Adam & Ingrid's Round the World Honeymoon

Philippines--Filipiinid

2007-05-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

First of all, i have to tell everyone that Adam and i are still together. So don't worry about the fact that we haven't written anything after the fish eye incident.
But we hope you understand that it is hard to find time to sit our buts down and finish our blog.
So sorry about that but we'll try to get to it at some point.

No te võite ju arvata, et me parast fish eye varki läksime lahku ja ei jõudnutki omadega enam koju tagasi, kuid tegelt ei olnud asi nii hull. Kuigi ma olen juba toesti omadega otsapidi Eestis,voin oelda, et me käisime juba ka USAs Adami õe-Kate pulmas ja varsti on ka mu 3 nädalane reis Eestis otsas. KAS TE PANITE TÄHELE ET MUL ON NYYD (Eestis olles) KÕIK Õ Ä Ö Ü TÄHED OLEMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kuid nyyd siis prooviks ikka oma reisi kirja ka ära lõpetada, kuigi ausalt oeldes tagant jargi ei viitsikski nii väga.

Esimene peatus Filipiinides oli Cebus. Kuid parast paari tunnist ringi kondimist selgus, et seal ei ole mitte midagi teha ning me otsustasime sealt kiirelt lahkuda, et siis kaua oodatud kaunikestele randadele pleesitama minna.

Kui me bussis, teel Bantayani poole soitsime-(Cebust pohja pool asuv saar) ja ajalehte sirmisime, selgus, et paar paeva tagasi leiti Ameeriklanna surnukeha, kes seal tegi (Volunteer) vabatahtlikku tood. Lisaks sellele oli paev enne meie saabumist olnud mingi tulistamine saarel, kuhu me olime hetkel teel. Aga kuna me olime juba bussis,oli vahe hilja et uusi plaane teha.
Yhesonaga me sattusime Filipiinidesse valel ajal.
Põhjuseks oli see, et valimistest oli möödunud 4 aastat ja nüüd oli jälle aeg, kus valiti "õiged mehed" (...samad mehed, mis iganes) riiki juhtima.
Nagu iga aasta, juhtus ka seekord, et "õigete juhtide" valimise tõttu suri ligi 100 - 200 inimest, kaasa arvatud kandidaat Bantayani saarelt, kus me siis oma aega veetsime.
Esimesed 2 päeva ei tahtnud ma ka Bantayanis kauem veeta, kuna rand tundus rapakas ja enamus turistid olid kas kohalikud voi Koreakad.

Kuis pärast ringi kõndimist ja kohaga tutvumist leidsime me enda jaoks ideaalse paiga ja kahe päevane plaan saarel viibida muutus iga paevaga pikemaks.
ÖÖd veetsime bamboo onnikestes, mida omas mees Uus meremaalt. Mehe esimesed lapsed on juba 30 aastased, kuid praegune laps kohaliku filipiinoga (kes on umbes minu vanune)on umbes 6 kuune. See tundus olevat vaga loomulik samm kõikidele vanematele meestele, kes sinna parast oma karjaari on lainud elama. (bension ilusal saarel noore naisega)
See selleks.
Seal aga toimusid iga õhtused pokkeri kaardi mängud,kuhu tulid kokku kõikkide resortide ja floating (veel hõljuva)baari omanikud ning sellega läks meie elu palju põnevamaks.
Kuna loomulikult võttis ka Adam osa nende igaõhtusest pokkeri mängudest, kuulusime me nende punti kus igapaevaseks tegevuseks oli rannal voi parve baaril losutamine ja õhtuti kas pokkeri mangimine voi teleka vaatamine.
Kuigi see saar oli üks mõnusamaid paiku Philipiinidel puhkamiseks, oli see ka yks hirmsamatest kohtadest kogu reisil. Esimest korda kogu reisi jooksul oli mul hirm, et me või üks meist ei pruugi turvaliselt koju jõuda.
Relvastatud valvurid kõndisid mooda tanavaid ringi ja isegi hotellide omanikud ütlesid, et eriti see aasta ei julge nad eriti midagi öelda või teha nii kaua kui valimised on moodas.
Rannas leesitades sõitis ükspäev meist mööda mitu paati, kus kõikidel meestel olid sokid pahe tõmmatud ja näha oli vaid auke silmade ja suu kohal. Ma vajusin iga sekundiga jarjest sügavamale liiva ja vee sisse, lootes end nii maha suruda kui võimalik, juhul kui tulistamiseks laheb. Kuid õnneks hiljem selgus, et siin on see normaalne, kuna nii kaitsevad kohlikud end siin päikse eest. Aga ma ei oleks ka imestanud, kui keegi oleks samal ajal tahtnud relva paati kaasa votta et siis tulistada keda tarvis kes teab mis põhjusel.
Pärast pidevat arutamist kas on turvalisem jääda paigale voi liikuda edasi, otsustasime siiski mingi nädal hiljem edasi liikuda yhele vaiksemale saarele, kus me vaid öö veetsime.(ma vist ei vaevunud seal isegi pilti tegema)
Sealt aga laksime Boracay saarele, mis pidi olema paari paevane peatus enne hai-vaala kaladega ujumist, kuid osutus meie viimaseks peatuseks Philipiinidel, kuna me ei viitsind ega raatsind sealt enam lahkuda.
FANTAST KOHT--SOOVITAN KUUMALT!
Kuna paljud raakisid, et see on üks tobe turistidest üle küllastatud paik ja sinna ei tasu minna, otsustasime (ÕNNEKS) siiski minna ise asja uurima.

Vesi oli NII selge ja puhas, kuid pildilt ei saa oiget ettekujutustki.
Liiv oli kui valge pulber lallude all ja terve see aeg, mis seal veetsime, ei pannud ma kordagi mingeid jalatseid jalga kuna öömaja asuski rannast 10 sammu kaugusel.
Ja päikse loojangut sai ka nautida samas 10 sammu kaugusel oleval lebotamis/päiksevõtmis paigal, kus iga hommik sai mõnusat lääne (Ameeriklikku) hommikusööki nautida.(tundub võibolla tobe, et nautida ameeriklikku toitu aga samas kui sa viimased 10 kuud oled ainult riisi, riisi ja viobolla makarooni ja riisi vahel pidanud valima, siis vahvel näiteks, kõlab hirmus isuäratavalt).
Boracay oli viimasepeal koht.
ranna joon on ligi 3-4 km. pikk ja selles ulatuses pole muud kui hotellid, restoranid, baarid, poed, liiv ja vesi. Vest välja tulles on piisavalt ruumi et liival peesitada ja siis ongi kohe restokad ja hotellid.
Super ideaalne.
Paar päeva pärast ringi vedelemist, otsustasime minna rannale jalutama ja siis selgus, et Philipiinides on populaarseks saanud Adami viimatine harrastus--Ultimaat lendavataldriku mäng. Seal omad reeglid ja võistkonnad, millest ma ka nüüd siis lõpuks aru sain.
Lisaks sellele selgus, et sel nädalavahetusel oligi seal rannas mingid kõvad võistlused kuhu tulid kokku igasugu kõvad mängijad pealinnast ja ka osad inimeset üle maailma.

Adam siis tõmmati ka ühte võistkonda ja nad mängisid väga tublilt.
Eks Adam peab ise sellest rääkima, kuid nii palj võin hetkel öelda, et nad said (vist oli 14 grupist) teise koha. Ja võidust oli puudu vaid mõni punkt.
Esimese koha võitjad olid aga kohalikud ja neid ei ole 4 aasta jooksul mitte keegi suutnud üle lüüa. Samas mis siin imesada, iga vend on nii musklis, et sealt võib kõik lihased kokku lugeda aga ega nad muud ei tee seal ka ju kui sõuavad paate ja jooksevad liival. Kui need tegelased aga panna murule mängima kus tegelikult igal pool mujal maailmas mangitaks, siis jaavad nad aga hätta.
Yhesõnaga vahva oli ja mängitud (õigemini minu puhul vaadatud) sai. Ah ma ei viitsi joosta aga seal muud ju polegi, seda enam et veel kuuma päikse all ja pehmel liival.
Mina aga veetsin oma päevakesed rannal lebotades, raamatud lugedes ja ujudes.
Tegelt tegin midagi asjalikku ka.
Ma lõpetasin oma aasta tagasi alustatud allvee sukeldumise kursuse ära ja nüüd siis oman paberit, mis lubab mul ka sukelduma minna.

Yeaaah!
Praegult ei viitsigi rohkem, ehk aitab ja kui on veel miskit lisada eks siis teen seda hiljem.
Palm tree pic href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_enKMtIwgSVA/RlBotIQeFrI/AAAAAAAAAv4/uLq4COzaN5s/s1600-h/IMG_1708.JPG">
Palm tfree pic.

Kohtume pea!

Mulle tulevikus meeldetuletuseks jalle moned faktid:
Pealinn--Manila
$1.- = 47.- peso
keeled:filipino(tagalog) ja inglise
inimeste arv 86.2 mil
hooajad: kuiv(okt-mai), marg(juuni-sep)
majutus: $10-20
toit:$3 ja yles (vorreldes teiste aasia riikidega, kovasti kallim)

FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-05-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, Adam wants to be funny or WHAT E-V-E-R with his fish eye lens picture. Or maybe its just his trick to get me write something in English (and with that embarrass (an english speaking girl next to me told me how to spell that one :) ) me even more since i still can't write proper English. LIKE POSTING THE MOST HIDEOUS PICTURE WAS NOT ENOUGH!) That might be so, but at least i know enough to get my thoughts across. And what i want to say is this........

......ok, ok, i won't say that because I'm not as M-E-A-N as my dear husband is by posting THE FISH EYE PICTURE!!!- If you didn't get it yet, the letters are big because I'm yelling.
But i will let you know what Adam has been up to and why he always posts he's stuff later than I(i do, me, mine---what ever, you know what i mean).
Well the thing is that his really busy you know!

I actually even feel sorry for him.

So there's some picts of what he has been up to.

He didn't waste any time you know. As soon as we started our trip from Africa, he started with that difficult activity
ouh, there he is again
Ok, it's actually not that bad, he really does other things too you know.
There.

I'm done for now.
Thanks for reading. :) ---I feel so much better.

Singapore - Did I mention it's Hot?

2007-04-24T04:18:00.000-07:00

First things first. All those great photos in Ingrid's post, like the one shown here - Mine. She totally snuck em off my card when I was drinking. Shameless, Shame...

Anyway, I'm over it. It's not like I'd stoop to the childish level of trying to get you back or anything.

Right folks, so just like the city/state itself, this post is going to be Clean, Small, and Diverse. (wait, no, that's far to logical for this blog)

Ah hem, let's try this again....

Right folks, so just like the city/state itself, this post is going to be Clean, Small, and Fisheye. (better)

Singapore is freakin' Hot! Stupid, Sweat while standing in the shade hot. I couldn't believe the temps and word on the street is the weather is pretty much the same 24/7/365x4+1 (I made that up myself(Not the temp bit, the math(To account for the leap year and all (I've been in the sun for a long time)))). I felt like the Jack Russell Terrier I met in Namibia all over again. I mean, the place is so hot even their sculpture knows the deal!

Once you get past the heat, Singapore is a great city to live in and not too bad to visit either, less of course you're on a budget. $18 for a Pint of Guiness catches up with you real fast.

Sadly, it doesn't make for very interesting blogging cause you can't photograph the "No Chewing Gum" signs at Customs, cause they're right next to the "No Photos" sign and the heavily armed guards.

What makes the city great is that it's like the last 6 months of our trip all rolled into the same joint (and NO that's not a drug referrence). Their "little India" is just like the real India, less people deficating in the street. "Arab Street" serves up sick Hummous over Turkish Coffee while you puff a Hookah. "Chinatown", well, anyone can do Chinatown but you know a country with over a Million Chinese can do it Right. Then there's the "Colonial Quarter" with the Raffles Hotel - home of the Singapore Sling - and all sorts of tribute to the "I'll bring you religion and disease in exchange for your backbreaking labor and raw materials" scam - God Bless those crazy Europeans.

See, Inx is standing in the Financial district with her left foot in Chinatown and her right foot in Little India. Told you it was small.

In a great example of Irony, one of the classiest, most Cosmopolitan cities on the Planet have opted to make this their national monument.

Can you guess what it's called?
Anyone? Anyone?
Bueller? Bueller?

It's a Merlion.....

1

2

3

Keep thinking....

4

5

6

Got it Yet?

7

8

9

Mermaid + Lion = Merlion! Tah-Dah!

I don't know what's worse, that they pasted all over their currency, constructed far too many Merlions on the Island, or that this is the "official" one!

To me it looks more akin to a tribute to Collegiate Binge drinking than Relentless Pursuit of Mechantile Excellence.

Whatever.

But like I said in the opening.

Singapore is

Clean

That's a Public Bathroom

Small

That's Singapore behind me. Just kidding, it's the Southern most point of continental Asia says the Singaporean Signage.

and Fisheye!!!

Steal my photos will ya! That's what you get for leaving me alone with the computer while you watch Pride and Prejudice - Again!

(I'm SO Toast for posting this)

BALI-Indoneesia

2007-04-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

Esimeseks peatuseks Indoneesias valisime Bali, kuna see oli ligi 28 a. tagasi(kui Adami isa 3 aastat mooda ilma randas) yks ta lemmik kohti maailmas.
Reisil oleme tutvunud paljudega kes vaidavad, et iga aastaga muutuvad koik toredad riigid jarjest rohkem turistilikuks ja sellega on palju riigi volu ja omapara lainud kaotsi. Yhed rootslased kurtsid, et kuna nende rahvas reisib nii palju, siis paljud riigid nagu Tai ja Indoneesia yritavad nende elu teha vaga mugavaks ja koduseks mangides restoranides nende muusikat ja pakkudes rootsi rahvustoite. See on kyll vahel tore ja mugav, kuid samas kaob sellega ka reisi mote, et kylastada uut kultuuri ja kogeda nendele omaparaseid asju.
Yks Australanna raakis, et on ka viimased 10 a. Balil elanud, kuid nyyd vist peab kolima Lombakisse (Balist 5 h. praami voi 30 min lennu reis)kuna Bali ei ole enam see mis ta kunagi oli. Mis parata, mida rohkem need "tobedad turistid" (onneks ma ise ei tea yhtegi) oma toredatest seiklustest raagivad, seda rohkem nad meelitavad ligi jargmisi turiste.
Balit tasub aga kylastada nendel, kes paeval tahavad surfata ja shoppata ja ohtul baarides mollata--ja seda koike vaga odavalt. Kahese toa koos isikliku vannitoa(loomulikult kylma veega) ja hommikusoogiga (banaani pannkook tee voi kohviga)maksab umbes $4.-. Toidud maksavad ligi $1-$2.- ja varsket mahla saab ka kas -.50 sendi voi 1 doltsi eest. Ja mis paljude jaoks koige olulisem, Vaike Bintang (kohalik olu)on nats alla doltsi ja suur Bintang mingi $1.5 . (Siin kasutatakse Rupiah't mis on $1.- = 9500.-)
Kes soovib aga vaheldust surfamisest ja pidutsemisest, siis neil on voimalik kylastada pohja pool asuvat Ubud linna. Panen ohtrasti ahvi pilte, kuna need on alati nii toredad.
Seal saab minna metsa/parki ahvikestega naljatamakas pole mitte age karvase vanamehe nagu?(kuid vaata ette, kui sa neile juba midagi annad, siis on nad nous isegi sind jalust(voi oigemini) pyksist maha tombama)et veel lisa saada. Ohtul on voimalik vaadata vaga omaparast ja toredat kohalike esitust,
kus mitme kyla mehed on kokku tulnud, et paljaste ylakehade, liigutuste ja haalitsustega ning mone muu peategelasega valjendada mingit jutukest.
Ja kui mere vesi peaks liiga kylmaks jaama, siis on alati voimalik end looduslikus kuumavee allikas soojendada.
Kuid kui te rannatada tahate, siis selleks peate kyll kuhugi teisele saarele minema nagu naiteks Gili saartele Lombaki kylje all.(nagu mainisin, on lained Bali saarel ideaalsed ainult surfamiseks.) Gili tegelt tahendabki saart, kuid kui juttu tuleb Gili saartest, siis koik teavad millise 3 saarega on tegemist.
Meie peatusime moneks paevaks koige suuremal Gili saarel. Ma kyll kella ei vaadanud, kuid arvan et meil vottis mingi kova tund voi maksimaalselt 2h. et sellele ring peale teha.
See on nyyd kyll koht, kuhu ma soovitaks minna nendel, kes tahavad loogastuda ja ennast nautida. Meie paevad seal nagid valja umbes sellised: Hommikul arkad yles ja kohe tuuakse sulle banaani pannakas (Tundub et see on ainus hommikusook, mida igas Indoneesia hotellis pakutakse) ja tee voi kohvi. Parast seda jalutad kas 20 sammu voi 200 sammu randa(olenevalt kus sa oobid) kus siis suurte kilpkonnade (sama kilpkonn, ainult et mere vees ja umbes 1000 X suurem )ja igasugu kalakestega snorgeldada (vahel ka 2m. ussiga, kuid see mulle eriti ei meeldinud, kuna loomulikult saarel arsti abi ei ole. Kuid kui see musta valge triibuline uss sind peaks hammustama, siis on sul 30 min jooksul arsti abi vaja, et sa ara ei sureks. Mina ei tea--ussid vees lihtsalt ei ole minu meelest oige asi.Need raiped suudavad niigi kiirelt yle igasugu kivide ja kandude liikuda. Kujuta siis ette kui kiirelt nad siis vees suudavad liuelda?!).
Parast sorgeldamist(ok, ok,--snorgeldamist, kuid minu meelest sorgeldamine kolab palju paremini ja on kovasti Eesti parasem) peab jalle randa sotkuma, et seal siis lounat syya.(emme, toidu pildid panin sinu jaoks yles, kuna kysisid mida me siin soome) Parast jou kogumist ja paikse kaes soojendamist on jalle voimalus vette minna, et siis $1.50 eest renditud sorkeldamis varustust ikka iga kopika eest kasutada. Ohtut void minna sooma vaiksesse putkakesse, mis asub iseenesestki moistetavalt kohe vee aares ja niikaua kui sa einestad oma patjade vahel, void enda valitud filme vaadata. Parast seda veedad nats aega mingis kohalikus baaris ja siis ongi aeg jalle end koju lohistada et jalle jargmiseks paevaks joudu koguda.
Moned asjad, mis koikjal aasja riikides silma jaavad.
Koikide kasside sabad on kronksu keeratud voi yldse puuduvad.
Ei, ma ei ole mingeid pildi trikke teinud. Yks teadis raakida, et see ei ole mitte karmide laste poolt ara kronksutatud, vaid see on neil geenides ja sellega kaasneb isegi muinasjutt. Kunagi olevat kas kuninganna voi printsess voi keegi taoline pannud oma sormused kassi saba otsa enne vanni minekut. Kuid rumal kass oli need sealt otsast ara kaotanud. Sellest paevast saadik on koik kassid syndinud koverate sabadega, et siis selline jube lugu ei korduks. Minu meelest paris ponev lugu.?
Sellel vaesekesel oli nii habi, et ei tahtnud oma nagu kaamera ees naidata.
Teine asi mida siin koikjal naeb, meenutab mu lapsepolve Estis.
Naised sobravad yksteise juustes ajades taisid taga. Parast esimest korda kui seda Vietnamis markasin, yritasin tode valtida ja ytlesin endale, et see naisterahvas arvatavasti tahab lihtsalt monest hallist juuksekarvast lahti saada. Ega sa siis mone karva parast kogu pead varmima hakka. See petu mote ei kestnud aga kaua, kuna seda tegid nii noored kui vanad, naised ja lapsed iga voimaliku nurga peal. (kas sul hakkas selle jutu peale pea sygelema-? Mul kyll neid vaadates hakkas)
No ise teate kuidas see vark kaib. Ma ei tahtnud kedagi piinlikku olukorda panna, et pilti teha ja nii siis seebitasin yhe ahvi nousse, et see mulle pildi tegemiseks Adami peal demonstreeriks

Tegelt oli meil plaanis kylastada ka teisi vaiksemaid Gili saari, kuid siis tuli mote, et laheks siiski ja vaataks oma silmaga ara millised need ainsad draakonid maailmas valja naevad.
Kahjuks need draakonid ei paasta printsesse ja tuld nad ka ei puhu, kuid huvitavad ja suured on nad siiski.
Oma 50 eluaasta jooksul saavad nad ainult yhe poja ja selle ellujaamis voimalused on ka nadid. Kuna nad ise soovad yksteise mune ja poegi, on nad vahemalt nii palju targad, et proovivad oma mune kaitsta sellega, et kaevavad yhte kohta umbes 10 erinevat auku, et siis muna leidmist vaenlasele raskemaks teha. Kui pisi draakonid siis mingi 10 kuud hiljem mulla alt valja ronivad, kimavad nad kohe puu otsa, et end nii kaua kaitsta kui suureks kasvavad.Ma unustasin kysida, kui suur see draakon siis tavaliselt on kui ta teisi sooma hakkab, kuna pisemad draakonid (kuni 2 m. pikad magavad ikkagi veel puu otsas, kus suuremad (suurim draakon oli vist nats alla 4m. pikk, magavad puu all.
Soomiseks on neil 2 viisi. Energilised ryndavad oma toitu tappes need kohe ja alustades soomist kohust. Laisemad piirduvad aga hammustamisega, teades et umbes 3 paeva jooksul on nende roog otsad andnud ja siis voib seda rahulikult jarama hakata. Draakonite syljes pidi olema mingi 60 erinevat bakterit ja kui su organism suudab voidelda naiteks 59 bakteri vastu, siis yks tapab su ikkagi ara.VOT! Nii et ma jatsin draakoni seekord musitamata. See mutt eputas oma pikkade kyyntega, kuid onneks oli mulgi naidata yht teist(ma pole nii ammu masaase teinud, et mul ka nyyd pikad kyysed--nii age!!!! :) )
Draakoneid laksime kylastama 9 liikmelise grypi ja laeva reisiga, mis kestis 4 paeva. Elu paadil oli vahva. Kolmandaks paevaks olin pideva koikumisega ara harjunud ja parast maale astudes koikkusin ikka veel edasi. Isegi istumine ei aidanud koikkumise vastu.
Ood veetsime ka paadis, kus magasime koik koos nagu nunnukesed yksteise korval madratsitel. Ja ainus pesemis voimalus parast snorkeldamist soolases mere vees oli ----ahm---mere vesi.(te ei kujuta ette kui monus oli parast 4 paeva minna varske dussi alla. Isegi Nepali 12 paeva Himaalajas turnimine pesemata ei olnud nii hull. Kuid samas oli ka kahel riigil loomulikult temperatuuril vaike vahe sees. Yks oli kovasti miinus kraadides ja teine kovades plussides).

Enne paadile minemist osteti igast toidu kraami kokku, et siis oleks millest 4 paeva elada.
Kui lahemalt vaatate, peaks olema naha (2 kana kotis), et nad plaanisid meile varsket toittu pakkuda.
Esimesel ohtul aga selgus, et yks neist on haige ja see visati yle parda. Teisel paeval selgus, et peame ilma lihata 4 paeva yle elama, kuna ka teine oli millegi parast otsad andnud. Ma ei tea, ma ei ole kyll mingi asjatundja, kuid ehk kanadele ei meeldinud ka koikkuv paadi soit. Eriti kui enne seda pidid nad mingi 4 h. auto ees tuule kaes vingerdama. Ma ei tea?
Paris riisi peal me ka ei tahtnud elada, nii siis votsid poisid asja (oigemini yks Hollandi kutt ja minu mees) enda katte ja laksid oda-pyssiga kala pyydma. No voite 3 X arvata kes siis meile ohtusoogi kinni pyydis--no loomulikult minu mees. Ega temaga ei jaa ka merepeal nalga---eks ma selle parast taga abiellusingi! ;)
Ohtuks oli meie paadi meeskond valmistanud imelise roa Adami pyytud cuttlefishist. Ma ei tea mis selle eesti keelne nimi voiks olla, kuid selle website infol on see mingi molluski tyyp.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuttlefish

Reisi ajal selgus, et kuna me nii kui nii Flores'i saarel oma paadi reisi lopetame, et siis peaks ka minema sukelduma Manta Reidega
http://www.oceanlight.com/html/manta_birostris.html
siin moned pildid ja enam infot, kuna loomulikult ei ole meil siiani veealust fotokat.http://www.oceanlight.com/html/manta_birostris.html
Parast lennuki piletite vahetamist jargmiseks paevaks ronisime jalle paati ja asusime paari tunnisele teele, et siis nende lahmakate elukatega vees supelda.
Parast juhi kasklust peatada paat ja panna ruttu oma snorkeldamise asjad jalga/pahe, ruttasin ma paadi serva, et naha seda ja kaht selle sopra.
Ma olen kyll oma elus varem nainud sting reisid, kuid need siin olid kirjeldamatult suured. Ok, ok, mitte kirjeldamatult--- need olid umbes 1,5-5 meetrised, kuid nii suurte elukatega polnud ma varem oma elus yhes vees pidanud ujuma. Kuigi mul olid asjad seljas, ei suutnud ma vabatahtlikult end vette tougata. Kuid meie juht ei tahtnud, et ma head momenti maha magaks ja enne kui ma joudsin midagi muud oelda voi moeldagi, lykkas see mind vette. Mul vottis moni hetk aega, et nendega ara harjuda, natsa aja parast hakkasin ma koos nendega ringi holjuma ja neile lahemale sukelduma. Yhel korral sattusin ma mingi pere voi soprade rei seltskonda. Kokku lugesin 9 reid. Koige vaiksem oli mingi minu pikkune ja suurim tundus oelvat umbes 5 meetrine.(kuijutasin ette, et kui mitu mind mahuks selle peale pikkupidi lamama) Onneks neid karta pole vaja, kuna nad ei soo isegi kalu, kuid neid valja vihastada ikkagi ei tahaks, kuna nende suurus ja mass voiks mind siiski vabalt ara havitada. Taiesti fantast elamus oli vaadata neid suuri mustvalgeid vee elukaid ringi lendamas. Voimsad, kuid vaga elegantsed.
Floresist lendasime Java saarele, et sealset kuulsat Borobudur templit kylastada.
Mis selle kohta ikka muud oelda kui et see on jarjekordne kuulus budhismi tempel, mis oli uuesti avastatud aastal 1814.

