The last three weeks...

So here's a quick recap blog post
1) We saw Everest in case you didn't hear - it's the picture of the mountain (duh) and it's the peak to the left not covered in the cloud.
2) We took a bath with an elephant and had the time of our lives as it sprayed us with water, knocked us off as we climbed back on, only to get sprayed again and knocked back off. Tons of fun and a great recommendation from Eric and Lorien!!
3) After Nepal we took the long trek (totally worth it) towards Italy where we munched on incredible food - actually we gorged - and spent a romantic four days in Amalfi exploring the coast and touring Capri like any good tourist should. We were in total bliss.
4) Then we met up with my mom and brother and family to celebrate my mom's BIG birthday (I won't name numbers) in Sicily. We stayed at a villa for the week in Porticello and enjoyed touring the big island and staying in one bed for an entire week. Ahhhhh.....
5) We then headed to Albania for ten days with my Aunt Barbara (see previous post). All three of us were constantly surprised with the hospitality and the beauty of Albania. I had only heard bad travel stories of the the place and besides that we didn't know too many people who had visited. The picture of the Sunset and the photo of my aunt and I are testaments to the incredible place we encountered. I can't wait to spread the word and let the world know what great people Albanians are, at least the ones we met. I would love to return there someday plus there is a neat beach we found with NO ONE on it!! My dream... Matt and I got in and swam in our underwear and just had the best time.
6)Off to Greece.... a long journey but for the economical side of things it turned out quite nicely. We were 2 of 8 people on a bus fit for 60. We made some nice friends two of whom must have felt sorry for us as one gave us some eggs and another bread and cheese to munch on. Once again, Albanian folks who spoke no English but wanted to lend a hand to the foreign travelers. We loved it....
7)We started in Delphi to visit the ancient ruins then worked our way to Nafplio (look at a map people!!), then Athens, the off to the Greek Islands! First Naxos, then Koufonisia part of the Little Cyclades, and now we are awaiting our boat to the party island of Ios who is also rumored to have nice beaches.

We'll write more on Greece after Ios but I thought I would post a few pictures. Lots of love and we'll see you all in about 3 weeks!!
xoxo,
H & M

Ode to Alex's iPod...

I have not mentioned in the past the savior that is my little brother's castaway iPod. It has helped me endure the 5 hour bus ride from Haridwar, India to Corbett Tiger reserve(also in India) when the bus was filled to capacity before the driver managed to fit an additional 30 people in the aisle and the road was so bumpy we hit our heads on the roof with every pothole and little hill in the road. Did I mention everyone was smelly and these two creepers were staring at me? After about thirty minutes I remembered the iPod in my backpack. I really had forgotten about it for the first month of our trip. I guess I was saving it for the most crucial moments. Well I put the headphones on from the back seat of the bus and sang as loud as I could for the next 4 hours to any and every song that Alex had programmed into that amazing contraption. People could barely hear me because the noise level on the bus was so high but it sure felt good. I did have some old ladies staring at me but I just closed my eyes and kept on singing.

Then there was the time when I was taking the overnight train from Corbett to Delhi and this guy in our cabin snored the whole night through and I had to hit his shoulder every 30 minutes just to get him to turn over and stop for a moment while I tried to force myself to sleep. Any of my friends who snore or snored in the past, Karoly, Arielle, may remember that I have zero tolerance for loud breathers and midnight snorers. Anyhow, finally when I thought I would have to sleep in the bathroom (disgusting)I remembered the iPod, popped it on and rocked out to Eric Clapton and Shakira's 'Grandes Exitos' until 6 the next morning while the horrible snoring man next to me slept peacefully.

As the weeks went on and the situations got more and more 'trying' as they like to say, I turned to the iPod with greater enthusiasm and each and every time it got me through the 12 hour bus ride or snoring man or crabby boyfriend or bumpy road or overnight train and for this I give many thanks.

