Traveling the Far East

Finally Home!

2009-01-03T16:06:00.000-08:00

This will be the last post for travelingthefareast! Thanks to all who followed our adventures for this long, what had intended to be 12 months so easily turned to 15 and we couldn’t be happier with the travels we’ve had. The end of our trip was amazing. I have individual posts on Nepal and Egypt below, forgive me for being late with them. We are now back home in San Francisco, after spending a great holiday with our families. We had an apartment waiting for us in our old building, easing the stress of finding an apartment in the city. We are busy seeing friends and eating foods that we’ve missed. People ask if it’s strange to be home and if we were ready to come back. We definitely have a bit of culture shock and miss traveling but it’s nice to be “home” and unpacked for a while. It seems appropriate that we ended the trip as we started, in an empty apartment, our hopes and dreams for future events at their peak and drinking wine out of plastic cups.

Bahrain and Egypt

2008-12-11T16:02:00.000-08:00

Our flight from Delhi took us first to Bahrain, in the Persion Gulf. What struck us immediately upon arrival was the over the top Christmas display, complete with moving Santa’s and snowmen. Men and women wearing traditional muslim dress taking pictures of Santa. We had a 12 hour layover so we were able to get a 24 hour visa and the airline put us up in a hotel with meal vouchers, it was a leisurely day.

We arrived in Cairo before sundown. We were staying in one of the busiest areas of the city, a street full of shopping and eateries. We spent our first day exploring the city and eating, such a great selection of food there, meat cooking in windows and shawarma’s being made on the street. Matt blended in almost too well, people would automatically speak to him in Arabic thinking he was Egyptian. We always received local price though, which was great!

The next day we arranged for a guide to take us to the Sakkara and Giza pyramids. He explained to us that he had to say we were Canadian. He said “if I tell the guards I have Americans in the car, they’ll make us ride with a security guard and I don’t really like having men carrying guns with me.” It was completely understandable and seems that the security detail would only call attention to us. We went inside the pyramids of Sakkara, walking down a long, narrow passageway about 4 ft high until we reached the bottom. The hieroglyfics on the wall are still perfectly in tact. Then we were off to the Giza pyramids. It’s impossible not to be blown away by them, we didn’t have a lot of time so we decided to go back the following day. The next day at the pyramids was much nicer, blue skies and not a lot of wind. We encountered a few characters while we were there. A camel guide really had his pitch down and before we knew it we had scarves wrapped around our heads and were sitting on a camel. He wanted a ridiculous sum of money for it after, as usual, but a price of $4 was reached. We also ran into some police officers who wanted some photos with us and a little baksheesh (tip). We walked every inch of the place and then headed out into the desert to see the pyramids from afar. It’s a beautiful site to see, the pyramids laid out before you.

The following day we went to the Egyptian Museum. It contains over 120,000 artifacts and less than half are on display. The most famous exhibit at the Cairo Egyptian Museum is the Gold Room that holds the treasures from the Tomb of Tutankhamen including the funerary mask, throne and second/inner coffins. We spent most of the day there and probably only saw 50%.

We went to the khan al khalili bazaar a couple of times, one of the largest markets in the Arab world and on an ancient trade route that dates back to the 1300’s. There are tons of Egyptian goods for sale; rugs, hookah pipes, shisha, souvenirs, etc. We’ve been to many markets throughout Asia but this one was different. People want to talk to you, eventually to make a sale but either way, the vendors want you to sit down, have a cup of tea and talk. It isn’t for hagglers who want a quick purchase, if you want a good price in the Khan, you need to spend some time. We were in the market for perfume oils so we found a shop and sat down for tea. Two cups of tea and over an hour later, we all agreed on a price. The Market vendors are always saying things as you pass, sometimes it’s the common, “where are you from?” while other’s try to make you laugh by saying things like, “welcome, please let me take your money”. It’s great fun to walk around and a place to mingle with the locals.

The last day we were there was the end of Hajj, the largest annual pilgrimage in the world to Mecca. Everyone in Cairo was preparing for the big feast. People perform animal sacrifices, to symbolize God having mercy on Abraham and replacing his son with a ram, which Abraham then sacrificed. After the sacrifice, the animal is divided into three parts, one for the family, the second for neighbors and friends and a third to feel the poor. We witnessed sheep and goats being pulled out of the trunks of cars, blood smeared in the street and butcher’s walking around covered in red. The elevator to our hotel was being fixed so we took the stairs up the 8 floors. On the 4th floor we came upon a large cow tied to the elevator door. It was strange to see such a large animal on the 4th floor of a hotel in such a busy part of town but we just figured he was for the feast and kept walking. When we walked back down about an hour later, the floor was covered in blood and the cow was being quartered. We did not expect to see that!!

We spent our next days just walking around the city and taking in the rest of the sites. Cairo is a city that lives by a different clock. Restaurants and shops stay open and the streets are full of people until about 5am, in the morning the city is deserted until about 11am when people start coming out.

We had a great week, it went by much too fast but we’ll be coming back to Egypt some other time. It’s time to finally go home!

Nepal: Kathmandu and Pokhara

2008-12-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Kathmandu and decided as a group to stay in Boudhanath. It’s a peaceful area of Buddhist monasteries and temples and 6 km away from the craziness of Kathmandu city. We stayed at a guesthouse run by the Tharlam Monasterym which was founded by a late Tibetan Lama who fled Tibet in 1959 with the Dalai Lama. For just $4 per night we had a beautiful room with a hot water shower overlooking the area. The monks who ran the guesthouse were so nice to us.

The streets are full of locals, tourists, monks, children and students studying at the various Buddhist colleges in the area. At the center of the village is the Boudhanath Stupa, one of the largest in the world. It was refreshing to see people performing the chora in peace with no presence of military. Many Tibetan refugees fleeing China on their way to Dharamsala, India end up living in this area. Over 5o Tibetan Gompas (Monasteries) have been built in the area due to the influx of large populations of Tibetans from China. It’s also refreshing to see people use their freedom of speech, free Tibet messages are everywhere.

We heard from our friend Yonten shortly after we arrived. Yonten is a friend we met in Dharamsala almost 1 year prior…the one with the 8 children at the TCV. He was in Nepal with Aashish, another friend we met in India. We arranged to meet and ended up spending the next week together. It was great seeing Yonten again, his English had improved so we were able to communicate much better. It was funny to walk around with him, we couldn’t walk more than 5 yards before someone recognized him and wanted to stop and chat. We were stopped by foreigners, Nepalis, Tibetans and monks, all of greeting Yonten warmly. We introduced Yonten and Aashish to everyone in our Tibet group and went out to explore Kathmandu together.

One of the first places we went to was Dakshinkali, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Dakshinkali is a Hindu temple dedicated to Kali, the Goddess of Death and Destruction. Hundreds of men, women and children come here every Tuesday and Saturday to make a sacrifice to Kali, in an attempt to feed her eternally insatiable stomach. The Kali Temple arranges Nepal’s largest number of animal sacrifices, totaling tens of thousands every year. Nepali people believe that the death of the animal will give it the chance to be reborn as a higher life form. The marble floor is smudged with fresh blood. The pilgrims, in single-file, pass the gate into the shrine with bare feet, carrying their sacrificial animals, which must all be un-castrated males. Three young men in dirty blood stained rags, wielding long, curved knifes await the pilgrims. These men are called Kassi and they are Kali’s executioners. When an animal is about to be sacrificed, the bells start ringing softly at first, then poeple in the crowd start ringing bells louder and louder as the anticipation grows. Then the bells stop, the animal is sacrificed quickly, the blood smeared on the statue of Kali and the animal is taken to be cleaned and given back to the pilgrim. Many people don’t take the animal home. Instead, they picnic in the forest next to the shrine, roasting their meals on campfires while the slitting and hacking continues below amid the clanging of bells and shouts of prayer. We stayed until Aashish made a sacrifice for his family while David (a vegetarian) and Yonten (a Buddhist) waited at a nearby restaurant. Neither one could be a part of it, Yonten said he didn’t understand why an animal had to die for some goddess. He said "Hindu’s have so many gods, so many temples, me, I just have one Buddha." He was respectful of Aashish and his religious beliefs but you could tell he didn’t want to understand them. We then went to Patan Durbur Square, with tons of temples scattered around the complex.

We had a great week with everyone but soon had to part ways. Sara and Maria were headed to India, Aashish was going back to Dharamsala, Ryusuke was headed to Thailand and we were going to Pokhara with Laurin and Alex.

The ride to Pokhara was long, almost 8 hours, but passing beautiful scenery along the way. We found a great questhouse with views of the mountains. Pokhara is a small village surrounding a lake, with the annapurna mountain range as a backdrop. We went with Laurin and Alex for a boat ride. We intended to get a boat man but since none were available, Matt and Laurin were more than happy to row us around. We had fun, talking to people on other boats (who sometimes wanted you to come close enough just so they could splash you!). The holy Barahi Mandir temple is on an island in the middle of the lake and many pilgrims were being shuttled back and forth.

We had every intention of trekking to Annapurna Base Camp, a 7 day trek over 80 km but we opted out. I think we are starting to get lazy during our last weeks of travel! We relaxed in Pokhara for a few more nights before heading back to Kathmandu. We’ve met a lot of people who have said to just stay a couple of nights in Kathmandu but we really love the city, it’s an easy place to stay.

Yonten was still in Nepal so we were able to spend a little more time before we were off to India. He helped us to our taxi and gave us scarves and gifts before we said goodbye. We only had a week left before our flight out of Delhi. We may have decided to just stay close to the city since travel in India takes time. We had promised to deliver books for our Tibetan guide though and had donations from him for the Dalai Lama. We had to get there. Since train travel takes over 24 hours to get to Dharamsala, we decided to shorten the trip by taking a flight halfway to Chandigarh. We then hired a driver to take us the final 8 hours to McLeod Ganj.

It felt great to be back, going to a place you’ve been before seems to give an at home feeling. We took care of the delivery of books and donations straight away and even had time to get some business suits made. The rest of the time was just spent relaxing, the best thing to do in McLeod Ganj. The days went fast and we found ourselves back in Delhi waiting for our flight to Egypt, the last stop on our itinerary.

On the Roof of the World

2008-11-30T23:34:00.000-08:00

Our permit to travel Tibet was mailed from Lhasa the day before we were to leave and the wait was painful. We had decided to arrange our trip through a local Tibetan guide living in Lhasa, rather than supporting the government travel agency. The cost would be substantially less than the agency and we were promised to use only Tibetan-run hotels and restaurants. He seemed very nice over the phone but had a relaxed approach to the process, telling us our permit would definitely arrive on time...maybe...if not the next day. Our train was due to leave at 8:30 and by 7pm we were still waiting for our envelope to arrive, bags packed and ready to go. We were all worried, we would lose the money we spent on the tickets and the next train wouldn't leave for 2 days; worst of all the permit would no longer be valid for our itinerary and some people had visas expiring before we would leave the country. The manager of our guesthouse was great, tracking down the envelope to a bike courier (who had an accident) and then to a van driver's cell phone who was stuck in traffic. Only in China could you track down the individual carrying your letter! The envelope arrived at 7:30 and we were in a mad rush to get to the train station. Since there were a shortage of cabs, 5 of us crammed into one with all of our bags unable to move during the 20 minutes to the station! We arrived just in time, the police taking photos of each of our passports with the permit before allowing us to board. We were on our way; Alex and Laurin, a couple from Switzerland, Sara and Maria, swedish girls on break, David, a soft-spoken English man from London and Ryusuke, a quiet and shy Japanese man. We all rushed to board the train and settled in for the 48 hour ride.

The train was comfortable with 6 beds in each cabin, a dining car just a short walk away. We celebrated the arrival of our permit and had a great night drinking beers and playing cards. Then we awoke at 4am to a little girl in our cabin belting out songs. It was difficult to be angry, she was so adorable, but her cuteness quickly wore off as the hours passed and we tried our best to fall back asleep. We saw an incredible sunrise as the train headed into the mountains, then put in earplugs and drifted back to sleep. Sometimes sleep is the best way to pass a long train journey. We woke up in the morning to a changing landscape, we were getting closer to Tibet. After breakfast we just watched the scenery pass by; mountain landscapes, people working in the fields waving and herds of yaks everywhere. On the second night everyone was given an oxygen supply as we were heading to higher elevations. It was fun taking pictures with them but the lack of oxygen was noticed early into the evening (shortness of breath/headaches) and we plugged into the oxygen supply above our beds. We arrived in Lhasa to find our guide waiting, welcomed each of us with a white scarf (a common welcome in Tibet).

Our hotel in Lhasa was close to the Jokhane Temple and in a maze of picturesque cobblestone streets called the Barkhor. We were really here! He walked with us around the city, catching sunset over the mountains of Lhasa. That evening our guide told us the story of his life. He grew up in a nomadic family moving from place to place as many Tibetans do. When he was 6 years old his parents decided to send him to the monastery so he could receive a proper education. He studied to be a monk for 10 years before leaving the monastery to pursue work instead. He fell in love with a girl but unfortunately her parents did not give him their blessing. At the time he was working odd jobs and could only speak the Tibetan language so they felt he would not be able to provide for their daughter. He decided to move to Lhasa to study for his tour guide license. He studied chinese and english language; receiving his license just a few years ago. We were actually his first solo group outside of a travel agency. We woke up in the morning to our guide happily putting out breakfast. We were trying "duma" and "samba", a traditional Tibetan breakfast dish. It's made with barley flour, dried female yak cheese and yak butter, mixed and eaten with one finger. The duma has a consistency of oatmeal while samba can be molded into a ball, sometimes adding a bit of sugar. It fills you up and stays with you for hours! Then we were off to explore Lhasa.

Lhasa is a magical city and its impossible not to be drawn into the spiritual beauty. The men and woman doing their daily chora, spinning prayer wheels and thumbing beads as they walk in a clockwise circle around the city praying. Some people perform 50+ choras each day, repeating mantras as they walk the circle. We followed the devoted around the city, watching people throw incense and sage into burning urns as an offering to the gods. You see pilgrims performing their prostrations coming from far off distances in Tibet. It's truly a serene experience to witness. Then we had our first encounter with the Red Army, marching through the same street with guns ready to fire, walking in a counter-clockwise direction against the flow of people; offensive to the Buddhist faith. It's a horrific site to see the devoted moving around them, completely intimidated by their power.

We came to the Jokhane temple, the holiest monastery in the Tibetan Buddhist world, to see hundreds of people performing prostrations at the entrance. The king built the Jokhane in the seventh century to house the dowry brought by his Nepalese bride. As the story goes, the King had a vision while meditating that beneath the land of Tibet lay a huge, sleeping demoness with her head in the east, feet to the west and heart beneath Lhasa. It was decided that monasteries would be built on suitable points to pin her to the earth. The king commissioned to have 12 monasteries built, four around Lhasa to pin her at hips and shoulders, a set of four further away to pin her at elbows and knees and four even more distant to pin her hands and feet. When those were finished, construction of the Jokhane began, to pin her heart. Although photographs are not allowed, the temple is beautiful inside; from the roof we could see the entire square and as far as the Potala Palace but it's sad to see the army presence; men on the roof performing military exercises, snipers perched on opposite buildings while men with guns roamed the streets, able to shoot anyone without provocation. We were warned ahead of time to not take any photos of military, it was very important, but from the roof we were able to get some shots of the military presence.

After leaving the Jokhane Temple, we went for lunch at a local restaurant and walked a bit of the market. We went to the Drepung Monastery in the afternoon; a beautiful place but sadly housing very few monks since since the March protests, and most of the monastery has been closed by the government. There are still over 1,000 protesters unaccounted for in Tibet-including 80 monks from the Drepung Monastery. This monastery used to be one of the largest in Tibet, once housing 10,000 monks and now it seems to be just a shell; only a few monks walking the grounds. Amnesty International reports that close to 100 people have been arrested in recent house searches; police looking for those who may have participated in the protests or who have pictures of the Dalai Lama in their home. Many monks have simply disappeared, executed or placed into work camps while many have been sentenced to 3-9 years imprisonment for discussing lack of freedom in Tibet and the Dalai Lama. Currently there is a government-imposed campaign which forces monks to write denunciations of the Dalai Lama. One well known monk named Jigme Guri was dragged from his home after the March protests, tortured and held for 2 months, then re-arrested for discussing his ordeal with foreign media. The whole situation is depressing and difficult to comprehend why.

Once we left the Drepung Monastery, we went back to the hotel for a relaxing evening, getting momos and french fries on the street and having an early dinner. Although you are advised to not drink alcohol when you are acclimatizing to the higher elevations, it was Laurin's birthday so we had to go out and celebrate. Our guide doesn't drink but came along anyway. The streets are deserted at night with the exception of military and he wanted to make sure they didn't give us any problems. Our guide took us to a local bar which had traditional Tibetan dance and songs. When that bar was closing, our guide woke up his friend so we could continue to party at his place. We had a great night out.

The next morning, Matt went to the nunnery while I walked around Lhasa. David and I walked around Lhasa and it's surprising to see how many cameras are installed all over the city; even in the small alleys there are cameras and sound bugs. No wonder so many signs in restaurants say "No Whispering". If you are caught speaking about Tibet issues or the Dalai Lama, it could mean a long jail sentence or execution. While Matt was waiting in the square with the rest of the group, he watched military police seize a monk and an old woman with a baby on her back; guns aimed at everyone, even the baby. They were soon surrounded by military and dragged off down a side alley, everyone standing there helpless to prevent it. It put a damper on everyone's day, you read about these things happening but to actually witness it is heartbreaking.

We left for the Potala Palace, once the winter home of the Dalai Lama. Although we had seen it from a distance we were blown away standing in front. We walked with pilgrims up the many steps leading to the top; everyone out of breath from the altitude. There are over 1,000 rooms but most of the palace is off limits. In fact, the Red Army stays here now, and every room has cameras and sound bugs - as do all Tibetan monasteries (paid for with part of a UNESCO World Heritage Grant). Although photographs are not allowed inside, it's beautiful, pilgrims moving from altar to altar with offerings of scarves, money and yak butter; unfortunately, the caretaker monks are not allowed to wear their robes. We were informed ahead of time to not discuss anything regarding Tibet as the Potala is heavily monitored, you could see a 360 degree camera in every room and corridor. After our tour, when we were away from prying eyes, our guide asked us if we wanted to see the only picture left in Lhasa of the Dalai Lama. Of course we all wanted to see this secret photo, it seems absurd that no photographs of him are allowed. He told us we would have to look closely for it as it is barely noticeable and brought us into a Chinese souvenir shop. We walked through many rooms of jewelry, art, rugs, following the staircase down to the exit and there he was. A big picture of a high lama and in the background, far in the corner of the lama's wall, was a portrait of His Holiness. No one had noticed it yet so it has not been confiscated. Our guide was very proud of his discovery and excited to have just that little picture to look at.

After the Potala Palace, we went to the Norbulingka; the summer palace of the Dalai Lama, which is set within a picturesque park. We had a nice walk and then went back to the hotel for an early night. We were leaving for Namtso Lake in the morning; a 4 hour drive from Lhasa. When we returned to the hotel, we sat down and talked with the hotel manager. He's from Lhasa but went to school in the US and England, receiving his master's in Tibetan Studies. He only returned to Lhasa to run the family hotel after talking to his Mother, she said something disturbing to him and out of her character, "Come home. Let's just burn together". Since the March protests, China cutoff Tibet from the outside world; access to television, internet and telephone disabled. It has only been since June that the Chinese government has started to open up communications but the military presence has only worsened. The attitude among the younger generation is changing as well, tired of the heavy military presence and the lack of freedom. Tibetan's aren't allowed to have passports unless they spend 3 years in a Chinese school which is basically a brainwashing program. He showed us the camera's that he is being forced to install on each floor of his hotel along with an RFID scanner that he now has to use. It was still safe to talk frankly in his establishment, although not for long. We told him about what happened with the monk and woman and asked him if anything had happened that day. He said that there was a roundup of about 60 people in Lhasa, undocumented pilgrims and monks, while 10 hotels were closed. He said the woman would more than likely be set free but the monk would likely be executed. He then turned off the outside lights to the hotel, he still had one family there on a pilgrimage without proper identity cards and decided to appear closed. We stayed up for another couple of hours talking and went upstairs to sleep. It was hard to sleep thinking about all that we had seen, unable to understand why it had to be this way.