Iga kellukese (504 kellukest) sees on yks istuv buddha.
Yogyakartast (kohalikud kutsuvad seda lihtsalt Yogyaks) votsime oise rongi Indoneesia pealinna --Jakartasse, kuid sellest soovitan kyll koigil eemale hoida. Kui hakkasime linnale lahenema, tundus, et oleme tagasi Indias. Rampsu ja paska on koik kohad ja tee aarsed tais. Inimesed elavad solgis ja yksteise hunnikus. KOhalikud reisivad rongist valja rippudes voi siis istuvad rongi katusel kui sees kohti ei jatku. Ja enne kui me joudsime rongist maha tulla voi enne kui rong yldse peatuski, hyppasid uued reisid peale, et siis istekohti saada nii kui me oma tagumikke kergitame. Tapselt nagu Indias.
Linn tundus ka olevat jumalast mottetu ja kuigi seal olid kyll moned vanad Hollandi hooned veel sailinud, olid nee koik nii raamas ja hooleta jaatud. Algul kui linna joudsime, roomustasin ma et jumal tanatud et paike on pilve taga, kuna palavus tapab. Kui aga mingi poole tunni jooksul hakkasid meie silmad kipitama, joudis mulle kohale, et tegemist ei ole loomulikult mitte pilves ilmaga, vaid reostatud ohuga, mis kui suur pilv yle linna holjub. (jalle--nagu Indias. Seal olles soovitaksin ma hinge ja silmi kinni hoida).
Eelnevalt mainitu tottu otsutasime varakumalt Indoneesiast lahkuda ja asusime teele lennujaama poole et sealt Philipiinidesse lennata.

Singapura

2007-04-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

Ega siin pikalt polegi miskit raakida. Ilus suur linn voi nii see vahemalt tundub. Kuid tegelikult on siiski tegemist riigiga.

Enne riiki sisenemist hoiatatakse sind valede kaitumiste ja nende tagajargede eest. Naiteks nagu surma nuhtlus narkotsiga tegelemisel jne. Plus siis veel sellised tyhiasjad nagu reostamine ja suitsetamine teatud kohtades. Ja see et riiki sisenedes voi riigis olles natsu ei tohi tarbida on iseenestki moistetav.
Siit ka selgitus miks iga hoone ja tanav naeb valja nagu see koridor siin.

Kuid riik on tegelt SUPER! Mul ei oleks selle vastu mitte kui midagi, kui me sinna kunagi paariks aastaks Adamiga ta too tottu peaks elama minema.

Esiteks on temperatuur siin alati yhtlaselt soe. Vahel jahedam vahel palavam, kuid pohimotteliselt sama soe kogu aeg. (Jana ma arvan, et sulle meeldiks ka siin elada--hakkame plaane pidama!) Teiseks voib siit jarjekordselt leida igasugu erinevaid linna osasid, mis tahendab lopmatult maitsvaid toite. Shopamist on siin igas hinnas ja igale maitsele ning baarid ja restoranid on yks agedam kui teine. Lisaks sellele void sa rahulikult iga nadalavahetus kuhugi reisida naiteks nagu Taisse voi Vietnami voi Balisse voi kuhu iganes, kuna Air Asiaga ei maksa lennu piletid praktiliselt mitte midagi. Lisaks sellele tundub, et kohalikud valismaalased (naiteks nagu osad Ari kooli opilased kellega tutvusime)korraldavad siin pidevalt kovasid privaat pidusid ja tegemist ei ole mitte 18 aastatega vaid 25-38 aastastega, kes on juba oma elu jarjepeal ning yhesonaga mis siin ikka raakida-age vark!
Ykspaev linnapeal ringi jalutades juhtusime mooda kondima noorte vabaohu yrituselt, kus oli rapi, brake tantsu, laulu ja muu voistlus. ja samal ajal oli korval plats kus noored said rataste ja ruladega trikke teha ning kuntsti huvilistel oli voimalik spets seintele oma Graffiti (spray paint) oskusi meisterdada. Seina aares on ka tasuta valge varv, et siis kui seinad tais, saavad uued tulijad enne enda oskuste valjendamist seina valgega ara varvida. Samas oli ka yrituse tottu avatud vaike putka, kus opetati ja raagiti erinevate narkootikumide teemadel. Kift oli naha kuidas suur grupp noori oma limpsi pudelite, rulade ja rataste korvalt voistlejatele erksalt kaasa elasid. Nii larmakad nad muidugi ei olnud kui meie ja yks Inglise paar, kes meie korval kaasa erksalt karjusid.

Malaysia - We're both stumped for cleaverer names here

2007-04-07T01:07:00.000-07:00

Right, so, we left Southern Thailand (apparently there are some separatist activities taking place there said the military checkpoints) and traveled overland to the Northeast corner of Malaysia and a little slice of heaven known as the Perhentian Islands. (Or so the Malay would have you believe....*)

This would be home to the famed "attack coconuts" who's shooting star status was achieved through early work performed on this very same website!

* Not a lot to do on these Islands except (A) Chase the 2M long Monitor Lizards (B) Get chased by the 2M long Monitor Lizards (C) Live in constant fear of the 2M long Monitor Lizards. Course NO ONE tells you about the monitor lizards until you arrive - then they're like "Surprize! you'll be sharing a room with the cast of Jurassic Park."

These things are incredibly fast considering their body-to-leg length ratio. It's like an armoured Daschund with fangs coming at you at 100 miles-per-hour. It'll get the fair to stand on the back of your neck.

We spent a few nights on these islands and saved a little cash by tenting on the beach. Good times, but please ask us about tenting in the active construction zone when we return - it's a hoot.

From the Perhentians, we traversed peninsular Malaysia to arrive at the island of Penang - The once home of the mighty East India Trading Company (Yeah Pirates of the Carribean bad guys; Carribean, Southeast Asia, they're practically neighbors. Besides, EIT was a Global Company. - I digress)

Penang (home to Penang Curry - yeah dat's right) is a culinary delight. Thanks to the street hawkers you can enjoy food from across the globe (or at least across Asia) from the comfort of your front stoop (For those tuning in from Europe - a "stoop" as Adam calls it is the front steps and/or step of a home, often used by American's for staring at the neighbors or general lounging about).

The other major activity in Penang is wandering around and looking at what once was. Unlike other previously Western enclaves that became shining stars of Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, etc.) Penang was absorbed back into the Asian world where is acquired modern facilities such as open sewers, negligent trash collection, and Splinteresk rats.** In Short, it's a profanity-hole. Oo-Oo, imagine London in a post-apocolypic world where green octopus-like aliens have unleashed Nuclear devices on mankind and the last remaining humans survive in the remnants of the London Underground where they hatch plans to repopulate the planet and expunge the alien threat. Now remove the London Underground and the hatching of plans and you've got it (the growth in the open sewers justifys keeping the aliens)

One things I'll give to the people of Penang is that they sure know how to throw a party. Ingrid and I came across a barricaded street where hundreds of people were congregating while preparing to jump into this feast!

And they called in an Entire Truck full of flowers to decorate

And then we noticed the Ghostbuster Limo and realized it was a Funeral. Correction - one things I'll give to the people of Penang is that they sure know how to throw a funeral. When I go out, I want 6 roast pigs, 20 Kegs of Microbrew (I added that touch) and a truck full of flowers to go with me!

To attone for photographing a funeral (if you look closely at the Pig photo you'll notice I stood alone in the center of the street while EVERYONE looked at me and I still didn't realize what was happening) I let this guy loose on my dome and he freed me from my keratin burdon.

We rented a motorbike for like the 27th time and cruised around the less than arrow-straight roads.

We visited a tropical fruit farm and learned the origins of most of the flavors of freezy pops. In case you were wondering, the people of Malaysia have created a Decorative Pineapple that holds no nutritional value but sure looks nice.

That's it.

They also offer a drink straight out of Harry Potter.

Leaving the island of Penang behind, we headed inland to the Cameroon Highlands, a distant outpost of the Former British Empire. What interest would the Union Jack have with the interior of Malaysia you might ask? Cause that's where their Bloody Tea comes from I would answer.

That, my friends, is a tea plantation. Quite possibly the prettiest form of agriculture on the face of the earth. Now we're all entitled to our personal opinions, and it's okay for yours to be wrong, but tea plantations are nicer than cornfields, vineyards, and strawberry fields, forever.

Besides, you can also act all hoity-toity and pretend you can identify the "colours" and "intricacies" of the tea - Just like the British!

The Cameroon Highlands are also noted for their Biodiversty. Located amongst the oldest rainforest in the World (don't worry Americans, the Malaysians are quickly destroying their rainforest in the name of Palm Oil production so we'll be able to reclaim the title soon - assuming we have a rainforest - and that if we do we should, by all accounts, deserve the oldest in the world ([quietly chanting]USA, USA, USA))
Anyway, back to the Biodiversity. CH has a stupid amount of butterfiles and the largest Moth in the World!
Hello Clarice!!!

There's also what I like to call the Tricere beatle. (Jack, tell Mommy you want a "longicorn - Chlorophorus annularis Fabricius" for your next Birthday)

Geckos - But these ones Don't try to sell you Car Insurance the way the ones in the States ALWAYS do.

And Leaf Bugs. That's a bug there. No, Really. I'm serious. A bug. Don't Believe me? Learn Estonian and read Ingrid's post for proof cause you ALWAYS believe her, don't you?

From the Highlands we returned to the Lowlands and more specifically, Kuala Lumpur.

Yeah Petronas Towers! For me, and my engineering geek self, getting prepared to see the two tallest towers in the world (Taipei 101 doesn't count cause I haven't seen it yet - Picked up this technique from an ostrich in Africa and it works wonders!) was like getting to see the Taj Mahal. I was really excited the night before and looking at them from all over town never lost its novelty.

On the outskirts of town we visited the Batu Caves where devote Hindu's congregate annually for The Thaipusam festival. That's the celebration for the son of Shiva (Subramaniam) and the becoming "one" of Pusan and the Brihaspati stars - Duh!

Every year, on Thaipusam, as many as 800,000 devotees and other visitors may throng the caves. As a form of penance or sacrifice, many of them carry kavadis (literally, "burden"). These are large, brightly decorated frameworks, usually combined with various metal hooks and skewers which are used to pierce the skin, cheeks and tongue that they carry up the 272 steps to the temple.

Just in case you missed that...

(Photo not taken by Adam - Like I'd Mooch someone else's photo)
By doing this penance they expect some favours from their Gods. That's right, they essentially blackmail their Gods! Hey, Shiva, how bout a little good fortune this year? Do I have to remind you that I stuck a fish hook through my cheak for you last March? Do I? And Ganesh, those weren't earrings baby, how's about a few more customers?

And Yeah, 272 steps, That's a great idea. What's with people putting temples at the tops of staircases? Gods can fly, you can't. At ground level, they can fly down to visit, no need to climb all those stairs man. You're better than that.

We also had the distinct pleasure of visiting the Sepang International F1 Circuit in Kuala Lumpur during preparation for the April 8th F1 race! That's Kimi Raïkkönen "The Flying Finn" piloting Schumacher's old Ferarri!

Jack, if Mommy won't let you have the longicorn - Chlorophorus annularis Fabricius, tell her you want a Ferarri. You'll have Daddies support on that one.

** Splinter - the human sized Biped rat sen-sei from The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 2-points to anyone who didn't need the footnote for that.

Malaysia

2007-03-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

Jepidiiiiiiiiii!
Lopuks ometi sain ma ka kuhugi riiki sisse ilma et mul oleks pidanud eelnevalt viisa olema. Ja mis veelgi toredam,see oli taiesti tasuta!
Malaysiasse joudes kimasime kohe Perhentian Saarte poole, mis pidid olema vorratud, kuid kahjuks mulle nad nii palju muljet ei avaldanud kui Tai omad.
Kui ideaalse ranna moodustavad Vesi(selle selgisus), lained, liiv, vaade paikse loojangule ja rahva rohkus, siis molemal saarel oli miskit puudu voi miskit yle.
Hea et nahtud, kuid tagasi ei laheks.
Kyll oli aga tore vaadata tousu ja moona, kus ohtul loksus vesi baari voi restorani, kuid hommikul pidid vaesed paadi mehed kovasti vaeva nagema, et paate veeni lykata.
Ainus pohjus miks ma soovitaks sellele saarele minna on see, et seal on tohutult sisalikke(kuigi usun, et eks neidki leiab mujalt). Tegemist ei ole aga mitte mingi pisikese siblijaga kellel sa void kogemata saba ara otsast astuda. Need sellid on ikka mingi ligi meeter voi 1,5 m. pikad ja ega nendele niisama naljalt ligi ei lahe, raakimata peale astumisest.Pildilt ei saa kahjuks oiget ettekujutust , kuid voin oelda et need on paris agedad ja suured elukad.

Siin onnestus mul ka esimest korda snorkeldada suurte kilpkonnadega ,kuid ma olen paris kindel et mujal maailmas on 100 X paremad kohad selleks, kus vee labipaistvus on kovasti parem ja snorkeldamine seetottu palju nauditavam.
Parast paari paeva saartel, kimasime ida kaldast teisele poole rannikut ja kylastasime Penang saart.
Adamile meeldis seal vaga. See oli kunagi Inglaste kaubavahetus paik Aasias ja seetottu on seal siiani igasugu ilusaid, erinevaid ja huvitavaid hooneid ja palju erinevaid rahvuseid. Nii et kui sul on soov India, Hiina voi mis iganes toiduks--siis koik on kergelt katte saadav.
Saare keskel on aga ilus loodus ja maestik ja kallastel piisavalt randu, kuid need on enamuses hoivatud hotellide poolt.
Minu jaoks oli aga koige huvitavam elamus Penangi saarel puuvilja kasvandus.
Seal sai nahtud kust ja kuidas enamus viljad kasvavad ja millised nad valja naevad. Mirakle fruit--Ime vili!Parast mille soomist void ykspuha mis jalkuse endale suhu panna ja ikka on koigel magus maitse.
Ja minu yks hilisemaid lemmikuid---Draakoni vili!
Esimest korda nagin ja maitsesin seda Bangkoki lennujaamas ja imestasin et ma polnud kunagi sellist, arbuusi moodi kiivi maitsega voi vastupidi, vilja oma elus nainud.Nyyd aga oppisin, et see valjast poolt roosa ja seest valge ning mustade seemetega (nagu kiivigi) vili on vaid 6 aastat vana ja aretatud Tailase poolt kes igasugu kaktuse aretamisel sellise vilja lopuks meisterdas.
Igati ilus ja huvitav asi minu meelest.

Parast ringkaiku oli meil voimalik syya koiki nahtuid vilju nii palju kui syda lustis.
Ok, mul pilti kyll ei ole, kuid aukas! Malaysias on maailma parimad ja mugavamad bussid. Enamus neist on 3 istmega(mitte 2+2 istet korvuti)VIP bussid, kus void rahulikult lasta tooli peaaegu et lamavasse asendisse ja millel on ka lisaks jalatugi. VIIIIimasepeal mugavad!
Votsime siis jalle sellise bussi ja soitsime Malaysia keskele puuvilja ja tee istandustesse.
Jarjekordselt soovitan liiklusvahendiks mootorratast, et siis ei pea mingi turismi bussiga liikuma nende ajakava jargi, vaid lahed kuhu tahad, millal tahad ja kui kauaks tahad.(mul on karvane tunne, et ma pean ka endale tulevikus motika muretsema. Vietnamist sain maitse suhu ja nyyd ei sa enam syda rahu vaid pidevalt kutsub motika poole)
Kuna me olime korgemal magedes, oli ka temperatuur kovasti jahedam ja vihma jatkus ka igaks paevaks. Onneks on meil Adamiga aga head vihma kindlad ylikonnad ja meil ei jaanud ykski tegevus tegemata.
Kui me aga yhest tee istandusest teise kimasime et erinevaid teid maitstajuhtus meil umbes 15km kaugusel kodust selline nali et avastasime korgel mae otsas, et meil on tagumine kumm taitsa tyhi. Kuigi istandus oli juba suletud, onnestus meil laenata koju minevalt tooliselt pumppa. Sellest jatkus aga umbes nii 40 sekundiks ja siis oli jalle kumm vastu maad.
Et ratast paris ara ei lohuks, hakkasin ma Adami korval sorkima(jooksma, mul ei ole o, a ja o tahti-no ise saate aru ju). Noh lopuks ometi avanes mul meie reisil ka pohjus haaletamiseks. Seda ju polnudki veel kogenud. Hea vark aga et valisime Mala ysia selleks riigiks, kuna inimesed siin on fantast sobralikud ja head. Mujal naaber riikides oleks kes teab mis juhtunud voi oleks vahemalt pidanud iga liigutuse eet tasuma. Siin aga vottis mind peale yks kohalik, kes siis mind autos umbes 15-20 min. kaugusele soidutas ratta parandusse, kui vaene Adam aegluubis vihma kaes meie taga katkise rattaga pudistas.
See ei olnud aga ainus kord kui me sobralike Malaisialastega kohtusime. Kord kui kysisime Kuala Lumpuris-Malaysia pealinnas abi , et leida Indoneesia saatkonda, viidi meid autoga peaaegu et ukse ette.
Samal paeval kui me bussi peatuses kaardi abil yritasime otsustada mis bussiga ja kuhu, tuli yks kohalik advokaat meile bussi uksele vastu ja kysis kuhu me tahame minna. Sealt kutsus ta meid bussi, maksis meie eest bussi piletid ja tuli meiega meie peatuses maha, et siis naidata meile oiget teed ja tagatipuks andis meile veel oma mobla # ju hul kui me ara eksime. Et ta tootavat siin lahedal ja ta voib meid iga kell aidata kui t arvis.
No ausona, on ikka vahe vahel naaber riikidel. Ma juba raakisin Tai inimestest ja ma ei hakka seda enam kordama.
Cameron highlandis-(kus need istandused olid) kylastasime ka maasika istanudstja liblika farmivaata kas leiad yles lehtkonna ja lehtputuka?
Petronas Twin Towers(452 m.) http://travel.asianfanatics.net/info/PetronasTwinTowers on nyyd ka oma silmaga ara nahtud. Maailma korgeimad kaksik tornid, kus all on suur symfoonia kontserdi hoone ja yleval mitmekordne kaubakeskus ning muud ari pinnad

Suur tempel
Kui juba laks vaatamisvaarsuste kylastamiseks, pidime ka ara kaima Batu Cave(koopas).
Ega koik sinna ei kipugi, kuna enne kohale joudmist tuleb ikka vaeva ka naha ja trampida ules makke mingi 272 treppi voi midagi taolist.
Enne Malaysiast lahkumist onnestus meil ka vaadata F1 proovi soite, mis osutus ootamatult arevaks elamuseks.
Kuna ma ei oska (vist ei saagi) video klippe bloggile panna, siis tuleb huvilistel oodata kuni ma fotokaga isiklikult kohale jouan, et siis saaks mingit ettekujutust kui larmakad need soidukid on.

Reisi plaani muudatused

2007-03-30T21:22:00.000-07:00

Nyyd siis oleks sobilik aeg anda lugejatele teada, et meie reisi kavas on tekkinud palju muudatusi.
Abiellumisel Adamiga sain ma rohelise kaardi, mis andis mulle koiksugu oigused USAs, kuid kuna ma ei ole siiski kodanik, pean ma riigile oma truudust toestama sellega, et ma ei ole riigist eemal rohkem kui 6 kuud korraga.
Enne kui lahkusime pani meie advokaat sisse palve selle pikendamiseks. Reisi ajal selgus, et onneks sain ma loa olla 6 kuu asemel aasta USAst eemal, kuid kahjuks ei hakanud see kehtima paevast mil lahkusime vaid sellest paevast kui ma sain rohelise kaardi. 16 Mai.Vahet muidugi pole kas ma veedan USAs yhe tunni voi aasta, kuid templi pean ma passi saama, et ei tuleks pahandusi.
Algune plaan oli kyll parast seda jatkata reisi kust jaime poolele, hetkel arvates Louna Ameerikast, kuid siis teatas Adami noorem ode et kavatseb teha Juunis pulmad.
Sellega siis kukkus meie Louna Ameerika reisi plaan valja, kuna kuu aega laheb USAs olemiseks kaduma ja lyhema aja ja raha kulude tottu pole asjal enam motet.( minu lohutuseks voibolla nii palju et tutvusime reisi ajal veel 2 paariga, kellel olid samad sugulase pulma teemad ja nad pidid oma reisi katkestama)
Viimatised plaanid olid aga siiski jatkata reisi Austraaliasse ja Uus meremaale, kuid Tais olles selgus, et (kuna mul Eestlasel on jalle vaja viisat)turismi rohke aja tottu ei saa nad garanteerida, et ma oma passi viisaga saan selleks paevaks katte, kui mul Singaporist lend Austraalia poole laheb.(kahjuks oli lend juba ara ostetud)
Mu kallis arusaaja mees aga onneks ei vihastanud selle peale, et mul jarjekordselt viisa tottu probleemid on(ma tema peale oleks vist kyl vihastanud kui mul tema parast sellised plaanid oleks jaanud tegemata)vaid ytles, et sel juhul voime oma plaane muuta ja kylastada Austraaliat ja Uus meremaad moni teinekord ja lihtsalt tuiata kuni reisi lopuni edasi saarte vahel.
Siin siis meie uus reisi kava.
Malaysia
Indoneesia
Philipiinid
Hong Kong
London
Iirimaa
USA
ja loodetavasti Jaanipaevaks Eestisse ja sealt tagasi USAsse.(see ots jaab aga jalle lahtiseks ja ei taha midagi garanteerida)
Sorry lugejatele, kellel oli huvi naha Aust ja UM pilte. Peate ootama veel moned aastad enne kui me nendeni jouame.

Eesti keele lugejatele

2007-03-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Kuna mu kallis mees sai ka lopuks oma kirjutamisega jarjele, lykkus minu "TAGASI TAIS" jutt tahaplaanile. Kui viitsite nats(oigemini pikalt) alla kerida voi vajutada "tagasi Tais " tekstile, leiate eesti keelse teksti Tais veedetud ajast.

Thailand - Bangkok & The South

2007-03-27T06:43:00.000-07:00

Right, so, we headed from Laos to Bangkok and met up with Ingrid's Father and Sister who came to visit us for 12 days. Good Times, always great to have family around.

Bangkok had dozens of great things to see and they're all conveniently located in a single block! It's the Grand Palace and The Great Golden other Things. Whatever. The highlight is a MASSIVE reclining Buddha. Just look at this guy, and some thought I have a big head!

At the foot of this gargantuan tribute to the enlightened are his holinesses' Mother-of-Pearl inlaid feet. It was only AFTER this photo that Adam had the "Don't poke fun at the deity" sign pointed out to him. My Bad! (No joke - "Poke Fun at the diety" was there, in text, next to the world's largest Golden Buddha. Gotta love it)

Just outside the door of the Temple of the Reclining Buddah one enters the Magical garden of disturbing Gnomes.

It's just Creepy.

And if the Garden of disturbing Gnomes doesn't get you, these guys will.

Admittedly, these Demons are pretty cool to look at and they probably won't give my nightmares the way that bug-eyed gnomes' gonna.

After the gauntlet of creepy Gnomes and Demons , the Thai's throw this guy at you! Apparently we're all destined to be consumed by the Maori tattooed distant Asianic relative of Mrs. Piggy with his giant Teeth and Mr. T fashion advise. Whoa is Us.

And just as you make see the light at the end of the tunnel, the Thai tribute to "I'm gonna git you sucka" is there at the exit to wish you well on your travels.

A favorite of mine was to stand behind this guy and yell "Two for flinching" to Westerners as they passed.

At this point you gotta ask yourself, Self "What is it with these Thai's"? If you ever learn the answer, please pass it on.

From Bangkok Inx & Co. headed North to Ride elephants (That was SOOO India for me) and I headed South to Railey Beach, home to World Famous...

I spent 4 days climbing amongst the Limestone Cliffs and went really, really high. Lead-climbed a 6b+ so that's good too.

Rejoined team Eesti 5 days later in Kao Tao, a sleepy little island in the Gulf of Thailand that's perfect. Great snokeling here and this is where Ingrid and I notched our second "playing with sharks" experience.

Admittedly, the black tipped reef sharks were as dangerous as 3 week old kittens, but it still gets your heart going when a 5ft shark swims toward you.

We toured the famous Beaches of South Thailand over the next few weeks with stops at Ko Phi Phi, Phuket, Ton Sai, Kangeh, Ao Noi, and others. Yeah!

Tough work, but someone's got to do it.

Beaches ranged from Rocky

to tidal

to Psychadelic

Should you long for further detail, I'd be glad to provide the full report over a few cold ones.

After Southern Thailand Inx and I packed our bags (which gets old on day 217 in case you were wondering) bowed to our favorite Buddah (below) and shuffled off to Malaysia to continue the beach quest...

Let's Get Laos!

2007-03-22T04:52:00.000-07:00

From Northern Thailand we crossed (legally this time) this daunting river border into Laos.

And proceeded to proclaim the passage possibly the most picture perfect political provincial posting of all time.

Traveling to Laos was like traveling 50 years back in time (Not that I've actually traveled back in time of course, at least not 50 years back, but I have it from reliable sources that that's what it was like).

