Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Bali
We arrived in Bali in mid-December to a warm, tropical climate. Having already absorbed our share of sunshine and cocoa butter on beaches of Thailand and the Philippines, we chose to spend our time within the interior of the island.
From the airport, we proceeded directly inland to the extraordinary town of Ubud. Known as the cultural center of Bali, though less frequented than the tourist-laden southern beaches, Ubud was a fine place to spend the bulk of our time on the island. Here we hiked and bicycled through expansive, cascading rice terraces and explored the surplus of ancient temples dotting the sculpted hillsides just outside the city.
Of particular note is the architecture in Bali. Each neighborhood is encompassed by intricate, stone walls and entered via a towering, split gateway. Every village seems a shrine, and every lawn a manicured sanctuary. Where these folks find that much stone, seed and time I’ll never know, but it makes for a photo-happy visit.
From Ubud, we took a short trip to the town of Munduk to take in its’ remote, mountainous scenery. While the town is nothing to speak of, the surrounding waterfalls, rice terraces and tropical forests made for good hiking and incredible views.
As we returned to Ubud, I was overcome by a very passionate flu bug which left me bed-ridden for our last few days on the island. My loving wife stuck with me for the first days, though ultimately escaped for some “necessary” shopping and a Balinese spa & massage treatment on our final day.
Bali is gorgeous, and its' people are as friendly as they come. We were enamored with our visit here, and we didn’t even make it to a beach. We will definitely return.
From the airport, we proceeded directly inland to the extraordinary town of Ubud. Known as the cultural center of Bali, though less frequented than the tourist-laden southern beaches, Ubud was a fine place to spend the bulk of our time on the island. Here we hiked and bicycled through expansive, cascading rice terraces and explored the surplus of ancient temples dotting the sculpted hillsides just outside the city.
Of particular note is the architecture in Bali. Each neighborhood is encompassed by intricate, stone walls and entered via a towering, split gateway. Every village seems a shrine, and every lawn a manicured sanctuary. Where these folks find that much stone, seed and time I’ll never know, but it makes for a photo-happy visit.
From Ubud, we took a short trip to the town of Munduk to take in its’ remote, mountainous scenery. While the town is nothing to speak of, the surrounding waterfalls, rice terraces and tropical forests made for good hiking and incredible views.
As we returned to Ubud, I was overcome by a very passionate flu bug which left me bed-ridden for our last few days on the island. My loving wife stuck with me for the first days, though ultimately escaped for some “necessary” shopping and a Balinese spa & massage treatment on our final day.
Bali is gorgeous, and its' people are as friendly as they come. We were enamored with our visit here, and we didn’t even make it to a beach. We will definitely return.
 |
| Link to Bali photos |
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Philippines
A bit of preface… Upon arriving at a given airport, we declare that we’re harboring no plant life and typically exit the customs area to a sea of unscrupulous taxi drivers and swarming hotel touts. We push through the crowd in search of a local commuter bus which will drop us off near (but never at) our destination. After an hour on the bus, we’re dumped at the city center where we begin our backpack-slugging quest for an often unnumbered building on an invariably unnamed street in order to secure lodging at a potentially undesirable hotel. If all goes as planned, it’s taxing – if not, it just sucks.
Our arrival in the Philippines was quite different; there, we were visiting friends – David & Nickie - who made arrangements for our arrival, and for our entire stay. We were met by their smiling driver who swiftly loaded us into a car and drove us past the hordes of decaying city busses as we sighed in relief. Upon our arrival at their home, we were greeted with a warm meal, good company and a proper bed. If all travel could be this easy…
Following a much needed day of poolside recuperation, the four of took a short flight to the island of Cebu, where we spent a few gleaming days at a seaside resort. From there we embarked on a windless catamaran sail and a jaw-dropping snorkeling trip. Despite the stunning aquatic life, the highlight of our snorkeling trip was watching David fend off an angry, 3’ Titan Trigger fish, determined to take a toe as toll for swimming too close to its’ nest. Fortunately, no one was harmed, though the screams from Ellen’s snorkel tube are still ringing in my head.
Before returning to Manila, we took a day trip to Bohol to see the expansive, rolling “Chocolate Hills”, famed for their picture-perfect spherical shapes. An unexpected highlight was a stop to witness native Tarsiers – the smallest primates on earth. These tiny, tree-bound creatures look to be a miniature product of a love affair between of Yoda and a Kuala bear.
