Update...

We are back from safari in the Serengeti, and we had an amazing time! We weren't eaten by a lion or anything, which is good. We don't have great internet right now, but we will post an updated LONG post with lots of pictures in the coming few days as soon as we are able! Joe is heading back to the States tomorrow and Anna is continuing on to the northeastern part of Tanzania for a four week elective. We will continue to keep you posted on all of our adventures!

Zanzibar, Tanzania

For the past few days we have been in Zanzibar, where we have done absolutely nothing. It has been glorious.

We left Cape Town early in the morning (so early that our taxi driver was still asleep while taking us the airport... scary, we watched his eyelids the entire trip), and flew to Zanzibar via Jo-burg and Dar es Salaam. We then traveled to the north end of the island to our hotel in Nungwi, Zanzibar. Nungwi is a fishing village right on the white sand beach. It is in an interesting location in terms of the tides, because at low tide the beach stretches far and wide, but at high tide, the ocean comes up under the buildings (which are built on stilts for that reason). The beach and the ocean are nothing but white sand, seashells, and bright blue water. It is beautiful. We have spent most of our time walking the beach (Joe obviously looking for seashells), watching the beach life (fishermen, boats etc) and sitting by our perfect-temperature pool. We have also been eating super delicious, fresh seafood. Our favorite has been the calamari, which they grill rather than fry and each calamari ring is as big as an onion ring.

Unfortunately, with beautiful sand beaches also comes the sun, and we had a little snafu with sunscreen. The first day, we got a bit burned in a few areas that we had missed with sunscreen (especially backs of the knees- not bad, but really annoying), and since we were running low on sunscreen anyways, we went to a supermarket to buy more. Today, we completely covered our bodies with a really thick coat of our new "SPF 40" only to find out later that this "SPF" was an overexaggeration to say the least. We sadly are a bit burned, and will be more careful about buying sunscreen in other countries in the future :(

Tomorrow we head to Stone Town, which is the main town on Zanzibar and the historic center of the island. We plan to go on a spice tour (Zanzibar is famous for growing many spices such as cinnamon and cardamom) and do some more relaxing. We'll let you know how it goes!

Cape Town, South Africa

We have spent the last week in Cape Town, South Africa! It has been amazing! We flew in from Victoria Falls via Johannesburg, and arrived late Monday night. On the way, we met a nice South African couple who took us into the British Airways executive lounge while waiting for our first flight, which was much nicer than waiting out with the masses. We went straight to our very comfortable bed and breakfast in the heart of the city. Our hotel is in the Bo-Kaap district, an area of the city characterized by colorful row houses. This district was populated by freed slaves who were not allowed to wear colors and therefore rebelled once freed by painting the houses many colors.

Cape Town is a metropolitan city on the southwest portion of South Africa, and reminds us a lot of a cross between Northern and Southern California with some New England influences as well. Our first day, we took the hop-on/hop-off double-decker tourist bus around the city to get a better feel for the various areas and also for some history of the area, including important events during the end of apartheid that occurred in Cape Town. We drove through District 6, which was a site where many black people were evicted to make way for white housing during the apartheid movement. The city was up in arms about this and the planned developments were eventually stopped. The area is still left desolate and unbuilt as a tribute to that event. We stopped at Table Mountain, a very famous rocky mountain with a flat top resembling a table. When the wind blows the fog off the bay, it sits on top of the mountain like a tablecloth. We took the cable car up to the top of the mountain and explored. We also took the bus to the Camps Bay beach area which is sort of like Sunset Boulevard in LA, lots of fancy restaurants, nightclubs, cars, and famous people sightings, along with a sandy beach. Finally we walked around some of the historic sites, including the old Company Gardens (the Dutch East India Company’s gardens which date to the founding of the city), and then we had dinner at a Malaysian restaurant by our B&B (where it took all 6 waiters, the cook and the owner the better part of an hour to figure out our bill).

The next day, we woke up early and took the ferry to Robben Island, the site of the maximum security prison in which Nelson Mandela was held for 17 years (he was held for another 10 years in other places in the area). He was held along with many other political prisoners of the apartheid period. The Island is very big, and we took a bus around to see the various prison sites. The tours of the maximum security prison were given by former political prisoners, who now reside in the small community on the Island (along with some former prison guards- interesting dynamic). This day was Human Rights Day, a holiday in South Africa celebrating aspects of the end of the apartheid period, so there were many people there to visit the island and reflect. Compared with Alcatraz, Robben Island seems more like a holiday destination more than a prison, however being held anywhere against one’s will in confinement would be prison no matter where you are.

