Well, it's over.
Since the last update we explored Egypt pretty thoroughly. We went all the way south to the border with Sudan and saw temples, engravings, pylons and pyramids. We went shopping for gifts and souveniers, rode trains, buses and camels, and had amazing (and often hilarious) interactions with the locals. Overall we really enjoyed our time in Egypt. Now that we're back, it's really... what's the best word... weird?
We've been back in the U.S. now for 2 days. We arrived in Rochester, NY (where my parents live) at about 8pm the day before yesterday. Walking through the airport parking lot with my parents was our first exercise in sanity, and itself an odd experience. The silence was deafening. We could hear birds chirping. The cars were going out of their way not to hit us. It was 75 degrees, and the sky was cloudy (and not from smog!); all of this was a drastic departure from where we were less than 24 hours prior.
I think I can speak for both Michelle and I when I say that being back is, first and foremost, a weird experience. Actually, I'm positive I can speak for her because she is going to proofread this before it gets posted. But anyway, I don't think either of us are suffering from culture shock, per se... but we are absolutly both overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of indulgences available (especially at my parents house) and by the realization that the trip we planned for years has actually come to an end. We can both so vividly remember being in our first hotel room in Ho Chi Minh City and feeling euphoric at the freedom we had. We can easily go back to so many events that happened thereafter -motorbike crashes, certain hikes, sicknesses, fights with locals, meeting friends- and everything feels like it just happened. The last 9 months have undoubtedly been the fastest of our lives, and I'm sure that's in large part because of the sheer number of events that have happened to us in such a short period of time. That change -from a life where everyday is a complete adventure into the unknown, to a life where the rules are much more defined and easy to follow- is going to be one of the first challenges we have to tackle. It's a matter of slowing down, both mentally and physically, and while it's an odd adjustment to have to make, so far it feels pretty good. (note: this blog is being written on a screened in porch, on a comfortable wrap around couch that I am sharing with Michelle as we sit listening and watching rain- talk about slowing down!)
I know this post is quite vague and may not be exactly what people were hoping for as far as what it's like to be home, but I think the fact that it is so vague is probably the best way to describe how we feel. At this point, it's all a bit blurry. We know what we've done, although we can't quite process it all. We know what we've learned and some skills that we've acquired, although we haven't yet entered a situation in which to really use it all. We know what we have to accomplish now that we're back, but we don't have a defined plan on how were going to do it. And how could we? Condensing a lifetime worth of experiences into 9 months makes a 'quick review' of those 9 months virtually impossible, as our 2500 pictures in need of sorting attest. The changes those 9 months have created within us are even more difficult to discern, especially on a short timescale. And perhaps most of all, we are essentially starting our adult lives over at 25; new city, new home, new school, new jobs, new cars, new friends. Redoing all of the things we had accomplished up until this trip started -and redoing them in the next 2 months- is overwhelming, so trying to tackle it all at once just won't work.
So I think, for now, I'm going to leave it at that. I'm sure we'll make some more posts as new things come up, so feel free to continue to check this blog sometimes. All of our pictures aren't quite up yet, including the pictures of our camel rides at the pyramids, but we'll try to get those up shortly. We'll also be updating our 'stats' post from a few months ago with our final figures; total miles covered, etc. So yeah, this blog has a bit of life in it yet. Stick around!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Our Last Country!
We have completed our final border crossing and are in Egypt! We spent just under a week in Israel, and probably couldn't have afforded to spend much more. It is by far the most expensive place we've visited, and the value is quite low for what you pay. We started out in Jerusalem and were able to stay within the walls of the Old City in a lively part of town. We spent a few days seeing some of the holy sights for Christians, Jews, and Muslims, including the Wailing Wall, Dome of the Rock, the places they think Jesus may have been killed, the Mount of Olives, and some beautiful churches. We also saw a few cemeteries, including Oskar Schindler's grave. It was fascinating to see how the different religions interacted (or clashed) through the city, each having its own section.
We happened to be there on the day of Shavuot, a Jewish holiday celebrating the day God gave the Torah to the Israelites. We went to the Wailing Wall that evening and the whole area was packed with Jewish men (and some women) in traditional dress singing, dancing, and praying at the wall. It was amazing to see!! We took a lot of pictures that are posted, and a video that we will try to post at some point. Our last stop in Jerusalem was Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. As you can imagine it was very thorough and an excellent exhibit--we spent 5 hours there and could have spent more! It included multiple memorials including a unique and haunting children's memorial, and also had a comprehensive history museum about the Holocaust. It was certainly interesting to see it from the Jewish perspective as opposed to an outside view...there were a few subtle differences.
After Jerusalem we rented a car for 3 days to see the rest of Israel. We drove north and spent a night at the Sea of Galilee, then drove through the Golan Heights and saw the borders with Syria and Lebanon. We also drove through Nazareth, which is actually the largest Muslim city in Israel. The Golan Heights was a beautiful area, but we could definitely see remnants of wars there, including bombed out buildings and large areas with warnings of land mines. We also drove to Tel Aviv which was quite different from the rest of Israel. Renting the car helped save us money because we slept in it for a few nights, but gas was $9/gallon! I suppose that's what happens when you are surrounded by countries full of oil that don't like you. We ended our time in Israel by driving all the way south to the Egyptian border at Eilat. We could actually see Aqaba in Jordan from where we were, and we had been there a few weeks ago. The two sides are very different!
The day before we entered Israel, Noam Chomsky was denied entry at the border we went through. When we were there we actually got to see an interview with him on an Israeli newsstation, and it was fascinating. It gave a bit of insight into the Israeli mindset and why they have been unable to achieve peace in the region. The reporter interviewing him was a young and passionate woman who asked Chomsky why he put Israel and Palestine at the top of his agenda when there are worse human rights violations occuring in Darfur and Afghanistan. She actually asked him where Israel ranked with those, and which country was worse. I couldn't believe she even put Israel in the same field as those! Clearly if that's the case Israel needs to step back and look at what they're doing to the Palestinians. She mentioned Israeli security many times which is a big concern, but it just seems so obvious that by reconciling with the Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese, their security would improve tremendously. We heard that talks are supposed to being again in July...I'm skeptical based on the slow progress made over the last 60 years, but perhaps these will at least lead to and end of violations of the Palestinian's rights. It will also be interesting to see what direction the US takes in its involvement in the situation, and whether we will continue to support and fund the Israelis as heavily as we are now.
So now we are in Egypt! We had planned to head straight to Cairo, but got side tracked at the beach in the Sinai peninsula. We are staying at a lovely hotel with a loft that is right on the beach. We considered staying today as well, but unfortunately need to get moving. We are catching the late bus to Cairo and will spend the end of our trip exploring Egyptian ruins at Abu Simbel, Luxor, and Cairo. And in 10 days we will be home! We are both a bit sad the trip is ending, but so excited to get home! We have talked about how much we appreciate the U.S. and that even though there are many things we disagree with, we wouldn't want to be from anywhere else! There's my "I love America" statement in honor of Memorial Day :) Check out the Israel pictures in the link on the right, and we'll try to update again before heading home!
We happened to be there on the day of Shavuot, a Jewish holiday celebrating the day God gave the Torah to the Israelites. We went to the Wailing Wall that evening and the whole area was packed with Jewish men (and some women) in traditional dress singing, dancing, and praying at the wall. It was amazing to see!! We took a lot of pictures that are posted, and a video that we will try to post at some point. Our last stop in Jerusalem was Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. As you can imagine it was very thorough and an excellent exhibit--we spent 5 hours there and could have spent more! It included multiple memorials including a unique and haunting children's memorial, and also had a comprehensive history museum about the Holocaust. It was certainly interesting to see it from the Jewish perspective as opposed to an outside view...there were a few subtle differences.
After Jerusalem we rented a car for 3 days to see the rest of Israel. We drove north and spent a night at the Sea of Galilee, then drove through the Golan Heights and saw the borders with Syria and Lebanon. We also drove through Nazareth, which is actually the largest Muslim city in Israel. The Golan Heights was a beautiful area, but we could definitely see remnants of wars there, including bombed out buildings and large areas with warnings of land mines. We also drove to Tel Aviv which was quite different from the rest of Israel. Renting the car helped save us money because we slept in it for a few nights, but gas was $9/gallon! I suppose that's what happens when you are surrounded by countries full of oil that don't like you. We ended our time in Israel by driving all the way south to the Egyptian border at Eilat. We could actually see Aqaba in Jordan from where we were, and we had been there a few weeks ago. The two sides are very different!
