I was warned before we came here that Melbourne is pronounced like "Melbin," and I have now realized that this is because the Aussie accent is in some ways similar to a Boston accent. That is, both accents drop "Rs." So, just as I would never call Boston Harbor "Boston Harbaa," I will also return to call Melbourne "Melbourne."
Maybe.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Should we just have kangaroos?
When my parents showed my brother and me the sea lions on Pier 39 in San Fransisco, they joked that they had once discussed whether they wanted to have sea lions or children, and that seeing the cute sea creatures made them second guess their decision.
Craig and I went on a tour of Victoria's Yarra Valley today. We first stopped for tea at a national park where gorgeous native birds dined on bird feed from our hands- it was spectacular. Then Craig and I took a quick stroll through a path in the park. There, we saw a kangaroo in the wild noshing on leaves with a joey in its pouch. We both were so excited---- it was a highlight of the day! It made me think: maybe we should start a family of 'roos...
Craig vetoed the ideas.
From there, we rode an old steam engine train- the old Puffing Billy- for a few miles. Craig and I regressed and experienced the train ride as if were ten years old- what fun it was! After, we grew up and visited a winery where we had lunch and sampled about ten different wines- yum! Finally, we toured a wildlife sanctuary where native animals (kangaroos, koalas, wombats, other marsupials, Tasmanian devils, platypuses, possums, dingos, birds and bats, snakes and other reptiles) roamed around their natural habitat and we could see them up close and personal. What a treat! Again, I wondered if raising 'roos would be easier than children. Think about it: they raise themselves in someone else's pouch, they eat only greens, they sure are quiet, they are universally cute--- sounds like winners! I am sure they would be easier to raise than children, but Craig won't let me find out.
It was full and fun day today! We're sad to think that we have to say goodbye to Australia in just a few days....
Hope all is well!
Craig and I went on a tour of Victoria's Yarra Valley today. We first stopped for tea at a national park where gorgeous native birds dined on bird feed from our hands- it was spectacular. Then Craig and I took a quick stroll through a path in the park. There, we saw a kangaroo in the wild noshing on leaves with a joey in its pouch. We both were so excited---- it was a highlight of the day! It made me think: maybe we should start a family of 'roos...
Craig vetoed the ideas.
From there, we rode an old steam engine train- the old Puffing Billy- for a few miles. Craig and I regressed and experienced the train ride as if were ten years old- what fun it was! After, we grew up and visited a winery where we had lunch and sampled about ten different wines- yum! Finally, we toured a wildlife sanctuary where native animals (kangaroos, koalas, wombats, other marsupials, Tasmanian devils, platypuses, possums, dingos, birds and bats, snakes and other reptiles) roamed around their natural habitat and we could see them up close and personal. What a treat! Again, I wondered if raising 'roos would be easier than children. Think about it: they raise themselves in someone else's pouch, they eat only greens, they sure are quiet, they are universally cute--- sounds like winners! I am sure they would be easier to raise than children, but Craig won't let me find out.
It was full and fun day today! We're sad to think that we have to say goodbye to Australia in just a few days....
Hope all is well!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sunday in Melbourne
First stop, the Melbourne Aquarium. Loads of fun. We saw penguins (omigod cute), sharks, turtles and lots of fish and jellyfish and fish and crabs and lobsters and fish.
Second, we went to the Aussie Rules game between the Magpies (go the pies!) and the other team with blue and red. The other team one. The game was fun. It was in a huge stadium (ie large diameter) with about 50k people. I'm not going to explain the rules, except to say that it is slow-developing, kind of like soccer. There is not so much explosive play. Also, while there are many collisions, because the players don't wear protective gear, they aren't as hard-hitting as in American football. The rules are quite simple and easy for us to follow as novices. The hardest part was seeing the whole field from our seats due to the large field of play. We had good seats care of Simon (Tammy's husband) and went with Jo and Darren.
Next came dinner with Jo, Darren and our hosts. Some thai.
And now, we're going to bed. Tomorrow, we're seeing kangaroos.
Tootles
Second, we went to the Aussie Rules game between the Magpies (go the pies!) and the other team with blue and red. The other team one. The game was fun. It was in a huge stadium (ie large diameter) with about 50k people. I'm not going to explain the rules, except to say that it is slow-developing, kind of like soccer. There is not so much explosive play. Also, while there are many collisions, because the players don't wear protective gear, they aren't as hard-hitting as in American football. The rules are quite simple and easy for us to follow as novices. The hardest part was seeing the whole field from our seats due to the large field of play. We had good seats care of Simon (Tammy's husband) and went with Jo and Darren.
