Angwin, California - May 5th

 

We are home!! 

 

NEW ARGENTINA PHOTOS POSTED 

 

Puerto Iguazu, Argentina - May 2nd

  Well folks, this is it.  Next time you hear from us we will be back in beautiful California.  Our trip has been amazing and we are ending with a bang here with the Iguazu Falls.  There are over 50 waterfalls in one place surrounded by rainforest.  Yesterday we spent many hours walking jungle paths to see the falls from all angles.  It was spectacular.  The roar of the falling water was deafening and we were soaked by the spray.  It started to rain in the early afternoon, which made the experience more special, not to mention more wet.

   We are looking forward to our return and to seeing familiar faces.  Thanks for tuning in and we´ll see you soon.

 

 

Buenos Aires, Argentina - April 26th
     Wow, this city is a bit of a shock after a peaceful week in the Andes.  We suddenly find ourselves surrounded by loud noise, big buildings, crowds of stylish people, and tons of traffic instead of the sounds of nature, beautiful mountains, llamas, and relaxed locals.  The buses here have to be the loudest in the world.  Our hotel is located on a street corner so we can hear the monsters roaring (and gasping and squeaking) by all hours of the day and night.
     Yesterday we went for a long walk around Buenos Aires and kept forgetting that we were in South America.  It felt like a mix of big US and European cities, very cosmopolitan and fast paced.  We tried to visit the Vatican Embassy, which came highly recommended, but it was closed.  The caretaker, a very sweat old man, explained in Spanish that it would not be open again (I´m not sure if he meant ever or just for the next few weeks) he didn´t say why.  However, he did open the front door and give us a quick peak.  We left with only a brief impression of grandeur. The caretaker then showed us out and shook his head sadly, telling us apologetically that it was beautiful.
     We did get to wander through the cemetery where Eva Peron´s crypt is located.  It was full of fantastic monuments in varying stages of disrepair as well as a multitude of stray cats lounging around.  Afterwards we headed back to our hotel on one of the most crowed subways I have ever been on.  We stumbled in and headed for bed, just as everyone else headed out for a night of fun.

 

 

Cuzco, Peru - April 20th

    So far Peru has been pretty spectacular.  We landed in Lima, but only spent one night there before flying to Cuzco and the Sacred Valley, located high in the Andes Mountains.  It took us a few days to adjust to the altitude.  Mostly we felt tired and got winded climbing even a small flight of steps.  Of course just being surrounded by such majestic mountains can take your breath away, never mind the thin air.  We built up our strength tackling some of the smaller Inca ruins in the towns of Pisaq and Ollantaytambo (try saying that one three times fast).
     My mother decided to join us for the last few weeks of our trip and we are enjoying her company ememsely.  We have noticed that she has slightly higher standards and is somewhat perturbed by things like dirty rooms, unchanged sheets, and mangy dogs wandering through restaurants.  Or maybe traveling for so long has lowered Colin and my standards to the point of nonexistence.  I´m not sure if it is a good thing or not.
     The locals have been very nice and friendly.  Our Spanish is getting better daily and we can actually understand what people are saying.  This is a great improvement to other countries where we never got much past ´hello´ and ´thank you´.  It does mean that people try harder to sell us things since we can´t pretend to have no idea what they want. 
Many of the villages still wear traditional dress. The women are especially colorful in their bright skirts and shawls.  The food is nothing amazing, but there is plenty of it.  Rice, corn and potatoes (we found out form one woman that there are over 5000 varieties!) are the staples and make up the majority of our meals. 
     Yesterday we went to visit Machu Picchu.  This meant getting up at 4:30am to catch the train to the town of Aguas Calientes then getting on a bus that wound its way up to the famous Inca ruins.  The city was impressive and I have no idea how the Incas managed to build it.  Many of the stones are cut so exactly that you can´t even slip a piece of paper between them.  The best part of our day was hiking up Waynapicchu, the peak overlooking Machu Picchu.  The path was steep and tested both our legs and our lungs.  However, the spectacular view was well worth it (as you will be able to see once we get our pictures up).
 

 

NEW ROME AND DUBLIN PICTURES POSTED

 

New York, USA - Apr 11th
     We are back in the good ol' US of A today for a quick stop before heading to Peru on Saturday (if American Airlines gets their act together, that is).  We are staying with Colin's relatives and enjoying the warm welcome and familiarity of family.  The past two days we spent in Dublin.  I think the Irish must be some of the friendliest people in the world.  We had a great time joking with museum guards and even got a free ride to the airport.  We had just enough time to check out the main sights like the Guinness Storehouse and Kilmainham Gaol.  Colin liked getting in touch with his Irish roots, especially by drinking Guinness in a traditional pub complete with live music.  Ireland was the coldest place we have been in for the past seven months.  It was hailing when we got off the plane and didn't get much better.  But that is part of the experience.

 

Sorrento, Italy - Apr 5th
     Our four days in Rome were jambed packed with churches, statues, museums, amazingly cool Roman stuff, walking, gelato, and just being awed by everything.  There was some famous or spectacular sight around every corner.  It was impossible to walk for more than five minutes without stumbling upon something of artistic or historic significance.  By the end we were quite exhausted and sore, but it was well worth it.  My favorite part was sitting near Trevi Fountain eating delicious gelato and just watching the people.  Seeing the Ara Pacis comes in a close second.  Colin really enjoyed the outdoor cafe culture and got a kick out of seeing the tourists, vendors and locals interact.  He was even more impressed by the grandeur and extravagance of the many churches.  We were a bit shocked by the prices, but when in Rome . . .
     Now we have left Rome and gone south to Sorrento.  We are staying in a mobile home with our own kitchen.  Being able to cook dinner is a nice change and the local wine is quite good.  Today we went to see the ancient city of Pompeii.  I loved walking down the streets and getting a glimpse into what daily life was like for the Romans.  I took a class last year completely focused on Pompeii so was able to impress Colin with my knowledge of things like street width and housing statistics, but he still refuses to admit the obvious importance of such knowledge to daily life.

 

 

Rome, Italy - Apr. 3rd

     This is an amazing place and we are having too much fun to take time out to write about it.  Later.

 

Athens, Greece - Mar 30th

 

New Photos Posted!!!

 

    Back in Athens after a week in the Peloponnese.  Our time in this country has definitely been affected by the weather.  We have had thunder and lightning storms crazy enough to wake us up, as well as sunny days hot enough for shorts.  Spring has hit the countryside and many places are blooming with wildflowers which we enjoyed seeing when not running for shelter from random downpours.  While Greece is a beautiful place, we have had some trouble getting around due to strange bus schedules/routes and a lack of English.  Sadly Latin does not help.
    We spent a few days in Kardamyli, a small (really, really small) town in the way South.  It was a great place for hiking and relaxing.  Then we went to Nafplio, a seaside town that makes a great base for day trips to some of the ancient sites.  We enjoyed walking around the ruins of Mycenae and Epidavros, but agree that the National Archaeological Museum here in Athens was the highlight.  So many wonderful Greek statues and artifacts all in one place!  We spent several happy hours going from room to room.  Even Colin got into it.



 

 

Athens, Greece - Mar 21st

 

New Photos Posted of Turkey and Greece!!!


    Wow, time flies.  How can it be spring already?  For the past week we have been hopping around: first along the Southern coast of Turkey, then a quick stop on the island of Rhodes before arriving here in Athens.  Our favorite place was the harbor town of Fethiye.  It felt like being in Santa Barbara and we had a chance to relax for a bit.  From there we took a 10 mile hike along the coast and got some amazing views of the Mediterranean.  It was a beautiful day and we were alone for most of the hike, except for the occasional goat.  
    The worst part of the past week was the boat ride to Rhodes.  It was like reliving the trip to Phuket only without the Chinese tour group.  Cargo, mattresses and crates of marble, took up most of the space so the passengers were crowded into a small seating area.  The sea was rough and the puking began soon after leaving and didn't stop until we safely arrived 4 hours later.  Neither Colin nor I had to use the sickness bags, but defiantly felt a little green.  We were saved by having a wonderful couple from South Africa to commiserate with.  Once the ordeal was over and our stomachs had settled they treated us to lunch, so the story has a happy ending.  Rhodes was mostly deserted.  We spent time either wandering around the Medieval city and getting lost in back alleys or walking along the beach.  I tried swimming, but the water was way too cold for my California blood.
    Today we visited the main sights in Athens.  It rained most of the day, but we didn't let that deter us.  I loved being on the Acropolis and had to keep pinching myself to make sure it was for real.  The view from the top was breathtaking.  We were a bit disappointed to find the Parthenon under construction, somehow the scaffolding detracts from the magic.     Colin really enjoyed seeing the sight of the first modern Olympics and began picturing himself as a competitor.

