Monday, December 21, 2009
Muchos Zapatos!
Blaine and I got a second opportunity to give away shoes to some of the poorest children on the island of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. For a short background... Our friends that we are staying with run a small non-profit called Zapatos Para Los Ninos that supplies some of the needs of a poor community called Guadalupana. This small "village" is basically a bunch of tar paper shacks with tarp roofs and no electricity or running water.
Blaine and I bought some shoes the last time we were down here for about $7 a pair. This time we brought them down from Oregon. We were buying furniture at a great place called City Liquidators in Portland and walked by a display that had tons of shoes for sale. These "Croc-offs" were only $3 a pair! Blaine talked to the owner of the store and he gave us another dollar off each pair, so we brought about 68 pairs of these things down to Mexico. It is so fun to see how excited the kids get. We totally loved it! The children are sooo beautiful I just love their little faces!
You can also see photos from our last visit here
Blaine and I bought some shoes the last time we were down here for about $7 a pair. This time we brought them down from Oregon. We were buying furniture at a great place called City Liquidators in Portland and walked by a display that had tons of shoes for sale. These "Croc-offs" were only $3 a pair! Blaine talked to the owner of the store and he gave us another dollar off each pair, so we brought about 68 pairs of these things down to Mexico. It is so fun to see how excited the kids get. We totally loved it! The children are sooo beautiful I just love their little faces!
You can also see photos from our last visit here
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Our Kilauea volcano adventure
We all definitely have those “larger than life” moments, where something is so surreal you can’t believe you’re actually alive and experiencing what’s happening. This was for sure one of my moments. But before I begin, let me back up the train a bit…. The other night, when Blaine and I were visiting the volcano viewing area, we were a little disappointed. The two of us had high expectations of exploding lava so close you could poke it with a stick! (so we were told) So when we arrived and were about a mile away from the action we were bumming. I was listening in on a conversation between the women behind us and a park ranger talking about why we had to be so far away. It was quite interesting really. He was explaining how the volcano conditions change daily and just a few months ago the actual lava flows were just beyond where we were currently standing, but it changed paths so quick and the ground just beyond us was still hot and unstable. After hearing that I gave up the hopes of seeing the pictures I had in my head come to fruition. Blaine was far from satisfied, and as we were walking back we came to a photo both of just amazing lava pictures so close you could touch it. Blaine HAD to find out how he got so close. So we went and started talking to the photographer. He is one of only 3 people on the island who has total access and can freely go beyond the barricades. One, because he knows the park rangers and two because the flow is actually on private land (the people who owned it BEFORE the lava flow took their homes) and he has permission from those land owners. To go wonder out on your own would be insanely stupid for several reasons: 1) being un-educated about what you need to be looking out for could easily kill you. 2) you can get fined $5,000! neither of which I would like to be a part of. Soooo with that said, Bruce (the photographer) took a liking to us for some reason and actually offered to take us out! He rarely ever takes other photographers out, so this was a once in a lifetime experience. Blaine about soiled himself with excitement, while I was actually already in panic mode. We had to meet Bruce at 3:30 am to begin the hike out, which meant we had to leave the other side of the island at 1:30 am. Blaine couldn’t sit still he was bursting with joy as I have only witnessed about 3 times in 10 years of knowing him.
After about an hour of walking I really started to get scared. The smell of burning sulfur was so intense it burned my throat. The lava field got rougher and more like a climb then a hike the further we went. We stopped for a moment, and Bruce told us we had to hold our breath for 30 seconds as we crossed the weakest part, which was actually the first of the lava rivers heading to the ocean and could have been anywhere from 2 inches to 20 feet below the surface. We walked through the clouds of sulfur one foot in front of the other, lightly and quickly. It was super intense to say the least! I couldn’t turn back now though every nerve in my body was screaming RUN AWAY! The two of them are talking about how great and powerful God is and how thankful they were for the opportunity to see such a display while all I think of is “ye though I walk though the valley of the shadow of death!” “fire and brimstone” and how much this is the closest I ever want to get to hell!
Here are the first of the photos. The truth is this was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Talking photos was the only thing keeping me distracted from the fact that my heart was beating out of my chest!
The lava is actually creating refined black sand right before our eyes. The shoreline grew about 15 feet out 10 feet high and for the distance of about 70 feet a crossed while we were out there in just a few hours.
Need I say more…
For those of you who don’t know Blaine very well, he has absolutely no fear mechanisms in his entire body. No flashing “DANGER!!” signs, no heart palpitations, nothing that would signal him to run from imminent danger. He’s like those people who have nerve damage and don’t have any idea they have their hand on a hot stove. I am amazed he is still alive (most of which I take the credit for, mind you). It is crazy how relaxed he can be, and so was Bruce! I was watching his every move looking for a change in body posture signaling the “run like hell” cue. As if I would even know what direction!
The people in this boat are even dumber then we are. The water surrounding them is 200+ degrees! It would only take a small piece to break off and create a boiling tidal wave, not to mention it is raining sulfuric acid from the cloud they are under!
These photos make it seem like we are super far away from the danger, but in reality what you are looking at they call the “bench” its like an unstable landslide. At any moment any or all of it could break off into the ocean creating an enormous explosion from the hot lava hitting the cold ocean, launching SUV size (on the small end) chunks of molten lava hundreds of feet in the air and raining down fire from the sky for thousands of yards in every direction. They call it a bench collapse, and for the last few months they have been happening often and with little notice. I kept listening for the creaking and feeling for the quake but when it comes down to it, unless you were a mile back at the viewing area you’d be a gonner.
This is the start of the more active explosions; I stopped taking pictures because I was in just in too much panic to think! The splatters were thrown 80 feet in the air and coming within 20 feet of Blaine and Bruce, I on the other hand fled at the thought of burning to death, maybe I am weird or something.
This is one of those week parts over the functioning lava tubes. The lava is rushing at about 20mph beneath my feet. You can tell its fresh because the sand is so new. It crushes under your feet and crunches like charcoal.
In this shot we are super far away and you can see where just a regular explosion littered the surface with lava chunks.
Here the lava was moving fast and just flowed over these rocks incasing them forever.
These two photos show the weakest part we had to cross. Bruce told us a story about how a spot just like this one caved in and created a lava river, a few hours after he had been walking on it.
A cooled lava splatter.
There are tiny needle like fibers that split when they cool and are like fiber glass and give a nice splinter.
What you DON’T want to happen while your there.
Believe it or not, the lava minerals can be quite beautiful and create rainbows like an oil slick.
This is a hole that was created by the lava burning a tree in the middle and leaving it wide open after cooling.
This is another type of lava that is the fast moving kind. It is already generating life and growing lichen over its surface.
And finally, back to the road where this whole mess began :)
After about an hour of walking I really started to get scared. The smell of burning sulfur was so intense it burned my throat. The lava field got rougher and more like a climb then a hike the further we went. We stopped for a moment, and Bruce told us we had to hold our breath for 30 seconds as we crossed the weakest part, which was actually the first of the lava rivers heading to the ocean and could have been anywhere from 2 inches to 20 feet below the surface. We walked through the clouds of sulfur one foot in front of the other, lightly and quickly. It was super intense to say the least! I couldn’t turn back now though every nerve in my body was screaming RUN AWAY! The two of them are talking about how great and powerful God is and how thankful they were for the opportunity to see such a display while all I think of is “ye though I walk though the valley of the shadow of death!” “fire and brimstone” and how much this is the closest I ever want to get to hell!
Here are the first of the photos. The truth is this was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Talking photos was the only thing keeping me distracted from the fact that my heart was beating out of my chest!
The lava is actually creating refined black sand right before our eyes. The shoreline grew about 15 feet out 10 feet high and for the distance of about 70 feet a crossed while we were out there in just a few hours.
Need I say more…
For those of you who don’t know Blaine very well, he has absolutely no fear mechanisms in his entire body. No flashing “DANGER!!” signs, no heart palpitations, nothing that would signal him to run from imminent danger. He’s like those people who have nerve damage and don’t have any idea they have their hand on a hot stove. I am amazed he is still alive (most of which I take the credit for, mind you). It is crazy how relaxed he can be, and so was Bruce! I was watching his every move looking for a change in body posture signaling the “run like hell” cue. As if I would even know what direction!
The people in this boat are even dumber then we are. The water surrounding them is 200+ degrees! It would only take a small piece to break off and create a boiling tidal wave, not to mention it is raining sulfuric acid from the cloud they are under!
These photos make it seem like we are super far away from the danger, but in reality what you are looking at they call the “bench” its like an unstable landslide. At any moment any or all of it could break off into the ocean creating an enormous explosion from the hot lava hitting the cold ocean, launching SUV size (on the small end) chunks of molten lava hundreds of feet in the air and raining down fire from the sky for thousands of yards in every direction. They call it a bench collapse, and for the last few months they have been happening often and with little notice. I kept listening for the creaking and feeling for the quake but when it comes down to it, unless you were a mile back at the viewing area you’d be a gonner.
This is the start of the more active explosions; I stopped taking pictures because I was in just in too much panic to think! The splatters were thrown 80 feet in the air and coming within 20 feet of Blaine and Bruce, I on the other hand fled at the thought of burning to death, maybe I am weird or something.
This is one of those week parts over the functioning lava tubes. The lava is rushing at about 20mph beneath my feet. You can tell its fresh because the sand is so new. It crushes under your feet and crunches like charcoal.
In this shot we are super far away and you can see where just a regular explosion littered the surface with lava chunks.
Here the lava was moving fast and just flowed over these rocks incasing them forever.
These two photos show the weakest part we had to cross. Bruce told us a story about how a spot just like this one caved in and created a lava river, a few hours after he had been walking on it.
A cooled lava splatter.
There are tiny needle like fibers that split when they cool and are like fiber glass and give a nice splinter.
What you DON’T want to happen while your there.
Believe it or not, the lava minerals can be quite beautiful and create rainbows like an oil slick.
This is a hole that was created by the lava burning a tree in the middle and leaving it wide open after cooling.
This is another type of lava that is the fast moving kind. It is already generating life and growing lichen over its surface.
And finally, back to the road where this whole mess began :)
Friday, April 10, 2009
volcano
Blaine and I took a drive down to the spot where you can actually see the lava hit the ocean. It was sweet except that I did not have tripod. I usually never use one so we just bring one, and I don't typically like shooting at night though this is one of those exceptions. Blaine just lives for this stuff! Awesome!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Big Island
We have been going nonstop! But to catch you up here are some photos from the "south point" "waipio valley" and some other cool spots we have found using our 4wd. There is even a green sand beach!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Hawaii
We are again "working" in a beautiful place, shooting a destination wedding :) This week we are in Hawaii. Here are the first few pics from our trip.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I love the ocean!
I love the ocean so much sometimes I feel like I am going to burst! The world is so beautiful and each new place we go is so unique, I can't get enough!
Shoe ministry
Today Blaine and I went and visited a small community of tin roofed huts on Isla Mujeres with our friends the Sniders. They have a ministry that raises support to buy shoes for the kids in need of them. We had the opportunity to buy some ourselves and go and give them away. Here are a few pics...
A blind woman comes to receive a pair of shoes for her little one-
A blind woman comes to receive a pair of shoes for her little one-
Monday, March 23, 2009
Whats not to love about Mexico?
Here are a few shots that I have taken over the past few days in no particular order.
Friday, March 20, 2009
tropical storms
Well, the sun has been a bit more elusive the past few days, and actually as I was preparing this post Blaine came running in all excited that he saw a tornado over the ocean as he grabbed the camera gear. Man did it rain! The clouds made for more interesting photos anyway :) The colors have been all over the place and beautiful! I love weather!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
mexico arrival
Blaine and I have the awesome opportunity to shoot a wedding and combine that with visiting some friends and doing some other travels in the Yucatan this month. It feels so good to be back in the sun and the sand for a bit :)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The River
Blaine and I are home now, but I still wanted to finish out sharing the trip with you all. The next photos were taken on a portion of the Mekong River in Cambodia. This little floating village is made up of mostly Vietnamese refugees who don't belong to any country. They are hated by the Cambodians and their own country men. Most of the children that Remember Nhu has taken in have come from this area. 70% of the girls from age 3-20 are sold into the sex trade.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum - Pol Pot - The Killing Fields
Viewer discretion advised... the following images are of disturbing content relating to the mass genocide of the Cambodian people. If you don't know the history behind this, I encourage you to read about Pol Pot here and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum here.