The drive to Namtso Lake was memorable, we had two land cruisers and stopped above the lake to enjoy the view while a snow fight ensued. We took some group pictures and then turned down the snow covered road to the lake. The roads weren't great but our driver was able to maneuver through it. The other driver, however, didn't quite know how to use 4WD. He had to be pushed out 8 times, at one point needing a tow. What was frustrating was, while the group pushed he would either be driving or just looking at his tires, and when the vehicle started moving he would drive far up the road making everyone walk to the car. When the guys offered advice for turning on 4WD he would arrogantly ignore them. Ryusuke, always very sweet and soft spoken, surprised us all when he yelled at the driver not to drive off and leave them again, then mumbling some japanese words! It was really cold out there and at a much higher elevation than Lhasa, everyone was cold, out of breath and exhausted. At one point they discussed turning around but we pushed them to move forward; there was no reason land cruisers could not make this drive. We pressed on and arrived at the lake 2 hours later. At the base we were all exhausted and hungry and ate at the small restaurant near the lake. The owners were sweet, putting out bread and tea for us. Namtso (sky lake) is amazing, it's at 4700m and the second largest lake in Tibet. The lake is turquoise and protected by 2 large boulders; prayer flags swaying in the wind. We all took a well deserved rest along the shore. After a few hours it was time to go and we slowly walked back to our cars. On the way back, we came upon a man in distress. He was part of a small tour group going to the lake but their car had broken down. They had been waiting for close to 5 hours for road assistance and one man had altitude sickness, on his last canister of oxygen, We offered to take him with us to the nearest hospital but the driver flatly refused. He would not risk driving to a military checkpoint with someone not on his permit, even refusing to drop him off before the military checkpoint. As we were arguing over taking the man, another jeep drove up and agreed to get him to a hospital. It was the final straw for driver number 2, and we discussed with our guide that evening about finding a replacement. No one seemed to like this man, even our guide and the other driver.

We were exhausted by the time we arrived back to the hotel, eating dinner and going straight to bed. The next morning, we found out that we had a new driver and we were on our way. It snowed in Lhasa the night before and everything was covered in white. We took the longer, scenic route 260 km south to Gyantse, stopping along the way at Yamdrok Tso. We didn't know what to expect as we climbed the cliff but at the top was the most breathtaking lake we've ever seen; turquoise water in a backdrop of mountains. After about 5 more hours of driving we arrived in Gyantse; a small, relaxed village. We walked up to the fortress for sunrise and went to the famous Gyantse Kumbum (meaning "a Hundred Thousand Images"). The Kumbum has 8 levels with narrow steps and small doorways along each floor. I hit my head hard on one low doorway and our guide said I was blessed by Buddha. We stayed in Gyantse for the night, celebrating the election results! We only had about 2 minutes of coverage on CCTV but it was great to see. We left the following morning for Shigatse, home to the Panchen Lama and the second largest city in Tibet. There is a beautiful market to walk through with everything from prayer beads and incense to meat and yak butter. Although the town is nice, the monastery is a sad reminder of the kidnapping of the Panchen Lama by the Chinese government just over 10 years ago.

The next morning we went to Sakya and visited the monastery there. The building is mongol-style and you can walk along the surrounding walls with beautiful scenery all around. On one side was a school, and it was interesting to see children as young as 10 years old with pick-axes digging out rocks in the school yard, the Chinese flag floating high. We stopped in Sakya for just a few hours and kept driving to Shekar, a small town at the base of the Himalayas. We passed from one military checkpoint to another, sometimes being required to exit the car and give passports. At many of them, children would come running from the nearby village to meet us, hair disheveled, faces covered in dirt and beautiful. We arrived in Shekar which was just one small street at the edge of the Himalayan plateau. The best thing about Shekar was the food; great yak burgers, momos, potatoes, soups.

We left Shekar at 5am and stopped at an incredible viewpoint for sunrise. We could see 5 of the highest mountains in the world, Mount Everest towering in the center. It was breathtaking to see for the first time, all of us ecstatic to finally catch a glimpse of the mountain. We then drove another 4 hours to Rongbuk Monastery, at 4,980m it's the highest monastery in the world and Mount Everest Base Camp was just 8km away. We stayed at a guesthouse run by the monastery and although the accommodation was limited, the views of Everest were amazing. We were staying four people to a room and the bathroom was in an outside shed with a hole dug in the ground. It was fine though, just for one night. We sat on rocks in the warm sun, looking at the mountain taking it all in. For Tibetans, Choomalooma (Mount Everest) is sacred and has a heart and mind of her own. Our guide told us Choomalooma must be happy with us, many times she covers her face in a blanket of clouds, unable to be seen. He said about 50% that come never see the mountain, so she must like us very much. The next morning we left for Everest Base Camp (5150m), climbing a hill of prayer flags and scarves. We found comfortable spots amongst the rocks and just stared at the mountain, set before a deep blue sky and not a cloud in site. It's a serene experience to be there, so quiet and peaceful. We stayed for a few hours before saying goodbye and going back to the monastery.

We still had a long way to go before we would reach Nepal, The roads are rough, mainly dirt and rock passes through near desolate countryside. We had a flat tire along the way, with nothing around but some sheep and a couple of herders. Two of the herders came to the car, not really to help but to see what happened. We waited for the tire to be changed and shared some snacks with them. The only motorist who passed was on a horse, stopping for just a moment to see what was going on. We were soon back on the road to Tingri, a small village about 5 hours drive away. It was a bumpy ride getting there but beautiful countryside. After checking into our hotel, we explored the village; just one dusty street but so many things to see; a small market, a sheep getting butchered, bull drawn carts carrying people and the locals were all welcoming. The hotel offered a shower, we all desperately wanted to take one after going for 3 days without. It was an outside shower and they had to turn on the generator to heat up the water first. There was just a small spicket of water coming from the ceiling but it was great!

The next morning we were off to Zhangmu, a town close to the Nepalese border. We drove along the Friendship Highway but there is honestly nothing friendly about it. It winds along dirt paths, carved out of the mountains. At times we went over rickety wooden bridges covering 1,000 ft drops, sharp turns with no room for oncoming cars and no guardrails at the edge. At one point we drove under a waterfall, water hitting the roof through wooden planks unable to fully divert it from the road. There was beautiful scenery, a mountain gorge with waterfalls dotting the green landscape. The climate changed as well, from high altitudes and cold to warm, oxygen rich air. There is almost a reverse side effect after you have acclimatized to the higher elevations. It makes you feel a bit dizzy to suddenly have an abundance of oxygen. After 5 hours of driving and praying, we reached Zhangmu. It's a bit seedy, as many border towns are, but it's impossible not to see the beauty; the town literally clinging to the mountainside. We went out for our last dinner in Tibet, and our guide wouldn't allow us to pick up the check. He told us how happy he was with the trip and said that although he could not leave with us, the scarves could, and handed us each a white scarf. He gave two extra scarves to Matt and I, since we were traveling to Dharamsala; the yellow scarf was to be given to the Dalai Lama and the white scarf to the Tibetan Government in Exile, both filled with money. Since it was our last night together, we went out for some KTV (karaoke). We walked into a small nightclub and although we weren't sure about it at first, we were soon drinking with the locals at the next table and participating in some local dances. Our guide took the stage and sang some beautiful songs and then the shyest guy in the group, David from England, was soon singing as well; people in the club draping white scarves over him. It was a great night out, one that will not be forgotten!

We left early in the morning for the border, just 10 km away but along the same Friendship Highway. The border to Nepal is often closed, not only during political tensions but also because large sections of the highway wash away every year. The road will forever be under construction. We arrived at the border, going through security scanners and customs checks. Once we received our exit stamp, we said our goodbyes to our guide and then walked over the bridge, the river underneath separating China from Nepal. Immigration was a much more relaxed process on the Nepal side, we walked into an office, men smoking cigarettes as they process applications and then walked the form into another office to be signed by one man reading the newspaper. We then walked over the border to the Nepal side and negotiated to have a jeep take us the 2 hours to Kathmandu. We were warned ahead of time that the drive could be longer, many times there are accidents along the highway and you have to drive along dirt roads through the countryside. We came upon an accident and so had to turn down the dirt road. We passed beautiful countryside, endless rice fields with the Annapurna mountains seeming to rise from the clouds. We hugged the edge of the road when buses started coming from the opposite direction while men with clipboards stood at forks in the road, accepting money for route information. It's hard to imagine this rock and dirt single-lane road is the highway detour. Along the way we stopped for food, had the best Nepali thali (rice, dal, veggies, chutney, spinach, raita and papad) for just $1 each. After being in China for so long, unable to speak what is on your mind, we were all talking a mile a minute about things that we saw and experienced in Tibet. It felt like we had been stifled for so long that it was nice to finally be able to talk frankly about China. After lunch, we were back in the jeep and all had sore bottoms when we arrived in Kathmandu 5 hours later. I think we were all thankful though for taking the long detour, being able to see the countryside and way of life in Nepal. We'll post soon about Kathmandu.

Datong, Xian and Chengdu

2008-10-30T02:23:00.000-07:00

Datong was a nice detour on our China travel itinerary and a cultural experience for both of us. We arrived at the train station thankful that we had the hotel name written down in Chinese for the taxi driver. Checking in at our hotel was the first of our challenges, no one at reception could speak English but they ended up tracking down one girl who could help us. Little did she know she would become our interpretor for the next few days! The hotel had 3 restaurants so we entered one and sat down for the next challenge…the paper they gave us to order food was all Chinese characters. We walked out of the restaurant a bit embarrassed and really hungry, trying to figure out what we should do for food. The waitresses hurried off and found the girl who helped us at reception and brought us back to the restaurant. We were getting our first hot pot so she asked us what types of things we like…we ended up getting beef, mutton, vegetables, mushrooms and fish. They bring out a big pot with oil based broth and hot peppers, along with all of the uncooked ingredients. They put the pot to boil in the middle of the table and you add the ingredients and cook to your liking. It was a great meal.

We wanted to see the two main historical sites in Datong, the Hanging Monasery and Yungang Grottos. The Hanging Monastery is about 2 hours from Datong City and was built in 491 AD. The monastery clings to the edge of the cliffs, more than 50 meters from the ground. It’s amazing that this place has remained intact for as long as it has. People hanging from ropes on the cliff built the monastery, crossbeams were half-inserted into the rock as the foundation. Inside the monastery are symbols from Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. It is so peaceful inside.

Afterward we went to the Yungang Grottos, 53 caves with over 51,000 Buddhist statues carved into the sandstone. The Buddha statues range in size from 2 cm to 17 meters high and took some 40,000 people to complete over 50 years (built in 453AD). The Yungang Grottos have survived war, natural disasters and the Cultural Revolution with only some damage. It’s a beautiful site to see and you can walk through all of the different caves.

We left Datong by train to Xian (only 16 hours) and went to see the Terracotta Warriors. The Terracotta warriors date from 210 BC and were only discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well. There are over 8,000 soldiers and 700 horses, each soldier representing a single man, with the site still being excavated today. We enjoyed Xian for the short amount of time that we spent there. We stayed in the Muslim quarter, which has a series of small streets with souvenir shops and food vendors. The food is incredible and the possibilities are endless, you can just walk down the street and eat small bits from different vendors along the way.

After 2 nights in Xian and left for Chengdu, another 16 hour train ride. We decided to travel China completely overland so we’re starting to get used to the long train/bus rides! We went to see the Giant Buddha in Leshan, a 71 meter high Buddha carved into the cliff (built in 713 AD). Other than that we have been enjoying the Sichuan food, known for being very spicy. We discovered the Sichuan pepper, which numbs your entire mouth, allowing you to tolerate the spicy dishes. Our main purpose for coming to Chengdu was to get to Tibet. Unfortunately, the process is difficult and expensive. The only way to get into Tibet is by obtaining a permit, a full itinerary is required outlining each days activities and you must have a guide with you everywhere, sites, dinners, drinks, hotel. The guide holds your permit and if you are found without him you will be promptly deported. It wasn’t the way we had wanted to travel Tibet; we rarely even make hotel bookings so drawing up a full 10 day itinerary just isn’t our style. I guess we can’t do anything about it though. We found some people to travel with to lessen the expense of the guided trip and plan on traveling for 10 days through Tibet including an overnight trip to Mount Everest. We are currently waiting for our permit to arrive and if all goes well, we will be boarding a train tonight, which should take about 48 hours to arrive in Lhasa! We’ll post again from Tibet.

Beijing

2008-10-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

The train from Shenzhen was long (29 hours) but really comfortable. We had a cabin to ourselves, dining car next door and comfy beds. We watched movies, played a few hands of cards and watched the scenery pass by. Before we knew it we were in Beijing and in the mass exodus of people scurrying out of the station. We're staying in a great spot, an old "hutong" which is basically a small courtyard of houses in the city (many were unfortunately razed during construction for the olympics). The rooms are set around a quiet courtyard where the staff have a pet duck, an unusual sight in a city known for peking duck.

We spent our first day visiting Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen square is most recognized for the events of 1989, but it was here in 1949 where Mao Zedong declared the foundation of the People’s Republic of China to an audience of one million revolutionaries and it was here that he lead the mass rallies of Cultural Revolution. In the center is Mao's Mausoleum with a line of devotees wrapped around the square. We crossed the street to the entrance of the Forbidden City which houses the ancient imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties (built 1406-1420). At the entrance is the famous portrait of Mao along with the words "Long Live the People's Republic of China". You walk through the Gate of Heavenly Peace and then pass through the Meridian Gate to a courtyard of restaurants and souvenir stalls and then over one of 5 bridges through the Gate of Supreme Harmony. We walked around the grounds feeling like little ants. There are three big halls to walk through before you exit through the Gate of Divine Prowess opening to a bridge over a moat. After a few hours of walking through the city we went home exhausted.

The next day we went to the Great Wall. We decided to go to a section of the wall that isn't as touristed (or rebuilt), so we chose Simatai. It's a 4 hour drive to the drop-off location in Jinshanling, from there we took a cable car up to the wall. We trekked 10 km on the wall, passing through 32 watchtowers before arriving at our pick-up location in Simatai. It was amazing, from start to finish, completely breathtaking. There were sections that were falling apart and some sections which were in good condition and great views from every angle (especially with the fall colors). At times, it felt like we had the entire wall to ourselves. It was one of the biggest highlights of our trip, an absolutely incredible experience.

We were both a bit worn out from our day yesterday so today we went to see Bird's Nest Stadium and then out to try Beijing's signature dish, it was a great meal! We're leaving tomorrow for Datong, near the Great Wall pass to Inner Mongolia. It was a spontaneous decision to go there since train tickets to Xian were sold out. We'll post again soon!

Yangshuo and Guilin

2008-10-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

We took a sleeper bus from Shenzhen to Yangshuo, about 10 hours by road. The bus wasn’t quite built for westerners, it had 3 levels with 3 rows of beds small beds (Josh and Matt didn’t quite fit). Although it was a bit claustrophobic we all managed to get some sleep on the journey and arrived at sunrise in Yangshuo. It was a bit early to check in at our hotel so we left our bags with reception and wandered the streets of the town. It’s hard not to be awestruck by the setting, quaint cobblestone streets lined with shops and cafes surrounded by endless karst peaks.

We walked along the Li River and saw a cormorant fisherman. It’s a long tradition that locals have used these birds as they have the ability to dive underwater for lengths of time looking for fish. The bird grabs the fish and brings it to the surface in its beak before eating it. The fisherman keep a string tied around the birds neck which prevents them from swallowing their catch and empty their fish in a basket. Although it’s an old tradition, you can’t help but feel sorry for the birds who are doing all of the work.

In the evening we had a great dinner and started a game of dominos. While we were playing we met Joe, a 10 year old boy from Shanghai. He asked if he could practice his English and after the initial ‘what’s your name’, ‘where are you from’, etc we asked if he wanted to sit down and learn dominos. Joe’s English was perfect, even knowing slang and jokes. We ended up hanging out with him for the next couple hours playing dominos and talking. It brought some attention to our table and soon locals were coming over and watching the game, taking pictures. That’s when we met David Chin, a man from Guilin, just 1 hour from Yangshuo. He joined our group and then some guys from the US and Hong Kong stopped by to hang out. What was going to be an early night turned into a late one. The Chinese have a saying “Ganbei!” which literally means “bottoms-up”, you cannot refuse to finish your drink if said. Many hours later we said our goodbyes and promised to meet up with David Chin when we traveled to Guilin in the coming days.

The time in Yangshuo was relaxing. We took a long bike ride through the karst landscape, crossing rivers and passing through villages. We stopped to climb River as it’s stage and the backdrop is anGreen Lotus Peak and Moon Hill taking in the views from above. We arrived back at our hotel with just enough time to get ready for the “Light Show”. The show uses the Li endless karst backdrop lit by lights. The entire show is performed on bamboo rafts and perfectly choreographed to the music. The show highlights the traditional customs of the local community and was beautiful to see.

We went to bed early as we were getting on a bamboo raft at 7am for a tour down the Li River. The area where we board the raft is the setting on the back of the 20 Yuan bill so we took a photo. We boarded a small raft which took us along the river, passing karst mountains, local fisherman, water buffalo and villages.

We left for Guilin the following day and arrived in the early afternoon. We called David Chin when we reached our hotel and he came by to take us for a walk around the city. Although much larger than Yangshuo, Guilin is very picturesque. The city is surrounded by a river which encloses the city in a circle. There are small walking bridges crossing the river throughout the city. We stopped at a noodle stand for some food, David had planned for us to go to his friend’s birthday dinner so he didn’t want us to eat very much. We walked to a restaurant which looked like a banquet hall, but the tables were separated into individual serviced rooms. We sat down at a large round table with about 12 other Chinese guests. No one spoke English so we communicated as best we could, through David. The stories that came up were funny, one man was saying his son doesn’t like America because of the war, Josh changed the subject and told him that his father fought against the Japanese and they all clapped, laughed and cheered. Then the food started coming…and coming…and didn’t stop. It was endless amounts of food, spicy vegetables, rabbit, beef, baby pork ribs, ducks feet, dumplings, soups, things we couldn’t even identify. It was a great dinner and then came the drinks. Large bottles of beer, wine and baiju (the local rice liquor). Now, we’ve had rice wines throughout south-east asia but baiju is definitely the hardest to drink. It’s over 50% alcohol and the Chinese love the stuff. If one person stood up and leaned there glass to you saying “Ganbei!”, you both had to finish what you were drinking. At one point in the night they wanted Josh to sing an American song, Josh refused and they would not let up on him so he asked if he could dance instead. This is one of those moments that you are really thankful to have brought a camera. The video is below. By the end of the night we were all great friends and it took about 10 minutes of saying goodbyes before we could walk out. We told David we would stop by his home to meet his wife and young son. It was a short visit over tea and we took a taxi back to our hotel, a great introduction to Guilin.

Josh had to fly back to Shenzhen for work but we went back to Yangshuo for an extra night before heading back to Shenzhen on the sleeper bus. We are now back in Shenzhen and booked our rail ticket to Beijing. The train will take about 24 hours to reach Beijing and will traverse through six of China’s provinces. We’ll post again from Beijing.

Hong Kong to Shenzhen

2008-10-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

We were unable to obtain a visa for China in Kuala Lumpur so we spent our time there eating! One of the best things about Kuala Lumpur is the variety of great restaurants. We indulged in sushi every day and a mix of lebanese, mexican, chinese and the occasional big mac :). It was great after three weeks of chicken and fish on Mabul.

