Kathmandu, Nepal

Namaste from Kathmandu!
We arrived here on Friday afternoon and got our first taste of winter since last year's St. Patrick's Day storm. The temperatures here range between mid-40's to mid 60's, depending on cloud cover. After Hawaii, New Zealand, and Thailand, that's quite cold enough for us. A nice hot toombha is just the thing to warm you up at the end of a long afternoon of sightseeing. The drink is a favorite among the Sherpas and Tibetans. It consists of fermented millet, over which you pour boiling hot water, then sip through a straw. Tasty and warming!














It's a little bit of a homecoming for me. I love Nepal, and we spent some time visiting some of my favorite haunts in Kathmandu, including Bodhnath Stupa. Bodhnath is a center for Tibetan culture and Buddhism, with several schools and monasteries. And of course the awe-inspiring stupa.

Kathmandu has long been a trade center on the Silk Road. It's position in a protected valley high in the Himalayas makes it a natural stop for traders heading north to Tibet or south to India. The markets of the valley are crammed with fruit, vegetables and grains from the fertile hills and plains, as well exotic silks, wools, and goods from the Tibetan Plateau and Indian plains.

We're also spending some time trying to track down the family that I used to live with. So far, we haven't been successful, but I'm hopeful we'll be in contact with them soon.
Perhaps most importantly, we're just relaxing a bit at the cozy Hotel Ganesh Himal. After all, this is our vacation.

Koh Tao, Thailand

The tropical island of Koh Tao lies in the Gulf of Thailand, about a two hour ferry ride from the mainland. The gulf at this time of year is calm and warm, clear and full of life. This makes it a paradise for scuba divers. There are many islands in the gulf, all of which are known for the beaches and the diving. Koh Tao is special because it is known as the most inexpensive place in the world to learn to scuba. Just what we were looking for.

We spent five days on the island, four of which were spent doing our scuba certification training at Crystal Dive resort. The dives were amazing! We dove to 18 meters (about 60 ft) one morning to view amazing coral, sting ray, eel, squid, barracuda and fish galore! The feeling of being weightless down there was wonderful--easy to get distracted from the importance of breathing and equalizing. We're now PADI Open Water Scuba certified- yeah!

The beaches and the restaurants were fabulous as well. The small island to the left of Debbie is the area of Twins, White Rock and Japanese Gardens- where we did our dives.


Although just about any type of cuisine, from Irish pub fare to Mexican to sushi was available on the island, nevertheless we budget conscious travelers ate a lot of Pad Thai, the most basic Thai food available. Very tasty and very inexpensive. Khawp khun khrap!

Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is really, really big. And hot, and busy. Really busy. We've been here for a few days, and we're getting a feel for the city while we get over the jet lag of flying from New Zealand. The most amazing site we've seen so far is the Royal Palace, and within that we were able to view the Emerald Buddha in his dazzling temple.


















This picture typifies our navigations through the city thus far. We walk a block or two, check out some amazing temple, look around for street signs, and puzzle over the maps in the guide book to try to figure out where we are and where we're going. All this while trying not to be killed by traffic.

































The city has a big Chinese population and a big and crowded Chinatown district. We walked among the vendors for hours, looking at everything from pickled squid parts to hello kitty pillows.














At the end of one hot, dusty day, too tired to walk back to the guesthouse, we discovered that the best way to get around the town is by water taxi.

Rotorua, NZ

Happy New Year to everyone! We spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Rotorua-- the most geologically active place on the North Island of New Zealand. It's a beautiful spot with lots of Maori culture and interesting geology and history. You can see from the picture that the lake is steaming hot. What you can't see is the smell of sulfur that fills the air all around Rotorua- quite pleasant.

We had a great time on New Year's Eve, drank a bottle of good New Zealand wine with a delicious dinner, ate waaay too many mini donuts hot from the vendor at the carnival, got down at the concert by the lake, had a few beers at the local watering holes, and watched the fireworks at midnight. Welcome to 2008!