tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3551229730020616462024-03-12T21:29:33.235-04:00Jason and Jennifer's Most Excellent Adventurejnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-24241564537300649192011-05-15T18:19:00.001-04:002011-05-15T18:19:38.565-04:00More travel planned!Been a while since Jennifer and I have traveled but I'm super excited to let you guys know that I am moving back to California from New York City and Jennifer and I will be spending our summer zig-zagging and seeing the great US of A in the good ol' '96 Ford Expedition. Jennifer has been quite caught up with finals to show her excitement for the trip but I have been scouting, grouponing, and planning this 3 week journey across the 50 states.<br /><br />Tentatively, we are planning on the following itinerary.<br /><br />-NYC - drive south for as long as we can handle (stop somewhere in Virginia)<br /><br />-Charleston - South Carolina - weekend by the beach and golf courses<br /><br />- Birgmingham, Alabama - free stay with cousin Richard? Or spend a night in Atlanta (getting caffeinated at the Coke Museum)<br /><br />-Nashville, Tennesse (homestyle southern cooking and country music)<br /><br />-Kansas City/St Louis, Missouri (Truck stop country BBQ?)<br /><br />Madison, Wisconsin - Supposedly a beautiful college town to visit<br /><br />Minneapolis, Minnesota - spend some time around the great lakes.<br /><br />South Dakota - mt rushmore!<br /><br />Idaho/Wyoming/Montana - hiking/biking/fishing/camping<br /><br />Seattle, Washington - justin/Ben - (side trip to British Columbia)<br /><br />Oregon - maybe visit Corvalis, home of the O. State Beavers!<br /><br />Back to Sunny California in time for July 4th.ruchbumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653861549006006414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-53815270825677493932010-03-25T09:19:00.006-04:002010-03-25T09:58:25.367-04:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">Highly Recommended: </span><br />- Casa Arialis: 66 Zequerda, $25 cuc/night<br />- Paladar Sol y Son (in the LP)<br />- Pedro (Havanatur representative): Simon Bolivar No 424. In the Meson del Regidor cafe<br />- Horseback riding tour to the waterfall<br />- Nightly salsa band at Plaza Mayor<br />- Unlicensed Paladar eating<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6tqt29gM2I/AAAAAAAACUg/C1rd6i-1Z5U/s1600/trin4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 118px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6tqt29gM2I/AAAAAAAACUg/C1rd6i-1Z5U/s200/trin4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452569109942252386" border="0" /></a>After spending 2 nights in Habana, we took the 1pm Viazul bus from Vedado to Trinidad. While I normally would dread a 6-hr bus it did provide a nice glimpse into the landscape of the rest of the country, which reminds me a bit of Riverside and El Monte in California.<br /><br />Upon arrival, there was a small horde of Trinidadian-Casa owners hawking their wares on color print outs. "STay here! Stay here! very nice!" I had read that these brokers get a commission from the Actual Casa owner and avoided their services, opting to hike over to "Casa Munoz-Julio & Rosa" the "Our Pick" in Lonely Planet's guide. Being in the Lonely Planet, and especially being crowned "Our Pick", the equivalent of winning an Oscar in Lonely Planetdom, meant that Casa Munoz was booked solid. Luckily, the very friendly and very helpful Julio recommended his friend's casa and in cubanesque fashion said, "Come, follow me, I will take you!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6tq2m_gIJI/AAAAAAAACUw/VrJ8dGjME8s/s1600/trin2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 137px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6tq2m_gIJI/AAAAAAAACUw/VrJ8dGjME8s/s200/trin2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452569260274491538" border="0" /></a>We arrived <span style="font-weight: bold;">Casa Arialis- 66 Zequera</span> ($25 Cuc/night-not including meals), home of Arialis. Outside of the flaming red comforter cover with sewed on puffy heart pillows and awkward blue stuffed bears, the room was on the shabby side, but very clean.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6tqyaoeFWI/AAAAAAAACUo/pBk-Nxi5niA/s1600/trin1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6tqyaoeFWI/AAAAAAAACUo/pBk-Nxi5niA/s200/trin1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452569188237186402" border="0" /></a>Trinidad was my favorite city that we visited. Every time you blink you open your eyes to a new picture. I loved all the colors, the friendly people and the ease of traveling.<br /><br />Activities that we did in Trinidad:<br />- walking tour: beautiful but unmemorable because I dont have much of an attention span for architecture<br />- peso pizza: deceptively delicious snack<br />- horseback riding: 5 hour ride up to the waterfall and natural pool. We booked through Pedro at the Havanatur desk and realized he gave us one of the cheaper rates compared to other people on this same tour.<br />- Playa Giron: Take a Coco Taxi- best part of the trip. pretty beach but crowded. Don't leave too late from Trinidad or it's hard to get a taxi. Bring mosquito spray.