Not ready for NYC yet

In a last gasp of desperation to avoid returning to the real world (does B-school count?), I have re-scheduled my plane ticket to stay in LA for 4 more days. aaahhhhhh

Home

We are finally home after spending 48 hours in airports and planes. The flight home was quite a harrowing experience and an adventure in itself since we had 4 connecting flights before reaching LAX, our final destination.

During the Dubai--> San Francisco plane portion of the trip, an older man made the mistake of sneaking a smoke in the bathroom. Understandably, if you have any sort of chronic addiction, a 17 hour flight will get the best of you. Needless to say, it didn't turn out too favorably for this old guy because he didn't quite understand English, none of the attendants could speak his language, so no one could convey to him that smoking had been forbidden on plane rides since the 80s. He started to cause quite a scene. so along with the burly male flight attendants, the plane marshal was summoned and the man was forcefully handcuffed to his seat. For the remaining 6 hours of the flight, he would get hysterical and at some point started spitting on his neighbors and plane officials, so they muzzled him with a face mask and he spent the rest of the flight sandwiched between the marshal and the male attendants. When we landed, ground officers came onboard to arrest him before the rest of us could deplane. Entertaining? Yes. Appreciated? No.

We then missed our connecting flight from San Francisco--> LAX because we spent too much time waiting for our backpacks,one of which never showed up and is currently still missing. Thankfully we were put on another flight 2 hours later but after we finally boarded, the brakes were problematic so everyone had to deplane and wait for another plane.

I could definetely do without seeing the inside of a plane/airport for a while, thank you very much.

Anyways, we are home and happy to exploit the comforts of a westernized country.
Thanks for reading! Jason has posted our pics at www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum

Mt. Kilimanjaro

We did it, we climbed and climbed and climbed for, literally, days and we reached the summit. I dont think I've properly digested the past 5 days to give an accurate and wholesome recap of our latest adventure (and i'm worried that the bad internet is going to shut me off before i finish), so i'll wait until we have better access and more clarity.

All I can say is that climbing this mountain was THE hardest, most challenging physical, mental and emotional journey of my life. and that is an understatement. Our wonderful group of 6 all reached the summit and i think at some point, each of us broke down and cried. its hard to explain, but i'm so proud.

A close encounter at the Greatest Shoal on Earth

Close encounter with whale, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

We booked a trip to witness the annual sardine run in South Africa six months prior. It was by far one of our pricier excursions but we were too curious to pass on the opportunity to witness one of nature’s great events. To summarize, the sardine run occurs along the cape of Africa when seasons change and sardines migrate north to warmer waters. This mass migration of sardines makes for an annual feeding frenzy for the Indian ocean’s marine life including copper sharks, dolphins, seals, Brudas whales, and gannots (sea birds) to name those we witnessed.

We booked a flight from Capetown into Durban and with our Chevrolet Spark in tow, we made the five hour drive through Transkei to Port St. John, a small tribal village that relies on the two week long sardine run for their annual tourism income. The drive itself was through African townships and the famous Transkei Big Five. Not to be confused with the African Big five (lion, leopard, water buffalo, rhinoceros, and elephant), the Transkei Big Five is less glamorous: dead goats, dogs, cows, donkeys, and chickens. We saw plenty of them all splattered the along the pot-holed roads as we made our way over endless hill and hills before finally seeing the ocean.

Our skipper Carl and dive master (and cook) Allen were typical South African dudes, friendly guys, always drinking and joking around. After dinner, we booked to bed early to get ready for a big day out to see. Supposedly the last 5 days were storm-ridden and our first day would be the first day that anyone would be out in the ocean.

At 6AM we climbed into our damp wetsuits and drove down to the riverbed where we would load our dive boat and launch to sea. Cold and miserable were an understatement. We sat in the boat freezing all the while being sprayed by the cold ocean and feeling nauseous from the rocky sea. Carl circled around for a few minutes in the riverbed before launching to sea. Apparently, this is the most challenging part of the launch: to get to sea we must negotiate dangerous waves and currents that could easily flip our boat. That day we were the first of only four boats to make it out to sea. After watching Carl steer our ship past the crashing waves, we offered him a round of applause and then the hunt began.

The search begins by looking for large colonies of gannots (sea birds) who follow pods of dolphins from above. These gannots will take us to the action. On the way, we begin to see dolphins jumping out of the water and we know we are getting close. However, after a few hours of watching birds and dolphins and the occasional whale surface (a majestic sight in itself), no sardines yet. By this time, Jennifer was shivering with cold and I was nauseous with sea sickness; it was beginning to feel miserable.

Then all of the sudden the gannots circling the air began to kamikaze bomb straight into the water like heat-seeking missles and the water surface begins to glisten with fish and dolphins. Our skipper yells at us to get our equipment on. He pulls us straight up to the “bait ball” and we jump into the water.

A mad frenzy ensues underwater and we are there to witness everything through the lens of our dive masks. Sardines have been coraled into tight balls and trapped to the surface of water by cunning pods of dolphins who easily snatch them up with their sharp mouths. Beneath the surface we can hear the squeals of the dolphins as they communicate with each other. At the same time the gannots dive-bomb into the water to get their shares. Some unlucky divers accidentally get smacked by the gannots. Looking down: all I see are dozens of gannots swimming underwater trying to hunt down any available sardines before re-surfacing for air, who said birds can’t swim. Ten feet below, I spot a copper shark and look up at my dive buddy Harvey. I grab him and yell “watch out, shark below!”. He replies “no shit, there are dozens of them down there.” I look down and realize that indeed we are swimming with sharks. Fortunately for us, only sardines are on the menu today. We keep our fist clenched so our fingers don’t get confused. The frenzy continues for over 15 minutes, dissipating when the sardines escape and reappearing when the dolphins coral another ball up. Then all the sudden from deep below, a whale appears and swims right below my fins. All I remember our the deep blue gills and the humongous tail of this 15 meter long mammal. This three second encounter literally took my breath away and had me happy for the day. Seeing such a large mammal up close was simply beautiful.

The bbq and beer was plentiful that night as we celebrated the “hottest action” our skipper, Carl, had seen in 10 years of doing this.


The next morning was colder but I armed myself with four motion-sickness tablets and Jennifer borrowed a big coat. The waves were even bigger today and our skipper ordered the scuba gear off the boat to save weight and make our boat quicker. We spent 20 minutes circling on the riverbed this time and we feared that we wouldn’t be able to make it out to sea. Thankfully our skipper found a gap and in a few minutes were cruising again, searching for dolphins and gannots.

About fifteen minutes searching for sardines, the gannots began falling from the sky again and so we scurried into the water. This time, the dolphins were going crazy and the sharks were getting closer to us, snapping blindly for sardines. Pods of five dolphins swimming around us, furiously taking in as many sardines as they can. Our team was elated by all the action and Jennifer said a shark swam right up to my fin. We surfaced and screamed in joy (or fear) as we were seeing even “hotter action” than the day before. I swam up to Jennifer and all of the sudden a whale barreled right in between us, knocking Jennifer on her back. I caught a bit of this encounter on video but mostly all you can see is the huge whale swimming by and hear all the “oh shits” by the divers. I think our skipper caught this close encounter I don’t know if I was scared or excited at this close encounter with the whale but looking back it was just awesome. Later on skipper said that had he known a whale would come so close, he wouldn’t have let us in the water. The rest of the day was spent witnessing more gannots, seals, and a few more dolphins. It was a short morning but unbelievable. A close encounter we will not forget!

The last two days were slow. Not much action. The sardine run only last for a few weeks each year and supposedly didn’t even happen in the last two years. Jennifer and I got so lucky to catch the two hottest days of the year so far and seeing all the action up close. Please check out our pictures, I’m sure they’ll take your breath away…

www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum

The ocean's most dangerous predator

Great White Shark, originally uploaded by john white photos.

What is the ocean's most dangerous predator? Actually, it is rubbish. yes, plastic bags and human garbage kill more sea ecosystems and wildlife than great white sharks every year.

Anyways, today, Jennifer and i spent the day in Gaansbai where we got to go cage diving with the great white sharks (note, that is not my picture, but one borrowed from John White of flickr). We met the Animal Planet's Sharkman, John Rutson. In fact, John and many people at the dive shop and crew remembered Jennifer from 5 years ago when she did her research out in Gansbaii. They were all really nice and gave us a huge discount on diving, free gifts, and good times.

