Charles and Ellen`s Big Trip

Chile & Argentina

2009-03-03T22:55:00.001-08:00

Details and photos coming soon...

Bali

2009-03-01T23:50:00.000-08:00

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.

Link to Bali photos

The Philippines

2009-02-25T11:36:00.000-08:00

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!

Link to Phillipines photos

Thailand

2009-02-14T15:43:00.000-08:00

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.

Link to Thailand Photos

The train trip that never was

2009-02-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

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…

Future traveler

2009-02-09T15:11:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

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.

Link to Turkey photos

Syria

2008-12-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

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.

Link to Syria photos

Jordan

2008-12-16T10:30:00.000-08:00

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.

Link to Jordan photos

Egypt

2008-11-14T10:28:00.000-08:00

We started our journey in Cairo, an intimidating expanse of congested avenues and decaying French architecture. Cairo is home to 11 million people, half of which seem to be starvıng taxi drivers, fervently honking at tourists from a ceaseless parade of circa 1970 Renaults devoid exhaust systems. We devoted our fırst day ın Caıro to the amazing Egyptian Museum; an enormous and character-rıch home to a cornacopıa of ancient Egyptian artıfacts, the viewing of which set anticipatory tone for the rest of our stay.

We took a trip to Giza, Dashur and Saqqara where we explored temples, the Sphinx and the awe-ınspırıng Egyptian Pyramids. Crawlıng through the long tunnel into the burial chamber within the great pyramid was undoubtedly a highlight of the trip.

We then pressed on to Luxor; a dusty spec of a town showcasıng an unparalleled number of Egyptian ruins, and as many unscrupulous touts and shop owners. Ancıent pharos would roll over ın theır sarcophagi could they see Luxor today, though the myrıad of tombs and temples that they left behınd were truly sıghts to behold.

Followıng the Nıle southward past ceaseless mounds of rubbısh beıng dumped ınto ıts many trıbutarıes, we arrıved ın Aswan. More ınvıtıng than Luxor, Aswan served as the gateway for a daytrıp to Egypt's grand fınale; the ıncredıble temples of Abu Sımbel. Rıvaled only by the grandeur of the great pyramıds, Abu Sımbel commands an apprecıatıon of thıs once great culture.

We departed Aswan and made our way to Nuweıba vıa an excellent overnıght sleepıng traın back to Caıro followed by a wretched overnıght bus to the Red Sea, where we began the arduous process of crossıng the border ınto Jordan vıa a very, very slow ferry.

In sum, Egypt was a juxtaposıtıon; whıle a stagnant economy wıth a severe lack of ınfastructure made for weary travelıng, Egypt offers a wealth of hıstory amıdst mınd-blowıng sıghts whıch are worth every step trudged along the Nıle - a challengıng but amazıng place to vısıt.

Link to Egypt photos

Italy

2008-10-16T07:06:00.001-07:00

We started our journey in Rome, where we met Ellen's parents and spent a few days taking in the Vatican City, the Colosseum and all of Rome's splendid sights. We then left the city behind us and pressed on to the beautiful Amalfi coast, where we spent our time in Sorrento, Positano and enjoyed a trip to the fabulous Roman ruins of Pompeii. After a gorgeous ferry ride along the coast, we made our way north to Sienna and the neighboring Italian hill towns, where we sampled every bit of wine, cheese and olive oil that we encountered. It was in Sienna that Sue became the unfortunate victim of a pigeon bombing (photo below), though held her head high and continued to enjoy her day. :) After the hill towns, we drove west again to the coast, where we spent much of our remaining time in the postcard-perfect towns of Cinque Terre; five small, colorful villages stacked atop ocean side cliffs and linked together by hiking trails. Ellen and I hiked between all five villages, and Sue & Lynn joined us for the last leg, the Via Del Amore. The four of us rented a ville on the coast and spent our time soaking in the views and the sounds of the ocean. We spent our last day wandering the streets of Florence before Sue & Lynn left the following morning, and Ellen and I enjoyed a few more hours in San Gimignano before our evening flight from Rome. Who knew that nearly two weeks with in-laws could be so fun. :)

Tunisia

2008-10-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

We began our journey in the city of Tunis, where was saw the enormous Bardo Museum, which showcases the largest collection of Roman mosaics on the planet. From there we headed south to Matmata, known for its' amazing troglodyte homes carved from within desert craters. Below is a photo of Ellen in our subterranean hotel. From there, we visited the hilltop fortresses around Tatouine, containing the otherworldly structures constructed by ancient Berbers to store grain. We pushed on to Tozeur in the western part of the country, where we explored the expansive Chott El Jerid dessert and surrounding palm-laden oases. After the dessert, we returned to Tunis and took day trips to the seaside village of Sidi Bou Said, and the incredible Roman ruins of Dougga, which proved one of the most amazing sights we've ever encountered. In short, Tunisia is far more than we expected. Rich with history, friendly people and amazing dessert landscapes - we really enjoyed ourselves here.