Afterwards, we had lunch at the waterfront and watched some street performers and also had ice cream cones which were made amazingly better by the fact that they put a giant stick of chocolate in the middle of each one! We then went for a hike up Lion’s Head mountain, which is a rocky mountain similar to Table Mountain, but a lot shorter (named for its resemblance to a

lion when viewed from far away). At the top, you have to scramble up the rocks using ladders, chains and footholds stuck into the rock. We hiked up in late afternoon, so it was nice to see the late afternoon sun over the city. We tried to find our way back to our hotel by walking down the mountain, which didn’t look like that far of a distance from the top, however about halfway down we couldn’t find a trail and we had to get rescued from the side of a busy road by a nice taxi driver. That night, we went to GOLD restaurant, which was in the Gold of Africa Museum/working Gold Studio. The dinner was a 10-course pan-African feast and also had live music and dancers. Joe even got pulled into it and danced a bit.

The following day, we rented a car and had our first experience driving on the “wrong” side of the road. We had very few mishaps, despite turning on the windshield wipers every time we wanted to signal a turn. We only drove on the wrong side of the road once! Joe is a pro now.

We drove to Cape Point and went to the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwesterly point of the African continent. We saw the famous colorful beach houses along the road. While driving in the national park, we turned a bend and found a bunch of ostrich walking down the road. We also finally found the famous South African dassie, which is a small guinea pig sized rodent that is apparently the closest living relative to an elephant. We then went to Boulder’s beach which is famous for its African penguin colony. It was really cool to see the penguins along the beach and

diving into the surf. We were even allowed to go on the beach and sit/swim with them as we pleased. It was pretty cool!

Today we went on a wine tour, visiting three different areas and three different wineries. The wine here is pretty good, although not quite comparable to Napa. It was a very relaxing day. We also visited a cheetah conservation center, and saw a lot of cheetahs.

Observations:

-It is VERY windy here- there are many trees along the beach

that are permanently blown horizontal to the ground because of the wind. The most expensive real estate is the “no wind” areas with views of the sea.

-The food here is really, really good- fresh seafood, African cuisine, Malaysian cuisine, and continental. It is pretty affordable as well, as long as you are willing to wait because service is extremely slow. It’s definitely on African time.

-There are people who will “watch your car for you” when you park in certain areas, in exchange for a small tip. We weren’t sure on the etiquette, so we just parked really far away from places to avoid this altogether. Also, there are gas station attendants that pump the gas for you!

-There are still a lot of residual elements of racism in South Africa. It was really interesting coming here from Victoria Falls where we met a few older (white) couples from South Africa who had witnessed the apartheid period and the end of the period, and it was interesting to hear

their feelings on the changes in the country. There seems to be a lot of bitterness and misunderstanding from both sides, and it is unfortunate that there is still so much tension in such a wonderful place. However, we have also seen a very one-sided view of Cape Town- all the picturesque views and fancy restaurants etc. These are the places that are still predominantly white. On our way back from Cape Point, we drove through the outer suburbs of Cape Town

known as the “Townships,” where the majority of the black residents live. These places are extraordinarily impoverished, and it is sad that with so much wealth in the area there is still such a dichotomy in the haves and have-nots.

-However, we really do love this city and it is one of the few places we have been that we could actually see ourselves living one day (perhaps once the social situation has stabilized more).

Victoria Falls, continued...

Like we mentioned in the last post, this morning we took a boat to Livingstone Island, a tiny island perched on the edge of the falls, which is where David Livingstone first witnessed the Falls. We took a small motor boat to the island, following a specific path that avoided the worst of the rapids and landing at the island, only a few feet from the edge of the falls. Our guide took us and an Australian couple around the island, and we literally stood on the rock ledge that is the last point of land before the sheer cliff of the falls. We then went swimming in a small pool of water 5 feet away from the edge of the falls. It was amazing! We'll show some pictures since our description does not do it justice (Moms, don't freak out- we are safely back on shore!).

Afterwards, we had a fancy breakfast under a tent on the island that was boated over from one of the resorts along the river. The whole experience was awe-inspiring and definitely a highlight of our time here. Now our time here at the Falls has come to an end, and we are so glad we had the opportunity to experience it. Next up: South Africa!

