Off to Nepal and Tibet!

My goal was to leave the country by the end of July. I managed to secure a one-way ticket from Nepal to Tibet 3 weeks ago. Of course there was still the issue of getting over to that side of the world. I finally got a round-trip ticket to Nepal about 2 weeks ago. And now I'm leaving LAX. China Southern Airlines is pulling through so far!

The Europe Trip That Never Was in 2000

If you asked me what my next travel adventures were for this winter I probably would have said Patagonia, India or Middle East. Instead, I'm taking an unexpected Europe trip. Tickets purchased my usual 3 weeks before departure date. I promised Elaine that if she took a job in London, I'd help her move out or visit. Elaine took the job, so I'm going to London. But why not Edinburgh also? I also promised Sharlene that I'd travel with her for a week in January too.

My itinerary:
Jan 2 - 6 Scotland (Edinburgh/Highlands) - solo
Jan 6 - 12 London and around - hanging with Elaine and exploring solo
Jan 13 - 20 Portugal (Lisbon) / Spain (Andalucia) - with Sharlene

When I left Europe in 2000, I thought my next trip back would be these 4 countries + Morocco. I roamed Morocco in 2010 and have been back to Europe several times, but now I realize here's finally the rest of my dream trip ... 13 years later!

As I was packing, I noticed it was weird that I was foregoing my usual bug-off shirt, zip-off pants, fleece, hiking boots, chacos, sleep sheet, travel towel. What?! Is this a civilized city trip? Yes, indeed. Sadly, I'm also packing my computer and will have internet access probably daily (can't completely go off the grid from work for this long). Sigh, but I gotta do what I gotta do.

Most importantly, I'm ditching my LA life temporarily. I need a break from work and normal everyday routine. Oh yeah, and I'm writing this in Brooklyn at the moment because why not a 2-day layover to say hello to some good friends on NYE? It's on the way over, afterall.

From NYC, off to Europe I go on January 1! Good riddance to 2013 and bring on 2014!

AFRICA at last!

I can't remember when Africa crept into the back of my mind. Earlier this year I had a gut feeling that this was the summer of Africa. But, I didn't want to do my usual sprint from place to place. I wanted to anchor down and do volunteer work. So here's the plan:

1. June 1 - 15: Missions at African Renewal University in Kampala, Uganda, developing curriculum.

2. June 15-July 1: Wildlife conservation work in Mara Naboisho, Kenya

Why? What? How? 
Part 1: I felt a pull to go on missions again. My past missions trips were both orphan care. In 2005, I went to Guatemala with Bucker and 2002 to Romania with Livada. I had no preference where or what in Africa, except I wanted to go solo. This required some advance prep (ie. more than my usual 3 weeks). Two months ago I asked my pastor at Cornerstone West LA if we have any connections in Africa. We partner with African Renewal University in Uganda. They are developing a Community Health Bachelor's degree program. Would I be interested in helping? Absolutely! Little did they know that I have a strong background in curriculum development so this is a great, unforeseen fit. Who knew I had applicable skills? I thought I'd just go dig a hole.

Part 2: Lionesses are pretty amazing. So I put into Google search "lionesses" + "Africa" + "volunteer"  and launched my research from there. My friend, Elaine, became intrigued and jumped on board. We decided on African Impact and Mara Naboisho Conservancy because it seems reputable, the bush location is removed from tourism and the organization has strong, continuous ties with empowering the local community.

Questions?

5 days left. I met with my pastor today who traveled to ARU (the university) last year. He asked:

1. Have you been preparing? Yes. Packing? No.
2. Can you rough it? Yup! Bring it on.
3. Do you like potatoes? Yes! (Thanks to my Denmark stint.)

Other questions:
1. Are you nervous? No. Should I be?
2. Have you checked out (of work)? No. Too much to do. I accidentally scheduled my flight 2 days before my last final exam. My bad. Work is hectic, but this is how I roll. The good news is that I have never missed a plane.
3. How can you take 1 month off? "Professional development." Curriculum development at a university and field work in ecology. Sometimes you just got to make it happen.
4. Is it safe? A jeep can out-drive a lion, right?
5. Are you looking to stay more long term? I don't plan too, but there are two reasons why I might not come back: 1. I love it (always a concern) or 2. I get eaten by a lion.

I just found out where the university is (1.5 hrs out of the capital). Logistics are covered so I'll just show up and go from there. But, I'm prepping in other ways. I started working on the curriculum and will load up my laptop. I got more shots (I thought I was all shot up for the Amazon, but apparently there's more) and air evacuation insurance (what?!). Oh yeah, and I'm loading up on veggies and fruits!

