Coming Home

2008-05-27T03:20:27-07:00

By: Christina

One of my favorite John Legend songs is “Coming Home.” During our trip, I found myself singing it from time to time, and since our return, have been humming it to myself. In it, he sings:

It may be long to get me there,

California Dreaming

2008-05-23T07:19:28-07:00

By Dan

One more morning in a hotel room. One more taxi to a train station. One more trip through an airport. One more (very long) plane flight. And then we were home to grandparents, friends, family, familiar sights and sounds, and the reality...

Funky Chinatown

2008-05-18T07:50:32-07:00

By Dan

Packing our things in Bali was sort of surreal. We culled ruthlessly, leaving behind clothes that had been beat up by too many dhobi-wallas and were unduly threadbare, or that we were just plain sick of, which gave us room for some of th...

Endless Summer

2008-05-18T07:39:58-07:00

By: Grayson

On the first day of surfing Dad, Abby and I had lessons. I had not done any surfing before, and I was just starting. My teacher was an Indonesian guy named Pojo. He taught me how to paddle out over the wa...

Surfin’ Safari

2008-05-14T21:45:41-07:00

By: Christina

With four straight days of surfing under our belts, the title for this entry was a no-brainer. Surfing has played a prominent role in our visit to Bali, and Dan and the kids have thoroughly enjoyed their time hanging ten. I, on th...

Puff the Magic Komodo Dragon

2008-05-14T11:30:43-07:00

By: Abby

Komodo Dragons are the world’s biggest lizards. They grow to be anywhere from 9 to 10 ½ feet long from nose to tail. When they are born, though, they are only as long as a screwdriver. Baby dragons hatch out of eggs about the size of a...

We're Off to See the Lizard

2008-05-14T09:31:14-07:00

By Dan

Varanus komodiensis, that is. The lizard of all lizards. The king of the lizards. The Komodo dragon. In 1995, Christina and I had managed to get out to the little island of Komodo, which is way east of Java and Bali in the Indones...

Give Me Shelter

2008-05-13T10:30:46-07:00

By Dan

Our last morning on Gili T saw us reluctantly packing up after our six delightful nights at Marta’s Bungalows, and preparing for departure. For a very significant change of experience, I managed to work in an hour-long job interview by p...

Beautiful Spot on Gili T

2008-05-14T12:14:25-07:00

We loved our stay in Martas Guesthouse. Although it is not on the beach, it is only about a block away, so it is easy to get to the water. Plus, there is a pool at the guesthouse, so you can cool off any time you want. The only negativ...

Ninety-Six Degrees in the Shade

2008-05-12T20:12:38-07:00

By: Christina

Another day, another island. With more than 17,000 in Indonesia (6,000+ are uninhabited), we could spend the rest of the year visiting a new island every day, and still not make a dent on the list. We picked one of the best, howev...

One Night Only

2008-05-11T12:45:30-07:00

By Dan

Having seen what we could of Bromo and environs, it was time to head back down the mountain to Hot and Steamy Land. The ride down gave us the chance to enjoy the beautiful hillsides with their precarious plantings again. I just wondered...

Smoke on the Water, Fire in the Sky

2008-05-11T11:40:08-07:00

By Dan

OK, so truth be told, we didn’t see either smoke on water or fire in sky, but we saw a whole lot of smoke in sky, and since that’s such an awesome rock and roll song, I couldn’t resist the title. We’re talking volcanoes today, and Indone...

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

2008-04-26T11:58:40-07:00

By: Christina

Yogyakarta (pronounced “Jogjakarta” or “Jogja” by those in the know) is a sweet city with a small town feel in the center of the island of Java. Though it was a long (eight hour) train journey to get here, the views from the train...

Oh, Oh, That Smell. Can’t You Smell That Smell?

2008-04-25T18:19:00-07:00

By Dan

Well, that blog title would have been appropriate for many of the places we have visited on our journey. Jakarta, a city of over ten million and the capital of Indonesia, follows the lead of New York City (the Big Apple) and is called th...

Dripping with character, this is a great bar and restaurant in the Old City of Jakarta

2008-04-18T20:50:15-07:00

We had a great meal at Cafe Batavia and loved the ambiance of the place. With all-teak decor and slow moving ceiling fans, you really felt like you were dining in the old Dutch colonial days. We didn't save room for dessert, but they sure lo...

On The Road Again

2008-04-20T16:51:32-07:00

By: Christina

We had decided to try a no-frills, economy carrier, AirAsia, for our flight from Thailand to Malaysia. The tickets were priced right and the timing worked for us, so we figured it was a no brainer. At check in, however, our saving...

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

2008-04-14T19:36:25-07:00

By: Christina
After our days of luxury and leisure in Koh Samui, we were due for a bit of time roughing it. We got that in spades when we traveled from the island of Samui on the eastern side of Thailand to the island of Phi Phi (pronounced...

Take It Easy

2008-04-13T20:21:39-07:00

By Dan

Leaving the temples of Cambodia behind us, we hopped on a plane bound for the island beaches of southern Thailand. While the pace of our travels has by no means been too fast lately, we were all ready to pause for a few days of just hang...