I am not sure where to begin, so many emotions have been stirred up its hard to put into words. We visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which is one of the detention centers where pol pot tortured and killed thousands of men, women, and children. I have been to several Holocaust museums but this one by far was more raw in nature and much harder to swallow. The building was originally a school with 3 buildings and 3 floors each. Each one had a different purpose, some for holding space and some with other obvious horrors in mind. The first building has the torturing rooms which were used right up until the Khmer Rouge fell, literally with fresh bodies still chained to the beds. They took photos of the final 14 bodies left, put it in the room in which they were killed and kept the rooms in close conditions to what it had looked like at the time of death. It was so raw and realistic that you could almost smell them. I did everything I could to keep it together as we walked through such a graphic point in history, and even going back and preparing the photos tears were shed. The photos I included are the mild PG-13 ones I thought were suitable to share.
The second part of day we visited "Choeung Ek Memorial" (more commonly called the killing fields). This was a mass grave where they placed about 9,000 bodies after they were tortured and a second site for their brutal acts. Here they murdered children by picking them up by their feet and bashing their heads by swinging them into the side of a tree. They hung up a loud speaker which blared propaganda to drown out the screaming of those being tortured. They have only excavated 10% of the grounds. As you walk you will see clothing and bones sticking up in the dirt beneath your feet. It was beyond heart wrenching.
I am not sure where to begin, so many emotions have been stirred up its hard to put into words. We visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which is one of the detention centers where pol pot tortured and killed thousands of men, women, and children. I have been to several Holocaust museums but this one by far was more raw in nature and much harder to swallow. The building was originally a school with 3 buildings and 3 floors each. Each one had a different purpose, some for holding space and some with other obvious horrors in mind. The first building has the torturing rooms which were used right up until the Khmer Rouge fell, literally with fresh bodies still chained to the beds. They took photos of the final 14 bodies left, put it in the room in which they were killed and kept the rooms in close conditions to what it had looked like at the time of death. It was so raw and realistic that you could almost smell them. I did everything I could to keep it together as we walked through such a graphic point in history, and even going back and preparing the photos tears were shed. The photos I included are the mild PG-13 ones I thought were suitable to share.
The second part of day we visited "Choeung Ek Memorial" (more commonly called the killing fields). This was a mass grave where they placed about 9,000 bodies after they were tortured and a second site for their brutal acts. Here they murdered children by picking them up by their feet and bashing their heads by swinging them into the side of a tree. They hung up a loud speaker which blared propaganda to drown out the screaming of those being tortured. They have only excavated 10% of the grounds. As you walk you will see clothing and bones sticking up in the dirt beneath your feet. It was beyond heart wrenching.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Cambodia Orphanage
Sorry for the delay on the posting :)
We are now with the rest of the group in Phnom Phen Cambodia... After everyone has recovered from jet lag and their night spent in the Bangkok airport, we have gotten to see a thing or two. Yesterday we visited a large children's home (orphanage). There were about 70 kids from ages 2-17. The moment the gate door swung open the children swarmed us all latching onto us and hugging us and asking us questions. One little girl held on to me for at least 20 minutes, begging for as much affection as I could give. I was overwhelmed with compassion. It effected me much more then I could have imaged. They had so much love to give. Each one was so excited to show us where they sleep and their tiny little school rooms. The children were so beautiful, and I would have done anything to take a few home with us!
We are now with the rest of the group in Phnom Phen Cambodia... After everyone has recovered from jet lag and their night spent in the Bangkok airport, we have gotten to see a thing or two. Yesterday we visited a large children's home (orphanage). There were about 70 kids from ages 2-17. The moment the gate door swung open the children swarmed us all latching onto us and hugging us and asking us questions. One little girl held on to me for at least 20 minutes, begging for as much affection as I could give. I was overwhelmed with compassion. It effected me much more then I could have imaged. They had so much love to give. Each one was so excited to show us where they sleep and their tiny little school rooms. The children were so beautiful, and I would have done anything to take a few home with us!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Khao Sak National Park
The past few days have been amazing. I had no idea Khao Sok would be this beautiful! It is the Lake Powell of Asia. We hired a boat and went for an evening cruise on the lake. It is a bit like Guilin China, Halong Bay in Vietnam, and as large as the Milford Sound in New Zealand. The coolest part is that we hung out with some Thai people on holiday camping out on these little raft huts in the middle of the lake. If we had more time we would have totally joined them! I couldn't have imagined a more perfect Valentine's day :)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Blaine and I have traveled down south to Phuket for a few days. Tomorrow we go to Khao Sok national park for some trekking and jungle exploration, but before that I will catch you up on the past few days. I am usually not a big fan of huge cities, but its always fun if there is a festival going on. We just happened to be in town for the annual macha bucha holiday, which is a commemoration of when Buddha preached to thousands of people that just appeared without summoning. At sunset the people went to the temples, lit candles, incense and walked with flowers around the outside of the various watts. It made for some interesting pics
I have loads more photos of the red light district, but most are not appropriate for all audiences so here is just a backed out shot of the street. It is amazing what people will do in plain view.
The Floating Market is a top thing to see in Bangkok, though it is a 2 hour bus ride outside the city.
After heading south, it is amazing how much things change with a little sun and sand. The moment we got off the bus, we rented a scooter and started exploring. The local Thai people would drive up next to us and say "where u go now?" just making sure we knew our way... which of course we did not :)
.
I have loads more photos of the red light district, but most are not appropriate for all audiences so here is just a backed out shot of the street. It is amazing what people will do in plain view.
The Floating Market is a top thing to see in Bangkok, though it is a 2 hour bus ride outside the city.
After heading south, it is amazing how much things change with a little sun and sand. The moment we got off the bus, we rented a scooter and started exploring. The local Thai people would drive up next to us and say "where u go now?" just making sure we knew our way... which of course we did not :)
.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
BKK
Blaine and I took it easy today still getting over the jet lag. It is so humid and hot that its hard to keep your eyes open very long when sitting down. Already having pretty good bearings of the city we took some detours and explored some new corners, finding some interesting displays. We took a long stroll down memory lane, and were blown away by how much had changed in just one year! Here are a few snaps from the day. Much more to come, but here is a teaser for now b/c I am totally falling asleep trying to type :)
anyone know what the heck kinda dog this is?
anyone know what the heck kinda dog this is?
Friday, February 6, 2009
on the road again...
It has been a good solid 6 months getting settled, and becoming used to a normal life again. Honestly, I was a little nervous packing up to get going again. I always felt like I was forgetting something though I know its just because on this trip we are back to the less is more philosophy :) But once in the car, my mind just switched back to travel mode, as simply as that. No more worry's. Traveling is like breathing. Its just something we do, it is in us, and we love it. Even just being in the international section of the airport makes me happy, listening to all the different languages spoken around me, and just smiling back at the sometimes awkward stares of the foreign on looker. I have already noticed how up tight I have become with the lack of scenery change. But Blaine of course cured me of that right away in his laid back nature, always waiting until the last minute having to run to gate, at our personal invitation to board the plane before they close the doors, in our usual fashion. Such is life :)
Gotta love the random airplane food selections :)
We have arrived in Bangkok safe and sound and already had the opportunity to help a few girls get from the airport to the city and get them a hotel. I remember what it was like, not so long ago to be totally clueless in a new place and feel so grateful when someone more experienced let us tag along. After a good nights sleep, we both felt refreshed. I couldn't stay in bed one more minute. We went up to the roof and just took in a bit of sun unrestrained by american guard rails and security personnel and relaxed sipping a cup of joe. The smells of fresh flowers and coconut soup wafted up the sides of the buildings, it was so familiar and calming and brought so much joy I could barely stand it! Well thats it for now... let the adventure begin!
Gotta love the random airplane food selections :)
We have arrived in Bangkok safe and sound and already had the opportunity to help a few girls get from the airport to the city and get them a hotel. I remember what it was like, not so long ago to be totally clueless in a new place and feel so grateful when someone more experienced let us tag along. After a good nights sleep, we both felt refreshed. I couldn't stay in bed one more minute. We went up to the roof and just took in a bit of sun unrestrained by american guard rails and security personnel and relaxed sipping a cup of joe. The smells of fresh flowers and coconut soup wafted up the sides of the buildings, it was so familiar and calming and brought so much joy I could barely stand it! Well thats it for now... let the adventure begin!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Santa Barbara
I took a little break and headed south to visit some friends and relax before the craziness started. Here are a few random pics.
Whats not to love about random puppies!
Whats not to love about random puppies!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Tulips galore!
A few days after being home I got the itch to go out and shoot. It worked out that we got home in time for the tulips! I was so excited to go to the farm displays. It was a great day. Here are a few shots.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Well, thats all folks!
We are back in the states now, and this is my final post of our adventure! I may post more images and stories as we're editing through stuff though.
Following are just a few thoughts and conclusions I have picked up along the way… I hope you have enjoyed my travel blog. Blaine and I will be traveling for weddings and such for most of the summer, so even though the trip is over I do plan on keeping up this blog.
Personally I have sooo much to be thankful for- health, family, a career I love... Being away sheds light on the important things, so thank you family and friends for praying for us, supporting us and loving us.
We have immense freedom in the USA to believe what we want, live however we want, and choose what jobs we have. I hope to be more generous with my time and money and invest in those around me. People are the most important part of this planet and a good portion of them are suffering deeper than we could possibly fathom from the comfort of our homes in America. Traveling changes the way you perceive everyday things. It showed me that there is endless beauty in the world and you really don’t have to go far to find it (though that adds to the fun a bit). In most situations abroad, whether it be a language barrier or a slight miscommunication, you find it can almost always be solved with a smile. If a smile doesn’t work, usually a dollar or two will. :) I admire those who are content and happy when they are in so much need. I hope that I will never fall back into the wasteful consumers life, remembering how truly blessed I am and basically lacking nothing.
I encourage everyone to get out in the world and explore if at all possible!
Change scenery and exit your comfort zone, you’d be surprised what happens. You never know, maybe you will jump out of a plane in New Zealand or eat some worms and bugs at a local carnival in Thailand. Of course you’ve gotta be cautious and do your research, but there is nothing worth stressing about so much that it will stop you from going. There are people in every corner of the world living and breathing in their environments, and they survive right? Great experiences are awaiting!
Life is too short to be consumed by worry. Get out of the rat race for a bit and TAKE A VACATION! If we did it, believe me, you can too.
If anyone has any questions about our travels, how we did certain things or whatever… please don’t hesitate to ask!
Thanks for all of your comments; it was so nice to get feedback when we were so far from home.
The photos you have seen so far on this and Blaine’s blog are a miniscule amount of what we shot. We did bring our laptop computer along the whole 6 months, but when you're in all these different countries, you always want to be shooting and capturing rather than sitting in front of the computer editing and taking time away from shooting. So, the work represented here is all edited and done quickly as possible. We have many hundreds of hours to spend on the computer editing now and will be trying to get it all done during the next few months. I’ll update here when we have slideshows/prints/galleries ready for you too see! :)
Following are just a few thoughts and conclusions I have picked up along the way… I hope you have enjoyed my travel blog. Blaine and I will be traveling for weddings and such for most of the summer, so even though the trip is over I do plan on keeping up this blog.
Personally I have sooo much to be thankful for- health, family, a career I love... Being away sheds light on the important things, so thank you family and friends for praying for us, supporting us and loving us.