<br />- Paladar Sol y Son: must try! the owner and his brother are like caricatures and the food is delicious.<br />- Plaza Mayor nightly salsa: its free, and dependable<br />- Underground paladar eats: we decided to take a chance on a random woman soliciting her home for a good meal. This is an illegal activity and the process of going to the meal was probably the one of the more exciting parts!jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-42045969489953778382010-03-24T21:14:00.005-04:002010-03-24T22:06:27.752-04:00Havana<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6rE0k2VqvI/AAAAAAAACUI/xLWF6bydvLg/s1600/farrill.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6rE0k2VqvI/AAAAAAAACUI/xLWF6bydvLg/s200/farrill.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452386706409237234" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Havana was the launching and departing site for our Cuba trip. We opted to stay in hotels, rather than casas, during our time in the capital which basically dictated our activities. For the first two nights, we stayed in Palacio O'Farrill, which I pre-booked using cubatravelnetwork.com. Although staying in casas is the recommended/preferred method of lodging, we decided to stay in a hotel the first night because we arrived into Cuba around midnight and wanted a "safer", guaranteed place to lay our heads. Inevitably, the majestic experience of staying in the beautifully restored hotels in Havana justified the cost and we later stayed in the Hotel Raquel.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6rE5jZX97I/AAAAAAAACUQ/FRhMVSHSj2k/s1600/raquel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6rE5jZX97I/AAAAAAAACUQ/FRhMVSHSj2k/s200/raquel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452386791918663602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There are 3 main areas in Havana: Habana Vieja, Habana Central, and Vedado. Both Hotel Palacio O'Farrill and Hotel Raquel are located in Habana Vieja so we concentrated our walking tour primarily in this area. Compared to Habana Central and Vedado, which are more residential/"local", Habana Vieja is far more touristy and feels a bit like Disneyland. Since neither of us are architectural buffs, we just wandered around visiting each of the plazas, taking pictures of old cars and ornate buildings and getting acclimated. I don't know the names of all the places we saw so I can't be much help!<br /><br />At some point during our first day, 2 friendly locals- a man and a woman- approached us and unassumingly asked us some typical questions. They seemed so warm, genuine, and <span style="font-style: italic;">so</span> Cuban; I will admit I was flattered by their attention and opportunistically thinking that this exchange would make for a "great travel story!". So, against my better judgement, when the woman told me that the famous Buena Vista Social Club would be performing an underground performance at a "locals only" bar located upstairs in a remote clubspace, I allowed her to drag me along with Jason uneasily trailing behind. Walking up the darkened staircase I was thinking, " The Buena Vista Social Club! And WE were the special tourists that would be able to see them!...What a "great travel story" this would make!!! Man, were we lucky!!"<br /><br />The four of us sat down at the bar. The Cuban Duo encouraged us to order mojitos. They only ordered 2 colas. The man got up and claimed he wanted to give us something leaving the woman and us to chat enthusiastically at the bar. The man eventually returned with some cigars and some "very special Cuban coins" which he handed to us, saying it was a "gift" from Cuba. Pictures were taken with our new bff's. Cigars were puffed. I was about to ask the woman to teach me how to Salsa dance<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6rEFMl8voI/AAAAAAAACUA/5jRmDD1lbqo/s1600/punkd.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6rEFMl8voI/AAAAAAAACUA/5jRmDD1lbqo/s200/punkd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452385892444192386" border="0" /></a>.<br /><br />"Man, were we lucky!!"<br /><br />Somehow, the conversation between the four of us managed to disintegrate from the excited staccato of a bumblebee to the sludge that is unbaked cake batter. And that's when The Cuban Duo began to tell us their sad story:<br />- We cannot afford to get married, it is very expensive in Cuba (I later learned this was a complete lie)<br />- We have a young daughter, we cannot afford to give her milk<br />- Cuban cigars are very expensive if you buy them in a store. My husband works in a Cuban cigar factory and will give you a good price<br />- Will you help us buy milk for our daughter? Can you give us 20 Cuc?<br /><br />Jason and I quickly realized we just got Punk'd by our new friends. We eventually were guilted into giving them 10 Cuc and also paid for the bill which was 20, which seemed really high for 4 drinks. It wasn't until walked back into the Cuban sun, bewildered and disoreinted from the past 30 minutes that we realized that the bar tab was 20 PESOS, not CUC.<br /><br />"Man, we are such idiots."