Our Journey

Egypt

2009-11-24T00:43:00.000-08:00

2009-11-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

Why has our society altered its way of thinking to the point that we are now so brainwashed we actually believe something as inconsequential as success (an immensely ambiguous and prejudiced word) far exceeds the importance of family values? I do not understand how family values actually became less important than let’s say, “A good job.” I understand “family values” can be a very subjective phrase but the culpability I feel in the pit of my stomach seems to clarify any uncertainty right up. My, I regret to say, lack of family values has left me feeling a torrent of sorrow and dishonor. When I first attempted to digest the words, “Moe is dead” I was inundated with countless emotions, the most powerful one (I hate to admit) was guilt. I felt so guilty for not spending more time with Moe when I had the chance that I started wondering how I could have neglected someone who meant so much to me. Parents seem to be so head strong when it comes to teaching their children, “right from wrong,” and “education is the most important thing” that I am actually perplexed at the lack of emphases on instilling family values. How could we possibly justify not spending more time with family? As I look back on times when Megan and I wondered the back roads in some of the poorest places on the planet I realize they have one thing in common that we Americans lack, true family ethics. It does not seem to matter the size of the obstacle or how insurmountable, they all stick together. Have we become so numb and selfish that we actually justify abandoning our family members in places like senior centers and retirement homes? Are our lives so important that we cannot be pestered by something like family? I truly hope not or we have become a sad and miserable nation. I find it so ironic that it took traveling to countries with almost nothing to learn one of the most valuable lessons of my young life. I only wish I could have had my eyes opened 10 years ago…..

2009-11-16T11:03:00.000-08:00

We have seen this statue in a few different countries now. Apparently the urban myth is that the people of this town were raised by wolves.

Making our way to Dracula's Castle. (up on the hill in the back round) He was also known as the Impaler. He was one mean SOB. He is responsible for the death of over 100,000 people. He did not just execute them but he actually tortured them to death. Skinned people alive and let them bleed to death. Impaled people through there entire body and left them to slowly die. Most of it is a bit to graphic to write here.

2009-11-16T10:58:00.000-08:00

Budapest, Hungry

Prague

Prague

I will give you one guess what this town smells like......

Czech Republic Church of bones

2009-11-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

2009-11-16T06:48:00.000-08:00

11-12-09 Czech Republic was our first real “Eastern European” country and it is definitely different. I will explain what I mean by different later. We set base in Prague and started exploring from there. On our first day in Prague we took a day trip about 2 hours south to find this church I have had my sights on for over a year now. Back in the year 1200 someone returned from Palestine with a pocketful of “holy” dirt which was sprinkled around the church. This direct association with the holy land led to the graveyard becoming a sought after burial site among the aristocracy of Central Europe. By the 1600’s the cemetery was over flowing with corpses so they started exhuming bodies to make more room. The bones that were exhumed were being stored inside the chapel. To date there are almost 40,000 bodies stored inside the chapel. To be honest I have no idea what town we were in but it was very depressing. There were 2 very run down gray bock apartment buildings (very typical for Eastern Europe) overlooking a scrap yard and not much else. It took us all of 10 minutes to walk to the opposite end of town to reach this church. As we walked up to the church it was 37 degrees and overcast. The church is surrounded by a cemetery and since winter is approaching all the leaves had fallen off the trees. As we made our way through the cemetery to the front of the church there was an eerie silence. As you walk into the church you instantly see skulls plastered on the walls. As we walked down a flight of concrete stairs it seemed to get colder inside the church. (we could see our breath as we exhaled inside the church) About half way down the stairs were 2 massive chalices on either side of us showing skulls with wounds inflicted by various mediaeval weapons. There is a massive chandelier center piece in the center of the church that consisted of the bones of at least 100 people. There is also a family crest made out of bones that is about 5 feet tall depicting a raven pecking the eyes out of a skull. I did a little research and the reasoning behind having all the bones displayed was for a constant reminder that death is inescapable.
The next day we wondered the streets of Prague and the whole city has an old medieval feel to it. In the town square there were blacksmiths working on the cobblestone streets. They were heating iron and hammering it out into different items from bells to horse shoes to knives. It was very easy to imagine what that city would have been like 500 years ago. After taking in all the sights of Prague we caught a train the next day to Vienna, Austria. We both found Vienna rather boring and lacking any spark so we took a train to Slovakia. We arrived to the very dark and gloomy city of Bratislava and grabbed lunch. We did not want to jump to any conclusions but we were finding Eastern Europe to be very dreary and dismal. We returned to Vienna to grab our backpacks and catch a train to Budapest, Hungry. After a day in Budapest we decided to alter our current plans. We are going to speed up and rush through the rest of Eastern Europe and spend a week in Egypt. With that said we are currently smack in the middle of Romania. We are actually in the heart of Transylvania in a town called Brasov. Tomorrow we are going to go to Dracula’s castle and then head out. From here we are going to take a train to Sofia, Bulgaria. We will spend 2 nights there and then head to Athens, Greece which is where our flight to Cairo is leaving from.

2009-11-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick update on our status. We took a train from Switzerland and stayed 2 days in Munich Germany before continuing into Prague, Czech Republic. We spent 3 days in Prague and they were great. I will fill in all the details later. We are leaving in the morning for Vienna Austria, and will stay there for 2 nights. We are not really sure where we are going from there but when we find out we will let you know.

My, what a big doughnut you have......

2009-11-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

Forgot to post this one.

2009-11-08T10:11:00.000-08:00

Our last day in Switzerland was perfect!!! Snow day!

Outside where we were staying. So fluffy!!!!

2009-11-07T05:44:00.000-08:00

The main street of Zermatt. NO CARS!!! They have little electric taxi's if you don't want to walk.

We are talking an entire new meaning to the word "cold"

This was our first view of the Matterhorn in the evening as we were walking through the town to our hotel. AMAZING!! When we woke up the next morning that little creek was frozen solid. Burrrrrrrr!!

We missed our train so we had to hang out in the town of Brig until the next train. We both loved this town too!

The Doumo in Milan Italy

2009-11-06T14:04:00.000-08:00

I would like to take a moment and mention how perfectly centered this picture is.

I try and make my sweetie laugh right before I take the picture.

Italy

2009-11-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

She did not like my flavor of gilato

Everything in Siena looks this perfect

She was so excited that she could not even point in the right direction.

Perfect

2009-11-06T12:16:00.001-08:00

11-06-09 Today we stepped off the train into our favorite place of the entire trip. Oh yeah, Italy. I will fly through Italy to get to the really good stuff. We went to Rome. Went to the Colosseum, went inside walked around. It was very impressive considering it was built in the year 80. Took some great photos (arm out style) and then went to Vatican City. The Vatican is actually its own country and not a part of Italy. It is the smallest country in the world stretching almost a mile with a population under 900. We went into St. Peter’s Basilica which was amazing. It is the largest Christian church in the world with the ability to hold 60,000 people. We wondered to the other end of the country (all of 10 minutes on foot) to see the Sistine Chapel. It took Michelangelo a staggering 4 years to paint 12,000 square feet of the Sistine Chapel. Our last stop in Rome was the Trevi Fountain. Beautiful and you should see it if you ever go. I am leaving out oh so much but I am so excited to tell you about where we are currently calling home. Oh yeah, we stayed in Florence for a couple nights, and we went to Milan. We went inside the Duomo in Milan. That is worth talking about. It took 500 years to build and it is the 4th largest church in the world. Ok, it is much better than I am leading off to be. The outside of this gothic style cathedral looks like it has been lightly frosted. It is aggressive and fierce looking with 135 spires and (this is not an exaggeration) more than 3,400 statues. At the same time the soft colors make it look fragile enough to blow away in the slightest of breezes. It is honestly one of the most stunning buildings I have ever been lucky enough to see. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Italy. I did my homework and found out that it is possible to go up on the roof which gave us an up close look at the meticulous detail and craftsmanship. After Milan we jumped on a train and headed into Switzerland. We are in a tiny town nestled into a valley of the Swiss Alps called Zermatt. The only way to reach the tiny town is by train and the ride up is breathtaking. You are teetering on the edge of cliffs that drop thousands of feet to a turquoise river bouncing off boulders. On the other side is a mountain painted with every shade of yellow, orange and red possible. The leaves are so colorful and vibrant that it looks completely artificial and enhanced. Once we reached the town we stepped off the train into crisp 28 degree air that filled my lungs with the cleanest air I have ever had inhaled. Most of the ground is covered in a 3 inch layer of fresh untouched snow begging to be thrown. As we walked up the only main street in town you notice a very eerie calm. There are plenty of people walking the streets but something is so different. The sun had just gone behind the mountains but there was still enough natural light remaining to see everything. We made our way off the main street closer to our room passing a cemetery that had a light dusting of snow that was full of burning red candles. We crossed a small bridge and headed up the last street and you finally realize what is so odd. The silence is so loud that you cannot ignore it. There is absolutely no sound. I mean nothing but dead silence. The town of Zermatt is car free and far enough from everything to hear nothing. When I say car free I mean just that. No gas vehicles allowed. Everyone who lives here either walks or rides a bike. If that is not enough the views are so spectacular they will make you cry and change your life forever. Right in front of your face, so close you would swear you could reach out and grab it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps, The Matterhorn. (Yes that is where Disneyland got the name) It towers almost 15,000 feet into the sky demanding your attention. You will have to see the photos but this is without a doubt the most stunning towns I have ever seen. That’s all for now

The next week or so

2009-11-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

So this is a quick update. We are going to be on the move for the next little bit and I am not sure how the internet is going to be. We spent the day in Rome and have only one more stop in Milan before leaving Italy. We are leaving in the morning for Switzerland with a quick stop in Milan for some sights. We are going to stay in a town called Zermatt for 2 nights. It is up in the Swiss Alps and is a car free town. From there we are heading to the Czech Republic (Prague and Brno) We will have to stop one night in Munich Germany on the way. After Prague we are heading to Vienna Austria and we will be there for 3 nights. We should have the internet there so I will post pictures and tell you about the remaining time in Italy and everything else.

Pisa and Siena

2009-11-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

The leaning tower of Pisa is one of the iconic images of Italy (and on my list) so off we went. There is really nothing else to do the town of Pisa so we decided to make a half day trip from Florence. (only an hour by train) Once we hopped off the train it was only about a 15 minute walk down cobble stone streets with little cafes, shops and apartments before you are there. The second Megan was able to see the crooked tower in distance she starting bouncing up and down and pointing like a little kid. We scurried over there and could not help but laugh at that stupid building. Personally, I would be embarrassed if I built a crooked building, but that’s just me. Anyway, the surrounding buildings and the Leaning Tower of Pisa are beautiful. We headed over to a gelato shop, loaded up 2 ice cream cones with gelato, and walked around the tower and the surrounding buildings for a while. A bit longer than we intended, but that was not our fault. I am going to vent for a second so listen up. Megan and never realized how, how, well, STUPID people are. Example. "Excuse me mama, would you mind taking a picture of my wife and I?" We stand there and smile. She says, "perfect" while handing back the camera. You look at the camera and the woman took a picture of just our face with no leaning tower in the back round. Really??? Did she actually think we wanted just our face and not the massive leaning tower behind us? I guess we need to be more specific in what we wanted in the picture. The only reason I am venting is because we asked at least 5 people to take our picture with basically the same result. This is not the first time this has happened. Actually, it happens every single time with our fail when we ask for a photo of us. People have no common sense!!! Lesson learned, bring a tripod when we travel. Ok, sorry

We made it back to the train station by about 1pm and we decided that we had enough time to visit a second town that popped up on my radar. About an hour and a half later we arrived in Siena. It was incredible. It is a town in the heart of Tuscany that was established almost 3,000 years ago. The entire town is a World Heritage Site and for obvious reasons. The second you make it into the walls of the city you are in a different world. Everything from the roads to the buildings are built out of massive stone and brick. I cannot even begin to explain how surreal the feeling is when you walk around the town. I have never seen anything like it and if you ever make it to Italy the town if Siena should be a must see. Megan and I had worked up an appetite before we made it to Siena so first on our list of things to do was eat. We found a great café and ate……you guessed it, Italian food. While we were eating lunch I glanced over and noticed the manager was starring at us. When I say starring I mean he actually looked like a cartoon with his jaw stretched to the floor with eyes the size of basketballs. After he realized that I noticed him starring at me like a moron he came over and apologized while handing me a bottle of wine. In broken English he said something about my legs and apologized again. Siena is known for having some of the best wine in all of Italy so I was stoked. Of course I drank the wine in true style considering it was a really nice bottle. (See picture below)

An onslaught of photos!

2009-11-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

We should publish a book of our photos!

Our Gondola ride.....

She was just a little excited to say the least.

2009-11-03T12:35:00.000-08:00

One of the amazing buildings from about 1,000 years ago in the central square in Venice, Italy

We must have eaten 6 slices that day. It was oh so good.

Our last sunset in the South of France

2009-11-03T12:29:00.000-08:00

Strolling down the beach during sunset in Nice.

The nicest aquarium I have ever seen. (Monaco)

The view of The Mediterranean Sea from on top of the aquarium.

I caught a fish this big. haha The fish tanks were massive!

2009-11-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

Not really sure what to think of these statues......

We had a picnic right there. It was amazing! The water is absolutely incredible! (Monaco)

The real Monte Carlo

Nice

A friend we made leaving the airport in Morocco. She is stunningly beautiful in person.