We have immense freedom in the USA to believe what we want, live however we want, and choose what jobs we have. I hope to be more generous with my time and money and invest in those around me. People are the most important part of this planet and a good portion of them are suffering deeper than we could possibly fathom from the comfort of our homes in America. Traveling changes the way you perceive everyday things. It showed me that there is endless beauty in the world and you really don’t have to go far to find it (though that adds to the fun a bit). In most situations abroad, whether it be a language barrier or a slight miscommunication, you find it can almost always be solved with a smile. If a smile doesn’t work, usually a dollar or two will. :) I admire those who are content and happy when they are in so much need. I hope that I will never fall back into the wasteful consumers life, remembering how truly blessed I am and basically lacking nothing.
I encourage everyone to get out in the world and explore if at all possible!
Change scenery and exit your comfort zone, you’d be surprised what happens. You never know, maybe you will jump out of a plane in New Zealand or eat some worms and bugs at a local carnival in Thailand. Of course you’ve gotta be cautious and do your research, but there is nothing worth stressing about so much that it will stop you from going. There are people in every corner of the world living and breathing in their environments, and they survive right? Great experiences are awaiting!
Life is too short to be consumed by worry. Get out of the rat race for a bit and TAKE A VACATION! If we did it, believe me, you can too.
If anyone has any questions about our travels, how we did certain things or whatever… please don’t hesitate to ask!
Thanks for all of your comments; it was so nice to get feedback when we were so far from home.
The photos you have seen so far on this and Blaine’s blog are a miniscule amount of what we shot. We did bring our laptop computer along the whole 6 months, but when you're in all these different countries, you always want to be shooting and capturing rather than sitting in front of the computer editing and taking time away from shooting. So, the work represented here is all edited and done quickly as possible. We have many hundreds of hours to spend on the computer editing now and will be trying to get it all done during the next few months. I’ll update here when we have slideshows/prints/galleries ready for you too see! :)
Friday, April 25, 2008
The Great Wall
Well it truly was great! We lucked out and got some sunshine through some storm clouds, which made for some amazing lighting conditions. We were only briefly in Beijing so I don’t really have many stories :( But here are a few pics.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
The Ascent (Annapurna Circuit)
Blaine and I were supposed to travel overland to Tibet and spend the rest of our trip in China, but due to the outbreak of violence we decided to join our friends Mike, Andrea and Chad for a world famous trek in Nepal. For the past 3 weeks we have been trekking along the 220 kilometer Annapurna Circuit, labeled one of the greatest hikes in the world. This trek is called a “teahouse trek” meaning that you actually hike from village to village in the mountains and eat and sleep in small locally owned lodges rather than in tents, cooking your own food. You can read more about it here. Nowhere else can you hike for 3 weeks and see such a variety in landscape and culture (think: palm trees and monkeys one day, glaciers and yaks the next!) The trek starts at 1500 feet and reaches a max altitude of just under 18,000 feet. That is about 3,500 feet higher than Mount Whitney (the highest point in the continental United States.) Due to the fact that this trek was spur of the moment we needed to buy some more gear, and not knowing what to expect on the trek, we followed the advice of a photographer we met here and went to the right shop called Shonas. This shop is the one that outfits a great deal of Everest expeditions, unlike all the other thousands of stores that sell fake name brand gear that falls apart faster than you can say “doh!!!” Shonas kindly informed us that just the week before, 3 porters (sherpas) died on the Thorong La Pass and a few guys came down with frostbite who were not prepared, (not exactly was I wanted to hear, but it did prompt us to buy a whole bunch of stuff in his store, which we ended up really needing because of frigid temperatures at altitude) I’m not gonna lie, I wouldn’t exactly call myself an avid wilderness trekker. Blaine and I have never really dealt with extreme high altitude or gone backpacking in the snow, so I was fairly concerned about my upcoming performance hearing these stories. However after starting the trek and hearing how many people were actually making it over each day and seeing the types of people starting the trek, it did build my confidence a little. Anyway here is a brief sum up with some photos.
The start…. The first day was a hard hike straight up and it was warm as we hiked up from the jungle floor. It was really great to get out there in the fresh air and get some exercise. We saw plenty of waterfalls, rice paddies and the locals carrying heavy loads, everything from tall corn stocks to huge rocks. Our guide told us that the most extreme porter he had seen was a woman who carried 110 pounds on her back for 20 days! The next few days we gained a lot of altitude and the weather got much colder. I didn’t mind because we were so hot hiking in the lower elevations, so the cold was quite nice. The valley just seemed to go up forever, as we inched closer and closer to the tree line. When we got to 10,000 feet there were rhododendron trees in bloom and it was sooo beautiful! The nights started getting really cold (no heat at all) and it was so hard climbing out of our warm sleeping bags into the freezing air. I had a few large blisters that were irritating and a general overall soreness but no effects from the altitude yet. None of us planned on rushing up the mountain and we had all agreed that if one gets sick from altitude we all stay back an extra day and acclimatize.
When we arrived at 12,000 feet, we spent an “acclimatize day” where you sleep at the same altitude for 2 nights and do a higher day hike in between. Most people do a hike to these caves that takes you to 14,000 feet but we were all feeling great, so we decided to try and tackle the Ice Lakes hike that tops out at 16,000 feet. Ascending from 12,000 feet to 16,000 feet was no picnic in the park, but it gave us an idea of how crappy we’d feel going over the pass. It was basically switchbacks for 4 hours, from the bottom to the top. Also it had snowed about 6 inches overnight so it was a little more challenging as well. But we all did great and only felt a little light headed, and exhausted with slight headaches at the very top. So we threw a few snowballs, took some pictures of the most amazing views and headed back down. Down was actually really hard on the knees and we all had a few aches and pains that night. We didn’t mind staying 2 nights in Braga (the village) because the place we stayed at (New Yak Hotel) was great! It had a great view of this midevil “Lord of the Rings” looking place and had the best food on the trek. I took a shower for the first time in 6 days knowing that I wouldn’t want to at higher elevations because of the cold. The views just kept getting more amazing with every step. I have never seen such gorgeous mountain peaks or hiked above the clouds; it was soooo amazing! We were now only 2 nights from the pass and anticipation was eating us alive. The trail was getting more and more snow each day. The last night before we summited, we saw all kinds of people suffering from AMS (acute mountain sickness) from the altitude. There was a French girl that was barely coherent even on Diamox (AMS drug) and ended up descending the morning after we had tried to help her. Also, we heard about some one getting airlifted off the mountain. Most people had headaches and were dehydrated. All of us kept drinking and taking hydration salts as a preventative. We decided to take an extra day to rest some injuries (Andrea’s Achilles tendon / Blaine’s knee) and make sure we were ready. I dreaded another night at the top because it was so bitterly cold at night. There was no heat, so after 3PM when the sun disappeared behind the clouds and mountains, the temperature dropped like crazy and it would snow with thunder and lightning. Most of our energy was spent trying to keep warm in our down jackets.
These wild Rhododendron trees were incredible!
Our porter "Anish" on the left and guide "Raj" on the right (eating Dal Bhat of course)
Ice Lake (~16,000 feet)
The Thorong La Pass
To make it up over the pass we had to get up at 4AM to avoid the bad weather in the afternoon. The first 1000 feet were the most intense vertically and we were hiking in the dark. It was so cold that our camelback tubes froze so water was not easily accessible. The snow was beautiful! It felt like we were on top of the world, being above the clouds surrounded by huge mountain peaks. We reached the summit at about 10:30 am. The last 500 feet were the hardest altitude wise for me at least, I was getting pretty dizzy and my legs felt like lead. We spent about 40 minutes at the top, taking pictures and eating some very needed calories (snickers and cookies). The day was far from over though, we still had 6,000 feet to hike down. There was so much snow, the path was quite slippery in places and we actually “sledded” down a few parts for fun. We all came off the mountain with a perfect tan from the reflection off the snow (some more burned then others) and ate enough food for a small country. It was definitely not the easiest thing I have ever done, but for sure one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. It’s a really good thing we went over the day we did because 2 days later the pass got 5 feet of snow and it was closed for a week. All the people had to go back down the way they came…. Bummer!
Our 5:30AM start to conquer the Thorong La
Yaks
We were all very happy to be at the top!
On the way down-
A cool looking village
Kagbeni Valley
The view from Poon Hill before sunrise
At sunrise-
Here are a few "digimon snapshots" to mix it up a bit:
Blaine holding 2 adorable baby goats
There were these huge monster spiders in their holes everywhere!
Me trying out a beanie before buying it
Me trying to keep warm in Blaine's down jacket in our below freezing room
We bought cooler beanies later on ;)
One of Blaine's blisters. He wore his Chaco sandals as often as possible to try and avoid the blisters.
Andrea pumping water in the freezing temps. Right after we snapped this, our friend Chad cracked a joke "Hey Andrea, how many seals did you spear today!?" We got a good laugh.
Me at 4AM, severely depressed about having to leave the warm sleeping bag.
Post beanie hair on Blaine
The start…. The first day was a hard hike straight up and it was warm as we hiked up from the jungle floor. It was really great to get out there in the fresh air and get some exercise. We saw plenty of waterfalls, rice paddies and the locals carrying heavy loads, everything from tall corn stocks to huge rocks. Our guide told us that the most extreme porter he had seen was a woman who carried 110 pounds on her back for 20 days! The next few days we gained a lot of altitude and the weather got much colder. I didn’t mind because we were so hot hiking in the lower elevations, so the cold was quite nice. The valley just seemed to go up forever, as we inched closer and closer to the tree line. When we got to 10,000 feet there were rhododendron trees in bloom and it was sooo beautiful! The nights started getting really cold (no heat at all) and it was so hard climbing out of our warm sleeping bags into the freezing air. I had a few large blisters that were irritating and a general overall soreness but no effects from the altitude yet. None of us planned on rushing up the mountain and we had all agreed that if one gets sick from altitude we all stay back an extra day and acclimatize.
When we arrived at 12,000 feet, we spent an “acclimatize day” where you sleep at the same altitude for 2 nights and do a higher day hike in between. Most people do a hike to these caves that takes you to 14,000 feet but we were all feeling great, so we decided to try and tackle the Ice Lakes hike that tops out at 16,000 feet. Ascending from 12,000 feet to 16,000 feet was no picnic in the park, but it gave us an idea of how crappy we’d feel going over the pass. It was basically switchbacks for 4 hours, from the bottom to the top. Also it had snowed about 6 inches overnight so it was a little more challenging as well. But we all did great and only felt a little light headed, and exhausted with slight headaches at the very top. So we threw a few snowballs, took some pictures of the most amazing views and headed back down. Down was actually really hard on the knees and we all had a few aches and pains that night. We didn’t mind staying 2 nights in Braga (the village) because the place we stayed at (New Yak Hotel) was great! It had a great view of this midevil “Lord of the Rings” looking place and had the best food on the trek. I took a shower for the first time in 6 days knowing that I wouldn’t want to at higher elevations because of the cold. The views just kept getting more amazing with every step. I have never seen such gorgeous mountain peaks or hiked above the clouds; it was soooo amazing! We were now only 2 nights from the pass and anticipation was eating us alive. The trail was getting more and more snow each day. The last night before we summited, we saw all kinds of people suffering from AMS (acute mountain sickness) from the altitude. There was a French girl that was barely coherent even on Diamox (AMS drug) and ended up descending the morning after we had tried to help her. Also, we heard about some one getting airlifted off the mountain. Most people had headaches and were dehydrated. All of us kept drinking and taking hydration salts as a preventative. We decided to take an extra day to rest some injuries (Andrea’s Achilles tendon / Blaine’s knee) and make sure we were ready. I dreaded another night at the top because it was so bitterly cold at night. There was no heat, so after 3PM when the sun disappeared behind the clouds and mountains, the temperature dropped like crazy and it would snow with thunder and lightning. Most of our energy was spent trying to keep warm in our down jackets.
These wild Rhododendron trees were incredible!