<br /><br /><br />The rest of our time in Havana was uneventful and pretty idyllic. The city is impressively well maintained and it just seems that Cubans live fairly Spartan existences (not necessarily out of choice) and are pride themselves in cleanliness. On our last night, we made like Romans in <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6rFCDDbLRI/AAAAAAAACUY/FqegeF3IVzY/s1600/tbird.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 112px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_O9C-VT2IHis/S6rFCDDbLRI/AAAAAAAACUY/FqegeF3IVzY/s200/tbird.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452386937855487250" border="0" /></a>Rome and paid the driver of a cherry-red convertible Tbird $10 Cuc (this is a lot of money) to drive us the 10 minutes to the famously beautiful Hotel Nacional. Although this national monument is undeniably grand and historic, I would say that our 45 minute walk along the ocean back to our hotel was equally beautiful and cherished :) (sorry if that is uber cheesy)jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-53736425002252630152010-03-23T09:39:00.004-04:002010-03-23T12:38:09.240-04:00Spring Break '10- CubaJason and I wanted to beat inevitable infiltration by "Western" culture, so we decided to spend his Spring Break '10 in Cuba. Sorry if this post is a little factual and boring but I hope it helps people that plan to visit this beautiful country!!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Getting There</span><br /><br />LGA-->CUN:<br />Unfortunately, American citizens are still not allowed to visit so getting to the destination and figuring out currency were the trickiest part about organizing this trip. As NEast-residing US citizens, the easiest options are to fly through either Canada (Toronto) or Mexico (Mexico City, Bahamas, Cancun etc..). I found it much more economical to fly Spirit Air through Cancun ($~700 pp rt) vs Toronto (~$900 pp rt). Looking back, I would have spent the extra ~$40 to fly with Jet Blue because Spirit Airlines is a bit of a piece of poop (delays, cancellations, overbooking, rerouting).<br /><br />CUN-->HAV:<br />I attempted to pre-purchase our Mexico-->Cuba portion of the trip in the States, but the airlines won't accept any US currency or credit so I called Air Mexicana in their Mexico City office and made a reservation. This act caused me quite a bit of trouble due to language difficulties (my spanish not so bueno and their english not so bueno) and ended up being a huge waste of time because they didn't have our reservation when we landed in Cancun. Nonetheless, the flight was not sold out and we paid ~$350 USD pp rt for our flight to Jose Marti International in Havana.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Money Issues for 10 days</span><br />The source of much of my worry was not being able to use my credit card (in case of emergency) and having to carry 10 days worth of cash. After reading through endless Thorntree forum debates, we decided to bring 4 forms of currency:<br />1) Amex Travelers Cheques- photocopied the receipts and kept the receipt and cheques separate in case of theft ($1000)<br />2) Euros (or Canadian or Pounds)- the exchange rate seemed to be the best for Euros at the time of our travel<br />3) USD- Jason read that they were accepting this currency, and in most of the world, George Washington goes a longer way than most local currencies.<br />4) Mexican Pesos- The Air Mexicana lady told me I could only pay in pesos, I believe this applies only to US citizens.<br /><br />Cuba has 2 local currencies- the peso (locals ~30 peso to 1USD ) and the Cuc (tourists ~1 cuc to $0.89USD). Cuba is NOT cheap!<br /><br />We exchanged all our Euros and half the Amex Cheques in either the Havana airport or Cadecas (money exchangers), these are located throughout most of the major cities. We carried the cash on us at all times but really never felt unsafe and spent a lot less than we prepared.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Traveling</span><br />We divided up our time among the Eastern part of the country due to time constraints and visited (in order):<br />- Havana<br />- Trinidad<br />- Playa Giron<br />- Vinales<br /><br />The Viazul Bus system is an excellent, clean and reliable bus system whose relatively elevated cost structures makes it generally for tourists use only. Within most of the cities, walking or a taxi was relatively easy to access and prices are comparable to taxis in NYC (so, kinda expensive).<br /><br />Communication is fairly easy in the larger cities. Plenty of people speak English but almost EVERYONE is engaging, warm and wants to help. Jason and I got plenty of opportunities to practice our rusty high-school Spanish with our Casa owners, most of which did not speak very much English. Like most places we have traveled, Cubans always wanted to know where Jason and I were from, "Are you China?" "China? <makes>" and everyone is shocked and amused when we said we were from Estados Unidos. And many people mentioned they had relatives in Florida, "You know Miami?" <br /><br />The biggest shock and most prevalent difference between Cuba and other countries that we have visited that haven't been shunned by the US is options. Clothing stores will have a rack or two of clothing and everything is placed behind the counter. Grocery stores carry the standard fare of preserved meats, frozen meats, jarred sauces, packaged crackers but there is only one brand. .