I ALWAYS DO WHAT MY SISTER TELLS ME

So my sister Debbie, in an obvious cry for blog attention, has sent me a list of questions to answer. I'm sure I could come up with better responses if I took a bit more time for consideration, but here we go...

-----
BEST OVERALL EXPERIENCE: Trans-Siberian railway tour. Was rough, but looking back, the friends I made were great and it's not something many folks have done. And the vodka was really cheap.

BEST SCENERY: Ha Long Bay in Vietnam

BIGGEST SURPRISE: That the capital of Mongolia, Ulaan Bataar, is relatively cosmopolitan

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: St. Petersburg (Russia, not Florida)

BEST FOOD: By nation? Vietnam. By individual restaurant? Valsabbion in Pula, Croatia.

MOST INTERESTING TRAVEL COMPANION: George, my teddy bear (Like how I avoided upsetting anyone there??)

MOST COMMON PERCEPTION/MISPERCEPTION OF AMERICANS: That we're loud and all own guns. You can decide if it's a misperception or not.

LANGUAGE YOU'D MOST LIKE TO LEARN:
I'd say Mandarin....but Welsh is so sublimely useless that it's appealing too.

WHAT YOU'D DO DIFFERENTLY IF YOU DID IT AGAIN: Stayed on Easter Island while flying from Tahiti to South America and not crashed a car in Namibia.

WHAT YOU'RE MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO BACK IN REAL LIFE:
Right now I'd say being allowed to flush dirty toilet paper down the toilet is right up there.

DAY OR EVENT THAT MADE YOU FEEL LIKE A "REAL" TRAVELER: Riding on the back of a motorbike through the countryside in Luang Prabang, Laos with no clue where I was headed

PLACE YOU'D MOST LIKE TO LIVE: Philadelphia (seriously), but Buenos Aires and Budapest would be nice too

PLACE YOU'D LEAST LIKE TO LIVE?
Zambia

PLACE YOU'D LIKE TO RETURN TO FOR VACATION: Croatia....when it's a little warmer than when I visited

WHAT YOU MISSED THE MOST FROM HOME: Ruby and Alice....and Eggs Benedict

WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU'D MISS, BUT DIDN'T: Television (I still missed it, but not as much as I feared)

THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEM IN YOUR BACKPACK: My Blackberry 8830 World Edition....obviously!

PLACE YOUR SISTER, DEBBIE, WOULD ENJOY THE MOST: I'll give the same answer as above...Philadelphia, but Buenos Aires and Budapest would be appealing too.