So I haven't posted in forever but the quick highlights are such. We met Ketut Liyer, the medicine man from Eat Pray Love, and he read our palms told us our fortunes and just talked to us for a while. I have a picture with him too and his business card so if anyone wants to come visit him in Ubud I have his address. We got to see the North of Bali while we were there and the rice terraces were beautiful. From Bali we had two pretty bad days of traveling until we finally arrived at Railay Beach where we relaxed most of the time but also did some rock climbing. It was really intense but definitely worth it. Catherine and I have like a billion pictures of that also. The next day I decided to hike to this lagoon that was in the center of the island surrounded by all these cliffs. The guy who had been our coach in rock climbing told us to go so I thought it couldn't be that bad of a hike, but boy was I wrong. I was basically free rock climbing for most of the hike and it didn't help that it had just rained so it was really muddy (red mud) and when I finally got to a flat part of the trail, I BIT IT. I came back COMPLETELY covered in red mud and Catherine just looked at me and said "Oh my gosh I'm so glad I didn't go." Overall it was a pretty funny hike.
From Railay we came to Chiang Mai. The first day we went to Wat Doi Suthep, a temple where they claim some of the remains of Buddha are kept. The temple was amazing and we were blessed by a monk, even though we have no idea what he said... Yesterday we did an elephant trek through the jungle and got to meet some of the mountain people, see another waterfall, walk through rice terraces, and then take a bamboo raft down the river. We had no idea that we were going to get soaking wet so at the end we had to buy some new clothes and let me tell you, you are going to be JEALOUS of the purple shorts I got. I think were just going to do the last bit of our shopping today and then start our long journey home tomorrow. Can't wait to see everyone!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Balinese Mariachis
So were in Bali on a beach called Tanjung Benoa or something like that and our hotel is absolutely awesome. It's beautiful here and I ran for the first time on this trip along the beach this morning. Let me just preface this by letting you know that they tie up all the jet ski's and ski boats on the beach which I had noticed yesterday but didn't take into consideration really... So I'm starting out my run today and I'm looking out at the ocean and then wave to these two balinese fisherman and then BAM my leg hits one of the ropes right above my ankle and I TUMBLED into the sand. I was like wow that rope came out of nowhere! And then as I got up, extremely embarrassed, wiping some of the large amount of sand off that was covering the whole right side of my body, I noticed that actually it did come out of nowhere. It had been buried under the sand but a wave had hit the boat right as I was passing causing the rope to come up to about ankle height and causing me to eat sand. Sooo that was fun. The rest of my run proceeded a little better but I was VERY cautious about those ropes.
Last night we ate at the hotel, it was a Japanese Buffet with all you could eat sushi so I ate alot. Midway through dinner a group of three balinese men came out, two with guitars and 1 with a drum. And yes they were balinese mariachis! Who knew? Even though the songs were not in spanish or english for that matter, I think that they could still be considered mariachis. Especially since they serenaded every table...
Kuala Lumpur was a cool city too. We went to see the twin towers and also they have a really tall "space needle" building (kind of like the tower of americas in san antonio but a lot taller). The twin towers were SO TALL! It was hard to look up that far when you were right under them. We also went to a bird park that had exotic birds from asia that was pretty cool and then to celebrate the 4th, which was not so much of a celebration per sae...we ate at Hard Rock KL. Well that is pretty much all I have to catch yall up on. We've been traveling A LOT the last couple of days but we will be here at this hotel for three more nights and then were going to Ubud to search for my balinese medicine man Ketut. Wish me luck! (oh and mom our cab driver's name yesterday was Wayan!)
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Aliens
We have made it to Malaysia! (This post is called Aliens because everywhere we have been in the last week and a half, people have been staring at us like we are from a different planet...) We are in Kuala Lumpur and are about to go see the twin towers that used to be the tallest buildings in the world. We were in Nha Trang for 3 nights and Mui Ne for one night and then yesterday flew out of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). I'm sad we didn't get to spend more time in HCMC because as we were driving through it actually looked pretty nice and clean.