So for a quick update, currently we are in amazing, fabulous, beautiful, undiscovered Albania. I love it. It is an incredible country with equally incredible and resilient people. The Mediterranean has nothing on Albania's coastline and the mountains are serene and peaceful and thirty different shades of green. We have been welcomed with open arms and after ten days it is just too soon to leave. We began after our ferry ride from Italy to Durres and then headed to Berati with a beautiful hillside castle and gorgeous old homes in the hills. Then we took the bus to Gjirokastra and stayed in the old village up in the hills. We also walked around their old fort/castle that was from the 4th century BC. The following day we hiked into the hills (that looked like a scene out of the Sound of Music) and mingled with the sheep, cows, goats, and townspeople. Incredible people with fabulous stories. These people have seen a lot in their lifetimes and they have managed to keep smiles on their faces and warmth in their hearts. After Gjirokastra we headed to Sarande a popular beach resort that was filled with 20 year olds looking for a good time. It was fun although we didn't spend much time at the beach. We instead headed out for day trips to Butrinti to check out their archeological excavations and look at old Greek theaters, castles (again, but Matt's in heaven), artifacts, old mosaics, and basilicas. After a couple of evenings strolling on the promenade in Sarande we headed to the incredible town of Himara where I am today. The water here is the best I have seen in a long time. Thailand has better sand and warmer water but I must say nothing I have seen in Europe in a long time or India, looks anything like this. The town is practically empty from tourists except for a few Albanians form up North. It is all locals and it is a small and perfect place. I am in heaven and will gladly soak up the sun for the next couple of days before we head to Greece.

Speaking of Greece we leave for Athens on Wednesday and we are debating whether to take the twelve hour bus leaving from Himara at 5am or the 12 hour bus leaving at 4pm. Either way I know I'll have issues sleeping and will probably feel carsick but I also know that I've got the iPod. Alex's castaway when the newer model came out. The little piece of technology that is keeping me sane during times of distress. I'm not going to guarantee that it will keep me rocking for the entire 12 hour ride but I do know that it will be a nice pick me up for a girl who does not do well on bus rides and it will keep me going when I need it and that is all I can ask for. Thank you Alex... I love you and congrats for almost finishing high school! 1 more month to go!
Lots of love!!
H & M

Italy is Like Home

Sine the moment we stepped off the plane in Rome I felt like I was back in the good ol USA. Dont get me wrong, I have loved every second of travel, but after weeks of dirty streets, smelly airports, and truthfully some scary people it felt like I was stepping into the cleanest place on earth (and mind you Im talking about a train stop!). Anyhow backtracking very quickly Matt and I were flying in from Kathmandu, Nepal (after a quick detour to the Doha airport in Qatar). Nepal was such an extreme between the crazy polluted dirty city and the calm serene and beautiful Himalayan Mountain range. We had gone on a 5 day trip tothe Everest region hiking through Lukla towards Namch Bazaar and Temboche (sp?) hoping to catch a view of the elusive Everest. We were seuccessfyul and saw some incredible views of the mountain as wells as views of the others 'greats' surrounding the big guy. We walked over the Hillary Bridge and through amazing valleys and gorges all the while climbing up to about 12,000ft a minor feat when compared to some of the other folks we met along the way. We stayed with Sherpa friends throughout the hike and really just enjoyed ourselves out in the natural world. I'll go into more detail later but for now the word magnificent stays in my mind.

After a few more days in Nepoal we headed the equally stunning, though for different reasons, Amalfi Coast where we stayed in the most perfect plac ein Amalfi with Italian tiles, delicious food and lots of relaxing time on the coast....

I feel like I'm refreshed and rested for the final month....
Cheers!
H

Swami Ram Dev Ji are you there? It's me, Hillary...

We are on to week three and a half in India and we are excited to FINALLY be staying in a nicer comfortable hotel with a clean bathroom and no bed bugs. I was attacked by them the other night and totally grossed out. We are now in Amritsar in Punjab a state that borders Pakistan in the North East. The food here is really good and the people seem much more sophisticated than in other areas of the country. There is a large mix of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims here so it is quite a diverse community with some really great variations on food that we have been eating elsewhere. 75% of the country is vegetarian but in this region there are many restaurants that also serve meet options which are nice for a change. We still opt for mostly veggie meals as the lentils and Paneer (a type of cheese used in curries) and Aloo Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower) are fabulous but the tandoori ovens they use here make the best Naans, chicken, and grilled veggies.

