Guammy McGuamerton

Maui

2011-03-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

In late February we were able to take a little time to meet my parents in Maui. They were in Hawaii for a few months and since they made it half way to us, we figured we'd meet them in the middle. We had never been to Maui so it took little convincing, it was only about a week long trip, but a good opportunity for Kyra to spend some time with her Mimi and PaPa. We mostly went to the beach, snorkled, ate good food and did a little surfing. It was a good week. Highlights include a pretty remarkable and romantic dinner sans Kyra, lots of good Mexican food (we dont really have any on Guam), a great day surfing and a really cool hike just south of Hana. Below are some photos, hope you enjoy!!

Family photo at the 'Iao Valley State Park

Sunset from our Condo balcony

One day we took a nice drive around the island and went on a pretty great hike. About 20 minutes in it came to the top of a huge waterfall with an infinity pool that you could swim around in. It was quite cold water but the view and setting was pretty remarkable. The rest of the hike took us through several different landscapes and a diverse set of flora and fauna, banyan trees, bamboo, rocky expanses, rivers and waterfalls. It was a good hike, just enough to get the blood flowing.

Bamboo Forrest in the middle of our hike. It reminded me of the one in Kyoto, Japan oddly enough.

Everyone knows that all good hikes have to end at a waterfall. This one did not disappoint. Here The Big L, Viki and I take pause and cool off in the mist of this 200'+ waterfall on Maui's Waiho'i Valley.

Really big Banyan Tree along our hike

South Maui coastline

Cool valley - South West Maui

Sunset from our condo, we actually saw the elusive Green Flash that night, first time ever, its not a conspiracy!!

After many sandcastles its obviously time for yogurt!

Nap time after a long snorkel

This is Kyra experiencing the pure joy of pushing buttons and listening to the operator request her credit card number. For those of you who might not know what this is, I'll let you in on some American History. A long time ago a guy named Bell invented the telephone. In its original design you would stand in one place whilst using this remarkable device. Flash forward a few hundred years and from time to time, if you are lucky, you might see someone talking on what I have been informed is called a cellular telephone. Its rumored that these "cellular" phones allow people to be even more annoying than ever before imagined. Don't be alarmed if you see someone using one, I'm told its perfectly normal. Also if it appears that everyone is talking to themselves, rest assured, the world has not gone completely crazy, there is yet another inconspicuous device that allows these cellphone users to be even more sneaky. I'm told having blue teeth is somehow acceptable in today's society. My god, how did we get here. What a relief, there is water at the bottom of the ocean.

Cairns, Sydney and Area Beaches

2010-12-19T16:27:00.000-08:00

This trip almost didn't happen. It started out as a long joke. Our friends Jason and Angela had been planning on going to Sydney since July to see Jack Johnson in concert. Every other day it seemed Jason would try to get us to go, almost pleading and making it really hard to say no. It was a pipe dream for us really, we fended him off as long as we could. We couldn't find an easy way to make it happen. Could we find a babysitter in Australia to watch Kyra while we went? Should just one of us go and the other stay home. Nothing seemed logistically possible or fair to all parties involved. Then when U2 announced a tour date just a few days after the Jack concert Vicki came up with the splendid idea that we would each go to one of the concerts while the other stayed with Kyra. Which is exactly what we did and I must say that it worked out pretty great. Now I realize that we could have all three gone to the Jack concert, it was quite mellow on the lawn, but in the end we decided that we would each be granted a night of freedom to enjoy ourselves to the utmost. Jason and Angela are good concert going friends. Both Vicki and I made the most of our evenings out and felt like we really got to experience a different side of Sydney than on our previous visit.

We stayed in a much different part of town. An area called Potts Point where the streets are tree lined and the cafe's plentiful. Still walking distance to the Opera House and Sydney's many parks and gardens, Potts Point provided us with a really good base to occupy the interests of both child and adult alike. Every other corner seemed to have a little park or playground for Kyra to expend her energy. It was a really nice aspect of the city.

One really great experience we got to enjoy that is not pictured below was the Chinese exhibit at the Sydney Museum. Some artifacts from the tomb of the first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, were on loan and we took a rare opportunity to see them accompanied by more than 200 other rare and interesting artifacts including several statues of his Entombed Warriors, Chariots and Royal Guards. It was pretty cool and I doubt we will ever go to China to see it in person, so we were glad we went, but don't have any pictures as they were forbidden like many other things in China.

Below are some photos, we hope you enjoy!!

Here is Kyra on her favorite swing in the playground just around the corner from our hotel

Vicki apparently is really popular in Sydney. Here she casually leans against a pole on her very own street.

Of all people, Oprah was in town. She pretty much took over the place. She even interrupted the Jack concert with her nearby firework display. You just have to laugh I guess. But Australia expects to generate millions of tourist dollars from her recent trip which is good I guess, but it doesn't seem like Australia is really hurting for tourist dollars. Pretty much everybody I know would like to visit Australia already, so I dont really understand the big push, but whatever. So they rolled out the red carpet everywhere she went and treated her like royalty. Which I suppose she pretty much is. But we felt skywriting was a bit much.

One of the better activities we did on this trip was to visit some of the nearby beaches. We spent a day in Bondi and a day in Coogee. Above is Kyra and Vicki posing on the ever famous Bondi Beach.

Kyra playing in the Tasman Sea.

This statue of a lifeguard diving into the ocean fascinated Kyra to no end. She couldn't figure out what he was doing and what it was all about. She was at first intrigued, then scared a bit and then just interested in its very existence. It was a very funny couple of minutes where you could just see the wheels turning in her little head.

This is what an Australian field trip looks like. By law, the kids are required to wear hats.

This is what Kyra looks like when an Australian field trip takes over the slide she had been solitary enjoying moments earlier.

Coogee Beach from a nice coastal walk along the bluffs.

Angela, Jason, Kyra, Vicki and Matt at sunset on Coogee. After a not too shabby day at the beach we finished it off with a relaxing pizza dinner on the bluffs overlooking Coogee. It was a nice evening and a good sunset over what must be one of Sydney's most serene and relaxed suburbs.

Captain Kyra

One of the added highlights to this trip was that we got to end our time in Australia with a few days in Cairns before our flight back to Guam. Now that Kyra is a bit older she can really experience all the free play areas that Cairns has to offer. One is the pool that we spent most of the day at, but the other is the kids area along the Esplanade where Kyra decided was a good place to cool off. As Cairns this time of year is quite hot, it was just what the doctor ordered.

Big fish eating Kyra.

Tokyo

2010-07-30T01:46:00.001-07:00

Vic and I had a bit of "Island Fever" so we took a short trip up to Tokyo to check out this fair Earth's largest city. We figured 4 days was about all we could take. As exhausting as Tokyo can be, I found it pretty entertaining and when it was all said and done I felt like I could endure a little bit more. To me Tokyo is like one of those friends you had in High School that you liked being with but just gets to be too much to handle when you hang out for more than a few hours at a time. I guess any really big city can be draining and as a visitor, Tokyo seems easier to manage and is best seen in moderate doses.

We packed a lot in during our stay, had long days and soaked up as much as we could. Upon our arrival we headed to Yoyogi Park. It was very shady and cool compared to the concrete jungle circumventing its borders. In the center of the park lies Meiji Shrine, considered by many to be Tokyo's most important Shinto place of worship. It was a nice afternoon and a relaxing way to spend the remainder of the day after a series of planes, trains and automobiles.

Large Torii at the entrance to the Meiji Shrine. The logs used to build this torii are said to have come from a 1,500 year old cypress tree on Mount Tandai in Taiwan, which surprised me due to my previous held opinion that everything that came out of Taiwan was plastic. Who knew!

Saki Casks along the path to the Meiji Shrine - these were typical gifts for the Emperor given by various important people and dignitaries over the ages.

We were sure to adhere to the cleaning rituals at the Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi Park. Left hand, right hand, then the face. Don't forget to bow.

When we go to sleep Kyra must sneak out and socialize because she seems to be pretty popular everywhere we go. Just one of many instances where we were stopped by a gaggle of Japanese locals who wanted to capture the enigmatic white child. I'm pretty sure these people were tourists themselves since they took about 200 pictures a piece. She took it all in stride for about 5 minutes and then got kinda sick of it all and started crying.

Across from Yoyogi Park lies the Harajuku District where you can glimpse the future leaders of Japan dressing up like comic book characters. Big hair, Little Bo Peep style outfits and lots of makeup. It was a pretty crowded area, full of self expression and individuality. Culturally interesting but not exactly enticing for me to adopt. It was just another one of those days where I just kept reminding myself how goofy some of the Japanese cultures can be. We all have our quirks and peculiarities, but it seems to me that the Japanese have more than their share.

Where's Waldo. One of these things is not like the other. Most places we visit we attempt to blend in as best we can, but I pretty much gave up in Tokyo. Even in the widely diverse Harajuku District I couldn't seem to fade into the masses.

We stayed near the world's busiest train station - Sinjuku. The book we had said about 2 million people pass through there every day. It seemed more like 4 or 5 million to me. We went through there several times and at all hours of the day and it was simply jam packed all day long. It made me miss Guam just a little bit.

Typical busy street near our hotel in Shinjuku.

We spent some time at Ueno Park, Tokyo's version of Central Park. It was filled with shrines, temples, statues, Japanese street performers singing La Bamba (Sabes Guantanamera?) and a Pandaless zoo. Everywhere we went we saw billboards and signs directing us to see the Pandas at the zoo. The little zoo map even has a big panda on the cover. Once inside you can take your picture with a 10 foot tall ceramic panda. Wouldn't it be safe to assume that there would be real live Pandas inside as well? Stay thirsty my friends. There are no pandas at the Tokyo Zoo. They had otters, tigers, gorillas and penguins, but no pandas. A few hours after leaving the zoo we ran into this guy who asked us what we had been seeing in his city and when we told him that we had just come from the zoo his head bowed in what I could only assume was shame and said "I am very sorry, we have no pandas anymore." I guess its a big controversy, perhaps China stole them, but there are definitely no pandas and Tokyo's citizens sure seem upset.

Swans at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo

A very large Hello Kitty in the Baskin' Robbins near our hotel, Kyra kept looking at it as if she was wondering what the purpose of such a thing could be. Sometimes even I have no answers.

One really cool thing we did was visit Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market. The largest fish market in the world. (are you sensing a theme here) It was big. Lots of strange things going on. The metro stop for the fish market is 4 floors underground and when you get off the train you can already smell fish. We followed our noses several escalators and multiple stairways up and had a nice morning meandering through the stalls and watching the salesmen tolerate our presence. There were lots of crazy fish I'd never seen before and several of the stands sold live seafood. Not jsut fish, but crab and eel and all sorts of other living creatures packaged up and squirming around in see through containers.

Tsukiji Fish Market

This guy is sawing up some frozen tuna. I tried to get Vicki to distract him while I grabbed a slab but he was not easily swayed.

We spent an afternoon in Odaiba. Japans architecturally interesting district as we later named it. There were lots of cool buildings that stood testament to Japan's superior engineering. I guess they have to somehow make up for the runway I often land on in Osaka that is sinking into the ocean. We spent a long time at the Miraikan building which is their National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. Most of it was in Japanese (but there was a lot of English explanation) and there were several elementary school field trips going on, but we pieced together the gist of it all and came out a bit more educated in the process. The coolest thing they had was a huge room with a rotating electric globe hanging 50 feet up from the ceiling. You can lay in comfy couches and look up while the earth changes in real time. They also have sequences of weather patterns over the last 30 days as well as ocean temperature changes over various periods of time. Kyra liked it quite a bit and later decided to take a nice little nap. We didn't argue one bit. It was quite relaxing.

Kyra looking up at the globe

Big Globe

Shibuya - The worlds busiest intersection is here, there were lots of people. Kyra almost lost her pacifier crossing the street, but alas it was found and she was able to sleep that night.

It was a good trip, we were glad we went. I liked Tokyo even though it can be a bit too much at times. I think that visiting in the fall or spring would make a big difference as the cherry blossoms are supposed to be a nice background compliment to the vast urban feeling all around you. I'd go back, there was just so much to see and do, we had to be picky and selective, but I would like to see some of the other parts that we neglected. Survey says: B+.