South of France to Italy

2009-11-02T01:41:00.000-08:00

The South of France was stunning! The towns are quant and so great to stroll around in. Everything is fairly close so you can take a train into any town you want. We started in Nice which was exactly like I imagined. It had a bit of an old town feel to it which was nice. Get it, nice in Nice. Ok lame. Old French style buildings with wooden shutters and balconies all overgrown with flowers and plants. The streets were lined with little flower shops and fruit stands. The weather was absolutely perfect and the water was a blue unlike anything I have ever seen before. But……yes there is a down side. The only reason the water is so blue is because there is no sand. Bummer! The beaches are mostly small cobblestones which makes means no silt in the water which is what makes it look oh so blue. At least the rocks were smooth. We strolled the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and had picnics on the beach for every meal. It was perfect! After Nice we headed into the infamous Monaco, home of the real Monte-Carlo. Monaco is actually its own country and not a part of France. It only has a population of about 30,000 and it took us less than one hour to walk from one end of the country to the other. Even with its tiny size (the second smallest country in the world) it attracts the rich of the rich. It is like the snobby parts of Newport Beach, on steroids. Old woman draped head to toe in the most ostentatious jewelry imaginable, hats the size of sombreros holding these rat size yappy dogs with sunglasses as big as their egos. It was a blast to people watch and laugh. The purpose of our stay in Monaco was not just to laugh at people; it was actually to visit what is ranked as one of the best aquariums in the world. It was opened in 1910 and was directed by Jacques Cousteau. It definitely lived up the hype. Everything about this place was amazing. There are over 4,000 species of fish, the tanks were absolutely spotless and the aquarium itself sits right on a cliff with panoramic views of the city of Monaco as well as the Mediterranean Sea. We took tons and tons of pictures!
We felt like we explored the south of France enough so we climbed aboard a train and made our way to our next destination, Italy. Our first stop was in Venice Italy and we both absolutely loved it. Venice consists of 118 small islands and is literally built on water. Most of the buildings are built on wood pylons that are constantly under water. Since they are constantly under water there is no oxygen, no oxygen means no decay and rot. Impressive! Being that the entire city is built on water the main method of travel is either by foot or by boat. There are boat taxies and boat buses used for public transportation which I thought was hilarious. Venice is not that large so we opted out of the boat taxi and walked across. We had to have gotten lost at least a dozen times through the narrow maze like allies but it was so worth it. We found a pizza place that served slices of pizza that had at least 2 pounds of cheese, a ice cream parlor that had the best gelato ever and dozens of little shops that we wondered in and out of. We finally made our way to the main square in town which is called the Piazza San Marco. It was amazing for so many different reasons. First and most notable for me was the lack of traffic noise. There are no cars in Venice so there seems to be a silence that falls over the square. Most of the buildings that surround the square date back over 1,000 years which adds to the cities charm. Of course being in Venice Megan and I had to do the cliché thing and take a gondola ride. We went for an hour wondering in and out of the narrow water ways to some of the famous land marks that Venice had to offer. It was a surprisingly enjoyable experience and a perfect way to end the day evening. We will post pictures as soon as we have time. Ciao

Last of Morocco

2009-10-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is a spice shop

Morocco!!!

2009-10-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

Olives Olives Olives!!!

Streets of Marrakesh (sorry its blurry)

I love this picture! One of the vegetable stands

The streets of Fez

2009-10-28T15:29:00.001-07:00

10-27-09 I am sad to say we are leaving world of Morocco in the morning. We have been to 28 countries and it is unlike anything we have seen so far. I am going to do a quick recap of what we have seen. Tangier was nothing like the rest of Morocco so we will leave that stop out. I did some reading on Fez and it has to be one of the most fascinating places we have been on this entire trip. It is divided into 2 major parts, the new city and the old medina. There is no reason to visit the new city (at least in my opinion) so we headed straight to the medina. The old Medina is the largest living Islamic medieval city in the world. It is definitely Islamic and it is definitely medieval. Like I said before it is an intricate city mostly made from mud and stone. Ask us about it in person because I am still trying to take it all it. A 4 hour train ride took us to Casablanca which was rather blan in comparison to Fez. It was fairly modern (especially for Africa) but it was right on the coast which gave us a nice break from the heat. We stopped off at Rick’s Café (from the movie Casablanca) and a few other touristy things and called it quits with Casablanca. 3 hours later we arrived in Marrakech and I was starving. Unfortunately the only thing in sight was McDonalds so I had to break the rules (try not to eat anything I can get at home) and grab something to eat. Luckily the menu is nothing like home so I ordered a McArabia (which I think was camel meat) and chowed down. On the 10 minute taxi ride into the heart of town we were lucky enough to get every tip and pointer for the entire city. Not only that, but I am pretty certain there was a fairly detailed history lesson in there as well. The only problem was the taxi driver did not speak a word of English and we (obviously) do not speak a word of Arabic. For some reason the driver seemed to be under the impression that if he spoke louder we would be able to understand him. By the time we reached our stop he was basically yelling at us in Arabic and pointing to everything trying to get us to understand. It was hilarious!! We were staying in the Medina and this one was equally as impressive as Fez. The only difference was this one was wide open and loaded with everything Fez was missing. There were snake charmers, (I kissed a King Cobra) story tellers, voodoo/ black magic stalls with different animal heads, dancers and singers, food carts, spice stands and tons of stalls selling everything. It was very load, very bright, very chaotic (let’s not forget very, very very, very hot) and I could not wait to check it all out. I would go into details but just writing it is exhausting. Put it this way, after 2 days of exploring Marrakech I feel like we have seen it all. I ate anything and did everything. Out of the countless things I will remember about Morocco the heat will stick with me. It is 102 degrees right now and it is 11:45 at night. Marrakech is on the edge of the Sahara Desert and “insert any 4 letter word here” is it hot!! For those of you who really want to know what the heat of Africa feels like this is what I would recommend. When you finish reading this go into your bathroom and grab your blow-dryer. Turn it on max heat high, or whatever setting is the hottest. Then put your mouth over the end and try to breath. Congrats, you just experienced Africa in your bathroom. :-) The next few days are going to be a much need brake to reflect on our time in Morocco. We have a flight out in the morning back into Spain (it was actually cheaper to fly) and then we are taking a train straight to the French Riviera, the (Say it with your worst French accent) the “Cote D’ Azur” or as we call it in America, the South of France. I am sure Megan and I will fit right in with our backpacks. Hahahaha That’s all for now…..ciao

8-28-09 Quick update.....Our flight landed in Madrid with no issues and we took a train to Barcelona. We are going to stay for on night and then we leave for Nice in the morning.

2009-10-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

Not really sure what to say....... I am so glad Megan and I were able to fly down and see him before he past away. I will miss him more than you could ever imagine.

Morocco!

2009-10-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

10-22-09 If there ever is a time when you feel like you have seen all there is to see, or if you want on of the most amazing experiences of your life then you need to head to Morocco. I am struggling to sum this place up so here is my attempt. Astonishing, remarkable, incredible, enthralling, mesmerizing, captivating, and fascinating all at the same time. There is so much going on that you are instantly overwhelmed.

Let me start over. Our plans changed at the last minute (while in line to purchase train tickets) and we decided to stay the night in Tangier. (The first city in Morocco if you take the ferry from Spain) We wondered the streets until we were able to find a decent hotel room and instantly started exploring the town. Our first stop was directly across the street from our hotel. Chalk white sandy beaches with picture perfect blue water. Our post card stroll down the sand was interrupted by a bunch of camels that were just sitting on the sand. (We are in Africa after all) We were not really sure what to make of them so after a quick photo we continued down the beach.

We stopped and grabbed a late lunch at a great little café and headed back to the room for a power nap. After a nap and a few hours of window shopping we worked up an appetite and headed for some authentic Moroccan food. Out came a mountain of freshly steamed vegetables smothering a half a chicken all laying on top of the best cous cous I have ever eaten. It was phenomenal!!! Waking up still full we headed down to the train station to catch our train to Fez. 5 hours later we arrived to the biggest culture shock of our trip so far. I guess this is where I need to give you guys some insight on what Morocco is like. Yes it is in Africa but it is nothing like I could have ever fathomed. It is basically like the Middle East. 99% off all people living in Morocco are Muslim and the language spoken here is Arabic. When I say Muslim I mean just like what comes to mind. (No not terrorists you racists!!!! haha) Men with long beards and robes, women in head dresses and 5 time a day prayer calls where every Mosque in the city simultaneously blares over a load speaker the prayer call.
We are staying in an authentic Moroccan riad (guesthouse) right on the edge of what is called the Medina. I will do my best to find the right words to describe and summarize our experience inside the Medina. Every major town in Morocco has a Medina. It is kind of the center of town. The Medina in Fez is massive. There are 14 entrances and it has to cover at least 2 square miles. The paths inside range from 6 feet wide down to 3 feet with walls extending up at least 40 feet. The walls are made of a combination of clay and mud that is used as a mortar to hold the stones in place. In the walls are narrow shops selling EVERYTHING. I don’t think I can truly emphasize the word “everything” enough. Live chickens, goat and camel heads, leather bags, jewelry, clothes, spices, pastries, handmade taffy (covered in live bees) fresh fruit and vegetables, old bric-a-brac, ceramic everything, cooking cauldrons the size of bath tubs and so much more all in a labyrinth style maze that only took us 3 minutes to be completely lost. They do not just sell everything I just mentioned, there are also thousands of people that live in tiny mud style bungalow built into as well as above the walls. For the first time in my life I actually felt a bit claustrophobic. It feels like they actually took the most intricate maze you could ever imagine and used it as a blue print to build the Medina. Not only that but the grade of the paths are at least 15% either up or down in most places. There were tens of thousands of people all wondering the alleys with tons of donkeys used to transport goods plowing their way through the people. The whole experience was unlike anything I have ever seen, ever. It took us at least 30 minutes to find our way back out and we could do nothing but laugh when we were out. Once we returned to our guesthouse we asked the owner of a good place that he recommended for dinner. We took his advice (especially after seeing what they were serving inside the Medina) and man were we in for a treat. Through yet another intricate maze (the owner was kind enough to walk us the 10 minutes to the restaurant) and we arrived to a tiny (maybe 5 foot) door way. The door opened into an enormous room decorated in traditional bright Moroccan colors. We were taken up 5 flights of stairs directly into a picture out of a magazine. Everything could not have been more perfect, the decorations, the colors, the ambiance, the views. It made for one of the best meals on the entire trip so far. We ordered a 3 course meal and after the first portion we were painfully stuffed. 4 loafs of grilled bread served with a plate to lentil dip, a plate of sundried tomato dip, a vegetarian chili dip, 2 full plates of a every olive in the world, a cucumber/bell pepper salad and a plate of grilled vegetables was the first course. Don’t think for a second we called it quits. The “American” in us came out and of course we ate our way through the pain of a full stomach to the next 2 courses. Our plan is to explore Fez a bit more in the morning and then catch the train to Casablanca. That’s all for now!!! Ciao

Tarifa Spain

2009-10-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hola! Mi Espanol es un poco torpe, asi que vas a tener que trabajar conmigo un poco. Actualmente estamos en Tarifa, el extremo mas meridional de Espana. Hey not to bad. Thankfully some of the Spanish I learned about 10 years ago is permanently embedded into my brain. I might as well be from a different planet speaking English out here. Fortunately I have been able to book us train tickets, ferry tickets, talk to taxi's and ask for directions without to any issues. The only thing is they respond so unbelievably fast that I have a hard time understanding. Anyway, we are currently staying at the southernmost tip of Spain in a tiny town called Tarifa. Other than the half a dozen surf shops on the one main boulevard that cuts through town this place feels so authentic. I truly feel like I am in a small Spanish village and its great! We are staying about 1000 feet from the most stunning white sand beach with perfectly translucent blue water. It would make you cry if you could see it. We are taking a ferry in the morning across to Morocco in the morning and then hoping on a train to a town called Fez. We will stay there for a few days and then we will be heading to Casablanca. (Yes that is actually a real place) After Casablanca we will make our last stop in Morocco in Marrakech.

So we have some new news that needs to be announced. Unfortunately we will be cutting our trip a bit short. Bummer I know. We have been on the road since January and passed through 28 different countries. With that said it is a bit much for my little sweetie to handle and I am completely supportive of her. We will be heading back to the states on December 7th from Turkey. We decided that we will still travel but for smaller increments of time.

Ireland

2009-10-17T14:51:00.001-07:00

10-17-09 We are stuck in Dublin for a few days and making the best of it. We planned on heading up north for a few days but as we all know things don’t always go according to plans. Everything and I mean everything was booked. (We tend to lose track of the days of the week and did not realize it was the weekend so we did not book ahead) That means we have a few more days to explore Dublin and its surroundings. So far Ireland has been great. The weather has been perfect and there are tons of shops to see. Not only that but the people are absolutely hilarious! The level of swearing here is on a whole new level!! Add the swearing with an accent that is so think that it sounds like a foreign language. All I hear is “What the Fecking Feck!!” The stereo type is almost spot on. There are drunk people stumbling the streets by 10am. I am not sure if they are left over from the night before or if they get an early start. Maybe they just never stop. I have learned one thing. I learned that I dont make a good looking Irish man.

Well, our next big move is our flight back to Spain on the 20th to Sevilla. Right when we land we are going to take a quick train from Sevilla south to Gabraltar where we will take a ferry to Tanger. Tanger will be our first stop in Morocco (Africa)!!!!!

london

2009-10-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

Walking through Hyde Park on our way to Buckingham Palace. We happened to be there at just the right time and we (and a couple hundred other people) saw the Queen.

House of Parliament

2009-10-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

London

2009-10-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

10-15-09 Hey everyone. We just arrived in Ireland after a week or so in and around London. London was hectic but loads of fun. I don’t want to jinx anything but we have been so fortunate with the weather. We have not had hit any rain since we arrived in Europe. Shocking considering the notorious reputation places like England has for dreadful weather. We spent a few days just relaxing and doing, well, pretty much nothing when we first arrived. After a quick recharge we took a trip to Cambridge (which was one of my favorite stops in the UK so far) and it has somehow managed to retain an old town feel while being a college dominated town. There is something like 25 colleges in Cambridge alone. It helps that all the colleges we passed by look more like castles than colleges, each made of massive stone with meticulously landscaped gardens. Instead of walking the town we went for the water route. We spent the afternoon on the river that cuts through town on a tiny rented boat that you steer and propel with a long pole. The locals called it punting for reasons that I could not figure out. We went to a few pubs around town before heading in to London. We spent the next 3 days exploring the sights and attractions on London. We stuffed our faces with the culinary treats from around the world (London is extremely diverse) at some of the famous street markets throughout London. I will say that food around the world is nothing like you would assume. For instance China has no Chinese food worth speaking of. The Mr Wok, Pick Up Sticks, Panda Express goodness that we consider Chinese food is nonexistent in China. It makes me wonder what local people from China would think of “American Chinese food.” All I know is that living in the United States we are oh so spoiled. We truly have the best of everything. Anyway, almost every country is represented in London and it makes for great food. Our first main attraction in London was the London Bridge. Actually, it is not even called the London Bridge but everyone thinks it is. It is actually called the Tower Bridge. There is a kind of funny story about this. So the actual London Bridge was sold about 40 years ago. It was dismantled and shipped to Arizona for a man who has way too much money. The best part is he thought he was purchasing the tower bridge. Anyway, the real London Bridge is in Lake Havasu and the Tower Bridge is in London. After the bridge we headed over to Big Ben and the House of Parliament. It has to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing buildings in London. It sits right on the banks of the Thames River which makes for a great setting. Bummer. I have to cut this short. That’s all for now.

