Trekking in Laos

When you read about what to do in Southeast Asia, "trekking" seems to be high on every list.  We considered going trekking from Chiang Mai but decided to first give it a try in Laos for a few reasons.  One, because there was so much else to do in Chiang Mai and two, because I had read many reviews where other travelers mentioned that they went trekking in both Northern Thailand and Laos and they thought that it was much better in Laos.  Given our unexpectedly short stay in Chiang Mai - I'd say that our decision worked out well!

So what is trekking and how long do you go for?  Trekking can be a combination of many different activities such as hiking and/or kayaking and mountain biking.  All of the treks I read about offered a local english speaking guide and you can go for a day or several days and nights.  We decided to get our feet wet with an all-day trek that included 8km of hiking and 11km of kayaking.  We went yesterday, and it was ok.  I wouldn't say awesome, but we had a fun day being outside, learning a bit about Laos culture, being active, and talking with other interesting travelers.

We started with a short ride out of the small downtown area of Luang Prabang in the back of a covered pick-up truck.  Along with me, Jake, and our two tour guides, we were about to do the trek with three other travelers.

- Cecilia from Denmark, who had just finished three weeks of traveling in Vietnam before coming to Laos for two weeks.  When she returns to Copenhagen she'll begin her masters degree in event design.

- Ben from Belgium who was enjoying five of his yearly nine weeks vacation traveling throughout Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.  A fellow diver!

- Phil from Germany who was in the midst of traveling for six months while he decides if he moves back to NYC where he recently spent time working for a German bank (including three months living right near where we used to live in Brooklyn), or moves back to Germany.  Like us, his stuff is also sitting in storage waiting to see where it gets unpacked.

It was great chatting with them throughout the day about how wonderful traveling is, and what it's like living in the U.S. and in their countries.  We continue to meet people in all stages of life traveling the world - long journeys are so much more common in other countries.  As a matter of fact, Ben shared with us that he works for the Belgian government and one of his benefits is that after working there for four years you receive a year off.  When your year off is over - you are guaranteed your position when you come back.  My reaction, "What?!  Are you serious?!". Yep, he was serious.  Unreal.

Anyway, back to trekking.  I said it was ok and that is probably because it felt like a short walk in the woods, not a challenging hike.  We could have handled something a bit more strenuous.  During the trek we stopped briefly at the Hoify village.  We saw some local children running around enjoying the day off of school to celebrate a national holiday - Laos Independence Day.  Other than that the village felt empty.  Our guide said that 83 families live there, just over 400 people.  Most of people were out in the fields working to harvest and care for various crops:  rice, hops, pumpkin, etc.  Some of the crops they sell (all of the hops for instance), but most is for the consumption of the village.  The village has very little electricity and the little it has is from solar panels.  On our way out, we saw several girls bringing wood back into the village.

On our way out, we saw several girls bringing wood back into the village.

It would have been nice to interact with people in the village more, but that opportunity didn't really present itself.  Maybe next time.  Our next stop was at the Tad Sae waterfall where we did a brief swim in the freezing water!  I've never seen that color water before and it was really beautiful.  The waterfall was much more inviting than the thunderous ones we saw in Scotland and Norway.  We hiked down to it and it had two levels.  The first level was completely natural and there were only a few people swimming in it.  The lower level, where our guides brought us for our swimming break was also beautiful but appeared to have some artificial aspects to it also to make it easier for people to get in and out of.  

Tad Sae Upper Falls

The lower level had an “Elephant Camp” where you could pay to bathe, feed and/or ride elephants.  It is nice to see these creatures, they really are fascinating...but it’s awful to see them chained up.

We ended the day with about two hours of kayaking in a double kayak.  To get from the waterfalls to the area where our kayaks were, we took this long boat.

You feel as though you are only an inch from the water.  While kayaking we saw two buffalo that were swimming, well maybe just standing in the water.  You could only see their eyes and horns but that was pretty cool.

As far as trekking goes, our next one will be for 4 nights and three days in Sapa, Vietnam.  This one will include a one-night homestay so hopefully it will be a bit better than our homestay in Italy.

~Jesslyn

We Love Thai Food

Growing up in Hooksett, New Hampshire, I wasn’t exposed to many different types of cuisine until I was an adult.  When I was in college, I remember this one occasion when a few of us were trying to decide where to go to eat.  Someone asked, “are they any Thai places around?”.  I am so glad that I bit my tongue because my first reaction to that question was thinking “I am not putting on a tie to go out to eat”.  Ah, how things have changed for the better...

We have found the food in Thailand to generally be spicy, cheap and delicious.  Our favorites are the soups like tom yum and green curry.  The combination of ginger, lemongrass, coconut milk, and chilis are incredible.  I also love Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles) and Jesslyn the Pad Thai, which were our go-to Thai dishes in the States.

There are a couple of ways to eat out.  The first is the typical restaurant; go inside, sit down, look at a menu, and place your order from a server.  We stuck to those types of places during our first few days in Thailand as we became more comfortable.  At the other end of the spectrum are the numerous street carts.  These are just push carts that find a little nook in which to set up shop.  Typically an individual cart serves just 1 or 2 things, but there are many different carts selling different types of food, from the grilled meats on a stick like you might expect, to fried rice, noodles, and curries.  They sometimes even have a small table and chairs next to it where you can sit and eat, and often serve your food on a real plate with real silverware.  The cities we’ve been to all have areas designated as night markets, in which a bunch of different carts set up in the same place with plenty of communal seating.  The food is just as good or better than at a restaurant and much less expensive.  We like eating at the night markets.  I can get stir fried pork from one cart, and Jesslyn can get noodle soup and shrimp from another and we can sit together.  It seems that the street carts and night markets are a staple for the locals.  You also get to watch your food being prepared (not always a good thing though).

There is some variety in the Thai food we’ve experienced.  There are different types of soups, noodles, and rice.  There is a lot of seafood, chicken, pork, and beef that are grilled or fried.  There are distinctly northern versus southern dishes.  We have also enjoyed a few breaks from Thai food.  Being in a large city like Bangkok on Thanksgiving allowed us to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, gravy, and pumpkin pie (the chef was American).  A different night we ate pizza.  However, the price goes up dramatically for western food.  I was surprised to see there is a lot of Indian food here.  One place we ordered Indian food however, it ended up being more like Indian-Thai fusion, which isn’t bad!

Before coming to Thailand, we were warned not to have a drink with ice in it.  We asked around, and restaurants have ice delivered, they don’t make it from tap water.  Even the locals don’t drink the tap water, and therefore wouldn’t drink something with ice made from it either.  We have been enjoying ice in our drinks with no problem.  The other thing we were warned not to do was to eat fresh vegetables that are not peeled (like lettuce or peppers for example) because they are washed with tap water.  I am not sure how (or if) they are washed, but we’ve been eating them without a problem as well.  It took us a few days to get over our food fears.  We now regularly eat at little restaurants or food carts that may appeared a little too sketchy when we first arrived in Thailand.  (change to “Night markets are…”) These are the places where you find the good, cheap food.  We still have our prescription medication for food related problems, but so far, no need to use it.

The strangest food we’ve come across was at the night market in Ayutthaya.  You could get a whole snake head fish on a stick.  It isn’t all that unappealing to me, but after you get past the look of the fish, it is kind of impractical to eat.  There were a lot of chicken feet for sale.  I noticed an American woman eating and asked how they were.  She said there was a strong, funky aftertaste, and didn’t seem to be enjoying them much.  The strangest food item were the insects.  There were several different kinds.  One looked like crickets, but had wings like a fly.  Another was all white and appeared to be some sort of larva.  When ordered, they scoop some into a bowl, mix with some seasoning, then serve it to you in plastic baggy with a spoon.  We saw this early in our Thailand stay, so I wasn’t feeling too adventurous yet, plus I thought there would be more opportunities to try these things.  I have a feeling we will run across some funky stuff again in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

To Jesslyn’s delight, chopsticks are not as prevalent here as I had thought that they would be.  They are often used for eating noodles, but the most widely used utensil is the spoon.  We notice people holding the spoon in their right hand, and a fork in the left.  They would use the fork to stab things or to push food like rice onto the spoon.  Picture a Brit with a fork in the left hand and knife in the right, but replace the knife for a spoon.  Food is already cut into bite sized pieces, so there is no need for a knife.  Only food that is soft might need to be cut, which is done with the spoon.  And since there are many soups here, the spoon is even more valuable.

The condiments you will find on almost all tables in Thailand are: fish sauce (sometimes with chilies), crushed dried red pepper, vinegar (usually with chilies) and sugar.  There is no salt or pepper.  No ketchup.  I find that my food often doesn’t need anything added to it.  I might add the fish sauce and/or vinegar to white rice if I don’t have enough sauce left in my dish.  It is rare, but sometimes I add some red pepper to spice things up a little.  The sugar definitely seems strange, and I haven’t added any to my food yet.  However, we watched a street vendor make our Pad Thai and were shocked by the amount of sugar that was added during cooking.  No wonder it is so good.

And this post wouldn’t be complete with mentioning the beer.  There are three brands of beer found everywhere we’ve been in Thailand: Singha, Leo, and Chang.  They are all roughly the same price, with Singha being slightly more expensive and Chang often slightly cheaper.  They all seem more or less the same to me.  They are very light tasting beer and accompany spicy food well.  A 22 ounce bottle at a store is about $3, and slightly more at a restaurant.  So compared with the price of food, it isn’t all that cheap.  Just like in the States, your bill may be half food and half drinks.  The beer is actually much cheaper in Poland and the Czech Republic.

I know there will be great food in Laos and Vietnam, but we will miss the food in Thailand.  We left the country today, but already have plans to come back!

 - Jake

Stupidity, Denial, and a Hyperbaric Chamber

First off, I’m OK.  I learned that phrase from my dad.  It really means that I am about to tell you something bad that happened, but I don’t want you to worry and have to wait until the end to discover that I OK.  We knew, at some point during our journey, things would go very wrong.  We almost made it to the 5 month mark before that happened.  If you are not already familiar with diving, you may want to see the section at the bottom titled "Nitrogen and Diving" for some background info that might help to better understand the story.

After arriving on the Thai island of Koh Lipe (pronounced 'co lee-pay'), we set out to find a dive charter.  We first talked to the place located next to where we were staying.  They were doing a deep dive the next day for "advanced" divers.  By advanced, they only meant that you needed the advanced certification, which we just got, so we were all set.

{Error in judgement:  Jesslyn just started diving, and I hadn't been diving in a long time until recently.  We both just got our advanced certification.  Now we decide to do an advanced, deep dive with people we don't know, in a remote, unfamiliar place, with rental equipment we are unfamiliar with.  We should have gone with a different dive charter which was doing a more moderate dive.}

We had a divemaster to lead Jesslyn, me, and one other diver.  Our divemaster also happened to be the owner of the dive shop and charter.  We did a quick pre-dive meeting to discuss the plan.  There is a bit of a current, so after jumping off the back of the boat, use the rope on the surface to pull yourself to the mooring line which we will use to descend.  The mooring is atop an underwater mountain whose peak is at about 18 meters/60 feet.  From there, we will descend lower, staying on the side of the mountain protected from the current.  When one of us reaches 70 bar of air pressure in our tank (about a third of a tank), we will start our ascent.

{Error in judgement:  During our pre-dive meeting, we didn't discuss how deep we would go, nor what we would do if one of us reaches our "no decompression limits".  I should have asked and make it known if I wasn't comfortable with the plan.}

That first dive went went well for me, but was difficult for Jesslyn - see her previous blog post for those details.  The dive ended when she hit 70 bar as planned.  We stayed within our no-decompression limits and did our 3 minute safety stop.  The next dive was at the same site and Jesslyn opted to sit this one out.  I decided to go.  With the three of us more experienced divers, our divemaster was much more aggressive.  We descended quickly to where we saw a couple enormous grouper in the 300 lb. range.  We followed the grouper even deeper, I noticed we were quite deep and purposely stayed as shallow as I could while still being able to see the divemaster below me.  After the dive, my computer registered my deepest as 42.5 meters, or 139.5 feet.

{Error in judgement:  I wasn't comfortable going that deep.  If I were diving without a guide, I would never even come close to that depth.  The PADI advanced certification that I have qualifies me to dive at 100 feet max.  I should have communicated to the divemaster that I wasn't comfortable, if I could have gotten his attention without actually chasing him to that depth.  Alternatively, I could have just not gone any deeper than I was comfortable, and let him come find me when he realized I was no longer following.}

Not too much time passed before my dive computer was beeping to warn me that I was about to surpass my no-decompression limit.  Since I knew I had been shallower than the divemaster, I knew that he was also passing his limits.  He wasn't fazed.  I thought, "OK, we are going to do mandatory decompression stops, no problem.  I am with an experienced diver.".  Again, if I were diving on my own, I would never have done this.

{Error in judgement:  If I wasn't planning on or comfortable with going past the limits before the dive, I shouldn't change my mind during.  I should have communicated that I was going to ascend due to the no-decompression limit.}

There is another phenomena that divers experience at depth called "nitrogen narcosis".  You basically can get high from diving deep.  I don't recall having this feeling, but maybe I can blame some bad decisions on that?  It is another reason why it is so important to have a thorough dive plan that everyone agrees upon and sticks to.

