One last night in Bangkok

I had to add one more post, if only for my own memories, when I come back to read this blog months and years from now. Our last night in Bangkok we went to the rooftop patio of a skyscraper with the most amazing views of the city way down below. As the entire country celebrated their beloved King's 82nd birthday, we toasted him too, watching NO LESS than 22 fireworks displays going off all around us (I tried to count and lost track) ... fireworks everywhere from boats and docks along the river, to a huge public gov't sponsored celebration, to small village celebrations far in the distance... the "Sky Bar" was an expensive 5-star hotel/retaurant/bar/etc. -- expensive even by U.S. or Euro standards (!!) but so worth it for the views and for one last look at the city on our last evening. We made it back to the hotel around 10 PM and slept for 4 hours before taxi'ing it to the aiport at 2:00 AM for our 5:30 AM flight. Which is why I am now GOING TO BED!! But what a wonderful last night in Bangkok and what a way to go out with the King's birthday celebration.

Home sweet home

After 24 hours in transit from Bangkok to Tokyo to Atlanta, we are home safe and sound! Two weeks was just enough to see what we wanted to see, not feel rushed, and return just before we probably would have started to really miss the comforts of home. For a first trip to Thailand I think we spread it out just about right, spending the right amount of time in all of the various places we wanted to see. Were I to spend a month in Bangkok, I'd love to spend more time everywhere - it would be easy to chill out for a week at Ko Raya, snorkeling every day, and hitting the water and beaches before the tour boats arrive on Ko Phi Phi; and I'd love to do a Mahout training course in the northern country (Mahout's are the elephants' caretakers, and all the camps offer 1-2 week courses where you stay and liver there, and Enrique and I both said one day we think that would be awesome); and I'd love to see other parts of Cambodia - although for only having two and a half days there, I can't imagine I'd love anything throughout the country more than Angkor Wat, so I'm so glad we spent our time there exploring those temple ruins.
Speaking of Angkor Wat, which I never had a chance to post about... the temple complex is set in the middle of a jungle, complete with monkeys roaming around on the sides of the roads. When the temples were discovered in the 1800's, most of them were overrun with all sorts of jungle growth, expecially Sponge Trees, which have above-ground roots that drape and wrap over and around walls and monuments, eventually pulling sandstone blocks down and crumbling the structures, with the help of other forces, like time and monsoon season. Well one of the temples, which has a Cambodian name I can't recall and is also known as "The Jungle Temple" they left in tact with the sponge tree and their roots climbing the walls and draped around doorways and relics... and it is BEAUTIFUL. They have to be careful to cut back and remove any growth that puts the site in too much jeopardy, but what they are able to leave behind leaves plenty of opportunities for insane photos that look like they're from an Indiana Jones movie or an elaborate Disney ride. Actually, I think our tour guide mentioned that the movie "Tomb Raider" (the final scenes maybe??) were filmed in this temple (Angelina Jolie starred in it - I never saw it), which was no shock. The other two most famous temples in the complex are the actual "Angkor Wat" temple (which the entire area is named for), which is the one you see in most of the photos when you google the complex, because it is the largest by far and most well preserved. Centered with five towering hives, shaped to look like a closed Lotus bud, it reminded me on Kajuraho in India and no surprise, though Cambodia is mostly a Buddhist country today, this temple was built during the reign of a Hindu king almost 1000 years ago. All of the many temples ruins at Angkor Wat fluxed back and forth between Hindu and Buddhism, depending on the King at the time. That is why in many of them, Buddha's image and face has been meticulously destroyed (likewise many the Hindu symbols of God are also marred from the times of Buddhism)... but in the third most famous temple (along with the Jungle Temple and Angkor Wat), these huge faces of Buddha are remarkably preserved and it's amazing because they pop out at you from all over these towering structures and amongst all of these ruins, these faces still remain. Even though Angkor Wat itself was by far the largest and most well preserved, I loved the Jungle Temple and the Buddha face (my own name for it) temple more. We did go back to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise as well on our last morning in Cambodia, before we went to visit a water village about an hour outside of Siem Riep (the town where Angkor Wat is located)... and that was definitely a postcard moment.
Our driver took us about an hour outside of Siem Riep to see a local water village. We took a boat out on a huge lake that grows by miles and miles during monsoon season and recedes again during the dry season. Our guide pointed out on dry land where this collection of floating homes had been during rainy season... they all have to move their homes when the rains stop and the lake shrinks, to deeper water... they are almost all fishermen and so go with the water and the fish. A collection of about 100 one-two room houses floated together on bamboo docks in the middle of this lake, and we were lucky enough to see a group of school children (the lucky ones who go to a private school) in their uniforms going from their floating classroom back to their homes (or maybe to lunch?), and we took some really amazing pictures of these Cambodian children in their uniforms, rowing their longtail boats (sort of like we'd see students leaving school on their bikes!). They all loved to wave at us and say "Hello"!
Our guide told us rather than give money to the children we'd see at the village (some of the children around the temples areas would ask for money or try to sell us postcards, etc.) we could buy them candy, something that wouldn't encourage them to beg, but that they'd still love to receive... so for about $1 we bought an entire bucket of lollipops and candies. We passed them out to the children who just LINED UP and smiled at us like we were Santa and Mrs. Claus, when we arrived by boat at a local Buddhist temple on the lake. And we threw candy to the children close enough to us while we were in the boats as well. One little boy from his house boat even jumped right in the water to go after a piece that had fallen in. We made sure after that point to only throw it where we knew we wouldn't miss!!
Anyways, it's 10:45 and I'm going to try to get back to our EST time zone and sleep through the night. I only took a 2 hour nap this afternoon, so it shouldn't be a problem.
I'll post a few pix here and more on Facebook soon!!
Love to everyone - thanks for staying in touch via the blog, Facebook, and email - it made us feel very close to home while we were far away! Love, Meagan

Ko Racha

Since I didn't have time before, I have to say a few quick words about Ko Racha, which I could not have loved more. It's also known as Ko Raya (not sure why the different spellings, but it is listed both ways, even within the area of Phuket, on local maps).