Last night we took the 6 hour train from Jim Corbett National Park in Ramnigar (more on that in a minute)to Delhi and then another 7 hour train to Amritsar. The first ride was so bad - I was bunked next to this horrible snorer. I spent the entire night pushing his arm to get him to turn over and clapping my hands to startle him awake in hopes that I could fall back asleep before he could. We are thoroughly exhausted today but excited to be in a new place. Tomorrow we are going to visit the Golden Temple which some say rivals the Taj Mahal (we visited that last week and made it for Sunrise which i highly recommend since it is less crowded then)and then take an afternoon trip to Attari the border with Pakistan to watch the border crossing a daily evening ceremony between the Indian and Pakistani border guards. You can check it out on You Tube - I think this link may work if you copy and paste it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ0ue-XGl9c

Anyhow, we also hope to find a drink or two while we are here since we have been in dry states and towns for the last 3 weeks and even though neither of us are big drinkers the thought of being denied a drink without even an option to sneak one in has us watering at the mouth. So, we may buy a bottle and just sit in our room tonight and drink, eat ice cream and watch movies - now that's luxury!

Moving on... Matt and i are excited that our time in India is coming to an end although we will surely miss it once we are gone. We met these fabulous people when we were in the Tiger reserve this last weekend (yes more tigers! !!) who are from Durango, Colorado but are living in Delhi currently working as engineers - I thought of you Whitney! These guys are total troopers... They are in their early 50's and moved here for work and live in India for an unknown amount of time which is nuts. It is such a tough place to be and those minor comforts of home start to really be missed by the end of the first month. Things like toilet paper, clean bed sheets when you stay at a hotel, nicely formed lines, and well organized national parks.

First off let me tell you that I LOVED this reserve. Although the entire process for gaining entrance is based on who you know and how much you pay them, once inside there is a lot to see and plenty of nature and fresh air to soak up. Matt and I were there for three days and saw our first wild tigers. There are 164 living in the reserve and we saw one on each of our morning safaris. It was the most incredible moment when we first spotted one. We woke up at 5:20 and were the first ones out before sunrise. It was just Matt, our driver, and our guide. About 5 minutes into the ride we spotted tiger tracks on the road and started to follow them into the trees. We then heard the sounds of the barking deer which is a signal that a tiger is near. We drove to a lookout point and waited for ten minutes hoping the tiger would come out from the dried river bed. Just as we were going to give up the tiger emerged and walked along the bank ignoring our jeep while out for his morning stroll. It was an incredible feeling and we were the only ones at the time so it was an amazingly private moment.

The following day we left from a different camp where we had stayed the night before and began our animal search. At 6:30am on Monday we came upon another jeep that was standing still and when we approached we saw a massive male tiger sitting in these rocks about 15 feet form the car!!! Now I know Matt and I saw the tigers in Thailand but these tigers were completely un-tamed and although they do see the occasional jeep they do not have a ton of human interaction. The moment was definitely intense and Matt was scared (you were babe....but i love it)but the pictures will show it was an animal of true beauty, ferocity, and depth. About 3 minutes after our arrival he (the tiger, not Matt) decided he had had enough and walked into the woods to stretch, take a poop, and presumably look for a new place to nap. We'll post the pics really soon. In addition to the wild tigers we saw herds of migratory elephants with their babies, spotted deer, the endangered hog deer, a group of long nosed crocodiles, wild boar and pigs, peacocks, and tons of other fantastic birds including the very rare great Indian Hornbill, the white throated kingfisher, the green bee-eater, and so many others Matt and I have now converted to bird lovers. Seriously they were the most fantastic I had ever seen in my life. The colors were so vibrant and all of the birds (there are over 500 in the park) had such distinct personalities. Our photos won't do them justice but I hope to show you all at some point. Anyhow, minus the complete total bureaucratic Bulls**t that we had to go through to get the highly coveted entrances to this park I recommend anyone who visits India to visit the park. Not only was it a great experience but really a fantastic break from the crowds and noise of the Indian cities.