The day before we entered Israel, Noam Chomsky was denied entry at the border we went through. When we were there we actually got to see an interview with him on an Israeli newsstation, and it was fascinating. It gave a bit of insight into the Israeli mindset and why they have been unable to achieve peace in the region. The reporter interviewing him was a young and passionate woman who asked Chomsky why he put Israel and Palestine at the top of his agenda when there are worse human rights violations occuring in Darfur and Afghanistan. She actually asked him where Israel ranked with those, and which country was worse. I couldn't believe she even put Israel in the same field as those! Clearly if that's the case Israel needs to step back and look at what they're doing to the Palestinians. She mentioned Israeli security many times which is a big concern, but it just seems so obvious that by reconciling with the Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese, their security would improve tremendously. We heard that talks are supposed to being again in July...I'm skeptical based on the slow progress made over the last 60 years, but perhaps these will at least lead to and end of violations of the Palestinian's rights. It will also be interesting to see what direction the US takes in its involvement in the situation, and whether we will continue to support and fund the Israelis as heavily as we are now.
So now we are in Egypt! We had planned to head straight to Cairo, but got side tracked at the beach in the Sinai peninsula. We are staying at a lovely hotel with a loft that is right on the beach. We considered staying today as well, but unfortunately need to get moving. We are catching the late bus to Cairo and will spend the end of our trip exploring Egyptian ruins at Abu Simbel, Luxor, and Cairo. And in 10 days we will be home! We are both a bit sad the trip is ending, but so excited to get home! We have talked about how much we appreciate the U.S. and that even though there are many things we disagree with, we wouldn't want to be from anywhere else! There's my "I love America" statement in honor of Memorial Day :) Check out the Israel pictures in the link on the right, and we'll try to update again before heading home!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Getting Petra-fied
Wow, it's been awhile since we updated this!
Last update was in Oman. Since that time we've done a good amount of moving around. We first spent 3 days in Dubai, which was great. It was rich, semi-modern (ultra-modern in some parts, ultra-not in others) and overall a lot of fun to be in. We ate Taco Bell 4 times in 3 days, visited the top of the world's largest building, saw the world's fanciest hotel, walked around in the 1st and 2nd largest malls on Earth, watched the world's largest fountain show, and swam in our rooftop hotel pool; overall not a bad way to spend 3 days. The pictures are a far better way to see what I'm talking about, so just check out the U.A.E. Pictures if you'd like.
After Dubai we flew to Amman, the capital of Jordan. This place is the center of the Middle East geographically, and is a world away from the Gulf States we had been in previously. Culturally, it's much more in line with the traditional view of the Mideast, and after dealing with 100 degree heat in Oman and Dubai for awhile, we were pleasantly surprised to get off the plane and find that it was 66 degrees. Amman has a Euro-tinted feel to it... it’s distinctly Middle Eastern, but the layout feels like a European town (meaning there isn't really a layout), the police cars are all Audi A6's and it feels quite safe. Police officers and soldiers carrying heavy weaponry are omnipresent due to the Palestinian situation just to the west, but they are professional, friendly, and in no way imposing (as opposed to India, where the soldiers seemed like gun-toting buffoons.
After Amman we went south to the Gulf of Aqaba. We spent about 3 days in a hotel there because there was nothing to do; the resorts all charged ridiculous sums for using their beach and the public beach was so full of locals you could barely get to the water. That's OK though, because after that we visited Petra, which has undoubtedly been one of the highlights of the entire trip. Petra is a large city that was literally carved into the side of cliffs starting in about 300 BCE. I’m not talking about carvings like the Native Americans did in New Mexico or Colorado. The Nabateans (the people who lived in Petra) carved massive, incredibly intricate designs upwards of 150ft in the cliff sides. Equally impressive, there isn’t much rain in the area, so in an effort to control the drought/flash flood tendencies of the canyons they created some of the first large scale dams and water channel systems in the world. This allowed them to successfully guide water from the surrounding hills down a few miles into reservoirs and to keep floods from wiping out their homes. We found it ironic that 2000 years ago the Nabateans were the first real hydrological engineers, and their modern descendants in nearby Wadi Musa can’t seem to put the drain in the bathroom floor in the right spot (hint: it’s not the highest point of the floor).
But again, the pictures are a better illustration of what I’m talking about (Petra, not the drain). The landscape itself looks very similar to our beloved southern Utah, so seeing something so unique done to it was really an experience, and we enjoyed all 3 days of it.
For now, we’re back in Amman. It’s cheap, the internet is convenient, we just found a place with fried chicken around the corner (score!) and we’re waiting to try and link our schedule with a friend of mine in Israel. Eran and I met in Nicaragua a couple years ago and have been in touch since then, so hopefully we’ll be able to solidify a meeting before Michelle and I make the journey across the Palestinian Territories (West Bank) and into Jerusalem. There isn’t much time on this trip left, but we’re definitely going to make the most of it.
All pictures are updated- have a look!
Last update was in Oman. Since that time we've done a good amount of moving around. We first spent 3 days in Dubai, which was great. It was rich, semi-modern (ultra-modern in some parts, ultra-not in others) and overall a lot of fun to be in. We ate Taco Bell 4 times in 3 days, visited the top of the world's largest building, saw the world's fanciest hotel, walked around in the 1st and 2nd largest malls on Earth, watched the world's largest fountain show, and swam in our rooftop hotel pool; overall not a bad way to spend 3 days. The pictures are a far better way to see what I'm talking about, so just check out the U.A.E. Pictures if you'd like.
After Dubai we flew to Amman, the capital of Jordan. This place is the center of the Middle East geographically, and is a world away from the Gulf States we had been in previously. Culturally, it's much more in line with the traditional view of the Mideast, and after dealing with 100 degree heat in Oman and Dubai for awhile, we were pleasantly surprised to get off the plane and find that it was 66 degrees. Amman has a Euro-tinted feel to it... it’s distinctly Middle Eastern, but the layout feels like a European town (meaning there isn't really a layout), the police cars are all Audi A6's and it feels quite safe. Police officers and soldiers carrying heavy weaponry are omnipresent due to the Palestinian situation just to the west, but they are professional, friendly, and in no way imposing (as opposed to India, where the soldiers seemed like gun-toting buffoons.
After Amman we went south to the Gulf of Aqaba. We spent about 3 days in a hotel there because there was nothing to do; the resorts all charged ridiculous sums for using their beach and the public beach was so full of locals you could barely get to the water. That's OK though, because after that we visited Petra, which has undoubtedly been one of the highlights of the entire trip. Petra is a large city that was literally carved into the side of cliffs starting in about 300 BCE. I’m not talking about carvings like the Native Americans did in New Mexico or Colorado. The Nabateans (the people who lived in Petra) carved massive, incredibly intricate designs upwards of 150ft in the cliff sides. Equally impressive, there isn’t much rain in the area, so in an effort to control the drought/flash flood tendencies of the canyons they created some of the first large scale dams and water channel systems in the world. This allowed them to successfully guide water from the surrounding hills down a few miles into reservoirs and to keep floods from wiping out their homes. We found it ironic that 2000 years ago the Nabateans were the first real hydrological engineers, and their modern descendants in nearby Wadi Musa can’t seem to put the drain in the bathroom floor in the right spot (hint: it’s not the highest point of the floor).
But again, the pictures are a better illustration of what I’m talking about (Petra, not the drain). The landscape itself looks very similar to our beloved southern Utah, so seeing something so unique done to it was really an experience, and we enjoyed all 3 days of it.
For now, we’re back in Amman. It’s cheap, the internet is convenient, we just found a place with fried chicken around the corner (score!) and we’re waiting to try and link our schedule with a friend of mine in Israel. Eran and I met in Nicaragua a couple years ago and have been in touch since then, so hopefully we’ll be able to solidify a meeting before Michelle and I make the journey across the Palestinian Territories (West Bank) and into Jerusalem. There isn’t much time on this trip left, but we’re definitely going to make the most of it.