We decided to take a tour there on our last day because the beach sounded very much like Ko Phi Phi Lei ("THE"Beach) except a little less "discovered." Hardly any books mentioned it much at all (Fodor's, etc.) and the 1009 tour shops along the strip in Patong didn't really advertise it a lot. There might be 1 brochure out of 100 about Racha, while there were 90,000 posters/brochures/flyers about Phi Phi and James Bond Island. Which we LOVED and would not do anything differently, but it was time for a change!

Ko Racha was perfect. A whole day on one beautiful beach, with a 90 minute boat excursion, to go snorkeling by the coral reefs that surround the island. Where as Phi Phi had uncountable # of tourist boats lined up coming in and out (so many so that they had to rope off an area safe for swimmers, so you wouldn't have to worry about the boats), this island had no need to roped swimming areas... because there were only a handful of boats all day, and they all pulled up to the same floating dock. I stayed in the water most of the time, except for a few minutes here and there while I reapplied my 30 SPF sunscreen and let it soak in really well. We rented an intertube for $1 and two beach chairs with an umbrella for $2 and enjoyed peace and quiet. There were a couple of resorts situated on the island, and if I had to go back, although it's somewhat remote (about 45 minute speed boat ride from the south end of Phuket), I think it would be a wonderful place to call home while in Phuket.

We're at the airport now and many people are waiting for this computer, so I'll have to save Angkor Wat for another time, but we really are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy that we worked Cambodia into our trip. A 1 hour flight from Bangkok, Siem Riep was so worth the trip. Enrique compared the complex of temples ruins hidden in the jungle to the lost city of Atlantis. Our pictures from there MIGHT be the best of the trip, because the sites were so surreal; you really couldn't take a bad picture there.

I hope to post more tomorrow, either from Bangkok somewhere or from the airport when we get settled at the gate tomorrow night/Sunday morning! Our flight by the way leaves at about 5:30 AM Sunday morning (or 5:30 PM on Saturday EST in the USA). We'll arrive back in the ATL early on Sunday afternoon, and Sarah and Hank are picking us up from the airport (Sar, are you bringing Hank, Enrique would like to know? He really misses you too!!! hahaha).

Love you all!
Meagan

Koy Phi Phi, James Bond Island, and Koy Racha

I really want to talk more about our time in Phuket, before I move on to Cambodia... there has been so much to see and take in on this trip, and I feel like I really haven't done any of it justice with the short amount of time that I've had at the computer. I have 30 minutes right now, before our driver comes to take us to the airport, so I'll try to at least catch up through Angkor (with a G - I misspelled it before) Wat, where we've spent the last 2.5 days exploring in Cambodia.

Really quickly first... with minimal time to spend online, I just caught up a little... and I have to say TIGER WOODS WHAT???? WHAT??? And BILLY WAGNER, WHAT??? GO BRAVES! WOW, it is time for me to come back home and plug back into society I think!

OK, back to Phuket! On our first full day, we went to THE BEACH. Like, duh. No, I mean THE Beach, as in, the beach that was the set of the movie "The Beach"... if you haven't read the book or seen the movie, here is a quick synopsis... it's about a group of tourists who grow tired of well... other tourists and crowded, commericialized beaches (see: Patong) and are in search of the perfect, undiscovered beach in Thailand... there is a legend of one, but no one knows if it really exists until Leo Dicaprio is given a handdrawn map by a drugged out crazy person, just before he (the crazy person) kills himself and so Leo and a couple fellow travellers go off to find The Beach.

WELL, Ko Phi Phi Lei would fit that description (of paradise) perfectly, IF it were undisovered, because it is a crescent shaped cove of soft, white sand; perfectly clear and warm waters; and soaring limestone peaks, covered with tropical greenery. BUT, it's unfortunately been discovered for a long time, and because of the movie the Beach it's more popular than ever before (it was a popular site to visit before the movie too) and boatloads (literally) of tourists are dropped there for 30 minutes at a time, before reboarding their boats to go to the other side of the Island (Phi Phi Don). Despite the crowds, I still LOVED it because for some insane reason, not everyone wanted to swim, and I was in the water in about 2 seconds. Give me clear ocean water, and I want to be in it. So as long as I looked away from the beach iteself, and looked out on the limestone towers and ocean, I could forget for a while about the throngs of tourists snapping pictures behind me.

The following day we took a tour to James Bond Island (It has a "Ko"Thai name, that I can't remember at the moment). The thing to see in this bay is again the limestone towers that rise from the ocean and dot the landscape all around, instead of around just one bay, like on Koy Phi Phi. They're all around, rising up out of nowhere, like a giant chess set in the ocean.

I'm not even to Koy Racha, also known as Koy Raya, which was my favorite of the three days in Phuket, and our driver is here to take us to the airport!! I'll try to post again from Bangkok about Koy Raya, and the last few days in Cambodia - Angkor Wat is really a magical place!!

Love you all!
Meagan

Sa-Wa-Dee-Kah!

Or if Enrique said the same thing... Sa-Wa-Dee-Khrup! Which means, Hello or goodbye... It's a greeting we hear constantly! Men say "khrup"
at the end and women say "kah"... Same thing with "Thank you" which I would say... Kop-kum-ka and
Enrique would say kop-kum krap... Or something like that!!
I'm spelling these how they sound of course,
I've never seen them written down. I promised Mom a few days ago to share some of the words we'd learned, so there you go! Those are the two
we use every day. I'm typing from Enrique's blackberry whcih found the free wireless at the hotel, so this will be very brief so my thumbs
don't fall off. Phuket and the islands we've explored (or Ko - word for Island... Ko phi phi, etc) have been beautiful beyond words.
We have visited Ko Phi Phi, "James Bond Island" (where The Man with the Golden Gun" was filmed) and Ko Raya aka Ko Racha (my fav) today. We have
been snorkeling three times (twice today) and have spent more time in the ocean than on land I think. I wish I had an underwater camera to take pictures of the coral formations we've seen.
Amazing colors... Purples and oranges and bright blues, really incredible, like swimming in an aquarium. A really pychadelic aquarium. My thumbs now are about to fall off so that's it for now! We fly to cambodia tomorrow to see Ankor Wat (google it, I don't have time to go into it but I promise it is really neat)! Love you all! Xoxo!

In Phuket! But first, back to those Tigers...