When I reached 70 bar of pressure in my tank, we started our ascent.  The divemaster's dive computer told him he needed to stop at 15 meters, so we did.  I don't think my dive computer was telling me to stop at 15 meters, but I can't be absolutely sure.  I wasn't familiar enough with the computer I was renting to know definitively how it communicates mandatory decompression stops (see the first 'error in judgement' regarding diving with unfamiliar equipment).  I stopped at 15 meters with the divemaster anyway, since it is more conservative than what I thought my computer was telling me.  We did our second stop at 5 meters where my computer told me I needed to stay for 7 minutes.  I stopped for 7 minutes, then to be conservative, I stayed for several more minutes before surfacing.

Back on the boat, I felt fine at first.  As I was sitting cross legged on the bow, my leg went numb.  It must have just been the way I was sitting since it went away after I stood up.  I sat down again and the other leg went numb.  Must still just be the way I was sitting.

{Error in judgement:  If I had any suspicion on decompression sickness, I should have told the crew.  At the very least, they could have administered first aid (oxygen), discussed other possible symptoms, and reviewed the dive profile on my computer.}

Over the course of the next 24 hours, I had a slight tingling sensation in my feet and legs below the knees, but I was sure it would just go away.  We then flew to Chiang Mai.

{Error in judgement:  Not only did I still not seek treatment, if there is any suspicion of decompression sickness DO NOT FLY! The pressure in an airplane at altitude is even lower than at sea level making the problem even worse.  I told myself that I wasn't sick, so therefore flying shouldn't be a problem. To make matters worse, we were flying inland where there are no facilities to treat the problem.}

Once we were in Chiang Mai, the tingling sensation didn't go away.  My mood was obviously affected by my anxiety because Jesslyn could sense it.  I finally told her what was going on and she made me seek medical help.  I first called DAN (Diver Alert Network) which has a free emergency medical advice hotline for divers.  The gentleman I spoke with told me that my symptoms were consistent with decompression sickness and I should seek medical care.  I did some research for a good English speaking doctor, and called to make an appointment.  They could take me that day at 5pm.

{Error in judgement: Don't make an appointment for later in the day, go to the emergency room immediately.  Decompression sickness is considered a medical emergency.}

The doctor in Chiang Mai did a neurological test, which I passed with flying colors.  She was not familiar with dive medicine at all and suggested I take some vitamin B12 and see if it clears up over the next few days.  I told her that I suspected decompression sickness so she called the local branch of the Bangkok hospital to consult.  They told her that I needed to go to the hospital and if necessary, they could consult with a specialist in dive medicine in Bangkok. The next morning, I called DAN again.  This time I spoke with a woman who asked me a lot more questions, like how many dives I did, how deep they were, how long they were.  She told me that she was almost certain that I had decompression sickness and warned of the possible severe outcomes.  Even if the symptoms went away on their own, they would likely recur and even do permanent nerve damage.  I could even have nitrogen bubbles lodged in other places which could get into my spine or brain, and that is obviously really bad.  She asked where I was so she could recommend a treatment facility.  She agreed that going to the local hospital and consulting with experts in Bangkok was the best option.  I was really impressed with her thoroughness, professionalism, and general care for my wellbeing.  

So, we immediately went to the Chiang Mai branch of the Bangkok Hospital.  I met with a doctor there who did another neurological test.  She wasn’t familiar with dive medicine and told me that I should make an appointment with a neurologist.  After firmly stating that we need to speak with a dive medicine specialist in Bangkok, we were able to get one on the phone.  They told me to get to Bangkok for treatment (but don’t fly!).  

We got on the 14 hour overnight train.  It was the first overnight train we had been on and it would have been a pretty cool experience had I not been worried about permanent nerve damage to my legs.  We had a first class cabin which meant it was just the two of us.  There is a bench seat that folds out into a bunk bed.  The employees on the train came and took our dinner and breakfast orders, delivered food, and even made up the beds for us.  We ate, watched a movie on the iPad, then went to sleep.  We woke up, had breakfast, got cleaned up, and then all of a sudden we were in Bangkok.  Not bad for a $35 ticket.  We will have to do that more often.

At the Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok, we didn’t have to wait long before meeting with a doctor who very quickly assessed my situation and had me immediately go to the 6th floor for hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment.  I remember seeing pictures of hyperbaric chambers about 25 years ago, and I recall these large steel spheres with a small porthole in it.  The person is sitting inside wearing a mask feeding them oxygen.  They aren’t like that at all anymore (or at least that is not what I experienced).  Instead, you lay down on a table, and they slide you into a clear tube.  There is no mask to wear since the entire tube is fed with oxygen.  Because the air inside is almost pure oxygen, you can’t take anything in with you since it is a highly flammable environment.  Only cotton clothes are allowed (they made me change into a hospital outfit).  You have to wash off any makeup, lotion, and even deodorant you are wearing.  They put a grounding strap on your wrist to prevent static electric sparks.  Apart from thinking about dying in a fire inside this tube, the experience was not bad at all.  After they seal the chamber, it is slowly pressurized.  As the pressure builds, you need to equalize the pressure in your ears just like when diving.  Once the pressure levels off, you just lay there.  For me, it was actually quite peaceful.  It is not claustrophobic since the tube is clear.  All you hear is the ssshhhhhh sound of the oxygen entering the chamber.  So, I slept a little, but I think all the oxygen made that tough.  Mostly I tried to meditate.  I could actually feel things happening in my legs.  I think I was at peace because I had the feeling that I was being healed.  For the first session, a pressure equal to 66 feet underwater was applied for 30 minutes, then 50 feet for one hour.  The next session that day was for 3 hours at 33 feet.  I continued with 2 sessions per day, each one for 90 minutes at 33 feet, over the next couple days.

There was a dramatic improvement in the tingling sensation I felt after the first and second sessions.  There was less improvement with each subsequent session.  After 6 sessions and 11 hours total in the chamber, the doctor felt that all the nitrogen should be gone.  I still have slight sensations in my legs at times, and the doctor feels that it is due to some of the damage that was done, but it should heal on its own over the next week or two.

I wasn't sure what the medical facilities would be like here in Thailand.  There was no need to worry, they were fantastic.  The Bangkok Hospital in Chiang Mai and in Bangkok are two of the most modern and clean hospitals I have been in anywhere in the world.  We never had to wait long for anything.  They speak English extremely well.  They helped us to extend our travel visas.  The billing and paperwork were all straightforward.  The medical costs should be reimbursed by our US health insurance and the travel costs should be covered by our supplemental travel insurance.  But if they weren't, it wouldn't break the bank like it would have it we had to pay out of pocket in the US.  In fact, the first doctor I saw at the clinic in Chiang Mai didn't charge me anything.  During our final consultation with the doctor he asked where we were headed next.  After telling him we are going to Laos, he chuckled and said, "don't get sick there".  I suspect their medical facilities may not be on par with Thailand.  We will be extra careful there, and no diving.

This was a clear reminder that I am the only person responsible for my own health and safety.  It has certainly been our experience that there is a lower level of safety standards and regulations here in Thailand (our snorkeling trip in lightning and the ferry with a missing section of railing on the top deck come to mind).  However, the dive shop and charter were run by Europeans, not Thai people.  Plus, the dive shop we dove with in Koh Lanta couldn't have been more conservative and safe.

I am extremely lucky that things didn't turn out worse.  After having decompression sickness and a significant delay before treatment, this was the best outcome that could have happened.  Worst case is death.  Best case is having our travel plans have been interrupted.  We missed out on the Loi Krathong festival in Chiang Mai, when thousands of lanterns are released into the air.  Jesslyn was more excited about this than anything else I can think of recently.  We missed our cooking class and our visit to the Elephant Nature Park.  We had to waste time in Bangkok rebooking things and filing insurance claims.

I am embarrassed that this happened to me.  I am supposed to know better.  I feel like a jerk for causing all of this inconvenience and worry for my family.  Despite my shortcomings, Jesslyn is awesome.  She was by my side the entire time, reminding me that our travel plans are not important.  What is important is getting healthy.  While I was in the chamber, she was there next to me figuring out how to get our travel arrangements back on track.  Thank you Jesslyn for your love and support.

Me inside the hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

 - Jake

Nitrogen and Diving

Since I am not an expert on the topic, I will keep this explanation high level.  The air we all breathe everyday is mostly nitrogen, and that is also true for the air in a scuba tank.  When your body is under pressure while underwater, that nitrogen ends up in solution in your blood and tissues.  The longer and deeper you go, the more nitrogen gets absorbed.  When you ascend, the nitrogen leaves your system.  If you do it correctly, it will leave your system slowly with no problem.  If you ascend too quickly however, the nitrogen will turn to a gas and create bubbles (Imagine a soda bottle that hasn't been opened, there doesn't appear to be carbonation, but once you open the cap and relieve the pressure, bubbles suddenly appear.).  In diving, this is a serious condition is known as decompression sickness.  To avoid it, divers typically keep their dives short enough and shallow enough such that very little nitrogen ends up in their blood.  This is staying within the "no decompression limits" which means no need to do anything special other than ascend slowly.  Even though not absolutely required, it is a standard practice to stop at 15 feet below the surface (called a safety decompression stop) to let excess nitrogen safely dissipate.  If you stay too deep for too long, you must do (a) decompression stop(s) for some amount of time.  Divers wear a small computer on their wrist that tells them how long they can stay at the current depth without a mandatory decompression stop, and if it is exceeded, it displays what depth(s) and for how long to stop during the ascent.  But everyone's bodies are different, and even the same person's body is different from day to day (fatigue, illness, dehydration are factors) so there are no universal limits.  That is why it is recommended to stay well within the limits.

Diving and Thai Islands: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

After nine nights on Koh Lanta it was time for us to move on to our next destination.  Although the next destination was another island, we really didn’t want to leave Koh Lanta.  We were having so much fun.  No, it didn’t have the most beautiful beaches we’ve ever been to, but they were nice and there were more we could have explored if we had had more time.  Four days had been spent out diving and for me another one and a half was in the classroom.  The food was great and Palm Beach Divers were awesome.  We spent a lot of our 7 hour ferry ride talking about going back to Koh Lanta and again, how much we didn’t want to leave.

Then the ferry pulled up to Koh Lipe and we were like, “Wow.  Forget Koh Lanta!”.  Ko Lipe has the picturesque Thai beach you envision…super white, fine sand and crystal clear beautiful blue warm water.  Before we even got our feet on the land our conversation switched to, “Only three nights here?!  What were we thinking?!”.

Pattaya Beach, Koh Lipe

Koh Lipe is much smaller than Koh Lanta, you can walk the entire island.  There are no cars on the island, only a few motorbikes and those are not to rent.  It was so beautiful that our dinner conversations every night were about moving there and working remotely and/or becoming scuba instructors / english teachers.

Like Koh Lanta, Lipe is in the Andaman Sea.  Before arriving, we didn’t realize how very close it is to Malaysia but it became very apparent as most of the tourists were Malaysian.  We were excited to go scuba diving again and after getting our advanced certifications were ready to try a more challenging dive.  Even though the island is super small, diving is big in the area so there were at least six dive shops to choose from.  I had read the TripAdvisor reviews on all of them and narrowed it down to three.  We spoke with two of them and decided on Forra Diving.  We stopped into both locations they have on the island and the staff seemed great, as well as the dive they had scheduled for the day we wanted to go diving.  The dive site they were headed to was called 8 Mile Rock and it sounded awesome.  It’s an under water mountain where the rock itself starts at roughly 15m and at its deepest is over 50m.  We were hoping to see large grouper, lots of different kind of rays, large barracudas, big schools of other fish and maybe a whale shark.  We were warned that the current might be strong but we weren’t concerned about that as they had a descent line and we recently dove in some strong currents.  We were ready for the depth and the current.  Bring it on - we were excited and wanted to see some awesome underwater creatures!

The day before the dive we got fitted in the shop for our wetsuit and fins.  We showed up at 8:30 AM the next day as instructed and were frustrated when we didn’t head over to the boat until just before 9:30AM.  I hate waiting.  Sure they apologized a few times but I’m not sure why the delay and it was very annoying.  The dive boat itself was fine but not as nice as the Palm Beach Divers boat in Koh Lanta.  They warned us that the bathroom doors stick sometimes.  The first time I was in there for a few minutes pounding on the door hoping someone would hear me and open the door for me.  It’s hard to hear this pounding because they bathrooms are near the compressors for the tanks and they are super loud.  Each time I used the toilet I got stuck in the bathroom.  After getting stuck the first time, the solution to this was that Jake had to go downstairs with me anytime I had to use the toilet in order to let me out afterwards.  Annoying!  If you are claustrophobic you are doomed on this boat.

During our eight mile journey to the dive site our divemaster (owner of the shop) asked us to come downstairs and get our gear ready (per the usual process).  We went down there and it was nowhere to be found.  The gear we had been fitted for wasn’t on the boat.  Nowhere to be seen.  He gave us someone else’s to use and it fit fine but it was a bit of a cluster and my level of annoyance only increased.  It was decided that we’d be the first group to enter the water so that when our dive was finished someone else could use the gear.  Lesson learned:  when you arrive at the dive shop make sure they have your gear going on your boat.