Livingstone, Zambia and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

We are having a fabulous time in southern Africa! After many plane flights (AMM-CAI-JNB-LVI), we finally arrived in Livingstone, Zambia yesterday around noon! It was amazing flying in because we could see the span of Victoria Falls out the plane window, and even from thousands of feet in the air, the size of the Falls is impressive. It is the largest/widest single sheet of falling water in the world. It is also more than twice as wide and tall as Niagara Falls, to give you some comparison. We were picked up at the airport by the owner of our small boutique hotel (who is a British expat who has basically revolutionized the hotel and hotel entertainment business in Livingstone since the 70's) and went to our nice hotel to relax by the pool for a bit. The staff at the hotel are so friendly and helpful, and are very enjoyable to be around. We went for a dinner cruise on the Zambezi River, upstream from the Falls. Fun fact: the Zambezi is the 4th largest river in Africa, and serves as a border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. We cruised alongside the many islands that pepper the river upstream from the Falls, and we saw a lot of wildlife on the banks of the islands (birds, hippos, impala, warthog etc.) It was very relaxing, and beautiful to see the sunset over the river.

This morning, we woke up and took a taxi to Mosi-Au-Tunya National Park- which is the park that abutts the Falls on the Zambian side. Mosi-Au-Tunya is the local name for the Falls, meaning "The Smoke that Thunders." This is a pretty accurate description of the Falls, especially at this time of the year. Since it is the rainy season, the Falls are full of water and there is an impressive amount of spray coming off the Falls and blanketing the majority of the park in fine and not-so-fine mist. At times, the mist is so thick that the Falls completely disappear and all you can hear is the roar of the water crashing down. The national park was extremely well designed and well kept up, and allowed us to walk along stone paths on the cliff edge and across a footbridge directly overlooking the falls. This was a very misty walk, and by the end we were drenched. It was a beautiful day, and at every turn and overlook we could see huge rainbows stretching in the spray (including a double rainbow- WHAT DOES IT MEAN!?!?!). We also hiked down through the Zambian jungle to the "Boiling Pot" which is the area directly below/downstream from the Falls and is a whirlpool.

Having been sufficiently drenched and covered all the pathways in the Zambian park, we walked across the bridge that spans over the gorge directly downstream from the Falls and watched people bungee jump and zip line off the bridge. The bridge serves as the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. We walked across the border into Zimbabwe and into the town of Victoria Falls (Livingstones' Zimbabwean counterpart). Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe used to be the major tourist destination to see the falls, but as in recent years there has been more political and economic unrest in Zimbabwe, Livingstone has taken over as the main tourist destination. The economic problems are epitomized by the devaluation of their national currency, which vendors are now selling on the side of the road as souveniers (we saw a 1 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note, a handful of which they wanted to sell to us for $1 USD). We ate sandwiches on the terrace overlooking the Falls at the historic Victoria Falls Hotel, a holdover from the British colonial days, and still with the original architecture and other distinctly British details. On the grounds of the hotel we found this sign:

We thought it was fitting because we came from Cairo and are going to Cape Town after this! Then, we went to Victoria Falls National Park in Zimbabwe. This is an equally well designed park and offers more panoramic views of the Falls. We also got sufficiently drenched on this side as well, so we went on the nature walks through the Zimbabwean jungle and saw a lot of wildlife (Vervet monkeys, baboons, warthogs, birds, mongooses etc.)

We then went back across the bridge and crossed back into Zambia, and returned to our hotel (spotting a few African elephants crossing the road on the way!) to relax by the pool and have a Zambian feast for dinner. Tomorrow morning, we will be taking a boat to Livingstone Island, which is an island perched just a few feet before the Zambezi goes over the Falls, which is where David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer who traversed many areas of mid-southern Africa in the 1800s, gazed upon the breadth of the Falls and named it after his queen Victoria. He is a well-loved and revered person here and elsewhere in Africa as he was very vocal against slavery. There are statues dedicated to him on both the Zim and Zam (as the locals refer to them) sides. We are really excited to see the Falls from this vantage point, and we will let you know how it goes!