Singapore and Malaysia

2010-03-11T16:17:00.001-08:00

Let me first say that we simply had a swell time in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur with our friends Jason and Angela. We had been planning on doing a trip together for some time and it was really nice to actually make it happen. They displayed tons of patience and flexibility throughout the trip and always seemed to pick Kyra up or play with her just when Vic and I needed it most. They made the whole experience of being in a foreign place much easier as they served as part tour guide, part nanny, part social coordinators but mostly just good friends.

Singapore is quite impressive. From the moment you land you know you have entered a different sort of place. Its really clean, safe and orderly. And it feels big despite being just a small island. It's a very western city. I felt more like I was in America there than I do in America sometimes if that makes any sense. But there are many differences, some better some worse. There are lots of rules and lots of signs telling you what you are and are not supposed to do. If you have drugs, they kill you, the announcement on the plane even says so. If you chew gum, they put you in jail or cane you, you're choice I guess. And whatever you do don't spit in the street. The whole time walking around I felt pretty safe even though I never once saw one police officer or security guard anywhere. Not one. Rumor has it that undercover guys are everywhere. That man standing over there with the sunglasses reading the OK magazine, he's not really as interested in Lady Gaga or Paris Hilton as he is in finding out if you're really going to take your stroller on the escalator. I guess a healthy amount of paranoia is a good thing when it comes to crime. Maybe it was just me or maybe it was just not being use to it, but I felt like at any moment I might be hauled off to some interrogation room for questioning as to why I didn't flush the toilet. Which is an actual law punishable by some sort of terrible public humiliation I'm sure. So it was fitting that in a land so full of rules, regulations and penalties that we first visited the kitschy and wonderlandish attraction known as Haw Par Villa and its "Ten Courts of Hell".

This is Haw Par. Its kinda weird. It doesn't serve any real purpose that we could come up with, yet we went in anyway. Inside you can find the "Ten Courts of Hell" which is basically a tunnel with displays that look like it was some elaborate 5th grade project. I will say however, that it is quite informative and if you are of the persuasion that reincarnation is real then this is the place to scare you straight. I suppose one way of being a better person is to know that if you curse or waste food then in the afterlife you will either be thrown on to a tree of knives or sawed in two. My personal favorite was the hill of knives which became your fate in the 4th court of hell if you litter or neglect the elderly. Or maybe that penalty was being crushed by a boulder, I can't seem to remember, but you definitely shouldn't do either of those things. I didn't think of it so much at the time, but now as I reflect upon it I am amazed at the things we come up with and turn into theology. While every "crime" in the courts of hell are things we would mostly all agree are not such great things to make a habit of, the way about it perplexes me. I never thought of Hinduism as having population control issues or rules meant to instill fear into its subjects or else xyz might happen to you when you die. But whatever, it was somewhat entertaining to us, except for Angela who thought it was completely and totally ridiculous that we even considered going in.

These are really big masks hanging on a fence for no apparent reason. Kyra liked them.

This is Clarke Quay. Pronounced Clark Key for some reason. I guess it's remnants of British influence persevering to this day. They also use words like queue and colour instead of line and color. And I can only assume that when the power goes out they use a torch to light their way, but in a place like Singapore I'd wager that the power rarely goes out.

The Clarke Quay Turkish Ice Cream stand. Which served up a pretty good scoop as well as our afternoon meeting place.

Sometimes Kyra would fall asleep at just the right moment so we could enjoy a few beers with our friends. This trip was the first time Kyra would sleep in her stroller. It was really nice to not have to go back to the hotel to give her naps everyday. You know shes in deep REM when her pacifier falls out and she still stays asleep.

We ate really well on this trip, which thrilled Vicki to no extent. Pretty much every type of food can be enjoyed in Singapore and we had our fare share of the fare. Indian, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Malaysian etc. It was all pretty good. So, I hesitate to include this picture due to its graphic nature and as it is not really representative of Malay cuisine but it was just too good not to include. I can assure you that these are some sort of clam-like delicacy and not the result of castrated horses. Yes, many juvenile jokes were made and when Jason and I felt as if we couldn't take it anymore we opted for the Spanish Tapas place. Which for some reason had a Mariachi band playing La Bamba followed by Guantanamera. Spain, Mexico, whats the difference when you're this far away, right? The Spanish would be quite offended and rightly so, but the food was spot on. (hey jon. Tengo una pregunta...sabes guantanamera?)

This is China Town. Its pretty much like any other China Town that ever existed. You can eat Chinese food and buy lots of crap. We did both. Not pictured are Little India and the Arab Quarter where all the rules of Singapore seem not to apply. You can j-walk, spit in the street or even at someone. Little India was hot and filthy. Much like Big India I would imagine. But the food was great and the people were nice.

In general, I think zoos are sad places, they serve their purpose I suppose, but I always feel sad for the animals. We were told not to miss the Singapore Zoo though, so we didn't. It was awesome. Not as free as the St. Louis Zoo and not as expensive as San Diego, but better than both combined. This little guy above greeted us as we entered. They have a "free roaming" philosophy where the animals aren't in cages and can go about their business unrestricted. Its still a zoo and by all intents and purposes these animals are quite caged. i.e. they have manatees and seals in a pool about half the size of the rec plex. The lions and tigers had about a half acre to roam around, not much room to really roam if you ask me. But the zoo did seem to really emphasize the effect humans have on the animals and the importance of protecting them. It was good to get out of the city for a bit and Kyra really liked the tigers and feeding the giraffes. They have really long tongues, which makes sense I guess.

Vicki looks like shes having a good time, Kyra's not too sure but she warmed up to the giraffes a bit later.

The architecture in Singapore is unparalleled in my opinion, it reminded me of Barcelona in that way a bit. There were crazy buildings everywhere just because they can. This one by our hotel was very techno and electric, it lit up at night and gave us some splendid shows.

The Central Business District has lots of money and lots of buildings. We were told that the Financial Center of Asia was originally built along this section of the river because the shoreline resembles the belly of a carp (a symbol of good luck and fortune). So the financial wizards of the day put all their money along this section of town and what remains today is one of the most compact and financially wealthy area in the world.

We took a little evening river cruise. Kyra about jumped out of the boat. She likes water.

Jason and Angela take some weird photos. Well let me rephrase, Jason takes some weird pictures and Angela puts up with it. I think he's trying to get the reflection of the city off her sunglasses.

Typical Singapore dinner. On our last night in town we ate at the Hawker Stalls which is a very common way for the local people to eat. It was good. While we had spring rolls and other delicious eats Kyra was stuck with her usual squash mixed with peas and turkey, hence the displeasure on her face.

A short 45 min flight north took us to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This picture is from our hotel room. We got a lucky room with a pretty nice view. KL is pretty much like any other big city. Just cheeper and they have a monorail. Just like Disneyland except its full of Malaysians instead of Japanese. While Singapore is an extremely easy city to travel around, KL is the polar opposite. This was especially evident to us as we were trying to navigate around with a baby stroller. In Singapore everything is handicapped accessible, the signs make sense, the public transit is user friendly and things simply work as if someone actually put some thought into planning that city out. In KL everything seems as if its an afterthought. The subway and monorail have overlapping lines but don't connect. In KL there are stairs everywhere, sometimes it seems like there were stairs just because they could, like they made too much cement or something. This proved endlessly frustrating with a stroller. After day one, we opted for just taking cabs everywhere, which actually turned out to be about the same price as the public transit. Win win. I say all this but we truly had the mindset that going to Malaysia was a bonus add on/side trip for us and we were just glad to be there. We missed the ease and cleanliness of Singapore for sure, but KL had its high points and unique attractions. The main one being Petronas Towers (pictured top right) and KL Tower (top left). We mostly walked around and just soaked as much up as we could. There wasn't too much culture in this big city of shopping malls, seriously, there was a mall on every corner. We even broke down one night and had Papa John's. Ouch. But we did make it in a few Mosques and out to The Batur Caves one day which was really cool, as caves tend to be.

Apparently when you order a small pint of beer in Malaysia this is what you get.

Petronas Towers. They are tall.

Jason and Angela like to have weird pictures taken of them too. Actually, the picture above this one was taken with Jason in a similar position and I felt compelled to return the favor.

Vicki has never been to a Muslim country so she said she wanted to go inside a Mosque. It was pretty funny that I could go in with shorts, a t-shirt and sandals, while Vic had to gown up head to toe. Luckily they thought Kyra was a boy so she got off easy.

The five of us in front of a cool fountain that Kyra couldn't keep her eyes off of even for one second.

Batur Cave. And a really big Buddha.

The cave had 240 steps leading up to it and a monkey on just about every one of them. Kyra sleeps with Carl (her stuffed animal monkey) every night, so she felt a special connection to these mischievous guys.

More monkeys.

Monkey eating a coconut.

Shrine.

One of the many times Jason and Ang entertained Kyra thus thwarting a meltdown.

In my most fatherly picture to date, Kyra and I pass the layover with some Coy in the Singapore Airport before our journey home. We ended up taking three flights for over 18 hours of travel before we made it back to Guam. Kyra traveled better than expected. Her favorite past time is eating the passenger briefing cards. At least they're good for something.

Another great trip. We felt very lucky to have seen these places and to expose Kyra to another culture. Your comments are welcome!

Vicki chimes in:

Here, here. Matt did a really good job of capturing our experience, so I don't have much to add. I really loved visiting both of these places, which was a welcome surprise since I was feeling quite a bit of apprehension about another trip with Kyra (the last few hadn't gone so well--lack of a normal sleep pattern plus overstimulation make for one crazy baby). Singapore was a beautifully immaculate city wherever you happened to be--the minute we arrived at the airport and it was covered with rainbow-colored orchid gardens and a palm forest, I knew this was going to be a different kind of city. Besides the law barring gum-chewing, I really appreciated our travel book's warning against urinating in public lifts...a luxury we Americans have grown so accustomed to.

Culturally it's a very interesting city, where Arab, Indian, Chinese and Malay people seem to respectfully and almost perfectly co-exist--from an outsider's point of view, all seemed to receive fairly equal representation in the city; no one culture seemed to overshadow the others. For a traveler with limited time, the city allows you to feel as if you are venturing into different 'worlds' without having to spend much time getting to each of them. Of course, with so many cultures represented, the food options were unbelievable. And the great thing about Singapore especially was that they have such strict regulations on food preparation in their dining establishments that you can feel free to be really adventuresome. I tried laksa (a dish of noodles in a spicy coconut cream broth with shrimp, fish, and garnished with half a boiled egg...strange but yummy), Haianese chicken rice (a dish served cold to cool you off in Singapore's sweltering heat), yong tau fu (a sort of 'salad bar' of ingredients like fish balls, squid, tofu, a wide assortment of mushrooms and small bok choy that you select from and place into a bowl to which the person behind the counter adds noodles, broth, green onions and a spicy red sauce and passes back to you), Indian prata, nasi lemak with beef (yummiest thing I tried in Kuala Lumpur--a plate of coconut rice, beef prepared in sort of coconut/peanuty curry, a spicy garlicky red sauce on the side, cucumbers, and roasted peanuts mixed with dried sardines...I avoided those on the side of my plate), iced umbra juice with sour plum (tasted like sweet cactus), and sang har meen (another noodle dish in an egg sauce topped with ginormous prawns and spring onions...the egg sauce was an interesting consistency). For some reason corn was really popular--they sold Corn in a Cup like it was snow cones or funnel cakes. Even one of the gelato options at the ubiquitous gelato stands/shops was 'coconut corn'--coconut flavored gelato with little kernels of corn sprinkled all over the top. Believe it or not, it actually turns out to be a pretty tasty combo. This trip really broadened my perspective on corn and its possibilities. Besides these local options, you could wander into any of the malls or the Quay in Singapore and find Spanish tapas, Italian, Mediterranean, "Mexican", Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, Turkish, even Mongolian food options. As well as a BK (Burger King) Bar...that's right, you can enjoy a cold brew right along with your Whopper in plain view and no one bats an eyelash.