This trip is unlike any other I have blogged about. This is evident from this long post 5 whole days in advance! I'm crazy excited to see what is in store! Now I just need to make it on that plane...

Good morning, Vietnam!

Vietnam: Eating our way from north to south in 11 days!

Vietnam has been on the list of places to visit for both Jane and me since 2006. It got passed up by the 'stans, Brazil, among many other places. But alas, Vietnam's time has come!

True to style, we booked our tickets one month before departure. T - 2 weeks, we realized we needed a visa. Oops. T - 1 week, we still had no set plans except for flying into Ha Noi, the capitol in the north, and flying out of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) in the south with 11 glorious days inbetween. Needless to say, both of our work lives were insanely hectic up to the day we left. Vacation was much needed!

Our final route:

Ha Noi --> Halong Bay --> Hue --> Hoi An--> Mekong --> Ho Chi Minh City

A few days before arriving, we booked our first hotel and our side trip to Halong Bay. We basically figured everything else out on the go. Thank goodness for smartphones and wifi!

Ha Noi
After 3 flights and more than 24 hours later, we made it to Ha Noi, the capitol of Vietnam, at night. The next morning, we skipped our hotel breakfast and were ready to EAT on the streets!

At our first meal out on town. 

We just sat down at the first decent looking place on the street.

First stop: shopping for prescription glasses.

Isn't this first on everyone's Ha Noi list of top things to do? Jane knew people who lived in Ha Noi so we got the insider. We walked, or rather ducked, into about 20 shops/booths on one street, and 3 hours later ... voila! Our glasses were ready for $20!

Bun Cua. YUM!

This was by far one of our favorite meals. Soft, fresh noodles with meat folded in topped with fried shallots and cilantro. All for 30,000 dong ($1.50). Mad props for street food! Really, I could do an entire blog of just food, but will restrain from posting a pic of every single meal. Seriously, Vietnam might possible soar its way to the top of favorite foods in countries traveled.

Literary Temple, Vietnam's first university

 

Typical Street in Ha Noi Old Quarters

We enjoyed staying in this part of the city as it had narrow windy streets that you could get lost in, intricate buildings and most importantly was the center of street food.

The art of crossing

(There's Jane in the orange jacket buying something delicious)

OK, we've been in many crowded places, but street crossings in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh were quite an art. Motorbikes were abundant interspersed by new, upcoming SUVs on tiny streets with no stop signs or light or anything. Free for all!

Simple rules for crossing:

1. When possible, follow a local.

2. Go at a slow and steady pace. No sudden movements.

3. Let the motorbikes avoid you.

4. NEVER go backwards!

That was our philosophy and I worked because we did not get runned over (though there were several close calls). Pure craziness!

In the photo above, Jane made a cross to see what was being fried .... and she returned with the best fried banana ever for 10,000 dong (50 cents), which we washed down with a beer and fruit smoothie. Risky, but so worth it!

It's pho bo for breakfast!

Just take a seat on those tiny stools and a steaming hot bowl is placed in front of you. No questions asked. That's what I'm talking about!

 

Ha Noi Opera House in the French Quarter

Jane's good friend's dad lived in Ha Noi for work, so he treated us out to a local night of delicious food and the National Symphony and Ha Noi's International Choir. It was an intimate venue. Perhaps there were as many people on stage as in the audience.

 2 single file lines of Vietnamese people (amd me) advancing in an orderly fashion to see a mummified Ho Chi Minh at the Maosoleum.

 All hail to Ho Chi Minh

Meeting up with Sabina from Brazil/Sweden

Sabina is a native Brazilian who I met in the Swedish Archipelagos back in 2009 and now lives in Ha Noi. She was giving us insight into the culture here. Always fun to reconnect abroad. Who knew Jane and I both had connections to Ha Noi?

 Famous water puppet show (aren't they a bit creepy?)

 Motorbikes, HALT! Huge 40th Anniversary Celebration 

.... of Vietnam shooting down B-52s in the war.

FYI, there was an acrobat on that stage in the middle of the road.

Halong Bay

We heard over and over again that Halong Bay is not to be missed. So, we went and it was definitely worth it. The beautiful scenery consisted of amazing rock formations protruding majestically from the still waters. Sure, there were a ton of tourist boats, but our company, Ethnic Travel, took us to more secluded sights. We definitely recommend them. We took a 4 hour bus ride outside of Ha Noi and then we spent a night on a junk boat in the bay.

