That time I sat in a car waiting for anything to happen, and a leopard casually climbed a fallen tree right ridiculously close to me, and eventually fell asleep.
Going on a self-drive safari is easier than you probably think. At least as long as you do it in South Africa, and preferably in Kruger National Park, where all kinds of facilities are available. If you're not used to spotting animals on your own, stay in the southern part of the park, where you can just drive around and look for clusters of cars that already have discovered something exciting.
When you begin to think that you know what you're doing, drive further north, where there are way fewer people around. You can easily stay in the park for a couple of weeks, sleeping in a new camp every night.
That time I was in Abu Dhabi on their national day, and it was too hot for people to be walking, so they sent their air force on a parade through the city center instead.
Not a big fan of the local government, but their airlines and hubs are often the only practical alternative to get to some unusual destinations.
That time I went to Bagan to see the sunrise, and all kinds of hot air balloons got in my way.
This was just before the whole Rohingya thing got started. I wouldn't go now. But seeing the sun rise above the many temples of Bagan veiled in the mist from thousands of wood stoves being fired up to cook breakfast is really something.
Like after a good vindaloo meal. But they've built a fence around it now, so it feels a bit less wild, I would imagine.
That time I went on the world's largest indoor Ferris wheel, and it was just as underwhelming and weird as it sounds.
This is in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Among many, many strange things, this one actually stands out a little bit. If you're into architecture that involves a lot of gold and marble, you can't find a better place to visit.
They see so few non-locals there, that ripping off strangers hasn't really developed into a thing. If you see someone else pay whatever for something, you can easily get that same thing for that same price. Otherwise lots of things have a fixed and posted price. Other items can be bargained for. Or you can just ask what the price is, and they'll let you continue on your way without any further discussion if you don't like the price. Then you can ask for the price at another stall selling the same thing, and quickly figure out if you're being quoted a reasonable price or not. I was generally able to buy stuff at prices much lower than I was expecting.
It's busy and crowded, but in a good way. No pushing, no aggressive behavior, just trade done as it has been done for centuries. Like in past times, many of the goods for sale are from China, but unlike before they're now mostly made of plastic. Fortunately, there's still lots of spices, textiles and more local handicraft, too. I really enjoyed it.
That time I felt like I had traveled back in time in Isfahan, Iran.
While the Silk Road has been replaced by shipping lanes and air-freight, you can still find the ancient bazaar atmosphere in pretty much any major city in Iran.
That time I almost didn't see a lion in the grass in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
The best time of the year for going on a self-drive safari is the next two-three months. It's dry season, so not too much green for the animals to hide in. (Some animals still manage to hide just fine, though, as seen here.) And there's no mosquitoes to worry about until the rains begin, so no malaria either.
There's a fairly high entrance fee for the park per day for foreign visitors, but if you buy an "annual pass" (the Wild Card), after a week you're there "for free" for as long as you want. And it's really, really easy to spend two or even three weeks just driving around in this huge park, staying in a different camp every night.
I stayed quite a while, and did as much as I can. :) I got a long-term place to stay and used it as a kind of workation. The bandwidth is great (5G), and there's a good mix of heavy storms and awesome weather, so it's good to stay a while to be able to wait for the good days. Some people visit for a week, and all they see is a blizzard and plane delays. But when it's good, it's excellent!
It's basically a mining town when it comes to looks, but the surroundings couldn't be much more beautiful in its polar way. And the transition between relative civilization and utter wilderness is incredibly narrow there.
Coolest trip so far this year: Longyearbyen, Norway.
I took this photo after about an hour of hiking from the buildings in the center of this photo, up on Platåfjellet mountain right next to town.