tabasco cat travels

back to reality

2009-04-04T14:25:00.002-06:00

i'm home in st. louis park, mn. it's strange to be here. morgan is still in ca with friends and our parents. i've gotta say, i'm missing being on the road... but there are some really great things about being back, too. one of those is getting photos developed. i have 25 of 29 rolls printed. i'll scan some of them soon. it's great to be able to see the trip again this way. i have so many memories of taking specific pictures so it's really fun to see the outcome.

to wrap up the trip: singapore (for 1 night) and fiji (for 2 weeks)

singapore is a very clean modern city. a city, to be sure, but a very manageable one. we got to see our friend Sebastian, a guy we met in vietnam last june. he introduced us to some of his friends, and they took great care of us during our visit.

fiji is a beautiful group of islands. it was really super hot while we were there. like 100 degrees in the shade hot. we had a blast with seda and jenny, who came over from korea to be there at the same time as us. we stayed with seda's parents for a good chunk of our time there. what amazing hosts they were. the rest of the time we were in a village, at a resort, and then in another village. we ended drinking a lot of kava (made from the powder of a root, mixed with water), a mild intoxicant. mostly it just makes your mouth and throat numb. i actually like the flavor because it reminds me of some weird mints i had once... the water was incredibly clear. morgan and i went scuba diving and saw a bunch of reef sharks. amazing. we had a great time there.

after fiji, we flew to san francisco. i met jen zipp for the first time (!) and we got to see other friends: clem, martha, jen, katia & pete and their beautiful kiddos. fun times. i also went up to bodega, which marked the first time morgan and i have been separated in a few months. also strange. great to spend time with the family... my aunt, uncle, and a couple of cousins came up to bodega bay. nice.

i got back to st. louis park almost 2 weeks ago now. the first week was consumed by wedding plans. (not mine.) congratulations to eliza and michael! since they left on their honeymoon, i've been hanging out and working on my resume. time to return to reality. so-- if anyone hears of a job in the event planning/project coordinator area, please let me know! i'm especially looking in colorado and northern california...

not sure how much i'll post on here now that i'm back in the country. please be in touch; it would be lovely to hear from you and get a chance to catch up on your life!

raining cats and cats

2009-02-27T00:50:00.002-07:00

one more funny thing about malaysia: there aren't stray dogs like we've seen in every other country. instead there are tons of cats wandering the streets. they're pretty friendly, not feral, and don't seem to have a lot of fleas. most of them have stubby little tails, which is normal for cats in malaysia, from what i've read. purrrr- i love cats.

one more country down

2009-02-26T02:57:00.002-07:00

we leave malaysia tonight, on a train bound for singapore. we've had a good time here. we spent a few days in penang, known for the delicious food of chinatown and little india. i have to say that the indian food we had there was better than some we had in india. but not as good as the best, for sure.

next we made our way to kota bharu, where the highlights were: scuba diving off the coast, taking a batik class, and seeing a master shadow puppet maker at work.

then we took the "jungle train" (beautiful ride) down to the taman negara rainforest. it's the oldest in the world at 130 million years! that's too ridiculous an amount of time for me to comprehend. while we were there, we went on a beautiful 11-kilometer trek to a hide, which is basically a cabin on stilts where you can look over a clearing where animals may come during the night. well, we didn't see any. on our way there we saw a little poisonous snake, and on our way out we saw a poisonous spider. though i hate spiders, i have to admit that this one was beautiful-- about 2 inches long, with a black and yellow striped body. we took the easy way out of the jungle by hiking 2 kilometers to a jetty and then taking a boat the rest of the way. my legs were sore anyway. too long without substantial exercise, i guess.

now we're getting ready for an overnight back on the jungle train. we arrive in singapore tomorrow morning, and we'll get to have a reunion with a friend we met in vietnam. fun. it's great to see fellow travelers down the road.

i'm still alive and well

2009-02-12T01:52:00.002-07:00

i realize it has been a LONG time since i wrote last. what has happened?

morgan and i had fun traveling separately, and had a nice reunion. we met up again in mumbai, and left the same day for thailand. when we got there (the next morning) we went to our airport hotel to await the arrival of the parents. yup, my mom & dad (and good friends jane & rich) came out for a visit. we flew to koh samui, a beautiful island in the southern part of the country. our days there were spent luxuriating on a beautiful sandy beach. morgan and i went scuba diving one day, and were awed by a 5-meter long whale shark swimming directly above our heads. amazing! definitely a highlight of our travels.

now we're back in pai, where we have been a couple times before. we stay (and work) at tacompai, an organic farm run by a remarkable man named sandot. it's another home for us at this point. it was so fun to get to show it to my parents.

they left today for chiang mai, and soon they'll travel to cambodia and spend a week there. morgan and i are busy planning our upcoming trip through malaysia. anyone have any thoughts on places we can't miss? we need to be in singapore for a flight on february 28.

it's becoming hard to live in the moment now, as the end of our travel sneaks up on us. after malaysia we'll spend 2 weeks in fiji and then it's time to return to the states. i don't mean to complain, so please don't read it that way. but travel time is relative--a month remaining is a long time compared to the 2 weeks of vacation provided by my former full-time job. but it feels like a heartbeat after the (gulp) 11 months we've experienced so far. and what a trip it's been. i can't believe it's been so long, but then i recall all of the amazing things we've done and realize how lucky i am. there's no way that all of those events could have taken place in less time, and i can hardly believe everything that's happened in the last year. incredible.

lions & tigers & bears, oh my

2009-01-22T23:42:00.002-07:00

yesterday we went to a national conservation area outside of bangalore. they have a rehabilitation program there to take care of wild animals. we got to see the aforementioned ones, plus a couple others. it was pretty cool to see the tigers, especially a couple of white bengals along with their 6-month-old cub. but for the most part, the "safari" was pretty lame. the little vans traveled caravan style around the same track all day, and the animals were lured close to the road by food. it was not a very natural setting--much more like a zoo (which i hate). the fun part about the whole thing is that we took our tuk-tuk driver's son in with us. he must have been about 6. his reaction to the animals was more than worth the admission price, even if the rest of it was pretty lame.

for the last couple of days, morgan and i have been staying at our friend puneet's house. so great to see him! it's been so many months since meeting at the ashram. morgan and i really did very little while visiting him... laundry, next leg of the trip planning, email catch-up, etc. and this after doing nearly nothing while we were in arambol.

the beaches there were spectacularly beautiful. we had a bungalow on a path between two gorgeous ones. from our front porch, only the path separated us from the ocean. our view every evening was the sun setting as a brilliant red orb over the water. besides lounging on the beach (would you believe i managed to not get tan in 10 days there...?), we took yoga every day. well, morgan did when he wasn't running to the toilet. otherwise, what a beautiful vacation. interesting that when one travels for so long, one needs a vacation from traveling. sounds so extravagant, but truly it's necessary for the sanity. anyway, we got our vacation.