The divemaster, his buddy, me and Jake did our dive plan at the surface.  When we arrived at the site we were all happy to see that the current was very low, not going to be an issue.  We jumped in and started to descend.  Using a new BCD for the first time I had some issues with the initial descent because it operated a bit differently than the one I had used on all previous dives.  We descended to 35 meters, the deepest I’ve ever been and I pretty quickly new something wasn’t right with how I was feeling.  The wonderful, happy, excited feeling I had had on every dive before wasn’t there.  I felt very, very, anxious and my breathing was rapid.  I signaled to Jake and to the divemaster that I needed to slow down.  We did and then proceeded but I began to feel like I was having a mini anxiety attack.  I saw beautiful fish swimming around me and all I wanted to do was get out of the water.  I grabbed Jake’s hand and held it for the rest of the dive.  I knew that I could signal to end the dive but I thought I could keep going.  I wasn’t enjoying it but I didn’t want to end the dive, I was hoping that the feeling would subside.  The divemaster was signaling to the large grouper in the distance, I saw them but felt like I was in a dream.  Kind of out of it.  All I did was focus on trying to slow down my breathing and be calm.  I had been trained to dive, I knew what to do.  Due to the depth and rapid breathing, I was quickly running out of air so me and my buddy (Jake) ascended.  The entire dive was 23 minutes and I think that it was the longest 23 minutes of my life.  Words can’t convey the terror and misery I felt on that dive.  It was one of the worst experiences of my life if not the worst.  I didn’t feel like I was going to die, but I was very scared.  Of what, I don’t really know?  I was just uncomfortable with the situation.  I think the factors that led to this experience were a trifecta of too much change:  diving with new people, new equipment and being at a deeper depth than ever before.  We approached the depth more quickly than I had in other dives.  It was really, really awful for me.  When we were back on the boat I sat in silence for a long time, in awe and reflecting on what had happened.  I had no anxiety going into the water.  I was excited for the dive and if I had felt any of the feelings I ended up having underwater, I never would have went diving.  I was done diving for the day and maybe forever.  The awfulness of how I felt underwater offset any of the previous enjoyment I had had.  

I obviously didn’t do the next dive which was at the same site.  After a few hours had passed, I decided that I absolutely had to get back into the water on that day and do the third dive.  I figured that if I didn't get back in the water that day, I may never go scuba diving again.  I didn’t want weeks to pass with that being my last dive.  I didn’t want that to be my last memory of being in the water.  The third dive site was called Stonehenge and you could stay much shallower and have a great dive so I decided I needed to do it.  It ended up being a great dive and I really enjoyed it, just like I had before.  There’s a large hard coral reef and an incredible soft coral garden.  We saw many of the same fish we had seen near Koh Lanta but the coral was so different - so many new colors - beautiful shades of purple.  Although our dive plan was to stay above 20m, the dive master brought us down to 28m and we saw a yellow seahorse.  While it’s very annoying that we didn’t stick to the dive plan, I was ok with the depth on that dive and I think it’s because we approached it so gradually.  It was really cool to see a seahorse.  We also saw a moray eel, a stonefish, a scorpionfish, clownfish, triggerfish, and many schools including one of barracudas.

I got back on the boat and was feeling elated about having such a good dive experience after such an awful one.  I was and continue to be, so happy that I got back in the water.  It was the last dive of the day so I broke down my equipment.  I was doing so with a huge smile on my face which was quickly taken away when I felt a huge burst of pain on my leg.  I was standing next to the compressor exhaust which wasn’t properly covered and was burning my leg.  Worst burn of my life.  What an end to the day.  I look like I’ve been branded.  I iced it on the way back to the island and immediately went to the pharmacy.  They gave me some ointment that is helping it heal well.  If it leaves a bad scar I may as well get a tattoo and cover the battle wound.  Jake and I can’t get over the fact that the ointment smells like peanuts.  No joke, peanut ointment is healing my burn.  Hey - whatever works!

I’ve learned from this experience.  Next time I go scuba diving, I will not change so many factors.  I will stay at shallower depths until I am more familiar with the people I am diving with and with the equipment I’m using.

Believe it or not, there is more to this story.  The Koh Lipe scuba diving experience doesn’t end here.  Stay tuned for our next post which will be Jake’s ordeal from that day.

~ Jesslyn

Thailand Below the Surface

Although it had been many years since my last dive, I have been numerous times.  However, I've only done so in New England where the water is cold, the visibility is poor, the waves are big, and the currents are strong.  Because of the cold water, you wear a quarter-inch thick wet suit that is pretty restricting.  Most of my dives have been from shore which often means you are battling waves crashing over you and slamming you into the rocks while you get in and out of the water.  You have to swim a distance on the surface where it is more difficult, especially in choppy water.  Despite all that, I really enjoyed exploring a different world.  It was an activity that my Dad and I did together.  One of the most memorable experiences of my life was diving with gray seals off the coast of Maine.  But I then moved inland and didn't do much diving after that.

Now we are in parts of the world where the most spectacular sites are underwater.  On Jesslyn's second day of open water diving for her course, I tagged along on the same charter boat to do some diving as well.  The water is warm.  We wore thin "shorty" wet suits (you could get away without wearing a wet suit at all).  Visibility is great, and the water is flat calm.  All that makes diving easier, but the reason to dive here is what you see.  On my first day of diving in Thailand, I saw black tipped reef sharks, sea turtles, moray eels, and about a thousand different kinds of colorful, tropical fish like parrotfish, pufferfish, clownfish, triggerfish, batfish, bannerfish, and moorish idols.  It feels like you are in a giant aquarium.

How do I know the names of all these fish?  Two days after Jesslyn finished her certification course, she and I started the two day advanced course along with our new friend and dive buddy, Kristyn.  The course allows you to learn more about and practice the key skills of navigation and buoyancy control under close supervision of an instructor.  Underwater navigation is difficult at first, but like most things gets a lot easier with practice.  It takes a little concentration.  If you have a compass heading of 27 degrees and want to make a 90 degree left turn, what should your new compass heading be?  Just subtract 90, but when you get to 0, start over at 360.  So, it would be 297.  We did fine in the course because we used easier numbers.  We did a cool exercise to practice our buoyancy: a lead weight is placed on the bottom, standing on its side.  You then swim over it, flip upside down with your nose pointing at the bottom, and without the use of hands or fins, sink down close enough to nudge the weight over with your nose, then rise back up off the bottom.  It is all done by controlling the amount of air in your lungs through breathing.  We also were able to choose three other topics.  We chose search and recovery, deep diving, and fish identification.  We can now find a lost object at 100 feet, tie a bowline around it, and lift it to the surface, then tell you what kind of fish were watching us do all this.  Our deep dive also happened to be on a wreck, another first for me.  It was the HTMS Klet Kaeow, a 60m long former gun ship.  It was intentionally sank so it is in one piece sitting upright and in great shape.

If you are interested in diving, Thailand, it is a great place to learn.  Of course, it takes a while to get here, and the airfare isn't cheap.  But, once you get here, things are very cheap.  And, we loved getting to know the other divers on the charters.  They are from all over the world, but very few Americans.  Taking scuba courses in just a few days means that you are at it all day long, then doing a little homework at night.  For Jesslyn, that was about five and a half out of seven days.  She joked that she felt like we were at scuba camp (and she loved it).

Thank you Kristyn for being a great dive (and drinking) buddy.  Your buoyancy and tuk tuk negotiations skills are amazing.  Thank you Matthew, Mattias, and Matteo from Palm Beach Divers in Koh Lanta for your expert instruction and patience with us!  It was Jesslyn's great experience during the open water certification and my dives with you that convinced us to do the advanced course.

 - Jake

This is one of the dive sites.  OK, so the scenery above water is pretty good too.

Everything is OK with Kristyn and Jesslyn.

Matteo, Jesslyn, and Mattias.  We didn't cover that hand signal in class.

Getting SCUBA certified

I can’t stop smiling.  I am almost a certified Open Water SCUBA Diver!

For some time now, I’ve wanted to get my SCUBA certification but haven’t dedicated the time to do the course, take the written test, and complete the mandatory open water dives to become PADI certified.  What better time to finally do this than on a trip around the world?  I suppose I could have gotten certified somewhere in Europe, but I chose Thailand as the spot.  After some research, I chose to take a 4 day course on the island of Koh Lanta.  “Lanta” as it’s called by the people who live here, is quieter than some of the other Thai islands like Phi Phi and Phuket, but still a great place from which to go diving.  Yesterday was spent in the classroom/pool but today I did two open water dives!  Me, ocean, regulator, tank.  Exhilarating!  There is only one other student in my class, Kristyn.  She’s from Seattle, is on holiday in Thailand for three weeks and is a great dive buddy.  Jake has been certified since he was 12 so no need for him to take this course but on Friday we are finally going to dive together!  The dive shop (Palm Beach Divers) said that he should join us during the final two open water dives when I become officially certified.  I can't wait to share this experience with him.

Today's dive site...Koh Ha Lagoon

The first dive today was to 10 meters for 45 minutes and the second dive to 12 meters for 50 minutes.  Having been snorkeling before, I’ve seen some pretty amazing fish. Today, not only did I see amazing fish, but I saw amazing coral.  It is an entirely different world down there.  I can’t wait to go back.  I think everyone should get SCUBA certified.  I’m not sure if I’d have to really talk him into it, but I hope my brother gets certified someday because it would be a super cool experience for us to share together.  

We had an underwater photographer with us that took these awesome photos.  I saw an incredible amount of spectacularly colored fish and coral.  In addition to what’s shown below, I saw many sea stars, trumpet fish, puffer fish, parrot fish and clark's anemonefish (clownfish with black instead of white).

One of the first things I saw....a moray eel....I saw many!  

One of those two divers is me, but look at that coral = amazing.

These are Moorish Idols....I followed many of them around today and thought that they were beautiful...

That's me in the blue fins!

~ Jesslyn

Ayutthaya, Thailand

When the meditation retreat ended, we took a local commuter train to one of Bangkok's ancient capitals - Ayutthaya.  Ayutthaya had been the capital of Thailand (then called Siam) for 417 years, ending in 1767.  The train ride was an experience in itself.  We showed up at the station hoping to buy a ticket for the next train.  None of the signs were in English.  Luckily the attendant working spoke pretty good English.  When you buy tickets day-of they are 3rd class passenger tickets.  Our tickets cost 20 baht each....that's about 60 cents.  We were the only Westerners waiting for the train and when we boarded it was pretty much already full.  We did notice 4 other Westerners.  I was pleasantly surprised at how several Thai people were proactively trying to help us find a seat and space for our baggage.  No English was spoken, just pointing and smiling.  I sat down while Jake stood since they sell more tickets than there are seats.  Luckily, the train car wasn't too hot since the windows were open and there were fans.  As I observed the countryside I saw a mix of rice fields and sad looking shacks.  We definitely weren't in the city anymore.

There were probably half a dozen people selling things on the train:  soda, water, coffee, and hot, cooked food.  Mostly women walked up and down the train car with large baskets full of skewers of cooked meat, bags of rice, and entire meal options.  I wish I knew what they were saying as they walked back and forth because it was very sing-songy and repeated over and over and over.  The most impressive thing I observed was an option of rice with meat and/or eggs/vegetables accompanied by soy sauce, chilies and utensils.  Picture the container you receive when you buy the prepackaged chicken or ground beef at the grocery store....that sort of styrofoam base, covered with what I just mentioned, nicely plastic wrapped.  I think they were being sold for 20 baht each, again, that's 60 cents!

After about an hour we arrived at the Ayutthaya stop and even though we never told the Thai passengers what our destination was, many of them signaled to us that this stop was for us.

In Ayutthaya we explored several outdoor markets and ruins.  Some of the markets had food only, while others had food and clothes.  I had hoped that when we arrived in Southeast Asia, I'd be able to add a few new items to my wardrobe.  You can imagine after four months I'm getting a little sick of what's in my carry-on sized suitcase.  I had figured that the clothes in SE Asia would be cheap and just what I needed for the climate here.  Well, I was quickly discouraged after visiting some markets in Bangkok because let's just say....Thai women and Jesslyn are not the same size.  Not even close.  Luckily in Ayutthaya I had luck!  I picked up two dresses and a pair of pants for $17 total at the floating market.  I had heard that there were "floating markets" in many places in SE Asia and this was the first one that we went to.  Based on non-floating markets we'd seen, I expected this market to also be crowded and have a run-down feeling.  I was wrong - it was really nice!  The market is on some form of water and was nice and clean.  We sat down and had lunch for 100 baht, approximately $3:  shrimp pad thai, fried chicken with rice and two bottles of water.  That night we had dinner at night market near our hotel for 200 baht, or $6:  fried rice with pork and dry curry with pork and one large Chang beer.  Some, not all prices here, are just ridiculous.  We've eaten at a few restaurants and the meals have been inexpensive but certainly not as cheap as the markets.  Food and drink at the airport is about what it would be at home.  As far as quality of food, I've been surprised that the food at the markets is much better than the restaurants.  One thing I'm getting used to is that so far, when I've ordered a dish with chicken, pork or shrimp....there isn't much protein - mostly rice or noodles.  I'm curious to see what the atmosphere is like on the islands.  How will the prices be?  Are there markets?  Stay tuned, that is where we are headed next.