Our porter "Anish" on the left and guide "Raj" on the right (eating Dal Bhat of course)Ice Lake (~16,000 feet)The Thorong La Pass
To make it up over the pass we had to get up at 4AM to avoid the bad weather in the afternoon. The first 1000 feet were the most intense vertically and we were hiking in the dark. It was so cold that our camelback tubes froze so water was not easily accessible. The snow was beautiful! It felt like we were on top of the world, being above the clouds surrounded by huge mountain peaks. We reached the summit at about 10:30 am. The last 500 feet were the hardest altitude wise for me at least, I was getting pretty dizzy and my legs felt like lead. We spent about 40 minutes at the top, taking pictures and eating some very needed calories (snickers and cookies). The day was far from over though, we still had 6,000 feet to hike down. There was so much snow, the path was quite slippery in places and we actually “sledded” down a few parts for fun. We all came off the mountain with a perfect tan from the reflection off the snow (some more burned then others) and ate enough food for a small country. It was definitely not the easiest thing I have ever done, but for sure one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. It’s a really good thing we went over the day we did because 2 days later the pass got 5 feet of snow and it was closed for a week. All the people had to go back down the way they came…. Bummer!
Our 5:30AM start to conquer the Thorong La
YaksWe were all very happy to be at the top!On the way down-A cool looking village
Kagbeni ValleyThe view from Poon Hill before sunriseAt sunrise-Here are a few "digimon snapshots" to mix it up a bit:
Blaine holding 2 adorable baby goats
There were these huge monster spiders in their holes everywhere!Me trying out a beanie before buying itMe trying to keep warm in Blaine's down jacket in our below freezing roomWe bought cooler beanies later on ;)One of Blaine's blisters. He wore his Chaco sandals as often as possible to try and avoid the blisters.Andrea pumping water in the freezing temps. Right after we snapped this, our friend Chad cracked a joke "Hey Andrea, how many seals did you spear today!?" We got a good laugh.Me at 4AM, severely depressed about having to leave the warm sleeping bag.Post beanie hair on Blaine
Monday, March 24, 2008
Bhutan (Kingdom of Happiness)
In the alpine foothills of the Himalayas lies this magical kingdom. Compared to other poor Asian nations, the Bhutanese have an overall high standard of living with no begging or homelessness whatsoever. It is the cleanest country we have visited in Asia so far. People are happy and content with what they have, and statistics show that they are they are actually the “happiest country in the world”. Entering Bhutan overland was literally a breath of fresh air. As we drove over the mountain passes we looked behind us and watched the populated chaos of India fade away. Coming to Bhutan was the big spurge of the trip. You can only enter Bhutan on a tour or by being personally invited. The tour is very expensive, and I see why… the cutely decorated wooden cabin we stayed in was the best accommodation (we have paid for) on the trip so far. It couldn’t have been more perfect, having 5 days of rest after India to decompress. We both felt very at home in the pine trees and the hills. We went for a hike and saw it snow too! Very refreshing.
CUTEST BABY IN THE WORLD!
The little girl had a big mouthful of watermelon... priceless expression. :)
---
CUTEST BABY IN THE WORLD!
The little girl had a big mouthful of watermelon... priceless expression. :)
---
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
India
The first few days in India were great! My dad had a business trip conveniently timed to our time in India, so we spent a week with him, which was wonderful. He brought back a good dose of reality and recharged us for the rest of the trip with the royal treatment in 5 star hotels. However, when we said goodbye I got really home sick. I haven’t really had that hard of a time being away, but seeing my dad made the distance set in. After he left and we were back to our $10/day budget standard of living, which meant local transportation and $3 rooms, rather than private cars and $400 rooms. Quite the change to say the least! haha
I think we had became so accustomed to our $3 rooms that I really didn’t realize how “ghetto” we were until we spent time away from it all with my Dad.
The real India… holy cows and holy (other stuff)!! Traveling here is 100 times harder than in every other place we have been, even more so than China, where next to no one speaks English. The 5 star hotel dropped us off at the local train station and reality hit like a freight train. We were alone. After a half hour, we found the correct line to wait in to try and buy our tickets. Indians do not know what the word line means. We were trampled, pushed out of the way, stared at, lied to (by touts trying to sell us their “special tourist tickets”), and so on. It took us 2 hours of standing in the sun and pushing our way to the front to buy our tickets. Then when trying to get to our train everyone told us something different, even told us that the tickets we bought were for the standing class only and that we would be hanging off the side of the train for hours. Finally, a really nice Indian man who spoke perfect English took pity on us and was soo helpful. It was a great contrast to the majority who just stared at us nonstop and said nothing, and of course those also who were eager to put their hands in our pockets and sell us whatever they happened to be offering.
Our tickets were for the third class hard bench seating (lowest class next to the luggage car :) Luckily, we were there early, otherwise there wouldn’t have been a seat and we would have stood for the 4-hour journey.
The next day we visited the Taj Mahal at sunrise which was really nice, like a breath of fresh air. However, the second half of that day was miserable, trying to plan the itinerary for our time in India. The only feasible way of planning travel in India is finding a decent travel agency with staff that speaks English. Otherwise you will spend an hour in a line at the train station to ask a question, they won’t understand what your trying to ask, and then just throw you out of the line. But even still, at the travel agency they will tell you the way they know how to get here and there, so in their minds no other options exist, no matter how many ways you try to slice it. It’s basically a huge complicated mess and you never really know what the heck your buying!
We asked for the 1st class train for a 24 hour journey from the East of India to the West. They said it was the “tourist train” but in India, that basically just means your not in the luggage compartment. Sometimes we have air conditioning, and other times it’s a free-for-all with about 300 people for every seat. (not really, but the picture you have in your mind of people everywhere, on the floor and out the window is correct)
So a few thoughts on India? After 5 days of nothing but frustration, and being overwhelmed to the point of tears, I was ready to just quit and fly home. That’s how fed up I was, I didn’t even want to continue traveling. Luckily it didn’t get to Blaine as much as I, so he kept things positive and was able to laugh, and continue with things.
In an effort to get out of the huge hectic Indian cities, we took a sleeper train out to the desert town of Jaisalmer and were welcomed with warm smiles, hot chai tea, and even hot water showers. :) Our percentage of horrible experiences to nice ones went up from only 2% good to 80% good.
India is a land of extremes and contrast, when things are good, it’s like blow your mind incredible, but when things are bad, you basically want to shoot yourself. I absolutely love India, but at the same time, I hate it with everything in me! It’s weird like that.
The poverty here is indescribable. It so much worse than all the countries we’ve visited so far. Imagine the worst picture of poverty you can think up, and it still won’t even touch what you will see and feel when it becomes real. Because of the masses of people in India, the poverty is inescapable and in your face 24/7. A simple stroll down an alleyway will yield sights of trash, dirt, cows, cow waste, human waste, sick people, crippled people, begging people, dogs, pigs, flies, bikes, goats, cars, rickshaws… and that is just the beginning, really!
There are so many things that don’t make any sense. The eco circle is bizarre though it does seem to work in its own strange fashion. The people throw everything away in the street- trash, waste, water, and then the ultra poor sift through the trash and eat and/or sell what they find. The dogs eat the trash that is covered in poop and you have dead dogs, cows etc. being eaten by birds and other dogs, the cows eat the trash, poop in the street and the pigs eat the cow poop. And all the while every animal drinks the sewage water running though the streets and into the river, where people bathe!
Everyone pees where they wish, whether there is a wall to shield them from the other 1.2 billion people walking around or they are facing directly into the passing traffic. We saw a child (in a very busy walking intersection with people everywhere) who was actually squatting down pooping and begging at the same time. I couldn’t help but laugh at his endeavor, surprised we actually took notice of him, he returned a smile pulled up his paints and chased our rickshaw with his hand out.
It’s quite crazy, but, it actually seems to work… only in India!
Otherwise… the colors are amazing, the people are beautiful, and overall India is a very inspiring place in so many ways, especially for photography! India is like its own planet and it’s nothing like the rest of Asia. I will stop rambling now because it’s a place you really have to experience for yourself!
Now for lots of photos! :)
I think we had became so accustomed to our $3 rooms that I really didn’t realize how “ghetto” we were until we spent time away from it all with my Dad.
The real India… holy cows and holy (other stuff)!! Traveling here is 100 times harder than in every other place we have been, even more so than China, where next to no one speaks English. The 5 star hotel dropped us off at the local train station and reality hit like a freight train. We were alone. After a half hour, we found the correct line to wait in to try and buy our tickets. Indians do not know what the word line means. We were trampled, pushed out of the way, stared at, lied to (by touts trying to sell us their “special tourist tickets”), and so on. It took us 2 hours of standing in the sun and pushing our way to the front to buy our tickets. Then when trying to get to our train everyone told us something different, even told us that the tickets we bought were for the standing class only and that we would be hanging off the side of the train for hours. Finally, a really nice Indian man who spoke perfect English took pity on us and was soo helpful. It was a great contrast to the majority who just stared at us nonstop and said nothing, and of course those also who were eager to put their hands in our pockets and sell us whatever they happened to be offering.
Our tickets were for the third class hard bench seating (lowest class next to the luggage car :) Luckily, we were there early, otherwise there wouldn’t have been a seat and we would have stood for the 4-hour journey.
The next day we visited the Taj Mahal at sunrise which was really nice, like a breath of fresh air. However, the second half of that day was miserable, trying to plan the itinerary for our time in India. The only feasible way of planning travel in India is finding a decent travel agency with staff that speaks English. Otherwise you will spend an hour in a line at the train station to ask a question, they won’t understand what your trying to ask, and then just throw you out of the line. But even still, at the travel agency they will tell you the way they know how to get here and there, so in their minds no other options exist, no matter how many ways you try to slice it. It’s basically a huge complicated mess and you never really know what the heck your buying!
We asked for the 1st class train for a 24 hour journey from the East of India to the West. They said it was the “tourist train” but in India, that basically just means your not in the luggage compartment. Sometimes we have air conditioning, and other times it’s a free-for-all with about 300 people for every seat. (not really, but the picture you have in your mind of people everywhere, on the floor and out the window is correct)
So a few thoughts on India? After 5 days of nothing but frustration, and being overwhelmed to the point of tears, I was ready to just quit and fly home. That’s how fed up I was, I didn’t even want to continue traveling. Luckily it didn’t get to Blaine as much as I, so he kept things positive and was able to laugh, and continue with things.
In an effort to get out of the huge hectic Indian cities, we took a sleeper train out to the desert town of Jaisalmer and were welcomed with warm smiles, hot chai tea, and even hot water showers. :) Our percentage of horrible experiences to nice ones went up from only 2% good to 80% good.
India is a land of extremes and contrast, when things are good, it’s like blow your mind incredible, but when things are bad, you basically want to shoot yourself. I absolutely love India, but at the same time, I hate it with everything in me! It’s weird like that.
The poverty here is indescribable. It so much worse than all the countries we’ve visited so far. Imagine the worst picture of poverty you can think up, and it still won’t even touch what you will see and feel when it becomes real. Because of the masses of people in India, the poverty is inescapable and in your face 24/7. A simple stroll down an alleyway will yield sights of trash, dirt, cows, cow waste, human waste, sick people, crippled people, begging people, dogs, pigs, flies, bikes, goats, cars, rickshaws… and that is just the beginning, really!
There are so many things that don’t make any sense. The eco circle is bizarre though it does seem to work in its own strange fashion. The people throw everything away in the street- trash, waste, water, and then the ultra poor sift through the trash and eat and/or sell what they find. The dogs eat the trash that is covered in poop and you have dead dogs, cows etc. being eaten by birds and other dogs, the cows eat the trash, poop in the street and the pigs eat the cow poop. And all the while every animal drinks the sewage water running though the streets and into the river, where people bathe!
Everyone pees where they wish, whether there is a wall to shield them from the other 1.2 billion people walking around or they are facing directly into the passing traffic. We saw a child (in a very busy walking intersection with people everywhere) who was actually squatting down pooping and begging at the same time. I couldn’t help but laugh at his endeavor, surprised we actually took notice of him, he returned a smile pulled up his paints and chased our rickshaw with his hand out.
