The Land of Our Ancestors

I'm half Irish. My mother is 1/2 Irish ~ her maiden name is Kelly. My father is also 1/2 Irish ~ with relatives from Tipperary I believe. While I'm not a 100% Irish decent, it was still exciting to be in Ireland where I am descended from. My mother's side of the family has some very defined roots in Lawrencetown, which is in East Galway.

First we headed to the Milk Market in Limerick, which is on our way to the north. (We went through Limerick everyday except once to head north.) It's a traditional country type market. There was fresh cheese, breads, chocolates, fish, and so on. The weather was lovely ~ cold, rainy, and cloudy. We enjoyed the narrow streets, difficulty navigating my mother in the wheelchair, and the weather that was working on getting us sick. We bought cheese. I love cheese. Uncle Dan bought some lovely veggies ~ which would later become our meal on Monday evening.

After we chaotically ran around town, we ended up heading north to Lawrentown. We found the road to our ancestors by reading our way through the map... it was a bit tricky, but we got there all right.

There is one major attraction for the twelve Kellys in tow. The Church! We're all god fearing people, and clearly in need of a church. He he he. There is a very special window that was dedicated to my great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother. It's a beautiful stained glass scene with a small plaque commerating them. In addition, there is an offertory stand asking you to pray for the donor ~ Mamie Maldoune Kelly.

After getting busted by the local priest for our raid of the church and our continual picture snapping, we did the logical thing a group of Kelly's should do. We went to the local pub. The barmaid was friendly, a "football" game was on, and we got complimentary "chips," popcorn chicken, and mini sausages. Delicious.

Bunratty Castle & Folk Park

After a rigorous day of driving on Thursday, we opted for a more relaxed start to our day on Friday. We soaked up breakfast at the Manor House. They are over-the-top with service and I ordered some yummy crepes. The Manor House breakfast was a definite step up from the Carriage House. You're able to customize your hot breakfast as well as choose from a buffet of baked goods ~ our favorite was the croissant ~, fresh fruit, smoked meat, salmon, cereals, and yogurt. They have a variety of freshly squeezed juices, miserable offering of coffee (I'm told), and just about anything else you can want to drink. I ordered some yummy hot chocolate.

In late afternoon, we headed to the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. The main attraction is the 15th century castle that was restored in the 1960s. The restoration of the old castle includes some fantastic views from the tall towers. We had a lovely guide give us information about the castle and was dressed in a period appropriate outfit. She was a wealth of knowledge and pointed out spy holes in the main room that the Lord used to gather information. She also told us that there are no records of how much it actually cost to restore the castle, just that it was a lot of money. There is also an extensive collection of antiques from this time period in the castle (they don't have any originals that survived and thus they have a collection from the 15 and 16th centuries).

After the castle, we wondered around the "folk park." In Aunt carol's words, we paid full-admission in the off-season for an off-peak experience. I believe that there are supposed to be characters in period dress with info, but besides the guide at the castle, we saw no one else. With the steep admission price of 14 euro, almost 20 USD, it just wasn't worth it.

After Bunratty, we went to the Durty Nellys. It claims to be the oldest pub in Ireland. As typical, we settled in for a pint and soaked up the atmosphere. Durty Nellys was very grungy and appeared to have that ancient feel to it. It almost reminded me of "the wick" ~ the wickaden pub in Providence, RI.

Ring of Kerry

I forgot to bring my camera to the first stop of the day ~ the Catholic service here in Adare. I think we'll be going back into town tomorrow and I'll be able to snap some shots of it then. Besides a few Celtic prayers, it was business as usual.

After church, we got a slow start south towards the Ring of Kerry. It is a popular scenic drive in Southern Ireland. It is a peninsula and had really amazing views.

It took us a bit of navigating to get there, but we did arrive after what seemed like a really long time. We landed at the Muckross House and Gardens. It is a victorian house located on an immense estate. We missed the tour but peeped around for a bit and watched a movie about the state park.

Killarney National Park was the take off point for the gorgeous scenery. The windy roads were difficult to maneuver, but I wasn't driving so I had that going for me. My dear Aunt Carol, Uncle Dave, and Dad had that weighty task. It is impossible to describe the breathtaking views, but I will say that all the while my eyes were open and soaking it all up. (Uncle Rob, on the other hand, took a snooze when the sky was clear and the sun was shinning.)

We were unable to complete the 117 mile loop before the sun went down, it was merely the cliff notes tour. What we saw, we enjoyed throughly.

On our way back, we stopped off and had the best meal we've eaten in Ireland. I ate traditional Irish boiled bacon and licked my plate clean. It was an extremely hearty dish topped with a creamy parsley sauce. I also tried a bite of the prime rib, mom's pasta, stickey toffee, and the apple crumble. All were yummy .. and our drinks were the most reasonably priced I've seen. The exchange rate is really killing us over here.

The rest of the ride home went smoothly and I look forward to our last full day in Ireland tomorrow.

ps. i do need to catch up on some posting, but i'm tired... so not just yet.

Cliffs of Moher

<----- car window shot, fantastic, eh?



We awoke at the lovely townhouses and headed off to breakfast (well, 8 of us lucky ones did). The breakfast isn't worth 23 euros, but you certainly can fill yourself up and enjoy yourself. They do work hard on service and pride themselves on this fact .... I think. Loading into the cars took some work to get us all going, but we did pull off with Dave as the lead car driver, my pops in 2nd place, and Aunt Mary Carol pulling up the rear. There was a little bit of an issue with the speed limit -- Dave and Dad have MPH listed in big white numbers, with the KPH listed in small. Carol only has KPH... just a slight difference on speed.

We got moving and enjoyed the scenery along the way. We spent all day in the car watching the Irish countryside go by. Our long drive resulted in many roundabouts and narrow twisty roads. As it was all in good fun, we also hopped a few curbs and cut it close. Its all just a part of the learning to drive on the "wrong" side of the road.

Our first major stop was anti-climatic, a gas station break. Then right around the bend was the Cliffs of Moher. They called a "bogey" ~ similar to a golf cart ~ from the parking lot gate and ran mom, grandfather, and daddy-o up to the top. The rest of us just hiked it up the hill. The view was stunning and very enjoyable. It was not too cold or windy for me, though I am certain it was a bit more chilly for mom.

When we felt we'd all taken enough pictures to keep us happy for a lifetime, we descended back down the hill. Since there is 12 of us, we felt the need to dilly-dally some more . .. before heading towards the Burren.

The Burren must be some slang deterioration of barren - because that's what this land is. A long stretch of land that is impossible to do much with. It is still interesting scenery, but it's just a large uninhabited stretch.

The Barren is the route we took towards Galway, I imagine there is a shorter way but we were along for the drive and enjoying the scenery. Driving in Galway was stressful for everyone. We hit the city a rush hour and had many a roundabout to work our way through. Trying to be a three car caravan and not knowing the way was extremely difficult for everyone. We did eventually navigate it all and managed to park. As nothing that costs euros is cheap, the parking was 1.60 euro for an hour until 7 pm, then three euro for the evening. The problem is that you can't pay for both at the same time. We arrived at 6:15 and had to return to the cars 45 minutes later to pay for our night parking. Oh well.

We were looking for buskers a pub that Nina researched. It took a bit of navigating, but it wasn't too difficult to get to. I was very elegant and I ordered the lamb and Guinness stew with a side of Guinness. It was delicious. I tried some of Dad's bangers and mash and that was yummy, too.

It was a lovely dinner yet it took forever and was expensive. The waitress was working the crew over and got them to tip 15%, though in Ireland its not customary to tip on service. Especially not that much. Oh well. You win some you loose some, and it was lucky for the waitress.

We split up driving on the way home, and tho Dave left first, they took a different route and didn't make it back for an additional 1/2 hour or so after we were already home. We checked out the Tack Room Bar and met some wedding guests. It was an enjoyable evening ~ Nina after two Gin and Tonics is always entertaining.

The Tack Bar

at the hotel

bob is just a fun guy .....

We MADE IT!!! 12 Kellys are in Ireland staying at a fabulous mansion in Adare, Ireland. We almost didn't make it .... a few times over.