This guy put the other corn in a cup guy right out of business.

sang har meen

Probably the coolest personal growth thing that happened for me was being confronted with preconceived ideas about Muslim countries that I didn't even know I had. I wasn't thinking of holy wars and suicide bombers, it was more a general expectation that we would feel unwelcome as obvious Westerners in Malaysia. And our experience was completely the opposite. People were extremely warm and friendly, whether we encountered one another on the subway, in a shop, a restaurant or passing one another on the street. It didn't hurt that Kyra has one of the most disarming smiles in any hemisphere. Here are some pics of her and just a few of the MANY friends she made...

Near little India in Singapore

In the Kuala Lumpur airport

A street-side market in Kuala Lumpur...these nice fellows took a watch with a blinking light out from under their counter and were entertaining her with it.

Well, That's about all I have to comment on about this adventure... except that I also say what awesome travel companions Jason and Angela were and how absolutely great they were helping out with Kyra--without their help it wold not have been the wonderful experience it was.

Anyway, thanks for reading, guys!!! We miss you terribly--no matter how many fun adventures we have, it does not compare to being with the people we love.

Palau

2010-01-18T16:04:00.000-08:00

As most of you know having a child inhibits your ability to do certain activities together that you could once do freely and without second thought. Diving has been one of those things for us. We really miss it. It usually takes up most of the day and its pretty hard to find someone to buck up and give you an entire day off together. Vic had not been in over a year and I have seldom made it out myself. So when my parents decided to pay us a visit this year we took them up on their offer to join us in Palau- where they could watch Kyra for us and see the beautiful scenery while we could once again enjoy the underwater world. Win win.

The excitement and wonderment of our last trip to Palau could never again be attained, so we didn't even try. We really missed our friends Steve and Katrina this time around. So many memories and good times, we thought of them often.

It was a good trip overall. Vic and I had an opportunity to take two days to ourselves just to dive. The reefs and animal life in Palau is as alive as ever. I think our favorite was The German Channel where we got to see tons of Manta Rays and Sharks swim up really close, and I really liked The Big Drop Off where I spotted my first Nudibranch, a lot of Humphead Wrasses, the ever elusive Clown Triggerfish and several more sharks. Another highlight was our last dive at Chandler Cave. Its a pretty shallow dive with 4 chambers where you can actually surface to have a look around. It was pretty amazing to see such well preserved and beautiful architecture in a cave.

On the days when my parents went snorkeling we pretty much just did what we do on Guam. The pool at our hotel was quite nice and relaxing. Kyra is getting to be a pretty good water baby. She seems sad when we take her out. We also had an opportunity to drive around the island a bit, something we totally neglected last visit. Way up north is an area where the lost societies left huge stone monoliths. Nobody really knows much about them except that the stones are there and they must have taken a lot of effort to put in place. We also got us some education in the form of a really cool museum in town as well as stumbling upon the last remaining Palauan Bai, which is a traditional meeting house.

Kyra was a big hit among the locals. We got the feeling that not too many white babies make it down to those parts. Everywhere we went the ladies and kids wanted to play with her and hold her. I never really expected that having a kid would require you to be so much more outgoing and personable. I was thinking about parents who have introverted personalities and how hard it must be for them to walk down the street or go to the store when all these strangers are trying to have conversations with you. I'm surprised in myself that I do actually like it, I guess it has a lot to do with Kyra seeming to always light up at new faces. Interacting with almost everyone we come across is something I was totally not prepared for but it has been a good thing so far.

All in all a good trip. Palau never disappoints. Below are some pictures.

Colorful meeting place/Modern Palauan home

Ancient Stone Path leading up to the Bai.

Traditional Palauan Bai

Vicki and Kyra at the Stone Monoliths

Kyra tries Beetlenut, but not really

Surface Time in the pool

Sydney

2009-08-28T14:58:00.001-07:00

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.

Australia-Queensland-Cairns

2009-07-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

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.

Thailand and Cambodia

2009-02-12T19:11:00.000-08:00

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.

Thailand.. Errr Uhh...New Zealand

2008-12-16T13:39:00.001-08:00

I have seen the most beautiful place in the world. I spent this whole trip just stunned at what I was seeing. Every inch of land we covered in New Zealand was picturesque and lovely, ridiculously so. A post card around every corner. We have lots of fun tales to tell about our two-week adventure, but how we ended up in New Zealand is a somewhat interesting tale in itself...

So the original plan was to visit Thailand in December and New Zealand in late January/early February. We were committed to visiting these places at these times because it would be the peak season for both, and because, come May, traveling's taking a backseat to the little adventure that's now kicking me on a daily basis. Little did we know that the political unrest that had been building in Thailand, especially over the last few months, would climax with bombings of both Bangkok airports, gunfire, and breaking of police lines the very morning we were due to arrive in Bangkok. Let me be clear that I support the Thai people or any people in asserting themselves against a corrupt government entity. However, I'm not gonna lie...we were pretty miffed and disappointed that it meant we had to postpone a long-awaited venture to what's been described to us as an amazing, unforgettable place to visit.

Here's what happened in a nutshell: early on November 26, we arrived at the Tokyo airport and awaited our connecting flight to Bangkok. After having our flight delayed 1 hour, 3 hours, and then indefinitely (awesome!), we deemed it wise to embark on a little internet investigation to find out what the heck was going on. Once we learned how out of control the situation was in Bangkok and subsequently realized that it would probably not be our smartest move to put ourselves in the midst of such precarious circumstances, our first response was 'crap'. We practically had the word 'crap' written on our faces in bold type. We were so disappointed. Several desperate moments later, Matt says, "Ok, I say we either go to Malaysia and Singapore or New Zealand". Although going to New Zealand was the furthest thing from our minds this time of year, another brief internet search revealed the surprising fact that Dec. 1 is the beginning of summer for New Zealand, and therefore maybe not a bad time to visit. I was pretty sure this was our best bet, but Matt was a hard sell at first due to our Chile experience, in which case we visited during the off-season to 'avoid the crowds' and were rewarded with empty trails that were empty for a reason...they were snow-covered and impassable. After back and forth-ing for about an hour, we decided to take a chance and go for it. By 10 o'clock that night we were on a flight bound for Sydney, where we would then connect to Aukland. Did I mention that on our 10 hour flight from Tokyo to Sydney we were engulfed by upwards of 250 uniformed Japanese high school students? Avoid this experience if at all possible.

So we arrived at the Sydney airport early Nov. 27, bought a travel book on New Zealand, and four hours later we were in Aukland, near the top of the North Island. We spent a day exploring Aukland (and stressfully planning this last-minute voyage), then rented a campervan for the rest of our journey. Over the next 14 days, we traveled south, stopping in Rotorua, Taupo, Tongariro National Park, and Martinborough in the North Island, and continuing via ferry onto Picton, Motueka, Franz Josef, Wanaka, Te Anau, and Queenstown in the South Island. Somehow we totally lucked out and were blessed with gorgeous late spring-like weather and lots of great trails, lakes, streams, and beaches all to ourselves. With only a little over two weeks to take in this vast landscape, at times we felt we were viewing the breathtaking scenary in fast forward, but we also ended the trip feeling as if we had gotten an eyefull of this awesome country. Here is a map of the main stops along the way:

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Aukland was a great little city...lots of cafes and fancy eateries right on the water...your typical happenin port city. A lot like San Fransisco. A great aspect of it that we got only a little taste of is all the fantastic day trips that surround it. By car or by ferry, there's lots of little islands and hamlets to discover. We took a 15 minute ferry to Devonport one evening for dinner and were instantly jealous of everyone who lives there. Gently sloping streets, cottage style houses and gardens, sailboats gliding by...you get the picture. The Aukland museum is now my favorite museum in the world--an awesome display of native South Pacific cultures--just really, really cool stuff...100 ft. long intricately carved canoes, spears, jade jewelry and weapons, body ornamentation made of every imaginable material from elaborate, colorful feathers and beading to boar tusks and dogs teeth. We caught a performance there of a traditional Maori pre-war "dance" called the haka, which was probably the most intimidating display I've ever witnessed. It's performed by both men and women, and involves lots of rhythmic loud chanting and a variety of threatening stances, motions and facial expressions (widened eyeballs that look like they're about to pop out of the head, tongues extended down to the chin, baring of teeth)--5 seconds of this and you're quite convinced these people could tear you up. I mean, it was just a performance, but even still I felt like screaming for the exit more than once. Apparently if a haka was successful, there would never even be a war.

Above are some masks from the museum in Aukland where we learned a lot about the native Maori culture. They have lots of intricate carvings, it's common to use embedded paua (abalone) shells.

The next city we based ourselves in was Rotorua, an attractive little city filled with geothermal springs, set against rolling green hills (very eggy-smelling due to the sulfur...New Zealand sits over the meeting point of two tectonic plates--the Indo-Australian and the Pacific--hence all the geothermal springs, boiling mud pools, volcanoes, and mountains). Our campervan park even had its own springs that you could enjoy for free. Probably my favorite memory from visiting this area was riding the Zorb (see picture below). I'd seen this thing on the Today show and on the Amazing Race, and I knew one day I too would Zorb. Pretty fun splashin and slidin around in there with Matt. You always hear New Zealand described as a thrill-seekers paradise--pretty much everywhere you go you can find all kinds of opportunities to scare the piss out of yourself (canyoning, white water rafting, sky diving, bungee jumping, hang gliding, sledging--white water body boarding, base jumping, etc.).

Most of NZ looks like this, just add 40 million sheep and you'll get the picture.

NZ has a Redwood Forrest like Yosemite, just smaller. This is just outside Rotorua. Vicki is such a tree hugger.

Zorbing is one of those ridiculous things that you have to try when presented with the opportunity--you jump superman-style through a hole in the side and then they send you rolling down the hill. We had to lie about Vic being preggers, it was pretty harmless in the end and quite fun. We're pretty sure we now have a good idea of what baby Welton is experiencing.

The Lake Taupo region and Tongariro National Park in the middle of the North Island were our next destinations. Here are some pics (complete with commentary compliments of Matt):

What set out to be a little jaunt to a po dunk waterfall turned out to be a 7+ hr trek to the Tema Lakes, arguably the best hike of the trip.

Vicki with "Mt. Doom" looming over her shoulder. We felt bound together as we hiked closer and closer to its base. Exhaustion overcame us as we reached its shadow. Our vests and polar fleece were no cover for its ever watchful eye. We ate lunch while always feeling like we were being followed. Some how we were able to escape its grips with all our fingers intact.

The day after this hike we woke up to a downpour, even though the forecast had promised "clearing skies", so we nixed a hike we had planned for that day and instead headed down to the Wairarapa wine region an hour east of Wellington. We must have passed a hundred wineries throughout our trip, but this area is known for its Pinot Noirs and gourmet eateries, and you guys know me and food...I practically made love to a picnic lunch of sheep's milk gouda, assorted scrumptious olives, fresh-baked asiago rolls and half a glass of a fruity and luscious Pinot. Heaven. Sheer heaven.

The next day we caught a morning ferry across Cook Strait to the Southern Island. Although the North Island is beyond beautiful, the Southern Island is known to be the place to witness jaw-dropping scenery like the stuff out of dreams, and let me tell you, they aren't lyin. The further south we drove, the more unbelievable the views became. It's impossible to describe just how magnificent it is, but imagine: rays of yellow-white sunlight streaming down from imposing, jagged dark mountain peaks onto a huge deep turquoise lake covered in white-tip waves; green and lush mountain valley meadows of spiky alpine flowers in shades of blue, magenta, pink, white, yellow that extend as far as your eye can see; bright green rolling hills dotted with sheep, set against foothills covered in yellow-gold blooms with a backdrop of snowy peaks. As you drive along, you see these types of images over and over again. It's seriously ridiculous how gorgeous the place is.

We spent the last days of our trip hiking up a glacier (we got to wear crampons!) in Franz Josef, visiting Milford Sound (which is actually a fjord apparently, since it was carved by a glacier), and enjoying a few more breathtaking (literally) hikes. Matt and I agree--best trip of our lives so far. You guys have to go!!!