<br /><br />The landscape consists of buildings, propagandist artwork, and nature. Considering that we live in one of the most marketed and advertised places in the world, it was quite a shock to there are NO advertisements..anywhere. No Nike, no Coco Cola, no Victorias Secret, no Starbucks, no McDonalds. Just lots of Che and viva revolucion! <br /><br />Despite the US embargo on Cuba, they get CNN, VH1, HBO and plenty of other American TV channels. They have Coke, Sprite, Red Bull and plenty of Old American cars. As I assume with most prisons, if you know someone who knows someone, you can get pretty much anything. For example, our taxi driver from Trinidad to Playa Giron was this 25 year old playa who blasted reggaeton for 3 straight hours, professed his undying love for the Yankees, and boasted about his MLB game for his PS2.<br /><br />I loved that there was no Starbucks in every corner, no kiddies with their happy meals. While the US embargo severely limits Cubans access to luxury items and chain store euphoria, they seem fairly peaceful. Poor, but peaceful. Lacking, but still so extremely generous and warm. Our taxi driver once stopped the car and ran out to help a woman because she had fallen on the street. Who does this in the states?! People leave their front doors unlocked and open, sit on their stoops and gossip. Women will ration out home made mayonnaise to their neighbors because they made too much. From my ignorant and superficial assessment, this country was filled with warmth and community.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lodging</span><br />Outside of Havana, we stayed in the recommended form of lodging in Cuba called 'Casas Particulares'. These are basically homestays in a locals' extra room. They require licensing from the government and cost from 20-35 cuc, with the option for meals. All the casas we stayed at were impressively clean, had AC and hot water and it was with the owners that we have some of the fondest memories. In addition to paying for the license to become a registered 'casa' owner, they pay 250 cuc or 400 cuc per month (depending on if they have 1 or 2 rooms to rent) to the government, regardless if they have guests. Since the average salary for a Cuban is ~30 cuc/month this is an immense burden for the casa owners and the competition to recruit guests is pretty intense! <br /><br />In Havana, we decided to forego Casas for hotels and stayed at two beautifully restored hotels, Hotel Raquel and Hotel Palacio O'Farrill. A 5 star hotel is the equivalent of a 3 star in the states, but it was definetly worth experiencing the majesty and grandeur of these monuments. <br /><br />The mattress situation in Cuba puzzles me. Regardless of the amount we paid for the lodging, the mattresses were all equally s*itty. Like seriously crap with wires and springs jostling at your back all night and strange divets that encourage scoliosis. Seroiusly bad sleep, but just a part of being in Cuba.. :) In New York, I'm used to falling asleep with the city buzzing around me so I wouldn't necessarily say I need it to be outback- cricket-quiet to be able to sleep. However, Cuba was a whole other level of cacophony- rooster, horse hooves, coco-taxis, T-bird engines, dogs wrestling, Salsa music, Reggaeton blasting, Cubans shouting at each other, all throughout the wee hours of the night. But again, just part of the country's charm.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Food</span><br />I'm not sure I can accurately convey the reality of the food situation in Cuba because I was a tourist. However there were still plenty of opportunities to witness socialism and the Soviet influence. From what I understand, the government provides a family ration slips which they exchange for their weekly rations of bread, rice and beans, eggs, and meat. Luxury goods, such as guava jam, honey and ice cream are usually sold separately in pesos or cucs. I really don't understand their rationing system so sorry if this is totally incorrect...<br /><br />Needless to say, there really isn't much variety or "fusion" going on in Cuba. Do not expect that a trip to Cuba will blow your gastronomic mind. Breakfast was usually an array of fruit (pineapple, papaya and oranges), black coffee, a roll and eggs. Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich. Dinner was a predictable but delicious fare of rice and beans with some protein (fish, lobster, chicken, pork). Highly recommend the fish and lobster if you are by the coast..amazing!<br /><br />Hopefully this post gives somewhat of a framework of how we (as American tourists) can feasibly travel to Cuba. I'll follow up this with more a more specific itinerary for what we did in each location.jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-63294871504787477672009-08-09T21:31:00.001-04:002009-08-09T21:33:36.842-04:00Not ready for NYC yetIn 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. aaahhhhhhruchbumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653861549006006414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-88240411508947929262009-07-18T18:24:00.002-04:002009-07-18T18:48:27.887-04:00HomeWe 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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />I could definetely do without seeing the inside of a plane/airport for a while, thank you very much.