 

Pamukkale, Turkey - Mar 14th

 

NEW TURKEY PHOTOS POSTED!

 
      Pamukkale ıs a small town ın South central Turkey.  It ıs famous for ıts whıte clıff caused by years of calcıum deposıts.  At fırst ıt looks lıke a wall of snow, but ıs actually solıd calcıum.  Check out the photos.  There are hotsprıngs at the top along wıth some ancıent ruıns ıncludıng an ampıtheater wıth an amazıng vıew of the whole valley.  The town ıs very small and quıet, but we found a nıce cozy guesthouse (ın Turkey they are all called pensıons - I would put that word ın quotatıon marks, but cannot fınd them, on a sımılar note you may have notıced that all the letter ı s have no dot on top - what you do not know ıs that typıng a comma results ın thıs character (please mentally ınsert a colon sınce that key ıs also MIA) ö and the perıod looks lıke thıs ç - ınstead the comma ıs above the return key and the perıod has been moved further left.  The only reason I am rantıng about the keyboard ıs because I want you all to know that I love you so much I am goıng to all thıs trouble just to let you know what ıs goıng on).  We met a very nıce couple from Canada who are doıng almost the exact same trıp as us.  It was fun comparıng notes on all the countrıes we have been to and dıscussıng long term travel.
      The weather has been very cold wıth occasıonal raın.  Thıs has mostly worked to our advantage because the raın clears out less serıous sıghtseers and we sometımes get places all to ourselves.  Thıs was the case a few days ago when we fısıted the Ephesus ruıns.  It was magıcal wanderıng though them ın the raın.  We also vısıted the Temple of Artemıs, whıch ıs one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  However, there ıs nothıng left but a few stones.

 

 

Istanbul, Turkey - Mar 9th
     This keyboard is wierd (keys in the wrong place, two different 'i's, that sort of thing) and the text is all in Turkish so this will be a short update. 

 

     So far Istanbul has been a pleasant experience.  We were surprised to find such a modern city.  It is a little like coming back to familiar civilization.  There are Starbucks, McDonald's, and other well known chains everywhere.  The Metro system is one of the cleanest we've seen.  Best of all people all seem to obey traffic rules (like stopping at red lights and staying in their own lanes).  Crossing the street no longer means risking life and limb.  The people are also much more friendly, even when selling something.  Our hostel is right around the corner from the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque and we have an amazing sea view.
     The food is good.  Lots of kabab, meat sandwiches on the street, greek style salads, and yogurt.  Turkish Delight is ok, though nothing amazing.  We have yet to try the Turkish coffee, but the apple tea is quite delicious.

 

Cairo, Egypt - Mar 1st


        I am sitting in our hotel room right now looking out at the Great Pyramids (Colin's parents brought his laptop for us to use while with them).  We spent all of yesterday wandering around the complex walking from one pyramid to another and checking out the sphinx.  The day will go down as one of the best of the trip.  We watched the pyramids change color from brown to gold to orange as the sun moved across the sky.  On one side the city is built up almost to the base of the first pyramid, but behind them stretches the desert.  It is possible to stand so that you can see nothing except the pyramids and the sand and a few camels.  The many men offering a grand tour on horse or camel back were a bit annoying, however, because there was so much open space we managed to avoid them for the most part.  Security guards patrol the area mounted on camels.  They offer to take pictures with tourists and then ask for money.  I'm not sure if that is officially part of their job, but it is consistent with what seems to be the national pastime of getting tips from foreigners.  Excavations are still going on in the area and we watched a group of workers clearing away the sand from an area near the sphinx.  The pyramids really are incredible.  If you ever get the chance you have to come see them.

 

El Gouna, Egypt - Feb. 26th

      We have spent the past several days sightseeing and cruising the Nile river with Colin's parents.  Aswan (the sight of the major dam) was our first stop.  It is a small town with a lively bizarre.  Despite the many "no hassle here" signs the shop keepers did little else.  Calls of "only one pound", "come look in my shop, I pay you for looking" and "let me help you spend your money" came from all directions.  We quickly learned that showing interest in any one item meant having it practically shoved down our throats and any quoted price was at least 10 times more than the vendors were actually willing to accept.  We hired a driver to take us to the dam and then to see Philae temple.  The temple was small, but amazing and covered with carvings (see the photos).  According to one guide Caesar and Cleopatra stopped there during their Nile trip to get it on.  I'm not so sure about the historical accuracy of his claim, but it makes a nice story.  

         Our cruise went from Aswan to Luxor, stopping at the important temples along the way.  I think the best part was just sitting on the top deck watching the landscape pass by.  A thin strip of trees and greenery runs along the edges of the river, but beyond that is nothing except sand dunes and rocky cliffs.  At dusk it was magical and I could imagine that we had traveled back in time.  The first night we stopped to see Komombo temple.  The moon was full and looked majestic behind the half-lit temple.  

         In Luxor we hired another driver, Ali, to take us to the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, Hatsepchut's temple, and Karnak temple.  Karnak, on the East Bank of the Nile, was by far the highlight of the day, but I don't think I can express how moving it was to walk through the ruins.  Just being in the desolate valley on the West Bank was impressive and Hatsepchut's temple was worth the hike.  However, the tombs of the kings were empty of all but the wall paintings and a bit disappointing.  We also discovered that the ticket price only included three tombs (not counting Tutankahmen's which cost extra).  Foolishly thinking that one ticket was good for everything we wasted our first visit on a small and unimpressive tomb of one of the lesser known pharaohs.  Colin's father made up for this by slipping the keeper of the next tomb a few Egyptian pounds to not punch our tickets.  In Egypt bribes are apparently as common as overcharging and locals ask tips for everything from giving directions to pointing out a good place to take a photo. 

        Now we are taking a break and relaxing on the Red Sea before heading back to Cairo.  We are saving the pyramids at Giza for the end of the trip.

 

Aswan, Egypt - Feb 20th 

 

        It is a miracle that we actually made it to Egypt.  There were several times on the trip from India to here when we doubted we would ever arrive.  The journey started in Jaipur, India at about midnight on the 18th.  The driver who had agreed to take us to the airport was held up by family matters but sent his friend who was the proud owner of the shoddiest auto-rickshaw we have ever been in.  The engine sounded like it was on its last leg and the steering was out of alinement so he kept swerving to correct it.  Our driver pulled over a few times to restart.  I wasn't really that concerned until he stopped to pray and make a quick offering.  The gods must have been listening because we made it to the airport safely (I hope the poor fellow made it home).  The flight we booked left around 3:30 am and went to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates where we were supposed to switch planes for the flight to Alexandria.  However, the fog was so bad we could not land and were diverted to another airport where we sat on the runway for several hours waiting for the weather to change.  By the time we finally got to Sharjah our connecting flight had left without us.  The airline managed to find us  another flight leaving at 11pm and after some debate agreed to put us up in a hotel and feed us for the day.

        We arrived in the Alexandria airport around 3am on the 19th (31 and a half hours later if you consider the time differences).  We needed to get to Cairo to meet Colin's parents by noon for another flight to Aswan, but the buses weren't running at such a late hour.  Luckily for us we met a nice young man from Cairo who helped us get a shared cab.  On the two hour drive we chatted with him about Egypt and his job in the UAE.  He even pulled out his laptop so we could watch a video about the building of the tallest tower in the world.  The video was in Korean, but we got the general idea.

Once in Cairo our new friend invited us home to meet his family and have some tea.  A few dark alleys and several stair cases later we found ourselves sitting in his living room talking to his brother in Spanish, of all things, and sipping tea.  It was a very surreal, but pleasant, morning.  After an hour or so our friend gave us a ride to Colin's parent's hotel.