Ps. On a really quick note. While walking around the streets the other day we stumbled upon the most amazing street performance I have ever seen, EVER. It was this man playing the violin (different than the one in Spain) This man was so talented that just listening to him play you would swear it would change your life. Truly amazing.

2009-10-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

Eating ice cream and sight seeing in Lisbon. This is the Padros Los Descobrimentos

Apparently Portugal has a replica Golden Gate Bridge. Ok, maybe it is not meant to be a replica but it definitely looks like one.

This was one of the streets of Madrid

This one too

Quick update from Lisbon, Portugal

2009-10-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

10-6-09 Last night Megan and I had to regretfully part ways with my Aunt Akina and Uncle Phil. We charged through 3 countries (Germany, France Spain) and crammed in as much as we possibly could to maximize the time we had together. We had a great time exploring the sights and stuffing our faces with all the food and sweets possible. They are most likely sitting on the plane at this moment somewhere over the US and Megan and I are currently in Lisbon, Portugal.
Megan and I took the overnight train from Madrid (Spain) to Lisbon (Portugal) in order to catch our flight to London. Unfortunately there is no direct train from Madrid to Porto so we had to make a stopover in Lisbon for a night before taking a train to Porto in the morning. We had originally planned to stay in Portugal a bit longer but we decided to stay with Akina and Phil in Spain a bit longer. It actually worked out perfectly since we were still able to explore the rather small city of Lisbon and take in some of the great sights the city had to offer. This city has an old Spanish feel but a bit grittier. The streets are all cobblestone and the sidewalks are literally works of art. They are all (I mean every square inch of the city we explored) mosaic works consisting of white and black stones that form stars, waves, flowers or some mixture of the three to make different shapes and designs. The stones are all roughly the same size (about 2” by 2”) and are highly polished from the passage of feet and cars. (people there seem to have no qualms about hopping their car right up over the curb to park) That makes for a beautiful path to walk down but it also creates a surface that reflects the sun like a mirror directly into your eyes.
We started exploring by heading down to the water (Lisbon is a port city) and seeing the Padrao Dos Descobrimentos. It is a monument that celebrates the Portuguese who took part in discovery and exploration in the 1400’s-1500’s. From there we went to the Belem Tower which was a fortress that was built in the 1500’s. They were both remarkable and without a doubt deserve your time if you ever make it this way. What also deserves your time is the amazing Portuguese food scattered all over the city. So far my favorite is the Portuguese egg tart. It seems rather simple but it is unquestionably a treat to eat. It is a small pastry crust that is filled with a sweet egg custard and then baked. Before you even realize it you will have consumed 2 dozen of these tasty little treats and begging for more.

Espana!!

2009-10-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

View of Barcelona from the castle

On top of a tower with a view of the Mediterranean sea

This picture was in Madrid. We sat for about 40 minutes listening to a very talented man play the violin. (We actually bought his cd he was so good)

My beautiful little senorita!

Last day in Paris

2009-10-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

One of the hall ways inside the Versailles palace

Versailles palace. (That is just a fraction of it in the background)

A bit of France and a bit of Spain

2009-10-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

10-4-09 We have finally caught up on all the sleep we lost and are ready to continue to take on the world! We left Paris last night and arrived in Barcelona, Spain this morning. Paris was, well, not what we expected. It is surprisingly dirty and not at all as “posh” as everyone thinks. Even with the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, dozens of cathedrals, The Versailles Palace and countless other world famous icons it is still (I hate to be the one to break it to you) way over rated. We left Paris after 4 days and made our way into Spain. Our first stop in Spain was Barcelona and it was very eclectic with a wide variety of things to do and see. We started off by heading to the biggest attraction in Spain, La Sagrada Família. It is a cathedral that is currently under construction and is not expected to be completed until 2026. It was designed by a famous architect back in the end of the 1800’s and slowly been in the works ever since. It is definitely a different looking cathedral. From a distance it resembles a massive sandcastle. Unfortunately once you have walked about 5 blocks to get a closer look it actually looks like, (no offense to the Catholic Church) well a pile of crap. I know that sounds bad so we will let you be the judge.

From there we took a tram to what looked like a small building at the top of the hill. It ended up being a stunning castle with picture perfect views overlooking the entire city of Barcelona. I was so impressed with the views of the city that I hardly noticed the gorgeous aqua blue Mediterranean Sea over my shoulder. When I finally made it to the views of the water we all decided we were ready to hit the beach. Well, I say beach because there is sand and water but it was missing the most important ingredient, waves!!! Even without waves it was amazing. After walking the board walk came across the main street that led us directly into the heart of Barcelona. Street performers, musicians, artists painting portraits, fruit stands, cafes and everything else all surrounded by immaculate 18th and 19th century buildings made it a great place to spend a few hours.
Spain has taken the crown for food variety and taste so far on this trip. I feel like we have done nothing but eat since we have arrived. Actually we have. The problem is not so much the eating as it is the lack of will power leading to the absurd excess consumption of food. We actually went to 3 buffets in a row. We were so full that normal motor skills such as standing and breathing became a chore. After eating our way through Barcelona we took a high speed train (245mph) to Madrid. Madrid was nothing like I has expected. It is one of my favorite cities we have seen on this entire trip. The buildings, the people, the atmosphere and whatever else is in the air makes this place a must see city. I will get into more details next time I write but it is time for some shut eye. Night

2009-09-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Entrance to the Louvre

View from the top of the Eiffel Tower

Night shot of the Eiffel Tower

The Mona Lisa inside the Louvre. Its worth about 645 million bucks.

Paris

2009-09-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

enjoy!

2009-09-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

Cathedral De Notre Dame

The best view in all of Paris from the top of the Basilique Du Sacre Coeur

Just wondering the streets of Paris

Eltz Berg Castle in Germany

No time to proof read. (Pictures soon)

2009-09-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

9-30-09 I am going to start off by saying sorry we were unable to visit everyone. Our visit was very last minute. By last minute I mean we booked tickets at 9pm and were on a flight less than 12 hour later. I am not going to go into to much detail but Megan and I took a quick detour and flew to Los Angeles. We spent about 36 hours there before returning to Brussels and continuing on our trip. From Brussels we took a train to Frankfurt to meet up with my aunt Akina and Uncle Phil. Horribly jet lagged we made our way to a small town about 3 hours north by train. We arrived into a serene little town of maybe 500 people at the foothills of a mountain.(Scattered through the town were apple trees full of crisp apples and vines covered in mouth watering grapes) We had to hike about an hour through the woods to reach the majestic and fairy-tale Eltz Berg Castle. The castle is over 800 years old and was truly impressive. We hiked to the top of a distant hill to take unspoiled pictures before embarking on a tour. (Megan and I loathe doing the whole tour thing but sometimes you don’t have a choice) The massive slate stone walkway lead up to an enormous castle that was perched on a cliff. The castle is surrounded on 3 sides by water and stretches over 200 feet towards the sky. Unfortunately photos were not allowed once we entered the castle for reasons unknown to me so all you get is pictures of the outside. After the tour we grabbed a bite to eat and being that I was in Germany I figured I had to try a Bockwurst. Oddly enough it was served on a roll and not a hot dog but it was still delicious. The following day we all climbed aboard one of the high speed trains in Germany and made our way to the city of lights, Paris. Megan was like a little kid in a candy store. Jumping up and down in her seat and smiling from ear to ear. On our first day of wondering the streets we stumbled upon an incredible cemetery that stretched for at least 5 city blocks. It was filled with statues of weeping angels, Gothic crosses and enormous monuments. There were entire families buried under a single headstone. Some of the sites were not headstones, instead they were mini churches with stained glass and large enough to fit 10 chairs. It was truly beautiful and eerie at the same time. After the cemetery we made our way to the edge of the city to the Basilique Du Sacre Coeur. It personally resembled the Taj Mahal from a distance but once we finished the pain staking walk up steep narrow streets and got closer I quickly realized they were nothing alike. It is a massive cathedral that was constructed a few hundred years ago and offers the best views of the entire city of Paris. We took the tiny spiral stairs (234 to be exact) to the top of the cathedral and let me tell say claustrophobics beware. I had to duck the entire time so I would not hit my head. There was an occasional slit which I guess you could consider a window (maybe 3 inches wide and 2 feet long) and the stair well was maybe, I mean maybe 2 feet wide all the way to the top. Once we reached the top it offered the most breathtaking views of the entire city of Paris. Maybe I was just out of breath from the stairs but either way it was amazing.
We woke up the next morning bright and early to start our next day of sightseeing. First on the agenda was the legendary Eiffel Tower. Ironically enough it was almost torn down in 1909, just 20 years after being built because it was considered an eye sore. The only reason it was spared was because it was the tallest structure in the city and served as the perfect place for radio antennas. We decided we were going to wait till night fall to take the trip to the top. After eating breakfast at the park in front of the Eiffel Tower we walked through the city until we reached the Arc De Triomphe & Champs-Elysees. This massive monument sits in the middle of the largest roundabout in the world. We marveled at its incredibly detailed carvings and engravings before walking towards the Lourve. (It was in the movie The Da Vinci Code) It is considered one of the finest museums in the world and houses some of the most famous pieces of art in all of history. (Most of it is closed on Tuesdays so we will be returning in the morning to admire the collection of priceless art) Our last stop of the day was the world famous (at least I consider it world famous) Cathedral De Notre Dame De Paris. It is a French Gothic masterpiece and has been the main focus of Catholic Paris for over seven hundred years. I wish I could write more but it is getting really late (2:30am) and we have to wake up nice and early. Hope all is well with everyone!!!

Luxembourg and Brussels

2009-09-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

9-22-09The past 2 days have been full of beautiful sights and the most amazing food thus far. Our first trip was a rather long day trip to the country just south of Belgium, Luxembourg. 3 trains and 1 bus later we arrived at this tiny medieval town hidden deep in the forest that was perfectly preserved. Apparently the shipping channel which was the lifeline to the town had dried up almost 600 years ago and the town was abandoned leaving it almost unaltered. We took a ski lift to the top of the highest hill in the town to take in picture perfect views of an old castle (which I could not find any info about) as well as the town. I am going to skimp on the details because I am so excited to write about Brussels. (My favorite town so far without any competition)

Brussels!!! A narrow cobble stone ally led us directly into the most amazing town square anyone could possible dream up. As I reached the end of the ally and began peer around the corner I literally stopped in my tracks by the exquisiteness of this place. Imagine the first thing you feast your eyes upon is an immense cathedral with scrupulous details to the level of inconceivable. As your eyes follow the line of sight you see 6 more extraordinary buildings that all share walls directing your attention to another massive 7 story building that should be considered a piece of art. I quickly realized I was completely surrounded by buildings of immeasurable splendor that I was instantly overwhelmed. It looked as though I walked into an outdoor museum, but it felt as though I walked into a time capsule that has somehow managed to perfectly preserve all the best pieces of Europe and place them all around me. I stood there for a while with my jaw on the cobblestone floor feebly trying to comprehend that places like this even existed outside of history books and movies. I spun in circles with my camera in hand unable to decide what deserved my attention first that I made myself dizzy. Pictures will not even come close to capturing the magnitude and brilliance of this place so all I can say is forget Paris. If you ever have the chance to visit Europe do yourself a favor and visit Brussels. Oh yes, the food. As we were standing in the square I noticed a chocolate shop that was easily 10 deep with spectators gawking into the window with puddles of drool on the floor. As I stepped inside I could feel them all staring at me wondering what I was going to get. (I guess the shop was to intimidating for them to walk in)The chocolate looked so amazing that you would swear the only way you could pay was with solid gold bars directly from Fort Knox. My eyes locked onto to chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate covered bananas. It was like I blacked out. Before I knew it Megan and I were outside taking pleasure in the most exquisite chocolate known to man. Through a mouthful of chocolate and strawberries Megan uttered out, “Oh my god, this is the best chocolate I have ever” and in went another bite. There was no depriving ourselves so needless to say a second round was more than a necessity. From there we went into a different chocolate shop to dip already covered chocolate crackers into a 5 tier chocolate fountain of heavenly goodness. Haha I LOVE BELGIUM CHOCOLATE!!! I have to get going for now……

Brussels!!

2009-09-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

It looks miserable doesn't it??

Legendary chocolate covered strawberries

Luxembourg

2009-09-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

This is Luxembourg City

The tiny town in the forest

Antwerp, Belgium

2009-09-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

I only wish I could express mail everyone out there one of these mouthwatering chocolate waffles.

Amsterdam

2009-09-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

On our way to the red light district

This was Megan pretending to fit in with the locals. haha

This is what 90% of Amsterdam looks like

AMSTERDAM!!

2009-09-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

The smallest car I have ever seen

The only public bathrooms we have seen in all of Europe

yum yum yum

Fast food. (No we did not try it)

2009-09-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

The craftsmanship on the buildings are painstakingly impressive
I love her to pieces!

