Jess and Amanda's year of travels

Shanti, Shanti

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:55:00 +0000

I woke up one morning in Mykonos at 5am. I was in a "room" that would have been more appropriately called a jail cell. Jess had stolen all the covers and my whole left side was numb from laying on it all night. We had spent about 12 or 13 nights crammed in a single bed like this. To make matters worse, the previous night we had been fired from our new jobs...just one week after being hired, all hopes of making our negative bank accounts back in the positive completely disappeared. Yet, I couldn't get the smile off my face. All I could think was "I love my life. I am so lucky. What's coming next? It will be awesome." Why did I have these thoughts, you wonder? Let me try to explain.

It's difficult to sum up why this year of traveling has been so amazing without sounding a little bit corny. I could talk about our first breathtaking views of Machu Picchu, the neon colored fishes in the great barrier reef, the stars of New Zealand, rolling down the dunes of the Sahara, or climbing the crumbling great wall of China...the list of amazing sites seems to be endless. But, when it comes down to it, we weren't seeing famous sites everyday, nor were we motivated enough by the end of our journey to muster up the excitment that these places deserve. What sticks out most in my mind were events and people, not statues or sites - I will never forget our going away ceremony in Laos, having a conversation without words with an old Chinese man, having tea with the Moroccan "Godfather", or the feeling of gratitude towards our new Portuguese family.

What made our year truly amazing was our mentality and the people we have had the pleasure of meeting along the way. We got up and went where the wind took us, teaching me that we shouldn't be in a rush with life and there is so much to see and experience. In a time when being different, having unorthodox beliefs, and looking or dressing against the trends is almost scary, I learned something so obvious - that everything is "normal" somewhere and we all should not be looking with a critical eye but with an open heart. We have had some tough experiences with people and places, but the overwhelming majority of the time we were showered with generosity and kindness, enriching my faith in humankind. We are going home a little beat up, with numerous scars, God knows how many cavities, a semi-permanent layer of dirt, raggedy clothes and no money. But, I don't care. I still have a smile on my face, thank whatever God out there who allowed me to find this drive, and recognize that if it weren't for my home environment - the freedom that I have in my country and the support I have from my family - that I would find life a lot more boring. This drug called traveling is addictive and I'm not sure I will ever have enough.

That being said (with all it's sappiness), I am sure you are wondering "what next?!" We can't travel forever...or can we? In all honesty, we don't know what is coming our way...I suppose a job of some sort must be in our immediate future - what kind, I don't know. I have seen and felt too much this year to not hit the road again sometime soon.

Thank you for reading throughout this past year and I hope that you have been able to get a taste for what we have fell in love with. Until next time....

I don't want to work, I just want to bang on the drums all day

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:54:00 +0000

Have not heard from us in awhile? Well, that's probably because we have been out in the middle of nowhere doing next to nothing...it is what we do best. As I mentioned before, we were thinking of returning to the desert, which is where we have been for the past week and a half. This time we stayed in the auberge at the edge of the dunes. So, there were less camels, more drums, and frequent showers...a little bit diferent from round 1. We spent the majority of our days hanging out with the vast auberge staff - all interesting (and slightly pre-occupied with us) in their own special way. By the end we were part of the staff, chopping veggies and washing dishes in the kitchen. It was a relaxing time for the last bit of this amazing year. We have barely left ourselves enough time to make the long haul back to Madrid (to fly to JFK)...so, if you don't see us soon then you know it is because we "missed the boat," (literally) from Morocco to Spain.

A quick recap on our time before our return to the desert. We spent a couple more days in Essaouira after leaving our tour group, then moved south to Marrakesh. This city is vibrant and busy with lots of vendors, a large medina, and a main square that becomes alive in the night. Open air food stalls take over the area and vendors go to all measures to ease you into their restaurant. It makes for good entertainment, though we learned quickly that if we were not interested in eating, we had to walk a good 100 meters around the square to avoid getting hassled. It's interesting because I was not bored at any point in Marrakesh, but I can't think of one entertaining activity we did whilst there. Jess did buy a camel necklace...I suppose that is somewhat eventful.

So, that basically brings you completely up to date and rounds out our trip on the blog. I'm sorry that the last entry isn't filled with laughs and fireworks, but we are ending on a calm note in preparation for our exciting return to the homeland. I'm going to post the rest of the pictures soon as well as a final entry on the past year, so make sure you look out for it.

As always, thanks for reading!

Mama Africa

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:23:00 +0000

Morocco has proven to be yet another land of extremes. People fast all day during Ramadan only to stay up all night to get their fill of food and entertainment. "Guides" peddle you for cash (for some service they have supposedly provided) while strangers welcome you in off the street for breakfast or mint tea. The chaos of the street is mixed with the serenity of prayer. One breeze is filled with the butcher's stench, the next with the sweet aroma of spices. A man crosses the road with his Mickey Mouse loving son in one hand and 10 chickens in the other. It is a place that stirs your senses and your mind - and so far, I am a fan.

We started off in Tangier - a city that leaves much to be desired. In the end we spent about 2 days there when we should have left after about 2 hours. What can I say? We move slower than molasses. However, if I can say one thing about Tangier....it was good practice for shooing off guides and carpet vendors....practice we have come to value!

Next stop was Chefchaouen, a laid back "city" in the mountains with a small, manageable Medina (another name for walled city with lots of winding, complicated streets). It was here that we made friends with various mothers and daughters, effectively filling all our evenings with duck duck goose and hand games. One night there was a free concert in the Kasabah (castle)-complete with traditional Moroccan instruments and refreshments delivered right to your seat. As I sat watching the performance, soaking in my surroundings, I had a "moment." I seem to have had a lot of these "moments" this past year, where I am thinking "What the hell is going on? Where am I? Why is this overzealous woman sitting next to me trying to feed me a cookie? And why is the other woman sitting next to me trying to get me to clap to the beat? Who is that child on Jess's lap?" It takes me a minute and then I realize....ah yes, I am in Morocco...of course I am at a free concert and WE have become the main event! Overall, we spent a lot of time roaming the Medina or lounging in our hostel, waiting for the sun to set so that we could go outside to eat. Although it isn't prohibited in the least to eat in public, I know that if I were fasting, I wouldn't want someone chowing down on chips and a sandwich right in front of me. So, we exercise a certain level of respect.

Moving on from the mountains, we arrived in Fes. We liked this city from the start because there is so much going on. There are tons of vendors selling beautiful things, lots of different street foods, and much to keep your eyes busy whilst walking down the street. One must always be aware in Fes; you are likely to get run over by a runaway push cart (filled with God knows what), dog, donkey, child, or carpet vendor if you don't pay attention. Since we aren't Muslim, we couldn't go inside the innumerable mosques that takeover the city. But, we did get to glance inside...the amazingly detailed tiles and carvings are gorgeous and watching all of the people arrive, clean themselves, then pray in unison has a really calming effect. I have put up some pictures of a mosque turned school (so we were allowed in) so you can get an idea of the architecture.

Our first day in Fes we randomly met this guy named Adel. He invited over to his house for "breakfast" (not our kind of breakfast...its after sunset and called this because it's the meal that they "break the fast"). Though he was a friend, he was also a tour organizer, and we cashed in on this fact. He ended up throwing us on a 6 day tour with a group of 12 Spaniards for an incredibly cheap 250 dolla, everything included. So, with the tour we went south to Merzouga, got on some camels and set out into the desert for a couple days, then continued west to see some gorges, an awesome waterfall, and ended up all the way north to Essaouira (where we are now).

By far, the best part of the tour was the 2 nights we spent in the desert. We camped out in the Sahara just 20km from Algeria in the dunes called Erg Chebbi. I was a little skeptical at first...considering the fact that 1- it was pouring rain when we first arrived at 8pm after 9.5 hours in the car 2- I hate animals...no less smelly camels that spit. But, to my surprise, I loved every second of it. There is something about your first time camping in the desert that is magical. That's right, I said it. By the time we got out there the rain had stopped but the lightening had picked up. If you looked just in the right direction when lightening struck, you could get a full view of some of the dunes - the bright orange sand contrasted to the dark blue, star ridden sky. It was unreal. I was almost giddy with excitement...even after we stopped and my camel started peeing...practically on Jess. The craziest part was that we were being led out there by a guy who had no flashlight or compass and was walking the dunes like it was some clearly labeled highway. I asked him how the hell he knew where he was going and he said "No problem. I love Mama Africa." Well, me too! The trip only got better and I will always remember the night I slept outside on top of a dune, underneath the stars and moon, with nothing other than Jess to keep me warm. We stayed out in the dunes for 2 nights and it was hard to leave. I think that we might return. Here is a picture of our camel parade:

The rest of the tour was mediocre in comparison to the desert, but still entertaining. Pictures of all the sites are now up. At the moment we are in Essaouira, a beachy city in the north. We suspect that we will head down to Marrakesh in a couple of days then (hopefully) back to the desert to become one with Mama Africa.