All pictures are updated- have a look!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Intro to the Middle East
Today is our last day in Oman, and our introduction to the Middle East has been a fascinating one. We've actually felt safer here than in SE Asia which I think most people would be surprised by. Oman is full of the nicest people, but is a bit bizarre and full of contradictions. For example, the malls have stores like the Gap and H & M, but almost all of the women wear burkas and are completely covered all of the time. In other areas we'd see rows of shops with identical plain black burkas lining the store windows. In Muscat all of the buildings are white which gives the city a sterile feel, but the people present a potent culture. Muscat is also full of western fast food chains and other modern amenities, but it all feels a bit forced, like the city has been artificially modernized. In many ways it has. With oil money and a competent Sultan, the infrastructure of the country has only recently sprouted up. Of course most of the country is still a vast, uninhabited desert. We got to make the 11 hour drive between Muscat and Salalah, and I've never seen so much nothing! We drove for hours seeing only sand, dirt, and lots of camels. Driving through the Empty Quarter was great though, it was awesome knowing that whatever direction you went there would just be more desert until you hit the ocean or Saudi Arabia.
Our other activities in Oman included 3 days of rock climbing, playing in the waves of a deserted beach, visiting Jebel Shams (the Grand Canyon of Oman), and eating lots of good food! We got to climb over the ocean, do some great bolted routes in a small canyon, and explore some unclimbed rock in Salalah. Jason and I spent a day cleaning and setting 3 routes on rock that hadn't been climbed before--it's hard to find that in the U.S.! The canyon was very impressive and different from other canyons I'd seen. There are very few colors so each one seems crisper than if there were many. The distinct shades of brown and gray stand out against the blue sky. All of the Omanis we have met have been so welcoming and helpful! Many speak English so getting around hasn't been difficult, and we've definitely gotten to experience some Arab hospitality.
One of the best parts of Oman has been visiting with our friend Shannon from the U.S. She lives in Salalah and was the most generous hostess! She showed us the best parts of Oman, took us to great meals, and let us stay at her home with her. Thanks for everything Shannon!
Tomorrow we are heading to Dubai for a few days. The Burj Khalifa is one of the things we've been most excited to see along with the other architectural feats the city offers. We will also go to the first Taco Bell of the trip! It feels like it's winding down fast unfortunately, but I think the last 7 weeks in the Mid-East will be great!
Our other activities in Oman included 3 days of rock climbing, playing in the waves of a deserted beach, visiting Jebel Shams (the Grand Canyon of Oman), and eating lots of good food! We got to climb over the ocean, do some great bolted routes in a small canyon, and explore some unclimbed rock in Salalah. Jason and I spent a day cleaning and setting 3 routes on rock that hadn't been climbed before--it's hard to find that in the U.S.! The canyon was very impressive and different from other canyons I'd seen. There are very few colors so each one seems crisper than if there were many. The distinct shades of brown and gray stand out against the blue sky. All of the Omanis we have met have been so welcoming and helpful! Many speak English so getting around hasn't been difficult, and we've definitely gotten to experience some Arab hospitality.
One of the best parts of Oman has been visiting with our friend Shannon from the U.S. She lives in Salalah and was the most generous hostess! She showed us the best parts of Oman, took us to great meals, and let us stay at her home with her. Thanks for everything Shannon!
Tomorrow we are heading to Dubai for a few days. The Burj Khalifa is one of the things we've been most excited to see along with the other architectural feats the city offers. We will also go to the first Taco Bell of the trip! It feels like it's winding down fast unfortunately, but I think the last 7 weeks in the Mid-East will be great!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
A Major Change of Place
As I write this I am enjoying my last day in India. Or, depending on preferences and priorities, my last day in a 5 Star hotel (which might be a more accurate description). In all seriousness, we do wish we could spend more time in India exploring the "small" towns (less than 10 million people, hah) but at this point in the trip I simply don't think Michelle and I have the patience and energy to tackle another country of this size and scope. 6 months ago we'd have dived right in, but now we're content to recharge our batteries in the Grand Hyatt and plan out the rest of the trip. And for the opportunity to do that we are infinitely thankful to my Dad for being able to meet us in this "Godforsaken Country" (his words, not ours)and letting us live the high life for a solid week. Thanks Dad- it's been an awesome week!
In a switch back to semi-normality, we head to Oman tonight. Oman doesn't have cheap backpacker hotels like we're used to (less than $10 a night) so we're going to have to stay in an actual hotel for a couple nights (closer to $70 a night). Yuk. That great news, however, is that we have a friend that currently resides in Oman who will be driving up to meet us in Muscat. We'll have a friendly face around, a means of transportation, and a ride back to the south of the country so we get to see a larger area. Plus, having a free place to stay for a short while never hurts!
Also, as you may notice, we've added yet another map to the right sidebar of this website. The amount of ground we've covered on the trip has gotten to be too large for one map, so we now have a map for everything up to India, and are starting a new one for all of the Middle East.
Well, Michelle wants to eat breakfast (go figure) so I guess this blog post is over. =)
In a switch back to semi-normality, we head to Oman tonight. Oman doesn't have cheap backpacker hotels like we're used to (less than $10 a night) so we're going to have to stay in an actual hotel for a couple nights (closer to $70 a night). Yuk. That great news, however, is that we have a friend that currently resides in Oman who will be driving up to meet us in Muscat. We'll have a friendly face around, a means of transportation, and a ride back to the south of the country so we get to see a larger area. Plus, having a free place to stay for a short while never hurts!
Also, as you may notice, we've added yet another map to the right sidebar of this website. The amount of ground we've covered on the trip has gotten to be too large for one map, so we now have a map for everything up to India, and are starting a new one for all of the Middle East.
Well, Michelle wants to eat breakfast (go figure) so I guess this blog post is over. =)
Friday, April 9, 2010
Not fun Stuff
For those of you who haven't heard, we got robbed. Nothing violent, we just had our backpack sitting on the floor between us at an internet cafe and it got snatched... no idea how one of us didn't notice. While it didn't have much money in it, it did have my passport and camera along with a few other small things. Losing the camera is heartbreaking, as it was terribly expensive, but at least we didn't' lose any pictures (they are all backed up on this site).
The fact that the passport was taken has just been a mess. We first had to file a police report. Then we went to the US Embassy and got a new temporary passport issued within a few hours. Then we went back to the Indian Consulate and got a new Indian Visa issued (thankfully it only took 1 day this time, as opposed to 11 like last time). It couldn't just be easy though... after all of the running around and paperwork, we ran into trouble because the Malaysian authorities won't let me leave the country without having an entry stamp (which was in the old passport). I needed to visit the Immigration Headquarters which is in an entirely different city about 30 minutes outside Kuala Lumpur, and because of their office hours, it simply wasn't possible to do it in time for my Friday flight 9am flight. As a result, we've had to change my flight to Saturday (yet again), and Michelle left on Friday (this morning). Since her passport wasn't stolen we would have had to pay to change her flight, but the airline pushed mine back for free, so we decided the best way to do it was to split up for a day. While she flew to India, I traversed the Malaysian Immigration system, which is essentially a nightmare in a building. But it should be done now (knock on wood!) so hopefully we will be rejoined at about this time tomorrow.
The fact that the passport was taken has just been a mess. We first had to file a police report. Then we went to the US Embassy and got a new temporary passport issued within a few hours. Then we went back to the Indian Consulate and got a new Indian Visa issued (thankfully it only took 1 day this time, as opposed to 11 like last time). It couldn't just be easy though... after all of the running around and paperwork, we ran into trouble because the Malaysian authorities won't let me leave the country without having an entry stamp (which was in the old passport). I needed to visit the Immigration Headquarters which is in an entirely different city about 30 minutes outside Kuala Lumpur, and because of their office hours, it simply wasn't possible to do it in time for my Friday flight 9am flight. As a result, we've had to change my flight to Saturday (yet again), and Michelle left on Friday (this morning). Since her passport wasn't stolen we would have had to pay to change her flight, but the airline pushed mine back for free, so we decided the best way to do it was to split up for a day. While she flew to India, I traversed the Malaysian Immigration system, which is essentially a nightmare in a building. But it should be done now (knock on wood!) so hopefully we will be rejoined at about this time tomorrow.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Trip Statisticals
We are still in Kuala Lumpur. Good news is, our Visa situation for India is worked out, my Dad is going to meet us in India for sure, we get to see Sri Lanka for a few hours on our layover, and we are flying out of here on Friday April 9th. Unfortunately we still have to hang around here all week, but we're finding ways to pass the time. For example last night, while we sat around enjoying Paul Blart: Mall Cop on HBO, we decided to compile some statistics on the trip so far. Here's what we've got (per person)
Miles - 23,000 (strait line distances on Google Earth - underestimate)
Flights - 11
Bus Rides - 42
Countries - 8
Hotels - 59
Boats - 15
Trains - 2
Times we've tried to kill each other - 47
Books Read - 20
Games of Rummy - 291 (154 wins for Jason, 137 for Michelle)
Pairs of Sunglasses lost - 5
Trips to Clinics - 11 (motorbike crash, dengue fever, rabies shots, stomach problems)
And there you have it, our trip in a nutshell.