Horseback riding through the fields of Siem Reap

2008-04-04T20:42:36-07:00

Although a bit pricey for Cambodia, all of us thoroughly enjoyed our horseback riding through the Cambodian countryside. The horses all are of Cambodian lineage and were beautiful and well behaved. The ranch is also beautiful and well run...

Wat You Want? Baby I Got It!

2008-04-12T20:06:05-07:00

By Dan
Oh, yeah, there are some temple things near Siem Reap, right? Angkor Wat, etc.? That’s why we went there, right? Yep, and they were very cool. OK, here’s the long awaited description. . . .
First, some background. The area arou...

Don’t Fear the Reaper

2008-04-07T20:53:22-07:00

By Dan

. . . The Siem Reaper, that is, as in Siem Reap, the Cambodian city that is home to one of the world’s most amazing collections of temples. Angkor Wat and its companions were high on the list of things I was most excited to see and do an...

Darkness on the Edge of Town

2008-04-06T19:52:03-07:00

By Christina

The legacy of the Khmer Rouge resonates in Cambodia to this day and is like a dark shadow lurking in the corners of Cambodian homes and shops. From roughly 1975 to 1979, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians were relocated to agricul...

Crossroad Blues

2008-04-05T21:35:57-07:00

By: Christina

Arriving in bustling, hustling Cambodia after mellow Laos and pristine Thailand was a big change. There are lots of people everywhere and the streets are darn crowded. There is also quite a bit of pollution and litter, and both th...

Converted colonial mansion smack in the city center

2008-04-01T00:11:35-07:00

What a great spot. The location was absolutely perfect - directly across from the Royal Palace, easy walking distance to the riverfront, national museum, restaurants and shops, and an easy tuk tuk ride to the killing fields and S21. Our room...

They Call It Mellow Yellow

2008-04-01T15:49:01-07:00

By Dan

Throughout Southeast Asia, we have been struck by how much yellow we see. Flags, shirts, signs, etc. are very frequently yellow in color, or have yellow as a dominant theme. In Thailand, apparently people started wearing yellow shirts on...

Shiny, Happy People

2008-03-29T20:01:57-07:00

By Dan

Leaving the monks and classical ambience of Luang Prabang behind, we headed south for Vang Vieng. As usual, there were a variety of transportation choices. Departure time, total travel time, the availability of air conditioning and on-bo...

Beautiful spot away from the craziness of the village center

2008-03-31T23:14:26-07:00

We loved this place, located right on the Nam Song River. The garden was gorgeous, the room clean and the food at the restaurant was delicious. Our one complaint is that the water in the bathroom sprayed everywhere (a common occurrence in SE...

Brothers in Alms

2008-03-28T20:57:32-07:00

By Christina

After two days of drifting on the Mekong River, sitting on hard wooden benches and eating salty snacks, we were definitely ready for hot showers, comfortable beds, and good food. Lucky for us, the charming town of Luang Prabang was...

Uncomfortably Numb

2008-03-26T20:46:28-07:00

By Dan

A little additional commentary on the Gibbon Experience, from the parental perspective. (Read Grayson’s entry, immediately prior to this, for the kid’s perspective.) In short, the zip lines and tree house were the scariest things that I...

Fly Like An Eagle

2008-03-23T22:49:54-07:00

By Grayson

After crossing the Mekong River into the town of Huay Xie, Laos, we headed on to the extraordinary Gibbon Experience. The Gibbon Experience is an eco-friendly tourism experience that combines conservation projects with helping local...

Everybody Chiang Khong Tonight

2008-03-22T14:31:43-07:00

By Dan

Christina and I still chuckle about the time we got in a taxi in Orange County on our way to Disneyland, and I noticed that the taxi driver’s name was Wang Chung, so I started humming that song about everybody having fun tonight. . . .....

King for a Day

2008-03-19T20:13:14-07:00

By Christina

We blew into Chiang Rai after a three hour bus ride from Chiang Mai. We had decided to break up the journey to Laos by stopping in Chiang Rai for a night and settled into a little guest house that was clean and quaint, with a lovel...

Rice, Rice, Baby

2008-03-16T18:40:49-07:00

By Dan

There’s nothing like going to sleep in a bamboo hut thatched with teak tree leaves, in the middle of rice paddies in the mountains west of Chiang Mai, having eaten a big dinner cooked on a campfire in the bamboo hut featuring rice grown...

Banana Pancakes

2008-03-16T11:05:47-07:00

By Christina

After our experience on the overnight trains in India, I was really looking forward to the overnight train ride from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. I figured it really couldn’t get any worse than the dirty, cramped qua...

Beautiful guesthouse in heart of Chiang Mai

2008-03-15T23:10:16-07:00

We stayed at the Chiang Mai guesthouse for three nights. It was clean and the staff were great - very helpful in organizing our trek and answering all of our questions about Chiang Mai and N. Thailand. The best features of the place are the...

A Boy Named Sue

2008-03-15T22:20:59-07:00

By Christina

A curious title, you might say, but you would be surprised at the number of “lady-boys” (the phrase used in Thailand) walking around Bangkok, especially at night. On the whole, the Thai men are quite small and pretty, so the fact t...

Watch Calcutta's craziness directly from your window!