The Berlin Wall

This is the, "I'm lost" face

Berlin

2009-09-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Over looking the city from the glass dome on the top of the building in the picture below.

some pictures

2009-09-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Amazing cafe in Berlin where we ate Mexican food till we were ready to burst

Holocaust memorial

Old checkpoint between East and West Germany

Boarding the train on the ferry to reach Germany

Denmark

Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam

2009-09-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

9-15-09 We spent 2 days wondering around Copenhagen and started to understand its charms. Beautiful buildings, friendly people and great weather to name a few. It was strange to see an entire population that commutes on everywhere on bicycles. I can only relate it to Vietnam, but instead of mopeds there were thousands of people riding bikes. We arrived in Germany a few days ago and it is stunning. It is the start of fall and you can easily tell by the amber, orange and red leaves clinging to the tree branches. The train into Germany was rather interesting. They actually pulled the entire train onto a ferry, then crossed what I think is the Baltic Sea, and dropped us off 45 minutes later on the Germany side. I have never seen or experienced anything like that before. We spent a day in Berlin exploring the sights and taking in all the recent history of the place. We started off by heading to the Holocaust Monument which consisted of almost 3000 cement blocks all ranging in height forming a sort of rolling hill across a huge span. They formed narrow hallways of varying heights which made for a bit of fun to run through. From there we went down to what was called “Check Point Charlie.” I guess a bit of history would make this a bit easier to understand. I am certain everyone has heard of the Berlin Wall. Surprisingly most people do not know much other than, well that it’s a wall in Berlin. The United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union divided the country into 4 separate occupation zones. The Federation of Germany was formed with the 3 western zones and a second zone was formed by the Soviets. The Soviets built a wall that snaked through the entire city to prevent skilled and educated workers from entering and closed the border for almost 40 years. With that said, Check Point Charlie is one of the point where you would have crossed from the western side into the communist side. Minus all the barbed wire, tanks and soldiers with guns the check point is still the same. Unfortunately most of the old buildings that are synonymous with Europe are nonexistent in Berlin (and all of Germany for that matter) after the countless bombing raids during WWll. Luckily a few somehow survived and they were the most impressive buildings I have seen to date. My favorite was the Reichsraggebaude. The detail and the size made it one of the most impressive buildings I have seen so far. From there we went to a café to grab some lunch and rest out tired feet. After stuffing our faces we headed down to the last remaining section of the original Berlin Wall that snakes almost a mile through the city. The wall is about 15 feet tall with no edges or seems. There is enough graffiti and art to put Los Angeles to shame. No trip to the Berlin Wall is complete without your own little piece of history so we obtained a piece of the wall for a memento.
9-20-09 We just spent the weekend Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and wow what a place. There is soooooooo much to do in that city. There is the legendary red light district where you walk down the street with prostitute in the windows. There are the thousands of “coffee shops” that sell nothing close to coffee, just all the weed you could imagine and every kind of shroom in the book. Besides all the cliché things there is the house of Ann Frank, the Vincent Van Gogh museum and countless other museums with billions, literally billions of dollars in art. The town is actually very quant. All the buildings are picture perfect and there has to be at least 1,000 bridges in the city. There are dozens of canals linking the city together so travel by boat is the norm. (Basically a little version of Venice Italy) I have to cut this posting short but I will say we are currently in Antwerp, Belgium. We stepped off the train into the most amazing train station I have ever seen. We walked right up to a chocolate shop and ordered a Belgium waffle dipped in the smoothest, sweetest Belgium chocolate I have ever tasted then topped off with whip cream. It was the best thing I have ever eaten. EVER!!! We have to run and get ready for tomorrow. (We are heading into Brussels)

Sad goodbye to Norway

2009-09-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

I am going to start off by apologizing for the rather dull and lackluster postings lately. I have extremely exhausted and actually still jet lagged from our flight over from India. It was late to bed and early to rise every night in Stavanger but that is only because we had such an amazing host. Her name was Liv and she was basically our mom away from home. Rest assure we were in good hands and were treated to some of the best home cooked meals we have had in months. Not only that but she was kind enough to cook us some traditional Norwegian dishes that were phenomenal! We stayed up late talking and woke up early to explore and man are we wiped out. I regret to say we had to leave Liv (even though we wanted to move in, permanently) and take a night train to Oslo. After an all night train we arrived in Oslo (which is the capital of Norway) at 7:30am. We had planned on exploring the town all day but as everyone knows things don’t always go according to plan. The train we had planned on taking was all booked up so we had to take a train that was leaving in an hour. No Oslo for us. We climbed aboard a train bound for Stockholm and that turned out to be a bit of a mistake. Our original plan was to take a night train from Oslo to Stockholm. We try to take night trains whenever possible so we do not have to pay for a room for the night. That means we got in to Stockholm just after 4pm with nowhere to stay. Unbeknown to us there was a half marathon going on the next day so everything was all booked up. Well, everything cheap was all booked up. After walking around peeking in and out of places we finally had to settle on a legitimate hotel. The silver lining was the amazing breakfast buffet that was included in the price. Being that we are on a budget I ate 5 plates of food which held me over until dinner. We spent the day wandering the streets and narrow allies of old town Stockholm which were full of life and character. Tiny bakeries, candy shops and cafés all peppered through the cobblestone allies made this one of my favorite cities thus far. There is not much to do on the excitement level but the city is full of dozens of museums which we decided to pass on. We are taking a train in the morning to Copenhagen which is the capital of Denmark and only staying for 2 days. It is not that these countries do not have a lot to offer but we are passing through rather quickly to reach some of the more interesting countries on our itinerary. From Copenhagen we are heading into Germany (Hamburg) which will command more time and exploring.

Stockholm Sweden

2009-09-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

Hiking in Norway

2009-09-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

Our first stop in Norway was an amazing little mountain town called
Bergen. It sat right on a lake with narrow cobble stone streets and
tiny little houses that came in every color imaginable. From Bergen we
took a scenic bus ride 5 hours south to our main stop in Norway. A
town called Stavanger. It is also a mountain town that is surrounded by
countless small islands. It sits right on the edge of the Fjords which
we went and explored earlier today. The purpose for coming to Norway
was the amazing hikes that take you deep in the Fjords. The Fjords are
a series of massive canyons that rival the Grand Canyon in size but in
my opinion are without a doubt much more impressive. During the last
ice age enormous glaciers pushed through the canyons carving out the
rock as it made its way down to the ocean. The canyons are thousands of
feet deep with stunning blue water flowing at the bottom. We rented a
car to reach the inaccessible areas and started our day. The first
hike was about a 3 hour drive to a remote area in the middle of no
man’s land. The terrain looked like something that belonged on a
different planet. It was one massive rock that stretched for hundreds
of miles. Since it was a rock it lacked any form of trees. What it did
have was patches of marshy mud and deep moss scattered on top of the
boulders. About 10 steps into our first hike I had already stepped ankle deep in mud. Other than that our first hike was rather uneventful. Today on the other hand was an entirely different story. We left Liv´s home (Couchsurfing) nice and early to
get a jump on the day. (5am) Two hours later we arrived at a deserted
parking lot and started our hike. Well, we thought it was a hike. It
was by far the most challenging thing I have ever done on my
prosthetics. We ended up traversing 5 mountain tops in the span of 6
hours. Yes, mountain tops. Climb up to the peak, back down to a second
peak and repeat. Let me quickly point out that these were not hills,
they were mountains. This hike was not your run of the mill hike either. The trails were not dirt or paved. We had to make our way across streams, over
boulders that were the size of cars, over rock slides that were at least 1000 meters long, down canyons and back up again. It was beyond brutal and worth every painful
agonizing step. The views were breathtaking and it ended with one of the scariest
thing we have done on the trip to date. Imagine sitting on the edge of
a sheer cliff with your legs hanging off an overhang that is literally
thousands of feet straight down. We were the only people for miles and
it made for one of my favorite days on the trip. The sense of
accomplishment we felt after hiking was unrivaled. The pictures
actually do a great job of capturing everything so enjoy!!!

The most amazing views I have seen, ever!

2009-09-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

The amazing views!!!

2009-09-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

Trust me its as scary as it looks and yes that is Megan!

Meeee
The views from the cliff looking down the Fjords
There was even some climbing envolved.

"The Hike"

2009-09-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

This was the actual trail which went on for miles

Small town on the drive to the hike

Some of the scenery

Norge as they say here

2009-09-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in the Fjords on our first hike

Town of Bergen

2009-09-08T08:18:00.001-07:00

2009-09-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

Main train station in Mumbai

2009-09-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

Norway

2009-09-08T07:46:00.000-07:00

We were sitting in Mickey D's with 5 hours until our flight was scheduled to depart and we decided to go see a movie. Not just any movie. Final Destination 4, in 3D. What a trip that experience was. I read an article in the news paper saying that Hollywood wants to move in the direction of 3D movies and this was the first one released on a global level. Maybe it was because it was my first 3D movie but it sure can turn a crappy movie into something really entertaining. Go see it!!! Anyway, the airport was about an hour taxi ride outside of town and we were ecstatic to be heading out. On the way to the airport (1am) there were families sleeping on every corner.

Who knows how many hours later and if felt like an entirely different world. No trash anywhere, about 50 degrees colder and expensive like whoa!!! We finally got into Norway and took a city bus maybe 15 minutes to the center of town. It was $25 American dollars to ride the city bus. Ouch!! Gas in Norway is over 8 dollars a gallon so I guess the bus has to be expensive. The town of Bergen looks like it was pulled directly off a puzzle box. Cobble stone streets.... I wont do justice explaining so you will have to see the pictures. We took a bus to the town of Stavanger through some of the most beautiful mountain scenery I have ever seen and arrived at another picture perfect town. The plan while we are here is to do some serious hiking through the mountains for the next few days. The day time highs are just around 50 degrees and we are loving every second of the cold. We are staying at this cute little farm house with amazing lake views. We are trying to couchsurf again whenever we are staying somewhere for a few days. For those of you who forgot, couchsurfing is a website where you email people and stay at there home. I will say it is such a blast seeing how people live in other countries. You get a much better feel and understanding of just how different every culture is. Well, we hope you are enjoying the pictures and that's all for now.

2009-09-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, welcome to India in deed