Pushkar, India - Feb 14th 


     We have spent the past week in the small town of Pushkar, located in Northern India southwest of Delhi.  It is built around a holy lake and is the least polluted and most relaxed place in India so far.  Pilgrims come from all over to bathe in the water (ghats).  Meat, alcohol, drugs, eggs, and public displays of affection between members of the opposite sex are not allowed anywhere in the area.  There are a good number of tourists relaxing here and we have been enjoying chatting with them.  Yesterday we met a couple from Denmark who were traveling around India with their two sons, ages 3 and 5.  That has got to be the ultimate parenting challenge.  
        The plan was to spend a few days here than move West to see more of the Rajasthan Province, but it just didn't happen.  It is our 5 month mark and we figured it was time to stay in a place for more than a few nights.  Plus the idea of getting on another bus/train was extremely unappealing.  The food here is amazing and our guesthouse is run by a very nice family.  They have two dogs: Fruti who is very friendly and Raj who is described as "no good" and likes to bite the guests.  It has been very comforting to come back to the same room each night.  However, we are starting to recognize all the cows in the neighborhood so it might be time to move on.  The cows wander the streets like stray dogs and it is very disconcerting to turn the corner and find oneself face to face with one of the big animals.  They must know that they are considered holy because they act like they own the place and often refuse to move out of the way. 


Pushkar, India - Feb 8th     

      We have been having some trouble getting on-line in India.  Partly because of the severed undersea cable which has left India and the Middle East with a patchy connection, partly because of random power outages, and partly because we have been so busy taking it all in.  India is both fascinating and frustrating.  After leaving Cochin (in the South) we headed to Mumbai (Bombay).  The beach looked beautiful, but as soon as we set foot on it we were approached by beggars.  The most persistent was a young boy with only stumps for arms who had a tin can tied around his neck.  We passed by wealthier Indian families out for a walk and started to enjoy the day.  Then we noticed a man talking a crap in the middle of the beach.  I will never complain about tar again.
      One of the hardest things about this country is that it is impossible to get a straight answer from anyone or to hold a simple conversation without being offered a service or asked for money.  This makes trusting local advice difficult and constantly puts us on guard.  At least a dozen times a day we are approached by people saying that they just want to talk.  They start off by asking us questions about our travels and home country, but inevitably end by trying to sell us something like a tour, a rickshaw ride, souvenirs, drugs, a hotel room, Internet, henna, water, cigarettes, you name it.  If we ignore them we get insulted for not being friendly.  If we talk to them then they claim to be our friends and it is harder to get out of buying whatever it is.      
     Our first day in Delhi we fell for a common train station scam.  We went in looking to by tickets for the Sunday train to Agra (the home of the Taj Mahal). A man with an official looking badge approached us and explained that the station only sold same-day tickets.  If we wanted tickets for next week we would have to go to the reservation office a few blocks away.  Looking back we should have seen the warning signs (for example, officials are never that helpful and never offer advice with out being asked repeatedly).  In the reservation office we were told that there was only one seat on the train.  Then the booking agent started listing the dangers of train travel (strange for someone supposedly selling train tickets).  When he launched into the virtues of hiring a private car and driver we decided it was time to leave.  Thanks to advice from fellow travelers we found the foreign ticketing office at the train station.    
     Giving change also seems to be an alien concept to shopkeepers, taxi drivers, and hotel managers.  When we ask for money back they always give us a strange look like it is an unreasonable request.  This makes most transactions take about three times longer than they should.  We are learning to be patient, accept that eventually change will be produced, and just be happy if it is near the right amount the first time.                 By the way, the Taj Mahal is absolutely amazing. 

 

Kochi, India - Jan 27th 
    Wow, major culture shock!  We are still adjusting to this country.  As Colin pointed out after walking past a dead kitten laying in the trash on the sidewalk, nothing really prepares you for India.  Our first day we took a 'wrong' turn and ended up on the opposite side of town from the tourist guesthouses (called 'home stays' here) and restaurants.  Men in traditional dress gave us curious, sometimes hostile stares and women in saris glanced sideways as they passed by.  A few people smiled and some children called greetings, but it was definitely uncomfortable. 

     I can't get used to the number of animals (goats, cows, cats, crows, chickens) that wander the streets eating from various piles of rubbish left by the side of the road.  They may help with garbage disposal, but the droppings make walking in sandals a bit hazardous.  It isn't all bad, the part of town we are staying in is relatively clean and has a minimum of nasty smells.  The food is great and we have been enjoying trying new dishes, though I am wary of eating the meat.  The Masala (Chai) Tea is amazing.

   

Siem Reap, Cambodia - Jan 23rd    

* There are three new postings this time: Jan 15,18 and 23   

     Due to time restraints this is our only stop in Cambodia, however we had to come see the Angkor Temple Complex.  These ruins are said to be some of the best in the world and they are.  Hundreds of temples (built between the 9th and 14th century) are spread out over many kilometers and we spent the past three days wandering around them.  The temples stand in various stages of disrepair and restoration.  Some are massive, mountain-like structures with extensive staircases going almost straight up.  Others are spread out and have many corridors that take hours to explore.  The jungle has been cleared away from most temples, but a few still have ancient trees growing out of them.  We hired a driver, Mr. Sath, to take us around for three days.  He knew the area well and was very relaxed about everything.
    We have seen more beggars here than in other parts of Southeast Asia.  Many are missing limbs because of the land mines from the Vietnam War and the political unrest afterwards.  On our first outing we were approached by an old woman with no legs and a young man with only one.  The hardest part for me is the children who haunt the ruins selling postcards or handmade bracelets and begging for a dollar.  The poverty is much more pronounced and the local restaurants and shops seem extremely desperate for our business.  Vendors plead with us to buy something.  We are used to being approached, but this is a new level.  Tourists are treated like dollar dispensers.
    We visited a small temple yesterday and met three young men who gave us a private tour.  They explained that they wanted to be tour guides, but needed to practice English.  However, it is very expensive (for Cambodians) to take classes and they couldn't even afford a dictionary.  We gave them a few dollars for the tour, and tried to at least give them a bit of  support.


Vientiane, Laos - Jan 18th
    This has got to be the smallest capital city I have ever seen.  Even Santa Barbara feels bigger.  It is very European with wide streets, lamp posts, and coffee shops on many corners.  We visited the Arc de Triomphe of the East and climbed to the top for a view of the city.  There are still wats and monks everywhere and personal shrines as well as tuk-tuks.  The local people are much more relaxed and less pushy about selling things than in Thailand.  This has been refreshing.  I found a wonderful street vendor selling delicious spring rolls and Colin has been enjoying the National beverage: Beer Lao, which is produced by the government.
    One of the hardest things to get used to in Laos is the money.  They accept three different currencies: kip (the official currency of Laos), baht (the official currency of Thailand), and US dollars.  You can pay most bills in any of these or in a combination.  Most prices under $10 are quoted in kip so if you pay in something else then you have to accept the exchange rate of the person you are dealing with, usually about 250-280 kip per 1 baht.  There are about 33 baht per dollar.  Headache yet?  The engineer has adjusted beautifully to this crazy system, but I am still having trouble with all the 000's!  Seeing a cup of tea for 6000 of anything just doesn't look right. 

 

Luang Pabang, Laos - Jan. 15th  
    Getting to Luang Prabang was quite a journey.  We spent five hours in a minivan to get from Chiang Mai to a small town on the boarder.  The next morning we crossed the Mekong river into Laos and hopped on a boat for Pak Beng (a small river town half way to Luang Prabang).  The boat ride took 7 hours.  We were all jammed into this long narrow wooden boat with a huge motor.  It made so much noise that we had to shout to be heard.  The seats were amazingly uncomfortable, but the views were great.  The muddy river wound slowly through jungle-like forest with almost no signs of civilization.  We passed a few fishermen and once in a while a gang of kids waved from the riverbank where their mothers were washing clothing.  We made friends with a British couple sitting behind us and chatted about travel.  The boat didn't arrive until after dark.  The first thing we saw was a swarm of flashlights coming down the hill to meet us.  It was utter chaos.  Our bags were pitched off to the waiting crowd so that once we managed to push our way to the front Colin had to go pry his away from a "helpful" porter.  We then had to dodge past guesthouse owners wanting us to stay with them and make our way up a dusty hill in the dark.
    Our room was a tiny cubical with paper thin walls and a rock hard bed, but we were happy to be off the boat.  The happiness continued until we discovered that the electricity had been turned off and we heard something moving around in our room.  After much banging (to scare away whatever it was) I got my flashlight.  We heard them again shortly afterwards and turned on the flashlight in time to catch sight of a mouse as in ran under the bed.  That was the last we heard of them in our room, but later I noticed that the little pests had chewed a hole in my daypack to get to the peanuts.
    Day two of the boat ride was much more eventful.  Most passengers had bonded the day before so it was like a big floating reunion.  The crew had also purchased beer to sell to the tourists  This was a popular commodity and the boat had to stop several times to refill.  We had more people to fit on the boat and many ended up sitting on the luggage in the back or standing in the aisles.  Colin and I got lucky and grabbed the second to last bench.  The seats around us were taken mainly by young Australian and British backpackers who bought marijuana and beer early on in the trip to really enjoy the Mekong experience.  We were impressed when one fellow made a bong out of a coke can, but the smoke (both from the pot and from the cigarettes smoked in between hits) started to bother us after a while.  For the first five hours the party got louder and louder, but the for the last two our companions seemed to get worn out and just sat in their seats with heads down.  
    After the rough journey, the town of Luang Prabang turned out to be a pleasant surprise.  It still feels Southeast Asian, but the French influence is obvious in both the architecture and the food.  The sidewalks are paved with bricks and everywhere sells baguettes.  People also drive on the right side of the road (which looks odd after so many months on the left).  The Laos food is a mix between Thai and Vietnamese, with lots of sticky rice thrown in.  Spring rolls are especially popular.  However, western food is everywhere in this town and it is possible to get anything from fancy cheese to imported wine.  
    We opted for a nice room with satellite TV.  Both to make up for the night before and so that Colin could get up at 4am on Monday morning to watch his Giants in the Football playoffs.  I woke up around 5:30 to muffled shouts of "you have got to be kidding me; that was a ridiculous call!".  They won so we might have to do it again next week.