Next came dinner with Jo, Darren and our hosts. Some thai.
And now, we're going to bed. Tomorrow, we're seeing kangaroos.
Tootles
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Airline Security
I also happen to be very cynical about airline security. The only place we took off our shoes was in America on our first flight. In Israel, they didn't care about liquids on planes (or shoes in metal detectors). Considering I believe that Israel has the greatest security system in the world, for them not care about liquids or shoes leads me to believe that America's continued practices are a matter of a continued installation of fear within the public than actual security measures.
This truth has been borne out by many security experts on airline security.
Love,
Craig
This truth has been borne out by many security experts on airline security.
Love,
Craig
Lessons Learned in Phnom Penh
It was a few weeks ago, but we visited in Phnom Penh a museum on the site of a former torture prison of the Khmer Rouge. It's right in the city and was formerly a school, before it was a prison. Eight prisoners survived the prison, among the thousands who were there. The vast majority of the others were killed in the killing fields about 12 km outside of Phnom Penh. One of the survivors was an artist who painted paintings of what he experienced. One such painting is an example of waterboarding. Here is a picture, not ours, of what he painted.
America is supposed to be, as President Reagan said, a shining city on a hill, that represents the best that the world has to offer. We fail sometime, but we must continuously strive to uphold our morals and not compromise them when it suits us. I may be idealist, but that's what I believe. That is why I think it is horrible when our nation resorts to undertaking torture (if you want my opinion on the phrase "enhanced interrogation techniques" read 1984 and its take on euphemisms) in the same way that the worst regimes on Earth have done. Torture is inhumane, degrading and pointless. There are no ticking time bombs and the information is more likely to be false than true. For our nation to resort to such tactics and then to try to defend them as necessary is a failure on many levels for our humanity and our goals of being that shining city.
I strongly believe that the architects of America's torture program must be investigate and brought to justice. America is a nation governed by the rule of law. It must remain so.
Two last points:
1 - Seren didn't read this and so I cannot say that she agrees.
2 - I will now get off my soapbox and go enjoy Melbourne. We just booked a tour for tomorrow to see kangaroos!!
America is supposed to be, as President Reagan said, a shining city on a hill, that represents the best that the world has to offer. We fail sometime, but we must continuously strive to uphold our morals and not compromise them when it suits us. I may be idealist, but that's what I believe. That is why I think it is horrible when our nation resorts to undertaking torture (if you want my opinion on the phrase "enhanced interrogation techniques" read 1984 and its take on euphemisms) in the same way that the worst regimes on Earth have done. Torture is inhumane, degrading and pointless. There are no ticking time bombs and the information is more likely to be false than true. For our nation to resort to such tactics and then to try to defend them as necessary is a failure on many levels for our humanity and our goals of being that shining city.
I strongly believe that the architects of America's torture program must be investigate and brought to justice. America is a nation governed by the rule of law. It must remain so.
Two last points:
1 - Seren didn't read this and so I cannot say that she agrees.
2 - I will now get off my soapbox and go enjoy Melbourne. We just booked a tour for tomorrow to see kangaroos!!
Shabbat in Melbourne
Started Friday morning with a trip with Ros Rogers (our hostess) to the kosher butcher and deli to pick up some food. Seren and I also impulsed purchased at the deli with some kosher pad thai and curry sauces (we'd never seen them before). From there, we explored the city of Melbourne on our own. Seren showed me around Melbourne University (where she studied in 2001) and Trinity College (where she lived when she was at Melbourne Uni). We also shopped at the huge Queen Victoria Market, as well as some local clothing stores (it is cold here, being winter and all, and we don't have appropriate clothing). In the afternoon, we took a tram from the city up St. Kilda and Dandenong Roads to North Caulfield to the Rogers. We joined our hosts Richard and his youngest daughter Danzi for services at Melbourne's version of Shira Hadasha (the minyan we went to in Jerusalem). Thoroughly enjoyed!
After services, we dined at casa Rogers on a delicious Shabbat dinner of chopped liver, gefilte fish, "shake and bake" chicken and lamb chops. We also had tuna and egg salad (which were funny additions to the Shabbat table) as well as some delicious green veggies. Ros is a wonderful chef and it was an enjoyable meal. Also in attendance were Ros's brother and sister-in-law and their son as well as Danzi and her boyfriend. Shabbat dinner here is very much a family affair and a chance for families to reconnect after the week. The Rogers daughters try to be home each week and the absent daughters were at their in-laws for dinner.
