Pad Thai-land

After 10 weeks in places without real roads or consistent electricity, turning up in Bangkok's uber-modern airport and grabbing an air-conditioned taxi on smooth roads was a real pleasure. The nine of us, ready to trade our hiking boots for flip-flops, high-tailed it to Koh Chang, one of the nearest island beaches to Bangkok. We arrived during a torrential rainstorm, but even that wasn't enough to spoil our fun. In fact, swimming among the monsoon was one of our more memorable experiences. What ensued were days of sheer relaxation at the beach by day and buckets of booze and skinny-dipping by night.

Our dear friend Steve surprised us by booking us a night in one of the beach resorts- a huge step up from the $7 dollar a night, ant-infested bungalow we were staying at. It was by far the best accommodation we had stayed in thus far. Thanks again, Steve!!

We finally had to part ways and left for Kanchanaburi, best known for being the home of the Bridge on the River Kwai. This bridge was part of the larger Thailand-Burma Railway, nicknamed The Death Railway because of the more than 100,000 deaths that occurred when the Japanese forced POWs and Asian laborers to build the railway under horrendous conditions. A local museum dedicated to preserving this history had put together one of the best exhibits we'd ever been to- it did a phenomenal job contextualizing the deaths and showing the human side of the atrocities.

We also splurged and took a Thai cooking class at Apple Guesthouse. Our teacher, Noi, started out the day by taking us through the local market and describing and having us try out various ingredients used in Thai cuisine. Back at her kitchen, we cooked up the best Thai meals we'd had yet: chicken pad thai, massaman curry, green curry, and tom ka kai soup. It was seriously delicious and eating it all induced a food coma that put us out of commission the rest of the day. The good news is we took copious notes and are anxious to try out our skills on all of you when we get back!

In between all this we had many rest stops in Bangkok, which started to feel like a home away from home, with the exception of lady boys, auto rickshaws (tuk tuks), and flooded streets. We spent a good amount of our time at the side street stalls consuming as much pad thai and mango sticky rice as we could. Maybe because it was off-season, or maybe because we had become desensitized in India, but Bangkok wasn't half as hectic as we expected. We managed to leave without buying any of the novelty items that were constantly hawked on Khao San Road, the main tourist street. And we did pick up a great travel tip for getting tuk tuk rides- let the driver bring you to a vendor that provides him with petrol tickets as commission, spend ten minutes acting interested, and he'll bring you to your actual destination for virtually nothing (about $.30). Seeing as we weren't on any rigid schedule, we took full advantage.

Nick's pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=132992&id=547921549&l=f9af6c75c7

Rebecca's pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051516&id=35300950&l=40c0a39849

Video of a typical monsoon. It also shows the type of bungalows we often stay in:

Annapurna Circuit...these boots were made for walkin'

Our main reason for heading to Nepal was to trek the Annapurna Circuit, a hike taking you up to, across, and down Thorung La, the highest mountain pass in the world at 5416 meters (about 17,800 feet to all us Americans). It was by far the longest (we hiked 12 days and 110km) and highest either of us had ever hiked and provided the most breathtaking views of the Himalayas. Along the way we met up and ended up trekking with the best group of people we could have hoped to meet, and we had a blast hiking by day and playing cards and goofing around by night. The Circuit passes through lots of different terrain, beginning with lush fields of corn and grain, and climbing through pine forests, before rising above the tree-line into more rocky and rugged vegetation.

As we climbed above 4500 meters we definitely noticed the altitude effects: headaches, loss of short term memory, generally slowed thinking, and difficulty breathing, but these challenges just added to the full experience of the trek. The day climbing up to Thorung La was the most difficult and gratifying, as we were at 50% of the oxygen level at sea level and had to hike up almost 1000 meters and then descend 1700 meters (a full vertical mile!!) to the next town, taking about 8 hours, all with heavy packs on our backs.

It was one of the more memorable experiences of our lives, let alone the trip, and we became so close with Becci, Lisa, Steve, Tom, and Paul, that when we got to Pokhara (where newlyweds Gunnar and Jo joined us) we decided to change our flights and plans and fly to Bangkok together, the 9 of us on the same flight!