Back in Manila, we had a few much-appreciated days of socializing and relaxing before taking another day trip to the incredible Pagsanjan River. Used in the filming of Apocalypse Now, the Pagsanjan flows through a lush, tropical river canyon where one might expect to find treasure-hunting expeditions or spear-toting natives. The passage of this river by a small wooden boat, paddled – as well as pushed – upstream, was an incredible experience.
After the effort involved in leaving Thailand, our visit to the Philippines was just the recharge that we needed. Our visit to the Philippines was truly a vacation from our vacation, and we really had a blast. Thanks to David and Nickie!
Our arrival in the Philippines was quite different; there, we were visiting friends – David & Nickie - who made arrangements for our arrival, and for our entire stay. We were met by their smiling driver who swiftly loaded us into a car and drove us past the hordes of decaying city busses as we sighed in relief. Upon our arrival at their home, we were greeted with a warm meal, good company and a proper bed. If all travel could be this easy…
Following a much needed day of poolside recuperation, the four of took a short flight to the island of Cebu, where we spent a few gleaming days at a seaside resort. From there we embarked on a windless catamaran sail and a jaw-dropping snorkeling trip. Despite the stunning aquatic life, the highlight of our snorkeling trip was watching David fend off an angry, 3’ Titan Trigger fish, determined to take a toe as toll for swimming too close to its’ nest. Fortunately, no one was harmed, though the screams from Ellen’s snorkel tube are still ringing in my head.
Before returning to Manila, we took a day trip to Bohol to see the expansive, rolling “Chocolate Hills”, famed for their picture-perfect spherical shapes. An unexpected highlight was a stop to witness native Tarsiers – the smallest primates on earth. These tiny, tree-bound creatures look to be a miniature product of a love affair between of Yoda and a Kuala bear.
Back in Manila, we had a few much-appreciated days of socializing and relaxing before taking another day trip to the incredible Pagsanjan River. Used in the filming of Apocalypse Now, the Pagsanjan flows through a lush, tropical river canyon where one might expect to find treasure-hunting expeditions or spear-toting natives. The passage of this river by a small wooden boat, paddled – as well as pushed – upstream, was an incredible experience.
After the effort involved in leaving Thailand, our visit to the Philippines was just the recharge that we needed. Our visit to the Philippines was truly a vacation from our vacation, and we really had a blast. Thanks to David and Nickie!
 |
| Link to Phillipines photos |
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Thailand
Sandy beaches, world-class snorkeling and nation-stifling political unrest – Thailand was a gas.
Having spent a few days in Bangkok on a previous trip (which is quite enough), we immediately made for the Andaman coast to enjoy a skosh of Thailand’s shoreline splendor.
The gorgeous peninsula of Krabi was our first and most enjoyable destination. We ultimately spent 10 days here - a few more than we had planned - compliments of airport-closing protests in Bangkok (more on this below…). We spent our time snorkeling, kayaking and relaxing on beautiful white-sand beaches among the vast and encompassing Karsts (big, cool rock formations) for which the Thailand coastline is famous. Turkey had beaches, but not like this…
We also took a short trip to visit the gorgeous, albeit overrun, islands of Ko Phi Phi. Made all too popular by the film “The Beach”, the splendor of the stunning bays & inlets around these islands was enough to overlook the myriad of passenger-toting speed boats and chock-a-block souvenir shops.
And now for the rest of the story… A few days into our stay, the Bangkok airport, from which we were scheduled to depart, was seized by a coalition of protestors rallying against the former Prime Minister of Thailand. The airport ultimately remained closed for 10 days (though, at the time, we had no idea when it might reopen). While we were comfortable with a few extra days in ‘paradise’, we were also eager to honor commitments on the next leg of our trip. Our scheduled departure date came and went, and so began the arduous process of negotiating our escape with our airline.
Two days of quarrelling and concession (the latter solely on our part) with the uncooperative and indifferent representatives of American Airlines laid burden on our last few days in Thailand. Ultimately, we were forced to abandon two legs of our scheduled itinerary (forgoing a much-desired visit to Hong Kong) and to purchase new flights leaving from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - only 800 short overland kilometers away from our location in Thailand.
During the next 36 hours, we joined our traveling brethren in a mass exodus of Thailand, by whatever means necessary. Between a boat, a few busses and hours of huddling in tiny bus stations to take shelter from torrential rain, the zenith of our journey was undoubtedly a ride in the back of an open pick-up with 14 other passengers (yes, 16 total, with luggage – in a pick-up…) to traverse flooded roads on which our bus could not pass. We found our way into Malaysia just in time for our departing flight.
In the end, Thailand’s political woes made for an interesting experience, if not a good story, and its' reputation as a seaside playground is well deserved. All in all, we enjoyed ourselves here.