Miles - 23,000 (strait line distances on Google Earth - underestimate)
Flights - 11
Bus Rides - 42
Countries - 8
Hotels - 59
Boats - 15
Trains - 2
Times we've tried to kill each other - 47
Books Read - 20
Games of Rummy - 291 (154 wins for Jason, 137 for Michelle)
Pairs of Sunglasses lost - 5
Trips to Clinics - 11 (motorbike crash, dengue fever, rabies shots, stomach problems)
And there you have it, our trip in a nutshell.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Quick Update
So we're in Kuala Lumpur, and we're waiting for our Indian Visa. We have no idea how long it will take... they told us "At least 5 business days, but possibly 2-3 business days," which doesn't even make sense. Anyway, while we've working on missing our flight to India we've also taken advantage of the good internet access and uploaded lots of pics. If you use the links on the right, all pictures have been uploaded in the Eastern Indonesia, Underwater Indonesia, and Malaysia folders. If you'd prefer to see the summarized version, just use the links below.
Singapore Pictures
Indonesia Pictures
Singapore Pictures
Indonesia Pictures
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
A Week in Paradise
The Togean Islands were nothing less! We spent about 9 days on the island of Kadidiri and stayed at a fantastic place called Black Marlin. We had our own little bungalow, fresh fish and veggies for all of our meals, and spectacular diving and snorkeling. Jason and I decided to take the course for our advanced scuba diving certification, and had an excellent instructor from California. We each did 6 dives, including a dive at night, a deep dive (100 ft!), and a wreck dive. There is a B-24 bomber that was shot down in 1945 in the area. The plane landed in tact on the water and floated for over an hour before sinking gently, so it is in great condition. We really enjoyed the dive to it, and Jason said it was one of his favorite dives so far. The deep dive was also very cool, and was probably my favorite of the trip. Being able to dive that deep is so exciting!! The night dive didn't go so great for me...I was scared! There was quite a strong current during it as well which didn't help, and I was just a bit uncomfortable with it. I completed the dive though, but I think I'll wait awhile to try another. When we weren't diving we were snorkeling and finding lots of eels, parrotfish, clownfish, sweetlips, and countless others along with beautiful corals. There were a few nights that we had fires on the beach, and we really enjoyed the other people that were staying at the hotel. I could have stayed much much longer! Jason was able to use an underwater camera for 2 of the dives and got some good pictures. We will be in Kuala Lumpur in a couple of days and hope to get our pictures updated there, including the ones from the previous blog post!
Tomorrow we leave Indonesia which is a bit sad. It is by FAR my favorite country on the trip. Easily has the best scenery, best wildlife, nicest people, most diversity, and we have so much more of the country to see! We have spent over 6 weeks here and it's not nearly enough. Anyone trying to figure out their next vacation should come here :) Tonight is our last night here, and we are going to try spicy dog meat! Tomorrow we fly to Kuala Lumpur and will be scrambling to get our visa for India. Then that will be all for Southeast Asia! We're excited to move on to another part of the world.
Tomorrow we leave Indonesia which is a bit sad. It is by FAR my favorite country on the trip. Easily has the best scenery, best wildlife, nicest people, most diversity, and we have so much more of the country to see! We have spent over 6 weeks here and it's not nearly enough. Anyone trying to figure out their next vacation should come here :) Tonight is our last night here, and we are going to try spicy dog meat! Tomorrow we fly to Kuala Lumpur and will be scrambling to get our visa for India. Then that will be all for Southeast Asia! We're excited to move on to another part of the world.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
I See Dead People
Yesterday was wild! We are in Tana Toraja in central Sulawesi and spent yesterday visiting a few villages. The Torajan people are really fascinating, particularly their funeral and burial customs. When a person dies they keep the body in their home for months while saving up money for elaborate funerals. They still talk with the person and sit and have tea with them. Most funerals are held during July and August and are huge events. After the funeral some bodies are put in tombs in cliffsides--they literally carve a grave out of the stone, which you can see in some of our pictures. Others are put in wood coffins and put inside caves, which you can also see in our pictures. We went in one cave that was quite large and filled with many dozens of coffins. Many had rotted and skulls and other loose bones were strewn about the ground. In one part many skulls had been meticulously placed on ledges right inside the entrance. Jason and I were the only ones in the cave at the time and our light wasn't working well, so it was a bit eery. Jason would use his camera flash to light up an area, and we could see glimpses of skulls and rotting wood and clothes every time the light went on--it reminded us both of a horror movie. As we stumbled through I didn't want to reach out and grab the rock for fear of grabbing a body! Outside of the caves they carve shelves into the rock where wooden effigies of the dead stand. They change the clothes on these statues regularly and place offerings beside the coffins (food, drinks, cigarettes, etc.). One of the caves smelled a bit, and we could tell there was a fresher body in there. It was fascinating to see all of it! Unfortunately there are no funerals while we are here so we don't get to see that. It's a really great place though, and there are virtually no tourists.
Tomorrow we are leaving here and heading to the Togean Islands! They are pretty remote islands with fantastic diving and snorkeling; we've been looking forward to going there for a very long time! We will probably spend at least a week there and won't have internet access, so we'll be unavailable for awhile. We're going to definitely do a few dives (hopefully see some sharks!), some snorkeling and swimming, and lots of relaxing. It should be a great time, and we'll update again when we're back to civilization!
P.S. Actually the pictures might not get up, so if they don't check back in a couple of weeks if you want to see the pictures of the graves!
Tomorrow we are leaving here and heading to the Togean Islands! They are pretty remote islands with fantastic diving and snorkeling; we've been looking forward to going there for a very long time! We will probably spend at least a week there and won't have internet access, so we'll be unavailable for awhile. We're going to definitely do a few dives (hopefully see some sharks!), some snorkeling and swimming, and lots of relaxing. It should be a great time, and we'll update again when we're back to civilization!
P.S. Actually the pictures might not get up, so if they don't check back in a couple of weeks if you want to see the pictures of the graves!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Java + Bali = Jolly
The last week or so has been a crash course of Indonesia. We left Singapore and headed to Jakarta, the capital of the country with 9 million people. It's a far cry from Singapore, but a lot cheaper. We got there late in the evening, and the next day went sightseeing. What we failed to realize, however, was that it was Muhammad’s birthday- let me tell you, a country with 200 million Muslims is not the place you want to be on that day. Oh well, it was an interesting experience... albeit a tad crowded. The next day we booked a train ticket for the 9 hour ride to Yogyakarta. We accidentally booked 'executive class', which was expensive, but man was it nice. Sure, there were people riding on the roof. And sure, most of the train was a crowded messy smoky mess. But we were in AC and extended-legroom-bliss, so we didn't mind in the least. In Yogyakarta we got a great deal on a hotel. $10/night goes a LONG way there, but we decided to forego the A/C and TV and get a nice pool instead. That may have been the best decision on the trip so far. The next couple of days were spent reading, swimming, and shopping at the many little markets in the area. Good fun!