While the locals in neighboring ASEAN nations climb over you to win your dollar, commercial exchanges in Laos follow a format closer to...

Adam : I can hear you back there. If you're not going to come out that's fine, I'll just go somewhere else.
Anonymous Server : ----- (That's what a blank stare looks like in text)
Adam : We'd like to order some food.
Anonymous Server : -----
Adam : I would like to give you this Kip I have here in exchange for food, would that be possible?
Anonymous Server : -----
Adam : Do you have a menu?
Anonymous Server : ----- (points to a pile of menus)
<5 minutes later>
Adam : I'll take the noodles and a Banana milkshake
Ingrid : I'll please have the fried rice and a Mango milkshake
Anonymous Server : ----- (Writes nothing down, Walks away)
<15 minutes later>
(Server brings out two plates of fried rice and two Banana milkshakes)
Adam : Ahhh, never mind. Looks Great.
<15 minutes later>
Adam : Check Please
<5 minutes later>
Adam : Check Please
<5 minutes later>
Adam : Check Please
<5 minutes later>
Adam : Check Please
(Adam and Ingrid leave money on table and depart)

Yup, so that's pretty much how they roll in Laos. It was actually a welcomed respite from the intensity of some of the other countries we have been to recently, but if the Laos people were any more laid back they'd be horizontal.

Hey, what time is it in Laos????
NAKED TIME!

That's right, the Laotians are totally cool with the birthday suit. Apparently they sell shirts in child sizes but no pants.

This kid looks so confident he could be Joe Pesci in GoodFellas "Am I funny to you? Do I make you laugh? Funny Funny or Funny HaHa? You're lucky I can't stand on my own, I'm gonna go be naked over there now."

On a few occasions I felt compelled to join the locals but was abruptly halted by my "let's not get caught up in the moment" wife. Rats.

Ultimately, Laos and us got on like Peas and Carrots? No that's not it...
Peanut Butter and Jelly? - Nope
White on Rice? - Nah
The Pope and the Popemobile? - Still not quite there
Cock and Football?

Yeah, that's it, Cock and Football!

First thing we did in Laos was head deep into the Bokeo nature reserve and participate in "the gibbon experience".
www.gibbonx.org
This is a burgeoning conservation project designed to turn tourist dollars into protection for the otherwise naked (like most Laotians) and heavily poached Bokeo nature reserve. The way that's accomplished is by allowing anyone with the funds to spend 3 days living amongst the gibbons in tree houses 45M (~150ft) above the jungle floor accessible only by zip lines! pretty cool, eh?

Like all other experiences in Laos, this had a special local flavor to it...
Adam : Did anyone here sign a release form?
Others : No.
Anonymous Guide : Okay, this is your safety strap, it goes on first. This is your roller and break, break goes in the back. Clip on the roller like this, check that your carabiniers are locked, and push off.
Other traveler : Are you coming with us?
Anonymous Guide : No.
Second Other Traveler : So we're free to zip as much as we like and there's no one in the woods with us?
Anonymous Guide : Yes.
Original inquisitive other traveler : Has anyone ever been hurt doing this?
Anonymous Guide : No, we've never had an accident here EVER.
Adam : You only opened 16 months ago and you were closed for 5 months during the rainy season.
Anonymous Guide : -----

It turned out to be fine though as Ingrid only managed to nearly kill herself once. We slept like babies as the tree house gently swayed back and forth each time a butterfly flapped its wings.

And the view was definitely worth the risk.

Sadly, the closest we got to the Gibbons was their photos on the internet, but we did befriend some monkeys along the way and an Asian Black Bear Cub.

The Cub was found in the possession of three poachers that had killed its mother the previous week. While the circumstances of the bear being there were rather unfortunate, the bear itself was a riot. It behaved so human it was scary! He would roll around on my lap, climb on my chest, then freeze when he noticed his own paw and gave it that look babies give their hands when it dawns on them that they may exhibit some sort of mind control over these unique creatures. Sadly, we didn't photograph the bear because it was dark and we didn't want to use flash (could hurt the little guys eyes ya know).

Our jungle hikes also turned up my very first LIVE millipede, Sans trackball and flying spiders,

And a tree that has adapted to mimic ubiquitous military camouflage! Amazing, what will Mother Nature think of next?

Leaving the Gibbons behind, we embarked on a two day, three bus, epic of an overland trip to Vang Vieng that included one nights stay at the fabulous Laos Bus Stop Intercontinental Resort. 5 stars and they've earned each one!

That was right up there with the 30 hour bus ride in China, but it was all worth it once we arrived in VV. Vang Vieng is the extreme sports epicenter of Laos. 24 hour pirated movies on big screen TV's, $0.50 fruit smoothies, and of course, Tubing.

Riddle me this, where else in the World does the local populous not only allow, but encourage legions of backpackers to get completely hammered whilst floating down a river?

If you Guessed "No need for a waiver Laos", you're right!

I'm at a loss to put the entire tubing experience into words. Sufficed to say it may be the single greatest sporting event of my life. Yes, that would be appropriate.

Don't be surprised if you visit us in the future to find me in on an inner tube in the bathtub demanding that you trade me $1 for a beer, then trying to negotiate a free hotdog.

I will concede however that consuming beer exclusively while sitting in direct sunlight for 8 hours does not make for a pleasant morning. But Laos is very hangover friendly, seeing as how they all move so slowly and all.

My Dad told me that when he visited the capital of Laos when he traveled this region back in 1732, it was nothing more than a few colonial buildings and dirt roads.

Well today it's a thriving metropolis with fancy government buildings

a Subway system

and Ingrid's favorite, Commies!

Guess some things never change.

Thailand - The North

2007-03-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, So we traveled North in Thailand and I took cooking classes. Ha Ha, get your yucks now cause you won't be laughing when I whip up a mean Green Curry and all you bring to the table is Fishsticks and EXTRA ketcup.

The major upside to cooking class (besides the fire - See Ingrid's post) is that you get to eat all the food you make and succumb to food coma. Awesome!

And at the end of the day you get certified.

Course my parents have always told me I'm certifiable! "Thank you, I'll be here all week. Don't forget to try the Veal."

Cooking aside, another major draw to the North of Thailand is Chiang Mai Blah, Blah,Blah....We saw long neck ladies! So it's probably the worst violation of human rights and obvious forced disfigurement, but we went there and "fed the dog". You shell out the equivalent of a pack of gum and some shoe laces and get to parade around a little village while "getting your Nikon on".

The people seem happy (cause the money you give them to see 52% of the population goes to fund a rather lux villiage) but the women are obviously uncomfortable. But they know the deal and smile for the camera. After about 10 minutes, it's quite sad. Check out the legs here.

Not that the people are uncomfortable in that "I'm Hideous, don't look at me" Joker kinda way, more like the "what the hell were my ancestors thinking when they dreamed this up? Didn't they have to tie their shoes? And I know they weren't weaving in this!" Kinda way.

But like most Northern Thai people, they smile along, have fun with you, and try to sell you something.

I'm happy to report that Ingrid showed no Mercy and immediately began bargaining with the Longneck ladies. She ultimately purchase some items at 50% initial asking price - you go girl!

And the kids aren't immune.

This is the worst part. We expected to see a tribe of aged women enjoying their final days in extreme vertebral discomfort. Instead we found the village grooming the upcoming class of longneckedness to keep the tourist dollars rolling in.

Leaving the Vampire's dream behind, we pushed North to Mai Sae - the Northern Most Point in Thailand. No, seriously, they have a sign to prove it.

Here we rented a motor bike and explored the Northern Border with Myanmar and the "golden triangle" region - basically Compton and Long Beach 16th century Asian style.

It was the World's "War on Drugs" that allowed these producing countries to make a fortune exporting - oh, what was it???

And what does that look like??? (I loved this lady)

to the world.

We also scooted along the Thai - Myanmar militarized border.

We're gonna use militarized loosely here. You see this...

That's Myanmar, from the Thai side. (Note the Braveheart spear fence)

And this is from the Thai side looking into Burma. (Oh, don't call it Burma - They HATE that!)

And (although we felt it prudent not to photograph it) the Myanmar and Thai border guards exchange cigarettes and "Chit Chat".

We did however wander to the top of a hill for "a better view" where we came across a Tiger!

Wandered through the "Where's Waldo" of religious monuments

Seriously, there are like 517 religious icons in this photo.

And only 5 minutes after crossing a variety of barbed wire fence did it dawn on us that maybe we shouldn't be where we were...

Oh, well. Good Times.

We enjoyed the wealth of the Golden Triangle region where I met a giant elephant (not that there are that many "non-giant" elephants)

And got to pose like a King.

Southeast Asia - Travels and Treats

2007-03-18T01:10:00.000-07:00

A while back I created a post highlighting some of the cuisine we encountered in China. Even furtherer back I showed some of the unique methods of transport within the Indian subcontinent. Here I'll try to roll both travel and treats into a single post which outlines some of the options available to travelers in the mainland of Southeast Asia.

Without further adieu, please allow me to introduce the sawngthaew. A.k.a. the beat-up ole' pickup truck.

While in the Western world a vehicle so far past it's useful life would be deemed unfit for road travel in West Texas, in Southeast Asia these "jewels" are promoted to carrying human cargo and "converted" to taxiesque rolling parties.

You can try to travel using alternative transport, but that basically means getting in a red one, green one, blue one, or yellow one (based on what paint was on sale when the vehicular baptism occured). As you can see, it's just the way to go and they've risen to "Bus" status in most locations.

While a little unnerving at first glance, the sawngthaew quickly grows on you as you discover it's a great way to get close to the locals. Just look at all the fun we're having!

AND if sharing your lap with three locals and a bag of rice isn't enough, Look what else you can do!

Ingrid and I took a 2 hour ride along the Thai - Burmese border hanging out the back of a blue AND red one (two colors makes em faster). We communed with the locals by waving like spastic idiots to anyone that looked our way while that shot back glances that said "I hope those welds break". It was grand.

Now that we can put the Swangthaewa@#$%^& behind us (I can't remember how to spell the darn things either. Heck, I can't even pronounce it right) we can move on to the food.

So if Central Asia is renowned for eating anything that has a heartbeat, the Southeast Asians aren't nearly as picky. Anything creepy crawly slimy THING will do. Seriously, it's as if a large portion of their cuisine is based on a dare.

Here are just a few of the Vendors we've encountered through Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand (remember, the Vietnamese replaced bugs with pastry thanks to the Frenchies - Good trade).

Those are deep fried frogs.

The above would be Tarantulas. No, really - TARANTULAS - as is:
Main Entry: ta·ran·tu·la
Pronunciation: ta'ran-cha-la, -ta-la; -'ranch-la, -'rant-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural ta·ran·tu·las also ta·ran·tu·lae /-"lE/
Etymology: Medieval Latin, from Old Italian tarantola, from Taranto
1 : a European wolf spider (Lycosa tarentula) popularly held to be the cause of tarantism
2 : any of a family (Theraphosidae) of large hairy American spiders that are typically rather sluggish and capable of biting sharply though most forms are not significantly poisonous to humans

Don't worry Mom, I wouldn't be stupid enough to actually eat that stuff....

In the immortal words of Homer Simpson - "Let's get stupid!"

They go down surprisingly well after enough beer.

Finally, I call these the "Batteries not Included" snacks

(If you got that, you're loving the fact that I remembered it. LOVING it!). Not sure what they were, but I think a crab was involved at some point.

And after all those "travel and treats" your body goes through some "changes". If you're lucky enough, you can become - Duhn dah dah daaa!!! - TOILET MAN!

Don't ask what happens if you're "not lucky enough"....

Angkor - Wat a place

2007-03-17T02:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the title, couldn't help myself.

So when I last left you we departed Phnom Phen on our way to Siam Reap and the famous Temples of Angkor. Given the enourmousocity of the site and all the great things to see there, it's hard to know where to begin. Oh, how about this, it's owned by the Japanese. That's right, the $20USD per day that tourists pump into the site goes not to the land of obscene poverty, but to that entreprenuerial little island nation that owns half of new york and was in some way involved in the computer you're using right now. But enough of that.

Angkor is the real deal Indian Jones lost civilization stuffness. It's like walking through the set of tomb raider!!!

This doorway was actually in the movie tomb raider.

And like all good religious monuments, Angkor comes complete with Monks! Lots and lots of Monks.

Of course I could spend hours going on about the importance these locales played in the once vast and mighty Khmer empire. Of all the interesting historical information I picked up along the way. Like how I helped the Gods and Demons pull the ancient seven-headed serpent "naga" which rotated a wheel resting on the back of Lord Shiva (while in the form of a giant turtle, of course) that in turn churned the sea of milk and thus created the elixier of life and that is why we are all here today...

But you don't want to hear about all that history, so let's get back to the monks.

Monks are surprisingly nimble creatures not at all like the stereotypical yoda-old dudes you hear about in the West. Just look at how this whipper snapper of a monk blazed past the camera. (This entire paragraph is just an excuse to post this photo cause I like it)

AND they don't have to be all "pure" and "reflective" like we're lead to believe. Some actually put on their flowing saffron robes just to take tourists around Angkor Wat. I didn't think about paying money for a guide but when a Monk asks, you kinda feel obligated. Hey! Wait a minute, what's that in your hand?

BUSTED!
Nothing worse than a Fake Monk. Has Cambodia no shame?

Course, closer inspection of Angkor reveals a different story. I mean, how can you get mad at a guy when his ancestors felt strongly enough about smoking to carve it into the rock of ages.

And from the looks of those smoke rings, the ancient Khmer liked their pizza "Extra Happy"*.

Besides Angkor Wat and the Monks, the temples of Angkor include Bayon - Better known as "Holy blaspheme Batman! those are the giant heads I've always seen but never bothered to learn about".
Though interesting to observe, the Bayon Heads lack advanced conversation skills and really are quite dull to speak with. One did challenge me to a semi-smiling contest and proceeded to crush me.

Apparently there's a guy in town who's gone days in staring contests but just can't seem to win. Shame.
Okay, I totally made that up. But I found it funny. I'm very tired.

Oh! Hey! Ran into Mowgli at the temples. He says "Have Two Bananas" and if you see Baloo you tell him to keep his Bare Necessities, Mowgli's getting a Lexus. Whatever that means?

On our last day in Siam Reap we hired a rickshaw driver, Mr. Mato (who starred at me like I had three head as I said "Domo Arigato Mr. Mato"), to take us to a more distant temple that's regarded as "the crown jewel of Angkor".

That's it.

Tell me the Queen Mum wouldn't pitch a fit if you told her her "Crown Jewel" was a 0.65 Karat CZ.
While the detail was nice, we couldn't help but think "we've seen this before".....

It was then we discovered that the entire Angkor Temple complex (and the religion of the Khmers) was heavily influenced (Read - Created) by Indian traders that had to spend 6 months in Southeast Asia waiting for the Monsoon winds to change direction and carry them home to India. Eureka, the whole place is a knock-off! Oh well, I guess that's more plausable that the whole U.F.O.'s coming to Earth and teaching the Mayan, Incan, Eygptian, Indian, and Khmer people to build temples theory.

We'll just stop here for gas before heading home......What the????? Doo doo, do do, doo doo, do do, etc.

*See previous post on Cambodia and the copious amounts of ganja present in Phnom Phen for clarification.

Tagasi Tais

2007-03-17T02:01:00.000-07:00

No kes oleks uskund et issi ja odene toesti saavad kylla tulla. Kuid nad tulid!
Nagu isegi voite arvata ei ole 2 nadalat tegelikult mingi aeg. See tormab sust niimoodi mooda nagu ta poleks kunagi eksisteerinudki. Kuid pildid, malestused ja soe tunne sydamesse siiski jaid!
Meil Adamiga on juba 8 kuud selja taga ja tundub et nii palju on veel nagemata. Siin ka pohjus miks me issi ja Yllega mooda Taid ringi rallisime, et siis saaks natukenegi Taist maitset.
Maitsest raakides pean tunnistama, et kui need 3 oma kotikesest igas suuruses putukaid, sirtse ja tarakane maiustasid, votsin ma hea meelega pildistamis ylesande endale et siis tegevusest korvale hiilida.Las ogivad ise!
Koigepealt tutvusime Bangkoki vanima(16ndast sajandist) ja suurima templi Wat Pho'ga ja kylastasime sealset riigi suurimat lamavat Buddha (46 m. pikk ja 15 m.korge). Paeva lopuks oli templitest ja buddhadest isu taitsa tais, kuid endast jatsime aga jalje maha.
Nimelt kirjutasime yhele katuse kivile peale oma nimed ja soovid, mis siis hiljem renoveerimisel kuulsa templi katusele kantakse.
BGK pidime ka muidugi mingit showed vaatamas kaima. Ja selleks osutus yks tore kohalik etendus, mida meil oli voimalik nautida nii kaua kui ohtust soime
Et aga kylalistele (oele ja isale) oiget Tai elamust pakkuda, hoolitsesid mitmel korral selle eest kohalikud kes jalle mingil viisil meid nina pidi tahtsid vedada voi vahemalt leida mitmeid erinevaid viise kuidas turistidelt veel viimast kopikat valja pressida.
(Tanu Janale(sobrantsile SanFran-st)markasin, et meie tavapaevased kogemused ei olegi ju tegelikult nii igapaevased(vahemalt mitte USAs ja Euroopas) ja ehk voiks neid ka teistega jagada. Siit siis annan lyhi kokkuvote monest juhtumist mis juhtus 12 paevases ajavahemikus)
1.: Parast paev otsa yhest reisibyroost teise ringi kaimist otsustasime votta yhe pakkumise kus oli sees igasugu tegevust alates vee turust kuni elevandi soiduni valja. Kui olime teele asunud, hakkas aga selguma et iga yrituse eest mis pidi hinna sisse kaima tuleb aga siiski juurde maksta ja programm mis oli meile lubatud oli taiesti pea peale pooratud. Voi oigemini me ei olnudki kindlad kas seal pidi yldse olema mingit programmi kuna erinevad inimesed bussis olid ostnud erinevad paketid erinevate summade eest, kuid nyyd istusime me koik yhes bussis ja saatus oli meie enda ja autojuhi otsusta. Parast esimest seiklust hakkas Inx kohe kisama(ega ma isegi ei oleks reisi algul uskunud et Inx voib ka selline noid olla! Kuid mis sa teed? Kui olukord nouab, siis tuleb vastavalt kaituda. Ega muidu ei oleks suutnud Indiast saati paevagi yle elada) ja siis, ma ei tea kas planeeritud voi kisa tottu, ilmus kusagilt valja meile uus buss koos giidiga ja isegi lubatud paadi reisi eest ei pidanud me lisa maksma. Kuna ostetud pakett oli kahe paevane, oli meil aga tore voimalus sama kino jalle jargnev paev korrata.
2.: Parast meie esimest meeldivat kontserdi elamust otustasime end veel kuulsa Lady Boys(nais-meeste) etendusega lobustada, kuid me ei olnud kindlad kus see asub.
Onneks polnud see aga probleemiks kuna ukse taga ootas meid vaga tore abivalmis meesterahvas kes toi meile toolid istumiseks nii kaua kui tema sopra taksojuhti ootame. See teadvat tapselt kuhu me tahame minna.(noh, kuulus show, loomulikult taksojuhid teavad). Parast mone ajalist kauplemist ja seletamist joudsime kokkuleppele takso hinnas ja juht teadis tapselt mis showst me raagime ja kuhu tarvis minna. Selle asemel aga et minna suurde tuntud hotelli(mis hiljem selgus)kus show toimus, viidi meid mingisse pimedasse taha tanavale stripi klubisse. Taksojuht veel ergutab tagant, et jah makske ukse peal pilet(mida tegelikult loomulikult ei eksisteerigi, kuid etenduse pilet ei olnud mitte odav) ja selle eest antakse meile isegi yks tasuta jook. Meie korvale soitsid veel 2 taksot turistidega kes tundusid olevat sama ehmunud kui meie.
Mis siis ikka. Inx tombas jalle oma noia kitli selga--kisas ja ahvarda juhti ja asjad hakkasid kohe sujuma.
Lady boys (Arge laske end ilusatest kleitidest lollitada,Tegu on siiski meestega! Valja arvatud muidugi Ylle ja mina)(olen paris kindel et osadele noormeestele oleks see kohalik "Lady-boys" etendus olnud just hea lahendus mingi kabaree asemel, kuid kahjuks meil olid siiski teised soovid.)
3.:Enne bussi peale istumist Phuketi poole pakkus meile bussi firma manager head voimalust maksta 200.-bahti (lisaks piletile) nao pealt, et see siis viiks meid ukse ette kuhu iganes me soovime. KUNA... ega me ei taha ju bussist maha tulles hakata vaidlema igasuguste taksojuhtide ja myygimeestega. Kuna me aga teadsime, et selline takso teenus ei maksa rohkem kui 30 bahti takso eest, tanasime meest lahkelt ja istusime bussi.
Kui siis lubatud ajast hiljem Phuketi joudsime (ammu teatud tehnika--vasitada kliendid ara, et need siis oleks nous koigega mis neile pakutaks)pandi meid maha bussi jaama asemel linna serval, vaites et see on viimane peatus.
Kuid onneks!--Jumal tanatud! On neil voimalik meid viia tapselt sinna kuhu tahame 200 bahti eest. Kui meile see mote ikka ei meeldinud olid nad lausa nii lahked et tulid hinnas 50 % alla. Seekord ei pidanud onneks ma aga oma kuulsat etteastet tegema, kuna bussis oli yks veelgi vasinum ja tydinum tyyp, kes organiseeris meie koigi abiga meid bussi tagasi, et meid siis oigesse bussi jaama viidaks, kust oli vaid paari minuti tee meie oomajani.
See jutt on tegelikult pikem kus ma ikkagi mingil ajal votsin nende bussi maki endaga kaasa,kuna poisid ei tahtnud meid ikka oigesse bussijaama viia ning nii kui nad olid bussi peatanud peitsid nad end ara. Nii siis laksid sealt asjad taitsa koledaks katte, kuid ma ei hakka vana asja meelde tuletama.
Vist piisab kyll,et aru saada, et seikluseid siiski juhtub.
Lahme siis tagasi meie reisi juurde.
Teel djunglisse kylastasime vee peal holjuvat turgu ja nagime kuidas kookose suhkrut valmistati.
Loomulikult pidime ka kylastama tiigri templit ja soitma elevandi seljas.
Parast poolt tundi elevandi otsas istumist oli meil ka voimalus neid pesta ja end jahutada.(loomulikult lisa tasu eest-eh-isegi moistetavalt!-ei noh, nagu lolliga raagiks) Oigem oleks aga oelda et elevandid pesid meid.
Algul jalutas vant rahulilut vette ja ligunes seal niisama kuid kaskluse peale vajus see vee alla nii et me olime rinnuni vees ja siis laks rapsimiseks. Hoolimata kui palju me proovisime ja kui tugevalt me korvast kinni rabasime voitis siiski enamus kordadest elevant ja meil ei jaanud muud yle kui lartsudes vette lennata kust me siis jalle end vandi otsa venitasime.
Veel paar paevagi hiljem olid jalad trennist taitsa kanged.

Mainimata ei saa ka jatta ilusaid veekoski, kus meil oli voimalik kas ujuda voi kivilt sisse liuelda.

Parast seda votsime aga tempo vahe maha ja veetsime moned paevad Ko(saar) Tao's, kus sai jalle ATV ja mootorratastega ringi kimada.

Meie kolme uueks ja toredaks elamuseks sai Snorkeldamine. Ma ei kujutanud ette, et kui labi prillide vette vaadata, voib maailm olla nii erinev ja muinaslik. Kahjuks ei ole mul teile pilte naidata sellest varvilisest uskumatust loodusest vee all ja nende elanikest, kuid voin teile saata pildi(plakatilt tehtud) haist, kellega me koos snorkeldasime.

Laos logelemine (Vientiene)

2007-03-17T01:39:00.000-07:00

Parast adrenaliini korget tegevust (gibbons experience) olime sunnitud votma paar paeva vabaks et lihtsalt laiselda ja logeleda.
Selleks oli ideaalne koht Vientienis-louna poolses Laos, kus pohi tegevusteks on paevotsa istuda auto sise kummis, mida voolav jogi sind yhest ranna baarist teise kannab.
Soovi korral void vahepeal kaldal einestada ja sealt ohust nooridega vette hypata.
Seal on aga koigepeale moeldud. Et sa jumala eest ei peaks oma energiat muu peale raiskama kui olle kallutamisele, siis on sul voimalik haarata kinni bambuse koikast millega sind siis kaldassee tommataks. Kui see on aga kellegi jaoks siiski liiga palju pingutust, on voimalik ka keset vett endale uiplevalt myygimehelt moni ollepudel kaasa haarata.

See tegevus kestab ligi 3-8 h. soltuvalt peatustest ja nende pikkustest.

Paeva lopuks on sul voimalik valida ridamisi baaride vahel, kes koik sulle head toitu pakuvad ja sinu soovi korral hiljutisi filme naitavad. Valik on suur ja usun, et igayks leiab sealt endale sobiva koha kus end patjade ja madratsite hunnikusse mugavalt sisse seada.

Lets get some things Straight here People...

2007-02-28T00:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, so while life's all fun and games for you people, we've been having to struggle to get by here in Southeast Asia and the old "Hey Adam, where are the Blog Updates" ain't helping. Oh, Sure, you've got your problems, but wait till you hear what we've had to endure.

First, look at me. I'm wasting away here.

Pad Thai and Massaman Curry just don't have the nutritional value required to replace the thousands of calories burned sitting on a beach reading "Guns, Germs, and Steel". If you've read the book (Winner of the 1998 Rhone-Poulenc Science book prize - I MIGHT ADD!!!) you know what I'm talking about. And/or listening to my Ipod, which, behind swimming and Moto-cross is one of the most caloric intense activities one can engage in. Are you as surprized as I am by that?