Having spent a few days in Bangkok on a previous trip (which is quite enough), we immediately made for the Andaman coast to enjoy a skosh of Thailand’s shoreline splendor.
The gorgeous peninsula of Krabi was our first and most enjoyable destination. We ultimately spent 10 days here - a few more than we had planned - compliments of airport-closing protests in Bangkok (more on this below…). We spent our time snorkeling, kayaking and relaxing on beautiful white-sand beaches among the vast and encompassing Karsts (big, cool rock formations) for which the Thailand coastline is famous. Turkey had beaches, but not like this…
We also took a short trip to visit the gorgeous, albeit overrun, islands of Ko Phi Phi. Made all too popular by the film “The Beach”, the splendor of the stunning bays & inlets around these islands was enough to overlook the myriad of passenger-toting speed boats and chock-a-block souvenir shops.
And now for the rest of the story… A few days into our stay, the Bangkok airport, from which we were scheduled to depart, was seized by a coalition of protestors rallying against the former Prime Minister of Thailand. The airport ultimately remained closed for 10 days (though, at the time, we had no idea when it might reopen). While we were comfortable with a few extra days in ‘paradise’, we were also eager to honor commitments on the next leg of our trip. Our scheduled departure date came and went, and so began the arduous process of negotiating our escape with our airline.
Two days of quarrelling and concession (the latter solely on our part) with the uncooperative and indifferent representatives of American Airlines laid burden on our last few days in Thailand. Ultimately, we were forced to abandon two legs of our scheduled itinerary (forgoing a much-desired visit to Hong Kong) and to purchase new flights leaving from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - only 800 short overland kilometers away from our location in Thailand.
During the next 36 hours, we joined our traveling brethren in a mass exodus of Thailand, by whatever means necessary. Between a boat, a few busses and hours of huddling in tiny bus stations to take shelter from torrential rain, the zenith of our journey was undoubtedly a ride in the back of an open pick-up with 14 other passengers (yes, 16 total, with luggage – in a pick-up…) to traverse flooded roads on which our bus could not pass. We found our way into Malaysia just in time for our departing flight.
In the end, Thailand’s political woes made for an interesting experience, if not a good story, and its' reputation as a seaside playground is well deserved. All in all, we enjoyed ourselves here.
 |
| Link to Thailand Photos |
The train trip that never was
From Turkey, we flew to Thailand. Why the sudden continent shift? In short, we were thwarted by the Russians…Our original itinerary included a 10 day journey on Trans-Siberian railway, which was to begin in Moscow and end in Beijing (yes, yes – technically the trans-Mongolian railway). Heck, who wouldn’t want to cross the frozen tundra of the world’s largest continent in a slow, smoke-filled, overland train?
Upon researching the route, however, the cost and formalities of obtaining a Russian visa, coupled with the red tape involved with scheduling the train trip itself, proved too much for our budget and our patience to bear. We ultimately chose to spend more time in both Turkey and Thailand, which made for more enjoyable travel in each.
Next time, next time…
Monday, February 9, 2009
Future traveler
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Conceived in Portugal, discovered in Italy, carried through the Middle East and viewed by an ultrasound in Turkey – our child will have traveling in its’ blood. :)Ellen is due June 9!
Turkey
Having arrived from Syria, Turkey felt a closer neighbor to Eastern Europe than the staunchly conservative Middle East. A beautiful and relatively painless country to travel, Turkey allowed us to relax and unwind a bit.
We first secured a bus to Sanli Urfa, which served as a base for our trip to the visit the fallen statues of Mt Nemrut. Walking among the 6 ft heads of these enormous statues illuminated by the setting sun was an remarkable experience.
After a short, 10 hour bus ride, we arrived in Cappadocia, which proved to be the highlight of our visit to Turkey. Home to numerous, immense and oddly phallic rock formations, Cappadocia was decidedly one of the most photogenic destination we’ve encountered. The climax of our time here was a spell binding hot air balloon ride over this extrordinary landscape.
From Cappadocia, we worked our way along the Southwest coast of Turkey, enjoying the small coastal towns of Olympos, Kas and Fethiye. The coast was gorgeous, and hiking, beach time and seafood were all too easy to come by.
Heading inland a smidge, we spent a day exploring the incredible Roman ruins of Ephesus. The site was impressive, and the “library” was just grand.
After a quick stop in Pamukkale to see its’ famed limestone terraces (which have faded from their previous glory in recent years), we pressed on to Istanbul, our final destination. Though less tranquil than smaller towns in Turkey, Istanbul is not without its’ charm – an enormous seafront city coated with a patchwork of bridges, waterways and hilltop minarets. We avoided four days of rain by wandering Istanbul’s Grand Bazarre and its’ many mosques.