<br /><br />Anyways, we are home and happy to exploit the comforts of a westernized country. <br />Thanks for reading! Jason has posted our pics at www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbumjnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-72540495081842107162009-07-12T02:52:00.002-04:002009-07-12T02:57:30.197-04:00Mt. KilimanjaroWe 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.<br /><br />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.jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-83672760421128172482009-07-04T05:36:00.003-04:002009-07-04T05:38:32.342-04:00A close encounter at the Greatest Shoal on Earth<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3686907746/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid" height="102" alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2529/3686907746_b917458ed7.jpg" width="401" /></a><br /><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3686907746/">Close encounter with whale</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/ruchbum/">jasonwmak</a>.</span></div><p><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />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…<br /><br />www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum</p>ruchbumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653861549006006414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-82171348204215731772009-06-27T15:30:00.002-04:002009-06-27T15:31:50.374-04:00The ocean's most dangerous predator<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnwhite/2954542506/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/2954542506_45290c5a8e.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); width: 334px; height: 210px;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnwhite/2954542506/">Great White Shark</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/johnwhite/">john white photos</a>.</span></div><p>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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />anyways, i will post our own actual pics from the shark dive and South Africa on our flickr soon so keep on checking..<br /><br />www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum<br /><br />Hope everyone is doing well at home</p>ruchbumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653861549006006414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-77326439884909017622009-06-24T17:51:00.004-04:002009-06-24T18:30:30.925-04:00Lemur watching in Madagascar<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3652542953/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid" height="235" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3332/3652542953_daf85cd1b4.jpg" width="343" /></a><br /><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3652542953/">Caught looking</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/ruchbum/">jasonwmak</a>.</span></div><p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.</p>ruchbumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653861549006006414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-32300207557862982652009-06-12T13:11:00.001-04:002009-06-12T13:11:48.012-04:002nd time in India<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3609711449/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3330/3609711449_18314876a3.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3609711449/">City View from the City Palace</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/ruchbum/">jasonwmak</a>.</span></div><p>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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />I hope everyone is doing well back at home.<br /><br />Jason</p>ruchbumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653861549006006414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-17350117699148203722009-06-09T06:27:00.003-04:002009-06-09T06:30:58.491-04:00Udaipur, Rajasthan<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3610532136/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid" height="339" alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2483/3610532136_6a2b67dfdc.jpg" width="327" /></a><br /><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3610532136/">Indian moustache</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/ruchbum/">jasonwmak</a>.</span></div><p>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.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />Tomorrow we are off to Jodhpur, home to more forts and searing temperatures.<br /><br />- Jennifer</p>ruchbumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653861549006006414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-71087859105740445442009-06-06T08:43:00.003-04:002009-06-06T09:03:05.507-04:00Those damn toutsThe 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:<br />- "Taxi?"<br />- "Tour Guide?"