We decided to fly to Hong Kong in our last effort to obtain a visa for China. We arrived in the evening and it was hard not to be overwhelmed by the skyline, the massive skyscrapers seeming to reach above the clouds. Hong Kong actually has the worlds greatest number of skyscrapers (7,500+). We took a taxi to our hotel in Kowloon and then ventured out to Wan Chai to meet up with our friend Josh (who lives in Shenzhen). It was a great night out and we had brunch the next day at a nice spot with everything from pancakes and eggs to biscuits and gravy. We explored the city, went to a few markets (including the famous jade market) and within 2 days we had our China visa, easy processing simply by paying a bit more to a visa service.

Although we had a paid hotel room for the night, we left for mainland China as soon as we received our visa (which is a short 40 minute train ride away). Typhoon Hugapit was hitting Hong Kong so we decided leave before transportation to Shenzhen shut down. All flights and ferry services, along with schools and offices were being shut down for the category 8 typhoon coming in. We arrived in Shenzhen and met our friend Josh outside of customs. The strong winds could push you in any direction and it was hard to just stand in one place. Josh lives on the 26th floor of an apartment complex and it was strange to feel the wind push against the building, making it sway.

We haven't done much in Shenzhen (besides shopping!!), the city is more of a business center than a place for tourism. It's hard to believe that this massive city was a just a small fishing village 15 years ago. With it's close proximity to Hong Kong it is now one of the fastest growing cities in the world (pop 10 million and growing...).

To be honest, it's just been nice to relax at our friend's apartment. We've been going to the grocery store and eating home-cooked meals which is a nice change. We also celebrated our 1 year anniversary of travel last week, it's hard to believe that we've been away for an entire year and also that we have just a little over 2 months left!

We're headed to Yangshuo and Guilin soon, a part of China we've been wanting to travel for a long time. More to come.

Mabul/Sipadan! 21 Days on Land 2.5 Underwater

2008-09-17T05:11:00.001-07:00

We spent the last 3 weeks on Mabul Island, off the southeastern coast of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. Mabul is best known for its abundance of macro life as well as its close proximity to Sipadan Island, one of the best dive sites in the world. Mabul is about a 1-hour boat ride away from Semporna depending on the weather. Semporna, the jumping off point to reach Mabul and Sipadan islands, is an unsettling little town; which lacks any sort of true identity unlike the rest of Borneo’s cities. Our options were simple: stay 3 weeks in Semporna at a decent hotel with hot water, internet, nice big bed or spend 3 weeks on Mabul island with no electricity from 7am to 7pm, no hot water, and 2 uncomfortable single beds. We chose to stay on Mabul Island with Billabong Scuba, and have no regrets.

When we arrived on Mabul Island we were surprised by the similarities to Koh Lipe Thailand, which we loved. Our accommodation at Billabong the first night was simply a mattress on the floor and a fan on a chair. The next day we moved to a more comfortable room with a raised bed and a window over the water (the downside being the close proximity to the rooster at the house next door), every day we had a 4am wake up call. One morning Donna witnessed the man next door grooming his precious rooster meticulously. After this encounter we stopped thinking of evil ways to kill the bird. Even though the accommodation was simple and the food somewhat repetitive (chicken or fish every night) we thoroughly enjoyed our time on the island, mostly due to the friendly staff and the people we met during our stay. Everyday on the island consisted of diving and maybe every other night was celebrated with Tandauy Rum (illegally imported rum from the Philippines). We would gather out on the jetty to talk, drink and sing songs (mostly the “Sipadan Song”).

Mabul Island is predominately inhabited by Philippine immigrants (or sea gypsies). Most of the families on the island have several children and it seems that at least one of the parents works in Semporna. With that being said, It felt like an island run by children, they are everywhere, during the day and night walking around the island we would hear sweet “Hello’s” from all directions. Being on an island were people seemed to be in good sprits regardless of the quality of living was immensely better then being in Semporna where we noticed an over-all bad vibe.

Divers around the world say that Mabul could be the best place in the world for exotic small marine life (macro-life). Here is a small list of what can be found around Mabul: Flamboyant cuttlefish, blue-ringed octopus, bobtail squids, harlequin shrimp feeding on sea stars, spike-fin goby, red-fire goby, black sail-fin goby and metallic shrimp goby. Frogfish are everywhere -giant, painted and clown frogfish are regularly seen along with almost the whole scorpion fish family. Oh I almost forgot, I saw a turtle on every dive and most dives there would be several. I saw turtles eating, mating, kissing, feeding, pooping (once on me). To be honest it would be quicker to list the species not found at Mabul…

I was able to dive 10 times at Sipadan Island. Sipadan is incredible and I can understand why people travel from all over the world to come here. When Jacques Cousteau first visited Sipadan Island off Borneo, aboard the legendary Calypso, he was so impressed with its marine life that he and his team of divers stayed on for six months to record its spectacular marine creatures. Sipadan Island is Malaysia’s only deep water oceanic island; the tip of a submarine volcano, which rises six hundred metres from the sea floor (1968 ft). When you are on the island you can see the turquoise water around the beach then about 10 meters away from shore the water is a dark deep blue and the drop-off is literally a vertical 600 meter wall at most points. This creates a great environment for big creatures. Every dive we encountered large sharks, schools of Jacks, Barracuda, and turtles of all sizes. Most of the sharks were gray reef, white tip or black tip. Occasionally during November and December schools of hammerhead are spotted at around 40 meters. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see them, but this gives me another reason to come back.

During the three weeks I dove 57 times, learn a lot about scuba diving, saw creatures I didn’t know existed, made some friends, and realized what dirty rum from the Philippines can do to. It was a great three weeks and a perfect end to our Borneo experience.

Wild Borneo

2008-08-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, and it is simply unique. Kuching has an unusual name - the word means "cat" in Malay and there are many statues of cats dotting the city. Kuching is very welcoming towards visitors, but people don't put on an act for you and tourism is not their main focus. The city just goes about its own business in a relaxed manner and it's pleasant to be a part of it. Kuching is a cosmopolitan city, and it's reflected in the faces on the streets. While the population is predominantly Chinese and Malay, Kuching is home to people from all of Sarawak’s 26-plus ethnic groups. The city centre is small and walkable, the narrow, bustling streets crammed with shops selling things from the mundane to the exotic. There are beautiful Chinese temples, a stunning Mosque, colonial-style architecture, and a beautiful waterfront with a daily market. We found a restaurant on our first night which (although a little out of budget) had the best meals we've eaten since starting our travels. Steak with mushroom bernaise sauce, mashed potatoes and vegetables...my mouth waters just thinking about it! We had 3 amazing meals there, everything we tried on the menu was great and there was a lounge with a big screen TV and couches setup to watch the olympics. We spent time walking along the river, visiting the market and exploring the city centre. Our primary reason for going to Kuching was to get a visa from the Chinese consulate there but upon arrival we were told the embassy was only available to Malaysian residents. The girl mentioned it might be easier to just fly back to the US to get the visa which was comical. This means we will need to make a separate stop to Kuala Lumpur but I'm happy we landed in Kuching as we would have never explored it otherwise.

We spent a day at the Semenggoh Orangutan sanctuary, just 15 minutes outside of Kuching. For over 20 years, the wardens here trained young orangutans, who had been orphaned or rescued from captivity, how to survive in the wild. The success of this programme has left the surrounding forest reserve with a thriving population of healthy orangutans, who are now breeding in the wild. When you visit Semenggoh, you still have the opportunity to see some of their successful graduates, semi-wild orang utans and their babies. Although they spend most of their time roaming the forest, they sometimes come back to the Centre for a free meal. We arrived early, about 2 hours before the scheduled "feeding time" where wardens set out fruit and milk for oranguatans who might come for the feeding. It's not guaranteed that you will see any orangutans at all. As we were waiting for the feeding area to open, one orangutan came swinging in from the trees...then another...and another...until there were over 10 swinging over our heads! We even saw "mama", their oldest graduate at 37 years of age who seems to run the place. She sat down on the bench in the same spot we were sitting, rather than staying up in the trees. The wardens brought out fruit and set it around the trees and we just watched the orangutans swinging around us in awe, it felt like we were in a chapter of the Jungle Book! :) The scheduled 3:30 feeding time also brought the crowds and as we walked the trail into the jungle, we couldn't move, any sight of an orangutan brought mobs wielding cameras and we couldn't take it. We left the trail and went back to Kuching, thankful we had such a great experience before the crowds arrived.

Matt had met a guy named Sean who was an experienced guide in Bako National Park so we took him up on his offer of a guided tour. Bako contains a wide range of vegetation - containing 7 different ecosystems. Bako also contains a rich variety of wildlife and a coastline covered with small bays, coves and beaches. We had a 45 minute bus journey and then a 30 minute boat ride before arriving at the entrance to the park. Upon arrival we saw the we saw two bearded pigs walking around park headquarters, hopefully a good sign of things to come. Further down the first trail we saw the rare and unusual proboscis monkey, they are difficult to spot and you’ll usually hear the crash of vegetation before you are able to locate them high in the trees. Probiscus monkeys are a funny site, big pot bellies, big noses and their fur is white on their bottoms (making them look as if they have a diaper on). We continued down the trail and saw alot of interesting plant life, it was especially interesting to see all of the carnivorous pitcher plants. We stopped at the end of one of the trails to sit on the nice sandy beach and relax for a while. There is a rock you can climb up to with beautiful views of the beach below. We hiked back to the park headquarters for lunch, one cheeky monkey stealing a can of coke and running for the trees where he peeled it open, poured it all over himself and then licked it off... We spent the remainder of the day watching the probiscus monkeys and then boarded a boat to go home.

We took a flight to Kota Kinabalu, which is the capital of the Sabah region of Borneo. It's not all that appealing of a town, mainly a port city but there was some nice shopping and a lively market. We tried to see a movie but didn't like the choices, when we started to leave we could hear the crash of bowling pins and walked upstairs to find a full scale bowling alley. We couldn't resist playing a few games and had a great evening, we didn't expect to be bowling in Borneo :). We arranged our travel to Semporna which is a 7 hour bus journey (which in asian time means about 12 hours). We broke down once along the way but it wasn't long before another bus was arriving to pick us up. We stopped for lunch along the way and met a fellow passenger named Muhammad Ikbhal, an old man with a cane with flowing white robes and a long white beard to match. He sat down and introduced himself, he was from Peshawar, Pakistan and working in Borneo over the next two years. Generally, when we meet someone who is muslim the first question is almost always "How many children do you have?" and when the answer is no children, the answer isinevitably "Why???" :) He has 7 children in Pakistan, all but 2 are now married. We had an interesting conversation with him and he offered for us to stay at his home in Borneo, if only for the night if we would like. The offer was tempting and in hindsight I wish we had taken him up on the offer but we had a paid reservation in Semporna and were anxious to get there after the long journey. At his stop he turned to say goodbye and we watched him join at least 10 people waiting for him, wishing we had taken the chance and exited the bus. The rest of the bus journey was long and uncomfortable, the air conditioner worked as a refridgerator and we were huddling together trying to keep warm. Next bus ride we will be better prepared with warm clothes!!

We are now in Semporna, the entry point to Sipadan Island, one of the best dive sites in the world. Matt signed up for his Divemaster course so we will be spending the next 3 weeks on Mabul island.

Bali, Flores and Komodo Dragons...

2008-08-01T01:36:00.000-07:00

We had a nice week in Bali, mainly lounging at the pool and walking around. We also took a day trip to a sea temple in Tanah Lot. The temple is regarded as one of the most sacred in Bali and it is built into the rocks in the sea. Ancient rituals pay homage to the guardian spirits of the sea and poisonous sea snakes found in the caves at the base of the rocky island are believed to be guardians of the temple, standing vigil against evil spirits and intruders. We made it just in time for sunset and it was so beautiful, the waves crashing in and the sunset behind the temple was breathtaking.

We took a small prop plane to Lubuanbajou, Flores and planned to travel west to east across the 700 km island. Lubuanbajou is a small fishing village, very quiet with only a handful of guesthouses and restaurants. We managed to get the last room at Gardena Hotel with a perfect view of the harbor. The main mosque was right next to our bungalow so we woke every morning at 5am to the calls to prayer. The main draw to Lubuanbajou is it's location, the city is within 2 hours by boat to Komodo National Park; which is the only place in the world to see Komodo Dragons in their natural habitat and has over a dozen world class diving sites. That afternoon we met a family from France who asked if we wanted to share a charted boat to Rinca island to see the Komodo Dragons.

The next day we left at 7am and arrived on Rinca island at around 9am. We walked about 500 ft. from the dock and saw the first dragons just outside the ranger station. Donna left the bathroom just minutes before she noticed one walking in... We went with a guide on a 5 km trek around the island, hoping to spot more dragons. Our guide was very knowledgeable and gave us great information on how komodo dragons live. They can run up to 18 km per hour but in general are fairly lazy, unless provoked. They grow to be about 3 meters long and camouflage themselves near trees where animals might pass by. Our guide was great at spotting them and we adjusted our routes to move around them. The island is home to wild buffalo, deer, monkeys, etc and all can fall prey to the dragons. They generally wait for an animal to pass by and with one bite, their saliva will kill the animal within 24 hours. We moved very close to one dragon and it didn't seem to mind, once we inched a little closer it opened it's mouth and turned towards us, prompting our guide to rush us away. He explained that the animals will generally not attack humans unless they feel threatened and they almost always give a warning first (by opening their mouths and making a hissing sound). He showed us the nests the females dig for their eggs, some 6 meters underground. They usually dig multiple holes but only lay their eggs in one of them (other dragons will eat the eggs so the other holes are dug to hide them). It was a great day and on our way back we stopped for some swimming and snorkeling.

The next day Matt went diving at the park. The park is known for its untouched reefs, large marine life - mantas, sharks (reef, leopard, and bull), turtles, Napoleons, mola mola, etc.- and very powerful currents. About four months ago two divers went missing for 42 hours. The were found on a beach on Rinca island where the dragons are, and allegedly had to defend themselves. The story was all over the news in Asia, and we didn't believe the story in its entirety until Matt went diving with the same dive company that conducted the search and rescue mission to find the missing divers. What are the odds, you go diving, the current drags you almost 3 miles, you end up on an island alive, but the island is populated with one of the rarest, most poisonous, and smartest reptiles in the world? What a great story to hear before you go under. All in all the diving was unbelievable and the currents were perfect, just strong enough to push you around a reef wall so you use very little energy and air. Matt was fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with a curious 3 meter white tip reef shark, but didn't bring the camera.

The next day we were planning on taking a bus to Bajawa, in central Flores, but were approached by a couple from Germany who were looking to share a car. We decided that taking a car vs a public bus would be more comfortable, allowing us to stop for pictures, bathroom, etc and splitting a car 4 ways would save money. We booked a driver through a travel agency for a 5 day trip through Flores, stopping for 2 nights in Bajawa (known for their traditional villages and hot springs) and 2 nights in Moni (a small village nearby to Kelimutu, a crater with 3 multi-colored lakes), and dropping us off in Maumere, the furthest east where we could take a plane back to Bali.

We've been very lucky to have met great people during our travels but you are always taking a risk when you decide to take a trip with people you don't know. In this case, after 5 long days, I think we would have both been happier riding on the public bus with the goats and the chickens... The trip started out great, we had a brand new comfortable SUV to ride in, our driver Patrice was friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the different areas of Flores, stopping at various points of interest to take pictures...then the complaining started. It was small things at first, not wanting to eat in a recommended restaurant or the food taking too long, then it was the hotel room, the time to meet in the morning, the recommended order of seeing things. Everything was made difficult and after just 2 days our once cheerful driver was miserable and silent. We tried to make the best of it, allowing them to make most of the decisions since it doesn't really matter to us how we organize our day, what restaurants or hotels we went to didn't matter (its all the same in Flores, rice vegetables and meat for food and a simple room with a bucket shower/toilet) but after a while it was apparent that they could find anything to complain about and we just couldn't bare to be around them. They seemed to enjoy being miserable but we weren't going to allow them to affect our trip. We distanced ourselves when we could and the rest of the time just bit our tongues or laughed.

The drive through Flores on the "Trans-Flores Highway" was beautiful, lush and green with rice fields, volcanoes, and small villages, passing by people all smiles, their mouthes stained from the red beetle nut, children wielding machetes working with their families in the fields yelling "Hello Mister" and smiling and waving. At one point we passed a gas station with over 2 kms of trucks waiting to fill their tanks. Apparently the recent hike in gas prices has affected Flores badly, not enough fuel to go around and sometimes people are paying up to 5 times the standard price per litre because of the lack of supply. It was a 9 hour drive from Lubuanbajou to Bajawa we were all exhausted from the trip.

The next day we went to the traditional villages of Benas and Luba, just outside the small town of Bajawa. The people there are very sweet, especially the children. Someone had passed away that morning so the villagers were busy building a coffin and digging the grave so we didn't stay long and only took a few pictures of the village. At the end of the day we went to the hot springs, definitely a highlight of the trip! In Flores it is rare to find a hotel with hot water (in most towns there aren't even telephones) and electricity is usually turned on in the evenings only. The weather is rather cold because of the mountainous area so taking cold showers had been hard. It was nice to soak in the nice hot baths for a few hours and we met some friendly locals. People in Indonesia are following the US elections closely and even in the smallest villages people want to discuss it. I think if Indonesia was allowed to vote in the November elections, Obama would win by a landslide (everyone knows that Obama studied in Jakarta). When we arrived back in Bajawa, the Germans asked if we wanted to come with them to dinner. Trying to avoid our experience from the night before we just said we were tired and ended up going to a local restaurant close-by, rather than the busy tourist restaurants. They had a set menu in Indonesian so we just sat down and they brought us 2 bowls of soup, big bowls of steamed rice, goat sate (with peanut sauce) and mixed sauteed vegetables, one of the best meals we've had in Indonesia and the bill was $1.75 total.

The following day we left for Moni, about 4 hours drive from Bajawa. Along the way we stopped in Amire, a small village known for their Arak (Palm Whiskey). Patrice stopped to take us through a "processing plant" which was a bamboo hut with plastic water bottles filled with the strong liquor and a man in the Palm trees collecting leaves for the Arak. Arak is a very popular local drink in all of Indonesia, it's basically moonshine and comes in various strengths and sweetness. We all picked up bottles and went on our way. We stopped in a town called Ende, known for it's blue stone beach. Women collect stones on the beach which are sold for about $5 per sack, the smaller stones fetching a higher price than the larger stones. It's a beautiful stretch of beach and I collected a few blue stones to bring home.

We arrived in Moni which is an even smaller town than Bajawa and went to bed early since we decided to wake up at 4:30 am to catch sunrise at the top of Kelimutu. It was a short hike up, past the crater lakes, to the viewpoint. The sunrise was beautiful over the crater lakes, which change colors every year. The germans wanted to walk down the mountain so we went with Patrice in the car back to Moni. It was funny to see how Patrice's mood instantly changed as soon as they weren't around, we were talking and laughing and he invited us to go to two local wedding receptions later that evening. When we came back we went to the small but busy local market where people come from various areas to buy fruits, vegetables, fish, etc. The main town of Moni is about 1 km in length but there are smaller villages scattered around the area and the market is very lively. Since there were weddings in the evening, pigs, goats and chickens were being slaughtered around the village during the day.

At around 7pm we left for the weddings. Upon arrival we greeted the bride and groom, making a small offering and then given plates of food. We drank a little arak and then headed off to the second wedding reception. This reception was very lively, we met Mayor and Adel (the bride and Groom), made an offering and ate more food. There was dancing and a lot of drinking, every moment someone was offering us a shot of arak and "no" was not an acceptable answer! We danced some traditional and western dances and drank many, many shots of arak. It was a great night, filled with great people and many memories. We said our goodbyes and stumbled back to our guesthouse. The next morning wasn't so fun, arak in large quantities gives a very bad hangover...