1.) Loaded up and ready to go, right? Dan decided to take a shower at 1:30 pm, thus he wasn't in the lobby until 2:15 pm. The shuttle was ready to for 2:30 pm. Whew!

<-- Our luggage & people took up the whole shuttle.

2.) In range of Chicago, a wrong turn nearly cost 4 travelers their free parking and shuttle to the airport. But let's be honest, I had no problems because I stayed at a Holiday-Inn Express last night. ;) Dave, Kathleen, Nina, and Robert were under the gun to make it to the hotel on time. The shuttle driver was loading us up and said we've only got 5 minutes to spare. Luckily, Dave excels as a driver in difficult situations and pulled in to the hotel in the nick of time.

Daddy-o forgot to mention to the driver we were headed to the international terminal, not domestic. Oopsy.

And last, but not least, Uncle Dan went missing when they started to close down the security lines. There was some mild worry, but I never batted an eye. Affterall, Uncle Rob was buying the round of drinks.

The 6 hr plane ride was boring and such. I got caught up on the movies, not on my sleep. I was lucky enough to sit next to my darling-ly not so quite Uncle Rob and behind my dearest Grandfather. oh well.

<---The first picture on Irish soil.
We arrived in Dublin without any problems, as a matter of fact, we were early. But lady luck had left us. The equipment that takes the frieght off the plane broke down completly while attached to our plane. It only meant an extra 1 1/2 hours in Dublin sitting on the plane. On the upside, they let all twelve of us into Ireland without getting flagged for misbehavior.

Adare Manor is beautiful and we checked into our townhouses and rested this afternoon. Being we had just arrived, we decided we just couldn't not go to the pub for dinner.

Oh yeah, and we picked up our 12 companion, my brother, in Shannon. (he was routed differently to Ireland.)

The First Leg of the Trip

The goal to get out of town was 10 am originally. With all of the errands we had to do (doctor's office, city hall, dry cleaners, gas, picking up swimsuits, scanning passports, bank, sandwiches.... and those are the ones I know about) we quickly bumped it back to noon. We were out of the city of St. Louis and on Highway 55 by 1 pm.

The van was packed to the gills -- very little breathing room available. Mother is the bag lady by far ~ she just has so much stuff to bring. On top of the large bags mom has along, there is a scattering of miscellaneous items that have yet to make into bags. We have plenty of time to figure it out tomorrow, right?? The surprising heavy packer was honestly my dear Uncle Dan who managed to pack a rolling duffel, a brown leather carry all, and a briefcase-like bag.

We arrived to our Holiday-Inn Rolling Meadows after 6 pm to check in. We were warned that our hotel is under renovation. The "holidome" is up and running. There is at least one pool down there and it appears there are two hot tubs to try out. Everything has a Polynesian theme and while its far from fished here at the hotel, the accommodation is still pleasant.

I arranged to pick up my cousin Kyle from the train station and off June and I dashed to get him. Unfortunately, the staff didn't know how to give us proper directions to the nearest train station and we got lost. Kyle was able to direct us to the station and we found him, brought him back to the holidome, and ordered some yummy Chicago style pizza. Delicious!

Tomorrow is our big day of departure. 5 of us have already checked in online and I have the PDA boarding passes on June's laptop. Boarding starts at 5 pm, we leave after 6 pm. We're hoping that security and everything runs smoothly.

The Big BIG Trip

The Big BIG Trip is quickly approaching. It will be a new experience for us -- all twelve us that are along for the ride. This upcoming Monday, November 12th, 6 of us will set out from St. Louis and head to "shytown" (AKA Chicago). My dearest sister June, my parents, my grandfather who is a young 83 years old, and my "favorite uncle in the whole world Uncle Dan."

The Crew Along for the Ride: 5 Smiths - Mom, Dad, June, Warren, & myself. My grandfather RLK Sr., Aunts Nina, Kathie, and Mary Carol; Uncles Robert, Dan, and Dave Boyer.

After a nice evening at the hotel, motel, Holiday-Inn.... we have most of the day to prepare to depart O'Hare International Airport on Aer Lingus. While a majority ~11 of 12~ will be departing on the same flight, my "little" brother Warren IV will be meeting us in Shannon International Airport in Ireland.

Our fabulous travel package includes our airfare, rental cars, and 6 nights accommodation at Adare Manor. "The Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort in County Limerick, Ireland, is the ultimate luxury five star vacation destination complete with an 18 hole championship golf course, a luxurious Spa, world-class dining facilities, fishing, shopping, sightseeing and a host of other estate activities guaranteed to make memories which will last a lifetime." Another bonus of our package includes a full Irish breakfast every morning. We have high expectations and look forward to our luxury destination.

Be sure to check back for more blogging and pictures in the week to come.

Mushroom

Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city and about one third of the population inhabits this area of NZ. We stayed at Fat Camel Hostel right in the ‘central business district’ (CBD) of Auckland. This area is quite seedy. There are lovely strip joints and crazy beggars around for the pleasure. Fat Camel was luxurious compared to our last joint in Tassie. We got a cheap meal (Spaghetti Bolgnese and a beer) and chatted with a friendly Irishman. He actually asked me where in Ireland I was from. He he he. I enjoy when people mistake my accent for an Irish one.

We landed on Friday evening and Saturday evening we were headed in our ‘mushroom mobile’ north. We rented our campervan from Escape Campervan rentals. Maya was an extremely helpful and knowledgeable lady that worked in their office. She rules. She actually has been to St. Louis ~ she loves it. (Of course, who couldn’t love St. Louis? It’s a fantastic place after all.)

Ok, back to the shroom. It’s called the shroom because it’s spray painted with mushrooms. It’s got a very hippie look to it. All of the campervans are painted differently by the Escape Artists. (Well, that’s what Maya says and we have yet to see another campervan like ours. The other companies that rent campervans are totally undecorated ones and do look quite boring. Ours looks like a fun mobile.) While I would have jived and picked another theme for our campervan, I can’t complain too much about our lil van. We’ve got a radio that works well (but doesn’t have a connection for our iPods!), heat, fully equipped kitchen for cooking, a little pump for water with a sink, and a decent enough bed. The shroom rents for $39 NZD/night and we have to pay for gas. Thus, it’s a very economical way to see New Zealand. We buy our food as we go, but it is always simple food. For breakfast, we typically have some combination of bread, fruit, breakfast bar, and maybe if I’m lucky cheerios (we aren’t always nearby somewhere to get milk). Lunch is always a sandwich of some sort ~ Mikey loves peanut butter and so do I. We buy can goods that are easy to re-heat for dinner. Since it is winter in NZ (cold, dark, and rainy), if we are free camping, we are less likely to actually cook dinner.

[Free camping: I mean that we just pull off somewhere on the side of the road and park it for the night. There are camp grounds and hostels throughout NZ, but we are thrifty travelers and only occasionally pay for the facilities to use. It’s when we are really grubby and need a shower, etc.]

The freedom of the campervan is so wonderful. We just drive where ever we’d like, on whatever schedule we’d like to get there. Mike and I are like speedy Gonzalez travelers. We hit the big things and cruise right on to the next thing. So Saturday evening we rented the shroom and were on our way to the Bay of Islands. On our way north, we stopped into go to the bathroom at Hundertwasser’s famous public bathrooms. They are the most photographed bathrooms in New Zealand according to Lonely Planet. Friedensreich Hundertwasser was an Austrian eco-architect. He lived in Kawakawa (the town where the famous bathrooms are) in an isolated house without electricity from 1973 until he died in 2000. The bathrooms were closed. Boo.

Maya had told us that the All Blacks (NZ’s rugby team) were playing that night at 1 am vs. South Africa and that it was the first match in the America’s Cup (which is NZ vs. a Swiss ship). So we headed to the pub after we arrived in Piahia, Bay of Islands and got the van set up AKA arranged the sleeper-bed in the rear of the van. The pub had a decent sized screen and Mike and I enjoy a beer and the game. The All Blacks ended up winning, but we were too exhausted to stay until the end. Luckily it was just a short walk to the van and then to sleep.

Calling All Convicts ...