This is where things got crazy. Our last morning in Yogya we got up at 7am to catch a supposedly 10 hour bus ride to the active Bromo Volcano. We got there at around 7:30 that night, exhausted. We got to bed at around 10:30, and then woke up at 3:30am and headed out on a morning trek to see the sunrise over the volcano. The experience ranks as one of the coolest natural things I’ve ever seen, but man, we were tired. After getting back at about 8:30am we took a 2 hour nap, grabbed a lunch (which wasn’t very good) and jumped on another bus, this time headed to Bali. It’s a long ride, followed by a ferry ride, followed by another long ride. We were nudged out of our not-quite-awake but still can’t sleep mode (typical of bus rides) at 3:30am, and dropped off at a bus station in Bali. We had no idea where we were or where to go, so we got a taxi to take us 30min to the tourist area. Finding hotels in Vietnam was fun. You get to scout out the area you are going to stay and find a good deal. Over 5 months into our trip, the thrill is dissipating. At 4am, the thrill is absolutely gone, especially with drunken tourists and prostitutes roaming about. To be fair, the prostitutes were somewhat helpful on nice places to stay, but I digress. After a few crummy hours of sleep we got up to our first day in Bali. We both sincerely apologize to anyone we spoke to that day. We were grumpy, and may have sounded unappreciative or simply pissed off. We were both, and tired.
Anyhow, flash foreword to today, and Bali is great. We’ve been here a couple of days now and have done some shopping, eaten great food, laid at the beach, and went surfing (with only minor injuries MICHELLE). Tomorrow we’ve got a 7am flight to the remote island of Sulawesi, for one of the most adventurous parts of our entire trip. We can’t wait!
Pics of all this should be pretty much uploaded by now.
This is where things got crazy. Our last morning in Yogya we got up at 7am to catch a supposedly 10 hour bus ride to the active Bromo Volcano. We got there at around 7:30 that night, exhausted. We got to bed at around 10:30, and then woke up at 3:30am and headed out on a morning trek to see the sunrise over the volcano. The experience ranks as one of the coolest natural things I’ve ever seen, but man, we were tired. After getting back at about 8:30am we took a 2 hour nap, grabbed a lunch (which wasn’t very good) and jumped on another bus, this time headed to Bali. It’s a long ride, followed by a ferry ride, followed by another long ride. We were nudged out of our not-quite-awake but still can’t sleep mode (typical of bus rides) at 3:30am, and dropped off at a bus station in Bali. We had no idea where we were or where to go, so we got a taxi to take us 30min to the tourist area. Finding hotels in Vietnam was fun. You get to scout out the area you are going to stay and find a good deal. Over 5 months into our trip, the thrill is dissipating. At 4am, the thrill is absolutely gone, especially with drunken tourists and prostitutes roaming about. To be fair, the prostitutes were somewhat helpful on nice places to stay, but I digress. After a few crummy hours of sleep we got up to our first day in Bali. We both sincerely apologize to anyone we spoke to that day. We were grumpy, and may have sounded unappreciative or simply pissed off. We were both, and tired.
Anyhow, flash foreword to today, and Bali is great. We’ve been here a couple of days now and have done some shopping, eaten great food, laid at the beach, and went surfing (with only minor injuries MICHELLE). Tomorrow we’ve got a 7am flight to the remote island of Sulawesi, for one of the most adventurous parts of our entire trip. We can’t wait!
Pics of all this should be pretty much uploaded by now.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Singapore and a crappy airline
Singapore is awesome.
That's pretty much the best way to put it. Other fitting descriptors would be 'expensive', 'ultra-modern', or 'fascinating'... but 'awesome' probably best encompasses all of those things. We showed up a couple of days ago and found a nice and relatively affordable hotel with modern amenities like a flat screen TV, A/C, and hot water... the first time we've had any of those things in 2 months. The 'MRT', which is Singapore's subway system, is cheap, fast, and made for easy transportation all over the city. Our first night we just hung around Little India and enjoyed the urban environment. The next day we met a friend of Michelle's Aunt and Uncle that took us to see her home on Sentosa Island, and then to what was indisputably the best meal of the entire trip. After lunch we went to the local aquarium, which was another awesome experience (Thanks again Bonnie!!) The next couple of days were spent checking out the waterfront areas, strolling the nice tourist areas and side streets, and taking a great city tour. The whole experience was awesome, and Singapore has beaten Bangkok for the best city on the trip so far.
One of the most interesting things about this place, at least to me, is how successful it is without having conformed to the rules that most western countries conform to. It is thoroughly modern, with all the amenities found in Europe and the US. It has a welfare system, subsidized housing for the poor, one of the most free economies in the world, and an average income per-capita of $50,000... all signs of a thriving State. Politically, however, it's a very intense single party system that has virtually no opposition. There is very little political freedom, nor has there ever been, and Singapore is notorious for it's odd practices like public canings and huge fees for seemingly arbitrary acts (sitting in the back of a truck with your head to high, carrying durian (a type of fruit) on the subway, etc). $1000 seems to be a pretty common fee amount for almost anything and consequently crime is absolutely non-existent. But what's great about the whole system is that it really works. Everyone seems happy, the streets are clean and crime free, and nobody seems to mind a little less political freedom when more tangible benefits such as health, safety, and money are easy to come by. Funny how that works. The city seems to be a great example of the 'other' way to become successful.
In other news, our flights got screwed up. Air Asia took the liberty of canceling our flight to the Middle East (not just the flight, but service to the entire area). Since we already have our flights within the Middle East (and home) booked, we have to go there... and our biggest flight into that area was of course the one that got canceled. Flights from Malaysia to Dubai are ridiculously expensive, so the entire ordeal will cost us a descent amount of money. On the plus side, however, we found that the cheapest way to get over there is to take a small budget flight from Malaysia to India, then make our way by land to Mumbai and fly from there to Oman. This method will save hundreds of dollars in flights, and we also get to go to India, which we wanted to do anyway. Exciting!
Finally, all pictures are up. Indonesia (Sumatra) is completely up to date, and all our pictures from Singapore are up too.
That's pretty much the best way to put it. Other fitting descriptors would be 'expensive', 'ultra-modern', or 'fascinating'... but 'awesome' probably best encompasses all of those things. We showed up a couple of days ago and found a nice and relatively affordable hotel with modern amenities like a flat screen TV, A/C, and hot water... the first time we've had any of those things in 2 months. The 'MRT', which is Singapore's subway system, is cheap, fast, and made for easy transportation all over the city. Our first night we just hung around Little India and enjoyed the urban environment. The next day we met a friend of Michelle's Aunt and Uncle that took us to see her home on Sentosa Island, and then to what was indisputably the best meal of the entire trip. After lunch we went to the local aquarium, which was another awesome experience (Thanks again Bonnie!!) The next couple of days were spent checking out the waterfront areas, strolling the nice tourist areas and side streets, and taking a great city tour. The whole experience was awesome, and Singapore has beaten Bangkok for the best city on the trip so far.
One of the most interesting things about this place, at least to me, is how successful it is without having conformed to the rules that most western countries conform to. It is thoroughly modern, with all the amenities found in Europe and the US. It has a welfare system, subsidized housing for the poor, one of the most free economies in the world, and an average income per-capita of $50,000... all signs of a thriving State. Politically, however, it's a very intense single party system that has virtually no opposition. There is very little political freedom, nor has there ever been, and Singapore is notorious for it's odd practices like public canings and huge fees for seemingly arbitrary acts (sitting in the back of a truck with your head to high, carrying durian (a type of fruit) on the subway, etc). $1000 seems to be a pretty common fee amount for almost anything and consequently crime is absolutely non-existent. But what's great about the whole system is that it really works. Everyone seems happy, the streets are clean and crime free, and nobody seems to mind a little less political freedom when more tangible benefits such as health, safety, and money are easy to come by. Funny how that works. The city seems to be a great example of the 'other' way to become successful.
In other news, our flights got screwed up. Air Asia took the liberty of canceling our flight to the Middle East (not just the flight, but service to the entire area). Since we already have our flights within the Middle East (and home) booked, we have to go there... and our biggest flight into that area was of course the one that got canceled. Flights from Malaysia to Dubai are ridiculously expensive, so the entire ordeal will cost us a descent amount of money. On the plus side, however, we found that the cheapest way to get over there is to take a small budget flight from Malaysia to India, then make our way by land to Mumbai and fly from there to Oman. This method will save hundreds of dollars in flights, and we also get to go to India, which we wanted to do anyway. Exciting!