Anyways, the dive was pretty awesome. We pretty much get taken 20 mins off the coast and then get dropped into a steel cage. Then the shark crew throw "chum" and huge fish into the water to lure the great white sharks in for our viewing. It was pretty exciting and we were within a few feet of sharks measuring over 10 feet long.

On a side not, after the shark viewing, the entire boat got to view a very exciting yack show. Yes, I entertained the whole boat on our ride back to town by vomitting 4 times off the side of the boat. For some reason I coudln't find my sea legs and hold breakfast down. It was quite a sight and even two motion sickness pills couldn't help me. I hope this won't kill me during the Sardine run.

anyways, i will post our own actual pics from the shark dive and South Africa on our flickr soon so keep on checking..

www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum

Hope everyone is doing well at home

Lemur watching in Madagascar

Caught looking, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

We just finished a one week tour of Antanarivo, Madagascar. The country was suprisingly developed as it was once a French colony. Jennifer and I had to get by on some broken French for a few days but it was fine. I think we were both pretty worn out after India so we didn't talk to many locals anyways.

The one highlight of going to Madagascar was to see the lemurs (pictured). These are monkey-like specimens that are indigenous to the island. Contrary to what I thought earlier, Madagascar doesn't have lions, zebras, and other "big 5" animals as shown in the Disney movie "Madagascar". These little lemurs were the most exotic creatures there. Nevertheless, they were really cool. During our hike, we caught a family of lemur mid-howling. Their screeching was very loud and intimidating.

We are in South Africa now. This is our 2nd time here and Capetown has become even more developed since our trip here in 2003. We spent one day in a shopping mall just getting back to some 1st world conveniences. It's also winter here so we had to go to the local department store to buy some warm clothes. The real treat was watching a movie in the movie theatre. How nice it was to sit in a nice cushy chair and watch Ben Affleck and Russell Crowe run around for 2 hours. Nevertheless, we feel refreshed and ready to finish our last month travelling in Africa.

2nd time in India

City View from the City Palace, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

I thought I'd give Jennifer a break from blogging and chime in with my report of my 2nd trip to India. Five years ago, I came to India with Bobby. India chewed us up and spit us out and we vowed never to return. Jennifer has always wanted to come to India, so as a dutiful husband, I decided that I would return to India's touts, scorching weather, poo poo streets, and urine stenched glory. One of my big goals this time was to "unpeel the onion". Every traveler we have talked to about India has said it was "amazing" and "unreal"; I too wanted to seek out this exotic and magical India that everyone raves about.

So far, the trip has been quite mixed. Our first stop in Goa was not too spectacular. The low season in Goa is barren, dirty, hot, and smelly; for the first time in our trip, we yearned to surround ourselves with Western tourists.

Mumbai was a little better. A nice driver took us to visit the slums so we could relieve Dev Patel's "Slumdog Millionaire" and Jennifer enjoyed some shopping in the trendy (even by Western standards) Colaba district.

Delhi welcomed us with scorching heat (46 degrees fahrenheit) and Indian touts. A visit to Old Delhi really wore us down. Thankfully, we discovered Khan Market, the Delhi hangout for Indian yuppies and expats. Sometimes, it's nice to hang with the regular locals, yes those that have white collar jobs, cars, and flatscreen TVs. We must remember that not everyone in India walks around with a turban and eats with their hands. A day trip to Agra let Jennifer say "been there done that" to the Taj Mahal. I was surprised to see how much the local government regulated the touts. There is now considerably less touting and better tourist services for foreigners in most tourist attractions in India.

The last week has been spent caravaning across Rajasthan, the India state known for it's vast deserts, forts, and mosques. Most these forts overlooked wonderful shanty towns that looked charming from above but were littered with cowpies at groud-level.

Our first stop, Udaipur was a nice surprise. Our hosts at the Tiger Hotel welcomed us as their only customers for three nights and we enjoyed roti, curries, and daal (chickpea mush) on rooftop restaurants every night overlooking the city. It was also this time where we received the sad news that my Aunt in Taiwan lost her battle with cancer so we spent the days less active and remembering her good character.

Our next stop Jodhpur reminded me of Jaipur, a large city, a dump, with a large fort. We took an unpleasant 5 hour bus and got stuck by a rickshaw driver in a crappy hotel. I think Jennifer was getting a little homesick at this time so we were quick to make Jodhpur a fading memory.

The next day we recruited our spunky driver, Sanjay, to take us to Jaisalamer. Our trip ride was hugely entertaining. Sanjay was a feisty father of 4 who enjoyed Indian hip hop and bungra dancing. Throughout the 5 hour car ride, he entertained us with shaking shoulders, waving hands, and his Indian trance/rave/bungra music....even when we were trying to sleep or read. Finally, we made it into Jaisalemer and turned up into our beautiful hotel inside the actual fort and overlooking the city. What a great find! We are living out of a scene of Aladdin. Thankfully, Jaisalmer is a smaller town which translates into less touts and more sincere people...this has been very welcoming.

Today Jennifer and I went on a camel safari and ate dinner in the desert with the local people. Our camels, Badu and Moinka, had the unfortunate task of hauling us up and down sand dunes through the hot day and at night. The desert people were really poor and really put in perspective our good our lives back home are. We also met a very interesting family from Arizona. The Cohen's stand 5 strong and are taking a year off from work and school to travel. What a cool family....they are fallowing a similar itinerary as us, but they have also been through mainland China and will be hitting up Europe and South America as well. Jennifer and I were all too glad to hear some American voices and glad we ran into such a cool family.

Tomorrow we head back up to Delhi (via an overnight sleeper train) and wrap up India. Next up, Africa...this will be a challenge but I do foresee many cool pictures and stories to tell.

I hope everyone is doing well back at home.

Jason

Udaipur, Rajasthan

Indian moustache, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Greetings from Udaipur, located in the central state of Rajasthan. Udaipur has been heralded as the "Venice of India" because of its famous Lake Pichola but the water has been missing for 2 years due to poor monsoon rain fall. Luckily, the city has still retained much of its charm due to a few beautifully bejewled palaces and temples. Also, its fairly underdeveloped and untouched by western modernization so you can get a nice sleepy feel for Old World India.

The gentleman in the picture is sporting the classic Rajasthan-y moustache which, as he proudly informed us, takes 30 minutes each morning to recreate. Among styling cream and gel, this creation is held up by spit and butter, yes, butter. He was such a jolly fellow (a minority in this country, it seems) and was quite happy to have his portrait taken. I love hiim!

Tomorrow we are off to Jodhpur, home to more forts and searing temperatures.

- Jennifer

Those damn touts

The most aggravating/annoying aspect of traveling in a 3rd world country is the endless barrage of locals speaking pidgin english asking one or more of the following:
- "Taxi?"
- "Tour Guide?"
- "Bracelet?"
- "PASHMINA SCARF?"
- "Take look, Madam?"
- "Madam, take look?"
- "Book?"
- "Give me moneyyyy?"
- "Battery?"
- "Memory Card?"

and then followed by "cheap price for youuuu!?" Touts are relentlessly annoying, but are part of the traveling scenery.

The absolute worst is the child-tout. Not only are they super energetic and even more supercharged their their adult counterparts, but it is heartbreakingly depressing for a 3 year old to bear the brunt of the attitude of fed-up, tired tourist (such as myself). The worst experience occurred in Siem Reap as we were pulling away from the Killing Fields in an auto rickshaw (fancy scooter). A tiny, scrawny, adorable little girl had been trying to sell us some useless cloth bracelet for the past 5 minutes. She climbed onto the edge of the rickshaw as we were pulling away still begging as we moved faster until finally the driver scolded her to get off, then proceeded to chase after us for a few hundred meters in bare feet.

They are everywhere: lurking at stop lights in the craziest traffic you have ever seen, lying in the middle of busy intersections, pacing at the top of a temple near Angkor Wat.

Its utterly depressing..kids have it so good in the states, its unbelievable.