When you picture the beautiful ocean water of Thailand, it's not in Bangkok and it's not in Ayutthaya.  That's probably not a surprise, and it wasn't to me...but yuck....the river water in those two places was brownish, murky and often had floating trash.  As for the ruins I mentioned, the thing to do in Ayutthaya is visit the temples and palaces.  Many of them are very close to one another and we visited seven in one day.  Three of them we arrived at via a longtail boat.  We loved exploring the various ruins and sites throughout Europe but were very happy to see things like this as it was totally new to us.

Jesslyn

A long tail boat on the river like the one we used to see some of the sites.

Wat Mahathat built circa 1370 AD.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet

The 62 foot tall Buddha at the active Wat Phanan Choeng temple.

Inner Peace

We decided to do another joint post because we felt that this was a special experience and we wanted to share our own perspectives.  Here is the same topic, written first by Jesslyn, then by Jake.  Enjoy!

Jesslyn:

Over the years Jake and I have both developed an interest in meditation.  We’ve heard of its benefits:  improved health, lower stress levels, increased creativity and productivity, a happier daily existence, etc.  We’ve also heard about successful people who practice meditation:  Steve Jobs, Clint Eastwood, Jerry Seinfeld, Gwyenth Paltrow, Ariana Huffington, Oprah Winfrey, Rupert Murdoch, Paul McCartney, Howard Stern, Ellen DeGeneres, Marc Beniof, Russell Simmons….ok...you get the point!

While living in Brooklyn, my book club read “Thrive”, by Arianna Huffington.  She is the cofounder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, one of the fastest growing media companies in the world.  Her book discuses how incorporating meditation into her daily routine changed her life and brought her more happiness and success.  For more on her and her story, start here.  

When we met to discuss the book, my friend Ana invited someone to lead us in a guided meditation.  This was my first time meditating and I found it relaxing.  For about a week after that, I began each day with a 10 minute guided meditation at home, alone, sitting on the couch.  I used a free App called Headspace.  I only lasted a week because I found my mind wandering too much and didn’t quite feel any benefits.  The practice stopped but my overall interest did not.

As Jake and I brainstormed about the experiences we wanted to have on our trip around the world, we both agreed that we wanted to participate in some sort of a meditation retreat.  We thought that Southeast Asia would be a great place for it as we’ve heard that meditation is a large part of daily life for many people in the region.  I began to do general research on offerings in English and was finding information on 10 day retreats which were in complete silence.  Luckily we both agreed that this was too intense of a starting point and I was able to find something that we both thought seemed right for us.  We signed up for a three day retreat outside of Bangkok with the Middle Way Meditation Institute.  We didn’t know what to expect other than having a basic idea of the agenda, and that men and women slept in different quarters.  We signed up in late September so I had about 6 weeks to think about what was ahead.  I was most curious about who would be there with us.  Other Westerners?  Mostly Thai?  Mostly from SE Asia?  Old people?  Young people?  I was also curious about how many people there would be and if I’d have my own room, a room with one other woman, or a huge room with lots of bunkbeds.  I was worried about two things:  being hungry and not having air conditioning.  I’m pretty much always hungry and information provided ahead of time clearly stated that there would be breakfast, followed by lunch around 11:30.  No dinner.  That is kind of a terrifying thought for me.  As far as my need for AC, I’m not super tolerant to hot temperatures and even in the dry season here in Thailand, it easily hits 90 degrees F on a daily basis.  No AC would probably mean no sleep for me.  As far as the meditation, I anticipated that it would be very hard for me considering that my mind is pretty much always in maximum overdrive.  But I was ok with that because it was only for three days and I was very open to learning how to meditate.  

The meeting point was a Buddhist temple about 90 minutes north of Bangkok.  When we arrived there were three welcome packets on the table.  Three welcome packets = big surprise, as we were expecting more.  And...the third person didn’t show up!  Surprise, surprise - private meditation retreat for Jesslyn and Jake!  We kind of couldn’t believe it.  I think we were disappointed but also like, “well ok, this should mean we get a lot of extra help!”.  From there we were brought to the meditation center which was about a mile away.  The rooms were very basic, dorm style rooms that could accommodate three people.  I’m happy to report that they had working AC.  :)  On the morning of day 2 we were joined by a dentist from Suriname (a small country on the Northeast coast of South America).  He was on his way to South Korea for training and stopped in Thailand for the retreat.  He was a meditation novice like us and it was nice to have another person in our group. 

Our 3-day retreat agenda was pretty full.  Among the small staff were three Buddhist teaching monks and several volunteers.  We were taught that the goal of meditation is to achieve a still mind which will lead to inner peace.  The mind, like the body, is its own entity.  Think about how we treat our body - we cleanse it and strengthen it.  What do we do for the mind?  We must also cleanse and strengthen the mind and this can be achieved through daily meditation.  

Each main session was led by a monk and included time of meditation, typically 20-40 minutes, as well as a lesson.  Our meditation time was sometimes guided, sometimes started with soft music, and sometimes was in complete silence for the entirety.  While we were taught the proper meditation position of sitting on the ground in the half lotus position, we were encouraged to sit however we were comfortable.  For us that typically meant sitting in a chair.  Sitting for so long in that position hurt - we really need to do yoga!  In order to have stillness of the mind, one must be completely relaxed so this of course starts with being comfortable.  What is a good meditation session?  That is going to be different for everyone.  What matters is that the individual feels that it was a good meditation session.  It’s important to document your sessions so that you can refer to what worked and what didn’t work, etc.

We had a total of 10 meditation opportunities at the retreat.  During the 5th one I had many consecutive moments of stillness - no thoughts.  With the active mind that I have, I had genuinely never thought that that would ever happen for me - ever.  After relaxing my body, focusing on my center, recalling happy memories (all things we had been instructed to try), I saw a brightness, several images, and many moments of absolute stillness.  I never wanted that meditation session to end.  It was a feeling like I’ve never had before and I can’t wait to have it again.  Hopefully I will.  During most meditation sessions so far I have lots of thoughts butting in and the session feels like forever, I can’t wait for it to end.  This is all normal and only through practice can one get better at it.

As far as the lessons, from my perspective, they focused on topics that center around becoming a better person:  the power of giving and expecting nothing in return, the power of positive thinking, the act of living in the present and not focusing on the past.  Basic concepts really, but not always that easy in practice.  Living by these beliefs will make you a happier person.

Our teaching monks had very interesting backgrounds.  All three of them had spent time living in the U.S. and were highly educated - two with degrees in information technology.  If you had asked me before this retreat, I absolutely never would have expected a monk to have an IT degree and work history.  Two of the monks were in their 30s and one was 71.  They spoke to us a bit about Buddhism, but the meditation experience was very clearly geared to someone in any religion.  By no means did you need to subscribe to Buddhism to benefit from the lessons and they were not trying to convert you to their belief system.  I don’t know what I expected, but I was surprised to be trained in Powerpoint and with many videos.  The videos were awesome.  These two videos really touched my soul, please take the time to watch them:

- Give

- The Unsung Hero

Those videos make me happy and sad.  Most of all, they make me want to be a better person.

During the first day of our retreat, several different volunteers and monks asked us if we’d join them in a special festival that evening.  When they asked us, you could hear the excitement in their voices and see it in their faces.  You could feel that this was in fact something really special.  They explained that it was very unique for the festival to land on a day while we were with them.  The festival was called Loi Krathong and is only celebrated once annually throughout southwestern Tai cultures.  We said of course we’d join!  The name Loi Krathong can be translated as "to float a basket", and comes from the tradition of making krathong or buoyant, decorated baskets, which are then floated on a river, canal, pond, etc.  The krathong is typically made from a banana leaf tree and decorated with banana leaves, flowers, candles, and incense.    The festival takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar when the water level is high and the climate is cool.  Some believe that it’s a symbolic event to “float away” and let go of all one's anger, grudges, and hatred.  On the night of the full moon, Thais launch their krathong on a body of water, making a wish as they do so.  More info and pictures regarding the tradition.  Most of Thailand is actually celebrating this on November 25th but for some reason the community we were in was celebrating it early.  

They gave Jake and I traditional Thai clothing to wear and together we drove with two volunteers a short way to where the festival was taking place.  When we arrived, the people who had organized the festival were very excited to see Jake and me.  None of them spoke English but you could tell by their expressions and the amount of pictures they were taking of us.  Through translation they asked the two of us to be in their (short) opening parade.  How could we say no?  They gave us krathongs that they had made and we joined the procession at the front behind three young girls.  We couldn’t stop smiling because the entire experience was so bizarre and fun.  

Photo courtesy of Pintusorn Suttiponpisarn

The festival lasted less than two hours and after the parade a woman dressed in fancy Thai costume performed a traditional dance.  Then there were several speeches and blessings.  Most of it was in Thai but a few things were also translated into English.  I counted three other Western-looking people in the crowd.  Once the blessings were completed the sun had set and fireworks were set off.  The fireworks were set off far too close for comfort and we were happy that we had recently purchased travel insurance!  They asked us to light the fireworks and I said “thanks but no way!”.  The highlight of the overall event was a procession by everyone at the festival, approximately 150 people.  At the front were 15 monks, each holding a lighted candle or a krathong.  They slowly walked around a lighted pool while lovely music played in the background.  The rest of us walked behind them, each holding our lighted krathong.  We all walked slowly around the perimeter of the pool, smiling and excited for what was to come.  Once the monks had finished walking around the entire length of the pool, they released their lighted floating candles into the pool.  Then the rest of us followed.  It was quite a sight and a very special even to be part of.

Photo courtesy of Pintusorn Suttiponpisarn

The staff were amazing.  Most of our time was spent with four mentors and at other times we were joined by a few more as well as the four woman volunteer kitchen crew.  These women donate their time to cook breakfast and lunch for the meditation students and were so sweet.  They also created our beautiful krathongs for the festival.  I had wondered who would be learning to meditate with us, but I had never thought about who else we’d get to know.  It was really special to socialize with them over meals and breaks and have the opportunity to learn more about Thai culture, cuisine and meditation.  My concern about the food dissipated after the first meal - it was delicious and plentiful!  You could tell that happy people made our food with a lot of love.  The lack of an evening meal did not matter.  My favorite dishes they prepared were Thai chicken soup, fresh passionfruit juice, Pad Mee and Tom Yum soup.  The Tom Yum was a bit spicy for me but I was happy that I tried it.  Their cooking was far superior than any of the other meals I’ve had in Thailand so far.  

Now the real challenge begins: incorporating the lessons I’ve learned into my everyday life.  This includes meditating everyday.  I take the time to shower everyday and clean my body, so I feel like I owe it to myself to do the same for my mind.  After this retreat experience, I feel like a lighter, happier person and I don’t want to let go of that….so I’m going to give it my best effort!

~ Jesslyn

Jake:

I became interested in mediation after reading and listening to podcasts by Sam Harris.  He is an author with a PhD in neuroscience and wrote a book about spirituality without religion in which meditation plays a big role.  I also thought it would be good for Jesslyn since she has a difficult time sleeping because her mind is always running, often with worry.  Since meditation is a significant part of the culture here in southeast Asia, we thought it would be a good location to give it a try and signed up for a three day retreat a little north of Bangkok.

We didn't know ahead of time, but the organization that runs the retreat is affiliated with a Buddhist temple and the sessions are led by monks.  We were the first to show up at the temple to sign in and there were only three packets of handouts.  Wow, very small group.  Then, the third person is a no-show.  OK, just the two of us.  I guess I can’t hide in the back of the class.  The "temple" itself is a campus and the first building you see looks like a giant golden flying saucer.  I couldn't help but wonder if they worship aliens.  

A little, open-air shuttle bus took us out behind the temple to a secluded compound surrounded by a canal on two sides and tall grass on the others.  As we were going in, they let us know that we shouldn't wander around outside the compound because of the snakes, then someone else said not to leave the compound because of the dogs.  If they offered us Kool-Aid, I was ready to make a break for it and take my chances with the poisonous and rabid animals.  Well, it turns out that my initial impressions were way off, not 100% off, but 95% off.  At our first session, we were happy to hear the teaching monk explain that anyone can meditate and get benefit from it regardless of religious beliefs, culture, race, nationality, etc.  OK, good, so we don’t have to join a cult.  Phew.  

The sessions with the monks blurred the lines of meditation and Buddhism.  I didn’t mind because it was fascinating to learn about a religion I knew nothing about.  It was inevitable because, for the monks, meditation is such a huge part of their religion, they can’t separate the two.  We learned that meditation is about finding inner peace, and in order to have that, you also need to be a good person.  OK, makes sense.  No killing, stealing, adultery, lying, or intoxication.  I figure 4 out of 5 ain’t bad.  We also learned that we need to be generous and do good things for others.  I agree, and I can do a better job of that certainly.

So the official lessons weren’t too weird, but we did also learn more about what they really believe just through unofficial conversation.  Good deeds earn you merits, which you collect throughout your lives (that's not a typo, lives, not life).  The soul takes the merits with it after death and into the next reincarnated life.  Eventually, if you collect enough merits, and can meditate at the highest level possible, you become enlightened.  At that point, you are not reincarnated upon death, but instead your soul goes to nirvana.  I suppose it isn’t any stranger than the belief that each soul goes directly to an eternal paradise (or hell fire).  The real strange stuff is what they believe can be accomplished through meditation here on earth if you are enlightened, such as recalling memories from past lives, seeing the future, or even telepathy.  