Second, look at my Tan. That golden brown ain't easy to come by considering my blood's a Norse/German/Irish cocktail. All I can say here in Apply, Nap, Repeat. Exhausting just talking about it.

Third, these islands are potentially lethal. Seriously! Just look at this warning from Malaysia. I mean, if you're not on top of your game here, you're as good as dead.

Fourth, the threat of dehydration is always right around the corner. People don't like to talk about if much, but every year dozens of travelers fail to heed the warnings, don't keep up on their Chang/Shingha/Heineken intake, and head home without a hangover. Tragic.

Fifth, the powder white sand. "Danger" should be it's middle name.

It's so easy to turn an ankle here it's comical. And just think, if you did injure yourself, all you could do is lay in the sand and occasionally stroll to the water for a refreshing dip. It's best to eliminate the risk by not walking along the beach, but rather, lay in the sand and occasionally stroll to the water for a refreshing dip.

Sixth and finally, before I cease this mindless rant. There's the crystal clear water.

Do you have any idea how nerve wracking it is to go swimming with sharks when you actually see them! And their creepy jellyfish friends!(and for those of you keeping score at home, yes, we have now gone swimming with sharks twice)

But hazards aside, we've spent the past month on islands and they're really lacking for internet service. I'll try to blitz through everything from Angkor to now in the next few hours/days while we're on Peninsular Malaysia, but after that it's back to the Chaos and dangers of the islands and you might not hear from us for a while....

Gibbons--nadalavahetus ahvidel kylas

2007-02-28T00:48:00.000-08:00

Gibbons experience-vaadake seda lehekylge ja siis teeselge, et selle tydruku ja kuti asemel olime meie Adamiga-tapselt sama. http://amberinasia.travellerspoint.com/36/
Toestuseks panen aga siiski ka enda poolt moned pildid yles, et te siis ei peaks kahtlema kas raagin tott.
Siin on meie oobimis onnike, mis nagu naha asub tavalisest vahe korgemal
Ainus viis koju saamiseks ja sealt lahkumiseks oli aga noor mida mooda liikuda
Vahel aga kui ma ei jooksnud piisavalt kiirelt maast lahti voi ei hypanud servalt alla, pidin end kattpidi kohale tombama
Gibbonseid meil kahjuks ei onnestunud ennem naha,kui Tais tanaval, kuid see eest tegid meile kohalikud ahvid nalja, rabades meie taskutest mida votta oli ning ahvardades meid hammustada kui ma ei olnud nous oma toitu jagama.
Kui te arvate et mina hoian ahvi kinni siis te eksite. Ma yritasin enda prille ja juukseid kaitsta kui see mul peas trampis ja tsirkust tegi.

Esimesel ohtul oli vaike kosk veelombiga meile pesemiskohaks, kuid teisel ohtul oli meil voimalik nautida oma elu korgemat vannituba lausa oobimis ja soogikoha korval.
Vahepeal pidi ju ka kohaliku puuvilja-Papayaga end kostitama, et siis jalle turksamalt edasi liikuda.
(issi see oleks sinu lemmik ---- kui seda Eestis myyaks)

long neck ladies-pika kaela tadid

2007-02-28T00:46:00.000-08:00

Koige pohja poolses Tai tipus onnestus meil ka omal kael leida need kuulsad pika kaela naised. Mida pikem naise kael, seda ilusam. See oli vahemalt pohjus kunagi selliseks ouduseks.
Kuid tanapaeval ma kahtlen rangalt, et rongaste kaela panemiseks on samad pohjused.
Kahju oli vaadata noori tydrukuid rongastega ymber jalgade ja/voi kaelte, kui samal ajal isa voi onu opetab korvalt kuidas kaameratele poseerida.
Tundub, et ratikute valmistamine ja pileti tasu enda naitamise eest on nende ainus igapaevane sissetulek.

Day of cooking in Thai

2007-02-19T05:48:00.000-08:00

Tanaval pakutakse koikvoimalikke maiustusi alates magustoidust........

kuni praadide ja niisama krobuskiteni valja.(Need on krompsukad olis praetud ussikesed.)
Otsustasime ka siis Adamiga teha paevase soogi valmistamise kursuse, kus opetati valmistama 6 erinevat, maitsvat rooga.

Onneks anti vahemalt iga toidu soomise ja valmistamise vahel hetk, et lasta eelneval roal vahe seedida.

Thailand

2007-02-15T05:52:00.000-08:00

Jatkame siis oma seebi ooperiga. Tanases osas raagime .....................
$1.- = umbes. 35.-Baht'i
Oobimine ligi $3-6.-. Toitu saab tanavalt alla $1.- eest ja olle leiab umbes $1-2.- eest.

Nii kui olime joudnud Bangkoki, istusin ma rongile, et jargmiseks hommikuks jouda Chiang Maisse, kus siis oma kaua oodatud Tai massasi alustada.

Adam laks aga oma rada Singapori, kus teda ootas ees (USAs oleva) ari kooli interviuu. Loodame ja oodame!(ma tean, ma tean et see on ootame? ega see eesti keel mul nyyd nii palju ka ei longa ;) )

Esimest korda proovisin siis ka ara oise pehme pingi rongi.(kuna kova ja pehme voodi kohad olid valja myydud). Kuid onneks ei olnudki asi nii hull. Ruumi oli rohkem kui lennukis ja vaade avatud aknast oli ka palju ponevam).

Chiang Mai on vaga armas linnake, mis on kuulus oma Tai soogi ja massasi kursuste poolest, 700 a. vanuse myyri poolest,(mis ymbritseb kesklinna) ja selles olevate ligi 300 templi poolest. Praktiliselt igal tanaval on mingi vaike voi suur tempel.Lisaks sellele saab siin magi ronimist teha ja tuiata ringi junglites.

Minu nadalane massasi kursus moodus aga vaga raskelt, nagu seda on naha ka pildilt.Tagatipuks kais hinna sisse ka takso mis sind igapaev kooli ja koju toi. Iga hommik ootasid mind puhtad kooli riided, looduslik tee ja puuviljad, mida vois paevotsa nautida. Ja fantast Tai sook, mis iga paevaga oli parem kui eelmine.

Ja nadala lopus anti certifikaat toestamiseks, et ma need 30h. suutsin labi elada.
Siin on mu igapaevane hommikusook, mis tundus algul kyll hirmuaratav, kuid nyyd ma ei suuda ara oodata, et jargmine hommik jalle seda kookose piima muna karbikest saada.

Parast masaasi kooli otsustasin veel end taiendada mingi tervisliku opetusega, et siis aega sisustada enne Adami tulekut. Parast tanavatel ringi tuiamist leidsin paberi, kus kuulutati Universumi, energia, karma jne, jne, tutvustust yhe paeva jooksul. Nii siis otsustasin ara proovida mis see endast kujutab. Hommikul tuli mulle jargi yks kohalik naisterahvas, kes mind siis oma mootorrattaga soidutas maal asuvasse koiju. Hommikut alustasime Yogaga

Ja sealt pika seletusega Universumi, eelmise elu ja muude asjade kohta. Paeva lopus kylastasime kedagi, kes oskas meile raakida meie minevikust, olevikust ja vahe ka tulevikust.
Pean tunnistama, et paev oli huvitav ja taiesti asja eest.

Killing fields & Temples of Angkor in Cambodia

2007-02-06T07:50:00.000-08:00

Leaving Viet Nam, we traversed Cambodia in just over a week and only managed to take in the major sights of Phnom Phen and Siem Reap. Cambodia as been the closest country to India we've visited, besides India, and you're stupid for making me have to write that. Apologies to the 99.9873% of you that aren't stupid and didn't require that clarification. There's always one ya know, and you know who you are.

We entered Cambodia's capital city and were promptly greeted by, the Swiss?

Apparently the Khmer are big fans of those gun toting mountain dwellers, the Swiss cross was plastered all over the place. I'm still attempting to decipher the Swiss Stratigem of aligning with Cambodia - must be all that weed.

Speaking of weed, and no we didn't try any, Cambodia is a PotHeads paradise. The stuff is everywhere, you can buy bags of it at the local market along side Salt and Pepper. There's a restaurant "Mary Jane's" that serves their Pizza "Happy", "Very Happy", and "Extra Happy". And one morning we were awoken at 7:30am by our neighboring bungalow. They were having a "Wake and Bake" and the fumes were seeping into our bedroom! What a town. It's also the first place to deny me entry to the club just because I was carrying a hand grenade. Honestly, it's for protection!

The other universal in Cambodia is football, that stuffs everywhere.

Other than that, hold on to your hat, Cambodia is a world away from anything you can imagine.

Here's something I found odd. This is the view from the waterfront balcony and dinning area of our guest house.

In a city with One lake, and that one lake having only one sunset facing shore (I'm pretty sure of this though I admit I didn't investigate), the entire sunset facing shore is owned by Backpacking hostels. $1 - $5 per night Backpacking Hostels. Does anyone else find this odd or is it just me?

Of course, this is the land of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot's Killing fields.
While I promise not to get all deep and emotional, here's the deal. S-21 was a converted High School in Phnom Phen where the KR would torture people before sending them to the killing fields. S-21 is a pretty creepy place. The killing fields were surprisingly small and, I suppose, efficient. This photo shows roughly 40% of the entire area.

While I'll save the details for anyone who asks, a lot of people died here in a lot of awful ways.

Oddly, I didn't experience the gut wrenching feelings that hit me when I visited Europe's Nazi concentration camps. The most I can reason is that I could understand the discrimination of the Jewish people and that driver for the German behavior, that lead to feelings of blame, hate, and sympathy. In Cambodia however, this was Khmer people acting on Khmer people with no apparent reason other than to feed four leaders. The confusion of that and the lack of any and all regret by the people who performed the atrocities blocked other emotions and left me feeling numb to it. It was really quite odd.

After PP, we headed across the countryside to Siem Reap and got into some serious Indiana Jones Territory. The Temples of Angkor really are a lost civilization, which teaches all you kids out there to learn to read and write!

MORE TO COME, GOTTA EAT.

Minu yllatuseks kasutavad Cambodialased (nagu Zimbabweilasedki)peamiselt USA dollareid. Hinnad on koikjal doltsides ja isegi raha automaadid annavad valja $. Kuid soovi korral voib ka maksta Rielis ja selle jaoks ei pea minema panka, vaid void julgelt poorduda tanaval asuva laua juurde, kus sulle see sekundite jooksul ara vahetatakse.
$1.- = umbes 4000.- Rieli. Toit(praad) ligi $2.- ja jook $1.- Meie oobimine $1-$3.- oo. Hinna sisse kaib ka kylm vesi,mida voib endale lausa mitu korda paevas lubada. Sooja vett leiab vaid kallimates hotellides, kuid kuumuse tottu pole sellel eriti motetki.
Vietnami piiri yletamisega jatkusid ka ajaloo tunnid. Mida ma ei suuda siiani uskuda on see, et kogu see koledus toimus mu vanima oe ja minu synni aja vahemikus.
Umb. 17 000 inimest (kes olid vahegi haritud, )tapeti aastatel 1975-'79 Khmer Rougei poolt', kes vottis sellel ajal voimu kuid hiljem pogenes Vietnamlaste eest. Nyyd on jargi jaanud vaid vang, millest on saanud muuseum(1 vang ja 1 valvur kes on siiani elus), ligi 8000 pea luud, mis on esitatud klaasi taga olevas tornis, hunnik auke inimkontide ja riide ribadega.

Teine huvitav ajalooline ja oluline paik pohja Cambodias on maailma suurim usu hoonete paik Siem Reap'is. Yks kuulsamateist on Ankor Wat oma suuruse poolest, Bayon--kus suured naod sulle otsa vaatavad, Ta Prohm, kus on tehtud igasugu filmid. Kuid Adami ja minu lemmik on tempel, mille oli dsjungel enda alla neelanud.

Templeid oli aga nii palju, et me ei joudnud koiki oma 3 paeva jooksul kylastadagi. Kahel esimesel paeval kimasime ratastega ringi (jalle porkasime kokku toredate ahvikestega), kuid kolmandal paeval otsustasime siiski palavuse ja 30km.tottu palgata mootor Tuk-tuki.

Siin tutvusime ka oma esimese hiigel sisalikuga, kes meie ees oma ohtusooki ryndas.(kutt oli tavalistest sisalikest, kes siin mooda seinu ringi siblivad, ligi 3-4 x suurem.)

Bussi reis Tai piirile oli seiklusrohke. Inimesed ei teadnud algul kas nutta voi naerda, kuna vaike buss topiti paksult inimesi tais (kellest enamused olid oma suurte reisi kottidega nagu Adam ja minagi) ja tagatipuks suruti ka koikkide kotid
sylle, porandale ja kuhu iganes veel vahe ruumi oli jaanud.Aga no mis siin ikka imestada, kuna Aasia riikides pakitakse koik voimalikult maksimaalselt. Onneks kestis see auk, augu otsas soit aga ainult 6.h. ;(
Jutud kaivad, et lennuliin maksab teede ehitajatele head raha, et siis seda hullu situatsiooni hoida nii kaua kui voimalik. Kuid paljud lollid turistid kes odavalt tahvad labi ajada (nagu Adam, mina ja veel terve ports) ei taha aga vihjest aru saada, et peaks lennu pileti ostma.

Viet Nam Mekong Delta

2007-02-04T03:52:00.000-08:00

And So I'm Back! From Outer Space. I just logged in to find you here with that sad look upon your face....

So I fell behind Ingrid in the blogging, AGAIN, but I have a really good excuse, I just can't tell you.

Anywho, where was I? Ah yes, the Mekong Delta.

This would be one of those places where you feel like a

Once the location of ferocious battles, the Mekong has now become a location of ferocious tourism. Sadly, we fed the dog by taking a one day tour. We explored the Delta the same way the locals do, aboard 60 person capacity seated long boats with our Jungle guide ensuring we didn't miss anything! (I feel so dirty sharing this with all of you. Please don't think less of us. We were young, we needed the money, it was a mistake but it happened, now all we have to do is move on.)

Other "traditional" experiences included visiting a Bee farm.

Playing with the wildlife (Or perhaps, I played, he tried to constrict my breathing by wrapping himself around my neck shortly after this photo was taken - silly snake)

Drinking the Snake wine (More as an act of revenge against the above python than for the flavor. While snake wine is not the worst thing I have ever tasted, you'd be surprised how few things taste worse than it.)

Paddling down a tributary (She paddled, We Sat)

And generally feeling like Dweebs.

On the plus side, we did come across "The angriest man in sculpture" (See the Estonian 2 Kroon Note for "The angriest man in currency"; a la Tim McCollough)

And were exposed to the Flagwavingest group of people I've ever met!

It's like a small Nebraskan town with a flag making factory.

In an attempt to really boost those Tourist Dollars, the locals have begun referring to the Mekong Delta cities at "the Rivera of Asia". That's right, Not "The Rivera of the Delta", "The Rivera of Viet Nam", or even "The Rivera of this armpit of a community" - No folks, they're going for ASIA. Take that Hong Kong and Singapore, what with your Glass Towers, Quays and Waterfront dinning. THIS is what the people want! Long skinny boats with standing pilots and homes that merge seamlessly with the water. "Stand up Damn you! The tourist is taking a photo!"

See!

Seamless integration of the Mekong River into the home. Complete with flotsam and jetsam. We've even integrated the shower facilities.

Who's First World now Sucka!

Another Highlight of the Delta was that it proved to be the location where Adam would reach the peak of his Shagginess.

In a last ditch effort to take in some local flavor, we stopped at this friendly road side Bamboo Barber to kick around a few facial hair concepts.

Ultimately, I saddled up for the first straight razor barber shave of my life.

Right about the time I realized a Vietnamese resident of the Mekong Delta was holding a razor to my throat, I managed to utter "we're cool on that whole American War thing right Bro?" He just smiled.

The Photos in Ingrid's section depict the Cu Chi Tunnels. This was a 215km tunnel system that webbed its way through an area just North of Saigon. We toured tunnels that once housed thousands of VC soldiers and were the location of devastating carpet bombing and ground attack missions. I didn't have the capacity to take out my camera and start taking pictures as my mind raced through what a horrific environment that must have been to try and fight a bloody war in. And that's all I have to say about that.

Delta ise-enesest tasub kylastamist et naha kuidas inimesed ilusatel saartel ja nende kallastel elavad,
kuid kahjuks pead sa seda tegema kui turist, kus sulle koik asjad kaasa arvatud paadi soudmine ette taha ara tehakse. Palju enam nauditav oleks olnud liuelda era kanuudega monusalt mooda ojasid, kuid sellist voimaust ei pakutud.
Kyll aga viidi suur grupp turiste bussist laevale ja sealt vaiksemale paadile ja siis saarele, kus oli voimalik naha meetarusid, maitsta kookose kommi (mille valmistamist me nagime), hoida ussi ja juua selle veini. Kohalikud usuvad et see annab meestele joudu ja aitab armastuses. Ma ei tea mis minuga peaks juhtuma kuna ma seda ussi myrkki maitsesin, kuna mulle oeldi, et see ei ole moeldud naistele.

Saigon linnast hoiduksin mina aga eemale ja veedaks enamus aja Hoi Anís voi HA Noi's ja Ha Long Bay'l. Saigon e. Ho Chi Minh City sarnanes vahe Indiale mis oli must ja kus oli tohutult inimesi ning mootorrattaid. Kuid linn on kuulus oma ajaloo poolest Ameerika ja Viet Nami soja parast. Muuseumis oli meil voimalik saada parem ylevaade mis seal kunagi toimus ja millega inimesed pidid ka parast soda oma elu jooksul yle elama.

Enne Riigist lahkumist kylastasime ka kuulsaid Cu Chi Tunneleid, mis ulatusid Vietnamist Cambodiasse. Cu Chi linna kandis ise oli juba 200 km. tunneleid nii, et voite ette kujutada kui lopmatud need tegelikult olid ja kui kaugele ulatusid.

Vietnamlased ei olnud rumalad. Augud tehti piisavalt vaiksed, et nende vaiksed kehad sealt labi mahuksid, kuid Ameeriklaste jaoks oli see oudus unenagu,kuna nad jaid neisse pidevalt kinni.

Viet Nam - Hoi An

2007-02-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

What's that you say? You've never heard of Hoi An. Well dear reader, please allow me to indulge you.....

Hoi An is Vietnamese for "Shopping with Wreckless Abandon". Actually, that's probably not what it means but ask anyone who's been there and they'll tell you, it'll do.

The Village (sadly, no longer Williage) is a sleepy little port city along the Thu Bon (Or as I liked to call it, the "Jon Bon") river, just a few clicks away from the Ocean. We intended to stay just a day or two in Hoi An but due to the truly enjoyable atmoshere, almost spent a week.

People just like us travel to Hoi An to experience the ambience of old narrow streets and seaside life, then become stupid with clothes shopping.
"Stupid like a Fox!" (H. J. Simpson, 1993)
This stupidity could be brought on by the relative low cost of local apparel, the 3,000 Dong Beers ($0.19), or maybe it has something to do with the 200+ tailor shoppes and custom footware manufacturers scattered throughout the town? Seriously, everyone and their brother knows "the best tailor in town"*.
*Note - Most tailors are "the Best" if "the Best" includes 3 or more fittings and multiple explainations about what you'd like because they thought when you said "make this tapered" they thought you said "make me look like a heifer". - Ow, I just sounded snobby there, sorry. Can you tell someones' done too much shopping?

Hoi An proved to be a monumental step in our married life as I learned to appreciate Ingrid's seemingly endless endurance. Despite 4 consecutive days of shopping, she managed to summon the strength from deep inside to continue into day five while I hit the wall. - Actually, I hit the wall in day one. By day five I resorted to pleading for mercy and "a quick death".

"She is not a Man. She is a piece of Iron!" (Ivan Drago, Rocky IV - 1985)

I walkled out of Hoi An unscathed (though the mental wounds will last a lifetime - I now twitch when I see rolls of fabric) without a single purchase. Sadly, the same can't be said for my dear wife. Within hours of arriving, she was done for.
While we got off relatively easy, I nominate the phrase "I don't even need a suit, and I just ordered two" as the new town logo for 2007.
On a side note, there is nothing more ironic than the droves of 18 - 22 year old backpackers leaving Hoi An with all their earthly possessions in a 35 liter backpack, having not showered for 3-17 days, and carrying garment bags (Cocooned inside, their very first suit. A nice Slim-fit brown three piece with lavender pin stripes and peaked lappels - Thank you Mom, Dad, Laura and Dirk for not allowing me to share a similar fate).

Again, Like Ha Noi, French influence and "Nooks and Crannies" abound.

But perhaps the best part of Hoi An was the ability to rent us some motorbikes and hit the road.
Ingrid took to Mopeds like the locals take to bowls of rice, Fast and Furious!

We drove 2 hours out of town to visit a remote Chan Temple. Upon arrival, we looked at 20 photos on a Canadian couples digital camera, turned around, and headed back to the road.

We took the next 5+ hours to get home by wandering through some backwater villages,

Helping the locals dry their washing,

Assisting the Rice Crop,

And running into unexpected obstacles.

The impromptu bike tour has turned into a highlight of the entire trip and we look forward to continuing this new adventure method in other locales.

Kui kellelgi on kunagi soov Viet Nami kylastada, siis Hoi An oleks minu poolt soovitavate paikade esireas. Kena vaike linnake, kus void oobida kas mere voi joe aares, ja need on yksteisest vaid 2-3 km kaugusel.

Hoi An on ka tuntud roivaste ja jalatsite valmistamise poolest, kust peaaegu et keegi ei paase ilma,et oleks lasknud endale valmistada pluusi, pyksid, kleidi, ylikonna voi mingi jalatsi.

Hoi An laheb minu elu ajalukku ka selle poolest, et siin istusin ma esimest korda oma elus Mootor ratta rooli taha.

Oma soidu oskusi harjutasin aga siiski linnast valjas, kus me kylast kylla kimasime ja kohalike eluga tutvusime.

Kes aga Inxi teab, siis vois ju arvata, et ma pidin ka isiklikult jargi uurima ja proovima kuidas see riisi istutamise vark kaib.

Jumal tanatud et mul oiget varvi ylikond seljas oli, muidu ehk ei oleksi lubatud riisi istutada.

Good Morning Viet Nam!!!!!

2007-01-27T23:51:00.000-08:00

Is this the Face of a Happy Camper or what?

We arrived in Viet Nam last week and have been lovin' life since we got here. Though sharing a boarder with the Chinese Viet Nam is a world away in culture, cuisine, and cacophony? (Ah - the elusive third rhyme in alliterative verse).

As lead-off hitter for the Viet Nam vs. China comparison, we head to the storefronts of Ha Noi. While restaurants just 165km North in China have Dogs, Snakes and Odd-shaped Rodents as their "tantalizing treats" in the window (See the "China Part 4" post for further detail - arguably one of the better posts) the restaurants in Ha Noi dangle these.....
Apparently the French left more behind than simply appalling city planning and white flags.

But seriously, the French influence here is amazing. I have been able to enjoy French press coffee, Pain au Chocolat, and Escargot - and that's just from the street vendors!
Curbside Baguette anyone?
Every nook and cranny of Ha Noi's Old Quarter is filled with French atmosphere. For example, here's a Nook I passed the other day
And here are some neighboring crannies
The French architecture extends from major municipal and cultural buildings such as the Opera house (you read that right - Opera) and Cathedral to each and every street corner. It's just Grand.
But it's not all fun and games people. Actually, it is. For example - crossing the street. While this is a lost art in the West, where LED's flash the ubiquitous "walking man" and droves of pedestrians mindlessly have faith that the "walk / don't walk" machine would never place them in harms way, in Vietnam it remains a highly interactive experience. The best method we've derived so far is to concentrate on making eye contact with 17 or so motorists simultaneously while slowly placing one foot in front of the other and not stopping for any reason. NOT STOPPING FOR ANY REASON.
Should you fail to heed our waring, you could be met with this fate....
Note the Heels!

I've witnessed at least one motor bike accident per day in Ha Noi - don't worry, nothing serious.

Ingrid and I have enjoyed Ha Noi so much that we've camped out here for an entire week - Sans a three day trip to Ha Long Bay (keep reading young Skywalker - patience).

Though there is much more for us to see during our adventures, at present, we'd strongly recommend this location to anyone looking to escape to the East and bask in a very special city.

Ladies and Gentlemen, for your retinal pleasure, allow me to introduce - Ha Long Bay.
Unlike the Karst limestone topography in China, shaped by millions of years of caustic erosion, the Karst limestone topography of Ha Long Bay was formed when an enormous dragon fell from the heavens and landed in the Bay of Tonkin. As the giant dragon thrashed about, it's tail formed depressions that were filled by the ocean and Ha Long Bay was created.
(Ha Long means "where the dragon descends into the sea" - how they get all that from "Ha Long" is beyond me)
We took cruised for three days aboard a mighty vessel
Explored the limestone caves found throughout the islands - Quick Fact - "Hospital Cave" served as a secret hospital during the American War.
Summited the towering island peaks
kayaked among the plethora of promontory - "I know, I know, Cut your hair"
and did it all under the watchful eye of our very own dragon.
The time afloat was a welcomed respite from urban life, however even at sea, we were unable to avoid the "Hello, buy something" call of vendors.
In a few hours we begin our journey South along the Viet Nam coast. Wish us luck and pray we don't encounter any dragons....

Yeaaah!
Me joudsime Vietnami. Kuigi Ha Nois ujuma veel ei laheks, on siin siiski monus ja voib paikse paistelisel paeval isegi lyhikese varukaga ringi kaija.

Nagu Adam mainis, on siin kovasti yht koma teist Prantslastest maha jaanud alustades saiakeste, kohviga ja lopetades hoonetega. Nii siis kui ma yks paev Prantsusmaale peaks minema voib mulle tunduda, et olen jalle Viet Namis.