Delhi,India

Imagine the hottest you have ever been, multiply that by about 10 and you will know how Delhi feels in June. It is ridiculously hot here, but I dont think the sun has even reached its maximum potential at this particular latitude and longitude. I am hoping we will have escaped to Africa before we need to experience that. Even at 7pm, when light is barely perceptible on the horizon, I feel like i'm standing in the wake of the exhaust pipe of an old '65 Chevy pickup that hasn't had a smog check in 20+ years. Its dusty, smoggy, and thick. My eyeballs feel hot.

Oh, its hot!

We whirled through Mumbai pretty quickly, and I found it to be a pretty vibrant and charming city. We visited Cafe Leopold and the Taj Palace, sites of the tourist shootings in late 2008, I took a nice picture next to the bullet holes...they still haven't patched it up yet. I have been thinking about terror tourism. I'm wondering if violent acts committed in the name of terrorism actually boost tourism. I mean, prior to 9/11, the twin towers had never crossed my mind. Its slightly morbid but seems to be true so far.

Oy, its hot!

Goa, India

I will forever have eternal gratitude for Jason's hard work in accumulating all these hotel points. We're currently fortunate enough to stay at the Marriot, which is located in Myramar, Goa. We spent the majority of the morning/afternoon feasting, sleeping and web surfing but finally managed to organize a mini jaunt outside the compounds to tour the neighboring area. I'm hesitant to say this, but, man, this place is a dump not pretty. Similar to many parts of 3rd world asia, there seems to have been no care put into urban planning/sanitation/pollution control. Heaps of garbage, plant debris, various other crap fill the gutters and, what seems like, every nook and cranny along clay roads. We took our walk at dusk and the beach was far from idyllic. Its monsoon season- hazy lighting from heavy clouds combined with red clay dust and thick smog and the suffocating humidity give feeling, like something out of a zombie horror film.

Nonetheless, tomorrow will be more promising: we'll venture into Old Goa and remnants of Portuguese establishment among other tourist sites.

Bangalore, India

Having a good time, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

It was devastating to leave the paradise that is Rangali Island, Maldives but we managed to say goodbye with few tears :(

We are currently in Bangalore, India where we have ~12 hour layover (4pm until 6am next day) before continuing on to Goa. We had the not so brilliant idea to stay up all night, exploring the city then staying up at the airport. Luckily there is free wifi to kill the next 6 hours before we board our plane :)

We did get dropped off in the middle of the major shopping district, but it seems for the most part that Bangalore is a surprisingly westernized, extremely modern and highly bustling city. I was disspointed that the ubiquitous "Cafe-Coffee Day" (equivalent of Starbucks) didn't have any Chai Tea.

The next 3 weeks in India should amount to plenty of interesting pictures,and experiences. I have wanted to visit this country for a very long time and i'm so glad to finally be here!

Fish Massage in Cambodia

Getting a fish massage on our feet, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

After walking around Angkor all day (well, for 3 hours) our feet required some maintenance to maintain their supple, but firm textures. As if a sign from God, we saw a sign for "fish massage". I had heard of this phenomena from the news and was eager to test it out. Because we are cheap bastards, we, of course, bargained the $3 dollars/per person for 20 minutes into $4 for 2 people for 15 minutes thus saving $2 dollars which was applied to our dinner fund. (s.e asia is absurdly affordable. nyc will be hell)

We were led to a tub-like wading pool and greeted by a few other tourists (Guailos) who had already submerged their feet into the tub which was infested with tiny little fish. An attendant cleaned our feet with a communal towel before we were allowed to begin.

Upon submersion, the fish hungrily swarmed to our parched, delicious heels and nibbled ferociously, as if their very lives depended on our calloused contributions. It took about 10 minutes to get used to all the weird nibbling but my feet really did feel smoother after.

Apparently, in the US, this type of massage has been outlawed, deemed "unsanitary" and "illegal." Fortunately, S E Asia has no guidelines around sanitation, so if you are interested, you can try it in Cambodia!

Ta Prohm

Trees growing in and out of walls, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Of all the temples we managed to squeeze in during our 6 hour tour of Angkor (divided between 2 days), the last, Ta Prohm, was the most beautiful and interesting. The majority of the temple was in shambles due to the intense pressure of the giant silk cotton trees growing through/around/on top of/(preposition) the structure. I really love it when nature trumps man. In this case, it made this particular temple the most memorable and awe inspiring.

Jason vs Cricket

A nice lady offered me a snack, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

We took a 5 hour bus from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Saigon, Vietnam. En route, we were momentarily paused by the Mekong River "pier" where we were quickly swarmed by troves of merchants selling sunglasses, mangoes/asstd fruits, banh (bread), zippo lighters, coffee (toxically awesome caffeine in SE Asia!), and insects. We turned to each other "should we buy some?" in our 5 minutes of debate and vacillation, we began to cross the river and lost our chance. Fortunately, the lovely woman in front of us bought a bag! Jason peered over and asked if he could sample a morsel and she was kind enough to sacrifice poor little fried jiminy for hungry Jason.

I documented the entire 3 second event and refused any affection for the remainder of the ride lest bits of shell or antennae remained in his teeth. Needless to say, I was impressed. He says it tasted like sauce.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Today we visited the Killing Fields and the S-21 prisoner detention center of the Khmer Rouge.  To be honest, my understanding of this 3 year mass genocide of Cambodian citizens was (an for the most part, still is) vague.  Since I'm pressed for time, ill copy and paste an excerpt from an email i sent about my experience..(sorry :( !)

...the killing fields is this relatively small plot of land about 15km from the city center of phnom penh where tens of thousands of cambodians were killed during pol pot's terror regime in the 1970s.  its hard to describe. the land is small in comparison to how immense and intense it felt.  when you look out onto the landscape, its just like tons of indentations in the dirt with lots of green, beautiful grass covering them.  these indentations are the mass graves of all the tortured prisoners. they would just stack hundreds/thousands of bodies in the graves. when they exhumed one grave, in particular, they discovered bones but no heads..the prisoners had all been decapitated. there was a separate monument, the architecture was similar to their temples here and it was just glass cases of skulls...even though they cleaned them and everything, the stench was totally undeniable..i started feeling kinda sick after that.

after the killing fields, we drove back to town and went to the s-21 prison where these prisoners were detained before being taken to the killing fields. from my understanding, it was mostly just an inquisition/torture center.  we were allowed to go into the cells and they had left the beds that prisoners were kept on along w/ the torture instruments used on them. on the walls, they enlarged photographs taken by the Khmer rouge of their victims.  in the upstairs rooms, there were rows and rows of hundreds of face portraits taken by the khmer rouge to document the prisoners followed by rows more pictures of these prisoners being tortured.  these were all pictures taken by the khmers to document their torture. it was just unbelievable.

i just told jason to take me somewhere happy after this tour, we went to this market and got some shaved ice and steamed corn. still now, when i'm sitting poolside, i can't shake this nauseating feeling....

Cambodia

The Monk way, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Siem reap, Cambodia has been a pleasant surprise so far. We came into Siem Reap not knowing what to expect. However, for our short stay here, we have been pleasantly surprised.

There are still many touts, asking you for tuk tuk rides, but that is the same all over southeast asia. The Angkor Temples were absolutely wonderful and I was a bit awe-struck. It's definetely comparable to the Taj Mahal.

Siem reap itself is your pretty standard southeast asian tourist enclave. However, there are many modern developments and 5-star resorts. I was a bit surprised but I guess angkor wat really brought in the tourist dollars.

Food is also very cheap. Jennifer and I have eaten at some very nice Western style restaurants and come out paying only 10 USD for a big BBQ dinner.

Okay, there are way to many bugs at this internet cafe so I'll be writing again later

Jason

Charmed in Luang Prabang, Laos

Our whirlwind tour throughout Southeast Asia continues and we are currently in Luang Prabang, Laos. During a previous trip to Thailand with my family in 2004, I stepped into Laos while we were doing a "golden triangle" (laos, vietnam, cambodia) tour of the Mekong and didn't find it particularly appealing or special. But, sfter minor deliberation, we decided that despite the expensive one-way plane ticket from Hanoi to Laos since we'd probably never get a "natural" opportunity to visit this sliver of a country.