I have so much to write about that I have to save the rest of this blog for later. I will say though that we also loved Rishekesh - the land of Yoga, meditation, and self-rediscovery (or so we hear). We just really enjoyed the morning yoga and the fabulous brown bread they served in the food shops near our guesthouse, that and we had the best room in the whole place for only $10/ night. Rishekesh is where the Beatles came in the 60's before they they wrote the great White Album to meditate and 'mellow out'. In Rishekesh we also did some rafting and hiked up to some great waterfalls with small pools underneath where we spent the day cooling off and relaxing. This place isn't for everyone though and they have a major fly problem on the other side of town where we luckily opted out of staying. Oh and I had my first experience bathing in the magical, mythical, spiritual *or so they say* Ganges River. Naresh if you read this it was so fabulous to meet you!! If you get a picture with Swami Ram Dev Ji I will be so jealous!!! I really liked him and he waved to Matt and I when we left the Ashram that night!!!

Ok, I must go but I just want to say that this crazy India place keeps hitting us with surprises. As soon as we are down and looking for the earliest flight out we find the most incredible gem that keeps us wanting more. I guess they say that in life the things we appreciate the most are those things that we have to work the hardest for. Well I'm not really sure who says that but I guess sometimes it's true.
Lots of love for now!! H & M

Corbett Stock Exchange (Corbett Tiger Reserve, Ramnagar)

If you're into throwing hip checks, jabbing elbows, and speaking broken uninteligible english with foreign tourists for 8 hours a day 6 days a week all for the love of extra cash-in-hand, then you're just the man/woman for the job. Step right up, congratulations! You are now in charge of Indian-Foreigner relations at the reservation office in one of the most amazing parks in India. Unfortunately though, in order to be eligible for those extra $20 bucks a day (enough to pay for your well desired stress relieving massage)you will endure 48 solid hours of hell in extreme heat and utter chaos.

All we wanted to do was see tigers.

What we got...were, actually...tigers.

What we had to deal with in between however, was like I mentioned...unorganized chaos. I don't even want to go into more detail but I can tell you that Friday night a fight broke out at the reservations office and the police had to come break it up. Can you believe this happening at The San Diego Zoo or even Disneyland? The main reason for this shameful process is that all the official reservationists accept bribes...and a whole hell of a lot of them.

So for I guess what was a 3 day/2 night trip (we actually never knew we could get into the park until that actual day) we saw a lot. Not only did we have to wait for roughly 8 hours for our "tour operator" to get us in, I had to let Hillary beat me about 11 times in a row in Uno. With the frustration of Indian ticket line politics on your mind, losing the most simple of all card games 11 times in a row does not help your mood.

So this needs to end...I'll attempt to tell you what we saw, since most of our "compulsory" (our new favorite Indian/English term) English speaking tour guides spoke limited English...here it goes:

Bengal tiger, woohoo, got that one!
Indian elephants- on a roll
Long snout crocodile
Mugger Crocodile
wild pigs (boar)
osprey
peacocks
all sorts of deer- spotted, samber, hog, barking
great indian hornbill or orange beaked hornbill?
kingfisher bird
nutheaded something or other bird?
black nbipaimnc ??
blue upiunz'cms ??
red wipuacnpn with mohawk ??

Well worth the trip in the end. Gotta go, the bell on the exchange floor has sounded. P.S. photos still to come

Wait, Are you speaking English????