2008-03-09T12:39:30-07:00

We spent three nights at the Lindsay Hotel in the heart of Calcutta. It is a very well located hotel - you can walk to Sudder Street, the National Museum, and the Maiden. The room showed a bit of wear, but the staff were really nice. B...

O Calcutta!

2008-03-09T22:32:06-07:00

By Dan

Well, Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) is our final stop in India, and in some ways it feels like we have been in training for Calcutta during our five weeks in India. Calcutta is the big time, the major leagues, the finals. This place is...

Welcome to Paradise

2008-03-04T20:45:57-08:00

By: Grayson

From Guwahati, we drove about five hours to Kaziranga National Park, famous for its one-horned rhinoceros. Mom had been managing expectations about seeing rhino, but we needn’t have worried. Before we even got into the park, we saw...

Can’t You Hear That Whistle Blowin’

2008-03-02T19:26:27-08:00

By Dan

Train travel is a quintessential part of the India experience. Supposedly, something like 15 million people ride a train in India every day, and Indian Railways is perhaps the world’s largest employer. If you look at a map of India, you...

Give Me Novocaine

2008-03-02T18:54:01-08:00

By Christina

Sometimes the best laid plans…fall by the wayside. Such was the case with our recent quest to reach the town of Darjeeling in northern India. For the third time in three countries (Kenya, Sri Lanka and now India), political strife...

Get Lifted

2008-03-02T17:25:56-08:00

By Christina

Situated on the banks of the Ganges River, Varanasi is arguably the holiest city in all of India. Many Indians consider it the center of the Hindu universe, and for thousands of years, pilgrims have come here to wash away their sin...

I'm Too Sexy for my Temple

2008-02-29T01:00:25-08:00

(Parental Discretion Advised)

By Dan

Recognizing that we may have some younger readers, let me start with a warning that the content of this entry may require some parental discretion. I’ll try to keep the discussion of the adult-themed s...

Cat Scratch Fever

2008-02-29T00:22:38-08:00

By Dan

I thought I’d also do an entry on tigers for the sake of more comprehensive coverage. And, since Abby doesn’t have the same appreciation for bad ‘70s rock that I do, she wouldn’t title her entry as an homage to Ted Nugent. So, I needed t...

Abby's Tabbies

2008-02-25T13:06:58-08:00

By Abigail

From Agra to Bandhavgarh we took a night train. It was probably the worst night’s sleep I have ever had. Period. I mean, there’s no question about it. From the beginning, I knew that it was going to be a horrible ride. Well, not the...

Voice Post from a Tuk Tuk

2008-02-29T03:15:46-08:00

Please listen to what Grayson has to say about riding in a tuk tuk in Delhi, India.

http://blog.realtravel.com/2008/02/29/from-a-tuk-tuk-in-delhi-india/

A Love Supreme

2008-02-23T12:47:16-08:00

By Christina

Just over one hundred miles southeast of Delhi sits the greatest of all tributes to love, the Taj Mahal. This white marble palace is a treasured icon of India and arguably one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Despite t...

Living Just Enough, Just Enough for the City

2008-02-17T15:08:30-08:00

By Dan

I think the kids would have been happy to stay on the beach in Goa for another month or so, spending their days boogie boarding and drinking milk shakes, and their evenings watching the offerings on Indian cable television. As much as we...

Bohemian Rhapsody

2008-02-16T18:18:15-08:00

By Christina Kingfisher is a well known name around India. As the country’s leading brewery, there are ads for its various flavors of beer on billboards all over the country, and they even sell t-shirts at the markets. So, it was with...

Oh Backwaters, Keep on Rollin’

2008-02-15T23:20:47-08:00

By Dan

Another day, another stamp in the passport. Hello, India! Ninety minutes of flying brought the six of us from the craziness in Sri Lanka to Kerala, a state on the southwest coast of India. Cochin, variously spelled Cochi, Kochi, Kochin,...

You Must Be My Lucky Star

2008-02-15T11:18:27-08:00

By Dan

After our short stop in Galle, our friend Maxi the driver arrived to take us north towards Colombo, ending our circuit of Sri Lanka. Christina had been in search of a new pair of sunglasses, and had been advised to visit a shop near the...

Workin’ for a Livin’

2008-02-15T10:42:15-08:00

By Dan

By this time, we have had lots of practice leaving places we love, and Dikwella was no different. But, we’d relaxed and chilled long enough, and it was time to see some more Sri Lanka. So, we headed west along the coast towards the town...

The Long and Winding Road

2008-02-15T00:08:32-08:00

By Dan

Our unplanned pause at Kitulgala at an end, we were back on the road south heading towards our next scheduled destination, the Sinharaja National Park. The scenery along the way was more of the same, with lots of greenery, colorful small...

Rolling on the River

2008-02-13T19:26:10-08:00

By Christina

After a brief consultation with Maxi, we decided to change our travel plans and avoid the town of Ella, where we were scheduled to spend two nights in the midst of its famous tea plantations. Evidently, our Tiger friends (the two-l...

Water was low, but we had a blast!

2008-02-04T18:45:32-08:00

We all decided to try white water rafting on the river where the Bridge over the River Kwai was filmed. What a blast. The river was a bit low (evidently, the water control up river was not letting much out that morning), but we had fun negot...

