Our bunch of fives to finish

5am Fri 27 June: Our Buenos Aires-London flight has just brushed the north-west tip of Spain, so our nine months' travelling has only two hours left.
I've blatantly stolen a 'bunch of fives' idea from another blog, so to run down a few highlights of nine months RTW, our top fives are below.
We're so fortunate to have had this trip and so many awesome things have happened that, looking back, they seem scarcely believable. If you're in the mood for a read, click on a previous blog link on the right.
If we met you while travelling, thanks for being part of our brilliant, enlightening trip. And if you're from England, let's hook up for a nice pint of Magners.
Now it's back to life in London, a fantastic, thrilling city, just one that's a bit more familiar than some of the places below.
Pics online at: http://picasaweb.google.com/agrantabroad/PublicFirstTravelling
http://picasaweb.google.com/agrantabroad/Alinatipics
You can comment by clicking the ‘COMMENTS’ tab below. Click on 'Anonymous' to publish comment. We hope you've enjoyed reading...now it's over the bunch of fives:
Ali & Nati
TOP FIVE NIGHTS OUT
1 Club Yellow & Club Air, Tokyo, Japan: Japan's two best clubs. One night. Unbelievable techno.
2 The Hitmen hard dance, Melbourne, Australia: Harder-than-hard-trance heaven. An endomorphin-producing conveyor belt of tunes.
3 Full Moon Party, Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand: Xmas Eve, dancing on the beach, a rip-up.
4 Pacha, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Hands-in-the-air funky house upstairs. Like it was in 2003.
5 Dive club balcony, Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia: Great house music, Tuesday night on a first-floor terrace under a sky full of stars.
TOP FIVE BEACHES
1 Tereia Beach, Maupiti, French Polynesia: Whispy white sand with a shimmering turquoise lagoon, coconut tree shade and a motu (reef island) you swim to offshore. A breathtaking place.
2 Motu Tuanui, Maupiti, French Polynesia: An arcing low-tide white sand-spit, reaching out from the motu towards mountainous Maupiti and allowing a mesmerising mid-lagoon swim.
3 Gili Air, Lombok, Indonesia: Crunchy white sand shelving to the warm ocean, with the mainland in the distance and fluffy clouds above.
4 Koh Bitsi, Ko Tarutao, Thailand: Breezy white sand backed by forest, with two perfect driftwood swings and superb snorkelling offshore.
5 Whangamata, Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand: A Kiwi classic; wide bay, crispy sand, rolling surf, islands offshore and grassy dunes.
TOP FIVE PLACES WE STAYED
1 5* boat, The Nile, Egypt: Wood panels, monument visits, belly-dancing classes.
2 1551 Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Mansion with 7-metre-high ceilings, exposed brick walls, amazing breakfasts.
3 Fat Yogi's, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia: After a hovel on Flores, this darkwood-cream hotel blend with pool and air-con was heaven.
4 K's House, Kawaguchiko, Mount Fuji, Japan: Our fave hostel: great people, tatami mats, awesome, modern facilities, friendly.
5 Mac Bay, Ao Ban Tai, Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand: No, Mac Bay's not in Scotland. Tidy hut actually on, not next to, lovely beach. Hammock, coconut trees, amazing sunsets and Christmas dinner.
TOP FIVE MEALS
1 Jimbaran beach restaurant, Bali, Indonesia: Almost a kilo of giant prawns between us, in garlic sauce. Oh my God.
2 Street restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand: Pot luck but 75p for staggering green chicken curry, soy veg and a big Chang beer. Amazing.
3 La Cabrera, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Juicy, two-and-a-half-inch-thick rump and 12 side dishes. Burp!
4 Chez Vilma, Lima, Peru: Nati's Masterchef Mum does it again: sopa de carne, lentejas con pollo a la brasa y torta de Alberto. I'm stuffed.
5 Lonely Planet tip restaurant, Cairo, Egypt: Dips and more gorgeous dips with unlimited, crisp bread, chicken and salad.
TOP FIVE TRAVELLING MOANS
1 Bev & Mick's Backpackers, Melbourne, Australia: Favela backpackers; dirtier than a rubbish truck, pounding music vibrating our floorboards until 4am. More suited to animals.
2 Royal Jordanian Airlines idiots: Cancelled not only our Cairo-Bangkok flight but, helpfully, every following flight. Have you tried explaining that in Arabic? A month later, they cancelled our Cathay Pacific flights.
3 Welcome to Thailand: Bangkok Airport; Screaming woman pulls our bags off bus after we object to paying for four seats when we take up two. Most Thais are great, some in tourism give the country a bad name.
4 Egyptian tourist rip-off: You know feluccas, the boats King Tut used to take down The Nile? No? Have a google. Well, we agreed a fee and hired one. We refused to pay double so our, ahem, captain, abandoned us on a building site on an island.
5 French Polynesia prices: £10 for burger & chips? £600-A-NIGHT in an over-water bungalow? Please! Staggering place...just take your credit card.
TOP FIVE COUNTRIES
1 French Polynesia: Motu sand-spits, transparent turquoise lagoons, mountains. Paradise does exist.
2 Egypt: The staggering Pyramids and Abu Simbel, Nile cruise, Dahab dive/snorkel heaven.
3 New Zealand: Lakes, giant valleys, glaciers, surf beaches, Monteith's lagers and the fabulous Felix.
4 Australia: It's amazing. Just go, there, ok.
5 Easter Island: Majestic moais, history mysteries and wild skies in the most remote place on earth. (Not actually a country of its own but amazing nonetheless).
TOP FIVE MOMENTS
1 The Pyramids at sunset, Egypt: (Just behind Bolivia's Uyini salt flats in my top sight ever) Ramadan meant the Pyramids closed early, meaning our camel strolled down the giant sand-dune with the famous six-pyramid view, past the Sphinx, all alone. Amazing.
2 Sharks, Bora Bora, French Polynesia: Freakish snorkel and dives down above 2.5m lemon sharks.
3 Ahu Akivi, Easter Island: After a day of rain, sunset rays burst through and a double rainbow suddenly, amazingly, broke out over seven moai statues. A truly incredible moment.
4 Boogie-boarding, Whangamata, Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand: Nailing big surf waves on a stunning, breezy bay with islands offshore.
5 Rutherglen sunset cycle, Victoria, Australia: (This one's a moment for me, not Nati) Racing past olive green gums and sun-baked fields, with purple-edged clouds and sunset above.