Ok, nyyd siis selgus, et need ilusad Lime stone(kivi) maed mis on mu lemmikuteks saanud, jooksevad Hiinast kuni Viet Namini valja. Et seda ilu jalle nautida, votsime 3 paevase laeva reisi, Ha Long Baylt, kus yhe oo veetsime laevas ja yhe Cat Ba saarel. Seal turnisime magede otsa, kaisime koobastes ning soitsime systaga magede ja vee kylade vahel. Kui ilm oleks ujumis kolblik, siis vist veedaks seal kandis vahemalt nadala voi rohkem.

Seikluseid jatkub aga koikjal ja alati. See et sind yhest bussist 3 x edasi tagasi tostetakse, kuna tootajad on pidevas segaduses on taiesti tyhine ja loomulik. Ja nagu yhel teisel laeval juhtus olema, ei olnud yhel paaril isegi lubatud toit tellitud ja hotelli ruumist ei tahtnud keegi juttu teha. Sellest seiklusest pajatas kogu seltskond lausa mitu paeva raakides et kuidas see klient(suur mees) hakkas siis olle jooma ja keeldus maksmast,enne kui asjad on korda aetud ja neil noutud asjad olemas. Enne kaptneniga kakluseks minemist lahendati asjad siiski ara. Parast jarjekordset bussist bussi inimeste nihutamist selgus, et see "suur mees" oli Eestlane ja mul oli voimalik kuulda nende poolne originaal juhtum eesti keeles.

Vietnami peamiseks liiklusvahendiks on mootor rattad ja kuna kohalikud on juba synnist saati rataste otsas yles kasvanud, ei ole naistel mingi probleem kimada ringi korge kontsa jalanudega.

Teede yletamisel avastasime Adamiga, et foori tuld pole motet oodata, kuna liiklus ei peatu kunagi. Nii siis yletasime teed sammu haaval, lastes soidukitel nii eest kui tagant mooda kimada.

$1.- = umb. 15000.- Dongi. Oobimine $1.-6.- oo.
Toit(praad) ligi $1-2.- Olu (umbes .-20 kuni $1.-) on odavam kui mahl($1.-).

China Part 4 - Guilin, Yangshuo, Longji & Food

2007-01-18T06:01:00.000-08:00

What's the best way to get from Chengdu to Guilin??? If you guessed 30-hour sleeper bus, you made the same mistake we did!

Ingrid and I enjoyed 30-hours of Southwest China aboard this love boat. All-in-all, it could have been worse. The television provided us with hours of Chinese film and karaokee played at a soothing 121 decibels - Oh! and the speaker was right over my brain - but fortunately the Chinese don't suddenly breakout into senseless dance routine mid-plot(unlike Bollywood).

SO why would we go through such conditions to reach a place you've probably never heard of???? For This....

Guilin is a city of 1.3M Chinese located in the Karst limestone topography of Southwest China. The scenery is best described as Otherworldly (or "Magical" as the Disney fans say).

We spent a few days in Guilin enjoying the Caves that run underneath these edifices, officially the oldest scenic sight in China and, arguably, the world - opened by the Somethingorother Dynasty in Alongtimeago (rejoice that I remember them being China's original tourist attraction and stop sweating the details).

- BIG fan of the caves, could ya tell? -

the not so wild, wildlife

and (sung to the tune of the Ramones "my sharona") Duh-duh da-da, Duh, Da, Duh, Da, Duh-Duh Da, Da-Duh-Duh, Da-Da, Duh, Da MY PAGODA!

Hey, mom always told me I was a character:

Am I on a roll here or what!?!

From Guilin we ventured 65km South to Yangshou, a backpackers paradise set deep in the heart of Karst Country.

Yangshou is a sleepy town of just 300,000, which in China is more or less backwater. We camped out here for several days because the views and the town were really a pleasure.

We met Edya and Shay (don't worry Shai Bandner, you'll always be my first), a great Israeli couple living in Boston, and the four of us ventured along the river for a 6-hour trek to take in the sights. Mind you - the same route can be covered in about an hour aboard a luxury riverboat sipping a Latte and nibbling pastries, but we opted to walk along the river bank. Seemed like a good idea at the time, then the rain began.

Every morning from our hotel window we watched this guy perform Chi-gong exercises in unison with sunrise (while we lay in bed of course, and if you bought that sunrise comment I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you).

From Yangshou we turned North to the village (pronounced "Willage") of Longji. If Yangshou wasn't small enough, Longji at 13,000 did the job. The purpose of going to Longji is to view "The Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces". These terraced mountains cover a height ranging from 300m to 880m and were built 1,000 years ago during the Bigfansofthewhitestuff dynasty.

This area is also Mao Willager territory and for those who haven't seen the discovery channel special, they're the women who maintain 2m of thick black hair on their heads! Bear in mind that most of these women are barely 1m in height. No real good photos of the ladies, those sprites are surprisingly fast, what with the load of hair they're wielding and all.

The terraces were phenomenal but as you can see from the photos, mother nature did not provide us with the best weather for viewing.

P.S. This is what rice looks like, I was expecting to see Orange and Navy "Uncle Ben's" boxes growing from trees.

Speaking of food, I've mentioned in previous posts that we've seen some unique delicacy here in China, this might be a good time to introduce you to our food.

Here is our restaurant.

These guys have stalls all over the place and for less than $1USD you can get a filling and tasty meal any time of day. Assuming you can handle the MSG, you simply point out what you'd like in your stir-fry and they whip it up right in front of you.

Veggies are on the right and there are 15 different types of meat/protein on the left! Let's see, there's Pig, Chicken, Beef, Egg, Tofu... what could make up the other 11 flavors????

Okay, I see Snake, Eel, Fish, Duck, Quail, Turtle, Snail, ROUS'es (Rodent's Of Unusual Size - on the left), Raccoon (Not in photo) and what could be in that sturdy steel cage behind the ROUS'es? I'll give you a clue - Sing with me now, "How much is that Doggie, in the window?" - Prices are in the Upper Right of the Photo.

And just in case those flavors leave a nasty taste in your mouth, you can always wash things down with a nice tall glass of Snake Wine.

Wow! I'm spent after all this blogging. Where's the Snake Wine at?

Guilin'i otsustasime minna 24h-se bussiga,et naha rohkem Hiinat ja kogeda esimest korda magamis bussi.Soit venis aga 5 h. pikemaks kui plaanitud kuna vaanuliste, kaanuliste, uduste magede vahele oli oosel moodustunud autode kolumm, kes plaanisid oodata paikse tousuni, et edasi soita. Nii siis vottis ka meie bussijuht end rivvi ja keeras koos reisijatega magama.Hommikul arkasime autode signaalitamise peale, et siis taas liikuma hakata.
Buss ise enesest oli mugav kuigi Adamil ja mul rippusid jalad yle serva. 30 h-ni jooksul onnestus meil aga Hiina filme vorrelda India omadega. (Yhest India filmist elu jooksul on taiesti piisav, kuid Hiinakad olid paris asjalikud)

Guilini joudes nagime oma esimesi imelisi magesid, mis jooksevad pikalt mooda Li Jiang'i joge vahemalt Yangshuo'ni valja. Et seda koikke sisse votta ja vahe trenni teha jalutasime me mooda kallast yhest linnast teise mis vottis umb. 6h. Need 2 linna on mu lemmikud Hiinas, kuhu ma kunagi (soojematel temperatuuridel) tahan tagasi tullaMolemad linnad voimaldavad vaatamisvaarsusi (hooneid, koopaid, magesid jne), naistele on seal piisavalt shoppamist ja pidutsejatele on baare ja klubisid piisavalt. Ja nagu meie puhul, kuna olime "valged" inimesed, toi klubi omanik meile lauda kingituseks hunnikus alkoholi ja puuvilju ning tutvustas meid oma ohtu tahele-kutile, kes laulis ilusas ja puhtas inlise keeles(poisil oli supper haal ja seetottu algul arvasin, et ta teeskleb ja liigutab niisama suud).

Guilinist 3 h. pohja poole asusid ilusad ja huvitavad riisi pollud/maed, kus meil onnestus ringi hulkuda ja ka lopuks ometi ara naha milline riis taimena valja naeb. Ilm oleks kyll voinud parem olla, kuid siiski saime me toreda elamuse ja ylevaate, mis see suur istandus endast kujutab.

Guilinis onnestus mul katsutud kasside nimekirja pikendada. Vorreldes Cheetat, lovi ja tiigrit voin oelda, et tiiger on neist koige voimsam ja kui need peaksid omavahel voistlema, siis minu panus oleks tiigri kasuks. Nii kui ma olin roomsalt tiigri otsa hypanud, taipasin kui kiirelt mu elule voiks lopp tulla ja arvatavasti see ei olnud mu elu koige targem tegu. Nii siis tegin kiisule veel moned paid ja laksin teda teisele poole puuri imetlema.

China Part 3 - Chengdu

2007-01-18T05:31:00.000-08:00

Hey Borat, we made it to Chengdu - Hi-Five!

Chengdu, China is home to 7 million people, but no one goes there to visit those 7 million people, they go there to visit the 40-odd panda bears living at the Chengdu Panda Research Center, the epicenter for global research into Panda Culture (read, where dozens of seemingly normal, Phd holding Westerners try like hell to get Mai Mai to cozy up with LiLi for some good ole' Panda baby making).

Pandas are obviously a species destine for greatness, I mean the way they cling to the precipice of extinction is inspiring - to hell with survival of the fittest! - let's pin the survival of our race to legions of doctors gladly willing to play with our naughty parts. Heck, let's not even reproduce when we're locked in a cell with one another during the mating season and one of us is in heat and the other's a mindless man-bear!

Seriously, I couldn't help but laugh to myself as we learned about the plight of the Panda. They went so far as to show us a film in which a female Panda (in heat mind you) beat the crap out of a male panda who tried to mate with her - apparently he "wasn't her type". Of the 80+ successful births they've had at the Research Base, something like none have been natural. Darwin must be rolling over in his grave! All these critters do is sit around and munch Bamboo, and they can't even get that right. Of the (guessing here) 100+ species of Bamboo in China, the Pandas will only eat about 20 varieties. These things should have been toast centuries ago. Lucky for them "They're Soooooooo Cute".

If you're a big spender, you can shell out 400Yuan ($50+USD) and pet the Panda Bear, but they make you wear rubber gloves so it's the same as petting a plastic bag. Ingrid and I opted for the poor man's version....

Oh, apparently there's also such thing as a red panda, the red-headed step child equivalent of the Panda family. No one likes them very much. They're basically oversized raccoons and you only visit their pen in the back of the research center because you'd feel guilty if you didn't. After all, they did watch you get stupid over the giant panda and everything.

The other cool aspect of Chengdu is that it's the heart of Sichuan, China - like Sichuan Chicken and Sichuan Beef, China. The food here is hot, scratch that, it's blinding. They have this local peppercorn that literally numbs your mouth - therefore allowing you to continue eating the ridiculously hot food and stoking the flames that result in you sweating profusely as your body crys out "Oh Dear God, Make it Stop!" but you ignore your body because your mouth is numb because of the local peppercorn. The next morning you wish you listened to your body.

The presentation is also great. Restaurants tables have Bunsen Burner inserts in which is placed a bubbling pot of oil that you toss your raw goods into and cook yourself. Don't we look confident in the hygiene of this method?

While in Chengdu we also took in "the Sichuan Opera", which included this guy...

And Chairman Mao was kind enough to help Ingrid out with a Bat in the Cave.

and that's all I've got to say about that.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/sichuan/chengdu/panda-breeding-and-research-center.htm

Kuna Chengdus pole eriti miskit teha, kaisime jalle yht Hiina etendust vaatamas, kus saime lyhi ylevaate igasugu erineva Hiina etendustest.(tants, akropaatika, nukud, varju show ja kuulus Hiina maskide vahetus.)

Siin tutvusime ka esimest korda Hiina Hot Pot'iga "kuum pott". Laua keskele pandi pott tulele, kus yhes osas oli kuum maitsestatud vesi ja teises pooles vyrtsikas oli. Liha, juurviljad jne. olid rootsi laual, mida siis igayks oma nagemise ja maitse jargi valis, et potis endale hautada. Toit oli hea ja kogemus huvitav, kuid huvitavaim voi rovedaim kogemus oli see, et meist vahe eemal, avatud koogis rippus jalgupidi nahata koer.
Kohalikud rahustavad turiste aga sellega, et nad soovad ainult lolli koere >? !?
Yhed USAkad, kes hetkel Hiinas elavad ytlesid, et yks mees oli neile oma koerast raakinud ja ytles, et ta armastas oma koera nii palju, et nad otsustasid teda parast surma mitte ara syya.?!?

See selleks. Ainus pohjus aga miks me Chengdusse laksime, olid panda karud.
Lisaks suurtele hiiglas pandadele nagime ka punaseid pandasid, kes meenutasid karude asemel kyll Ameerika rakuune. kuid nad olid siiski vaga armsad.
Mul pole motet kommenteerida kui nunnukad need loomad olid, seda voite ise pildilt naha. Kyll voin aga mainida, et koik karud soid bamboo lehti yht moodi. Kapaga oksast kinni hoides hammustasid nad umbes 10 lehte yksteise virna, mille nad siis suu servast katte votsid ja krompsutades kui kurkki hakkasid sooma.

China Part 2 - Xi'an (a.k.a. She-Anne)

2007-01-18T05:08:00.000-08:00

Right, so, 17 hours of crying Chinese infant and an overnight train from Beijing later, Ingrid and I awoke (kinda) in the Central Chinese City of Xi'an, famed end of "The Silk Road". People travel from all over the Globe to view the Xi'an city wall, bell tower, drum tower, great mosque, and Muslim Quarter. I feel like I'm missing something........Oh Yeah, the Terra Cotta Warriors, Duh!

This army of some 8,000 clay soldiers is 30km East of Xi'an and guards over the tomb of the Qing ruler, emperor Makingupforshortcomingsious Complexious (Bet you didn't realize the Chinese used Latin sounding names, eh?).

Researchers have unearthed over 2,000 of the estimated 8,000 figured buried at the sight since villagers stumbled across the tomb while digging a water well in the 1970's.

These stalwart warriors are each unique and comprise a full military regiment of their time. Archers, Infantry, Calvalry, the gangs all there. Our personal favorite we dubbed the "Buddy soldier" after the Infamous "Buddy Christ" in the film Dogma. Although unable to capture "Buddy soldier" on film due to lighting and distance, he stood proud in the center of his troops with a flaming thumbs-up flashing from his right hand. Historians would argue that this was how he released the locks on his crossbow, but we know they misunderstood the humor in what the artist was trying to create. After all, if the ancient Chinese aren't known for their humor, what are they known for?

I digress. You're probably familiar with the images above or the tremendous details of each character as demonstrated here.

What you're not familiar with is this.....

The entire army was buried in a 5 meter high vault constructed from questionable building materials which collapsed centuries ago and destroyed most all the warriors. The ones on display today are the few dozen that didn't get smashed to smithereens or reconstructions of the broken warriors. Regardless of the whole "maybe the giant ceiling was unnecessary" debacle, the sight remains impressive and I'm glad to have visited. Though I question if entombing them in a giant ceilinged steel and concrete structure manufactured of 70's era Chinese cement was the best idea.........(some people never learn)

The last remaining question at this point for visitors to our Blog should be "What's more impressive, the vastness of the terra cotta army OR the vastness of Adam's new facial hair????? Some questions have no answers.

Other great sights in Xi'an included the aforementioned bell tower, shown here.

The Massive City Wall encircling the city with 13km of "Don't mess with me"

The World's Largest water fountain in which you can frolic DURING the show.

And the Muslim Quarter. This was the unofficial end of the silk road spanning Northern Africa to China and the Cultural influence of the traders is prevalent in the city's architecture, cuisine, and character (though I question if a bicycle rickshaw full of Pork Product would be acceptable in the Middle East!).

Finally, Xi'an marked a transition in our travels from "Westernized China" to "Stereotypical China". This last photo depicts "snacks" on display in the narrow streets of Xi'an and a shop owner preparing for lunch. Gotta love it.

A hawker tried to sell Ingrid and I Mink Skin, Sheep Skin, and Wolf Skin....Closer inspection revealed Cat Skin, St. Bernard Skin, and (as if St. Bernard weren't awful enough) German Shepard Skin. It was a rough day when Ingrid and I found the Canine Cuisine District.

Et jalle aega kokku hoida ja kiiremini louna poole sooja saada, votsime me Beijingist oise rongi Xi'an-ni et kylastada Terracotta sodalasi.
Kylastajatele vaatamiseks on vaid vaike osa 8000 maetud soja kujudest, kes ligi 200 a.e.k maeti maa alla, et valitsejat parast surma jargmises elus kaitsta.
Siit voite rohkem selle kohta lugeda:
http://www.imperialtours.net/terracotta_warriors.htm

Yllatus leid Xi'an-is, mida meil onnestus naha, oli Aasia, voibolla ka kogu maailma, koige suurema muusika-purskaevu etendus. Siiani oli Las Vegase oma minu jaoks koige vapustavam, kuid see Xi'ani oma oli kovasti suurem ja paris vahva, kuna seal sai ka purskava vee vahelt labi kaija ilma et vaga marjaks saaks.
Muud vaatamis vaarsused olid jarjekordsed Hiina templid, mille katused mulle vaga meeldivad. Kuid pika peale on need igal pool enam vahem samad.
Linna ymbritses suur ja yks vanimaid sailinud myyre Hiinas, mis andis linnale oma ilusa omapara ja veel niket, naket siin ja seal

China Part 1 - Can we talk? / Hiina myyr

2007-01-17T07:31:00.000-08:00

Look, I know I've been acting a little strange lately and we haven't spoken for a while. But I really want to make sure things don't get weird between us. It's just that I've been SUPER busy lately and things have been absolutely crazy over here. Honestly, it's not you, it's me. We've had such a great past 6 months, let's not ruin it over a couple of weeks. Let's just start the New Year fresh and see where things go in 2007? Sound Good???? Great.

If you'd like, I can give you a quick update on all the places I've been. Sound good? Alright, Here we go......

Ingrid and I spent 2 weeks in Shanghai recharging our batteries in the excellent company of John Gerber. John's a High-school friend of mine that's reaching for the stars with an overseas assignment, he's been in Shanghai for 1.5 years.

Sadly, the weather in Shanghai was miserable (They have winter there too! Who Knew?) and we only took zero pictures. You're not missing much though, our days were filled primarily with sleeping and Ally McBeal. Ingrid watched a combined 45 hours of Ally during the two week stretch, I might have caught a disturbingly high percentage of those shows, something in the neighborhood of 100%. Whatever.

Gerb returned home from the States on January 1st and proceeded to spoil us. Massages (not by John, please) and Food were the primary spoiling methods. It was just what we needed before heading into the depths of China.

We left Shanghai on an overnight train to Beijing on Jan. 8th and it's been Go, Go, Go ever since.

Look Ma, Great Wall!

In Beijing we took in the major sights at breakneck speed. It's wicked cold up there this time of year (again, winter, seriously, it's like January is cold everywhere).

For the great wall we headed 3.5hours North of Beijing a trekked a remote 12Km section of the wall from JinShanLing to Simatai. It was kinda surreal to walk on such a magnificent part of ancient World history and imagine what it must have been like for marauding armies centuries ago. And to do it in the winter simply added to the experience. I mean, imagine being a Mongol Army 1000 years ago. Your life sucks because you sleep in a tent on the good nights and you roam the Shan territory looking for fights. Your commander says "hey gang, I've heard of this great place to the South of here that we should consider sacing. They have heaps of rice and their very own forbidden city." So after a heated debate over the merits of eating rice rather than snow, you follow your leader South across the hills to this Shangri-la. Now after hiking for what seems like forever because this place is a desolate wasteland and you're freezing your tail off because your leader tried to travel through Northern China in January (like anyone would be stupid enough to attempt that!) you come across this giant freakin' wall extending as far as you can see in both directions. AND on top of that giant freakin' wall are little men with Arrows and swords and other rather uninviting weapontry. It's enough to make you want to turn around and go home. Unless of course PFC Copperfield can figure out how to walk the whole army through the darn thing like he keeps claiming.

It was a tremendous life experience and I'm glad to check it off the list. I also met a Mongolian. This is her. Sadly, she has never heard of "The Mongolian Barbecue", heartbreaking.

Other highlights of Beijing included....

The Giant Painting of Chairman Mao (God Bless Him, or rather, not, he not believing in God, being a Communist and all)

The Forbidden City - which is much larger than you think it is. So big that my wide-angle lens could only capture the door knocker. A sub-highlight was that I saw a REAL Ming Vase (though I didn't break it the way Bugs would have)

Tiananmen Square - Not a lot going on here, No pictures. Basically it's just a flat granite area with hawkers chasing you trying to get you to purchase something made in China that you could get for 1/10th their asking price in America. Picture the tanks replaced with an army of merchants and you've got it.

The Temple of Heaven - Surprisingly cool circular temple that the Emperors used for their annual prayer ceremony for healthy harvests and bumper crops. (Though if they're praying for bumper crops every year, I wonder if the general public eventually caught on? I mean, if there ARE bumper crops every year, aren't the leaders just praying for average? and if bumper crops are rare (as the name could imply) would the people ever say "Hey Qing, you suck!)

Inside the temple was the sacred 300M marble walkway that only the emperor was to walk along.......

Who's King Now?

And Public Newspapers

We quickly left Beijing, which also happens to be one of the largest and most inconvenient cities I have ever been to, and headed inland (and South) to Xi'an. Did I mention it's cold in Beijing?

Shangaist lahkusime oise magamis rongiga pealinna Beijingi, et siis erksalt hakata Hiinat vallutama. Rongide koha pealt pean ara mainima, et Hiina rongid on kui luksuslikud hotellid, vorreldes India omadega.
Paeval tuiasime ringi mooda linna millest suure osa veetsime "keelatud linnas" (yks suurimaid ja vanimaid sailinud hooneid, mis oli 500 a. keelatud tavainimestele)
http://www.v2.net.cn/work/upfile/dg2006.wmv
ning ohtu sisustasime Kung Fu showed vaadates, mis oli paris huvitav.
Jargmine hommik olime jalle varakult jalul, et siis soita 4h. Beijingist pohja poole, et Jinshanlingi Hiina myyril 12 km. ronida. Kuigi myyri on voimalik ka kylastada ainult 1 h. kaugusel laane poole soites, otsustasime me sinna mitte minna trygima, kuna see on viimasepeal ylesmukitud ja paksult turiste tais.
Huvitav oli aga see, et isegi myyril ei paasenud me kohalikest myygi meestest(oigemini naistest). Myyrile joudes hakkas meiega 4 naist kaasa turnima,(kellest yks neist oli minu meelest ligi 60 a.-ne) kysides iga paari kilomeetri tagant kas me ehk nyyd soovime vett, apelsiini,postkaarte jne. Ja kui meie jarjekordne vastus oli et EI ! aitah, ei lasknud nad ennast sellest segada ja siblisid meiega kaasa oeldes "no ehk siis hiljem". 10 km. hiljem oli neil siiski aga aeg ymber poorata kuna teises sissekaigus ootasid omad myygimehed. Nii siis parast pikka hinna kauplemist noustusime Adamiga ostma vanimalt naiselt malestuseks pildi Hiina myyrist, mille olime just labinud.
Myyr loomulikult oli ilus ja meil oli jalle voimalik yles alla treppe

SHANGHAI

2007-01-17T07:01:00.000-08:00

Tere taas,
sorry, et olime nii pikalt oma bloggimisest eemal, kuid nyyd yritame oma juttude ja tegemistega jarjele jouda.

Kuna ma ei ole siiani uut fotokat muretsenud, jatsin pildistamise Adami hoolde.
Siin siis koik tema tehtud pildid Shaghais.........................

............ah, jah. Kuna ma ei viitsinud tema suurt fotokat kaasas vedada jaid meil koik pildid Shanghais tegemata.
Kuid see on jarjekordne ilus suurlinn, mis loomulikult oleks toredam koht kylastamiseks suvel, kuna siinne talv on sarnane Eesti omaga.
Kuid Shanghai kylastamine oli enamuses selleparast, et ma siis teaksin milline see linn valja naeb, kuna Shanghai on mu yks lemmikuid kaardi mange, mille mu tadi meile opetas. Lisaks sellele tahtsime kylastada Adami tadi poega perega ning nagu parast Aafrika reisi, vajasime me nyyd, parast Indiat ja Nepali kohta, kus puhata.
Meie imelise puhkuse tegi voimalikuks aga kallis sober John Gerber (meie konepidaja Eesti pulmast). kes meile saatis oma autojuhi lennu jaama jargi. Kuna ta ise veetis pyhad USAs, jattis ta meile oma korteri votmed,Hiina raha ($1= 7,7.-yuan)alustuseks, tervituskirja joogi/soogi korvikesega, hiina raamatu kaartide ja muuga jne.
Nadala ilma Gerbita veetsime me mugavalt voodis raamatuid lugedes ja telekat vaadates. Ning kui John joudis koju arvas ta et parast turnimist Himaalajas on meil kindlasti vaja masaasi.Nii siis viis ta meid oma spa-sse kus me koik monulesime tunnikese, kui 2 massoori samal ajal "double trouble" meie lihaseid lodvestasid.(kogu keha masaas lamades). Ja kuna me elasime tema juures rasket elu syyes, magades ja logeledes viis ta meid veel korra spa-sse enne lahkumist, kus seekord (jalle 2 masoori korraga) tegid "peast tallani" masaasi.(jala, ola, pea, kae masaas istudes).

Lopuks saatis ta meid uuesti teele piduliku ohtusoogiga ja laenas mulle oma fotoka kuni ma endale uue muretsen. Nii siis on Inxil jalle lobus 100 pilti paevas klopsutada, mida siis hiljem teiega jagada.

