「最」怕回答的旅行問題／李明熙
回首這次 #Home2HomeTravel，踏足五大洲，24 個國家，272 日的旅程中，總算平安回港，無病痛無遇劫。很多親友都問，最好玩是甚麼地方？最好吃是甚麼？最辛苦是甚麼？大家都很想用一個「最」快捷的方法去總括一個長途旅行。
面對這種問題，腦海要在短時間內，將行程快速走一次，一時反應不來。然而答案近在口邊時，卻又再猶豫，因為答「這個」最好，又對「那個」不太公平，最大問題是，每當回答了「這個」後，對「那個」的記憶便漸漸淡忘，就像這個旅程全因為「這個」而被記住。不過旅程中，有幾個「最」是不用比較、不必置疑的。
最豪華：
坐 Queen Mary 2 郵輪，用 8 日時間橫越大西洋，亦是旅程中最長的一程交通。一日三餐有專人服侍，仲有現場音樂伴奏的傳統英式下午茶，晚餐要著「踢死兔」打煲呔，所以我們一上岸便將一大袋禮服和高跟鞋寄回家。
最致命：
由秘魯「天空之城」馬丘比丘返回庫斯科那天，出現嚴重高山反應。以為之前 1 個月身體早已適應，誰知下山兩天，返回 3,400 米的巴士途中，指頭先麻痺，慢慢手腳抽筋，面部肌肉失控，腦開始缺氧之際，馬上落車，用酒精擦面回魂，拾回一命。
最高點：
參加玻利維亞「天空之鏡」四日團，走進安第斯動植物自然保護區（Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve of Andean Fauna），開四驅車在 3,500 米至 5,400 米之間飛馳，沒有手機網絡，完全與世隔絕，晚上亦冷得要命。
最低點：
在埃塞俄比亞北部的達納基勒窪地（Danakil Depression），盆地位於水平線 120 米以下，亦是全球最熱的地方。我們晚上摸黑登上爾塔阿雷活火山（Erta Ale），在火山口露營。
最南點：
在阿根廷的埃爾卡拉法特（El Calafate），到訪全球少有正增長中的佩里托莫雷諾冰川（Glaciar Perito Moreno）之餘，亦在 El Chaltén 登山近看 Patagonia 最多人認識的 Mount Fitz Roy。
最北點：
在西伯利亞鐵路其中一個停站 Tyumen，是俄羅斯 GDP 最高的城市，吸引我們停留的原因是城中有一個為流浪狗而鑄的銅像。
要這樣數的話，其實還有很多，因為有很多事件都是獨一無二，那自然是「最」。
Come Back Home／Kimberlogic
After 272 days on the road, we made it home to Hong Kong with a bittersweet feeling.
When we first arrived in Philadelphia to start our world tour we were overwhelmed by excitement. Our dream of traveling the world was about to come to light. We had so much to prepare in terms of packing and making sure our affairs were in order before setting off that it didn’t leave too much time to think about anything else.
The first leg of the journey was quite comfortable. Starting in the USA, we were able to stay with friends and family before boarding the Queen Mary 2 for pure luxury while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Then, arriving in the UK and Ireland it was still comfortable with many friends and a high standard of quality accommodations and food options. But, the next leg of the journey was the toughest for me; Africa.
We spent about two months in Africa and I absolutely loved my experience in each of the countries, but I found it more difficult than Ming Hay because I am a woman. Majority of the places we went are dominated by Islamic culture and tradition. Out of respect to the people and culture, I tried to blend in rather than flash my “western” way of life. This meant letting Ming Hay do all of the talking and covering my legs and shoulders in the brutal heat. The infrastructure was not very strong in a lot of places and this took time and energy to deal with. It wasn’t until we arrived in Cape Town that we finally had a meal where we didn’t have to constantly shoo the flies away.
We spent three months on the third leg of the journey, South America, and it was the most adventurous and by far my favorite. Each day we had to pool our knowledge of the Spanish language in order to communicate and we always had to be aware of our surroundings and our next destination because everything was so extreme. We went from sea level to over 5,000 meters, from the beach to snowy mountain tops, from rainforest to baron desserts and from big cities to small no-name towns. We dealt with food poisoning and altitude sickness, two things that you cannot prepare for. The people were kind, the food was good and the landscape was shocking.
Europe was the next leg and after everything we had just experienced, we found it a little boring. The countries that we visited were beautiful, the food was delightful (especially in Italy), there was so much art and history, but it felt too easy. Every problem could be solved immediately without much effort, so we got a little lazy.
The Trans-Siberian train was our final leg. Starting in Moscow, we took the train all the way to Hong Kong making a few stops in Russia, one in Mongolia and a few in China. I fell in love with the Mongolian wilderness, Russia surprised me (in a good way) and we were so relieved to make it to China and eat all of the amazing food that we had been missing.
Entering Hong Kong gave us such a crazy feeling of accomplishment. We managed to travel so much of the world for nine months without having any serious problems such as theft or injury. The other feeling was sadness. Our trip had come to an end. The past nine months we had gotten so used to seeing a new place every few days, having to plan a route, transport, accommodation, etc for the next destination. Being home meant being idle and that is something we are no longer used to.
After a few days visiting with friends and family and having time to process our new situation, it feels good to be back home. But, we don’t plan on being idle for long.
我們的 #Home2HomeTravel