now, for the first time in almost 11 months, morgan and i are spending a little time traveling separately. there was a day during our time back in the states in december that we didn't see each other, and it was LITERALLY the first time since march 5, 2008. now morgan has just arrived this morning in hampi, a great sounding town in the south with amazing boulder & rock formations. i'm headed back up to see friends in pushkar, the beautiful little place where i spent my birthday. we're looking forward to our week of independence, and i think we'll also look forward to reuniting when our time is up. so, traveling alone in india-- not something i really ever expected to do. and yet, i'm not nervous about it at all. helps that i'm headed back to someplace familiar, and that once i'm there i won't really be either traveling or alone. but it is still a good thing to go through, i think.

this morning i arrived in delhi (a city i'm not very fond of), and tonight i'll take an overnight bus out of here. one day in town is plenty for me, and i'm actually just planning on staying in this area today and finding a nice little cafe to spend some time reading or something. so that's where i'm off to now, dear friends.

coca cola and the bbc

2009-01-08T23:06:00.002-07:00

what a crazy last couple of days...
we arrived in mumbai on monday night, and on tuesday morning we were approached to be extras in a bollywood commercial. who can say no to that experience! it turned out to be an ad for coca cola about a clown falling off a bike. we were two of only 20 or so people there (not including all of the tech people filming the thing) so were featured prominently throughout. not sure if it will ever make it anywhere, but if it does, you'll be able to google it in about 1.5 months. we did that all day tuesday and wednesday morning. wednesday evening, we were sitting in the leopold cafe (which still has bullet holes from the attacks in november) and our table was filmed for the bbc. our south african friend was interviewed, and we'll all be on the bbc's indian financial report on sunday! (could you tape this, mom?) pretty amazing.

wednesday night we were supposed to take the train to arambol, in goa, but we could only get waiting list seats, and they weren't confirmed, so we stayed one more night in mumbai. we ended up spending the next day with our friend from italy in the largest slum in asia. it was very intense. talk about poverty. but there's a realization that we all had: in some ways the poor people in india are better off than the poor people elsewhere... yes, they live in abject poverty, but there is a large and somewhat sustainable community. there are also very cheap services & goods available to them. it's not like the u.s. where if you're poor you can't afford anything. chai is cheap, and you can find street food for a few rupees. i'm not saying it's an easy existence, but the people we met (we were mostly surrounded by kids) smiled all the time. and it was amazing to see that the people who have the least asked for nothing but attention and photographs. my earlier disappointment with the people here has been largely reframed by meeting locals and straying from the tourist trail.

so, now that we've left mumbai (on an overnight bus last night, arriving in arambol this morning), we've entered the other extreme... people with money relaxing on the beach. it's a change i appreciate for what it is, but i wouldn't trade the experiences we had yesterday for anything. intense and raw, but real and worthwhile.

happy new year

2009-01-04T03:01:00.002-07:00

i'm hoping that 2009 brings lots of good news. 2008 was truly intense. a lot of great times, but a lot of not-so-good towards the end of the year.

in about 45 minutes, morgan and i will be off to the airport to continue our trip. we fly through newark, where we will take advantage of our 10-hour layover by going into nyc. my best childhood friend, eliza, will meet us in the city. then we're off to mumbai (directly from newark! i think it's about 18 hours on that plane ride.)

i'll write again when we arrive in india to let you know we made it, and to post a few more photos.

faves from vietnam

2008-12-15T12:16:00.004-07:00

faves from cambodia

2008-12-15T11:17:00.006-07:00

faves from laos

2008-12-15T10:14:00.005-07:00

some black and white

2008-12-14T22:09:00.005-07:00

here are some black & white photos i just had developed... some rolls are still en route, so this is not a complete set. i'll post more in march when i get back and print more.

faves from thailand

2008-12-08T23:48:00.004-07:00

now that i'm at home, and the internet is free and fast-ish, here are some favorite photos from thailand. i may have posted some of them before, but here they are as a set.

sunrise at tacomepai

lying buddha

scuba in ko tao

adam getting some local help

getting my (once white) blessed bracelets tied on

sandot hard boiling eggs at the hotsprings

mud baths at the hotsprings

morgan as a peacock

sai nuan

sad to be home, happy to be home

2008-12-08T23:29:00.002-07:00

right now i'm sitting at the kitchen counter of my parents' house. the trip is not over, but we've made an adjustment to our travel schedule. my grandfather taat died a couple of days ago. he was 90 and had been sick repeatedly over the last year. but he didn't suffer, and i guess that having a full and amazing life like his is about all one can ask for. we all did our grieving over time as he slowly stopped being the man we knew. my grandmother is doing pretty well now. we think she had already said her goodbyes too. we'll have a gathering of friends on wednesday, which should be a nice way to celebrate taat.

so, morgan and i bought round-trip tickets home from mumbai. (which was pretty intense after the bombings there recently.) we'll return there after the holidays, on january 4. in some ways, taking this time at home almost feels like cheating. like the integrity of "a year traveling" is somehow broken. but at the same time, it's really good for a couple of reasons: i can start to create the space i need to begin to process elements of the trip so far, i can recharge and be fresh to go again after a month at home, and most important of all is the time i get to spend with my family. the decision to come home was not immediate, but it was arrived upon organically.

and here comes culture shock. my mom suggested i make a list of the things that occur to me as bizarre or novel while readjusting to this society. i think i'll call it "kitchens in the chicken," since it's the reverse of my earlier lists. that's something i'll work on and post in the near future. (that's not a promise, but it is my sincere plan.)

rest easy

2008-11-28T23:51:00.002-07:00

morgan and i are both fine, and not in/near mumbai. what a scary situation, though.

in other news, my 30th birthday was so wonderful! thanks to all of you for contributing to that special day! i spent it with robyn and morgan, and several great friends we've met along the way. nothing could have made it a better day, except seeing all of you. but thanks for the kind thoughts and memories.

i don't have time to fill in travel details right now, but wanted to send a quick note to all of you who have sent concerns for our safety.

much love.

sick as a dog

2008-11-19T05:05:00.002-07:00

that's my most recent news. it started with a cold a few days ago, and has moved to my lungs and turned into a full-blown flu. i just feel terrible. that's especially disappointing given the cool things we've been doing. today i had a miserable time at the taj mahal. it was beautiful, don't get me wrong, but twice we had to rest so that i could take short naps. (but how cool is it that i napped at the taj mahal?!)

our time in dharamsala was great, but also intense. we got to volunteer for a short time with some ex-political prisoners from tibet for a conversation class. i guess i never really recognized how bad the situation there is. the free tibet stickers/shirts/flags make sense to me now. but i'm a little demoralized because i don't see what can be done. everyone we asked there, including a great speaker who recently escaped to india, said that the best thing to do is to raise awareness of the plight of tibetans. but to what end? even if everyone i know had an understanding of the human rights violations taking place there, what can possibly be done to remove china's completely unethical rule? if the olympics didn't do it, what can?