Saturday morning, Richard and I went to the local shul. After a very British fish-based kiddush (fried fish, fish sticks, a whole salmon with forks for the taking), we came home for lunch. Waiting for Richard and I were Tammy (daughter 1) and her three girls as well as Joanna (daughter 2). We had meat pies and cholent. Deliciousness ensued. I want to try making them when we get home.
After lunch, Richard, Seren & I walked around Melbourne from the Shrine (a war memorial), through the Botanical Gardens to Federation Square (arts center just recently built) and then to the local casino (didn't gamble, just saw).
We came home, relaxed for a bit before going out for dinner with Joanna and her husband Darren and Danzi. Pizza and beer. Then dessert of delicious brownies. It was a fun time and we really enjoyed it.
Time to go to the Jail.
After services, we dined at casa Rogers on a delicious Shabbat dinner of chopped liver, gefilte fish, "shake and bake" chicken and lamb chops. We also had tuna and egg salad (which were funny additions to the Shabbat table) as well as some delicious green veggies. Ros is a wonderful chef and it was an enjoyable meal. Also in attendance were Ros's brother and sister-in-law and their son as well as Danzi and her boyfriend. Shabbat dinner here is very much a family affair and a chance for families to reconnect after the week. The Rogers daughters try to be home each week and the absent daughters were at their in-laws for dinner.
Saturday morning, Richard and I went to the local shul. After a very British fish-based kiddush (fried fish, fish sticks, a whole salmon with forks for the taking), we came home for lunch. Waiting for Richard and I were Tammy (daughter 1) and her three girls as well as Joanna (daughter 2). We had meat pies and cholent. Deliciousness ensued. I want to try making them when we get home.
After lunch, Richard, Seren & I walked around Melbourne from the Shrine (a war memorial), through the Botanical Gardens to Federation Square (arts center just recently built) and then to the local casino (didn't gamble, just saw).
We came home, relaxed for a bit before going out for dinner with Joanna and her husband Darren and Danzi. Pizza and beer. Then dessert of delicious brownies. It was a fun time and we really enjoyed it.
Time to go to the Jail.
Sunday Morning in Melbourne
Good morning from Melbourne. I woke up today early with excitement. Today we're going to the Melbourne Museum and Melbourne Jail and then a footie [Aussie Rules Football] match. In the meantime, here's what I did this morning.
Got out of bed and went to watch tv. I figured I may be able to find some American sports. Instead, I found Indiana Jones. Both Temple of Doom and Raiders of the Lost Ark were starting at the same time, so I chose TD. I was happily watching until a slow part came on, at which point I started flipping the channels and came across the Mets versus Cubs. The Saturday afternoon national baseball game. It was the top of the ninth, the Mets had two outs against them and were down 11-4. Angel Pagan grounded out and it was game over. I'm quite grateful that I didn't find the game until the very end. With that, I returned to TD.
Richard came home shortly thereafter with bagels both of the Aussie and "New York" variety. I think the NY bagels are a little bigger and sweeter though I ate an Aussie one. It could pass for a bagel in most places outside NY in the US. It was smaller and not so dense. But was quite good with butter.
And on to the day...
PS - I also caught Fox News' converage of Ted Kennedy's funeral or motorcade or something and I heard the commentator talk about how this was a great example of American democracy in action and how the USA is a beacon to the world and the world's greatest example of people's participation in governance, and finally, how Sen. Kennedy was well-respected by both conservatives and liberals alike. Wow, can they speak BS up to wazoo? Republicans had zero respect for Ted Kennedy. And American democracy is not a fine example for other nations, because many other nations in the first-world are very happy with their parlimentary system where there are fewer rights, but more government control (and universal health care and the whatnot). Sorry, just had to add that.
Got out of bed and went to watch tv. I figured I may be able to find some American sports. Instead, I found Indiana Jones. Both Temple of Doom and Raiders of the Lost Ark were starting at the same time, so I chose TD. I was happily watching until a slow part came on, at which point I started flipping the channels and came across the Mets versus Cubs. The Saturday afternoon national baseball game. It was the top of the ninth, the Mets had two outs against them and were down 11-4. Angel Pagan grounded out and it was game over. I'm quite grateful that I didn't find the game until the very end. With that, I returned to TD.