Halong Bay

Man on cell phone rowing boat with feet in the floating village

Kayaking into the cave

This hour kayak in Halong bay into a secluded cave was one of our favorite moments in this entire trip! It was peaceful and seemed like a magical secluded world of it's own. Oh, and we saw monkeys!

 

1 - 2- 3 - JUMP! (take 5?)

Plunging off our junk boat, where we spent the night.

Now, for our last meal in Ha Noi.

Our street food hunt is serious! 

Dinner #1 to be followed shortly by dinner #2.

Sure you are only inches from the dirty floor, but these street vendors have been perfecting their recipes for over a century.

Our last night in Ha Noi we wove our way through the Old Quarter and got somewhat lost finding these things wrapped in leaves. Not as great as we hoped, but we redeemed it with a second dinner of crab pho and pork pho. Oh yes, we often had to eat 4-5 meals a day to fit in all our food goals. We just doubled up on breakfast or dinner.

Now off to Central Vietnam!

Coming up ... Morocco and some old and new Europe.

It feels weird posting this 2 weeks in advance, and not T+20 min after I'm suppose to leave for the airport. What is going on?! Well, for starters, I am NOT teaching this summer! I really had to restrain myself. There were a few excellent opportunities that tempted me, but for my sanity, I had to pass. Now, this also meant that I wanted to go crazy and travel everywhere and for a LONG time, but again, my friends had to tell me "NO." I am forcing myself to have downtime in New York. What?! Yes, I, who have never stayed still in NYC, am attempting a staycation. No more leaving the second I am done with something, or taking red eye flights right into work. Again, trying to regain sanity. I'll let you know how that goes. This means I have a few weeks of downtime before heading out. As usual, I bought my plane tickets 3 weeks before departure. I have an arrival and departure city, and nothing finalized for in between. Not satisfied with the usual Europe, I am finagling at least a week in Morocco. Sometimes I get these ideas about where I want to travel and am really stubborn about it!

The rough plan is to fly into Copenhagen where Sharlene and I will have our 10 (!!!) year reunion. Then go to London where Shar is currently working and to Morocco which will be partly solo and partly with Shar. Then end with Ireland to meet up with Shinae. Why Ireland? Yes, it seems a bit odd for me, and frankly was not on my list of places, but apparently all (cheap) flights point to Dublin. So, travels are almost as predicted from summer 2009. Instead of a second trip to Argentina, I will dutifully and gladly visit California. See, I AM trying to slow down. So, there we have it. Summer 2010!

Stay tuned...

PERU

At last - South America! I've been planing on going since ... 2005? Shinae and I talked about going to Peru when we spent the summer in Guatemala in '05. It was the first place I wanted to go to on my year long trek around the world after graduation. And that didn't quite pan out so much - well the graduation happened fortunately, but one year got shortened to 2 months, and those two months went east to Europe and Asia. But rest assured, I am finally making it to S. America, though barely!

This summer has been quite crazy needless to say. The chill and wonderfully rejuvenating Baltic saunter seems oh-so-long ago, and I think I am barely making it to Peru alive. But the important thing is that I will make it AND for once I am writing not 20 minutes post-departure time, but a whole 5 days (gasp!) pre-departure time. Eh? Yup. Maybe it's because we are trying to do a little pre-planing since I'm actually traveling with friends who are living in the U.S, which makes things a little easier, and our schedules require some coordination.

So, who's going? Well, I'm not going solo for starters! In fact, we got a full crowd. Shinae, my college roommate, and I are going for two weeks, and I acutally get a flying buddy the whole time! This is a first. Sharlene, my friend I met in Denmark, and a fellow California/UC/Brooklynite is meeting us 6 days in as is Andrew, Shinae's husband. Shinae and I are flying into Lima and bussing our way around the country. Then we are all convening in Cuzco to do a homestay and go on the 4 day Inca trail trek to see Macchu Picchu. We are excited!

Now, I just need to get the energy and peace of mind :) Hopefully I will be alive post-Peru to resume my new job in the fall (yes, another one...) and to post pictures of course. Let's also hope that I'll be efficient at posting before the madness of work takes over like last year and prevents posting til absurdly late. Please bug me about it! 'Til later...

And I'm off ..... Scandinavia (Stockholm and Helsinki) and the Baltics (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia)!

Not sure why, but I'm always writing last minute. I should've left 20 minutes ago. The semester has wrapped up and I'm stoked to be traveling again. I'm meeting up with Joy and we are gonna chill in the country house for a few days before exploring new territory. I promise to post pics and stories, most likely when I get back.

I'm off!!!

