On the Road Again (Northbound Thailand)

Well when I last posted I was still feeling uneasy from the whole meat skewer fiasco but am happy to say that I quickly recovered from my first (of probably many) tummy issues. Lets see...I dont even know where to begin! Every day has been action packed, full of completely different adventures. I guess I will just start with where I left off last time! Our guesthouse in Ayutthaya was a lovely, quaint place that was run by a local family. They said they only had one room available, but that it wouldn't be a good idea to stay in the room because it faced the main street. We both figured it couldn't be that noisy, and if I must say so myself, to call the room noisy was a huge understatement! The entire night sounded like we were in the middle of a riot or train station! But, the serenity of the outside patio overlooking the river made up for the horrendous night of sleeping! That morning, we headed to the grounds of the ancient city and were able to explore the first sight in peace. There were only a few other tourists so we were able to look in depth at the buildings and take lots of uninterrupted photos, which is always a huge plus! Afterwards, we managed to see two of the more popular ancient grounds in the area before we got "templed out" for the day.

Later on, we headed to Sukothai, which is known to be the most famous ancient city in Thailand. We got an early start to the day the following morning and caught a local

bus to the old city. The bus system in Sukothai is really funny. It is basically an old truck that has benches enclosed in the back of it. Then, the bus driver will just drive along, honking at people on the side of the road to see if they need a lift! When we arrived to the site, we decided to rent some bicycles since this area was much more spread out than Ayutthaya. To be honest, I would not have wanted to do it any other way! We just cruised around, hopping on and off as we pleased. Both of the ancient cities were very interesting and unique in their own ways. I loved though seeing the Thai school children who were on field trips in Sukothai. They would get so excited when they saw us, saying "Good afternoon" and "Hello" in their cute little accents. After we felt that we got a good taste of the ancient city, we decided to just call it a day and wait for our bus to continue north to Chang Mai.

     

Upon arriving in Chang Mai, we were taken to the area with a lot of guest houses and ended up finding a place coincidentally called Julie's Guesthouse. It had a very laid back atmosphere, but more importantly, really fun, interesting people. We were able to book all of our trips through the guesthouse and within 30 minutes of arriving, we had our first three days in Chang Mai completely booked! The following morning we were picked up for our first organized tour of the trip. It was a Thai cooking school, so we were both looking forward to bringing home some mad Asian cooking skills! The cooking course was a blast. Our instructor was this awesome Thai biker chick type lady who had a great sense of humor and was really good about explaining things to us. We learned all of the herbs and sauces used for thai food, as well as how to make everything from pad thai, to curry pastes, spring rolls, thai soups, stir fry, and desserts! By the end of the day, we had a massive feast, and our group was in a pretty fatal food coma. But the best part of it was that we got a detailed cookbook describing everything that we made throughout the day!

By the end of the day, we headed back to the guesthouse with our Swedish friends that we made during the cooking course and could barely move, yet be productive and manage to see any sites of the city! The following morning we were picked up for a 2 day/1 night trek in the jungle about an hour from Chang Mai. The tour began with a nice little elephant ride throughout the jungle.

Despite our crooked seats and feeling like we were going to fall over at any moment, it was really fun. We bought bananas to feed the elephants and enjoyed watching their bizarre behaviors. Afterwards, we had a tough four hour uphill trek to an isolated jungle town. We arrived there at dusk and had a very basic, 14 bed bamboo room with mosquito nets for accommodation. It was beautiful though because it was only lit by a few candles. The locals prepared an amazing feast for us, as we were all starving after the trek. Afterwards, we enjoyed a night of listening to some acoustic classic songs over a campfire. I must say, I never realized how much Thai people love making every possible song into an acoustic version.

The following morning I was fortunate enough to have Julie wake me up for sunrise. It was one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. We watched it for nearly an hour, with only the sound of roosters (which was slightly obnoxious) as a distraction. Our second day of the jungle adventure consisted of whitewater and bamboo rafting. Trying to fit 8 people on a bamboo raft was a poor choice. We were sinking the entire time, but made the most of it and were laughing up the whole time. Overall, I thought doing a 2 day/ 1 night trek was the perfect amount of time.

By the end of it, I was exhausted and looking forward to a warm shower and a $5 Thai massage and pedicure! Later that night, which was Christmas Eve, we enjoyed some Italian food, which is 5x the price of everything else, but still only about $6 for a huge pizza, so that was a big treat for us! We met some great people from the guesthouse and all decided to hit the town, which ended up being a blast. There was a fun reggae bar and a random baby elephant walking around the bars with its owner! Since we had a big night out, the next couple of days were just spent hanging out and having fun with all of the awesome people at the guesthouse. When you are at a place with such like- minded people who all have fascinating stories, it is hard to want to leave! Now, we are heading to Laos so I will have a lot more to say soon!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmakkah!