Cairo, Egypt

Today has been a busy and eventful day. We woke up to the eerily beautiful sound of the multiple simultaneous calls to prayer from the mosques at 4:30 AM in Wadi Musa, Jordan. We drove back to Amman and caught our flight out to Cairo, where we had a 12 hour layover prior to flying on to southern Africa. Always wanting to make the most of our time while travelling, we took a tour to see the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. They are so much cooler (and bigger) in person! We were picked up from Cairo Airport, and we drove about a half hour to reach the site, while driving down the highway, we saw the massive pyramids rising in the distance, from behind skyscrapers and other big city buildings. We crossed over the Nile and arrived at the pyramid complex. They are over 4000 years old- by far the oldest man-made structures we have ever seen (we realized that with every stop on our trip so far we have been going further and further back in time). It is amazing how well preserved they are given their age. We saw the three major pyramids (Great Pyramid of Cheops, Pyramid of Chephron, and the Pyramid of Mycerinus). The pyramids served as tombs and monuments to these three pharaohs, commissioned by the pharaohs while they were still living. We went inside the smallest of the three pyramids- the Pyramid of Mycerinus- crawling down the steep passageway to reach the tombs where the mummy was kept. We also saw the Sphinx and the Valley Temple (where mummification processes took place). Finally, we went to a place and saw how papyrus paper is made, and also had a semi-Egyptian dinner with a view overlooking the pyramids.

We returned to Cairo International Airport, and are now waiting for our overnight flight out to southern Africa. And that's all that happened today.

Just kidding. Today was Match Day, which means that we find out the hospital where I matched for residency in Emergency Medicine, and the city where we are going to be living for the next few years. We are sad to be missing the celebrations and ceremony back home, but how many people can say they were inside one of the Pyramids of Giza on Match Day?!? This day has been a bit longer and more suspenseful for us due to the time change (finding out at 1pm EST means finding out at 7pm in Cairo- so a lot more hours in the day of waiting). So without further ado, here is "Match Day v2.0: Cairo International Airport Edition:"

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Emory!!!! :) :) :) We are very excited to find out that we are moving to Atlanta!! Congratulations to everyone who matched today back home, and we can't wait to celebrate with you all when we are back in the States!

Wadi Musa and Petra, Jordan

Petra is hands down the coolest place we have ever seen. Ever.

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But first, let's back up... We flew to Jordan a couple days ago on Qatar Airlines, through Doha, Qatar. Qatar Airlines is now tied with Korean Air for best airline ever- good legroom, personal tv's with lots of new release movies, excellent food and excellent service. It was really neat to fly in through Doha- looking out the window, all you see is tan sand meeting the aqua ocean, with little shaped islands dotted with equally tan buildings. We then continued on to Amman, Jordan. There, we were met by a driver from our hotel who took us for the 2.5 hour drive south through the desert to Wadi Musa, the town abutting Petra Archaeological Park. Our driver was really awesome, and he taught us a lot of Arabic terms, and had traditional tea with us along the way (with mint leaves in it- so good!). Tea is a very important part of the culture here, and it is very common to sit and have tea and chat with people.

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The next day, we went to explore Petra. It is AMAZING. Petra is an ancient city, started by the Nabataeans in the 6th century BC, although its heyday started around 200 BC to a few hundred AD. It was an integral trading post on the Silk Road, and once housed up to 30,000 people. It was later subjugated by the Romans who brought some of their own architectural heritage to the site. It is still lived in today by Bedouin people. You walk through a winding sand road through the open desert, with outlying tombs carved into the red rocks as you approach the "Siq," or narrow, long steep-sided crevice that served as the entrance to the city. You then walk through the 1.2 km canyon at the end of which you have your first glimpse of Petra's most famous and well-preserved of sites- the Treasury. Cue Indiana Jones theme music:

The Treasury is actually an ornately adorned tomb for King Aretas III, but is best known for its appearance in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It is indescribable, so here is another picture:

After admiring the Treasury for some time, we continued on the path through the "Street of Facades" which is a row of many tombs carved into the sides of the rock face and also contains a large amphitheater. The Petra city proper is in a valley (called "Wadi" in Arabic) which is surrounded by tall rock formations similar to a shorter Grand Canyon, or the rock mesas in the southwestern US. Many of the dwellings and tombs are found sprawling over a great distance in the many twists and turns of the rock formations. Height is no obstacle, and many of them are found built impossibly high on sheer rock faces and on the very tops of remote mountain-sides. The rock is very multihued- from purples and reds, to yellows, blues, and blacks. We meandered off the path to visit some of the famous tombs higher up, and then returned to visit the Petra city proper, which has a colonaded street and a complex temple still undergoing excavation. Finally, we made our way up the over-800 steps to the Monastery, another famous tomb built high on the top of a mountain that was later converted into a church during the Byzantine period. There were some great views of the surrounding mountains and valleys from the top of this climb.

After a delicious Jordanian dinner, we returned to experience "Petra by Night" which is a candle-lit night hike back through the Siq to sit in front of the Treasury and listen to a concert of Bedouin music on the flute and a traditional stringed instrument (ancestor to the cello!), and hear Bedouin stories of the Nabataean times. It is interesting to see the Treasury at all times of the day and night because the light is constantly changing its appearance.