We are at THE BEACH!! Actually, so far we haven't seen too much of the beaches that the legends are made of, but we will tomorrow when we take a boat to Phi Phi Island (possibly where they filmed "The Beach," the Leonardo DiCaprio movie??), which is supposed to be spectacular with perfect white beaches and clear water, limestone pilings, etc! Our hotel is beautiful, but in a very busy area of Phuket that reminds us of a mix between Cancun and South Beach... not necessarily a good thing!! But the hotel itself is soooooo peaceful and beautiful that we'll be just fine hanging out here in the evenings and spending the days at the beach.

So back to Chaing Mai, the northern part of Thailand we flew out of this morning. Yesterday we visited the "Golden Triangle," most well known throughout history for the Opium trade... now a days, a conviction of harvesting/selling/dealing Opium in Thailand will get you a DEATH sentence... they are not kidding around. Anyways, now it's known for great views and a popular market that sells goods from Burma, Laos, and Thailand. We also visited the the place where the 3 countries all come together for a nice photo opp.

The day before yesterday was our favorite day in Chaing Mai, for two reasons: Elephants and Tigers. We headed to an elephant camp in the morning, where we had some really close encounters with some really huge elephants. They are such sweet animals, and reminded us a little bit weirdly of dogs, because once they knew you had a treat (in this case the treats were bunches of bananas or sugarcane) they would do anything to please and you couldn't hide them anywhere... they knew you had them behind your back and would reach their sniffers right around you looking for the goods!! The sugar cane was tied together with grass in bundles of about 6 cane logs at least. Those elephants would crunch them all in one bite (did I already say this in the last post?? b/c it really blew my mind) like a peppermint candy. These bundles were at least 8-10 inches in diameter, of solid sugarcane and they had NO problem obliterating them with one bite. They could also easily handle a whole bunch of bananas in one gulp. We would feed them just one at a time, to try to make our stash of treats last longer, and took some really great pictures in action.

After feeding them, watching them bath in the river, and seeing a show where they played soccer, painted, and performed other cute tricks (again, kind of dog-like!!), it was time to go for a ride! We climbed on to a tall platform and "boarded" our elephant (which we named the Hankster, after Sarah's dog, because he was so damn cute) while a "Mahout" (elephant trainer) sat bareback in front of us, and led the elephant for a beautiful walk through the river and on trails through the hills. To say the views were scenic doesn't do them justice. Back at camp we had a buffet lunch and then went shopping at the elephant painting gallery, and picked out a painting just like the one we had seen our elephant paint during the show (soon to be seen at Casa Fiallos!). We also saw a HUGE spider in a web stretched above one of the trails, and in my panic to run underneath it quickly, I almost ran over a 9 year old Swiss boy who unfortunately for him blocked my way. I felt really badly about that.

On the way back to the hotel, we decided to swing by the "Tiger Village," just outside of town. For $30 for both of us (cheap compared to what it cost to see the baby Cheetas in South Africa a few years ago!), we bought tickets to pet a 7 month old "Medium" Tiger We signed a waiver, promising not to sue them should we lose any fingers, etc. and were escorted back to where our medium tigers were playing. We were made to first read all of the rules, which I'll try to remember as best I can:

Only approach the tiger from behind.

Do not make any sudden movements or gestures.

Do not play or run around the tigers.

Do not pet the tiger's head or tail.

There had to be more because basically it might as well have said "DON'T MOVE!!". Oh, and my favorite one that was posted on all cages: : Do not put ANYTHING in the cages, ESPECIALLY FINGERS OR HANDS!!!!! And I'm thinking: that is until you walk right in with them, then it's OK?

So we go in with our medium tigers (there were 4 in the grassy caged area we were at), and the trainers corral one that seems a little feisty to me. Let's just say none of my pictures turned out well with this cat, because he was not happy to be taking part in this photo session and I was up and away from him in about 2 seconds. While the trainer was trying to force the now kind of pissed off tiger to sit back down so we could resume our session, I had to speak up, "No, that's OK! How about that one over there? You know, the one sprawled out on his back passed out? That is my kind of tiger." I didn't say ALL of that, but that is what I was thinking. Because I really don't need my picture with a mad tiger. So we went over to the sleeping cat, approached it from behind, knelt down, and took some great pictures. It's amazing how much easier I can smile when I don't have a snarling tiger threatening to leap at my throat at any minute (don't worry Mom, we were never really in danger... he was just a brooding teenager I think, too small still to do any major damage). So while we're with Mr. nice guy tiger (the passed out one) pissy cat decides to misbehave some more and go over to the door and leap on it like he wants to get out now and go explore the rest of the park. The trainers had to remind him who was boss, and that was my cue to go back to the other side of the fence!! Again, why they charge the most $$ to get into the cages with the adults is beyond me! I mean, I get it that it's the most popular, so they charge more... but it's the WHY is it the most popular??? that I don't get!! I would think as the risk to your life goes down, the price would go up, not the other way around. But anyways, on our way out we saw a couple, literally lying down in the grass, practically cuddling with an adult tiger (as it slept)... I sure hope that tiger didn't have a bad dream and wake up with these idiots draped all over him, because I wouldn't want to be them if he did!

OK, that's all for tonight! More about Phuket over the next few days I'm sure. Tomorrow we're doing Phi Phi Island, and then James Bond Island the next day.

Love,
Meagan

Rules of petting a Tiger coming soon

We just finished an amazing dinner in Chang Mai of grilled chicken skewers with peanut sauce and rice (for $4 including drinks for both of us!), and it's late... 10 PM our time (about the latest we've stayed up yet, and so I'm too tired to go into this tonight, but yesterday we saw an elephant paint, took a great potential Christmas Card photo on said elephant, in a river, and we pet a tiger (only a 7 month old tiger but he was plenty big enough), and did so much more, which I will write about next time. Did you know it actually costs MORE to pet a full grown tiger, which I think is just CRAZY... both that it's the most expensive option (people would pay MORE to risk their limbs and lives??) ... and that people line up to do it!! People who apparently have never heard of Sigfried and Roy.

But more on that tomorrow!! I just wanted to write a quick post to say that tomorrow we leave Chang Mai for Phuket.... this trip is going by way too quickly, but out of all the places we are visiting I might be most looking forward to Phuket. We will have internet access there, so I'll write more as soon as I can!!!