In other news, we have booked a flight home for October 17th and hope to see everyone at my house for a homecoming party! Can't wait to see all of you.

Thank you!

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:41:00 +0000

We just wanted to say a quick thanks to all of you out there who have donated to us at some point during our trip. Despite the fact that this video does single out my Aunt Anne and Aunt Denise, it was made with all of you in mind. Personalized videos will be made upon request....you name the song, we write the lyrics. Here our first work,entitled Favourite Things!

.
Here are the lyrics if you can't understand our beautiful voices:

Cheese on white bread with tomato and ham
this is our dinner, i know it sounds bland
but when you're at home you may not realize
that real ham is better than meat surprise!

25 dollars
doubled our money
and we knew what to dooooo
we bought us a few of our favorite things
and for this we thank you!

a pint of Guiness
2 bananas
and a Snickers bar!
the dollar is weak but we stretched it quite far....
it got us more than 5 gallons of gas in your car!

And now for a personalized video, just for you, Aunt Anne. For those of you out there reading all of her comments on this blog, you will understand.

BARCELONA!

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:00:00 +0000

As promised, here is a quick update on our short but sweet trip to Barcelona. We met up with the lovely BU Meg(h)ans (actually 2/3 of the BU Megs...) and had a chilled out week seeing the sites, lying on the beach, and catching up on our 1st years out of Boston. It seems as though we are not the only ones going through a year of transition, learning lots about ourselves and how the world works. It was refreshing to be reminded of those at home and all we have to look forward to when we return. A special thanks to our sugar mamas because without you we never would have looked trendy in a trendy place, experienced tapas and real sangria, nor would we have had the pull we needed to go to the wonderful city that is Barcelona.

I don't know about the others, but I have found my new favorite artist and architect: Gaudí. The Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, and Casa Batlló are like nothing I have ever seen before. The works left me feeling like I was in some sort of Doctor Seuss inspired heaven. Check out the links to get a better feel of what I am talking about.

The Picasso Museum forced me to find a new respect for the artist. I am not proud to say it, but I previously had little taste for abstract paintings my little cousins could make (no disrespect to my little cousins). But, now that I have actually given the guy (Picasso) a chance, I think he is the real deal. I think everyone was impressed with the museum...but if they weren't...who cares!?...it was free that 1st Sunday of the month! Beyond this, we saw various statues throughout the city, walked the Gothic corner, and spent plenty of time on the beach. The "magic fountain" show in front of the Palau National was truly magical. We went with a collection of characters that we met during the week who should not go without mention. Thanks for making our week that much better and lets just say now we have 4 reasons to go to Seattle! Beyond that, we learned that the party never stops in Barcelona and that is just one of many reasons why it is Jess's new favorite city.

As for right now, Morocco is the spot. We dropped off our bags in Madrid and are living out of our small day packs with just a couple of shirts and pants. So, we should be sufficiently smelly by the time we leave. Clueless as we tend to be, we arrived smack dab in the middle of Ramadan, so that should make an interesting country all the more interesting.

That's all for now...some pictures from Barcelona or up, but not all of them. Thanks for reading and we always love to read all of your comments!

Amanda and Jessica Loureiro

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:42:00 +0000

I will always remember the day I became a Loureiro. It´s not everyday that a fine Portuguese family decks you out in white dresses, makes flower headpieces for your hair, puts a candle in your hand and has an official priestess (otherwise known as Auntie Joanna) "officially" cleanse you into their family. "Typical" of makeshift baptisms in Portugal, we had our adoptive parents by our side, my Godmother (Auntie Ze) dressed in authentic Egyptian headgear, Jess´s Godfather (Uncle Armando) clothed in Arab garb, and plenty of water to soak even the unassuming onlookers in the family. Upon completion of the ceremony we were given our certificates of initiation and, most importantly, our "L" rings made by our ever so crafty Mami. The affair was proper and serious, so we believe the Portuguese government will indeed recognize our adoption and we will be receiving duel citizenship and our passports shortly. In fact, they should be made out in our new names: Amanda Boobs Loureiro and Jessica Loca Loureiro. In all seriousness, we couldn´t have asked for a better send off from such a wonderful group of people. One week quickly turned to 2 and before we knew it we had been living and laughing with the Loureiros for a full month.

Beyond the baptism, we have been quite mobile since I last wrote. Apparently the thing to do in the summer throughout Europe is attend music festivals. People live in their own filth for a period of days, all to enjoy live music in a tired, drunken haze. Even though Jess and I tend to stay away from irresponsible shenanigans such as these, we are indeed traveling Europe and, therefore, are obligated to attend at least one festival. So, Paulo, Jess, Chico, and I packed the car with a tent and not much more and attacked this thing like any good "festivaler" would: unprepared and open-minded. We ended up having a really entertaining time for a couple of reasons. Firstly because of the "typical" and "traditional" Portuguese instruments and music. Secondly because of "little" Chico, Paulo´s friend from years past who sports a mustache and leather jacket. He managed to keep us guessing and added a new, interesting dynamic to our previous group of three. When the festival ended, the boys couldn´t seem to tear themselves from our side, so we continued our road trip to the beautiful beaches in Alentejo and the even more beautiful Auntie Cuca (and family). After a couple days of soaking up the sun we moved back north to Lisbon.

Though our time in the capital was short lived, we saw a decent amount. The four of us checked out the contemporary art museum, Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, the discoveries monument, the smaller version of Rio´s Jesus statue, countless more tiled houses, the ´98 oceanic exhibition area, and ate some traditional pastries. I wish we had more time and energy to see more. I guess that means we will just have to go back!

As Auntie Ze commented on the last entry, it was a nostalgic goodbye (even though it was 7am when they selflessly drove us to the airport). Throughout our time in Portugal we were overwhelmed by the Loureiro´s generosity and open arms. It boggles my mind how at ease I felt with everyone in the family and can´t thank them enough. I truly feel as though we have a second family over in Portugal and we can´t wait to return. Kisses to the Loureiros!

At the moment we are in Barcelona with Meg and Meg from Boston University. The city has some gorgeous sites and it is really great to catch up and see some ladies from home. More on Barcelona later. Oh yea, we also bought a flight to Morocco, so we are headed that direction next week.

Typical Portuguese

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:24:00 +0000

For the past two weeks we have been laying low in Portugal, being introduced to all "typical Portuguese" things by our adoptive family. Let me explain. A couple weeks ago I mentioned a guy named Mario. We met him in Turkey and he loved us...who wouldn't? Anyway, when he found out we were heading towards his homeland, Portugal, he did what any self respecting grown man would do - send us to his mother's house. That is where we have been for the past 2 weeks and we never want to leave.

The house is in Aveiro, a small city just south of Porto (the 2nd largest city in Portugal and 8km from the beach). While the location is prime and the scenery beautiful, the real selling point of the whole deal is the company. Paula aka Mami aka Momma tells us we are pretty, gives us flowers, makes us necklaces, fixes our worn out clothes, and showers us with kisses. Fernando aka cowboy aka Papa amazes us with his ability to make meals out of the leftovers we pile up in the fridge and his occasional witty English comments. The majority of our time has been spent with Paulino, our brother from another mother, who tends to beat us up and call us fat and ugly. I can't say anything too nice about him as it would show weakness on our part. But, he is always entertaining with his awkward hyena laugh and woman's clothing.

Whilst here we have seen and experienced much, slowly but surely. We spend countless days on the beach, sit down for dinner at 9 or 10, then head out for a coffee. One day we threw an American BBQ for Paulino's friends, complete with a make shift slip and slide, burgers, and way too much food. In fact, people stared at the food like it was going to eat them. Here is a picture of Jess in action on the slip and slide.
Another day we were escorted to a beautiful old palace by the wonderful Auntie Ze and "took a coffee" like typical Portuguese women. One weekend we took a trip to Porto, well known for it's Port wine. The city is gorgeous, though a bit run down, but definitely one of the more beautiful cities I have seen on this trip. And last but not least, we went for a day trip to Coimbra. It was another beautiful city, home of the 3rd oldest university in Europe. Typical of Portugal, we met a friendly lady on the train who proceeded to show us around the whole city with her friends for the remainder of the day, give us all her contacts throughout the country, and set us up with a ride home to Aveiro.