Jungle Love

2008-02-13T18:04:14-08:00

By Dan

The next phase of our Sri Lankan adventure was delayed a little as we tried to depart Kandy. A wedding party was arriving at our hotel, complete with traditionally costumed dancers and musicians, much like we had seen at the dance show t...

I Want Kandy

2008-02-13T13:35:56-08:00

By Christina

Our tour of Sri Lanka started off with an early departure from Colombo, as we wanted to be at the Pennewala Elephant Orphanage in time for the elephants’ morning feeding and bath in the river. We were out the door a little after 7...

Eye of the Tigers

2008-02-04T14:38:17-08:00

Jan. 22

By Dan

I thought of our time in the Maldives as a sort of vacation from our vacation. Like all vacations, it had to end, so we prepared ourselves to move on. Back onto a seaplane we went, for the return flight to Male Airport. The...

In An Octopus’ Garden

2008-01-29T20:27:31-08:00

By Christina
The 16th of January was a sad day for us: we said goodbye to my mom and we left the continent of Africa. The good news was we were flying out of Tanzania (not Kenya) and we were headed to the Maldives, reputed to be one of the...

We’ve Got a Ticket to Ride

2008-01-29T19:52:52-08:00

By Dan

Arusha is a very pleasant town nestled against the base of Mt. Meru, which is sort of Kilimanjaro’s little sister as it rises above the African plain to a mere 15,000 feet. Its main claim to fame is as the starting point both for safa...

Malaika

2008-01-20T16:40:46-08:00

By Christina

This was probably the easiest blog entry title we have had so far, although it is obscure enough that I’ll have to explain. . . . Miriam Makeba is a very famous South African singer (at least among those of us who love African musi...

Who Let the (Wild) Dogs Out?

2008-01-19T12:33:27-08:00

By Dan

Safari guides take a lot of personal responsibility in making sure that their clients see good stuff, so I think our friend Felix was feeling a little bad about our relatively quiet day in the Serengeti. Not that it was his fault, of cou...

Sure as Kilimanjaro Rises Above the Serengeti (Not)

2008-01-18T15:48:28-08:00

By Dan

I’d long had a feeling that Asia, or Christopher Cross, or whoever sang that cheesy song in the early ‘80s had never been to Tanzania, and had his geography wrong. I can now confirm that no, Kilimanjaro does not rise above the Serengeti...

Carrion My Wayward Son

2008-01-16T22:59:12-08:00

By Grayson

The Ngorogoro Crater is packed with animals. As mom would put it, “it is a bowl of animals”. We started driving up to the rim at 8:00, the perfect time for seeing animals. When we reached the top, we stopped for a view over the whole...

I (Wish I) Had A Farm In Africa

2008-01-16T16:57:35-08:00

By Christina

As Dan mentioned in the previous entry, I have a thing for Karen Blixen and it was her book and the subsequent movie “Out of Africa” that started my love and fascination for this continent. Being in Africa, particularly in the bush...

Takin’ It To The Streets

2008-01-07T22:54:07-08:00

By Dan

. . . . or Burnin’ Down the House, if you prefer the ‘ Heads to the Doobies.

We flew back to Nairobi on Friday afternoon the 28^th, and weren’t quite sure what we were going to find. The presidential election had taken p...

A Lamu Christmas

2007-12-28T23:13:14-08:00

By Christina

It has been close to eighteen years since Dan and I were in Lamu, but this little slice of heaven really hasn’t changed that much in the ensuing years. There are still women roaming about in burqas (black robes with only eye...

Bright Lights, Big City

2007-12-28T23:09:10-08:00

By Dan

We’ve always known that there are many sides to Africa, but sometimes it takes a two hour plane flight and the chance to see two countries and cultures back to back, really to rub it in. Wow! Ethiopia and Kenya border each other, and the...

Not Cheap, but oh so nice!

2008-02-04T18:38:50-08:00

We blew in from Ethiopia with all of its marvelous challenges and loved the super clean, super beautiful Fairview. The garden setting and pool were fantastic and watching American Idol (last season, of course) in bed was a huge treat after months...

Take the Long Way Home

2007-12-28T22:13:19-08:00

By Dan

It was time to start heading back towards Addis, so we rolled out of Jinka on the morning of the 17^th. After about 75 km., we were back in Weyto and on the road that we had taken from Arba Minch a few days ago. Again, we had t...

Gazing at Gazelles

2007-12-28T22:46:22-08:00

By Abby

Mammals

The mammals that we saw when we were on safari in Ethiopia’s Nech Sar National Park were really awesome. I liked seeing the zebras a lot, especially the one with the baby lying next to it. Every once in awhile, you...

Please Have Mursi

2007-12-28T21:30:13-08:00

By Dan

Ah, every man’s fantasy: to be grabbed and groped by a topless woman carrying a machine gun. . . . Got your attention, did I? Well, you’ll just have to read on for the details.

From Jinka, we set out on a day trip through Mago Nati...

If I Had a Hamer

2007-12-28T20:29:20-08:00

By Dan

Shortly after leaving Turmi, it was time for our next visit to a traditional village. This time, it was a Hamer village. After our Arbore visit of the prior day, we had a better sense of what to expect, and were mentally prepared for the...