So we were told how wonderful it is in India because everyone speaks English. Well I"m not sure if I just don't understand their version of English or if they just don't understand mine, but I sure know I have tried to converse quite a few times at this point with 'an English speaker' and there has been absolutely no communication or message being transmitted. My point is there are over 40 dialects in this country and I think there are just as many 'versions' of English. Don't get me wrong, some of the people here have fantastic English skills (some even better than Matt's!! - kidding babe) and we have had plenty of great conversations about politics, religion, and of course food. But when you go to a place to eat and ask what ingredients are in the food item you are interested in ordering or you need directions or a bottle of water and the answer sounds something like - 'odfndofnongfsdongob' and then you ask again and they say 'dongownbongboig' and then I ask 'Do you speak English' and they say 'yes' in perfect English and then I ask another question and they say 'afgnbofegnbo', let me tell you I want to just pull my hair out.
Moving on.....
I finally just recovered from what they may call Delhi Belly. Around my 6th day in India I had my first run in with a bug. Not sure what kind, or where it came from, but I do know my body didn't like it and told me the 15 times I had to run to the bath room at least 8 of them to hug the toilet face in the bowl. No need to add any more details except to say as the night wore on I must have rubbed off on Matt because at about 2am I heard him run to the bathroom and begin his own 'hugging session' in the bathroom. Two days later and now we're in Delhi staying at my friend Nitin's house and I feel great and have finally moved back to solid food. Matt is recovering a bit slower and I'm hoping his banana split for dinner tonight will give him the energy he needs for the train ride to Jaipur.
This last week has been an eye opener for both of us. India is all that I have heard it would be and more. The food has so many different flavors and variations and smells. The people are smiling and happy and sad and sweet and scary and fantastic and some not so fantastic. Everyone is curious about us and some even think I"m a celebrity. I"m not kidding I have had about 50 people ask to take their picture with me and another 100 or so just stare and take pictures from afar. I"m not sure if it's because we are foreigners or if it is because we look like someone they know but I have never encountered such curiosity. There are other westerners here but we have not seen many and so we cannot tell if this is normal for all or if this is unique to us. Matt has this little mustache thing going on and someone said he looked like an actor because of his mustache. I have a feeling his ego liked that one so we have the 'stache for at least another week. Anyhow, Nitin and his wife Sofia have been the most amazing hosts in Delhi. They gave us their driver for the day so we toured the city weaving in and out of the rickshaws, the horse drawn carts, the buses, the cyclists, the walkers, the dogs, the beggars, the cars, the motos, and of course the occasional cow and goat. It was great fun visiting the spot of the first Muslim mosque built in India, driving through the hectic and a bit scary streets of Old Delhi and stopping for lunch in the middle of it all, walking through the India Gate's tribute to fallen soldiers, bargaining at Janpath Market for some scarves, and learning the lessons of love and acceptance at the Hindi Akshardham Temple part of the Swaminarayan Group with the most ornate ceilings and pillar carvings. That last stop was like a mini Hindu Disneyland including an It's a Small World-esque boat ride, a mini movie, and a water fountain music and light show. Anyhow... I must go to bed for the early ride to Jaipur and then we're off to Agra. Lots of love as always and we miss you all and love the emails. xoxoxoxo

Exactly how big is an inch?

Well, according to our wonderful driver, Imtiyaz, that would be anywhere from 5 feet to 7 feet, depending on the swagger. The reason I pose this question is because we, as well as other living beings, have been within an inch of death on the roads on numerous occasions during the past four days.
Cattle have been inches from severed horns and limbs, chickens have have been spared to see another day of clucking, passenger's knee caps sticking out of auto rickshaws will bend again, large transportation trucks (india version of a semi) will meet their destination with no mortal delays, cats and dogs will continue to be mangy, and all the school children will learn to love another day of learning and staring with smiling faces at foreigners. At the same time, we have nearly missed running over rocks in the road that could pierce steel, avoided swerving over steep precipices, maneuvered through traffic jams shielding hazardous (petrol) service vehicles, and bypassed beehive infested routes...
And this, all this for what??? Well, all this for a shot at "India's beaches that rival those of the Maldives". Welcome to the Konkan Coast just south of Bombay. Well, at least that is what senor lonely planet said...we've learned that sometimes it's just best to leave the book at home. We risked death for the potential of seeing such beaches...but all we got at first were a bunch of trash infested, windy, overpriced, local underwear wearing, wave-deprived, cow populated, and camel run (these were actually cool) beaches.
Obviously this is what traveling is all about and it was a great experience but we didn't begin to hit some better beaches until north Goa. Even then we were introduced to some of the funniest tourists we've encountered yet.
We'll have to tell you about that later...but so far India rocks! We're still trying to figure it out...but we have another three weeks to do so. The people are fun, food is great, weather hot...even when you haven't realized that nobody really speaks English. Cheerio!

From Pat Pong (home of "Ping Pong" show) with Love

Street Pad Thai- 20 baht (about 65 cents)
An evening of Hillary shopping on Koh Sahn Road (main backpacker road in Bangkok)- 220 baht ($6.30)
Going to the sex district the last night you're in Bangkok under strict orders from your girlfriend...pricelesssssss.

Thanks to the joy of the internet we can do our best to include you in our most recent events and most importantly, our last memorable event in Thailand...all I can say is...no hands! That's all she wrote for southeast asia folks. "She", being the artist whose name is in the lower right hand corner of the photo. Have a happy St. Patty's day! PS- Hillary was undercover this evening, which is why Bangkok's finest young "professionals" knew her as "Holly".