I am SO SO happy we decided to visit because Laos, at least Luang Prabang, is unexpectedly charming. It'ss like the Sierra Madre of Southeast Asia- outside of the wats, the architecture is very Westernized (probably result of some European colonization) and the town is quaint and on the sleepier side. The barely bearable temperature (35-40C) might have something to do with the sleepiness, but compared to the crazy buzzing of Hanoi, Laos is like a gentle slumbering bear. In fact, there is a government mandated 12:00am curfew and dancing is restricted to select few establishments. Tonight, Jason and I have decided to get back to our hotel by 8:30pm so we can shower and catch "Fool's Gold" on HBO on our tiny 12'' Samsung TV...yes, we are getting crazy!

My impression of Vietnam is mixed. It's like when I was 8 and my sister was 14 and I wanted to follow her and her friends everywhere and be just like her. But she was in junior high and a teenager and she'd deliberately speak French, which she was taking in school, and write her notes to her friends in French so I couldnt spy.

Vietnam has so much to love but it doesnt want my love, which irritates and frustrates me to no end. Contrary to the Balinese, which were, at times, obsequious with their attention to tourists, Vietnamese seem to tolerate. I often found the mighty Western side of me wanting to punch them in the face for shoving me, albeit gently, aside when I offer them unreasonable prices for mangos. The fact that I speak broken Spanish, Chinese, Taiwanese and English has no clout in Vietnam, not that is should, but again, the mighty westerner in me demands some polite attention. I'm only half serious.

I commented to Jason that perhaps there is TOO much French influence in Vietnam...

Hello Uncle Ho

One tourists at Uncle Ho's, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Last night we arrived in Hanoi. Chelsea and I visited Hanoi a few years ago and it was one of my favorite Asian cities to visit. Hanoi evokes the image of what a Westerner would think of as traditional and developing Asian city. Lots of scooters and bikes zooming around. Many small stores selling everything from baskets to bras. And of course restaurants spilling onto the already crowded sidewalks where we can eat pho or ice desserts. The smells, noises, and sights of Hanoi somehow remind me of spending summers in Taiwan when I was a kid.

Today we walked around the Old Quarter and visited Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. Jennifer is learning that real Vietnamese food is slightly different to that of Pho 32 in New York and Golden Deli in San Gabriel. Tonight she found a great little pho restaurant serving very beefy (and oily) pho. It was tasty and I only had one bowl. Then we walked around a bit and found a deli for a Vietnamese sandwich, with random meats and pate.

I quite like eating in the streets. The little stools are surprisingly comfortable and you can't beat the prices. Anywhere from $1-$2 for a bowl of pho and $.50 for a beer from a "Bia Hoi" stand.

Another thing, we felt lazy today so we hired a "cyclo" (vietnamese pedi-cab). Our restaurant was about a 10 minute ride away so we negotiated the rider to take us there for 15000 dongs; this is the equivalent of 80 cents in the US. I remember the summer where I pedi-cabbed in downtown San Diego. I remember that I once got paid $40 to take two drunk guys up the street (though they were big guys and overweight). How different two worlds are!

Anyways, hope everyone is doing well back home.

Jason

Ubud (pronounced OOOO-BOOOD)

We are spending our last few days of Indonesia in a town called Ubud. It's an inland town away from the beach but it is supposedly the art and cultural center of Bali and there are many art galleries, temples, and museums here to justify that. Jennifer and I have been pampering ourselves with good food and massages instead.

Last night we went to a Cecak dance. It was a traditional dance show where 70 men sat in a circle chanting a (chk chk chk) noise for two hours while a show was being performed in the middle. It was hard to describe but hopefully when I post the pictures you guys can get an idea of what it is like. Otherwise, we have been battling out our turf with the local monkeys here.

In a few hours, Jennifer and I will be taking a cooking class, to cook some traditional Indo food. Hopefully after a night of drinking and clubbing, I will be able to invite you all back home for some late night nasi goreng and chicken curry!

alright, i'll be posting more pictures when i get to a faster internet connection...a bit slow here.

hope everyone is doing good and staying away from the swine flu

jason

Diving in the Gili Islands

Jason and I are currently bobbing along Gili Trawangan, the largest of the trio of Gilis located ~2 hours away from Bali, Indonesia. Among the many beautiful things about this island, automobiles/scooters are not allowed so the quickest way to travel is by horse and carriage, no joke. Upon our arrival, we were approached by a "driver" and negotiated a fair price to be driven to scout out our lodging. We are currently paying ~$35 USD for our double, air conditioned bunglow at Ozzy's, which is just a stones throw away from the beach... life is good! The beaches are FAR more beautiful here than in Kuta- less litter, people and the water is pristine. Nonetheless, there really isnt much of a safety between the power boats that careen haphazardly in the water and the snorkelers, so it could get a little dangerous.

Today we did 3 amazing dives: sharks point, Han's and Hidden Reef. In comparison to the Great Barrier Reef, Gili has a far more beautiful coral forest and many more interesting creatures. I FINALLLLLY saw the "elusive" (only to me, it seems) sea turtle(s) during our first dive!! She (assuming) was 3 feet in diameter and perched up against some rock sleeping contentedly and couldn't be bothered by passing divers. Throughout the afternoon we saw a few more hawkbeak turtles munching hungrily on coral and algae, I could have watched them all day. Other notable creatures included lion fish, moray eels, tiny snakes, manta shrimp, box fish and hundreds and hundreds of other fish. I must give credit to our fantastic dive master, Irwin, for his good eye for pointing out tiny creatures. All in all, so far we are really loving Gili. We'll do another 2 dives tomorrow morning then head to Lombok.

Hopefully you'll be able to see our pics once jason uploads..the turtles are AWESOME!

Jungle Trek in Bukit Lawang

Orangutang, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

The exhausting journey to Bukit Lawang consisted of a missed flight in Jakarta and a mad dash at the airport, then a four hour ride through traffic-congested Medan, some of the most demanding and pot-holed roads Indonesia has to offer, and a 20 minute hike in the dark through forest to our destination: Sam’s Guesthouse. The next morning, we joined Andrea, Dennis, and Peter to begin our three day trek into Sumatra’s beautiful but challenging jungles. Rinto and Wanda were our local guides; not only were they humorous and charming, but they were completely insightful of the jungle’s ecosystem and creatures, having spent many years working in the Orangutang rehabilitation projects. Though Wanda was a serial chain-smoker, following him through the jungle was a challenge for us. His tiny body allowed him to easily crawl under trees and scramble up hills.

This would be a lot more difficult than the brochure made it look. For the next three days, we climbed up and down the jungle mountains of Bukit Lawang and at night, slept along the river. After a grueling day’s hike, we’d chill in the rivers, catch fish, and watch the monkeys as our trek team prepared camp and dinner. We were quite lucky to have such a fantastic team. Not without dangers and surprises, on one occasion we ran into Mena, a semi-wild “aggressive orangutang”. Just seeing Rinto’s expression got us nervous as he yelled at us to quickly descend down the mountain as he distracted Mena with bananas (he didn’t end up giving them the bananas) On another occasion, we came across a family of black gibbons who were curious of our packs and if we had any food. We stood back and watched Wanda scare them away with a swinging hiking stick, so they wouldn’t continue to track us.

Each night’s sleep was filled with it’s own challenges. Sharing a bed with our creepy crawly friends made it a challenge for us to fall asleep and we were always grateful to see the morning. Meals were always delicious. One evening our team prepared the core of a banana tree into a stew for us. We also snacked on fish we caught from the river. On the second day we shared the river with a three foot long lizard and a five foot long python visited us at dinner on the final night back at Sam’s. Finally, on the last day, we packed up our gear in a series of tubes and rafted our way back to Sam’s guesthouse.

We treated our team to a chicken feast on the final night. Five chickens and vegetables for a trekking crew of 15 costs us around $60 and the team entertained us with guitars and bongos into the night, from Bob Marley to Indonesian pop, they knew it all.

Jennifer and I were quite touched by the people of Bukit Lawang. In 2003, a flash flood decimated the village and killed 280 people. However, when we visited, we were met by genuine and hospitable people (unlike the touts and scam-artists of Bali). Two of our trekking cooks and porters especially made an impression on us. Two young boys in their late teens or early twenties, always smiling and laughing, singing when they knew the words, and clapping their hands when they didn’t. These kids grew up in the poor villages and made a hard living by lugging camping gear up the river each week, we could see that they were just so happy with their lives and the opportunities they had to bring us into the jungle. For that we were so appreciative and envious of them. Bukit Lewang was a stop that we almost chose to skip due to the extra travel involved, however it is one we definitely did not regret coming to.