As for now, we are biding our time until we head to Barcelona to meet up with friends from university. We may stay here in Aveiro a bit longer, then go check out Lisbon (the capital), but who knows what will happen at this point. There is a strong possibility that we will get baptized into the Lurerio family this weekend if we can learn out to pronounce the name correctly.

That's all, folks!

Hip Hip Hoorayyyyyyy

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:22:00 +0000

Congratulations to the newlyweds, Amanda and Baden Ireland! They got married today in Muskoka, Canada and we wish we could have been there. We hope you had a great time without us (although we know it was probably near impossible).

When in Rome...

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 01:41:00 +0000

By: Eileen Schenck

WHEN IN ROME…..can’t say that too many times (especially if it is your intention to use the phrase inappropriately as often as possible) . The entire Schenck family flew into Rome on the 24^th for our much anticipated reunion with Manda and Jess. Lots of hugs and kisses and then a week long laugh-a-thon.

While Manda and Jess like to “experience” a destination, the rest of us are just tourists—big hats, cameras hung around the neck and sensible shoes—cool sunglasses too. Checked out the Vatican and St. Peters only to find out the Pope was in Australia (probably trying to stay out of the path of destruction that will likely follow Jess and Manda’s exit from Italy); climbed on some ancient ruins in the colliseum, laid on the floor in the panthenon to get the best angle for a picture of the ceiling, and jumped, cartwheeled, wrestled our way around the city posing in front of every ancient armless/headless/noseless and sometimes even bodyless (only the foot was left) naked marble statue we passed. In my opinion you just can’t see too many broken pieces of marble. The ones that were too small to be displayed standing, were put in glass cases--lots and lots and lots of marble.

And what about that Sistine Chapel—boy could that guy paint! However, a trip to the chapel is not complete until the museum guard shouts over and over and over again--“no photo in the Sistine Chapel, no photo, shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, quiet in the Sistine Chapel, no photo” It’s like a song you have to sing all day long, and, we did. As for the Spanish Steps—there are just too many.

We tried, but failed, to “experience” every gelato stand in Rome—I’m no quiter and think we should return to finish what we started. Lots of Italian beer, lemoncello and amaretto. (OK no beer for me, but I had doubles on the others).

We took a day trip to Naples under the pretence of seeing the ancient ruins of Herculeum, but it was really only an excuse to get the “world’s best pizza.” That’s right, we each had our own pie and are proud of it. Was it the world’s best? Manda says it was and I’m not going to argue. Here is a picture of us imitating sculptures... before we engorged ourselves with pizza (click on the image for a better view).

The traveling sisters even had a friend visit them while in Rome. Everywhere they go, someone wants to see them. So, just have to mention that Ryan from Holland, Pennsylvania, stopped by for a visit after spending 5 months in India and because we didn’t want him to feel homesick, we took him to an Indian restaurant—in Rome!!!!

The girls kept us entertained with “original” poems. Clearly, they are getting an ed-u-mocation that inspires them to write their poetry. And the beer helps with the rhyming!.

On the 1^st, Erin headed back to DC, Jas, Eric and I to NY and Jess and Manda to Portugal. (not sure what happened to Ryan). There weren’t as many tears leaving them this time. They certainly have been able to take good care of each other. They looked great, healthy, happy and confident and oh so pretty!

When in Rome…..

"What's that smell?...Oh wait, it's me."

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:43:00 +0000

Getting to Dubrovnik from Istanbul is a pain in the butt. I read some advice on a travel site saying the journey might last 3 or 4 days - it wasn't until we got off the bus in Dubrovnik three and a half days after leaving Istanbul that I realized it wasn't a complete exaggeration. I won't bore you with all the details of this long journey, but here are some "highlights."

During an unexpected 10 hour train stop in Sofia, Bulgaria, we got followed by some gypsies who ended up opening Jess's bag and stealing our wallet. NOT TO WORRY, as she realized her bag was open just in time - when I turned to see what all the fuss was about, all I saw was Jess running as fast as lightening after these losers. She caught them, took back the wallet, laughed (not a joke) and they told her to screw off... in not so many nice words (also not a joke).

After spending the night in the Nis train station in Serbia, we went for a stroll to find something to look at. What better than a food store? Anyhow, as we were eating on the sidewalk, a friendly man and woman invited us into their eyeglass shop to "eat like clean people." There was no looking back - for the rest of the day (until our train at 9pm) we were entertained endlessly by the man, Micko. He ended up driving us around and feeding us an ungodly amount of watermelon. There are so many nice, generous people in the world... special thanks to Micko for helping us pass the time quickly!

And that's about it for the "highlights." The time went surprisingly fast. But, after so many days without a shower we noticed people shying away and we were ready to be in Dubrovnik. We have been here for the past 5 days, taking a look around and biding our time until we take a ferry to Italy. Dubrovnik is a beautiful, old city with gorgeous surrounding islands. But, it is a bit too touristy and expensive, making us a little restless. Not to worry - we start our long pilgrimage to Rome tonight. In case you didn't get the picture in the last couple entries, we are VERY EXCITED to see my family.

Sorry for the lack of excitement this time around... we'll try harder next time!

Ta Ta Turkey

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:20:00 +0000

If you think the 'Flintstones' are just cartoons, you are sorely mistaken. Cappadocia, Turkey brings animation to life; people live, work, and own caves and houses in rocks. İt sort of boggles your mind to think about and when you see it before your very eyes, it is still difficult to work out how this natural wonder came to be. Though we didn't do as much hiking or exploring as a good tourist would, we still saw a decent amount... thanks to our local friend, Hassan. He wouldn't take no for an answer and we spent a whole day being chauffeured from churches to sunset points to castles, stopping along the way for ice cream, fruit & cheese, wine, and tea (of course) with various cousins and uncles. The whole experience was unreal and we lived it up. I will put up pictures soon, but they don't do this place justice...so you might be better off looking some up on the internet. On our last day in Goreme, we caught up with a friend from Olympos, Colin, and left the following day for İstanbul.

Since returning to İstanbul we have been having a great time. One day we took a cruise down the Bosporus to the Black Sea with Colin and Mario (another friend from Olympos...check out the link to his website). We spent another day wondering through the Grand Bazaar, making some last minute purchases in Turkey. Despite being treated like queens and served an amazing fish barbecue on the river, we still bought our train tickets onward towards Croatia. İt is for this reason that today is a monumental day in our travels.

We are leaving Turkey, the land of kebabs and tea. Turkey has proven to be yet another gem of a place that we never intended on visiting before we left home. This is where mosques blare prayers 5 times and day and women walk the streets in head scarves; where my name has changed (yet again) to 'Amandica' and where Jess and İ have played hours upon hours of their national sport...backgammon. Speaking of sports, Turkey has been the location of my first ever successful betting experience - İ risked 500 Russian Rubles and won 20 TYL (15 dollars) picking Spain in the European Cup. We couldn't have been here at a better time for football (soccer) - Turkey had one of their best showings ever, reaching the semi-finals. All in all, we couldn't have had a more authentic visit and İ am sure that Turkey will be in our future travels. However, when we return, we will be sure to make Olympos our last stop so we can actually see a couple more sites before we are made captives at Saban Pension.

Now we are off to Croatia and then to İtaly to see the Schenck's...we have lots of long train, bus, and boat rides in our immediate future. Not excited about that, but İ think it will all be worth it once we reach Rome! If anyone would like to send small (or large) gifts, please contact my mother at jaeee@aol.com. Thank you and have a nice day.

Sucked in at Saban...

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:46:00 +0000

İ'm sorry for being a horribly pathetic "blogger." Sometimes there is just too much fun going on to stop and inform you of our activities. Actually....you caught me in a lie, İ haven't written much lately because we have been doing a whole lot of nothing.