Tydrukutele veel nii palju, et kuna ma olen juba ammu tahtund endale Hiina kleiti (kuid loomulikult nende moodud jaavad minule vahe pisikeseks), lasin ma endale teha yhe pika musta/punasega kleidi. Tuli valja paris ilus. Siin siis mu ari idee, kui ma peaks kunagi Hiina Adami too tottu kolima. Koik kellel on soov lasta teha endale mingi jakk voi pyksid voi kes teab mida. Voite saata mulle sellest pildi ja oma mootmed ja ma lasen kohalikel selle paari paevaga valims teha. Minu jaoks oli see taiesti super, kuidas nad lyhikese aja ja paari mooduga tegid valmis ideaalselt sobiva kleidi.(need kellel on oma mootude tottu raske leida riide esemeid, teavad miks ma nii vaimustuses olin, et mul on kleit mis mulle tapselt istub.) Nyyd mul on plaan, et kui ma ykspaev jalle raha teenima hakkan (2-4 aasta parast, parast kooli), lendan ma Hiina, et kogu oma karderoob seal valmistada, VOT!

Technical Difficulties

2006-12-31T22:52:00.000-08:00

I know I owe you some writing. Okay, I owe you a lot of writing. But before you blacklist the blog and do something drastic like replace the time you spend checking this site with actual office work, let me explain.

I have three words for you: Act of God/Allah/Buddah/Ganesh.

Seriously.

An earthquake severed the underwater cables connecting China to the WWW via the Straight of Taiwan and as a result, I've been without internet connectivity for a week. I have been thinking about you though, and I hope we can put this whole ugly thing behind us soon.

Keep checking in, things should improve soon.

HIMALAYA

2006-12-25T04:29:00.000-08:00

www.green-lotus-trekking.com/photos/photos_everest/photos_everest_menu_eng.html

India-Nepali piiri yletamine oli ka omamoodi elamus. Molema piiri tootajad yritasid jalle raha sisse kasseerida, millega siis oma taskuid taita. Indiast lahkumisel nouti meilt paberit mida meile lennujaamast "millegi parast ei antud", kuid meid rahustati sellega, et neil on onneks see paber olemas ja see maksab vaid 50.- roopi nagu. Parast pika ajalist vaidlust andis vennake alla ja noustus meie riigi voi mingisuguse rahaga, mis talle malestuseks voiks jaada (kuna ta kogub erinevaid rahasid yle maailma). Parast seda yletasime kiirelt vaikse silla, et lopuks ometi Indiast minema saada. Nepali piiril polnud tarvis aga muud kui templit sisenemiseks kuna meil olid juba viisad olemas. Sinna joudes selgus aga, et me peame maksma 100.-roopi nagu, templi panemise teenuse eest.Nagu naha, ei olnud me Inidast kuigi kaugele joudnud. Kui ma tydinult ytlesin, et neil pole motet mulle sama jama ajada mida India piiril tehti, vaitsid nad karmi haalega, et neil ei ole sellega mingit pistmist. Parast jarjekordset edasi-tagasi vaidlemist noustusin, et kui neil on mulle naidata dokument, kus on kirjas et templi panemine maksab miskit(kuna see teenus ei ole mulle yheski teises riigis midagi maksma lainud), siis maksan ma neile noutud summa. Selle peale tembeldati kiirelt meie passid ja lykati ruttu uksest valja, enne kui meie lahedal olev kutt asjast aru saaks ja oma raha tagasi nouaks.

Kathamndu oli aga vaike armas linnake, mis oli paksult tais turiste(kes oleks uskunud et ma turistidest-valgetest inimestest-puudust oleks tundnud). Linnakeses oli koikke mida turistid ihaladavad( kohvikud, shoppamine, vaatamisvaarsused ja vali tegevused).
Meie, oigemini Adam oli valja valinud 14 paevase matka Everest Base Campi, mille peale ma varem ei tahtnud moelda, kartes mida see endast voib kujutada. Meeleolu tostmiseks oli mul aga voimalus shopata 2 paeva, kuna kylma temperatuuti tottu pidime oma varustust taiendama.(joped, pyksid, magamiskotid jne.)
Paev enne matkamist kohtusime oma 7 liikmelise grupiga, kellest 4 olid Austraaliast, 2 (Adam kaasa arvatud) USAst ja mina esindasin EESTIT!!!!!!!!!!!
Iga paev ronisime umbes 7 h. et jouda oma jargmisse tee majakesse, kus siis sai jalga puhata ja syya lokke aares, kuna parast paikse loojangut (15:30-17:30) kukkus temperatuur tohutult. (Viimased ood Everest Base Campi lahedal oli oosel joogi vesi voodi korval jaatunud)
Everest Base Campi( 5364 m. vee pinnast) joudmine vottis 8 paeva. Ja sealt alla tulime 4 paevaga. Kokku umbes 106 km. Osadel paevadel parast 7 h. matka olime joudnud vaid 200 m.korgemale, kuid vahepeal olime korduvalt roninud yles ja alla 200-300 m. kaupa. Nii et trenn oli kova. Kahes kohas veetsime 2 ood jarjest, et siis korgusega harjuda ja lihtsalt ronida makke 600 m. et siis jalle alla tulla. See oli aga vajalilk, et hoida ara korguse haigust, mida osad siiski podesid. (symptomid: vasimus, ei taha syya ja pea valu). Vasimus oli meil koigil, kuid see oli arusaadav. Osad oksendasid ja osadel jai Kala Patthari (korgeim Erversti mae vaatamis tipp-5545. m. ) vaatamatta, kuna ei suutnud fyysiliselt yles ronida, voi pidid ymber poorama tohutu pea valu tottu. Nii siis 7st liikmest 3 joudsid tippu. 1 Austraallane, 1 USA(minu mees) ja 1 EESTLANE(arvake ara kes see vois olla!? ;) )
Huvitav kogemus oli ka see, et vaidetud horedane ohk korgemal magedes vastaski toele. Moned ood arkasin hingeldades yles, et ohku ahmida, kuna parast kylje pooramist oli tunne, nagu oleks maratoni lopetanud.
Pikem paev oli meil 10h.ne kui ronisime Kala Patthari otsa (5545 m.) ja sealt alla umbes 1500 m. et kodu poole ryhkida.
See oli raskeim 14 paevane trenn mida olen oma elus teinud, kuid kogemus ja vaatepildid iga paev olid vaart igat sammu ja pingutust. Reisi lopus avastasime, et koik tydrukud(5tk) olid mingil hetkel kas siis emotsioonidest voi fyysilisest koormusest nutnud ja isegi mehed tunnistasid, et ka neil olid omad norgad hetked, kus enam ei tahtnud jatkata.
Kathmandusse tagasi joudes pyhitsesime aga koik roomsalt oma edukust Rum Doodle's restoranis, kus me taitsime yhiselt ara suure paberist jala jalje, nagu paljud teised randajad, kes seal Himalayat kaisid vallutamas. Meie grupi juht andis meile nimeks " Mountain Killers" , mis on uhkelt jalatallal koos USA, Austraalia ja EESTI lipuga. Nii siis kui kunagi Kathmandusse lahete otsige yles jala jalg koos Eesti lipu, minu nime ja SAKUga restoranist Rum Doodle.

Kuna mu fotokale ei meeldinud korgus, otsustas see umbes 3000-4000 m.korgusel otsad anda ja kahjuks ei ole mul sealt maalt yhtegi pilti. Onneks Adami fotokas ei kartnud korgust ja me saime siiski oma saavutustest pilte klopsutada, kuid nyyd peate ootama kuni Adam need yles paneb.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-23T22:19:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone.

It's December 24th and we've returned from the mountains safe and sound to the bustle of Kathmandu. We have about 20 more hours in Nepal before flying to Shanghai via Bangkok, but wanted to be sure to get out some holiday wishes for everyone before we hit the road. (more significant and hopefully humorous blogging will commence upon arrival in China - After all, if there's one thing China is known for it's their sense of humor). Topics I'm overdue on include Varanasi, Budgaya, Kathmandu, and Trekking.

Anyway, here's a little holiday cheer we captured during our recent weeks in the Himalaya.
That's Ingrid and I in the photo. The snow says "Merry Christmas 2006" (I thought it would be easier to read if it were in color, perhaps yellow, but Ingrid shot down the idea). We took this photo while returning from the 5545m (18,300ft) summit of Kala Patthar. We had to leave our camp at 5am to make the summit at dawn (more on this later). Oh, and one more thing, that towering dark peak in the background you may have heard of, it's a little known Mountain called Mt. Everest!

Merry Christmas to all and we hope you get to spend your holidays with Family and loved ones the World over. We're booked for a Christmas buffet at the hotel, Nothing says Christmas like curries and naan!

Just a Quick Sumpin, Sumpin.

2006-12-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

Wanted to let everyone know that we're headed to Everest Base Camp today and won't have Internet access for roughly the rest of December.

I know it's tough, but trust me, it's for the best.

I also realize I'm a little behind in my narrative and I have some explaining to do about that photo Ingrid posted proving Horse is actually man's best friend. But I'll let that stew for the rest of the month and I'll hit the ground running after Christmas.

And to all those who've been regularly checking the blog and for any first timers, Ingrid and I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

KHAJURAHO

2006-12-05T04:42:00.000-08:00

Khajuraho on vaike ja suhteliselt vaikne linnake, mis on tuntud templite poolest (enamuses yle 1000 aasta vanad). Ja kuigi templitel on igasugu ilusaid ja huvitavaid jumala, sodalaste, musikute ja loomade kujusid, usun, et enamus inimesed tunnevad enam huvi ylejaanud 10 % vastu.

Siin need on! Erootilised kujud. Huvilitele nii palju, et loomulikult on mul jarjekordselt tehtud ligi 1000 pilti nendest templitest mida hiljem saab soovi korral vaadata.

VARANASI

2006-12-05T04:28:00.000-08:00

Varanasi-voi ka tuntud tolkes "vaga nasty(jalk, rove)".

See on koige pyhalikum linn Indias, kuna siin voolab Ganges'i jogi. Paljud Hindud randavad yle maailma, et seal end pattudest pesta.
24h. on trepid taidetud inimestega, kes seal praktiliselt end alasti koorivad, et siis pesta ennast ja roivaid.
Samas on treppidel 2 kohta jaatud surnute rituaalile, millest kyll kahjuks ei tohtinud pilti teha, kuid elamus ja lohn(hais) oli unustamatu.
Surnu tuuakse vee aarde poletusele, kus teda enne 5 x veega onnistatakse ja siis pere ees poletatakse. (Rasedad naised ja lapsed lastakse lihtsalt kiviga pohja) Nais sugulased ei ole enam aga poletamisele lubatud, kuna need tihtipeale hyppasid koos lastega ka tulle.
Kombe kohaselt riietub vanim poeg valgesse, onnistab end vees, loputab suud mone lonksu joe veega ja ajab pea kiilaks(jattes tutike jukseid pea peale).

Eks meil koigil ole patte, nii siis otsustasin ka mina end pesta.

Siiski piirdusin aga suure varbaga juhul kui see peaks otsast ara madanema.
Adam aga oli kovasti julgem ja pani isegi terve jala talla vette.

See, et vees ka lehmi pestakse, ja et sinna ka surnu kehasi ja nende sytt visatakse ja et seal yldse koikvoimalikud jaatmed visatakse ei ole mingi naitaja, kuna tegemist on ju pyhaliku veega.

Yhesonaga indialased on puhtad inimesed. Nad pesevad end tihti ja nagu naha, on ka nende puhtad riided asetatud ilusasti treppidele ja liivale kuivama.

Meie auto juht Indias

2006-12-01T06:10:00.000-08:00

Kui me oma autojuhi-Roopiga esimesel hommikul kohtusime, olime onnelikud, et meie palvele vastati ja saadeti noor juht, kes oskas piisavalt inglise keelt, et me yksteist moistaks.
Kuigi paljud autojuhid ei raagi inglise keelt, on siin vaikestel poistel kombeks kysida kust sa oled parit et siis sinuga suhtlema hakata kas inlise, prantsuse, hispaania voi kes teab mis keeles. Kuid kui mu vastuseks on Eesti, siis jaavad nad suu ammuli seisma ja lopetavad tyytamise voi siis ytlevad et tulevad homme tagasi.(loomulikult jarjekordne voimalus raha kysimiseks)

Reisi alguses onnestus meil tutvuda Roopi perega ja naha tema kodu, kus meile pakuti hommik sooki.
Indias oppisime vahemalt yhe asja ara. ARA USALDA MITTE KEDAGI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kuid nagu koikjal, on ka siin erandeid. Ja onneks oli Roop meie ingel, kes meie eest vaga hasti hoolitses ja meid koiksugu asjade (selle juures ka oma pomo eest-kes meie reisi organiseeris) eest hoiatas.

Nii siis, kui keegi plaanib kunagi Delhi kanti tulla, palun votke Roopiga yhendust ja teie reis on probleemideta garanteeritud. Roop_Kishore8513@yahoo.om
Kodune tel: 0091(Inia)-011(Delhi)-22781284. Mobla: 0091-09810517677
Kuigi me arvasime, et ka Roopi pomo oli tore usaldusvaarne inimene, oleme nyyd reisi jooksul kogenud, et ta unustas meile bussi pietid ostmast. Ja see lisa $50 mis me rongi mugavuste eest juurde maksime laks tema tasku mitte piletite peale.
Siin siis vaike reklaam Roopile, kes oma reisi ari yritab alustada. Ja voin julge sydamega oelda, et ta on sydamest vaga hoolitsev ja tore reisi kaaslane, kes on usaldusvaarne inimene ja keda ma ka hea meelega oma sobraks voiks kutsuda.

On the Road

2006-12-01T05:42:00.000-08:00

This post is dedicated to the sometimes frightening, often humourous and always interesting things we've seen on the road in India. Driving in India is an experience unto itself. While leaving Delhi for the major highways, I couldn't stop thinking "When's this road going to get better?". Two weeks have past and they never improved. The roads are "roads for the new century", unfortunatly that was the previous "new century" they were talking about. If you want to retrace the footsteps of Ghandi, don't worry, the same roads are still here. I was flabberghasted to find that the roads connecting Delhi to all major ports were nothing more than single lane afterthoughts of vintage Ingersol-Rand. But I digress.

I'll preface this section by explaining the rules of passenger seating in India. When traveling in India, the number of allowable passengers is governed by a simple equation.

To determine proper passenger allowance, multiple the number of seats in a vehicle (driver seat included) by Pi. Next divide that number by 1.37. Finally, multiple this new number by the number of pieces of Chipatti the driver had for lunch and you're all set*.

*Note: this equation does not hold true in the case of Massey FergusonTractors of which the proper passenger allowance, as you all know, is seven.

Beyond human cargo, a much simpler equation exists for general freight. I believe this photo demonstates the "10lbs in the 5lb bag" equation nicely.Loads aside, lets talk about the vehicles themselves.

As if the above truck isn't intimidating enough, allow me to show you what you must face down when it's time to cross a single lane bridge and "death before dishonor" driving comes into play.

These war-painted demon chariots are piloted by guys like "junior" here beside me. Behind the wheel these nepolian-complexed guys refuse to back down from anything, including each other. If there's an accident here, you can rest assured it's a head-on. Oh, and the god-awful horns! Somewhere in a backroom in India a sadistic little man is grining to himself as he manufactures the horns for these trucks and busses. Ingrid and I affectionately refer to them as the screaming Hindi banshees. It's basically the worst hindi-megastar scream you can imagine played at 110db. It shakes your bones when they hit the horns and they basically honk at trees - and encourage this behavior between one another. The horn is basically the Indian way of saying "Hey, you're here, I'm here too. Let's share the road and both get home safe. Just don't challenge me. Don't ever, ever challenge me."

Taking a look at other vehicles on the road, we come across a long list of options for those in need of transport.

The CLASSIC Autorickshaw.

The Mahindra - That's right, I can't believe it's not chrystler either. Don't worry America, just keep sending your IP over here for confiscation, I mean production.

The Moped, a family vehcile here in India. At just four passengers, this is particularly lightly loaded, especially considering the driver had FOUR chipatti for lunch!

The Nruck - Not quite a truck...

And my personal favorite mode of mechanised transport, the "Home Made" car.

People use a single cylinder water pump motor and Frankestein it together with other drive train components onto a WOODEN chassis. Love it. Note the use of electrical tape on the steering column! - and the seven passengers.

Then there's the Living transport.

Like Elephants (note car review in the photo):

Camel tractors

And monkeys on bicycles.

More coming, Internet running out in 5,4,3,2......

Holy Cows

2006-11-29T08:07:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we've all heard the story about how cows are considered holy in India. That's a given. Yet the impact of this simple truth needs to be experienced to be appreciated. Not only considered Holy, the Indian bovine has been granted divine authority to do as it pleases throughout India. They strut across India with the arrogance of someone born into the supreme race. It's as if the cows think they're British.

Outside of the comic value they provide to everyday life in India (lets face it, a Cow crapping in a storefront while the owner watches is pretty high on the humor scale) the bovine serve as the globe's most ineffiecient street sweeper. We've witnessed these guys down just about everything under the sun, with my personal favorite being a plastic bag! Seriously! A plastic bag just like the ones you're collecting in your kitchen because it makes you feel like an environmentalist (when we all know you'll never use them).

While we didn't catch the plastic bag on film (Film used loosly because I'm shooting digital pictures after all), here are some other staples of the Indian heifer diet.

The Shoebox - Indian Daily recommended allowance is 2 boxes. 1 in the event the box is red because that makes the impact greater - kinda like sports cars.

Banana Peels - They're "black tounge lickin' good!"

And other "uncaptured" foodstuffs: Plastic Bags, Candy Wrappers, Shoes, Newspapers, T-shirts, Bedspread (Ingrid has a shot of that below) and just about anything else you throw at them.

We used to feel guilty using the Indian trash can (A.K.A. throwing any and all garbage on the ground) but have since come to realize we're simply "feeding the cows". I guess it helps us to sleep at night, but I wonder what those plastic water bottles do to their digestive track???? Maybe that's where packaged milk comes from.....

Kui nyyd "Holy cowd" tolkida, siis otses mottes on see "pyhalik lehm" kui ytlusena seda tolkkida siis voiks oelda kas "issver-sussver" voi "ossa mu meie".

Kuid lehma peatakse siin pyhalikuks kyll ja kuigi neid kasutatakse piima saamiseks ei tule kone allagi, et sa lehma soogi jaoks tapaksid. Yldjuhul on Indialased taimetoitlased, kuid turistidele ikka pakutakse osades kohtades mingisugust liha.

Lehmad siin, lehmad seal, lehmad iga nurga peal.
Kui New Yorgis jooksevad rongi roobastel rotid, siis siin teevad seda tood jarjekordselt lehmad.

Soogiks on neil koikvoimalik praht mida inimesed paeva jooksul on tanavatele visanud. Ja lehmade onneks on siin seda kovasti. Kui mul alguses oli probleem prygi maha viskamisega, siis nyyd tunnen ma end lausa hasti teades, et ma jalle kitsesid ja lehmi toidan.
Lehmad siin ei ole pirtsud!
Lisaks heinale, lehtedele jm taolisele meeldib neile ka narida pabeit ja vahel ka riide hilpe.

Moni ime siis et nad siin nii jamedad on.
Ja ma saan ka aru, miks Indialaste jaoks lehmad nii pyhad on. Lisaks piimale, annavad lehmad neile ka tasuta kytte materjali. Yhesonaga, lehmade pannkoogid korjatakse yles ja kuivatatakse ara, et siis oleks millega loket teha soogi valmistamiseks.

Agra

2006-11-29T07:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, the Taj Mahal. We made it. An official Wonder of the World. I actually laid in bed the night before thinking, "wow, I'll be seeing the Taj Mahal tomorrow, that's crazy!" What would David Lee Roth do at a time like this?............

JUMP! Might as welllll, Jump! (We haven't been sleeping a lot...)

Okay, so we weren't thinking about DLR at the time but it sure seems appropriate now.

The "Taj" (as those who have been there can call it) is pretty much just what you expect. After seeing 7000 discovery channel specials on Shah Jahan's masterpiece there's not much left to the imagination. Still, seeing it first hand the scale is breathtaking and there were a few details that got lost in the broadcasts. I was a big fan of the monster Arabic. The black detail on both the interior and exterior of the "Taj" (black marble on the outside and onyx on the inside) is actually the entire Quran is surprisingly large text.

Other detail work that overwhelmed was the floral inlay work inside the mausoleum. 68 pieces comprise a single flower and the look is sublime (can you tell I've been reading the travel books?). It looks more like a painting than anything else and a very good painting at that.

We spent several hours taking in the grounds and watching the color change as the sun rose; That's right, rose. We were there at 6:30am. Here's a shot of it in Pink - taken about 15 min before the opening shot of this post.

The color changing effect is assisted by the overwhelming pollution in Agra - (Okay, Okay, so I know I complained about the pollution in Delhi and I'll probably complain about the pollution elsewhere, but this place is like the Himalaya of industrial pollution - 6 out of 10 of the biggest peaks are here!). Apparently after losing it's position as the capital of the region (when power shifter to Delhi) Agra decided to fight back by becoming the industrial capital of the region. Great Choice. World's greatest building in an industrial waste land. In a way, it adds to the contrast and impact of the entire experience. Greatest Building in India, filthiest town in India.

Recently, the Indian government shut down the roads within 1Km of the "Taj" due to concerns that Acid Rain was destroying the monument. They figured reducing auto traffic would help alleviate the harmful effects..... Perhaps someone needs to re-explain the concept of Acid Rain to the Indian Government.

Ultimately, the best part of the whole experience is that I have now joined the ranks of those who can say they have touched the "Taj", and there's something to be said about that.

Rajasthan - Part Deux (Take two)

2006-11-27T08:09:00.000-08:00

So where was I? Oh yeah, I had just finished this post when a powersurge wiped out all my work. Now you all have to suffer through the short, short version.

We departed Jodhpur and headed South to the Lake city of Udaipur. Enroute we came across the largest extravagant temple that we've seen so far, the Jain temple of Ranakpur. This place was frigging huge and full of goodies. Five infant bodies connected to a single head, serpent ladies, and seriously freaky buddha types - this is a diety schmorgusborgh.

We had loads of fun playing hide and seek amongst the pillars, though I'm pretty sure a few Gods smited us for childish behavior.

From the temple we pushed on to Udaipur and took in the lake city and it's glorious palaces (google "Udaipur lake palace" for details). It was only after we departed the city that I realized this was the only photo I "technically" took inside the palaces. Might have had something to do with the camera charges.

Now might be a good time to explain camera charges. The Indians have come up with a dynamic pricing system for tourists and it's brilliant!

Admission: Indian = 20Rs, Foreigner = 750Rs

Camera Fee: 100Rs (Foreigner)

Video Camera Fee: 250Rs (Foreigner)

Person to watch the shoes you'll inevitably have to take off: 20Rs (Foreigner)

Oxygen Usage Charge: 50Rs (Foreigner)

Okay, I made up the oxygen usage charge, but you get my drift. They get you coming and going, brilliant.

Beyond the palaces, Udaipur was where I witnessed my first Elejam. That's what occurs when more than one elephant converge on an intersection and they battle to determine who proceeds. And it's Awesome! Don't believe me? Check out the photo, that's a bonefide elephant sauntering down the street (and saunter they do).

Okay, so "Hey, grab the camera" probably should have gone through my mind two minutes earlier but you try to think straight when you come around a bend and find three elephants standing there! One I could have handled, maybe even two, but THREE! Come on.

From Udaipur we headed NorthEast and decended on Pushkar like Shiva (but without the blue skin and snakes). Pushkar is a religious center of Hindu, built around a lake created by the tears of the Gods.

Pushkar is also home to India's largest concentration of PotsmokingBellyshowingLonghairhavingWesternHippies. When people go to India to "find themselves", this is where they find themselves. Half the population is still on a bad acid trip that started during a Doors concert.

Even the incense has been made "blacklight friendly" to suit the market.

Leaving Pushkar in a cloud of dust, or something else, we made our way to Jaipur "the Pink City" (By now readers should realize that the Indians had the concept of Branding down centuries ago).

The ruler of Jaipur was so impressed with the Lake Palace in Udaipur that he constructed one of his own. He had fantastic palace engineers, shame the same can't be said about his lake engineers.

Jaipur is a textile hub of India and we spent days shopping. (Joy.) Here I am making my own textile prints. (Elation.)

And we witnessed carpet weaving. (Stop it, you're killing me!)

Jaipur is also known for its three massive forts with the cherry on top being the largest cannon in the world (Adam's wounds from shopping are begining to heal).

We rode an elephant up the mountain to view the forts and the cannon.

Cast in 1720, this cannon is 20ft long, weights 50 tonnes, and fires, now get this, 22 miles! Sweet! (The grafitti is aftermarket, circa 2006)

We left Jaipur and visited the Ranthambor Tiger reserve where we froze our tails off and proceeded to view no tigers. Poaching thinned the number of tigers here from 1000+ to 26. Bummer. No Pictures.

Today we arrived safe and sound in Agra and have officially ended our tour of Rajasthan. For the next week it will be busses and trains as we finish crossing India and head to Nepal. Should be good times and I look forward to sending out one more post before trekking into the Himalaya.

Ahvid

2006-11-27T07:51:00.000-08:00

Siiani oleme maanteedel ja linna tanavatel kokku porganud punaste ja valgete ahvidega. Esimest korda elus nagin kuidas ahv yhelt katuselt teisele (yle mu pea) lendas, mille vahemaa (maa ei tea kui kauge), tundus voimatuna.
Siis oppisin ka et kui ahv poolel teel hypates taipab, et ta ei suuda siiski sellist hypet teha, voib ta ohus 180 kraadi ymber poorata et maanduda tagasi kust ta alustas. Uskumatu, kuid tosi.