"Bus, Train or Air?"- "Bus."- "Sorry, wrong again." "Shit!"

I must admit, if I was a tour bus driver and my mother just happen to own...say..a Taco Bell that was situated on my route, I would most likely stop in for a free meal regardless of what the other 50 people on my bus felt about it. Obviously, that's something to look forward to midway through a good 6-9 hour drive, but not when you're the stinking passenger. The evening we departed Bangkok for Chumpon (the stop over on the way to the pier for our boat to Koh Tao) we thought we were in for a very relaxing overnight drive, but of course we bit for the cheaper mode of transportation and got hooked hard.

Strike 1- Bus was not as luxurious as the bus in photo shown by sales person. I love Hillary and all but sometimes i do need a little space while sleeping in cramped spaces.

Strike 2- first stop was about 30 minutes into drive and driver needed a flower wreath to put over his rear view mirror.

Strike 3- stop number 2...roadside food stand at midnight. who eats at midnight?

Strike 4- stop number 3. get off bus and you have 4 options while waiting for the next bus to pick up...A- do internet. B- watch soccer. C- sleep on the ground. D- go across the driveway to the only bar in Chumpon playing the most non awesome music ever.

Strike 5-...eh whatever, they've already struck out. no need to go any further.

At any rate, we finally made it to Koh Tao and had a blast. Spent the last two days on Koh Pha Ngan to the south and then made the executive decision to fly back to Bangkok from Koh Samui today. We'll try to stick to flying from now on...although sticking to accomodations seems to have gone out the window now...for we're going to rough it tonight and try to stay up all night in order to take the early shuttle to the airport. Wish us luck!

Every day is better than every day...

All I know is that the water makes me happy. Matt and have enjoyed a fabulous week on the beaches in Thailand every day being better than the next. We had a million adventures most of them having to do with our search for Mango Bay and a few incidents on moto bikes but overall we swam, snorkled, hiked, ate, and enjoyed the sun (well Matt hid in the shade but I think he secretly enjoyed the sun). We played with fish and saw a cool looking blowfish, we met some fun Canadians and had a fabulous feast our last night here. More to come on our island adventures but the is about to run out...lots of love!!

Chiang Mai- A Happy Ending every time!

First thing I would do the moment millions of dollars found their way into my pockets would be to fly everyone to Thailand and buy them a $6/hour Thai massage. Woooooah momma! I can't believe I didn't get one the last time I was here.

The Next Jane Goodall but with Elephants!

I love elephants! They are so cute and snuggly and scratchy and their snouts are super hilarious...Matt thinks I have a special knack for those guys so all you vets I know (basically Dirty and Greggy) watch out - Mat says I'm the next Ms. Goodall. Chang Mai Northern Thailand has been fantastic although the slash and burn method of farming is killing my lungs. This time of the year they burn many of the fields in the area to clear them in case of a natural fires and to get ready for the following season so the air quality is pretty bad. Anyhow... since we have arrived we have gone on a bamboo rafting trip, an elephant trail ride (where I got to play with a baby elephant), visited some local tribes (although that part was super lame since they bring endles numbers of tourists to visit these hill tribes and they have become traps for selling bracelets, earrings, purses, etc., etc) played with 14 month old tigers, took a thai cooking class, and had two super amazing thai masages where they stretch your body and do all of this amazing stuff to work your muscles. The area where we are also has fantastic cuisine (don't try the sushi) such as green curry, fresh sweet pork sticky buns - my fave, pad thai, banana pineapple smoothies, fruit in general, tofu in many forms, and of course Matt's new favorite the amazing fresh squeed OJ. Yes I know they have that at home but it's 1 million % better here.

So today I took a ride with Matt outside the city and got to play with tigers (yes, real tigers) and had the most fantastic time!! I go to rest my head on one of their backs and pet them and play with them in their cages - I was a bit nervous but had the time of my life. It was a once in a lifetime experience and the pitures are the best. I mean I was in heaven and so happy and thrilled and scared and could not belive that I had the chance to do that. Really, only in Thailand.

Tonight we leave for Bangkok - another overnight train although this time we don't have a sleeper, just seats which I am a bit worried about. We are meeting my friend Kevin from work in Bangkok for the day then headed down to the long awaited beaches of Thailand. I am super excited for some water time although for some reason I feel the beaches in India wil be equaly great so I'm not worried about our limited time down south.