Finally, all pictures are up. Indonesia (Sumatra) is completely up to date, and all our pictures from Singapore are up too.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Adventures while Jason was Sick
Today we arrived in Singapore! I've been really excited to come here because my Uncle Bill and Aunt Lucy used to live here, and I've been hearing about it since I was very young. We are staying in Little India and haven't gotten to do much yet, but tomorrow are meeting with a friend of my aunt's who is going to show us around a bit. It should be a nice treat!
It was a bit sad to leave Sumatra--probably the hardest it has been to leave any place so far. We spent our last few days at Lake Maninjau, which is another crater lake. Unfortunately, Jason was sick the whole time so we didn't do very much. However, we had a cabin with a porch less than 20 feet from the water, so it's not a bad place to just sit. And it rained a LOT. It definitely made up for the 2 1/2 months that we didn't see a drop. Bingo, the man who owned the homestay, was wonderful! I enjoyed some nice conversations with him, and got to use the kitchen and cook with him a bit. One day I decided to occupy myself by going to town and getting ingredients to make chicken quesadillas while Jason rested. Iwan, one of the guys who worked at the homestay, offered to take me on the motorbike and help me get what I needed, and we had a great time driving around. We stopped and got vegetables and fruit, and then I said I needed chicken. Iwan took me to the home of an older couple and we walked around back to the large chicken coop. I figured they raised the chickens and kept the already prepared ones in their home, but Iwan told me, "You can choose your chicken." I couldn't bring myself to choose which chicken would be my dinner so I let the old woman pick one, and watched as she slit its throat over a sack her husband held. The sack became red as the chicken flopped around, and after a few minutes it was still. I almost lost it when they took the bloody chicken out--until a few months ago I didn't eat meat and this was a bit much for me! Fortunately she skinned it for me and put it in a plastic bag. We ate it less than 2 hours after it was killed--probably the freshest chicken I've ever had! Slightly traumatic but an interesting experience--Jason was disappointed he missed it.
Last night we encountered our first unpleasant Indonesian. We took a long and chaotic bus ride to Pekanbaru, which is where we flew out of this morning. Apparently we reached an area where almost no one knew English, and took about 30 minutes trying to convey we wanted to go to a hotel. We finally got a cabdriver who could take us there--he didn't speak a word of English but was very nice and took us to a hotel and then to KFC. The meter on the cab had been running the whole time, but when we came out of KFC we noticed it had been turned off. When we reached the hotel I handed him 50,000 rupiah, which is what the fare should have been based on the meter (a little over $5 US.) He shook his head at me and said he wanted 150,000! I shook my head and tried to hand him the correct amount again. He became quite agitated and slammed his wallet down on the roof of his car. Jason and I walked toward our hotel and fortunately the owner, who spoke good English, came out. We explained the situation and he spoke to the cab driver and told us we were right, but the cab driver refused to leave. He came to our door and continued to demand more money. Jason offered another 10,000 and he wouldn't take it. After about 15 minutes of talking with him and the owner, Jason said he would give him 20,000 more, but if he wouldn't take it he was closing the door and eating dinner. The guy finally accepted and Jason handed him the money with his hand out to shake it. The cab driver grabbed the money and yanked on Jason's arm. I probably would have hit him, but Jason only lost his temper a little and called him a bad word in English. Apparently he used the one English word the guy knew, because he lunged at him. Fortunately the owner was between them and ushered the guy out. Other than him we've only encountered wonderful people! Sumatra is the place, more than any on the trip, that I wish everyone I know could see. I guess that's part of why it's so great though, there are so few tourists there.
The next month is going to move rather quickly--we only have a few days here, then fly to Jakarta to work our way through Eastern Indonesia. We are working on putting pictures up now that include orangutans from our trek and both of the lakes. Jason is fortunately feeling much better and we're hoping for good health for awhile! It's difficult to stay healthy out here, we're always eating weird things.
It was a bit sad to leave Sumatra--probably the hardest it has been to leave any place so far. We spent our last few days at Lake Maninjau, which is another crater lake. Unfortunately, Jason was sick the whole time so we didn't do very much. However, we had a cabin with a porch less than 20 feet from the water, so it's not a bad place to just sit. And it rained a LOT. It definitely made up for the 2 1/2 months that we didn't see a drop. Bingo, the man who owned the homestay, was wonderful! I enjoyed some nice conversations with him, and got to use the kitchen and cook with him a bit. One day I decided to occupy myself by going to town and getting ingredients to make chicken quesadillas while Jason rested. Iwan, one of the guys who worked at the homestay, offered to take me on the motorbike and help me get what I needed, and we had a great time driving around. We stopped and got vegetables and fruit, and then I said I needed chicken. Iwan took me to the home of an older couple and we walked around back to the large chicken coop. I figured they raised the chickens and kept the already prepared ones in their home, but Iwan told me, "You can choose your chicken." I couldn't bring myself to choose which chicken would be my dinner so I let the old woman pick one, and watched as she slit its throat over a sack her husband held. The sack became red as the chicken flopped around, and after a few minutes it was still. I almost lost it when they took the bloody chicken out--until a few months ago I didn't eat meat and this was a bit much for me! Fortunately she skinned it for me and put it in a plastic bag. We ate it less than 2 hours after it was killed--probably the freshest chicken I've ever had! Slightly traumatic but an interesting experience--Jason was disappointed he missed it.
Last night we encountered our first unpleasant Indonesian. We took a long and chaotic bus ride to Pekanbaru, which is where we flew out of this morning. Apparently we reached an area where almost no one knew English, and took about 30 minutes trying to convey we wanted to go to a hotel. We finally got a cabdriver who could take us there--he didn't speak a word of English but was very nice and took us to a hotel and then to KFC. The meter on the cab had been running the whole time, but when we came out of KFC we noticed it had been turned off. When we reached the hotel I handed him 50,000 rupiah, which is what the fare should have been based on the meter (a little over $5 US.) He shook his head at me and said he wanted 150,000! I shook my head and tried to hand him the correct amount again. He became quite agitated and slammed his wallet down on the roof of his car. Jason and I walked toward our hotel and fortunately the owner, who spoke good English, came out. We explained the situation and he spoke to the cab driver and told us we were right, but the cab driver refused to leave. He came to our door and continued to demand more money. Jason offered another 10,000 and he wouldn't take it. After about 15 minutes of talking with him and the owner, Jason said he would give him 20,000 more, but if he wouldn't take it he was closing the door and eating dinner. The guy finally accepted and Jason handed him the money with his hand out to shake it. The cab driver grabbed the money and yanked on Jason's arm. I probably would have hit him, but Jason only lost his temper a little and called him a bad word in English. Apparently he used the one English word the guy knew, because he lunged at him. Fortunately the owner was between them and ushered the guy out. Other than him we've only encountered wonderful people! Sumatra is the place, more than any on the trip, that I wish everyone I know could see. I guess that's part of why it's so great though, there are so few tourists there.
The next month is going to move rather quickly--we only have a few days here, then fly to Jakarta to work our way through Eastern Indonesia. We are working on putting pictures up now that include orangutans from our trek and both of the lakes. Jason is fortunately feeling much better and we're hoping for good health for awhile! It's difficult to stay healthy out here, we're always eating weird things.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Welcome to the Jungle
We've been in Indonesia for almost a week now, and it's been one of the best of the trip! From the moment we walked off the plane we have encountered the kindest people of the whole trip. Even the immigration officials in the airport were welcoming! We spent our first 2 nights in Medan, which is the 3rd largest city in the country. Many people and the guidebook described it as too chaotic and haven't enjoyed it, but we liked Medan quite a bit. Everyone on the street was saying hello to us and wanted to know where we were from. We hardly saw another foreigner there.
While there we gathered some info on Bukit Lawang, which is the small town on the edge of Gunung Leuser National Park. This is one of 2 places left in the world where orangutans live in the wild, and there is also a wildlife center to help rehabilitate them. We chose a 2 day/1 night trek into the jungle that included rafting down the river the second day. The trek was the best we've ever done!! On the first day we saw 5 orangutans including 2 babies, and got to watch them for quite awhile. It was an extraordinary experience to be so close to them in the wild rather than just seeing them in a zoo. We also saw Thomas Leaf Monkeys. That night when we reached camp it started to rain a bit, and immediately 3 Monitor Lizards came out. They're huge! This was the first rain we'd seen since November 16th and was really refreshing! We spent the night under a tarp on the ground but slept great. The next day we were fortunate to see some black gibbons (a kind of monkey) which we were also quite close to. At the end of the trek we tubed down the rapids of the river in inner-tubes tied together. The trek was quite hard and I was clearly not in shape for it, but seeing the animals and being in a real rain forest was really incredible! The humidity in the jungle was unbelievable, as Jason said it felt like you were taking a drink with every breath. It made breathing a bit hard at times (or maybe I'm just that out of shape!).