Richard came home shortly thereafter with bagels both of the Aussie and "New York" variety. I think the NY bagels are a little bigger and sweeter though I ate an Aussie one. It could pass for a bagel in most places outside NY in the US. It was smaller and not so dense. But was quite good with butter.
And on to the day...
PS - I also caught Fox News' converage of Ted Kennedy's funeral or motorcade or something and I heard the commentator talk about how this was a great example of American democracy in action and how the USA is a beacon to the world and the world's greatest example of people's participation in governance, and finally, how Sen. Kennedy was well-respected by both conservatives and liberals alike. Wow, can they speak BS up to wazoo? Republicans had zero respect for Ted Kennedy. And American democracy is not a fine example for other nations, because many other nations in the first-world are very happy with their parlimentary system where there are fewer rights, but more government control (and universal health care and the whatnot). Sorry, just had to add that.
Directions
On this trip, I have been to the northern-most point in my life (Helsinki), the eastern-most point in my life (Sydney) and am now in the southern-most point in my life (Melbourne). Pretty cool. The western-most point of my life was San Francisco, and we're flying through LA this time. So won't rival that one.
Love,
Craig
Love,
Craig
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Hi from Melbourne Uni
and Seren's old stomping grounds. Just exploring and having a great time. Melbourne is a beautiful city and claims to be the cultural capital of Australia. I will not get involved in that debate.
Today feels like a crisp, chilly autumn day. We're trying to find some wool clothes. Seren bought a nice wool sweater to keep herself warm. Less men's clothes, but we're looking. I wish someone would tell Australia though that it's winter.
Laters,
Us
Little Change of Plans
Thanks to our diligent travel agent (thanks Mom), we were able to extend our stay in Melbourne for an extra day. This came at the cost of our day in LA. Therefore, we'll be leaving Oz Thursday morning, September 3. We fly direct Melbourne-LA, have a 2 hour layover and then land in NYC around 5 or 6 pm Thursday night. We arrive in LA before we leave Melbourne (land in LA at 7am, leave Melbourne at 10am or so).
Sorry to our LA crew, but we'll see you next time.
See everyone at home.
Love,
Us
Sorry to our LA crew, but we'll see you next time.
See everyone at home.
Love,
Us
Three Video from Cairns
These videos are from a for-profit zoo built on top of a casino. It's not quite Busch Gardens, but it was a fun 45 minutes. There are birds flying around, and various other animals, including crocs, in enclosures.
First, Seren introduces us to koalas.
Then, we watch the koala in action:
And finally, a wallaby:
First, Seren introduces us to koalas.
Then, we watch the koala in action:
And finally, a wallaby:
Couple More Videos
Enjoy.
From the Golden Mount, Bangkok:
From Daintree National Park, outside Cairns, Australia:
From the Golden Mount, Bangkok:
From Daintree National Park, outside Cairns, Australia:
Melbourne (pronounced by the locals 'Melbin')
Like Craig, I write this blog entry from the gorgeous home of our hosts. My parents met the honeymooning Rogers on a bus in Israel in 1974. Yada yada yada (lots of phone calls, letters, cards, and even visits and meetings in various parts of the world over the past 35 years), they are wonderful, kind, warm, welcoming hosts to us now in 2009. Richard met us at the Melbourne airport and took us to the home of his newlywed middle daughter (Joanna and Darren). We six (Richard and Ros, Jo and Darren, and we two with the funny American accent) went out for a delicious and fun Italian meal.
To explain/correct Craig's previous entries:
The view flying into and out of Cairns is absolutely stunning because you can actually see the Great Barrier Reef below the surface of the bright blue waters of the sea from the airplane. Gorgeous.
Wallabies are not 'pseudo' kangaroos. Wallabies are marsupials related to kangaroos that look extremely similar to kangaroos, right down to the long tail and joey pouch. Speaking of marsupial, we also saw a koala-- they are so cute even though they are always high from the eucalyptus leaves on which they dine.
We plan to spend time with the Rogers and see Melbourne and the surrounding area for our final week in Australia. How wonderful it is to be in land of Tim Tams and kangaroos and 'no worries' and Vegemite.
It is after midnight local time, so we are off to bed. Hope all is well :)
Scuba Diving
We will have underwater pics eventually, but in the meantime, enjoy these.
Damn, we're good looking!
Damn, we're good looking!
A Cairns Writeup
Hi from the Rogers' house in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Rogers are friends of the Levinsons whom they met on a bus ride in Israel 35 years ago. And they are lovely hosts. We got here today from Cairns. And now a discussion of Cairns. Yes, I know I've left out much of our other stops.
