Thailand is a place, that in my more youthful mind, was impossible to fully envision. A place so far away had to be so different, you’d have to practically turn the world upside down to get there. Almost two years ago I had my first visit to nearby Nepal. It gave me validation that Southeast Asia is a wonderful place. It is a place with friendly, hard-working people, bustling industry, vivid food culture, and beautiful traditions.
While limited in my experiences, I’ve seen enough to say that Eastern Europe is well worth the visit. This is a place where modesty and appreciation for the simple things are most important- a place where the infrastructure for tourism is relatively new. Here there is a dichotomy between locals skeptical of all of the rapidly occurring changes and those who enthusiastically embrace and welcome foreign visitors. Much in contrast to our time in Krakow and Warsaw, Budapest proved itself beautiful and unique while making us work for comfort and familiarity.
