Circumnavigation - by Quillian

My family and I were lucky enough to spend the last five months traveling the world. I am going to tell you where the countries are located, what language they speak, what food they eat, if anything was different, uncomfortable, or weird, what book I was reading, any interesting stories, and if I would recommend going there.

French Polynesia is a large grouping of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. In French Polynesia they speak French and Tahitian or their island languages. The food is mostly fish but there is also chicken for lunch, fruit, and awesome pastries for breakfast. My favorite thing was the pastries. I mean, who doesn't want a good French Pastry? On Rangiroa, the first island we went to, our host gave us a pan filled with fresh delicious tuna, which her husband caught that day. To go swimming we had to go across someone's yard full of coconut trees and run to the other side because the coconuts above our head, hanging down from the trees, might fall on us. At night, that same neighbor would throw big music parties for New Year’s week.  In Fakarava, I was uncomfortable because I got sick with a fever and later because of the hot temperature outside and later because of the ants infestation, mosquitoes, and cockroaches. 

In French Polynesia I was reading Wings of Fire 6 and 7 written by Tui T. Sutherland. 

I would recommend French Polynesia as a place to visit. In Fakarava I recommend staying four days and Rangiroa seven. You should rent bikes and be prepared to be super, super hot. 

New Zealand is two large islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The Kiwis (New Zealanders) speak English with speed, an accent, and a lot of slang. They eat slippery sandwiches, meat pies, and mutton. We hiked the Bank's track, the Queen Charlotte Track, and Able Tasman. It was a little scary driving because the roads were very twisty, narrow, and turny. 

I was reading Wings of Fire 7, 8, and 9 by Sutherland, Wondersmith Hollowpox by Jessica Townsend, and the Wings of Fire Guide to the Dragon's World, also written by Sutherland. 

In New Zealand there are tons of funny things. I will tell you a few. Once we stayed at an Air B and B called The Cowshed. There were tons of cow stuffed animals, everything was cow print, even the toilet seat had a cow on it. Later our family was at a store and Tre found a ketchup area where they even had banana ketchup, cayenne and watermelon ketchup, carrot ketchup, chunky chow-chow cauliflower relish and sweet corn relish. You have to go to New Zealand. The hikes are so fun. You could easily spend one month or more on each island. Go to the Ohope Beach Resort. They have five pools and no kids, and only old retired people. 

Tasmania is an island a bit south of the Australian mainland in the Southern Ocean. Tassies speak English with an Aussie accent. The food is slippery sandwiches, fries, as well as,  fish and chips. When we were staying near the area they call the Bay of Fires, we took a surf lesson.  The water was a little cold so we were wetsuits, so we could stay in longer. First we took a lesson on the shore.  Next, we walked out through the waves.  It was hard because there was a strong current.  We tried to catch waves and surf back to the beach. It was easy to catch the wave but hard to stand up.  It was hard when I could not stand up on a wave while surfing. But eventually, I switched boards with my Dad so I could try a longer board and surfed all the way back to the beach.  

In Australia I continued to read Hollowpox by Townsend. 

We had my dad’s birthday in Sydney, Australia. It was so fun. I recommend Australia. It is amazing. But try to always have a kitchen because they don’t have the best food.  

        Indonesia is a big group of Islands in between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Raja Ampat is an area  of Indonesia made up of four big islands and hundreds of small islands.  The food is spicy and there is a lot of fish. For sauces they have peanut sauce and sambal. While we were in Raja Ampat, we stayed on a boat. I would snorkel up to four times a day, if I wanted. I got to see many reef sharks, pretty coral, puffer fish, box fish, tons and tons of jellyfish, and even cuttlefish. I did find out that I am a little allergic to some of the jellyfish, and me and my dad got tons of small bumps, kind of like mosquito bites.  They were super itchy and lasted a week.  