We got to Cairns on Monday afternoon from Sydney. Upon arriving, we checked into the hotel and did laundry. After that was done, we walked to the central district, which is basically the tourist center. We walked around a little. Seren used some Korean, as Cairns is a big hub for Asian - especially Korean and Japanese tourists.
Cairns (pronounced Cans) is a resort/tourist town in the north of Australia (Far North Queensland) and the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. The weather was nice with highs in the upper 20s, lower 30s. The city was cloudy one day because nearby mountains trap the clouds (and create rainforests). But out over the sun, it was a beautiful sunny day.
To continue on Monday, we walked around, explored, tasted local beer and had a good general time. Dinner was at a Thai restaurant run by Koreans, where Seren naturally spoke Korean. I order "mool" which is the Korean word for water. It was a nice relaxing day.
We woke up Tuesday morning and were picked up for our cruise towards the Great Barrier Reef. Upon arriving at a small island (actually a quay because it is sand and not attached to the sea floor), our boat/catamaran anchored and water activities ensued. First, we took a semi-submerged boat around the reefs and checked out the sea life. Then we did an introductory scuba dive (30 minute and the instructor never let go of us. Especially Seren. I never realized how difficult the vertical controls of SCUBA diving were, controlling up and down). And then we snorkeled. We loved the water. And it was beautiful. Lots of fish in gorgeous colors. And we found Nemo.
At night, we went out for a delicious Greek dinner, complete with plate-breaking-throwing, something we missed on our honeymoon.
Yesterday, we woke up early for a tour of the rainforests. We first drove to the Discovery Centre of Cape Tribulation where we learned about the trees and some of the fauna of the rainforest. Great tour guide and it was beautiful. Then we drove around the rainforest, and hiked through it. We went to the beach (just to walk, not to swim). And saw more. and drank tea. And did a crocodile cruise and saw a fully grown female, an adolescent male and little young'in. And then went to Mossman Gorge, which felt like being in Ithaca. It was gorges :)
After arriving back in town, we walked around and ate dinner at a local pizza joint, before going to a bar that Seren had her eyes on. There, we chatted with the locals from Vancouver, BC, Canada. Many of the migrant, seasonal laborers seemed to be Canadian. From there, we had "Cold Rock" ice cream, a Cairns takeoff on Cold Stone.
This morning, we packed a lot into a little. We started our day at the post office. Then moved on to the local little zoo atop the casino, where, among other things, we saw crocodiles, wallabies (pseudo-kangaroos) and a koala. So cute!! From there, we went swimming in the local lagoon. The beach in Cairns is not so nice, so to encourage tourism, the city built a large swimming pool with a small beach side on it. It's called the lagoon and is a beautiful spot. After swimming though, we showered and caught our flight to Melbourne, from whence I leave you now.
Love,
Craig
We got to Cairns on Monday afternoon from Sydney. Upon arriving, we checked into the hotel and did laundry. After that was done, we walked to the central district, which is basically the tourist center. We walked around a little. Seren used some Korean, as Cairns is a big hub for Asian - especially Korean and Japanese tourists.
Cairns (pronounced Cans) is a resort/tourist town in the north of Australia (Far North Queensland) and the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. The weather was nice with highs in the upper 20s, lower 30s. The city was cloudy one day because nearby mountains trap the clouds (and create rainforests). But out over the sun, it was a beautiful sunny day.
To continue on Monday, we walked around, explored, tasted local beer and had a good general time. Dinner was at a Thai restaurant run by Koreans, where Seren naturally spoke Korean. I order "mool" which is the Korean word for water. It was a nice relaxing day.
We woke up Tuesday morning and were picked up for our cruise towards the Great Barrier Reef. Upon arriving at a small island (actually a quay because it is sand and not attached to the sea floor), our boat/catamaran anchored and water activities ensued. First, we took a semi-submerged boat around the reefs and checked out the sea life. Then we did an introductory scuba dive (30 minute and the instructor never let go of us. Especially Seren. I never realized how difficult the vertical controls of SCUBA diving were, controlling up and down). And then we snorkeled. We loved the water. And it was beautiful. Lots of fish in gorgeous colors. And we found Nemo.
At night, we went out for a delicious Greek dinner, complete with plate-breaking-throwing, something we missed on our honeymoon.
