• off-season (always a must for me)
• weather was still supposed to be okay-ish (it turned out to be great)
• small distances to drive
• several towns to base ourselves in for a couple of days
• of course we knew the food would not disappoint
• easy to reach from Switzerland with several direct flights
• not as crowded with tourists (yet) as other parts of Italy

We settled on a 10 day itinerary with three three night stays and a one night stay. We would fly into Bari and leave again from Naples.

I’ll be grouping some of the towns together based on where we had our “base”: Monopoli, Sternatia (near Lecce), Ostuni and Matera. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about Puglia as much as we did exploring.

In order to avoid starting our trip in one of the mega gateways of Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya), we set off in Hiroshima. From there we made our way overland through the tourist hotspots of Osaka, Kyoto, the Mount Fuji area and on to Tokyo. Since pretty much any Spring vacation needs a bit of beach time, we extended for a few days and flew down to the Yaeyama Islands to soak in the Okinawan spirit on Ishigaki.

It has been a fun two weeks and thanks to Japan’s great public transportation system not too hectic despite the few stops along the way.

Below is our itinerary:

Looking back, we’re pretty happy with the itinerary. Two weeks is way to short to see such a densely populated country with rich history and obviously only scratched the surface. However, given the time, we were happy with our choices. After last year’s spring vacation to Chengdu/Thailand/Singapore, we wanted to pace things a bit slower, especially since we covered most of the trip with public transport. Having multiple nights at all stops except Osaka was nice and we never felt that we spent too much time in a location. The only exception might be the Mount Fuji area where we got very unlucky with the weather and it actually snowed on the day we intended to go hiking.

Being end of March, it was still chilly apart from Ishigaki. We had to wear a jacket on most days and it was still too cold for wearing shorts. Just something to keep in mind should it matter to you.

The Treasury in Petra – probably the most famous impression of Jordan

We knew few people who had been to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Even though Jordan doesn’t get a lot of news coverage (positive nor negative) in Europe, it doesn’t seem to be on many people’s radar. And once we mentioned our intention of traveling there, usually we were met with surprise. It seems it has taken some collateral reputation damage due to the war going on in neighboring Syria and the uncertainties in Iraq. What unfortunately gets lost is that Jordan has been politically very stable and seen little what would be considered reason not to travel there.

The breathtakingly beautiful Wadi Rum

Planning our itinerary wasn’t too difficult. There’s a more or less standard tourist trail that covers most major attractions and isn’t too crowded yet (which I expect to change in the near future). We could have rushed through our itinerary in probably 7 days but really enjoyed the somewhat slower pace but additional nights here and there. We did not drive for more than 2-3 hours a day in Jordan’s excellent roads. We contemplated for a while whether we should hire a driver and in the end opted for the independence of self-driving and we’re glad we did. Google Maps was the perfect navigation aid, roads were in very good conditions and not once we did have any issue with police stops.

What would I do different next time? While I’ll explain a bit more in the individual installments, As-Salt is something where I’d skip the overnight stay (not the town!). The Ma’in Hot Springs did not fully convince us but otherwise, it was a really good itinerary.

Roman history in Jerash

Stay tuned for some impressions of Jordan! 

Looking back, I would change a few things about the itinerary. I was contemplating staying at a yurt camp in Uzbekistan between in Bukhara and Samarkand which I ended up skipping. That’s probably something I’d do next time for one night.

The drive from Dushanbe to Khorog was beautiful but not enjoyable in a shared taxi. I should have made an effort to find other backpackers looking to share a car.

In the Pamir Mountains I somewhat regret not spending more time and for example going to the Saturday market in Iskashim where the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border is opened for the market without needing a visa. I also would have loved to do a detour between Khorog and Murghan and drive through the Tajik Wakhan Valley which everyone raved about that I’ve met. But again, since I was by myself it was difficult to fill up a car in order split the cost.

Towards the end I did have some more days in Kyrgyzstan than anticipated which is why I made a two-day trip to Arslanbob. This was mainly because I did not end up getting the Turkmenistan visa in time and hence had an additional four days.

All the accommodation was good. I used AirBnB twice, both of which were good experiences, although not necessarily so to meet other travelers. The first night in Nukus was overpriced for what it was.

Uzbekistan I found to be the most difficult country as single traveler. It was possible, no issue. However, I didn’t think there were as many independent travelers on the road as in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

I don’t remember where exactly, but sometime ago I saw a photo online of a volcanic crater lake of breathtaking beauty. It turned out to be Mount Kelimutu on Flores and from then on I continued to read up on the island in an effort to figure out whether it was worth visiting. The island is still off the beaten path, hence there wasn’t that much info readily available. Also the Lonely Planet only contained a few dated pages on the island. Other guide books are even more sparse or skip the island altogether.

Mount Kelimutu

Eventually I managed to gather sufficient info and decided it was worth visiting! I managed to put together an itinerary that convinced my significant other. We were to combine trekking, diving and relaxing at the beach into a memorable 9 day adventure.

The almost perfectly shaped volcano – Mount Inerie

An Ngada village near Bajawa

In the end our itinerary looked as follows:

We would fly into Ende and arrange for a driver to take us to the mountain village of Moni, the “gateway” to Mount Kelimutu. After visiting the crater lakes, we would drive west along the coast and onward to a cute bed and breakfast in the Ngada region, home to a number of traditional villages. This is also the best spot to start a hike up Mount Inerie. After relaxing and enjoying the mild climate for three days, we decided to fly from Bajawa to Labuan Bajo, the island’s biggest town in the west and jumping off point to Komodo National Park. We opted for flying as it saved us two long drives and it didn’t seem like we would be missing out on too much. Our time in Labuan Bajo we would split up between a few nights in the town itself to go diving, visit the Komodo dragons and enjoy the good restaurants in town (no joke) and then spend the last two nights in an amazing looking resort on a small island off the coast.

The Komodo Dragons on Rinca Island

Day	Place / Activities	Transport	Accomodation
1	Flight to Ende via Bali - drive to Moni	Driver	Estevania Lodge
2	Mount Kelimutu. Drive to Manulalu/Bajawa	Driver	Manulalu Bed and Breakfast
3	Hike Gunung Inerie. Bena and Luba villages	Hiking	Manulalu Bed and Breakfast
4	Visit to Bajawa market	Driver	Manulalu Bed and Breakfast
5	Flight to Labuan Bajo	Flight	Blue Parrot
6	Diving trip	Boat	Blue Parrot
7	Explore Rinca Island, Flying Foxes	Boat	Blue Parrot
8	Seraya Island, beach	Boat	Seraya Resort
9	Seraya Island, beach	None	Seraya Resort
10	Fly back home!

I’ll probably be posting an installment on each destination of the trip and hopefully help other travelers get a clearer picture on what Flores has (and doesn’t have) to offer.

The perfect sunrise seen from Seraya Kecil

Highlights: Safari in Uda Walawe, Galle, Ella, Markets in Pettah/Colombo

Wouldn’t do it again: Kandy, Nuwara Eliya

Elephant tribe in Uda Walawe National Park