Wander Life

Day 12: Israel Continued

Well, just a couple more days left over here.  In customary group-tour fashion, down times continue to be few and far between, so once again, I'll have to save the descriptions for later.  Until then, here are a few more pictures....  Hope all is well with all of you.  : )

1) Roman ruins in Jordan.  Called Jerash.

2) Sea of Galilee.

3) Caesarea on the Mediterranean.  Herod was crazy but had some incredible places built.

4) View of the Dead Sea from Masada...which was another one of Herod's crazy (but amazing) palaces.  It's like a small city built in the sky.

5) Looking out over Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.

6) An alley near where King David's tomb could have been (but probably really isn't).  : )   

7) And last but not least: a Palestinian police officer in Bethlehem.

Quite an interesting place....  Ok, that's it for now.  Have a great weekend! 

Egypt, Jordan, Israel: Day 7

Maybe it's a good sign that I haven't posted until now: proof that we've not been sitting around over here, twiddling our thumbs.  : )

But instead of trying to write about everything thus far in detail, I'll just give a quick summary and then toss up a few select photos to give you the general idea:

Monday - flying, flying and more flying.  Time difference is 14 hours, so we got into Cairo late Tuesday night.  Wednesday in Cairo, then overnight train to Luxor.  Thursday in Luxor (this Karnak temple thing down there was preeeetty  sweet...and old).  Friday - back up to Cairo.  Saturday flew to Jordan.  And that brings us to today, which was spent walking around Petra which ranks right up there in top 10 most amazing sights I've ever seen.  (And the good news is that you can see it, too - a lot of the third Indiana Jones movie was filmed there; the place that he has to go into towards the end to find the goblet and all that - that's Petra.  So now I have two movies that this trip makes me want to watch again: that one and also the first Mummy movie.  'Cause mummies coming alive is just plain freaky.)

Obviously, I hope to be able to give better descriptions than this later, but for now...well, I think there's probably something I should be seeing.  : )  One more night here in Jordan and then driving over to Israel tomorrow.  I tell ya, this group tour stuff keeps you on your toes!  (Oh, and by the way, grandma and the fam are doing great.  I almost don't know which is more amazing: the pyramids or a 93-year  old seeing them on a camel.  Crazy.)  : ) 

 

Alrighty, if I get a chance, I'll try to post again from Israel.  If not, rest assured that I'll take a few more pictures and will let you know what I find.   

Until then, stay amazed by big things or small...or just watch Indiana Jones.  : )

Portland/Seattle/Chicago/Amman/Cairo: Day 1

Well, Day 1 has nearly arrived.  We begin by flying out of Portland in the morning, and after four airplanes and three layovers, we arrive in Cairo sometime Tuesday night (their time).  Three cheers for iPods, ay?  : )

So, yeah, I think I'm ready.  I peaced out of SoCal on Friday and have been up here in the Portland area enjoying family time for the last couple of days.  The newest development with niece Toby is that she says, "Nuk nuk" (ala Curly of the Three Stooges).  Pretty awesome.  And Clover informed me that my hair is most definitely brown, not red.  Good to know.  : ) 

And I guess that's it for now.  Might be a while before I post again (you just never know when you're traveling), but I suspect that next time I do, it'll be from somewhere many hours by air away from here.  Here's to hoping for an aisle seat....  : )   

From Ice to Pyramids?

Ok, my friend JD sent me this link ( http://failblog.wordpress.com), and I just felt this picture needed to be shared.  Classic.

In other news, the weekend was good.  With these two back-to-back trips going on, I felt that I was neglecting my new adopted state a little.  Sure, SE Asia is exotic, & Egypt, Jordan & Israel have that whole "historic" thing going on...and, yes, there's lots more I can say about Thailand and Malaysia and pictures to describe...and, of course, I'm pretty hopped up about my upcoming first trip to the Middle-East-type area, but...that doesn't mean there's not life to be lived right in my backyard, right?  Right.  At least for one more weekend before peacing out again.  : ) 

And, really, what better way to embrace the culture around me than to take in a professional sporting event?  Root, root, root for the home team and all that.  And though I'm by no means a hockey fan (my limited exposure to hockey includes one minor-league game in Portland [go Winterhawks?], one college game (not mine) & another minor-league game in Florida [the fierce, fierce Everblades] - and to all of these, I should mention, I was given free tickets)...still, when my friends expressed interest in a Ducks game, I was all over it.  I mean, come on - they're the Mighty Ducks!  They're named after a movie!  What's more SoCal than that?