As planned, we visited Pumakkale after Ephesus. The place throws your senses a bit; although the rocks are white like solid ice, the sun is shinning down, the temperature is blazing hot, and the water lukewarm. Here is a picture of the main part of the place:

The best part of the whole attraction was watching Turkish girls trying to take model pictures in the hot springs. I did manage to be mildly creepy and steal a few shots of this ridiculousness on the camera...some of those are up for those interested. Better yet, we got Jess to pose a little bit and those are definitely worth a look...

After Pumakkale we headed to Fethiye. Fethiye is mostly a port city with some great views and a beautiful beach just outside the town. After a couple days here, Rory and Maura decided to take a boat trip to our next destination, Olympos. We never managed to cross paths after this separation, but I think we all ended up having a great time regardless.

As for Olympos, Jess and I got sucked into the chill atmosphere. We meant to stay 3 nights and ended up staying for over 2 weeks. We blame this mostly on the crew at Saban Pension (shout out to Mike, Meral and Hüseyin), who serve up some great food, provide lots of laughs, and generally make it very difficult to leave. For those of you wondering, we were there for the 4th of July and we did celebrate American style. Jess and I got tons of red, white, and blue accessories for the whole pension and forced them all to endure numerous renditions of the national anthem. If that wasn't enough, we then made them partake in some American games (America vs. "the rest of the world," of course). What can I say, we are true Americans. God Bless America! Besides all this fun, Olympos has some ruins that we admired from a distance, a great jumping rock, and lots of places to lounge around. So, lounge is what we did for the majority of our time.

Promptly after departing Saban Pension in Olympos, both Jess and I got really ill. Maybe that was a sign that we never should have left? We will never know. Anyhow, at the moment we are in Cappadocia and have yet to see a thing. I think tomorrow will be our day to see the site. Our next stop will be Istanbul to pick up our things, reconnect with friends we made the last time, and then head off toward Italy to meet up with my family. There will be lots of buses and trains in the next couple of weeks...but I can't wait to see my family!

We missed Thanksgiving but we're seeing Turkey!

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:35:00 +0000

Since our retreat from the islands into the cities, we have seen much and have lots to report on. Well, maybe not "lots," but enough to fill up an entry.

I was in Athens two years ago and remember being amazed by the Acropolis and all the ruins that the city has to offer. I didn't stay in the city long, but I do remember being impressed. This time around, however, I was less taken by the ruins and enjoyed the actual city a lot more. Yes, it is true, I am a "travel snob" and like my ruins to be of the best quality; this means that I can not only decipher faces and curly cues in the columns, but walk through them and even do cartwheels on monument if I so choose. Don't get me wrong, the Acropolis is cool, but it looses something the second time around. The girls liked it...but this blog isn't about them, is it? Beyond the Acropolis we had a good time roaming the streets of Athens, catching up on BU rowing news (you know, the class of 2007 being "bad seeds" and all) and having Maura whip up some amazing 4 euro pasta dinners.

From Athens we endured a long 18 hour bus ride to Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul lives up to the hype; it is very "east meets west," quite literally. One side of the city is considered Europe and you can actually cross the Bosphorus Bridge and "walk to Asia." Pretty cool, huh? The city is very modern, yet it has a very bohemian feel with it's cobblestone roads, bazaars, kebaps, carpet shops, and relentless bargainers. We stayed at an amazing hostel where our host, Omer, insisted on feeding us free BBQ and tea, all the while entertaining us with his anecdotes (in Turkish) to our very English conversation. It really is too bad he didn't speak English. He seemed to have some good points.

Anyhow, when we weren't being stuffed to our gills with Kebaps, we explored the various sites the city has to offer. The Blue Mosque looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale. It is the type of place that you can just sit outside and stare at for hours. Hagia Sophia was my favorite "site." As a former Christian church converted to a Mosque, it was interesting to see a mihrab (a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of mecca) with a mosaic of the Virgin Mary over top. Beyond sightseeing, we chilled out a lot in the hostel and did some running along the Marama Sea, both of which had a great view of the city.

Yesterday we arrived here in Selcuk, Turkey. This is the gateway to Ephesus, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. These ruins were as cool as ruins come and we had some fun doing our Olympic gymnastics routines in the large (and very intact) theatre. Jess won overall, but Maura won on creativity. I was never much of a gymnast. Rory has potential. ANYWAY, tomorrow we plan on heading to Pamukkale. After that we have a couple more stops in Turkey until moving back through Istanbul towards Serbia.

That's about it for now. Thanks for reading and pictures will be up as soon as possible!

Off to Eastern Europe

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:02:00 +0000

I try not to write unless I have some really interesting material. This week I have found that excitment in our new addition: Maura Kennedy. After much shuffling and postponements, we saw Mauras's beautiful face for the first time in 7 months as she got off the boat in Ios, Greece. Since then we have done much of the same, day in and day out - laying on the beach by day and checking out Ios's notorious night life by evening. At this point we are in Naxos, Greece as we wait for our overnight boat back to Athens to pick up our fourth, Rory.

For those of you out there anxious for an itinerary, I'm sorry to say that it is near impossible at this point. For God's sake people, we go where the wind takes us and the wind is unpredictable here in Europe! We do know some things rather concretely - from Athens we are heading to Turkey and from there we are making our way to Rome by the end of July to meet up with my family. From there we want to go to Spain or Portugal to look for work because, to put it frankly, we have no cash money. So, there you have it. I hope that helps a little bit.

Thanks for reading and sorry for the lack of festivities....there will surely be lots of excitment as we explore Eastern Europe in the next couple of weeks. If you didn't catch on already, we decided to ditch the idea of working on the islands...we just didn't feel like spending our summer on spring break. Also, check out the new pictures I put up of China and Mykonos.

Hired and Fired all in one week!

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:44:00 +0000

I said it myself...it's crazy what a day can bring. After just one week working for Budget rental, we were given the boot with nothing to show but our hip company shirts as a parting gift. It was probably one of the funniest moments of my life and we are not bitter at all that they had to "let us go." When it came down to it, we had no working visa, we don't speak a lick of Greek (and therefore cannot work in the office) nor do we drive manual (so we can't drive any of the cars). Our only function was flashing our beautiful confused smiles and providing some good laughs. Now we are on the hunt for another job or some sort of direction on what to do for the rest of our trip in Europe.

Since being fired we have had a great time bumming around the island, seeing old friends and making some new ones as well. We continue to spend the majority of our time sitting on the beach or in front of our friend's jewelry shop. There was a new addition to the group this week; Jenna, a friend living in Italy, came to visit and she was fresh meat for our new greek friends to joke with. And, of course, I cannot forget to mention our newest best friends in the whole world: Ari, Tanya, Brendan, Davin, and Dion. Apparently all of Israel has come on vacation to Mykonos and we are glad for that. They have been great company for naked people watching on the beach (yep, all beaches seems to be nudey beaches here on Mykonos) and have provided tons of laughs. Was that sufficient Ari? Would you like me to write some more about you?

Apart from trying to find some direction in our travels, our days continue to be exciting and filled with lots of random activities. The Greeks are generous, welcoming, and make some damn good gyros...so we love them. Our fame seems to grow by the day....just today some girl came up to us and asked if we were Jess and Amanda, the girls traveling around the world with the blog. Yep, that's right...we have a fan club. It must have something to do with all those pictures we took with random people in India. In all honesty, it was pretty cool that people out there are actually reading this godforsaken blog and I hope that you all enjoy!

Walls, Deserts, and Islands

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:04:00 +0000

In the 3 weeks since I last wrote, our lives have become so amazingly random I can't help but laugh as I sit here and write this entry. Let's put it this way...we don't know how to drive manual, Jess doesn't even have a license with her, nor do we speak Greek, yet we scored a job delivering cars for Budget rental in Mykonos, Greece. Like many things on this trip, I'm not sure how we stumbled upon this opportunity - but I'm just gonna roll with it. Yesterday we had to walk an hour to get home because we missed the bus, today we have our own company car to drive around the island and we are going to get courtesy cell phones. It's crazy what a day can bring.

Before arriving here in Greece, we rounded out the China leg of our trip and visited the wonderful Taylor and Tobin Ireland in Abu Dhabi. Our time in Beijing was spent visiting the Forbidden city, summer palace, and, of course, - the Great wall of China. The most memorable of the three is definitely the wall - it truly is "Great." We spent our last day in Asia hiking from Jinshanling to Simatai. This is an interesting stretch of the wall with sections that remain original and others that are completely restored. The landscape is overwhelming; the mountains are so green and textured that they look fake. The wall itself stretches as far as the eye can see, up and over the hill and cliffs. It's a wonder that they able to build the wall on such terrain - I was getting winded hiking it...imagine having to haul all of the materials and build the wall to boot! It made us realize that our goal to run a half marathon is going to be more challenging than we thought.

