came out of their own bungalow to give us the key.

It was out of this bungalow that our toasted bread emerged, to complement some fresh fruit. The bread looks like French bread, but the crust is soft and the inside a tad sweet.

Along with bread and fruit, we got a choice of coffee or tea, and either fried egg or omelette. Here is the fried egg, on which my mom already poured some soy sauce.














Since I got the fried egg the first morning, I decided to try the omelette on the second day. My mom's fried egg came out pretty quickly.

...

I waited and waited. The omelette must involve a lot of chopping of ingredients, beating the egg, etc. Or maybe they needed to learn how to make an omelette, since maybe it's novel in this area.

...

Then I was thinking maybe they still needed to get some ingredients. Our first day, a man on a motorcycle drove out after we sat down at the breakfast table, and returned with half a bottle of cooking oil to fry the eggs with.

...

Finally a plate comes out and it is... fried egg. Identical to the one that came out five minutes ago.

I couldn't stop laughing! They put in so much effort for my "omelette." It was a good breakfast in the end as I do like fried egg, and sitting in the open air bungalow surrounded by tropical plants made for a pleasant atmosphere.

RTW Roundup: Best complimentary hotel breakfast

Unlike in my road trip across the US where I stayed at a lot of budget chain hotels, offering consistent, standardized "free breakfasts," the only hotel brand I stayed in twice in my four months didn't offer free breakfast (Novotel). Instead, my free breakfasts ranged from white bread toast (Vanilla Place, Chiang Mai, Thailand) to elaborate international buffet with a range of baked goods, fruit juices, and hot items (Sheraton, Iguazu Falls, Argentina).

My favorite "free" hotel breakfast of all was at Pousada Dona Zilah, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A great combination of good food, relaxing atmosphere, and inventive menu. Oh yeah, and breakfast is served from 7am all the way to 11am, which is perfect for people like me who want to sleep in!

The buffet is set up in this little serving area. The quaint decor, small serving plates, and the fact that this was a bona fide restaurant serving lunch and dinner for paying customers, gave me the exhilarating, naughty feeling that I just walked into a cute cafe and started helping myself to all of the food when the staff wasn't looking.

The eating area was bathed in natural light, which was so pleasant and something to look forward to after spending the night in a room lacking in natural light. It was autumn in Sao Paulo, and the large windows were always open to the street.














There were always standard items like a sausage and onion stir-fry, and potato and ham casserole. But then they always had a rotating selection of fresh fruit like star fruit, persimmon (brought over by the Japanese immigrants), and guava. And there were always around six different breakfast loaves and cakes, including chocolate cake and cornmeal bread steamed in banana leaves. In the breakfast below, I'm also trying out the guava jam (not from a can) and "limonada especial" which had mint blended in.














The varieties of fruits, juices, and breakfast breads always changed, so even though I stayed seven nights I always got to try new things. Like one morning a puree of avocado served in a wine glass appeared.














On another day, coconut cake and guava pudding appeared. One of my favorites was the French loaf baked with ham and cheese inside - I always got a slice or two whenever that appeared.

Pousada Dona Zilah's breakfast selection wasn't the most extensive. But it was certainly the most refreshing in both the taste and freshness of the food, as well as how it broke away from standard, predictable buffet breakfasts.

RTW Roundup: Best hotel bed

Now that my roundup of airlines is finished, I turn my attention towards the various accommodations on the road.

The best night's sleep I had in my four months wasn't in an actual hotel, it was in a tent at Transfrontier Safari's Madach camp on the Timvabati Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger National Park (South Africa). Nap time during the day was a beautiful event, the warmth of the bush lulling you to sleep as you wait for that cool breeze to come by. Nighttime was full of insect and animal sounds, but lying on top of the futon-like mattress and under two heavy comforters, I fell fast asleep. And stayed so asleep that I even slept right through a herd of buffalo coming through the camp!

RTW Roundup: Best airline amenity kits

I got to fly a bunch of new airlines in business class on my Round-the-World trip, and one of my favorite parts was opening up the goody bag, I mean, amenity kit once I got on board!

The Best

My favorite amenity kit was the South African Airways one, because it was packed with fun stuff. Like key chain, tiny notepad, tiny tiny pen. The travel toothbrush unfurls into a full-size one with a nice hand grip. Lots of items including the bag itself are branded with the baobab icon, the symbol of the South African business class (that's cool in itself how the service has its own logo). And the whole kit becomes a hanging toiletry bag with a fold-in hook; in my travels I learned that it should be mandatory for toiletry bags to have hooks on them, since counter space in bathrooms seems to be an "only-in-America" phenomenon. The tiny pouches holding all of the stuff actually detach as well, and become... belt packs?

Bath products include Colgate toothpaste, and Clarins Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm, Multi-Active Day Cream, and Invigorating Fragrance.

My other favorite is the Turkish Airlines amenity kit. The case is quite elegant with a zippered opening and a wide handle. Inside is a soft drawstring bag which velcroes in. Bath products include Colgate toothpaste, and L'Occitane Verbena Body Lotion, Anti-Drying Lip Balm, and Citrus Verbena Eau de Cologne.

This one just sneaks into the "Best" category, and is somewhat of a fluke. On my United Airlines SYD-LAX flight, we were given these first class amenity kits, not the regular business class ones (below). The shape of the case indicates that you can use it as a travel portfolio later, and the inside pockets neatly organize all of the goodies. Bath products include Colgate toothpaste, Scope mouthwash, and H20+ Exfoliating Marine Body Butter, Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment, and Lip Mending Hydrating Complex. I've become a fan of H20+ products after getting a bath kit in the Sao Paulo United Red Carpet Club, and using all of the products throughout my trip.












The Rest
The regular United Airlines toiletry kit comes in a plain drawstring bag, and substitutes White by Smint Natural Whitening breath mints for the first class Scope, and only includes the H20+ Exfoliating Body Butter. Still, I like how it includes a pack of facial tissues, which do come in handy when traveling.












The big disappointment for me was the Singapore Airlines amenity kit I got on my SIN-SYD flight. They just give you eyeshades and a drawstring bag that includes booties. They're very nice, plush booties, but still, where did the bath products go?