Nha Trang was beautiful though. There are no hotels or resorts on the beach, they are all across the street so everyone just goes to one of these two "restaurants" that have lounge chairs and lay out for the day. The day we left Hanoi the concierge at the hotel informed us that the Ms. Universe pagent was taking place in Nha Trang while we were there and because of that the city was packed. The locals were so excited because I don't think much happens in Nha Trang on a regular basis. I walked down the second night and there was a parade with all of the girls from all over the worl and the locals were just eating it up! They loved it. The day we arrived at the "airport" which was possibly the grossest thing I have ever seen. It had one carousel, no gates, and the first thing that happened was a very cross-eyed man asked me if we needed a cab ride...I was just like no thank you... I don't think there is any possible way he could have driven. Quickly following we did find a cab driver whose first words were "don't worry I'm a good driver" which is never a good thing... But were alive, and the first night we ate at this place called the Sailing Club which is one of the restaurants where you can lay out during the day and it was so pleasant. We sat outside almost on the beach and just watched the ocean. The following day we went to the other restaurant and layed out the entire day and got pretty sunburned. Well I just got really tan with a hint of red but Catherine has some pretty hilarious burns where she missed putting on sunscreen. We went out that night, back to the sailing club,
and had a tad too much to drink so pretty much wasted the next day away unfortunately.
We took a bus to Mui Ne the following day and it was a very interesting beach. Not really beautiful like Nha Trang, just different because it was more of a fishing village. Our hotel was nice though and we just lounged by the pool after we arrived. I took a walk on the beach and ended up finding some of the most vibrant in tact sea shells that I have ever seen! I picked up a purple, orange, and red one as keepsakes. Yesterday we spent traveling and in airports which is not fun but we did meet a very interesting couple that were traveling with a stuffed giraffe named Geri. They had taken pictures with them everywhere they had been and I was obsessed with the idea! I just wish I had thought of it! I'll keep you updated on Kuala Lumpur!
Nha Trang was beautiful though. There are no hotels or resorts on the beach, they are all across the street so everyone just goes to one of these two "restaurants" that have lounge chairs and lay out for the day. The day we left Hanoi the concierge at the hotel informed us that the Ms. Universe pagent was taking place in Nha Trang while we were there and because of that the city was packed. The locals were so excited because I don't think much happens in Nha Trang on a regular basis. I walked down the second night and there was a parade with all of the girls from all over the worl and the locals were just eating it up! They loved it. The day we arrived at the "airport" which was possibly the grossest thing I have ever seen. It had one carousel, no gates, and the first thing that happened was a very cross-eyed man asked me if we needed a cab ride...I was just like no thank you... I don't think there is any possible way he could have driven. Quickly following we did find a cab driver whose first words were "don't worry I'm a good driver" which is never a good thing... But were alive, and the first night we ate at this place called the Sailing Club which is one of the restaurants where you can lay out during the day and it was so pleasant. We sat outside almost on the beach and just watched the ocean. The following day we went to the other restaurant and layed out the entire day and got pretty sunburned. Well I just got really tan with a hint of red but Catherine has some pretty hilarious burns where she missed putting on sunscreen. We went out that night, back to the sailing club,
and had a tad too much to drink so pretty much wasted the next day away unfortunately.
We took a bus to Mui Ne the following day and it was a very interesting beach. Not really beautiful like Nha Trang, just different because it was more of a fishing village. Our hotel was nice though and we just lounged by the pool after we arrived. I took a walk on the beach and ended up finding some of the most vibrant in tact sea shells that I have ever seen! I picked up a purple, orange, and red one as keepsakes. Yesterday we spent traveling and in airports which is not fun but we did meet a very interesting couple that were traveling with a stuffed giraffe named Geri. They had taken pictures with them everywhere they had been and I was obsessed with the idea! I just wish I had thought of it! I'll keep you updated on Kuala Lumpur!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Hanoi and Ha Long Bay
After one more day of complete relaxation on the beach in Ko Samui we were picked up from our hotel by Mr. Seen. It was pouring down rain outside and Mr. Seen was driving at about 100 Km/hour up and down hills, around curves, and through small lakes... Needless to say we were very happy to arrive at the airport in one piece! We spent one night in Bangkok and on our way out of the hotel we ran into an American man who was asking about our travels and when he asked why we were not going to Phuket I told him I did not enjoy it the last time I was there and felt no need to return. He then proclaimed "well that's because you're a girl." I felt like saying "well you're old and ugly" but I refrained and just smiled.