Today, we went back to Petra to explore more in depth some of the more remote areas, including a long hike to the top of a mountain overlooking the Treasury, and a hike to a top of a different mountain at the top of which a sacrificial altar can be found. On the way back down, we explored some more tombs and other architectural wonders including a very complex water system.

Both days we ate lunch at a fabulous Bedouin restaurant high up on a hill overlooking the Petra city center, where we ate a LOT of baklava. Jordanians really know how to do dessert. The Bedouin couple who owned the place were very pleased that we came back the second day, so treated us to tea, which was especially nice because it was very cold and windy today. We also used our newly acquired knowledge of Arabic numbers to bargain with the ever present Bedouin vendors throughout the park. They sell everything from rocks to camel and donkey rides (aka "air-conditioned taxi's" aka "Bedouin Ferrari" etc). They are not unpleasant as vendors are in some other countries, but are genuinely excited that you are there to experience their culture and country, and always willing to share a tidbit of knowledge or to check to make sure you are enjoying the sites.

We really wish we had more time to experience this place and learn more about the Jordanian culture, and we hope to be back some day. And you all should come here too!!

Match Update

I matched!!! ...somewhere... tune in Friday!

Delhi and Agra, India

Many apologies for the delayed posting, we have been very busy these past few days. We left off still in Bangkok, where we enjoyed another more relaxing day. We explored a little more of the city and took care of some necessities (t shirts at Khao San Road- the "backpacker's mecca" for Joe, and more passport pages at the US embassy for Anna), and we had another delicious Thai meal and did some people watching at our hotel pool. Then it was off to the airport (escorted by our speed demon taxi driver- we thought we were in the Indy 500) for the next leg of our trip... BKK to DEL! We flew Air Asia, which was nice and had entertaining flight attendants. Unfortunately, we sat next to the world's dirtiest American hippie college kid, which was gross. When we landed in India, they sprayed the interior of the plane with insecticide spray, which was also gross but hopefully helped clean up that kid a little too.

We spent the night in New Delhi, and then the next morning did the 5 hour commute to Agra, which houses the Taj Mahal and some of the other important monuments. We passed through many towns and villages along the way, and got to see what everyday life in India looks like. When we arrived in Agra, we first went to Agra Fort, which was a red sandstone fort built by Akbar, a Mughal emperor in the mid 1500s (we also saw his tomb on the way to Agra). Akbar seems like kind of a cool innovative guy, and he was very liberal in terms of religion. He felt that all religions should be abolished and everyone should live peacefully together, a message that would be nice to live by these days. Because of these beliefs, he had the buildings built with motifs from many major religions- Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. There are crosses, 6-pointed stars, 5-pointed stars, lotus-flowers, and swastikas (a sacred Hindu symbol- interesting that the Nazis chose to borrow a symbol from another religion for their own use), among other symbols. He was also an innovator when it came to architectural planning, with winter rooms with radiant heating and summer rooms situated next to bodies of water for early air conditioning. There is a state of the art drainage system as well. The Fort was well protected against invaders by a moat of crocodiles, a wall manned by guards, and a dry moat-jungle full of lions and tigers etc. Agra Fort was improved upon by Shah Jahan, the grandson of Akbar. He really liked carvings, so his parts of the fort are ornately carved in the red sandstone. Shah Jahan's son, Aurangzeb, ended up imprisoning Shah Jahan in one of the towers of the fort, where Shah Jahan lived out the last years of his life, looking out toward the Taj Mahal- the fabulous palace he built as a mausoleum to his favorite wife Mumtaz. Shah Jahan's son prefered inlay work, so his parts of the fort are white marble with precious gems inlayed. We also saw the various courtyards for use by multiple wives and harem women (Shah Jahan was said to have had over 300 harem women living within the fort). Joe was wearing his Michigan t shirt and we met some new Michigan friends who also went to Pioneer High School!

After Agra Fort, we visited Itimad-ud-Daulah, a small decorated mausoleum also refered to as the "Baby Taj." We then went back to the resort hotel where we were staying and had a delicious feast of Indian food accompanied by live music and a view of the lights over Agra Fort.