A school in India

2009-09-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

2009-09-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ajanta Caves

2009-09-07T11:41:00.000-07:00

Much needed India update

2009-09-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

8-23-09 INDIA
WOW. Wow, wow, WOW!! You think you would know what to expect. You have seen pictures and you have a vague sense of scrambled imagines in your mind but nothing, I and I cannot put enough emphasis on the word NOTHING, can prepare you for crossing into India. I mean no disrespect or offence but this is by far the most revolting, putrid, foul place you could ever fathom. So far all we have seen in this country is one massive trash dump. There is literally trash everywhere with thousands of bugs festering on the stale decomposing refuse. All the puddles of urine and who knows what are dark grey or black. There are no public (or private for that matter) toilets and everyone goes in the streets with no shame. There are actually piles of shit everywhere. Now keep in mind that even the smaller cities have almost 1 million people. That is 1 million people, pissing, spitting, crapping, and littering all over the streets. To make things even worse (if that’s possible) there are dogs, goats and cows roaming the streets everywhere that are not cleaned up after. Now factor in the 105+ degree heat that makes everything smell that much worse. That image you have in your mind right now, trust me when I say it is so much worse. The majority of the people are covered in filth and smell like they have not had a shower in years. It is surreal how disgusting it really is. There are homeless children everywhere and it breaks your heart to know people have to live like this. It is so much worse than anywhere we have been. Even though the people live in filth they are all extremely kind and helpful. Not everything I have to say is completely negative. We arrived at the end of the monsoon season so everything outside of the towns are vibrantly green. It is as green as New Zealand! We have only been to 4 cities so far so we are hoping that things get cleaner as we continue to travel deeper into India.
Now that I got that out of the way let’s start from the beginning. Once you exit Nepal into India you want to instantly turn back around and RUN!!! The border crossing(I use that term very loosely) was a dirt covered man behind a cardboard table. He was sitting in filthy pajamas with his bed right behind him. He clearly had just rolled out of bed for us and just sharing a pen with him made me want to run and shower. Somehow he did not even flinch at the dozens of flies that were circling his head and landing on his face. We had to cover about 400 meters of smoldering trash, feces and everything else imaginable just to reach a bus station. (We bought surgical masks as an attempt to hide the stench)The only ticket station in town was run by a local man who was determined to take you for every dollar you have. 2 tickets on a local bus taking 21 hours, for the low price of 50 dollars US. Not so much going to happen. It was not so much the money as it was the idea of sitting on a non air-conditioned bus for 21 hours. We took a local bus to the next city over (Gourapur, about 2 hours south) to see what else we could find. We managed to find first class train tickets leaving that day for a fraction of the price (of the bus tickets) and headed for the train station. First class is nothing like you would imagine but compared to the alternative it was night and day. The whole train only had 2 A/C (air conditioned) carts (out of 35) and we were so thankful to have one. (It was a 17 hour train ride and 43 degrees Celsius. That’s just about 110 degrees Fahrenheit) Even though we had first class tickets they still came with complimentary cockroaches, ants and tons of other critters scurrying about. Things were not all bad, we did have beds :) The non A/C sleeper carts are one open cart with 72 beds side by side no thank you!! And the other option is a non sleeper cart crammed with hundreds of people in a standing room only. It basically looks like 300 people crammed into a prison cell. The windows are maybe 2 feet tall and 18 inches wide with bars across them. People are literally hanging arms and heads hanging out it is so stuffed with people. Just to satisfy my morbid curiosity I asked about how those tickets work. There are 90 seats with no limit to the amount of tickets they sell per cart. The ticket lady informed me that during rush hour they will sell between 400 to 500 tickets per cart. Brutal!! We had to wait about an hour before we could board the train and during that time we were targeted by every beggar in the station. (we were the only white people) There were these 2 small children who were maybe 3 and 8 years old who put on a whole circus style show for us. Juggling rings, doing flips, cartwheels, balancing acts, you name it they did it. At the end of the show the young one walked around with a tin cup asking for money. A couple of the locals gave them 1 and 2 rupee coins and as they came up to us (I was way impressed that they took the initiative to learn as well as rehearse something like to set them apart from the dozens of other children begging in the station that) I gave them 100 rupees. The kid stopped in his tracks, held it up to the light to make sure it was real, grinned from ear to ear and ran off with his friend yelling thank you until his voice faded around the corner. To give you an idea a bag of Lay’s Potato Chips costs 5 Rupees. About 5 minutes later they both came back over to thank us again but this time they had food scraps all over their faces like they just had a feast. You could see the excitement radiating from their faces. They stayed with us the rest of the time until our train left sending us off and constantly thanking us and waving as our train pulled away. As the train plowed down the tracks we passed thousands of people sleeping outside on the ground, some on cardboard but most just right on the dirt.
17 hours later our train finally arrived about 30 kilometers outside the city of Agra and we needed to find a way into the city as well as a place to stay. We found a guy who agreed to take us into the city and of course once we arrived he tried to rip us off. He tried to pull the, “no no, the price I quoted was per person.” (Seeing how we have been traveling for almost 7 months now we are quite aware of all these little scams people try and run) I had clarified the price before we left and was 100% sure that this was not a misunderstanding. Megan says I am intimidating, but whatever the reason it only took a brief second before the bug eyed driver and his friend realized I was not passive enough to fork over the extra money so he scurried off. We accidently stumbled upon this city inside of the city and what a relief it was. It was a little eerie but at the gates were Indian army carrying automatic machine guns. No cars are allowed and there are actually people employed to clean up trash. We found a hotel inside the inner city and it feels like an entirely different country. No rotting dog carcasses covered in flies and maggots baking under the sun, no piles of feces and no stench.
First thing on the agenda once inside our room was to plan out our route through India and see if we could change our flight out to an earlier date. Unfortunately altering our flight is not an option so we are stuck in India until Sep 7th. Now more than ever we are eagerly waiting for our departure to Bergen, Norway. The plan while in Agra is to visit the oh so magnificent Taj Mahal as well as the Agra fort. After spending 3 days in Agra we are continuing our journey south to Jaigaon which is about 15 hours away. From there we are planning on catching some relief from the searing sun by staying on the palm fringe coast of Goa.
8-24-09 We left this morning at 5:30am after a sleepless night to check out the Taj Mahal. We wanted to get there before the hoards of people and the searing sun. We headed down to the ticket department and just like everything else in India there was a local price and a foreigner price. Locals, .30 cents a ticket, foreigners, 25 dollars. Ouch! Everything in India has a local price and a foreigner price. Anyway, the Taj Mahal was built in the 1600’s by an emperor for his wife who died giving birth to their 14th child. It took more than 20,000 people over 20 years to build and nothing was spared. It is a massive tomb where the wife and emperor are buried. The entire Taj Mahal is made of hand carved marble with designs made of precious stones. The sheer size combined with all the details made the whole thing very impressive. After the Taj Mahal we went down to Agra Fort. The Agra Fort is a massive fort that was constructed the 1500’s as a military compound. It was later turned into a massive palace by the same emperor who built the Taj Mahal. Sadly his son seized power and imprisoned him in the palace until his death 8 years later. The fort/palace is so immense Megan and I actually got lost trying to find our way out. The walls are over 60 feet tall and the entire fort is over a mile in diameter forming one giant maze.
8-26-09 Surprisingly we have been able to navigate the trains through India without any issues. There are no announcements when you arrive at each station and the Hindu language has symbols, not letters. Basically I set an alarm to wake me up about 30 minutes before the expected arrival and try and match symbols. In theory that works great but that does not account for delays. Our last train was 2 hours late so I thought we missed out stop. Unfortunately for us the only train from Agra to Jalgaon arrived at 2 am which adds to another set of worries. We try to follow common sense and never arrive somewhere after dark. This was out of our control so there we were, 2 travelers walking with our backpacks down the streets of India in the middle of the night surrounded by homeless people sleeping on the ground. We were able to find a hotel not to far down the road and get to the comfort of a bed.
8-27-09 We have learned that the farther south you travel through India the cleaner the country gets. Apparently the people in the north have a completely different mindset than the people in the south. Things are still really run down but there are no longer mounds of decomposing trash everywhere. Today we took a city bus about 2 hours south of here (for .30 cents each) to the city of Ajanta. From there it was about a mile walk to reach the entrance of the Ajanta Caves. There are 30 caves carved into the side of a mountain with the oldest ones dating back over 200 years before Christ. The caves were hand carved over a 500 year span using only hammers and chisels. The monks would use mirrors to reflect the sun light in the cave to see what they doing. When they were painting the ceilings they would flood the floor of the cave with water and then use the mirrors to reflect the sun light off the water to cast light across the ceiling. That’s ingenuity. Inside the caves were astonishing. The paintings, detailed carvings and massive pillars created an ambiance that was right off the National Geographic channel. While we were walking around the caves we noticed a large bridge at the base of the mountain that led across a river into the hills. We convinced the guard to unlock the gate to let us walk across the bridge and see what was up the hill. Just getting across the bridge was a challenge. There was a family of monkeys that were at the beginning of the bridge and in the surrounding trees. As we approached the bridge the monkeys started hissing and jumping all around us. We scurried across the bridge and started hiking up into the hills. After about 45 minutes of vertical hiking in the sweltering heat we emerged at the top of a ridge covered in sweat with an amazing view that overlooked all of the caves. We kept hiking around and stumbled upon a gigantic hole in the ground with sheer cliffs surrounded by vibrant green vegetation that dropped down about 500bout 2/3rds of the way down the whole was a water fall flowing into a small lake. It was beautiful!
9-1-09
We arrived in Goa about 3 days ago for some R&R. We are in the small town of Baga which sits right on the Arabian Sea and has a population of about 1,000 people. We are about a 2 minute walk from the palm fringed sun soaked beach which is great. The region we are in has a very strange feel and landscape to go with it. There are massive coconut filled palm trees everywhere keeping the town in perpetual shade. The constant shade coupled with the high humidity keeps the walls, rocks and pathways covered in a thick green moss. Randomly there will be swamps the stretch as far as you can see. There are tons of run down boarded up whitewashed Roman Catholic churches covered in over grown trees and bushes randomly scattered throughout the town. There are also single graves with a single cross in random places throughout the town. It feels like the setting of a horror movie that would have witchcraft and strange rituals deep in the jungle. We are about 45 minutes from the town of Panaji which has a enormous weekly bazaar that we will be going to in the morning. We will be leaving Goa on the 4th for Bombay which is out last stop in India.
9-3-09 I am sure you have all heard the nostalgic stories from your parents or grandparents telling you about a time and place where you could once get a candy bar for a nickel. Well that place is India. You can buy a piece of candy for a penny, candy bars cost 10 to 15 cents and a movie ticket (for a Hollywood movie) is less than a dollar. Even going out to a restaurant we still struggle to spend 4 dollars. It’s great!!!! The rest of our train journeys through India have been much better than our first trip from Agra. All the trains have been much cleaner and there are people that walk up and down the aisles selling food. It makes long train rides much easier when you are able to snack eat every 15 minutes.
9-6-09 The sun is starting to set on our final day in Mumbai. The streets of Mumbai are constantly busy with the 20+ million people who call this place home. The thousands of taxi's that brake for no one are a late 1940’s of early 1950’s Fiat painted in black and yellow. The British presence is still felt here. There are countless old colonial buildings that stand out like a sore thumb but add a much needed “something” to the city. If you leave your hotel any earlier than 8am you will see rows of homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks. There is a large population of Persian people who arrived about 300 years ago. I only mention them because their traditions add to the strange oddities of India. When someone dies they bring the body to the roof of a building that sits up on a hill. The body remains on the roof until the vultures have left nothing but bones. That’s love! HA We went down to the harbor front to a place called the gateway of India. It is a massive archway that was built about 450 years ago that no longer functions as it was once intended to. Mumbai was once one of the busiest shipping ports in the world shipping off spices, fabrics and whatever else was in demand. The arch served as the main entry point into India when arriving by sea. Now it is just a place where all the locals seem to hang out. We walked around the water front for a couple hours wondering in and out of little shops hoping to find some trinkets. From there it was to a post office to ship home everything we have accumulated over the past month of two. First our box was packed up for us which was great. The next step seems ludicrous but rules are rules. Our package was wrapped in cloth and then hand stitched closed. It took the poor guy 30 minutes to hand stitch our package together. We were then escorted through a maze that ended up taking us behind the counter for no real reason. I only wish the postal system in America was as efficient as the one in India. Our 15 pound box will take 5 days to reach Akina’s door step for less than $65. Well, it is time to say our adieu to India so we are off to Mc Donald’s for one last feast. The menu is tiny by the way. Cows are considered sacred so there is no beef anywhere on the menu. You can, on the other hand get a chicken big mac (which is so good) for a buck!

India!

2009-09-02T03:03:00.000-07:00

We apologize for not updating the site but India is plagued with perpetual power cuts and rolling blackouts. The chances of us finding a computer that actually works with actual electricity is about 1 in a billion!!! Other than that things are going great!!! We have been in a small beach town in Goa for the past 5 days. Tomorrow morning we are taking a train into Mumbai (Bombay) for our final stop in Asia! India has been, well,......interesting and we are excited to be moving on. Europe here we come! If we are not able to find access to the Internet in Bombay our flight out is on the 7th and will arrive in Norway the same day. We will post new pictures and old blogs as soon as we have time. We hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the end of summer!

2009-08-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

Tibetan woman praying

Homeless woman I befriended

You could not imagine how glad I am to be done with noodles.

2009-08-16T00:53:00.000-07:00

In Nepal

The Streets of Kathmandu

Mt Everest :-)

More Tibet

Tibet

2009-08-15T22:10:00.000-07:00

Potala Palace

Made the news paper :-)

Everywhere we went in Tibet they were fascinated by the legs.

2009-08-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

This is the Dalia Lamas winter Palace

Our permits for Tibet

Rabbit Ears.

The Terrocotta Army

2009-08-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

The Taxi's are tiny. Megan and Michael crammed in the back with there luggage.

Micheal's leg after 2 days in Xian. Megan and I had no bites. HAHA

The Great Wall

2009-08-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

We zipped lined off the Great Wall.

2009-08-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

Antique road show anyone? This was the market in Beijing.

The great food.

People everywhere in China!!!

Macau!!!

2009-08-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

PICTURES

2009-08-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

We will post pics tomorrow

Much needed update

2009-08-13T20:54:00.001-07:00

Sorry we have been unable to post for the past month. China blocked the blogger website so here is the last month or so. Sorry about all the typos but do not have enough time to proof read. Enjoy

