The Caribbean was an adventurous stop for Bucky and I. Leaving the sandy beaches, tropical weather and great cuisine was difficult, but much was expected from the next destination: Asia.
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, covering 8.6 percent of the Earth's total surface area, with approximately 4 billion people.
The continent is home to the world's tallest mountain, Mt. Everest in Nepal; the world's lowest point, found in the Dead Sea; the world's most populated countries, China and India; the world's longest coastline; the world's deepest lake, Lake Bayka; and some of the most important rivers on the planet.
Before making travel preparations, I visited with a few of the Malaysian, Nepalese, Chinese, South Korean and other Asian students represented on campus to get a sense of what to prepare for before arriving and in what countries to spend the most time in.
After interviewing Eileen Ling, Phoebe Lee, Pil, Eri, Manisha, Saanya, Bilal and other Asian students, I was torn between deciding where Bucky and I would start our adventure.
I ranked India, the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world, high on our list of places to visit because of its cultural and commercial wealth.
Agra is globally renowned as the city of the Taj Mahal, the crowning glory of the city, a monument of love and imagination that represents India to the world.
South Korea is popular for its cuisine and architecture. Seoul is the second largest populated city in the world; nothing is permanent in this fashion-filled, helter-skelter city that completely rebuilds itself every decade and vibrates with energy night and day.
Every evening a tsunami of Seoulites sweeps into entertainment districts, where smoky barbecue restaurants, goblin-sized teashops, plush mugwort saunas, DVD mini-cinemas and more are stacked up 10-stories high along narrow alleys.
The wide-ranging and healthy Korean cuisine is another of the city’s attractions. We discovered the delights of ginseng chicken, meat-and-lettuce wraps, spicy tofu soup, hotteok (sweet pita bread) and omijacha (berry) tea.
Malaysia shares a border with Thailand, connected by a causeway and a bridge (the “second link”) to the island state of Singapore, and has coastlines on the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca.
More than any other spot in the country, Kuala Lumpur, or "KL" as it is commonly known, is the focal point of new Malaysia. The city's bustling streets, its shining, modern office towers, and its cosmopolitan air project an unbounded spirit of progress and symbolize Malaysia's unhesitating leap into the future.
Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia, bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the country's largest metropolitan city.
Nepal is a country of highly diverse and rich geography, culture, and religions. The mountainous north has eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including the highest, Mount Everest.
With so many countries, it is hardly surprising that there was no preferred destination over another.
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