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The next day, we went to see the Taj Mahal in the early morning light. It is even more breathtaking in person than in the pictures. It is an enormous symmetrical mausoleum made entirely of white marble and inlayed with colorful gemstones. Like we mentioned, it was built as a tribute after the death of Shah Jahan's favorite wife Mumtaz from childbirth with their 14th child. It was started in 1632 and took 22 years to complete. Shah Jahan never actually set foot inside the building, but instead prefered to sit with the memory of his wife on the grounds of the Taj, this way she could live on for him. He had planned on building a black marble Taj Mahal for himself on the other side of the river, so that they could be buried together and the shadows of the buildings would connect over the river. Unfortunately, he was never able to realize this dream as he was imprisoned by his son for the remainder of his life. He was buried next to Mumtaz in the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is kind of impossible to fully describe, and a picture is worth a thousand words anyways, so here you go:

After visiting the Taj, we drove out of Agra to visit Fatehpur Sikri, another large walled city-fort that was built by Akbar. Akbar built Fatehpur Sikri after visiting Sheikh Salim Chishti, a Muslim holy man, at the site, to ask for help with fertility. The Sheikh predicted that he would soon have a son, which he did. He moved from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri after his son was born. He created the largest area in for the wife who was the mother of his son, and two smaller areas for his two other wives. Fatehpur Sikri was built entirely out of red sandstone, again with ornate carvings etc. The mausoleum of the holy man, Sheikh Salim Chisthi, is also on the campus. We visited this and made the traditional offerings of cloth and flowers, and then tied a red thread onto the carved windows while making 3 wishes. Then, we headed back to Delhi.

Today we toured around Delhi. We saw the president's palace, and parliment buildings. Today is the opening of parliment and the president was set to make an address, so there was quite a bit of security. We also saw the India Gate (built in similar fashion to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris as a memorial to lives lost in WWI), the Red Fort (built by Akbar and similar to Agra Fort but larger), and the bazaars and craziness of life that is Old Delhi. Next was Raj Ghat, the burial site of Mahatma Ghandi, and saw the monument to his life and the enternal flame that now burns at the site. We then went to Humayun's Tomb, which was built for Humayun (second Mughal emperor) by his wife. This Tomb served as a model and inspiration for the future Taj Mahal. After Humayun's Tomb, we saw the Lotus Temple (a Baha'i temple). Finally, we went to see Qutb Minar, a towering victory pillar started in 1202 by the Muslim ruler at the time, marking the start of Muslim dominance in Delhi. It was completed by his successor.

Thoughts and Observations:

- Delhi is crowded!

- Driving here is scary/crazy/awesome- as one guide put it, in order to drive in India you need 3 things: good horn, good brakes, and good luck. We believe it.

- There is a fine art to horn use here- horns are used to alert someone you are passing, to tell someone to get over out of your way, to express annoyance, to say hi, etc etc. If the horn doesn't do it, you can also repeatedly flash your brights like morse code. There are also many interesting horn tunes.

- Naan is delicious

- You really have to watch your back here- we stick out like a sore thumb and everyone is trying to get something from you, including guides who drop you off at high-pressure sales outlets from which they undoubtedly receive commission from sales, drivers who discourage your far trips to pocket the gas/toll money, touts on the streets, "shoe-watchers" at the monuments that you have to remove your shoes prior to entering, bathroom attendants wanting tips for turning on the faucet, and the list goes on and on. We have needed to be a bit on-edge the entire time and so haven't allowed ourselves to be scammed etc, but many of the other tourists we have seen along the way have not been so lucky. It will be nice to move on to a place where we can hopefully relax a bit more :)

Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is really a city of juxtapositions, and we sort of have a love-hate relationship with it because of this. On the one hand, it is a huge, dirty, smelly city full of masses of humanity while on the other hand it contains beautiful glittering temple complexes which contain the holiest relics in all of Thailand, with each one more glitzy than the next and offering an oasis of calm in an otherwise extraordinarily hectic place.

We took a bus from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Bangkok. The entire trip took 8-9 hours. We traveled for 3-4 hours through the rice patties and small villages of Cambodia to reach the border city of Poipet. We were dropped off there, and walked across the border and through Thai immigration. We caught back up with a new bus on the other side. Just crossing the border we noticed an immediate change between the two countries. The Thailand side of the border was busier, dirtier, and more hectic than 200 meters the other direction in Cambodia. The way we were treated too was different- there was a lot more hassle getting the next bus in Thailand, and the driver much more unfriendly than the super polite and helpful people we encountered in Cambodia. Nonetheless, we spent another 5 hours on a jam-packed mini-bus and were dropped at a central road post nearby our hotel. It was incredibly busy and hectic- full of cars, people, vendors, tuk-tuks, all jumbled together on the sidewalks and the streets. Although we knew we were within a few blocks of our hotel, we were very disoriented and did not know in which direction to head. Just as our disorientation and frustration at the situation were about to bubble over, a very nice Thai man asked us where we were going and pointed us in the right direction. We arrived at our hotel which is truly an oasis of calm, along a quiet canal. We were given juice drinks and shown to our room. The helpful man and the hotel completely changed our impression of the city, which was rapidly spiraling downhill. That night, we walked to a restaurant nearby and had our first taste of delicious, authentic Thai food. The restaurant was right next to the Democracy Monument- a huge imposing monument in the center of a traffic circle, which commemorates a 1932 coup.