The northern beaches of the South Island reminded us of Oregon.

NZ's "major" highways are nothing more than two lane country roads. A large portion of our trip involved navigating the extremely curvy and narrow roads.

Sneaky Vicki snagged a shot of me while we waited for an accident to clear on the west coast of the south island. Even though we had overcast weather, the drive was still impressive.

One of Matt's favorite pictures of the trip. Climbing the Glacier was one of the definite highlights for both of us. Did you know that in NZ glacier is pronounced with 3 syllables? (glay see err) and color is spelled colour and that they use torches instead of flash lights. The Queens English still has a tight grip in NZ.

The Franz Joseph Glacier, the fastest moving glacier in the world.

Modern sheep herder. We didn't mind waiting.

A strenuous hike like this one, towering over Wanaka, deserves a good view. With no one around to share it with except your partner for life we really savored our time on top of this little mountain.

Just outside Wanaka lies the heaven of Vicki's dreams. We found this little river valley just driving out of town.

Milford Sound on a rare cloudless day, we were very lucky.

Another one of our favorite hikes. The scenery kept getting better as we traveled south.

Another valley full of lupines. Could Vicki have been more excited.

Wanaka and surrounding lakes on the short flight between Queenstown and Christchurch.

Pohnpei

2008-11-21T15:46:00.000-08:00

We went to Pohnpei. It was relaxing. Peaceful too. Its a small island. The people are pretty nice and welcoming. Its very lush. And clean too. There are a number of hotels and tourists but in some of the rural areas white people are not seen too often as evidenced by some of the blank stares we received. We stayed at a bungalow style resort which exceeded our expectations. The food was fantastic and cheep and the hilltop location provided a great locale to just sit and read all day while having a nice breeze and overview of the island and its outer reefs. We mostly ate and hiked and snorkeled and lounged around, but also got to talk and listen to peoples views on everything from Obama to Betel Nut.

Highlights from this trip include but are not limited to:

Swimming with Manta Rays:
Their mouths are quite large, they could for sure swallow you whole, good thing they only eat brine and plankton. We were really lucky to snorkel with them, there were about 8 or 9 rays with about an 8-10 foot wingspan. They were pretty friendly and didn't seem to mind us being there. Along with the rays were a huge school of fish (thousands maybe) that have a symbiotic relationship with the manta rays by feeding on the little particles on their skin. Unfortunately the fish attract the sharks, but we were told time and again that the sharks on Pohnpei are all vegetarians. Ha. Yeah, well, they didn't eat us at least, but we were really close to them and it was a bit nerve racking since they were right up on the surface with us with their dorsal fins sticking out of the water all jaws like. We were there with this couple from Guam who are both in the Navy. He was a Seal and pretty aquatic and swimming all over the place so we were convinced that the sharks would go for him first since he was all free diving below them and acting like Steve Erwin. It was fun and worth it though because it was so memorable to be so close to such big creatures and to feel like we were just silent observers while nature does its thing.

Trying to take an Toyota Echo off roading:
We rented a car with the intention of finding a waterfall that was listed in our ten year old lonely planet. It wasn't there, but we did manage to get our car stuck in the mud and narrowly escaped being hacked to pieces by the kids in the jungle wielding machetes. Actually they were really shy and were just surprised to see two whiteys stroll upon them while they were collecting their fire wood. We never made it to the waterfall but it was a good hike if only to get lost in the woods for a bit.

Betel Nut and Sakau Root:

Pretty much everyone in the islands, man and woman alike, chew on betel nut, it's a cross between chewing tobacco and smoking. Its an addictive nut that turns your teeth red. Awesome. The guys on my soccer team even chew it while playing. Most islanders get hooked on betel nut as opposed to smoking because its cheaper(cigarettes don't grow on trees after all) and you can see people trading cigarettes in exchange for all sorts of things since they need the tobacco to chew the nut as well. The typical way of digesting betel nut is to crack the seed in two, pour half a cigarette of tobacco into the middle, add a little dry coral lime powder then wrap it all up in a pepper leaf and suck on it for a few hours. The entire process involves a lot of spitting and chewing. You know you've succeeded when your teeth turn red and are constantly spitting all over the place. Good times. Many of the islanders are open about how they are upset that they are addicted and wish they never started chewing it. Which prompted Vic and I to patent the betel nut patch to help ween would be islanders off their indigenous narcotic. It didn't take off. From what I gather its a love hate relationship for some but also quite popular to say that you wished you weren't addicted while not really ever wanting or intending to quit. Its almost a rite of passage and in chewing it you are saying to the world that you are local and grew up on the islands and it seems like those that chew it are proud of it and belong to some sort of self appointed social class that mainlanders can't belong to or understand. Just my perceptions, maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not. Smells like Iocaine powder, I'd bet my life on it.

Conversely, one of their more interesting and unique customs is the Sakau Root. It is grown by every boy on Pohnpei and nurtured for years until it matures. Like a fine wine, the longer it ages the better and more potent it becomes. All young boys grow this root if they ever want to get married. When a boy asks for a girls hand in marriage, he presents his best Sakau Root to the girls father, if he accepts it then the marriage is on. To drink Sakau, you grind the root into a pulp like state, then squeeze out any moisture with hibiscus bark and then mix it with either juice or water. Drink it and your body turns numb. It has the consistency of drinking mud and has the same effects as smoking pot, I'm told. Its similar to drinks found on Hawaii and Fiji. On the plus side, most people in the islands are pretty relaxed due to consuming Sakau and when they are out and about they are calm and quiet due to the roots effects as opposed to being loud and rowdy like they they might be if they went to bars that serve alcohol.

Nan Madol:

Once referred to as the Venice of the Pacific. Now its reduced to about a million basalt stones jumbled in every which way imaginable. Some structures are still visible, but its mostly all destroyed and in ruins. Nan Madol was once a city built on water and even today its pretty amazing to look at and wonder how they could possible construct it without modern tools and equipment. Many theories exist ranging from hundreds of boats and thousands of slave laborers to black magic and levitation techniques (see coral castle). No one is really sure how they made this city in the middle of the Pacific but its quite impressive to this day. Much like Stonehenge, Easter Island and the Pyramids, the structures at Nan Madol make it clear that a very intelligent and prosperous society once existed here possessing lots of spare time and energy so as to complete such a vast project. At first I had no interest in spending one minute looking at a bunch of jumbled stones on our trip to Pohnpei, but our guides were really informative and it turned out to be pretty cool to kayak through the ruins.

On top of Sokehs Mountain, in the background is Pohnpei airport. Notice the runway takes up every inch of land coast to coast. Don't land long here!!

Its always good to take time to stop and smell the flowers.

Nan Madol. How'd they build that?

Pohnpei and its reef from the gazebo where we liked to read.

View from The Village Hotel on Pohnpei, a nice place to stay. Sokehs Ridge in the background.

Kyoto

2008-09-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

Had a few days off, took a little trip to Nagoya and Kyoto. One of the highlights was catching a baseball game where the Nagoya Dragons defeated the not so fierce Swallows of Tokyo. It was pretty much a blowout. Seeing a ballgame in Japan was a very different experience. They really like to cheer. All game. Its really loud and festive. Like a World Cup game but without the pageantry and quality of play.

Took the Bullet Train to Kyoto, it was fast. Kyoto was a bigger town than I expected, but it's pretty with lush forested hills on east and west sides. We saw lots of temples and shrines and also made several Geisha sightings. The food situation proved to be a little tricky at times. Vic and I realized that we really only like the American version of Japanese food, i.e. sushi rolls, tuna nigiri and chicken teriaki. They didn't have much of that so we tried lots of foods that we will probably never eat again. Kyoto was a bit crowded. It was unexpected. They paint Kyoto as a quaint town with lots of tradition and an old world feel. But I couldn't seem to avoid running into some little old lady every couple of steps. Japan seems to be half full of old people who can barely walk who insist on using public transportation with the other half being young girls who like to wear leggings under jean shorts with high heels to the supermarket. They are a pretty wacky people.

Another highlight was the bamboo forest on the west side of Kyoto. It's not too big, but it was pretty and had some trails that allowed us to get away from the city for a bit. We found all the temples and shrines to be pretty peaceful. Most of them are nestled up in the foothills and were very simple yet ornate at the same time. It was cool to see stuff thats been around for over 1500 years. The main times of year to be in Kyoto are during the fall when all the Japanese Maples are vibrant red or in spring when the cherry blossoms are blooming. We will have to head back in the spring, we could imagine how pretty the city would be when it was in bloom.

Here are some pictures, we didn't take too many on this trip.

Bamboo Forrest

One of the several Shrines we saw

Temple with Geisha posing at bottom. We had to be pretty stealth to get any Geisha shots. They are few and far between and don't really like you taking pictures of them.

Temple in Gion, the Geisha district

I found Pudsy has been reincarnated as a shopkeeper in Kyoto. All I wanted was a pack of gum but she told me to kindly leave.

Australia

2008-09-05T01:19:00.000-07:00

G'day mates:

Where to start. So much. Here goes. I got back from an island hopper with vacation and some good time off in our immediate future. At last talk to Vicki before my trip we were all set to head out to Mongolia with a little stopover in Seoul. I was really amped to play soccer with a pigs bladder amongst the local kids, but alas it wasn't meant to be. Vicki got to thinking and reading and talking to friends and there was just no way we were going anywhere else but Australia. And not just any Australia, we were headed to the outback, Uluru (Ayers Rock), Alice Springs, Cairns, Port Douglas, The Great Barrier Reef and so much more. Being able to fly on Quantas for peanuts sealed the deal and we were off with no plans other then to dig deep into our bag of traveling tricks and pull off yet another wonderful adventure.

We got to Cairns pretty late and had to scramble a bit for a hotel room, it was less than desirable that evening but we made it through the night. The place was a bit shady, but I pushed the refrigerator against the door for a little bit of extra safety so Vic could sleep. The next day we were off to The Red Center in The Northern Territroy. The lovely voice from the Quantas staff travel hot line informed us that there were several seats open on our flight to Alice Springs and that there would be no problem flying standby. The Quantas experience was quite good. Aside from the obvious Rainman quotes constantly going through my head the service was excellent with a hot meal and a smile to boot. This had to be a foreign country. The Alice as its called, is a nice place. Very compact and open and clean. Every time I imagined being in the outback I thought about how hot it would be, but this time of year during their spring its is just delightful. Cool crisp mornings and warm evenings. We had for the most part excellent weather. A few spot rain showers but nothing lasting more than an hour or so. We were told that they hadn't had rain in the center since November. So when it did rain, the entire area became alive with vibrant desert smells that seemed to be waiting for months to fill the air. Also, the rain brought out the usually shy kangaroos who would drink from the water in the roads which was a nice bonus for us to see. Besides the incredible weather and scenary, just getting to spend time around the Aussies was a big treat. True to their reputation they were warm, laid back, witty, and so much fun to shoot the breeze with. The accent was a plus--Vic goes crazy for a good Aussie accent. Everywhere you go the greeting is "how ya going?"

The last night of our journey we sat by the pool of our motel enjoying some Australian Shiraz and concocting a list of our favorite times:

The Campervan Experience:
With little plans upon arrival in The Alice we evaluated what we wanted to do and it seemed that the places we were headed all had powered campsites and that renting a campervan might be a fun thing to do. Now, this thing was pretty stacked with amenities. We had a fridge, microwave, toilet/shower, running water and gas stove. Plus a pretty comfortable full size bed. We weren't really roughing it and it turned out to be pretty cost effective as well since hotels in and around The Rock are outrageous due to lack of competition.

All in all driving a stick from the right seat while trying to stay in the left lane took a few days to get use to. And there are lots of turn abouts which can be tricky when you're accustomed to looking for cars coming in the opposite direction, but the lack of traffic helped us not need our insurance when all was said and done. We had fun in our little house on wheels. Everybody waves to each other on the road. I actually saw one guy who bought a waving hand sticker and put it just above his steering wheel on his windshield. I guess he got tired of waving all the time. We thought a bobble hand for the dashboard would sell like hotcakes. We cooked lots of meals in the van and spent some pretty comfortable nights there. It was awesome to see all the stars and to have the freedom to just relax outside and to be out in the middle of nowhere with such great weather. I would definitely do it again.