that leads me to the rest of my blog... i've started to try to process some of the questions that travel has raised for me. i'm not sure that i'm comfortable sharing all of them here, but i'd love thoughts/feedback on some of them. i've got my own ideas started, but here is a list of just some of the questions i've been asking myself:

-what issues do i identify closely/personally enough to take on as a cause?
-which of these can i immerse myself in and still stay mentally/emotionally healthy?
-does travel offer me insight into this, or is it more selfish?
-what are the factors that hold me back from becoming more invested in a specific area?
-am i putting energy towards something i feel good about?
-how can i see so many people suffering and not feel guilty?
-is it possible to process things at the same time as living in the moment?

so that's where i am right now, mentally. the other thing that's really been affecting me is people's attitudes in india. especially relative to the other countries i've been in, i've been really disappointed with my inability to make connections with the people here. there are a couple of notable exceptions to this, but i've found that for the most part everyone wants something from me. usually monetary compensation for what i think is just an interesting cross-cultural conversation. it's been a sad thing for me to realize. i guess that a large part of that is the poverty that exists here, but even so it's been difficult. india is definitely not my favorite country. (i've got to go with nepal still.) on the other hand, i just met some amazing people in a place called kajuraho (where there are some temples complete with kama sutra carvings on them). that was a welcome respite.

now we're in agra, and saw the taj mahal today, as i mentioned. tonight we'll take an overnight bus to pushkar, where many people start camel treks through the desert. we've decided not to go on one, based on the expenses and mixed reviews we've heard from people, but i'm hoping it will be an interesting city nonetheless. after that we'll head to jodhpur, where we might be doing some volunteering. we'll see if that works out.

now it's time for me to get some rest. love to all.

land of the thunder dragon, and more recent activities

2008-11-08T07:59:00.002-07:00

here's a catch-up blog:

bhutan was beautiful, as expected. but somewhat disappointing... we spent a shit-ton of money to go there, and so it was really difficult to hold it to the same standards as everywhere else. morgan and i have talked this through a lot, and there's probably much more to say, but i'll try to summarize.

the country is amazing and unique in so many ways. it's several years behind the western world in terms of development, which is both good and bad. the king there has been very forward-thinking in several different areas. the environmental protection there is phenomenal, with 70% of the country preserved in national forest. another component of conservation (of the environment, and the culture in general), is a limit on the number of tourists who can enter. the taxes alone are prohibitive, but go toward public education and health care. yet, the infrastructure is trying to keep up with the growth of the tourism industry. the result is a system where one must plan their entire trip through a travel agency. there are some great things to see, and we saw a lot of them, but the whole time we were on a tourist circuit with so many other foreigners. we really had to go out of our way to get our guides to take us to local restaurants, and to meet anyone actually from bhutan. (we did manage to have some great conversations, but that was largely due to a contact we had there before visiting.)

another key component of the culture is something called "gross national happiness," which is how the state of the country is measured rather than gdp. it looks at economic, environmental, physical, mental, workplace, social, and political wellness as its pillars. now, don't get me wrong, i think that this is a great concept. but it's just that--a philosophy. impossible to actually use as a measure of the average person's experience (according to several people i spoke to). which is too bad, because it was one of the things that really drew me to the country in the first place. on the other hand, it's refreshing that the leader of a country would even consider looking at this sort of measurement. this is the same king who instituted a democracy during his rule. (most people, however, still look to the monarchy as their source of leadership.)

while we were there, and over the past week, the people of bhutan have been celebrating the coronation of their new king. pretty amazing and historical moment. we actually got to see him twice during our time there, just by being in the right place at the right time.

another really nice thing was the flight from bhutan back to nepal. we saw mt. everest! (and several other gorgeous high peaks.) our time there was definitely good, but could have been better, i guess.

since then, we've been on a houseboat in kashmir in northern india, along the border with pakistan. it is a pretty intense place. they're currently getting ready for an election of some sort so there was a curfew on the city that kept us from doing some of the sight-seeing we had planned. on one occasion we we're on a tour around the canals, and our path was blocked by military patrols on the lake. we had to pretend we had a flight to catch in order to be allowed through to get back to the houseboat. i've never experienced anything resembling the tension that we felt there.

speaking of elections, we watched the u.s. presidential election live on cnn in kashmir. that was exciting! happy about obama, waiting to see about the minnesota al franken recount, and disappointed in california for banning same-sex marriages.

now we're in dharamsala, which is a beautiful place with a large tibetan community. it should be very interesting, and we'll get a chance to start exploring tomorrow. in a couple of days we'll be back in delhi to meet up with my cousin christopher. looking forward to that!

then we'll hit the road again, continuing our circuit of india. keep you posted!

in love...

2008-10-26T07:59:00.002-06:00

with nepal. i definitely need to make it back here for some chunk of time at some point in my life. hopefully sooner rather than later. the country is beautiful, and so are the people. for the past 2 weeks, morgan and i have been teaching english in a village near the border to tibet. what an amazing experience. we stayed at a (how to explain this...?). there is a non-profit in the village called the tuki association which supports education and agriculture in the surrounding area. it focuses on locally run cooperatives. many of the staff members of the organization live at the headquarters. we stayed there with them, and taught at a nearby school that is partially funded by tuki. by nearby, i mean a 30-minute walk through a beautiful forest overlooking fields and mountains. not too difficult of a hike, and a great way to get in daily exercise. the staff of tuki is an amazing group of people, who taught us so much about nepali culture and language. we danced, sang songs, played cards, tossed a disc around, ate together and just had a great time. (but did not have access to internet, which was nice in a lot of ways, but makes catching up with all of you great friends a little overwhelming. sorry if it takes me a while to respond to you in a more personal way.)

the people at the school itself welcomed us so warmly, showering us with garlands of flowers upon our arrival and departure. the principal became a great friend of ours and took us to some hotsprings yesterday. the kids were amazing. we taught grades 1-8, and it was a challenge, but a really fun one. i may have mentioned this in my blogs about teaching in korea, but it's equally true now: i have so much respect for all of my grade-school teachers. it is hard work to make classes both fun and worthwhile.

it was hard to leave new friends behind today and return to kathmandu. traffic, noise, lots of people... a contrast to the life we've been enjoying for the past bit of time. but we're not here long--tomorrow we leave for bhutan. i think it will be much more serene. (and also cut off from internet, though i could be wrong about that. another week of little contact.)

so many of you have asked me about my future plans. i still don't know. some things are becoming more clear: it's likely that i'll be returning to the states at the end of march. i'll be spending time in minneapolis, bodega bay, and boulder. (probably in that order.) where i go after that will depend largely on employment opportunities. there are so many compelling reasons to return to boulder and make it home again (primarily the great people who form my community there)... and yet there is a part of me that isn't sure that's where i want to stay long-term, so maybe now is the time to explore a different part of the u.s. i'm seriously considering taking a stab at the pacific northwest.