Patrice drove us to the Merpati Airlines office so we could try to reserve a ticket back to Bali. We loved the Merpati Airlines office because it was a true example of Flores. The office had 2 seating areas (old chairs with holes and cigarette ash on them) a counter where you request a ticket (they take your name and call the main office in Bali, there is no internet), and a counter where you pay (cash only) and then you receive a hand written ticket, but not until it is stamped by a guy whose only job is to stamp tickets (maybe his job title is Sr. Ticket Stamper Manager). Most people are smoking cloves inside, dropping ash on the counters and brushing it away when money/tickets need to be exchanged. We could only imagine what a culture shock it would be for a person from Flores to buy a airplane ticket from a office in the US or anywhere in the Western world. We were thinking about heading further east but in the end decided to head back to Bali to get some things done before leaving Indonesia. We were lucky to get a ticket on a flight leaving that day and Patrice drove us to the airport where we said our goodbyes.

We are now back in Bali, we'll be flying to Borneo on August7th!

Update from Indonesia!

2008-07-17T04:01:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a month since our last blog post so this post will be a long one! Unfortunately, our laptop died a few weeks ago so it's been difficult to keep the blog updated as we have been. We decided to buy a new laptop in Bali so our blog posts will be more frequent again. We have been having an incredible time in Indonesia and it is turning into one of our favorite countries thus far. We started our travels on the island of Java, beautiful volcanic landscapes and some of the nicest people we've met, but we'll start from the beginning...

We took a taxi to the airport in Kuala Lumpur for our flight to Yogyakarta and realized quickly that were at the wrong airport. We found another taxi and within 30 minutes arrived with little time to spare before our flight. As we were scanning the gates, there were short lines at all but one with a large muslim family traveling together, over 40 people waiting in line, and sure enough that was our gate! We seemed to be the only foreigners on the plane. Arrival into Indonesia was quick and easy, even the immigration officials were all smiles. We easily found a hotel south of the Sultan's Palace and settled in, soon after hearing the beautiful calls from the mosque nearby for prayer.

Yogyakarta (called "Jogja" by the locals) is a beautiful city in south-central Java. It is primarily muslim and the people are very welcoming, always wanting to stop and chat. Shortly after our arrival we signed up for a intensive 2 day Bahasa (language) Indonesian course through a local school. We decided to take the course since we planned on spending 2 months in Indonesia and wanted to be able to communicate with the locals. Bahasa Indonesian also happens to be one of the easiest languages to learn since words are written using the same Roman characters as English and there are no tenses or special tones. After just two 6 hour days with a private tutor we felt comfortable with conversational bahasa Indonesian.

The next few days were spent going to the Sultan's Palace (this is the only province in Indonesia that is still formally governed by a precolonial Sultanate: the Sultanate Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat) and visiting various sites in the city. Our main transportation was by "becak" or cycle taxis (where you sit in a cart on the front of a bicycle, the driver pedaling in the back and plunging you into the chaotic traffic). It costs less than $2 to get anywhere in the city, depending on whether there are hills, etc. We visited the water palace and the "Bird Market", a definite highlight of Jogja. Narrow chaotic walkways filled with all types of birds, bats, lizards, cats, dogs, monkeys, rabbits, roosters, turtles, etc. All animals were for sale and we both contemplated buying the baby monkey, sitting in it's cage with those sad eyes and sucking his thumb.

We also had the opportunity to see the Ramayana ballet, based on one of the most famous tales in Hinduism, performed in a natural setting outside the Prambanan Temple, one of the largest Hindu temples in Indonesia. It also happened to be under a full moon, absolutely beautiful.

Before leaving Jodja we decided to arrange a climb to the summit of the Merapi Volcano, one of Indonesia's most active and dangerous volcanoes. It contains an active lava dome and eruptions occur with some regularity, about every 4 years. We started by taking a bus at 10pm for 2 hours to the small town of Selo at the base of Merapi. After having some tea at a local house, we started our trek at 1am so we could arrive at the summit for sunrise. There were 5 climbers and 2 guides and it was steep from the start, all of us walking carefully through small sandy and stony pathways with deep ravines on either side. At 2911m, it was a 4 hour climb to the top with 4 plateaus to cross.

While the volcano looked close at the start of the climb, after each plateau it seemed further and further away. After the 2nd plateau one of the guys in our group decided to back out. He decided to wait at the second plateau while we continued to the summit. The climb became increasingly difficult and on the last plateau there was a gravesite of groups who had fallen in the past. Our guide asked each of us if we wanted to continue to the top and all 4 remaining said yes.

The climb to the top was the most demanding and strenuous. It was a near vertical climb through volcanic rock, and while you would think you were grabbing on to a solid boulder only to find out that the boulder was light as a feather and would come tumbling down. Sometimes you would grab rocks which were warm, or pass over holes where hot steam was pouring out. We all made it safely though and were rewarded with some of the most breathtaking views from the top!! It made the climb entirely worth it, to be able to see an active volcano spewing out steam from all angles and a clear sunrise over other peaks like Mt. Sindoro, Mt. Sumbing, and Mt. Lawu. We spent an hour at the top before starting our descent.

Surprisingly, the walk down was much more difficult than the walk up, having to be very careful not to lose your balance and grip. I couldn't count the number of times our feet slipped out from under us, sliding us down the volcano. Our legs were like jello by the time we made it to the bottom and we were all completely exhausted and covered in dirt. During the course of our climb we were passed by various locals making the same climb (but multiple times) in flip-flops and sometimes bare feet, carrying baskets or big bundles of shrubs, some close to 70 years of age and not breaking a sweat. It made us all feel relatively weak!

After a week it was time to leave Jodja and we started working our way through Java towards Bali, taking a three day trip to see Mount Bromo and the Ijen Crater. The people that we met along the way have been some of the friendliest yet. We were stopped twice by groups of Muslim girls, wanting to take their picture with us and practice their english. Our first night we stayed in a small town called Cemoro Lawang, on the lip of the Tenggar crater. Sunrise on the first day was at a viewing point for Gunung Bromo, one of the most sacred volcanos in Java with an absolutely beautiful setting. The viewpoint was crowded with over 100 people from various tour groups but unfortunately the fog was thick and soupy and nothing could be seen.

All the groups left with the exception of about 10 people, freezing and praying that the fog would lift. The wait was worth it as the clouds lifted and the few of us who stayed were rewarded with the beautiful view. Just as the clouds passed, Mt Semuru in the background of Gunung Bromo blew a cloud of ash, so beautiful. We then took a jeep to the base of Bromo and Tenggar crater. There is a beautiful temple at the base and many people make pilgrimages here, walking the 300+ steps to the edge and throwing offerings into the crater.

The next morning was spent at Ijen Plateau, a quiet but active volcano in east Java. We walked 3 km up to the crater edge where there is a beautiful turquoise sulpher lake inside. At the edge of the lake, smoke billows out from the volcano's vent and the lake bubbles when activity increases. The vent is a source for sulphur and men work here, making the difficult trek into the crater to collect rocks of sulphur carried in baskets on their shoulders to the base of the crater. They work long, hard days carrying up to 100 kilos (220 lbs) on their shoulders, receiving just 400 Rupiah (about 4 cents) per kilo, which is actually considered to be a very good wage for the area but also comes with many health problems. Some of the men's shoulders were raw with blisters and caved from years of carrying.

We were dropped off in the far east of Java and took a 45 minute ferry to the west coast of Bali. We were heading to Ubud, a small town in the middle of Bali but had no ongoing transport. The cost of a taxi was too high for the trip so we decided to take a "bemo", a public (and at times cramped) minibus which drives a regular route around the island, picking up and dropping off at various locations. It was to be a 4 hour ride and it turned out to be an interesting one. We rode behind a live chicken for half of the way, a woman holding it by it's feet while the smell of clove cigarettes smoked by the locals filling the air. We finally arrived in Denpasar, about 30 minutes from our hotel and took a taxi the remainder of the way. It was a long day of travel and we were both looking forward to relaxing.

We received a recommendation for our hotel from friends made in Thailand, they told us we would thank them later. They were right, it was the most beautiful place, our own beautifully decorated private bungalow (complete with a bath tub, deck and swimming pool) set in the middle of rice fields (all for just $15/night). The staff brought us welcome drinks, along with coffee and tea service 3 times a day and we spent the next 5 days in tranquility, walking the rice fields at sunrise, talking with the locals and sampling the amazing food there. Ubud is a quaint little town known for their artistic community and most shops are local art galleries. Bali is primarily Hindu but very different from Hinduism in India. Every day at sunrise and sunset, offerings are laid out at every entrance of every door, baskets of flowers, rice, incense and you have to be careful wherever you step not to walk on them.

We walked to the nearby "Monkey Forest" where you can buy bananas and feed the many monkeys living there. While it was fun to see, the monkeys are quite cheeky and sneaky, grabbing bags from tourists, lunging for bananas and in one case, covering themselves with poo. We snapped some photos and took off.

We met some great people from Santa Fe at our hotel in Ubud and decided to share a ride to our next destination, Padang Bai. Our driver, who also worked at our hotel, mentioned that he had a 3 month old baby and along the way to Padang Bai, he pointed out his village. We asked if we could stop in and meet his family, he seemed surprised and was happy to take us there. Upon our arrival the whole village came out to greet us, children coming from all directions and we met his wife, brothers, sisters, grandmother and many other families. We spent some time talking with his family and met his beautiful baby boy. As a tradition, babies are not to touch the ground for the first 6 months of their life. After some time we said our goodbyes and continued on to Padang Bai.

Padang Bai is a nice, quiet town on the beach with great dive locations all around. We stayed a couple of days and decided to move on, we were planning on meeting friends there in 5 days so we decided to take a quick trip to the Gili Islands off of Lombok. We went to the largest of the three Gili Islands, nice beaches and a much more relaxed pace than Bali. We spent 4 days lounging on the beach and then took a boat back to Bali to meet our friends, Josh and Bennett, whom we've travelled with in Thailand. Matt, Bennett and Josh all went diving at various spots, the best being the wreck dive of the US Liberty ship which is just 35 meters off the beach and in just 30 meters of water. The ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942 and was beached for over 20 years until the eruption of the Gunung Agung volcano broke it in two and rocked it into the ocean. They all saw great fish there, coral and even did a swim-through of the wreck.

After a few days we decided to go to Lombok for some surfing. We took a long, queasy boat ride for 4 hours and arrived in the evening to find no ongoing transport. We met some guys who agreed to take us to Kuta Beach in the south of the island for $30 in a minivan. While we were all a little skeptical, we really didn't have many other options unless we wanted to sleep on the ferry dock so we took their offer. It was an hour and a half to get to Kuta Beach along winding roads, as we were speeding around one turn the headlights went out and we all panicked. The driver slammed on the breaks and was able to get the lights to come back on, he was as surprised and scared as we were. The rest of the ride was uneventful and the drivers ended up being great guys, taking us to various hotels to find a room. There weren't many options arriving at 1am but we found a spot on the beach with a room that could accommodate all 4 of us. We were all hungry, since none of us had eaten dinner but there were no restaurants open. The next thing we knew, a friend of the hotel manager opened his restaurant so we could all eat. After having a GREAT meal, various locals started filtering in to drink, and by 2 am we were all singing songs and drinking together. What a great welcome into Lombok.

The next day we rented scooters to get around to the local beaches and explore the countryside. Our friend Josh snapped a great picture of us riding to the beach with water buffalo on the side of the road, the beach in front and a small bird to the side :). The south of Lombok is fairly undeveloped with beautiful landscapes and secluded beaches. Children from area villages run out into the road waving or to get a high five as you are driving past. The locals were all very friendly, sometimes in Bali it seems that people are nice because they see you as an opportunity to make money but in Lombok, people were genuine and kind. The beaches here were amazing and with barely no people, the swimming can be dangerous because of the strong currents but the waves are incredible.

After 4 days it was time to make our way back to Bali and we took a boat to Kuta Beach (very different from the quiet Kuta Beach of Lombok, loud and crazy and overrun with tourists). We visited the memorial on the site of the 2002 bombing and then hit the night clubs. It's a fun place but crowded with tons of Australian tourists here on college break, a bit annoying after a while. We've booked our flight to Flores leaving on July 21st and we're both looking forward to a change of scenery and seeing more of Indonesia.

Kuala Lumpur

2008-06-13T22:32:00.000-07:00

Our time in Malaysia was short and we spent all of it in Kuala Lumpur. This was mostly because we will be back to Malaysia sometime in the near future. The modernization of KL with the Petronas Towers and other skyscrapers, the extreme cultural diversity, and of course the shopping (more so for Donna, not so much for Matt) makes it a city of interest, but not really somewhere where we wanted to spend a lot of time. I guess if you worked there it would be a great place to live, but for traveling a few days in KL, your bank account is hurting and it’s time to move on.

There is a huge Arab, Indian and Chinese population throughout the city. Historically this has been a problem politically for Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia in general; however, it’s interesting to see so many people from different cultures live and work together. This also means great food everywhere from Lebanese to Malay, from Sushi boats to Pizza Hut literally every genre is available. In terms of sights the biggest attraction are the Petronas Towers in the evening. Other than that we completed a lot of errands before we left to Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Chang Mai and Pai

2008-06-08T23:15:00.000-07:00

We started traveling Northern Thailand in Chang Mai which is a beautiful city, perfectly square and surrounded by a moat. Along the edge of the moat there are remnants of brick walls which were built over 700 years ago to defend the city from Burmese invaders. There are over 300 wats/temples scattered throughout the city, I’d like to say that we explored a lot of them but to be honest, we’re both a bit templed out. Chang Mai has a very relaxed atmosphere and we enjoyed walking around and speaking with the friendly locals. We spent a few nights exploring the Chang Mai night bazaar, one of the largest and oldest markets in Thailand, continued over time from the original Yunnanese trading caravans which stopped here along the ancient trade route between China and Myanmar. The bazaar is seemingly endless, spanning several streets and selling just about anything.

After a few nights we left for Pai, a small town about 3 hours south-west of Change Mai. The drive was beautiful, small villages along twisting mountain roads with a lush green landscape. Upon arrival in Pai, a man offered everyone on our bus free mopeds to drive around to look for a hotel. We took him up on the offer and found a nice place close to the river. We had made plans to meet a friend of a friend for dinner that was traveling a similar route and will be meeting back up with us in Bali. There were 8 of us at dinner, all travelers from different parts of the world and a few Thais. That evening after dinner and drinks we collectively decided to go to the elephant camp the next day and on a 2 day white water rafting/camping trip on the Pai River the day after.

The elephant camp was amazing. Just being able to feed, touch and be so close to these amazing animals is worth every Bhat, even though it’s free to just hang out and feed them. The pictures speak for themselves.

We started the rafting trip early the next morning with a debriefing and a1 ½ hour truck ride to the base of the river. Along the way we realized that we were truly out in the middle of nowhere and we were definitely the only Westerners in sight; which is unusual for Thailand. We stopped at a random house/hut along the way which had a few plastic water bottles in the front and a small sign in Thai. Our friend told us they sell homemade rice whiskey, but we didn’t expect it to be this “homemade”. We brought three 1.5 liter empty water bottles into the house and came out with three 1.5 liters of whiskey for 90 Bhat ($3). The whiskey house, if you will, also had a mango tree out front with a long bamboo stick to knock the unripe mangos to the ground. Unripe mangos and Thai rice whiskey is like peanut butter and jelly and the mangos were free of charge.

At the river our guides took care of everything and made sure we had fun at all times. One of the guides, Danny, lives in a small village outside of Pai where he and his family farm and have self-sustaining lifestyle (no 7-11’s or Safeway’s nearby). Chai, our guide, was a little older, a bit more experienced and from Pai. The 8 of us couldn’t have asked for better people to be with, they truly made the experience more worthwhile. The Pai River is like a bunny slope compared to the Colorado, American, or Snake River but still had a few class 3+ rapids that made the heart flutter a little. Most of this was due to our guides, the classic saying from our guides was “ahead is a class 3 but I can make class 6 if you want”. Everyone was thrown (or pushed) from the raft at one time or another! We also witnessed some locals illegally fishing in the river, we stopped and observed. Apparently a few men stand up stream and send electric shocks into the water stunning the fish and another man slaps the water with a bamboo stick directing the dazed fish into a barricade of nets being held by about 15 fishermen and women. The reason why this is illegal, and also a bit stupid, is that they electrocute/daze the large fish, which they want to eat, but at the same time kill the small fish that will eventually become larger and all the food the fish eat to survive. It was interesting to see and we were able to snap a few pictures before we were told not to.

After 5 or 6 hours of paddling we made it to camp where a man was already there assembling the makeshift kitchen ready for dinner. Apparently it took him all day to walk to our campsite through the jungle. He didn’t speak English at all but you could tell he was a very nice man. Everyone set up their sleeping areas and bathed in a shower using river water. Dinner that evening was amazing and could be one of the better Thai meals we’ve had. After dinner we indulged in the rice whiskey and played some funny games that involved some face painting, the “paint” coming from the bottom of the charred wok used for cooking. The winner painted the loser…good times.

The second day of rafting was a little slower then we anticipated, it could’ve been from the whisky the night before or because the river stayed pretty calm. We arrived back in Pai around 7pm and had a good night sleep.

The next few days were spent exploring Pai and the surrounding areas by scooter and hanging out with our new friends. The surrounding area is beautiful with caves and waterfalls to explore and friendly villages. We also discovered the local market. One of our Thai friends, Mam, invited all of us to her home for a cooking lesson and dinner. That day we went to the market to shop for produce and spices and that evening feasted on red curry with chicken, sweet and sour vegetables and fried fish, all of which was phenomenal. Everyone had a good time playing with Mam’s 7 year-old son Mark. It felt really good to cook and sit down to eat in a friend’s home after eating at restaurants and in our hotel room for so many months. The last few days we spent relaxing and hanging out with friends before we all parted ways.

After 7 great nights in Pai we headed back to Chang Mai. We met up with our friends Maya and Bennett for drinks and a movie and went to see a Muay Thai fight. Muay Thai is THE sport of Thailand, most fighters starting when they are children and it is amazing to watch. We’ll post a short video clip from the fight soon.

Tomorrow we are off to Kuala Lumpur!

Luang Prabang

2008-05-22T22:42:00.000-07:00

We had a great week in Luang Prabang, the city is so charming and the people are so friendly that it’s hard not to like. The city is tucked within a corner of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers and it’s easy to walk from end to end. Every morning we would get breakfast from our favorite café and sometimes enjoy it on the hotel viranda. In the evenings, we would usually stroll through the colorful nightly market. We didn’t buy much (our packs are already too heavy) but its fun to watch the action. We ate dinner at a buffet in the market, only 5,000 kip (or 50 cents) for a big plate of different food, by far the best deal in town.

We spent a day visiting some of the many wats scattered throughout the city, our favorite being Wat Xieng Thong. There are 190 steps to the top, with beautiful Buddha statues along the way and stunning views of the city and the Mekong River. In a city of just 26,000 people, there are over 30 wats in Luang Prabang. Every day at sunrise, the beating of a wooden gong instructs monks to line up in preparation for filing through the street, barefoot and in single file. Carrying alms bowls, they collect offerings of sticky rice and other gifts from the kneeling villagers, who wish to receive merit by their actions. Many local women wake early each day just to prepare food for this ceremony.

After a few days, we arranged a trek to some Hmong and Khamu hill tribe villages. The trek itself was rougher than expected, through thick forest and streams and slippery hills. At one point, we had to cross the Mekong River and a man pulled up in an “I Love NY” t-shirt to take us to the other side. It was a memorable experience as the boat was filled with about 6 inches of water and it felt like we could tip over at any moment. Along the paths we met different groups of people, a couple of Hmong villagers growling like bears (jokingly) before we could see them in the scrub, a group of girls playing hide and seek behind a basket and a group of boys taking our pictures with handmade clay “cameras”. The villages were nice but we moved rather quickly through them along the 8 hour trek.