We left Asia with a tear in our eyes and endured a day long journey to the UAE. It was not long before we were in the laps of luxury in the Ireland's apartment in Abu Dhabi. Our time with Taylor and Tobin was like a breath of fresh air...before we arrived we were grumpy and homesick - by the time we left we were rejuvenated and ready to move again (although we would have preferred to hang in Abu Dhabi a bit longer). Within 24 hours of our arrival we met the entire staff of the American International Elementary School. They were chock full of entertainment with their crazy tales of teaching the expats and royal Emirates. It was interesting to hear all of their stories and we are now convinced that teaching is in our future. It would be the perfect occupation to feed our travel addiction. Beyond that, we spent a full week watching boot legged movies or, when we wanted to get some "fresh air," walking around glamorous malls with the rest of the Emirate women. The dry heat of the UAE is both tiring and satisfying. This, coupled with our laziness, kept us form exploring the city too much. But, it is amazing to think that just 30 years ago this incredibly modern city was all desert. Now it is an interesting mix of western and eastern cultures, set in the richest country in the world. Public transport was slacking but the crazy cheap gas prices allow the taxi rides to be affordable - we filled up a full tank of gas for about 15 US dollars.

Two highlights of our trip to the UAE were dining with Cornelia and Hunter Milborne at the Emirate Palace and playing in the sand dunes in Liwa. The dunes were incredible and unlike anything I have ever seen before. Pictures will be up soon. Though these were "highlights" of our week, in all honesty, our favorite times were spent on the couch watching movies, awaiting the return of our adoptive parents from work with hugs and dinner in the oven. We love Taylor and Tobin, the perfect mirror image of our own relationship. It was like a double date with 2 old married couples: I was Taylor and Jess was Tobin.

As for life at the moment, we are happy to be settling down for awhile in one spot. Hopefully by this time next week we will have an apartment and will be able to cook meals and have a hot shower. We are spending our days learning to drive manual, our afternoons running, and our evenings sitting in front of our friend's jewelry shop sipping wine. It's a hard life but someone has to do it.

6 Months Away from the Homeland!

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Sat, 03 May 2008 02:51:00 +0000

It's true. Today marks 6 months away and we are alive, kicking, and still getting along! It's hard to believe that we have been away for so long. But, when I look back it feels like an eternity has passed since that November night when we first stepped on our flight to Peru. Eleven countries, fifteen flights, endless hours on buses and trains, and God knows how many walked miles later, we are in China and exhausted. I knew this day would come, but I denied it until it actually happened - we don't want to go ANYWHERE or see ANYTHING. I would actually rather sit and watch movies in the hostel than go explore the city we are in, Pingyao, a small glimpse into old-world China. How pathetic!? We lead difficult lives. Despite our lack of motivation, we have seen a number of cool things in the past week and met a handful of amazing people.

First stop after Hong Kong was Shanghai. Unfortunately, when we arrived we had some trouble with our ATM card and spent the first entire day walking from ATM to ATM.
We found that by walking from bank to bank we were able to see a greater part of the city and it eventually led us to the bustling area of the city by night time. We wondered the Bund, checked out the lights of Shanghai, and tried to sell roller blades. Well, to be fair, Jess tried to help 2 Chinese girls sell roller blades to tourists and I spent a good 10 minutes actually trying to use them. Picture this: Jess running up and down the street with an energetic Chinese girl, attempting to sell light up roller blades to anyone that looked western. Now, picture me, far behind, leaning on a 5 foot nothing Chinese girl who is trying to help me stand on 2 feet and teach me how to use the death traps. It wasn't good for sales, I can say that much. Afterwards we got the ATM to work...thank the lord for Commerce Bank!

The following night was a bit random. Jess got lured into a pub by a "Hoegarden Beer" sign. Apparently 2 Australian guys recognized us from one of our many ATM stops the day before and before we knew it they were buying us a traditional Chinese dinner at a posh restaurant. We tried pigs feet, fish heads, and frog. They don't waste anything here in China...apparently we could have ordered cat...I was thankful they didn't put that in front of me.

From Shanghai we took a near 24 hour train ride to Xi'an. This city is the home of the "8th wonder of the world," the Terracotta Army. Discovered in 1974, these ruins consist of near 60,000 warriors made to protect the first emperor's tomb. They were constructed in 200 B.C.! That's right...after nearly 2,000 years underground, these ruins were discovered by some farmers digging a well. The sheer number of them is overwhelming, considering when they were made, and the fact that they are so detailed. From the the expression on the warriors faces right down to the horse's teeth, you can make out everything. Not all of the warriors have been restored and there is still much work to be done. Nevertheless, the site was definitely worth the long train all the way out to Xi'an. Here is one of many pictures of the warriors:
At the moment we are in Pingyao. This is an old banking city halfway between Xi'an and Beijing. The walls surrounding the city are the only ones remaining in China from the Ming Dynasty (1300's). Apparently, at it's height the city flourished as the financial capital of China. But, it was too poor to modernize since it's collapse and, lucky for us, has kept it's old-town China feel. The architecture is amazing and the streets are filled with antiques and temples. It is definitely one of my favorites in China.

We had a pretty random experience last night. Jess impressed some old man by doing a cartwheel and he invited us into his home for "picture." We assumed he wanted a picture of us (we are so vain), but he actually wanted to show us his photo albums. Apparently he was a martial arts star in his hay-day; he had newspaper clippings, photos of himself preforming in front of large crowds, and plaques. He even whipped out his sword, non-chucks, and spear...and let us play with them. He didn't speak a lick of English but I left feeling like we had a whole conversation.

That brings you all up to date! Lucky you. Tomorrow we take 2 buses to Beijing, where we plan on participating in our self-organized Olympic games. Events will include spinning, leap frogging, and my personal favorite, "how many Chinese people can you get to take a picture with you?". I don't think that Beijing knows what's coming their way.

We love Laos: "I love you, no problem!"

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:26:00 +0000

The past two weeks of our life went by in a blink of an eye. Looking back, I wonder how we could have ever considered skipping Laos and how different our perspective on life and traveling is now that we have had such a wonderful experience. Laos is the highlight of Southeast Asia. Despite being widely known as the most bombed country in history, the Laos people are the most content, welcoming group of individuals I have ever met in my life. When we started traveling we were told that the most important thing to do is to immerse ourselves in the culture. Fellow travelers harp that more time in less places is the way to go and it is essential to talk to strangers. Although we thought we were doing an alright job of this, it was not until we left Laos that I realized we had a truly unique experience and that for the the first time on our trip we really got to know the locals personally.

Vang Vieng is notorious for luring in travelers who seem to get "stuck" there after falling in love. Westerners spend the whole day tubing down a gorgeous river surrounded by limestone mountains. To make matters more interesting, the river is lined with bars made from bamboo (which look like they could crumble at any moment), fully equipped with rope swings and volleyball courts. What more could you need? A helmet might have been smart. Then, after tubing the day away, you return to the town center only to watch endless episodes of "Friends," played in virtually every restaurant. I have a new found love for the TV show and actually relate my life to "Friends" episodes on a daily basis. It is sick and wonderful all in one.

We were lucky enough to be in Vang Vieng for the New Year. It is known as the "water festival" because for 3 days straight there is basically one huge water fight in order to celebrate the New Year (based on the Indian calendar). Locals and westerners alike stand on street corners, ride in the back of trucks, and run around town with super soakers, all with one goal in mind: to drench any dry piece of clothing in the area. These people take mercy on no one. Whether you have a camera in hand, just arrived in town with your luggage, or are 100 years old...you are getting wet. Everyone is in high spirits (per usual in Laos) and it makes for a really good time. What makes the New Year especially great is that the area was jam packed with even more Laos people than usual. We went down to the river to drink, dance, laugh, sing, and swim with the locals. They pass around glasses of beer and someone is always walking around with shots of Lao Lao (local whiskey = poison) that you are not allowed to refuse. One morning when Jess and I arrived at work (yes, we got a job...more on that coming up) we were accosted by a group of about 10 Laos people who were having an early morning celebration. We don't know what they were saying but they loved us...this they were able to convey with the only English they could muster up: "Thank you, for you!" and "I love you, no problem!". Now we know the proper response when someone says "I love you"...it's "NO PROBLEM!". Once again, they would not let us refuse beer and lao lao....at 9am. We drank, danced, and laughed endlessly for hours, only to see them hop in their cars and leave, taking everything (including our sanity) with them, never to return again. This debauchery went on for three days straight, after which I was exhausted and a little tired of being constantly drenched with water! Nevertheless, it was a ridiculous amount of fun and hopefully I will be back again for the festival.