Burnt in Bali

Kuta Beach, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

It's our fourth day in Bali and we are having a great time. It's nice to finally arrive in Asia. Everything is very affordable and the people are very friendly. We are staying at the Hotel Kumala Pantai here, a resort in its own right and paying what we were paying what we were paying for a very crappy hostel in Autralia. For around $10 here we eat very well each meal. And finally Jennifer has fully indulged in her massages. In two days we'll escape the beach and head to Bukit Lawang, close to Medan, to hike in the Mountains and visit the Orangutangs, it will be a good break from the beach and hopefully the scorching sun. Oh by the way, I am getting really dark and I almost look like a local! Jennifer continues to be a "cheap ass M'fcker!". Today, she diligently analyzed our lunch bill and actually saved us 1000 rupiah (which is equivalent to 10 cents!).

Soon we'll post some pictures of our sunburnt bodies. We are like two red tomatoes, but i'm a dark tomato.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Jason

Goodbye, Australia!

As Jason mentioned in his post, were on our way to Indonesia tomorrow! Today we took a cable car up to an area of rainforest in Cairns. While very lush and green, not particularly notable proceding New Zealand, but nice nonetheless.

Jason and I cocooned ourselves in our car for the majority of New Zealand and our frequent migration around the country kept us from interacting with other travelers. Australia has been special for me because we spend 3 days a boat with a great group of divers and have also been lucky enough to have superb roomates in our sharehouse. From our roomate, who is a solicitor (aka lawyer), working on a pro bono case defending aboriginal land, to a 20 yr old dive buddy traveling during his gap year after high school, each person has interesting stories to tell; this is probably what i enjoy most about backpacking, though it can be pretty sweaty and gross, at times.

Things I will miss about Australia:
- cool/interesting people from our scuba trip and sharehouse
- Tim Tams: the best biscuits ever (I'm told they have them in the States now!)
- BBQ kangaroo: tastes like mix of pork and beef. Very delicious!
- Great Barrier Reef

thanks for keeping up with us!
love,
Jennifer
-

Scuba kangaroo!

Trying on my new wig, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Just returned from our trip into the Great Barrier Reef. This was my second time here and I was very happy with the timing experience. Though I thought that the reef and taken considerable damage and was definitely "less beautiful" than when I dived it 10 years ago with Chelsea. Nevertheless, we had a great time. Jennifer and I did almost 11 dives in three days including two night dives. We had a grea time and our scuba skills improved a lot.

Tomorrow is our last days in Australia. I'm mixed about this. I hate to end another leg of our trip, but we are very much looking forward to gong to Indonesia. Australia has been a bit expensive for travellers like us and simply didn't have the sheer beauty of New Zealand we were expecting. Furthermore, we got it by some pretty strong rain which kept us inside our little sharehouse for many hours.

I had some good luck with my underwater camera so in case you haven't seen my new under water pictures yet, they are posted on www.flickr.com\photos\ruchbum

Okay...see you later!

Jason

One night in Oz

Sleeping in the car one night., originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

As Jennifer's previous post stated, we have run into some bad luck while touring Australia. Notably the rainy weather which caused us to drastically change up some of our plans. Anyways, while we were planning on spending a few days in Byron Bay surfing, we decided to fly up north Cairns to spend a few more days diving.

So anyways, we arrived late in Byron Bay due to the bad weather and decided that we were going to leave early morning. We simply needed a place to "lay our heads down". Anyways, the hostels were expensive and so we just decided to sleep in the car. Here is a picture of us setting up our beds! What a fun night. In the morning we were greeted by some wild turkeys looking for food.

As of now, we are in Cairns. I came here 10 years ago and it hasn't changed much. We are staying here for a week in a nice little sharehouse where we are sharing a house with a swiss couple, german couple, and a Australia lawyer. It is very nice compared to some of the crappy hostels we've been housed in (especially in Brisbane) and we are also finally enjoying some summer weather!

Anyways, we'll be offline for a few days as we are taking a boat out for two nights to explore the outer reefs of the Great Barrier Reefs. This was also the first place I tried scuba diving with Chelsea 10 years ago so i'm really looking forward to going back.

I've put some new pictures on www.flickr.com\ruchbum of sights we've seen in Australia so far. Sadly, nothing of Brisbane. Quite frankly, we didn't find that city interesting. Okay hope everyone is doing great!

Once in a century

Rain brings flood chaos to Sydney and Australia
"Parts of eastern Australia have been declared a natural disaster zone after a “once in a century” flood stranded thousands of people in regional towns, and heavy rain also forced the closure of Sydney’s most popular beaches...."
"...This type of flood will only get to that level once in a 100 years,” Mr Kear told The Times. “In saying that, the previous one was just over a decade ago....”

So in addition to hitting the airline strike and the power outtage, we've apparently encountered the worst rainstorms to hit in over a century. Since we left Sydney its been non stop rain, so we've had to abort any surfing/sightseeing along the New South Wales (NSW) coast. At present time, Jason and I are buying some time before our bedtime where we will be sleeping in our rental car because we are too cheap to pay for a motel :) I can't seem to get over how expensive this continent is, luckily we'll be heading back into third world territory in about 1 week.

Happy Times

Baggage handlers shut down airports

Massive power blackout brings Sydney to its knees

Guess which 2 lucky travelers where affected by the above headlines during their first 5 hours in Sydney, Australia?!?! If you guess Jason and I, you are absolutely correct!!

We arrived into Sydney Airport on March 30 only to be doused with a teaspoon of airline baggage strikers, and a dash of blackouts. The first news paralyzed us because we were given no information as to when we'd receive our baggage, other than "later". With no clean underwear, sleeping clothes, toiletries, and clean clothes for about 2 days, you can imagine how much I didnt love Sydney.

We finally got our luggage yesterday night-I have never been so happy to see my heavy backpack!!

So far, Jason and I have walked through Darling Harbour, Chinatown, Circular Quay, Sydney Opera House, visited the Sydney Aquarium (highly recommended) and met up with Diana, one of Jason's friends from Accenture. Sydney is one of the prettiest metropolitans I have been in, but unfortunately, it is as expensive as NYC, which was one thing I was realllly hoping to veer away from during our travels. Luckily we've got a rental car and will be driving up along the western coast towards Brisbane over the next 8 days.

Interesting things we've learned about Aussies from personal experience and from Diana (Chicago native, studying in Oz for past year)

- there is no such thing as customer service here. no one "can be bothered" to care about your problems, as demonstrated by our suitcase situation.

- Quay is prounouced "Key" and Cairns is pronounced "Canes"

- They abbrviate everything here. Instead of saying "thanks", they say " ta"

Nevertheless, still having a grand old time and eating lots of chinese food and blending right in with the rest of the Asian immigrants here :) We're told that as we leave Sydney, we'll be in redneck country so we're saddling up!

Jennifer

Last Day in New Zealand

Queenstown Hike - waterfall, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Today is the last day in New Zealand. We had such a great time and I finally fulfilled a 5 year dream to come to this wonderful country. I hope I will return very soon. We will be going to Australia for 12 days next. Some thoughts about New Zealand.

- the people here are genuinely very friendly...even bus drivers and gas station attendants
- once you get used to driving on the other side of the road, it's very driveable
- yes you will encounter scenery and landscapes that look like Lord of the Rings
- hiking and camping is so fun!
- old people and travellers stay at hostels, not just young college grads
- we need to start being even more "green" at home, people here genuinely care about being green
- work to live? or live to work?

- Kiwi rugby is intense and looks more demanding than American football

- the beer here is good, as are the kebabs

Jason

Being green

This country is both literally and culturally green. Public facilities are visibly outfitted with energy conserving bulbs, SUVs (frequently seen in USA) are eschewed for more practical, but equally spacious, hatchbacks/station wagons. Even our YHA (youth hostel) advertises that it uses chemical free detergent, although i'd prefer they bleach the bejeesus of soiled linens. The toilets here (and in Taiwan, suprisingly) come with the option of the full or half flush. It took me awhile to internalize this concept, but now, even when I wake for a midnight number 1, I unconsciously push the waning-moon icon. The full-moon icon is reserved for my duties after my cup of warm water in the morning. I wonder how much water this really saves, and I wonder why this phenomena isn't employed in the US?