We arranged to have a traditional Luang Prabang meal at a place called Tamarind. There were so many different dishes served; mekong seaweed with sesame, leaves filled with buffalo/rice/peanut sauces, stuffed bamboo, laab (a dish with buffalo/eggplant/cilantro/lime), buffalo/pork soups and of course, lots of sticky rice. It was great to sample the unique dishes of Laos and to have someone explain how each dish was made (and how to eat it).

We spent one rainy day on the hotel viranda with our next door neighbor, Tommy. We met Tommy at a café on our first day in Luang Prabang and it was coincidence that he was staying in the same hotel in the room next door. Tommy is an interesting character, about 80 years old and full of stories, quotes and advice. He grew up in India, went to school in New Zealand and now runs a guesthouse in Thailand. He’s out there, I think a bit too much partying in the 60’s, but he was interesting and funny to visit with.

After 7 great nights in Luang Prabang, it was time to leave. We took a short 45 minute flight to Chang Mai and we’ll be in Northern Thailand for the next two weeks. Then we’ll be off to either Myanmar or Malaysia.

Laos, Vientiane to Vang Vieng

2008-05-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

We spent a quiet three nights in Vientiane. The city rests on a bend in the Mekong River and it is the capitol of Laos, although with a population of only 200,000 people, the city is small and near silent. There isn’t an abundance of cars/scooters/buses cluttering the roads and no horns constantly beeping. It’s very peaceful to walk the streets, lined with traditional wood houses, French colonial buildings, temples and concrete structures. There isn’t much to do in Vientiane other than relax and enjoy the peace and quiet. We took a bus to a village about 5 hours north, Vang Vieng.

We had read that travelers either love or loathe Vang Vieng and unfortunately we were on the side of the latter. The village is nice and it’s placement along the Nam Song river with small wooden crossing bridges is beautiful, it was the atmosphere which was the problem. The village is overrun by young backpackers who either want to sit in one of the many restaurants blaring “Friends” or “Family Guy” 24/7 or who are there to get drunk daily and tube down the river. Then they proceed to walk around town dressed inappropriately for any city in the world. It just wasn’t for us. We did rent bicycles one day and explored the nearby villages and visited some caves nearby. That was our main highlight in Vang Vieng and we quickly moved on.

We took a long and bumpy bus ride along winding roads 6 hours north to Luang Prabang. The scenery was beautiful but the ride was nauseating. Although we’ve only been here for one night, we absolutely love it. Luang Prabang is a beautiful city set along the Mekong River with tree-lined streets and French colonial architecture with beautiful limestone mountains as the backdrop. It is dotted with Buddhist wats and monks wandering the city, smiling locals and quaint shops. We are staying in the Old Quarter which will be a good base to see the various sites and close to the nightly Hmong market which sells traditional Lao handicrafts, jewelry and traditional medicines. There are an abundance of cafes along the Mekong River, so we’ll more than likely park at one for a while this morning and watch the city float by. Then in the coming days we’ll be taking a 1 or 2 day trek to the villages north of Luang Prabang.

More to come.

Sapa and the Nearby Villages

2008-05-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

We took an overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa which was an 11 hour ride. The cabin was extremely comfortable, with four plush beds and nice furnishings. We were sharing the cabin with a couple from Australia and spent the evening having drinks and snacks and talking about various places to travel. We arrived in Sapa in the early morning and it was a short bus ride to our hotel, which overlooked foggy rice terraces and nearby Cat Cat village.

Sapa is a small picturesque village just 5 minutes from the China border. The main town is a bit touristy but a short trek will take you into the nearby villages where you can see many hill tribe people, their villages, rice terraces and lush vegetation. The minority groups which are most prominent are the Hmong, Red Dao, White Thai, Giay, Tay, Muong groups.

Groups of ethnic Hmong youngsters and women can be seen hauling impossibly heavy, awkward baskets of wood, stakes, bamboo, bricks, mud and produce. The Hmong people are the most outgoing, always smiling and wanting to talk (or sell you some homemade jewelry or clothing). We went on a trek to nearby Cat Cat village which winds through the village and rice terraces, the views changing by the hour due to the low hanging fog that comes and goes.

We were sick for a few days which unfortunately cut into our time to do longer treks outside of Sapa. We were able to do a full day trek to Lao Chai and Ta Van which is predominantly Red Dao and Giay minorities. We didn’t go with an organized trek or have a guide but a couple of Hmong women followed us on our trek and pointed us in the right direction for the different paths to take, at times holding our hands while we crossed small rivers on small stepping rocks. The views were breathtaking and it was nice to see life in the small rural villages. We met one woman along the way who must have been around 80 years old, her ears stretched from the heavy weight of the large earrings that they wear. She sat with us for a while and took the rings from her ears to try to sell.

At the end of our 10km trek, the Hmong women didn’t ask for any money but only asked that we purchase something. I spent $4 on a few bracelets and then we took a motorbike back to Sapa. The motorbike ride was intense, winding around mountains while our driver made calls on his cell phone but we made it back quickly and in one piece! We made plans to leave although it is an area we will definitely come back to. There are so many villages in the north of Vietnam that we would need weeks to explore fully. We took an overnight train back to Hanoi and it was nice to be back. We both feel very comfortable there and enjoy daily life in the city. We spent another 6 nights in Hanoi before taking a flight to Vientiane, Laos (only an hour and a half flight on a prop plane). We are both happy to be starting a new country and we’ve been looking forward to Laos for a while now.

Halong Bay

2008-04-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

We took a bus from Hanoi to Halong City where we planned to organize a boat trip to Cat Ba (the only populated island) and a tour around Halong Bay. Most travelers to Halong Bay organize a tour package from Hanoi for 2-3 days (hotels, transportation and activities are all planned). We try to avoid tours for the most part, preferring to travel on our own schedule and avoiding large tourist groups. In hindsight, it would have probably been in our best interest to book a package for this specific journey.

We started by purchasing a one-way ticket to Cat Ba which included a tour of Halong Bay, with over 3000 limestone karsts rising from the Gulf of Tonkin and innumerable caves throughout. It was a beautiful tour of the bay, small floating villages and schools within the maze of islands. We stopped to tour of one of the caves which had a beautiful ray of light beaming through. The boat was comfortable with a dining area and a top deck with lounge chairs and we met quite a few other travelers from around the world who also avoided the tour package.

The problem was the boat dropped us off on the far end of the island (about 45 minutes away from the main town, over mountains and winding roads). We quickly realized that there were buses for the tour groups but no transportation for those who were on their own. We were in an uninhabited part of the island and at the mercy of those who provided transportation services. In all, there were 12 of us who didn’t have transportation and we went back and forth with the drivers/touts at the pier over costs. They wanted to charge $10 per person for what should have been a $3 ride, everyone refused based simply on principle.

We spent hours at the pier, trying to contact hotels for transportation, talking to the other boat drivers and haggling at the pier. They knew we were at their mercy and it was just a matter of time before we gave in. All of the buses left, the sun was setting and we were on a pier surrounded by motorbikes. Two Australian guys absolutely refused to pay the amount they were demanding so they started the 30 km hike to the other side of the island. The rest of us eventually gave in and hopped on motorbikes ($6 to the other end of the island). It scared the hell out of us to have to ride a motorbike for such a long journey with large backpacks. The ride was long but beautiful, mountains and valleys with small villages in between.

We found a hotel quickly and for only $8 had a room with a beautiful view of the bay. I would like to say that we had a nice stay but we just didn’t enjoy the area so much. The people weren’t very friendly and it just wasn’t as beautiful as we thought it would be. The nicest person we met was a young deaf girl who only spoke Vietnamese. You’d be surprised how well you can communicate by drawing pictures and gesturing with hands. We tried to make the best of our time there, trying out the different restaurants and meeting other travelers but after a couple of days we were ready to leave. Overall, Halong Bay is beautiful but completely overdeveloped and overrated. It was nice to get back to Hanoi and we spent another 4 nights there before booking our train tickets to Sapa, in the far northwest of Vietnam on the border with China.

Good Morning, Vietnam!

2008-04-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Hanoi early in the morning and were both exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before and the 4am wake-up call to go to the airport. Upon our arrival in Hanoi, we quickly passed through immigration and the driver for our hotel was waiting for us outside. The drive from the airport to Hanoi was beautiful; thick, low-laying fog against a landscape of women working in rice fields and men plowing with oxen. Within 30 minutes we arrived in the colorful Old Quarter, where our hotel is located.

Hanoi is filled with small French colonial style buildings and this Capital city is packed with charm. Throughout each street and alleyway you can find cafes serving deliciously strong coffee/tea and an abundance of bakeries offering delicious bite-size cakes and mousses for about 10,000 Dong ($.66) because of the strong French influence. For being a Capital city it is surprisingly easy to walk from one end to the other, except for the traffic. The manager of the hotel gave us just one piece of advice before we left, warning us about crossing the streets, “look, walk slowly, DON’T STOP or turn back, and don’t worry, you wont get hit”. After being in Delhi, Bombay, Jodhpur and Bangkok we figured it couldn’t be much different. We were wrong. Matt learned his lesson within the first hour when he had his pinky toe run over :). It seems there are as many motorbikes as there are people (Hanoi’s population is 5 million) and sure enough if you cross the street slowly and without stopping, the drivers will weave their way around you. The interesting thing about the traffic situation is that 20 years ago there were no motorbikes and everyone used bicycles. There are a few busy intersections that have street lights but no one seems to obey them…it’s almost like they are for decoration only. At night the city slows down completely though and the streets are nearly silent.

People within Hanoi are very welcoming, always smiling, sometimes asking a little bit about you and where you are from, but few try to hustle or sell you things. We found a good Vietnamese restaurant next to our hotel that we went to at least once a day. The beef noodle soup is unbelievable and cheap, 25,000 Dong (about $1.66), and the beers are 11,000 Dong ($.70) for a 20 oz. mug. The great thing about this restaurant is that the family that works there also lives in the restaurant in an open air loft upstairs. While we’re eating dinner they are usually cooking similar dishes for themselves and most of the time the children are in pajamas waiting to go to bed. Good, clean, cheap meals with a lot of charm.

We spent a lot of time exploring the Old Quarter, narrow streets which change names every block or so, each street dedicated to a specific trade or craft. For example, Hang Bac sells silver, Hang Tre has bamboo, Hang Ca sells fish, Hang Thiec is lined with tin items. Women walk the streets carrying baskets of fruits, snacks, etc for sale and men drive people around on cyclo taxis. There is so much going on all around you and every street you turn on offers something different. We ate at various cafes, drank great coffee and watched the city pass by.

We visited the Hoa Lo prison, nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton” by US POWs held there during the Vietnam war. It was constructed by the french in 1896 to hold communist revolutionaries but between 1964 and 1973, it was used to hold prisoners of war. The cells still contain the iron gates that clamped one foot in place, the original french guillotine is still standing and there are areas where torture took place. On the walls are mostly stories of communist revolutionaries but there are some pictures of famous inmates like John McCain receiving treatment by Vietnamese doctors. The prison is an eery place to walk through, especially after reading more about the events that occured there.

The next day we explored the Revolutionary Museum, which explores Vietnam’s past and present. The museum takes you through a timeline of events from the early 1600’s, through the French occupation and repression, photos of child soldiers, revolutionary newspapers and weapons, then taking you through exhibits and artifacts from the American war, pieces of airplanes, uniforms and missles. The photographs, stories and artifacts are extremely powerful and emphasize Vietnam’s strength as a nation.

Our last day was spent wandering around the Duan Xuan market, Vietnam’s oldest and largest market, three stories of shops selling everything from spices to clothing. After dinner we went to the Water Puppet theater. It was a great show with traditional Vietnamese music and puppets playing out stories on a stage of water. The tradition started over 1,000 years ago, when people put on puppet shows in the rice fields for the amuzement of their children.

After the water puppet theater, we went to the only jazz bar in Hanoi, known for the international artists who have played there. The music was great and we’ve posted some short video clips.

After 7 great nights in Hanoi, we knew it was time to move on. We could have stayed longer but it was time to leave for Halong Bay. We’ll be back again for sure.

Last Week in Thailand

2008-04-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

We spent some time in Krabi trying to figure out our travel plans; we’ve decided to go to Vietnam next and applied for visas and arranged flights. Once we had our travel arrangements made we went to Ton Sai, one of our favorite beaches, to spend our last week in Thailand. It was a great week, warm during the day and cool at night, pouring rain in the afternoon and tides changing from hour to hour. We saw a few old friends and made a few new ones. We spent some time in Krabi Town; going to the morning market and sampling the different foods there. We went kayaking again, this time to a further destination. Koh Poda is about 8 km away from Ton Sai and being in the open ocean it took a bit more work to get there, taking us almost an hour and a half to get there. We were rewarded with beautiful beaches once we arrived though. There were quite a few boats on the island but only one kayak; apparently we were the only ones crazy enough to paddle out there… We spent some time swimming at the main beach before finding our own quiet spot on the other side. The fish on the main beach are so used to being fed by tourists that they swim around you hoping for a piece of bread or something. It was cute for a little while until one bit me in the leg, people shouldn’t feed fish on the beach :(. After a couple of hours we started paddling back and we were both sore and exhausted at the end. The last few days were spent relaxing and reading on the beach.

We flew into Bangkok with only two nights to spend. It seemed like enough time as neither of us are really into big cities and the chaos that comes with it. Bangkok is such a beautiful city though with so much to see and do, I find myself wishing I could stay longer. We are staying in the main tourist area of Khao San Rd; lined with restaurants, bars and shops selling just about everything. Since we didn’t have much time to visit the many historical temples around Bangkok; we had to choose just one. We decided to go to Wat Pho and of all the temples in Bangkok, I’m really happy we were able to see this one. Wat Pho is the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok; housing the country’s largest reclining Buddha. The reclining Buddha is 46m long and 15m high, showing the Buddha passing into final nirvana. It’s truly an amazing site to see, covered in gold while the feet/eyes are made from mother of pearl and truly larger than life.

Afterward, we took the express boat down the Chao Phraya River which cuts through the city of Bangkok, the west being the old city while the east is full of modern high-rise buildings. The boats are used by many for commuter transport so you see a mix of professionals, school children, monks and tourists. It’s a great and inexpensive way to get around Bangkok. We didn’t really know our way around the city so we wandered through side streets along the river trying to find the boat station. These tiny streets are mostly used for storing and selling spices and dried goods, which leave a pungent aroma in the air (especially the dried fish). Once we arrived at the station we decided to head to Chinatown. We’ve heard from other travelers that it is one of the busier/crazier parts of Bangkok. Once again, we didn’t really know our way around so we ventured through the streets making our way through the traffic, sort of like a game of frogger except the consequences are worse. After about 20 minutes we arrived in the middle of the chaos of Chinatown. It seems that every major city has a Chinatown and for the most part it’s all the same; thousands of people, stores, food vendors, etc. It’s the same in Bangkok but on a large scale. The shops are located in no particular order, e.g. a jewelry store will be next to a dried fish stand, then a traditional Chinese pharmacy, then an underwear store, and then a durian fruit stand. Also, the traffic in Chinatown is just like any other congested city in Asia; organized chaos. Cars, bikes, tuk-tuks, buses, trucks, motorcycles zoom past thousands of people and there are very few accidents. Overall Chinatown was a fun experience but didn’t have much to offer for shopping, except for the tasty and interesting snacks from the food stalls.

We have a 6:45am flight to Hanoi, Vietnam tomorrow. We are both looking forward to seeing a new country and Hanoi is another capital city with experiences to offer. Hopefully it will be just as fun to get lost in.

Back in Thailand...

2008-04-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

We just spent the last two weeks island hopping in Thailand with Matt’s Mom and her friend Stacey. They arrived on March 15th and we spent 2 days exploring Krabi; taking long-tail boats to Railay Beach and kayaking to the local islands from Ton Sai Bay. We then went straight down to our favorite island in Thailand, Koh Lipe. It was great to be back again and see friends from our last visit. The weather in Lipe has changed dramatically since we were last here. On Koh Lipe, when the low season begins (end of April - October), the winds move in opposite directions moving from the south-west instead of north-east. This changes the currents on the surface and underneath the water and for 3 days it was clear and very hot during the day while at night there were powerful thunderstorms. We went to Jack’s Jungle Bar (appropriately named for it’s location in the middle of the jungle) one night when a storm was at its peak. Their generator was broken and with no moon, the place was completely dark, which made for an amazing show of lightening that evening.

As luck would have it, Matt contracted a bad ear infection after his first swim so diving and swimming were out of the question for the following week. Luckily, Karma bar is situated on our favorite sandbar beach so while Matt was staying out of the sun, the rest of us went snorkeling and swimming. Stacey had a rare experience at the beach, getting stung in the ankle by a stingray which almost pierced through the other side. Her leg immediately started to go numb and a helpful bystander picked her up and carried her to the only health clinic on the island. After an anti-venom shot and soaking it in hot water, she felt much better but it was still a bit of a scare. We thoroughly enjoyed our last days in Lipe, swimming out to the sandbar at low tide, unforgettable sunsets and great seafood dinners.

Time passed by too fast though, we all had heavy hearts the night before we had to leave and were contemplating extending our visit even longer (we had already extended our stay by 3 days). We left for Koh Lanta and enjoyed just 2 days there before going back to Krabi. We spent our last day touring Phi Phi Leh, Maya Bay (made famous by the movie “The Beach”), Monkey Island and Bamboo Island. The tour stops for snorkeling and swimming and we all saw some beautiful fish and coral.

On March 28th it was time to say goodbye to Matt’s mom and Stacey, although I have a feeling they’ll be coming back sooner rather than later… We’ll be in Ton Sai Bay for another few days while we wait for our Vietnam visa, then we’ll be heading north to Bangkok. Close to 4 months in Thailand and I have yet to see the capitol city so it should be interesting!

Siem Reap to Sihanoukville

2008-03-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

We hired a driver to take us through Cambodia, only an 8 hour drive from North to South, passing amazing scenery along the way; monks wandering streets collecting alms for the poor, slaughtered animals being taken to local markets and rural village life scattered in a jungle landscape along the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers. We drove through Phnom Penh, at the convergence on the two rivers, with no plans to stop and sightsee. Neither of us had much interest in seeing S-21 and the mass graves within the Killing Fields, the stories are chilling enough.

We arrived in Sihanoukville, a beach town along the undeveloped southern coast and found a place to stay on Serendipity Beach. The crescent shaped beach is lined with restaurants and bars and the atmosphere is extremely relaxed due to the lawlessness of the area. We found our spot on the beach with comfortable beach chairs, good music and friendly staff and spent the next 6 days not moving much. During the day, people stop by to sell just about anything; manicures, massages, jewelry, sarongs, fruits/vegetables, drinks, meats, fish, etc. You literally don’t need to move from your beach chair as the entire market comes to you. The kids are especially hard to say no to but will usually just sit down hang out once they know you aren’t going to buy anything.

The week went by rather fast and we were flying back to Thailand on March 14th to meet Matt’s Mom.

Floating Villages

2008-03-11T21:02:00.001-07:00

We spent our last couple of days in Siem Reap going to the floating villages and floating forest. The floating villages are a sight to see, to get there you take a local boat which slowly takes you down the river, passing children on their way to school, men fishing in waist deep water and tending to alligator traps. The floating villages are separated into three sections; the Muslims, Vietnamese and Khmers, although it’s almost impossible to see any differences. All of the homes/boats are the same with a handful of schools and temples/mosques scattered around the lake. Life for the people living on the lake is very primitive, everyone using the natural resources to survive. Most homes have bamboo cages with pigs, chickens, fish (mostly bottom feeders), and alligators. All of which are used for food while the alligator skin is used to sell back to the markets in Siem Reap. Mostly, fish is sun dried with salt and other seasonings as a preservative. The fish can last for months without rotting; needless to say the process has a strong odor. Tonle Sap Lake is pretty eerie, there is absolutely no visibility and an abundance of alligators and snakes.