Love to everyone!
Meagan

Blessed by a Buddhist Monk

Today when we arrived in Chang Mai, we visited Doi Sotep, a beautiful temple built in 1383, 12 kilometers up on one of the mountains around this city. We had amazing views of the city from up there. A Buddhist monk blessed us with water (splashed it on us with a palm branch) - a very cool experience!

Yesterday (back in Bangkok) our guide took us about 90 minutes outside of the city to a famous water market. We boarded a longtail boat and headed down the canal to go shopping! People sold everything hot thai meals (cooked right in their boats), to hand made teak items, to fake Louis Vuitton handbags (no, I didn't buy one) from their longtail boats and from waterfront shops. At certain points it was a traffic jam of vendor and customer boats in the narrow canal.

After coming back from the water market we had free time to wander around Bankok. I decided to be brave and try some ramen noodles from a street vendor. They looked at me like I had 4 eyes when I said I wanted noodles only (I could have picked from up to 4 things to put in the soup, but I was already a little wary of a street vender and the only item I really would have liked from their selection of mostly veggies was shrimp - and they looked really suspect). So they cooked my noodles and then I picked a sauce for them that looked and smelled delicious. I was so excited to try my first authentic Ramen noodles, and they actually would have been so good and enjoyable, except that I think the sauce I had them put on the noodles might have burned a whole in my stomach, if I ate them all. SO SO SO HOT! So I had a few bites (the huge bowl was only $1, so I didn't really care if I didn't finish all the way) and we went on our way. A lot of the street food here looks really great, and Fodor's says as long as it's cooked fare, Thailand is one of the best places for street food, so I think I'll try again and next time be really wary of sauces.
Last night we bought tickets to a kickboxing match, which we found out started at 6:30. We go in and are escorted to the FRONT ROW, ringside!! We knew our tickets would be really good, because even in a place where everything seems so cheap, kickboxing is their favorite national sport and it was either buy the most expensive tickets ($60) or stand in the grandstands in a mosh-pit type area... so we shelled out the $60. And it was worth it to be so close to the action (and so far from the people screaming and yelling and placing bets left and right during the matches). Some amateurs started off at 6:30 (they looked no more than 14 or 15) and one boy actually was knocked out and had to be taken out by stretcher in the SECOND match! I am sure he just had the wind knocked out of him b/c he weighed no more than 90 pounds and took one too many knee kicks to the stomach from his opponent. By about 9:30, the bigger guys were facing off and it was really a spectacle. The kickboxers enter in and bow to each corner of the ring, say prayers, and do a little ceremonial dance around the ring. Thai music plays before and during all the matches, even while they're duking it out...

And our ride is here! We're off to a dinner/dancing show, and I'm starved. Love you all, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING ONE DAY EARLY! Love, Meagan

On our way to Chang Mai today!

I need to be super quick, we're in the Bankok Airways lounge on their free computers, and only have 5 more minutes before we head to our gate. We are having the most amazing time in
Thailand. It's such a beautiful country. I will write more later when we reach our hotel in Chang Mai ... it's the northern part of the country where we will go see an Elephant Camp and ride on a river raft tomorrow and see some amazing temples today. The northern country is more mountainous but still very tropical area (I THINK, since we haven't been there yet!). I still need to write about our great time yesterday at the Floating Market outside of Bangkok and our evening at the Kickboxing matches (really cool!), so I"ll definitely try to seek out computers at our new hotel this evening!

More later, after touring around Chang Mai!! Love you all! Meagan

Wats up from Bangkok

We woke up bright and early this morning (thank you jet lag!), with plenty of time to have a relaxed breakfast and find the computer center before meeting our guide and driver at 10 AM in the lobby of our hotel. The breakfast buffet area is on the top floor of the hotel and has a nice view of the city area around us. After eating a LOT of rice for breakfast when we visited China (our last trip to Asia) we were very happy to find breakfast included pancakes, bacon, cereal, orange juice, toast, croissants, made-to-order omlets (I really wish I liked eggs b/c I would have them fill mine with bacon and cheese I think), and for those who can stomach it that early in the day, Thai style noodles (they were good, but just a little too spicey for before-noon for me). So we filled up and still had time to go back to the room for a 30 minute power nap before we met our guide at 10.
Our first stop was the Chao Phraya River, that flows all the way from the northern part of the country... several smaller waterways come together to make up the Chao Phraya by the time it reaches Bankok. We took a longtail boat ride (a longtail boat is what it sounds like - a long skinny boat, covered by a canopy, with a big car motor on the back and propeller at the end of a long pole that sticks into the water and in the big part of the river you can really move in them!) through the main river way and then up several canals, away from the city center, to take a look at "real homes" away from the tourist sites. We had the boat to ourselves, so we sat back and relaxed, enjoying the scenes from the water. We passed many beautiful temples and in the back canals saw homes right on the water, so close it was a little bit like a Thai styled Venice.
We stopped at one dock and bought food to feed the catfish living in the waters - more fish than I've ever seen! Along the temple waterfronts they don't kill the fish (a Buddhist thing), there are just a crush of fish popping up everywhere you look. When you throw them the food it's quite a sight to see them all competing for the most pellets.
After touring around the city by Longtail boat for about an hour, we stopped at Wat Arun or Temple of the Dawn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Arun). You can climb up this temple to reach two terraces that have a great view of the riverfront, the Grand Palace across the way, and the city. The incline is very steep and the stairs are made for very small feet (I didn't let go of the handrails for a second), and on the way up I made the mistake of looking behind me and down below and about lost my breakfast.
I loved the hand made statues covering every surface of the Wat, all seemingly quilted with brightly colored porcelain and seashells from China.
Next we visited another temple, Wat Pho, where we saw the largest Reclining Buddha in Thailand (I'm shocked that there is another one larger anywhere in the world!). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Pho - You can hardly capture him in one frame of the camera. Made of concrete and plated in Gold, the Reclining Buddhas feet alone dwarfed me.
In another Wat (Today was the day of Temples!) we saw a massive golden Buddha, made of solid gold, but the size of the Reclining Buddha still impressed me more, even if he wasn't gold to the core.
By the time we made it to the Grand Palace at 2:00 in the afternoon, I was started to fade and really looking forward to lunch. We spent about an hour walking around the elaborate royal dwellings that were built in the late 1700's by Rama I (the King) -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace. At the Grand Palace we saw the Emerald Buddha (who has three wardropes that change with the seasons, and only the King or the Crown Prince are allowed to change his solid gold attire from one season to the next), many very "Grand" halls and monuments, and beautiful gardens full of sculpted trees and tropical flowers.
One thing I did not expect about Bankok (which I should have just from looking at the map) is how tropical and lush everything is. Driving down city streets in the heart of the commerce district even, vibrant greens pop out at you everywhere. The streets are clean, the drivers actually for the most part adhere to the lanes (a first for our travels in the Eastern hemisphere!), and the people are inredibly friendly.
So if you see what time this is posted (about 11 PM our time, 11 AM your time) and wonder why I'm up so late - we made the mistake of taking a "nap"after we got back to the hotel around 5... and woke up at 10 PM... oops. So now our goal is to be back to sleep by 1:00 at the latest, so we will not just crash tomorrow afternoon. I think we'll be fine because tomorrow is a much more relaxed day... we visit some markets and I can't remember what else, but I know we won't be going from Wat to Wat to Wat like we did today. So wish us luck falling back asleep in the next few hours, even though our bodies are telling us it's the middle of the day! I normally don't have any problem sleeping at anytime during the day, as anyone whose ever lived with me knows, so hopefully Enrique will be able to as well!
So far - SO SO SO GOOD! And I haven't even touched on the Thai food yet - we had a wonderful lunch, and I think we'll really enjoy our meals here. I'll save that for another post when we have more meals under our belts.
Love to everyone! Love, Meagan and Enrique
p.s. Sarah - GOOD LUCK ON THURSDAY AND IN THE FINAL DAYS OF TRAINING, WE ARE THINKING OF YOU!!