At the very end of the retreat, we were given a tour of the temple.  It is actually a 1000 acre campus which houses over 3000 residents including 2000 monks.  I already mentioned the UFO temple, but there are actually 2 of those.  One of which is covered with hundreds of thousands of foot tall golden Buddhas and sits inside of an enormous stadium-like structure which can hold 1 million people.  So far, they have only had 500,000 people at a time, but they are planning ahead.  People from all over gather there to pay respect to Buddha and to meditate together. Thier goal is world peace.  Exactly how world peace is accomplished through meditation, I am not sure, but it is a worthy goal. Jesslyn thinks it means that if everyone lives by Buddhist teachings, such as generosity and inner peace through meditation, whether or not you are technically a Buddhist, that would lead to a world with less violence and more peace.  

Don't get the wrong impression, the retreat was really wonderful.  None of the religious stuff was pushed on us or even presented in a formal way.  We didn't feel uncomfortable.  It is a really important part of their lives, so it is natural for it to come up in conversation while spending a few days with them.  Also, I am not an expert in Buddhism, so don't take this to mean all Buddhists believe the same thing.  We learned that there are different Buddhist sects, and each of them have their own method of meditation.  All of the staff was super friendly and we had the opportunity to socialize with them and learn about Thai life and culture, which was just as valuable to me.  We were also very fortunate to be there during the local Loi Krathong festival.  Jesslyn and I borrowed some traditional Thai clothes and walked in a short procession with the children.  After a few speeches, some traditional dance, and blessings by the monks, we lit fireworks and released floating, decorated baskets with candles into the pool.  This symbolized the releasing of our anger and negative thoughts.  The staff at the retreat handmade the baskets, or krathong, from the stalk of a banana tree and decorated with banana leaves and flowers.

Has meditation changed my life?  No.  But I do like it, and plan to stick with it.  I understand that it is something that takes a lot of time and practice to really see significant benefits.  One of the monks told us that he didn't enjoy meditation for the first seven years of doing it.  I would like to learn more about meditation from a non-Buddhist teacher.  In the few days since the retreat we also tried an app called Headspace, which I really like and will continue to use.  The idea is to "still the mind", or in other words, stop thinking.  It sounds easy, but it's not, and you may might be thinking, "Jake, you do that all the time".

Photo courtesy of Pintusorn Suttiponpisarn

- Jake

Pierogies and Pad Thai

We are little behind in our posts, so here is a little catch-up.  And it is a 2-for-1, Poland and Bangkok in the same post!

Poland

Poland was not on our list of destinations when we left the United States, but we met some fellow travelers who convinced us that it was worthwhile.  Some travelers are always looking for that next undiscovered place that is inexpensive and not yet overrun with (American) tourists.  As I mentioned before, Budapest and Prague used to be those places.  I think the secret may be out already, but Poland seems to be that place now.  Like Croatia, it is a beautiful, former communist country, now welcoming tourists and their money.  We only had 4 days before our Schengen visas were to expire, so we spent 3 days in Krakow and 1 in Warsaw.

In Krakow we stayed in the nicest Airbnb apartment yet, in a great area, for less than $60 per night.  Among many claims to fame, Krakow has the largest medieval square in Europe, was the home of Pope John Paul II, and was the site of Oskar Schindler's factory made famous by the movie Schindler's List.  Fortunately, the Nazis left the town fairly undamaged since they saw the town as being historically (and once again in the future) German.  We did two walking tours, a general one, and a Jewish ghetto tour.  Like many places in Europe, during the WWII Nazi occupation, Krakow was not a good place to be Jewish.  There were over 60,000 Jews in Krakow before the war, and fewer than 6,000 after.  Most were either murdered there or shipped off to Auschwitz.  OK, enough of the gloomy stuff.  We thoroughly enjoyed Krakow and highly recommend it.

We really only went to Warsaw because that is from where we could get the cheapest international flight, but we are glad it worked out that way.  The less than 2 and a half hour train ride between the two cities was one of the nicest we've been on during this trip and cost less than $12.  We spent our short amount of time in the Old City.  The buildings aren't actually all that old because unlike Krakow, the Nazis completely destroyed the city after suppressing the Warsaw uprising and fleeing the approaching Soviets.  There is a lot more to that story than I can do justice here, so I will refrain.  Sorry, I said enough of the gloomy stuff.  OK, no more for real.  After the war the city was carefully rebuilt to look just like it did before it was demolished.  Actually, it wasn’t rebuilt to look exactly like it did just before the war, but earlier when the city was even more beautiful.  There was no sense in rebuilding the ugly structures.  They even rebuilt some of the old city wall and barbican.  That’s a new word for me too.  It’s the fortified gateway into the old city.

The food and drink in Poland were great.  We ate pierogies and potato pancakes covered with goulash.  I know I have complained about a lack of beer options in some places, and I am aware of the hypocrisy in what I about to say.  I thought it was cool that in a bar or restaurant, you can simply order "a beer" with no further clarification needed.  That means is a half liter glass of the standard beer they have on tap. Just as much as I like variety, I also like simplicity.  Some places in the US go overboard with their selections, forcing you to pour over dozens of obscure options before making a decision (how fresh can those beers be anyway?).  I suppose the other reason why I like this in new foreign cities is that it usually means local beer which I haven't had before.  If I went somewhere in the US and they only had Coors Light, it probably wouldn’t be so great.

Bangkok

Wow.  Our world changed drastically after one plane ride.  The first obvious difference is the weather; 40 degrees and dry to 90 degrees and humid.  Bangkok is enormous and feels that way.  The metro area has 14 million people which accounts for 22% of Thailand's population.  Actually, it is difficult to compare Bangkok to the other places we’ve been because it has large and obvious contrasts within itself.  The sky train and subway are very modern, easy to use, and punctual.  The bus we took on the other hand appeared to be from the 1960's.  It sounded and felt like it was going to fall apart at any moment.  It had a wooden floor.  We waited a long time for it, and when it arrived, it took a hot and crowded hour to go 5 miles because of the traffic.  But, it only cost about 20 cents to ride on one trip and free for the second one.  Like the sky train and subway, our hotel was very modern and clean, but the street it was on was not.  Just around the corner was a canal with foul smelling water littered with trash.  One thing that I can’t get over are the utility cables running above ground all over the city.  It is an absolute mess of dozens of cables all intertwined and jumbled up.  We saw a utility worker sitting on a narrow board atop a pole with no harness.  He got up there with a bamboo ladder.  After worrying about his safety, I wondered how he could make heads or tails of the nest of wires.  

There are many, many malls, some with brands like Prada, Hermes, and Gucci.  Across the street from our hotel was a very nice mall with a lot of restaurants.  The restaurants were moderately priced, but the merchandise in the stores was expensive even by Western standards.  I looked at a pair of Keen shoes which cost $150 USD.  By contrast, we went to an enormous market where you can buy just about anything and it is all very cheap.  There were a lot of name brands, much of which I suspect are counterfeit, but if it was, I couldn't tell the difference.  Jesslyn bought some pants for $5.

Another contrast is that part of the culture is conservative, polite, and formal, and then there are the raucous night clubs, prostitution, and sex shows.  I realize these are not all exact opposites (I am sure there are plenty of polite prostitutes), but typically not things that one thinks of in the same place.  The Thai people we have interacted with have mostly been very friendly and polite.  One thing they do, which I like, is to put both hands together in front (just like one might do to pray) and do quick bow when they say hello, bye, thank you, or you're welcome.  The majority of Thai people are Buddhists, and Buddhism, from our experience, is very peaceful and respectful.  But, exactly what Buddhist scripture says about women shooting ping pong balls from their genitalia, I am not sure.  It is a reminder that cities, countries, people, cultures are diverse and we shouldn't think of them in generalizations.  Another nice thing about Bangkok is the acceptance GLBT.  Seeing a transvestite in a major city wasn't too shocking, but it was a surprise to see a man with bright red lipstick in the third class car of the train in rural Thailand, so it must not be just limited to the big city.

After politely bowing, the Thai people might beat the crap out of each other or me.  We went to see Thai kick boxing and I got my first Thai massage.  I think I would have rathered been in the ring, because at least I would have been beaten up by a 115 pound man instead of a 85 pound woman and it would have saved me 12 bucks.

The Italian Experience I Had Hoped For…

Another reflection on Italy...

While my Dad was visiting Italy we went on a “Day in Chianti” tour.  I had been looking for a wine tasting for us to do as a day trip from Siena.  I had already been on three organized wine tours while in Italy and per the usual I started with TripAdvisor when looking for the best company to sign up with.  My options were very limited because I wanted to a) leave from Siena which is kind of small and b) wanted the tour on one specific day.  This criteria basically left me with one option.  The company had availability and good reviews so I was comfortable signing us up.  It was the best one I did!  I usually thoroughly read the fine print and know exactly what I’m getting and therefore what to expect.  In this case I didn’t and I’m glad - because they day turned out to be quite a surprise!

Our tour guide/driver picked us up in Siena along with a mother and daughter from Toronto.  The first surprise was that we had such a small group.  After stopping briefly at the weekly outdoor markets in the towns of Castelli in Chianti and Greve in Chianti it was time for lunch.  To our surprise, what we had signed up for was a lunch and wine tasting with a family on their farm/vineyard.  I hadn’t expected something so small and intimate.  After driving up a long, narrow, rocky road lined with hundreds of olive trees, we were greeted outside by our host Marco.  He brought us into his home and over the next few hours shared his life stories with us.  He had so much character and was quite a jokester.  His English was surprisingly good and we learned that he had lived in the United States for a few years in the early 60s.  He had a cousin who had immigrated to Michigan so he went there to learn and work.  The walls of the home were lined with paintings he had created over many decades of being an artist - he is 78.  He even showed us his studio where he still paints every day.

His wife prepared us lunch which was paired with Chianti, Chianti Classico and a Super Tuscan.  We had so much delicious food!  Salami and Pecorino, Crostini Toscani, Crostini with “Philadelphia Cheese” and Pears, Marco’s homemade olive oil, and pasta with sausage.  All super tuscan and super delicious!  Everything was fresh from their farm.  After lunch somehow our tiny group got separated and my Dad and I found ourselves together with Marco in his wine cellar.  He showed us his small production and poured wine right out of the aging cask for us to try.  I’ve visited many a vineyard before and have never tried wine right from the cellar and had the winemaker take us around personally!  A blog post can’t describe how special this experience was but maybe the pictures will help!

Jesslyn

Auschwitz

1.3 million people live in New Hampshire according to the 2014 census.

1.1 million people were killed in the Auschwitz concentration camps between the years 1940 and 1945.  

During that same timeframe, a total of over 11 million people were murdered in the various concentration camps, Jewish ghettos etc.

This week we visited the Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps which are about an hour outside of Krakow.  I was as mentally prepared as I could be.  Having done walking tours in Berlin, Prague and Krakow, the devastation of the Holocaust was certainly top of mind.  You can’t visit these places and not feel the loss.  Last week while having some down time in Prague, we watched Schlinder’s List for the first time.  We met other travelers who had already been to Auschwitz and they told us that we’d see a room full of human hair, a room with an enormous pile of eyeglasses, another room full of shoes, etc.  Items left behind from those who were murdered by the Nazis.  

The first set of remnants left behind that we saw was the room full of human hair.  Hair shaven off of men, women and children after they were murdered naked in masses because they were Jewish.  Suffocated with poisonous gas because the Hitler regime wanted to destroy them.  I will never forget this site and how I felt so much sadness for the loss of so many innocent people.  

What touched me and hurt me more than anything was the room that had a massive pile of dishes.  Was it because I hadn’t heard about this particular display or something else?  I don’t know.  What I do know is that when these millions of people were taken out of the Jewish ghettos or their homes, they were told to pack their things, that they were being brought further East in Europe where they’d have a better life.  They packed their special dishes believing that they’d use them again someday to share meals with their friends and family.  Instead, they were brought to a concentration camp and upon arrival were immediately deemed either 1) fit for slave labor or 2) sent directly to the gas chamber.  If you were old, crippled, a child, a pregnant woman or just unfit - you were automatically in the second group.  The piles of brightly colored dishes, many with family names on them, just hit me really, really hard.  Those of us walking this earth freely are so incredibly lucky to live in the times we are living in and to be able to share meals with the people we love.

We had an escort guiding us through the grounds at Auschwitz-Birkenau.  After about an hour, our guide said, “I’d like to tell you my story…”.  She went on to tell us that her father-in-law had been imprisoned at Auschwitz for 14 months. He was a Polish prisoner, not a Jewish prisoner.  At one point of the war, select Jewish prisoners were given jobs outside the walls of the concentration camp.  Her father-in-law was a 19 year old baker who gave bread to these Jewish workers.  He knew the risk he was taking giving these prisoners food they were not allowed to have.  But he had extra, and he wanted to help them.  On the day it was discovered that he was giving food to these people, he was thrown in the concentration camp too.  After suffering in Auschwitz himself for 14 months, he was moved to a camp in Austria.  It was there, at that age of 21, that American soldiers liberated the camp, and therefore him.  When he was rescued, he was 66 lbs.  66 lbs.  I don’t know how tall he was, but when our guide gestured towards his height, it was taller than me, and I’m 5’ 9”.  I can’t imagine 66 lbs on my frame.  She said that when he went home, no one recognized him.  He was skin and bones and nothing else.  He suffered from health issues for the rest of his short life, perishing at the age of 42. Before he died, he asked her to work at Auschwitz.  She promised him that she would.  She then revealed to us that she was oldest guide at Auschwitz having worked there for over 40 years.  The authenticity of this woman and her personal connection certainly made our experience ever-so-more-real.