The second day we went to the floating forest which is similar to the floating villages but on a different section of the lake. During monsoon season, the rivers rise and flow over the banks allowing you to take a small boat through the forest which seems to be floating. There aren’t many tourists at the floating forest, probably due to the long process of getting there. You take a tuk-tuk about 15 km outside of Siem Reap down dirt roads and passing by rural villages. You then need to hop on the back of a motorcycle for the rest of the journey as the dirt roads are in bad shape and cars/tuk-tuks cannot pass over them.

The motorcycle ride was longer than expected, about 20 minutes and down eroded paths, sand beds and at one point a flooded out section of road (where Matt’s motorcycle went down). It was an interesting ride to say the least! When we reached the river we watched our boat pull up, the driver shoveling out buckets of water before letting us on.

Life here is much like that of the floating villages,On this side of the river, you see stilt villages built to withstand flooding during the monsoon season. very primitive. After our tour, we went back to Siem Reap with one day left to do absolutely nothing. We’ve seen so much in such a short period of time, we’re both exhausted.

We’ve moved on to Sihoukaville, a beach town along the coast and about an 8 hours drive through the middle of Cambodia, where we’ll relax until going to Phnom Phen to fly back to Thailand.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

2008-03-06T21:32:00.001-08:00

We arrived in Siem Reap in the early afternoon, stepped off the plane onto the tarmac and completed a short visa process to enter the country. We pulled money out of the ATM and it was strange to see US dollars again. The official currency in Cambodia is Riel but since so much US currency was put into the country after the war, it’s used for everything. Siem Reap is a beautiful place with friendly people and a great atmosphere. Although Matt was here last year, this is my first time in Cambodia and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. So far this place has surpassed all expectations and I find myself not wanting to leave.

Since we arrived early, we had some time to walk around the local markets, such a colorful place with fruits, vegetables, meats, clothes, jewelry, crafts, etc. We are staying in the heart of the old market at Molly Malone’s, which has a great restaurant and an Irish pub downstairs. We’ve met some fascinating people sitting down at the pub with incredible stories. We met an American doctor who has been providing care for people in Cambodia for next to nothing in the rural villages, trying to setup an ambitious telemedicine project to provide better care. Cambodia has a tragic and recent history, in 1969 it was bombed and invaded by US and Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam conflict during which time there were between 4-6,000,000 landmines laid, most of which are only found today when someone steps on one. So far only 90 sq km of the country has been cleared leaving over 3,000 sq km left so it’s important not to stray even a few steps from a path or main road. You see so many people with no limbs and it breaks your heart, especially when you see the children. One of the things immediately noticed when coming here is the almost non-existence of anyone over the age of 50. During the Pol Pot regime, one-fifth of the population was tortured to death or executed (mainly those who were educated, spoke other languages, or even wore glasses). Between 1975 and 1979 over 2 million out of 11 million Cambodians died as a direct result of the Khmer Rouge and almost everyone you meet will have suffered directly or indirectly as a result. Today over 40% of the population is under the age of 15 which is a depressing statistic considering their education system is extremely poor. Cambodians are a happy and proud culture though who live for today rather than tomorrow, understandably considering their horrifying past.

Cambodia’s pride and joy are the Angkor Temples, built between the 9th and 13th centuries, there are 1000’s of temples scattered in the country-side. We spent 3 days touring the Angkor Temples, which are truly awe-inspiring. We visited many temples over the course of a few days but our favorites were Ta Prohm, Bayon and of course, Angkor Wat. Many of the Angkor Temples have long standing preservation projects but officials wanted to leave at least one temple in Angkor as it was, as an example of the “natural state”. They chose Ta Prohm and it is one of the most beautiful sites in Angkor. The temple contains a maze of narrow corridors and crumbling stonework, which is literally being pulled down to the ground by massive trees growing overtop and endless roots coiling around the stones. The Bayon has 216 massive faces and elaborate carvings of over 11,000 figures inside depicting life in 12th century Cambodia. Angkor Wat is simply amazing; no other words to describe it. It is the largest religious building in the world and it’s spectacular.

While seeing the Angkor Temples was an amazing experience, we are both a little “temped out” and relaxing back at our guesthouse. Next will be the floating forest and villages.

Leaving Thailand...

2008-02-28T05:52:00.000-08:00

We are currently in Koh Samui, spending our last night in Thailand before we fly to Cambodia tomorrow. While we are both excited to start traveling again, we’re not quite ready to leave paradise. We spent the last 10 days on Kao Tao, a small island north of Koh Phangan. Upon arrival we were met by Sebastion, Matt’s dive instructor, who showed us around and invited us to dinner that evening. We met the rest of the dive group over dinner and had a great night. There was a large group from Poland and a few others from Germany and Sweden who were staying at the same resort and taking dive courses.

Matt completed his advanced dive certification as well as his rescue diver and emergency first response course. We spent most of our free time with our new friends from Poland and Sweden. It was a great end to our time in Thailand, lazy beach days and steak/fish barbeque every night. We’re really going to miss it here but we’ll be back soon to meet Matt’s Mom in Krabi in March.
Our next post will be from Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Koh Phangan

2008-02-16T21:04:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Koh Phangan on February 1st and we stayed at a beautiful resort named Sarikantany on Leela Beach. It has beautiful bungalows, great restaurant, beach-side pool and a big screen TV room with unlimited DVDs (most movies still playing in theatres). Leela has a beautiful stretch of beach and is extremely quiet in comparison to the beach next door named Haad Rin; the party beach known for their full moon parties, buckets and DJ’s. It was nice to be able to walk to Haad Rin to party on the beach but come back to the peace and quiet of Leela. Our friend Josh flew out from China to spend some time with us again. We had a great time, probably too much of a good time as there were a couple of days spent recuperating from the night before. We met a lot of other travelers from all parts of the world and had a great 2 weeks there. Below is the dog we've been hanging out with; he has a lot of personality and likes to chill at the beach during the day.

It was hard to leave the comforts of Sarikantany but with Koh Phangan being so large, we wanted to spend some time on the other side of the island. We decided to come to Mae Haad Cove, an hours drive from Leela Beach, which is in a marine park and known for its snorkeling/diving sites. There is a coral reef just 150 meters offshore and if you simply stick your head in the water on the beach, you’ll see hundreds of fish. There is also an island called Ko Ma which is just a short walk along a sandbar which connects it to Koh Phangan, depending on the tide you may be walking through water. We’ve been extremely lazy for the most part, spending our days on the beach or lounging on our deck. We walked 2.5 km to town yesterday to use the ATM and stop at the store which we considered to be an extremely productive day.

I’m not sure how long we will spend in Mae Haad Cove, maybe just a couple more days and then move on to Koh Tao for a week. Then we’ll more than likely spend our last week in Koh Samui. We are now down to our last 2 weeks in the Thai islands and it will be hard for us to leave. We are both ready to start “traveling” again though and we’ve booked our flight from Koh Samui to Siam Reap, Cambodia for February 29th (when our visa for Thailand expires). We’ll more than likely spend a couple of weeks in Cambodia, traveling through the entire country and then moving on into Vietnam.

Similan Islands

2008-02-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

We’ve arrived in Koh Pha Ngan after spending 5 nights in Khao Lak; our jumping off point for the Similan Islands. The Similan Islands are about 50 km from Khao Lak and consist of nine islands with beautiful beaches of fine talcum powder-like sand and great snorkeling/diving. We spent the first day snorkeling off of Ba-Ngu Island, then on to Koh Miang to spend some time on the beach and Koh Payu before heading back to Khao Lak. We saw the most beautiful fish at the first spot, schools of brightly colored damsel, trigger, parrot and unicorn fish. The boat crew were excellent, always offering snacks and beverages and helping us with our things.

The following day Matt went diving at “West of Eden” and “Elephant Head”. The Similans are famous for their many dive sites and are rated one of the top 10 scuba diving spots in the world. It has 2 different types of diving; the east side consists of gently sloping coral reefs with sandy patches and the occasional boulder in between while the west side is known for its huge underwater granite boulders and numerous swimthroughs. Elephant head rock is a famous spot with a maze of swimthroughs and the reputation for spin-cycle like currents running in every direction.

Matt saw sea turtles, box fish, grey tip reef sharks, scorpion fish, stone fish, large bright parrot fish, a giant barracuda and a large morrey eel named Emma which comes out when divers approach as she is so used to being fed (one diver recently lost a finger when he came too close and pointed at it). Matt also saw a clown trigger fish which is shown here, not from our camera though as it couldn’t go below 15m..

On our last day in Khao Lak we had to do a visa run to Burma; which would allow us to stay another 30 days in Thailand. We have 10 days left on our existing stamp but since we are heading to the Gulf of Thailand which isn’t close to any border crossing, we decided to just go 3 hours north to cross the border in Burma before we left. Our bus was due to leave at 8am and we woke up in a panic at exactly 7:57. Luckily, everything in Thailand runs a little late and we were on our way at 8:15. It was a full day with a three hour drive to Ranong where we officially departed Thailand, took a longtail boat into Burma, stamped our passport on arrival, then back on the boat to Ranong to stamp our arrival into Thailand. We arrived back to our hotel at 5pm, had dinner and called it an early night as we had to travel to Koh Pha Ngan the following day.

Traveling to Koh Pha Ngan was long process, everything is organized under one ticket from point to point (mini-bus/transfers/ferry/etc) which makes it extremely easy but it was a long day. We left at 8am and didn’t arrive here until 10pm. What can you do though, we’ve arrived and it’s absolutely beautiful. We have nothing to complain about! Koh Pha Ngan is a large island very close to Koh Samui; known for their full moon parties on Haad Rin beach. We are staying on Leela Beach; quiet and peaceful but a short walk to Haad Rin. Our friend Josh is back out here visiting from China and we may have a few other friends coming here as well. We may stay here for a month but may move to the quiet end of the island after a week in the party atmosphere. Koh Pha Ngan is dotted with picturesque beaches and bays on all sides of the island so we may just rent a house for a month while Matt does his dive master course. The diving/snorkeling here is supposed to be great; mainly around Koh Pha Ngan and Ko Tao.

Quiet Koh Jum

2008-01-25T18:23:00.000-08:00

It’s been a long time since our last post, we’ve spent the last 8 nights in quiet Koh Jum. Koh Jum is a small island between Krabi and Koh Lanta; no electricity, nothing to do really except go to the beach, snorkel, read, etc. We stayed at Andaman Resort which has rows of brightly painted a-frame houses along the beachfront.

It was an extremely lazy week, we had some great food (the best so far in Thailand) and met some great people during our stay; the locals were really nice and the foreigners we’d met had been coming to the island for a long time. One man from France has been coming to Koh Jum for the last 8 years, even during the Tsunami. The people from the island have given him some land to build a home and surprised him a few days back with a repaired long-tail boat; painted in yellow, red and green with ribbons on the bow.

The sunsets on Koh Jum were particularly beautiful, with the sun setting directly over the Phi Phi islands and different every night. We started an impressive shell collection along with sand-dollars. Excited on seeing the first one, as we continued walking we found one after the other.

We are now back in Krabi and staying in Noppharat Beach. The tide gets so low in the afternoon that you can walk to the nearby islands. We walked to a couple of islands yesterday; so many little crabs, starfish, snails and fish.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Khao Lak and the Similan Islands where Matt will be scuba diving. The pictures of the Similian Islands (check online) look amazing and the underwater life is said to be the best in Thailand (sea turtles, manta rays, reef sharks friendly, etc). Most dive trips are over night, so we’ll probably be on a boat for a few days. After that we make our journey to Koh Phangan and the Gulf of Thailand.

Koh Lipe to Ton Sai Bay

2008-01-10T01:21:00.000-08:00

Our last days in Koh Lipe were great; Matt and Josh completed their open-water diving course and we brought in the New Year at the Karma Bar with friends that we met on the island. We arrived back in Ton Sai Bay on January 4 to hugs and smiles; knowing people here almost makes it feel like home.

We went kayaking for a day around the limestone rocks in Krabi; there are so many caves and tiny beaches around the rocks. In the middle of the day it just started pouring so we pulled in to a beach and just swam in the warm water as the rain poured down. After a few minutes the rain stopped and it was sunny skies again.

We chartered a fishing boat the next day, which meant waking up at 5am, taking a long-tail boat to Ao Nang and heading out to the Chicken Islands and Phi Phi returning around 7pm the same day. The guys on the boat didn’t speak much English but brought us out fresh fruit, drinks and thai food and took care of everything. We were trolling for barracuda and dorado but Josh was the only one to catch a fish… or bait :). When we returned to Ton Sai we all had sea legs. At dinner it felt like the whole restaurant was rocking back and forth.

We had to do a visa run yesterday; taking a minibus to the Malaysia border and then coming back to Krabi. We drove to Satun, walked over the Malaysia border, filled out a form, walked back into Thailand and filled out another form. We now have another 30 day visa for Thailand. Our next border run will be to Burma before we head to the Gulf of Thailand.

Today we are just lounging at the beach and taking it easy. Waking up early the past couple of mornings has been tough :).

Lazy Days in Lipe

2007-12-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

Not too much to report from Koh Lipe, it’s been one lazy day after another. Our friend Josh flew in from Hong Kong to spend the next couple of weeks with us. We spent some time at the beach and then lounged around in hammocks for sunset; with the moonless sky the stars were incredible last night. Matt and Josh signed up for an open-water scuba course so they’ll be on a boat for the next 4 days visiting various islands. I’m going to use that time to work on my tan and do some snorkeling. You only have to go 20 feet from the beach to see living coral and the most beautiful fish.

Well, that’s all for now. We hope you all have a happy and safe New Year!

Merry Christmas from Koh Lipe

2007-12-25T22:59:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone had a great holiday. Christmas day for us was much the same as the day before. Everyday consists of waking up and getting breakfast and coffee. After breakfast we tend to relax on our porch and then walk down to the beach below to find some lounge chairs. In between sunbathing sessions we read or go snorkeling. In the afternoon, we venture into “town” which is just a path into the jungle with various shops, restaurants and bars along the way. We’ll eat some apple pancakes or fruit shakes and find a dinner spot (usually serving BBQ shrimp, steak, tuna, pork and chicken). Our vegetarian diet has slowly been replaced with a carnivorous one.

In the evenings we tend to find a nice beach bar to relax at. Most are outfitted with floor pillows, candles and hammocks where you can hear the waves of the ocean mixed with the music. Last night we caught a fire show at Karma Bar (just below our place). It was a great show with performers on rocks in the middle of the water, and dancing on either end of the beach, etc. It was one of the best shows we’ve seen. We've included a short video at the end of this blog post.

Well, this will be it for now. Merry Christmas everyone!

Paradise

2007-12-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

We’ve arrived in paradise and it’s called Koh Lipe. This island is so beautiful, the sand is a fine white powder and crystal clear water. It’s surrounded by larger islands which are in a national park; we’re planning on kayaking to some of them soon. We have a great bungalow with an amazing view of the beach below. There are coral reefs all around the island which will be great for snorkeling. We’ll be spending the next couple of weeks on this island, celebrating Christmas and New Years Thai style.

Today we spent the morning at the beach and then walked around the island. It only takes 30 minutes to completely circle Koh Lipe. The island is mainly habited by sea gypsies; generations have lived here off the land and sea. The majority of the bungalows here are made from bamboo and wood rather than concrete which the more “developed” islands are scattered with. Most of the bars/restaurants on the beach are made from driftwood, giving one that deserted island sort of feeling. There is one bar on the beach next to our place where you can relax on large mats with candles in the sand.

Besides from the occasional crab startling on the beach there really isn’t much to complain about. Pictures give the best description of Koh Lipe…

Ton Sai Bay

2007-12-18T20:09:00.000-08:00

After 5 nights in Krabi we decided to take a long tail boat to Ton Sai Bay. Krabi was great but very touristed, two words…McDonald’s Delivery. Ton Sai is only about 15 minutes away and a quiet little stretch of beach and bars. The place lights up at night with fireworks and fire shows. We have a cute little bungalow just a short walk from the beach. Unfortunately I came down with food poisoning on the second night, so the last couple of days were spent in bed. It was my mistake for eating chicken from a street vendor; it came medium-rare with a side of salmonella.

We took a 2 hour boat to Koh Lanta and we stayed in a beautiful resort right on the beach. It was a short stop in Koh Lanta as the next day we had an onward boat ticket to Koh Lipe; the southern most island in Thailand and just a couple of hours from the Malaysia border.

Krabi Thailand

2007-12-12T19:42:00.000-08:00

We've finally arrived in Krabi! It is so nice here, I've never seen beaches this beautiful. Unfortunately Matthew became sick shortly after we arrived in Delhi, another case of dysentary... We're not sure if it happened after he shook the taxi driver's hand or the samosa that he ate along the way but he's been sick for the last 2 days. He started taking antibiotics again and is starting to feel better though.

We went to Ao Nang Beach our first day in Krabi. It's a beautiful stretch of beach where people sell you ice cold coconuts, offer massages ($5 for 1 hour), give you pineapple and drinks. It's a tough life in Thailand... :)

Today we plan to go to Railay Beach, which is a 20 min boat ride away. There you can rockclimb the limestone rocks in the water. If you fall, you just plunge into 85 degree water!

Varanasi and Sarnath

2007-12-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

We are having a great time in Varanasi. There are so many things to see and do that it is difficult to get bored here. We found our favorite restaurant with great thali’s and deserts, homemade apple pie with ice cream.

We changed hotels and our balcony is overlooking one of the burning Ghats. The hotel is in a great location if you are trying not to have a good night sleep. There is the constant beating of drums, animals making their noises and holy men singing till the wee hours in the morning. On the other hand we are a stones throw from the river and very close to the main Ghat that leads into many narrow streets filled with shops.

On the way to the hotel, Donna fell in sewage…again. She was trying to take a short cut and slipped and fell on her back. Luckily for her the backpack broke the fall. Her subconscious seems to direct her towards all the vile things one could fall into.

Two days ago, we took a sunrise boat ride down the Ganges River where you can see people starting their day: Men praying or taking a morning bath, women washing clothes and of course the constant cremations at the burning Ghats. We visited the main burning Ghat where there was a “hospice” which wasn’t more than an abandoned building with people close to death lying on the floors. For the most part, people in this building wait to die and beg for money to pay for their cremation. A cremation is rather expensive for lower caste Indians, about 50,000 Rupee or $1,250 for the wood. Five different types of wood are used for the cremation and more wood is needed for a larger body. Speaking of bodies, we noticed a woman lying on the ground close to the burning Ghat in front of our hotel. She must have passed away that day. Her body was still stiff and there was money around her that people left for her to have a proper burial. We were a little awestruck, so we walked by a few times to make sure what we encountered was true…and it was.

Yesterday we took a day trip to Sarnath, a small town about 10km away, to the site where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment. Here in the Deer Park, he delivered his first sermon, or in religious language, set in motion the Wheel of Law (Maha-Dharmachakra Pravartan). The Emperor Ashoka (c 304 - 232 BC), who spread the Buddha's message of love and compassion throughout his vast empire, visited Sarnath around 234 BC, and erected a stupa here. Several Buddhist structures were raised at Sarnath between the 3rd century BC and the 11th century AD, and today it presents the most expansive ruins amongst places on the Buddhist trail. We explored all of the ruins around the temple. It’s an interesting site not only because of the history, but because visitors are allowed to walk/sit on the ruins. We’ve never been to such an ancient place without it being caged off with guards.