Matt and I finally figured out how to post pictures so we will put a few up from time to time on the blog. We probabaly won't be on the internet as much this week as the place we have been staying is always connected but thanks everyone for the fabulous emails so far - it's nice to hear from you. This trip is one incredible day after another. Traveling is definately a bit tiring but we are about to RELAX on the beach for the next week so don't feel too sorry for us. Lots of love!

"Bus, Train, or Air?"- "Train"- "Sorry. Wrong answer"

So let me begin by clearing something up. I mentioned in my last blog that we would be working on Hillary's shooting skills when we arrived Cambodia...well, even though we bypassed that experience in Cambodia, I didn't know that her "aim" would consist of "target practice" in the bathroom of a moving train in Thailand. My hat or rather, non la (vietnamese rice hat), is off to her for her many accomplished attempts for the train ride absolutely sucked.

The shiny happy people of Cambodia have done it once again and have won my heart and best of all my smile. Not sure how they do it (maybe because they're sitting on a tourist gold mine, Angkor Wat) but they are, as Hillary said, very genuine people and tons of fun to be around. Unfortunately for a select few Cambodians, they were tons of fun around the wrong American tourist who happened to have t-shirts with his face available to be given out at the hint of a smile. Should anyone happen to head to Angkor Wat and Siem Reap within the next 6 months I am sure you can get one of these lavish t-shirts from a local for about...well, I'd guess a handshake?

Upon arrival to the temples in the early morning I noticed there have been tons of restorations made in the last 4 years and many attempts at future preservation for all to enjoy. A German team has assumed the task of preserving Angkor Wat which in itself is great, for these ruins need not to be lost to erosion and atrophy. At the same time the blocked entries to several parts of the ruin(s) has taken away some of the splendor of exploring these ancient masterpieces. Which, as many of you may have guessed, didn't prevent me from having a good time! Uh oh...here it comes...

So there is a new attraction at night time in Angkor and that is the 7-9pm lighting of the ruins and Cambodian ceremonial activities on the grounds. Fully aware of becoming total hypocritical tourists and contributing to the exploitation of Angkor, we decided to give it a shot since we had met two other entertaining couples during our Cambodian cooking class earlier that day who would be attending as well. As soon as we turned the southwest corner of the exterior perimeter, David (cool aussie), and I head into the shadows and head up the stairs to explore. Not quite the same as exploring Angkor in its entirety but a cool experience nonetheless (mainly since we didn't get caught). Wish I could include the photos but still have no idea how to do that on these blogs. anyone? At any rate being in the temple at night is pretty darn cool.

And to wrap things up...Cambodians love volleyball, Belgian fries in Siem Reap are not really Belgian, banana pancakes rock, Bangkok is massive, koh sahn road has turned into a parking lot resembling Kolby's swap meet, Hillary owns me at Uno and rocks at negotiating prices, and me, i'm just growing a mustache...current brad pitt style...bad idea?

Would You Like a Pringle With That Beetle?

Wow - what a hectic week since I last wrote. Let me tell you Cambodia is fantastic but there is so much to see and such an incredible history that fitting it all in has been impossible.... I'm sure Matt will write more details as my bed is currently calling my name. We took a 16 hour train from Bangkok to Chang Mai in Northern Thailand last night and I, being the light sleeper that I am, slept for probabaly two hours while the rest of the time I was tossed back and forth in my bunk as we moved along the bumpy track. The heat at least started to disappear around 1am so even though I was awake I wasn't soaking wet with sweat as we had been on the previous day's 12 hour bus ride from Cambodia to Thailand...lovely image I'm sure. Matt was asleep in the bunk above me oblivious to the fact that throughout the night I was mastering the abilty to pee over a 6 inch whole with my feet propped up on these two metal foot rests as the train tracks moved by underneath (another nice visual - I'm sure)!!

Anyhow - Cambodia is fabulous. This is a generalization but everyone has a beautiful smile and I felt they hadn't been corrupted with tourism to the point where you felt like someone was trying to cheat you or be sneaky as I have seen in past countries I have visited. People were genuine and helpful and excited about our interest in the culture. When we were in Siem Reap we went to a cooking school and of course explored the Wats. I made this dish called Amok chicken and it was sooooo good - we're making a feast that you all are invited to when we return. Angkor Wat is of course breathtaking and the day we explored the temples we arrived just in time to see the sun rise over the back of the biggest one.