One of many pasta meals on wheels that week

Uluru - Ayers rock/Kata Tjutas-The Oglas:
What can we say. Its a rock. But learning about all the Aboriginal significance and their view of life was pretty cool. From far away it looks like one big solid mass, so we were surprised to find a number of small caves and overhangs around the bottom. In several of these spots there are still ochre drawings (brightly hued clay) layered over one another that our guide described as "chalkboards" where adults would teach the young Aboriginees about their history, beliefs, lessons in character, and survival tactics. They have lots of lore and myths and what not and they have an explanation for everything from creation to the afterlife. We spent an evening watching the sun set on the rock and the next day walking around it just trying to soak it in. It was really big and there were lots of sacred sites that we weren't supposed to take pictures of. You can climb it, and some people do, but we opted not to since the Aboriginal people ask that you don't.

I always thought Ayres Rock was out there in the middle of nowhere all alone, but actually there are many other plateaus and mountain ranges nearby. For instance The Oglas are some really cool rock formations just a few miles from Ayers Rock. I think they are actually more pleasing to the eye and more interesting and fun to walk around. We didn't spend much time there but thought they were cool.

The Olgas at dusk

Kings Canyon:
This place was beautiful. It rained in the morning and cleared up very nicely for our hike. It's not anywhere near the Grand Canyon in stature, but every bit as awe inspiring. We had a blast running around and climbing on the unusual rock formations. I wish the pictures could better convey the splendor and vast geological beauty but we think they speak for themselves.

After our hike at Kings Canyon we retired to the local campground for the evening. We were granted one of the better sites with a really open view of the mountains. That night we experienced a huge storm that lasted over an hour with many jolts of lightning that lit up the entire valley like daylight. Vic and I just peered out the back of our van and waited for the next lightning to strike. It was cool, you could see the red of the cliffs with each bolt. The next morning it was all crisp and clear for our drive back up to The Alice.

An Evening with The John Baker Duo:

After one of the most favorite hikes of our lifetime (see Ormiston Gorge below) we were rewarded with a little happy hour and concert from this guy named John Baker. His girlfriend who made up the duo was back in Alelaide so it was only him. The campsite and lodge making up the venue was pretty remote even for this part of Australia and only had about 15 people staying in it. I don't know how he makes a living but he played mostly cover songs and had some of his CDs for sale too. He had an amazing range and variety with his set list and entertained young and old alike. It wa basically us, a famly of four and 8 very lively older ladies who liked to sing and dance along. Under normal circumstances I would find them annoying but they were actually pretty funny. He performed stellar covers of some Dylan, Neil Young, and Paul Simon, but the highlight of the evening was when a request for "Aussie music" was met with an outstanding acoustic rendition of "Down Under" by Men at Work. We looked at each other and cracked up. It was just really relaxing and his stage presence rivaled that of Touch (Jon you know what I mean) which made for a fun evening.

The Henley on Todd:
This was just one of those things where we just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Or in the wrong place depending on your point of view and ability to laugh at ridiculous gatherings. Every year in Alice Springs on the last Saturday of August they have a multitude of wacky events in the dried up river bed of the Todd River. Its pretty much totally ridiculous and actually something I could find myself getting really into and competitive about if I lived there. This festival proves that the Aussies are kooks. They put on a crazy show that we were glad to see and experience if only for a little bit. Events include but were not limited to Sand Shoveling, Bath Tub Racing, and the Sand Luge. From the pictures below I think you get the gist. It was pretty funny and Vic and I found ourselves looking at each other with mouths wide open not less than once.
Koala Cuddling/Kangaroo Petting:

All Vicki could talk about was holding a Koala Bear. I was pretty sure it was going to scratch her eyes out, or at least make a go for her jugular, but she somehow escaped unscathed. We also got to spend some time feeding kangaroos. They were pretty tame and acted like it was a total waste of their time to eat out of our hands. I think they get fed too much. I kept reminding them that they had it easy in there not having to hunt for their food but I don't think they understood. Like all animal enclosures it was a bit sad, with the koalas in such a small place instead of a forest and to see the roos unable to hop very far, but it was nice for us to be able to experience such different animal life and it served its purpose to inform and educate the humans. Since Koalas spend 21 hours a day either sleeping or high on Eucalyptus leaves it wasn't all that bad of an environment for them since they appeared to be taken care of quite well by the staff. Kangaroos are funny, wallabies too. Fun fact: wombat poop comes out in the shape of a square. How they do this is probably the biggest mystery of the trip since they have what I could see as round bundinas. Throughout our time we saw lots of different wildlife actually in the wild. Kangaroos, lizards, wallabies and dingos (one even tried to hitch a ride in our camper). But surprisingly no deadly snakes or spiders. I guess that was a good thing.

Stanley Chasm:

This place was close to The Alice so it was pretty popular among day trippers. It's basically just a cut in the mountain range and it lights up pretty nicely at midday. We spent some time hiking around and exploring on the rocks. Vic got pretty adventurous and hiked all over the place like a little kid scrambling up and down the rocks. It was a change from what we were used to since on most of our other hikes we were all alone, but it was a great day and we had a good time despite being around other hikers.

Aboriginal Art:

We both really fell in love with all the Aboriginal art--it seemed like there was a gallery on every block. It's a pretty up and coming movement, with a fairly contemporary style. They have been painting like this for generations and the world is starting to notice. Our favorite style is from the region just south east of Alice Springs and it's somewhat like pointillism but with bigger dots of color. Traditionally their art was mostly used as a learning tool or to be descriptive or to mark the way to a watering hole or hunting ground, but recently it has become more colorful and grand. I'm not sure why its become so popular these days, maybe the Aborigines have more time on their hands now and are creating more paintings, but the art has become very first class and vibrant and we really enjoyed it. Vicki especially found the paintings to be very soulful and moving--she really connected with it for some reason. Each of the many galleries displayed several of the local artists. They were all sure to tell us that the artists set all the prices and that they get all the money from their paintings minus a small commission. Sorry, no pictures.

Port Douglas:

This place really reminded me of southern California. Lots of Eucalyptus trees with a Mediteranean-like climate right on the coast. Its a small town, somewhat touristy, but good food and a really relaxed atmosphere. We found a great little motel with an awesome couple running it. They really made us feel welcome. The atmosphere in Port Douglas was very lazy and comfortable and it was great to hang out there for a few days before heading home. But before we did we were able to take a day to dive the Great Barrier Reef. Maybe we've been spoiled by Palau and the rest of the islands up here, but I have to say that it didn't live up to the hype and was a little disappointing. We were glad to do it and we did see a really cool cuttle fish that changed colors before our eyes as it swam away, but the visibility wasn't too good and I'm asshamed to say that the overall diving experience left us desiring to be back in Micronesia.

Newell beach north of Port Douglas

Ormiston Gorge/Ormiston Pound Walk:
Definately the highlight of our trip was the Pound Hike through Ormiston Gorge. It was spectacular. The first part of the hike went for about an hour through the gorge over huge boulders and rocks in the dried up river bed. With the red glowing 150+ foot walls on each side of us it was quite the sight. Part of the splendor of this hike was that we didn't see another soul the entire time. We did manage to scare a few kangaroos out from hiding along the way though. The gorge opened up into this vast valley of tundra where the sun was begining to set for the evening. With a few hours to go on the hike we were a little worried about getting stuck out there after dark, but we made it back to camp just as the sun had set and managed to get some amazingly beautiful views of the valley in the process.

Other quality pics:

Sunset over Uluru

Sunrise just outside Kings Canyon

Sunset over the Olgas

Vic climbing on the rocks at The Olgas

The back side of Ayers Rock

The rocks past Stanly Chasm

The Olgas at sunset

Mt. Fuji

2008-07-31T17:09:00.000-07:00

Vicki's Version:

As you would expect, the culture amongst those folks in the airline industry out here is full of discourse about travel: where people have been, where they want to go, what they've heard from other travelers about when to go, what to do when you get there, etc. It's basically what we all are living for out here. So a couple months ago, we were all hanging around the pool one evening when someone mentioned hiking up Mt. Fuji. A few minutes later, Matt and I were hooked--we were going to climb this famous mountain. Boy did we have starry eyes--we really had no idea what we were committing to, but we were steadfast in our stupidity. We were in pretty good shape. Ha!

The official climbing season on Mt. Fuji runs from July 1 thru August 31--it's summer time, and really the only time it's safe for novice hikers to try to reach the summit (any other time of the year you need special gear, a knowledge of how to use this special gear, etc.). Matt had the last few days of July off, so we scheduled our ascent for July 28 (Matt's b-day). On July 26 we packed up the essentials: flashlights (most people hike up in the dark to see the sunrise from the top), ponchos, gloves, granola bars, jerky, hiking boots, yen, etc., and at about 6am on July 27 we were on a Continental flight bound for Tokyo.

We arrived at the Narita airport around 9:00am. We quickly learned that getting around in Japan is pretty easy, although not exactly easy on the pocketbook, especially if once you get to the airport you want to actually go other places besides the airport. Whether you take a taxi or an "airport limousine" (which is actually just a big yellow bus) it's gonna cost ya. So we hopped on our 10:00am "stretch" to the Shinjuku station in downtown Tokyo. Very quickly after we arrived in Shinjuku we located an information desk with a sign that said "English" prominently displayed above it. As you can imagine, a welcome sight, given our extensive two-word Japanese vocabulary. True to it's promise, the young woman behind the desk spoke excellent English and was able to make us a reservation on the next bus to the Fuji Go-Ko area.

For reasons we will probably never, ever understand, our bus to Fuji Go-Ko looked like Thomas the Train had thrown-up all over it.

Fuji is surrounded by five lakes (Fuji Go-Ko means Fuji Five Lakes). Most people who wish to hike it stay in the Kawaguchi-ko lake area, since it's an easy bus ride up to the Kawaguchi-ko 5th station (the mountain trail is divided into 10 stations), which is the spot where most people begin their ascent. But given the fact that most visitors stay in this area, that the hiking season is a brief 2 months each year, and the fact that the average number of hikers tops 300,000 annually meant we had to stay somewhere else. We ended up staying in the nearby quaint mountain town of Yoshida.

Although the trail starting at the Kawaguchi-ko 5th station (2300m) is the most popular, there are actually several trails up the mountain. When planning this trip, we took it as a given that we would also begin and end at the Kawaguchi-ko 5th station, even though we knew there were longer more strenuous options. Somewhere between Guam and Tokyo one of us nutjobs suggested that we should hike up from the very bottom of the mountain, on the Yoshidaguchi trail, and the other nutjob agreed this was a good idea. I'm only using the word nutjob because although we like to hike it's not something we do very often (maybe once every two months), because running 25 min. 3x a week hardly prepares you for hiking up a mountain, and because the summit of Fuji is 3776m (12388 ft.). Sure, why not.

Our first glimpse of Fuji, from the town of Yoshida, the evening of our arrival.

Even though the weather report had declared rain, the next day we got up around 8:00 to sunshine so we decided to go for it. First, we needed to take care of breakfast, which I had arranged for us with our online reservation...the thought being that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, esp. if you're going to scale the side of a mountain. No description was given, I had just checked the "yes" box next to 'breakfast'...a small, seemingly innocuous little gray box in the upper right-hand corner of my screen. We were shown to the small hotel dining room, with high hopes for some sort of bread products and coffee. Looking on the bright side, we can chalk up that breakfast as a "cultural experience". Here's what was on our trays: cold, smoked skin-on fish with a thick brown sauce, pickled beets, a barely-poached therefore very slimy cold egg floating in a not-so-tasty-looking brown sauce, head lettuce with cherry tomatoes, pickled cucumbers, rice and miso soup. Not exactly IHOP. Matt looked up at me with a look of pained revulsion. We didn't want to be rude, so we did our best to make everything look nibbled on. I was SO proud of Matt for choking down as much of it as he did, because even though he has proven to be very adventuresome when it comes to food, this little meal was beyond both of us. But now we know first-hand what Japanese breakfast is like, which I do think is cool.