After our short flight we arrived in Hanoi to be completely amazed by the driving here in Vietnam. There are no lanes, no stop lights, no signs, and cows walking down the highway. It's completely crazy! They just all drive the same speed and honk at each other to let the other cars/motorcycles know where they are. Somehow it works out quite well. The other thing I love about Vietnam so far is how everyone sits on these tiny little stools. They are plastic and smaller than a little kids chair but people of all sizes sit on them around miniature tables and eat pho on the street. I've always loved miniature things and don't worry I've taken pictures. The first day we went to the floating temple on what they call a lake but is really more of a pond and then went to a water puppet show. It was interesting to say the least... The show had traditional Vietnamese music and the troop that performed had won all sorts of awards. I guess I'm glad that I saw it but I don't think I would ever want to see it again.
Yesterday we went to Ha Long Bay for an overnight cruise. Just in case you were wondering, the most important man in the world was on our bus from Hanoi to the bay. He was with his girlfriend and spent the entirety of the ride on one of his two cell phones (one was a blackberry and the other an iphone...completely necessary). We got to hear all about his houses in Thailand, how Jean Claude Van Dam, JC, was filming a movie at his beach house in Phuket, how he was trying to build a Ritz Carlton, but instead decided on a Hyatt Regency because the people weren't as difficult. Basically if you can think of anything to brag about, we already heard it. Oh and when he stood up, he was about 5'2". Anyway, the Ha-long people are pushing for the bay to become one of the seven wonders of the world and now I know why. The bay has all of these free standing rock islands that continue as far as you can see. The boat we were on, Indochina Sails II, had great food and the people on it were extremely friendly. We got to see a "traditional" floating fishing village which is just a one room house held up by styrofoam and connected to its neighbor. It looks very poor but many of the houses had televisions and stereo systems that run off of generators. They didn't even have lights, but they had TV.
In the afternoon Catherine and I kayaked through a "cave" and then climbed one of the islands that had a pagoda at the top. There were something like 423 steps and the guides informed us it was a hard hike but the view was worth it. It was nothing compared to the waterfall hike so we were fine, but they were right about the view. As far as you could see in every direction the bay continued and the rock formations were endless. I've never seen anything like it. I took 8 bajillion pictures and Catherine and I took some pretty awesome cheesy pics too.
This morning we went to see Surprise Cave and it was very interesting. It was on a different one of the rock islands and had three chambers. It was discovered in the early 1900's and the fisherman that found it were "surprised" when they saw it, hence the name Surprise Cave. It was pretty cool. Now were back in Hanoi and I saw St. Joseph's cathedral, it was the first Catholic church in Hanoi and I arrived just in time for the 6 o'clock mass so I just snapped some pictures and listened for a second to the father reciting prayers in Vietnamese. Definitely a different experience, but the church was pretty full which was unexpected. Then on my way to find the Hoa Lo prison (which is still a working prison and I didn't know that...) I witnessed a street fight. I'm don't know how it started but all of a sudden I looked over and one guy was beating the crap out of some poor guy with his motorcycle helmet while his friend kicked him in the face. The entire street froze and it took a good minute before anyone stepped in to help the guy being beat up. I think everyone involved was okay but it was weird to see such little people fighting. I finally got to the prison too late to tour it, but I realized it was a working prison when I saw a guy sitting in his window behind bars. I was so surprised that it still housed prisoners in the middle of city right next to one of the nicest hotels in Hanoi that I had to take a picture of the poor guy behind bars. I felt kind of bad, like I was mocking him, but in the end took the picture anyway. Now were back at our awesome hotel and we leave tomorrow for Nha Trang!
After our short flight we arrived in Hanoi to be completely amazed by the driving here in Vietnam. There are no lanes, no stop lights, no signs, and cows walking down the highway. It's completely crazy! They just all drive the same speed and honk at each other to let the other cars/motorcycles know where they are. Somehow it works out quite well. The other thing I love about Vietnam so far is how everyone sits on these tiny little stools. They are plastic and smaller than a little kids chair but people of all sizes sit on them around miniature tables and eat pho on the street. I've always loved miniature things and don't worry I've taken pictures. The first day we went to the floating temple on what they call a lake but is really more of a pond and then went to a water puppet show. It was interesting to say the least... The show had traditional Vietnamese music and the troop that performed had won all sorts of awards. I guess I'm glad that I saw it but I don't think I would ever want to see it again.