Rebecca's pics: www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050008&id=35300950&l=a1ee684ff2

Corbett (NO) Tiger Reserve :(

After some sad goodbyes and a 7 hour bus ride we arrived in Ramnagar, the entry town for the Corbett Tiger Reserve, home to the largest number of tigers in India. Surely, we thought, this ensured our seeing a tiger or two or five. Sadly, though, after 2 four-hour jeep safaris and a three-hour elephant ride at dawn, we were mistaken. We did, however, see a ton of other wildlife, including but not limited to: families of spotted deer and elephants, wild boars, peacocks, jackals, monkeys, alligators, and various birds. As is was just mating season, we got to see lots of babies, with the elephants being our favorite little ones.

Nick, after 5 and a half weeks with no health issues to speak of, caught the full wrath of a stomach bug, had to miss the elephant ride, and was laid up for 3 horrible days in Ramnagar with a 103 fever. We really learned the true hospitality and caring nature of the Indian people, as they brought us to a great family doctor and checked in on Nick frequently, when Rebecca was expected to give the full run down of Nick's "motions" :).

Not the best way to end our time in India, but a lesson that we are not immune to the notorious "Delhi belly".

Rebecca's pics: www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050007&id=35300950&l=93e1cd32e4

A Rest in Rishikesh

After a a month of long train and bus rides almost every other day we were in desperate need of a break. So we headed up north to the foothills of the Himalays and not only put down our bags, but fully unpacked them in Rishikesh. Known as the unofficial yoga capital of the world and also the place where the Beatles wrote their White Album during an ashram stay, it was the perfect place to do what we wanted- a whole lotta nothing.

Our first night there we were invited by a neighboring table to join their singalong jam session and it was the start of some beautiful relationships. Henk, Noa, Doron, Na'ama and ourselves became pretty much inseperable for the next week and a half chilling out, singing along to Henk's slammin guitar skills, all the while eating delicious yak cheese sandwiches. We also took a local yoga course and were suprised at how much of a difference a week makes in terms of flexibility and ability to hold the assanas (poses).

The highlight was Henk's birthday, which we celebrated by taking a long walk to a quiet (and actually clean!) spot on the Ganges where we spent the day in the water and capped it off with Henk's first ever birthday cake. We passed along Nick's journal and each wrote a line to the following poem:

There's no better way to celebrate Henk's birthday
Then dipping our feet in the holy Ganga
A sacred place encouraging foot fetishism
Our words flowing over smooth rocks,
Beautiful mountains and calming streams

Rebecca's pics: www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050006&id=35300950&l=6754065c9a

And we're back.....Varanasi

Sorry guys, we know it's been a while, but it's only because we've been out enjoying and haven't had the time or connection speeds to keep up to date. Anyway, back to business...

At the top of our lists and possibly the place that had us most excited about visiting India was Varanasi as it promised to provide an insightful look into Hindu culture in India. It is one of the holiest cities where droves of Hindus make pilgrimages to die as they believe it frees them from the cycle of rebirth. The dead are cremated along the river at the burning ghats, where all can watch the wrapped bodies being carried and placed into a funeral pyre before being set afire.

Similar to our experience in Pushkar, Varanasi was another holy city tainted with iniquities. We were approached by kids as young as 10 offering "super duper opium" and the ghats displayed heaps of trash within a terribly polluted Ganges River. Still, it was an interesting to take a sunset ride down the river with a guide who proved to be very informative. Some facts learned were:

• Even burning ghats display ones societal status, as the type of wood used, and proximity to the river indicate what burial costs a family can afford. The very poor, unable to even afford the cost of wood, use a cheaper electric cremation station down the river. Ironically, the main burning ghat is owned by an Untouchable, the lowest of the caste system, who is paid 4 dollars tax for each body, which translates into him being one of the wealthiest people in town. As they say, the only two sure things in life are death and taxes...