Now we are in Danau Toba (Lake Toba), which is a huge crater lake with an island the size of Singapore in the middle. We are staying on the island and it's lovely! Last night we stayed in our cheapest room yet--$2.50 for the two of us, and it was quite clean and nice! The owner of our hotel is so friendly and hospitable, it's a nice change from a lot of what we've encountered in other countries. We will probably rent a motorbike one day and travel around the island, do some swimming and hiking, and lots of relaxing! It will be our first motorbike encounter since the crash at the beginning of the trip, but we'll be careful and the conditions will be better! It's so green and beautiful here, hopefully we can get some pictures that capture it. Internet is quite slow so our pictures from the trek may not be posted for a bit.
Unfortunately we only have about 10 more days on Sumatra (the island of Indonesia that we're on). I think we could spend a lot more time here, it's my favorite place so far on the whole trip. From here we will spend a few days in Singapore and then fly to Jakarta and head through Eastern Indonesia. I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the country is like!
While there we gathered some info on Bukit Lawang, which is the small town on the edge of Gunung Leuser National Park. This is one of 2 places left in the world where orangutans live in the wild, and there is also a wildlife center to help rehabilitate them. We chose a 2 day/1 night trek into the jungle that included rafting down the river the second day. The trek was the best we've ever done!! On the first day we saw 5 orangutans including 2 babies, and got to watch them for quite awhile. It was an extraordinary experience to be so close to them in the wild rather than just seeing them in a zoo. We also saw Thomas Leaf Monkeys. That night when we reached camp it started to rain a bit, and immediately 3 Monitor Lizards came out. They're huge! This was the first rain we'd seen since November 16th and was really refreshing! We spent the night under a tarp on the ground but slept great. The next day we were fortunate to see some black gibbons (a kind of monkey) which we were also quite close to. At the end of the trek we tubed down the rapids of the river in inner-tubes tied together. The trek was quite hard and I was clearly not in shape for it, but seeing the animals and being in a real rain forest was really incredible! The humidity in the jungle was unbelievable, as Jason said it felt like you were taking a drink with every breath. It made breathing a bit hard at times (or maybe I'm just that out of shape!).
Now we are in Danau Toba (Lake Toba), which is a huge crater lake with an island the size of Singapore in the middle. We are staying on the island and it's lovely! Last night we stayed in our cheapest room yet--$2.50 for the two of us, and it was quite clean and nice! The owner of our hotel is so friendly and hospitable, it's a nice change from a lot of what we've encountered in other countries. We will probably rent a motorbike one day and travel around the island, do some swimming and hiking, and lots of relaxing! It will be our first motorbike encounter since the crash at the beginning of the trip, but we'll be careful and the conditions will be better! It's so green and beautiful here, hopefully we can get some pictures that capture it. Internet is quite slow so our pictures from the trek may not be posted for a bit.
Unfortunately we only have about 10 more days on Sumatra (the island of Indonesia that we're on). I think we could spend a lot more time here, it's my favorite place so far on the whole trip. From here we will spend a few days in Singapore and then fly to Jakarta and head through Eastern Indonesia. I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the country is like!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Departing Thailand, Arriving Indonesia
Well it's about time to leave Thailand. We've been here 3 separate times now, totaling around 40 days, and we're ready to move on. The last few weeks have been spent in typical southern Thai fashion- on the beach. It tops 90 degrees everyday even during this (the cold part of the year) and the water temperature is perfect. The beaches were great, and we're super glad we came, but the sheer number of tourists here is a bit aggravating. Things are consequently more expensive, and the Thais in general have a tendency to try and rip tourists off. We were outright lied too on multiple occasions in an attempt to get extra money out of us- it worked the first time and the first time only.
Anyway, we spent the first 6 days on Ko Lanta, a beautiful little island with a very laid back feel. We didn't do much. We were told there wasn't any snorkeling off the beach (an attempt to get us to buy a snorkeling package offshore), but we went exploring anyway and found, among other things, thousands of fish, coral, 2 puffer fish, crabs, and best of all a gorgeous spotted moral eel. Not bad for there not being anything to see.
After 6 nights on Lanta, we moved to Railay. Railay isn't exactly an island in the traditional sense. It's actually a peninsula, but the part of it connected to the mainland is 100% blocked off by limestone cliffs, so everything has to be brought in by boat and it's just as isolated as an island would be. We chose to go to Railay because it has world-class rock climbing, and we spent a full day climbing routes and then quite a bit more time bouldering. It was a blast, and the only place we've been climbing where you see world class beaches and beautiful oceans from the top of a climb.
We are in Phuket, Thailand right now and we fly to Medan, Indonesia (Sumatra) tomorrow. Volcanoes, crater lakes, orangutans and lush rain forests (not to mention very few tourists) await, so we are looking forward to it!
The itinerary on this page has been updated through the end of the trip, and all pictures thus far have been uploaded. Also, I got a pretty good reaction out of the pictures last time, so here is a link to the 'select' pictures from Thailand in an easy-to-view form.
Pictures from Thailand
Thanks for reading!
Anyway, we spent the first 6 days on Ko Lanta, a beautiful little island with a very laid back feel. We didn't do much. We were told there wasn't any snorkeling off the beach (an attempt to get us to buy a snorkeling package offshore), but we went exploring anyway and found, among other things, thousands of fish, coral, 2 puffer fish, crabs, and best of all a gorgeous spotted moral eel. Not bad for there not being anything to see.
After 6 nights on Lanta, we moved to Railay. Railay isn't exactly an island in the traditional sense. It's actually a peninsula, but the part of it connected to the mainland is 100% blocked off by limestone cliffs, so everything has to be brought in by boat and it's just as isolated as an island would be. We chose to go to Railay because it has world-class rock climbing, and we spent a full day climbing routes and then quite a bit more time bouldering. It was a blast, and the only place we've been climbing where you see world class beaches and beautiful oceans from the top of a climb.
We are in Phuket, Thailand right now and we fly to Medan, Indonesia (Sumatra) tomorrow. Volcanoes, crater lakes, orangutans and lush rain forests (not to mention very few tourists) await, so we are looking forward to it!
The itinerary on this page has been updated through the end of the trip, and all pictures thus far have been uploaded. Also, I got a pretty good reaction out of the pictures last time, so here is a link to the 'select' pictures from Thailand in an easy-to-view form.
Pictures from Thailand
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Big News!!
Well, we finally finalized the rest of our trip plans! We'll spend the next few months in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia as planned. Then on April 11 we are flying to Abu Dhabi, UAE. We'll travel there and to Oman, then fly from Dubai to Amman, Jordan. From there we'll travel Jordan, Israel, and Egypt, then fly to New York from Cairo on June 16! A big change in the itinerary but we're really excited about it, and all of our tickets are booked so it's a done deal! This will make the trip about 9 months which I think will be a good length for both of us. Right now we're on the beach in Koh Lanta, Thailand, and have spent the last couple of days snorkeling, so not too shabby! Thanks for everyone's compliments on the blog and pictures, glad everyone is enjoying them!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Picture Update
As I mentioned in the post yesterday, I've put together an easier-to-view version of all our Myanmar pics. I put up about 150 (down from 600) pictures in an album on Facebook; they should be easier to view, faster to load, and you don't need a Facebook account to see them. Just use the link below- thanks!
Click here for pics
Click here for pics
Saturday, January 16, 2010
annnd... we're back!
Hello everyone! It's been quite awhile since we last updated. My apologies for the delay, we've heard reports of lots of people asking where we've been. We appreciate that! The reason for no blog updates is that we've been in Myanmar, and the government of that country does an exceedingly good job of blocking foreign websites/influences within their borders. Our blog was blocked, as were all blogs, so we simply couldn't do anything. E-mail access was sporadic... gmail worked in quite a few places, but hotmail rarely worked at all and only by accessing via a certain roundabout web address. Anyway, despite that, Myanmar was truly amazing- one of those places that is very unlike anywhere else. There are an infinite number of little oddities that can only arrise in a country blocked and sanctioned by the entire international world.