<br />- "Bracelet?"<br />- "PASHMINA SCARF?"<br />- "Take look, Madam?"<br />- "Madam, take look?"<br />- "Book?"<br />- "Give me moneyyyy?"<br />- "Battery?"<br />- "Memory Card?"<br /><br />and then followed by "cheap price for youuuu!?" Touts are relentlessly annoying, but are part of the traveling scenery. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Its utterly depressing..kids have it so good in the states, its unbelievable.jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-16864030505971684522009-06-04T10:07:00.002-04:002009-06-04T10:23:33.259-04:00Delhi,IndiaImagine 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.<br /><br />Oh, its hot!<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Oy, its hot!jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-14544627612841004052009-05-28T09:58:00.002-04:002009-05-28T10:16:58.924-04:00Goa, IndiaI 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 <strike> a dump </strike> 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.<br /><br />Nonetheless, tomorrow will be more promising: we'll venture into Old Goa and remnants of Portuguese establishment among other tourist sites.jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-13388589278984621312009-05-27T15:28:00.001-04:002009-05-27T15:28:28.176-04:00Bangalore, India<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3558264161/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3378/3558264161_83f670b802.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3558264161/">Having a good time</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/ruchbum/">jasonwmak</a>.</span></div><p>It was devastating to leave the paradise that is Rangali Island, Maldives but we managed to say goodbye with few tears :( <br /><br />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 :) <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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!</p>jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-16559171630728322972009-05-18T13:51:00.002-04:002009-05-18T13:52:44.876-04:00Fish Massage in Cambodia<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3538968416/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; WIDTH: 353px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid; HEIGHT: 249px" height="293" alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2478/3538968416_520a9ab270.jpg" width="341" /></a><br /><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3538968416/">Getting a fish massage on our feet</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/ruchbum/">jasonwmak</a>.</span></div><p>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)<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Apparently, in the US, this type of massage has been <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2008224235_fish03m0.html">outlawed</a>, deemed "unsanitary" and "illegal." Fortunately, S E Asia has no guidelines around sanitation, so if you are interested, you can try it in Cambodia!</p>jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-85845320947473158052009-05-18T13:32:00.003-04:002009-05-18T13:35:05.591-04:00Ta Prohm<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3538969986/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; WIDTH: 361px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid; HEIGHT: 303px" height="371" alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2144/3538969986_2d4527f71c.jpg" width="427" /></a><br /><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3538969986/">Trees growing in and out of walls</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/ruchbum/">jasonwmak</a>.</span></div><p>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.</p>jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-25222976965397359952009-05-18T13:19:00.002-04:002009-05-18T13:35:45.410-04:00Jason vs Cricket<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3538537809/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; WIDTH: 364px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid; HEIGHT: 252px" height="261" alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2378/3538537809_a91904063c.jpg" width="375" /></a><br /><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3538537809/">A nice lady offered me a snack</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/ruchbum/">jasonwmak</a>.</span></div><p>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.<br /><br />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.</p>jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-1840240246389405202009-05-16T05:16:00.002-04:002009-05-16T05:27:22.544-04:00Phnom Penh, CambodiaToday 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 :( !)<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; "><div>...the killing fields is this relatively small plot of land about 15km from the city center of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">phnom</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">penh</span> where tens of thousands of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">cambodians</span> 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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">khmer</span> rouge to document the prisoners followed by rows more pictures of these prisoners being tortured. these were all pictures taken by the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">khmers</span> to document their torture. it was just unbelievable.