i do think i'll land back in the states for the forseeable future. unless something happens between now and april to cause me to reconsider that plan. and to some extent nepal has caused me to pause on that point. it's likely that i could get a job at tuki as an english teacher trainer. in the states i wouldn't be qualified for that job, but things are different here. as a native speaker, i'm a great candidate. i'm definitely going to look into the logistics of getting a work visa for this country. on the other hand, there are some big problems with that potential plan. largest among them is the thought of spending any more time away from friends and family... anyway, just something i'm pondering. nobody freak out. yet.

blisters and goats

2008-10-10T03:35:00.003-06:00

morgan and i did exactly what you're not supposed to do: we went trekking without first breaking in our hiking boots. and we have the blisters to prove it.

we started our time in nepal in a city called pokhara. it has a beautiful lake and a great view of the annapurna mountains, which are in the himalayas. we wanted to go paragliding from there, but we ran in to obstacles the two days we tried-- first a strike (political, apparently), which stopped all forms of transportation; then weather. boo!

after our plans were thwarted, we came here to kathmandu. it's a funny city. there is definitely ridiculous traffic and roads in terrible condition and all sorts of brick buildings, but there's also a sense of nature throughout. you can see mountains when the air is clear, and there is greenery everywhere. some planted, intentional gardens, but they meet up with the organic shrubs and bushes to create a story-book effect of buildings melting into the landscape.

the morning after arriving, we began our 6-day trek. we didn't go somewhere crazy, we just stayed in the mountains in the kathmandu valley. but don't let that mislead you; we were not hiking through the city. our great guide, nima (i'll put a link to his website when i get it), created an itinerary that took beautiful portions of 3 different trails and put them together in one cohesive trip. we were in the middle of nowhere for long stretches of time, and then we would spend the night in a remote little village. sometimes we were staying in a guesthouse with 1 room for guests. most of the time we didn't see any other westerners, even very few backpackers. we were not on a well-traveled route. and it was beautiful. we had a couple of great sunrises, and one night of incredibly clear stargazing.

the end of our trip marked the beginning of the vijaya dashami festival celebrations. on our last day, we hiked about an hour from where we were staying to another little village nearby. we were invited by a guy we met the day before to come to his home and view the traditional celebration. on that particular day, everyone sacrifices animals. i can't believe i did it, but i saw a goat killed. it was something i don't ever need to see again.

the last few days have been quiet around here because all of the celebrations take place at home, and not in public. yesterday we walked to the monkey temple. and it was covered in them. i had a monkey land on my back & shoulder to steal the coconut i was eating. (btw, i just discovered i like coconut! that's fun.) it happened so quickly, i couldn't believe it. but i guess i know why those monkeys are all so fat! the rest of the temple experience was really nice. there were peace flags, hundreds of them, tied from one tower to the next. it was beautiful and very serene.

now we're just relaxing, checking email, getting laundry done, trading in books, and doing the usual traveler stuff. next week we head to a village about 90 km outside of kathmandu. we'll teach english there for about 2 weeks. i think we'll be with 4th-7th graders... should be a challenge!

ommmmmmmm

2008-09-23T02:55:00.003-06:00

i can't believe it's been 2 weeks already. we leave the ashram tomorrow. my time there has been wonderful. i don't know what exactly i expected, but it was really a great experience. after the first week of attending meditation sessions both day and night, i decided it wasn't the best use of my time. i just wasn't able to get into it. and it hurts me too much to sit like that for an hour. and i couldn't stay awake. (that got me in trouble...) so, instead i spend the morning getting an extra hour of sleep, and i spend the evening sitting by the ganges river just contemplating. my version of meditation, i guess. but i made it to every single session of yoga, so that feels like a nice accomplishment. i've become a lot more flexible and have much more endurance than i did just 15 days ago. it's fun to be able to see the improvement.

tomorrow we leave for nepal. it will take us about 40 hours over 3 days to get there by train and bus. i'm not looking forward to sitting for so long, but i think it will be great to take in the view from the road. (and on our return from nepal to india, we'll fly from kathmandu to delhi.) we've got some fun things in store for us there. i'll fill you in as plans are firmed up.

on a completely separate note, happy anniversary to my mom and dad! may they have many more years of happiness together.

nose floss

2008-09-13T02:35:00.005-06:00

the yoga here is not like anything i've ever done. i've taken a few different styles and levels of classes in the states, and even in korea... but this is crazy. in a really hard and intense but in a fun way. the schedule here is not completely in tune with my natural body rhythm, as those of you who are familiar with my preferred sleep schedule will recognize. it goes something like this:
4:30 wake up
5:00 meditation
6:30 yoga
8:00 breakfast
9:00 library time (though we sometimes sneak away to do things like check email and this very blog)
12 noon lunch
2:30 library time
3:15 lecture
4:00 afternoon tea
5:00 yoga
7:00 meditation
8:15 dinner
and then i'm ready for bed, though there's no enforcement on this. but i'm really enjoying it. the people are nice (though most of the students are westerners, which is not quite what i had expected/hoped for), and the instructors are very demanding but encouraging.

today we did a rather bizarre cleansing practice. basically we poured body-temperature salt water into one nostril and let it flow out the other. then, as if that wasn't enough, i had to take a thin rubber tube and insert it into my nose, thread it into my throat, pull it out through my mouth, and slide it back and forth. this was not exactly comfortable, but not painful like i thought it would be. the hardest part was pulling it through without hitting the gag reflex. i don't recommend trying it without supervision, but it does remind me of lunchroom days of people laughing so hard that milk came out their nose. and i'll leave you with that image.

namaste

2008-09-03T22:49:00.005-06:00

as it turns out, we weren't able to get our visa to china. they're not giving out any more tourist visas until october. that's was a disappointment, so we looked into going through hong kong but there was still uncertainty about getting in. so we're just going to have to see the great wall on another trip. if i'm honest with myself (and all of you, i guess), china isn't one of the places i was most excited to go. maybe it's for the best that i'm spending my time in a place i'm really eager to visit. anyway, no china.

instead we arrived yesterday in india! i'm really excited for this next phase of our adventure to begin. it's going to be really different, as jasmine won't be with us anymore. she's already left for hawaii, where she'll live with her cousin for a bit before heading back to the states.

now it's just morgan and me. we got in to delhi last night and were not met at the airport as we had requested. so we took a taxi to our hotel and were told that there were no rooms left, in spite of our reservation. (not sure what the point of a reservation is then...) so we found a place a block away and shared our room with a little mouse and a gecko.

tonight we will go by bus up to rishikesh, a city known for its yoga. even the beatles visited. we hope to stay in an ashram for a few weeks and have an intensive yoga retreat.

in the near future we also plan to visit nepal and bhutan. we're not exactly sure how this will work. we could go by air to nepal and then from there go to bhutan, or vice versa. or, alternatively, we could go to one or the other over land. or we could do this as two seperate trips. the options are fairly overwhelming, because we're trying to do this as cheaply as possible. bhutan is really going to break our budget. basically, everything we earned during our two months in korea will go towards less than a week in bhutan. but from everything i have heard, it will be worth it. when else will i have this opportunity? and, as with all of these places, i'd like to see them sooner rather than later because they're changing so quickly. even if i did get another chance to come here, i know it won't be the same as it is now. so here we are.