Chiang Mai, Thailand- Jan. 8th

NEW PHOTOS POSTED!!
    We are still in Chiang Mai waiting for the India visa to go through.  Over the weekend we did take a quick trip up to the mountain town of Pai (said 'bye' not 'pie').  The weather was much cooler there and the hills looked much dryer than in other parts of Thailand.  It is close to the China border and we noticed a Chinese influence in the food.  We were a bit disappointed because the town was almost entirely Westerners and tourist services.  The foreigners there all seemed to have come straight from a hippy commune.  Eight out of ten heads sported dreadlocks (the really dirty, greasy, matted kind) and pot smoking was openly enjoyed.  We heard many renditions of Bob Marley songs; our favorite was played by an old Asian man with a wispy beard and a Jamaican style beanie.  Parties lasted late into the night and nothing, not even the breakfast places, opened before about 10am.  We have gotten in the habit of going to bed early and getting up around 7am so this was a bit of a shock for us.
    On Saturday we rented bikes and rode out into the countryside to check out the surrounding villages and a nearby waterfall.  It was the best part of our trip to Pai.  We saw local school kids playing in the street and old men sitting in front of shops watching the world go by.  Chickens, dogs, and the occasional pig blocked our path.  The waterfall was not that impressive (after New Zealand we have high standards), but it was peaceful.
    The night market on Saturday was also a highlight.  We discovered a new dish: roasted sesame sticky rice pancake with sugar.  It is crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, sweet, and best right off the grill when still hot.  Yummmm.

Chiang Mai, Thailand - Jan. 2nd
Happy New Year! 
      My parents left us a few days after Christmas.  Sadly they caught the same bug that plagued us a few days ago and had to board the plane in a somewhat shaky condition.  Luckily they didn't get sick until the end of the trip and did make it safely home.  So if anyone else wants to come meet us somewhere don't let that stop you.  Our first stop after Bangkok was the town of Sukhothai, which is in the North about halfway between Bangkok and Chiang Mai.  It was the first capital of Siam and is filled with amazing ruins left over from the 13th-14th century (also known as "the Golden Age"). For two days we rented bikes and peddled past crumbling walls and giant statues of Buddha. 
      We arrived in Chiang Mai just in time for the New Years celebration.  Our friend Derek, who is out here teaching English, is kindly putting us up for a few days.  He also let us borrow his roommate's motorbike so we could all go into town for the festivities.  I think that just about every fire code known to the state of California was broken, but it was quite a show.  First came the fireballoons (I don't know the actual name, but that is what they looked like).  Imagine a large white paper bag turned upside down with a lit candle suspended below.  People make good wishes for the future then let the bag go.  The balloons raise slowly and fill the sky with  floating fires that get smaller and smaller.  (Don't worry, the fire usually goes out before the balloon comes back down and we only saw one hit a tree.)  Then there were the fireworks.  They came in all shapes and sizes.  We stood on a bridge that spanned the main river, Mae Nam Ping.  The banks were crowded with families shooting small rockets out over the river. (Only some of which came close to hitting the people on the bridge).  A few firecrackers also went off on the ground scattering the onlookers.  Larger fireworks exploded at random intervals.  They were very, very low and very, very loud.  At midnight several shows started simultaneously.  They put all American Fourth of July shows to shame.  We were left awed, slightly deaf, and a bit shaken from the shock waves.
      Last night we went to a movie with Derek and discovered another form of devotion to the king.  Before the movie the theater asked everyone to stand to show respect to the monarchy.  We stood while a two minute clip of pictures of the king played.
      We had hoped to be leaving for Laos by now, but are having trouble getting our visa for India.  It takes five working days to process and the embassy is only open 9am to 12pm and was closed for New Years.  The embassy has also moved in the past month so tuk tuk drivers get confused with the directions, if they even understand our desired destination.  For some reason the first guy took us to a bus station.  But that is just part of traveling.

 

Bangkok, Thailand - Dec. 26th  

NEW PHOTOS POSTED!! 

      Happy Christmas.  Sorry to say that traveling through strange countries with strange germs finally caught up with us.  We both got quite sick - I don't want to give any graphic details, but the phrase 'coming out both ends' applies very well.  Luckily we didn't have to go anywhere so just spent a few days lying around the hotel watching the local movie channel while my parents hung out on the beach.  
       We spent Christmas Eve in Kho Chang.  It seems to us that Thais are willing to celebrate any holiday that comes along and to do it with fireworks.  All the restaurants along the beach managed some bow to the season.  Some pulled out strings of lights for their palm trees.  Some constructed Christmas trees out of poles and green tarps.  One place brought in a guy who made balloon animals.  All employees dawned Santa hats with blinking lights.  We even saw Old Saint Nick himself standing outside of one eatery trying to convince passersby that they had the best seafood BBQ.  The fellow did look an awfully lot like a very short, skinny Thai man with a square pad stuffed up his shirt and a fake beard, but that could just have been the torch lighting.  Fireworks went off at 9:00pm and again at Midnight.


Chiang Mai, Thailand - Dec. 17th
    My parents have come to hang out with us for Christmas Break so we have been busy showing them around Thailand.  Chiang Mai is in the North which means the weather is much nicer.  It is cool during most of the day and there is very little humidity.  The city is fairly modern, but not as crazy or crowded as Bangkok.  Many wats (temples) are spread throughout the city and we spent much of the first day going from one to another.  Night markets take over the streets after the sun goes down.  On Sunday we went to the Granddaddy of all markets.  Entire street blocks were closed to traffic and thousands of vendors set up stalls selling everything from t-shirts to handwoven scarfs to soap carvings to fried noodles to jewelry.  We even spotted Native American Dream catchers and Chinese Black Jelly served with sugar (we didn't try it so I can't give any more details).  Locals and tourists pushed their way between the stalls trying not to spill food on passersby.  Adding to the chaos, performers danced and sang in the middle of the street.  We watched a band of blind musicians play on buckets and kazoos.  Groups of students made there way through the crowd asking for donations.
    My father and I took a local cooking course and learned how to make several dishes including: curry, coconut soup, pad thai and spicy papa salad.  I look forward to trying out my new skills when I get home.  Yesterday we all signed up for a tour of local villages.  We not only saw the local hill tribes (Hmong and Karen), but rode on elephants and did some bamboo rafting.  Parts seemed a bit scripted, but the other people in the group proved very entertaining.  We made friends with a young woman taking a break from teaching English in Korea, two French vacationers working in Switzerland, and a couple of English Danes who were still hungover from the night before.  There was also a Chinese woman wearing a shirt that said "Big Mooth Stbikes Again", but she did not speak English.   Riding on elephants proved very bumpy and took some effort to balance.  We sat in baskets on top of the elephants' back while the guide sat on its head.  A few of the elephants had a habit of clearing their trunks by blowing snot back over their passengers.  It was an experience I will not forget, but I felt a bit sorry for the animals.  The rafting was the best part of the day.  We stood on sticks of bamboo lashed together with shreds of tire treads while guides poled the raft (sitting was an option, but resulted in very wet pants).  We passed peacefully through jungle scenery doted with huts.  Colin's raft was short a guide, but he proved to be quite adept at poling and even helped negotiate the only real rapid on the river.