I am in complete awe of the freedom allotted to livestock here. Jason and I have seen huge bulls running, yes running! Oh, to be a sheep in this country-! Sheep graze all day long and when they are full, they collapse with full bellies on the greenest hills and bask contentedly in the beautiful New Zealand sunsets. For some odd reason, we haven't seen any pigs, but I've seen them on the butchers block at the markets.

Jason and I have eaten a lot of lamb kebabs and New Zealand Gala apples, which taste SO much better than the imported rubbish we get in the states. Beyond apples, Autumn isn't such a great time for fruit here.

These are just a few things I've noticed. We are in Christchurch right now, it seems to resemble San Francisco mixed with the small English town-feeling. In case any of you decide to visit...So far, this is a list of the NZ cities ranked in order of personal likeability: Wellington, Queenstown, Christchurch and Auckland.

Arrived in Christchurch

Don't have much to report on Christchurch yet...it looks like a nice city and we only have one day here. I'll make sure to take good photos tomorrow for everyone to see.

Jason

Wet my pants in Quennstown!

Greetings from Queenstown. Today is our relaxing day as the past few days have been filled with roads, rides, and jumps. I am really enjoying Queenstown, a small town that is claimed to be the "adventure capital" of New Zealand. As Jennifer mentioned there are so many tours and sports to do here and so many cool REI-like stores. I'm loving it! So far, Jennifer and I have went luging (think Mario Cart), which was really fun, as we careened down the top of the mountain in little plastic luges. We also tested our will on the famous AJ Hacket Bungy where we did a canyon swing and bungee jump (videos will be posted when I return). Bungee jumping was by far the scarriest thing I've ever done, scarier than sky diving. The canyon swing was no tamer.

Yesterday, Jennifer and I took a BBQ bus ran by a Japanese and Kiwi couple to the famous Milford Sound. Sadly, I would have to say that Haloong Bay in Vietnam is much better but it was a nice day, even though I got a bit car sick. Anyways, hope everyone at home is doing great. Eddie and Janet, have a great wedding. We wish we could be there with you all but I hope you guys have a great time and post many photos for us to see!

Jason

XQueenstownX

Hello from Queenstown, NZ- home and birthplace to all that is X-treme. I want Jason to give you more details about our day since he's madly in love with this city and keeps threatening to move here :) In a nutshell, Queenstown is a full sized city in the likeness of REI; there are seemingly endless amounts of stores carrying sporting/camping/outdoor gear. Bascially, this is Jason's utopia!

I can't remember when we left the States, sometime in February, I think. Taiwan and Hong Kong didn't really feel like travelling because we were in our home countries, spending time with our families and busy doing wedding stuff. Now that creature comforts are hundreds of thousands of miles away, the idea of being away from home for 5 more months, at times, seems pretty daunting. I suffered my first bout of "homesickness" during my first week in New Zealand, missing "home" (wherever that is, at this point), missing my family/friends, missing my dogs, missing familiarity. I really have nothing to complain about, I'm on the trip of a lifetime, and I totally recognize and appreciate.

When we did our kayak through Abel Tasman, we met a girl who had spent the last 1.5 years in both India and Spain and was now couch surfing and hitch hiking through NZ. There must be hundreds of similarly situated people in NZ, and I regretfully acknowledge that I dont have the capacity to be so free.

No real point to this blog, just thinking.

I miss my dogs

Hello Everyone,

I'm giving Jennifer a break from the blog as she is asleep right now. Anyways, today we continued our drive down New Zealand's SH6. For anyone who will ever visit New Zealand, I recommend to skip Auckland and the North Island and come directly to the South Island and drive from Wellington to Queenstown via highway 6. It's has been absolutely beautiful. Morever, Wellington and Queenstown are far superior to Auckland (another big city!). Wellington is artsy and hip. Queenstown is serene, on the lake, sorta like big bear.

Today we visited the Franz Josef glaciers. We just walked to the observatory since actually walking on ice wasn't worth the hassle to us. Then we drove down highway 6 and passed through a few interesting towns and turnsoffs. One of them happens to be Fantail Falls, a 2 min hike to a waterfall that happens to be surrounded by little manmade stone statues. Very cool!

Anyways, off to nurse by bug bites. We'll be in Queenstown for the next few days relaxing and doing some excursions... will keep you posted.

Here are some pictures from today...in case you don't know, I've been trying to post pictures daily to my flickr account. Just go to www.flickr.com\ruchbum

Jason

My navigator

032109 - Drive down the West - New Zealand 018_19_20, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

I would be lost without my navigator

Driving in New Zealand

SH6 Road, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Here is a picture of the roads in New Zealand....they are mountainous and very green. They are fun to drive and have so many things to see when you drive. You just have to be careful because you are driving on the left hand side!

more traveling and life-thoughts

Not sure where to begin! We are currently hostelling in Franz Josef Glacier area, which is home to the reknown Franz Josef Glacier and ____ Fox Glaciers, which are significant for being the only glaciers which reside within waters surrounding tropical rainforests. We will be doing 2 hikes tomorrow to document these natural wonders, so please stay tuned for photographs!!

Since my last blog, we kayaked the Abel Tasman for 2 days (about 3 hours/day) with an overnight camping excursion at Anchorage Bay. Prior to this trip, I had always had romantic fantasies about kayaking along some remote coast. Most of my fantasies were dashed within the first 10 minutes of our trip, it is HARD work and the majority of my energy was focused on getting to the final destination rather than enjoying the scenery. With Jason as the row master, we searched high and low for tricks that would keep us motivated to keep paddling, and by the final hour of the last day, we were PLENTY ready for terra firma.

Last night we spend in Westport, a town that has little significance to me except that we did out laundry (finally), got hot showers, and acquired 10-20 more mosquito bites. Today we drove down along the scenic and beautiful SH6, with kms and kms of rocky shoreline, to our current location. We stopped to take a small hike to the Punkaiki pancake rocks (they only look like pancakes:) ) and got more mosquito bites and some gorgeous picutres.

Hopefully Jason will show me how to update some pics onto this blog, until next time...

Jennifer

Marlborough Sounds

Marlborough Sounds, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Hello All,

Here we are in Marlborough Sounds, a scenic area in the South Island. Today we did a short hike and drove to a town named Nelson. On the way we stopped by a town called Havelock, which claimed to have the world's best mussells. We tasted some and must agree! They were delicous.

Tomorrow we set off for our overnight kayaking trip in the Abel Tasman. We got all our groceries ready and we are excited to finally camp.

Wish us luck!

Jason

crazy hostels

We just landed into Picton, our first stop on the South Island. We were unfortunately only able to book a dorm (shared bunks with strangers) at Atlantis, which apparently is the mecca for this towns loons and crazed. The caregivers are nuts as are the residents, apparently. I'm hoping we make it through the night.. j/k..sort of...

More Pics!

Hi All,

Having a great deal of fun down here in Wellington and looking forward to posting many more pics when we visit Abel Tasman tomorrow.

I've uploaded some pics from our trip but in order not to flood this blog with pics, you can see them on my flickr.

www.flickr.com\ruchbum

or

Jason

Sweet Azz!

Greetings from Wellington, NZ. I previously wrote a long post when we got to Auckland but my computer minutes ran out and I lost it all. Because of pricing and timing, we weren't able to locate a camper van, but we ended up with a lovely "Nissan Sunny", which is approximately the equivalent of a 1991 Nissan Sentra. We drove south to Waitomo, which is famous for their km and km stretches of several caves, and opted for a 7 hour journey through one of the caving systems. It was quite an awesome adventure- 100m descent into the cave by abseil followed by hours of swimming, hiking, rock climbing and exploring. These caves are especially famous for gloworms, which are insect larvae that light up to attract prey, they look like little green stars and the hundreds of thousands of them that live on the cave ceilings look like constellations of stars.