Matt and I arrived in Siem Reap from Phenom Phen via bus and had another great experience with the locals. When the bus stopped for a short lunch break we had our go-to meal of veggie fried rice. Matt was still hungry so he bought a tube of Pringles (loaded baked potato flavor which was quite good and 4 days later we tried sushi flavored Lays)-random but good- and as we walked away the cutest little girl ever just gave me the biggest smile. She was sitting on the curb with what I guess were her mom, sister, and brother and they were sharing a bag of freshly cooked beetles. She watched Matt and I eat a chip as we watched her tear the legs and wings off of the little bugs. We all smiled at one another again so I offered her a chip. She was reluctant but took it and tentatively took a bite... She never did offer me one of her beetles but the smile was worth it. Fun Times - I'm cutting this short for now but we'll get back to some Cambodia moments.
I love traveling... more later. I need sleep. xo, H

"Drink at your own pace"

So said the Irishman to the American. Best advice an Irish father could give an Irish son and the best advice you could hear from a new Irish friend...but unfortunately it came a bit too late. I have a raging headache today from keeping pace with our new friends Oz and Jean last night. obviously all my fault, I have done this before with the Irish but i guess i just can't learn from old mistakes. at any rate it was a good evening and we got quite the history lesson on ireland and northern ireland. aside from irish history, yesterday was filled with embarrassing U.S. history. We visited the Cu Chi tunnels (famous for the Viet Cong in the War) as well as the war remnants museum. A pretty depressing museum tour but i have to blame it all on France...just kidding.

Hillary played the role of Rambo yesterday by clipping 5 rabbit targets at the firing range. You should have seen her shooting that AK-47! it was as if all she played as a kid was duck hunt...trigger finger galore. actually, it was quite the opposite. i had the luxury of snapping a photo of her prior to taking stance grasping her ears in fright of the blasts coming from the weapon next to her. not to worry though, we have time to work on her shooting skills (numchuck skills, bow skills...) when we get to Phnom Phen. We are leaving today by bus for Cambodia.

For me, this has been my second visit to Vietnam and i'm glad i had the opportunity to return because i enjoyed it much more this time around. not sure why i didn't find it as inviting four years ago but i hope to return again for the food has been amazing...the people, incredible and the motor scooters...well, the motor scooters have been pure entertainment. just a sea of them.

ps- hopefully we'll get to Laos...and maybe even play ping pong in ding dang. cheers!

Halong Bay

Wow - fun trip to Halong bay but 3 hours there and three hours back was a long ride... so far Vietnam is fantastic. We have been damp the entire time but it feels refreshing and it's better than super hot. The boat ride on Halong Bay was with 12 other people and we were able to stop on one of the islands and walk through this underground cave. Matt has decided that he wants to be a geologist or a teacher or an archeologist or possibly a writer. So basically, we have made no leeway in the career department but we are not worried - whatever happens we have decided that he likes caves.

Our guide Tink was super funny and he would get annoyed with me because everytime i asked a question he would turn to be and say 'I just answered that'! But i had trouble understanding him so i just kept asking. He thought i was funny but finally told me there was a really good program on the discovery channel on the Halong Bay World Heritage UNESCO site and that i should just check that out.

Well we are off to look for some good Vietnamese sandwiches. I'm sure we'll write more when we have some time. For now we are sitting in this hotel that we just ducked into called 'The Ritz' using up their free internet while the nice paying guests are waiting. It's not a real Ritz but it is a friendly place.
Lots of love to all and thanks for the emails we have gotten so far...Cheers! H & M

How long to Halong (Bay)?

Whatever I told you about us stopping in Shanghai, please ignore that...uhhhhh, errrr...just happened to cross paths with tokyo instead and we are now in Singapore. In the Changi airport which pretty much kicks butt. free internet for all and bon jovi live from the hard rock cafe tv monitors. I haven't seen Hillary for a while though, i think she is still spacing out in the butterfly sanctuary that they have here IN the airport. crazy! We are discovering that there is too much to see given the time we have alotted