Yesterday we went to Ha Long Bay for an overnight cruise. Just in case you were wondering, the most important man in the world was on our bus from Hanoi to the bay. He was with his girlfriend and spent the entirety of the ride on one of his two cell phones (one was a blackberry and the other an iphone...completely necessary). We got to hear all about his houses in Thailand, how Jean Claude Van Dam, JC, was filming a movie at his beach house in Phuket, how he was trying to build a Ritz Carlton, but instead decided on a Hyatt Regency because the people weren't as difficult. Basically if you can think of anything to brag about, we already heard it. Oh and when he stood up, he was about 5'2". Anyway, the Ha-long people are pushing for the bay to become one of the seven wonders of the world and now I know why. The bay has all of these free standing rock islands that continue as far as you can see. The boat we were on, Indochina Sails II, had great food and the people on it were extremely friendly. We got to see a "traditional" floating fishing village which is just a one room house held up by styrofoam and connected to its neighbor. It looks very poor but many of the houses had televisions and stereo systems that run off of generators. They didn't even have lights, but they had TV.
In the afternoon Catherine and I kayaked through a "cave" and then climbed one of the islands that had a pagoda at the top. There were something like 423 steps and the guides informed us it was a hard hike but the view was worth it. It was nothing compared to the waterfall hike so we were fine, but they were right about the view. As far as you could see in every direction the bay continued and the rock formations were endless. I've never seen anything like it. I took 8 bajillion pictures and Catherine and I took some pretty awesome cheesy pics too.
This morning we went to see Surprise Cave and it was very interesting. It was on a different one of the rock islands and had three chambers. It was discovered in the early 1900's and the fisherman that found it were "surprised" when they saw it, hence the name Surprise Cave. It was pretty cool. Now were back in Hanoi and I saw St. Joseph's cathedral, it was the first Catholic church in Hanoi and I arrived just in time for the 6 o'clock mass so I just snapped some pictures and listened for a second to the father reciting prayers in Vietnamese. Definitely a different experience, but the church was pretty full which was unexpected. Then on my way to find the Hoa Lo prison (which is still a working prison and I didn't know that...) I witnessed a street fight. I'm don't know how it started but all of a sudden I looked over and one guy was beating the crap out of some poor guy with his motorcycle helmet while his friend kicked him in the face. The entire street froze and it took a good minute before anyone stepped in to help the guy being beat up. I think everyone involved was okay but it was weird to see such little people fighting. I finally got to the prison too late to tour it, but I realized it was a working prison when I saw a guy sitting in his window behind bars. I was so surprised that it still housed prisoners in the middle of city right next to one of the nicest hotels in Hanoi that I had to take a picture of the poor guy behind bars. I felt kind of bad, like I was mocking him, but in the end took the picture anyway. Now were back at our awesome hotel and we leave tomorrow for Nha Trang!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
It's a Rough Life
We arrived in Ko Samui yesterday morning after a much more pleasant ride on a Catamaran from Ko Tao. When we got off of the Catamaran though we got in this PACKED mini-van with 9 peoples bags and 9 people plus the driver. Catherine and I were in the very back seat and the seats were leaned forward because of the bags, so the ride was a tad awkward because my face was in between the people in front of me. I had to talk to them because I was literally like breathing down their necks... It was really funny. We got to our resort and it is right on the beach with a pool and is much nicer than our hotel on Ko Tao. Yesterday was rough to say the least. We layed out, ran from a humongous bumble bee, got an oil massage on the beach and ate an awesome dinner overlooking the ocean. Top notch. I did however have a good showing on the beach midday when I was taking a walk. I was looking out at the ocean and SLAMMED my toe into an enormous piece of coral on the beach. It started bleeding a little and then the whole top of my toe started turning blue and swelling up. I was still trying to play it off and was walking away like nothing happened but after about 7 steps I had to limp all the way back to hotel where I doctored it with some awesome white atheltic tape which made my toe look like a light bulb. Basically I look really cool.
Today we woke up and decided to climb the Nu Muang waterfall. It was beautiful! We had read that the climb was a little difficult but I think that may have been a bit of an understatement... I'm exhausted from the climb but it was totally worth it (although it was a little rough on the toe). About half way up this Thai boy named Bom decided to lead us the rest of the way and swim with us in the pool when we got to the top. He was like a monkey, it was crazy. He was climbing up these really slippery rocks wearing flip flops. I was wearing running shoes and I was sliding all over the place. It was definitely a rewarding hike and I almost walked straight into the biggest spider I've ever seen along the path. We have a billion pictures but I forgot my camera cord at home so everyone will just have to wait to see them!