I knew that I’d learn many things on our journey around the globe:  maybe a little Italian, new things about myself and about my relationship with Jake….expand my palate to enjoy new foods.  What I didn’t expect was to relearn so much history.  I am loving it.  As sad as most of it is, it gives me a new type of appreciation for my life and the times in which I am living.

Prague

Before becoming a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire under the Hapsburgs, this part of the world was Bohemia.  First off, how on earth could I have a masters degree, but not know anything about the Hapsburgs?  They controlled huge portions of Europe for a long time.  Second, how did I not know that the Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody is about a former Kingdom in the Czech Republic?  Fast forward to post WWII and together with present day Slovakia, the Czech Republic was a communist country under Soviet "influence" called Czechoslovakia until 1993.  Prague is arguably the most beautiful city I’ve seen.  It was mostly spared during WWII, so everywhere you look are beautiful Hapsburg era classical styled buildings.  What struck me the most was that are are so many of these beautiful buildings which were were everywhere, not just in the touristic areas (people in Europe use the word “touristic”, when I would typically say “touristy”).  In addition to the neo-classical style, there are gothic, baroque, romanesque, renaissance, and even cubist architectural styled buildings.

Just a typical block in Prague.

Beer

The Czech Republic loves its beer.  It has by far the highest per capita beer consumption in the world with 149 liters per person per year (according to Wikipedia from the year 2012).  Austria and Germany are in second and third place with 108 and 106 liters per person per year respectively.  Beer has a long history in this area.  Pilsner beer was invented in the town of Pilsen where Pilsner Urquell is made.  Budweiser's Budvar is produced in the city of Budweis, and should not to be confused with the Anheuser-Busch product which tried to copy it.  In the U.S., you can find the original Budweiser Budvar marketed under the name Czechvar.  In Prague, there are pubs on every corner, and a half liter (about 17 ounces or a little more than a pint) costs less than $1.50.     

Food

The food is great.  It reminds me of the nearby German region, Bavaria.  There is a lot of sausage, and smoked or roast pork served with sauerkraut.  Dumplings are also very popular.  However, the term “dumpling” can refer to at least 4 very different things.  In Budapest, the first dumplings I had were very small, pasta-like nuggets, and what you would call spaetzle in Germany.  Also in Budapest, we had dumplings which were basically a bread roll with a sweet crunchy top, covered with a sweet vanilla sauce served as a desert.  Here in Prague, a dumpling is like a dense, moist bread, served in slices.  There are also potato dumplings which are even more dense.  None of them have much flavor, but are a great way to sop up the sauce or gravy on your plate.  Just like the beer, the food is cheap.  A typical dinner for the 2 of us was about $22.  After all this beer and rich food, my stomach is looking forward to some rice and fish in southeast Asia.

Missing Home

One of the things we miss about home is the variety of cuisine we have access to.  In the small towns in Tuscany, we certainly didn’t have that.  Budapest and Prague are pretty international and have some great food from around the world.  I had delicious Pho in Budapest, and in Prague we had great Indian and decent Mexican food.

Another thing we miss is the NFL season and the Patriots.  I purchased the NFL Game Pass package so that I can watch all the Pats games online.  It works great and I have been able to watch all the games.  Living in NYC, we didn’t get many of the Pats games at home, so we often went to our neighborhood sports bar to watch it.  It was always a fun time being around other transplanted sports fans rooting for your hometown team.  We also, of course, enjoyed the nachos and beer.  Luckily, the Pat’s schedule matched up with ours for week 7 against the Jets.  When Mo met us in Italy, she brought us Patriots shirts so we could represent.  In Prague, we found an Irish Pub with the NFL package called the Dubliner and also found about 10 other Patriots fans there to watch the game with!

Cheering on the Pats in Prague

PS - Baths in Budapest

I forgot to write about the baths in my Budapest post!  According to budapest.com, "Budapest holds the title "City of Spas" since the year 1934, as it has more thermal and medicinal water springs than any other capital city in the world. There are 118 springs in Budapest, providing over 70 million liters of thermal water a day."  Lynn, Rob, and I went to one to see what all the fuss was about.  First of all, I must mention, that this is co-ed, and bathing suites are mandatory (including tops for women).  After putting on our trunks, we headed to the main outdoor pool.  To get a sense of the size, there were a couple hundred people in it, but it didn't feel crowded.  The water was warm (not hot), slightly cloudy, and had a very slight chlorine and minerally smell to it.  It was about 4 feet deep everywhere and people were just hanging out in the water.  There were a few lounge chairs and benches surrounding the pool, but the air was too chilly to spend much time out of the water.  There were people of all ages and body types just relaxing.  After a half hour or so, we ventured inside where we found many more, much smaller pools and saunas and steam rooms.  There were pools with different temperatures and mineral content.  We went into most, if not all of the 15 different pools.  Our favorite thing to do was go in the hot pool (104 degrees F / 40 degrees C), then to plunge into the cold pool (68 degrees F / 20 C).  The only part more fun was a giant whirlpool that you can ride in an oval.  I am not sure of its purpose, probably to occupy children, but you can't help but laugh and smile as you get whipped around.  I am not sure the baths cured me of anything, but it was a nice way to spend an afternoon.

 - Jake

Budapest

Jesslyn and I split up for a few days while she and her dad explored more of Italy.  I went to Budapest, Hungary where I met up with my sister Lynn and her husband Rob.  It was great to be able to spend time with them for the 2nd time on our trip.  Thank you guys for meeting up with me!  To me it seems like Budapest is one of the cities that US travelers discovered only about a decade ago.  Until 1989, Hungary was a communist country under Soviet "influence" since the end of WWII.  It got the reputation as a popular destination for young backpackers and along with it a strong party scene.  While it still has the party scene, it is a great city for anyone to visit. 

Lynn and Rob

The first thing I noticed when I arrived was how grand the architecture is.  The most impressive is the 3rd largest parliament building in the world.  There are a few very old buildings dating back more than 600 years, but what you notice first are the classical ones from the 1800s and the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Many are well maintained and are quite picturesque, especially along the Danube river.  But as you look more closely, there are many that are in serious need of renovation and even have bullet holes in them, from either WWII or the revolution in 1956.  Interspersed among these 200+ year old buildings are square, gray, plain, concrete communist era structures.  More than any city I've visited, the architecture tells the story of its long and varied history.

Parliament

We learned a lot from a general walking tour of the city.  However, it didn’t cover the recent history, so we also took the communist walking tour.  It was incredible to hear about what life was like under the communist system from someone who experienced it first hand.  Life wasn't good, however, it seems as though it wasn't as bad in Hungary (after Stalin) as it was in some of the other eastern block countries which had iron fisted dictators.  In the 1980s, there was still a lot of pro-communist, anti-west propaganda, one example of which, our tour guide showed us was what he called the communist version of Monopoly.  You move ahead for working hard in the mines or field, or for ratting out your neighbors to the secret police.  You move backwards for spreading western "propaganda", such as the dangerous idea of freedom of speech.  In order to avoid a history lesson, let's move on to current culture (as I experienced it anyway).

Two things stand out in the current Budapest social culture; palinka and ruin bars.  Palinka is a liquor made from fruit, typically plums, apricots, apples, pears, and cherries.  It typically ranges from 40% to 70% alcohol (80 to 140 proof).  It is consumed from a small glass in one gulp, otherwise known as a shot.  I outgrew shots quite a while ago, but not wanting to be rude, I had a few.  The problem with palinka is that it is quite smooth with a hint of fruit, nothing like doing a shot of whiskey or tequila.  It’s a problem because it makes it too easy.  Palinka got the best of Rob and me on 1 (OK, maybe 2) occasions.  As Rob put it, we got “palinka’ed”.  

The ruin bars are basically a bar in an old, run down building.  A brilliant, economical idea; instead of spending loads of cash on renovating a space, just use it as is and make the dilapidation the selling point.  It reminds me of Brooklyn where old factories and warehouses are being repurposed for restaurants and bars.  Budapest was doing it first and has more interesting and historic buildings in which to do it.  They are very cool, however a few have become a little too much of a tourist attraction.  So, it may take a little effort to find the most ruinous of them.

Next up:  Prague!

 - Jake

Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio

After a tearful goodbye to my Mom at the FCO Roma airport, Jake and I headed to Orvieto where we met up with my Dad.  Orvieto was a new town for us in a region south of Tuscany called Umbria.  From the train station, you need to get up into town by either taking a bus or taxi, or you can ride the funicular up. There’s not much going on in Orvieto but it was a good spot to catch up with my Dad for a few nights and we had some really great meals. 

My Dad visited Italy with me for 7 nights and in addition to Orvieto, we stayed in Siena, Florence and Rome.  This is us sitting down in our apartment in Orvieto.  I think it's the only time we sat down the entire visit so it is a memorable photo!

The first major sight we laid eyes on in Orvieto was the Duomo.  I was pretty disappointed that the facade, which is known to be the “liveliest” one in Italy, was covered in scaffolding.  Oh well.  The inside was still very impressive, especially the Chapel of San Brizio.  The chapel was painted by Luca Signorelli between 1499-1503, is in great condition, and contains frescoes of the Day of Judgement and Life after Death.  I had never heard of Luca Signorelli and as I studied the stories on the wall, I felt like this guy had copied Michelangelo’s style - the bodies were so detailed and life-like.  It turns out that it was actually Michelangelo who meticulously studied the work of Signorelli when developing his own style.  

We did a 45 minute guided underground tour of Orvieto where we learned that there are 1200 known caves beneath the city.  They date back to the Etruscan and Medieval times where they were used as basements and also as places to store animals, including pigeons (one of the delicacies of Orvieto - yes we all tried it).  It’s hard to describe how cool the experience was walking through the caves so I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.

The last thing we did in Orvieto was climb up and down St. Patrick’s Well.  It is 175 feet deep and 45 feet wide and was built in the 16th century.  It is a double-helix pattern with two spiral staircases that allowed for one way traffic flow.  After Rome was attacked in 1527, the pope fled to the hill town of Orvieto.  It had no water source on top and he was afraid that the town, even though tiny, would be besieged.  So, he commissioned the well to be built and ten years later it was complete.  The town was never besieged.

Looking up from the bottom of St. Patrick's Well

Me and my dad in the well.

The day Jake left for Budapest my dad and I took an hour bus trip to a town called Bagnoregio.  From there we walked up to the hill town of Civita di Bagnoregio.  It’s a very tiny, traffic-free village that has almost absolutely nothing going on but is worth the trip.  I think this speaks for itself:

Civita di Bagnoregio

This town no longer has any permanent residents.  Many left after an earthquake in 1695 because they were afraid that their houses would fall off the cliffs into the valley below.  Today, there are a handful of B&B’s and restaurants and perhaps some second homes.  The only access is via the pedestrian footbridge.  You only need a few hours there but if you ask me, it is well worth it.  It’s set in a canyon and looks to be frozen in the Middle Ages.  I thought it was breathtaking and we had a great meal during our two hour visit.  The half liter of vino rosso della casa (house red wine) was only $3 Euros!

Although we’ve arrived in Prague, I still have more to say about my last week in Italy so stay tuned for a bonus-Italy post from Prague….or whenever I have time to sit down and write it!

Update on my leg:  After slipping on the wet rocks on our first day in Milos, Greece way back in July, I’ve been in a lot of pain and unable to run.  I iced and elevated, and in retrospect should have seen a doctor.  However, I’m finally happy to report that it is significantly better and I’ve even gone running three times with no increased pain!  I can’t wait to really start running again and hope to enjoy some runs over the next few weeks before we enter the hot and humidity of SE Asia.  I want to keep it up there too, but let’s be realistic - I hate running in the heat so we’ll see what happens.  One of the runs we did was at the base of the cliffs of Orvieto.  It was pouring rain and much more hilly than we expected but it was great to be out there!

If you look closely you can see the path we ran on at the base of the clif.  The circular structure on top of the clif is St. Patrick's Well.

Jesslyn

Positano

Have you ever imagined a small seaside village in Italy?  Positano is that picturesque seaside Italian town.  If you plan a trip to the Amalfi coast, I’d highly recommend this as your home base.  We spent five nights there with my Mom and Jim and had a great time.  

On the ferry to Positano.