Kuigi ahvid on toredad ja naljakad, tuleb nende juuresolekul siiski olla ettevaatlik, kuna ei voi iial teada kui nad tahavad sind rynnata voi lihtsalt su koti voi fotoka ara varastada.

Carpets

2006-11-24T06:22:00.000-08:00

Esimest korda elus oskan ma nyyd hinnata vaipu ja naha,et see ei ole mitte ainult ese maas mis kylma porandat katab,vaid kogemus ja armastus kunsti vastu.
Poodi sisse astudes avaneb ruum kus iga sein on kaetud vaipadega. Parast graatisliselt vaiba lahti rullimist palutakse sul sellele istuda ja juba tuuakse India teed, et sa siis end mugavalt sisse seaksid ja oleksid valmis oma esimese elu koige kallima vaiba ostma. Koigepealt vaiksed odavamad vaibad ja siis suuremad siit vaibad mille hinnad algavad $6000.-
Kuid selleks ajaks oled sa juba nii palju teed endale sisse ajanud ja erinevatel vaipadel istunud, vaadanud nende solmede suurust ja tihedust, et sa oled oppinud hindama vaipu ja leidnud enda lemmiku. Yhed kliendid olid oma reisi lopetanud selle poega, et siis uue vaibaga kodu poole asuda. Mul oli ausalt sama tunne, et akki jataks kuhugi minemata ja ostaks vaiba, kuid siis tuli meelde kui palju vaeva ja kui kaua on Adam seda reisi plaaninud, et pidin vagise motte peast viskama. Kuid nyyd tean milline mu unelmate vaip valja naeb.

Rajasthan - Part 1

2006-11-22T06:14:00.000-08:00

So, after a few days of taking in the sights of Delhi, we hired a car and with a full tank of confidence, headed West to explore Rajasthan.

Our first stop was the "painted city" of Mandawa. Mandawa (and basically the next 3 cities we visited) was a stop on the trading routes between the Middle East and the Far East. Lots of Opium passed through here back in the day along with silks, spices, and all those other things people fought and died for. The Mandawan elite chose to express their wealth through elaborate painting of their homes interior and exterior. We thought this was amazing, until we visited some other places and realized that painting was the cheapskate's way of demonstrating wealth (just wait till you see Jaisalmer). We were still warming up to India when we pulled into this place, and things started to look up. For anyone considering visiting India, I would suggest allowing several weeks and getting out of the cities as fast as you can. Everyone we've spoken with, ourselves included (not that I talk to myself (Quiet, don't say things like that. They'll think we're crazy) Oh, right. Forgot for a minute), anyway, has had the same Indian experience.

Day 1 - "What have I done. How long until I leave?"

Day 3 - "Getting warmer, not loving it, but I guess it's okay."

Day 5 - "India's fantastic. I will totally be back here, there's SOOOO much to see!"

Back to the wandering.

From Mandawa we headed to Bikaner, a city with a giant fort that I'll spare readers the details of (to learn more please visit Google). The real action is 30km outside of Bikaner at the Rat Temple. That's right - Rat temple.

Now, it wasn't originally designed for the rats when it was constructed in the 14th century, but somewhere between then and now the rats moved in and the people just figured "what the heck?". To anyone else, this place is madness. The temple is an intricate carving of white marble, with 20 ft. Silver doors and - well there's just no justifying it, it's full of rats. To add to the experience, and because it is a holy site, we had to take our shoes off when we entered!
Yup, that's me, barefoot in rat crap. Proudest day of your life Ma?

I can honestly say this was an experience I never foresaw in all the years of planning that went into this trip.

Ingrid nearly hit the roof when a rat ran across her foot. But we later learned this was a sign of good luck. Other signs of good luck that we've discovered include:

-Stepping in Cow Dung

-Getting Spit on by a Camel

-Having a bird nail you on the shoulder

-Just about anything that you wouldn't want to have happen to you becomes good luck in India. Love it!

From Bikaner we continued West to Jaisalmer, the desert city of Gold. This place was Sweet!

Another stop on the Opium route, I mean "trading route", Jaisalmer is an imposing fortress rising out of the desert. It's called the Golden City because the yellow color of the local construction blocks gives the city a golden hue - It was also wicked rich back in the day.

The rich people in this town put the people of Mandawa to shame, SHAME! Here's an example of the detail work that's found on just about every structure in the city. It's just incredible.

I'm standing before this house, giving my tribute to the drug that built it, so you can appreciate the scale of their construction and detail. If their running the "Priceless" MasterCard commercial in the States that depicts a 25th wedding anniversary trip to India, it's shot here.

(Photo Absent due to time constraints - takes 8 minutes to load each picture)

From Jaisalmer we ditched our V2 Tata (yeah, two valves, just like the WRX back home - No wait, I meant my lawnmower) and took camels into the desert. About this time it dawned on me that we were headed to Pakistan! We camped about 25km from the boarder (450km to Afghanistan) and again I thought "didn't see this coming".

We slept out in the desert with these rather imposing natives. The one on the left (with the headgear) can't read or write, but speaks Hindi, English, French, Spanish, German, and a few other tongues. He signs his documents with a black X.

Camels have fast become Ingrid's second favorite animal behind cats, and with a face like that can you blame her? But she'll go on about that in her section. And on, and on, and on, and on.....

We emerged from the desert and continued to the last of the major fortress towns for this week, Jodhpor a.k.a. "The Blue City". Again, an amazing place. Right in the middle of town is a MASSIVE 13 story fortress sitting atop a mountain. The place was never conquered despite Umpteen attemps and from the top some long dead, semi-famous English chap was quoted as saying "this is what the Gods must hear when sitting atop Mount Olympus." I though he summed the feeling up quite well.

Apparently, when you purchase a house in the city along with the deed comes a free bucket of paint. Can you guess which color?

The views breathtaking, the sounds delightful, and the people warm. If you can ever get here, make a go of it. You won't be disappointed.

Oih, nii palju on vahepeal jalle juhtunud, et ei teagi kuidas juttu jatkata.

Onneks on enamused teist inlise keele valdajad ja saate Adami yksikasjalikest komentaaridest aru.

Lyhidalt aga nii palju, et nyyd-10 paeva hiljem, oleme me lopuks Indiaga ara harjunud ja naudime igat paeva teades, et siia voiks ykspaev tagasi tulla.

Kui info punkti joudsime, oppisime, et siin ei ole voimalust miskit saada ilma et nad sulle midagi pahe maarivad. Isegi info punkt oli tegelikkuses turismi punkt, kus meile igasugu asju hakati pakkuma. Nagu paljud teisedki loksu kukkunud turistid, jalutasime sealt valja planeeritud reisiga mis laks enam maksma kui oli plaanis. Kuid selle sees on meil autojuht 14 ks paevaks koos hotellide, kaamli, elevandi, tiigri reiside ja isegi rongi ja bussi piletitega parast juhi lahkumist. Yhesonaga meie rahulolu et me ei pea muretsema ja hirmu tundma nagu ool, kui Indiasse joudsime.

Praeguseks oleme kainud labi igasugu erinevaid linnu, nagu varvitud-, kulla-, sinise-, jarve- ja pyha-linn ning homme laheme roosa-linna. Minu lemmikuks on siiani aga olnud Jaisalmer oma maja detailide tottu, mida on kerge yleval pildilt ara tunda. Ja loomulikult vaated kindluste varemetelt linnadele on fantastilised.

Unustamatuks malestuseks jai aga rottide palee, kus nende ja pyhalikkuse auks tuli isegi jalatsid ara votta, et siis monusalt nende valjaheidete peal libistada.

Rotikestel oli isegi oma voodid ja toad, mida nad olid nous valvuritega jagama ning toidu puudusest ei tule seal kunagi puudust. See aga ei tahenda, et neil omavahel selle parast kaklusi ei oleks. Indialastel on nii palju jumalaid, et ega nad vist isegi ei tea enam kui palju neid on. Koik asjad ja olevused tunduvad ka siin olevat pyhalikud. (kivid, puud, ussid, lehmad, ahvid ja ka loomulikult rotid). Meie juht lausa tanas meid et me talle onne toime, kuna ta ei olnud oma 5a. toopostil eales nainud valget rotti ja nyyd oli neid terve kari. Nende uskumus on et valge rott edastab su palve jumalale ja see saab taidetud. Mitte et ma tingimata jumalasse usuks, kuid siiski laksin soov mottes veel kord tagasi et siis veel kord valget rotti vaadata.

Teine tore elamus oli oobimine korbes, kuhu meid kaamlite otsas soidutati. Koikumine kaamli otsas oli iseenesest vahva, kuid kaamli yles tousmise ja maha lamamisega oli kyll hirm, et voib alla kukkuda.

Lopuks ometi joudsime kohta Indias, kus oli oiste tahtede all(lageda taeva all) voimalik varsket ohku hingata.

Delhi/India

2006-11-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

Delhi, what a place.

We arrived at 3:00am and were promptly introduced to the “hustle” of the city. Our cab driver, rather than taking us to our requested destination, felt it better that we get some rest first so he took us to his friends hotel. Great, 30 minutes into India and we get Shanghaied*+. After a brief discussion and Ingrid threatening to take the wheel, we’re back on the road to our original destination, the Nepalese Embassy. We get our Visa’s sorted by 9:00am and hit the town. Or should I say the town hits us? Delhi is ~13M people living in loosely defined harmony. The place is everything you’ve imagined and then some. Seeing the temples and monuments first hand feels like walking through the pages of a National Geographic magazine and the entire time I’m muttering Ohm-na-shieva, Ohm-na-shieva, Ohm-na-shieva, or whatever it is the men are chanting when the sadist with the bald head and gold earrings is about to rip Indie’s still beating heart out of his chest. Anyway, here’s a photo of Humayan’s Tomb - A serious monument to a dead guy and you don't want to know what it takes to get a picture with no one else in it (Hint - There's 2.4Million people behind my left leg).

Other Major sights taken in within the Delhi limits include...

The Lotus Temple

The India Gate - Notice Ingrid being approached by a street vendor, roughly 97.3% of photos taken in Delhi include a street vendor.

And Birla Mandir (also known as the Lakshmi Narayan Temple - in case you were wondering).

It's here that the 20,000 swastikas (Look to the right) make you realize Hitler couldn't afford his own graphic arts department and had to steal the now infamous symbol from a religion of peace, shame.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to point out the lovely highlights of the sky, made possible by our official Indian sponsor, SMOG. The pollution in Delhi is unlike anything I've witnessed before. Now before I go any further, please don't confuse dirty air with dirty people. The population of Delhi is impeccable and takes pride in their appearance. Too bad the same can't be said for the air supply.

Lucky for you there's a "Delhi at home" experience.

1 - Go to your vacuum cleaner and remove the bag. Place it on the kitchen table.

2 - Head over to the air conditioner's main vent, the one with the large pink filters you never change, and remove said filter. Place on table next to vacuum bag.

3 - Empty contents of filter into large, microwave safe bowl.

4 - With eyes wide open, throw contents of bowl into face then stick head inside vacuum bag.

5 - Breathe.

That's pretty much the Delhi pollution experience. If anyone wants to experience Gary, Indiana circa 1982, come to Delhi. Here's a snapshot taken a 11:30am to illustrate the point. The locals call it "Winter Sun" but you and I know better. On the plus side, the pollution creates great lighting for my photographs! See how everything looks like it was taken at sunset! I'm turning into Ansel Adams here.

In the immediate future we're looking to head West. We've heard great things about the region of Rajestan and will spend the next 2 weeks getting lost out there. After that we'll double back to Agra and the Taj Mahal before heading to Varanasi and the Ghats of the Ganges. Then we look to head North to Nepal and Mt. Everest. Well, at least that's the plan.

* Still have the right to create words, if you’ve been following the blog you know.

+ Irony here in that Shanghai is located in China, not India – it’s funny ‘cause it’s true.

Kui me lopuks Delhi's hotelli joudsime olime me arkvel olnud ligi 29h. Lend Dubaist oli ligi 3h. ja muretu, kuid kui lennukilt maha joudsime laks meie elu ponevaks. See aga pikem jutt, nii siis pajatan sellest kui koju jouan.

Ohk kui seda niimoodi yldse voib nimetada on tohutult must ja paeva lopuks on nina tundlik, kuna koormav raskus ninakarvadel on vaga raskeks muutunud. Rindkorv on juba paeva algul vasinud pidevast hinge kinni hoidmisest ja kopsude too ylekoormusest.

New Yorki kolides arvasin et seal on maailma hullemad juhid. Siis ma muidugi ei teadnud, et autojuhid(suures osas Indiast parit) on oma juhi oskused kodust kaasa toonud. Rida kui sellist ei eksisteeri. Autode vahele suruvad end kolme rattalised taksod ja nende vahele kus on veel vahe ruumi, trygivad mopeedid, ratturid, lehmad, sead ja koerad. Kui NY-gis saab asjata tuututamise eest trahvi, siis siin on igal suuremal soidukil kirjas "BLOW HORN" /" PALUN SIGNAALITA"ja seda voetakse rohkem kui viisakuse margina, et sa hoolid teistest andes enda tulekust teada.
Kui Eestis pannakse parem suund sisse hioatades, et ara moodu minust, siis siin on see vastu pidi. Aga voibolla neil peabki koik olema vastupidi kuna siin nad soidavad nagu Aafrikas ja Inglismaalgi, valel pool teed.

Kaamlid on vist nyydseks mu yhed lemmik loomad, mitte et nad siiski enne kassi minu maailmas tuleks, kuid siiski on nende jaoks nyyd korge koht.
Nad on elegantsed ja samas vaga robustsed-yhesonaga vaga naljakad.
Kui kaamlit tagant poolt vaadata, arvaks et nad on ainult mees s0ost, kuna nende jalgade asend on sarnane, kui mehed WC-d kasutavad. Kui neid aga eest poolt vaadata, siis konnivad nad kui mannekeenid, kellel on suured sandaalid jalas. Kui nende nagu aga vaadata, on neil kas suu ammuli, kust on naha pikki kollaseid hambaid, voi siis tundub et nad monitavad kalu, kopeerides nende imelikku suu liigutust.
Yhesonaga, vaga vahvad loomad, kes suudavad vastu panna ilma toiduta ligi 3 nadalt kui nad ei pea tood tegema ja kes on suutelised tundma vee lohna 2 km kauguselt. Vot!

Raha yhikuks on siin RUPEE , umbes $1.- = 46.- rupeed

Ja praad on siin umbes 50.- kuni 150.- rupeed. Ja huvitav vordlus on see, et kui Eestis on ligi 1, midagi milj. inimest, siis siin Delhi linnas on ligi 13 milj. inimest.

Inimesed siin on agresiivsed nagu Aafrikas prrovides sulle koikke voimalikku pahe maarida, kuid siin tunduvad nad alati olevat roomsad ja suhteliselt ohutud.

uus valimus

2006-11-08T00:14:00.000-08:00

Dubais otsustasin uut karjaari alustada juuksurina. Koigepealt votsin Adami kasile ja siis praktiseerisin enda peal.
Aam...., ma ei hakka seda isegi mittte kommenteerima.

Indias ringi liikudes on tunne nagu oleks me mingid kuulsused. Pidevalt passitakse ja tihti palutakse ka meiega pilti teha.
Parast paari paeva otsustasin juuksed mustaks varvida, et rahva massiga kokku sulada. Kahjuks tootas see plaan aga vastupidiselt ja nyyd ei saa yldse enam kusagil asu. Nyyd inimesed mitte ainult ei jollita habematult, vaid tulevad lausa komplimente jagama et kui fantast mu juukse varv on. (ise aga ma ei suuda ara oodata, millal miskit muud proovida. Arvatavasti Hiinas lisan punast)

UAE-Dubai

2006-11-07T23:46:00.000-08:00

So, Dubai should have a giant "Under Construction" sign attached to it. Or I know, how about they make a giant island in the gulf that spells out under construction. I've learned that Dubai and Shanghi regularly trade places as having the most cranes in the world. Dubai currently claims 1/3 of global capacity. They are constructing 4 islands in the Gulf that are visible from space and increasing their beachfront property by 12x. Construction is underway for the largest building in the world, Burj Dubai - shown here at 92 stories, with some claiming 1,000m height (actual height is a closely guarded secret).
I believe the Burj Dubai is a testament to the people here in the UAE and when I think of the culture, one word jumps to mind. Humility. Let's not jump to conclusions about how tall the building is, that would be bragging - and the Emirate people are a humble people.

Like the way they construct a modest 400m ski resort in the desert, nothing like the enormous ski resorts in the States or Europe.

And the way young Emirate park their Lamborghini's at the mall, a good 30' walk from the door.

They don't use Valet parking, though it is available. And if you ever feel like you're getting carried away in Dubai, you can always stop by the Burj Al Arab (shown here with the Sheikh and Prince's oceanfront palaces) for a $50 cup of tea to bring you back to earth.

All that aside, the old areas of the city are quite interesting, very Indiana Jones. There are 3 primary Souks (Bazaars), the Gold souk, Spice souk, and textile souk. Here we got to see all those spices from Zanzibar in action.

Outside the city, we took a desert safari tour that combined Dune Bashing (in Toyota Land cruisers - it's not like we just stood there hurling insults at the dunes), camel riding, belly dancing, henna, sisha smoking (Adam's personal favorite) and dinner.

On a separate trip, we teamed up with David (a co-worker of my Aunt's) and took his Nissan Patrol out to the Hatta pools in central UAE. What a dramatic change in landscape. The pools are a constant water source that used to serve as an oasis for the Bedouin and today serve as recreation for Germans.

So that sumizes* our time in Dubai. Our major efforts went into recharging and resting up for India. Perhaps we'll have more to say about the UAE in the future, perhaps not. In either case, I would strongly suggest people journey to the Middle-East before creating opinions about it's population. I have been pleasantly surprised by the hospitality of the people here.

*See earlier Zanzibar posting about oranger and my authority to create words.

Parast pikaajalist jooksmist, jamamist ja ootamist, onnestus mul siiski lopuks jouda kollase joone taha, kus mind ootas viisa ja sellega luba siseneda UAD/Dubaisse.

Raha yhikuks on neil DIRHAM $1.-= 3,6.-dirhami. Hinnad on suhteliselt sarnased USA-le.

Dubai on fantast linn, kuhu on kokku toodud 1/3 maailma kraanadest ja kus kaib hirmus hoonete ja saarte (palmi ja maailma kaardi kujuga.
http://realestate.theemiratesnetwork.com/developments/dubai/palm_islands.php
http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1024-dubai.html)ehitamine.
Kuigi praegult ei ole siin veel kasiinod lubatud, usuvad paljud, et Dubaist saab maailma Las Vegas. Jaba praegult on naha kuidas koik asjad tehakse siin voimalikult uhked. Yhes ostukeskuses on ehitatud suusamagi ja kelgutamine, kuigi oues on 30 c. sooja.
Teine pood on koostatud 7st erinevast tiivast, mille iga tiib on iseparane teatud riigile(India, Maroco jne)

Linnapeal on leida toredaid erinevaid souk-e nagu riiete, kulla ja maitseainete souke.

Mosque(islami usu kirik),
kus pidi enne sisenemist jatma jalanoud ukse taha. Mehed pidid 3 korda pesema teatud keha osi ja naised tegid sama, kuid mosques sees.

Kuna me juba siin korbe riigis oleme, otsustasime nautida kohalikke lobustusi. Ekskursiooni alustati liivamagedes kimamisega. Sealt viidi meid kaamli farmi ja hiljem lasti ka kaamli selga ronida. Enne ohtusooki oli meil voimalus proovida kohalikke riideid, teha henna-mu kae joonistust ja Adam sai nautida oma shishat. Soogi ajal lobustas meid aga kohu tantsija. Igati vahva yritus, soovitan kuumalt.

Our Crew

2006-11-04T05:14:00.000-08:00

Olgu siis,
Annan vaikse ylevaate meie reisist ja crewst(meeskonnast) Aafrikas.
Me kasutasime reisi firmat ATC(African Travel Company), kes korjas meid peale Louna Aafrikast ja lopetas teekonna Kenyas(Nairobis). Meie reis nendega kestis 42 paeva, millele lisati tasuta 3 paeva Masai Maras. Me olime Adamiga ainsad kes tegid 42 paevase reisi. Yks mees Uus Meremaalt tegi aga 56paevase(kus ta laks ka gorillasid vaatama), kuid enamus inimesed veetsid meiega umbes 2, 5 nadalat. Alustades reisi Louna Aafrikast ja lahkudes Zimbabewis, kust siis tuli uus grupp peale ja lopetas reisi meiega Kenyas.
Suure aja reisides veetsime oma suures veokis, et yhest riigist teise kimada. Hommikud algasid hommikusoogiga umbes 5:00 6:00 aeg(enne mida pidid telgid olema kokku pandud ja veokis) ja parast paevast soitu, umbes 15:30-19:30 aeg maandusime jalle kusagil Camp site-il((telgi platsidel), kus me siis ohtust soime ja baaris aega veetsime.
Osades suurtemates linnades voi huvitavates kohtades veetsime aga paar ood kohapeal, kus siis oli inimestel voimalus teha igasugu lisa yritusi(nagu langevarjuga hyppamine, lovidega jalutamine jne.)
Meie reisi meeskond, kes tootas ATC-le koosnes kolmest inimesest.
Martina-meie energiline Iirlannast grupi juht, kes oli ka viimasepeal naitlja. Tema jutud ja kaitumine oli meile pidevaks lobustuseks.
Alois-meie veoki juht(Maasai-Pikk ja suur mees, kes enamus aja oli vaga sonavaene ja tosine, kuid kui ta suu avas oli see vaart ta jutte ja naeratust. Vahel oli ta aga nous meile raakima oma rahva kommetest, ja tanu millele me saime selgituse tema seljal olevatele suurtele kriimustustele. Need oli talle malestusekis jatnud lovi, keda nad oma grupi poistega noortena pidid jahtima.Yks kommetest mida iga noor Maasai poiss peab labima.)
Whicklife- Noormees, kes valmistas maitsvaid toite iga hommik, louna ja ohtu.
Pohi toiduks oli hommikul-muna, krobuskid jm, lounaks-salatid ja voileivad, ohtuks-kartul(makaron, riis), juurviljad(kapsas ja porgand) ja liha(kala).

Ka meil olid omad ylesanded ja grupid kellega neid jagada.
Ylesanneteks oli noude pesu, koka abi, veoki pyhkimine, toolide ja laudade valja panemine ning vee kanistrite taitmine.
Erinevatel paevadel sai tehtud erinevaid asju ja siis oli moni puhkepaev kus ei pidanud miskit tegema, kuid koik siiski aitasid siin ja seal.

Masai Mara

2006-11-02T04:33:00.000-08:00

I don't have any of my own photos the add here so sorry Americans, it's all text with Ingrid's photos at the bottom.

The Masai Mara is the Kenyan side of the Serengeti and you have to take "the worst road in Africa" to access it. That goes to demonstrate the planning in much of Africa. Capital city - Nairobi, #1 tourist attraction in the country - Masai Mara, Connecting the two - "The worst road in Africa". The road was comical for about 45 minutes, then it became a royal pain. Certain potholes were literally the size of a vehicle and all rules of the road were abandoned here. There was no right side, wrong side, or any sides for that matter. We spent more time driving through the fields adjacent to the road then actually on the road. It was an experience for the ages.

Once you've been to the Serengeti, the Masai Mara is a let down for wildlife. Fortunately, the Masai people are there to make up the difference.

The Masai are a nomadic community that live off their herds of cattle. They eat no game, chicken or fish, taking all their meat strictly from their cattle. Every 7 years, boys ages 15 through 21 are sent out into the bush for months at a time with the goal of surviving in the natural habitat and, if possible, killing a lion. Upon returning to the villiage, the young Masai boys are rewarded for their bravery with circumcision. That's right folks, survive the wild and we reward you with a nip of the tip. The circumcision is performed publicly and if you flinch, cry, or make a sound, they kill you. Our driver was Masai, he went into the bush with 76 young boys. 15 died in the wild (3 killed by a lion) and 1 was killed when he cried during circumcision. I guess this kinda puts the Western ritual of getting your driver's license into perspective.

The Masai determine rank and rights, such as picking the best wife, by the height they can jump. I have yet to determine how jumping ability relates to Darwin's theory, but I'm sure it must be good for something besides simply looking cool. I had a chance to dance and jump with the Masai around the campfire. I did pretty good on my height and reckon I would have been a top 3 selection in the wife draft (The photo doesn't do it justice - I owned those guys).

I learned to make fire by rubbing sticks together, that sucks. Thank heavens for Bic.

We took a walk near Hippos - hence the need for the armed guard. Hippos are the #2 killer in Africa behind........Mosquitoes! Though it sounds terrible, deep down everyone on the hike secretly hoped a hippo would charge us and we could see the guard in action. I was giving 3 - 1 odds that he'd run away.

Masai Mara asub Kenyas, umbes 7h. kaugusel Nairobist. ($1.- = 71.- shillings, mitte sassi ajada Tanzania shillinguga mis on $1.- =1200.-)
Kui ma varem arvasin et teed Eestis on jubedad, siis ma eksisin rangalt, kuna tee Masai Marasse oli nii voimatu, et enamuse aja soitisme tee korval liiva aukudes, kuna pinnatud tee oli ligi 20 a. vana ja sellel siledat pinda oli raske leida. Hea uudis on aga see, et kui kellelgi on huvi sinna minna paari aasta parast, siis ei tohiks seda probleemi enam olla kuna nad plaanivad hakata teed parandama.
Nagu naha ei onnestu koigil turvaliselt jouda oma sihtpunkti.

Meie kallis veoki juht oli ka Masai. Nagu temagi, on masai enamuses pikad ja saledad inimesed(kuigi meie juht oli rase nagu ta ise ytles).