</div><div><br /></div><div>i just told <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">jason</span> to take me somewhere happy after this tour, we went to this market and got some shaved ice and steamed corn. still now, when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">i'm</span> sitting poolside, i can't shake this nauseating feeling....</div></span></div>jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-30782122116869093412009-05-14T09:48:00.001-04:002009-05-14T09:48:45.500-04:00Cambodia<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3527630047/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3355/3527630047_6a08278bfe.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3527630047/">The Monk way</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/ruchbum/">jasonwmak</a>.</span></div><p>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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />Okay, there are way to many bugs at this internet cafe so I'll be writing again later<br /><br />Jason</p>ruchbumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653861549006006414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-41100689276880123522009-05-10T08:48:00.003-04:002009-05-10T09:12:24.863-04:00Charmed in Luang Prabang, LaosOur whirlwind tour throughout Southeast Asia continues and we are currently in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Luang</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Prabang</span>, Laos. During a previous trip to Thailand with my family in 2004, I stepped into Laos while we were doing a "golden triangle" (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">laos</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">vietnam</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">cambodia</span>) tour of the Mekong and didn't find it particularly appealing or special. But, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">sfter</span> 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.<br /><br /> I am SO SO happy we decided to visit because Laos, at least <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Luang</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Prabang</span>, is unexpectedly charming. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">It'ss</span> like the Sierra <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Madre</span> of Southeast Asia- outside of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">wats</span>, 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'' <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Samsung</span> TV...yes, we are getting crazy!<br /><br />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 <em>teenager </em>and she'd deliberately speak French, which she was taking in school, and write her notes to her friends in French so I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">couldnt</span> spy.<br /><br />Vietnam has so much to love but it <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">doesnt</span> 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 <em>tolerate. </em>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.<br /><br />I commented to Jason that perhaps there is TOO much French influence in Vietnam...jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-75590841909848338852009-05-06T13:02:00.002-04:002009-05-06T13:05:34.740-04:00Hello Uncle Ho<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3506541773/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid" height="255" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3600/3506541773_f8b095b079.jpg" width="351" /></a><br /><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruchbum/3506541773/">One tourists at Uncle Ho's</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/ruchbum/">jasonwmak</a>.</span></div><p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />Anyways, hope everyone is doing well back home.<br /><br />Jason</p>ruchbumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653861549006006414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-84716089353625947592009-05-02T00:59:00.002-04:002009-05-02T01:06:45.315-04:00Ubud (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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />alright, i'll be posting more pictures when i get to a faster internet connection...a bit slow here.<br /><br />hope everyone is doing good and staying away from the swine flu<br /><br />jasonruchbumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653861549006006414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355122973002061646.post-44045007223995567122009-04-26T08:34:00.002-04:002009-04-26T08:49:39.575-04:00Diving in the Gili IslandsJason 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Hopefully you'll be able to see our pics once jason uploads..the turtles are AWESOME!jnphrlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712401489048622233noreply@blogger.com1