unemployed once again

2008-08-24T06:04:00.002-06:00

summer camp is officially over. we have to go into school tomorrow to clean up some last materials, but other than that, we're done! it feels good to have done it, but even better to be finished with it. though i think i did a fine job working with them, i really don't like kids very much. i gave the job all of my energy and attention, and it was rewarding in a lot of ways, but teaching is not my calling. so it goes.

besides work, not much has been happening. i can't believe august flew by so quickly! a couple of highlights: we got a fun group of friends together for morgan's birthday. i think he had a good time, and definitely had his fill of soju, the traditional korean liquor. early the next morning i went to busan for a beach ultimate tournament. we had great weather, and my team made it to the semi-finals. last weekend, jasmine, morgan, and i went to the beach for a fun get-together called morave. it was basically a music festival visited by all of the hippies in korea. it was great to see some non-conformist people in this country. i'm pretty sure that everyone with dreadlocks was there. i really appreciated getting out of the city.

being in seoul has been pretty challenging for me, which is what i anticipated so i'm not too surprised. i think i've worked really hard to appreciate the fun things we've been doing, but it hasn't been easy. i truly don't mean to whine, but i don't like it here. seoul is a big city, full of people who are very image-conscious. i don't fit in to the culture on so many levels. i miss things like trees and vegetarian dishes. and work was, well, work. i'm really excited to be moving on soon. though it was nice to have someplace to settle and unpack for a short while, i'm ready to return to the travel circuit.

this coming week will take us to jeju island for a few days of relaxation. then we're off to china... if we can get a visa. apparently the government has been severly restricting visas due to some newly implemented tourism rules. we're hoping that post-olympics we'll have an easier time, but we've heard from many people recently that their applications were denied. not sure exactly what we'll do if that is the case for us.

i guess we'll just figure out a plan b. flexibility is one of the things i'm learning to embrace.

seoul: land of 10 million people

2008-07-21T20:52:00.003-06:00

it's hard to believe, but i've been in seoul for almost a month. i haven't blogged yet, so here's a summary. i'd just like to say that this entry was inspired by my impressively tech-savvy grandparents who wondered when i would post again. so, here goes:

it was strange to return to work after traveling. good strange, i guess. but also exhausting. we're at sullivan school, where morgan and jasmine worked before we all started this adventure. for the first 2 weeks, we were creating standardized (sort of) tests for the 3 levels of kindergarteners here. that was quite a process. and that was just midterms... we still have the final exam to do. we've also been responsible for updating and refilling the "theme boxes." every week there is a different theme (summer, community helpers, ocean life, etc.) off of which the teachers base their lesson plans. i know more about elementary education resources than i ever thought i would. it gives me such appreciation for how hard my teachers had to work to keep us entertained and enriched for all of those years.

now we're preparing for summer camp, which is not as carefree as it sounds. we will have a good amount of time built in for art and games and songs, but that's smattered (not really a word apparently) between intensive academic classes, complete with workbooks and assessments. seems to me these kids are too young to be pushed so hard, especially during their vacation, but i only have so much control over the structure and syllabus. so we've got some great things planned for the times when fun is the main objective.

we're living in a nice apartment near a bus line that takes us to and from work. i've gotten pretty good at the bus and subway systems. it's good to be able to get around. i'm not as confident as morgan, though--he's spent so much time here getting to know different areas of the city. and he can read korean, so that's a big help. i have him around most of the time, so that's nice. i have been venturing out on my own on sundays to play ultimate frisbee. that's been a highlight of my time here so far. there's a great community made up of half koreans and half westerners playing weekly. next weekend, i'm planning on taking a trip to busan, a city on the south-east coast, for a beach tournament. i hope the weather cooperates, but since it's currently rainy season, i'm not going to hold my breath. besides, disc in the rain is fun, as long as it's not lightning.... i've been taking a yoga class once a week as well. that's not weather dependent, so that's good.

the hardest thing so far has been eating vegetarian. EVERYTHING has meat in it. i have a feeling i will get really sick of the one dish i've found: bipbimbop. (and even that isn't consistently vegetarian--i have to show the server a note requesting it be made without meat, just in case.) but for now it's a staple of my diet. and it's not like i'm starving; there's always rice to eat, not to mention western food.

speaking of food, i'm off to the corner store for a snack. love to all.

where in the world?

2008-06-21T00:45:00.002-06:00

here's an updated, but still very tentative, itinerary:

july & august- south korea
september- china & tibet
october- nepal (& maybe bhutan?)
november & december & january- india
february- malaysia & singapore
march- indonesia & new zealand

then returning to the u.s.? seems so far away, but the last 3+ months have flown by. perhaps we won't spend 3 months in india, but it's such a big country, and someplace i've wanted to visit for a while now. and spending 2 months in korea isn't quite traveling, so maybe our trip will take longer than anticipated? i can hear my mom freaking out from across the world... so much can change that it has seemed completely useless to speculate about "returning." for example, i don't know where i'll return to. much less what i'll do when i get there. this is a crazy place to be. fun and terrifying. and probably good for me to experience.

full circle

2008-06-18T00:21:00.002-06:00

after vietnam, we had 2 weeks to spare before the next scheduled part of this adventure. on june 25, we fly out of bangkok to seoul, korea, to run a summer program at the school where morgan taught for the last 1.5 years. more on that in a minute...

with 2 weeks to do anything, jasmine opted for the beach where we started for some sun (only partly successful since it's rainy season here), and morgan and i decided to return to tacomepai, the organic farm in northern thailand. so much fun! we didn't tell sandot we were coming, so it was a good surprise. it felt like a homecoming. i knew it would to some extent, but i was unprepared for the calm that immediately washed over me. it's just one of those places; once you've stayed there you're family. so to that extent it's the same, and in other ways it's completely different. the farm work that we did before is done or out of season, so we've learned different planting techniques on the new piece of land that was purchased right after we left last time. and different people are there to help out, so that changes the atmosphere a lot. but this group is just as great as the last one. and--here's a big one--morgan and i are running the farm for the next few days as sandot teaches a permaculture course at a conference in southern thailand. no pressure, right? we're not responsible for *everything* because other people work there, but we'll be the point people for new arrivals and for the daily work. crazy!

after the farm we head to seoul via bangkok. this will be quite a change from the adventure we've been living so far. the principal of morgan's school invited the three of us (having only met me briefly when i visited korea last april) to run a summer program for the students at her school. it's called a summer camp, but it's really more academic than what i think of when i hear camp. so we've been brainstorming ideas for most of the trip, and have come up with some good plans.