7-14-09
We woke up early and stepped out of our hotel with our backpacks on ready to leave behind the perpetual thickening mass of dense smog. Hong Kong was a blast but the 4 days we spent sucking down the dense toxic fumes had to of shortened our life span by at least 6 months. We walked just under 2 miles to reach the ferry terminal which was our gateway into Macau. The jet boat covers the distance between the 2 countries in just over an hour. To make the ride more interesting there was a typhoon that had just changed course towards Taiwan but was still sending huge swells our way. It made for an excessively rough and nauseating ride. We arrived in Macau wide eyed and ready to take on the town. Basically Macau is Las Vegas but on 2 small islands. The grand scale of the casinos in Macau put Las Vegas to shame. (Las Vegas has height restrictions on the casinos due to the flight path into McCarran Airport) There are no budget places to stay in Macau unless you are willing to sleep on the streets in rooms that rival a filthy windowless prison cell so we decided to treat ourselves. Plus it was our 11 month anniversary so we agreed that we were going to stay in a real hotel. We checked into our hotel which had great views of the casinos and we were off. We headed over to some of the immense Asian casinos and worked our way towards the Wynn and MGM Grand. Shimmering bright lights, big costumes, tall buildings, tons of people and we were on information overload. After a quick run to the ATM we were ready to test our luck. Megan gambled for the first time in her life at the MGM and had a blast. From there we headed over to the Hard Rock and the Venetian to see what was going on. All these casinos had tons of table games that I have never heard of or seen before. (And I used to work in a casino!) Unfortunately there was no way we could be taught any new games due to that freaking language barrier. The Venetian had miles, literally miles of stores that we walked through and we actually got lost for a while. This is where I went fishing for the first time since we have been on this trip. I feel like when I say fishing it conjures up images of us sitting on the banks of a river at sun set lounging with a fishing poll. WRONG! When I say fishing let me clarify. Macau it HOT and Humid. We went to McDonalds to rest and chow down some food and man was it good. We had covered at least 5 miles so I took my legs off to let them rest. While we were there Megan accidently threw away my leg plug. Opps! So when I say fishing I mean digging though the McDonalds trash can to find it. For those of you who do not know what my leg plug is I’ll explain…….White, plastic, about the size of a nickel and absolutely essential for walking. I managed to find it floating in an orange soda covered in sweet and sour sauce. After scrubbing my hands we headed back to our room so we could relax before heading back out to gamble a bit more. We walked over to the casino that was across the street from where we were staying and I decided to sit and play some good old black jack. (I love that game) Apparently half the town had the same idea as we did. The casino was jam packed with people throwing money away and I wanted to play too!! The 25 and 50 dollar tables were so crammed that people were waiting 3 deep just to grab a seat. I walked around the corner and found myself a seat at a 25 dollar table and apparently I was bad luck. 3 of the people left right away and after 2 hands the one remaining guy had abandoned ship. I had the entire table to myself in a packed casino and I was ready to play. Megan was a bit intimidated and decided she just wanted to watch and learn. After 20 minutes I was up 350 bucks and I let my common sense step in. I used to work at the tables in Las Vegas and I know what happens. These places are not built because people win money. With that said I was more than happy and headed over to the cashier. Show me the money!!!! We cashed out and were done gambling for the night and grabbed a late night meal.
We woke up early the next morning so we could catch a bus back into China to take care of some Visa stuff. We managed to get across the border without any issues but we were right back to the same problems as before, no one speaks English and we are unable to read any of the signs. After an hour of walking around we were able to find the bus we needed to reach Guangzhou. When we arrived we were approached by a guy who said he had a room. Almost every place we have been in Asia has had touts at the bus and train stations with brochures for rooms. This was no different and we were taken to a hotel down the street and it was perfect. After we finished checking in we climbed aboard the subway to head over to the Visa extension office. 2 subways, about 30 minutes of walking and 2 solid hours of waiting in line just to be told we did not have the correct paperwork. We had to return to the hotel and apply for temporary residency. We are now officially residents of China. HAHA! We returned and figured out the final details. We have to wait 5 working days before we can pick up our passports so we are staying in Guangzhou for a week. From here we are going to head up to Beijing by train. We are not sure if we are going to stay a night in Beijing or just head directly into Mongolia. We are saving all the big touristy things in Beijing for after Mongolia. That is when we are going to meet up with Megan’s brother. Her brother Michael wanted to meet up with us and share on our experiences so he is going to travel with us for 2 weeks. If everything goes according to plans the three of us will be traveling from Beijing to Xi’an and then into Tibet. From Tibet we will head into Nepal and Michael will return home once we reach Kathmandu, Nepal.
Michael decided to meet up with us during one of the challenging and potentially impossible sections of our trip. Tibet is a region of southwestern China that is extremely difficult to enter and travel around. Not only that, but all the information is extremely contradicting as well as vague. We are trying to make it up to a town called Lhasa which is in the heart of Tibet. To enter Tibet all foreigners need to acquire a special Tibetan travel permit which seems to be unobtainable. Once we somehow manage to get our hands on one of these elusive travel permits we still have to make it to Tibet. Foreigners are not allowed to purchase bus tickets under any circumstances to Lhasa, even if you happen to have a permit. Hitch hiking comes with ruthless consequences for drivers so they no longer stop for hitch hikers. Purchasing a train ticket can only be done from your destination city. That means if we want to take a train from Xi’an to Lhasa we have to somehow get to Lhasa, purchase our train tickets in Lhasa to then board the train in Xi’an. That makes sense to me. Once we climb those obstacles we then have to deal with traveling around Tibet. To walk around Tibet you have to be under supervision of a licensed guide or you face fines and deportation. Keep in mind this is only what I have manage to find out about Lhasa. The others regions of Tibet that we have to cross through to make it to Nepal come with their own set of rules and require other permits. Certain portions are completely off limits and come with hefty jail time as well as incomprehensible fines. I am sure at this point you are probably asking yourself why we are not skipping this all together. First and foremost, it’s on my bucket list and for a good reason. If that is not reason enough then here is my explanation. Tibet is called the roof top of the world. It sits on a vast plateau that is on average 14,000 feet above sea level and is scarcely populated. It is home to some of the most violent weather and unforgiving terrain on the planet. It is huge in any sense of the word. (Larger than 3 states of Texas combined with a population of less than 3 million) It is home to Mt. Everest and the Potala Palace. (that’s where the Dalai Lamas once resided) This all comes with cerulean skies, nomads riding along on horseback and city temples filled with seas of orange clad monks holding prayer flags. That compounded with the forbiddenness and isolation has helped seal its mesmerizing hold on me. There is no other place like it in the world and Megan and I are up for the challenge. Michael just happens to be along for the bumpy ride. :-)
7-18-09 We jumped on the subway today and got off at random stops to see what else was in the city. Unfortunately there was nothing really interesting so we grabbed a late lunch and started to head back to the hotel. As we walked back it was impossible to ignore the fact that the weather was progressively intensifying. After about an hour in the room we were able to catch about 2 minutes of an English news cast about the weather. It stated that the tropical storm has intensified and turned into a Typhoon/ Cyclone and is heading directly for Guangzhou. Lucky us! It is now 10:30pm and there are warnings constantly flashing across every channel on TV saying that the Typhoon/Cyclone warning is in effect starting at 11:30pm and to brace yourself. Unfortunately for us the Visa extension office has our passports until Tuesday so we are forced to ride this one out. We are stuck! You might be asking yourself why we can’t just leave and I will explain. When you travel anywhere in China you are required to have your passport for the numerous checkpoints that are scattered everywhere. On the first bus ride we took we were stopped every hour or so and the bus was boarded by armed military personal who took our passports and logged our whereabouts. When we purchased train tickets we were required to show our passports with valid visas so that rules out that option. Being that Megan and I both grew up in sunny southern California we have never experienced a Typhoon/Cyclone/Hurricane so we have no idea what to expect. The only thing that comes to mind are the news casters I’ve seen barely able to stand in the gale force wind being drenched by pounding rain with buildings being blown apart. Gee I can hardly wait.
7-24-09
The typhoon ended up only side swiping us which was a relief for us. We got just over 5 inches of rain and a few trees blew down around the hotel. Nothing serious. The plan was to hop on a train to Beijing and then continue into Mongolia. The train was absolutely brutal. It was a 22 hour train ride that left at 6 in the evening. All the sleeper carts were sold out so we had to book a regular seat that comes standard with a non-reclining vertical back rest. Not only that but we has this microscopic table in front of us that we had to share between 4 people including us. By midnight we quickly realized that sleeping was not an option. We all had a tiny corner of the table that we were trying to sleep on but it proved to be quite unsuccessful. All this comfort and only 16 hours until Beijiing. HA! We finally arrived in Beijing sleep deprived with sore butts and stiff backs. We went directly to the ticket counter with the intensions of purchasing onward tickets into Mongolia. (Glutton for punishment) After about 30 minutes I was lucky enough to find a lady who translated between me and the ticketing agent. We were told we were at the wrong train station and we needed to go to the North train station to purchase anything heading in the direction we wanted to go. Easy enough in theory. 45 minutes later we had yet to find a taxi who understood where we were trying to go. Maps are useless since they are all in Chinese and we cannot read them. Speaking is equally as useless because we all cannot understand each other. We finally found someone who understood us and we climbed on in his Honda accord. He was not really an official taxi, just a guy making a few extra bucks. (He had his 10ish year old daughter in the front seat so we were not worried) A quick 20 minutes of him swerving through traffic like his life depended on it and we had arrived. Not where we planned but nevertheless we arrived somewhere. We went inside a hotel and I found someone who could tell him where we were trying to get. He finally understood but had no idea how to get there. I pulled out my travel book (which I will say is absolutely useless in every sense of the word) to see if I could find it on a map. Long story short after about 45 minutes we finally arrived at the north train station. Miraculously no one there spoke English so we were right back where we started. 2 Chinese guys who spoke broken English were eager to help and I was more than willing to accept. We were told that you can no longer purchase train tickets to Mongolia from this particular train station and the ticket lady had no idea where to buy them. By this time we had been lugging our bags all over Beijing and I had made a preexisting cut on my leg much worse. (I cut my leg open at the last hotel while Megan was trying to kick my butt in a wrestling match) We decided to can the Mongolia idea and find a place to stay. We found the subway and went down to take a train to where the guesthouses are. Of course by this time it was rush hour in Beijing, a city of 18 million people and it felt like all of them were taking the subway with us. We found a hotel and are planning on staying put until my leg heals. We also need to get a visa for Nepal so not going to Mongolia worked out better in the end.
8-4-09
We finally finished Beijing but not after a couple full days of sightseeing. The first night Michael flew in we just relaxed so he could be well rested for the next few days. We woke up bright and early to head over to a huge weekend market that we spent hours wondering through. When I say huge I mean it attracts over 100,000 people every weekend and s so crammed full of souvenirs, trinkets, carvings, bronze sculptures, art, as well of things that have been collected by the locals over the years. Old WWI gas masks, Americans coins from the 1800’s, you name it they had it. After spending a solid 5 hours walking around we decided it was time to head out. We went back to the room to rest our legs before the next sight. After a brief rest we made our way over to Tiananmen Square. Most people know Tiananmen Square from the Violent protests that took place in the late 1980’sAround 300 people were killed by police and military for standing up for democracy and wanting rights. Communist leaders of China want to control everyone in China and if people can vote then the government will lose control. All information about the protests has been removed from every history book, all video have been destroyed along with any and all photos they could find. It is actually illegal to speak about the protests in China.
For the 2008 Olympics China built 2 huge stadiums, one called the birds nest for indoor sports and the other is the cube for aquatics. To be honest it was rather anticlimactic but nevertheless it was still cool to see. The birds nest, as they call it looked like a ball of string. The cube was much more aesthetically pleasing. It was a massive stadium that was intensely lit up from the outside in a royal blue that could be seen from miles. We finally made it back home and after a late dinner we were all in bed by about 1am. B 5am we were up bright and early so we could go walk on Great Wall of China. (I was beyond excited about this) We had to catch a train that same day at 4:55pm and all the tours did not return until around 6pm so we opted out of a tour. We were able to flag down a cabbi, agree on a fixed price and we were off. There are different sections of the Great Wall that you can visit and after a bit of research I decided on a portion called Samatai. That portion of the Great Wall is about 90 miles away from Beijing but was definitely worth the extra distance. (There is another portion that is only about 60 miles away from Beijing) The section we went to has not been restored and is still in the original condition. There are no hand rails, sections have started to collapse and most importantly hardly anyone wants to go the extra distance to visit it. After sitting in a taxi for 3 hours we finally made it, and what a sight. Looking up into the mountains at least a mile up you could see the outline of the wall with its massive towers through the fog. The cable car that takes you up was under repair so we had the daunting task of hiking up to the wall. The hike just to reach the wall took about an hour and once we were there and could truly grasp the magnitude of the wall and it was truly impressive. I am sure we have all seen pictures of the great wall but when you are in person you realize just how massive it really is. Each tower has to be about 50 feet above the wall, at least 600 square feet and made of solid stone. The hike just to reach the second tower was over 300 steps that are all different shapes and sizes. To make even more challenging the steps are made out of stone which was growing moss and made it slippery as could be. The views from the 2nd tower were right off a post card. A massive wall crumbling in some places snaking along the ridge of a step mountain as far as the eye could see. It had rained a few days before so the contrast of the wall and the green growth surrounding the wall made it pop right out. The wall is built on the ridge of a mountain and covers a distance that could not be covered by foot. To put it into perspective, if the Great Wall of China was built in the United States, it would stretch from Los Angeles to New York City, and back. To the left of the wall where we were standing and down about 1000 feet was a huge lake. To the right was rolling hills that seemed to never end. To make the whole trip that much better we encountered only 10 to 15 other people the entire time we were on the wall. The hike down the wall took us no time at all. That is only because we opted to take the adventurous route. A Zip Line!! It took us from the wall all the way to the bottom by crossing over the lake. How in our right mind could we all pass up something like that. There was no wait whatsoever so we walked right up and strapped on our harnesses. Once strapped in I stepped up to the ledge, looked down and stepped off. After about 20 seconds the momentum had really picked up and it felt like you were flying over the lake. It was such a blast and like everything else in that category it was over way to quick. The Great Wall was definitely amazing and I see why it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. We returned to our cabbi satisfied of our accomplishments for the morning and headed back to Beijing.
We were a little crunched on time so we took a taxi to the train station and arrived with time to spare to catch our 4:55pm train to Xian. Fortunately Megan and I booked tickets almost 9 days in advance so we were able to get a sleeper car. We have met people who booked tickets 1 or 2 days in advance and all they can get is standing room only tickets. Ouch! We shared the cart with a local woman who spoke not a single word of English but was absolutely hilarious. She was determined to get us to understand her but of course that did not get far. Despite the fact that we did not understand a word she consistently tried and we all had a good laugh. We arrived in Xian bright and early at 6am and had a ride waiting to pick us up at the train station. (Some places offer free pick up if you stay at their hostel)
8-8-09 Yesterday we went to see the The Terracotta Army and is rather difficult to wrap my mind around. The Terracotta Army was built in 240BCE (240 years before the year zero) and consists of over 8,000 life sized soldiers, 130 chariots with 500 horses and 150 cavalry horses. The Army was only discovered in 1974 so thousands of the soldiers are covered by feet of mud and clay and are still being excavated. Each soldier has individual facial features, different clothes and armor with meticulous detail and different hair styles. We are leaving (we hope) tomorrow for Tibet and we still have not received our permits yet. We are getting a bit nervous coming down to the wire like this but the Tibet process has taken weeks. Other than the Terracotta Army Xian is rather uneventful. Michael and I did manage to make the best of our stay by trying some funky foods, which I will add were all perpetually worse than the last. I will just jump right to the grand finale, sweet and sour rabbit ears. Now I am going to do my best to capture the moment here. We contemplated this and even consulted with the waitress before ordering. (The waitress actually lives in the restaurant and she had never tried this particular dish) We tried to convince her to try them with us but she instantly refused. That meant Michael and I were on our own. We had no idea what to expect and they finally came out. Surprisingly orange in color, and to our disappointment, it was a HUGE plate. As you pick them up with chop sticks they are a bit gelatinous but with an eerie stiffness. The flavor was not all that bad but the consistency was unlike anything I have ever eaten. It was like a biting threw a rubbery substance that had layers. Only some of the layers (which are actually cartilage and between the different layers was a goopy slime) are so chewy that they would slide and squirm inside your mouth. In places the cartilage of the ear was so thick that it was like chewing a thick rubber band. I kept chewing and chewing but I was unable to break down the cartilage. I was forced to ingest nickel size chunks of wretched glop that I will never, ever, under any circumstance eat again.
08-09-09 You guys would be happy to know that while I am typing this I am sitting up on the roof of our place in Tibet, and oh how sweet it is. The air is so crisp and clear, the atmosphere is totally different than anywhere we have been and to my left is the Patola Palace. Who would have ever thought that 3 people from Orange County would end up in Tibet.
We left our hotle in Xian at 5:30am to catch our 7:50 flight to Tibet and did so with no major obstacles. We were picked up at the airport and taken to the city of Lhasa, which is about an hour drive through the middle of no man’s land. It is the largest city in Tibet with a population of just under 200,000 people and was once home to the Dali Lama. Tibet is the tallest place on the planet with an average elevation of 16,000 feet. (Almost 3 miles) Michael is feeling down and out (trying to adjust to the altitude) so today we are just having a mellow day. We will go wonder the city a little bit depending on how he is feeling later.
8-10-09 This post is going to be sporadic at best. The thoughts are circling around in my mind at an uncontrollable rate and all I can do is pull down a random one at a time. First off, Tibet is hands down the most amazing place I have ever had the privilege of visiting. The people, the culture, the atmosphere all combine to make for an experience that will be burned into my memory indefinitely. We started off our morning by touring the majestic Potala Palace. (It was on the bucket list) The sheer size alone is enough to impress anyone. It looks like it stretches to the heavens as your staring up in disbelief and awe. It sits on a 400 foot hill, and then extends 13 stories up containing over 1,000 rooms. It was once the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas and home to the Tibetan Government. The hike up was brutal to say the least. If Steep inclines and over 350 stairs does not sound to lung bursting, keep in mind the elevation, over 2 miles up. Not to mention all this was on 1,300 year old cobble stone. We finally reached the top and started our tour through the maze of corridors, stairwells, prayer rooms, bedrooms, and every other type of room you could imagine. Every room had intricate carvings, statues and sculptures that added to the ambiance. The crown jewels of the palace are the tombs of the previous 9 Dalai Lamas. In particular is the tomb of the 5th Dalai Lamas. It was made with over 8,000 pounds of gold is covered in over 10,000 precious stones, gems and jewels. Absolutely incredible. Unfortunately most of the Potala Palace is off limits to photos so you will have to use your imagination. After spending a few hours we headed off to our next stop, The Jokhang Temple. The temple was contrasted in the year 600 and is the spiritual center of Tibet. The visit to the temple is something I will never forget. There were thousands of Tibetans all crammed in around us murmuring prayers and making offerings as they made their way through the temple. I think it was one of those things you have to experience to understand. After we left the temple we wondered the streets which are narrow cobble stone streets lined with shops. There are buildings on both sides of the street that are made of white stone and are maybe 3 stories tall. The window frames were vibrant blues, yellows and greens. We perused the streets for hours looking at all the countless odds and ends while mingling with the locals. The locals stopped in their tracks at the sight of my legs. There were times when we had at least 30 locals following us around watching me walk. Even in pants the locals would still stop at the sight of my tattoos. It was a great opportunity to take some amazing photos of the locals which we hope you will enjoy. The last day we went to a monastery that was home to 500 monks in the foothills of the mountains. The monastery was at the top of a hill in an old village that was just like a movie set. I am out of time but we will post pics ASAP.
8-13-09 Nepal, WOW! We arrived in Nepal today and it is hectic, busy, crowded, loaded with shops, restaurants and everything else you could imagine all built on narrow streets loaded with countless pedestrians, small cars honking topped off with motorcycles and bicycles all weaving between everyone and everything. There are so many signs hanging off the buildings with power lines that you can hardly see the end of the streets. It is absolutely chaos and a blast to explore!!! The elevation is a bit lower than Tibet so it is about 25+ degrees warmer and unfortunately much more humid. I have to get going but we have some amazing photos to share with you guys so enjoy!!!