Yesterday, we woke up early for a tour of the rainforests. We first drove to the Discovery Centre of Cape Tribulation where we learned about the trees and some of the fauna of the rainforest. Great tour guide and it was beautiful. Then we drove around the rainforest, and hiked through it. We went to the beach (just to walk, not to swim). And saw more. and drank tea. And did a crocodile cruise and saw a fully grown female, an adolescent male and little young'in. And then went to Mossman Gorge, which felt like being in Ithaca. It was gorges :)
After arriving back in town, we walked around and ate dinner at a local pizza joint, before going to a bar that Seren had her eyes on. There, we chatted with the locals from Vancouver, BC, Canada. Many of the migrant, seasonal laborers seemed to be Canadian. From there, we had "Cold Rock" ice cream, a Cairns takeoff on Cold Stone.
This morning, we packed a lot into a little. We started our day at the post office. Then moved on to the local little zoo atop the casino, where, among other things, we saw crocodiles, wallabies (pseudo-kangaroos) and a koala. So cute!! From there, we went swimming in the local lagoon. The beach in Cairns is not so nice, so to encourage tourism, the city built a large swimming pool with a small beach side on it. It's called the lagoon and is a beautiful spot. After swimming though, we showered and caught our flight to Melbourne, from whence I leave you now.
Love,
Craig
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Cairns Migrant Labor
They're... Canadian. Our bartender is from Vancouver. The taffy shop
owner is from "a town called Saskatoon."
owner is from "a town called Saskatoon."
Also, Woolworth's is alive and well in Oz as a supermarket.
Cairns
Have enjoyed our trip to cairns. Scuba yesterday. Today toured
rainforest. Tomorrow to Melbourne.
rainforest. Tomorrow to Melbourne.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Bob's your uncle
We spent a few beautiful days in Sydney. How wonderful it has been to be out of the heat and humidity of Southeast Asia and soak up the Aussie winter rays....winter, but still 70 degrees and sunny! Now we are in Far North Queensland (Cairns) and we'll explore the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow!
Craig is having a hard time understanding Australian English. I am getting a kick out of translating for him, too. For instance, 'Bob's your uncle' means 'there you go,' as in, 'turn the key and, Bob's your uncle, you're good to go.' Other very Aussie words and expressions:
* How ya going? (as in, 'How are you going?'; or "how are you?")
* Good on ya! (or "good for you")
* Ta (slang for thanks)
* Sunnies (short for sunglasses)
* Breakky (the first meal of the day-- breakfast!)
* Bikkies (biscuits, or cookies)
* Chalkie (I met a man from Perth in Western Australia who said, 'Oh, you're a chalkie' when I told him I was a teacher back home...get it? a teacher is a chalkie, as in chalk?! Aussies are so clever in they're abbreviations)
Of course, Blokes are dudes and Sheilas are ladies, but you could learn that Aussie slang from any Outback Steakhouse.
So, yes, Australian speak English, but it's not American English, and what a hoot it is!
Hope all is well at home. We'll eat a delicious Tim Tam (the world's best chocolate cookie) and think of you :)
A Night at the Opera
So the other night, we saw Poppea at the Syndey Opera House. It was weird. It was presented in the Studio, a small theater for up-and-coming artists. Poppea is a Monteverdi opera from the seventeeth century. This presentation was a modern taking of it, featuring a German liberetto (original was in Italian, I think) and Cole Porter songs. Seren had to explain to me most of the plot. There was lots of gratuitous nudity, plus sparkles and a naked man on the stage even though he was dead (Seneca). I think Poppea is based on Roman mythology or something. I really don't know. Either way, I've learned not to go to modern German operas. Lesson learned. That being said, the location couldn't be beat.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Goodbye sydney
Where the weather in a balmy 25 degrees in winter. It almost feels
like a warm NYC October. Were off to cairns and the great barrier reef
where it's warmer. Tough life.
like a warm NYC October. Were off to cairns and the great barrier reef
where it's warmer. Tough life.
Manly Beach
Is beautiful. And the Mcd has wifi. Very nice. Not as much wifi in oz
as wecwould have hoped.
as wecwould have hoped.
Hi from Manly Beach
A short 30 minute ferry ride from Circular Quay. We just climbed the
Harbour Bridge. Gorgeous.
Harbour Bridge. Gorgeous.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
At the Opera House
Enjoying a pre-show wine. Beautiful view of the Harbor Bridge.
Afterwards, dinner at the Rocks. Nice night.
Afterwards, dinner at the Rocks. Nice night.