i'm really feeling conflicted about this new phase of our trip. for morgan and jasmine korea is another home. they'll likely view our time there as a break from traveling because they know the place, know people, have lives established there. for me, it's all new. it won't be traveling like we have been doing, because i'll be able to unpack rather than the familiar living out of my backpack and moving along every few days. but it will still be an experience of the unknown. i think it will be a challenge for me. i'm not a fan of big cities (which i think i've mentioned ;), and seoul is definitely a huge city. i'm also really ambivalent about returning to work. on one hand it will be good, as i've been feeling somewhat guilty about this extended vacation. it will be nice to contribute once again and earn money, rather than just travel and spend all the time. on the other hand, work is work. it's been really great to be able to spend so much time taking some very rewarding opportunities. if it weren't for living expenses, i think i could find enough intellectual stimulation without a "real" job. i definitely see the advantages of retirement!

i'll probably only post a few times from korea as i continue to process this new situation. but if i don't update as regularly, that doesn't mean i don't want to be in contact with you! please be in touch, my friends.

chickens in the kitchen, part 2

2008-06-18T00:05:00.002-06:00

10. stopsign-less intersections, or if they are there, they're completely ignored
11. cambodian karaoke on long bus rides
12. monks in brilliant orange robes, talking on cell phones
13. not tipping
14. not knowing the date, or even the day of the week
15. sitting on wet toilet seats (from flushing with a bucket of water, not pee)
16. using kleenex as napkins
17. no microwaves
18. understanding the language of honking motos
19. walking into oncoming traffic, slowly, to cross the street (this is especially exciting in big cities, but it's the way to do it... you have to go slow and steady so motos can predict where you'll be when they get there)
20. writing the date "backwards"
21. watching badminton in the park
22. people wandering around with scales (i've lost 17 lbs.)
23. dogs sleeping in the middle of the road
24. stopping for cow crossing
25. the biggest shock: waking up pre-dawn for various activities (can you believe it?!)

it's been one of those weekends...

2008-06-08T01:31:00.002-06:00

where everything goes right. most of the time i don't like booking tours; i'd rather explore on my own than with a big group. right now jasmine, morgan and i are traveling with three other single travelers. it's been great to get some "fresh blood" into the mix. even though there are a few other people in the tour group, we've really had the chance to go off on our own.

yesterday we left hanoi (i hate big cities) for halong bay. it is a magical place where limestone pillars jut out of the ocean. the story goes that a giant dragon returned to the ocean, knocking over mountains with his tail on the way in, leaving these amazing formations. the first thing we did was kayak through and around them. i've been kayaking a few times before, but nothing like this. it was an experience straight out of dreams. after returning to our little ship, called a junk boat, we went for a swim in the ocean. the boat has 3 levels, and we dove off of all of them. very exciting. the evening was so nice that we decided to sleep out on the deck of the top level. while we were lying there, no fewer than 10 shooting stars went past. 2 of them were the kind that you see for several seconds and just can't believe it. they had long purple tails, complete with a split and two tracks. i can't think of words to describe it. it looked like computer animation but more real. at 3:30 it started to sprinkle, so we all returned to our cabins for a few hours of sleep. then this morning we took a great trek overlooking all of the formations in the bay. it was unreal. i don't think uploading photos could ever do it justice, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

fated to text only?

2008-06-04T00:29:00.005-06:00

saigon - riding a cyclo

in the last week, i've tried three times to get photos uploaded, and the most recent attempt resulted in a virus deleting one of morgan's memory cards. many photos were recovered, but it was a pretty stressful day for me. these are a couple that were already online...

easy riders

in the last week, we traveled from dalat to hoi an via motorcycle. it was great to take a route through the mountains rather than along the coast like many people do. along the way we saw some great things:
-rice paddies, which are as beautiful and ubiquitous as you might imaging
-an annual rice planting ceremony-- i randomly got to take part in this... photo to come)
-so many memorials from north vietnam commemorating their successful battles, very interesting
-a very happy buddha (another photo to come, as i suddenly can't get anymore to post...)
-hill tribe villages
-pepper plants, rubber trees, silk worm factories, pineapple plantations, and so much more

then we arrived in hoi an, where tailored clothes are the specialty. i blew my budget, but i must say i clean up pretty well in a suit! ;)

now we're in hue, which used to be the capital and is a great little city. we happened upon a festival, so that's fun!

next we'll head up to hanoi and halong bay-- and i'll try to be better about updating more regularly. photos drive me nuts! grrr!

saigon vs. ho chi minh

2008-05-25T03:12:00.003-06:00

we're in vietnam, and i'm just not sure what to call this city. the two names seem fairly interchangeable.

we left cambodia a couple of days ago, avoiding any landmines that may have been nearby. it's pretty scary to think about all of the thousands of unexploded mines there are in that country (and laos, too). much of my time in southeast asia has been spent realizing the scope of america's involvement in countries over here. it's too much to fathom.

now that we're in vietnam, the intensity is just magnified. yesterday jasmine and i went to the war museum. interesting that here they call it "the american war" instead of the vietnam war. which makes perfect sense when you think about it, but clearly i've never thought about it in that way before. helps to put things in perspective. one of the many things i was interested in at the museum was the overwhelming protest from countries all over the world to the u.s. being here. i just can't help but think about how many voices are being ignored right now about our current engagement. (now i've probably landed on a watch-list... another scary thing.)

today we went to the cu chi tunnels, the labyrinth below-ground that was used by the viet cong during the war. whole lives were lived underground in super tiny rooms. i just can't imagine. so reading over the last few paragraphs, i realize how intense i sound. it's not that we're just doing serious stuff; we're also having fun. it's just not as compelling to write about, i guess.

before leaving cambodia, we went to the beach in the south. it was a really nice and relaxing place, but the weather didn't really cooperate. the bus trips we've taken have been without incident, so that's really a more important thing than it sounds.

when we arrived in vietnam, we went to what we thought was going to be a museum with some weird sculptures but it turned out to be a very bizarre and surreal amusement park. it was so different than what we were expecting. morgan and jasmine went on a ride, but my stupid motion sickness prevented me from joining the fun. i got a good photo though, so i'll try to post that later once morgan has uploaded it from his camera. (btw, there were some crazy sculptures at the park--larger than life animals and smaller than life pagodas, made all of dinner plates tied together like fish scales. tricky to describe or photograph, but pretty amazing.)

another photo i'll try to post next time is from the cyclo trip that jasmine and i took. it's a very weird feeling to be biked around the city with cars and motos speeding by. i don't recommend it for day-to-day travel, but it was a trip! so, a couple of photos to come. and i'll try not to sound so depressing in my upcoming posts...

safe in cambodia

2008-05-08T07:19:00.004-06:00

we've been safe in cambodia during the cyclone and its aftermath in burma and the earthquake in china; thanks for your concern! neither country's government is letting anyone in for relief efforts, but we're keeping an eye on the possibility of going to burma to volunteer. or perhaps the burma/thai border, though that may be a lot of medical help needed and, as you may know, i'm a little squeamish. things to consider...