As you may remember from your history classes, (or perhaps not at all?) Australia was founded on the backs of convicts that were transported there in the early days of settlements. Life was harsh in the early days of settling and the convicts had it especially rough. It depended a lot on luck how your arrival in Australia went. You could be as young as 9 and be transported to Australia. Imagine stealing some food (because you’re near starving) and ending up being sent ½ way across the world. The life of crime is really the only thing you will grow up knowing.

Tasmania used to be called Van Damien’s Land originally and was where the really bad guys were sent. Adventuring around in Van Damien’s land was not a pleasant place to be at all. If you re-offended AKA were found guilty of a second crime after you’d already been transported to Australia, you were sent to a prison in “Van Damien’s Land.” Boo. Hiss. Boo. Port Arthur was one of many prison complex that developed throughout Tasmania … (and Australia for that matter… all these crazy convicts running around!).

Port Arthur, is of course, haunted. While we didn’t end up hitting Port Arthur at the right time of evening to go on a ghost tour, we were able to walk through some of the haunting buildings that make up the prison complex. The ruins are remarkably well preserved. According to our extremely well-informed and researched guide, when they finally closed the prison, the government just packed up all the stuff and people and left. They wanted to forget about this place of misery. It became an instant tourist attraction, so the government tried to destroy it by lighting a fire or two nearby. Despite this, or perhaps because of the $20 admission price that goes directly into the maintenance of the park, the ruins are well-preserved and provide for a stimulating walk.

After another enjoyable day cruising around in comfort in Tassie, Mike and I returned to our frigid hostel for the night. The power went out in the evening just for the fun of it. Yeah. We went to bed early, but that’s okay. Rising before the sun is the way of the budget traveler. We are pressed for time and money. In our case, Mike and I booked three early morning flights within Australia in order to gain the most economical seats. To catch the shuttle to the Hobart airport, we had to catch a 5:15 am bus/shuttle service. Joy.

The Hobart airport is tinsey-tiny. They have a total of 3 airlines that operate in and out of Hobart and one small terminal. While we boarded the plane in Melbourne by walking down those usual hallways, we both boarded and exited the plane in Hobart by walking on the jetway. There were actually boys filming this part of the trip at 6:30 am. I haven’t a clue why, but they seemed like an odd bunch.

A hop, skip, and two plane rides later,… Mike and I arrived into Auckland International Airport. It was my third time in this lil’ airport.

Rotten Eggs Rotorua

After a lovely night's rest at the backpackers, we woke up to lovely and continuous rain in Rotorua. Rotorua has 2 or 3 geothermal parks around, and we opted for the free one. We saw steamy lakes and some bubbling mud. It was sort of so-so and a bit underwhelming. On top of that, the whole town smells of rotten eggs (due to the sulfur).

We cruised a bit more and found a Salvos ~ a salvation army ~ Mike and I love stopping in and finding random and funky things. After our simple sandwiches for lunch, we went over to the Rotorua Museum. It is in an old bathhouse. It was a very well-designed and informative museum. We joined the 4 pm tour and our tour guide filled us with information about the town, the history of the healing baths, the volcanic activity in the area, and the Maori culture that is so prominent in this area.

Next up was the Polynesian Spa. We all climbed into naturally heated hot mineral water pools. The first one, aka the cold one is 38 degrees Celsius. The warmer pools overlook Lake Rotorua. We hopped between four or five different pools in differing degrees of hotness. They say that the mineral water is full of healing powers and it was extremely relaxing. Nicole and I were about ready to nod off for a nap.

After dinner, we headed to an Irish Pub for the All Blacks vs. the Wallabies in the tri-nations rugby. (It's a rugby tourney between NZ, Australia, and South Africa.) We were sharing our dorm with 2 Scottish girls and so the 5 of us shared a table and watched the game. To my sadness, the All Blacks fell to the Wallabies in the 2nd half.

While we'd heard Rotorua was so exciting you could spend 2 days there, we were all set with moving on and after awaking at a normal hour (9 am) we checked out and headed to Lake Taupo....

Rap, Raft N Rock with Gloworms! :)

Waitomo is a tiny little town that is well worth the stop-off to see the caves. We let Nicole choose between Waitomo and Rotorura for her 25th birthday. Our trio went with the 'budget' option, a company called Rap, Raft, N Rock. For $125 NZD we were able to get a taste of everything. Our small group departed at about 9 am. Besides the three of us, we had Alex (a kid from the UK) and a Swedish couple ~ Sara and Oscar. Tim, an Aussie, was our tour guide and comedian for the trip through the caves. [He's been doing it for 7 months now and was superb.]

After signing the release, we piled into the van. We drove to a little shed and got suited up. We received wet suits, jackets, boots, helmets with lights, battery packs, and the ever-so-important harness. Tim carefully and patiently explained the info we needed on abseiling into the cave. After passing our practice test, we lined up and took turns abseiling down about 30 meters into a cave. Abseiling was really cool. They strap you in very safely and you end up down in a cave with gushing water floating by.

After our abseil, we took off the harnesses to prepare for our caving experience. Tim gave us gloves for our cold fingers (remember: it's winter down here in NZ) and innertubes. We forged our way upstream with our headlights helping us to guide our way in the cave. When we reached the right point, Tim had us turn our lights off and sit down. There we took in the wonder of the glowworms. The glowworms are ancient little buggers and they make the inside of the cave look a bit like a starry night. It was amazing to just sit under them and see them at work. They use the light to catch insects to eat. Still in darkness, we got onto our innertubes and floated downstream.

Passing the cavern opening where we abseiled downward, we continued with the stream and climbed through a waterfall and enjoyed more glowworms. After we'd gone a long ways, we climbed off to the side and were given our snack ~ hot Gatorade and Cadbury chocolate. I love chocolate and the hot Gatorade was actually really yummy.

Having drifted way downstream, we had to make our way back upstream to climb out of the cave. We started the walk with our lights, but after a certain point we formed a line and turned our lights off so we could enjoy the glowworms again. It was an amazingly fun experience. When we finally made it back to the cavern, we each took our turn climbing the rocks out of the cavern.

When we arrived back at the shed, we had the treat of a hot shower (something that Mike and I have rarely since we typically pull off the road and sleep in the camper van which equals no shower) and some hot tomato soup. Typically, I hate tomato soup but I was hungry and a bit cold, so I slurped it down. A very memorable experience.

We headed from Waitomo to Rotorura, a geothermal playground. We arrived and decided since it was Nicole's birthday, we'd upgrade to staying a backpacker's hostel for the night. Rotorua Central Backpackers was pretty cheap and very nice. It had a hot tub out back, was nicely heated, and we all had a separate & real bed. (Most times, hostels have bunks and not the full mattress and box springs.) It was fantastic luxury for us budget travelers.

Triple the Fun in Auckland and off to Coromandel Peninsula

Driving around Auckland has not gone well either time for Mike and I. After we picked up the van and were trying to head north, Mike was driving and it took us forever to reach "the motorway." In our second stab at it, I was driving to the airport and we still ended up going wrong ways and turing around and such. We picked up our new partner in crime ~ Nicole ~ from the airport on Wednesday morning. The three of us will be traveling together down to Wellington and then Nicole is flying back to the US. (Mike and Nicole are friends from studying abroad in college and have traveled together before.) Nikki is a hardworking CPA who just left her job at Ernest & Young for another position. We get along well and it's a nice bonus for Mike and I. She certainly livens up conversation and everything that has sort of gone stale with Mike and I.

In Auckland, we poorly navigated the streets, walked around a bit, I picked up my new iPod from the Mac store since mine was "faulty" and we went to Mount Eden for sunset. Then we worked out what our general gameplan was going to be for the next few days. We headed south and out to the Coromandal Peninsula. We drove and drove until we decided upon a quiet spot to camp. We aren't that picky for where to camp. Basically we look for a quiet spot that is a safe place to park and doesn't have a "no camping" sign. We parked off the super windy road in a spot that is right on the water, waking up to the ocean this morning. Yummy.