In a word, Turkey was phenomenal. One of our favorite destinations yet.
We first secured a bus to Sanli Urfa, which served as a base for our trip to the visit the fallen statues of Mt Nemrut. Walking among the 6 ft heads of these enormous statues illuminated by the setting sun was an remarkable experience.
After a short, 10 hour bus ride, we arrived in Cappadocia, which proved to be the highlight of our visit to Turkey. Home to numerous, immense and oddly phallic rock formations, Cappadocia was decidedly one of the most photogenic destination we’ve encountered. The climax of our time here was a spell binding hot air balloon ride over this extrordinary landscape.
From Cappadocia, we worked our way along the Southwest coast of Turkey, enjoying the small coastal towns of Olympos, Kas and Fethiye. The coast was gorgeous, and hiking, beach time and seafood were all too easy to come by.
Heading inland a smidge, we spent a day exploring the incredible Roman ruins of Ephesus. The site was impressive, and the “library” was just grand.
After a quick stop in Pamukkale to see its’ famed limestone terraces (which have faded from their previous glory in recent years), we pressed on to Istanbul, our final destination. Though less tranquil than smaller towns in Turkey, Istanbul is not without its’ charm – an enormous seafront city coated with a patchwork of bridges, waterways and hilltop minarets. We avoided four days of rain by wandering Istanbul’s Grand Bazarre and its’ many mosques.
In a word, Turkey was phenomenal. One of our favorite destinations yet.
 |
| Link to Turkey photos |
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Syria
After crossing the border from Jordan, we made our way to Syria's capital city of Damascus, which served as an excellent place to slow down and catch our breath for a few days. Damascus is a ancient and intriguing city which invites one to linger much longer than planned. We spent four days here, wandering among the mosques and souks (covered markets) and watching the city pass by from corner cafes.
In Damascus, we visited the incredible Umayyad mosque, one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. While Ellen dressed quite conservatively throughout the Middle East (showing a bit of elbow, or heaven-forbid a bit of calf, drew quite a bit of attention), women were required to wear "special clothes" when entering the mosque (see photos below). Ellen looked like a Muslim Jedi in the brown cloak provided by the mosque.
Damascus also offered one of my favorite experiences from the trip; a visit to a local hamam. Hamams are public bathhouses, known in the Middle East for social gathering and ritual cleansing, often with grand architecture. Sitting in the large, marble steam room made me feel like a Roman Senator or Chicago mob boss. The zenith of the hamam experience, however, consisted of a large, burly man scrubbing my skin with what looked to be an oven mit fabricated from 40-grit sandpaper to remove more dead cells than I thought possible. A massage and a spot of tea later, I felt like a new (and very, very clean) man.
Exfoliated, we worked north to Hama, which served as little more that a base point for an amazing day trip to three of Syria's many Crusader castles. The most impressive castle was the enormous 11th century Krak des Chevaliers; a towering stone goliath with outer walls up to 100 ft thick. Oh joy, that a misguided series of bloody, religious-driven military campaigns have left us such fun castles to photograph.
After a quick run about the castles, we made for Aleppo, our final destination in Syria. Here we spent a short afternoon wandering the streets and souks, and making arrangements for our upcoming journey into Turkey. Our original plan included a few more days to visit the Roman site of Palmyra, though a bit of political unease caused us to shorten our stay...
While we were in Damascus, we discovered that the U.S. attacked Syrıa near the Iraq border, killing 8 Syrian civilians. While Syrıan people were among the warmest and friendliest we've encountered, we took this news as our que to head for the border. We left the city just before the US Embassy closed and protesters began burnıng the U.S. flag downtown.
As we departed Syrıa, the border crossıng manager reconızed our US passports and called us ınto hıs offıce. He demanded that we sıt, poured us a cup of tea, and asked us ıf we voted for Obama (a questıon that we received throughout the Mıddle East). In answerıng "yes", he began a very spırıted conversatıon about US polıtıcs and George Bush. We sat ın hıs offıce for the better part of an hour, whıle he forced our bus to waıt as we drank multıple glasses of tea (the rest of the people on the bus were not happy). All told, he was extremely frıendly (especıally consıderıng that our country had attacked hıs just two days prıor) - it seems he merely wanted to share some tea, and political views, with a U.S. audience, perhaps in a small attempt to change US foreign policy one tourist at a time.
Syria was a grand experıence.