The Turmi-nator

2007-12-28T19:10:50-08:00

By Dan

Leaving Arba Minch (thankfully), we started another day of driving that was filled with cows, donkeys, goats, awesome scenery, and people, people, people. There are a lot of people in this country – it sometimes seemed that we were never...

Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude

2007-12-28T16:23:48-08:00

By Dan and Christina

Following our completion of the Historical Circuit, we flew south from Aksum to Addis, where we spent a half-day and night with our old friends at Kings Hotel. Grayson continued to snicker about the alleged four star accomm...

Searching for the Ark of the Covenant

2007-12-21T15:36:57-08:00

By Christina

Our last stop on the northern Historical Circuit was the town of Aksum far to the North, just shy of the border with Eritrea. (As recently as 1999, Ethiopia and Eritrea were at war and cross-border skirmishes continue to this day d...

Sometimes You Need to Go Down To Go Up . . .

2007-12-21T14:42:02-08:00

By Dan

. . . to Heaven, that is. Continuing our tour of Ethiopia’s Historical Circuit, our next stop was Lalibela, which is perhaps the star attraction of the circuit. That’s because Lalibela has eleven spectacular churches that essentially sit...

Monkeys with a Bleeding Heart

2007-12-28T20:01:07-08:00

By Grayson

We started our quest for animals in the Simien Mountains. After staring at the gorgeous scenery, we hiked down a mountain trail to a cliff. There, we defended ourselves, with the help of our guide’s dula (long wooden stick) against a...

Africa’s Camelot

2007-12-21T12:18:00-08:00

By Christina

Perched on the edge of the Simien Mountains (sometimes called the “Rooftop of Africa”) and sitting at an elevation of close to 8000 feet, Gonder (a little over 100 miles east of Sudan) is a great place to hang out for a couple of d...

It’s A Hard Knock Life

2007-12-20T22:44:40-08:00

By Christina

After boarding an early morning flight from Addis, we began our journey through Ethiopia’s “Historical Circuit” - the Northern part of the country, home to castles, island monasteries, rock hewn churches, and ancient tombs, not to...

A Little Addis and A Little Addat

2007-12-20T22:09:03-08:00

By Dan

Ugh, was that too much of a stretch for a pun??

Following our very late (or early?) arrival in Addis, we slept like the dead through roosters crowing, dogs fighting, minarets calling the faithful (yes, they do have those here, albe...

Where It All Began

2007-12-03T20:10:10-08:00

By Dan

Having spent a lot of time listening to Bob Marley and his pals over the years, it felt like living one of his songs as we left Babylon and landed in the promised land of Ethiopia. Oh, what a change! Our overnight train from Luxor to Cai...

Hatshepsut’s Story

2007-11-28T21:40:58-08:00

By Abigail

In ancient Egypt, there was once a queen called Hatshepsut. They knew about her first burial place, but there’s one thing they didn’t know: where Hatshepsut’s mummy was, presently. Nobody knew where she was. So, scientists decided to...

Buried With a Donkey, He’s My Favorite Honky

2007-11-27T22:03:07-08:00

By Dan

You knew that we couldn’t go all the way through Egypt and not title one of our entries from Steve Martin’s song, right? Dear readers born too late to enjoy Saturday Night Live in its heyday, well, I’m sorry. . . .!

What a c...

Terrific value in the heart of Luxor

2007-11-27T23:40:24-08:00

Coming off of a week in the desert, we found St. Joseph Hotel to be a slice of heaven. The people who work there are sweet and helpful, the rooms are clean and comfortable, and the rooftop pool and cafe with views of the Nile is awesome!

Midnight at the Oasis

2007-11-26T23:37:03-08:00

By Christina

Grayson recently remarked that the world was much larger than he realized and that traveling for many days resulted in very little movement on our world map. His comments came on the heels of three long days driving through the Sah...

I’ve Been Through the Desert on a Bus With No Name

2007-11-25T18:25:45-08:00

By Dan

If you’ve had your fill of crowds, noise, pollution, and chaos, what do you do? You get away from it all. What’s one way to do that? Put yourself in the middle of the desert, 300 km south of the coast, 600 km west of the Nile, 50 km east...

The Things We Do For Love

2007-11-25T16:58:42-08:00

By Christina

Being the good mother that I am, I have taken a keen interest in one of Grayson’s greatest passions: war history. As you know from earlier blogs, we have made a point of visiting a number of battle sights and military museums in th...

Walk Like an Egyptian . . .

2007-11-25T00:07:40-08:00

By Dan

. . . which means do an absolutely amazing, death-defying sort of limbo between passing cars, buses, taxis, and donkey carts. I knew I should have spent more time playing dodge ball in third grade! I especially like that at night, many c...

Talkin’ About A Revolution

2007-11-24T14:10:10-08:00

By Christina

Driving into Cairo after the relative tranquility of Istanbul was shocking to the senses. Everywhere you looked, there were people; lots and lots and lots of people. Some were just hanging out watching the world go by, many were cr...

Sultans of Swing

2007-11-12T21:37:01-08:00

By Grayson

We arrived in Istanbul on the 9^th of November. The next day, we started out by going to the Blue Mosque. We were going to go first to the Aya Sofia, but a Turkish carpet salesman told us that the Blue Mosque closed at 11 f...