While the temperature is a bit chilly, with three of us squished in the camper van we manage to stay perfectly warm. We had simple sandwiches for dinner and slept deeply by the water. After breakfast, we were back on the road again. We stopped off in Coromandel Town which was adorable. It's a very quaint small town. We found a little organic shop and Nicole who is also a choco-holic and I bought some fudge. Then we scavenged the thrift store. Mike bought a NZ wool hat, 5 old magazines from the 60s, and a gift for $3.50. Ahh, how I love cheapness.

We then headed towards Cathedral Cove for a walk. The walk starts on a lovely beach and our first stop on the walk was Stingray Bay. A cute little cove, it had lots of information about snorkeling but was a bit too chilly for us to go for a swim. Next stop was another little cove with cavern walls made of chalk. Needless to say, the beach was beautifully white. Continuing on, we did make it to Cathedral Cove. There was a little party on the far end of the beach that looked like they might be getting married ~ of course we tried to be discreet about our snooping looks, but they seemed a bit involved in whatever type of ceremony they were doing and didn't seem to notice us too much. By the time we finished with this longish walk, the sun was starting to set. A lovely day and the weather was pretty decent. Yippie. We trodded onward towards Waitomo Caves thinking there would be A.) A pub B.) an All Black's NZ Rugby Game and C.) Food at said pub. We found none of the three when we arrived at about 10 pm.

Tassie! :)

I drove a manual transmission car on the wrong side of the road, at night, through a roundabout, and parallel parked it! I totally rule. I actually did all of the driving since Mikey doesn't know how to drive a stick shift. [he declined my offer to attempt to learn ~ a rental car is the perfect car to teach someone in after all, you don't give a hoot if they grind the gears! :-p]

Mike and I hopped on a quick plane ride from Melbourne to Tasmania, nicknamed Tassie. Everything down under has a nickname by the way. Obviously, all the people have nicknames, but they shorten everything else too. It's quite amusing. Tasmania was a warm 2 degrees Celsius. This flips out the Aussies. They don't like cold weather. Mike and I, on the other hand, adjusted grumpily. Obviously we're both used to weather this temperature since we both lived in Providence last winter, but I am still short on the warmer clothes. I left most of mine in NZ with Paul & Claire who I used to rent from. I'm picking up my things on Friday and then I won't complain about the cold so much. Our hostel is across the street from a thrift store where I paid the outrageous sum of $2 AUD for a brand-new, cute knit hat. It's doing a fab job of keeping my head warm.

We checked into Hobart Hostel and ventured around this little town of Hobart. It's a quaint little town, it sort of reminds Mike and I of NH or somewhere. We saw the waterfront, the battery encampments, and found a little stretch of beach. We scored majorly cool sea glass there. Apparently no one here collects it. Mike and I both filled our pockets to the brim. It was an enjoyable afternoon in this lovely little town. We went to the grocery store and came back to cook dinner. Thus we discovered there is no heat at this hostel, really. There is one tiny space heater for our dorm room that is huge enough for 10 beds. Barrels of fun, I tell you. Mike and I worked on a puzzle for fun last evening and I kept boiling water and putting it in my tea cup to keep my hands warm (there were no gloves/mittens at the thrift store, but I will certainly be on the hunt). When we did amble into bed, I went with all of my layers of clothing possible on my body and threw my towel and sarong wrap on top for extra layers. (I used the towel & sarong for a sheet a time or two in Asia when we weren't given sheets.) Brrrrrrr

This morning, we got up and picked up our rental car. It's a cute little Hyundai. I hadn't planned on driving ~ I admit to being a lazy traveler. I always wait for Mike to scope out the map and read the guidebook and summarize it back to me. When we picked up the car, the manual transmission was a bit cheaper than the automatic. I know how to drive a stick, Mikey doesn't. Thus, I ended up driving all day today and will again tomorrow. Being the lazy traveler, I figured Mike would do all or most of the driving. Booo. I did offer to teach him how to drive a stick after we got out of town, but he's not interested. Ahhh well.

We drove towards Lake St. Clair, part of the Tasmania Outdoor parks. We went for an hour long hike. We took the Aboriginal Trail and did the Platypus Loop. The parks here cost a bit to get in, $20 for a car for 24 hours, but they are superbly maintained. The walkways and trails are great, have super views, and are completely deserted. The guy at the visitor's center was super helpful as well. After we did that trail, we went to another park and saw two waterfalls and a forest of the 2nd tallest trees in the world. (The tallest forest is in Cali ~ the redwoods, but these guys are only a few meters shorter than the redwoods.) The tall trees are from ancient forests, the tallest ones began to grow before Europeans were anywhere near Tasmania and thinking about colonization. Soaking it all up was fantastic ~ despite the rain and cold weather.

Another lovely day in Australia ~ I'm looking forward to tomorrow. We're headed to Port Artur and possibly a hot springs. Port Arthur is where they sent the convicts from the mainland. Sounds a bit sketchy. I'd give you some pics, but this crazy computer hub has no USB connection. Hopefully, in Auckland you'll get to see some more fantastic pics. :)

More Footy

Mike and I have been enjoying being a bit more lazy in Melbourne. We snoozed in today and spent the afternoon in the city. We frequented one musuem ~ the AFL World (the Aussie Rules Football League Hall of Fame/Musuem type thing). Mike and Luke are both big Footy fans. We played the virtual games, Luke practiced his announcing skills, I colored between the lines, and we watched about the primership. It kept the boys entertained all afternoon. Loads of fun .... ahh the boys.

And now it's time for some pictures highlights from Asia. Mike's album is at: www.webshots.com/user/blumes007 (but he didn't caption his pics) My album is at:

Highlights from Asia

Lions and Footie!

2-3 hours is no where near enough time to sleep off what I drank the night before. Boo! We caught the shuttle to the airport, checked in, and waited. I was a wee bit tired and so excited when our flight was delayed two hours because of fog in Melbourne. Yeah! We did switch gates 3 times and get our tickets re-issued. Yippie. Eventually we made it to Southern Cross train station and then waited for Mike's friend Luke to meet us and take us back to his apartment. We're staying with Luke now. He lives in one of the nicer suburbs of Melbourne and has a fantastic place.

Saturday ended up being a day of recovery for all three of us. Luke had a bit of fun out on Friday night and we lazed around most of the day. We took a crazy cab ride out to the burb where Luke lives (the guy did not go anywhere Luke was trying to get him to go and finally we just got out and the cabby and Luke had "words.") We hit up the grocery store on our way to the apartment and decided to take the grocery cart with us so that I was able to leave all the groceries in the cart with both of my backpacks while Luke pushed the cart. yeah for being lazy!! I get off so easy sometimes .... Luke made some yummy pasta and a huge dish of sauce for dinner. Delicious. We watched kiss, kiss, bang, bang which was a funny movie and I did nod off for a bit of it on the comfy couch. After dinner, we walked to a little local pub. We met Douglas, an older gentleman, who uses the "Queen's English" as Luke calls it ~ back home perhaps we'd just say "proper English." He was a riot all the same and we enjoyed our evening out. I got to sleep in Luke's bed last night (I'm lucky being the girl travler ~ Mike always gives me the bigger bed, the first shower, etc. etc. It's got its perks) and Luke has a real bed. They had crap beds throughout Asia and it was such a delight to sleep on a super comfy bed with a big down comforter and comfy pillows..... hmmmm.... comfy! :) It's bittersweet ~ we're only staying for 3 nights. I'm enjoying it while it lasts .....

Sunday we were going to get up at 7:30 and go into Melbourne before heading to Gilong for a 'footie game.' Ha ha ha. Since we did nothing all day Saturday, naturally we were exhausted. Luke forgot to set the alarm clock and thus we slept until 9:30. I made the boys some eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast. Really yummy bacon. Mmmmmm.... and we headed off to the footie match. The Aussies have their own football league with their own rules. Luke is orginally from Brisbane and Mike studied near there when he did his study abroad. We went to cheer on the Brisbane Lions with Luke's friend Kat. The Lions didn't do so hot (they lost by 50 points or so) but it was a fantastic specticale. The field is oval shaped and you can kick or punch the ball, but you can't run with it. When we arrived in Gilong (about an hour by train from Melbourne) to delightfully cold rain. Luke bought us some cheap ponchos to protect us from the rain and we got our tickets and ended up in the standing room section cheering on the Lions. It was a fantastic time.