It was extra special to enjoy such a spectacular location with my Mom.  In 2006 we had the opportunity to explore Stockholm and Copenhagen together, and then in 2012 Portugal.  This was another special trip that did not disappoint!  Experiencing new places is even more special with people you love.  We had a lot of laughs and great food.  The weather was cosi-cosi (that’s Italian for so-so) so during our downtime we had fun shopping and playing cribbage.  You may have noticed that our cribbage tracker hasn’t been updated in awhile and that’s because Jake and I were busy trying to take down my Mom and Jim in partner cribbage.  The score ended evenly at 3-3.  I know that my Mom and Jim wouldn't agree that it was “even” though.  As a matter of fact, to quote my Mother, “We might be tied, but we're not equal”.  This is because they skunked us twice and when Jake and I play, we don’t count skunks as two games.  Anywho, it was very fun to play with them.  Overall, there isn’t much to do in Positano except enjoy the view, eat and shop.  The beach is ok, not great.  We did enjoy a few hours laying on the beach and had a great lunch right on the water.  

The view from our apartment in Positano.  My Mom kept saying how she has never stayed at a place with a view as nice as this!

On our last day, we had great sunny weather and took a boat ride to Capri.  The views from the water were amazing.  The water was incredibly blue and we had the opportunity to jump off of the boat and swim.  It wasn’t that hot out and the guide on the boat kept saying that the penguins were out….so out of 30 people on the boat, only me, my Mom, Jake and three men who had just done the Barcelona Ironman jumped in.  I’m pretty proud of my Mom considering this is a woman who won’t go into the water at York Beach when it’s 90 degrees outside!  

On the boat to Capri.

I’m happy that we went to Capri but I don’t think I’d go again.  It was a s*%t show!  So many people and not enough transportation to get them from point A to point B.  Once we arrived, we had four hours of free time on the island.  We waited about 20 minutes for a taxi and it cost $30 Euros for the four of us to take a 15 minute ride to Anacapri.  From there we rode a chair lift to the highest point of the island and had some pretty amazing views.  While on the chairlift we saw grapes, olives, figs, squash, lemons, peaches, hazelnuts and kiwi all growing on trees/vines.  I continue to be amazed at how much fruit we are seeing growing on this trip!  We ate lunch at the top and enjoyed the incredible views.  After taking the chairlift back down we had to immediately get in line for the bus in order go get back to the port in time.  After waiting about 30 minutes for the bus, we decided to move to the taxi line and share a cab with another couple.  We got back in time but as you can see - we basically spent our time on Capri waiting in line!!!  I’m still happy we went…but if I were you - I’d enjoy our pictures instead of using your own time to get there…and do something else instead!  Speaking of pictures....we are behind with posting them and will catch up with that over the next few weeks.  I'd like to post some nice pictures with me, my Mom and Jim actually in them but they are still on the camera and with Jake in Budapest!

View from the taxi on the way to Anacapri

Thoughts on Rome

I’m happy to report that Rome exceeded my expectations and I look forward to going back!  In fact friends and family, please consider booking me as your personal tour guide for any destination of your choosing…as I’ll be happy to delay my return to corporate America.  Think about it, I could plan the itinerary that makes sense for you, then accompany you and coordinate all transportation, translations, reservations, tours etc.  Sounds great to me.  Anyways, Rome was truly amazing. When I wasn’t in awe at the incredible ruins, it felt like I could be in NYC, particularly Brooklyn. What a great mix of past and present the city has.  When we were in Florence I felt like we had a bunch of misses with our meals.  It was a disappointing introduction to Italian cuisine.  The food in Rome did not disappoint.  We had classic Roman dishes like cacio e pepe and spaghetti carbonara but also had our fill of eggplant parmigiana, gnocchi, pizza, tiramisu, gelato.  It was fun to experience a new place with Mo and then with my Mom and Jim.  We also experienced the Amalfi Coast with each of them so now they truly appreciate why we need to bookend our busy city sightseeing experiences with more relaxing destinations.  Here are some highlights of what we covered in Rome:

Galleria Borghese

We had read that if you are going to visit an art museum in Rome, this is the one to go to (in addition to the Vatican of course).  You have to make a reservation ahead of time and are only given two hours inside.  We made the reservation for 5PM on our first day in Rome.  We made it just in time and the museum did not disappoint.  In fact, as we navigated from the first floor to the second, I stopped and booked a reservation for my Mom and Jim (they also loved it).  Paying the extra 5 Euros for the audio guide is a must so that you can understand the sculptures, paintings and micro mosaics that you are looking at.  I don’t take as many pictures as I used to as they just don’t do the real thing justice…but here’s one that I thought was really impressive:  

David, armed only with a slingshot, faces a giant with weapons, Goliath.  It was sculpted between 1623 and 1624 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini who at the time was only 25.  This statue is not to be confused with the more famous David that was done by Michelangelo.

Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

I need to watch Gladiator again.  Walking around the Colosseum hearing about what it was used for 2,000 years ago was pretty incredible.  Humans fighting animals.  Gladiators fighting one another until their death.  50,000 humans cheering this on.  This was entertainment?  What a different world they lived in.  Across the street was Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.  The Roman Forum was equally as impressive as the Colosseum.  This was epicenter of Rome during its glory days.  After the fall of Rome the Forum was abandoned and basically buried in over the years.  Of course now its been excavated for us to appreciate the ruins of ancient Rome and many of them are in excellent condition.  To appreciate Palatine Hill, you need a good imagination because the ruins aren’t in very good condition, compared to everything else I’ve listed at least.  If you have limited time in Rome, skip Palatine.

Colosseum

Roman Forum

Pantheon

Going to the Pantheon wasn’t really on my radar.  If you go to Rome, make sure it’s on yours.  The now-Christian church has been in continuous use since A.D. 120.  Yes, you read that right, continuous use since A.D. 120!  Of course it wasn’t a Christian church back then, it was a Roman temple dedicated to all (pan) of the gods (theos).  It’s one massive room with a dome that is as high as it is wide:  142 feet from floor to rooftop and from side to side.  At the top of the dome is the “oculus” a.k.a. hole in the roof.  It’s 30 feet across and completely open.  If it’s raining, its raining in the temple.  Pretty wild!  How amazing is it that the Roman’s knew how to build a dome of this magnitude?

Pantheon

Basilica San Clemente

If you go to Rome, you have to check this out.  We added it to our itinerary after listening to a Rick Steves podcast about Rome.  When you enter the Basilica from the current street level, you walk into a church that was built in the 12th century.  After you’ve explored the beautiful frescoes and mosaics you can buy a ticket to descend a level.  What you descend into are the ruins of an earlier church, from the third century.  If you go down yet another level, you enter the remains of a pagan temple and roman house - from the 1st century AD.  At this point, you’ve gone so far below the current street level that it’s hard to believe that you are now standing on what used to be street level in A.D. 1.  Unreal.  Magical.

Jewish Ghetto Walking Food Tour

This was more of food tour than a history lesson on the Jewish Ghetto and Rome.  So, it didn’t meet my expectations but it still was a great time.  We drank good wine and beer, ate pizza, gelato, cannolis, and a variety of Italian food that we may have not ordered ourselves. The food and/or venues were so good that we even went back to a few of the spots during other days in Rome.

Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel

The Vatican Museum was massive and we had an excellent guide who kept our attention and navigated us through to the must-see statues and paintings.  During our first days in Rome we had spoken with many other tourists that reflected on their visit to Vatican City almost with disgust.  They said it was so packed you could barely move.  Elbow to elbow with other tourists….no AC and super hot.  We expected the worst and got the best.  It felt empty.  It wasn’t hot.  Our tour guide kept saying, “I’m telling you, this is a miracle.”  Part of the reason was that we randomly picked an 8:30AM tour on a Wednesday….which happens to be the time when people are lining up hoping for a glance at the Pope and not going into the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel.  Long story short - if you are going to Vatican City, go on a Wednesday morning and hopefully you’ll have the same luck we had.  Also, definitely book a tour as I think it would have been difficult to truly appreciate the museum without one.  If you are thinking, “Well, I’m not religious, so going to the Vatican Museum isn’t for me” - I’d advise you are wrong - the art is amazing and I truly believe that people of any religious belief, including Atheists would be amazed by the Vatican Museum…and St. Peter’s Basilica for that matter.  Oh, and then there’s the fact that you can no longer just go to the Sistine Chapel - the only way to get there is via the Vatican Museum.  Speaking of the Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo was an amazing man.  It’s hard for me to believe that when he was commissioned to repaint the ceiling of the chapel, he was given the freedom to paint anything he wanted.  I would have guessed that the powerful church leadership would have told him exactly what to paint.  It’s a myth that he layed on his back and painted it.  He stood up and just arched his neck.  Every day and night for four years.  My neck hurts just thinking about that.  He didn’t want to accept the job because he considered painters to be a lower class than sculptors.  He was a sculptor.  In the end, he said yes for the large paycheck and it was completed in 1481.  This man designed the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica (at age 71!), sculpted the David that we saw in Florence, painted the Sistine Chapel, and plenty of other amazing things.  He lived to 89 which is extremely old for the 15th and 16th centuries.  What a guy!  I wish I could have met him…I guess instead I’ll just have to find a good biography.

St. Peter’s Basilica

This church was larger than life.  The inside is just under 6 acres and it is the length of two football fields.  More marble than I’ve ever seen in one place.  Ceilings higher than anything I’ve ever seen in a church.  It can fit 60,000 worshipers INSIDE.  A must-see while in Rome.  However, I have to comment that having visited many a Roman Catholic church in my lifetime, I was very surprised to see the lack of Jesus and Mary and the overabundance of ginormous statues of Popes.  Isn’t the church supposed to be a place to worship Jesus?  Not a shrine to deceased Popes?

St. Peter's Basilica as the sun was coming up just before 7:00.

If you are wondering why the Trevi Fountain or the Spanish Steps aren’t making the blog - well - we saw them - but they were under renovation!  I look forward to seeing what they are really like next time we’re in Rome!

Back to the Amalfi Coast...

Ok so I don’t watch Glee but the other night I was a little bit starstruck.  We were on the streets of Positano at about 10PM and I was like, “oooh…who is that good looking man”…I never really have this thought because I am constantly star struck with my husband.  However, on that particular night, yes I took another look at this other man and then realized, “hmm, he must be a celebrity”.  I pointed him out to Jake, my Mom and Jim, and they agreed that he looked like a guy from a show that none of us watched.  IMDB confirmed that this was definitely Mr. Matthew Morrison. Fun!

~Jesslyn

Amalfi to Rome

We had the privilege and honor of our first visitor from the States this past week.  Our friend, and Jesslyn's former RPI and then brief Boston roommate, Maureen (AKA “Mo”), spent time with us in Minori and Rome.  It was great to see her and to have another travel companion, thank you Mo!  After meeting us at the airport in Rome, the three of us hopped in our rented Fiat Panda, and headed for Minori.

There is a small peninsula that juts out from Italy near the front of the top of the “ankle”.  Sorrento is near the tip, and it points to the island of Capri is just a few miles away.  Along the bottom of this peninsula stretching from Positano almost to Salerno is the Amalfi coast.  It has an extremely steep coastline, with a several small towns along the water and some perched high above the sea just inland.  The hills are, terraced where possible and traversed by stone steps connecting the hilltop towns with the ones next to the sea.  Positano is the most well known of the sea-side towns, and Ravello is a fairly well known town atop the hill.  The Amalfi Drive is a road carved into the hill running along the water.  I imagine there are some stunning views from this road, however, I didn’t dare to take my eyes off the road for a second.  Jesslyn and Mo might have been able to appreciate the view, but they had their eyes closed as they prayed we didn’t have a head on collision with one of the buses flying around the many blind curves.

We stayed in Minori, a tiny town at the midpoint of Amalfi.  It is very quiet and has relatively few tourists compared to Positano.  We had a nice, relaxing time.  We hiked between towns, visited all the local markets, bakeries, pasta shops, and butchers to gather ingredients with which to cook.  The proprietor of their favorite pastry shop now know Jesslyn and Mo by name as the flaky Italian pastry called sfogliatella became one of our food groups.  This area is also known for its enormous sfusato lemons which are put to good use in the pastry, the pasta, and the liquor.

The view of Positano from our hike...

We spent the better part of a day at Pompeii, the city left preserved by the ash of Mt. Vesuvius when it erupted in 79 AD.  Going there, I knew it was well preserved, but what I didn’t expect was the size.  You can visit essentially the entire city which is estimated to have been about 11,000 strong at the time of its destruction.  Just like in most Roman settlements, in addition to the homes, there is a forum, a public bath, an aqueduct, and an amphitheater.

After Minori, we headed to Rome, which deserves its own post, so I will just briefly describe my first impressions and share the most drama we’ve had on this trip so far (that’s where the explicit language is).  It isn’t quite what I expected, which was chaos, traffic, tacky tourist traps, and crime.  I didn’t expect to like it.  I was wrong.  Rome is great.  I am sure this is partly due to having lived in New York for the past 3 years, so even if it is those things I thought it would be, it wouldn’t seem so bad by comparison.  I think I also like it because we are staying in a neighborhood called Trastevere, which feels like the “Brooklyn” of Rome.  There aren’t as many tourists, and it has a lot of cool bars and restaurants with a lot of friendly locals.  I like Rome, but despise a couple of Romans...