Nad kannavad punase ja puna sinise varviga tekke, mis on nende igapaevane riietus, et siis loomad neid kaugelt markaks ja eemale hoiaks. Nende majad on ehitatud koigastest ja lehma kakast ja katused on tehtud korkjatest. Maja on pohimotteliselt vaike kuubik, kus on 2 voodi kohta erinevates seintes (yks mehele ja teine naisele ja lastele), nende vahel on porandal loke/kook ja ukse juures on vaike ruum, kuhu nad ooseks panevad oma loomad. Yhe maja ehitamine votab ligi 2 kuud, kus nad umbes 9 a. elavad. Parast seda poletatakse kyla maha putukate partast ja siis ehitatakse uus kyla sinna lahedusse.

Esimene naine on tavaliselt valitud mehe vanemate poolt, kuid parast seda voivad masai mehed endale votta nii palju naisi kui soovivad. Pidustuste puhul on Masai meestele iseloomulik tantsida ja laulda. Kuid nende omapara on see mis moodi nad korgele hyppavad. Koige korgemale hyppav mees on naiste (ja meeste) seas korgelt hinnatud.

Meile opetati ka kuidas teha tuld

Siin nagime esimest korda Aafrika lapsi viisil nagu neid tihtipeale on naha meie reklaamides. Tatt nirgub ninast valja ja nad ei lase end hairida karbestest kes mooda nagu ringi ronivad.

Teel tagasi Nairobisse jalutasime joge mooda et tutvuda erinevate joehobu peredega. Seda pidime tegema aga oma relvastatud juhiga kuna vahel hobud arrituvad ja ryndavad inimesi.

Serengeti National Park/ Ngorongoro Crater

2006-11-02T04:08:00.000-08:00

We made it to the World Famous Serengeti and the equally impressive but poorly marketed Ngorongoro Crater (I guess Ngorongoro doesn't roll of the tongue). Serengeti is Masai for "never ending plain" and these first three photos, Hyena, Elephants and Acacia Trees, should give you a feeling for the vastness of it all.

This was intense game driving from early morning to sunset in hot, dusty conditions. I would strongly recommend this area to anyone looking to see great game but would caution that conditions are anything but luxurious.

We came across a pair of Lion cubs about 5 minutes into the park.
And we saw Leopards. (Trust me, there is a leopard in this photo. He's looking right at you from the center of the shot - click on the picture to enlarge)
And a Cheetah with a Kill.

And a Wildebeest (again, that's really how it's spelled) fight.
And a heard on the move - Click on the photo to enlarge, there are hundreds of wildebeest stretching across the photo.

And Pink Flamingoes.

And Buffalo with little birds on their heads.

But the best part was the Lion kill. We came across three lions, one male, two females, in the process of consuming an antelope. I will never again concern myself with the various methods humans use to kill our food before eating it. At least we kill our food before eating it. These photos should give you an idea of how close we were (I'm the one on the left). The sound effects were incredible, I'll leave it at that. I wouldn't want to gross anyone out by describing the celery snapping sound of the legs being broken or the gaseous release when the fluorescent green stomach was ripped apart, that would be gross. I guess I could describe the uncomfortably powerful sound the lions made when they wanted to let you know to stay away. Without even removing the hindquarters from his mouth, this lion shook the souls of all passengers when he grumbled. It was a noise that made you close the windows and check that the doors were locked. The sound was a grunt, like men watching football make when communicating "yes, I would like another slice of pizza", but bigger. I'm unable to come up with an accurate description, so I guess you'll just have to go hear it for yourselves.

Check out the look of satisfaction on this guy's face (and the leg hanging out of his mouth!).

Though I had my doubts about the Serengeti during the first few hours of day one, in the end it lived up to its reputation and again, I would recommend it to others.

There's a shot in the Estonian section that demonstrates how the animals would walk right up to the vehicles.

Ngorongoro-tolkes lehma kell(kuna kohalike meelest on see lehma kella helina haal). See on endine vulkaani auk, mille laius on nyyd 20 km ja mae seinad on 600 m.

Servalt alla vaadates ei nainud me yhtegi looma ja soit auku tundus olevat motetu. Kui olime aga alla joudnud ymbritsesid meid pidevalt igasugu loomade (Zebrade, Buffelite, lovide ja igasugu muud) grupid.

Serengeti on yks suuremaid ja tuntumaid parke Aafrikas. Seal kaisime aga vaiksemate soidukitega, kust oli voimalik isegi katuselt valja ronida ja kaelkirjakuga tott vahtida. Jarjekordselt nagime tohutult loomi kuid nyyd ei vaevunud me enam fotokat votma kui just loom ei olnud auto korval ja miskit ponevat ei toimunud.

Seekord tegin pildi kui paike oli juba loojunud. Kuigi tahti pole naha on taevas ikkagi ilus.

Spice tour

2006-11-02T03:55:00.000-08:00

Zanzibar is known as the "Spice Island", though I was disappointed at the lack of Spice Girls. (Okay, that was too easy and you saw it coming, I wrestled with putting it into text and determined while it's obvious and I earn no points, you'd be disappointed if it wasn't there)

Anyway, we spent a day wandering the islands spice plantations where I was surprized to learn spices don't grow on McCormick trees. We learned the fascinating origins of dozens of spices and perfumes, though I'll spare readers the details.

Wow, sparing the details really cuts down on the amount of writing I have to do. I should have thought of this weeks ago. If you want to learn more about our spice tour, you'll have to ask in person.

Soit Zanzibaris, kus me kaisime ka maitseainete ekskursioonil, oli hullem kui soit Ameerika magedes voi New Yorgis ja kindlasti hullem kui vankriga soit kas lehma voi Eeslitega nagu paljud kohalikud tegid.

Esiteks kiirus inimeste ja loomade vahel oli kiirem kui lubatud(ja nagu ma omast kogemusest oppisin, soidavad nad sulle parem otsa, kui hakkavad autot aeglustama) ja lisaks sellele oli meie autojuht yhe kaega telefoni otsas kui ta kitsast silda hakkas yletama. Kuigi sillal oli vastu tulev auto, ei vaevund juht panema jalga pidurile, kuid selle asemel vabastada ta ka teise kae roolilt, et siis nina nokkida. Onneks ei kestnud soit kauem kui 1,5 h. yks ots.

Spice tour- maitseainete ekskursioon oli vaga tore, samal ajal kui me vaatasime ja katsusime igasugu taimi ja oppisime et Pipar ja Vanilje on parasiit ronitaimed, mis tihti ka puu enda all tapavad, oli meiega kaasas poiss, kes meile banaani lehtedest igasugu asju nagu ehteid ja lipse valmistas. Ja kui vihm hakkas sadama, toi ta meile Banaani lehtedest vihmavarjud.

Zanzibar

2006-11-02T03:36:00.000-08:00

On to the Mystical Isle of Zanzibar - Birthplace of Freddie Mercury (Keep me in mind next time you win Trivial Pursuit with that little Gem).

Keeping with the relaxing holiday theme, Zanzibar was a complete beach holiday. I would strongly recommend it to others, but bring a sense of adventure along with your Speedo. Stonetown is the island's main city and had it's hey day roughly forever ago. Today it's a decrepit place where just about everything has stuff growing on it, is falling apart, or both.

If you can get past the grime, the city has a tremendous amount of history. Omani, Chinese, Indians, Portuguese, British, they were all here and they all added to the melting pot. Stemming from Arabic influence, here I am honoring the former Sultan's place.

Something most people find fascinating is the doors of Stonetown (Once they get over the Freddie Mercury shock - and that can take days). Influenced by the Middle East and India, doorways became a sign of status on the island as today's coffee table books can attest. I was a big fan of the spikes; can anyone guess what they were for? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Elephant protection! Seriously. The spiked doors were influenced by Indians who used them back in India to prevent (now get this) "War Elephants" from knocking down the doors. Thankfully, there are no elephants on Zanzibar and the spikes are purely decorative.

I could go on and on about Zanzibar, but I'll just leave you with the sunsets. The sun seems to hang on just a little bit longer and glow a little bit oranger* in Zanzibar. You can see from the photo, words just don't do it justice.

*Oranger is not technically a word, but this is my blog so what I say goes!

Lastly, the picture in the Estonian section with all of us half-submerged. This is classic. Took a walk along the beach in the morning, came back, beach was gone. Tides are the darndest things.

Zanzibar on saar, mis asub 2,5 h. praami soidu kaugusel Aafrika ida kaldast.Seal veetsime 3 ood, mis andis meile voimause puhata ja nautida fantast saare ranna elu. Ja seekord oobisime telkide asemel hotellis,mis oli paris monus vahelduseks(selles eest pidime muidugi lisa maksma.)
Yks hommik hakkasime oma vaikse grupiga mooda rannajoont kondima peatudes erinevates hotelli baarides ja vee aarsetes turgudes. Ja kui parast lounat otsutasime tagasi kondida, avastasime, et vesi oli nii palju tousnud, et meil ei olnud muud valikut kui leida soidu tee ja kondinda 1,5h. asemel 2,5h. et saada tagasi oma hotelli juurde. Kuigi paike oli tappev, lohutasime end sellega, et meil oligi parast pika-ajalist istumist tarvis vahe trenni teha.

Jargmine paev otsustasime aga uuesti minna teiste hotellide randa ja einestada nende hotellis, kuid plaanisime tulla piisavalt hilja tagasi, lootes et vesi on selleks ajaks tagasi alla lainud. Nagu pildi pealt naha ei olnud vesi meie hommikust liivast randa ikka veel paljastanud. Ja kui me joudsime rinnuni vette, soitis yks paat meist mooda, kes meid lahkelt peale korjas ja meid meie hotelli tagasi viis. (Muidu oleks vist meie rahakotid ja kaamerad vahe marjaks saanud.)
Jarjekordne ilus paikese loojang.

Lake Malawi

2006-11-02T01:16:00.000-08:00

Lake Malawi proved to be the first Ahhhh location of the trip. We spent 5 nights camping at the beach, listening to the waves, and simply relaxing. For the first time since leaving the States, I felt like I was on vacation.

The lake proved to be a unique location in that it combined Surfable waves, white sand beaches, and fresh water (gotta love the fresh water). In the mornings the water would have 3-4 foot waves and in the evening it would become a sheet of glass.

The people of Malawi have been the poorest we've met thus far, but on the surface, the happiest. Every child runs after our truck waving like there's no tomorrow. There has also been a change in the begging that occurs here. While children in other countries ask for money or sweets, kids in Malawi ask for pens. The communities have associated education with advancement, and thus a better life, and the kids beg for pens so they can contribute at school. Of course, I ran across the one child that had the gall to say "Give me biscuit, Give me biscuit or I kill you!". It was a hit with us and became a running joke for the rest of Africa. In the kid's defense, he WAS wearing a Chelsea Football Club jersey so he's probably been corrupted by Londoners.

The highlight of our time here, besides the relaxing on the beach, was the day Julian, Ian, Nigel and I decided to hike to Livingstonia. We were told it was a 4 hour return hike with beautiful scenery and something we will never forget. It was crap. 8+ Hours and 30+ km later, the four of us staggered back into camp completely Knackered (Knackered is British for exhausted, learned that on the trip). The worst part about the whole affair was the lack of climax when we reached Livingstonia. Livignstonia was a community developed by the British missionary explorer John Livingstone and Blah, Blah, Blah. It was crap. It was a tiny town on a hill in the middle of nowhere. The museum was 2 rooms and took 3 minutes to complete. It was Crap. We were so disappointed in the trip that several of us refused to take pictures out of protest. I snapped the following shot and glad I did, it looks so amazing that I can lie to myself and tell me it was worth the agonizing trip.

As if the dull walk and depressing heat wasn't enough to completely dash our spirits during the hike, insult was added to injury by this little girl. As I was huffing and puffing my way up the hillside, this 6 yearold decided to walk with us. This 6 year old decided to walk with us with her sister on her back. This 6 year old decided to walk faster when I tried to escape my shame and get ahead of her. This 6 year old was tougher than the lot of us.

Malawilased ajasid meie lipu varvi jarjekorra sassi!

Malawi oli ilus ja huvitav riik, mille pinnast 20 % moodustas jarv.
Malawi oli yks vaesemaid riike, kus koolis ei olnud ei laudu ega toole.
Vaga vahestel oli natuke paberit ja moned pastakad. Kui tavaliselt lapsed jooksid meile jargi hyydes"Mzungu, mzungu (valge inimene) anna mulle kommi, anna mulle raha", siis siin palusid nad pastakaid.

Majad olid ehitatud korkjatest ja tellistest, mida nad ise valmistasid.

Mehed vedasid koikvoimalikku kraami ratastel nagu telliskive, juurvilju, puid, vett jne. Naised tegid seda sama kuid asju kandsid nad peal, samal ajal kui beebi oli ratiga kinnitatud seljal. Osad vee ambrid olevat isegi 40 l. -ytles yks kohalik opetaja, naidates tynni parandal. Ta kysis kas ma tahan ka proovida, kuid ma otsustasin kergemate asjade ja beebi kasuks.

`

Walk with lions

2006-11-02T00:31:00.000-08:00

Slightly different from the Cheetah park, walking with lions is part of an African-wide program to reer lions for re-population of parks. In the program, lions are born at the facility in Zimbabwe, raised semi-domestically until the age of 2, then released into the wild. This program has dramatically increased the likelyhood of new cubs reaching adulthood and has played a major role in increasing the population of lions throughout Africa. By visiting the lion sancuary, you participate in the raising of the lions by taking them for a 1 hour walk at either sunrise or sunset. You walk as a pack and ensure the otherwise lazy lions get out and stretch their legs. The lions we walked with were 18 months old and nearing their release to a game park in South Africa.

In between walking sessions, which last approximately 5 min each and may cover 200 yards (I didn't realize that the "King of the Jungle" is basically the world's most lethal couch potato), you "play" with the lions.

At this point I'd like to turn your attention to the stick. This is the last line of defense between you and the 200lb cat that is lunging at you. During the play sessions the lions may practice pouncing. In the event they choose to pounce on you, you are instructed to stand your ground, point the stick at them and in an authoritative voice say "No Lion". Apparently this will curtail the attack and your life will be spared.

Needless to say shortly after this picture was taken the lion hit me with his tail, picked his head up, and growled - indicating that he wanted to play. Did I stand my ground? Heck No! I ran away whimpering like a schoolgirl. Would you stand your ground in the face of that beast? Best part is, they got it all on tape.

Jalle oli Inxil yks tore paev--ma sain jalle kiisudega jalutada ja neid katsuda. Aeg aga kahjuks lendas nii ruttu, et ma ei tahtnud kassikestega parast 2,5 h. ikka veel hyvasti jatta.

Paljud arvatavasti teavad, et kassidel on kare keel, kuid lovide keel on nagu liivapaber.

Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe

2006-11-01T23:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, Inx is much better at blogging than I am. There, I said it. You can all stop sending me those emails now, you know who you are, the "Ingrid's doing a great job" and "I can't read Estonian" contingent. I know what you're getting at...

Anyway, Vic Falls. Biggest waterfall in the world by length, named by English explorer John Livingston in roughly 1852, Umpteen million liters of water and 24 crocodiles per year...Blah, Blah, Blah. You're talking to someone from upstate New York here, I basically grew up at Niagara Falls (Read - One time I took a school bus there with 73 howling children when I was 9). Vic falls ain't got nothin' on Niagara. Now I'm not saying Vic falls was a let down or you shouldn't try to get there, and I concede that crocodiles over the falls tops crazies-in-barrels over the falls, but Niagara falls is where it's at. Funny that I'd have to travel half way across the globe just to put Niagara falls into perspective. For those of you that can't make it, NIAGARA FALLS IS FREAKING HUGE! SERIOUSLY....HUGE.

On the adrenaline note, we did have a blast in this part of the world. I did "The Gorge Swing", which meant I jumped off the edge of the gorge with a static (read - Non-Bungee snap your back) cord wrapped around my waist into a 70 meter free fall followed by a highspeed "superman" across the gorge. I did a handstand my first time and dropped backwards the second time*. In other action news, Adam and Ingrid participated in a full-day whitewater rafting excursion on the Zambezi. Good times with class 5 rapids, one class 6 (we walked round that one), and two flips of the raft. The most exciting portion of the day was signing the waivers that included "participant may be harmed or consumed by crocodile".

* For those keeping track, Adam jumped 2 times. Yes, Katie Jumped 3 times. Whopteedo. She cried when she did it so she's disqualified.

Vic Falls on100 m. korgune ja 1700 m. laiune kosk ja seetottu suurim maailmas.
Selle vahelt lookleb Zambezi jogi, kus me kaisime Adamiga raftimas(kummi paadiga veel). Me labisime 19 erinevat koske/kukkumist, mis olid hinnatud enamuses 4-sed ja 5-sed raskuselt.
Nendest kahel korral laks meie paat ymber ja yhel korral jain ma ka paadi alla mis tundus olevat 15-20 min. hirmu soit. Kuid mottes kordasin pidevalt mida juht ytles, et reaalsuses on see vaid 2-4 sekundit. Lopuks tombas Adam mind sealt valja ja paaste paadi abiga aidati mind ja teisi soudjaid tagasi meie paadi juurde millele me parast ymber pooramiset tagasi ronisime ja jargmise kukkumise jaoks end valmistasime. (sellest kahjuks pilte ei ole, kuna sinna ei saanud loomulikult fotokat kaasa votta).

Jargmine paev olid aga lihased valusad, mitte kyll aga soudmisest, vaid maest alla ja yles ronimisest, mis vottis ainult 30 min, kuid see eest oli see jarsk ja vasitav.

Chobe

2006-11-01T22:59:00.000-08:00

Chobe is Elephant heaven. Sure, there were Hippos and Warthogs and other...things, but this is where the elephants rule. We stopped counting at 100 and had the good fortune of wandering into a troop for these shots. It was all fuzzy bunnies until one of the bulls decided to charge our truck. It when something like this.
"Hey, look at that big elephant over there."
"Wow, get the camera, it's in the perfect head-on position!"
"I can't believe it's getting so close. We're SO lucky!"

"When do you think it's going to stop walking toward us?"

"I don't know, but it can't be long."
"What was that sound?"

"I think it's trying to tell us something."
"Oh My Gosh, Get inside the truck and mind the tusks!!!"

Please add a hipo photo. med, to the right.

Chobe on ideaalne koht elevanttide ja joehobu huvilistele.

Parast auto soitu , kus me sattusime suure elevandi gruppi keskele veetsime me ligi 2h. laeval paikseloojangut vaatamas, kus enamus tahelepanu oli siiski elevanttide ja joehobude paralt.

Cheetah park

2006-11-01T22:49:00.000-08:00

While in Namibia we visited a refuge camp for Cheetahs. Historically, humans have killed cheetahs that have hunted their livestock. Today, when farmers have Cheetahs enter their property, they call Mario at the Cheetah park and he quickly comes to remove the cheetah and pay the farmer a finders fee. The park houses 23 rescued cheetahs, 3 domestic cheetahs, and recently welcomed 2 new cheetah cubs. Highlights from the park included the Cheetah petting session, feeding the cats, and a Jack Rustle Terrier (more on that in a moment).

Petting the cats was as expected, basically, they're giant housecats. They weren't too intimidating (If lick came to shove, I think I could take one) and they purred. However, their pur is the V10 Dodge Viper equivalent of a house cat's 72' Datsun. You could feel them purring even when you didn't touch them, it was neato.

Their fur was surprisingly course and my favorite part of the Cheetahs was their eyes. They are outfitted with massive, deep hazel eyes that you could get lots in. Not in the romantic way, more of they "Wow those are beautiful, hey where's my jugular" way.

One of the cats was One-eyed-willie, the pirate cat with a blind eye. Were it not for the park, Darwin's theory would have done him in long ago.

Feeding was intense as the cats rushed toward the pickup truck we were in and tried to frighten the food out of us (having second thoughts on that "think I can take one" claim right about now). I was shocked when we visited the new recruits pen where 4 recently acquired cheetahs live. By nature, the cheetah would avoid humans like the plauge (assuming cheetahs understand communicable disease) but these 4 were forced to come out to receive their hunk of meat. They cowered, whined, and whimpered as they crawled toward their food before snatching it up and scurrying away. Mario stated it takes the cats over a year in some cases to get used to being in the presence of humans (Yeah, I could definately take a cheetah).

Without much Hullahbaloo, here's a picture of the cheetah cub. What else is there to say?

Finally, the Jack Russel Terrier. This creep of a dog was possessed, seriously. The thing barked and nipped with the ferocity of a honey badger (bet you didn't see that coming). Beside the obvious humor of a Jack Russel going balistic at animate and inanimate objects while living in a cheetah park where it is little more than a walking Hors d'oeuvre, the terrier best encompassed the intense heat that is ever present in Africa. Although I wasn't able to capture the moment on film, one afternoon while walking to the swimming pool I passed the JRT and it shot me a look that said "Every fibre of my being wants to nip your heal this very second" but due to the temperature the dog just stared. 3 hours later, once the shadows appear and things cooled off, the dog made good on it's promise.

Hurraaa! Ma sain kiisusid katsuda!. Kui keegi veel ei tea, siis votke teatavaks et kassid on mu lemmik loomad ja meil onnestus lisaks nende toitmisele ka neid paitada. Minu yllatuseks aga ei olnud nende karv yldse nii pehme kui ma oleks arvanud. Cheetad on ainsad suured kasslased kes nurruvad, kuna neil on lisa luu voi miskit taolist kurgus nagu meie kodu kassidel.

Hello Internet

2006-11-01T04:38:00.000-08:00

Hey Gang. Apologies for the downturn in communications over the past 50 days. Ingrid and I have successfully traversed 8 countries in Southern and Eastern Africa and in most of these communities the internet is a fishing device located inside the outer net.

We're glad to report that we have found our way safely to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and the promised land of high-speed internet.

In the days ahead we'll update the blog with all the adventures that have taken place along the way. Here are some highlights to get you going.....

- Welcomed a new nephew on October 2nd. Baby Nate was 21", 8 lbs, and immediately baptised into the order of the Power Rangers by his older brothers.

- Pet a Cheetah (Tip o' the hat to Katie for beating me to the punch on this one).

- Ate breakfast with an Elephant (Mind you, the Elephant was not invited; but you let those little details slide when they waltz into your camp - looking to share your oranges - Elephants and oranges, who knew? - More on this later).

- Visited Victoria (Vic) Falls and did "The Gorge Swing".

- Saw Lions.

- Drank Guiness Extra Stout just like my Dad. Course I drank it while taking in sunset on the beaches of Zanzibar, but I'm sure it tastes the same there as in snowy Rochester, New York.

- Grew a ridiculous amount of facial hair. (see earlier photos for progress - or - for effect - print out pictures of me through the trip then flip through them really fast, it will look like my beard is growing. I call it a moving picture, I think it's going to be big.)

- Survived Africa.

Okavango Delta

2006-10-08T05:51:00.000-07:00

The Okavango Delta experience was a 3 day camping trip into the inner sections of the Delta. To gain access to the remote areas of the worlds largest inland Delta, we took advantage of the local Mokoro vessels. Mokoros are single piece boats carved from Sausage trees. They would be the nautical equivalent of the Low-rider. Nerves are tested as you, and all your belongings, are asked to settle into a boat that just doesn't look like it's going to make it. Adding to your fears are the bailing sponges and absorbent hay each mokoro is outfitted with.

In the end, we make it. Not so high and relatively dry we set up bush camp on a large island 3.5 hours mokoro ride deep in the delta. For the next 3 days we commune with nature while taking in the wildlife through "walking safaris". A walking safari is, like the sharks, nature roulette. Not 10 meters from camp you get that hot flash, followed by "what the heck am I doing here" feeling that comes with entering lion territory without a very large gun. (scroll down for more english)

Botswanas oli meil voimalik veeta kaks fantast ood Okavanga Deltal-see on suur veekogu, mis lihtsalt jookseb Namibiast tulevast joest valgudes laiali suurel korkjal maapinnal.
Soit saarele oli Mokorodes(puust kanuud), kuhu mahtus 2 inimest ja Poler(juht), kes meid pysti seistes pika kepiga vees, korkjate vahel lykkas. Yks ots kestis kusagil 3h.

Seal panime jalle telgid pysti ja laksime jalutuskaikudele et loomi ja jalajalgi naha, kuid seekord jala, kus meie enda jalad ja moistus meid ohu korral kaitsevad.
Jarjekordeslt nagime igasugu eelmainitud loomi. Kuid seekord oli kahjuks yks emane Wildabeast mingil pohjusel enne otsa loppenud, kui tal onnestus poeg ara synnitada. Tagant oli naha kuidas vaiksed jalad rippusid valja, kuid me ei hakka seda pilti hetkel teiega jagama. Kyll oli aga naha et lovid ei olnud veel jaole joudnud, kuid Haiina oli oma osa ara narinud.

It was on the walking safari that the following photos were taken. First, was the partially enjoyed wilderbeest (yes, that is how you spell wilderbeest - Trust me, I'm the one in Africa) carcass. You can see from the photo that Ingrid and I had slightly different reactions to this find.

Next was the evidence that elephants were common in the area. Make that VERY LARGE elephants. The hole Ingrid is sitting in is an elephant footprint.

Teine huvitav kokkupuude oli elevantidega.
Koigepealt tegime pilti nende poolt maha lykatud puudest, suurtest jalajalgedest kuhu ma mahtusin sisse istuma ja kakast, kuid parast oli meil isegi voimalik nendega koos hommikut einestada.

Elevandid on suured loomad, kuid vaga vaiksed. Sa ei pruugigi neid enne margatagi kui hakkad suurt halli kivi poosa taga jalgima, mis aeg ajalt liigub.Ja siis taipad, et tegemist on elevandiga.

Saaarelt tagasi tulles jooksid jaanalinnud meie teele ja selle asemel et peatuda ja lasta lindudel minna yle tee, otsustas meie auto juht astuda gaasile et siis meile demonstreerida kui kiirelt linnud suudavad joosta.