And now ... here's a few photos. The connection speed of the internet in SE Asia was usually not very fast and Mike didn't bring a USB cord to upload pics off of his camera. He's primarily the photographer and thus, I know you've been missing my great pics to go along with my stories. Here are a few from today and from Friday night.

Footie Game

Rain Rain Go Away

Come again another day!

Sydney's draught has officially been declared over. While the reserves of water still remain low, the governement believes the conditions will improve and they won't run out of water here. Of course, it rained both days we were in Sydney and we weren't the happiest of campers.

We arrived to Sydney late on Wednesday evening. We found a hostel in Kings Cross and settled into a typical hostel -- Jolly Swaggers. We shared the room with 2 German girls who didn't talk much. Oh well. I was in a sour mood on Wednesday night. It was quite an adjustment to really be back in civilization. I certainly don't miss the rice served at every meal, the Asian toilets, or crappy beds. I do miss how cheap everything is there (boo to paying real prices) and the culture and feel of Asia.

Anyway, back to Sydney. We arose early enough to get our muslei breakfast included with our lodgings and headed out to a clear, crisp morning. (It's winter down here, so the temptures are in the 50s F.) We walked through the Royal Gardens and out to a point that is one of the "spots" to take a picture of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. After Mike and I got a few shots, I went to do the hour-long tour of the Opera House. It was great to learn all about it and to actually be inside the impressive concert hall. Then we headed to Pancakes on the Rocks for a delicious lunch. I had chocolate pancakes with strawberries. Yummy. After pan-a-cakes, we walked a bit around the area called the Rocks and decided to walk the Harbour Bridge. Too bad it started monsooning and neither one of us had any rain gear. We gave up on that idea and Mike and I decided to split up. I went to the Musuem of Contempary Art followed by the NSW Gallery of Art. I enjoyed the NSW Gallery, as its much larger, quite a bit. Both were free and it was nice to relax and see them, as well as warm up and dry off.

Luckily for us, Jolly Swaggers Backpackers cooks a fab dinner on Thursday evenings. For $3 AUD, we got a sausage on a roll, salad, and ice cream for dessert. Yummy. While eating we made friends with Fi, Lindsay, and Laura from Scotland. I love making new friends. We all went to the same bar with some other backpackers from the hostel called World Bar. It was a short walk which was key since it was yet again raining. Our first round was on the house, which was a pitcher of beer. Yeah. After that we danced and partied with the Scottish possy. I have to admit we didn't know most of the music but Fi, Laura, and Lindsay did. We stayed late and had a jolly good time of it all.

Friday I had all intentions of getting up early (I even set the alarm clock) and snoozed until almost 12. After I finally got up, showered, and ready Mike was getting up. Being a lucky backpacker, I was able to make a grilled cheese sammie off the remains of the free shelf. Bonus! :) We decided to go to Manly Beach for the afternoon, then we were going to trek over to Bondi Beach. As it was raining, we brought our gear this time and decided to tough it out. Manly Beach was beautiful and full of surfers despite the miserable weather. We had a delicious sandwhich at a little local deli for lunch ~ something that was certainly missing from our diets in Asia. We ventured around in search of a thrift store, it took us twice as long as it should have, and I bought long sleves as I'm serverly unprepared for this colder weather. We ditched the idea to go to Bondi, but enjoyed cruising back on the ferry from Manly. It was a lovely evening and the city lights were all up. Fantastic fun.

Friday evening back at the ranch ... my girls Fi, Lindsay, and Laura were chilling and drinking. They don't do drinking games back home, so I taught them a few tricks that I had up my sleve. Mike went to the convience store and we attempted to teach our friends flip cup. I never thought I'd say "They are too drunk for flip cup" but that's what happened. After the receptionist at the hostel asked our crew and the other crew of drinkers to quiet down a few times, I ended up going out with Fi and Laura. We went to the Old Fitzroys Hotel. Being super cool backpackers, they give you a little book when you check in at the hostel for 15 free drinks at different pubs all throughout the city. Old Fitzroys was the closest one to the hostel and since it was still monsooning but we wanted to go out, we went there. It ended up being a jolly good time. We made friends with the bartender and some how ended up staying past the close of the bar at 12:30 am. The afterparty was fun but not really necessary ... Mike woke me up at 4:40 am to leave for the airport. I got less than three hours of sleep. (Mike didn't go out since he's such a good boy and so he got a few more than I did ....)

No Gum Chewing Allowed!

Ahhhh ... Singapore! It is a very small, but modern country. The streets are clean, things run very efficiently here. Better than anywhere else we've been in the last 5 weeks. The travel book tries to make it sound like Singapore is trying to project itself as a modern place, but not a totally westernized place. I don't know why this is. Everything here reminds me of home, just a bit cleaner and without the bubble gum.

Shopaholics, beware! So far, all of the tourist places we've visited are mall-centered. The largest fountain in the world is at the base of a 5 tower giant mall & office complex. They have a historic hotel, "world famous", that dates from the later 1800s and it is also attached to a mall. The war memorial that we saw is across from yet another mall. Bored, Mike and I tried to hit the cinema. Unfortunately for us, they are only showing three English flicks over here. Shrek 3, Pirates 3, and Ocean's 13. We've already seen them. (2 in Bangkok and 1 yesterday in Malaka, Malaysia.) What a drag, eh? So here we are at the Internet cafe... since there is no TV at the hostel we're staying in. Unlike the hostels in Malaysia, this one is immaculate. Very clean, has locks for our stuff that are reliable, and AC at no extra charge! Yippie. It'd be perfect if there was a TV for us to sit around and veg out watching.

Ohhh ... I just realized I didn't write about yesterday in Malaka. It was fantastic fun. [I don't know if I'm in a mood today or Mike's in a mood ... perhaps both of us are? Or we're just tired?] Malaka is an older, small historic town. They have churches, which are locked up even on Sundays with signs that say "open to the public daily" and an cute little old city center. The old and historic buildings are something to look at, and they have of course, a fantasticly huge and modern mall. I did cave and buy this super cute little sweater for almost $10 USD (a small fortune!) but I'm sure I'll need it as we're going south to winter in Australia in 2 days. Totally a justified purchase. He he he. We also found Chinatown. There were a few temples we walked by (booooring ~ we've been to too many temples to care now) and some fantastic antique shops. I wish I had the space to buy some of the really amazing antiques. They have all sorts of stuff from 300 years ago. Mike is a coin collector and we stumbled upon a great old shop. He bought a VOC (Dutch East India Company) coin from 1766 along with 10 other coins for about $35 USD. The lady even tossed in a simple silver ring I was eyeing and didn't feel like paying for. Lovely lady, lovely shop. After we got the coins, we ended up at the mall and watched Ocean's 13 and went bowling. Such a lovely evening!!

Perhaps we'll get lucky tomorrow and find something non-shopping related to do ...

Either way, it's almost time for Australia! We fly there on the 13th and are spending two days in Sydney. I can't wait....

UPDATE: Met two super cool Canadians back at the hostel and spent all of Tuesday hanging out with them. Had great girl chat while the boys complained about us girls not being "team walkers." Blah. It was a very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon and it was a shame to say goodbye to our North American friends. :)

Shopaholic Finds Chinatown! :)

Oooh chinatown! I'm loving it!! We managed to find another decent market with all sorts of wonderfully cheap things to buy. My backpack is getting close to full, its also getting quite heavy.... But I have been so good so far. Almost all the way through Southeast Asia and yet to purchase a designer handbag or wallet. Talk about self-control! I should get a medal! ;) But alas, I will go to the market next and score a bag and ideally, a matching wallet for myself. Last night I bought two pairs of sunglasses for less than 10 USD. Fab, fab.