Today we woke up and decided to climb the Nu Muang waterfall. It was beautiful! We had read that the climb was a little difficult but I think that may have been a bit of an understatement... I'm exhausted from the climb but it was totally worth it (although it was a little rough on the toe). About half way up this Thai boy named Bom decided to lead us the rest of the way and swim with us in the pool when we got to the top. He was like a monkey, it was crazy. He was climbing up these really slippery rocks wearing flip flops. I was wearing running shoes and I was sliding all over the place. It was definitely a rewarding hike and I almost walked straight into the biggest spider I've ever seen along the path. We have a billion pictures but I forgot my camera cord at home so everyone will just have to wait to see them!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
SCUBA
We flew out of Bangkok yesterday and arrived in Ko Samui at 8 am, 5 hours before we were supposed to board our boat to Ko Tao. So we had five hours to kill in a place where things don't open until 10. So we walked along the beach until 10 and then drank at a beach bar until 1 when the boat was ready to board. I think I amused the waitstaff with my endless questions that went unanswered because they had no idea what I was saying. The boat trip was absolutely hilarious because the full moon party had just ended and we picked up a bunch of people from Ko Phangnan. We ended up on boat at twice its capacity of people and no air conditioning. People were laying down in the aisles and everyone was sweating. Alot. All I could do was laugh.
Today I woke up at like 6 in the morning and decided since I was in the "SCUBA capital of the world" it would be a sin not to dive while I was here. So I anxiously sat around the room until 7 when I came downstairs in my pajamas and tried to explain to the lady at the front that I wanted to scuba dive TODAY. Not tomorrow and that I didn't dive yesterday. So she woke up the dive master that apparently lives across the street and I signed up (with a very groggy brazilian man that didn't speak english either) for the 8 am dive. I then convinced Catherine to come so she could snorkel the same sights. It was amazing! We did two dives, the first was Mango Bay but I only stayed down for 40 minutes because my right ear began aching. But after a bit of a rest I was ready for the next dive at Japanese Garden. This dive was absolutely beautiful and we were able to see eels, starfish, sea urchins, porcupine fish, a school of baracudas, and more fish and coral than I could ever name. The colors were so brilliant. To say the least, I had an awesome time. We also met some really awesome sisters from Ireland and the cutest couple from Australia. We all had lunch together and then walked to this private beach that was stunning. We had a great day today!
Today I woke up at like 6 in the morning and decided since I was in the "SCUBA capital of the world" it would be a sin not to dive while I was here. So I anxiously sat around the room until 7 when I came downstairs in my pajamas and tried to explain to the lady at the front that I wanted to scuba dive TODAY. Not tomorrow and that I didn't dive yesterday. So she woke up the dive master that apparently lives across the street and I signed up (with a very groggy brazilian man that didn't speak english either) for the 8 am dive. I then convinced Catherine to come so she could snorkel the same sights. It was amazing! We did two dives, the first was Mango Bay but I only stayed down for 40 minutes because my right ear began aching. But after a bit of a rest I was ready for the next dive at Japanese Garden. This dive was absolutely beautiful and we were able to see eels, starfish, sea urchins, porcupine fish, a school of baracudas, and more fish and coral than I could ever name. The colors were so brilliant. To say the least, I had an awesome time. We also met some really awesome sisters from Ireland and the cutest couple from Australia. We all had lunch together and then walked to this private beach that was stunning. We had a great day today!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Bangkok
After 30 long hours of traveling, we made it to Bangkok! Well actually I can't complain too much, I pretty much slept the whole time. I love you Ambien. We made it here without any hitches really. We made all our flights, only had one screaming baby from Austin to LA, and it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. We met two awesome guys on our flight that are spending a year in Chiang Mai and told them we would meet them in a month when we were in the north of Thailand. I suprisingly have no jet lag, I think sleeping on the plane saved me the pain although I can't say the same for Catherine. We went to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho today, only took one tuk tuk and it didn't even kidnap us. It took us straight to where we wanted to go and I don't even think we paid too much. We've been very lucky so far. We set up the rest of our week in Thailand this morning. We fly out really early tomorrow morning to Ko Tao for two nights. I'm super excited about Ko Tao because the scuba diving is supposed to be amazing. We had street food for lunch, awesome Pad Thai, although I'm not sure I will be able to convince Catherine and her friend into street food too many more times...something about not being able to read the menu makes them uncomfortable I think.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Airports
Here's the deal guys. We leave tomorrow and will be in planes/airports forever. I'm not going to be able to remember when I wasn't on a plane. I mean what if she were still bowing? Anyway we finally arrive in Bangkok late on the 19th. Yall know how bad I am at keeping up with things so hopefully I will actually keep up with this so you know what's up with our trip!
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