It’s quite crazy, but, it actually seems to work… only in India!
Otherwise… the colors are amazing, the people are beautiful, and overall India is a very inspiring place in so many ways, especially for photography! India is like its own planet and it’s nothing like the rest of Asia. I will stop rambling now because it’s a place you really have to experience for yourself!
Now for lots of photos! :)
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Thailand part 2
Blaine and I spent some time bumming around the islands in the south of Thailand. It was really great to hangout with our friends the Katzs. It brought us both home a little bit and enabled us to relax and prepare ourselves for the next section of our trip (India!). I didn’t really shoot very much, but here are a couple shots I took trying to make use of our underwater housing (that we lugged all over Asia and never really used) Also, one of our lenses is broken so some of the colors are a bit weird.
We've been in India now for almost 2 weeks, and it's been crazy, but great! I'll post later.
We've been in India now for almost 2 weeks, and it's been crazy, but great! I'll post later.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Myanmar (Burma)
We have been taking a “vacation” from our travels (traveling isn’t all that easy!) in the south of Thailand so I have a lot of catching up to do! Since the last post we’ve been in Myanmar and are now currently in India.
For starters, our experience in Myanmar was nothing short of amazing and left a deep impression on us both. Some of the things I’ve seen have changed the way I look at the modern world and how I feel about government in general. The Myanmar people are the most gentle, honest, simple, happy, hard working, unfortunate yet content people I have seen in Asia. They never complain about anything even if they have to ride on the roof of the local transport and pay the same as those with seats. Myanmar is so isolated from the outside world, being here is like going back in time. They still use the telegraph, and the government only lets most places have power at certain times of the day. I have been so overwhelmed with compassion for these people and am clueless on how to process are our short time with them.
I wrote a lot more about my impressions of the Myanmar government, and how it affects the people... but I thought it would be better not to post it... so here are some of the photos.
For starters, our experience in Myanmar was nothing short of amazing and left a deep impression on us both. Some of the things I’ve seen have changed the way I look at the modern world and how I feel about government in general. The Myanmar people are the most gentle, honest, simple, happy, hard working, unfortunate yet content people I have seen in Asia. They never complain about anything even if they have to ride on the roof of the local transport and pay the same as those with seats. Myanmar is so isolated from the outside world, being here is like going back in time. They still use the telegraph, and the government only lets most places have power at certain times of the day. I have been so overwhelmed with compassion for these people and am clueless on how to process are our short time with them.
I wrote a lot more about my impressions of the Myanmar government, and how it affects the people... but I thought it would be better not to post it... so here are some of the photos.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Thailand… part 1
Chiang Mai, the city of flowers and wonderful food! It is the largest and most culturally diverse city in Northern Thailand.
We rented a motorbike (scooter) for a week so we could provide our own transportation, rather than depend on the schedules the public buses and taxis which are inexpensive, but can be quite limiting. Highlights of Chiang Mai include colorful hill tribes with "longneck" women, cooking classes, mountains, waterfalls, elephant shows, orchid farms, and enough shopping at the night market to entertain you for weeks! With only two weeks until India and the opportunity to send “stuff” home with my dad, I started shopping! It was sooo much fun! Hundreds of women from a local tribes come to the night market and sell bangles from a basket and follow you around strumming a wooden frog to get your attention (it really does sound like a real frog!). The night market is stuff galore! Belts, bags, shoes, goofy t-shirts, teeky lights (I love lights!), and just about everything else you could possibly imagine. Of course there are bargains to be found, but you have to negotiate everything for at least half of their starting price... just the way it works, haha.
We spent a whole day on a bus to go out to the hill tribes with "longneck" women and then a whole day cooking up a Thai storm at cooking classes. I ate enough food for a week! Not to mention, the quantities of coconut cream, milk and sugar included had to clog my liver in the worst way. It was delightful, however. Between the two of us we learned to cook dishes such as: pad thai, green curry, yellow curry chicken stir fry, papaya salad, chicken satay, khao soi coconut soup, tom yam soup, steamed spring rolls, fresh spring rolls, vegetable stir fry, panang curry, black sticky rice pudding and my favorite coconut sticky rice with mangoes and we learned how to cook with what the Thai call “big flame”. Also, we lucked out and just happened to be in Chang Mai for the annual flower festival. We enjoyed the parade and a local style street market with all sort of foods from scopions to worms, crickets, and grasshoppers. I told Blaine if they had a deep fried tarantula I would have ate one (I saw it on the travel channel, but haven't been able to find it yet!)
I made the rose out of a tomato, isn't it cute!
Grilled cockroaches, a local delicatessen
We rented a motorbike (scooter) for a week so we could provide our own transportation, rather than depend on the schedules the public buses and taxis which are inexpensive, but can be quite limiting. Highlights of Chiang Mai include colorful hill tribes with "longneck" women, cooking classes, mountains, waterfalls, elephant shows, orchid farms, and enough shopping at the night market to entertain you for weeks! With only two weeks until India and the opportunity to send “stuff” home with my dad, I started shopping! It was sooo much fun! Hundreds of women from a local tribes come to the night market and sell bangles from a basket and follow you around strumming a wooden frog to get your attention (it really does sound like a real frog!). The night market is stuff galore! Belts, bags, shoes, goofy t-shirts, teeky lights (I love lights!), and just about everything else you could possibly imagine. Of course there are bargains to be found, but you have to negotiate everything for at least half of their starting price... just the way it works, haha.
We spent a whole day on a bus to go out to the hill tribes with "longneck" women and then a whole day cooking up a Thai storm at cooking classes. I ate enough food for a week! Not to mention, the quantities of coconut cream, milk and sugar included had to clog my liver in the worst way. It was delightful, however. Between the two of us we learned to cook dishes such as: pad thai, green curry, yellow curry chicken stir fry, papaya salad, chicken satay, khao soi coconut soup, tom yam soup, steamed spring rolls, fresh spring rolls, vegetable stir fry, panang curry, black sticky rice pudding and my favorite coconut sticky rice with mangoes and we learned how to cook with what the Thai call “big flame”. Also, we lucked out and just happened to be in Chang Mai for the annual flower festival. We enjoyed the parade and a local style street market with all sort of foods from scopions to worms, crickets, and grasshoppers. I told Blaine if they had a deep fried tarantula I would have ate one (I saw it on the travel channel, but haven't been able to find it yet!)
I made the rose out of a tomato, isn't it cute!
Grilled cockroaches, a local delicatessen
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Laos
We have left Cambodia and entered Laos, known for the best beer in Asia, great coffee, and romantic French colonial architecture (all of which is true). It continues to surprise me how different each country is though they are all so close in proximity. The people even look very different from each other. After a few days here it is impossible NOT to relax. Things are much slower and less chaotic, with less traffic, less touts competing for your dollar, and an overall laidback attitude of the people. There are grocery stores and street sweepers, and carefully decorated cafes, which is quite the change of scenery. You can “vacation” here if you wish, rather than just travel. The people are sooo friendly, and not in a superficial way as to get something out of you. We’ve enjoyed being able to let our guard down and enjoy those around us. There are monks everywhere and I had the opportunity to chat with a young guy for about an hour or so, talking about life in general and what it means for him to be a monk. He enlightened me about their daily activities, and how each morning they walk the streets and the local people come out to greet them at about 6:00 am with food and other donations. He seemed like a totally normal 23 year-old who struggles with standing out from his peers and having to follow the rules as anyone would. He told me that he didn’t like the robes, and having to keep a shaved head, but he is thankful because he is able to attend college and one day provide for a family. He has only been home to visit his family 2 times in his 7 year duration as a monk because he doesn’t get enough money from the morning walks and is unable to save. He longs for a girlfriend and to drink beer like the rest of us. The cool thing is that a monk can choose to be one or not to be one, so when he is done with school he plans to get out of the monastery and teach English and find himself a wife and drink a big bottle of beer with friends.
We spent several days in Vientiane and then headed north to a city in the mountains called Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang invites you to just sit back and enjoy the view of the Mekong river, sip your glass of wine under the colored lanterns and breathe in the country air. The air pollution is non existent and we have seen blue sky for the first time in weeks. We have been catching up on some sleep, and had some time for reflecting as we near the halfway point of our trip.
And, can someone please tell me how I seem to run into the biggest spiders no mater where I am in the world! Yes, these ones are bigger then the ones I found in Australia… Much bigger, and badder and uglier. No one who lives in Laos seems to see them but I find them both in one day! Dangit! (Of course Blaine took the snaps, I wouldn't get that close)
We spent several days in Vientiane and then headed north to a city in the mountains called Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang invites you to just sit back and enjoy the view of the Mekong river, sip your glass of wine under the colored lanterns and breathe in the country air. The air pollution is non existent and we have seen blue sky for the first time in weeks. We have been catching up on some sleep, and had some time for reflecting as we near the halfway point of our trip.
And, can someone please tell me how I seem to run into the biggest spiders no mater where I am in the world! Yes, these ones are bigger then the ones I found in Australia… Much bigger, and badder and uglier. No one who lives in Laos seems to see them but I find them both in one day! Dangit! (Of course Blaine took the snaps, I wouldn't get that close)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Cambodia
Ahhhh, Cambodia…. Cambodia is every bit enchanting and exotic as I imagined, and has far exceeded my expectations of beauty and culture. Yesterday, we explored the temples of Angkor Wat. We climbed in and out of the vine covered doorways, one after another. Trying to imagine what the temples were like in all their glory was overwhelming. We needed a day just to process what we had seen. The light was incredible, warm and streaming through cracks in the stone walls. We climbed up to a high temple at sunset and were met by a red sun horizon and about a million tourists, lol. The food is to die for, the weather is perfect and the experience unforgettable. I absolutely LOVE Cambodia and definitely hope to return here someday with our children (that we don't have yet, haha).
Here are a few snaps.
Here are a few snaps.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Vietnam
So Vietnam also came and went :) We had a blast with Lindsey (best sister-in-law ever) who came to visit us. The overall highlights were Halong Bay cruise, 20 cent beers, amazing food (pho in particular) and sampling goat wine (yes, a dead goat in a jar of liquid)! The people were great when we got out into the villages (by moped, crazy stuff!). Blaine already expounded on my monkey encounter (which I am glad is over!) Apparently your not supposed to look them in the eyes, I think that was my my mistake, which I will not be making again :) and have thus far been successful in Cambodia. Here are a few photos. For a more detailed description of our adventures in Vietnam visit Lindsey's blog. She goes into greater detail of past events than I've had time to.
This was a kiln for pottery in the village we visited.
Our Halong Bay boat group on a hike to an old water tower (great view) and a floating fishery
Preparation for the Chinese New Year
This was a kiln for pottery in the village we visited.
Our Halong Bay boat group on a hike to an old water tower (great view) and a floating fishery
Preparation for the Chinese New Year
Sunday, January 13, 2008
China
China came and went so fast, where do I begin! We flew into Guilin and met some fellow couchsurfers. The first night we actually all went out to dinner together. 4 Americans, 1 Aussie, 1 Belgian, 1 Japanese, 2 Chinese, 2 Koreans and a Canadian! It was so fun to hang out with so many different people. We actually ended up traveling around with the Americans and the 2 Koreans for the whole week! They all spoke Chinese so it made traveling much easier, because barely any of the Chinese speak English.
We headed south and out of the city and we took a sunset boat cruise on the Li river. The following day, we rented bicycles and cuised through the countryside among the hills and along the river, winding in and out of the small villages. There were times where we crossed the river on a bamboo boat with our bikes. We ate sugarcane from street vendors, shopped in the local markets, and ate super good food. It was quite the day.