Hi! this will be a super quick entry because I have to leave for the airport in 3 minutes. I defended my thesis successfully last Wed, and for some reason I thought it would be fine to plan a 2 month trip, find a subletter, wrap things up at work, start a new job, pack up my entire room, see all my friends and pack for my 2 mth trip all in 5 days! Hmm...

So, first, I'm DONE with school! And I've been talking about this trip for AGES, and it's finally here! surreal! I'll give you a brief overview of my planned whereabouts and promise to update on the road.

week 1: Greece solo
week 2&3: Italy with my mom, plus some time with Joy and Otto
week 4: Croatia with Joy and Otto
week 5: getting to Istanbul (montenegro, bulgaria...) and Istanbul solo
week 6-8: the tri-stan trek (Kazakhstan, Kyrgzystan, Uzbekistan) with Jane

Then back in NYC on Aug 19 to find a new apt, move and start my new job!!!
Ciao!

China bound

So, I'm finally going to visit my "motherland", though any of those who know me would laugh if they hear me say that. No, I don't have any relatives in China. No, I don't speak any Chinese. And no, I've never been. My parents were born and raised in San Francisco, CA. My mom speaks fluent Cantonese, but my dad can only understand the language. Hence, my brother, me and my whole generation can speak better Spanish than Chinese, which isn't saying much.

I've traveled all over the place, so what took me so long to pay a visit to the land of my ancestors? Well, honestly, I never really had any desire to go nor any connections, both physically and emotionally. But recently, one of my good friends, Lynn, moved to Beijing on a Fulbright Scholarship to study Chinese dance. At last I had motivation and a good reason to go - to visit my dear friend. And I always love trying to get on the inside of any country and understanding the daily life of the people, so this will give me a closer opportunity than if I just traveled by myself.

I leave this Wednesday with my plane ticket, passport displaying the appropriate visa, my Lonely Planet China book and no set itinerary. I fly in and out of Beijing, with 15 glorious days in between. The one place I want to see outside of Beijing is the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an. But, my number one priority of course is to hang out with Lynn, travel if she wants to travel, and explore her Beijing life. China will always be there, but Lynn will not (hopefully!).

My only restrictions from my professor is "don't do anything I wouldn't be proud of and don't eat toys." No lead poisoning for me. With that said, I'm off to the other side of the world yet again. This seems to be the trend. Japan 2004, SE Asia 2006, and now China. I get to fly through Narita which is always a treat. I'm looking forward to fun times with Lynn, eating incredibly yummy and cheap food and exploring new territory!

THANKFUL for SCANDINAVIA!

It was only a matter of time before I returned to a place very dear to me - Scandinavia! Scandinavia represents a series of first for me. 6 years ago... First time living abroad (in Copenhagen), first time in Europe, first time seeing the sunset at 3 pm and my first thanksgiving away from home so I guess it is fitting that I am returning for Thanksgiving again. This time it's Stockholm. My good friend, Joy, is studying in Stockholm and so I jumped at the opportunity to return close to my "homeland." Scandinavia is not a place for tourism persay, but to live. And I want to see Joy and her life in Sweden. We bonded quickly when we both learned we had a love for Scandinavia, travel, food and tea. Then we went on to share a bizarre understanding of Tokyo and fondess for Thailand. Despite both of us being world travellers, we manage to keep in touch and of course, visit each other in our random places. So, that's the background. I leave tonight for a weekend in Europe. I haven't been back to Western Europe since bidding farewell to my Copenhagen flat in Dec 2000! 35 degrees F, gray, rainy and sun setting at 3.... and I'm sooooo excited!!!! Ahhh... fond memories of my good 'ol Scandinavian days!

SOUTHEAST ASIA here I come!

I've been interested in going to SE Asia since the end of college. My long time friend, Jane, planned on being there in May/June in the midst of her travels, so I jumped at the opportunity to go. Finagling 2.5 weeks off from work, I met up with her for Thailand and Cambodia. I had a date (May 24,2006) and location (Bangkok, Thailand) to fly into and a date (June 11, 2006) and location (Phnom Penh, Cambodia) to fly out of. Inbetween we had rough plans, but anything goes!

First stop - back to old stomping grounds.
Narita Airport in Tokyo
My polar flight went from JFK to Tokyo (~14 hrs) and then from Tokyo to Bangkok (~5 hrs). I was thrilled to at least touch foot in Japan, a place very dear to me. I had mixed feelings from memories of 2 1/2 years ago when I packed my suitcase in one months notice and moved to Tokyo, but the second I landed in Narita, my Japan love was back. During my 3 hour lay over I amused myself with all that is Japanese.

YES! It was only $5.

And fond memories of the organized trash.

I wanted to stay in Tokyo but onward to BANGKOK!