while these natural disasters were occurring, we were spending some time in siem reap, cambodia. the temples of angkor wat are phenomenal. there are so many that we could only see a fraction, but i really enjoyed walking around the ruins we did visit. i think i was able to get a few great photos while we were there, and i hope to show them to you when i get them all developed in a year. :)

after seeing the temples, we spent a few days volunteering at a day center for street kids. we taught english classes and art workshops to kids ages 4-14 or so. they were so loving and smart and just great children. it gave me a new appreciation for how hard teachers have to work. i was exhausted after day 1. morgan and jasmine are amazing at it; i will strive to keep up with them while we're in korea teaching at sullivan school. (for those who don't know: morgan and jasmine taught english to kindergarteners in seoul, south korea, for the past year. we've been invited back to work on the summer program in august.)

yesterday we arrived in the capital, phnom penh, with a one-night stop in battambang. our plans to travel on the only train in cambodia were thwarted by 2 things- the train runs only on sundays and when it does run, it's apparently not fit for human passengers at this point in its life. bummer. but now we're here and have plans to see the killing fields on friday. i think that will be very intense and extremely important to see.

and to end with a photo:

morgan and me swimming in a cave

chickens in the kitchen

2008-04-26T23:37:00.007-06:00

since i've been traveling, i have caught myself feeling like where i am isn't so special and that a lot of the places i'm seeing could just as easily be in the united states. there are some notable exceptions, of course, but just in the day-to-day activities i sometimes forget i'm not at home.

so i've started a short list of things that remind me i'm "not in kansas anymore," or things that no longer surprise me:

1. chickens running around the kitchen

2. not having to wear shoes anywhere (i LOVE this)

3. stands of bamboo everywhere, and being used for everything

4. in restaurants, food arriving in any order (food may come before drinks, one person will have finished dinner before another gets anything)

5. eating whatever gets put in front of me (as long as it's vegetarian), whether i've ordered it or not

6. watching geckos conduct their politics on the ceiling

7. packing 18 people in the back of a jeep

8. seeing 2 people ride a motorbike--with 2 pigs also strapped on

9. looking at US currency (which is used here in cambodia) and thinking it seems fake

a couple of photos:

our new friend eva took this photo of me taking photo of other visitors to wat phi in laos

this is me holding the daughter of our trekking guide. so adorable, and only one of the many amazing things we saw while trekking. (all my photos are in black&white, and it seems to me that pictures of people are more interesting than scenery for the most part...)

and here is morgan, getting peed on by the same beautiful baby. this always happens to him!

tubing in vang vieng

2008-04-18T04:18:00.002-06:00

laos is a very relaxing country. and beautiful. and believe it or not, one of the activities that helped me to slow down and appreciate that was tubing down the nam song river in vang vieng. it was fun and peaceful at times, and also full of drunken debauchery. the town itself was sort of annoying to me, with restaurants that show the tv show friends on a continuous loop and lots of tourists getting intoxicated. that said, we had a really chill time there. and even better than tubing were the couple of trips that we took to caves. in both cases we could swim inside with the use of headlamps. pretty amazing to find natural spring pools to enjoy. and that was just the beginning of the water. the new year festival involves endless squirt gun fights, hosings, and general water chaos. you learn pretty quickly to bag anything important--cameras, journals, usb drives... we truly couldn't leave our guest house without being drenched. of course, our guest house participated whole-heartedly in the celebration.

then we made our way through vientiane, the capital of laos, pretty quickly. and back on the bus for another overnighter. now we're in pakse, near the bolaven plateau which we'll explore tomorrow. i'm hoping that we'll get to do a two day trek complete with waterfall and coffee plantations and a homestay in the village. that's dependent on the weather.

after that it's off to the 4000 islands, a place that is supposed to be as beautiful as you might think 4000 islands would be. i'll let you know!

lingering in thailand

2008-04-15T00:39:00.004-06:00

more from laos tomorrow (or soon).

but now a few photos from our time at the farm in thailand:
well, this wasn't technically at the farm... we took a little field trip to some nearby hot springs for mud baths. and below is sandot cooking our eggs for dinner.

and here is sunrise on the farm, courtesy of morgan.

made it to laos

2008-04-09T00:37:00.003-06:00

we've left the farm in thailand (which was amazing). we did all of the things mentioned in the last post, plus some. i've tried unsuccessfully to upload some photos for you to share in the beauty of the place. i hope i'll make it back there in the future...

it took two days on the slowboat to get here along the mekong river. the pillows we purchased were such a good investment. but it was a beautiful and peaceful trip, and we've arrived in luang prabang, laos. this is a nice little town, if a little touristy. that's the hard thing: being a traveler instead of a tourist. i don't quite know how to cross that line sometimes.

the water festival for the new year hasn't yet begun-- officially. we've been drenched while walking down the street on a few occasions. we've also avoided a few soakings due to jasmine's "teacher look." the festival officially begins on the 13th, i think, and i'm not sure what city we'll be in at that point.

we leave tomorrow to vang vieng which is a 7-hour bus trip. i'll let you know how it goes; there's always some excitement!

love,
alexis

organic farming

2008-03-26T07:37:00.003-06:00

after we left ko tao, we went to chiang mai (a city in the north near the burma border) for a few days. it was fun--as soon as we checked in to our guest house, a mini circus arrived. they travel around the world on these giant bicycles doing a music act, juggling, hula-hooping, tight-rope walking... what a riot. they used to be a group of 8, but only 3 were staying with us. we had a great time learning all sorts of crazy things from them and the other eccentric guests. (we seem to meet quite a few of those.) after a few days of walking around and going to night markets and an amazing thai massage, we took a crowded 4-hour bus ride to pai, a fun hippie town northwest of chiang mai.

we're not actually staying in pai, however. we're at this amazing organic farm outside of town. here's the website: http://www.tacomepai.com/, but it doesn't do the place justice. since we arrived about 24 hours ago, it's been great. you cannot believe the bungalows we're staying in, with beautiful views, even from the bathrooms! this morning we took hay from soya plants and spread it over a field for fertilizer... then we all went to the market to buy the food that isn't grown on the farm... then we went swimming in a ground spring-fed lake... then i helped make a bamboo support for a drooping roof... then all of us got a wonderful lesson in thai cooking from sandot (who runs the place) and ate in front of the fire we used to cook. i'm very full as i write this post and mango sticky rice is a new favorite food of mine.

we're in town for a bit of emailing and nightlife before starting over again. but tomorrow will also involve composting, rice harvesting, and surveying land for a new project. and i'm hoping to get a lesson in traditional basket weaving from sondot's mother. wow. i can't believe all this is really happening. i don't think every day will be quite as packed. i'm exhausted already. but we'll only be spending a week here before moving on to laos when our thai visa runs out. i've heard great things about laos, and i'm looking forward to the more relaxed pace of the country after having spent most of our time here in pretty populated areas.

that's all i've got in me tonight... cheers and much love from asia.