In Damascus, we visited the incredible Umayyad mosque, one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. While Ellen dressed quite conservatively throughout the Middle East (showing a bit of elbow, or heaven-forbid a bit of calf, drew quite a bit of attention), women were required to wear "special clothes" when entering the mosque (see photos below). Ellen looked like a Muslim Jedi in the brown cloak provided by the mosque.
Damascus also offered one of my favorite experiences from the trip; a visit to a local hamam. Hamams are public bathhouses, known in the Middle East for social gathering and ritual cleansing, often with grand architecture. Sitting in the large, marble steam room made me feel like a Roman Senator or Chicago mob boss. The zenith of the hamam experience, however, consisted of a large, burly man scrubbing my skin with what looked to be an oven mit fabricated from 40-grit sandpaper to remove more dead cells than I thought possible. A massage and a spot of tea later, I felt like a new (and very, very clean) man.
Exfoliated, we worked north to Hama, which served as little more that a base point for an amazing day trip to three of Syria's many Crusader castles. The most impressive castle was the enormous 11th century Krak des Chevaliers; a towering stone goliath with outer walls up to 100 ft thick. Oh joy, that a misguided series of bloody, religious-driven military campaigns have left us such fun castles to photograph.
After a quick run about the castles, we made for Aleppo, our final destination in Syria. Here we spent a short afternoon wandering the streets and souks, and making arrangements for our upcoming journey into Turkey. Our original plan included a few more days to visit the Roman site of Palmyra, though a bit of political unease caused us to shorten our stay...
While we were in Damascus, we discovered that the U.S. attacked Syrıa near the Iraq border, killing 8 Syrian civilians. While Syrıan people were among the warmest and friendliest we've encountered, we took this news as our que to head for the border. We left the city just before the US Embassy closed and protesters began burnıng the U.S. flag downtown.
As we departed Syrıa, the border crossıng manager reconızed our US passports and called us ınto hıs offıce. He demanded that we sıt, poured us a cup of tea, and asked us ıf we voted for Obama (a questıon that we received throughout the Mıddle East). In answerıng "yes", he began a very spırıted conversatıon about US polıtıcs and George Bush. We sat ın hıs offıce for the better part of an hour, whıle he forced our bus to waıt as we drank multıple glasses of tea (the rest of the people on the bus were not happy). All told, he was extremely frıendly (especıally consıderıng that our country had attacked hıs just two days prıor) - it seems he merely wanted to share some tea, and political views, with a U.S. audience, perhaps in a small attempt to change US foreign policy one tourist at a time.
Syria was a grand experıence.
 |
| Link to Syria photos |
Jordan
After crossing from Egypt on a worn and untimely ferry, we arrived in Aqaba; Jordan's aquatic playground, where we spent our time snorkeling and sunning along the beautiful Red Sea coast.
From there, we traded sea for sand and followed the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia (albeit, in a dilapidated 4x4 rather than atop a trusty steed) into the amazing desert landscape of Wadi Rum. Here we spent the night in a Bedouin camp and slept outside beneath a crystal clear display of stars. The character-filled chap with the instrument in the photo below was our Bedouin entertainment.
Gritty and unbathed, we anxiously made our way to the ancient city of Petra, Jordan’s tourism poster child. Bearing no resemblance to it’s 70s rock band namesake, Petra is an amazing expanse of ancient Nabataean architecture carved into the red rock of the Arabah Valley. We spent two days exploring this grand and ominous sandstone ghost town.
From Petra, we took a long and bumpy bus ride to Amman, which served as a base point to visit the amazing Roman ruins of Jerash. Wow, did those folks love their columns.
Jordan proved a fine country to visit, and a welcome reprieve from the hassles of Egypt.
From there, we traded sea for sand and followed the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia (albeit, in a dilapidated 4x4 rather than atop a trusty steed) into the amazing desert landscape of Wadi Rum. Here we spent the night in a Bedouin camp and slept outside beneath a crystal clear display of stars. The character-filled chap with the instrument in the photo below was our Bedouin entertainment.
Gritty and unbathed, we anxiously made our way to the ancient city of Petra, Jordan’s tourism poster child. Bearing no resemblance to it’s 70s rock band namesake, Petra is an amazing expanse of ancient Nabataean architecture carved into the red rock of the Arabah Valley. We spent two days exploring this grand and ominous sandstone ghost town.
From Petra, we took a long and bumpy bus ride to Amman, which served as a base point to visit the amazing Roman ruins of Jerash. Wow, did those folks love their columns.
Jordan proved a fine country to visit, and a welcome reprieve from the hassles of Egypt.
 |
| Link to Jordan photos |
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