Yesterday we went to the Malaysian history museum. As far as museums go, it was pretty average. The Museum in Bangkok was 10 times better. Oh well. We learned a lot about pre-historic times and a bit about trading, then the usual colonization by the Europeans bit. We also read up on the Japanese invasion and occupation and the "glory" of modern Malaysia. Across the street is the largest flagpole and biggest flag in SE Asia or Asia (can't remember). Oooh aahhh. Then we got Oreo McFlurries at McD's and waited out the rain. For dinner, we found a reggie bar which had great ambiance. We got a candle for eating, I got the "ladys drink special" meaning my drink was 1/2 as much as Mike's (sweeet!) and a yummy snack. The portions over here are quite small in comparison to what we're used to, but our waitress (?) was a trani, so that keeps it interesting. (They are all over the place here.)

This morning, we awoke and headed over to the Patronas Towers. They're the largest twin towers in the world, the 3rd largest buildings in the world. They were in Entrapment if you saw that one. Anywho, we waited in line for our free ticket to the sky bridge on the 41st floor (about 1/2 way up). It only took us about 1/2 hour and our tickets were for 4:15 pm. Then off to Times Square, which is really just a boring mall. Boo. From there, we navigated over to the KL Tower and went up that. It was really quite fun and we got great views for pictures. Yippie!! After the KL tower, we ate like real locals. My food was 5.20 ringet (about $1.5) and Mike's was 8.40 ($2 something). I can't tell ya what we ate, but it was a little self-serve buffet and yummy. :) Then we went back towards the KLCC and Patronas Towers. They have the most insanely upscale mall there. Not just Tiffanys, but stores I've never seen in a mall at home. Everything from Cartier, Gucci, Gergigo Armani, Hermes, A/X, and so on. Mike and I couldn't have afforded anything there ... well, maybe a cup of coffee but that looked too expensive too and neither one of us drink it anyway. Then we hung out in their lovely park. It has a playground (I got some good height on the swing), a splash pool (no lifeguards needed, they don't sue like Americans do), an actual running track, a pond with fountains, lovely landscaped overhangs of vines for shade, all pulled together very nicely. So pretty. Why don't we have more lovely park space back home??

And now I better jet... Mike's been giving me the "are you done yet" eye from across the internet cafe. I think he probably was done 20 minutes ago....

In the Jungle, the mighty Jungle the Lizzy sleeps tonight....

The Cameron Highlands is a nice mountainous region in Malaysia. We arrived via a 'VIP' bus (it costs a few extra ringet for the Super VIP) on a very windy, twisty road. I have to admit my stomach was a bit jiggly and not happy when we arrived. As usual, people from the hostels greet you and try to convince you to come along with them. We picked Daniel's Lodge and headed off in a small van. The hostel was basic, but it only cost 8 ringet (slightly more than $2) so I didn't complain. Mike liked our crumbly hostel back in Georgetown better, I preferred the showers in the Cameron Highlands for no particular reason. (I think I'm starting to develop thicker backpacker skin.) In Malaysia they always have tons of DVDs for you to browse and watch at the hostels since they are all pirated copies anyway. We watched Blood Diamond. It ruled!! I strongly recommend it for all.

After we watched Blood Diamond, Mike and I got chatting with another couple from England. They had picked up an American traveler along the way and the 5 of us went to grab some dinner. I don't know where this crazy American kid came from, he was so odd. He doesn't watch or own a TV ~ need I say more?? The British couple were delightful for conversation (they brought up things they hated while traveling, most people gloss over and say nice things) and the food was very filling and yummy. Mike got some delicious venison. I was a bit jealous after it arrived.

After dinner, we went around the campfire and had a beer. Oh how I was wishing for a s'more. None to be had, of course. We met the craziest German guy ever. He was rude and insulting as well as nuts. He picked on us for being Americans (big surprise) and went off on a range of other things. Mike and I shared numerous glances back and forth while he was ranting and we were trying to figure out how we could end the conversation and get to bed. Eventually we got around to his dogs and off the hook. Yikes. I am glad we didn't run into him again. Total asshole.

We woke up the next morning and bought a "map" of the Cameron Highlands so we would be able to pick a good walking trek. The map was nearly useless, but only 4 ringet so whatever. We had some breakfast but the portions were so small that both Mike and I being "fat" americans ordered two. Jeepers. Anyway, we selected track 8. It went by a waterfall that was totally lame after being to Chang Mai (or is it spelled Mei?). We didn't even bother snapping a picture of it. 8 is listed as being the steepest in the guidebook. It was a mountain to climb. It was a good adventure though and I enjoyed the strenuous trek... I think. Mike was faster than I and I do believe I slowed us down. Ah well. Whacha gonna do??

After our trek and lunch, we decided we'd go visit a tea plantation. (They are a big thing in the area, that and strawberry farms.) The lady at the hostel told us a local bus goes nearby and its cheap, so we figured we'd do that. Ha ha ha. No such luck. We waited at the bus station for about 1/2 hour for the bus we thought would take us there. The bus hung out at the depo for another 1/2 hour before the driver appeared to board. When he was collecting money, he asked where we wanted to go and told us we were on the wrong bus. We could wait another 1/2 hour or so for the next one. Mike and I gave up and negotiated with a taxi driver. Of course, by the time we arrived the tea plantation and factory was closed. Joy! And it was pouring rain! Double fun. And our taxi was gone. Triple fun! We decided to pay the 5 ringet for the butterfly farm. It was totally lame. I'm super happy it was cheap. With nothing else to do, we started to walk back in the rain. We managed to do okay for a bit, while continually looking for a taxi to hail. Eventually we did get one and ended up back in town. Thank goodness!! Time for another relaxing night with cool mountain air back at the hostel. They even have hot water for showers. Ahhhh....

Another Temple???

We arrived safely in Malaysia yesterday. I have to admit we were a bit skeptical before we got to the border. In Kho Samui, the travel agent explained only 1 bus company was still serving the route we wanted to go because Southern Thailand has some small terrorist factions or something. We didn't have any trouble and didn't hear anything about it during our LOOONG day from Kho Samui to Phanag, Malaysia. We had our travel agent lady drive us to a mini-bus, got on a ferry, back on the mini-bus, switched mini-buses and then drove all the way down here. It took us all day ~ roughly 13 hours to travel this distance. It seems like it should have gone quicker, but what else can you do but be a good sport about it?

After crossing into Malaysia, instantly you notice their infrastructure. Their highways are very modern and extremely good -- they remind me of home. The roads through the rest of southeast Asia are a bit patchy, particularly in Cambodia & Vietnam. We certainly survived them, but its nice to be a bit closer to civilization. We spent today cruising around Georgetown, Malaysia's second largest city but still very small when compared to home. We climbed up Kek Lok Si Temple which has a fantastic view out over the city. The temple is very different from the ones we've seen already. The color scheme is all bold colors in contrast with one another and I think it looks a bit tacky. It's also no where near as ornate as the Temple of the Jade Buddha which is covered in gold back in Bangkok. Its so funny ~ I never pictured myself to be one who'd be comparing the decorations of Buddhist temples. We also walked down by the waterfront, which is a bit scuzzy and polluted (think Atlantic City) and then crossed by Little India. We'll go back that way for dinner, I hope the Indian food is yummy! :)

Lunar Craziness and Scenic Bungalows

They say that the full moon brings out the crazies. In Kho Phangan, Thailand; when the full moon is out they throw a party that is not for the week. The Full Moon Party is probably the most insane party I've been to in my life. The beach is full of party people and music floods in from all directions. Mike and I choose not to stay on Kho Phangan, but picked Kho Samui ~ a very nearby island ~ instead. The ferry ride between the two is only about an hour. As we walked from the ferry pier to the beach party, they sell everything from Full Moon Energy drinks, buckets, and neon body paint to splash all over your scantily clad body. Mike and I did feel slightly overdressed when we arrived in clothing, as opposed to our swimsuits. Oh well. They sell 'buckets' for about 250 baht ($6-7 USD) all over the place. They give you a cute little pail (the kind a child would play with on the beach) and dump a flask of the local whiskey, your soda of choice, and red bull into the pail and fill it to the brim with ice, and throw in a few straws for good measure. If you some how manage to finish one, I'm not so sure how you're still standing. Most people drink part the way through and trashed and therefore abandon it on the beach to go enjoy the party. [Drugs also are available at the party from random sketchy people walking the beach... but I wasn't game for trying any of that schnanagins.] They warned us not to take off our shoes or set anything down, the locals scrounge the beach and steal it all. Many a backpacker has awoken on the beach without anything and needing to go buy their shoes back from a local. Regardless, the moon is full and lighting the beach and the music plays loud and clear all night long. The different bars belt out different tunes -- techno/house stuff as well as pop and classics mix on the beach. I have to admit that I throughly enjoyed the party and went a bit crazy with the other full mooners. :)


