It’s the first time in 18 weeks that I’ve written my substack from the country whose flag gave proof through the night: Amurica.

It’s good to be back on home soil, although I still have a couple days until I’m home home: I’ve spent the last few days at uni (or is it college now that I’m back in the US?) catching up with my friends.

Quick recap of my last days in Asia:

I was joined by my friend Abhitya in Tokyo. He’s been before and generally kept me from just wandering around the city aimlessly because he actually knew cool places to go and things to do.

We visited the famous Shibuya crossing in Tokyo, which is that busy intersection that typically comes to mind when you first think of the city.

We also took a trip to Tokyo Tower, which is basically Japan trying to convince you that they are as cool as France.

If the World Cup is any indication, that answer is a resounding no.

But Tokyo Tower is a little cooler than the Eiffel Tower in at least one aspect: they have a bunch of video games down near the base of the building.

Japan is probably the capital of the video game world, so it was only right that we played a bunch of Japanese video games for a few hours.

Speaking of the World Cup, we caught the Japan vs Croatia game in a bar with a bunch of travelers and locals. Unfortunately, Japan lost so it made for a sad walk back to the hostel instead of a party in the Shibuya crossing type of night.

We also visited a Maid Cafe which is a famous type of cafe in Tokyo where the waitresses all dress up as maids and take your order, play games with you, and just keep you company while you’re there.

Despite the potentially suggestive themes of the cafes, they are completely family friendly, and pretty wholesome. I left feeling more upbeat than I had been during the rest of my time in Japan, which was awesome.

Some shopping and exploring here and there pretty much wrapped up my time in Japan in time to catch my flight back to the US.

And that concludes my time in Asia! Four and a half months has gone by so fast. I’m very greatful for the time I’ve spent halfway across the world, but more thankful for the people I’ve met and the things I’ve learned along the way.

I’ll have a full summary reflection post next week to wrap up this season of Tank Travels, but in the meantime I thought it would be fun to rank the countries I visited, along with the pros and cons of each experience.

I’ve done this ranking based on my own personal experience in each country, so this list will probably not match up with what you’d expect the list to be based on the general perception of each place. But I’ve learned that a lot of travel is based on what you make of it. So this list amounts to how I perceived each country based on my individual experience in each.

1. Malaysia (7.2/10). Pros: Super duper cheap. Cons: It was my first trip so I didn’t know what I was doing. Nothing really noteworthy about the country which is overshadowed by little brother Singapore.
2. Indonesia (8.2/10). Pros: Super duper cheap. Bali is a digital nomad paradise. Straight up beautiful. Cons: I only went to Bali, so I didn’t get a great feel for the local culture. Bali’s road infrastructure is pretty poor.
3. Singapore (8.2/10). Pros: Extremely developed. Cheap food. Great public transport. Very wealthy. Great job opportunities. Cons: Very sterile. All the fun is manufactured. Desipte the opportunities, most young people want to leave. Very anti-American way to live for 4 months.
4. Australia (8.5/10). Pros: Beautiful weather. Beautiful scenery. No language barrier. Very westernized. Cons: Expensive. Immigration issues cost me a chance to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef. Didn’t feel like it was the friendliest country.
5. Japan (8.8/10). Pros: Beautiful. Incredible transportation system. Very tourist friendly. Cons: Everyone still wears masks. Did not feel like it was the friendliest country (outside of the hospitality sector, which is extremely friendly). Language barrier. Expensive.
6. Vietnam (8.9/10). Pros: Incredibly cheap. Incredibly beautiful and unique scenery. Very backpacker friendly. Despite being a French-American in a country that was colonized by the French and fought a war against the Americans, I felt very welcome. Cons: Ho Chi Minh’s Bui Vien Street (the backpacker bar street) is not for me.
7. Philippines (8.9/10). Pros: Nicest people in Asia. Beautiful scenery. No language barrier. Cons: The flight there was terrifying. I got scammed by the taxi driver at the airport. I only spent three days there and wish I had spent longer.
8. Cambodia (9.0/10). Pros: First solo trip ended extremely successfully. Best hostel I stayed at in Asia was in Phnom Penh. Great nightlife. Dirt cheap. Cons: Very poor infrastructure, especially out of the city. Very sad history.
9. New Zealand (9.2/10). Pros: Absolutely stunning. Fascinating Māori culture. No language barrier. Very westernized. Cons: All the fun stuff to do is outside of the city and getting there is hard if you don’t have a car. Weather was absolutely atrocious. Once you get out of Auckland, there is hardly any civilization.
10. Taiwan (9.4/10). Pros: It’s China with a democracy. Extremely developed. Great mix of big city and nature vibes. Fantastic food. Bustling night markets. Cons: Language barrier. Still have to wear masks. Had to stay in my own hotel room as opposed to a shared hostel dorm (COVID policy).
11. Thailand (9.7/10). Pros: Most hospitable country I visited. Great balance of big city, jungle, beaches, and everything in between. Fantastic culture. Awesome nightlife. Super cheap. Cons: Very touristy (at least the places I visited: Bangkok and Koh Phagnan). Honestly though, it’s freaking Thailand. It’s awesome.
12. South Korea (9.7/10). Pros: The vibe when you arrive in Seoul. Super developed. Extremely trendy place. Great nightlife. Cons: It didn’t affect me, but I could imagine that living in such a high pressure environment could be very toxic after a while.

So, there you have it. My list of favorite countries, ranked based on my own personal experience in each. Are any of these places on your bucket list? Let me know in the comments.

Stay tuned for one final week of Asia content coming this weekend before the Tank no longer Travels :)