• Varanasi is a total loophole in the Hindu's belief of Karma. Anyone, even Jack the Ripper, would be freed from rebirth just by dying there. Alternatively, a "bad" person who died elsewhere, it is believed, would be reborn in a lower caste, or even as an animal. We then learned that you don't even have to physically die there, it is enough for your family to transport your body or even ashes there. We have since converted to Hinduism and are racking up the sins and plan to relocate to Varanasi late in life...

• Certain people are unable to be burned and instead their bodies are weighted with stones and sunk in the river. These people include: babies, people bitten by cobras (the god Shiva has a cobra, considered a holy animal, around her neck), pregnant women, and others we have forgotten. While we didn't see it, it's not uncommon for the stones used for sinking to come untied and the body to float to the surface, which people on pleasant sunset boat rides sometimes come across.
  

Rebecca's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Varanasi-Rebecca/

Agra: The Taj at sunrise

The only reason we decided to brave blistering hot Agra, was to feast our eyes on India's number one tourist attraction, The Taj Mahal. It was absolutely worth it!! We forced ourselves out of bed at 5am in order to see the sun rise on the Taj. Many times, when you actually see a famous structure in person, it ends up being anti-climactic, but the Taj was exactly the opposite. It was the most beautiful building either of us had ever seen. We couldn't help but to stop and stare at it in wonderment. We were amazed that a man-made structure could evoke such strong emotions. Our guess is that its perfect symmetry and beautiful curves make it naturally appealing to the eye. Here are a few of our favorite pictures:

Rip-roaring through resplendent Rajasthan

Boy, was Rajasthan a blur! We wanted to see a handful of cities in this Indian state, but every day seemed to be hotter than the last, so we accelerated our timetable and spent just 2-3 nights in each place. Here's a rundown of the best and worst of each:

• Jaipur: After being conned off of our bus too early by a conniving rickshaw driver and then witnessing another driver be bitch-slapped by a crowd of his peers, we safely made it to our wonderful guesthouse, the Explorer's Nest. Arvind, the owner, was incredibly sweet and accomodating and our room felt like one you'd pay hundreds of dollars for at a B&B in the States. We were walled into our room the first night by a cheeky monkey who just wouldn't let us down the stairs. He eventually relented, and this was the first in what has been a series of monkey incidents since. After a nice walk though the colorful bizzares of the Pink City and a hike up to a fort atop a mountain, we were ready to move on to our next stop.

• Pushkar: This city is considered holy and many Hindu pilgrams come here in order to wash their sins away among the ghats of the sacred lake. Ironically, however, this was also where we encountered the most unholy of things: fake priests conning people out of their money for "a family blessing," the sacred lake a polluted mess and the holiest of animals, the cow, allowed to starve (forced to eat the trash and drink thier own urine while peeing- gross!). Business men were cheating fellow shop owners, we were constantly approached by drug peddlers and it never was easier to get an illegal beer (referred to as "special juice" on the reciept). Despite all this, we had one of the best views yet from our balcony - it's still a breathtaking city - and we also had a great time hanging out with the group we'd formed with Vanty, Katy and Danielle.

• Udaipur: We instantly took a liking to Udiapur, perhaps because it's the most European-feeling city we'd been to yet. We weren't hassled by touts like everywhere else, and we saw cows being fed fresh greens (our new barometer for how friendly a city will be is how healthy the cows look...accurate so far). The architecture was really pleasant, with nice mixes of in and outdoor areas and rooftops providing great views of the city. We caught a boat ride to Jalismir Island and enjoyed a traditional Rajasthani dance performance.
  

• Mt.Abu: We traveled to this city atop a mile-high mountain in order to take a meditation class with the Brahma Kumaris. Neither of us took a liking to the town itself, which felt like an Indian version of the Jersey Shore. We had planned on staying to complete the full introductory course, but by the end of our first session, we both had decided the organization was not for us. Our teacher was lovely and very open to our feedback and the organization seemed to be legit and involved in some great community and environmental activities, but the religious aspect didn't gel with our beliefs, so we ended our stay and began our loooooong bus ride to Agra.