 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Dec. 11th
    We are back in Southeast Asia with squat toilets, mosquitoes, and crazy drivers . . . along with amazing food, beautiful scenery, and bargaining for everything.  For our birthday we went to a nice resort and spent the day relaxing.  I decided to try something new and took up windsurfing.  It is not as easy at it looks.  There was a big party for the king's birthday in Bangkok.  We watched the fireworks on tv.  To top it all off the resort gave us a cake.
    Now we are in Malaysia which seems much more developed than Thailand.  For example, the road system is much better and English is very common.  We found out that this year is only the 50th anniversary of the nation.  Before that it was controlled by the British.  The food is heavily influenced by India, but still has lots of pineapple and coconut.     We spent the past few days in the Cameron Highlands.  It is known for tea plantations and strawberry patches (we saw several signs advertising "self plucking" strawberries).  The weather was cold and rainy.  The second day we hiked through the jungle to a waterfall and ended up at a tea plantation.  It was a very wet and muddy experience.
    Kuala Lumpur is a modern city complete with McDonald's, Starbucks, and a metro system.  We spent most of yesterday navigating the public transportation and dangerous sidewalks.  It is very common for there to be giant hole in the middle of the walkway so you have to watch out or risk falling into the drainage system.  Each shop front seems to be at a slightly different height than the one next to it, so you also have to be ready for a step every few feet. 

 

Melbourne, Australia - Dec. 1st
    Melbourne is quite different from Sydney.  It seems much more artistic and creative for one thing, and is teeming with flies for another.  The city is filled with art galleries and architecturally impressive buildings.  We checked out a free show, but it was a bit too weird for us.  The artist was a sound man and the show included pieces like him making music with a record (by banging and scratching, not by playing) and different phone ring tones.  Colin and I are obviously not advanced enough to appreciate true art.  A river runs through Melbourne; it is very picturesque, but home to thousands of flies that will not leave you alone.  They land on only exposed skin and have no problem flying into mouths, ears, and noses.  Everyone is constantly swatting and shaking their heads and occasionally spitting.  You can tell the locals from the tourists because the locals take it in stride whereas the tourists get upset and curse or jump up and down in frustration.

Sydney, Australia - Nov. 28th
    We came to Australia at a very monumental time for the country.  The day we landed was national election day and there is now a new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.  He is a member of the Labor party which took over the majority from the Liberal party (which is actually more conservative).  It is only the second time (the first one being in 1929) that a Prime Minister has lost not only his position but also his seat in parliament.  The new majority party has big changes planned for the country and most people seem quite excited and optimistic.  We found out from a local that voting always takes place on a Saturday and is mandatory.  If you don't vote it is a $50 fine.  
    The day after the election was both the Sydney Christmas Parade and the grand finale of Australian Idol so the whole city was in a festive mood.  It is still strange thinking of Christmas in Summer and floats with snow and reindeer really seemed out of place.  The parade ended at a park were we caught up with it and watched part of a kid's play about going to a party.  The Australian Idol was held at the Sydney Opera house and the harbor was lit with fireworks.  We actually missed it live because our hotel is not downtown, but watched on TV.
    Sydney itself is a lovely city with a mix of old brick buildings and new skyscrapers.  The harbor and the many parks gives it a very open feel.  We bought a pass that gave us access to the tourist buses that run through the city and give information about each stop.  The pass also got us out to Bondi Beach.  Unfortunately it rained so the beach was deserted.  We did get a chance to swim in a public pool nearby.  The pool was built into the bluff so that waves broke over the side and filled it with cold salty water.  Very refreshing.

 
Auckland, New Zealand - Nov. 23rd
     This country has definitely been a highlight of the trip.  We are now both proficient at driving on the left and managed to return our rental car with an additional 1500km and no scratches.  Each day's drive was broken up with stops to hike to see glaciers, waterfalls, lakes and other amazing natural wonders.  We mostly stayed in 'backpackers' (the NZ term for hostel) which all had a shared kitchen and lounge.  This meant we could cook our own meals for a change.
     Yesterday we took a ferry out to Waiheke Island (about 35min ride from Auckland).  It is known for beautiful hiking trails and picturesque wineries.  We spent the morning walking along the bluffs past farmland and vineyards.  For lunch we splurged and went to a gourmet restaurant attached to a winery called Mudbrick.  We ate on a patio that looked across a valley to the ocean.  The food was delicious and the whole experience very enjoyable.
     For Thanksgiving dinner we went to the Mexican Cafe in Auckland and had nachos.  Not quite the same as turkey, and not nearly as good as the mexican food in Santa Barbara.  New Zealand has a long way to go before they will be up to our standards in that area.
 
Queenstown, New Zealand - Nov. 19th -  PHOTOS UP (LOTS OF THEM)
 
Christchurch, New Zealand - Nov. 13th
     New Zealand is lovely.  The landscape is breathtaking.  It is also great to be in a place where everyone speaks English and salads are easy to find.  We flew into Auckland (North Island) and had two nights there before heading to Christchurch (South Island).  The buses weren't running out to our hotel on Sunday so we rented a car and drove around East of the city.  I do not recommend getting a stick-shift for your first attempt at driving on the left side of the road.  It was a very bumpy ride.  However, by the end of the day Colin had mastered both driving on the "wrong" side of road and shifting with his left hand and I became adept at map reading and not yelling "watch out" every time we passed another car.  We drove to the coast for lunch and watched sailboats while we ate.  On the way back we passed through farmland and stopped off at a waterfall.  For dinner we picked up some crackers, cheese, and ice cream at the local supermarket.  (New Zealand is even better than the US for food labeling and they have Gluten-free food everywhere!) 
     We are now staying with family friends in Christchurch and resting up for our trip around the South Island.  The plan is to drive over to the west coast and down to Queenstown, then back up through the middle.  We will be stopping to hike and see the big sights along the way.  This should take about a week.  We are still trying to find a place to upload pictures.  This cafe has a really fast connection, but we cannot access the USB port to plug the camera in.  ARGGG.  All I can say is that they are coming soon.
 
Nuku'alofa, Tonga - November 9th
    Well . . . Tonga is not exactly what we expected.  It is a very beautiful tropical island with palm trees and ocean and mosquitoes.  However, things sort of run on their own terms and it is hard to get used to.  We arrived late last Saturday and woke up to find that everything was closed for Sunday (I mean everything: stores, restaurants, drink stands, market stalls, travel agencies, public transportation, etc.).  I wanted to sleep in and try to catch up on some of the rest lost during the crazy plane rides, but our room faced the sun and turned into an inferno as soon as it rose.  Our hostel did have a nice porch to read on, but no good for napping.  We weren't ready for the Sabbath and hadn't booked a tour to fill the day so ended up walking the 4km to town, looking at the closed buildings, and walking the 4km back.  The next day turned out to be a public holiday so half of everything (including public transportation) was closed, and much of what was open shut down at noon.  We taxied to town and managed to find food.  The locals are all very friendly and groups of kids off for the day kept yelling 'hi' and 'bye' to us.  
    We tried to get a tour for the next day to see the main sights of the island, but needed at least one other person to go.  No one else showed up so we spent another day walking around and looking at the market stalls (which were finally open).  We also switched hostels to be closer to town.  Our new home was louder and not quite as clean.  But we didn't have to rely on shaky transportation and our legs to go get dinner.
    Another popular thing to do is go check out the other, smaller islands so we booked that tour for Wednesday.  The plan was to go out and see the Royal Sunset Resort, eat lunch there, and then go snorkeling.  Unfortunately, there was a mix up and the boat that was supposed to pick us up didn't get the message.  We did get our money back (after much arguing), but lost another day.  To make it up we took a public bus over to the beaches on the west side.  Very beautiful.  The bus ride was fun.  The radio was on and played Christmas Carols the whole way.  It was a bit odd to be bumping down dirt roads through jungle listening to Jingle Bells.  We were crammed in with a large group of girls in school uniforms who helped us find our stop.  A woman with a small baby also let us know that the tour of the island was not all it was cracked up to be.  This made us feel a bit better about missing it.  The only problem was the bus did not run along the coast so once we got off we had to walk another 2km to actually get to the beach.
    Yesterday we decided to give up on tours.  Instead we just enjoyed a good breakfast and moved back to our first hostel to get some peace and quiet.  This was a bit harder than we thought because Colin's suitcase broke and we (by 'we' I mean mostly Colin) had to carry the #@*% thing. 
    Anyway we are now back were we started and plan on taking it easy for our last day.  There are bikes here we might rent later . . . if they work.
 