We arrived to Kho Samui on June 1st, which was the date of the full moon party, and therefore enjoyed our first night partying all night. We crashed back at our beach bungalow -- New Hut Bungalows which cost us 300 baht/night until about 2 pm the next day. Kho Samui is a very scenic island and we were apparently there during off-season. We didn't see too many people around and were able to walk the long stretch of beach and enjoy ourselves. Most of the day we lazied around, read a little, listened to the iPod, and just relaxed. You can get a Thai massage on the beach for only 200 baht/hour. So cheap!! Time becomes irrelevant as you just waste the day away. When we went to check out, they tried to charge us for 4 nights and we seriously had to think about how long we spent on the island because it just sort of melts away. We also had the pleasure of catching a fantastic thunder and rainstorm on the 2nd night. The lightening was just illuminating the sky as we were walking back to the bungalow from dinner. It also served to nicely cool off the evening and make it comfortable to sleep, since we were not paying for Air Conditioning ~ just a fan to get by. Next time I'm in Thailand, I'll certainly wash up on Kho Samui and lounge around for a bit ... it was so reasonable and relaxing.

Welcome to the Jungle

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
knees, knees
(a little GnR for ya ... in case you didn't know it)



I rode an elephant, went bamboo rafting, trekking, swimming at waterfalls, saw a few poisonous snakes, and met some of the Karin hill tribe. Needless to say, Rang, our guide for our three-day trek did a fantastic job.



For our trek, we were only with two others and a guide, for a total of 5 people. The "others" happened to be a lovely newlywed couple from the states ~ Anna and Justin. This is part of their honeymoon. They are working their way to China where Justin will study Chinese as part of his degree. Anna just finished her undergraduate in Art History. It was nice to be in such a small group and the four of us all got along very well. We haven't met too many Americans in the other part of our travels, so it was a nice change. Justin and Anna managed to squeeze all of their stuff into one backpack which Justin carried for most of the time, there was no way Mike was carrying my stuff....



Day 1: Rang picked us up from the guesthouse and brought us to a market "in case we forgot anything" that was on the list he had given us at our pre-meeting the night before. Mike and I were prepared, so we opted for some fried noodles for breakfast at a whopping 20 baht (less than 60 US cents). Yummy. Try not to thing about the sanitary conditions.... Next up, was an elephant ride through the jungle. We all felt like we were going to fall off, when we headed downhill, but we all managed and just got a bit muddy when the elephant sprayed himself off. After the elephant ride, we had a rice-y dish for lunch in a small village. 3 weeks of eating rice everyday makes you not look forward to it at all. After lunch, we began our trek into the Jungle of Thailand. It was a good hike, but not too strenuous. We completed our hike at a spot built out for the tourists with little bamboo huts and right next to a lovely waterfall. The waterfall was our shower for the evening and really cool. It was nice after sweating continuously all afternoon to relax in the cool waterfall. Dinner was a combination of dishes (and of course, rice) and was delicious. We were camping with another group of 8 that had just completed Day 2. We got chatty with some Canadians that were headed the opposite way and gave them a few pointers about what we'd liked so far.



Day 2: Breakfast is toast! Yeah. It's not warm and there is nothing but jam and margarine to go with it. I just love it. Ah well. Today we trekked all day. We started pretty late, about 11 am, and just adventured upwards towards a small hilltribe village. Of course, it wouldn't be the jungle without a litle rain. It downpoured upon us for a good while, but the tempture also cooled considerably so we were not in a state of constant sweat. Rang is very knowledgeable about the jungle and all along the way, for three days, he pointed out various animals and plants and such to us. We saw large anthills that took years to build. He also explained to us, when we reached an abondoned field, that the US governemnt pays the Thai governement to help enforce its anti-drug policies. (We were walking through what was formerly an opium field.) The posionous snakes were a real joy to behold ~ I hate snakes. He also picked some baby mangos for us to eat (too bitter, no fleshyness). When we arrived at the place for lunch, we had some noodles with veggies ~ ala ramen noodle style. Yippie!! Of course, we ate a ton since we'd worked up an appitite. Rang took the leftovers along and gave them to the children of the village. For dinner, we had some lovely rice with green beans and some wierd dried pork. It was pretty decent overall. After dinner, the Karin people brought us some of their tribal goodies to buy. Mike & Justin bought hill tribe shirts which are quite unique, I bought two scarves, and Anna bought a skirt. The people of the village are extremely poor, so we did our share to add to their future prosperity. They also basically never leave the village. Some of them have never been into Chang Mai, where we're staying right now.



Day 3: More fantastic toast for breakfast. My favorite thing!! Off to start another trek. It was less strenuous than day 2, and we soon reached a lovely little waterfall area. We rocked our swimsuits and had fun playing around. After that, we had another short walk and reached the "jungle seven eleven" and then waited for our truck to take us into the next village. This was the wealthiest village by far, that we visited in the 3 days. We arrived at a small place and had a scrumptious lunch full of different veggies and meat. We also were encouraged to have some chili sauce with our food, as always. It was yummy! Much better than the noodles they served us yesterday. Then it was off to bamboo rafting. Bamboo rafting was the ultimate fun. My favorite part of our trek, I wish we could have done it all day. The raft is made up of very long bamboo and they fashion a bit of a seat in the middle. This is where Anna and I sat. We had a guide in the front part of the raft and then Justin and Mike stood at the back. They took turns being the man of the raft or Man of the Jungle. They had a large piece of bamboo with witch they used to push the raft downstream and away from rocks. We floated through a few small rapids and almost tipped off a few times, but overall it was a blast. Ahh jungle trekking in northern Thailand... loads of fun!!

Bangkok

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The road to Bangkok, from Siam Riep, is not paved at all. It has many ups and downs as you travel SLOWLY along. We did manage to have a flat tire to boot. They told us at the bus ticketing office that it was 4 hours to the Thailand border. I don't know how they tell time back in Siem Riep, but we left at 8 am and arrived at the border at 4 pm. Slight miscommunication I think. The first part of the journey, the Cambodian side, is infamous for being bad. It was uncomfortable, but we survived. After crossing through to Thailand, we picked up a very large, well-air conditioned bus for the trip to Bangkok. I'm thankful that we had the uncomfortable, slow journey first.

We arrived in Bangkok and stayed at the somewhat infamous Khoisan Road. It was quite busy with constant traffic, clubs, bars, and the peddlers. We found an average place to stay, but the price was more steep than it has been in the other places. The next morning, we slept in and enjoyed our AC. Then we hit the big sights of the city: the National Museum which was fantastic, Royal Palace & the Jade Buddha, and then climbed the Golden Mount for a picturesque view of the city.

Of course, we didn't stop there. We also managed to find the zoo and see white Bengal tigers and a red panda. There were also heaps of snakes and turtles and even a hippo. After the zoo, we decided to move locations and took a cab to Siam Square. From Siam Square it was easy to catch the SkyTrain (Bangkok's newish monorail system) and go out to a bar or three. The first one was a bit of a go-go bar, where the ladies are your "friends." Not too much of my forte, so we ducked out after a beer.

Saturday morning we woke up lazily again and headed off in search of the weekend market. The weekend market is huge. They sell everything. Mike and I both bought some clothing that was one-of-a-kind and the temptation to not by more is difficult. Afterwards, we worked our way back to the MKB center. It's one of Bangkok's malls. It's only 7 stories high. Ha ha ha. Bangkok has brought us back to the world we know, full of McDonalad's and American companies. We actually went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 which was decent at the movie theater since we were so hot and tired from the market. We then caught an overnight train to Chang Mai... which is where I right to you now.