Rebecca's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Rajasthan-Rebecca/

Nick's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Rajasthan%20-%20Nick/

Delhi: Home of 101 OFFICIAL Government Tourist Offices

We didn't realize how spoiled we were in Mumbai and Goa until we arrived in Delhi. We were immediately accosted by touts: Indian men aggressively trying to sell us everything under the sun. We couldn't walk more than 5 steps without someone approaching us about taking their rickshaw, coming into their shop, or "helping us" to find our way. And they gave a whole new meaning to the word persistent - one or even several no's would not dissuade them from following us and insisting we take their offer. One of the most common reasons for their approach was to get us to come with them to the "one and only official government tourist office" which was always in a different direction depending on who you talked to. It was all quite exhausting and definitely affected our ability to fully enjoy the city.

But like with everything, Delhi wasn't all bad. We went around Old Delhi by auto-rickshaw and perused its many markets, most impressive of which was the spice market. The odor emitting from the barrels of pungent spices was enough to bring on tears and a fit of coughs and sneezes, even from the shop owners who are exposed to it daily. We visited the largest mosque in India, Jama Masjid, which was great for people and pigeon watching. Another favorite was visiting the Gandhi Smriti, the place where Gandhi spent his final days and was assassinated. It is a memorial of his amazing life and you can actually retrace his final steps there.

Delicious as we both find Indian food, eating it twice a day was getting to be a bit much, so we finally caved and gorged on the most Western meal we could find, at none other than TGIFridays. Our lamb bacon cheeseburgers (remember, no beef here), washed down with a 2 for 1 vanilla milk shake, was just what the doctor ordered.

In the end, we're glad we experienced wild Delhi, even if just for the purpose of making the rest of India seem a bit tamer.

Check out videos of the spice market and our rickshaw ride:



Rebecca's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Delhi-Rebecca/

Nick's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Delhi%20-%20Nick/

Goa: relaxing beaches and throwing color

We originally planned to spend our 11 days in Goa beach hopping down the coast, but after we arrived in the northernmost beach of Arambol, we just parked and put on the emergency brake. It was perfect: sandy beaches, clear blue water and totally laid back. Most of the people there were hippies who had been staying there for months. We rented a motor bike twice, once to visit the famous Wednesday Market in Anjuna, a neighboring beach, which happened to also fall on Holi Day, a celebration where multi-colored powder is thrown and rubbed on, well, on everyone and everything, including the cows! It was a wild day! Our next moto-trip was to the capital city called Panjim, a city chock full of Portuegese architecture remaining from their colonozation many years ago. It was nice to have a bit of a routine within all the chaos that traveling so often provides. We had a great time lounging with the few tourists and cows seaside, taking long beach walks at sunset, and were sad to leave it behind.





Rebecca's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Goa-%20Rebecca/

Nick's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Goa%20-%20Nick/

India!! Mumbai

Both of us had always dreamed of going to India and when we arrived it was as intense and colorful as we expected. We were lucky enough to have our friend Anushka's family put us up and they were truly wonderful hosts. Rita's food was absolutely delicious and she, Ashok and Rahul were endlessly patient while orienting us with Indian customs and culture.

Mumbai certainly feels like a city of 14 million; the streets are over crowded with buses, cars, auto-rickshaws (aka the cockroaches of Mumbai) and motorbikes all honking, swerving and following none of the western traffic laws. And weaving in between this constant flow of traffic are crowds of people jay walking to cross the street. But amazingly, accidents seem to be rare. Hilariously and occasionally we would run into a cow cruising the streets and we were the only ones who took any notice. Can you imagine seeing a cow in the middle of Times Square??

We rode the buses and subway line for an authentic transportation experience and were stared at curiously by everyone around as foreigners are apparently rare sights on public transit. Getting on a bus means fighting your way and often jumping on while its still moving. People cross tracks to board subway trains and hang from the open doors while riding (we found out 10 people a day die riding the rails).

We did a lot of sightseeing including the Taj Hotel (still boarded up), Gateway to India, Haji Ali mosque, Colaba and Crawford markets, University of Mumbai, Oval Maidan and more. We also woke up early one day to see the sunrise and participate in a laughing yoga class on the beach. We were surprised to see hundreds of people also walking the beach that early.