We are now down to our last day in India and looking forward to the beaches of Thailand. India has been a great experience, with memories that will last a lifetime. Pictures and words can’t completely describe the sights, sounds and smells here. I think for both of us, our favorite city would have to be McLeod Ganj with Varanasi a close second. We are going to miss the food; we’ve been living on dal, rice, aloo ghobi, paneer butter masala, palak paneer, papa dum with raita, chapatti, nan, paratha, etc. We’ve been on a pretty strict vegetarian diet with the exception of eggs in the morning. We’re looking forward to seafood dishes in Thailand and a change in spices. Donna is craving a Big Mac, which she can get in Krabi. We’ll miss the craziness of all of the animals everywhere: monkeys, cows, bulls, water buffalos, goats, sheep, camels, elephants, donkeys, horses, pigs and dogs, lots of dogs. We’ll also miss the people: guides with no hassle, relentless rickshaw drivers trying to take us to their brothers shop, holy men asking for donations, local children pointing us in the right direction when we were lost, sleazy beer shop owners trying to cheat us out of rupees, kamikaze drivers that somehow made us feel very safe, and the local business owners who would go out of there way to make sure we were having an enjoyable experience. All-in-all India was great and we’ll definitely be back to see more. It feels like we’ve only visited a fraction of the country in the last 2 1/2 months.

We fly to Delhi tomorrow, then to Bangkok on Wednesday with a short flight down to Krabi, where we’ll spend our first few nights. We’ll post next from Thailand.

Varanasi

2007-12-04T23:47:00.000-08:00

We just relaxed our last day in Agra. We found a café which would hold our backpacks and we played cards, watched movies and talked with other travelers. Our train to Varanasi wasn’t due to leave until 11:30 pm so we had plenty of time to kill. We left for the train station at about 10pm and found our platform. Our train was delayed by one hour and by 12:30am we were ready to crash. We found our birth and settled in, it’s fairly comfortable; you have a small bed, sheets, pillow, etc. We were due to arrive in Varanasi at 12:30pm the next day as it was an 11 hour train. We woke up around 11am thinking we were almost there only to find out that we were still over 8 hours away from our destination (which ended up being over 12 hours once all was said and done). We arrived in Varanasi at 11pm exhausted and hungry; the total train ride being 23 hours. Thankfully our driver was there waiting to take us to our hotel but unfortunately no restaurants were open.

We woke up and took a nice walk along the Ganges River today; Varanasi is a very colorful place. Along the river there are herds of water buffalo, children selling flowers for puja, boats and holy men. There are ghats, burning and bathing, all along the river and they really are a site to see. For someone who hasn’t witnessed a burning ghat, or conducted a cremation, it can be a shock. Wealthier families cremate their loved ones with wood close to the river and lower castes cremate via electricity above the river. The body is set atop a pile of burning wood about 4 feet in height and burned until the majority of the body is in ash and the remnants are brought into the river. One can see the process first hand and it’s an enlightening experience. There are three major burning ghats, one which operates all day and two that hold ceremonies in the evening around 6:30pm. People during the evening ceremony light candles in bowls with flowers and push them into the river for prayer. Keep in mind this is up stream, so whatever remains slawly makes its way down the river to the washing and bathing ghats…What’s truly amazing is that the Ganges river is one of the most heavily polluted in the world; however, most parasites like cholera only live for minutes in the water but for weeks in normal drinking water. Matt’s going for a swim tomorrow with the locals…

Varanasi is one of the oldest living cities in the world, a city which, since it is both an exalted place of pilgrimage and an idealize centre of faith, has been likened to Jerusalem and Mecca.According to the historians, the city was founded some ten centuries before the birth of Christ. The city is mentioned in Holy Scriptures like 'Vamana Purana', Buddhist texts and in the epic 'Mahabharata'.Mark Twain,the English author and literature,who was enthralled by the legend and sanctity of Banaras,once wrote:"Banaras is older than history,older than tradition,older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together."This is a great place to spend our last week in India.

Fatehpur Sikri

2007-12-02T23:33:00.000-08:00

We went to Fatehpur Sikri, a ghost town about 40km south of Agra. The main area of the town was really busy with people constantly hasseling us to be our tour guide, rickshaw drivers, children begging, and people selling postcards. Though once we went behind the main monument to the ruins it was extremely quiet. We seemed to be the only people back there with only a few locals walking by.

This town was built by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar. He had planned this city as his capital but shortage of water compelled him to abandon the city. After this within 20 years, the capital of Mughals was shifted to Lahore. Fatehpur Sikri was built during 1571 and 1585. Today this ghost city has a population of about 30,000. This deserted city has retained many of the old structures and is one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture. Fatehpur Sikri Mosque is said to be a copy of the mosque in Mecca and has designs, derived from the Persian & Hindu architecture.

The Taj Mahal and Agra Fort

2007-11-30T21:53:00.000-08:00

We made it out at sunrise to see the Taj Mahal; the most extravagant monument ever built for love. The Taj was built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his wife, who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. Her death left the Emperor so heartbroken that his hair is said to have turned grey overnight. Construction of the Taj was started that same year and was completed in 1653. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Afterward, we had some breakfast and took a rickshaw to the Baby Taj and then to the Agra Fort. The ride between places was almost more interesting than the sites themselves. We traveled over a small bridge which was packed with taxis, rickshaws, motorbikes, men pushing vegetable carts and bulls carrying goods. Traffic was held up at one point by an elephant just hanging out in the street.

We are taking a side trip to Fatehpur Sikri tomorrow, about 40km south of Agra. It is mainly a ghost town; it used to be used to be the Mughal Empire’s capital between 1571 and 1585, during the reign of Akbar.

Naggar to Chandigarh to Agra

2007-11-28T07:06:00.001-08:00

Our days in Naggar were a bit boring. The town is extremely small and since it is off-season, only a few places were open (one small store and two restaurants). I think we may have been the only tourists there. We played many, many games of cards and dominos, ordered room service and watched terrible b-movies (most channels are in Hindi with only about 3 channels in English). Matt enjoyed Old Monk Rum and hot water; a traditional liquor from North India and only 100 Rs per bottle or 2.50 US, until our hot water heater broke :). Then Matt enjoyed just Old Monk Rum.

We were watching a Hindi news channel and noticed that they were showing a map of India with bombs flashing, one being in Varanasi; our last destination in India. We were concerned but had no access to English newspapers so we were going to have to wait until we could get access to the internet.
After three nights in Naggar we hired a driver take us to Chandigarh, about a 9 hour drive south. Unfortunately, the hotel we booked didn’t retain our reservation and they were completely booked. The hotel manager was nice enough to call around and find us another hotel though.
We left Chandigarh at 6:30am the next morning for the train station and after 13 hours arrived in Agra. The train ride was long, we were in a birth with a Sikh and his wife, a man and his wife from south India and a man from Chandigarh. They were all very nice but the man from Chandigarh kept lifting his leg and passing gas (towards me). He could have at least aimed at the aisle… There were so many sites along the way, women working in fields, small towns with tea stalls, boys playing cricket, children climbing trees and beautiful natural scenery. The only sad thing to see was the amount of garbage everywhere, there wasn’t one site not covered.

We arrived in Agra and hired a taxi to take us to our hotel. We’re staying at the “Shanti Lodge” and let me tell you, its shanty alright. We changed rooms though and now we have a large room with a great view of the Taj Mahal. We explored the Taj Ganj area of Agra today; winding colorful streets through markets with so much going on all around you. It’s completely overwhelming, different from the peace and quiet of the mountains. People are constantly asking if we need a rickshaw, something to eat, look in their shops, etc. We’re walking down the street constantly saying no. I wish we had t-shirts that said “No, I don’t need a rickshaw” on the front and “No, I don’t want to buy anything” on the back.

Anyway, we are back at the hotel relaxing now and getting some chai, we’re planning on going to the Taj Mahal at sunrise tomorrow which should be great for pictures. We’ll be here until December 2nd, then taking a train on to Varanasi. We finally read on CNN that three bombs detonated simultaneously in three holy cities; one being Varanasi where 9 people were killed. The court and government buildings were the targets so we aren’t too concerned about safety when we go there.

Happy Thanksgiving from Naggar

2007-11-25T06:44:00.000-08:00

We walked around Manali the last couple of days trying to figure out our travel plans. We visited the train booking office and found out that the only train (with availability) going to Agra would be leaving on November 26 from Chandigarh (about 200km away). This was much earlier than we originally planned, so we looked into other travel options (the cost of a driver, a flight from the closer town of Shimla, or a train to Delhi with a driver/bus to Agra). The upcoming train seemed to be the easiest and cheapest route so we booked the rail ticket that morning, and also booked our ongoing rail ticket to Varanasi for December 2. It’s hard to believe our travels in India are almost finished, with only a few weeks left before we leave for Thailand.

Since we only had a few days left in Himanchal Pradesh, we decided to leave Vashisht that morning. We went back to our hotel, packed our bags, took a rickshaw to Manali and then booked a driver to take us to Naggar that afternoon. Surprisingly, it all worked out well considering we didn’t have a hotel in Naggar and had no idea where we were going. We found a nice hotel right next door to Naggar castle and we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around this small town and exploring the castle. We’ll be spending a few nights here, then having a driver take us to Chandigarh the night before our train departs for Agra and the Taj Mahal.

Goodbye McLeod Ganj, Hello Manali

2007-11-19T00:43:00.000-08:00

After almost three weeks in McLeod Ganj, it was time to say goodbye. Our last week was fun, we met some friends from Ireland and had some late nights drinking with Yonten. Alex and Blonit had planned to leave McLeod on Monday, November 12th but every day would come and go and they were still here, and every night we were celebrating their next day departure. We didn’t believe they would ever leave until we actually saw them to their car and it pulled away almost a week later.

We went to the TCV on Saturday to bring the kids their winter coats and sneakers. Everything we picked out fit with the exception of one pair of shoes which can be exchanged. They all seemed really happy.

Our last day, we went for breakfast to Oogo’s one last time. We’re going to miss the food there!! It was sad to say goodbye to Yonten and we tried to convince him to come to Manali with us. He may join us in a few days. Yonten gave us two Tibetan shawls and each a white scarf (it is traditional for Tibetan’s to give white scarves for good luck) and saw us to our car. To our surprise we had the same driver as we had on the way to Dharamsala, the one we had the accident with. The drive to Manali was 9 hours with the road winding around mountains. It was a nauseating ride, the road was at times only big enough for one car and winding around shear cliffs, added to it were the fumes from the cars and Vinot, our driver, constantly spitting out the window. At one point, we had to maneuver around over 100 goats and sheep in the road. I’m thankful we decided not to take the bus…
Our guest house is nice, and the views from the balcony are amazing. We are staying in a small town called Vashisht, just outside of Manali, with hot springs and treks nearby. Today we had a relaxing day but tomorrow morning we plan on going to the communal baths and then taking a hike up to a waterfall nearby. The next day we plan on taking a longer, 13 km trek in the mountains. This town is really quaint and since it is off-season, there aren’t many travelers. Manali, (alt. 1,950 m or 6,398 ft) is in the Beas River valley and is an important hill station in the Himalayan mountains of Himachal Pradesh, India. It's in a valley which is surrounded by mountain peaks of 20,000 feet. The population in Manali is less than 30,000.

Update from McLeod Ganj

2007-11-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

We've been having a great time here in McLeod Ganj. Originally, we had planned to stay one week at most but after 10 days, we're still not ready to leave. We've met some friends, both travelers and locals (this is an easy town to sink into). We went out the other night to a restaurant called Carpe Diem where live music is played and there is an open mic night. There were two Nepalese guys playing songs from Coldplay, Pink Floyd, etc. There is a monastery across the street and I can't tell you how funny it was to see monks dancing in the window to “We don't need no education; We don't need no thought control”. :)
We've been going to the HEC School in the evenings to speak English with local Tibetan refugees. We've met such interesting people, all with unique stories and backgrounds. One woman spoke about her trek to McLeod Ganj, a group of 42 which split into two groups when half of them refused to leave a sick woman behind because the weather was turning bad. The group that went ahead all made it to Katmandu safely, while those who stayed didn't fair too well. She explained that the snow was coming in so quickly that their footsteps would disappear immediately and unfortunately 2 children fell in the snow and were completely covered, they were never able to find them... By the time they arrived in Nepal, 6 others had perished along the way and many more had lost legs/fingers due to extreme temperatures. We continue to be truly amazed by the stories of the people who live here.

I've started my Reiki course and we've both started classes on meditation. It's been a great experience so far. We've met a friend Etienne who runs our favorite restaurant, Oogo's. The last couple of nights we've been drinking beers with him and playing card games. Etienne is also a Tibetan refugee; he escaped from Tibet because he would have been killed by the Chinese government for putting up political messages. He told us he would go out late at night to put up “Free Tibet" posters and Tibetan flags. He said he plans on going back when Tibet is free; explaining that if he went back now he would surely be killed.

Etienne is a good man, today he took us to the TCV (Tibetan Children's Village), which houses about 4,000 children (most who don't have any living family members). The children here are so incredibly sweet; we brought them candy and had lunch with them. Matt and Etienne played some hoops as well. During the two month holiday, 8 of the children from the TCV (six of them pictured here) stay with Etienne. Their faces light up when they see him, he bought them all lunch and then gave each child 50 rupees before leaving for books and pens. We are going shopping with him on Monday to buy some winter clothes for them. If anyone would like to donate to the TCV, information is here.

On Friday we attended a teaching from His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. This was truly an experience of a lifetime. He gave a 3 hour teaching on “The Three Principal Paths”, during which bread and butter tea (milk, melted butter and salt) was served by the monks. The best part was when he walked through the monastery within only a few feet from us, clasped his hands and smiled at us directly (we both had goose bumps and teary eyes). We never thought we would ever have the chance to see such a great man, and we were lucky enough to also receive a teaching from him.
The Hindi festival, Diwali, was celebrated the same evening with candles and butter lamps being lit (to symbolize prosperity) and kids setting off fireworks in the streets (to ward off evil spirits). We lit some off ourselves and had a great evening at Oogo's.
Tonight we will be going out with Etienne and a couple from Ireland to Excite (a local dance club down the street from our guest house). We are posting some pictures from our day at the TCV and with our friend Etienne.

Last but not least, some recipes for Donna's Uncle Bill for Momo's :)

His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

2007-11-06T00:11:00.000-08:00

Everyone was busy preparing the day the Dalai Lama came home. The streets were painted, banners were hung and the streets were lined with Tibetan flags. We waited all day as no one knew the exact time he was coming. The moment was brief, but worth the wait, he was smiling as always and had his hands clasped. There were about 20 cars in his brigade and they took him straight to his home at the monastery.

He is speaking on November 9th and 10th and we’ve already secured our passes to see him. We’ve been meeting with Nagwon, the monk who has been teaching us Buddhist philosophy and enjoying our time in McLeod Ganj. We will be volunteering to teach English and starting a meditation course soon. Matthew is planning on volunteering time at a local animal shelter while I plan on starting a Reiki course.

We’ve found our favorite restaurants (Tibetan food is so good!!!) and met some friends in town. There is a sweet Tibetan woman that sits on the corner almost every day selling homemade momos, steamed dumplings stuffed with potatoes or spinach, with chilly sauce (5 momos for 10 rupees or 25 cents).

We caught a documentary last night “Escape from Tibet”, which gives you a good idea of what Tibetan refugees have to go through to get to this area of India to escape religious and political persecution. Most of the people here have made the long and dangerous trek for over 30 days through the Himalayas (very close to Mt. Everest) with out maps, supplies, or guides. They trek with their day-to-day clothes on in layers and all of their possessions strapped to their backs. Thousands of people do not make it. In fact we spoke with Nagwon today about his trek and he mentioned that a 26 year old woman died during his journey. Many people lose fingers and toes due to frostbite or become snow blind just to gain their freedom and even once they arrive, they could still be sent back to China. Many people have made the trek more than once.

We took a walk to Bhagsu today, a small town about 2km away with a waterfall. It was a nice walk with beautiful views over McLeod Ganj and the countryside.

Tomorrow we will be changing hotels, moving to the center of town. We are only a short walk as it is but the people from our hotel are constantly pressuring us to book a travel package to Kashmir and we’re a bit tired of dealing with it. The place we found is half the price (about $7/night) and much nicer.

First Day in McLeod Ganj

2007-11-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

We started off today to see the monastery, where His Holiness, the Dalai Lama lives. He has lived in McLeod Ganj since going into exile from Tibet in 1959 (after Chinese occupation and subsequent torture and killing of the Tibetan people). With many followers, he made the 25 day trek through the Himalayas to Nepal, then on to India where they gave him political asylum. Since then, thousands of Tibetans have followed in his footsteps to escape torture and imprisonment by China for their beliefs.
The monastery is a beautiful place, prayer flags leading up to it and inside different areas of worship. In the courtyard, the monks were doing debate (in which they end each point with a slap of their hand and a stomp of their feet).

We wondered around the complex for some time. A monk approached us at one point and asked where we were from, etc. He invited us to his home, within the monastery, and made us some tea. He had a simple two-room apt, books in the side of one room and a mattress on the floor. He talked about his life, where he was from in Tibet and showed pictures of his family and teachings. He’s been living in McLeod Ganj for the last 10 years, also making the long 25 day trek through the mountains to Nepal at the young age of 18. He explained that it was the only way, since he had no passport (and would not receive one from China), the only option was the long trek to Nepal. He hasn’t seen his family in over 10 years but said he plans on going back in 6 years (after his teachings are finished) to see his family and homeland again. Sadly, he explained that he will be put in prison for 2 years when he returns to Tibet but it will be worth it to see his family again.

He told us that the Dalai Lama would be coming back to the monastery on Saturday and teaching on the 9th so we plan on staying in McLeod Ganj at least until then. He gave us a book to read and asked if we would like to come back tomorrow at 5:30, he would have his translator then and could teach us some basic Buddhist philosophy; even offering to make us a Tibetan meal. We agreed of course and said our goodbyes. After leaving the monastery we took a long walk around the complex, a beautiful path with prayer wheels and prayer flags, rocks with prayers inscribed and monks doing their daily kora.

Outside of the temple there are markets and restaurants, you have a general feeling of being in Tibet rather than India and the people are so warm, welcoming and always smiling. This seems an easy place to sink into, we have plans to take a meditation course, some yoga classes and do some volunteer work such as teaching English and basic computer skills. The long days journey for us get here now seems so menial compared to what most have gone through to reach this special place.

The Long Journey to McLeod Ganj

2007-10-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

We left Pushkar at 12:30 to get to Ajmer on time for our 1:55pm train. The driver we had was apparently new (to driving) and we didn’t get out of first gear the entire ride. At some points he would stall on the hills and start rolling backward. The 20 min drive took over an hour and we were running to catch our train before it left. The train was delayed though, in the end for 5 hours altogether and we didn’t pull away until 7pm.

The train was quite comfortable and we both slept well on the 16 hour journey. In the morning we drank some chai and met a friend who was in the birth with us, Guarev, a captain in the India Army. He shared pictures and sweets with us and told us about his favorite parts of India. When it was time to get off the train he was leaning out the door and waving goodbyes and we promised to keep in touch.

Our driver, Vinot, was waiting for us at the exit and within minutes we were off to McLeod Ganj. It was planned to take about 3 hours to get to our hotel but it ended up taking about 5 hours due to a minor accident. The roads on the way up were in rough shape, some barely one lane dirt/rock roads on winding cliffs. At one point we were trying pass an area where they were doing road work but there were 2 large trucks meeting us head on. Our driver backed our car up to allow them to pass, the first going by fine and the second hitting the side of our vehicle along the way (damaging the side and bumper of our car). Before we knew it, Vinot (a short man with a small frame) had jumped out of his car yelling and screaming at the men in the truck. Then about 5 guys jumped out of the truck, yelling back at Vinot and then about 20 others surrounded our car, joining into the yelling and screaming. We were starting to get afraid Vinot was in over his head and Matt looked at me and asked if I could drive a stick… After about an hour of yelling and screaming, some phone calls to bosses and money exchanged, we were again on our way to McLeod Ganj.