So it happened this fast: we had breakfast, got our packs, stopped by a mom and pop sporting goods shop for a hat (after having listened to the guy rifal around in the back for ten minutes before he emerged with this canary yellow and rainbow striped gem of a ski hat, we're pretty sure it was the only ski cap they had in stock, and that it had been there since 1972), and suddenly we were walking towards the base of the trail at Sengen shrine. We stopped at the entrance of the shrine to say prayers for a safe climb, give an offering (you throw yen through a metal grate in the floor), and purchase some hiking sticks (at the 5th-10th stations there is someone who will brand your stick to show how far you've made it, for the bargain price of 200 yen, or two bucks a pop), and we were on our way.

A big part of why we decided to hike from the base was that if you start at the 5th station, you miss a lot of the prettier part of the climb, so for the first four hours we were mainly in a wooded forest. Right off, we had a little problem. Or more accurately, I had a little problem. See I've "hiked" in that Matt and I have driven to 3-4 hour trails, gone for a nice, occasionally laborious trek, and then come back, climbed in the car and taken off, usually for a comfortable hotel. I have not hiked with a pack that is supposed to last me for 24+ hours. This sucker was starting to produce a walnut-sized knot in between my shoulder blades, and it had started bothering me walking around back in town, before we had even officially started the climb (yes, I felt like a wuss). So of course I was thinking, yeah, if it's bothering me now, it's gonna hurt like a %#@* after seven hours. As I realized my mistake in not factoring in the added strain of a 5-10 lb. pack on my back when I agreed to this climb, the words "oh *&#@" were going through my head. I was worried about telling Matt, although I knew I had to, because I so wanted to be his wife the badass. I wanted him to at least have the option at social gatherings to introduce us as Matt and his wife, badass, if he felt so inclined. And here I was, not even an hour into this 12+ hour commitment, with a gnawing pain in my back. Well, I finally came out with it, there was some stressful back and forth about whether this was a very good idea after all, and we finally ended up switching packs and shoving on.

And thank God we did! One of the coolest realizations I took away from this experience was just how awesome the human body is. That whatever you think you're capable of, you're actually capable of fifty times more. That hash run we did on Guam couldn't hold a candle to this challenge.

The fact that the mountain was divided into stations helped move the ascent along, giving us small achievable goals to aim for. Between the 2nd and 3rd stations we passed the Nyonin Tenjo, or Women's Holy Ground, the spot which up until 1832 was the highest women were allowed to go. The steeper the trail got, the more I found myself kind of zoning out, which I guess is bound to happen during strenuous monotonous challenges, so I tried to constantly force myself to be aware of my surroundings and soak it all in as much as I could, since I knew without a doubt I would never, ever, EVER attempt this a second time. We kept a pretty constant pace, only stopping briefly to eat a power bar and recharge our engines a little.

Our goal for the first day was to reach our hut at the highest point on the 7th station (almost the 8th station). We arrived about 6pm, and I was so happy to be there I swear to God I almost kissed the floor. My legs ached like crazy but I felt great we had made it that far. I've never been so grateful to see a Western-style toilet as I was at this moment, esp. since I was not expecting to have the option--if you're not familiar with Eastern toilets, they're basically urinals in the ground that you squat over, and there's NO WAY my thigh muscles could have handled it. I seriously would have had to pee on all fours or something, and I can't imagine I would have enjoyed that much. No one in the hut spoke English, so they ushered us around as best they could and pointed to a spot on the mats near a big pot that we could warm ourselves by. A English-speaking guide named Chris came over and introduced himself and gave us the low-down on where we would sleep, when we could resume the hike, etc. We ate dinner: half a Cup-a-Noodle, the BEST Snickers of my life, a granola bar, some water. Sleep was all we could think about, so we made a B-line for our sleeping bags. The sleeping arrangements are basically an over sized bunk bed: a row of sleeping bags on the floor and a row of sleeping bags on a wooden loft above them. You just crawl in and sleep in your clothes. You had to sleep boy-girl...even with limited English, it was clear there would be hell to pay if Matt didn't sleep where the blue pillow was and I didn't sleep where the red pillow was. Getting actual sleep is tricky--there's constant noise from people passing outside, people shuffling in and out at all hours, and in my case, a person falling off the ladder right next to my head (poor guy!). But it was enough to get us ready for the next leg of our hike.

Video hiking up Fuji--if I walked any slower I would have been standing still. It was so freaking hard!

We thought about getting up at midnight with everyone else to reach the summit for the sunrise, but we decided to "sleep in" until 4:00 instead. We needed the rest, and this way we avoided the groups, usually of 30-50 people, that can create actual waiting lines up the mountain. My main concern was "will I be able to move my legs". I'd never put my body through something like this before, so I seriously didn't know how they would respond to the abuse. They moved, but my legs have never hurt so much in my life! I also started to feel a little nauseous, which made me a little worried about altitude sickness (people get it pretty frequently). Luckily, half a power bar and water cured me, and we headed for the trail.

Breakfast at the 9th station--Udon noodles

One of the smaller, rainbow colored tour groups.

"Ralphie", the Asian version. ('I can't put my arms down!!')

I hope the length of this blog entry conveys the never-ending nature of this hiking experience. Even after all we had achieved, there was still a lot to go. After four hours of scrambling over steep volcanic rock we finally made it. At first we didn't realize we were actually at the top, and after all that work we didn't want to celebrate until we were absolutely sure we didn't have more work ahead of us. So Matt went inside one of the "shops" to ask if we were at the 10th station. When he came out and confirmed that indeed this was the 10th station and we had kicked this mountain's butt I started jumping up and down. Of course we weren't actually "done". We still had the one-hour hike around the crater at the top, plus the four-hour descent. The views were outstanding--it was so amazing to be at such an altitude that we were looking down on the clouds. I kept exclaiming this thought to Matt and asked what he thought, and he was like, yeah, I kind of see a lot of this, flying planes for a living and all. Right. Anyway, we were both stoked to have made it. During the climb it had popped into my head many, many times that I might not make it to the top, so it felt so awesome to finally be able to celebrate the knowledge that my sorry butt had in fact climbed to the top of Fuji.

Hiking through a cloud near the summit.

Couldn't have made it without my stick.

I fell in love with the Japanese on this trip! From the time we got there, 99% of everyone we encountered offered warm smiles and hellos and help when we needed it. If you said hello, you always got a hello back (I've walked past people in my own neighborhood and had them completely ignore me when I greet them or smile). I love their off-beat and courageous fashion sense, their hip haircuts, their desire to take pictures with complete strangers, and their compulsion to capture every single life experience, no matter how seemingly insignificant or mundane, permanently on film. They are certainly different from Americans, but I think it's amusing and interesting. I felt really at home in a place full of upbeat, enthusiastic people, who don't care that their zest for life may come off as dorky. I just kept thinking--I fit in really well with these people!

It looks affecionate, but really Matt's just holding me up to keep me from collapsing into a heap.

Matt's Version:

Uhhh, yeah. Heres my two cents. Climbing Mt. Fuji is one of those experiences that will stay with me forever. We got a little ambitious climbing the entire route from the bottom, but we persevered and I was really proud of Vickis ability to challenge herself and put mind over matter and reach the summit. It was two really full days of high altitude hiking and we were pretty much physically and emotionally spent by the end. Using a bag of rice as a pillow was a first, but we were so tired it didn't matter too much. We were very fortunate to have good weather. The clouds looked quite ominous as we neared the summit, but we stayed dry and a few hours after sunrise they burned off and we had a pristine view from the top.

Visiting Japan has been something I've always wanted to do since we were little kids when we had Japanese foreign exchange students stay with us. We didn't allow any time to do much else but climb Fuji on this trip but it definitely sparked our interest in other areas of Japan that we hope to visit soon. We found the people in and around Fuji to be very welcoming and hospitable. Below are some of the pictures we took along our route up Fuji-san.

The Sengen Temple at the bottom of Mt. Fuji marking the original beginning of the trail. This is where we started our trek.

A cool picture of Vic just after sunrise.

Hiking up just before sunrise. Only 3 hours to go to the summit. I can't believe she's smiling.

I was glad to have my new ski hat, even if it had been in the little shop owners back room since 1980.

Probably the cheepest birthday dinner Vicki will ever have to spring for. It was actually quite a nice and welcome meal after our long day.

This is what I look like after paying $5 for a really tiny hot chocolate and having to pose in front of it before consumption. It tasted oh so good. A nice refresher to propel me up the mountain. The cup o noodles at $6.50 was out of our price range.

Above the clouds on Fuji.

Vicki and Matt reach the summit of Mt. Fuji after 10+ hrs of hiking and about a 10,000 feet ascent. The highest point in Japan at 12,434 feet. I feel for the guy that had to carry that slab of granite up there.

Palau

2008-07-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

Matt's take:

We went to Palau for about a week. We were fortunate enough to get 3 full days of diving and a day of kayaking and snorkeling. A really great trip. The pictures below can't begin to compare to the reality of how beautiful these islands are. It's rare that I would want to go back to a place so soon, but we are thinking about going again in August, its that pretty and that awesome of an experience. The diving is unparalleled to anything I've ever seen above or below sea level. We dove in some pretty cool sea caves and this one place called Blue Holes, which are basically 5 blue holes that go down about 80 feet then open up into a gigantic cavern to the sea. It was unreal. One of the most unique and memorable experiences of my life. The visibility was 100+ feet every day. There is much more sea life in Palau compared to Guam because the reefs are a bit more healthy so it supports more life. The fish are bigger in general and there are more of them on every reef. Every dive we were accompanied by sharks. Mostly little white or black tip reef sharks, but Vic did really good. The biggest one was only about 6 feet, so we felt pretty safe. There were lots of sea turtles and all sorts of pretty fish. At Palau's most famous site (The Blue Corner) there is a Giant Napolean Wrasse that was about 30-40 lbs that let us pet it and scratch its sides. It was unreal for a fish to allow us to play with it so much. Usually most fish dart away really fast, especially if you don't have food, but this Wrasse was just as cool as can be and loved to play with us. It was very atypical. He is somewhat well known throughout Micronesia and pretty used to divers, so I was glad to get to play with him for a bit. The whole experience was very memorable and I would recommend to anyone interested in the diving trip of a lifetime to head to Palau.

We found that most people that visit Palau are pretty hard core into diving. It was a bit strange to be there with so many experienced divers since Vic and I are pretty new to it. So, on our boat each day were dive masters from around the world taking the trip they've always dreamed of. Vic and I feel very comfortable in the water together and its a new experience that I'm really glad we can share. We haven't gone out and bought all the nerdy equipment, but its tempting. You can really get bogged down with gadgets when it comes to diving. Its pretty funny to see what some people hook on to themselves.

Overall we went on 9 dives and spent our last day snorkeling before our flight home. Normally I would be a little apprehensive to dive in some of the places we went (like caves and shipwrecks) but having the other dive masters and instructors as a part of our group put us at ease. One of our last dives was down to a Japanese supply vessel that was sunk during WWII. It still had all sorts of stuff in it from the war. Like a few airplane engines, lots of ammunition and some depth chargers that we didn't get too close to. (you never know) The whole ship is considered a museum so it has been relatively untouched since it sank. I'm not that into WWII stuff but its hard to avoid out here, there is just so much of it.

One of the more unusual things we did was snorkel in this place called Jellyfish Lake. Appropriately named for the thousands of jellyfish that float around soaking up the suns rays. Luckily over the years (hundreds) they have mutated/adapted (i don't want to get into a debate here) but the point is that they don't sting and are safe to swim with. The Japanese especially like this kind of attraction. It was the most formally organized thing we did. And I'm pretty sure I ran into more Japanese kicking legs than jellyfish. First of all, when you go snorkeling, its ok to remove your life jacket. And does 50 people getting pulled around a lake by a boogie board with a 100 foot rope tied to it really qualify as snorkeling? Also, when you are in a really cool and beautiful place, its ok to put down your camcorder and look at the place with your own eyes. This is not a part of the Japanese mindset. Plus there is this crazy fascination with giving the peace sign in every picture they take. For a culture so filled with honor and respect they are the most silly and goofy group of people I've ever seen. It can be quite strange and its just the tip of the iceberg. I'll stop now because I know that as Americans our past is full of annoying the world, but may I formally submit that the Japanese and Chinese have officially taken our place. I apologize if you are Japanese or think differently, this is just part of my experience.