^^ Hello Everyone! ^^
We hope that your are doing well.  We are finally out from under the oppressive Internet restrictions of the Chinese government and able to post updates once again.  Yay!  I have filled in everything from Guilin to now.  The photos will come once we find a computer that won't freak out and freeze every time we try to upload them.
 
Nuku'alofa, Tonga - November 4th
    In order to get from China to Tonga, a small island chain in the South Pacific, we had to endure four days of flying and sleeping in airports.  Our first night was in the Macau airport (it had nice benches and was peaceful once the music turned off).  We then flew to Singapore, waited a few hours, and continued to Darwin, Australia.  We had to spend 23 hours in the Darwin Airport before our flight to Brisbane (it actually had showers, but all the benches were taken).  We had twelve hours in Brisbane to go out and look around before the  flight to Sydney.  We arrived just in time to find out that the airport was closing for the night (we were allowed to sleep in the corridor leading to the train station along with about 20 other people).  The next morning we flew  to Auckland, New Zealand and caught a connecting flight to Tonga.  Yeah, it sounds crazy and you are right,  but we saved about $700 each by using budget airlines.
 
Hong Kong & Macau - Oct 29th & 30th
    Hong Kong reminded me of San Francisco in some ways.  It is a smallish city (in size not population) with a large harbor you can walk along and big hills in the middle.  There are even cable cars.  Modern shops and big buildings crowd around older apartments.  Most people spoke English so we didn't have a big problem getting around.  We even took a tram up to Victoria Peak for a traffic view of the city and the harbor.  Colin's favorite part was a warehouse of electronics and computers sold at discount prices.  We spend several hours wandering around while he drooled at the displays.
Macau is the Las Vegas of the East.  It is filled with fancy casinos and ritzy hotels.  We only spent about five hours, but it was enough.  It is strange how . . . western everything seemed after our weeks in China. 
 
Beijing, China - Oct 27th
    Beijing was amazing and we enjoyed almost every minute.  (Pollution, crowds, and spitting/smoking* aside.)  We were able to meet up with a friend from UCSB who is studying at the Peking University.  Mackenzie offered us a place to stay and took us around to see some of the more interesting sights, as well as to try the best dishes in town.   It was also good to see a familiar face after so much traveling and to talk in English about what we thought of China. She was a wonderful hostess/guide and we were sorry to leave when the time came.  We want to thank her even though she can't actually read this site.   
    The first day Mackenzie had class so we when out to hike along the Great Wall.  This was by far one of the highlights of the trip.  We had heard the portion of the wall near Beijing was overrun by tourists so we took a bus and then a taxi to a section that is 60 miles north of the city.  The hike itself was about 6 miles up and down a section of the wall running from Jinshanling to Simatai.  It was breathtaking.  We saw a few other hikers, but were mostly by ourselves.  The wall ran along the ridge line and so we climbed up and down, up and down with the slope.  Sometimes there were stairs (once they were so steep we were eye to eye with the sixth step), but much of the time we walked along broken rock and half preserved paving.  Guard towers stood in various states of disrepair every few hundred feet.  On either side we could see hills and occasionally a field or some goats, but no buildings.  The leaves were changing colors so parts of the hills were covered with red/orange/gold patches.  As one british traveler we stopped to talk with put it: you could feel the history.  
    During the next few days we stayed in the city and went to see the famous sights including: the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, Tian'anmen Square, and even Chairman Mao (he was looking pretty good for a dead man, but it was a bit creepy).  At night Mackenzie took us to sample local food.  We tried Kung Pao Chicken,  Peking Duck, Hotpot, and even scorpions on a stick.  I like the street food the best, especially the roasted sweet potatoes and candied fruit.  Colin enjoyed the sweet popcorn made to order off a little cart just around the corner from Mackenzie's apartment.  We also went to a local market that sold everything where Colin was able to find a new pair of good sneakers.  Mackenzie used her Chinese and bargaining skills to talk the woman down from  200 yuan to 65 yuan (about $25 to $9).  Things got a bit heated during the process and we were very impressed, though we couldn't actually understand what was being said.
 
*We found the public spitting throughout China to be fascinating.  We would be out walking around when someone standing behind us made the most awful sound like they
were trying to hack up a golfball.  Then we turned around to see a little old lady or a man in a nice business suit lean over and hawk a giant loogie into the street.  This happened everywhere we went.  People were also fond of blowing their noses into the street.  This worked by leaning over, plugging one nostril at a time with a finger, and blowing vigorously out the other.  The smoking in China really started to bother us after a while.  I now realize how spoiled we are living in California.  In China there seem to be no non-smoking zones.  At the airport on the way to Xi'an we noticed a smoking room.  This in it self is not that unusual in an airport, however, the door was wide open and smoke was spilling out into the general waiting area.  Colin went over and closed the door, but it was open again the next time we looked.  A few minutes later I saw a young woman standing in the hallway smoking near a trashcan.  No one, not even the many airport security guards, seemed to find this larming or even tried to direct her to the smoking room.  There was also a an smoking while waiting in line for the toilets. Again no one batted an eyelash. Even the taxi drivers smoke while they take you to your destination.  Sometimes we got lucky and they opened the window.
 
Xi'an, China - Oct 20th
    Xi'an is an interesting city.  It is surrounded by ancient walls, but is full of McDonald's and shops selling familiar brands like Adidas and Nike.  We got lost our first day and spent several hours wandering in the wrong direction before we realized what was going on.  It is very hard to figure out the streets if there are no English signs because the Chinese charaters all look the same and street names sort of blend thogether.  We did make it out to see the Terracotta Warriors eventually.  They were impressive and it was hard to believe they were so well preserved.  The only problem was the crowds of pushy Chinese tour groups that filled the complex.  The guide always had a flag that the group followed like ducklings.  The groups would swarm up to a display case pushing us and all other people aside in their excitement to be photographed in front of it.  (For some reason a popular pose involves holding up two fingers.)  
    We got lost again looking for our second hotel.  We were sure we were on the right street, but walked for nearly an hour (with our bags) before giving up and hailing a cab.  The driver grinned once he understood the address and drove us the two blocks to the hotel.  Very frustrating, but I suppose he earned the fare.  

Yangshuo, China - Oct  17th  
    After a while big cities start to wear us out so it was nice to go to the town of Yangshuo.  I think it was the most relaxing place we went to in China.  The main street  was for pedestrians only and was lined with shops and restaurants.  Our first night we met a group of Chinese students from the West Street Oral English Training School who had come to practice their language skills on the foreigners.  They were very enthusiastic and invited us to a party their school was having later in the week.  We decided to go check it out and agreed to meet three of the students on a street corner at 7pm on Wednesday night.  The students took us to their school and offered us beer, peanuts, and watermelon.  They then crowded around asking us questions about our lives and what we thought of China.  It was a bit intimidating at first, but very enjoyable.  Colin was able to strike up a game of pingpong (with admirable opponents) and I learned some new dance steps.  The students told us that they had been studying English since middle school, but now the government requires it from kindergarten on.  This will have a large effect on travel and business in the future.
    The best part of Yangshuo was our bike ride into the countryside.  In just a few minutes we left the town and were biking along rice paddies and through tiny villages.  We passed people working in the fields and herding water buffalo.  We gott lost in a village, and had a few tense moments before we meet up with with a couple from Sweden who had a map.  It was still not easy going and at one point, while crossing a field to find a bridge, Colin fell into a rice paddy.  He is fine, just a bit muddy.  (See photos . . . someday)
 