After a long bus ride north, we landed in a small village inhabited by a Dong minority group. This village was surrounded by 8 other minorities. The crumbling brick walls deteriorate to dust toward the street and all the fractured wooden structures stack on top of each other. Roofs held together by cemented newspaper shingles with a dusty stone floor do little to keep out the elements. There are clothes in every window ceil and each alley has its our garden. Wild chickens and ducks roam the streets and rice paddies, each one up for the taking. We stayed at a family run hostel just outside the village and were greeted with a warm welcome and a very fresh meal. All of the veggies were from their garden and we had ordered chicken and some other things. I saw the owner of the hostel start to leave on a bike, and I said (jokingly) “He’s going out hunt down our chicken!” haha and sure enough 10 minutes later, he came back with a chicken squawking on a rope from the handle bars.
The people in the village were wonderful. Everywhere you look there are babies and elderly people. All the children yell “hello” or “hello bye” and they love to see their pictures on the back of the camera.
An old women followed us forever trying to sell us these decorative balls on a string. At the end of the trip we bought one (all of about 50 cents), out of guilt from her persistence!
A million photos in no particular order!
We headed south and out of the city and we took a sunset boat cruise on the Li river. The following day, we rented bicycles and cuised through the countryside among the hills and along the river, winding in and out of the small villages. There were times where we crossed the river on a bamboo boat with our bikes. We ate sugarcane from street vendors, shopped in the local markets, and ate super good food. It was quite the day.
After a long bus ride north, we landed in a small village inhabited by a Dong minority group. This village was surrounded by 8 other minorities. The crumbling brick walls deteriorate to dust toward the street and all the fractured wooden structures stack on top of each other. Roofs held together by cemented newspaper shingles with a dusty stone floor do little to keep out the elements. There are clothes in every window ceil and each alley has its our garden. Wild chickens and ducks roam the streets and rice paddies, each one up for the taking. We stayed at a family run hostel just outside the village and were greeted with a warm welcome and a very fresh meal. All of the veggies were from their garden and we had ordered chicken and some other things. I saw the owner of the hostel start to leave on a bike, and I said (jokingly) “He’s going out hunt down our chicken!” haha and sure enough 10 minutes later, he came back with a chicken squawking on a rope from the handle bars.
The people in the village were wonderful. Everywhere you look there are babies and elderly people. All the children yell “hello” or “hello bye” and they love to see their pictures on the back of the camera.
An old women followed us forever trying to sell us these decorative balls on a string. At the end of the trip we bought one (all of about 50 cents), out of guilt from her persistence!
A million photos in no particular order!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Franz Joseph Glacier
This place was incredible! We were so lucky because the day before we did the climb it was pouring rain, I mean pouring and they still do the trips. I was still very cold, and actually almost broke the camera because I got it so wet but it was worth it!
We started the day at 10:00 am and didn't get back until 6:30 pm. We were beat! It was still cold and wet but awesome nonetheless. The views were spectacular!
If you look close, we hiked in from where you see that river begin way off in the distance. I think all in all the whole trip was about 8 miles and about 1800 ft elevation.
We started the day at 10:00 am and didn't get back until 6:30 pm. We were beat! It was still cold and wet but awesome nonetheless. The views were spectacular!
If you look close, we hiked in from where you see that river begin way off in the distance. I think all in all the whole trip was about 8 miles and about 1800 ft elevation.
More driving :)
A new fav of mine... when its finished
Mt Cook, the tallest mountain in NZ. We only saw it for about 15 minutes before the clouds rolled in and it was grey and rainy.
Mt Cook, the tallest mountain in NZ. We only saw it for about 15 minutes before the clouds rolled in and it was grey and rainy.
Sea Kayaking
Blaine and I got up super early to go sea kayaking in the sound at sunrise. When we got to the take off point they said that the conditions were getting worse but at the moment the wind wasn’t the worst its ever been so we went for it. Well I wish I had this whole experience on video because it was absolutely classic and hilarious! Blaine was in the back “steering” or pretending to and I was in the front. We had those covers that seal you into the kayak if you tip and rain coats. Blaine of course was sweating and he wasn’t very careful getting sealing it up so sand flies were biting his feet and legs. The water was calm and we were enjoying the bay. Blaine unsealed himself to “air out” and he handed me the camera. A few minutes later we were approaching the opening of the cape and the water got really rough with 90 klm winds! So water was coming in the kayak and Blaine can’t seal it up, he’s not steering so our nose went from into the wind to totally sideways and tipping over, I am trying not to get the camera wet while trying not to drop my paddle and get the camera back into the dry bag, all while not running aground at 20klm an hour and NOT capsizing. Our guide was telling us to get the nose back in the wind but it was IMPOSSIBLE. We did this for about 30 minutes. The fight against the waves and wind was fierce, so much so that our guide called it off. At this point I had dropped the lens hood in the water (Blaine saw it sinking as we passed it and picked it up thankfully. Our kayak was filling with water and we still had to paddle all the way back. My arms were soooo tired. I don’t think I could have taken another 4 hours of that anyway. Blaine and I were pleased at the news because we got some pics and got our money back. It sure was funny after the experience and we shared a good laugh with the guide.
I took this photo of Blaine after returning to the shelter of the bay. As you can see He was not to happy... at the time.
The next pictures make it look clam, but thats because I was shooting before we rounded the corner :)
I took this photo of Blaine after returning to the shelter of the bay. As you can see He was not to happy... at the time.
The next pictures make it look clam, but thats because I was shooting before we rounded the corner :)
Milford Sound
So here we are at Milford sound in the beautiful Fiordland National Park. Basically a Fiord is a mountain rang in the water, no soil at all just rock and moss that holds up some tree. (I was actually listening on our boat ride) Anyway it was BEAUTIFUL!!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Queenstown Madness! Ready, set, jump!
We have been kicking back in Queenstown for the last few days waiting for the weather to change on the west coast, and enjoying the change in pace. The focus has taken an interesting turn from photography… to well… adrenaline junky. It is impossible to keep your feet on the ground in this city. Every time you turn a corner there is a business trying to get you sign your life away on a release and then jump off this or that. I think they should have a general waiver to sign when you arrive in Queenstown that basically says “I am young and stupid” because we must have signed a dozen of those things! Then you can choose your doom when you feel the impulse. Anyway, it gets a bit addictive and once you get over the cost of these ventures you feel much more free and empowered to do so. Blaine and I are typically NOT into the “touristy” stuff, but when you spend more then a day here your defenses go down and it all starts looking like a good idea. I figured if we did it all then it would be out of our system. It might be for Blaine (he threw up after hang gliding, lol) but I seem enjoy the stomach in throat feeling. The series of plunges are as follows; jet boating through a narrow canyon doing 360’s at 80km/h, bungee jumping off a 142 ft. bridge and stopping only about a foot from touching the water below (for the cameras safety, otherwise you go for a dip!), hang gliding off Coronet Peak at 6,000 ft over cliffs, and jumping out of a plane (skydiving) at 12,000 ft., the same height as the tallest mountain in NZ. The only activity that we couldn’t bring our cameras on was the skydiving… so we paid extra to have another skydiver jump with and take pics and video (he had a helmet cam with a video and still cameras, and fired the camera by biting on a release in his mouth!)… well worth the extra money for the memories! It took a little persuading to take our cameras on the bungee and hang glide, glad we did though! Enjoy the photos! Skydive photos are courtesy of NZONE skydiving.
Warming up!
a few hours later...
Blaine starting to get sick...
Can you see Blaine?
Here's Blaine trying not to puke again or pass out, and wondering why he let me talk him into all of this :)
The next morning...
Call us crazy, but I say bring it on!
On this weeks "clipboard of fun", sea kayaking in Milford Sound, a boat cruise, and hiking a glacier. Merry Christmas everyone!
Warming up!
a few hours later...
Blaine starting to get sick...
Can you see Blaine?
Here's Blaine trying not to puke again or pass out, and wondering why he let me talk him into all of this :)
The next morning...
Call us crazy, but I say bring it on!
On this weeks "clipboard of fun", sea kayaking in Milford Sound, a boat cruise, and hiking a glacier. Merry Christmas everyone!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Children can fly
We checking the weather at an info center and I saw these kids swimming in the lake out front. The water was SOOOO cold. It didn’t seem to bother them much, the little polar bears. I snapped a few pictures as they showed me their tricks.
Fields of flowers!
The last few days of driving have been quite colorful. These flowers are everywhere! So pretty! Blaine got the most amazing shot that he will post later.
More driving
Here are a few snaps on our way to Queenstown, which is known as the adrenaline capital of the world. We will have our go at a few heart pounding activities, hang gliding, skydiving, bungy jumping maybe… more on that after we take a plunge… or two!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Castlepoint cont…
The second day we went out there we climbed to the top of the crested half dome thing. I didn’t think it was going to be as cool as it was, but this place was incredible! It was a true Enya/the hills are alive moment. Nothing compares to being lost in nature it its purest form. It’s amazing how different your perspective becomes when you gain a little altitude and see how small you really become in the vastness of your surroundings. The jagged green cliffs rising up from ocean and the tall grass that covered the crest are impossible to even describe in words. On top of all this, on our way down off the cliffs the sun broke through the clouds and the whole sky lit up right before us, and a rainbow hit the horizon. Both of our jaws just dropped in awe. I am being totally honest when I say that I just had to put my camera down because the pictures I was taking did it no justice and don’t even touch how beautiful this moment was. It seemed to happen just for the two us.
Night photography
Well as you all know Blaine is the night photographer, not me. I don’t even really like shooting at night (for obvious sleeping reasons) and well, let’s face it Blaine is nocturnal and I prefer to hibernate. I haven’t gone out shooting with him at night since we were dating (due to a lack in late night energy to humor him and no ulterior motive to impress, being married and all) lol. Anyway, Blaine was soooooo excited about this lighthouse and he had to “get THE SHOT” as he says. Of course this was a night shot, and I really wanted him to get it and to have a good time. It is not very often he gets this stoked on a location. So my choice was to sleep in the back of the car, sit in the car in the dark or go and shoot too. I got my things together and went out. I didn’t expect to have that much fun because Blaine was “in the zone” and we only have one tripod. So I got to know some rocks and fence posts very well and actually had a really good time! To my own surprise, I even tried to paint with light, yes, I said it paint with light. I could hear Blaine laughing from the top of the hill. The funny thing is that I actually didn’t do too bad and the second night I got some really good shots! My light painting shots are not so good, but they were fun to take nonetheless.
Castlepoint
Before we hopped islands, we couch surfed with a great couple named Steve and Pauline. Steve told us of this must see place near his house. We were ready to see something amazing because we had to pass up so many other things on the north island due to the rain and it wasn’t raining at the time we arrived so we headed out to the beach to check it out… O MY GOSH! This was one of the most amazing places for photos I have ever been to. Castlepoint was so beautiful that we decided to stay another day and go back to shoot it again!
New Zealand!
Sorry for the delay in posting. The weather has been a wash, literally… torrential down poor for the last week and the forecast doesn’t have a bright future either. We had planned on doing a 2 day hike through Mt. Tongariro National Park, AKA Mt. Doom. Unfortunately, due to the rain we wouldn’t have seen much so we have forgone mostly all of our plans for the north island and decided to head south where the sun might shine. We did however stay a few nights with an awesome couple we met from Austin Texas (of all places) so we have caught up on sleep, laundry, and good company. Couch surfing rocks! Here are a few pics I took in the 5 minutes it was not raining with 60 mile per hour coastal winds. (They actually have wind warnings and we were up on a hill and the wind blew my foot a bit farther then I anticipated and yes I ate it, but the camera survived)
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Final thoughts on Australia
Here are just some random fun facts that we learned while we were here. One… They have an entire sub-culture of extreme off roading. Most people get these crazy sooped up 4x4 vehicles with 4 spares, a snorkel (as most trucks have) and 2 entirely separate gas tanks and all sorts of other stuff. If I had to do it all over (and had the money) I think this is the best and most fun thing to do here. For every paved road there are 10 unpaved ones to explore. We have heard that you can go 3 days without seeing anyone at all! It is quite the adventure though because some of the roads are gnarly and all you see is abandon wrecks but along the way you will see truly indigenous tribes, which are becoming more rare.