Following Waitomo, we headed towards Turangi, which is close to one of the most famous day treks in all of NZ called "The Tongariro Alpine Crossing". This was an ~7.5 hour hike ascending an active, but dormant volcano, then crossing through several thermal lake/craters and then finally descending down through lush forest. I believe Jason's review of this day will be mor accurate and inspiring. I was in a piss poor mood for about 10 hours straight and after falling and twisting my ankle for the (literally) 7th time I said "I hate this place! It's totally overrated, I can't wait to get the hell out of here" Leave it to PMS to ruin a perfectly good tramp. Jason was a really good sport with my bitchiness, I have to give him 2 eprops...thanks dear!
Today Jason drove all day further south to Wellington, where I am currently blogging. I MUCH prefer Wellington over Auckland. It has a more laid back vibe and seems less pretentious than its sister city. Maybe I've done enough rural,desolate, rolling landscapes so I enjoy this city.
Overall New Zealand's scenery has lived up to its reputation. It is truly such a GREEN and lush country. My favorite scenes are seeing livestock in there "natural" habitat- munching lazily on acres upon acres of grasses vs jailed up in some pen, like in the States. If I come back in my next life as a protein source for humans, I'd like ot have lived my life in New Zealand. Needless to say, I'm enjoying the red meat here.

Our lodging has ranged from creepy, bug-invaded farmstays (Waitomo) to modern, ultra-green and super clean hotels (Wellington). Our average stay per night is about $30, but we're trying to keep it lower to account for the lengthy duration of our overall trip. To further decrease costs, we are cooking dinners in the hostels. One night we went vegetarian and ate a huge head of cauliflower and corn that we bought from a hwy farmstand. The next night I cooked my staple: broccoli, chicken and brown rice. Hostel life has taken some adjusting, but not too bad. I am not really looking forward to the rehydrated food I'll be forced to eat during our, possible, 4 day hike in Abel Tasman (next few days)

Hope everyone is doing well, we wish you were here with us!

Jen

Looking Down

Looking Down, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Jennifer looking down from the top of the sky tower. She is sitting on a 38mm thick piece of glass

Jennifer taking photos

Picture 003, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Jennifer has become quite an excellent photographers, often taking much nicer pictures than those of my DSLR!

Hiking in NZ

Picture 011, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Jetlagged in Auckland

Hello Followers,

It's about 430am here in Auckland, NZ. I'm jetlagged but for some reason Jennifer can sleep through the night unaffected. We are staying at the Nomad Fusion Hostel here. I'm really jealous that the hostel system here is so nice these days (at least compared to the ones we stayed at in Europe circa 2002). I wish I had come when I was younger, they are much cleaner and more social and seems like a lot of fun for yougner travellers. As for Jennfier and I, we are sticking to the doubles...the dorm rooms and social aras are just a bit too noisy for us (what old fogies we are). Right now some german dude is skyping next to me...seems like he is explaning what a "food court" is.

We have been in Auckland for a few hours and so far we've took a nap, visited the skytower (comparable tourist attraction to Taipei 101), and had a simple Japanese dinner. The skytower was cool because unlike Taipei 101, we got to go up on a clear and sunny day. Furthermore, the view of Auckland trumps Taipei as you get to see port, ocean, and mountains.

Auckland is a bit like UC Berkeley. At least the bit we are staying in which is close to a local univeristy (Univ. of Auckland...i dunno). Basically, there are tons of asian immigrants, Japanese, chinese, Korean. So to be honest, it doesn't feel like we left Asia yet...ha!

Our plan today is to take a ferry out to one of Auckalnd's neighboring islands to take a hike, picnic, and some photos...then to come back to organize some logistics (rent a van) and figure out where to head out.

I'll be glad to be heading out of the big city for some natural activities (finally). We'll be back in Auckland in a few weeksto finish off what we didn't see this first time around.

Hope everyone is doing well....please comment!

Hostel

Hostel, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Jennifer brushing her teeth on the bed of the Nomad Fusion Hostel in Auckland NZ.

Review of C&H wedding photography in Taipei

To all the newly engaged couples contemplating taking studio pictures in Taiwan:
We decided to forgo pricey engagement/wedding photographers in Los Angeles after discovering that the photographers we wanted started at ~$6K. Instead we opted to make a pit stop in Taipei at C&H Wedding Studio, which is apparently affiliated with a Taiwanese movie star. Jason's cousin, Patrice, was SO extremely helpful with helping us locate this studio and set up the photoshoot and I thought the experience was very positive and organized.

We were required to pick out our outfits before the day of the shoot; our pricing included a traditional tuxedo for the groom and 4 changes of clothing for the bride. I found the dresses to be fairly acceptable, considering I'm quite possibly in the birthplace of sequins, pastels, lace and all things ornate and gaudy.

On the day of the shoot, we started makeup/hair at 9am. As a self-proclaimed make-up artist, I give super mad e-props to the makeup artist at C&H. She was magic. I wanted to be her apprentice. She was lightning fast and super creative and the keebler elf of transformation. We did an offsite shoot in the mountains but cut it short due to inclement weather. In the studio I changed 3 times and called it quits before the 4th dress because I couldn't handle any more posing and changing and attention. The photographer was really casual and put us at ease, despite a zlight language barrier.

The following day, we were able to preview the pictures, select images for print and framing. Pictures will be completed in 2 weeks and both of our families will be "gifted" with uber large images of us. Neat, tidy, super organized and cheap- we ended up paying ~$2k, including additions to our initial package.

Please feel free to ask us any questions about our experience, we highly recommend it!

Jennifer

Dear Taichung

Today I write to you with a full belly from Taichung, Taiwan. We just finished a, what seemed like, 15 course meal with the family interior decorator who insisted on stuffing our faces with dish after dish. I can't handle much more of this gluttony. As much as I enjoy Taiwanese food, I'm looking forward to a bit more activity in New Zealand, which we leave for on Tuesday :) We left Tainan (my dad's house) on a stormy Friday night and roadtripped with my mom, dad and jason to Jason's mom's hometown. The following morning/afternoon was our "Taiwan banquet", which I consider a very sweet conclusion to our parade of nuptial celebrations. Here I have met Jason's entire maternal family- Aunties 1-4 and Uncle #1 and all the cousins. I can confirm that both Jason's maternal and paternal families are SO nice and hospitable and I feel so fortunate to have gained so many relatives who I now consider my own. My mom/dad/sister/brotherinlaw/niece left for Sun Moon Lake after the banquet and it was harder than I expected to say goodbye. I wont be seeing them for the next 6 months or so since we'll be on the road. :(

Following the Taiwan banquet, we were herded into a karaoke room and we listened to Aunties 1-4 and Grandma sing Mandarin oldies, but goodies. We have some highly entertaining videos and pictures to upload for the aunties' respective children.

We spent today wandering around Taichung city, visiting new and old territories. I expect tomorrow will be much more of the same except we will visit Jason's maternal grandparents' house. I <3 Taiwan very much, its going to be hard to leave.

I expect the next time I write, I'll be somewhere in the southern hemisphere wearing a backlava and chewing on some sort of marsupial.

Hope everyone is safe and sound, we miss you guys! I'd like to give a shout out to Mr. Brown and Hanna, whom I miss very very much...

Jennifer

Streets of Macau

Macau
Originally uploaded by jasonwmak

I dont remember much except the good things we ate:
- tender glazed pork jerkey
- chewy peanut brittle
- Taiwanese pepper bun (char grilled on a tandoori thingy)
- Flakey egg cookie with pork sung
- Portuguese egg custard (dan tat- so delicious)
- Netty's cafe- coffee and pastries

+5kg :)

401 Night Market

401 Night Market
Originally uploaded by jasonwmak

Hello Everyone,

Here we are in front of Taipei's "401" night market. Too bad we had a huge dinner prior to arriving or else I would have gone crazy eating the "hsiao tse" (little eats). The food in Taiwan is pretty delicous. Noodle soups, skewers, fried chickens, taiwanese wraps (burritos), and fresh fruit. One could easily put on a few extra pounds pretty easily here (as I am sure I have). I'm glad the wedding photographer can "photoshop" out a few pounds for me.

I am in the south of taiwan right now with Jennifer's dad. We'll be here for two more nights before we head to the middle of Taiwan to join the Maks. I'm sure there will be some more eating here and hopefully I will sneak a picture of the random roller skating rink on the blog in a next few days.