Our adventure started right as we arrived, when we realized that their money system is seriously screwed up. Hotels take US Dollars and US dollars only. Restaurants and most (but not all) other services only take Kyat (local currency, pronounced chee-it). There are no ATM's in the entire country, and banks can't give money out of US banks because they are sanctioned by us (I had no access to my Chase or Bank of America accounts online, either). We knew those facts in advance and brought a lot of US$, but changing money was a pain. The main reason? The bills must be perfect. Any American money most be absolutly flawless or no one will take it at all, even currency traders in the banks. A scratch, a pinprick, dirt, even a barely noticable crease and they will be turned down flat, and they scrutinize every single bill you have. All banks are government owned, so we assume this is a government rule. To spend the US$, they would have to change or filter it in a relatively friendly country like China, who is probably very aware of counterfeit money. It's quite amazing to pay for something with a near perfect $100 bill (over a months wages for most Myanmar citizens, easy) and have it turned down. What makes it even more ridiculous is that Kyat is hands down the most worn down, nasty currency I've ever seen. Bills are ragged, torn, covered in tape, and often not worth the paper their printed on.
Another of the more constant menaces in the entire country was the lack of consistent power. If one sound will stay in my memory from the trip, it will be the omnipresent sound of diesel generators. Yangon (the capital) is a city of over 5 million people, and yet power is sporadic at best, probably adding up to around 5 hours a day. Standing on the roof of a huge city and looking out over a pitch black city is an eerie site, perfectly illustrating the incompetance and idiocy of the Burmese military government. Truly sad.
From the perspective of the government, the entire country is merely a company: a means of profit. The government was directly involved in all production. I'm not talking about subtle guidance of vital industries, but directly creating goods in an attempt to drive the compeition out of business. Water, beer, jelly, transportation, hotels... virtually any industry or sector of the econmy is dominated by the government, and taxes on private enterprise are so high as to make most competition fold immediatly. We talked (very privately) with many people who mentioned this to us, including an artist on the street who was trying to sell paintings without having bought a ridiculously expensive liscense (he said they would take his motorbike and paintings if he were caught, which is nearly all of his worldly posessions). The taxes on hotels are so high that only a few can afford to be open, as they have to stay at near full capacity to make any money. This made finding a not fully booked hotel a pain, despite the fact that there were virtually no tourists.
All this makes Myanmar and the Burmese government sound terrible. Well, the government is terrible, but the country itself was amazing. The people were probably the nicest group of folks we've ever met. The scenery was absolutly fantastic; the 4000+ temples of Bagan may be one of the most impressive sights I've ever seen. In fact, Michelle and I both agree that it was far more impressive than the already magnificent Angkor Wat we saw a couple months ago. We visited Inle Lake, a beautiful body of water hemmed in by mountains, where the locals live on stilted houses over the water, miles from any shore. They make their living fishing, and occasionally selling goods to any tourists that manage to make it all the way out there. We bought some cool stuff! All over the country we had many in depth conversations and interesting experiences with the locals, including monks that gave us personal tours with no interest in money and lunch provided by monestaries and meditation centers simple because we came by. Even the powerless, dirty cities of Mandalay and Yangon were great because of how different they are from any other city we've ever seen (or are likely to anytime soon).
I can't really describe how pretty some of these places are, and I can't describe the atmosphere the whole country had. Because of that, I won't say any more, I just hope my pictures can do a slightly better job of showing how great of a country Myanmar is (and can be). We took and kept 600 shots, which I split up between 2 folders that you'll see to the right. I'm in the process of uploading them right now. I know most people have neither the time nor the interest to sort through 600 pics, so in the next day or so I'm going to take a much smaller selection of my best pictures and put them up seperately and in an easier to see way. I'll post again with the link to that when it's ready! In the mean time, if anyone wants to know anything about the country, our trip there, or anything at all,. feel free to comment on this! We'll respond, I promise.
We're in Bangkok right now, and tomorrow we are heading south to the famed beaches of the area for snorkeling, lazing around, and rock climbing over some crystal clear waters. Not bad for January, not bad at all.
Our adventure started right as we arrived, when we realized that their money system is seriously screwed up. Hotels take US Dollars and US dollars only. Restaurants and most (but not all) other services only take Kyat (local currency, pronounced chee-it). There are no ATM's in the entire country, and banks can't give money out of US banks because they are sanctioned by us (I had no access to my Chase or Bank of America accounts online, either). We knew those facts in advance and brought a lot of US$, but changing money was a pain. The main reason? The bills must be perfect. Any American money most be absolutly flawless or no one will take it at all, even currency traders in the banks. A scratch, a pinprick, dirt, even a barely noticable crease and they will be turned down flat, and they scrutinize every single bill you have. All banks are government owned, so we assume this is a government rule. To spend the US$, they would have to change or filter it in a relatively friendly country like China, who is probably very aware of counterfeit money. It's quite amazing to pay for something with a near perfect $100 bill (over a months wages for most Myanmar citizens, easy) and have it turned down. What makes it even more ridiculous is that Kyat is hands down the most worn down, nasty currency I've ever seen. Bills are ragged, torn, covered in tape, and often not worth the paper their printed on.
Another of the more constant menaces in the entire country was the lack of consistent power. If one sound will stay in my memory from the trip, it will be the omnipresent sound of diesel generators. Yangon (the capital) is a city of over 5 million people, and yet power is sporadic at best, probably adding up to around 5 hours a day. Standing on the roof of a huge city and looking out over a pitch black city is an eerie site, perfectly illustrating the incompetance and idiocy of the Burmese military government. Truly sad.
From the perspective of the government, the entire country is merely a company: a means of profit. The government was directly involved in all production. I'm not talking about subtle guidance of vital industries, but directly creating goods in an attempt to drive the compeition out of business. Water, beer, jelly, transportation, hotels... virtually any industry or sector of the econmy is dominated by the government, and taxes on private enterprise are so high as to make most competition fold immediatly. We talked (very privately) with many people who mentioned this to us, including an artist on the street who was trying to sell paintings without having bought a ridiculously expensive liscense (he said they would take his motorbike and paintings if he were caught, which is nearly all of his worldly posessions). The taxes on hotels are so high that only a few can afford to be open, as they have to stay at near full capacity to make any money. This made finding a not fully booked hotel a pain, despite the fact that there were virtually no tourists.
All this makes Myanmar and the Burmese government sound terrible. Well, the government is terrible, but the country itself was amazing. The people were probably the nicest group of folks we've ever met. The scenery was absolutly fantastic; the 4000+ temples of Bagan may be one of the most impressive sights I've ever seen. In fact, Michelle and I both agree that it was far more impressive than the already magnificent Angkor Wat we saw a couple months ago. We visited Inle Lake, a beautiful body of water hemmed in by mountains, where the locals live on stilted houses over the water, miles from any shore. They make their living fishing, and occasionally selling goods to any tourists that manage to make it all the way out there. We bought some cool stuff! All over the country we had many in depth conversations and interesting experiences with the locals, including monks that gave us personal tours with no interest in money and lunch provided by monestaries and meditation centers simple because we came by. Even the powerless, dirty cities of Mandalay and Yangon were great because of how different they are from any other city we've ever seen (or are likely to anytime soon).
I can't really describe how pretty some of these places are, and I can't describe the atmosphere the whole country had. Because of that, I won't say any more, I just hope my pictures can do a slightly better job of showing how great of a country Myanmar is (and can be). We took and kept 600 shots, which I split up between 2 folders that you'll see to the right. I'm in the process of uploading them right now. I know most people have neither the time nor the interest to sort through 600 pics, so in the next day or so I'm going to take a much smaller selection of my best pictures and put them up seperately and in an easier to see way. I'll post again with the link to that when it's ready! In the mean time, if anyone wants to know anything about the country, our trip there, or anything at all,. feel free to comment on this! We'll respond, I promise.
We're in Bangkok right now, and tomorrow we are heading south to the famed beaches of the area for snorkeling, lazing around, and rock climbing over some crystal clear waters. Not bad for January, not bad at all.
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