3 months, a nice 4x4, and a good map would be the ideal way to do Australia. We met a father and son from Amsterdam who were doing just that. (dad, he reminded me of you so much). They were having a great time driving around. There are lots of special maps and guides to the best off roading experience.
Two… The culture over here is basically American. Canada is more European then Australia, but I think that it does have its quirks as any group of people do.
Three… Food, their pies are not gooey fruit filled goodness but rather meaty and cheesy. This is the most poplar thing to eat. They also love to drink their flavored milks- coffee, strawberry, vanilla, peppermint mocha, honey crisp. Random. After that fish and chips and kabobs are another fav, but its not like a skewer. They have a big chunk of meat on a vertical pole, it cooks from the outside, and they carve it away as they need it (for the Californian’s- its like the Mexican Pastor meat style BBQ thing but not as spicy.) One thing we tried that was “real Australian” was the condiment “Vegemite” You put it on toast or sandwiches. It tastes like salt and some kind of vinegar and celery a bit but for the most part it is gross. Apparently it’s basically concentrated flavored yeast. Yuck!
Three… O my road kill. We saw everything from a Koloa to kangaroo, to cows to a camels!
All in all the people were great, the beaches were the best I have ever seen. We need a few more months to see the rest at a not so rushed pace. Maybe next time!
On to New Zealand!
3 months, a nice 4x4, and a good map would be the ideal way to do Australia. We met a father and son from Amsterdam who were doing just that. (dad, he reminded me of you so much). They were having a great time driving around. There are lots of special maps and guides to the best off roading experience.
Two… The culture over here is basically American. Canada is more European then Australia, but I think that it does have its quirks as any group of people do.
Three… Food, their pies are not gooey fruit filled goodness but rather meaty and cheesy. This is the most poplar thing to eat. They also love to drink their flavored milks- coffee, strawberry, vanilla, peppermint mocha, honey crisp. Random. After that fish and chips and kabobs are another fav, but its not like a skewer. They have a big chunk of meat on a vertical pole, it cooks from the outside, and they carve it away as they need it (for the Californian’s- its like the Mexican Pastor meat style BBQ thing but not as spicy.) One thing we tried that was “real Australian” was the condiment “Vegemite” You put it on toast or sandwiches. It tastes like salt and some kind of vinegar and celery a bit but for the most part it is gross. Apparently it’s basically concentrated flavored yeast. Yuck!
Three… O my road kill. We saw everything from a Koloa to kangaroo, to cows to a camels!
All in all the people were great, the beaches were the best I have ever seen. We need a few more months to see the rest at a not so rushed pace. Maybe next time!
On to New Zealand!
Funny story
Blaine needed some ice for the cooler so he went into a grocery store and asked for ice. The girl answered huh? Ice…? Blaine said a little slower. She was still very confused and said “I am sorry sir I don’t know what that is?”. ICE… I…C…E ice. O, auuuace she said (in her thick aussie accent), lol. Its funny how a little pronunciation difference can really throw someone for a loop.
Our great Koala encounter
Today Blaine and I saw some people pulled off the road looking into the trees. We stopped as well to see what all the fuss was about. And to our surprise there were lots of koalas hanging out in the tree tops. We had seen a few before this but they were almost too high up to even see. Blaine thought he’d seen a big one 100 yards down the road past where all the people were stopping so we went to try and find him. Well sure enough we did find him and he was only about 15 feet off the ground. The tree he was in took a bit of bush whacking to reach the base of, but the good thing was no one could see us or the koala, so we didn’t attract busloads of tourists. There was a pretty sturdy tree right next to his so what do you think we did? We climbed it of course. He wasn’t scared at all, in fact he posed for us for an hour! Blaine started getting so close to him and he seemed to be curious about the camera and would investigate with his cute little nose. He even let us pet him for a while. When I would reach out to him he would lean forward, close his eyes and bury his nose in his arm as I petted his head. He seemed to like it quite a bit. I doubt that he had ever even been petted before. We tried to approach some others but they would go up to high in the trees. When we pet him, it made him tired and he started falling asleep so we hopped down and let him rest. I am so glad I didn’t pay $40 to pet one in a zoo! This was much more exciting. There’s nothing better than spending an hour up in a tree with such a cute and cuddly creature. Blaine’s pictures are way better and he has an awesome video so check his blog out soon too.
The Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road stretches along the southern coast of Australia. It is very similar to “Big Sur” in California and the Oregon coast as well. The main highlight of the drive is The 12 Apostles. At this pull off there are very different high vertical standing formations in the ocean. They are very picturesque. We stayed for quite a while, Blaine did some night shooting and then we cooked dinner in the parking lot.
Chasing light
My favorite shooting conditions are when there is a storm in the distance and evening light in the foreground. We got lucky enough to see a bit of a thunderstorm and a rainbow in this arid desert. The rainbow stuck around for about 150 kilometers of driving, which was quite nice. Blaine saw this really cool tree and we stopped the car just in time to capture the light hitting it just right. Of course we both tend to compete a little (me more than Blaine) for the best angle if we see the same composition and we just happen to have the same lens on our camera, but in this case we got very different cool images due to the scramble of exiting the car and grabbing something to shoot with. We were both pleased with our efforts. It’s always nice when we see things so differently and can then get twice as much cool stuff for our business. Blaine will hopefully have some time to post his photos as well. He has to drive most of the time because I am still a bit rough on the stick shift :)
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Ayres Rock (Uluru)
They say that no mater how many times you view it, the rock never looks the same. We stayed 2 days in the heart of the Australian Outback. Uluru is quite a Big rock I might add. We had the opportunity to shoot it in the middle of the day, 2 sunsets, 2 nights and one sunrise. Here is what we saw. (Blaine has the night shots :)
Monday, November 26, 2007
More spiders
I seem to be a magnet for these things and the mother of all desert spiders was IN THE VAN. I was snuggling up in my sleeping bag for the night when I looked up and saw it, on the inside wall of the Chubby! This thing was like 5 inches end to end, and just plain nasty! We had to make a game plan, because he was close to a big opening in the frame of the car so if he went in there it would be impossible to get out, and we would be sleeping in the tent… for the rest of the trip as far as I was concerned. Blaine grabbed a bucket and put it beneath it and then took a rag and smashed it to oblivion, or so he thought... Next, it falls into the bucket, and then started climbing out super fast. Blaine quickly grabbed the bucket and threw it outside to find that thing alive and well. Needless to say he finished it off and I took clothes, TP and anything else I could find to plug up ALL the wholes in the van.
Four by four - shmour by four
So, Blaine and I were looking at the map, and from the direction were going the only way to get to Kings Canyon (on a sealed road) was to travel about 250K out of the way, with a lot of backtracking. There is however a road that goes straight there… but it was closed 2 weeks ago due to rain and is 4x4 only. Well we decided to at least check it out. We talked to a girl at the info desk and she said it's 4x4, but other people had said we'd make it... so when we came up to the 4x4 road, we turned on just to see how bad it was. It didn’t look too bad, so we told ourselves if its gets too rough we’ll turn around. The road was 99K long and would cut off several hundred kilometers, therefore saving time and money. So we went for it. There were spots that were washed out by the rain and full of deep sand, but to avoid them, sometimes we could get off the road and drive through the bushes to avoid the super deep sand. Blaine walked one of the side-routes several times to make sure it would be ok. Then we gunned it... As we were bobbing up and down, a 4x4 full of Aborigines passed us, just shaking their heads. (one of only two cars we saw the whole time... besides the stuck and abandoned ones!) Anyway, after a long time and a few more obstacles, we came to the big one, the mother of all washouts! After 98K's on the dirt/sand, we were literally 1K from the asphalt. You could almost taste it. We couldn’t turn back now! There was no alternate route and no way around the sand at all, so our only option was to go for it (or turn around and drive the 98K's back to the pavement, then drive another 250K's to get to where we were only 1K away from at that point). I wasn’t too worried because if we did get stuck, we were close to the road, so someone could pull us out. And if there is a person who could get a low clearance campervan through about 50 yards of deep sand and ruts, it would be Blaine! I got out of the van to watch. It was pretty funny watching that thing bob up and down like a teeter totter. We made it! The asphalt was very welcomed at that point, and we both felt very achieved for cutting 2 hours off the drive in scorching heat. Score one for the Chubby!
Later we had talked to several people who said that when an Australian says the road is not passable except by 4x4 then you better heed it.
This is not where the story ends. The following day we were simply turning around and we got stuck! How random is that, I mean right next to the pavement.
The road we took was the "Ernest Giles" road with the dotted line-
Later we had talked to several people who said that when an Australian says the road is not passable except by 4x4 then you better heed it.
This is not where the story ends. The following day we were simply turning around and we got stuck! How random is that, I mean right next to the pavement.
The road we took was the "Ernest Giles" road with the dotted line-
Travel tip of the day
Don't under budget. Fuel here is really expensive! On average it's about $5 a gallon ($1.30 per litre), but we've seen it high as $1.90/litre which is like $7/gallon. All the random things are really expensive too, like food, chapstick, etc. (feels like theme park prices) So… I under budgeted well over twice what I had budgeted for both Australia and New Zealand. Oops
o my hot
I can honestly say that I have NEVER been more hot in my entire life! You can see the radiation burning off the road right in front of you and at times a mirage that stretches the whole length of the horizon. One minute we are surrounded by bright red earth and rich green brush and the next, it is barren all as far as you can see.
So, back to the hotness. Sometimes inside our van is like 115 F and in the sun… see for yourself!
So, back to the hotness. Sometimes inside our van is like 115 F and in the sun… see for yourself!
The Outback
The sides of the highway are littered with Kangaroo carcasses. When you pass a somewhat “fresh one”, the stench lingers until you’re quite a ways beyond it. The kangaroos are way dumber then deer, because at least deer run away from your car. Kangaroos actually seem to run into your headlights when you beep!
But by far the worst smell is a cow carcass cooking on the hot asphalt... There are loose cattle wandering the outback, so they get hit too. So nasty!
But by far the worst smell is a cow carcass cooking on the hot asphalt... There are loose cattle wandering the outback, so they get hit too. So nasty!
Friday, November 23, 2007
On the road again…
We now have to book it from the countryside and coast into the Outback, to make it back in time to leave for New Zealand. Here are a few shots from our drive so far. The landscape changes so much within an hour or two.
Jungle noises?
It was nearly dark, Blaine and I were taking some pictures of this waterfall, when all of sudden the jungle bugs essentially woke up for the night and started talking all at once. It was soooo loud I had to cover my ears. We big time panicked and were frantically looking around for a million “bats out of hell” so to speak. I wanted to run for cover but didn’t know what direction to run! My ears kept ringing for quite some time after we had left. I have NEVER heard anything like it, I mean… it was like “end of the world” loud!
Tropical Queensland
We have spent the last few days in Cairns (they say it “Cans”) enjoying the local Aussie company, just hanging out in the city and the surrounding rainforest. This rainforest in particular is the oldest known tropical forest in the world. It really looks like a scene out of the Jungle Book. The bugs here are crazy! I found this spider that had tarantula front legs and then was bright green and jumped from tree to tree (I tried to get a photo but he was too fast) Then, I found this little ball of fuzz that was moving. It was so funny watching this thing! It looked like some tiny afro in a claymation movie. Blaine picked it up and an itty-bitty termite thing was under it. (I will post a video when we get a real better internet connection). Later, Blaine found some mushrooms that glowed in the dark! God makes some crazy creative creatures!