Aside from that, we had a wonderful time. We were mostly on our own with our own dive boat in quite a bit of solitude. I guess that's why when we came across a bunch of other people it felt so inundating. At many times it felt like we were the only people within hundreds of miles civilization. There is not much else to do in Palau aside from the water sports, so our top side experience was pretty lax. But we ate at some good spots, had lots of fresh tuna and pretty much went to bed at around 8pm every night. The entire trip was almost as fun as watching the Showbiz ventriloquist wolf.

Our friends from Guam, Steve and Katrina, were with us throughout the whole trip and we really had a good time. They actually spent a few days on Yap before we met up in Palau and had some really authentic experiences. Check out their blog to hear all about it. Below are some pics of our time in Palau. But again, they don't begin to reflect the reality of this beautiful place.

My attempt to be artistic with air, water, land and umm....air.

Surface Interval after lunch and between dives on the island of Ulong. (where we were repeatedly told they filmed the last survivor) I saw lots of Survivor T-shirts on Palau, I guess many of the locals were a part of the crew who helped with the show.

With hundreds of tiny islands, most of the water is pretty calm, which makes for good snorkeling and I can imagine awesome water skiing and wakeboarding. I really was craving a ski or wakeboard but I couldn't get them to bring one along.

The water is even bluer (if that's a word) than this picture reveals. A truly pristine playground.

Vic's take:

I also really loved Palau. To me, it was comparable to Kauai in it's seemingly untouched beauty and simplicity. I was especially excited for this trip because of all the diving we had planned--I am a brand new scuba diver, I just got certified out here on Guam (post coming soon), and I couldn't wait to try out all my new skills. Besides the class dives, I had only gone on one other dive at Gun Beach on Guam with Matt before this trip. I knew it would be babtism by fire, in that we'd be going to maximum depths and that I could expect to see sharks on pretty much every dive, which we did. Some people have a healthy fear of sharks; I have more of an irrational trepidation. But people kept promising me that reef sharks are different than all the other sharks, that they "hardly ever" (is this supposed to be comforting??) attack humans, etc., etc. Even though these statements did not do much to quell such a lifelong horror, there's no way I could pass up diving in such a famously spectacular spot, so I decided I'd just have to get over it. And make Matt hold my hand. And carry a knife. Only kidding, but we did consider it.

It was one of the most exciting things I've ever done. It's just so much fun--after every dive we did I couldn't wait for the next one. The Blue Holes were incredibly exciting--I really had no idea what to expect which made it even more thrilling. Sinking down and down through this blue tunnel with coral, and sea fans, and fish on all sides and all you can hear is your breath going in and out of the regulator and you keep wondering how much deeper you're going to go. You look up and see a circle of light and you watch as it gets further and further away. And then when the tunnel opens up into this huge underwater cavern, oh my God, it's just incredible! You realize you had no idea such a place existed, and now you're seeing it first hand, not in some National Geographic magazine or on Animal Planet. You are there. I'll never ever forget it, and I just felt so very very lucky to get to see it. I could have spent the whole dive right there in that cave. It was exquisitely and breathtakingly beautiful. I literally felt my chest tighten up and my breath quicken I was so struck by it.

The sea life was equally amazing...even the sharks. We saw hundreds of different fish, including some unusual ones like the clown triggor fish and unicorn fish (it looks like it has a big prosthetic nose sticking out from it's face) as well as lion fish. The giant clams were so much fun--people would stick their arm inside and get it caught--it was funny to watch them do it, but I wasn't taking a chance with my arm. The sharks really didn't end up being that big of a deal--they were exciting to come across but not scary per se, and after the first one I didn't even need to hold Matt's hand anymore. Mostly you'd see them swim by at a distance and then they'd disappear out of sight. There was one encounter that, as it turned out, gave both Matt and I a little scare--we were swimming along with the reef on our left when suddenly we noticed to our right, about 20 yards away and at our eye level, this six-foot gray reef shark, looking right at us. He just sat there staring at us. That time I got a little sick to my stomach. But after a few minutes he took off in a different direction and we were cool. During that encounter I held onto Matt with both hands. Oh yeah, and at one point during the dive I came within 30 ft. of a banded sea snake which is apparently the most venemous sea snake in the world. Thank God you can pee your pants underwater and noone notices.

I guess the only drawback about the diving being so good is that we didn't spend much time on land, learning about Palau and the local culture, which is something we always try to priortize any time we travel. But like Matt, I would go back in a heartbeat, so maybe we'll get the chance...but we're both so hooked on the diving that if we get the chance to go back you can bet that's probably what we'll end up doing!

Below are some of our amateur cinematography skills. Enjoy!!!

Some underwater shots:

Giant Clam, dont get your head stuck in one of those.

Snorkeling at Jellyfish Lake.

Starfish and coral.

Guam Flying

2008-07-06T00:00:00.001-07:00

My July 4th was quite uneventful. I would have given many a treasure to be (I can't believe I'm saying this) at the O'Fallon Fest with you all. It sounds like you had a splendid time and I wish I were there too. My 4th was almost nonexistent in fact, it lasted about 4 hours because I crossed the International Date Line early that morning and it then became the 5th all of the sudden. I flew a trip called the "Island Hopper" which is pretty much the most interesting, most demanding and most rewarding trip we have. Its a four day trip starting in Guam, and as the name suggests, it stops at 5 islands between Guam and Hawaii. By the time you arrive in HNL you are pretty beat after flying 6 legs over 16 hours but you are then rewarded with a two day mini vacation which is quite nice, except you have a continual dread while you are there that you'll have to do it all over again just to get back to your own bed. Its an extremely small price to pay for a few free days in Hawaii to do with as you wish.

The flying out here is very different than anything I've done before. In fact I think its the polar opposite side of working in the airline industry than I'm used to. The people out here are pretty different. I have met some really interesting guys to work with and some strange fellows who seem to be running away from their past. Company wide, Guam is known as a good place to hide out. Most things are handled in house and there is never a sense that management is around. There is a general feeling of quietness and relaxation, nothing ever gets done hear in a very timely manner and I'm beginning to be OK with that. Since the trips are more productive than those on the mainland I get more days off than I could ever hold in Newark. To answer the age old question, I don't have a "route" that I fly, but I do find myself in Manila quite a bit. Its an all night flight but a productive trip. Over the past few months I have seen most of the cities we fly to out here. The Japan trips are pretty funny. There is a lot of saluting and bowing and waving as we taxi away. Its just funny to compare it to the States where we are lucky if the guys come out to park us at all. They don't like it when we arrive early and interrupt their domino game. But the Japanese are on the ball. They have lots of pride, honor and respect oozing out their pores.

Back to the Island Hopper. Once you leave Guam, you are out of radar contact until you reach Hawaii and are pretty much given free range to get to each island as you wish. You do have to let the controllers in San Fransico (because they control the non radar airspace out here) know what your plan is, but other than that, its pretty easy on the communication and navigation side of things as compared to the heavily controlled and crowded northeast that I'm used to. There are never any delays and its very rare to ever see another airplane anywhere. From the pictures below, you will see that some of the places we go are pretty remote, often we are the only service to these islands. Many times there will be kids and families waving to us just outside the airport perimeter. It's sometimes an island affair to come out and welcome us to their little speck of land. I'd imagine it's how things used to be in the 50's and 60's during the golden age of aviation when people still thought it was a big deal to fly. Many times I feel like I've stepped into the past as I arrive on these little communal islands. But as I said, the flying is challenging at times. The runways are short and often wet and we are usually at max take off and landing weights. Meaning there is little room for error. The scenery is unique and pristine. I feel very lucky to have a front row view of the places I've been to. If you are so inclined and want to enhance your geographical prowess look up the following islands. On the hopper we go from Guam-Truk (pronounced chook)-Ponapei-Kosarae-Kawajalan-Majaro-Hawaii. Its a fun and grueling trip at the same time.

This is Kwajalein. Its an atoll. Which apparently means skinny.

This is Pohnpei. This runway is short.

This is Kosrae. They sell really good peaches there that look like limes. At just over 5600 ft, its the shortest runway in the system and due to the mountains just out of frame, the wind whips around and can be somewhat tricky at times. If anyone has any questions about the flying or anything else I suppose I could muster up the energy to retort. Coming soon, Vic and I are planning on a little summery of Guamisims that should give a little insight into this island. There are a lot of peculiarities.

Wahoo, I mean Marlin!!

2008-06-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

A few of us chartered a boat today to try to catch some fresh dinner. After about 4 hours of unlucky trolling, we were paid off handsomely. I caught my first Marlin. It came in at a very respectable 136 lbs. with which we got about 115 lbs of meat. We then sold most of it to the co-op for a quick $150 profit and kept about 20 lbs for ourselves. My favorite part was when we finally got it in the boat, our captain "Captain John" beat it over the head with a bat. Apparently its more humane, its a quick death as opposed to letting it suffocate. But we were quite pleased with our little adventure.

The first part of our trip was very uneventful, a few strikes that amounted to nothing. We tried rally caps and all sorts of other good luck maneuvers. When peeing off the boat and switching from miller light to bud light didn't work, Dave got the brilliant idea to shotgun a beer to appease the fish gods. And I'm happy to say that less than 5 minutes later we were wrestling with the great beast, mono y fishing pole. It was really a great experience. Steve and I took shifts wearing it down. It jumped 5 or 6 times while we were reeling it in and it put up a healthy fight. I was worried that it would shake loose from the hook but after about 15 minutes it tired out and came up pretty quick.

For those of you taking a trip down memory lane to our last terrible idea of a deep sea fishing experience, I feel that I have redeemed not only that horrible event in human history but also our race, reclaiming us as the dominant species. (Fish 1, Humans 1. Tune in next week to find out who's on top) Its only a tiny bit sad that we killed such a pretty creature, but we plan on feeding about 10-15 people tonight from our little portion. Not to mention the countless Japanese tourists that will gladly donate a large sum of Yen to our little Guamish economy. Below is me Dave, Steve and Ben. We all live in the same condo building and it was quite the team effort to get the Marlin in the boat. You'll notice the Chamorro guy in the background anxious to slice up our prized catch. Good times.

Check out Steve's Blog "Change Your Latitude" listed at the right for more pictures and an extended description of the days events.

Bali

2008-06-02T19:41:00.000-07:00

BALI

MAY 2008

MATT'S VERSION:

Bali was a very cultural experience. The people are ultra nice. The first 3 days we lived with a Balinese family. There were four generations living under one roof, well really 5 different roofs. They have a compound that has been in their family for hundreds of years which consists of several different small buildings each about the size of one of our standard bedrooms. The kitchen and bath and communal areas are all separate buildings. Every family is big into rice farming and everywhere you go you see a rice field. Almost everybody is either a past, present or future rice farmer. It was great to begin our trip living with a family and learning so much about their way of life. We did feel a bit guilty spending the rest of our time in luxury, but we got over it pretty quickly.

Above is part of the family rice field. They can grow rice 3 times a year. During this cycle they tried to grow an organic blend of rice and it didn't quite work out for them so they didn't get a harvest out of it. But they seemed to laugh at themselves about their lack of farming knowledge and it didn't seem to bother them too much. The attitudes we encountered among the people all along our way was very optimistic and they all seemed to have a general feeling of being very blessed for what they have.

In the foreground of the photo above is one of the small shrines that house the offerings the Balinese make to the gods each day--in this case to show their gratitude for the rice they grow. These shrines and offerings are everywhere, even on dashboards. We learned a lot more about the Hindu religion and about the people who practice it. I didn't realize that there is a pretty big difference between the Hindu of the Balinese and that of the Indians (people from India, not the Sioux or Cherokee). But they all seemed really grateful for what they had and if trouble came upon them they thanked God that the hard time they were encountering wasn't worse than it was. The very sad part to me about the Hindu religion is how works based everything is and the ever present lack of unearned grace from God. They are constantly, I mean constantly, making offerings to their gods trying to appease them so that nothing bad will happen. They have an underlying feeling that they are never good enough and never worthy enough of Gods presence. Its a bit sad for me to see people live their whole life this way since I see things a bit differently believing what I believe. But all in all, it seems to me that they believe there are many paths to an eternal afterlife with God and they are a very loving and nice group of people, that and all their actions are predicated on not being reincarnated as a dog.