2009-07-11T05:11:00.000-07:00

More Hong Kong madness!
The view from across the water

Farewell to Hong Kong

2009-07-11T04:53:00.001-07:00

Our last day in Hong Kong happened to be a Saturday and the whole population seemed to be out in the streets. We started off by walking down to the harbor front to see the city from a different view. After that we stumbled into a mall that seemed to never end. It had over 700 stores and restaurants and Megan was in heaven. The mall dropped us off directly across the street from.......you guessed it, another mall. We grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the guest house and noticed the sky was looking ominous to say the least. We were able to find a single news station that reported in English and we found out that we are not quite out of the woods yet. We might have escaped the earthquake in China but earlier today Hong Kong was upgraded to a level 3 typhoon warning. (We call them hurricanes, they call them typhoons) With that said we are heading out early tomorrow morning to the country of Macau……

Victoria Peak, Hong Kong

2009-07-10T02:59:00.000-07:00

Someone is looking out for us. We were in the Yunnan province in southern China for a week before heading into Hong Kong. I am not sure if it made the news in the states but there was an earthquake 2 days ago where we had just been that destroyed almost 20,000 homes.

Yesterday ended up being the hottest day so far this year in Hong Kong. (98 degrees and 84% humidity) Today was suppose to be a slightly cooler so we figured it was a perfect day to head up to Victoria Peak. Victoria Peak is the highest peak in Hong Kong with bperfect views of the city. On our journey over to the mountain we noticed that Hong Kong has a orangish haze of smog that engulfs the city. It casts an orange glow on the buildings as well as sidewalks. It actually has the same orange haze as Orange County did when it was surrounded by fire a couple of years back. Disneyland is on the opposite side of the island so we were not subjected to the smog. We stumbled across a US Embassy on the way so we ran in to get more pages added to our passports. (That was one of my items on the bucket list, fill up my passport) 45 minutes later we were out the door with 24 fresh empty pages to fill. We made our way over to the tram that takes you to the top of the hill and it looks impossible. It has to be one of the steepest hills I have ever seen. After a short ride we reached the top of the mountains and the views were spectacular. Minus the smog that only a city of approximately 15 million people can produce the view was truly amazing. We ate lunch at the top above the city and called it a day.

The view from above Hong Kong

2009-07-10T02:57:00.000-07:00

Buildings for miles if you can see through the smog.

Disneyland Hong Kong

2009-07-09T04:37:00.000-07:00

DISNEYLAND!!!

2009-07-09T04:36:00.000-07:00

China

2009-07-09T04:33:00.000-07:00

China

2009-07-09T04:26:00.000-07:00

Rice fields
The view from our guesthouse window

BBQ'd corn that the locals sell for .20 cents

Vietnam

2009-07-09T04:17:00.000-07:00

A boat ride down some river in Vietnam

Up to date

2009-07-09T04:09:00.000-07:00

6-29-09
Vietnam has been interesting so far and we are coming to the final stretch. I have not gotten used to walking up to an ATM and withdrawing over 2 million dollars at a time. (One US dollar gets you over 17,700 Vietnamese dollars) We took a sleeper bus for almost 14 hours to reach our next stop which was just south of China. After only ten minutes in Ha Long Bay it is already vying for one of the most beautiful places I have seen in all of Southeast Asia. It rests on the tropical banks of The Gulf of Tonkin in turquoise water that hovers around 88 degrees. When you sit on the beach and look at the horizon it is covered with over three thousand limestone islands that tower out of the water stretching up hundreds of feet. Some of the islands are so close together that you can only paddle a kayak through the narrow gorge that stretches to the sky. You can easily get lost through the labyrinth of islands that form a complex network of channels, ravines, and canyons. It looks like something right out of a fairy tale.
7-8-09
Well the computer started to magically work again so I am going to fill in all the gaps for you guys. After spending 3 days in Ha Long Bay we took a bus to the Capital of Vietnam, Hanoi. We arrived at the bus station with no real idea of where we wanted to go and I had what I deem a great idea. I wanted to go somewhere that was completely random and somewhere that I otherwise would have never seen. As we walked down the row of 50 or so buses that were just lined up waiting to leave we picked one for no reason and climbed in. After 7 hours of driving into the mountains of northern Vietnam the bus driver pulled over and pointed and yelled something at us. Apparently that was our not so subtle hint to get out. We climbed out of the bus in the center of town which consisted of 2 roads that intersected and that was it. Everyone who was sitting around the town center came running up to us most likely confused on why we were there and started speaking Vietnamese to us. I realized that a couple of the people were holding 3 to 4 foot bongs but it was late and we needed to find a place to sleep so I thought nothing of it. With hand signals we were able to find a room (the only one in town) and then check out the town. We found the only so called restaurant in town and it was a massive disappointment. The only safe thing on the menu (fried rice) they somehow managed to butcher. How is it that Asians can destroy a local dish, and a simple one at that!! Needless to say we went to bed hungry that night. HA! The next morning we woke up early and waited on the side of the street to catch the one and only bus that runs through town. As we were waiting for the bus a local man came up and squatted right in front of us. (Asian people do not sit on the floor, they squat) He proceeded to pull out about 2 ounces of weed and pack a bowl for Megan and I that would have been suitable for about half the town. We politely turned down his offer and continued to wait for the bus. A different man approached us and with the little Vietnamese we had picked up along the way and the very little English he knew we came to the conclusion that he was heading the same direction and could give us a ride, for a price of course. We negotiated a price and we were off. After driving no more than 300 feet we were surrounded by pot that was growing on both sides of the road. That went on for a couple miles before the pot turned into rice fields and banana trees. After a 7 hour ride we arrived in Lao Cia, the last town before China. We walked across the border and left the land of fried rice for the land of the noodle and the home of the sweat shop. We were instantly aproached by taxis offering us rides for 100 yuan to take us around town. After bargining him down to 10 yuan we headed to the bank and then the bus station. None of the banks would exchange our Vietnamese money and all of the ATMs in the whole town were either out of money or would not accept our card. We had to wait till morning to catch the bus so we had the rest of the afternoon to find money. We had over a million Vietnamese dollars that we needed to exchange to Chinese dollars so we ended up doing a little black market money exchange with some random lady that gave us a decent exchange rate. We woke up at 5am to catch a 13 hour bus to Yuan yang which was as beautiful as it was dangerous. The road was on the edge of a mountain, semi paved and without guard rails. Southern China is absolutely stunning. The road followed a river that was at the bottom of an immense ravine that stretched up to the clouds. The vibrant trees covered that mountains and were blanketed and draped with ivy like old furniture covered with a sheet. Portions of the road were completely washed out by rain and others were over taken by mud slides. The bus kept making stops and a few people got off each time. At the last stop when everyone got off I asked the bus driver if this was our stop. He just waved us to the back of the bus so we kept going. (No one and I mean no one we have crossed paths in China speaks any English) Thankfully we have a phrase book so I can make a pathetic attempt at speaking Chinese and it is definitely hit and miss, more miss. We continued up the mountain for another 2 hours and the driver pulled onto a dirt lot which was the bus station. Even after 5 months of traveling we were both completely floored and over whelmed. The town/village is perched on the edge of a mountain and sits over 6000 feet above sea level. Over the past thousand years locals have carved over 20,000 acres of rice fields into the sides of the cliffs which was one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen. The people that live there wear traditional tribal clothing consisting of brightly colored beaded designs and head gear that is all handmade. The roads are made of brick and rock and the houses are made entirely of stones. It was like stepping into a discovery channel special about rural life in a Chinese mountain town. To make the experiences all the more surreal the locals were fascinated with Megan and I. All, and I mean all of them just stopped in their tracks and stared at us like we were aliens. Some would come up and grab our skin and others would walk with us speaking some off shoot of Mandarin that we could not understand. (Apparently there are 10 to 12 different dialects of Chinese spoken throughout China) After spending a couple days trying to soak up our surroundings we headed further into the mountains to a large city called Kunming. We spent a couple days in the city and we decided it was time to get a taste of a real city and see what China has to offer. We took a 26 hour sleeper train through the mountains and finally arrived in Guangzhou. This was our Gateway into Hong Kong and this is where China and the language barrier really was a kick to the groin. All of the signs are symbols and nobody spoke any English so we could not figure out how to continue on to Hong Kong. We tried the ticket counter at the train station, 2 bus stations and flagged down 3 taxis with no luck. After almost 2 hours or walking around we were still at the train station where we arrived with no idea where to go or how to get there. Thankfully we have a good sense of humor and the situation was just humorous. Somehow someway we made it to the bus terminal 5 minutes before the bus left to Hong Kong. That brings us to where we currently are, Hong Kong. Hong Kong was under the control of Britain until 1997 when it finally became its own country. It is rather confusing but Hong Kong is technically not part of China, but it slowly is falling under the umbrella of China. Hong Kong is actually an island off the coast of China and is comprised of over 200 islands in total. (Only 4 have residents) We are staying on the main island and the amount of people is just shocking. There are people everywhere and the buildings stretch as far as I can see in every direction. Imagine 3 New York cities all crammed on one small island and that is Hong Kong. The only difference is Hong Kong is spotless. I have no idea how they manage but this city is so clean it looks like a movie set. There is no trash anywhere and no cigarette butts on the ground. Tomorrow we are going to be massive tourists and go to Disney Land Hong Kong. We will let you know how it goes.
7-9-09
Disney Land was such a blast!!!!. We arrived right as the park opened and just like Hong Kong, it was spotless. There was hardly anyone there so we did not have to wait longer than 5 minutes for any of the rides. It is funny seeing Mickey Mouse in a Asian robe. We went on every ride and spent the day eating and being dorks. Disney Land Hong Kong is all around nicer than the one back at home and only half the price to get in. They spent much more attention to detail and spared nothing on the park. We are going to spend a couple more days exploring Hong Kong and then we are heading off to Macau. Macau is another country off the coast of China that is the Las Vegas of the East, but larger. It brings in 10x more money annually than Las Vegas so I am assuming it is quite a bit larger. From Macau we are heading back to Guangzhou so we can get all the proper documents to enter Mongolia. Once we get our papers we are going to head up the east coast of China until we make it into Mongolia. We are not really sure on the details of Mongolia but we will be there for 7 to 10 days. After Mongolia we are going to come back into China and meet up with Michael, Megan’s brother. Hopefully the internet will stay strong so we can keep up all the posts for our lovely fans. HAHA!!

We have been slacking on the pictures. We will start taking more.

2009-06-22T03:18:00.000-07:00

Ho Chi Minh City and the millions of power lines.
Mopeds everywhere!
Down the alley where our guest house was.

Vietnam!

2009-06-22T02:09:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We are currently in Hue and doing great. Sorry about not posting but we have not had internet. Here is a little update.

6-16-09
Ho Chi Minh City, formally known as Saigon is almost a sensory over load when coming from Cambodia and Laos. There are almost 6 million residents here and they all zip around on mopeds. There are more mopeds in HCMC then there are people in all of Orange County. (over 3 million of them to be exact) There are thousands of maze like alley ways intricately weaved throughout the entire city. Each alley branches into countless more alleys and it only takes about 30 seconds before you are completely lost. The alleys are maybe 6 feet wide with buildings towering overhead with a few inches between overhanging balconies and buildings. The boulevards and alleys are lined with sidewalk cafes, boutiques, acupuncture clinics, massage parlors, bars and everything else you think you could need. We spent the day wondering the streets stepping in and out of countless shops and soaking up what this city has to offer. We were told when we come to this city that crossing the street is basically taking your own life into your hands and playing Russian roulette. The advice we were actually told was to close your eyes and just walk across the street. After spending 5 minutes staring at the traffic fly by we started to think that was the only way. You seriously have to just step off the curb and let everyone swerve around you as you walk. Its madness!!! There are very few street lights and it is truly impressive how they manage to not collide with each other as they go through an intersection. Everyone goes at once and converges in the center somehow maneuvering around one another with only inches to spare.
Ho Chi Minh City might be crazy but the food here is phenomenal, and CHEAP!!! You can get a large fresh fruit smoothie for 40 cents. A grilled chicken sandwich with every vegetable imaginable on a fresh baked loaf, yes an entire loaf of French bread is not even a dollar. (We just found a place that sells six loaves of fresh baked bread for a dollar) After shoving our faces we walked over to one of the markets to see what they had to offer. We only lasted about 15 minutes before calling it quits. The sales people are overly aggressive and have never heard of personal space. They grab you and try to pull you inside their stall or they stand in front of you to block you so you cannot walk by. They do everything short of putting a knife to your throat to get you to buy something. With all the anit-American propaganda plastered on the walls that knife comment is not that far off. Understandably they are still a bit resentful. They have signs up that say, “determined to kill every American so our children can sleep in peace.” There are tons of variations of the same message plastered all over the small shops and cafes. I guess the constant reminder of all the homeless disabled vets sleeping on the city streets keeps the wounds fresh.
6-19-09
During our 3 nights in HCMC we came up with our plan for Vietnam, follow the coast stopping at small beach towns for over 1000 miles until we reach China. Our first stop on the coast is Nha Trang. We were both surprised at how clean this city is, and all of Vietnam for that matter. (Compared to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia) It is amazing what public bathrooms can do for a country. We spent the day at the beach to try and escape the scorching heat of Vietnam with no luck. We quickly learned that there are 2 types of people in Vietnam. The ones that hate Americans and the ones that are extremely friendly. We spent about an hour talking with a family while the 11 year old daughter attempted to teach us some Vietnamese. They were more than friendly and enlightened us to the ways of the Vietnamese. We were approached by at least a dozen different people all curious about who we are and what we were doing in Vietnam. Apparently tourists have disappeared almost completely and they were eager to talk to some foreigners. After 3 days we decided to move on and keep heading north. We picked the city of Hue for our next stop. We are not sure how long we will stay here but after Hue we will head to the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi.