Great Barrier Reef
Blaine and I took an amazing dive trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. It was sooooo awesome! We saw tons of fish and really cool plant life I have never seen before. Unfortunately, the water visibility wasn’t the 100+ feet it often is, but we did have a good 50 or so. We saw 3 GIGANTIC fish that were very colorful and about 5 feet in length, and a 100 year old clam that weighed about 150 pounds. Blaine got much better photos then me because when he handed me the camera underwater it would make me shoot up toward the surface and float, because I didn’t have enough weight on. Next time I will add a few extra lb’s to my weight belt. Diving is far more enjoyable in warm water when you don’t need a wetsuit. The water was about 85 degrees and the air was the same with a high humidity, so it felt good to hop in the water.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Travel tip of the day
To book a good day trip at a cheap price the best thing to do is stroll into town before the booking places open that day and check prices and availability. Chances are they still have spots going out that day and you will get a discounted price for being last minute. The only problem is, its last minute, and leaves you only about 30 minutes to get to whatever harbor, get ready to go and get on the boat! So if you can take the stress of being in a gigantic rush then this tip applies to you.
Whitsunday Islands
Yesterday we went on an all day boat trip, complete with snorkeling, lunch, a hike, and a few hours at Whitehaven beach. Blaine and I almost didn’t go out today because of a category 3 cyclone (hurricane) hovering above Cairns and generating bad water visibility, wind and rain. But when we woke up at a bright 5:30 am it was partly sunny so I thought we should go for it. We still have 14 days left here but almost twice the distance to drive (we doddled a bit too much). Anyway, I am so glad that we did because it only rained when we were snorkeling and I think the clouds made for some nice pictures.
Snorkeling…. Holy cow! This was the most amazing reef I have ever seen! The only downer is we had to wear a “stinger suit” to protect us against all the various types of killer jellyfish, one being an Irukandji only 2 centimeters in size and almost transparent (barley noticeable in the water). If they sting you, you’ll probably die, sometimes in as little as 25 minutes. The suit covers every square inch of your body except the tip of your big toe, if your fins don’t cover it, and the small space between your mask and snorkel around your mouth. This lycra suite is basically a bright blue, funny looking uni-tard thing that made us all look like space men. Good times. Doesn’t Blaine look hot! haha
People come to these amazing beaches in the summer when the water is warm and they can’t even enjoy the ocean. In each city we have gone to they have big pool “lagoons” and have a small section of beach that is netted off. Not so fun and inviting. However, you can always wear a stinger suite, but you won’t get a tan.
Hiking… The shots I took from up here barely do it justice. I didn’t have enough time to photoshop the panorama, but I thought it would give you a good idea of where we were.
Whitehaven beach… In all the amazing places I have been in my life Whitehaven beach was by far the most beautiful beach with the most tranquil water I have ever experienced.
Hopefully we will be able to dive the Great Barrier Reef. Snorkeling just isn’t enough! We have to wait on the weather though because of the storm, but maybe it will have died down a bit in a day or two.
Snorkeling…. Holy cow! This was the most amazing reef I have ever seen! The only downer is we had to wear a “stinger suit” to protect us against all the various types of killer jellyfish, one being an Irukandji only 2 centimeters in size and almost transparent (barley noticeable in the water). If they sting you, you’ll probably die, sometimes in as little as 25 minutes. The suit covers every square inch of your body except the tip of your big toe, if your fins don’t cover it, and the small space between your mask and snorkel around your mouth. This lycra suite is basically a bright blue, funny looking uni-tard thing that made us all look like space men. Good times. Doesn’t Blaine look hot! haha
People come to these amazing beaches in the summer when the water is warm and they can’t even enjoy the ocean. In each city we have gone to they have big pool “lagoons” and have a small section of beach that is netted off. Not so fun and inviting. However, you can always wear a stinger suite, but you won’t get a tan.
Hiking… The shots I took from up here barely do it justice. I didn’t have enough time to photoshop the panorama, but I thought it would give you a good idea of where we were.
Whitehaven beach… In all the amazing places I have been in my life Whitehaven beach was by far the most beautiful beach with the most tranquil water I have ever experienced.
Hopefully we will be able to dive the Great Barrier Reef. Snorkeling just isn’t enough! We have to wait on the weather though because of the storm, but maybe it will have died down a bit in a day or two.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Spiders?
Fun little story… We had just eaten dinner, at our beach campsite and Blaine started taking some night pictures. It was totally dark by this point and I was starting to clean up. I had a question about where something went, when into my headlamp view and the corner of my eye something moved into a hole. Ok, a little background, since my husband is into everything dangerous, I have to know whether or not it can kill him so I know a lot about what to expect from Austrailan wild life. Anyway, I know that funnel web spiders (VERY poisonous) are known to live in holes and are quite large so of course I jump to the worst possible conclusion being that we practally standing in a minefield of funnel web spiders.
I go up to have a closer view and to my horror I see really big legs clenching the side of the hole. I ran and locked myself in the tent and Blaine goes to investigate, and lots of the holes have these legs hanging out. After another 20 minites or so (Blaine cleaning up the camsite so we don’t get dingos digging through our leftovers, and me talking to him through the tent) Blaine came to the conclusion that they were just really big (the biggest he had ever seen) sand spiders. But later in the night he did more investigating and realized that they were actually adorable sand crabs with spider looking legs. I slept better knowing that!
I did get my very large spider experience later though when I was washing some dishes in the sink at a campground and one big guy climed out of the sink and scared the crap out of me. Blaine wasn’t around and some guys saw me freak out and came over to see what the commotion was all about. They told me those ones get to be 3 times that size and flicked it out of the sink onto the grass. I do not want to see that thing full grown. This thing was like, "live at the zoo" big.
That’s the funny thing about Austraila. The further north you get toward the equator, the larger and more crazy the wildlife gets. Tomorrow… the Whitsundays!
You can see all the holes in the sand, now you can see why I was a bit panicked.
I go up to have a closer view and to my horror I see really big legs clenching the side of the hole. I ran and locked myself in the tent and Blaine goes to investigate, and lots of the holes have these legs hanging out. After another 20 minites or so (Blaine cleaning up the camsite so we don’t get dingos digging through our leftovers, and me talking to him through the tent) Blaine came to the conclusion that they were just really big (the biggest he had ever seen) sand spiders. But later in the night he did more investigating and realized that they were actually adorable sand crabs with spider looking legs. I slept better knowing that!
I did get my very large spider experience later though when I was washing some dishes in the sink at a campground and one big guy climed out of the sink and scared the crap out of me. Blaine wasn’t around and some guys saw me freak out and came over to see what the commotion was all about. They told me those ones get to be 3 times that size and flicked it out of the sink onto the grass. I do not want to see that thing full grown. This thing was like, "live at the zoo" big.
That’s the funny thing about Austraila. The further north you get toward the equator, the larger and more crazy the wildlife gets. Tomorrow… the Whitsundays!
You can see all the holes in the sand, now you can see why I was a bit panicked.
Lake Mackenzie
Lake Mackenzie was our first stop. The pictures are self explanatory-it was beautiful.
Fraser Island
Sorry for the delay, Blaine and I spent a few days out on Fraser Island camping and off roading. Fraser Island was one of the main highlights to see in Australia, with its 75 miles of beach driving, camping, off roading to the max and of course wild life, a beached ship wreck and all the sun and sand we could take. This is the largest sand island in the world. It did live up to our expectations, it was sooo beautiful and relaxing. I enjoyed the off roading part a lot more then I thought I would. There actually are no roads on the Island except in one little resort on the back side of it. All the trails are sandy and some are more deep than others. Blaine knows how to drive in that stuff so it wasn’t bad, a bit bumpy, but super fun! There are only two downers, you cannot swim in the ocean because of sharks and jellyfish, and can I say holy horse flies! Those suckers were after me and they were big and bit too.
Anyway, so we dumped the chubby (our van) and got ourselves an expensive piece of junk. Gutless, shockless, and over 173,000 miles! Our Suzuki Jimny was a rough ride but totally worth it. I thought that the transmission was going fall out at some point for sure. Blaine ran that thing into the ground, literally.
These flies are NOT the big ones that bite, but you get the idea.
Anyway, so we dumped the chubby (our van) and got ourselves an expensive piece of junk. Gutless, shockless, and over 173,000 miles! Our Suzuki Jimny was a rough ride but totally worth it. I thought that the transmission was going fall out at some point for sure. Blaine ran that thing into the ground, literally.
These flies are NOT the big ones that bite, but you get the idea.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Day 3 (bites and stings)
If any of you knows anything about Blaine you won’t be surprised by the following. It was pouring down rain and he had the map this morning so I didn’t know where we were going. He decided to drive us into another national park in the mountains. This drive was very pretty, but then the road turned to dirt, really winding, uphill. There were so many times I thought we were either going to get stuck or roll back down the hill.
Anyway when we got up to the top there was a super cool waterfall. We had to stay in the car until the rain died down a bit. After I took a few shots I got in the car and started photoshopping my pictures while Blaine went for a hike to the bottom of the waterfall. When he came back he was all bent out of shape saying that he got stung by something in his coat. So sure enough he had been stung by something and I had to pull out what was left of the stinger. After that, he found a leech attached to his back (underneath his clothes) and he flicked it off onto what he thought was the ground. Well, he later realized that the leech didn't make it onto the ground, but rather on his foot, and it had attached itself to his toe. Man did that thing bleed when he pulled it off!
Anyway when we got up to the top there was a super cool waterfall. We had to stay in the car until the rain died down a bit. After I took a few shots I got in the car and started photoshopping my pictures while Blaine went for a hike to the bottom of the waterfall. When he came back he was all bent out of shape saying that he got stung by something in his coat. So sure enough he had been stung by something and I had to pull out what was left of the stinger. After that, he found a leech attached to his back (underneath his clothes) and he flicked it off onto what he thought was the ground. Well, he later realized that the leech didn't make it onto the ground, but rather on his foot, and it had attached itself to his toe. Man did that thing bleed when he pulled it off!
Day 2
After some sleep finally we started our drive away from the city north toward Brisbane. We didn’t get very far do to the fact that along the way were several national parks. One of which is Myall Lakes national park. It varies in landscape as you drive up the coast. You look one direction and it feel like your in Jurassic Park and the other way is endless beaches and huge sand dunes. We saw a kangaroo; a dingo, a really big lizard that Blaine of course tried to catch and a funny cat walk type of thing that crossed the freeway in the trees so that fauna could cross (some sort of animal I think). It was like a little swinging bridge.
Day 1
After wearily cruising around Sydney for a while we got out and went for a walk around the opera house and the fish market and snapped a few pics. As we were walking along the harbor Blaine looked down into the water... low and behold was not just one jellyfish but THOUSANDS of them! I was quite shocked because I usually tend to overreact about poisonous stuff and after reading, had convinced myself that the danger is real but unlikely that we would come into contact with any. Well I was wrong. At least I don’t think it was the deadly box jellyfish, but I will just treat them all that way.
Also, does the picture of the theme park entrance remind anyone of some scary cartoon movie scene we all watched as child? Pinocchio perhaps? I can’t pin it.
Travel tip of the day
First travel tip of the day- When renting a vehicle outside of Amercia, make sure you can drive a manual transmission :) Blaine can but I cannot, so… it looks like I will be learning a new life skill out of necessity. It will be interesting learning to drive this way and, not to mention on the other side of the road. Also, bringing almonds from the US to Australia is a red flag at customs and they made us pick them out of my home made trail mix! We ate as many as we could before we had to throw them out. :(
Chubby
We are in Australia now driving around in a “Chubby” AKA sweet camper van with a huge luchador sticker on the side. Since Australia is wayyy larger than the US, I decided that we would see more for our money by driving. We love to take the scenic route so the 5000 miles I planned for is something we look forward to, plus, we have driven just as far in a not-so-sweet-van without all the amenities.
Our Chubby has a double bed, stove, sink, and came with dishes, pots, chairs, sleeping bags, sheets and a whole bunch of other cool stuff. The best part.... it was all brand spanken new!! (score one for the germaphobes :) When we picked the van up it had 60 kilometers on it. Also, when we paid t
Our Chubby has a double bed, stove, sink, and came with dishes, pots, chairs, sleeping bags, sheets and a whole bunch of other cool stuff. The best part.... it was all brand spanken new!! (score one for the germaphobes :) When we picked the van up it had 60 kilometers on it. Also, when we paid t