During the time of the stop, we had some time to watch the roadwork being done. One cement roller with two women in sari’s gathering rocks into bowls they placed on their heads (their children playing on top of the piles), while another women gathered dirt in a bowl and the men doing the really hard labor, pouring water into the roller.
The rest of the drive was beautiful, the scenery changing from desert landscape, camels and sheep to rolling hills, mountains, prayer flags and houses built into the hills. We arrived in McLeod Ganj at about 6pm, making the total journey there 28 hours. We checked into our hotel, took long, hot showers and went upstairs to have some drinks.

Leaving Pushkar

2007-10-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

So today at 1:55 we board a train to Jammu, stopping in Chikki Bank which is about a 2 hour drive from McLeod Ganj and the home of the Damai Lama. The train ride will be about 16 hours through some drastic changes in scenery. We are leaving the Rajasthani desert for the mountains and it will be a nice change of pace. The last few days we've been lazy, just walking about the lake and bazaar and for a sunset walked up to the Pap Monchot Temple. I'm attaching some pictures and we'll post more when we get to the mountains.

Trip to the Post Office

2007-10-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

The most interesting part of our day today was our trip to the Post Office. There is only one in Pushkar and it's a bit hard to find, we took different narrow streets asking shopkeepers along the way. We walked all through Pushkar trying to locate it only to find out it's just down the street from our hotel, just beyond a yellow house with a blue door and a cow out front.

We enquired about the costs for mailing packages to the US and the manager said, "Oh, sure, we can send it to China" and just laughed. He invited us around to the back of the glass windows, where the post masters desks were, offered us a cigarrette and chatted with us awhile. Come to find out he is the head postmaster and he just pokes fun at the people working there. Once we found out the costs of the shipping, we left for our hotel to gather things to be shipped. Before stepping out, he started showing us how much money he stores in his desk drawers and started pulling out huge stacks of bills and laughing more.

When we returned he invited us to the back so they could package everything. They don't use boxes, they sew everything up in burlap. While one of the guys was sewing our packages, the postmaster brought us chai and biscuits and we chatted a bit more. He showed us a picture on the wall of the London Bridge, told us it was China and just laughed and laughed. We left our packages and said goodbye, he offered us a gift on the way out (a small indian jewelry box) and told us if we ever come back to Pushkar we are most welcome.

I don't think we've ever had such a fun trip to the post office as this.

Pushkar

2007-10-27T03:28:00.000-07:00

Pushkar, a Hindu pilgrimage site, is a sleepy little town crowded around a small holy lake; which is said to have appeared where Brahma dropped a lotus flower. Pushkar gets it’s name from this incident – push meaning ‘flower’ and kar meaning ‘hand’. The story of Brahma is quite interesting; he’s considered to be the dreamer of the universe. Reality itself is Brahma’s dream. Each of his lifetimes spans 311,040,000,000 human years and corresponds to the great cycle of the universe, at the end of which it’s destroyed by Shiva. Then Brahma is reborn to dream it all again.

According to legend, Brahma wanted to perform a yagna (holy sacrifice) at the lake on a full moon night, a ceremony which required the presence of his consort, Saraswati. But Saraswati was late. Brahma quickly married a convenient milk maid named Gayatri and when Saraswati arrived she discovered Gayatri seated in her own honoured place beside Brahma. Saraswati was furious and vowed that Brahma would be forgotten by the people of the earth. The Gods pleaded with her to reconsider the curse and she finally relented; decreeing that he could be worshipped, but only in Pushkar. The only Brahma temple in the world is located in Pushkar. Saraswati and Gayatri both have temples here as well, each set high on the hill at opposite ends of the lake.

Our first days in Pushkar have been lazy, I don’t think we’ve woken before 11:00 any day that we’ve been here. We’ve shopped in the local bazaar, chatted with the locals and explored the ghats. Pushkar has 52 bathing ghats surrounding the lake, one of which is where Gandhi’s ashes were spread. It was at this ghat that we did a puja and received a blessing on Matt’s birthday (which was on the 26th). We visited the Brahma temple where there are tons of monkeys roaming around, jumping from trees to buildings. Tonight we will probably walk up to the Pap Mochani Temple for sunset and hopefully, wake up before dawn tomorrow to watch sunrise over Pushkar from the Saraswati Temple. We’ll be leaving in a couple of days, leaving the Rajasthani desert and heading up north into the mountains. It will be a nice change of pace and scenery which we are both looking forward to.

Night Bus to Pushkar

2007-10-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

We were both a bit nervous about the evening bus to Pushkar; traveling by bus during the day is dangerous enough and we can only believe that it’s more so at night. We decided not to change the ticket though, as this was the only bus stopping in Pushkar (all daytime buses stopped in Ajmer and we would have to find another bus to Pushkar) so we left Udaipur around 9:15pm.

The bus experience is interesting in India, first we hand an address written in Hindi to the rickshaw driver and hope he takes us to the correct spot. There isn’t a central bus station, just various spots on streets where the buses stop. The rickshaw driver stopped at a storefront and we handed our tickets to a travel agent who ripped off a piece and told us to sit and wait. A man came about 30 minutes later and said to follow him. We followed him down two streets to the bus waiting and then he asked us why we were there, we had to go down a different street to catch our bus. We proceeded to find our bus the next street down after asking several people along the way.

The bus ride was fairly uneventful aside from coming close to colliding with another bus on the way out of Udaipur. It was a bit hard to fall asleep as the whole bus seemed to shake and rattle on every bump in the road. We both closed our eyes and slept for the first few hours.We made one stop that I remember for some Chai at a small town. We sat and talked to a camel driver from Pushkar who was on his way home. He was very nice, sharing his chai tea and sweets with us. The stop was longer than usual and various men from the bus were working under the chassis, altogether the stop took about an hour. We just prayed it would make it all the way.

We arrived at about 5:30am and awoke to the driver telling us to get off the bus. We thought we were in Pushkar but after looking around noticed all of the signs said Ajmer. We found the bus driver and told him we were promised the bus would take us all the way to Pushkar and this was Ajmer. He took us to a car and told us to get in; this man would take us the rest of the way to Pushkar. The man seemed nice enough and had his son with him but there is something eery about trusting strangers when you are in a strange place and unsure of where you are going. In any event, he took us the rest of the way to Pushkar (about 20 kilometers away). We were almost stopped at a road block on the way but the he veered off the road as guards were waving for us to stop. He explained that they wanted him to pay taxes for bringing tourists in and he wasn’t about to do it. He didn’t ask us to pay for the ride but said “if you feel like paying me 10, or 100 rupees…” so we gave him 20 rupees for the experience.

Goodbye Udaipur

2007-10-23T01:40:00.000-07:00

We are leaving for Pushkar tonight on a 10pm bus. The last couple of days have been great. We shopped in the local bazaar, went on a sunset boat ride and in the evening watched a traditional Rajasthani dance (crazy, old lady balancing up to 9 clay pots on her head while dancing on broken glass), and found some pretty nice restaurants. We'll post more when we arrive in Pushkar!

Udaipur, City on the Lake

2007-10-21T00:14:00.000-07:00

Udaipur was a very pleasant surprise. It is a quaint and romantic little city surrounding a lake, a nice change from the desert. The room at our guesthouse has a beautiful view of the lake and the palace, instead of spending 2 nights here (as originally planned) we’ve decided to stay for 5.

On our first night here we ate dinner at the Marwar hotel which has a beautiful deck overlooking the lake with cushions and pillows to relax on while eating dinner. We’ve since been back 3 times for various meals and met some friends there as well. Bunty who works at the Marwar and is a native of Udaipur, invited us to his village 5km away for a festival tonight honoring his sister’s new baby. In India there is a festival every day it seems!

Udaipur is absolutely beautiful to walk around, so many things to see, elephants walking about, people washing their clothes and bathing in the ghats (where all of the sewage goes as well)... We explored the City Palace which offers amazing views of Lake Pichola and the Aravalli hills. We headed to the Monsoon Palace for sunset which sits on a hill overlooking all of Udaipur. On the way back to Udaipur, our rickshaw driver really wanted to show us his art school on the way back and we reluctantly agreed. We should have known it was going to be a hussle to buy artwork. After about 30 minutes and our refusal to buy, we headed back into the city. At night was a festival which included a special dancing with sticks, hundreds of people all hitting their sticks in unison to music.

Today we will explore a bit more of Udaipur, possibly rent a boat at sunset and then meet our friend Bunty to go to the festival this evening. More to come!

Lazy Days in Jodhpur

2007-10-18T23:56:00.000-07:00

We’ve been completely lazy our last days in Jodhpur, lounging on the roof of our guest house, reading and chatting with other travelers. We met Daniel who ironically only lives about 10 blocks from our place in San Francisco. We went with Daniel to the fort to watch the sunset over Jodhpur and walked around the outside wall of the fort.

While exploring the fort, we decided to walk up some narrow steps to one side of the fort. We knew that there was a monkey up there so Matt decided to poke his head over the stairs to see where it was before we stepped out on the ledge. The monkey met him eye to eye and seemed angry that we were invading his area of the fort. He made some mean screeches and started pushing Matt down the stairwell. We both ran down the steps as fast as we could, getting scraped up along the way. The women at the top seemed humored by this and couldn’t help from laughing at us. We decided to avoid that section and walked on to a safer wall!

We’ve become fairly accustomed to walking around bulls and cows in the street, although I have a very uneasy feeling having a bull walk directly behind me. They all seem fairly docile, just walking and eating and not causing much bother. I was surprised to be buying a water on our way back and seeing two bulls less than 5 feet away start butting heads and fighting in the street. I ran as far as I could away from them! We’ve heard from other travelers of being hit by horns, etc but luckily haven’t had that type of encounter!

We boarded a bus for Jodhpur and after a little over 6 hours (with no bathroom incidents), arrived in Udaipur.

Jodhpur Sights, Sounds and Smells

2007-10-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

We took a long walk from our hotel to the Clock Tower and Sardar Market, which is in the Old City of Jodhpur. It was only 2 kilometers away from our hotel in almost a straight line but we took every wrong turn we could find, each shopkeeper pointing us in a different direction. We made it there in 45 minutes. To our excuse all the streets looked the same: merchants selling fruit, sweets, tea, water, spices, knickknacks, children (just kidding), etc. Then you have people constantly asking “where you are from”, “where are you going”, “what is your name”, etc. On top of that, you are trying not to be run over by rickshaws, buses, cars, motorcycles, cows/bulls, goats, sheep, people, etc. So there are a few distractions…oh wait I forgot to mention all the smells bombarding you at every turn: imagine candy/sweets, Indian food, carbon monoxide, spices, tea, body odor, and poo. It’s a sensory overload. We wish we could pack it up and send it home ;).

Too keep a long story short we decided to take a rickshaw (rather than relying on our navigation skills) to another hotel we were thinking of booking. The hotel is in a 500 year old blue house on a quiet little street near the fort. We had a small bite to eat and booked our room for the next two days ($11 a night). After making small talk with the owner we walked to the Meherangarh Fort, which is about 5 minutes away. The fort was quite incredible, it is the largest fort in Rajasthan and all building materials were chiseled from the rock on which it stands. Its about 125 meters above the city giving unreal views of the blue city below.

As we walked up to the fort groups of people would stop and say hello (“Allo”), especially the children. We would meet one person and they would gather the rest of their family so we could all shake hands and say “allo”. Then there would be groups of kids who would want to have their picture taken, climbing the fort walls and posing together.

Matt wasn’t feeling 100% so we only spent a few hours at the fort. Tomorrow we plan on waking up early (about 10 am), have a long brunch and then walk back to the fort. Have a good day at work. Wait what day of the week is it? :)

Arrival in Jodhpur...

2007-10-14T03:43:00.000-07:00

After a 6 hour bus ride, we've arrived in Jodhpur. The ride was actually quite comfortable on the bus, until the first stop anyway. I decided to stop and use a bathroom in a local restaurant, it was a squat toilet and not all that clean with about an inch of waste on the floor. I was rushing as I knew the bus was only stopping for a short moment. In my haste I slipped and fell on the floor, my entire side covered (top to bottom) . I might as well have been in a portable toilet that fell sideways. I ran to the bus (as it was starting to leave) in tears and Matt was in sorts trying to figure out what had happened to me. After I told him what happened, he immediately tried to help clean me up. I felt ill completely and what was worse was knowing I had another 4 hours before our arrival. So many people saw the state I was in and started offering hankies, water, making sure I wasn't hurt.. I had a couple of small cuts that we made sure were clean and I just sat it out trying to keep from being sick.

Upon arrival in Jodhpur I went straight to the shower and Matt handled checking in, etc. Before heading up for dinner, we both started feeling sick, Matt more so than me and he continued to get worse. We had a restless night last night, he has a terrible fever and stomache ache but he's resting now and starting to eat a little. The antibiotics should help and hopefully he'll feel better in the morning. Getting sick was bound to happen at some point during our travels but it still doesn't make it any easier.

I am posting some videos in the previous posts as we now have a high speed connection. Hope all is well with everyone.

Camel Safari in the Desert

2007-10-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

We booked a 2 day camel safari to take us out into the desert. The hotel arranged everything for us and at 9am a jeep picked us up to drop us into the desert, there Dina and Keville were waiting for us with all of our supplies and 3 camels. We were able to choose our own camels and their names were Kua and Johnney. Matt’s camel was a bit stubborn, refusing to stay with the group, taking time to eat and then galloping to catch up with the rest of us. We rode into the desert for about 3 hours before stopping in some dunes to make lunch. Dina made us some chai tea, chapatti and fried vegetables over a fire (which were so incredibly good!!!) and Keville taught me how to make chapatti. We then set off for about 3 hours further to the next set of dunes where we played cards, made dinner and setup for the evening. There were a few locals who stopped by our camp to chat and one old man who came to bring us some beer! Who knew you could get beer in the middle of the desert?

I can’t even describe the sky that night, it was the start of the new moon so all you could see were endless stars and constellations. I’ve never seen stars like that in my life. We slept on blankets under the stars with Keville singing some traditional songs, beautiful. We awoke at sunrise with Dina bringing us Chai tea and breakfast of eggs, toast and jam in bed! We watched the sun rise over the dunes and then prepared the camels to set off again. I don’t think either one of us wanted to get back on our camel, riding for a full day our inner thighs and bottoms were in sore shape. We set off again for another ride, stopping along the way for the camels to drink some water and again just to rest for a bit in the shade.

We only had a few hours left of the safari and we headed to the location in the desert where the jeep had dropped us off for lunch before leaving. Johnny must have been ready for Matt to get off his back as he bucked him off when we arrived at our spot. Matt landed in the dunes on his feet though… Dina made us some tea, chapatti, rajasthani vegetables and rice and then we took a nap under a big tree waiting for the jeep to arrive. It was a great two days in the desert and we bid farewell to our new friends.

Moti Pokey

2007-10-09T23:58:00.000-07:00

We had a great night last night listening to music with our new friends Sander and Anook (from Holland). Once the music was finished, we played cards with the artist’s from the hotel. They knew how to play “asshole” in which the first person to play all their cards is president and the last person with cards is the “asshole”. They taught us the Hindi word for asshole, which is “pokey” and Anook was “Pokey” for the first few rounds. Then they taught us the word for big “moti”, so then we were calling it Moti Pokey and we were all laughing hysterically. The next morning, the artists were still laughing about it, saying “moti pokey…”

The next day we had a relaxing morning and then set out to go to the fort. On our way one of the artist’s invited us to his home within the colony. He started playing the bongo and it didn’t take long before someone ventured in to play the accordion, then someone else heard the music and brought their catonets and finally, someone came in to sing. We had a full house and the impromptu session was great!

We walked around the fort with Anook and Sander, stopping at the market and going into various shops along the way. I feel in the short time we’ve been here that we’ve met so many locals. We see people we know around every corner and stop to chat. In such a short period of time I feel as though we have become part of the community. We’ll miss this place and especially the people very much.

Relaxing in Jaisalmer

2007-10-08T06:15:00.000-07:00

Jaisalmer has been great so far, we both really love this city. We’re staying here for 7 nights so we’ve had time to relax, read and just enjoy the surroundings. The people here are so friendly and the Artist’s Colony is amazing.

Everyone lives around the hotel in small huts and earnings from the hotel support the artists around it. During the day we wander around the fort and the markets and at night we relax on the roof-deck overlooking the Jaisalmer fort listening to traditional Muslim music performers under the stars. This area in itself is magical and the food, probably some of the best I’ve had. We’ve both been sticking to a vegetarian diet but ended up giving in for some spaghetti bolognese last night (goat meat), I’ve never had goat but I highly recommend it! The best thing about the meals? Dinner for two always under $10, but usually under $5… I’m attaching a picture of the view from our roof-deck and the view from our room window (there was a bull wandering around this am). I’m also including a picture of the street scene.

Arrival in Jaisalmer

2007-10-07T01:59:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Jaisalmer (which is about 40 miles from Pakistan) to see empty streets and a lot of police/soldiers. We arrived at our hotel and found out that there was Muslim/Hindu fighting and everything in the city was shut down. Apparently, some muslims gave some poisonous flowers to about 25 cows which died. As a result, the owners killed two Muslims in the market after which everyone gathered in the streets. We decided to stay in the hotel and had a great evening. The place we are staying is the Artist's Hotel within a colony of local artists. In the evening local musicians come to the roof deck (which overlooks the beautiful Jaisalmer Fort) to play traditional Muslim music. The people there are so friendly, teaching us how to play traditional instruments, etc. We’ve met quite a few travelers as well from Holland, England and Australia.

Holy Rats in Deshnok, Karni Mata Temple

2007-10-06T01:38:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite places so far, the Temple of Rats. This temple is a sight to see, the holy rodents of Karni Mata are considered to be incarnations of story-tellers and they are swarming inside of the temple. I am embarrassed to say that I screamed when one of them ran over my foot upon entering the temple. You can’t avoid them really as there are literally thousands inside running all over. One even stopped for a moment on Matt’s foot while he was taking a picture. Two little kids gave us snacks to feed them and we just walked around trying to avoid stepping on them (or getting stepped on!). Apparently, there is one white rat which is God and if you see him it is very good luck. We both received our blessings and drove back to Bikaner.

Bikaner Sightseeing

2007-10-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

We first went to Junagarh fort in Bikaner, built in 1588 by Raja Rai Singh, a general in the army of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. It is a beautiful fort with incredible views over the city. We also went to the two Jain temples in the area. I was surprised in getting out of the car, swarmed by a bunch of little girls wanting my hand sanitizer. They fought it out of my hand and started running down the street. So strange…

The Road to Bikaner

2007-10-04T00:18:00.000-07:00

Our drive to Bikaner was beautiful, we are getting into the heart of the desert and the scenery is changing. Camels and herds of cows and sheep is a common site and it’s strange how everyone is able to share the road with no problem. It is common for a herd of sheep or goats to be in the middle of the road or to have to weave around cows and water buffalo. Chabalil shared jokes and songs from Nepal and we arrived in Bikaner before we knew it.

Drive to Mandawa

2007-10-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to be able to book Chabalil for our drive through to Jaisalmer. We plan on stopping for two nights along the way (one night in Mandawa and one night in Bikaner) as Jaisalmer is about 900 kilometers west on the border with Pakistan. We were both more than ready to get out of the city of Delhi for the smaller towns in Rajasthan. Mandawa is in a very small town about 5 hours west of Delhi and it’s known for the beautifully painted havelis from the 18th century. The drive there was beautiful with so many interesting sites along the way. We stopped for a bit in Fatehpur, a small town with one haveli restored by a French painter named Nadine Prince and then went on to our hotel in Mandawa, an amazing haveli.