YOU CAN NEVER GET LOST WHEN YOU'VE NOWHERE TO GO
Trip Start
Oct 08, 2003
1
18
Trip End
Apr 27, 2004
London, England, United Kingdom
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
So after nearly 2 years and 18* countries (2 of which we went to twice) this particular Mr and Mrs R Tour draws to a close. All that's left to do is tell you our favourite 31 places.
How did we choose this list? Easy, they were the places we enjoyed the most. But before you plan your next 31 years of holidays on the strength of Mr & Mrs R's favourite destinations you'd better have a word with us. After all, we wouldn't like you to end up in Sindou in Burkina Faso without being fully aware of what you're letting yourself in for - weeks on the road staying in hotels with skanking sheets, eating malnutritious and unhygienic food, and being cocooned from world events due to a lack of TVs, newspapers, or radio reception can slightly skew your idea of what is enjoyable.
So, quite a few of these places had clean sheets, nice food, good beer, and a reception for the BBC World Service. If there were any 'sights' that was a bonus. But to be honest, it wasn't a prerequisite for entry into the list. Far more memorable for us were interesting encounters and conversations.
So working up, 31 to 1 ...
31. Cape Coast, Ghana. Eye-opening slave forts; living in student halls.
30. Mirhleft, Morocco. Divine egg tagine, but where were all the women?
29. Marsabit, Kenya. Deserted, peaceful part of Northern Kenya.
28. Gedaref, Sudan. Our first stop outside Ethiopia. Fuul & falafel have never tasted so good.
27. Layounne, Western Sahara, Morocco. Lush green football stadium, middle of the desert.
26. Kolkata, India. Mixture of old and new.
25. Accra, Ghana. Fun city, good booze.
24. Awassa, Ethiopia. A friendly town with reasonable food in a hostile country with minging grub.
23. Kumasi, Ghana. Bubra stout. MMMmmmmm. The best beer in Africa?
22. Chinguetti, Mauritania. Hotter than hell; camel ride; ancient library.
21. Aswan, Egypt. The friendliest place on the Egyptian tourist trail.
20. Kalamata, Greece. Small, eccentric, red-haired, old female guest house owner: "Paw, paw, paw, paw, paaw"
19. Chittagong, Bangladesh. The cricket & Mr Moeiz.
18. Sindou, Burkina Faso. Awful accommodation, awful food, monsoon rain. A good time regardless.
17. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Crazy place, friendly people.
16. Pemba, Zanzibar archipellago, Tanzania. Stunning sunsets from a hammock.
15. Srimangal, Bangladesh. Tea estates & British government guest house.
14. Ouannskra, Morocco. Up in the High Atlas Mountains with Abdul Rahim.
13. Marrakech, Morocco. Mr R has left a piece of his head there! A great place to convalesce.
12. Bale Mountain National Park, Ethiopia. Simply wonderful (Mrs R); Absolutely miserable (Mr R).
11. Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. Ocean Hill Guest House, good beach and 5kms from Galle Cricket Ground.
10. Barcelona, Spain. Crazy architecture, rockin' music.
9. Liati Wote, Ghana. A mushroom stew from heaven.
8. Atbara, Sudan. A train graveyard.
7. Kaziranga National Park, India. Elephant safari, and Wild Grass guest house.
6. Amadzofe, Ghana. Another Saturday night in with the local fire water, perfect BBC world service reception & Carlisle 1 Lincoln 0.
5. Karima, Sudan. Deserted desert pyramids.
4. Alexandria, Egypt. Our own washing machine, kitchen and Cleopatra souq.
3. Kardamyli, Greece. Good walking, good reading, good cooking.
2. Passekudah, Sri Lanka. The best beaches, and the best seafood. Bar none.
1. Cherrapunji, India. Women of Meghalaya have taken over. Plus stunning scenery and the best breakfasts ever!
OK, that's all ... we're off to plan the next one. This is likely to be the last e-mail clogging up your inboxes for some time. But just remember that you're never alone with Maureen & Derek; Vernon & Ethel; or even Bob & Terry!
Ta ta,
Mr & Mrs R
* The trip in full, April 2002 to March 2004 .....England - France - Andorra - Spain - Morocco - Mauritania - Senegal - Mali - Burkina Faso - Ghana - Tanzania - Kenya - Ethiopia - Sudan - Egypt - Greece - England - Bangladesh - India - Sri Lanka - India - Bangladesh - England
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Mr & Mrs R On Tour With Carlisle United:
It's not the despair. We can take the despair. it's the hope.
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