Jason

Dirrrty South w/ Lee's

Today started off with lunch with my relatives in Taipei at a delicious restaurant called Mitsui. I would highly recommend this place if you are ever visiting Taipei and in the mood for some good Japanese. My particular favorite (ate both Jason and my portions) was the durian wrapped in a fried taro nest (think tempura-style). Following lunch we headed back to C&H to pick our our wedding photos. To reiterate Jason's praise of Taiwanese wedding photography: save your money! take photos in Taiwan!! A package that would have started at ~$6K USD (for the photographer that I was interested in), we paid ~$2K USD including expert photoshop techinques to remove pimples and trim underarm fat!! :) We are both looking forward to getting our pictures back in 2 weeks, shipping our ginormous life-size photos is a separate feat...

After photo selections we trekked to Taipei 101, which had its brief 15 minutes of acclaim as the tallest building in the world. I believe this title has been usurped by some behemouth in Dubai? No large building in the Asias is complete without a shopping section, and floors 1-5 of 101 didn't dissapoint.

Even though I've lived in NY for 2 years now, I have never been to the top of the Empire State Bldg. I avoid that area like that plague and bite my thumb at all the tourists milling around, but when in Rome..The view from the top of the observatory was quite breathtaking and we were able to view Taipei in 360 degrees of gloriousness, taking in both urban densities and the lush foliage of Yang Ming San Mountain. Its a shame that this once-rainforest has lost so much of its greenery to overpopulation and development because the mountains of Taiwan are truly one of the most beautiful ranges I have ever visited.

No excursion to a huge mall is complete without a brief stint in the food court. Nina, David, Penny, Jason and I ventured to the ground floor to sample some mall food (much better selection than the states) then Jason and I headed to the main train station to catch the HSR (high speed rail) to the dirty south to visit my parents. Upon arrival to Tainan, we introduced Jason to the wonders of Tainan cuisine stopping at the famous Tainan peddler noodle hut then picked up a few kilos of fruit to last us the night.

We'll hang out here for 2 nights before heading back up to Taichung where our wedding festivities will conclude with a luncheon and maybe (hopefully) a dance show by Jason's mother and her sisters. I'm totally weddingd out and can't wait to stop trying to squeeze into my cocktail attire. I'm ready to get our traveling show on the road!!!

Oh, I got a perm in HK. I am quite fond of it :)

Mainlander Tourists

023009 - Macau - Macau 324
Originally uploaded by jasonwmak

The sea of mainlander tourists at the Wynn casino

023009 - Macau - Macau 021
Originally uploaded by jasonwmak

St. Paul Catherdral

023009 - Macau - Macau 147
Originally uploaded by jasonwmak

Photo shooting the Formosa!

Greetings from Taipei!

Prior to leaving HK, Jennifer and I made one trip to Macau to visit our cousin, Vicky, Netty's, and to tour Macau. We visited St. Paul's Cathedral and visited the Wynn hotel. This was the first time I have ever been inside a Wynn hotel and I was very impressed. Jennifer said that it was a duplicate of the Vegas hotel. I'm not surprised!



We are now in Taiwan. So far, we have been uber busy with getting our wedding pictures done. Renting tuxes, trying on dresses, and being shuttled around Taipei taking some good shots. Right now we are on our lunch break and Jennifer has just started to get her hair done.....again. For any curious soon-to-be weds, I would highly recommend getting engagement and wedding pictures done in Asia. Last night, we did get a chance to walk around the night markets. For those of you who don't know, Taiwanese night markets are truly to die for as they feature many small stands filled with interesting little foods including skewers, noodles, hot dogs, and desserts.

Tonight, we are meeting Jennifer's grandmother for the first time. This will be exciting!

Hope all is well back home,

Jason

Dinner at the China Club

In front of the bank of china
Originally uploaded by jasonwmak

Jennifer and I were treated to a special dinner ath the members-only China club by our awesome cousins this evening. Food was good and the vintage Shanghai decor was interesting. This is not a spot that I would usually go to on my own (Chinese food targeted towards Westerners) but the night with family was super fun as usual and the history and tradition behind this dining establishment was unforgettable.

Taxi cab line in HK

Taxi cab line in HK
Originally uploaded by jasonwmak

Playing with our color accent feature on our phone.

Jennifer in front of Times Square HK

Jennifer in front of Times Square HK
Originally uploaded by jasonwmak

Here is a picture of Jennifer just hanging in front of the flowers in HK.

Lei Hou from HK

Lei Hou Peng You- Hello, friends!!

Hope our post finds you safe and well!

I am happy to report to you from a remote internet cafe in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Jason and I settled into our hotel following a delicious traditional meal of congee, fried dough, soy milk and milk tea and have been window shopping all afternoon. Jetlag is creeping in but attempting to fight it with caffeinated beverages and high glycemic-foods.

Our time in Hong Kong (and Taiwan) will be primarily dedicated to visiting our friends and family where we will celebrate our belated nuptials, and, of course, stuffing our faces.

much love from the Eastside!

Pictures from the wedding

What's up my friends,

Just wanted to link you guys some pictures from our wedding and New Years Eve bash. There were several sources: the disposable cameras, various digital cameras, and the hired photographers. Enjoy! Click here

Looking forward to updating this blog as we go!

Thanks,

Jason

Recap

Hi Friends and Family!
We wanted to wish everyone a happy new year and thank everyone who made it to our party and for everyone who was there in spirit! This blog hopes to capture our travels in thoughts and in pictures during the next 6 months. Hopefully some of you will be able to join us throughout our journey, if not, we'll see you on the other side in August 2009! Here are a random assortment of pictures from our wedding ceremony and our NYE
bash.

thanks!

On 12/30, (decreed a fortuitous day filled with double happiness by our parents and confirmed by the Bank of China calendar) we opted for a simple ceremony at the Albertson's Wedding Chapel in Downtown Los Angeles with our immediate family (Michelle included :) ). I would highly recommend this chapel for anyone who wants to no-fuss ceremony: it included my bouquet, a techical/proficient photographer and some wedding "sets" (displayed below).

The officiator was pretty entertaining and kept everything moving at a quick clip, just our style.

Here are some obligatory prom/cheese shots from the ceremony:

Our dearest guests:

The two families:

The Mothers:

The Fathers:

The dapper groom/cruise director:


Immediately following the ceremony, the wedding party enjoyed a nice lunch at Craft. (I would recommend the red meat, lamb/steak/ribs and scallops over the fish.) After a brief respite in the afternoon, we joined some friends for dinner at the Arroyo Chop House in Pasadena for some more carnage. Following dinner, Jason and I stayed the night at the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, which I would not recommend except to, maybe, hang out in the Foyer with the cool pirahna-wall mural/exhibit thingy

Thanks to Nina, Michelle and Will for the decorations, champagne and gifts




On 12/31, with MUCH help from our families (THANK YOU GUYS!), we threw a NYE party for our extended friends and family (THANK YOU FOR COMING!) The Mak's were incredibly gracious in letting us use their home for the party and was so lovely:

A VERY special thanks to Uncle Abe and Auntie Lucy for being such a patient and amicable volunteer photographer before our hired photographer came.


The outside complete with lava rocks, bartender (equipped with enough alcohol to make Lindsay Lohan jealous), heat lamps, sofas and blankets.

Apologies to the poor little piggies (3) sacrificed for our marital happiness:

Please, take some fudge home with you! Seriously, does anyone want some fudge?

Inside, Jason and I roamed around taking pictures with our parent's and their guests. I dont believe I have enough memory to post them all :)

lots and lots of "jing jiu", no joke!


Around 9pm, we had the speeches. Thank you to Rob, Chelsea, Nina and Michelle for your years of friendship and awesome speeches!

No party is complete without ZumbA!!!!



Inside the house, jazz hands filled the air. Outside was a different story... Too many to post here and still waiting for more to roll in....

Congrats to the newly engaged couples:

Eric & Dre (This has to be one of my favorite pics)

Justin & Lauren



Sorry if I left anyone out, not intentional at all! Just nearing my bedtime and Im all out of bandwith, we have lots of pics and will post them slowly!

Thank you again for everyone's support, especially our great families!