The next day, we had a fabulous breakfast at our hotel, and then ventured out into the city again to go to the Grand Palace, which houses the Emerald Buddha- the holiest site in all of Thailand. We again got a little confused getting there with all the touts trying to convince us that the Palace was closed and that we should go somewhere else and do some shopping (luckily our guidebooks warned us in advance about this because they were very convincing), however we made it! The Grand Palace is a huge complex along the river which was built in the late 1700s after Thai independence from Burma. There are huge buildings with impossibly tall spires, all completely gilded in gold and sparkling jewels. Pictures do not do these buildings justice. We rushed to reach the building which houses the Emerald Buddha as it was set to close for a religious ceremony in an hour, and we had to fight through throngs of tourist groups and pilgrims to reach the site. This place was by far the most crowded place we have ever been. After elbowing some people out of the way, we reached the site, took off our shoes, and ventured inside to behold the Emerald Buddha. The entire inside of the building was covered in gold and jewels, just as the outside was. There was a pyramid of gold and jewels at the center of the room and perched at the very top was what we assume was the Emerald Buddha. It was very small. Although I guess for being made of solid emerald it is pretty impressive. It is supposed to have been discovered when lightening cracked open its prior enclosure in the early 15th century. We sat on the floor and made wishes to the Buddha along with everyone else.

We then escaped the Grand Palace and the crowds to go to Wat Pho, the oldest temple in Bangkok. It houses the massive Reclining Buddha. Again, Wat Pho saved our impression of Bangkok and was an idyllic oasis of calm and not that many people, which is surprising because the Reclining Buddha is so cool!!! In contrast the the Emerald Buddha, the Reclining Buddha is 45 meters long and completely guilded in gold (said to be worth more than $10 million USD just in the gold alone). The Buddha's huge feet are covered in mother of pearl inlay, and he even has unique toe-prints made of mother of pearl. The entire room is basically taken up by the Buddha, and by a row of 108 metal bowls. You buy a tin container of 108 coins, and then you walk down the row of bowls and deposit a coin per bowl, and make a wish/prayer with every coin. The coins falling into the bowls make a beautiful plink-plink sound that serves as the backdrop for taking in the Reclinic Buddha. To top it off, on exiting the Buddha's chamber, they gave us free bottled water (you have no idea how exciting this is- it is hot here!). Wat Pho was basically the first university of traditional medicine in Thailand, and is a famous training site for Thai massage. The massage school is on the campus, so we went and had Thai massage at the school.

Afterwards we made our way back to our hotel to relax at the pool (after stopping at a department store to buy Joe a swimsuit), and then we had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the river where we watched the express boats and dinner cruises traversing the river. We once again had delicious Thai food- yum!

In all, so far we have enjoyed our time here, with the good making up for the bad. It was very interesting coming here from Cambodia, a country with a shared history and which is so geographically close yet so different in every way. Although we might prefer many aspects of Cambodia to what we have experienced in Bangkok, in Thailand we have seen some amazing things, eaten some amazing food, and relaxed at an amazing hotel and we would not trade those experiences for anything.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

In my Galens Smoker-induced delirium, I completely forgot that we wanted to thank everyone for all input/help/advice/booking pieces of this trip/taking care of business at home. We seriously couldn't have put this together without your help!!!! :)

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Now on to Cambodia...

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After 3 flights (DTW-ORD-ICN-REP), we arrived safely in Cambodia yesterday without many problems. We only almost missed our flight in Seoul due to confusion about the time difference (Who knew Seoul is 14 hours ahead of EST rather than 12?!?), which led to Joe getting a rude awakening from his nap in the airport by me dragging him and all of our stuff to the gate as they did the final boarding call for the flight. But we made it! Also, Korean Air is our new favorite airline! So amazing. Comfy seats, new planes, nice ambient lighting that changes depending on what you should be doing at that time (sleeping, waking up, eating, etc.), personal tv's that have tons of new release movies (I watched 4 in a row), tons of really good food, hot towels, and amazing flight attendants who are extremely helpful and dressed super cute! For example, in trying to be culturally appropriate, I ordered the bibimbap for dinner (when on Korean Air...), and obviously seeing right through my confidant air, the flight attendant brought me a little laminated card that demonstrated exactly how to mix the components and eat it. No one else got the card. So, two thumbs up for Korean Air!