Amongst all this, we were constantly confronted by poverty (it's estimated that 50% of the population lives in slums). Everything from an infant left abandoned on a sidewalk to a father openly abusing his young daughter with a stick in broad daylight. There was also a barrage of homeless children and mothers carrying infants begging for money, which you can't give because it only furthers the cycle of kids being deprived of an education in order to make money. It was all sobering and heart-wrenching. After seeing all this, Nick decided to start Project Lift, an attempt at shedding some light on this issue and directing anybody who wants to help to reputable NGOs and NPOs. If interested, you can visit http://www.nicholaspandolfo.com/nap/Project_Lift.html.

Also, check out our Mumbai pics at:
Rebecca: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Mumbai-Rebecca/
Nick: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Mumbai%20-%20Nick/

Soppy Shanghai

It was raining when we exited the railway station in Shanghai. It was raining when we left for the airport 10 days later. It rained everyday in between. According to one of Nick's former students, Jay, this is not a typical occurrence in February, and he explained that the weather in China has changed noticeably since the building of the Three Gorges Dam. Crazy that a man-made structure could so affect the weather (in Beijing before the Olympics they were inducing rain everyday at precisely 5pm by releasing chemicals into the air.....insane!) Our time here was defined by rain, and as such, we couldn't fully enjoy the streets of the city. We did brave it and wander the streets on a few days when the rain wasn't as heavy, checking out the Bund, the French Concession, Nanjing Road, and, of course, Nick's old stomping grounds and favorite hole-in-the-wall dumpling joints.

By far the best part of Shanghai was meeting up with some of Nick's former students and landlord for some fantastic meals! We were incredibly lucky to have such great hosts, and we have lots of favors to return upon their eventual visits to New York. Jay took us to an old town on the outskirts of Shanghai called Qi Bao, where we nibbled on various street foods, including stinky tofu and whole baby sparrows. Then Jay, his wonderful wife, and another former student took us to a new restaurant that had gotten great reviews.


Zhang Hua, another student of Nick's, took us and Michelle, a friend we met on the train to Shanghai, to a fantastic dinner at one of Nick's favorite restaurants, and on a separate day to his hometown Nan Xiang, where we checked out his packaging factory and feasted on xiao long bao, the soup dumplings his town is famous for.


Finally Nick's former landlord and his whole family took us out for yet another phenomenal feast. Without these wonderful meetings, we never would have been able to try so many traditional foods or learn so much about day-to-day life and current events in China, such as the economic crises' effect on the average citizen.



With all the time spent around the hostel waiting for the rain to let up, we got a little bored, and well, Nick got a little experimental and decided to give himself a mohawk. Actually, it was half a mohawk before his beard trimmer (not the best tool for shaving a thick head of hair) died. A trip to a street barber, a poor Chinese exchange, and a dollar later, and the cut was finally complete.


Check out Shanghai pics:

Rebecca's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Shanghai-Rebecca/

Nick's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Shanghai%20-%20Nick/

Guilin to Yangshou by the Li River

Well, it took a couple months, but we finally paid for trying to save a little cash. Our major reason for traveling to Guilin was to take a boat trip down the famous Li River. But we were too cheap to use the hostel's official tour service. Instead, we decided our best bet was to go with the guy who approached us in the train station, henceforth referred to as Creepy Mike.

All seemed fine when he picked us up the next morning, but 2 hours later we were still en route to the dock. Creepy Mike, of course, had jumped off the bus after the first 45 minutes, leaving us with a 17 year-old local girl, our "tour guide." On our way, a truck driving in front of us lost its spare tire, which rolled into a ditch on the side of the road. Being the Good Samaritans that they were, our driver and ticket collector pulled to the side of the road to haul it out and then rested this dirty thing against Nick while we caught up to the truck driver. They then proceeded to demand 100 RMB ($15) from the driver before he could get HIS tire back...ahhh China...