Now to see if there's wifi here.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Sydney Opera House
We've been here almost 10 hours and we have yet to see the opera house. Nonetheless, we just bought tickets for an opera tomorrow night. Here's the review. I'm excited. It should be good. Verdi's Aida is also playing, but I wasn't going to sit through a 3-4 hour opera. No way.
I'll provide a full review at some point.
Love,
Craig
Ooops...
Even the most experienced of travelers encounter little snafus once in a while. Here is our tale:
Craig and I booked a tourist bus from the Koh San Road area of Bangkok direct to the pier from which we would take a boat to the gorgeous island of Koh Samet. 20 minutes into our journey, while stuck in Bangkok traffic, I reached into my carry-on bag for my I-Pod. When I could not find it (I emptied the contents of my bag on Craig's lap), I immediately looked for Craig and my passports, which I also kept in a special pocket of my carry-on bag. They too were missing.
"Oh %*^@, Craig! Where are our passports and my I-Pod?!"
"Are they still in the safe in the Bangkok hotel room that we checked out of an hour and a half ago?"
Yup- that is exactly where these important (and expensive) items were.
I ran to the tour bus organizers and attempted to hurdle the language barrier to xplain our situation. Could we turn the bus around? Nope. Could I hop off the bus, cab to our Bangkok hotel, then cab back and meet the bus at its next stop? Negative (no more stops until the pier three hours away). Well, what can I do?!?!?! We are in the middle of Thailand without our passports!!!
The bus organizer let me use his cell phone to call our hotel. After a while on the pheon with our Bangkok htoel front desk personnel, we ascertained that indeed my I-Pod and our two passports were in the safe of our hotel room. Craig and I felt better immediately upon confirming this (at least we knew for sure where the items were!).
Now, how to get the items to us...
Koh Samet is east of Bangkok, as is the airport. We didn't intend to return to the city of Bangkok at all before departing for Australia, and we especially had no intention of returning to the Koh San Road area, which is in the western part of the city riddled with traffic.
Could the Bangkok hotel mail our things to our Koh Samet hotel? Yup!!
We gave the Bangkok hotel our Koh Samet resort contact info (and our credit card number). Upon arriving in Koh Samet, we explained our situation to the personell at our hotel. They seemed to understand that we were expecting a very important package the next day.
Well, at that point, there was nothing left to do but hope for the best in terms of the Thai postal service being efficient, so we turned our energy to enjoying the gorgeous resort in which we were staying.
The next day (Tuesday), we took a boat trip around the island of Koh Samet and to visit neighboring uninhabited islands. We snorkeled and swam and enjoyed the view and the boat ride. In the evening, we took a walk to watch the sunset over the water, had dinner at our hotel and played Scrabble on the veranda overlooking the water. While Craig was in the midst of kicking my patootie in Scrabble, our package was delivered. What a relief!
It ended up costing us the equivalent of $2USD and 36 hours without our passports in our possession. A little snafu indeed, but a problem solved quickly solved!
So, now we are in the land of "No Worries" and we will indeed double check the htoel safe before checking out :)
Craig and I booked a tourist bus from the Koh San Road area of Bangkok direct to the pier from which we would take a boat to the gorgeous island of Koh Samet. 20 minutes into our journey, while stuck in Bangkok traffic, I reached into my carry-on bag for my I-Pod. When I could not find it (I emptied the contents of my bag on Craig's lap), I immediately looked for Craig and my passports, which I also kept in a special pocket of my carry-on bag. They too were missing.
"Oh %*^@, Craig! Where are our passports and my I-Pod?!"
"Are they still in the safe in the Bangkok hotel room that we checked out of an hour and a half ago?"
Yup- that is exactly where these important (and expensive) items were.
I ran to the tour bus organizers and attempted to hurdle the language barrier to xplain our situation. Could we turn the bus around? Nope. Could I hop off the bus, cab to our Bangkok hotel, then cab back and meet the bus at its next stop? Negative (no more stops until the pier three hours away). Well, what can I do?!?!?! We are in the middle of Thailand without our passports!!!
The bus organizer let me use his cell phone to call our hotel. After a while on the pheon with our Bangkok htoel front desk personnel, we ascertained that indeed my I-Pod and our two passports were in the safe of our hotel room. Craig and I felt better immediately upon confirming this (at least we knew for sure where the items were!).
Now, how to get the items to us...