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We woke up at 4AM to go watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat, one of the biggest and most famous temples in Cambodia, at a time when the park would be most empty of other tourists. There were only about 10000000 other people there to watch the same thing. It was very beautiful and we got some good photos. We then returned to our guesthouse for breakfast (yummy banana pancakes and noodle dishes), and then we went back to the park to visit all the temples in the daylight.

We first went to Angkor Thom, which is a whole city complex surrounded by huge entry gates. The most famous temple in the complex is Bayon, which was built in the 12-13th centuries and is known for large towers covered in huge faces. We then saw the Terraces of the Elephant and Leper King, huge walls which are covered in elephant carvings, and carvings of warriors, respectively. We went on to Ta Prohm, another famous temple (Angelina Jolie filmed parts of Tomb Raider there!), which was Anna's favorite temple. It is in a state of complete disrepair, with banyon trees growing out of the stone work throughout the temple. It is an interesting synergysm of nature and man-made construction. Most of the other temples have been restored/are being restored, so it was interesting to see one in a more natural state.

Our tuk-tuk driver, Polo, suggested that we go to a far out temple (Banteay Srei) which was older than the main complex temples (built in the 10th century) and more ornate. The Banteay Srei complex was clear of other tourists and very picturesque and calm. It was one of our favorites. It was especially interesting because it was so old yet so ornate, and built in a more reddish sandstone. We had lunch at Banteay Srei, and then went back to the main temple complex to spend time at Angkor Wat in the daylight. We were pretty hot and exhausted at this point but Angkor Wat was as impressive in the daylight as it had been at sunrise. Angkor Wat is surrounded by a huge lake-like moat which you must cross to reach the outer wall. Through that wall there is a very long stone walkway dividing a large grassy field that must be traversed to reach the first of three enclosing walls in the actual temple proper. This wall is covered in famous bas-reliefs depicting battle-scenes, and telling stories of gods' feats. Two of the most well-known of these are a creation story depicting a giant serpent being used to churn an ancient ocean, and the other is a story depicting the dichotomy of heaven and hell with judgement by a Hindu god. We then climbed through the next two walls to the top of Angkor Wat which gave us a great view of the late afternoon sunlight on the complex as a whole.

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Exhausted, we returned to our fabulous guest-house for dinner and immediately fell asleep despite grand plans to write this blog.

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Some final thoughts on Cambodia:

- The scale of the temples is absolutely ridiculous. Was everyone in 10th through 12th century Cambodia a stone mason? Multiple entire cities ornately carved from top to bottom complete with moats, ballistrades, and temples which rival some small skyscrapers- very impressive.

- Cambodia itself is a very pleasant country- the people are very friendly and helpful, and polite! Even at the large tourist sites, the people selling souveniers would back off with a quick "no thank you," which is unusual in these types of settings in other countries. Also, people actually obey traffic rules and signals here, and their stop lights are pretty cool- they have a count down for each of the red, yellow, and green light settings, so you know exactly how long you are waiting, or how long you have to make it through the light. Super cool!

- Also, the food in Cambodia is delicious!

All our bags are packed, we're ready to go...

...because we're leaving on a jet plane (in just a few hours!).

As most of you know, Joe and I are traveling "around the world" for the next month and we are so excited! It has been a completely crazy time leading up to our trip, including a whirlwind winter full of residency interviews and musical theater productions for me, and overtime shifts and ultimate frisbee leagues for Joe. This last week has been particularly crazy as it was tech week for the Galens Smoker (an annual medical school musical production), with the last show ending just a few hours ago. But, we are finally packed and ready to go on our trip! (Sleep is for long plane rides anyways).

Now we would like to draw your attention to our fabulous packing skills. As you will notice in the picture below, we are taking 2 carry-on sized bags each. And that is it! Now, you all know that I am not what would be called a "light packer," therefore I am especially proud of the fact that there is actually leftover room in my bag! Which contains all my needs for a month. A whole month. Be amazed.



We are planning to keep this blog as a log of our travels and experiences during our month-long trip, and we hope that you enjoy following along as much as we enjoy experiencing these amazing places around the world. We will unveil the stops on our trip as we go, and post as often as we can.... so, talk to you soon!

~anna