The day before we were to say goodbye to Mo, Jesslyn’s mom, Deb, and her friend Jim joined us in Rome.  We were so excited to see them and meet them at the small, local train station in Trastevere.  Just after the hugs of our initial greeting, a stranger approached with a map in hand, pointing at the electronic board with arrivals and departures, and seemed to be asking a question, but in another language.  We tried to help, but didn’t know what he was saying, so we said sorry and resumed our greetings.  At that point, Jim noticed his backpack was gone.  He had his back turned for no more than 30 seconds.  WTF.  It was obviously a team, with the first guy diverting our attention.  Several of us ran in different directions looking for the suspect or bag, but we were right next to the exit, and we didn’t even see the person who took it so didn’t know what he (or she) looked like.  Jim did a quick mental inventory of the contents of the bag and realized some vital medication was in there.  F*ck.  We popped into the pharmacy we happened to be standing in front of on the off chance this medication didn’t require a prescription in Italy.  No luck there, but as we came out, a young guy told us the backpack was in the parking lot, pointed, and said “junkies” making the needle to the arm gesture.  That guy may have been in on it too, but we’re not sure.  We ran over and there was the bag, on the ground between the parked cars.  The only thing missing was his Bose headphones, not cheap, but non-vital and replaceable.  Medication was there.  Thank God.  Luckily, this has been the only incident like this on our 3+ months of traveling.  You hear about pick pockets and purse snatchers all the time and usually have your guard up.  However, it is so easy to let your guard down after not having any problems for so long, especially at this station which is not crowded, and is well off the beaten tourist path.  It really sucks and makes me angry.  I wish it happened to me, and not our guests (OK, they aren’t really guests, but we feel some responsibility for them).  But I am glad that we learned this lesson at the expense of some expensive headphones, and not the loss of medication, passports, driver’s license, or credit cards.

More to come on Rome, but for now, we are heading to Positano with Deb and Jim!

 - Jake

Wrapping up Croatia...

I’m composed this while sitting in the Dubrovnik airport waiting to board a flight to Rome.  It’s was our first flight since August 3rd!  We’ve been easily making our way throughout Italy and Croatia on trains, buses and ferries.  We met Mo at the Rome airport, picked up a rental car and drove down to Minori on the Amalfi coast.  We are so excited to catch up with Mo and explore a new part of Italy with her!

We passed the three month mark this week which is hard to believe.  We’ve seen so much, yet there is even more we have yet to plan and to discover.  Over the past three weeks we’ve made our way down the entire coast of Croatia.  In total we stayed on two islands and three coastal towns: Rovinj, Cres (island), Split, Mljet (island) and Dubrovnik.  We really enjoyed Croatia and wish that we could have explored even more.  If I was going to make travel recommendations to someone else - I’d recommend all of the coastal towns and tell you that you definitely should explore some islands - but not the ones we visited.  They were both great and gave us what we needed - but I think if you were taking a one or two week trip to Croatia - you’d be better served visiting one of the islands that has nicer beaches and/or more going on.  

We haven’t been blogging much because we haven’t been doing much!  That’s ok because I guess that’s what we needed at this point of the trip.  We haven’t been sitting around doing nothing though…so let’s see...

Split

After Cres we took a ferry to the mainland and then an 8 hour bus ride to Split.  It was nice to see so much of the coast and surprisingly good wifi on the bus let us catch up on some Breaking Bad.  It’s the one thing we are watching on this trip other than an occasional movie.  We just finished Season 4 and are looking forward to seeing what Heisenberg will be getting into in the final two seasons.  With only two nights in Split we decided to go with what looked like a more traditional accommodation vs. AirB&B.  We didn’t want to deal with coordinating the check-in and check-out process and went with something that had 24 hour check in on booking.com.  It turned out to be the accommodation that least matched our expectations.  We literally had a room in someone’s apartment.  A smokers apartment.  She tried to mask that with lavender but it didn’t really work.  After I took my first shower there and brought the towel to my face, it smelled like smoke and that is just gross.  It was only 40 Euros a night so I’m over it.  

We went to the Split movie festival and saw a movie called Homme Less.  We enjoyed the documentary which was about an actor/photographer that sleeps on a roof in NYC.  His friends and colleagues don’t know that he is homeless and it really made you think about how appearances can certainly mask the reality behind someones facade.  It also was another reminder to us of how little you need to be happy.  While back in Venice, it was pretty wild to watch a movie based in Boston, and now a movie based in New York.  The next day we did a Split 90 minute walking tour which was very good.  Our tour guide had a good mix of history, humor and Game of Thrones info.  The tour was within the walls of the Diocletian Palace which was built around 300 AD.  Diocletian was a self-made emperor and the first to ever voluntarily retire.  He built the palace to retire in.  It is in amazing condition and I found myself saying to Jake, like I have so many times on this trip, “this is real….not Disneyland!”.  The history and architecture we’ve seen in Athens, Istanbul, Italy and Croatia has been astounding.  

Some guards on their way to work in the Palace.

A glimpse inside the walls.

Game of Thrones has done a lot of filming within the walls of the Palace - it’s the setting for the city of Meereen.  We were also able to experience the Palace (it’s a city people live in) after dark.  When we left the film festival, we walked through the Palace and listened to some live music.  It was one of those moments when everything in the world feels absolutely perfect and you can’t stop smiling.  So in the end, although I didn’t care for our accommodation, I really liked Split!

Mljet

On the island of Mljet we stayed in a tiny town called Polace.  Our apartment was #9 Polace.  That’s right - no street address - just #9 and the name of the town.  When I was coordinating how to find the apartment with the AirB&B hosts I could tell that they were kind of laughing at my desire to understand exactly how to find it.  When they said, “There is a row of houses, ours is #9.  Just ask anyone…everyone knows everyone here.”  Yeah - they weren’t kidding!  Despite the small number of houses and the lack of options at the mini market - there was a surprising number of restaurants.  The first two nights the town was really empty and we didn’t understand why there were so many.  Then more and more sailboats starting to come into the tiny bay and anchor their boats.  One night Jake counted 50!  One of the dishes Croatia is known for is “peka”.  It is veal or lamb (but we also saw octopus and pork options” prepared under a peka - a metal baking dish that’s covered with red-hot coals.  You have to order it several hours in advance to allow the meat to gradually cook to tender perfection.  With the meat under the bell is also potatoes and vegetables.  We went to the same restaurant twice over the course of 4 nights and had the same dish - lamb.  I’ve never ordered lamb for myself before - but as it is a dish for two - I went for it.  It was incredible.  I’m still not a lamb person, but it was so tender, and the vegetables were so tasty - that I absolutely had to have the dish a second time before we left the island.  

From our apartment we could walk or bike over to two salt water lakes.  Seeing the color of the lake juxtaposed with the green pine trees was pretty special.  

One day we rented a scooter and traveled to part of the island where we could hike to Odysseus’ cave.  It was fun to jump off the rocks and swim into the cave.  There were millions of tiny fish and although it was cool to see with our goggles…it also kind of freaked me out.

While on the island, we spent a lot of time researching Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.  Our itinerary is starting to take form and we’ve started making some commitments.  We are both signed up for a three day meditation retreat outside of Bangkok and I am signed up to get my PADI Open Water Scuba Certification.  Jake is already SCUBA certified and I’m excited that we’ll finally get to do this activity together!  I’m going to take the course on the island of Koh Lanta where we’ve booked a total of nine nights.  My SCUBA class is only 3-4 days but then we’ll get to explore.  It looks like Koh Lanta is a good island to use as a base while exploring other islands.  I can’t wait!

Dubrovnik

Our final stop in Croatia was Dubrovnik and it was quite a unique little place.  Noticeably more expensive than everywhere else we visited in Croatia, it is a completely walled-in city that is in amazing condition.  Most of the city was destroyed in an earthquake and fire in 1667 so it isn’t quite as old as some of the other cities we visited - but it’s still pretty old.  Dubrovnik was untouched by war until 1991 when it was attacked during the war with Yugoslavia.  Fortunately, the damage has been significantly repaired.  If you look at the photo below, you’ll probably notice that many of the roofs are much brighter than others.  The bright roofs are the ones that were replaced due to the bombing damage.

We did our own walking tour and walked on the wall for the entire length of the wall (~2KM).  You have amazing views of the Adriatic up there.  Game of Thrones memorabilia is noticeably everywhere throughout the Old Town as it is the setting for Kings Landing.  Apparently Kings Landing has been in all but five episodes of Game of Thrones and I often felt like I was walking on the set!  Very cool.

Now….time to try and remember that Italian I learned!

Nudity, Language, and Bruno

Nudity
Full, frontal, male, female.  If this were a movie it would be NC-17.  The best we can tell, there is no such thing as “nude” beaches here.  All of the beaches just seem to be clothing optional.  We got a sneak peak of this at a public park in Munich, but there at least it seemed to be a specific area to which the exhibitionists were confined.  Here, more than a few of the German tourists bare all when they can smell salt water.  While my delicate eyes would prefer even just a skimpy Speedo between them and another man’s privates, I sort of admire the idea.  The human body is natural, and not something to be ashamed or embarrassed of.  And, wouldn’t it be nice to completely dry off after a swim, instead of being in your wet bathing suit all day?  There is an obvious downside to this practice.  In a podcast, Rick Steves commented that the most dangerous part of Croatia was the potential for a sunburn on parts of one’s body that never get to see sunlight.  Sorry, no pictures related to this topic.  And, no, neither Jesslyn nor I gave it a try.

Language
I am always impressed with the multi-linguisticy of other parts of the world, especially Europe.  With so many languages spoken within such a close proximity to one another, I guess it makes sense.  The Istrian peninsula in the northwest corner of Croatia is no exception.  Along the coast, in addition to Croatian, everyone also speaks Italian, and they speak it as well as they speak Croatian, often speaking Italian with each other.  The reason is, not only are we close to Italy, but this region actually was part of Italy before becoming a part of Yugoslavia in 1947 as the national borders in Europe were being redrawn after WWII.  Speaking with our host, Bruno, I asked if he spoke Italian, to which he replied, “of course, this was Italy when my parents were born”.  That all makes sense, but they speak German quite well and often here too.  At first I thought it was just because there are so many German tourists, but then I noticed older people speaking it, as well as locals not engaged in the hospitality industry.  So it can’t just be for tourism purposes.  Perhaps that is the second (or third) language taught in schools, or perhaps it is another legacy of this region’s history; this area was part of the Habsburg-Austrian Empire before it was part of Italy.  And language number 4, is of course English.  Many people speak some English, but some don’t at all.  Jesslyn and I are constantly addressed in German here, because there are so many German tourists, so few Americans (or other native English speakers), and we don’t look Italian or Croatian.  We have interacted with more people here who don’t speak English than in any other area on our trip, so it has been fun to be forced to use the little Italian we have been able to pick up!

Bruno
Here in Cres, we are in our second airbnb accommodation.  The first experience in Rovinj worked out great, and this one is even better because of Bruno.  We booked the apartment with a nice woman who couldn’t meet up with us when we arrived, so instead her father-in-law met us at the bus station.  Bruno drove us to the property where he and is wife Eta live upstairs.  He is a retired fisherman and his English is so-so.  He keeps pet turtles, makes olive oil, wine, fig schnapps, and brandy.  He now uses his fishing boat as a water taxi.  On our fist afternoon in Cres, we were on our way out to check out the town, and we started chatting with him as he was feeding the turtles.  “Want to taste a drink I made?”, he asked.  Not wanting to be rude :) we of course said yes.  We went into his man cave on the bottom floor of the building and he pulled out a glass bottle with no label, filled with dark brown liquid, and filled 3 shot glasses.  This was his homemade brandy made from his home made wine.  He explained the brandy making process which involves adding crushed green nuts and aging it in the sun for 45 days before going into a wooden barrel.  Our “taste” of brandy turned into 3 glasses for each of us.  We talked about fishing as he pulled out the charts of the local waters.  As a professional fisherman, he primarily caught scampi (langoustine) and flounder with nets.  Now, for fun he catches snapper, using live sardines as bait.  He doesn’t use a rod and reel, but instead holds the line in his hands so he can feel it better.  Tonight, we are going to grill some steak, Branzino, and Orada (Sea Bream) with him and hopefully hear some more fishing stories!

- Jake

The Plan

We didn't intend to....but we ended up spending our entire last day in Rovinj in our Air B&B apartment planning the rest of Phase 1 of our trip (Europe). 

We had planned as much as we could before we left New York, but its been fun to add some new destinations that we had hoped for, but weren't sure we'd get to:  Budapest, Prague, Krakow and Warsaw.  Krakow and Warsaw weren't actually on our radar, but we met some fellow travelers that raved about Krakow and it was, as a result, added to the potential list.  Warsaw was added because every Top 10 list we found about Poland had Krakow and Warsaw fighting for the Top 1 and 2 spots.  That and, we found some well priced flights out of Warsaw into Bangkok.  Yup, our flight to Bangkok is booked.  It was an entirely new wave of emotion for me having that flight booked....it made me realize that this isn't just a European adventure and we are not going back to the U.S. now....now...we are really embarking on the unknown.  We have been to Europe before, but Southeast Asia....nope...it's going to be a wild ride, and I'm so excited.

But first....our friend Mo is meeting us Italy!  Then my Mom and then my Dad!  We are going to experience Roma, Amalfi and Tuscany with them.  It's so wonderful!  We are so thankful that they are going to spend the time and money to come experience this journey with us.

Want to see the updated plan?  Check it out here!

~ Jesslyn