We are here!

Due to lack of time this morning (and a computer virus at the hotel) I am going to save some time and just paste in the email I sent to family this morning, letting them know we're here safe and sound. I'm sure I'll have much more to report by the end of the day!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good morning from Bankok!

It's 9:05 AM here (9 PM US EST time) and we have a full day of sightseeing ahead of us. The flights, although long, weren't too bad at all.

Mom, Thanks for letting me know Clemson won!! It's because I wasn't watching I think!

Sarah, I read The Art of Racing in the Rain on the flight to Tokyo, and loooooooooved it!!!! Thanks so much for lending it to me! I'm halfway through The Help now too, and I hate putting it down, but I'm glad not to be on the plane anymore.

The internet access room in the hotel is having a virus issue, so I'm going to be quick, and anyways I don't have too much to tell just yet, because we got here around midnight last night and really haven't seen anything yet. The hotel is very nice and we just finished breakfast.

Love you all!
Meagan

Thailand/Cambodia Itinerary

3 days and counting!!! We leave for Thailand on Saturday morning... our flight goes from Atlanta through Tokyo and on to Bankok. Here is the itinerary from our tour company, A & F Tours; all spelling and grammatical mistakes are theirs, although I'm sure I'll have my share soon, especially when I'm typing on the keyboards overseas!

THAILAND and CAMBODIA TOUR -

22 Nov : Arrive in Bangkokon NW 341 at 23.45 pm and transfer to I RESIDENCE

23 Nov : After breakfast have a full day city tour , we will visit the Grand Palace Where we will see as well the Emerald Buddha , then we go to Wat Po Where we will see the largest sleeping Buddha , then we stop at Wat Traimit what is a large massive golden Buddha made of solid gold, from their We proceed to the river side and take a canal tour in the late afternoon On the way we will stop as well at WAT ARUN on Bangkoks famouslandmark
Lunch included

24 Nov : After breakfast we proceed to the floating Market on the
outskirts of Bangkok On the way you see the rural lifestyle what hasn t changed to much from
the Old time, the floating market is a colorful place [UTF-8?][UTF-8?]– perfect
location for Pictures so make sure you bring your camera we return to the Hotel around Lunch time and after noon is free to explore Bangkok on your own . Visit on Of the famous shopping malls or visit SUan Lum the night bazaar

25 Nov : After breakfast transfer to the airport and for flight to Chiang Mai on Bangkok Airways at PG 217 at 12.05 pm arrive at 13.20 pm , after arrival we proceed to Our Hotel and onward to DOI SUTHEP the most famous temple in North Thailand The architecture is different from themples you saw in Bangkok , then in the evening You will go to a Khantoke Dinner what is a northern style Dinner with a folkloric show

26 Nov : After breakfast we visit an an elefant Camp, where you see how the train the elephants, As well we see show and after we take an elephant ride true the tropical forrest and
along the river, then we board a bamboo raft and float Lunch included

27 Nov : After breakfast a full day tour to the golden Triangle what is the border line between Thailand Laos and Burma , you will see the Mekong river what is the most important River in South east Asia , as well visit the border town of Mai Sai where many Burmese Goods are on offer , their we will vist as well the hall of opium what is an interesting Museum and where you learn why this is called the golden triangle Lunch included 28 Nov : After breakfast transfer to the airport and direct flight from Chiang Mai to Phuket On Thai Airways TG 129 at 12.35 pm arrive at 14.30 pm , transfer to the Hotel in Phuket BURASARI at Patong Beach

29 Nov : After breakfast have a full day tour to Phee Phee Island , one of themost famous Islands in Thailand , it s natural beauty made it famous as film sets and it s Preserved as an national park , you will have the change to swim and snorkel In Crystal clear water . Lunch included 30 Nov : After Breakfast visit the James Bond Island what used to be the set for a james Bond movie , their we visit a sea gypse village and we have the change to enjoy Different activities like kayaking.. Lunch included 1 Dec Breakfast at the Hotel free day to realax , visit one of the famous SPAS or Just relax on the beach

2 Dec : Breakfast and early transfer from Hotel to airport at 5.30 am for your flight to Bangkok on TG 226 at 7.25 am arriving at 8.50 am then connecting to Bangkok Airways PG 905 at 11.35 am arriving in Siem Reap at 12.35 pm , your guide Will wait for you at the Airport and show your name , transfer to Hotel for Check in Then start sight seeing tour of ANGKOR THOM and ANGKOR WAT At night visit an APSARA DANCE with dinner


3 Dec :After breakfast full day tour. You visi the fabulous Ta Prohm embraced by the
roots of enormous fig trees and gigantic creepers, Pre Rup, East Mebon, and
Neak Poan. Visit Krovan, Royal Bath of Srah Srang and Banteay Kdei
temples. Accommodation at hotel

4 Dec : After breakfast We embark on Ox cart to visiting the Khmer Village and enjoy view of the rice field and a lots of palm trees with great fresh air. We board on boat in Tonle Sap
Lake, the " Great Lake " of Cambodia , one of the largest in Asia . Here, enjoy a brief
cruise past floating villages complete with schools, restaurants, and hospitals. Free leisure
for your own time for rolling at local market for shopping until transfer to Siem Reap
International airport departure flight on PG 908 at 19.30 pm arrive in Bangkok at 20.45pm.
proceed to EXIT 3 at the airport where your driver waits for you and take you to your Hotel

5 Dec : After breakfast free time to relax in Bangkok 6 Dec : After breakfast transfer to airport for flight NW 340 at 5.50 am. Pick up at Hotel at 2.50 am

Flight details :
FIALLOS/ENRIQUE FELIX MR 2.SWINGLE/MEAGAN MARIE MS
3 PG 217 Q 25NOV 3 BKKCNX HK2 1205 1320 25NOV
4 TG 129 Y 28NOV 6 CNXHKT HK2 1235 1430 28NOV
5 TG 226 Y 02DEC 3 HKTBKK HK2 0725 0850 02DEC
6 PG 905 Q 02DEC 3 BKKREP HK2 1135 1235 02DEC
7 PG 908 Q 04DEC 5 REPBKK HK2 1930 2045 04DEC

HOTEL ACCOMDATION :
22 – 25 Nov 09 I RESIDENCE DELUXE ROOM Deluxe room
http://www.bangkok.com/i-residence/index.htm
25 – 28 Nov 09 MANINARKORN HOTEL Deluxe room
http://www.maninarakorn.com/
28 Nov – 2 Dec 09 PHUKET BURASARI HOTEL Classic Room
http://www.burasari.com/
2 - 4 Dec 09 SOMADEVI HOTEL Superior room
http://www.somadeviangkor.com/
4 - 6 Dec 09 Bangkok I RESIDENCE Deluxe room
http://www.bangkok.com/i-residence/index.htm

EMERGENCY CALL THAILAND

A & F TOUR TRAVEL
Mr Franz
Tel : 081 6946009
Silom Road 120
10500 Bangkok


EMERGENCY CALL CAMBODIA


CHRISTIAN AIR TOUR
Mr. KIM HORN
Tel. 01- 2932359
No. 29 D, 225 Street, Phnom Penh
Cambodia

Masada at Sunrise and the Sea of Galilee

This morning we woke up at 4:30 AM (which is actually not as hard as it sounds b/c we have maintained the weirdest schedule... letting ourselves be jetlagged enough to go to bed at 8 every night and wake up by about 6 if we are lucky (to sleep that late) or earlier if not! One night we actually fell asleep at 7:30 p.m. and woke up around 11 p.m. feeling like it was morning already, and were able to fall back asleep thankfully until about 5:30 the next morning.

So anyways, we woke up at 4:30 this morning after going to be at 8:30 last night and took the "Snake Path" up the side of the Masada mount where Herod built his great fort and palace (recently featured on the cover of National Georgraphic. First off - it was DARK when we started and we didn't have a flash light, and I was pretty miserable! Tripping over stones and stumbling around and we weren't event on the path yet! Enough light finally came up for us to see where we were stepping and we hiked up the winding path until we finally reached the top in time for sunrise. It took us about 45 laboring minutes. Mom asked about Mount of Olives and "sweating it to the top"... well, it was still cool in Jerusalem, but that walk was pretty inclined and long, but that was NOTHING compared to this. I can't imagine doing it in the day time when the sun is up!! Its so much warmer down by the Dead Sea, where Masada is at already, and then its a STEEP walk up a thousand stairs and some pathway without stairs, and I felt winded most of the time. So needless to say sunrise from the top overlooking the Dead Sea was VERY rewarding.

We walked all around the top for about an hour and a half before we HAPPILY paid $8 to take the cable car down the mountain (The cable car wasn't running when we headed up, but we might have hiked it anyways for the "fun" of it).

We had breakfast and left the Dead Sea and headed due north. We made it to Tiberius for lunch and had "St. Peter's Fish" at a table overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee (of course really a lake) was very beautiful, with a frame of mountains on the opposite bank.

Now we're in Haifa, a port city, and tomorrow we'll explore things here and head to the town of Akko nearby.

Then to Jaffa for our last night!! Our flight doesn't leave until 11 p.m. on Saturday though, so we still actually have two full days. But it has flown by.

Mom- you also mentioned driving around, and yes we feel Sooooo safe. They have security measures here down to a TEE but in a way that doesn't make you feel scared, just very very safe. Driving has totally been the way to go! So much more freedom and less hassle with group tours.

Love to everyone!!
Meagan

THE GARDEN TOMB

This morning we totally lucked into The Garden Tomb. I had wanted to go, but Fodor's said the hours were 2-5:30 (weird!?) and we were leaving Jerusalem this morning for the Dead Sea region to stay the night at Masada (which we'll hike to the top of at sunrise tomorrow!). So we decided to just walk there anyways this morning before we went to go pick up our rental car, and the hours were actually 9-12 and then 2:00-5:30 - a typo in Fodor's had left out the morning hours... and how HAPPY I WAS we decided to go by anyways.

The Garden Tomb is an alternate theory to the Church of the Holy Seplechure (sp?) as the place where Jesus was crucified, died, and rose again... and I LOVED IT. In the late 1800s (and I don't have time to look up the exact specifics, so this is the gist of it - I only have 20 minutes on this computer before my time is up) someone was staying in a place in Jerusalem (a british historian or scholar maybe?) and he always noticed this rocky face of a skull staring back at him from his window view... and he was convinced it was the Biblical "place of the Skull" ... and so finally convinced enough people to do excavation of the site.
Several things from the Bible and history correlate with this location...
The crucification happened outside of the city gate ... this Garden is outside of the Domascus (sp) Gate
The Bible references the Place of the Skull - and there is a clearly a skull impression in the rocks there
Romans crucified people near busy roads, so all could see... and this location is just near the historical road between Jericho and Jerusalem and Bethlahem
Joseph of Arimathea gave his just finished, very new tomb for Jesus' body, and the tomb excavated and found in this Garden has all the signs of a very new (so new, there are signs it wasn't completely finished yet when someone was laid there) tomb.
There are a few other things about the tomb itself, written about in the Bible, that correlate very closely with this tomb - description of the rock that would have rolled to cover the entry way, and the tomb's layout itself... things that are very from other ancient tombs excavated from the same time period.
AND the tomb Jesus was laid in was in a garden, and excavation has showed that this place (though a newly planted garden now) was a vineyard in the time of the Jesus.
There is some debate about the tomb's age and whether it could possibly date back too far, to before Jesus's time, but regardless, I LOVED this place and the guide there who gave us the tour really did a wonderful job describing the area during the time of Jesus. He brought me to tears in describing Roman crucifixions and just how the person would die on the cross... a Finish lady gave me some tissue (we were in a group with Fins and so we were hearing it in English and Finish).
Anyways - that was the Garden Tomb, and I'm writing so quickly that I don't think I did it justice - the landscaping around it was so beautiful and reminded me of The Secret Garden.
ALSO TODAY we floated in the Dead Sea (AMAZING, COOL!) and covered ourselves in the black Dead Sea Mud (I feel sooo soft, but it really took some scrubbing to get it all off!). It was a really cool experience to float on top of the water that that. I felt like a human bouy.
Better run before my time runs out!!!! I'd hate to lose this post!
Love to everyone! Meagan

PICTURES

Ancient olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane (I think we have better pix on a different memory stick)


Slightly blurry (enrique has better shot on his camera) scene inside the Grotto of the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus often went with his disciples and where he was betrayed and arrested.


On the Mount of Olives with the Jewish cemetery (which goes on and on and on along the side of the mountain) and the view of the Old City



View of the Old City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.



Through the archway you can see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (aka the Church of the Resurrection) where Jesus was crucified, died, buried, and rose from the dead.

Mount of Olives and all sorts of wonderful sites there

On Monday we walked/hiked/climbed/sweated it up to the top of the Mount of Olives, which is just across the street from the Old City of Jerusalem. The view of the walled old city from the top, overlooking the thousands of Jewish tombs on the side of the hill is breathtaking. Iit costs $50,000 to be buried on the Mount of Olives... its a very big deal because the Jewish people believe when the Messiah comes he will raise those buried on the Mount of Olives first.

My favorite sights were the Garden of Gethsemane (sp?) and the Grotto of Gethsemane, where Jesus often met with the disciples and where he was eventually arrested and betrayed by Judas. The grotto is a underground cave that is now also a chapel. We went in and had two lucky moments - first to be completely alone (i.e. - no hoarding tour groups) with just a couple of chapel nuns around, and then we came back later on our way back down the Mount because I loved being there so much, and a mass had just started! The priest gave a wonderful sermon about living like Jesus, and he stressed praying constantly in our everyday lives. He had worked with Mother Theresa for a while (!) and he quoted her as saying "if you don't know how to pray, just pray" and talked about one thing we knew difinitively about Jesus, even if there is so much we don't know, is that he prayed constantly. It was really amazing to be hearing this sermon, in the Grotto in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus himself worshiped and prayed with his disciples!

We also visited THE Upper Room... where Jesus and his dicsciples are said to have had the Last Upper... it was under some renovation and so between the hammering and drilling, and smell of new plaster it didn't really "feel" quite so authenic as the cave, which hasn't really changed for thousands of years... or the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane, some of which date back 3000 years!! The building that houses the Upper Room used to be a home, and now just around the corner from it is also a pretty chapel dedicated to Mary, and its said to be where Mary (Mother of Jesus, not Magdalene) lived and died after the resurrection of Jesus.

Today is our last day in Jerusalem. We're going to visit an archeological site - the City of David, and visit an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, and visit some of our favorite places again. Tomorrow we pick up our rental car and head to the Dead Sea!

I'm going to TRY to post some pictures now, but if you don't see any, at least know that I tried!

Jerusalem's old city and Bethlehem

Tomorrow I hope to upload some pictures of the Lutheran Guest House and the Old City... but I haven't quiet figured that out yet.

a funny thing just happened... this keyboard is difficult to type on and its really hard to capitalize letters, and i just somehow changed the language to either arabic or hebrew, i'm not sure... and it took me about 5 minutes to switch it back. so i'm not going to capitalize too much from here on out, so i don't accidentally do whatever i did before again!

back to my point, about wanting to upload pictures, it's hard to describe the Old City and the sites we saw today so I'll do my best. The old city is completely stone, limestone i think. Its a maze or narrow alleyways lined with arched stone store facades one after the other, twists and turns, and stairways leading into more alley ways and archways. Its beautiful and the stone is so smooth from people walking over it that you have to watch your step because its so slick and worn.

The walking tour we took this morning led us to all four quarters of the Old City... the Armenian, the Christian, the Jewish, and the Muslim quarters. When we entered the Old City (enrique and i are staying here but our tour actually began outside of the old city and made its way back in) there was a huge congregation of Israeli army - young men and women with big time guns slung over their backs. Its mandatory that the youth spend 2 years (for women) or 3 years (for the men) in the military when they turn 18... the girls were interesting because they looked just like teenagers you'd see hanging out in any mall in the US... with their long hair and designer sunglasses, standing with their arms crossed, gossiping in the streets, except one difference... the uniforms and semi-automatic rifles slung over their backs! On Sundays they have the chance to tour the historic areas for their education, so they weren't officially on duty - and yet they still had these GI Joe style guns over their backs like I had my purse over mine!