And yes, it is true...we got a job. Well, technically it was a "job," but I am not sure you can consider it working. We were hired by a somewhat eccentric (but wonderful) Aussie named James to work at "Joker Bar" on the island in town. The bar is owned by a local man named Phai Vanh, who refused to be called "Boss," but instead preferred to be called "friend friend!" We loved everything about him and the bar, including his gorgeous wife, Jan, and children, Joker (hence the name of the bar) and Cutter. Here is a picture of Joker and Cutter:

This was a typical day at "work": wake up, go to the bar, Jan cooked us food, talk for awhile with our co-workers/friends, take a rickshaw to the river, talk to people tubing, give them "free hugs" (we were the only bar in town with free hugs!) in attempt to get them to come the bar later that night, return to the town, shower, Jan cooked us. In return for all of this hard work, we received accommodation, food, and drinks. Basically, all of our costs were taken care of and we were doing exactly what we would have been anyway...and we had a reason to hug anyone we wanted! Jess abused this right, running around town with "FREE HUGS!" written across her body in permanent marker. It was definitely a sight to be seen.

Anyhow, we were supposed to be in town for 2 days and ended up staying over 2 weeks. When we announced that we intended to leave, the family had a "going away" ceremony for us. This was probably one of the most unique, special things that I have ever been part of and one of the reasons why I ever wanted to travel in the first place. We arrived at their house at 8am for the ceremony to be greeted by most of Phai Vonh's immediate family. They cooked us a traditional Laos meal (I could still see the head on the chicken), literally fed us one by one, and then had each of us put out our hands out. In one hand they put a glass of Lao Lao and in the other they tied a string around our wrist while saying a prayer or wish for our travels. We are supposed to keep the strings on until they fall off. After we stomached the lao lao, we were handed beer after beer and watched traditional Laos dancing. James and I were entertained by a drunken Jess attempting to master this dance. All in all, I could try and describe this experience in words but it would be impossible. These people welcomed us into their home after knowing us for only a week or two and were actually sad to be seeing us go! The whole thing brought Jess, James, and I to tears and we all vow to return next year to "work" for this wonderful family again.

After 2 weeks and changing our tickets 3 days in a row, we finally left. I had to practically drag Jess (kicking and screaming) so that we could make our overnight bus to Bangkok and then our flight to Hong Kong. After a somewhat disastrous first night in Hong Kong, we had a nice 3 day stay. We walked the streets of the city (reminding us of NYC), watched the largest light show in the world, climbed the Victoria Peak (in a tram car) to see the foggy view, and shopped in various markets. At the moment we are in Shanghai, excited to eat some Chinese food and brave the streets of China with absolutely no knowledge of the language. Should be an interesting couple of weeks!

Adventures in Cambodia and over the border to Laos

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:14:00 +0000

I can't tell you the number of times I open up this website and don't know what to write about. A lot of the things that I find amusing throughout the day cannot be explained with words and other instances, in retrospect, do not seem to be particularly newsworthy. Hours of karaoke on long bus rides remains to be the most entertaining TV we have seen in 5 months. Taking 10 minutes to bargain the price of a pineapple from 1 dollar down to 25 cents is an everyday occurrence. A woman in Phnom Penh who followed us for 20 minutes and insisted on spraying us with water (although annoying) is one of many strange characters we have stumbled upon. Being told we bought a "direct" ticket only to find out that we in fact have to take a mini-van, walk 200 meters, hop on a boat, take another mini-van, switch into a truck, and then take another boat to our destination, is now expected in our travels. These are things that we have become numb to but, in all honesty, make our days all the more exciting. That being said, it has been over a week since I have last written and in that time we have seen quite a bit and endured our fair share of hassles. Here goes...

I guess I will start with Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. We got there just in time to soak up some much needed AC in the US Embassy and have extra pages added to our passports (it's crazy that they are already full!). Since we were convinced by some random guy that Laos is the place to be, we decided that we would go and, therefore, needed to wait a couple days in Phnom Penh for our visas.

We got a small glimpse into the brutality of the Khmer Rouge when we visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Ironically, this is a former high school turned into the Security Prison-21 (S-21), which was functioning up until 1979. The prisoners were accused of betraying the party or revolution and were usually tortured and exterminated within a month of arrival. To make a bad situation even worse, the majority of the time the family members of the accused were also taken in and found a similar fate; children were not spared. Though I will not go into detail on how the prisoners were treated, if you want some further reading here is the Tuol Sleng wikipedia website. It is both horrible and horrifying that a place like S-21 was functioning so recently and no one “knew” about it...or, maybe ignorance was bliss and ignoring it was what our western governments felt suitable. A couple of years ago I went to a concentration camp in Germany and I found Tuol Sleng similarly revolting.

The museum was not all around uplifting, so we decided we needed to go shopping. Therefore, the next stop was the Russian Market. Let me tell you...TJ Max and Marshalls ain’t got nothing on this market when it comes to “brand name clothes for less.” There were countless stalls with clothes from Zara, Hollister, American Eagle, Abercrombie, etc. priced anywhere from 1 to 5 dollars! This wasn’t any post season sale either...they had some good stuff. That being said, we got there right when it was closing and decided we would come back the following day. We returned thinking we would just wonder around for about an hour and then head off to some other tourist site, 5 hours later we were still trying on dresses and going through massive piles of shirts. In the end, our budget got the better of us and we both only left with one or two essentials. Clearly, we are poor.

From Phnom Penh we headed straight to Siem Reap, the location of the temples of Angkor. They definitely live up to their hype. The numerous temples and buildings were all constructed sometime during the mighty Angkorian period between the 9th and 15th centuries. The first stop on our trip was to Angkor Wat, the largest religious building in the entire world. The structure itself is in surprisingly good condition and the bass relief carvings are clear as day. What is so overwhelming about these temples is their magnitude: they are HUGE! I got tired doing construction with my dad and we had electricity! Apparently all of the stones were taken from a mountain 50 miles away, transported by way of river in the wet season and by elephants in the dry. Crazy. After wondering around the area for a couple hours, the next stop on our temple tour was Ta Phrom. I have to say, this was by far my favorite stop. Part of the jungle was cleared in order to construct this temple and over the years the jungle has basically taken back its territory. Trees grow threw windows and knock over walls, creating a big mess out of what remains. It should also be noted that this was a film location for Angelina Jolie’s movie “Tomb Raider.” Now I understand why she adopted a Cambodian boy! Here we are in Ta Phrom.
Our last stop of the day was Angkor Thom, a larger complex of temples, palaces, pools, and other things that were all overwhelming in the heat. The most impressive of the bunch was the Bayon, a temple that is marked by 54 large Buddha heads. All in all, the temples of Angkor were awesome and the area of Siem Reap, although very touristy, was pretty cool and I would have liked a little more time. Alas, our time is limited and we had to head out towards Laos. Little did we know what we were in for.

For the most part, we tend to take the road more traveled. We like surprises but we also like our lonely planet and tend to take the advice they offer. However, this time around when the guidebook said “you will be in for a real adventure if you go through the Cambodian-Laos border," we decided an adventure is what we needed in our lives (plus it was the only way we could go). Maybe it would be fun? To make a very long story short, we got into various fights with our taxi/mini-van drivers who tried to rip us off and over-crowd our vehicles, had our bags held hostage for the equivalent of 3 US dollars, and ended up staying an extra night in a town in the middle of nowhere near the border of Laos. Surely this it was an adventure...but fun? I think not. Maybe we will laugh about it next week.

First stop in Laos was Don Det, one of the 4,000 islands on the Cambodian-Laos border. The sights are beautiful and calming...when you can stand the heat. I can’t believe just how hot it gets here and how lethargic it makes you feel! Yesterday Jess and I rented some bikes and checked out some impressive waterfalls until Jess got a flat tire. I ditched her to check out the rest of the island with the energy I had left and took tons of pictures, which should now be posted. We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the Mekong River, conveniently located in our front yard.