When we finally reached the boat port, our guide and her father, the "captain", had us walk 5 minutes down the beach and jump on the boat (a bamboo raft with some beach chairs and a tarp) before the port officials could catch us (we later found out these small boats are illegal). After 5 minutes of enjoying the stunning views of the mountains along the river, we stopped at this random abandoned island for no apparent reason:




Our guide did her best to try and entertain us in the dilapidated playground among the wild animals, but we finally convinced her to get back on the boat...only to stop 5 minutes later at her home village to eat 4 cereal bars and a blood orange. Now, 2 hours had passed and we had spent a mere 10 minutes on the river. When we started to make a fuss, they called Creepy Mike who told us the Chinese President had taken our boat and wouldn't be back for 3 hours! As probable as this might seem, we weren't buying it. We dragged our guides back to the boat and off we went...for another 15 minutes before making ANOTHER stop at ANOTHER random village. We finally came to understand we were waiting for 2 more people, but even after they came 30 minutes later, they still insisted we wait another hour for Hu Jin Tao, the President, to pass us. Though we'll never know for sure what the delay was all about, we finally arrived safe and sound to Yangshou, and had managed to take in the beautiful river scenery and get Creepy Mike to buy us dinner.

The highlight of Yangshou was our 11-mile bike ride through the surrounding villages and farmland to the 700 year-old Dragon Bridge. For the most part we were the only ones on the path, which made the trip even more special. We did occasionally come across some locals, most of who were friendly. The children, however, were a bit hostile as proven by the one boy who smacked Rebecca across the face with a vegetable stalk twice as well as the boy who shot her with a toy pellet gun. For some reason, Nick escaped unscathed. It was well worth it though, as this was our second favorite adventure so far.


Rebecca's Pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Guilin%20Yangshou-Rebecca/

Nick's Pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Guilin%20Yangshou-Nick/

Dali....Takin' it Easy

Dali's known as the place to take a vacation from your vacation; a backpackers haven. And that's exactly what it was. We meandered the old town, wiled away the hours in quaint cafes, and soaked in the Dali rays. Our one exciting night consisted of drinking, pool and darts with some guys we met from Leeds and the hostel owner (an Aussie who kept the local plum liquor flowing). This made for one hungover 5 hour bus trip back to Kunming. Here are some of Nick's best pics from the town:

Kunming and The Stone Forest

If for nothing else, Kunming was worth a visit for the weather alone. It was high 70s, sunny, and blue-skied with just the perfect breeze to keep you comfortable. The winter jackets came off (Nick actually sold his for $20, a map of Goa, India and some mosquito lotion) and our short sleeves went on.

The night we arrived, Rebecca met Andrea from Germany and Andy (the recipient of the jacket) from Scotland and agreed to travel to the Yunnan Stone Forest together the next day, which happened to be Valentine's Day. They were awesome travel partners and we had tons of laughs and a great time getting to know them.

Legend has it that the Stone Forest was created by the gods, who crushed enormous caves in order to create this landscape, which formed hundreds of private spots for lovers to enjoy some privacy. This myth made it a perfect place to spend Valentine's Day. The four of us immediately hiked to the top of the tallest hill for a bird's eye view of the stone forest that stretched for miles. Afterwards, we hiked through the stones, sometimes having to squeeze through small passageways. It was truly spectacular and it seemed otherworldly to have so many tall pillars surrounding you like trees. We all felt like the forest was a bit magical and this was furthered when at one point Andrea mentioned wanting to see a stone resembling an elephant and as soon as the words came out of her mouth, Rebecca, a bit further ahead, turned to see this:


A few days later, after returning from Dali, we unexpectedly ran into Andy again in Kunming- it's a small world- and spent the day with him. We went to Green Lake Park, which was overrun with thousands of seagulls both on the lake and flying overhead hoping to catch some bread thrown by visitors. Good to see, but better to leave behind. It was a little too much like The Birds...

For Kunming pics, check out:

Nick: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Kunming%20-%20Nick/

Rebecca: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Kunming%20-%20Rebecca/

Hohhot and the Gobi Desert

We had visions of days spent riding horses in the Mongolian grasslands and sleeping in yurts when we arrived in Hohhot. These were quickly dispelled with the reality that these experiences are best had in the summers months when the grasslands are actually green and the nights are above freezing (they were around 10 degrees F while we were there). So we cut our time there short, but not before we had our first ever camel ride in the Gobi Desert. Nick's camel was a bit feisty (and gassy), and the desert was COLD, but we made the best of it. We also managed to get in a few traditional Mongolian meals, including their infamous salty butter tea (Nick, of course, was a fan....Rebecca managed to put back enough so as to not offend our Mongolian hosts).