Bring it on Bangkok

Well, my sister and I arrived safely in Bangkok late on Monday night. After an exhausting day, it was such a treat to have our driver waiting patiently to take us to our hotel.

We arrived to a beautifully spacious, clean, and air- conditioned room, and a breakfast buffet awaiting us in the morning. Upon waking up, we were both starving and went down to check out the buffet. With chicken stir fry, beef and vegetables, noodles, thai soup, omelets, fresh pastries and fruit, we were already in heaven! After a massive breakfast, we were ready to face the day. During our first morning, we thought it would be best to get acquainted with the enormous city.   We stepped out at around 9 am, and the city was already alive. There were endless clothing and souvenir stands, along with lots of street food. I went a little overboard with shopping on the first day, but the beauty of Bangkok is that I could buy a dress, skirt, souvenir shirt, "hippy pants", and a wallet, and still only be down $20. What got me even more excited was how cheap and delicious the food is in Bangkok. With pad thai for $0.65. meat skewers for $0.30, banana and nutella crepes for $0.65, and so on, I knew that I would not have to resort to being a starving backpacker in southeast asia! I must say, the pad thai was incredible. They have all of the noodles out and make it right in front of you within minutes.

We met our grandma's friend, Bunny, and her husband ,Vira, later in the afternoon and they were so amazing, helping us plan the rest of our trip and inviting us to learn more about the culture. The following day, we were invited to a Buddhist ceremony, where their son's new home was being blessed by monks. The ceremony for the blessing of his home was such a raw, unique, and unforgettable experience. My sister and I followed the lead of Bunny and her family, and sat on the floor, with our hands in prayer position as the monks chanted in perfect harmony. It was incredible because the floor was perfectly white, allowing for a beautiful reflection of the monks in their orange wraps. After the first round of prayers, the monks were led to a fully prepared Thai meal, while the rest of us socialized over some beverages and waited for them to finish. After the monks finished the final set of prayers, including splashing blessed water on all of us and the walls of the home, we all sat down to a wonderful meal. It was great to exchange stories with Bunny about our grandparents and get to know the family better. I can't express how fortunate I felt to be able to have welcoming family friends in such a foreign place that greatly assisted us in understanding Thai culture.

On Thursday, we were meant to have our big temple day, or wats as they are called in Thailand. We arrived at the Grand Palace, which is meant to be the most popular wat, in what we felt were modest clothes. Immediately, the scheming tuk tuk drivers, who are known to fool tourist into fake tours so they get gas commission, told us we had to wait until the afternoon to go inside because we were not dressed appropriately. Surprisingly, we believed them without checking inside and continued walking to find a better deal. Luckily, we found a semi-honest tuk tuk driver who told us about the commission he received by taking us to tourist offices and silk shops so we played along because he was a nice enough guy. Along our little journey, we saw several different architectural styles of wats and more buddha statues than I could ever imagine! In the end, we got to see several beautiful wats and the mansion where one of the kings lived. So, basically, we gave up about an hour of our day to help out our driver and in return we had a free tour of the city! Luckily, we survived the infamous tuk tuk driver scheme with no harm done! Unfortunately, by the time we finally got back to the Grand Palace we were exhausted, so we figured we would just go early the following morning.

                   

Later in the night we were supposed to catch a river boat and head down to another area of Bangkok. We ended up missing the last boat but met a really nice Mexican couple and headed to a popular area, Siem Square, for some drinks. We had drinks at a massive outdoor beer garden, then decided to eat some late night street food, which ended up being a poor choice. I got a beef skewer and took a bite into it realizing it wasn't warm, which isn't a good sign. Given that I was a little buzzed from the beers consumed throughout the night, I foolishly ate it all. On our way to the Grand Palace in the morning, I felt so terrible, breaking out into an awful sweat. I kept thinking it would get better but by the time we walked all the way to the Grand Palace I gave up and had to head home! So, needless to say, Friday was spent curled up in the fetal position near the toilet. I guess it was another welcome to Thailand! I haven't been able to eat much since then so lets hope it all gets better soon. Today we arrived in the old Thailand capital, Ayutthaya, to see some ancient architectures of the wats, and will continue north tomorrow.

Goodbye to my second home

Well, I cannot believe that my seven weeks in Australia are coming to an end. I suppose that you may all be wondering why I have only written three blog posts in the past seven weeks and the answer is quite simple: Australia truly is a second home. Just as I would have a hard time writing a blog about my occurrences in Boulder, the same is nearly true for Sydney. It is incredible to think that if I had never studied abroad in Sydney, I wouldn't have developed such an amazing relationship with my family down under! Now, I have my "Australian parents", Di and Geoff, and wonderful cousins in Sydney that I want to visit as much as possible! I guess it doesn't hurt that am able to stay in a gorgeous home with an amazing cook that just so happens to be a block away from the beach!

So then what have I been doing in Sydney? Well, these past few weeks I have been taking it easy. A couple weeks ago I went to hear the Dalai Lama speak in Sydney. When I had heard that he was coming I instantly knew that I wanted to go. I honestly knew nothing about the Dalai Lama, except that he was arguably the most important living figure for Buddhists. His talk was very interesting. He was such a humble man, warning us from the beginning that he didn't have the answers to the worlds problems, but rather, insight on how each person could better themselves. It was perfect timing to hear a talk like this just before continuing on my adventure.

Other than that, it has been many days of my favorite routine: beach, eat, sleep! Last weekend, we went to a monthly farmers market at the end of Darling Harbour and it was incredible! For all of you Boulderites, it was about five times as big as our farmers market with everything you could imagine. Afterwards, we went to the Sydney Fish Market to get some seafood for the weekend. The following day (Sunday), we all sat in Di and Geoffs back area, which feels like a tropical oasis, and had the most incredible meal. We had fresh mussels from the fish market in a delicious white wine and tomato sauce, and we even had shrimp on the barbie! This week, I did some last minute errands and got my final dose of Sydney! The weather was great, slightly better than the frigid cold temperatures I have been hearing about in Colorado, and I was able to do some beautiful scenic walks and admire all of the seasonal and Christmas festivities.

Sculptures by the Sea: Bondi

Christmas lights in the city

So, I hope you all understand that although I failed miserably at communicating my time in Sydney, it does not mean I think any less of the place. In fact, it is the opposite. I am so mesmerized by the city and the way it can capture your heart that I just cannot put it into words! But, please, if you have not spent time in Sydney, move that to the top of your to do list! I have already convinced my mom to come here. She is already planning a family vacation here for December 2010, so maybe if you play your cards right you can get an invite!

A goodbye hug from my adorable Aussie cousin!

With seven months left, expect to hear about all of the crazy adventures to come in the future! So long Australia, hello Asia!

Here is a quick look at whats ahead:

* On Monday, December 14, I leave for Thailand and will meet my sister at the airport at around midnight. Under normal circumstances, it would probably be a long, chaotic night, that may have consisted of sleeping in the airport. Given that our grandmother has a close friend that owns a hotel in Bangkok, we will be picked up and escorted to free accommodation at a beautiful hotel in the heart of the city! While this will do a poor job of preparing us for the dirt cheap lifestyle that we will have throughout our travels, I guess I can't complain!

* Two months of backpacking throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. The only schedule we have is to get back to Bangkok on February 15 to catch our flight to India! We have an idea of all of the places we want to go, but we just need to figure out what will be the best route for us!

Have a wonderful holiday season and I will keep you posted!

Thanksgiving Down Under

Setting up for the Thanksgiving feast

So Di and I had discussed doing a Thanksgiving meal a couple of weeks ago and she was kind enough to share her birthday dinner with Thanksgiving! Once the plans were set, she asked what ingredients were necessary for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I listed off turkey, mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows and pumpkin pie as the big ticket items! Additionally, I wanted to make my famous key lime pie. It turns out that some of these ingredients are difficult to find in Australia! First off, Di apparently had to call around in order to find a butcher that actually had some turkey! Then, I explained the canned pumpkin mix we use for the pie and was shocked that one of the department stores actually carried it! Our biggest battle though was pie crusts. I love how American manufacturers recognize that we are lazy and would prefer the option of pre-made pie crusts. This is not the case in Australia! So, when Di reported back that there were no pie crusts, as well as no graham crackers in Australia for my key lime pie crust, we had to be innovative in order to make it all work out. In the end, it all did turn out delicious. The one thing though that I found hilarious was watching everyones faces as I explained to them that we actually ate sweet potatoes with marshmallows for Thanksgiving. I kept telling everyone not to knock it until they tried it, and in the end, I think it got the Australian seal of approval!

Di's incredible turkey

I would say that Thanksgiving Down Under 2009 was a success! The turkey was incredible, all of the side dishes were visibly enjoyed, and everyone got a taste of some American pumpkin and key lime pie. It made me feel so fortunate that despite being on the other side of the world, I was still able to share this special holiday with family and friends. In the end, I think having this meal also introduced some Australians to the meaning of Thanksgiving and why it is so important to Americans. Hopefully, all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving back home. Enjoy the rest of your long weekend!

The Great Barrier Reef and beyond

It has only been 4 days since I finished my liveaboard dive trip and I must say that I am already hooked on diving! Upon returning from the Great Barrier Reef, I reflected on the trip and was beyond impressed with my first experience in certified diving. The visibility was incredible, the dive sites were full of aquatic life and corals, and the Pro Dive boat provided us with plenty of delicious food! It is difficult to express in words how liberating it feels to breath underwater and live among the fish, but it is something you must all experience for yourselves!

On my very first unguided dive, my brain kind of shut off. As I began descending below the surface, I started to panic because I realized that I couldn't breath. It turned out that I failed toremember to take out my snorkel and begin using my regulator while underwater! Needless to say, my first dive was slightly messy, but it was no big deal because I had 10 dives left! On my three day, two night liveaboard trip I managed to see several turtles, reef sharks, sting rays, eels, giant clams, triggerfish, crabs, and in case you were wondering, I found Nemo! Since I had an underwater camera housing, I always had my camera ready just in case something really exciting was spotted. On the few occasions were I found a shark or a turtle, I immediately would get a burst of energy and chase after them as if I were a predator. Now that I think back on it, I realized that it may not be the wisest idea to chase sharks!

Although we were doing three dives a day and one night dive, I was surprised at how much energy I had throughout the day. It definitely helped that after every dive there was always some kind of food waiting for us, with my favorite being the warm, fresh baked cakes. The top deck was also great for relaxing. By noon, nearly half of the boat was taking a nap, while the rest, including myself, were absorbing the tranquility of our surroundings. I just remember looking out at the ocean and not seeing a single thing in any direction. I think that this setting makes it nearly impossible for anyone to stress out (not that I have anything not stress out about!). It felt remarkable to be so far away from reality! I could have definitely stayed on that boat for a few more days.

So, to sum it up, my very first dive trip was amazing and unforgettable! Luckily, I have lots of photos to remember the trip. If you have facebook, you can check out the rest of my photos by using this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2468464&id=10220156&saved#/album.php?aid=2468464&id=10220156

I still have a lot more to catch you all up on so expect more posts within the week! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Return to Oz

Well to say the least it feels amazing to be back in Sydney, truly my second home. From the moment that I stepped off of the plane it was pure bliss. Although it has been nearly two years since I left Sydney, it truly felt like it was just yesterday when I departed from my six month study abroad experience. It took a few days to get back to normal, but as soon as I bought my surfboard (referred to as my baby boy), I found myself back to my daily routine at Bondi Beach. My absolute favorite day ever is quite simple: wake up at 6:30, eat some brekkie (as they call it in Australia), take a walk along the stunning coastal beach path, then surf until I have no energy left.  Afterwards, I am content to just relax at the beach with a book or roam around the city. Although I haven't managed to do this every single morning, it is what I aim for!

Seeing a typical Bondi Beach sunset will quickly make you realize how easy it is to be a beach bum

Apart from my beach routine, I have just been enjoying re-familiarizing myself with the city. It only took a few days to master the bus and train system again and I managed to see most classic Sydney sites within the first week. Recently, I have really been enjoying time with my Australian family and taking advantage of everything the city has to offer. What I love about Sydney is that if you are a beach person, like myself, you can still access the heart of the city with a 10-15 minute drive. Since I visited nearly every place I wanted to see last time I was here, it is nice to have this time to feel like a Sydney local.

Returning on the ferry after a lovely day at Manly Beach

The Opera House at sunset

Additionally, I managed to take a quick break from the city by going on a surf trip up north with a company called Mojo Surf.  We went to a mellow, private beach location about four hours from Sydney and stayed at their surfside accommodation.  It was definitely a nice change of pace to have an uncrowded, peaceful beach with plenty of waves for everyone!

The wonderfully vibrant mojo bus

Nice, empty beach!

Well, lets hope that now I can get used to doing blog updates more frequently. I am aiming for updates at least twice a month.  Next up: diving in the great barrier reef

Lots of love to all! Stay well

Am I really leaving?

So the time has come.  The time where I begin freaking out and realize that I am not just making up some whimsical journey around the world from my imagination.  Preparing for my nine month trip has taken more time than I could ever imagine.  From choosing a custom base route through STA Travel to planning out destinations in between each stop, it is safe to say that I have been occupied with my itinerary for the past few months!  Luckily, since my sister will be traveling with me throughout Asia and East Africa, it has been nice having us both look into all of the possibilities for each destination.

Here's my route and some details of the big trip:

Denver--> Los Angeles--> Sydney-->Bangkok-->New Dehli-->Mumbai-->Nairobi-->Accra-->Cairo-->New York-->Denver 

* 7 weeks in Australia to chill by the beach and do some surfing while making time to get scuba certified and head up to the Great Barrier Reef for a liveaboard dive trip

* 8 weeks of beach and culture in southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam).

* 4 weeks in India to explore its famous sites and all that it has to offer.

* 5 1/2 weeks in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda) for a massive serving of adventure

*6-7 weeks in Ghana to live with a local host family and volunteer at an school and explore West Africa

*4 weeks in Egypt to explore this fascinating ancient culture and indulge in some beachside locations