Right now we are waiting for an overnight bus to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. I'm not sure how long we will be there, but we will be definitely be looking for some AC.

More Thailand and back to US dollars

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:49:00 +0000

After 48 hours of traveling we have made it back to a land where they accept good ole American dollars (for the little that they are worth!) and drive on the right side of the road. No mom, I didn't come home without telling you....we are in Cambodia.

Before making our way east, we spent about a week more in Southern Thailand with Halley, Megan, and Kerri. Other than relaxing, the highlight of our remaining time in Ton Sai was probably our St. Patty's Day celebration. We were able to find a Irish Pub, fully equipped with green beer, orange, white, and green hair coloring, Guinness, and a live Irish band. What more could we ask for? It felt like we were celebrating in south Boston.

A couple of days later we took a short overnight trek from Ton Sai to Koh Phangan, the site of the infamous full moon parties. Being that the island gets really crowded around the time of the party, we didn't really know where to go and what to do for accommodation. We arrived at 6am and basically sat on the side of the road until someone found us. This method has worked out wonderfully for us in the past, so we figured we would take our chances on actively doing nothing. Luckily, someone found us and he got us a free ride to Haad Khom, a beach on the northern part of the island. When we got there we knew it would be perfect; it was away from the all day debauchery of the full moon party and we got a cheap bungalow for about 300 Baht a night (10 dollars). Haad Kohm is basically what comes to mind when you think of a beach on an island in Thailand: it was quiet, had a rope swing from a palm tree, great snorkeling, and a bunch of foreigners with dreads who came a long time ago and never got on the ferry to leave. The owner of the guesthouse, Mr. Wong, became our Thai father; he took us on all kinds of errands and basically chauffeured us around in the back of his truck whenever we needed a ride to town. After the full moon party we bid farewell to the girls and ended up staying a bit longer in Haad Khom to lay on the beach. On Easter we decided to be daring and rented a motorbike to drive into town. Although we didn't get hurt, this was a bad idea. That's all I have to say about that.

When we finally mustered up the will to leave Koh Phangan, we started our journey to Cambodia. It wasn't until we arrived on the other side of the border that we realized it took us almost 2 full days to get here. Right now we are in Sihanoukville, on the southern coast of Cambodia. Of course, when we got here Jess wasted no time heading to the beach. When I finally arrived, I found her surrounded by 7 little girls; they all wanted to either paint her toe nails or make her bracelets. Each of them spoke perfect English and were on their mid-day school break. Although a bit overwhelming, they entertained us thoroughly. Jess ended up getting her nails done and left with 3 braclets...I got 6. To their delight, we gave them a dollar each, ensuring that we were going to be best friends for life. I think we will avoid this beach from now on...those girls were more expensive than our hotel room!

We plan on heading further east tomorrow, then up north to the capital to get more pages in our passport, then northwest to check out the Temples of Angkor.

New pictures of Thailand are up, so check em out!

Paradise

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:15:00 +0000

As I sit here at the computer writing this post I am looking out at the beach in Ton Sai, Thailand. To say that this is paradise would be no lie and we have no intention of leaving anytime soon. Basically, we have loved this country from the moment we stepped off the plane and hopped in our hot pink taxi to our Asian palace (aka the Marriott, courtesy of Mr. Hayden's reward points). The hotel was fully equipt with a pool, exercise room, flat screen TV, shower you can sit in, men who bow down to you every time you walk in the door, and most importantly: air conditioning. Who would ever want to leave? NOT US. That's right, we were in Bangkok for 4 days and left the hotel room for only the essentials: McDonald's, Auntie Annes, and Dairy Queen. Actually, I wouldn't want to exaggerate...we did leave to do our laundry. Any by "do our laundry" I mean put our laundry in a machine in the middle of the sidewalk behind where some lady runs her very successful pad-thai food stall. There was no dryer, so we constructed a clothesline in our room, making it a sure thing that we can turn the nicest suite in all of Bangkok into a pigsty.

A couple days after getting to Thailand we met up with Jess's friends from high school (Hally and Megan) who have been living here teaching English. We managed to adopt a new travel partner for the past week (their friend from study abroad, Eric) who is on spring break. It's nice to have some new people to talk to and Jess seems to be enjoying the familiar faces. We are still with them now in Ton Sai and will probably stay together for a bit as we have similar travel plans. This beach that we have stumbled upon is absolutely gorgeous and probably surpases the beauty of my previously favorite place in Brazil (Floripa). There are tons of activities to do including rock climbing, kayaking, and hiking. Yesterday we took a day trip to Kho Phi Phi, the island where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. We got to go snorkeling and checked out the site, which is preserved by the government. No one is allowed to live there, which is nice because everything around here is getting so built up and touristy. There is not much else to report as we basically have been sitting around doing nothing for the past week, recovering from our tiring trip through India. I know, we lead a difficult life.

OK, that's all for now...I have to go eat sticky rice and watch the sunset. Yes, my life is awesome.

Til' next time, India

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 13:57:00 +0000

I apologize to those of you who were alarmed by my last entry. I am hearing through the grapevine that I scared you all with our tales of thieves and stomach parasites. BUT, all is well and we are really enjoying our time here in India, despite some minor setbacks.

I don't know if you are up to date with the Indian celeb magazines, but if you find the opportunity to grab the latest, you'll see your two favorite travelers on the cover. Since the last entry we have toured through the city of Mysore, where we became a bigger attraction than the sites we went to see. At first we were flattered, thinking it was based purely on our good looks, but when requests came for a song, I realized they thought we were famous (being blonde and American and all). Our favorite was when an Indian guy told us his friends mistook us for J.Lo, seeing as we are Latino. In all honestly, there are more photos of us floating around on Indian cameras than on our own and we will probably be gracing the living rooms of various homes throughout southern India. Although the organized tour was sadly unimpressive, there were 2 parts that were really memorable (not counting the various photo shoots): the Mysore Palace and the Brindavan Gardens. As we walked through the rooms it was easy to pretend we were in a Disney movie...so we sang some Aladdin hits we all know and love (including but not limited to "A Whole New World" and "Prince Ali"). The Gardens were best once the sun set and the lights lit up the fountains. Luckily we caught the tail end of the fountain light show in which the water was synchronized first to American techno and secondly to traditional Indian songs. India is the land of extremes.

Next stop after Mysore was Kochi in the state of Kerala. Kerala is known for it's backwaters and for good reason. We decided to take a day tour which first took us on a houseboat (you could sleep on it...we didn't have the cash for that) through the larger canals and natural lake and then on smaller boats through the man made canals. Beyond the beautiful sights, we learned all about herbs and coconut trees...all things that we thought were extremely insightful at the time but have no true recollection of now that a couple days have passed. Whoops. Our day was made all the better by an older Indian couple who made it their personal mission to educate us on Indian history and geography throughout the day. They had a way of making the ugliest trees look magnificent and the most boring subjects intriguing. Plus, the fact that they could hardly walk yet were jumping in and out of boats because we said they should inspired us to travel forever! Sorry Mom.

Next on the itinerary was a slow (really slow) public boat through the backwaters, yet again. This was a really great ride because we got to see how the locals get around the area. The boat stopped anywhere, on any island where someone waved them down. The clientèle ranged from businessmen (sporting classy button down shirts with sheet skirts), to schoolgirls, to guys hauling their coconuts from their island to the mainland. It was awesome. After yet another bus ride we arrived in Kumily.

Our main reason for going to Kumily was to see some animals at the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. Ironically, the majority of our fun was found outside the sanctuary and didn't involve wildlife in the least. Our first day was spent checking out the tea plantations with 2 tour guides. One of them knew absolutely nothing about tea but spoke great English, while the second was extremely knowledgeable but knew not one word of English....together they made one great tour guide. It was pathetic how obsessed we were with tea. We wanted all the information they could possibly give us and then some more. On our little tour we went into a tea factory, at which point we were consumed by the glorious smell of tea making! It was like breathing in a cup of tea! I couldn't get enough. We also saw some of the ladies who pick the tea leaves, who get paid a whopping 80 rupees (2 dollars) for the first 45 kilos they pick and 2 rupees (5 cents) for every kilo after that. Think of them the next time you throw out a tea bag. Our perfect day was made all the better when the owner of the tea shop gave us a tour of his spice garden. When his kids weren't running amok, he was able to show us various plants (coffee, vanilla, cardamom, all-spice, cinnamon...) that we would have otherwise thought were weeds. He fed us a cup and tea and we went on our way. It was refreshing to encounter such a generous man who didn't want anything in return.

