Hong Kong, CHINA - The End of my 17 month trip, 37 countries, 32,232 pictures!

I am safely back home from Japan, the final country of my long trip. I once again realized what a great country Japan is! Of the almost 70 countries I have so far visited during my life, I'll rank Japan within the top 5!

Looking back on my trip: a week short of 17 months and visited 37 countries in Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, South America, Central, North America, Hawaii, Africa, Asia and Japan. This, was the most amazing time of my life!

People often ask me questions such as which country did you like most; which has the friendliest people; cleanest; best nature; etc etc. Herewith the list of countries I have done, plus my top 5 in each category:

Countries Visited (does not include any "transit-only" countries):
Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Canada (Only Montreal and Toronto), USA (only New York, Seattle, Hawaii, Alaska -- Alaska being the 46th state have I visited), South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, Hong Kong (home base), Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and Japan.

My 32,232 pictures (yip, digital) attest of how beautiful our planet is.

Top 5-or more (in not exact order -- too difficult to decide). Reminder that my evaluation is based on as much or as little as I have spent in each country. Have I spent considerable time in each, my evaluation would certainly change)

MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY
South Africa, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia
MOST FAVOURITE COUNTRY OVERALL (Taking into account safety, food, beauty, people, nature, etc)
Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Argentina, Costa Rica
BEST FOOD
South Africa, Japan, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico
WORST FOOD
All of Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru
BEST LOOKING PEOPLE
Brazil, Argentina, Sweden, Thailand, Greece
FRIENDLIEST PEOPLE
Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Japan, Most of South/Central America
BEST WILDLIFE
South Africa, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Alaska
BEST SCENERY- mountains, rivers, jungle etc
South Africa, Japan, Costa Rica, Alaska, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru
BEST CULTURE
Guatemala, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Peru
CLEANEST COUNTRIES
Japan, Japan, Japan, Scandinavia, Thailand/Laos/Myanmar
DIRTIEST - Garbage everywhere
All of Central America (exept for Costa Rica), Colombia, Ecuador, Patagonia (Argentina), Mexico
SAFEST COUNTRIES
Japan, Myanmar, Laos, Hong Kong (China), Thailand
MOST AMAZING CITIES (not taking into account safety)
Mexico City (Mexico), St. Petersburg (Russia), Rio (Brazil), Berlin (Germany), Hong Kong (China), Budapest (Hungary), Cape Town (South Africa)
WORST CITIES (overall)
Managua (Nicaragua), San Salvador (El Salvador), Guatemala City (Guatemala)
KEEP ON YOUR GUARD IN THESE (READ: NOT TOO SAFE)
South Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Ecuador
MOST AMAZING EXPERIENCES
Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (wildlife), Bolivia (salt lakes), Peru (Inca Trail), Guatemala/Nicaragua/Hawaii/Japan (volcanoes), Colombia (mud volcano)...let me add: Alaska and Argentina (glaciers), Costa Rica/Argentina/South Africa (wildlife), Norway (volcanic islands 1000km north of arctic circle), Belize (staying with local Mayan Indians), Ecuador (Amazon rivers and jungle), Brazil (Pantanal swamps/wildlife)
COUNTRY WHICH SURPRIZED ME MOST (POSITIVELY)
Romania, Russia, Bulgaria, Myanmar, Ecuador

We live on an awesomely beautiful planet. However, as we all know, our planet is changing very fast. As I traveled, I witnessed this change -- destruction of rain forests (South and Central America), receding glaciers (Argentina and Alaska), garbage everywhere (South/Central America), and increased tourism place immense pressure on efforts to conserve culture and nature. Act locally and do everything you can to keep our planet clean and beautiful. Go and travel the world -- it will change your life, as it is changing mine!