This is the family shrine right outside our room. The grandma would make offerings every half hour it seemed. Her day consisted pretty much of taking care of the family's offering quota. Interesting note: every home is set up the same, with the shrine located closest to the nearest mountain (since they believe their deity resides in the mountain), the housing just south of that and the fields further south. All the beds face so you sleep with your head towards the mountain, unless you are the grandpa who sleeps with his head toward the sunrise for some reason. They can be very superstitious people. But the grandpa (Paka) was funny and knew about 30 words of English that he kept repeating at inopportune moments.

After our time with the family we headed to the town of Ubud. It is known as the art and cultural center of Bali. It is full of shops and spas and restaurants and markets. It was really cool to see a place so full of commerce and activity without the starbucks or mcdonalds. Much of the Bali we encountered seemed true to its roots and hundreds of years in the past. And then around the corner you'd find people on cell phones and in internet cafes. The record number of people we saw on a single moped by the way was 6. I was pretty impressed.

We took lots of time to just sit around and observe. But we were quite active as well. Some of our favorite things were taking a bike ride down the mountain through small villages and rice fields, Climbing Mount Batur in the dark to catch the sunrise, and renting our own moped to wander around.

This is from a scenic overlook of Mt. Batur before we went on our bike ride. Little did we know that in two days time we would be getting up at 3 am to climb up that sucker. We had pretty good weather the whole trip, but it did rain almost every day for about 10-15 minutes despite this being the beginning of the dry season.

This is Mt. Batur at sunrise. Off to the right out of frame we could see the peaks of the nearby island of Lombok. I wanted to go there, but maybe next time. The only thing we didn't do was the thing most people go to Bali to do, and that was surf. The water and beaches aren't that pristine, I think Guam's are prettier even, but I think we may plan a trip back at some point just to be on the coast and to be in the water.

This was our little bungalow for the week. It was quite nice and had hot water, which was a welcome change from the home that we were staying in. You can get really good deals on hotels and pretty much everything in Bali. This place cost us around $35 a night which included breakfast served right to our door. The other thing you can do really cheep is get a massage. And I'm man enough to admit that we got one almost every day, and for 5 bucks for an hour long experience its hard to say no.

Proof that Cardinal Nation truly spans the globe. At first we thought she was just camera shy, but after talking to her we realized that she wasn't smiling because she just found out that we traded Edmonds. I think the look on her face reflects how we all feel.

Above is one of my favorite pictures of the trip, its taken right outside the front door to our family's residence. I don't know why, but I like taking pictures of people in their natural environment when they don't know they are being photographed.

Below are other pictures of various things we saw or did.

Wayan (a different Wayan--all oldest sons are Wayan), our guide up Batur.

VICKI'S VERSION:

Hi Guys! Thanks for reading our blog!

Bali is an incredible place, and we were so lucky to get to spend such a long time there. We were there so long I was having trouble remembering if we had moved to Guam or Bali. It was the first trip where I didn't feel like we were rushed, like we had the time to actually soak up the environment and the culture.

The homestay program Matt talked about was definitely the highlight of this trip, for me anyway. Walking down the alley towards their family compound when we first arrived, I looked up and saw strange rooftops and a sky full of stars and palm trees, and I could already tell it was going to be a cool experience. At times it was strange (on his way to the bathroom one night, Matt learned that great grandma preferred to go topless after 2 am), and uncomfortable (I got Bali belly and lost 8 lb.; also, the cold shower was not something I was accustomed to, nor do I want to), and we didn't get a lot of sleep (dogs and roosters making a racket starting at 4 am each morning--earplugs were no match). But getting to live upclose and personal with a family from a completely different country and culture for 3 days is such a priceless experience. And on top of the gift of allowing us to be spectators in their home for several days, all seven of them were genuinely kind and welcoming to us. Even the grandpa, Paka, who hardly spoke any English, greeted me with the warmest smile and head nod every morning as I made the short trek to the bathroom in the early morning light. Beyond their culture, they were equally generous in sharing about themselves and their personal lives. On the last night we were there, Wayan said to me, "I'm going to tell you my life story." And then he actually told me his life story. I think he's posted it online somewhere if you're interested. Anyway, here is this Balinese man, around my age, a stranger until 3 days ago, telling me the story of his life, and I thought--awesome, this is exactly what I was hoping for when we signed up for this visit. It's funny what unexpected opportunities come your way--I wasn't even looking for this program when I found it, I was online looking for cottages in Ubud and just happend to notice a little advertisement for a homestay program on the edge of my screen.

This is me and Wayan (pronounced Why-ann, in case you have not yet read Eat, Pray, Love). The family was fully committed to giving us a taste of their culture, which included arts and crafts. First, Wayan taught me how to make these little woven pillows of torn coconut leaf that are stuffed with rice, boiled and eaten or offered to the gods, and then eaten. You can't make it out too well in the picture, but they are really quite beautiful and kind of cool--like those paper balls we made when we were kids that you would fold in a certain way and then blow into it at just the right spot to make a ball. Only this was much, much more intricate. I was TERRIBLE. Wayan or Nyoman, his wife, could whip one of these suckers out in less than 5 minutes. It took me 40. Wayan hid his frustration well. Later he attempted to teach Matt the gamelan, a sort of wooden zylaphone, which didn't really catch on for him either. Between my sad attempt at weaving and Matt's unfortunate gamelan "playing" (think of Kevin Bacon trying to teach Willard how to keep the beat in Footloose), I started to realize how much I had taken these kinds of skills and arts for granted. I hadn't recognized the ability and artfullness and the time it takes to nurture these skills, not really. Also I suddenly felt sort of pathetic and boring coming from a culture where most people don't really practice these sorts of arts as part of their everyday life. Before, I would have looked at one of those woven pillows and thought, oh, that's kinda neat, but would never have appreciated how much went into making it.

Other thumps to my hard, pampered forehead: every hot shower is a priviledge; work for many people means spending the day just trying to find food to feed their family; much of the world is infinitely more cultured than I am; there's no reason you shouldn't be able to purchase gym equipment along with your head of lettuce (Balinese supermarkets sell both); saying "I like to cook", like it's a hobby, is a priviledge (during my cooking lesson I commented on Nyoman's skill with a knife, to which she replied, "Two times a day every day."--for 15 years...plus the next 20); Matt looks hot dressed up in traditional Balinese wedding attire.

Counterclockwise from front left: Rama, Khrisna (son-8), Khrisna's cousin, Wayan (husband), Matt, Nyoman (wife), Riska (daughter-12), Paka (grandpa), Nyoman (aunt), and me.

Riska (right) and a friend.

We tried buying their kids' affection with a candy-filled Spongebob
for Khrisna and a sparkly compact for Riska.

Wayan and Nyoman's living room/dining room.

Me and Nyoman.

The homestay is definitely something I learned from and will always remember, but I'm not gonna lie, I was more than ready to get back to hot showers and sleeping in. The bungalow in Ubud was like our own little treehouse--we had a great time taking a few day trips (pic below)from Ubud and exploring, but I loved just sitting on the porch reading with that awesome view of gardens and rice paddies, listening to the frogs.

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan--along with one other temple, the most
important irrigation temple in Bali.

Offerings (flowers,rice, and incense) were left outside our bungalow in Ubud every day--offerings on the ground are meant to placate demons.

This is the end of Matt and Vicki's Bali adventure page.

Thanks for reading!

One small step for man, one giant leap for Weltonkind

2008-05-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome everyone. If you are viewing this you must be either really bored, really curious or you have an unhealthy obsession with us. We don't discriminate and we will try to update periodically when stuff comes up that might seem interesting. Vicki and I have been on Guam for a few weeks now and we are really liking it. First off, I want to say that we feel a bit embarrassed that we get to live here because it feels like a constant vacation. We feel really lucky and fourtunate to be living here. And I do work, sometimes. We are excited for this opportunity to expand our thinking on other cultures and to visit places in this part of the world that we wouldn't normally be able to reach.

Our first few days here were spent mostly standing in lines. They have a lot of them here on Guam. Let me just say that anytime you desire to kill a day of your life all you need to do is apply for a Guam drivers liscense. It was our first lesson that everything here moves a bit slower. Our hotel, The Hilton, is quite nice. We are here until June 5th or so until our stuff arrives from the mainland. Its actually not too hard living in a hotel room. At least our bed gets made every day now. The grounds are very nice, with lots of pools and a beachfront that has some of the best snorkeling on Guam. Here is a picture out our hotel room at sunrise. The first week we woke up at around 5am every day until we got use to the time change.

We have made friends pretty fast, everyone who works for Continental gets together a lot. And we signed a lease in a building that is pretty social where several of our pilots live. Its a bit like a dorm, but with no studying and everybody is married. But there is always someone wanting to grill out or go snorkeling or take a hike or go to some beach. Its a bit of a 180 from our quieter STL life, but we are warming up to it. A few days after we arrived, we took a really cool hike to a place called Sigua Falls. The inland part of this island is much better looking than I thought it would be. We passed a rusted out Japanese tank left over from WWII. It was weird and normal at the same time. Our friend Steve broke his ankle on the hike which presented us with a bit of a problem getting him out, but we managed to pool all our resources together and carry him out somehow. It got a bit ridiculous at times, but made for a good story. Looking back on it I think how amazing it is what people working together can do. Here is a view of the islands interior. It really reminds me of the hills behind our house in San Clemente.

Vicki scouting out our way.

The work aspect of being here I will mostly leave at work, but its different and easier. Different in that I've never been to any of these places, like the other night I flew into Yap. Its really small and one of the more true to their roots islands out here. They still wear grass skirts and the women don't wear tops. Yikes!! It's very national geographic of them. The work is easier in that I can again drive 8 minutes to work and come home every night. And the trips are more productive as well which allows me to have more days off. But thats about it. I won't bore you with work nonsense.

The other day we drove around the southern part of the island, which is the most beautiful part of the island that we've seen. There are lots of hills, I refrain to call them mountains, but a little known fact is that the tallest mountain in the world is Lam Lam right here on Guam. If you measure all the way down to the bottom of the Marianas Trench right off our coast, it goes more than 35,000 feet down which dwarfs Everest. You don't need oxygen or a sherpa to climb Lam Lam so we will probably tackle it sometime soon. So, on the south side there are lots of coves and hills and its really pretty as you can see below.

Last week we went to Ritidian Point which is by far the biggest beach weve seen, and it has the best sand. For those of you interested, there are surfable waves here, but they mostly break in shallow water with pretty rocky/sharp reefs below. I have scouted out a few nice point breaks and one beach break with sandy bottoms, but the swell has to be just right, which I hear doesn't happen too often. Actually the best consistant break is right off our Condo, so I got that going for me. Below is Ritidian Point, its too far away for any tourists and for some reason the locals don't come here. You have to know where you are going, there are no signs and at a whopping 20 minutes drive, I guess most don't bother with all the hassle and we have no problem with that.

Sunset overlooking the break out our eventual residence. Notice the nicely formed set rolling in courtesey of the tropical storm that just went by a few hundred miles west of here. It looks quite nice, but those waves are breaking in about 1-2 feet of water. The look on my face is one of hope in future swells and one of sorrow in that I may have missed a golden opportunity in not having a board yet. Waves like this dont hit Guam every day, week or month even. And as you can see in the foreground, St. Louis is well represented here with our traditional red and white canned beverage of choice.

Note: For those concerned, please know that this is a free forum for all to enjoy and that this blog in no way is meant to compete with or rival any other blog that may or may not have a similar name. Nor is this blog expected to reach as high a cult like status or to attain such incrideble commenting records. However, if the aforementioned should happen, it will be most welcomed.