Guilin, China - Oct 14th
    Guilin was our second stop and we found it much more welcoming for tourists than Shenzhen.  Even so, most of the tourists were Chinese and English was limited.  We can tell that the country is really revving up for the Olympics next year.  Vendors are already selling Beijing 2008 tee-shirts and there is a giant clock in the main square counting down the days, minutes, and seconds until the opening ceremony.  We found an Internet bar in town located in a dungeon-like basement where cigarette smoke and the sounds of computer games filled the air. 
    We met a fellow who spoke decent English and seemed honest and booked a river tour with him that would take us to the the city of Yangshou.  He gave us some very good advice about things to see around town.  However the river cruise did not turn out as expected.  Things seemed to be going well until we got on the tour bus and the guide proceeded to talk non stop in Chinese for about 15 minutes.  We sat there watching her and wondering what on earth she was saying.  Our Chinese vocabulary consists of 'hello', 'thank you', and 'taxi' so we weren't really able to pick out any useful words.  There was only one other foreign/English speaking couple (from Brazil) and they were as lost as we.  I looked around the bus, but everyone looked kind of bored.  Eventually the guide stopped her lecture and asked for tickets (we figured this out because the other passengers started passing their's forward).  For some reason this caused an argument with a family who got in a heated discussion with the guide and then made several angry phone calls.  We watched in fascination, trying to guess the cause of the problem.  When the bus finally stopped we were all escorted into a jade emporium and told that we had an hour before the boat ride (we figured this out because the guide wrote 9:20 on a piece of paper then pointed to a spot by the door were we were supposed to meet back up). 
    At this point we, and the Brazilian couple, were wondering if we were in the right place and tried to ask the guide if there was an English tour.  She had no idea what we were saying and kept holding up the paper with 9:20 and pointing to the floor.  Luckily for us there was a woman from Hong Kong (a member of the family who had been so upset with the guide) who spoke English and was able to translate for us.  Turns out that the whole lecture coming over was a sales pitch for jade and that the guide was trying to get the passengers to pay extra for a mandatory walking tour.  This was what caused the upset.  The woman also let us use her cell phone to call our booking agent.  He explained that it cost extra for the English tour (not what he told us the day we booked) and to just follow other people around.  The previous day, the booking agent (who incidentally went by the English name of Colin) gave us his phone number to call him if we changed our minds about going on a different tour. Colin (the one we all know and love) didn't hesitate to call him up and complain about the scam, but of course the booking agent did nothing to fix the problem.
    We eventually made it down to the river and onto the right boat, thanks to our friend from Hong Kong.  The first three hours of the tour were pleasant and the scenery was amazing.  The river ran between limestone peaks and local villages.  Every once in a while a woman made an announcement over the loud speakers in Chinese and the other passengers rushed to the side to take pictures.  I couldn't really tell of what.  The whole thing seemed very amusing, but the second three hours were a bit too much.  We ran out of things to talk about with the Brazilians and were disappointed by the lunch of unidentifiable meat mixed with questionable vegetables.  It was a great relief to finally reach Yangshou and get back on dry land.  We don't seem to have very much luck with boat trips.
 
  Shenzhen, China - Oct 12th
    Our first stop in China was in Shenzhen which is home to about 10 million people and is on the Southern coast near Hong Kong.  We flew here from Bangkok thinking we could go to see Hong Kong, only to discover that it would be considered leaving China and our single entry visas would not let us back in.  We had to rearrange our trip so that we would leave from Hong Kong; luckily we hadn't bought any of the domestic China flights and it wasn't that hard to change things around.  Shenzhen is not really what I expected China to be like.  It is a very modern city and has almost no tourists.  No one speaks English even though many signs are written in it.  We had trouble at the airport finding a cab driver who knew where our hotel was and held up the taxi line until another passenger showed up who could translate.  Now we never go anywhere without directions written out in Chinese or a map with our destination clearly marked.  
    It is very unnerving to be here because everyone stares.  They don't even try to hide it when you catch them looking.  It makes me think that very few tourists make it to this city (or maybe it is the boardshorts, they don't seem to be a huge fashion item in China). 
    Our second night we went out and walked around town.  It felt like being in a big US city except that we were surrounded by Chinese people staring at us and couldn't read any signs. We did spot a McDonald's, a KFC, and several namebrand clothing stores.  We also found the equivalent of Walmart selling both familiar items like sneakers and local goods like dried squid.  At one point we crossed the fowelest river I have every seen or smelled.  It was muddy and had trash floating in it and the smell was a mix of garbage and human waste.  Perhaps the most destrubing sight was a homeless man lying in the middle of the sidewalk with his fly down, playing with himself.  We were not the only pedestrians who gave the man a wide berth.
 
Bangkok, Thailand - Oct 9th
    We finished up our stay in Thailand in the capitol. It is a very busy city and being out in it all day wears you out.  There is no room to breathe between the traffic fumes and the people trying to sell you something or give you a ride to see some big sight.  The other hard part is that you cannot trust anyone.  A big scam is for locals to tell you that one of the big tourist attractions is closed for the day and to offer to take you to see something else.  You often wind up paying a lot for this service and end up at a fake gem shop.  Our first hour out we ran into a guy who told us that the Grand Palace (a very famous religious and political site) was closed for the holiday.  He then explained that we could go see the gold and black Buddha (never heard of him before) for free.  He pointed out where to go on our map then asked if we had seen the news the day before because as luck would have it there was a stone cutting show going on where we could get cheap gems.  He told Colin that it would be good to buy his wife something pretty.  According to our new friend we should only ride in the tuk tuks with white license plates because they we approved by the government. This seemed strange since we had noticed that all of the public buses and metered taxis had yellow licence plates.  We thanked the man for the information and continued down the street to discover, surprise surprise, that the Grand Palace was actually open.  (It was a very impressive place as you will see the next time I can post photos.) 
    Later the same day we ran into another helpful citizen while standing on a corner checking our map.  This fellow told us he was on his way home from his job at the post office.  He asked where we were going (Siam Square) and explained that it was a very far walk.  He then asked us if we were Americans and went on to explain that on the way to Siam Square we would have to walk through a "very bad Muslim neighborhood" and it would be much safer to take a tuk tuk.  Next he told us that there was a good place nearby where we could go shopping for all sorts of very cheap items.  To help us get there he wrote down the address for the Siam Export Center and his name on a piece of paper and told us to take it to the nearest tuk tuk driver who would take us there for cheap.  We took the paper and thanked him, but decided to continue walking.  We managed to arrive at Siam Square after about 20min of walking and were not attacked by any bad Muslims.
    At Siam Square we found an indoor mall where they sold everything you can imagine from electronic devices to clothing to desinger bags to stationary.  The place was packed with Thai people, there was not another forginer that we saw anywhere in the seven story complex.  It was a bit overwhelming.  We ate dinner at a food court and then got ice cream from Dairy Queen (very satisfying).
    We have found that there is also a very large party scene in the area of Bangkok we are staying in.  Last night around midnight we were woken up by the vibrations from the music in the bar across the alley.  The streets fill up with people after dark, both tourists and vendors. Music (mostly American) blasts from bars on both sides of the street and men in suits come over to offer peep shows at a good price (at least that is what we think they are offering, it sounds a lot like they are saying ping pong).  For some reason they only offer this to Colin and drop their voices when they see me. 
I am glad we came to see Bangkok, but I will be glad to leave.

***Red China***
Hi, this is Sarah's mom.  I heard from Sarah and Colin last night, Sat. 10/13, and they're alive and well.  It looks like China does not allow access to googlepages so they can't send out any information.  They are in Guilin in Southern China until Thursday, 10/18, when they go to Xian.  They will be there until Monday, 10/22, when they will fly to Beijing and stay until Sat. 10/27.  They have a friend from college living there and they are very excited about seeing a familiar face.  Here is a copy of Sarah's last email:
 
Saturday, Oct. 13
Hi Mom,
China is not very user friendly!  There are a few signs in English, but no one speaks it.  Not even the cab drivers!  We found Internet, but it doesn't have Skype.  We are trying to download it, you will probably be the first to know if it works.  The hard part is that all the words are in Chinese so you have to guess which button is download and hope you don't click on cancel.  We found G-mail because the page is set up the same as the English version.  This also makes things like booking flights interesting.  Sometimes half the site is English and half is unintelligible charaters.  It seems that Google pages is not a site approved by the Chinese government so I'm not sure if I will be able to update our website. Food is also much harder.  You have to hope they have a picture menu and that you can recognize what the dishs are.  The other option is pointing and hoping to get lucky.  So far I have only done that once and it turned out to be rice noodles and some chili sauce.  Not too bad. Colin is mostly playing it safe with fastfood (which is everywhere!).   