Beijing and the Great Wall

During our search for a hostel, we approached two fellow travelers who happened to be from, of all places, Astoria, Rebecca's old neighborhood in NYC. They ended up accompanying us in our search and even joined us on the "Secret Wall Tour" we took the next day. The "secret" about this tour was that it was to a non-touristy, (literally, we were the only group there) unrestored section of The Great Wall. We hiked 40 minutes up a mountain before reaching the Wall, and then spent the next two hours on the Wall itself as it snaked through the mountains. It was every bit as spectacular as people say! Every time you turned around there was another breathtaking view to soak in (we were surrounded by mountains with no civilization in sight). It was one of the best travel experiences either of us have had to date, and the pictures really don't do it justice.

The next day was a special one, as it was Rebecca's 25th birthday! It started off with a small celebration in the hostel with a pin thin candle and a muffin (Nick had to improvise) and ended with a Peking duck meal at one of the most famous duck houses in the city. In between we wandered the Lama Temple, Tienanmen Square, and the Forbidden City, then hiked up a hill to give us an aerial view of Beijing. We left that night for Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, on a 10 hour, smoky sleeper train on the top of a 3 bed high bunk.

You can find our Beijing photos at:

Rebecca's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Beijing%20and%20Great%20Wall-%20Rebecca/

Nick's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Beijing%20-%20Nick/

Our Slow Boat to China

So, our 25 hour boat ride to China turned into 42 hours due to some heavy fog, but the delay was certainly worth it based on a number of insightful and sometimes hilarious experiences:

• As the only foreigners on a boat of 700 passengers, the Chinese expressed their interest in us by lining up to get a photo together. The line was long. They even went so far as to fix Rebecca's hair and clothes to make sure the picture came out just right.
  
• Rebecca learned the intimate nature of Chinese women when, while brushing her teeth, a women reached into her bag and made use of her hairbrush without thinking twice.
• Nick received a private tour of the boat as research for a travel article he is currently writing and shooting for a Korean magazine that caters to ex-pats.
  
• After Nick was approached by a Chinese-born Korean high school student, Yan Yan, to charge her electronic dictionary (which ended up becoming quite handy), we adopted her as our informal translator as we befriended a number of other passengers. We wound up exchanging numbers with a group of women who promised to show us a good time during our stay in Inner Mongolia. We look forward to that....
  
• Yan Yan's family ended up being equally as friendly as they offered us a ride to our hostel in Beijing, which we gratefully accepted!

Rebecca's comfy living quarters

Us and Yan Yan

Nick and his ladies :)

Sunrise looking back toward Korea

South Korea

We've been pretty spoiled on the first stop of our trip in South Korea, spending all but a handful of nights in the company of friends and our Korean family. Highlights have included:

• A 3-hour hike of Dobong Mountain, a large peak located within the city limits, which provided a great aerial view of the city
  
• Participating in the traditional festivities of Seollal (Korean New Year) with the Kim family, complete with a late night visit to a no rae bang (karaoke bar)
  
• Enjoying the spa rooms, massages, and saunas of the jjim jil bangs, public bath houses, which exemplify the communal nature of Korean culture
• Strolls through Jagalchi market, the Busan fish market, a truly amazing atmosphere buzzing with the energy of hundreds of vendors selling every type of fish you can imagine!
  
• A day trip to Gyeong-ju, a city chock full of ancient temples and royal tombs
• The food!! (Rebecca has started to learn to appreciate the pleasure of a spicy meal...Nick still hasn't found a dish he doesn't love)

And now, for your viewing pleasure, please find links to our photos at photobucket:

Rebecca's shots: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/South%20Korea-%20Rebecca/

Nick's shots: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/South%20Korea%20-%20Nick/

And lastly, here's a video of our "eel meal" on the docks in Busan, an incredible experience: