Friday, August 28, 2009

Sydney

G'day Mates!! Crikey and How ya Goin'. We had a good stretch of days off at the end of August and since Kyra seemed to be a good traveler we thought we'd see just how far she could go. The plan was to head back down to Cairns for a few days, get adjusted a bit and if Kyra was doing ok, then we would continue on to Sydney. The first day was a bit rough, but once she got back on her routine Kyra did surprisingly well. The trick for us was to keep her on her schedule by not really planing to do too much and just soak up the good weather and scenery. Traveling with a baby that needs to be breast fed every 3 hours has its challenges, but its completely doable and can be totally enjoyable. The picture below is pretty much all we did in Cairns. That and drink coffee. I think Vicki is going to turn in to a cappuccino, she at the very least has it running through her veins after this trip.


We were lucky to be in Cairns during one of their art festivals. It was ok. Lots of street performers, musicians and art stands. We really like Cairns, the people the atmosphere, its all just really nice. Kyra was so observant and seemed to really like looking at all the new faces and places. It was a tough decision to continue on, but after 3 days Kyra seemed well adjusted to being in Australia and we decided to press on to Sydney. Sometimes flying with a baby can really pay off. Since the only seats left on our Quantas flight to Sydney were in the exit row, and since babies aren't allowed in exit rows, they were forced to upgrade us to First Class. It was a nice treat for us since we thought it would be years before we sat in First again because Continental doesn't allow it. Going to Sydney was already turning out to be a good decision.

The first day we took a stroll around the Opera House and the Royal Botanical Gardens. We were given unseasonably warm weather and the people of Sydney were all out enjoying it as much as we were. It seems to be a very young town with lots of coffee drinkers and socialites. Starbucks has made its mark, and rightly so since Sydney resembles Seattle in many ways. But its a lot like San Fransisco too with all the water and bays and bridges. Initially we thought the Opera House was going to be ultra touristy, but we really liked it and couldn't seem to stop looking at it. Here is Kyra acting totally not interested in anything other than my shoulder.


Kyra woke up at the end of our stroll along the bay. Here is one of the rare awake shots we have of her and the Opera House.


The Royal Botanical Gardens above were a really nice place to relax with a not too shabby view. There were tons of birds and animals running around. And lots of Bats, which we weren't expecting, especially during the daytime. They were flying all over the place, nocturnal schmocturnal. Somehow we managed to escape without getting guanoed on.

Another shot of Kyra chillin by the bay.

The most touristy thing we have done in quite a while turned out to be pretty fun. Sydney has something called Sydney Tower, its basically just like the Space Needle in Seattle. It was getting kinda cold and we had about an hour to kill before Kyra went to bed so we thought we'd give it a shot. We were really glad we did. It provided us with really good views of the bay and many peninsulas around Sydney and also a glimpse of the nearby beaches. Surprisingly, an aerial view of the Opera House is not possible due to it being obstructed by buildings, but we were pleasantly surprised at the enjoyment we got out of seeing Sydney from such a vantage point. To the top left of this picture is Manley Beach and to the top right is the famous Bondi Beach. We went to Manley for the day and had a swell time. The waves were small and the water cold so we didn't venture in, but it was a great place to relax, have a few drinks and down some fish and chips.

Sydney's Fish Market is second in size only to the one in Tokyo. And they seem to be a bit more aware and conscientious about the kinds of fish they sell so as to protect the endangered species. While they do have tuna of all kinds you won't find shark fin for sale here. Above we find Kyra wanting nothing to do with the lovely spread of octopus they have on display.

We were told by almost every person we ran into that we needed to go to Darling Harbor. So we did. It was ok. Its basically a harbor with lots of restaurants surrounding the bay. It does have a really cool park nearby as well as a Chinatown. And there is this place called Paddy's Market which is basically an over sized and upscale flea market with just about anything you could want. We spent most of our time just sipping on some coffee and enjoying the bay and park.

After Darling Harbor we went on the "Bridge Walk" across Sydney bridge where you can get really good views of Sydney Bay and the Opera house. It was really windy but Kyra seemed to enjoy it. We are really lucky that she is so observant and likes to look at everything with an inquisitive eye. Being in new places doesn't seem to bother her and we hope that she is taking it all in and storing up memories and making those brain connections that are so important at this stage of her life.
A not so common view of the Opera House. My attempt at being artistic. Its cool that you can get up close and walk all around it and even touch it if you want. Much like the Arch in that way. Their philosophy and the way they run the Opera House is really interactive and community oriented. They don't have any dress code in many of the theaters and its open to all types of performance artists. While we were there they had several different acts going on simultaneously. They had a play in one theater, the musician Ben Folds in another, an orchestra and a rap style smack down geared towards keeping kids off drugs. It was a very diverse lineup and they were living up to their commitment to using the Opera House as a community performing arts center available to people of all ages and interests.

On our last evening in Sydney the temperature dropped quite a bit but we were still able to manage an outside meal for dinner with a pretty good view of the city. The heated lamps were a nice bonus. It was a great way to say farewell to the city.

On our way home Kyra broke down until we got to our hotel. Then she discovered my beard. And we had an interaction that was by far our most special to date. She just laughed and laughed and played with my face for 5 minutes or so. It was so funny. The above picture is not the best but it captures the moment.

The day of travel home was relatively uneventful. We were only gone 10 days but it felt like a month. We were missing the comforts of home and it was good to be back. Your comments please.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Australia-Queensland-Cairns

Since the arrival of Kyra, we naturally haven't been able to travel so we were really excited to see how she would react to flying and being away from the comforts of home. We were eager to get back on the road again and thought a quick trip down to Cairns might be a good way to get her feet wet. It's about a 4 hour flight and she did really good. Better than we expected. A little fussy when we boarded, but once the engines started up she calmed right down. She conquered her first flight with only a few select moments of crying and only one dirty diaper. Sounds like a typical day at work. Ha. We took turns holding her throughout the flight, but Vic had the window seat and is the source of never ending food supply so Kyra was all about sitting with Vic.

We couldn't resist capturing a few moments in the cockpit after we touched down. We had a great crew with guys I've flown with so we took advantage of their work space after her first flight ever.

Kyra and daddy in Matt's office.

We didn't really have any plans upon arrival. We simply wanted to take the opportunity to see how she would travel and just get off island for a bit. The Cairns Zoo is pretty cool. They have all sorts of animals besides the obligatory Kangaroos and Koalas. But Kyra really seemed to be relaxed around the kangaroos.



Cairns is a extremely nice little town. Right on the waterfront with lots of parks and boardwalks. A ton of public space with pools and beaches for everyone. The town is so clean and just serene. This time of year is great as far as weather is concerned, very California in September. But Cairns is mostly just waterfront cafes, shops and backpackers looking for a little R&R. We found ourselves just wanting to sit and people watch all day. We did take a little road trip that proved to be a bit too much. We headed up to this area about an hour an a half outside Cairns called the Atherton Tablelands. We were on our way to a Dairy Farm where you can watch them milk the cows and then make cheese. I thought Vic would be in heaven, but alas, all the milking and cheesing had been done upon our arrival, so we just bought some good eats and had a picnic. It was a little too much driving but the scenery was really pretty. We came across a pretty cool lake that we relaxed at for a bit and a waterfall that didn't meet the guide book hype. We decided the scenery reminded us of a mix between the Vancouver Islands and the New Zealand countryside. What more can you want. Very pretty but we were actually more fond of Cairns than of the nearby Tablelands.

Kyra doesn't mind showing off her bum in public parks. We will have to work on that one in the future.

Typical Cairns evening just outside our hotel. Since we didn't have big plans on this trip we splurged a little bit on the hotel and got a good one with a great location and ocean view.

The Zoo had a whole section on baby Koalas. They were seriously about the most adorable things I have ever seen. I hesitate to use the word adorable, but seriously, they were so cute I can't even describe it. We also saw some pretty big Crocks. One named "Sarge" who was captured a few years back after he was found to be the culprit in the disappearance of some 50+ cows. We saw some more Wombats, but no poop. The Cassowaries had to be the most interesting things we came across. Crazy birds. Really weird looking.


Kyra is not too sure if she likes Koalas yet.

Had to stop for a breast feed. Why not do it on the beach.

Kyra slept all the way home. She didn't make a peep from the time we left the hotel in Cairns to getting in our car on Guam, 7+ hours. We were so amazed and lucky.

It was a nice little trip. It gave us a lot of confidence in that traveling with Kyra, at this age at least, is really doable and that we need not worry about traveling with her. Maybe there will be more in the near future. We were glad to get her to her first continent and overall we had a swell time.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Thailand and Cambodia

I was lucky enough to tack on a few extra days off on both sides of my vacation this month which enabled us to have 3 weeks to explore Southeast Asia. We started in Thailand where we worked our way through Bangkok, Chang Mai, Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands and then capped it off with a refreshing dose of reality during our week long stay in Cambodia.

Having the extra days off really gave us more flexibility than we had originally planned so once we arrived in Bangkok we were happy to realize that we could take things slow and really explore each place we visited. Our days were full and active, but we took plenty of time to smell the roses as well.

I'll do my best to highlight some of the more memorable snapshots from our most recent journey.

Bangkok is a big city. Lots of smog. Lots of begging, not unlike any major city. But its a very first world place. You can get a room anywhere from a $15 guest house to the Four Seasons. There are temples scattered all over the place which provide for a nice resting spot during your day. If we were tired we just popped into a temple, which were usually cooler and quieter, and just hung out for awhile. Some of the temples were amazing. They really like their Buddhas. Apparently the bigger and the golder the better. We learned lots about Buddhism on this trip (more on that later). It was hard not to be in awe of some of the Buddha statues, some were quite ornate with thousands of diamonds and other gems, while others were just room filling gigantic gold plated statues as high 30 meters. To me the size, grandeur and frequency of the Buddha statues all over the place was a bit in your face. But I'm learning more and more that our Western viewpoint on religion having its base in Christianity or Judaism makes it very difficult to understand the cultural aspect of why some Eastern religions do many of the things they do.

Bangkok was fun, but I don't need to go back. Things are still pretty cheep, but as a white guy they try to overcharge you for everything from taxi fares to bottled water. We spent a few days hitting the major sights like the Kings Palace with the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Temple of the Rising Sun, The Reclining Buddha Temple and several others. Its pretty easy to get templed out if you're not careful. But each one is uniquely amazing and ornate and can be a relaxing place to take a load off and just sit and be quiet in the middle of what could be a hectic day. We took lots of water taxis and spent lots of time being shuttled around the river or exploring the city on foot. Bangkok is a very tourist friendly town with lots of restaurants, good public transportation and enough sights, sounds and smells to last a lifetime.

We really liked the food, of course. Vicki was pretty much in heaven. She didn't quite attain Nirvana, but was pretty enlightened by all the new tastes. The fruits were pretty different and it was somewhat adventurous to try them. We enjoyed going to many of the markets around town. They have a really big flower market that was cool to walk around and it seems like you can buy just about anything in their huge Weekend Market just north of town. We had a great time getting lost in mind and body throughout the maze of merchants that spanned several acres of the city.

One day we took a side trip north to the ancient capital of Ayutthaya. There we were able to explore some ruins and see what Bangkok will look like in about 700 years. Ha ha. But Thailand has a longstanding history of being invaded by Myanmar (it will always be Burma to me) which is evidenced by the destruction the past armies have left in many of the older religious sites and cities. Today, Ayuttaya is basically completely in ruins so while we were looking at the places we visited its was hard to imagine the splendor that once existed. But we were able to learn a bit about the history of the region during our visit which made us glad we took the time to get up there.

We next flew up to Chang Mai for about a week. I was expecting a smaller village like experience, but Chang Mai is a pretty big and bustling place. The Tuk Tuk drivers are insane. We had some pretty memorable rides across town. In Chang Mai we ate really well, shopped till I couldn't take it anymore, rode some elephants, petted some tigers, celebrated the Chinese New Year, learned how to make paper out of elephant poop and had an interesting evening talking to a Buddhist Monk which was one of the main highlights of the trip.

The whole elephant experience was pretty unique albeit quite touristy. You start out with an "Elephant Show" which basically consists of exploitation of the animals to the extreme. But it was cool to see how smart they are. I watched an elephant paint a self portrait that would put Van Gough to shame. We then boarded the back of Lombo, a friendly and not too stinky elephant of 15 years. He really didn't like to walk more than a few hundred feet without eating some sugar cane, but I can't really blame him. He delivered us safely across two rivers and it turned out to be a pretty fun ride. It was great to get out into the countryside and escape the constant noise of the city while sitting atop such a massive animal that seemed so fierce yet careful and precise at the same time.

Our last night in Chang Mai was spent at an out of town Temple where we took part in a "Monk Chat". We got to sit down one on one with a novice monk and ask him any questions we had. We took the opportunity to learn as much as we could about Buddhism in general and about the day to day life of a Monk. After being in country for a bit already, we had lots of questions and were curious about many different things. It was really cool, and his English was quite good. He didn't convince me to convert, but I can see how the simplicity of their lifestyle could be an attractive one for many people. I found numerous holes in the theology he described and felt comfortable asking him some questions that went below the surface. It was a really casual and respectful conversation and Vic and I have a very fond memory of that encounter.

We then headed down south to Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands. I'm not really sure why anyone goes to Phuket except if its to leave. I will say that the West coast does have really long and fine sandy beaches, but we didn't see what all the hype was about. We were glad we only used Phuket as a launching point for Kho Phi Phi. It's about an hour boat from Phuket and they are said to be really pretty islands and we were expecting a nice couple of days to just relax on the beach. We reserved a great resort and were very happy except for a few minor details. There are lots of restaurants on the beach, each competing to be the loudest and unofficial "place to be". Phi Phi it seems has turned into the Cancun of South East Asia. There are still serene and pretty places to hide out, but you have to make a pretty decent effort to get away from the crowds and noise. There are lots of restaurants on the beach and the night life is booming. We got used to it and joined in a bit, but just had to change our mindset once we got there that it wasn't going to be the secluded retreat that we had hoped. Knowing we would head home to a tropical island helped us not care too much.

All in all, we did enjoy ourselves and relaxed a great deal. One day we spent diving, (vicki snorkeled) and I saw some really different coral and animal life. There was a really cool Tiger Shark that didn't seem to be too impressed with us and some great fan coral and really big lobsters and sting rays. I was pretty glad I didn't get too lazy to go diving and it turned out to be a really fun day. We stopped for lunch at the bay where Leonardo De Caprio screwed everything up at in "The Beach", its a pretty popular place for day trippers and for the dive boats to have their surface time. It was a nice beach, but overrun with tourism. If we had to do it over again, we would head for Railey Island about an hour south of Phi Phi, word of mouth tells us its more along the lines of what we were looking for.

After our little R & R we geared up for what would turn out to be one of the more eye opening places we've ever visited. Going to Cambodia was a good decision. To our surprise, the American dollar was everywhere, even out of the ATM's. So that was nice. And everything is quite cheep. 50 cent beer cheep. They have nice and ample accommodations and very friendly people who are well spoken and welcoming. I felt pretty safe and comfortable there. We arrived in Siem Reap and were eager to start learning about the history and ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. Or taxi driver turned out to be one hell of a great guy who introduced us to his close friend who was a certified tour guide. We spent the next two days with Mr. Woean and Kean our trusty Driver and Temple Guide respectively. They really took care of us and showed us some great aspects of their country.

We started off for a sunrise at Angkor Wat that didn't disappoint even though it was a very popular thing to do. Then we spent the next few days exploring several old temples and ruins; Angkor Thom, Bayon and Prea Khan to name a few. These temples were awesome, on par with the Egyptians in my opinion, not in scale but definitely in ingenuity, detail and craftsmanship. Our days were long, hot and dusty but we really enjoyed seeing and learning about Cambodia's past from Kean. It was not just a job for him but his hobby. He grew up adjacent to Angor Wat and told us stories of Vietnamese Army tanks driving in front of his house when he was a child. It was really great to have such a personal touch added to our experience.

After two solid days its somewhat easy to desire a change of venue and Vicki really wanted to go to Phnom Penh (pronounced pa-nom pain) to learn more about the recent Civil War and to see the capital city. I was pretty against traveling to yet another destination and didn't want to deal with working out the logistics of it all, but next thing I knew we found ourselves on a bus headed for the capital. In the end Vicki was right and I was pretty happy we made the extra effort even though it might not have been ideal conditions (6 hour bus ride with Cambodian Karaoke videos the entire time, arggg). We were only in Phnom Penh for 36 hours but we got a healthy dose of reality.

After a quick but thorough visit to Cambodia's Royal Palace and National Museum we headed out to learn more about Cambodia's recent history. The S-21 prison was a former High School turned interrogation center. To this day many former Khmer Rouge service members deny its existence and purpose, much like Germany's concentration camps. It's a really sad and somber place. We were guided around in a very private and quiet way by a lady who told us more about the atrocities that occurred in that place than we thought were humanly possible. She herself had lost her Father and Brother to the Khmer Rouge and as a child walked for 3 months to the Northwestern part of the country where she was allowed to serve the people who killed her family by working 18 hours a day in the fields. Puts a new perspective on mowing lawns and raking leaves for the Big L.

I kept thinking that you never know by looking at a person what they've been through. I would have never guessed that this lady had such a story. And then it occurred to us that pretty much everybody over the age of 30 in Cambodia has some sort of ridiculous story similar to hers. And if you were lucky enough to be born in recent years, you probably know someone or you yourself have been blown up or lost a limb by one of the 1-2 million land mines still buried around the countryside. It's a consensus that things are leaps and bounds better now than before and that each year is an improvement, but there are still 3-400 deaths a year from random people stepping on land mines.

We furthered our reality check at the Killing Fields south of town. Like a concentration camp in that there were mass graves and its really sad, but different in that most prisoners were simply shot right as they stepped off the trucks. Good times. It was hard to imagine what we were doing as kids as all this was going on in the early 80's. I was pretty wrapped up in Kick the Can and Frogger those days. While there are plenty of countries in this world that are humane and all around decent places to live, this trip was a constant reminder that a large part of our planet doesn't have any concept of how cushy Westerners actually have it. They know we have money and plumbing that works, but I wonder if they really know the level of comfort we enjoy not only in our infrastructure but in our security and the general human respect most of us have for each other. We truly live in one of the best possible environments on Earth and I find it being drilled into my conscience more and more that the concepts of actually feeding the hungry, clothing the naked or giving money to those in need are not simply absurd or outlandish ideas.

Below are some pictures. Your comments are welcome!!!


Royal Palace and home of The Emerald Buddha


The Emerald Buddha side hall

Random gigantic Buddha: 60 feet tall


Sitting Buddha at the ruins in Ayutthaya


Reclining Buddha in Ayutthaya


Mountain girl I paid 10 cents to photograph. Quite the little entrepreneur, she was making a killing.


Sunset in Chang Mai


Matt and Vicki ride an elephant


They were having a huge festival during our one night in Phuket. Apparently VW's are all the rage.

Water taxi in the Koh Phi Phi Islands


Our view from the Bay View Resort in Phi Phi


Sunrise over Angkor Wat


The gates of Angkor Thom


Bayon Temple , it always feels like someone is watching you. Yeah, I know I'm rockin a phat goatee. I just hacked it off today. 46 days without shaving, a new personal best.


The faces of Bayon



Vicki poses at Thao Phrom. Nature has regained it foothold and come full circle in that this tree is now the only thing keeping this temple from collapsing. (note: we were told several times that this is where Tomb Raider was filmed)


Our amazing guide, Kean, and equally wonderful driver, Mr. Woen. Two very hospitable and fun guys.


Probably the second most sad place I've ever been. This is the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh where over 20,000 innocent Cambodians were tortured in ways beyond the scope of this blog. All but 5 were later killed randomly.


Opium pipes for sell at Siem Reap's Old Market, tempting to have as a work of art but not worth the risk of bringing drug residue back to the States. Guam has lots of sniffing dogs.