Ko Chang, Thailand - Oct 6th - New Photos posted!!!  
    It is our last day on Ko Chang and we are spending it in an Internet cafe that has a $3 pass for the whole day.  Well at least part of it depends on how long it takes to get all the photos loaded.  We will be sorry to leave this place, it has been very enjoyable and has one of the best Thai food restaurants we have tried.  We did try moving locations down to a beach on the southern part of the island, but it was too quiet.  We also found that we didn't fit in with the hardcore backpackers there.  There is a sort of club of travelers who go for the cheapest, roughest accommodations and take pride in it.  They somehow make me feel weak for paying the extra for air conditioning every once in a while.  On the other hand it is sometimes worth it to pay a few more dollars to enjoy yourself.
    Motorbiking turned out to be tons of fun, though I still think the drivers here are crazy.  The problem is that you have to watch out for so many different kinds of vehicles and obstacles.  There are cars, trucks, bicycles, hand carts, tuk tuks (three wheeled taxis), pedestrians, locals on motorbikes, as well as tourists on motorbikes (very unpredictable) all using the same one lane road.  There are also tons of potholes, debris in the road, and dogs running or laying in the way.  Colin seemed to get the hang of it quickly, but I took a little longer.  My first try I ran the bike into a ditch.  Don't worry I wasn't going fast enough to cause any damage.
    That night for dinner we tried out the seafood buffet at a restaurant a few doors down from out bungalow.  The food was pretty good and there was plenty of it.  The best part was the Fire Dancing competition that took place while we were eating.  It was one of those strange experiences that you stumble into and get caught up in.  The competition was set up in an American Idol fashion with a panel of judges who critiqued each performer after they finished.  The first competitor was the best in our opinion, though we don't actually know who won.  This guy was dressed in a ninja suit that covered ever thing but his eyes.  He started out twirling a rope that was burning on both ends then moved on to a lighted stick which he spun and tossed while dancing around an open fire on the ground.  He had a traditional Thai song as background music.  We were very impressed.  I think the judges were too, but all of their comments (which took about 10min) were in Thai so we have no idea.  The second competitor was a boy around 10 years old.  He was dressed in a more traditional skirt and headband with paint on his face and chest.  The little fellow was a bit on the pudgy side and very enthusiastic.  He kept moving his head and bouncing to the beat of his chosen song: Funk Sole Brother.  The boy didn't throw his burning stick, but made some complicated moves like passing it between his legs.  He did drop the stick a few times, but everyone clapped when he picked it up again and the judges kept smiling.  They probably told him to keep practicing.  The last competitor was a bit disappointing on the fire side of things, but was the best dancer.  Like the boy he was wearing a skirt and body paint.  For music he had a melody of songs including the theme to Star Wars and Ring of Fire. He mostly leaped around holding a burning stick in each hand (which is more than I can do). His most impressive trick was spitting into the fire seeming as though he was breathing fire.  We left before the final verdict came in.
    Now all the pictures are up so we are going to go out and enjoy the rest of our day.  Tomorrow we head to Bangkok and Tuesday we hop a plane for China.  Bye!

Ko Chang, Thailand - Oct 2nd
     We spent several days relaxing and enjoying the people, the food, and the climate.  Actually, it was a bit hotter and more humid than we would like, but we found an air conditioned room for a reasonable price so at least the nights were nice.  We rented bikes to check out the surrounding area.  One day we biked about 15miles in search of an elusive golf course Colin wanted to check out . . .  we never saw it but it was all in good fun, right? The roads are a bit crazy, lanes and signals are more suggestions than rules so vehicles sort of go where they want.  There is a sort of rhythem to the madness that the locals understand, but we haven't quite got the hang of it and spend much of the time in the dirt at the side of the road. 
      We are now on Ko Chang (the second biggest island, located in the southeast near the Cambodian boarder).  It is not as nice as Phuket, but there are fewer people and it kind of grows on you.  At night all the cafes along the beach set out tables on the sand so you can sit out and watch the sunset while you eat.  Today we are renting motorbikes to go check out the other beaches. Will write more soon.

Sept 26 -- New Photos posted!!

Kanchanaburi, Thailand - Sept. 24th
    On Saturday we flew into Bangkok and caught a train north to the town of Ayuthaya (I have also seen it spelled Ayuttaya, Ayutthaya, and Ayutaya, all on official signs).  According to our guide book you can walk to the train station from the airport via a pedestrian bridge across the highway.  Unfortunately, the book fails to mention that the bridge is from the International Terminal and not the Domestic Terminal.  We eventually took a shuttle to the International Terminal only to discover that there were two bridges.  We chose poorly and wound up at the bus station by mistake.  A local who spoke passable English took pity on us and pointed out the train tracks, explaining that if we just walked along them for a while we would get the the train station.  I asked him what would happen if the train came.  He shrugged and told us "Train come not often". 
    Ayuthaya is the former capital and sits on an island surrounded by four rivers.  There are a number of temples (wats) both old and new scattered around the town.  We rented bikes and checked them out.  Even though most wats were in ruins it was still impressive.  We stayed at the Baan Lotus Guesthouse, which is a house converted into a hostel.  The hostess, a Thai woman maybe in her sixties, spoke very good English and was quite charming.  We later found out from some of the other guests that she lectured on the side at the Bangkok university about hematology.  Our first night she told me all about the royal family.  Apparently in Thailand it is OK to criticize the government and the prime minister, but no one speaks ill of the king.  The man is in his eighties and has been ruling for nearly 60 years.  The Thais are very devoted and most families have a picture of the king (and sometimes queen) in their home.  So far we have seen his picture prominently displayed in almost every town, though we notice that his age varies.  Every year the people have a big celebration his birthday, December 5th (what a great day for a birthday!). 
    Our first night we had dinner in a local restaurant where the main feature was a huge outside screen.  We couldn't hear the movie because the restaurant was blasting Spanish music.  I recognized the words "me corazon" and "te amo" repeated many times.  Sound wasn't really necessary, the plot was basically Wesley Snipes beating up vampires and looking cool in his shades.  We never found out how it ended because a group from Australia came in and wanted the channel switched so they could see the Rugby match.  We watched for a while, but it made less sense than the movie so instead we counted up the number of geckos crawling across the screen.
*I'm almost out of Internet time so I will have to finsh later. 

 

Khao Lak, Thailand - Sept. 21st

    The weather has cleared up and it is now hot and humid.  The beach, however, is gorgeous.  We got a nice reminder of Santa Barbara the other day when we got back from a beach walk to discover tar on our feet.  Some things never change no matter where you go.  We are now back on mainland Thailand and have moved north a bit to the small town of Khao Lak.  This area was badly damaged by the tsunami and there is still lots of construction going on.  If you talk a walk down the beach you can see foundations where whole buildings were swept away.  It is very strange to think of a wave coming up so far. 
    The other night we found a local hole-in-the-wall place for dinner and ate the hottest food I have ever had in my life.  Colin and I were both sweating and crying and our noses were running.  Somehow we powered through, but my digestive system was not happy the next day.  Most of our meals have been in little roadside restaurants and the food has been very good.  All the menus are basically the same and list combinations of chicken/beef/pork/prawns with different sauces.  The funny thing is you can order the same dish from two different places and it will have completely different ingredients.  "Chicken with Cashew Nut" for example may be served with pineapple, onions, and green pepper one night but with ginger, cucumber, and chillies the next.  Fruit shakes (usually just fruit and ice blended together) are also very common and help us cool down.
    We are headed back to Phuket for a night and then fly to Bangkok.  I'm not sure what the Internet situation will be in the next few days, but we'll try to keep you posted.


Phuket, Thailand - Sept. 18th
    We had a bit of a set back when we first landed in Thailand.  The airport we flew into was in Krabi, a town on the southeastern coast.  We wanted to get to the town of Ao Nong for the night, which is right on the beach.  However we found out that there had been an earthquake in Sumatra that caused a Tsunami warning to go into affect.  The bus we were on refused to go anywhere near the water.  (We have since found out that just about any earthquake since 2004 means a Tsunami warning and most Thais living on the beach don’t do much except keep their ears open for news of an actual wave.)  Not knowing if the warning was serious we waited for the suggested 2 hours in a night market before trying to find a taxi to Ao Nong.  The market actually had good food, though the sanitary conditions were not exactly top notch.  Most dishes were cooked on large grills set up over open flames on portable carts.  Finding a taxi for a reasonable price took over an hour (it was about 11pm by then) and once in the cab the driver took off.  I think we must have spent half the time in the wrong lane as the driver sped past other cars, motorbikes, and even a few trucks.  I have never been so happy to climb into bed.
    The next morning we walked to the beach from our hotel.  It is amazing.  Check out the photos (actually you might have to wait until I have a faster co