Funny thing is: I guess they're pretty good.  Stanley Cup winners even.  And although there seemed to be an awful lot of Chicago fans in the crowd, the Blackhawks just were no match.  Six-three, Ducks' victory.  One Anaheim player had a hat trick (to which people responded by throwing hats on to the ice), and there were two decent fights (one of which was started by the Chicago goalie).  All in all, 'twas a good game.  Of course, I still prefer watching baseball & football (and even futball), but...I guess a sport involving ice in SoCal just makes more sense.  : )   

And here's the crew I went with: JD & B.  They're a couple of my co-workers who are pretty cool.  B won the Predict-the-Final-Score game, and JD is the Fastest-Milkshake-Drinker champ.  I, per usual, excelled at nothing.  Except maybe fun-having.  I'll give myself that.  : )

If I don't write again before my next trip, maybe my next post will have a few pyramid shots for ya.  Coolio.

            

Picture this: Thailand & Malaysia

So, I just got my photo album up of the SE Asia trip.  I'm still jetlagging a little, but I figured I should get these up before I go on the next trip (in a week).  Some of my favorites from Thailand...riding elephants, orchid farm, and street crepes: 

   

Maybe I'll highlight more later, but now...must sleep.  (P.S., though: those street crepes might just have to make it into one of my top ten foods.  Chocolate & Vanilla filling is particularly excellent.)

Feels like...home

Again, this post is long overdue.  Sorry.  But, lest any of you feared that I had been stuck in a brothel in Malaysia this whole time (which we never did have to resort to, thankfully), I thought I should drop a line mentioning that I am now back in the comforts of my own apartment.  Home sweet studio-above-the-coffee-shop home, as they say.

My first night back from the month-long trip, I awoke in the middle of the night without any clue as to my whereabouts, how I got there or what day or time it was.  At first I thought that perhaps I had gone unconscious (I had fallen asleep reading & was jetlagging pretty hard) and that I had woken up in some strange new hostel.  I sat up and had to look around for several minutes before I was able to piece it together (my friend, K, says it reminds her of Jason Bourne - when you look around and your first instinct is to wonder where your pack and passport are, I guess you do kind of question your identity a little)...but after a bit, I was able to return to sleep...and not wake up until 2:30 in the afternoon.  Considering that I went to bed at 10pm, I'd say that's bordering on comatose.  And, again, I woke up confused.  My watch was still on Malaysia time, but the other two clocks said 2:30.  And my first thought was, But if it's 2:30 in the morning, how could the sun be shining so brightly?  Such was the functionality of my logic.  Notice I didn't think: wow, I slept a long time - it's 2:30PM.  No, no - instead I try to fathom how amazing the sun is that it can be so strong at 2:30AM.  Such is the joy of jetlag.  : )

But, despite the jetlag, I am home and trying to get back in the swing of things.  I returned to work yesterday, and I have to admit that that's a bit of an adjustment.  With all the goings-on and personal interaction that takes place at a conference, it's quite a change of pace to try to sit in a relatively quiet office at a computer for eight hours again.  Not that I mind it, though, really.  I have a lot to catch up on, so I certainly won't be bored during the next two weeks.  Why two weeks, you ask?  Well, that's all the longer I have until my next trip.  This one's not a working one, though.  Unless you count sight-seeing as work (which one could probably make an argument for).  This is the one with my parents and grandmother.  As my mom recently described it: it's the trip in which I get to see my almost-94-year old grandma see the Egyptian pyramids.  Pretty amazing, huh?  So, yeah, that's what's up in a couple of weeks.