The Most Amazing Thing I've Ever Done

The ancient ruins date from the 9th century and you are able to climb all around them. The Angkor kingdom had its capital her and thrived from about 9th century -12th century. From the high peaks of the crumbling temples, you gaze out into the Cambodian jungle. You pass ancient trees that have retaken parts of the magnificent city that once thrived underneath. I'm not doing it all justice by attempting to describe it all, but it's true. The striking views surround you as you make your way pass monks and ancient Buddhas. While I'm not exactly Lara Croft on a mission here, I still feel like an explorer trekking through the jungle.

Angkor Wat is one of the world's greatest wonders. I am confident of this fact. It was built in the late 12th century, at the height of the Khmer power. It is still an active Buddhist temple to this day. While it is probably not as visited as the pyramids, visiting the temple complex is by far the most amazing thing I've ever done. It only costs $40 USD for a pass to enter for three days. We saw sunset the first afternoon we arrived. We climbed up the hill and while the place is packed with tourists brandishing their cameras for that perfect shot, it was still marvelous.

To enter the temple complex, you also must have transportation. The complex is not only vast, but it is important to stay in "safe"areas since the Khmer Rouge had a strong hold in this area. Thus, the threat of land mines is a very important risk of being solo. We decided to hire a tuk tuk, which is like a little rickshaw on a motoscooter. It makes the "tuk tuk tuk tuk" as you go along. We met our guide & driver on the bus from Phenom Phen to Siem Riep. He was an extremely enthusiastic and friendly guy. He said he was studying English and he spoke it pretty well. He took us for sunset on the first evening, sunrise the 1st morning we were here, and drove us all around the last two days. It's been a bit more money, costing us $15 for the tuk tuk, $40 for the pass, plus our accommodations ($5/night/person) and food (avg. spend of $4/meal). In Vietnam, we were scrapping by at $20/day. Of course, every penny is well spent here. I can't say enough how spectacular and impressive this place has been.

[Side note: Cambodia is a strangely traditional culture in some aspects. Everyone pays more heed and attention to Mike than to myself. I don't know if they assume he's paying or what... but they always speak to him and not to me. It's rather convenient when we're being stalked by the little begging children at the temples. I just walk right by them and they flock to Mike.]

Interestingly enough, we almost exclusively use American dollars here. (I don't think I mentioned this ... if I did already I'm sorry!). The only time we get Riel ~the Cambodian currency~is in amount less than a dollar since they do not use American coins. All prices are listed in USD and that is how everything is paid for. In Vietnam, we could use American dollars but they didn't dispatch them from the ATM and everything like they do here. Craziness.

Tomorrow we're off to Bangkok... the road from Cambodia to Bangkok is notoriously awful and long. It's also through the ruralest part of the area, with higher risk of catching a disease like yellow fever or malaria.

Naked Baby Count

The children of Cambodia are very friendly and smiley. Both the Cambodian and Vietnamese children run up and say hello. Some of them are trying to sell you something, others are just happy to have you talk to them. Some of them are Hawks and others are great little entrepreneurs. They loved waving to us from the boat as we traveled up the Mekong River Delta. They can also be incredibly intelligent. Right before the border crossing to Cambodia, we had a little boy of maybe 6 or 7 serve us at the little restaurant. Not only did he whisk around our table of six taking orders, bringing us food and drinks, he also collected the money at the end. Since its near the border crossing, he was so sharp he was making currency conversions and change. He is probably the swiftest moving 6 year old I've ever seen. Mike forgot his water at the restaurant when we went to go through customs, and this lovely little boy ran it over to us while we were in line.

Neither Mike nor myself was prepared for the difference between Vietnam and Cambodia. After we boarded the slow boat (which may as well have been an oven because it was so hot), we drifted our way up the river towards the capital of Cambodia. All along our way, the happy children along the banks waved and yelled to us. Most of them were naked or next to naked. The naked baby count reached to at least 27, after we decided to jokingly keep track. The poor people of Cambodia in this rural part of the country still live in wooden shacks and farm for their subsistence. We never saw this type of poverty in Vietnam.

We did eventually get on the most cramped bus I've ever been on with 22 of our new close friends and have about an hour and a half from the river to the capital of Cambodia, Phenom Phen. We snagged a room with the much needed AC (something you have to pay extra for) and since they were out of doubles, we got an upgrade to a triple room instead of a double (extra bed that mike and i don't really need). it was nice.

today, the naked baby count is 4. the poverty and disparity that exists here is extreme. the street is filled with nice, modern BMWs and Toyotas and garbage. I saw a child of about 4 or 5 sitting on a heap of rubbish and eating the carved out piece of coconut. Its obviously distressing, but the divergence of incomes is quite apparent in this setting.

after breakfast this morning, we headed to the killing fields. they are slightly outside the city and our lovely guide filled us up with the most distressing details of the Khemer Rouge genocide. The most chilling fact that she told us at least twice, was that they never found any skulls of the children that were buried (more like dumped) into the mass graves. The children were taken by thier ankles and swung like bats against tree trunks or tossed into the air to kill them. How do human beings do this sort of thing to one another? Our guide was born in 1980, after Pol Pot and his reign of terror lost some ground to an invasion by the Vietnemese. An estimated 2 million people (out of a population of only 7) died in the four years he was in power. After the killing fields, it was off to the Genocide Musuem to learn about their torture chambers.

We did have a much more pleasant afternoon-- visiting the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda (which is all gold, we didn't see any Silver), the Jade Budda, a Wat (temple), and seeing the water. Tomorrow we're off to Siem Riep and Angkor Wat...

I'm a Bit Behind...

Last posting I was in Hoi An. Its been a lifetime since then! (Ok, so like 5 days but it feels like a lifetime.) After Hoi An we went to Na Trang (or is Chang?). The bus' AC was broken. It was a totally crap overnight bus. I barely slept at all and was mostly uncomfortable all of the time. When we got in, we were both exhausted. After searching around for a hostel with AC, we took a quick nap and then left for a boat tour. the boat tour was $6 and included lunch and some miserable red liquid they called wine but I would never recommend as such. It was a lovely sunny day and quite enjoyable way to spend it. The only downside being that I chickened out and didn't jump off the top level of the boat ~ of course Mike managed it. Ah well..

We left Na Trang first thing the next morning for Mue Ne Beach. It's a resort type area and was absolutely fantastic. My 2nd favorite thing about all of Vietnam. We got in around lunchtime and went on a tour in the afternoon. The afternoon tour took us to the sand dunes that Mue Ne is known for. Since we had spent some time at the beach pre-sand dune tour, it was incredible to end up in the dessert just 1/2 hour later. It was magnificant but extremely hot. After the white sand dunes, we were able to visit red cannoyons. Incredibly made out of red sand, they were the best part of the tour. Then we stopped at red sand dunes and a fishing village for sunset. I think I snapped a few good shots of the sunset. :-) After dinner, we hung out at a random resort for 4 hours since our bus was coming at 1 am for Siagon. We didn't buy anything and went swimming in their pool. It was incredible fun and it just goes to show how nice they are in Vietnam. If I go back to Vietnam, I'd spend more time here. It's just so lovely.

Siagon or Ho Chi Minh City as its supposed to be called now but is not really called that by most, was crazy like Hanoi. As soon as we got in, we booked the 1/2 day tour of the Cu Chi tunnels. They were incredible. The guide was by far the most informative of all the guides and tours we've had. We then managed to squeeze in our afternoon the Reunification Palace (total crap waste of money, even if it was less than a dollar to get in) and the War Remanats Musuem. The War Musuem explictly goes on about the "war of american destruction"as they call the Vietnam War in Vietnam. The pictures are chilling and depressing, particularly the parts about Napalm bombings and Agent Orange. They kicked us out of the museum before we were done soaking it all up.

Next day, we were off towards Cambodia. There are two ways to get there for the most part -- traveling 1 day via bus or 2 days via the Mekong Delta. I wanted to see the Mekong River Delta, so we booked the 2 day tour. It was the crappiest tour we've been on. It was nice to see the river and all, but they took us from one tourist trap to another all day. Then they brought us to a totally miserable hotel that didn't have working AC, even though its promised when you book the tour. The only nice part about the tour was the two friendly couples that we got to meet. We did arrive in Cambodia the next day without any big problems and quickly found a hostel.

So that's the brief overview of the last few days ...