Grab the tissues (The last few days in Phnom Penh)

2009-06-12T02:54:00.000-07:00

6-8-09
We left Siem Reap earlier today and headed to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh is a city of almost 3 million people and is our last stop before we head into Vietnam. The plan is to stay for 3 or 4 days.
If you have any heart at all Cambodia is a very difficult country to travel to. The level of poverty is unlike anything you could even begin to imagine. Phnom Penh is no exception. Homeless people of all ages roam the streets with only one goal, food. It is the children around 5 or 6 years old roaming the streets covered in filth that really breaks your heart. Most of the streets are lined with trash and the dirt and dust in the air are almost to much to handle. Some of the children wander the streets trying to sell books that are in a basket hanging off their body with a sling. Others are trying to sell a variety of items from handmade crafts to clothes. Eating at cafes and restaurants is a difficult task. All the restaurants and cafes have open fronts so people can walk in and out. In the 20 minutes Megan and I were sitting at dinner we were approached at least 10 times by homeless children that look like they just crawled out of the sewer as well as children trying to sell us a variety of items. You can tell they hardly get acknowledged by anyone and they are doing whatever they can to try and earn a dollar. The ones who are not as fortunate to have something to sell just beg for food. Megan shared some of her French Fries with a young girl who could have been no older than 8 who was wondering around. The most difficult part is wanting to help them all but knowing that it is beyond impossible. On a daily bases we come across at least 5 people who are missing arms, legs or both from landmines also begging for money.
We are heading off to a couple museums in the morning around town and one of the evening markets if we have time.
6-09-09
This magnificent country is just full of sorrow. We started out our day by going to the Toul Sleng Museum and it was horrific. The Toul Sleng Museum was once a high school, but in the late 1970’s it was taken over by the Khmer Rouge and turned into a prison with torture chambers that were unfortunately used daily. The museum still had the instruments used for torture, shackles and photos of every single person who was held captive at that prison. Rooms full of empty faces staring blankly back at you through a black and white photos sends a chill don your spine. Mixed in the countless photos were graphic photos of the carnage that was carried out. Over 17,000 people were held in this prison and hundreds died. The ones who did not die in the prison were marched out to the country side to be slaughtered and that was our next stop.
We drove maybe 20 minutes from the prison and arrived at one of the many killing fields in Cambodia. This particular one is where the regime carried out around 300 executions daily. It is where most of the 17,000 people who were held in the prison mentioned above were taken and executed. In the middle of the field was a giant glass tower housing over 8000 skulls of victims stretching at least 3 stories. Along with the skulls were piles of clothes discarded that were once worn by the victims.
6-10-09
We are constantly approached by homeless begging, people trying to sell trinkets and disabled beggars. Like I said before we want to help them all but are unable. We try and help the ones who appear to be struggling more than most as well as the ones who have no other choice but to beg. Today we gave money to a man who was burned so severely that he no longer had a recognizable face. He lost an eye as well as all his fingers from the burns. Later at lunch we gave money to a man who was maybe 25 with no arms at the shoulders and no legs above the knees being pushed by a filthy child. Then came a young girl maybe 7 pulling her blind father playing a flute while she sang a song. Ugh! It is so difficult. We have already decided that we are going to go way over budget in Cambodia so we can help those who need it much more than the two of us do. With that said today was one of those days where we went a bit over budget and it was completely worth it. We were approached by a young boy who was maybe 10. He handed me a piece of paper that said he lives at an orphanage that takes care of children living with HIV and AIDS. It also said that orphanage stays open strictly by donations and volunteers and receives no other money. The young boy was carrying a box asking for donations. This was one of those instances where you want to give more than money, so we did just that. We hopped in a Tuk Tuk and told him where we wanted to go and we were off. We stopped off at a local shop house so we could bring a bunch of food as a donation. We arrived at the orphanage and were greeted by tiny little children with enormous smiles. There are 17 children in total living in the orphanage and 4 volunteers. The orphanage is in the middle of a neighborhood of shacks built with rusty pieces of tin and chain link fences. For a roof as well as doors most of them used tarps. Unfortunately they are not well liked or wanted in the neighborhood due to fear and lack of knowledge. All of the people in the neighborhood will not let their children interact with the children from the orphanage because they are paranoid their children will contract AIDS. IGNORANCE!!! I was asking about the cost of running the orphanage, food costs ect. The location is far from the city (about 40 minutes in a tuk tuk) so it does not attract many donations, but rent is cheap rent. Rent, water and electric costs around $300 dollars a month and is all paid by donations. The volunteers were telling us that on months were money is tight the only thing the children will eat during the day is 3 bowls of rice and 1 egg. After learning about the orphanage we got to know all the children we spent the day playing monkey in the middle, volleyball and spent time doing whatever else they wanted to do. I played with my legs off so I was closer to their size and they loved it. Some of them tried to put my legs on and walk around. Others just stuck their heads inside the sockets and yelled and laughed at the echo of their own voice. It was an absolute blast spending time with the children and we loved every minute of it. Megan and I brought enough food to feed all 17 children for 2 weeks and gave a donation as well.

While we were in Laos I stumbled across a magazine talking about how many homeless families and homeless children there are living in Phnom Pehn. It went on to talk about the worst of the worst, the unimaginable. Homeless families and children as young as five years old living in the city dump where over nine hundred thousand pounds of rotting trash is dumped daily. The families rummage through the garbage looking for scraps of food and anything they might be able to sell. It is not just families living in the dump, there are also children with no family fending for themselves and digging through the trash to sustain life. There have been 10 reported cases this year of children being crushed by trash trucks and steam rollers. The article went on to say that the government run news papers are not publishing anything in the papers about what is happening. (Everything published in a news paper is edited by the government of Cambodia) After reading the article I decided we had to go see this with our own eyes. Our plan for tomorrow is to head to one of the local markets and purchase a bunch of clothes and food. We will then head to the city dump to hand out everything we bought to the families and children.
6-11-09
Today was the most difficult and emotional day of our entire trip. We started our day by picking up 125 pounds of rice and stopping by another orphanage that had 96 children. The children ran up to us and lead us by the hand and showed us around the orphanage. We spent a couple hours with the children playing games and parted ways. After finding a tuk tuk driver who agreed to take us to the city dump we stopped by a couple markets to pick up some clothes. We were not really sure what to expect since no one could shed any light on the situation. We ended up buying 3 full bags of clothes and headed towards the city dump. We parked at the base and started heading up the path to where all the trucks were dumping trash. I am not going to lie, I hoped we would walk up and we would feel like a fool with bags of clothes and no one to give them to. What we saw was horrific in every sense of the word. Decomposing trash and filth accompanied with the most vile and putrid stench I have ever experienced. Puddles of black toxic water that was so foul it actually had dead rats floating around. There were enormous mounds of burning trash and smoldering tires that pushed out thick black plumes of smoke that literally stole the breath right out of your lungs. All this was stacked on top of endless layers of decade old trash that was rotting beneath our feet. The whole thing was enough to stop us in our tracks and make us gag a few times. That coupled with scorching temperatures that rivals the depths of hell made this worse than the most unimaginable conditions you could possibly imagine. As we walked across the endless mounds of trash dark silhouettes of dozens of people slowly moving in the distance started to emerge. Once we got closer we could see men, women and children of all ages digging through the trash looking for food, clothes, and anything else they can use. We passed by the make shift houses that they all lived in and they were constructed out of whatever they found at the dump. The Tuk Tuk driver warned us that we are not really welcome by the government of Cambodia so taking pictures is a huge no no. It was a bit to emotional for Megan so I passed out the clothes and tried to make it as fair as I could. Once people realized what I was doing they dropped everything and ran over. We under estimated the amount of people that were actually living there but we did our best. Before I knew it I was surrounded by children all staring up at me with these dark brown eyes full of sadness begging for clothes. It was the most difficult thing I have ever experienced. Then came a mom with a daughter that was maybe 2 years old walking around bare foot that totally shattered my heart. I handed her few articles of clothing and she was ecstatic. We ran out of clothes and started to head back. We were being followed by maybe 20 kids all thanking us as we walked away but I could not leave yet. I headed back to where the mom and daughter were while Megan distracted all the kids. I approached the mom and daughter and the daughters face was covered in dirt and filth and she was now wearing a long dress that we gave her. It was pulled all the way up to her armpits so it would no drag on the floor. The mom picked up her daughter and walked towards me stepping over piles of garbage. Before anyone else could come over I reached into my pocket and handed her all the money I had. She stared down at her hands in disbelief and when it finally registered it was like someone flipped a switch inside her. She instantly broke down and started crying uncontrollably. She almost dropped to her knees but she grabbed my arm to keep her up. I will never forget the look on her face as she excessively thanked me while tears streamed from her dark eyes. The tears pushed the dirt aside on her face leaving trails down her cheeks. I tried to keep my composer but that was not possible. As I turned to walk away I could feel my own warm tears streaming down my face. I did not think the children would understand, and I did not want to make them sad, so as I walked back to where Megan and the children were I pulled my hat down. The children walked Megan and I all the way back to the tuk tuk waving as we drove away.

2009-06-12T02:47:00.000-07:00

2009-06-12T02:43:00.000-07:00

Killing fields

2009-06-12T02:39:00.000-07:00

The prison

2009-06-12T02:35:00.000-07:00

2009-06-06T22:55:00.001-07:00

We posted pictures below the writing.

The real Cambodia

2009-06-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

When we first got to Siem Reap we met a Tuk Tuk driver (Lynn) who was the all around friendliest person we have met on our entire trip. Megan and I decided to hire him to show us around the temples for 3 full days. (Yes there are that many temples worth seeing and yes they are all different) He is such a great guy and he eagerly answered any questions we had and felt comfortable enough to ask us tons of questions from what things are like in America to how my legs work. He picked us up this morning for our 3rd and final day of touring the temples. Lynn told us about these temples that are about 50 miles outside of Siem Reap and are hidden deep in the jungle. (That was intriguing enough for us)

The temples were completely over grown with huge trees and most of the stones were covered in moss with little sprouts of green scattered around. Some portions of the temples had completely collapsed into massive piles of rubble that were just begging to be climbed all over. :-) I am going to skimp on the details of the temple to jump ahead to the rest of our day. I started asking Lynn questions about Cambodia and how it works and we got into the topic of school. For a child to attend elementary school it costs 20 dollars per month and high school is 30 per month. (Remember that the average person in Cambodia earns 15 – 20 dollars a month) Lynn’s family lives in the rural country side of Cambodia and they are without a doubt on the low end of the poverty scale. (He is one of ten children) Lynn left home when he was 8 years old with the ambitions of attending school. All he has ever wanted to do is study study study. He wondered the streets like the majority of children in Cambodia. After a year of relentless pestering he was able to convince the monks to allow him to move in to the temple. He got a job at age 11 and started paying his way through school. He ended up living with the monks for 15 years until he graduated high school. He was lucky enough to earn a scholarship to attend a university in Japan but his dreams were cut short. His father was injured while plowing the rice fields and ended up with a broken back and a severely broken leg. His family said he had to come home and help take care of his father and he agreed. After his scholarship expired his father passed away from complications from his injuries. The scholarship was the only way he would have been able to attend school. While on the topic of his family he said he is only able to see them once of twice a year. He said he cannot afford the gas to drive the 60 miles round trip to see his family. To me that was unacceptable so we cut our temple tour short and after a bit of convincing he agreed to go see his family. I knew I would not look back and regret missing the temples when I had the opportunity to do something that would make someone so happy. I told him we would pay for his gas and the negotiated price for the day as long as he went to see his family. I wish I could explain the joy and excitement is his eyes with is ear to ear smile. He was so elated and he would not stop thanking us. He told us to come along with him and there was no way we could refuse that invitation, so off we went. We turned off the main road and started heading down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Twenty miles down the road we pulled up to a one room straw shack with children running around everywhere. Lynn’s whole family lives in a one room with 15 of them in total all sleeping on the floor. His youngest sibling is 6 and one of his sisters has 4 children plus his mother. Only one of them spoke broken English but we managed with hand signals and smiles. They offered to slaughter a chicken for us and we were unable to refuse. Before we knew it we were sitting outside on the dirt around a make shift table with a huge pot of rice, a whole cooked chicken with fish sauce while drinking homemade rice wine which tasted more like whiskey. I was lucky enough to be served the liver and I of course ate it with no hesitation. It was an experience neither of us will ever forget. They were all so hospitable and they made us feel right at home. There were children running and rolling around in the dirt (some in torn and tattered clothes, some half naked and others without a single thread of clothing) and it was amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. Some of these children did not even have clothes on their backs. They had nothing but rocks and sticks and were so happy. When I say nothing I mean no toys, no electricity for tv and one pair of clothes for each child. Do you know those commercials that are on tv asking you to sponsor a child for a dollar a day in some third work country? It was exactly like that, exactly. I am not going to lie but I got choked up a few times watching these children live their lives. I wanted so bad to be able to intervene but I did not want to over step my boundaries and embarrass the family. Lynn got a bit drunk on the rice wine and really opened up about his life. He is the only one in his family who has an education and is the financial backbone for his family. His mother makes baskets earning .25 cents a day while his other siblings tend to the cows and manage the rice fields and gardens in the yard for their own food. Lynn is working so he can feed his family as well as save money to send his younger siblings to school so they can have a chance at a better life. This day has been forever burned into my memory and will last a life time. At the end of the night Lynn dropped us off at our guest house and we went our separate ways. I was definitely emotionally invested and I without a doubt could not part without doing something. I was happy that I was able to get him to see his family but that was not enough for me. I ended up giving him enough money to put his younger sister through school for a year.

2009-06-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

2009-06-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

they learn how to handle a knife a a younge age.
Lynn's younger sister
Lynn's youngest sister
The kitchen where they cooked dinner
Some of the kids

2009-06-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

Lynn's family thought it was funny to give me this fruit that was beyond sour
This is the house where Lynn's family lives.
It is called bamboo cake. They hollow out bamboo and fill it with rice, coconut milk and beans. It was great!!
There was a sick woman in the village and everyone got together to chant, sing and dance to cure her.
This is the typical house in Cambodia

2009-06-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

2009-06-06T20:27:00.000-07:00