The Turkey is Finished Before Thanksgiving

2007-11-12T22:07:59-08:00

By Dan

As a matter of convenience more than anything, we saved Istanbul for the end of our time in Turkey. I hesitate to say that it’s leaving the best for last, but it is certainly leaving something huge for the end. We have given ourselves fi...

Fly Me to the Moon

2007-11-10T23:42:20-08:00

By Christina

Wednesday the 7^th of November found us on our first domestic flight in Turkey, on Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to Kayseri and, other than Abby learning how to say “barf bag” in yet another language, the flight was rela...

Best Hotel Ever!!

2007-11-08T02:16:06-08:00

The Esbelli Evi is a cave hotel located in Urgup, not Goreme (the Real Travel website did not offer Urgup as a city!). This place is beautiful and cozy as can be. We thoroughly enjoyed the proprietor who provided a host of information, the r...

On The Heels of Achilles

2007-11-08T04:23:27-08:00

By Dan

Leaving the sleepy fishing village of Assos on November 5, we drove another 100 km. or so north and east to the town of Canakkale, which is on the southern side of the Dardanelles. For those of you who were asleep on that day in geograph...

Dan's Letter to the Ephesians

2007-11-07T14:25:01-08:00

By Dan

Leaving the hot water experience at Pamukkale, our next stop was Selcuk. (Turkish pronunciation and spelling results in the town being pronounced Sel-choock.) Selcuk became one of our favorite towns in Turkey: it’s small, manageable, cle...

In Hot Water Again

2007-11-07T04:48:37-08:00

By Dan

After six nights in Turkey, it felt a little weird to be striking out on our first real foray into Turkey proper. Somehow, a quick run to Fethiye, 3 nights on the gulet, and then the Olympos and Antalya stops had seemed too easy. (OK, ma...

Convenient and Affordable Spot in the Old City!

2007-11-01T05:17:18-07:00

We spent only one night and day at this comfortable oasis in the old city of Antalya. We were impressed by the cleanliness and comfort at such an affordable price. The hosts (owned by a family, we met the mama (cook) and two of the brothers)...

Turkish Delights

2007-11-07T04:04:19-08:00

Bathing

By Christina

Part I – Antalya

Late in the afternoon of our first day in Antalya, we trundled down the street to the local hamam (Turkish bath), where folks have been sweating out their sorrows for more than 700 years....

Livin’ the Dream

2007-11-05T00:36:03-08:00

By Christina

One of my favorite people on the gulet was an Australian guy named Phil, who was touring around Turkey with his lovely wife Sharon. I liked him from the very first morning, when he and I found ourselves loitering around the kitchen...

The Captain of our Gulet has a Mullet

2007-11-04T01:16:01-07:00

By Christina

For those of you who don’t know, a mullet is a groovy hairstyle (short on top, long at the back) that enjoys great popularity the world over. Apparently, this popularity extends to Turkey, because the captain of our gulet had a mul...

Talkin’ Turkey

2007-10-31T06:18:56-07:00

By Dan

Since Greece and Turkey aren’t exactly the best of friends, there aren’t a lot of connections between the two countries, but we had done the research and knew about ferries from Rhodes to Marmaris. In fact, we had tickets on one that lef...

We’re On the Rhodes to Nowhere

2007-10-31T05:55:31-07:00

By Dan

(Yep, still working on the song title puns. . . .)

Like everyone, Christina and I occasionally allow ourselves to be lured into a sense of complacency. The trip so far has been so easy and pain-free, that we gradually let our guard...

The Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks (I just couldn't resist)

2007-10-23T00:31:50-07:00

By Christina

After bidding farewell to our boat and its crew, we headed into Athens for three days to get rid of our sea legs and do some sightseeing. The first impression one gets of this city is that it is crazy crowded with cars and pretty d...

Abby on Greek Fauna

2007-10-20T05:26:30-07:00

By Abigail

I don’t know, I haven’t decided if I liked the cruise more than Normandy. I might have, because there is always something to do. When I wasn’t eating, reading, sleeping, or sightseeing, I was people watching. I liked to go up on deck...

Grayson on Greece

2007-10-20T02:12:01-07:00

By Grayson

Greek cuisine is actually (in my opinion) better than Italian and French food. I know you are going to say “What?” but since I love fish, this is the place to be. Everyday on the cruise we would go out and see fishermen starting to t...

Irini of Santorini – not wearing a bikini

2007-10-19T18:09:07-07:00

Early on Wednesday morning, we heard the engines chug to life, and felt the ship pull away (finally!) from the Paros dock. About six very rough hours later – as expected, Abby failed to keep her breakfast down -- we were pulling in to the caldera of...

Take a Look Around, See Which Way the Wind Blows

2007-10-19T15:55:34-07:00

By Dan

Early Sunday morning, we set off for Paros, and spent a couple of really rough hours bouncing around on heavy seas. Things were flying off shelves, and I was thinking that I was really very glad that I wasn’t with some 16^th ce...

Island Style

2007-10-19T06:27:40-07:00

By Dan

Friday afternoon the 12th, we made our way to Piraeus and found the Diogenes V, the boat that will be our home for the next week. It’s a little cruise ship (although calling it a ship is being charitable – let’s call it a cruise boat), w...

