I made a table

I wish I could say that I built a table with my own two hands out of a Douglas fir tree that I sustainably harvested, but I didn't. I don't have that skill set. Instead, I made a table with information and advice about most of the countries I visited this fall and winter. These places all deserve more than a few brief blurbs but heyyo this girl has not found the time to do that yet. Keep in mind this is purely based on my personal experiences of being in each country for a range of 1 to 3 weeks. Let me know if you want to hear more about a specific place or experience! Posts about Malaysia to come ASAP.

	Food	Sleep	Transportation	Safety	Other notes
Colombia	Lots of rice, fish, chicken, fresh fruits and veggies. Super cheap and delicious!	Cheap (US$7-10/night), and overall beautiful hostels! My favorite was Casa Elemento above Minca.	The cities of Bogota and Medellin both have impressive public transportation systems. Between cities, I mostly took night buses, on which I did not sleep very well (or not at all).	Lots of unpleasant sexual harassment on the streets, particularly in Cartagena.	I learned to pay only for 1 night at a time at a hostel here. You don’t want to be stuck in a dorm that shares a wall with a noisy club with a bunch of cocaine snorting roommates for 2 nights when you have food poisoning  :(
Bolivia	An abundance of rice and fried chicken. Quality ketchup in American establishments.	Cheap ($4-10) hostels. It is a pleasant surprise if your dorm has outlets and an even better surprise if the bathrooms have hot water, lights, hand soap, and toilet paper!	Lots of super cheap comfy buses with plenty of legroom. By the time I arrived in Bolivia, I’d decided to avoid night buses at all costs. I listened to many political podcasts and watched the scenery pass by. I recommend this.	Besides being groped in La Paz, I felt pretty safe in Bolivia. Of course, as for most cities worldwide,  I would never walk alone at night and I kept my valuables close. Of course, always listen to the locals’ advice.	Bring your own toilet paper with you everywhere!!!!! My sleeping bag liner came in handy here, as cleanliness varied a lot between the super budget hostels.
Peru	CEVICHE! Yummy vegetarian restaurants in Lima and Cusco.	My lodging ranged from nice, warm hostel dorms ($8-15) to freezing cold sleeping bags and tents on treks. Bring your own gear!	Lots of long, uncomfortable bus and van rides to get places… However, the places those vehicles are taking you are amazing and upon arrival you will probably be hiking a long distance so it’s totally worth the drive.	Being a blonde woman travelling alone didn’t seem to attract as much attention in Peru as it did in other places. That was nice.	For most treks, you can go with our without a guide. Either way, I recommend bringing at least your own sleeping bag because the gear provided by guiding companies was oftentimes not sufficiently warm enough when sleeping at 4000m or so elevation.
Iceland	So expensive (compared to South America)  that I ate milk and cereal and PB&Js the entire time.	The most affordable hostel I could find in Reykjavik was around $30/night.	RENT A CAR!! So much cheaper and flexible than bus tours.	Probably the safest place I’ve ever been in my entire life.	Iceland is such a naturally beautiful country! I hope to return in a time of year when there is more daylight and when I am not on such a tight budget.
United Kingdom	Delicious food carts where I ate my weight in gourmet mac & cheese. I had to, word is there’s not much cheese in Malaysia.	Lucky for me, I stayed with my good friend, Robyn, who was studying abroad in London.	Pretty solid public transportation, but there were tons of strikes while I was visiting, which caused some unfortunate delays on the metros and trains.	I never felt unsafe, but London but I was with friends who knew the area the entire time.	There are ways to get into cool things for free! For example, instead of paying for a tour of Westminster Abbey, Robyn took me to the free Evensong service which ended up being a my favorite part of my visit.
United Arab Emirates	Finally momma’s home cookin’! Best food EVER! Plus yummy Thai and Indian restaurants.	I stayed in my parents’ apartment. It was excellent. They let me stay there for free since I’m their favorite daughter.	Public transport is a little know and under utilized amenity in the UAE (at least in Dubai and Abu Dhabi). Taxis are also pretty cheap. Walking can be challenging because sidewalks only exist in some places.	I felt completely safe here.	As with travelling anywhere else, it is important to be mindful of the cultural norms of the place you are visiting. In the UAE, a Muslim country, that means dressing extra conservatively at all times when in public.