The Old City tour took us along the Via Dolorosa (the way of suffering in Latin) to the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place believed to be where Jesus died on the cross and was buried... and rose again. I have to admit that in the midst of a tour group and at the most crowded time of day, I felt so rushed and packed in and shuffled around that it almost felt more like I was waiting in a line at a park, than at such a Holy site. BUT our guest house is just around the corner, so Enrique and I went back tonight when it was so much more quiet, and suddenly, I felt overcome wtih the feeling that I had expected earlier... awe, reverence, thankfulness, I felt alive with the holy spirit inside of me. I touched the rock of Calvary, where the Jesus died on the cross, and I touched the tomb where they say he laid. Earlier in the day it had been too crowded and people were posing for pictures and smiling like they were standing in front of just any other tourist attraction, and it just didn't feel right. But this evening, people were praying and lighting candles and it was quiet and calm, and you could really soak it in. I told Enrique I'd love to end every day there while we stay in Jerusalem. Why not while we're here!!

We also took an afternoon guided tour to Bethlehem. Since Bethlehem is under Palestinian authority we had to go through several gated checkpoints but we never felt at all unsafe. We had to show our passports - because - Israeli citizens are NOT allowed! I guess I understand with all of the conflicts between the nations, but the people on both sides of that border have been so nice to us, that we've never at all felt anything but completely secure. In Bethlehem a church of the Navity stands where Jesus was born according to the Bible. The manger was less of a barn, and more of a cave... but if you think back 2000 years, in this hilly, rocky area of the world, it makes sense. After walking into the church we walked down some stairs into the area Jesus was born and just nearby, where the manger rested. I definitely will never hear Oh Little Town of Bethlehem in quiet the same way. Along the way we also passed "Shepherds Field" and were shown the direction the Wise men came from. Sometime this May (I think they said May?) the Pope will visit the "newer" (still 150 plus years old) Catholic Church which is just next to the Nativity Church, and they said of course this will be seen on news channels all over the world. And every year when you watch Midnight Mass in Bethlehem, that is also the same Church just next to the Church of the Nativity.

Honestly, I'm not sure its quiet all sinking in the things we've seen so far. It really sometimes never does until we are home looking at the pictures. Tomorrow we plan on going to the Garden of Gethsemene (sp??) and Mount of Olives, as well as the Mount of the Rock - a very holy place for Christianity, Judaism, and Islamic faiths. Enrique and I wont be able to go inside the dome (only Muslims are allowed) but we'll be able to walk around it and still experience a lot of the ambience.

Oh and one more thing - ITS COLD!!!!!! I threw in a light jacket (in addition to a sweater I already had packed) at the last minute, and I've worn BOTH every since we arrived. Apparently its a cold "snap", but its still beautiful because of the sunny weather during the day. In the early morning and evenings though its really chilly!! Its supposed to be the coldest day today and then warm up, and DEFINTELY when we go to the Dead Sea region it will be warm there. I just never imagined it could be so cold here, but of course we're pretty elevated - they said it even snows in winter.

Love to everyone!
Meagan

We are in Jerusalem

We took a shuttle bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, about a 45 minute ride, and arrived in Jerusalem around 8:30. We wandered around a little in the Old City, where our hotel is - The Lutheran Guest House, but things are pretty quiet, so we stopped in at an internet cafe for falafel and to let everyone know we were here safe, and now we're about to go get a good night sleep. Tomorrow we are doing a full day tour of the old city and new city!

We will have a lot more to write tomorrow I'm sure after seeing everything in daylight, but even so far at night, its beautiful and pretty amazing!

Love, Meagan

Israel Itinerary

We leave Friday night at 11:40 for Israel. Our flight is direct from Atlanta to Tel Aviv, and hopefully we'll sleep for most of it! Here is our itinerary, and I hope to have internet access throughout the trip so I can update the blog often. Love, Meagan

March 28 – April 1: Lutheran Guest House – Jerusalem
Address: St. Mark's Road, Jerusalem 91140
Phone: 00972-2-6266888

SOME OF THE SITES WE’LL VISIT IN JERUSALEM
Western Wall
Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock – Where King Solomon built the first Temple. Now under a gold dome, it’s a mosque, where we wont be able to enter, but will be able to walk around. The rock is where tradition says Abraham bound and almost sacrificed his son Isaac.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre – place believed to be where Jesus was crucified
Via Dolorosa – the Way of the Cross
Mount Zion- Tomb of David
Mount Zion - Room of the Last Supper
Mount of Olives
Garden of Gethsemane
Holocaust Museum
Hezekiah’s Tunnel – 2700 year old tunnel that once supplied water to the city – you can actually wade through it
Possibly visit Bethlehem

Our last morning in Jerusalem we’ll rent a car for the rest of the trip to head to Masada, Haifa, and Jaffa/Tel Aviv and places in between..

April 1 – Masada Guest House
Address: Masada, D.N. Yam Hamelah
Phone: 08-9953222

WHAT WE’LL BE UP TO on APRIL 1-2
Ein Gedi National Park – lush landscape and waterfalls, hiking, and ancient ruins
Dead Sea – Ein Gedi Spa – Dead sea mud baths, access to beach
We’ll cable car or hike up to Masada at sunrise – famous as one of the opulent desert escape palaces of King Herod. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in the first century BC.
On the way to Haifa - We’ll drive to the Sea of Galilee/Capernaum and see where Jesus told the fishermen “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”.

April 2 – Port Inn Guest House – Haifa
Address: 34 Jaffa (Yafo) Road, 33261 Haifa, Israel
Phone: 972-4-852-4401

HAIFA – On the Mediterranean, Haifa is Israel’s largest port city and third-largest city. “Haifa is a city of fairly steep slopes, which reward the visitor not only with sites to see amid pine trees and blossoming foliage, but vistas of the Mediterranean at every turn” (description from Fodor’s)

April 3-5 – Ruth Daniel Guest House – Jaffa/Tel Aviv
Address: 47 Jerusalem Blvd. corner Ben-Zvi St. Jaffa
Phone: 03-6827700

April 3 – before we head to Jaffa – we may visit the very beautiful port city of Caesarea. If we go there we’ll visit the Herodian amphitheater – 2000 year old amphitheater where spectators watched horse and chariot races.
Jaffa is one of the oldest ports in the world, perhaps the oldest. The Bible mentions Jaffa in connection with a number of significant events: the cedars used in the construction of the Temple passed through Jaffa on their way to Jerusalem; the prophet Jonah set off from Jaffa before being swallowed by a whale; and St. Pete raised Tabitha from the dead here.
Tel Aviv is supposed to have beautiful beaches, where we’ll also spend some down time!