Greece Is The Word . . . .

2007-10-19T06:23:51-07:00

By Dan

Remember the theme from a previous entry of ch-ch-changes? Well, it is continuing. Thursday night the 11th, we said arrividerci to Italy, hopping on Aegean Air for the short flight from Rome to Athens. (For those of you who remember the...

La Dolce Vita

2007-10-10T18:02:05-07:00

By Christina

We pulled into Rome and unloaded our car in the easiest transaction we have had since our departure. It was like buying a pack of gum at the corner store – we pulled in, took out our bags, the man glanced at the car, and we left. D...

Oh No, Another Curse!

2007-10-09T01:57:32-07:00

Oct. 7 By Dan If we have a theme song for this trip so far, maybe it’s David Bowie’s “Ch-ch-ch-changes”. We left our spacious spread in the vineyards of Tuscany on Saturday. Next stop is a tiny hotel room in an ancient town on th...

The Saints are Coming

2007-10-04T23:28:02-07:00

By Christina

We would be remiss in not mentioning here our continued fascination with the saints and religion. Even our rabidly agnostic young daughter is finding the stories of saints and our various visits to religious spots interesting. Just...

Hedgehogs, Wild Boar, and Owls – Oh, My!

2007-10-04T22:57:53-07:00

By Dan

Well, we’ve been living the easy life in Tuscany for two weeks now, but tomorrow we’re back on the road. One of the fun things about the trip, as I have commented previously, is how each segment is different. It has been nice for all of...

A Word from the Kids...

2007-10-04T23:11:01-07:00

Nearly a month after their last entries, Grayson and Abby dictated the following, which have been transcribed verbatim.

By Grayson

In Venice, everything is water. You can not walk the streets without seeing water. But, you can’t swim in...

Michelangelo, Michelangelo, Michelangelo, Bravo!

2007-10-03T00:19:35-07:00

October 1, 2007

By Christina

I am writing this on our laptop which now has a new hard drive and appears to be in good working order. Hopefully, our blog entries will now be a bit more timely…..but, you never know!

We have been happi...

Great spot in Venice

2007-09-28T01:31:04-07:00

The World's My Home

2007-09-28T02:34:13-07:00

September 28, 2007

By Christina

Italy continues to deliver. All four of us were completely blown away by the view of the Grand Canal when we exited the train station in Venice. What a spectacle - gorgeous, colorful buildings l...

The Two Funniest Words in Italian

2007-09-28T02:04:53-07:00

September 24, 2007

By Dan

Oh, do we like Italy and Italians! No offense towards France and the French -- in fact, Grayson still thinks that France might be his country of choice. But, the difference in personality struck us al...

Neece is Nice

2007-09-23T23:36:08-07:00

September 23, 2007

By Dan

Note: we're way behind on our entries, as the hard drive on our laptop appears to have died. As I write this, we have arrived happily in Tuscany. To bring you up to date:

We left the No-Te...

Take Me to the River

2007-09-20T23:19:07-07:00

September 15, 2007

By: Christina

The past three days have been all about water. On Thursday, we drove to Domme (a hilltop village with 500-year old graffiti on one of the town’s entry gates) for a morning at the open market. After purchas...

Eyes Wide Open

2007-09-12T01:24:05-07:00

September 12, 2007

By Christina

The Dordogne continues to fascinate, and just driving around is enough to fill the senses.

For the past two days we have played tourist. On Monday, we did the “prehistoric thing” in a big way. As Dan...

Doing the Horizontal Limbo in a Peugeot, Dordogne Style

2007-09-12T00:56:34-07:00

By Dan

Wow. A lot of ground covered since our last report. But, today, the sum total of our activity was an hour hike and a few hours frolicking in the Dordogne River. Proof that we’re slowing down! More of that in due course. . . .

First...

Out of the Mouths of Babes. . . . .

2007-09-09T19:55:14-07:00

Sept. 7

[NOTE: we had some trouble uploading pictures for Normandy - they are now in there.]

By popular demand, and consistent with our plan all along, the following are entries dictated by Grayson and Abby, and dutifully transcribe...

Four Explore Feel Poor . . . and Other Notes From the Road

2007-09-06T21:36:30-07:00

By Dan

OK, I thought that I’d do an entry that was less travelogue on what we’re seeing and doing, and more on what we’re thinking and feeling. It may occasionally devolve into rant, but bear with me.

When last we had internet access, we...

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow

2007-09-06T21:14:47-07:00

September 4, 2007

By Christina

Two points to anyone who can name the song from which the above line comes. Dan and I sang it throughout our time in Normandy as we passed by hedgerows lining the country roads and forming the perimeters of...

Sleeping with Pigeon Ghosts

2007-09-04T16:53:25-07:00

By Christina

Arriving in Normandy late in the day following our journey from Paris (via Chartres), we were thrilled to discover that our “pigeon house” accommodations were truly fantastic. Okay, I will explain: we are staying at the 400+ years...

A Peaceful Respite

2007-09-04T17:17:44-07:00

Sweating it out for the Saints

2007-09-04T06:22:16-07:00

It proved tougher than expected, but we did manage to get out of Paris. Having gotten very comfortable with the Metro and RER train system, we felt all set to get out to Orly Airport to pick up the car that we have leased. We schlepped our stuff, plu...