            We also went to Borneo.  Borneo is the biggest island in the world. Three countries make up the island of Borneo, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. We went to the Indonesian portion called Kalimantan. Borneo was uncomfortable because you had to sleep outside and it was buggy, hot, and humid! The orangutans and monkeys are super cool and human-like. The birds are also very beautiful. We also saw tarantulas, snakes, giant spiders, and other things.  Our orangutan guide, Andreas, took us to a local market selling dead and alive fish, shallots fruits, including durian, and veggies. There were also giant blocks of black jello like stuff and giant bowls of shrimp paste.It was so cool and intense! 

I read Warriors series books 1-6, written by Erin Hunter, while in Indonesia.

You should go to Indonesia, and if you can, you should go on a riverboat. If you go to Borneo, go with Andreas. He is the best river boat tour guide and actually knows all about the orangutans and other stuff. 

Singapore is a city, country, and an island. They speak English, Tamil, Mandarin, and Malay. Most of the food is really good, but everything comes with way too many sauces. They love their prawns, you can't go anywhere without them. Don’t get the egg sandwiches—they (at least the ones we had) came with barbeque sauce, prawns, and lots of aiolis. In Singapore, they also really like to stand in lines and are very good about it.  If a few people que up, then more people will come and get in line thinking, “this must be good” and the line will just grow.  There were tons of clothing and food stores everywhere.  So many people come to Singapore to go shopping. Singapore also has so many rules.  You can’t play an instrument in an annoying way, it is considered hacking to connect to someone else’s wifi, no feeding the pigeons, no crossing the street without a crosswalk within 50 meters of you, and no walking around your house naked.

I read book seven in Warriors by Hunter. 

You should travel here. Stay at least two weeks. We stayed for three days, but we were only traveling through.

Vietnam is a country bordering the South China Sea. The food is weird. They mainly serve the Vietnamese pancake, Pho, Bahn Mi, and Bun Cha (Vietnamese Meatballs). The driving in Vietnam is so crazy!!! These are the Hanoi traffic rules: Green—I can go. Yellow—I can go. Red—I still can go. As soon as you walk out your door, you always start hyperventilating because there are tons of scooters passing right in front of you. . 

Right in the alleyway in front of our hotel was a packed market with motorcycles going through it. Some of the things they were selling were fruit, live eels, huge fish, chicken with heads still attached, and giant slabs of meat.

It’s super fun here, but all the street food is right on the street, next to someone’s feet and cigarette butts!

We were in Vietnam for two and a half weeks.  We went on a tour in the rice fields for three days with hikes in it. We hiked through rice fields, through towns, along the sides of the mountains and through the woods.  We didn’t see any other tourists that looked like us.  It was just us and the locals and we stood out.  Everyone would stop and look at us wondering why we were there, but everyone was very friendly. All the people from Vietnam called my “Baby” because they call all children ‘baby”.  They all would pat me on the head and ask if they could take a photo with me.  Once, I went into a public bathroom and when I went to wash my hands and a lady came up and asked if I’d like some soap.  While I washed my hands with the soap, she came up to me again and asked if I’d like a towel.  I said, “Kham Un” which is thank you in their language and she wiped her hand on my shoulder and then smelled her hand because she wanted to know what I smelled like.  When I walked away she was still watching me and smiling. She did this for the rest of the time we were standing there. They were all so friendly and interested in me because I have blond hair and blue eyes and fair skin.  You should go for three days (on the tour, not for the whole country), during the winter, because it is so hot. You should stay for two and a half weeks or more in the whole country because there is so much to see.

I read books seven and eight in the Warriors Series by Hunter. 

Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean. The main languages they speak are Sinhala and Tamil. The food is: curry for breakfast, curry for lunch, and curry for dinner! If they ask your spice level, say medium American, none, or mild, or else it will be way too spicy! When they eat, they take banana leaves, rice, and curry and they smear the curry in the rice and eat it with their hands. I really liked it. 

We went to Sri Lanka in April. The temperature was 85 to a hundred degrees. Don’t plan on hiking, you’ll sweat a ton! But of course, we went hiking all over the place because my parents are crazy. We also hiked up to many mountain top temples.  One of the temples had a gigantic Buddha that was as tall as a building. There are temples and Buddhas all over the place.  

We also went to the beach in the town of Marissa.  I loved to play in the waves.  On the second day I lost my favorite pair of goggles and on the third day I lost my snorkeling mask. So we had to go on a crazy tuk tuk adventure in the city of Columbo to find new ones.   

If you take a cab or anything, there will be no seatbelts and chairs falling off the floors, so be prepared. Instead of a cab, you can take a tuk-tuk—they’re way better. I wrote a blogpost on tuk-tuks if you're interested called “Let’s Get the Tuk Out of Here”.

I was reading books nine and ten in Warriors. You have to go to Sri Lanka, the food is amazing! But bring lots of salt tabs to avoid dehydration.

Croatia is a country on the Adriatic sea. They speak Croatian. They eat risotto with black squid ink, small grilled meat sausages (my favorite), and kebabs. Tre and Ariana tried shark steak and frog legs. We did lots of short hikes on the mountains.  We stayed in the old town of Dubrovnik.  This is a stone city with tall walls all the way around it.  It has tons of huge, enormous cats walking the streets.  So cute! On one, day we hiked all the way around the city on top of the stone walls.  They had great views of the ocean, so if any attackers came you could see them from miles away.  

I read book ten in Warriors by Hunter. Go here for one week to two weeks, and spend three to four days in Old Town Dubrovnik and some time in the city of Split. 

Montenegro is a country on the Adriatic sea. They speak Montenegrin. They eat prosciutto, ham, olives, meat patties, and kebabs. The tourist food is pizza.

One time, we did a hike called “the Ladder” which was a switch back up a mountain.  We hiked two thousand feet and then climbed through a window in a stone wall into the walled city of Kotor. Then we hiked further up on the stone stairs to the castle area.  It was amazing with a great view.  

I read book eleven in Warriors, by Hunter. 

Once, my mom and I went to go get olives and other stuff at a stall. A lady dug her hand into a walnut basket and handed me a handful of walnuts. So unsanitary. Hahahaha! Montenegro is amazing, you should stay a week or two. 

Bosnia-Herzegovina is a country on the Adriatic sea. We only got to spend two days in this country when we visited the city of Mostar.  I was disappointed because I wanted to stay longer, it was super fun.  Mostar is a stone city with two big bridges.  On the largest of the bridges some men in swimming suits ask tourists for money.  Once they gather about 30 Euro or Tradable Marks, they jump off the bridge and plummet down 30 meters into the river.  They claim it is the coldest river in the world but it never freezes over. I don’t think they have swam in Alaska.  The food is: Cevapi (my favorite meat sausages), kebabs, flat bread, and gelato. You should visit Bosnia-Herzegovina for three days to one week. 

Greece is a country in the Agean sea. The people speak Greek. The food is gyros, koftas, souvlaki, and pita bread. Amazing food!

Though Athens is not the most beautiful city, there are great ruins. You may see some buildings with flowers and small balconies that are gray, tan, and dirty white. Those are an old style of buildings made to look like some of the older Greek architecture. If you go to any ruins, try to see if Rick Steves can narrate on your earbuds, it’s really nice. We went to the ancient Agora and the Acropolis.  It was very hot but very cool.  

After Athens, we went to two of the Greek islands.  The first was Milos and the second was Sifnos. The Greek islands are really fun. The islands are small, mountainous, and rocky.  The weather is hot and dry.  All the buildings are white and square with rounded corners.  They are very pretty to look at. I recommend going before or after the tourist season and bringing a wet suit because the water can be cold.

I read books 12-14 in Warriors in Athens and book 15 on Milos. If you travel and haven’t been here you should put it on the top of the list to travel to.

Conclusion

Travelling is really fun but also challenging. While traveling through these countries I found that most people are really nice.  Some are nicer than others.  Another thing I learned is that you want to have the least luggage possible because you have to pack it over and over and carry it even when it is hot.  You should always learn how to say “thank you” and “hello” in the language of the locals.  It shows the locals that you are trying and they will be friendlier to you.  

This paper marks the end of homeschool, but don’t worry we will keep writing on the blog. Thanks for reading.