under the sea

2008-03-23T21:20:00.009-06:00

only a few of our underwater photos turned out, so i'm uploading a couple. the ones that are the most fun, i think, are of us being and looking goofy.

morgan

fish

coral

extreme close-up

a few pictures

2008-03-17T04:32:00.008-06:00

here are a few photos, but it takes a ridiculous amount of time to upload them, so there won't be too many.

here's a photo of the four of us: adam, jasmine, alexis & morgan. i guess this is as close as it gets to a "before" picture... i'll get an "after" picture up by the end of the trip and we'll see what has happened.

here we are in bangkok at an amazing all vegetarian restaurant. the owner was just adorable. we spent the rest of the day walking around some temples with beautiful roof tiling and large buddha statues.

this is koasan road, where we stayed our first few nights. as you can see, it's pretty busy with backpackers and people selling things to said backpackers. food from the vendors was great and we could always people-watch for entertainment. the people in our hostel were nutty characters, so we had a great time.

here's the beach on ko tao, where we are currently. it's beautiful and sunny all the time, so morgan and i have been sticking to the shade. morgan, adam (who took most of these photos...), and i just finished our advanced open water scuba certification. the coolest part was going for a night dive yesterday. it was sort of like hiking with a headlamp, except underwater. amazing. when i get them, i'll upload some of the photos we took on another dive yesterday. i hope they turn out.

for a change, we hiked about an hour to a beautiful secluded beach called sai nuan. on either end of the bay, these rocks were great to scramble around on. here i am, enjoying it.

ko tao

2008-03-10T20:09:00.002-06:00

we've spent one day on ko tao (turtle island) and it's beautiful. i got a little sunburned yesterday, but nothing a little aloe won't soothe. and what can i expect with this minnesota-white skin. mosquitos are pretty bad and i think that my bed has ants, but i've seen worse in minneapolis! knock on wood, but nobody has been sick so far.

morgan and adam are getting scuba certified, so we have some fun dives in our future. (i've got my cert, jasmine will snorkel...) but that means they've not had a chance to enjoy the beach like jaz and i have. today we're going to walk over to a less crowded beach that's not as big, but just as beautiful, from what we've heard. i'll try to upload some photos soon, but most of the internet cafes won't allow it. not sure why. in any case, i haven't been taking any digitals, just black & white so far. but i'll steal some from the others to show you what we've been up to.

last night we had a great dinner with one of their scuba classmates, sung wook. the food is pretty spicy (at least the dishes i've had), but really flavorful. and everyday we have fruit smoothies--sometimes a few. it's great.

there's not much to write about beyond food and beach, but i'll update in a few days if anything exciting happens!

safe in bangkok

2008-03-06T06:49:00.002-07:00

well we all made it. there was a little confusion in the airport (mislabled arrival gate), but we're all together in bangkok now. today we tried to sleep in... i think i got too much sleep on the plane to do that.

then we went to a temple compound with a huge reclining buddha. it was pretty amazing. after walking around there for a while, we went to a market that is apparently huge on the weekends, but being that this is thursday, it was pretty much thai people and us at the smaller scale version. we took the local bus home, so that was a good adventure.

jetlag + walking around in a new place have made me exhausted. i think the plan is to hang out in the hostel for the evening after getting some street vendor food for dinner. there are some nice and intriguing people where we're staying. it makes for interesting conversation.

we're going to spend one more day in bangkok before heading down the coast to check out some amazing-sounding beaches. adam got a tattoo recently, so we'll see how the salt water treats him. i think we're going to visit a couple of the oldest cities in the country, right outside of bangkok.

hope all is well in the u.s.

hello from tokyo

2008-03-05T01:07:00.002-07:00

a disclaimer: i'm probably not going to send out an email to alert you all about this blog posting. it doesn't seem very substantial, and there will probably be other quick updates that don't warrant an email. whenever i write a long post that's full of information, i'll let you know...

the last few days have been wonderful, though i got very little sleep. i was able to see my parents and several friends in the bay area before departing this morning. well, tuesday morning. i don't have any sense of what day it is now.

i have arrived in narita (tokyo's airport) after a 10 hour flight. i was able to fly in business class from sfo, which was a first for me. (thank you, jane and rich!) now i'm waiting for my flight to bangkok. hopefully i'll see morgan at the airport when i arrive. he will have flown in a few hours earlier, so the plan is that he and jasmine and adam will get us all set up in the hostel and then moe will come back to get me.

for someone like me who likes to have a plan in place at all times, this experience will probably be a little uncomfortable. i say that as i realize i don't know what we're doing or where we're going tomorrow. i think jasmine has been figuring out some of the initial plans. otherwise we'll be spending some time in bangkok as we decide where to go next.

to be honest, what we're about to embark on is really exciting, but hasn't sunk in yet. i thought that it would hit me while in flight, but that turns out not to be the case. i'm still in travel mode now, hanging out in the airport... maybe once i land in bangkok, things will start to seem real. at this point i still feel like i'm going to be home in boulder in a few days.

okay, the computer isn't accepting my coins anymore, so i'm going to sign off quickly. love to all!

all my bags are packed...

2008-02-29T18:50:00.002-07:00

well, actually, i have one bag. but i packed it up today, and i feel pretty ready.

to all of you who have recently started viewing my blog, welcome! i'll try to update this frequently, but i'm not sure how good i'll be about doing it. it's a new thing for me. and for all of you who are annoyed by all lower-case letters, i apologize, but it's faster for me.

i'm in california now visiting my parents and a few friends, and i fly out of sfo on tuesday morning. the flight will take me through narita in tokyo, and then on to bangkok, thailand. i'll be met there by my brother, morgan, who has been teaching english in seoul, korea, for the past year+. two of his coworkers, jasmine and adam, will join us on this adventure. i'm not sure where we're headed first, exactly, but the plan is to find a nice beach and relax for a bit.

that's it for now... my plan is to email you when i've posted a new entry of any substance, but if you'd prefer not to get that email, just email and let me know. i won't take it personally, i promise. and if you just want to check in from time to time, you can always just visit this address.

thanks for all of your support! i'll miss you.

state of mind

2008-02-14T15:06:00.002-07:00

now that i'm trying to take care of all of the little details that need attention before i leave, i'm starting to feel the anxiety. my thoughts tend toward, "what the hell am i doing?"

but there's excitement there too, so i guess this is probably normal.

itinerary?

2008-01-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

i think this is what we're thinking...

(perhaps in this order, or maybe not)

thailand

cambodia

vietnam

laos

china

tibet

nepal

bhutan

india

sri lanka

malaysia

indonesia

philippines

new zealand

if you've been to these places, my friends, and there are experiences not to be missed, please let me know.

thanks

trying out this blog thing

2008-01-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

since i've used morgan's cell phone for the last year (though i still refuse to call it mine...), i figure i can test out this means of communication.

i'll be leaving for southeast asia right around the beginning of march, so i'm planning to keep in touch this way.