Nirvana in a Baby Bottle with a Flying Egg

2007-09-04T05:54:56-07:00

Paris, Aug. 31

By Dan

Note: we were a little slow in finding an internet connection, so this is late in being posted.

Paris has continued to be all of the classic stuff: cathedrals, museums, palaces, wine in baby bottles (what?? OK,...

City of de-LIghts

2007-08-29T02:53:46-07:00

By Dan

Our first 36 hours in Paris have been full of art, culture, sights, sounds, and, naturally, good eating! Our initial experience was a good one, with a friendly taxi driver. It's been consistent ever since . . . . We haven’t s...

In the Land of the Tall People

2007-08-07T06:50:26-07:00

For those of you who didn’t read the news reports, the Dutch have passed the Americans as being the tallest people in the world. Walking the streets of Amsterdam the last few days, we have no reason to believe that the report was inaccurate. These fo...

Voyage of Discovery

2007-08-02T14:13:26-07:00

After maintaining a fast pace on the treadmill of life for many years, we have decided to take a break from commuting to high intensity jobs, shepherding the kids from activity to activity, and thinking wistfully on Sunday nights how nice it would have...

“I think you are unstressing”

2007-08-02T14:15:29-07:00

After months of seemingly non-stop pre-departure planning, packing, and related activities, we finally made it out the door on August 23. After Grayson sat down on the plane, he heard us laughing, which prompted him to turn to us and say, “I think yo...

Four Explore's Travel Blogs

Coming Home

California Dreaming

Funky Chinatown

Endless Summer

Surfin’ Safari

Puff the Magic Komodo Dragon

We're Off to See the Lizard

Give Me Shelter

Beautiful Spot on Gili T

Ninety-Six Degrees in the Shade

One Night Only

Smoke on the Water, Fire in the Sky

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Oh, Oh, That Smell. Can’t You Smell That Smell?

Dripping with character, this is a great bar and restaurant in the Old City of Jakarta

On The Road Again

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

By: ChristinaAfter our days of luxury and leisure in Koh Samui, we were due for a bit of time roughing it. We got that in spades when we traveled from the island of Samui on the eastern side of Thailand to the island of Phi Phi (pronounced...

Take It Easy

Horseback riding through the fields of Siem Reap

Wat You Want? Baby I Got It!

By DanOh, yeah, there are some temple things near Siem Reap, right? Angkor Wat, etc.? That’s why we went there, right? Yep, and they were very cool. OK, here’s the long awaited description. . . .First, some background. The area arou...

Don’t Fear the Reaper

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Crossroad Blues

Converted colonial mansion smack in the city center

They Call It Mellow Yellow

Shiny, Happy People

Beautiful spot away from the craziness of the village center

Brothers in Alms

Uncomfortably Numb

Fly Like An Eagle

Everybody Chiang Khong Tonight

King for a Day

Rice, Rice, Baby

Banana Pancakes

Beautiful guesthouse in heart of Chiang Mai

A Boy Named Sue

Watch Calcutta's craziness directly from your window!

O Calcutta!

Welcome to Paradise

Can’t You Hear That Whistle Blowin’

Give Me Novocaine

Get Lifted

I'm Too Sexy for my Temple

Cat Scratch Fever

Abby's Tabbies

Voice Post from a Tuk Tuk

A Love Supreme

Living Just Enough, Just Enough for the City

Bohemian Rhapsody

Oh Backwaters, Keep on Rollin’

You Must Be My Lucky Star

Workin’ for a Livin’

The Long and Winding Road

Rolling on the River

Water was low, but we had a blast!

Jungle Love

I Want Kandy

Eye of the Tigers

In An Octopus’ Garden

By Christina The 16th of January was a sad day for us: we said goodbye to my mom and we left the continent of Africa. The good news was we were flying out of Tanzania (not Kenya) and we were headed to the Maldives, reputed to be one of the...

We’ve Got a Ticket to Ride

Malaika

Who Let the (Wild) Dogs Out?

Sure as Kilimanjaro Rises Above the Serengeti (Not)

Carrion My Wayward Son

I (Wish I) Had A Farm In Africa

Takin’ It To The Streets

A Lamu Christmas

Bright Lights, Big City

Not Cheap, but oh so nice!

Take the Long Way Home

Gazing at Gazelles

Please Have Mursi

If I Had a Hamer

The Turmi-nator

Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude

Searching for the Ark of the Covenant

By: Christina
After our days of luxury and leisure in Koh Samui, we were due for a bit of time roughing it. We got that in spades when we traveled from the island of Samui on the eastern side of Thailand to the island of Phi Phi (pronounced...

By Dan
Oh, yeah, there are some temple things near Siem Reap, right? Angkor Wat, etc.? That’s why we went there, right? Yep, and they were very cool. OK, here’s the long awaited description. . . .
First, some background. The area arou...

By Christina
The 16th of January was a sad day for us: we said goodbye to my mom and we left the continent of Africa. The good news was we were flying out of Tanzania (not Kenya) and we were headed to the Maldives, reputed to be one of the...