But before I start gearing up for that, I have photos & snippets to share of SE Asia.  Time to get crackin'!  Unfortunately, with the whole aforementioned jetlag thing, I'm in no shape to do it tonight.  I will, however, try to pick away at it over the next couple of weeks.  I know, I know - but it's the best I've got. 

I will leave you with two pictures, though.  The one at the beginning of this post is actually the last picture of the trip - at an Irish restaurant in Bangkok, the night before my flight back to the States and N & K's back to China.  'Cause sometimes you've got to start at the end to get to the beginning?   Hmm...  And this other one I'll leave you with is actually more reflective of how three of the four weeks were spent: working in a hotel office.  Of course, that hotel was in northern Thailand, so, you know, it was still pretty cool.  And I got to work with some really great people, so all in all, 'twas another great time to be where I was.

Ok, that's it for now.  More to come....   

Feels like here: Penang & Langkawi, Malaysia

So, I've clearly not been the best about posting during the last several weeks...sorry 'bout that.  But I can kind of sum up the last three weeks thus: working.  The conference went well, but it was definitely work.  Of course, if you have to be working in an office, you might as well be doing it in northern Thailand around friends, ay?  : )  So, yeah, I can't complain.

But on Thursday, work was over, and N & K & I were making our way here, to Malaysia.  We flew from Chiang Mai (northern Thailand) to Bangkok and stayed overnight in a place near the airport.  The next morning (Thursday?), we flew from Bangkok to Penang (and island), Malaysia, which is where we are currently.  Tomorrow we head up to another island - Langkawi.

And, per usual, there's lots to write about, but...once again, time at the internet cafe is out.  So, let me just say this for now: Malaysia is great.  Great people, great food.  Also, a very, very popular place during the Chinese new year.  So popular, in fact, that we were nearly had to stay in a brothel our first night here.  Luckily, though, we found another place.  So...all is well.  Never a dull moment, though.  : )

More later....

Feels Like Here: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Well, I've arrived at the place that I'll be calling home for the next three weeks.  I'm still jetlagging a bit (though I was able to sleep till 5am this morning...which is better than the 4:30am-wide-awake thing I had going on yesterday), but I really can't complain - the journey was without incident, & I'm getting pretty settled. 

There's lots I could report on (like Tony - the Thai shop owner who lived in LA for 10 years; or George - the Irish bookstore owner), but I'm afraid it'll have to wait 'cause I only have about 30 seconds left of my time at this internet cafe. 

Mostly, just wanted to let you know that I made it...and I've seen N & K, so all is well.  : ) 

More soon....

Hurry, hurry...here comes the curry

Well, I just thought I better drop a note before I take off.  In a few hours, I'll be on that looooong flight back to Asia, so I might be out of touch for a while.  But when I do reconnect (and dare I say, manage a post or two?), I'll be once again in the land of mangoes and sticky rice.  That's right: Thailand. 

Hopefully, I'll have some pictures, too.  Should be good times (even if it is for work).  And I get to see some of my old pals, teammates, citymates, provincemates...and all those other peeps who make themselves scarce here in the States. 

Ok, Thailand for 30 days starts...now. 

One Last Christmas Picture Hoorah

Well, first of all, I have three more pictures from Christmas that my dad sent, so I thought I'd put those up.  Good times with family....

And other than that, not too much is new.  I've got to use this weekend to do some preparing (and shopping) for my upcoming trip to Thailand.  I'll be gone for a month, so efficiency in packing is a must.  It's a science really.

Also, you may have seen in the news that SoCal is being hit by a "storm."  I don't know about other parts of the area, but from what I'm seeing here in Pasadena, I've not been too impressed.  Sure, it was coming down pretty hard last night, but by NW standards, we'd just call that "rain."  And during summer time in Florida, we just called it "2 o'clock."  Now that's a place that gets some storms....

Anyway, that's it for now.  I may post one more time before taking off on my trip, but hopefully, I can do some posting from other there, as well.  Internet cafes are our friends.  : )