The next day we actually went into the wildlife sanctuary....what a let down! We took a boat ride and spotted some buffalo. Well, they might have been buffalo..or they might have been bison (don't know the difference)...or they could have been dead bushes in the distance...who knows!??! We will have to take their word for it that the black spots were indeed buffalo. In order to make up for the dud of a boat ride, we let some lady rope us into taking an elephant ride. We were an easy sell as all Jess wanted for her birthday was to get on one of these darned elephants we have seen roam the streets. While it was exciting at first, it quickly turned depressing when we realized we were supporting animal cruelty. To the elephant mans dismay, rather than pay to ride the elephant, we fed her some fruit and went on our way.

From Kumily we headed to Puducherry, where we are right now. Tonight we took a Yoga class and tomorrow we are heading north to catch our flight back to Mumbai in a couple days. Our trip to India has been an eye opening, interesting experience that I wouldn't trade for the world. We have taken the good with the bad and are leaving wishing we were better prepared to spend more time here. Coupled with it's poverty and lurking smells, India is gorgeous, has an engulfing culture, great food and, as we have come to find, is not as intimidating as those of you at home might think.

And finally, if I can give you all one word of advice...go to the store and buy some cardamom tea. I don't know where you can buy it, but find it and drink it. You will love it. Oh yea...go to an Indian restaurant too.

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem?

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 04:49:00 +0000

We knew it was bound to happen. Besides the mysterious disappearing of our cell phone in the first 2 weeks away, we haven't had anything stolen. In fact, I have taken pride that we have been so careful and held onto all our belongings. But, you put your guard down for one minute and BAM!, someone steals your shoes. Here is an account of the couple days leading up to the incident.

Our last day in Mumbai was interesting, to say the least. A couple days before we had met a little boy with one eye and he bargained with a taxi driver for us. We loved him but thought we would never see him again...we were wrong. As we were walking around the city we ran into him again and bought him some McDonald's. I thought we would go our separate ways after some fries and a coke but again, I was wrong. He gave us a tour of the city and tried to get us to take him to the movies. I'm sure he was homeless, not sure if he had a family, but he was definitely well known by everyone throughout the city. Just about all of the vendors laughed as we passed by and I got the feeling they knew something we didn't. After some dinner (which he ordered) we tried to head to the train station alone....at this point his previously outgoing, happy demenour turned into one of a sad, quiet boy, who was distraught at the fact that we would not buy him a train ticket out of Mumbai. As much as we would have liked to help him, 1000 rupees was a little steep and we had to hope that 2 meals was generous enough. Here is Jess with little "one eye."

Our first overnight trip on the train was uneventful. We arrived in Anjuna beach safe and sound (despite the fact that Jess had strep throat) and immediately went to the beach. As in most places we have been so far, a lot of Anjuna's beauty and charm was overshadowed by the poverty, dirt, and constant begging. However, once we got past that it was really beautiful. Cows roam, men do yoga in their chairs, and women in colorful sarongs stroll along the beach. It was a sight to see. Anjuna's main attraction is their Wednesday market. Let me tell you...these Indians know how to put together a market. At first we were a bit intimidated with the constant badgering by vendors. But, by the end of the day we bargained hard and got some good deals. We were there until after the sun went down and would have stayed longer if we could have. Here is the jewelery portion of the market:

So here begins the horrible journey to Hampi. I like to refer to our bus as the vehicle from hell. Consider the worst bus you have ever been on in your entire life. Now, ram that bus into a couple of poles, maybe pee on some of the seats, and then pack it over capacity and put all the luggage in the aisles. Besides the fact that there was no air conditioning and our seats didn't recline at all, there was no ventilation, no shocks on the tires, no muffler, sharp metal wires sticking out of the seats in front of us and barely a shell of metal surrounding the exterior of the vehicle. To make matters worse, our seats were above where the muffler should have been. So, you can imagine the "fresh" air that we were breathing in for the 14 hour journey. Stupidly Jess and I moved to different seats and I left behind my backpack and shoes. Although I did consider the fact that someone might steal them, I didn't think that they would have far to run since we were on a bus (plus I brought my valuables with me...or so I thought). What is one man's garbage is another's treasure - someone not only stole my headlight, camera wire, date book, sewing kit, pictures of my family (!), princess playing cards, and t-shirt....but my shoes and deodorant to boot! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. At this point I began to interrogate everyone on the bus, but to no avail. Men who previously spoke fluent English magically lost all knowledge of the language. So, I have accepted that my shoes are gone, as is my deodorant (and Jess's deodorant too). We can only hope to see them on sale somewhere on the streets of India in order to buy them back. Oh yea, I also got the famous Indian stomach disease right before we got on the bus. I'll leave the details up to your imagination.

Right now we are in Hampi. After a day in bed and a trip to the "doctor," we were up and running again today. This city is full of ruins from the 1500's and good for people watching. Women wash clothes in the nearby river and boys go jumping off rocks into the water. Oh yea, we also got blessed by a elephant today...very odd but definitely something to try. We also walked around with red dots on our heads all day and got laughed at by the locals. Fun times. Tomorrow we head south to Mysore to check out some more ruins.

Oh yea, don't expect many new pictures anytime soon....you can blame that on an India thief we encountered on the vehicle from hell. Erin, you will be interested to know that he threw back the Mark Twain book you sent me to read.

Mumbai

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:38:00 +0000

For those of you out there wondering, we have made it safe and sound to Mumbai. To say that this city is overwhelming is an understatement - but it is kind of nice to be somewhere so different after being in New Zealand and Australia for the past couple months. We are also happy to be off our strict peanut butter and jelly, egg, and banana diet and onto new delicious Indian food. Today we had the best meal I have ever had in my entire life, all for the low price of 473 Rupees....or about 12 dollars.

Once we got off the plane we knew this country was going to be an adventure. As we drove from the airport to our hotel we passed 5 star hotels next to shacks that people call their homes. In one of these "houses" a bunch of people were watching their plasma flat screen TV under a tarp roof. It's all kind of eye opening. The city itself is incredibly crowded and dirty, something that we are not all together used to. Walking down the street is an adventure - one minute you are trying to avoid getting hit by a car, another minute you are dodging some stray dogs, and in another you see a woman walking down the street with a basket (double her size) balanced on her head. People try to sell you everything and anything...whether it be clothes, shoes (sometimes just one shoe), food, or my personal favorite: drums. "I have big drum for you, madam, i have small drum for you, madam, 200 rubees, best price for you in mumbai!" Too bad we don't play the drums. Maybe we will start?

Our first tourist stop was to Elefanta Island, home to various caves with ancient carvings. Though they were pretty cool to look at, we were most entertained by the incredible amount of monkeys and 2 boys who seemed to have started their own juice making business at the top of a steep hill. Although we didn't have some of the juice (it would probably kill us), we did buy a soda and contribute to their cause.

Today we walked around some markets and bought our train tickets to leave tomorrow night. There are a couple of things that are really interesting about the ticket purchasing process. For starters, since we have arrived here everyone has been staring at us non stop. But, when we are on line to buy tickets, somehow we are magically invisible! I impressed some German ladies by putting into action my NY tough talk, sending some guys to the back of the line. Also, when you try to buy a ticket and you are a foreigner, there are never any tickets left. They are ALL sold-out. The train is full. BUT, if you pay an extra 300 rubees, magically seats in every class appear! We dished over the money and are heading to Goa tomorrow.

102 days and counting

noreply@blogger.com (about this site) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:48:00 +0000

I had every intention of writing on our 100th day away, but somehow that never happend. It's true, we have been away for over a 100 days and it feels like it's only been a week. To look back at old pictures is really weird...when we left we were so naive and so fair skinned! That has all changed with a couple months of lugging around a backpack and soaking up the sun.

As of right now we are in Sydney. Sadly we had to say goodbye to my mother, who was great company and spoiled us rotten while she was here. I can't tell you how hard it was to go back to the hostel life! Since she left we have been roaming the city streets, reading lots, meeting up with people we have met along the way, and basically just trying to stay dry from all the rain. Since today is a somewhat decent day we are heading to Bondi Beach which is about 20 minutes outside of the city. All is well and we depart the land down under on Friday, at which point we head over to India. Can't wait!