Caution: geek speak ahead... As a childhood fan of the Star Wars films, I'll admit that my initial interest in Tunisia was founded in the fact that many scenes from the movies were filmed here. Embarking on my nerd pilgrimage, we visited a number of these locations, including two sights used for the boyhood home of Luke Skywalker (pictured below), the Creature Cantina and others. Fortunately, we found that most of these sights were chosen for good reason, and proved to be amazing experiences irrespective of their cinematic past. My wife, having walked the better part of 6 kilometers in the dessert sun carrying a 40lb backpack to see Obi-Wan Kenobi's house (last photo), is truly the woman for me.

Portugal

2008-10-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

We picked up our rental car south of Seville (Spain) and headed for Southern Portugal, where we spent a few days enjoying the beauty and relaxed pace of the Algarve coast. We found solice in Tavera, Sagres and Salema - a few small towns free from the blocky hotels and neon signs which dominate Portugal's otherwise gorgeouse coastline. After a few days exploring the beaches, we headed north to Lisbon where we spent much of our time perched above the city in the Castle of São Jorge. Just north of Lisbon, the beautiful town of Sintra proved to be a highlight, especially the elaborate grounds of the Quinta de Regalia. After Sintra, we pushed west where we enjoyed the walled city of Evora and the hilltop village of Monsaraz, which proved excellent finishes to our Portuagal experience.

Below are some photos of the Algarve Coast, Lisbon, Sintra, and the eerie bone chapel of Evora (yes, those are real bones).

Spain

2008-10-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

As the itinerary worked out, we made a number of brief visits to Spain between Ireland, Morocco and Tunisia (the quest for budget airfare jostled our schedule a bit). As such, our Spain photos are currently scattered about on various digital media, and we'll post them once we've done some media house-keeping.

Morroco

2008-09-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

Morocco. A spectacular assault on the senses. We touched down late in the evening in Marrakesh, and made our way to our hostel through the grand, open air ´Djemma El Fna´ marketplace - an enormous, open-air square, surrounded by minarets and brimming with everything from exotic fruits & spices to acrobats, musicians & snake charmers. The music and the crowds drummed on through the night, and the market never failed to bewilder. We spent 3 days in Marrakesh, exploring the market and the maze of surrounding ´souks´- long, winding streets filled with colorful tapestries, shoes and other goods from local craftsmen. What a crazy and amazing place. From Marrakesh, we ultimately made our way to Merzouga in the arid southern dessert, stopping to see the amazing clay fortress of Ait Benhaddou on the way. Merzougga served as a base for our camel trek into the beautiful dunes of Erg Chebbi. The trek was incredible - miles through rolling, golden sand on camel back to camp outside, beneath the stars, with nothing around us for miles. This was one of our favorite experiences in all our travels. After Merzouga, we made our way up to the northern cities of Fes and Meknes, where we spent a few days exploring and relaxing before crossing into Spain. Morocco was possibly the most difficult places we´ve travelled (transportation challenges, cultural differences, etc), but also one of the most exotic and, therefore, rewarding. Following are images of the market (including me posing uncomfortably with a cobra), Ait Benhaddou, and our camel trek in Erg Chebbi.

Ireland

2008-08-25T01:22:00.000-07:00

Our first destination, Ireland has proven to be every bit as beautiful as the Irish would have you believe. Gorgeous green hills, a stunning coastline, and as many castles as Portland has coffee shops. We touched down in Dublin on Wednesday, and have been making our way around the country. My father joined us (and, in fact, suggested Ireland) for the week, and held up well to the steady pace of our itinerary. We´ve been to a brew pub with Irish music every night of the week. If the cost of anything in this country was reasonable, we could linger for a while... These photos are from the Rock of Cashel, Lakes of Killarney, Dingle Peninsula, Cliffs of Moher and Trim Castle.

Pre-trip hiccup

2008-08-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

An aching jaw revealed the need for Ellen to have oral surgery this week. We're happy to have addressed this before we left, rather than trying to locate an surgeon in, say, Syria.

Please take time to enjoy this photograph, as I'm undoubtedly in much trouble for posting it.

The entire family is traveling

2008-08-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

While not to the sunny beaches of Thailand or the mountains of Southern Chile, Mickey is traveling too. He'll be joining us on the first leg of our trip to the Midwest, where he'll be vacationing in Battle Creek, Michigan. As Mickey loves snow, and my father, we have no doubt that he'll be enjoying his retreat nearly as much as we'll be enjoying ours.

Tentative Route

2008-08-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the tentative route via the link below. The itinerary is a work in progress, but it should be a bit more finalized soon. Pardon the poor behavior of the map - Google gets a bit confused with a route that circles the globe.

Link to Route Map

Trip Planning

2008-08-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

Our dining room table now serves as the vagabonding command center - complete with all of the necessary guides. Thank god for friends with travel books, else the cost of reference material alone may have forced us to shorten the trip.