Koh Samet is east of Bangkok, as is the airport. We didn't intend to return to the city of Bangkok at all before departing for Australia, and we especially had no intention of returning to the Koh San Road area, which is in the western part of the city riddled with traffic.
Could the Bangkok hotel mail our things to our Koh Samet hotel? Yup!!
We gave the Bangkok hotel our Koh Samet resort contact info (and our credit card number). Upon arriving in Koh Samet, we explained our situation to the personell at our hotel. They seemed to understand that we were expecting a very important package the next day.
Well, at that point, there was nothing left to do but hope for the best in terms of the Thai postal service being efficient, so we turned our energy to enjoying the gorgeous resort in which we were staying.
The next day (Tuesday), we took a boat trip around the island of Koh Samet and to visit neighboring uninhabited islands. We snorkeled and swam and enjoyed the view and the boat ride. In the evening, we took a walk to watch the sunset over the water, had dinner at our hotel and played Scrabble on the veranda overlooking the water. While Craig was in the midst of kicking my patootie in Scrabble, our package was delivered. What a relief!
It ended up costing us the equivalent of $2USD and 36 hours without our passports in our possession. A little snafu indeed, but a problem solved quickly solved!
So, now we are in the land of "No Worries" and we will indeed double check the htoel safe before checking out :)
Pass the Vegemite, please
Hello from Sydney! We are safe and sound and are enjoying our first day of exploring Sydney. We are especially appreciating the lack of a language barrier here :)
We explored Hyde Park and a bit of the CBD, and then took a little excursion to the 'world famous' Bondi Beach for lunch, the beach (wow, that water was cold...after all, it is the dead of winter here), and a lovely walk along the cliffs above the water.
Now we're getting ready for Shabbat. We are attending services at The Great Synagogue right on Hyde Park and have been invited to the synagogue's cantor's home for Shabbat dinner this evening.
Hope all is well!
We explored Hyde Park and a bit of the CBD, and then took a little excursion to the 'world famous' Bondi Beach for lunch, the beach (wow, that water was cold...after all, it is the dead of winter here), and a lovely walk along the cliffs above the water.
Now we're getting ready for Shabbat. We are attending services at The Great Synagogue right on Hyde Park and have been invited to the synagogue's cantor's home for Shabbat dinner this evening.
Hope all is well!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Good morning from Sydney
Where the local time is 630am Friday morning. We're off to an
undecided hotel in Bondi. Laters...
undecided hotel in Bondi. Laters...
Goodbye Thailand
In the airport in Bangkok, off to Sydney. We have a red eye flight and get to Oz at 6am. See you there.
Thailand was lots of fun. The beaches were beautiful and relaxing. Until next time...
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Paradise
We left Bangkok and experienced paradise on Koh Samet. Soft white sand, clear and warm bluegreen water- it has been lovely and relaxing.
We'll share more stories and details from Oz. We boat to bus to cab to the Bangkok airport tomorrow (Thursday) and then fly the redeye to Sydney, Australia. We arrive in the land downunder early morning local time on Friday.
We are A-OK and hope all is well with you :)
love, seren
We'll share more stories and details from Oz. We boat to bus to cab to the Bangkok airport tomorrow (Thursday) and then fly the redeye to Sydney, Australia. We arrive in the land downunder early morning local time on Friday.
We are A-OK and hope all is well with you :)
love, seren
Monday, August 17, 2009
The North Face, Cambodia-style
Phnom Penh is the transit point for most western products that are
made in Cambodia. Therefore, you can find cheap knockoffs and also
products that didn't quite make it to export. Included in this are
products from the Gap, Banana Republic, Birkenstock (proudly made in
Germany though I don't know if it's true) and North Face, among many
others.
made in Cambodia. Therefore, you can find cheap knockoffs and also
products that didn't quite make it to export. Included in this are
products from the Gap, Banana Republic, Birkenstock (proudly made in
Germany though I don't know if it's true) and North Face, among many
others.
North face big backpacks which go for $200+ in the US start at a
negotiable $25 in Phnom Penh. I bought a murse (man + purse = murse)
for $4 that may or may not be a real North Face murse. Either way,
it's a easy, comfortable and secure way to carry things.
Seren got a pair of Birkenstocks. Neither of us bought Kalvin Clein
underwear (or any other designer, correctly or incorrectly spelled).
Planes, trains, automobiles and boats
We've traveled by planes, trains (subways and 1 commuter train in
Paris), autos, tuk-tuk and we're now on our third boat. The first was
HK's Star Ferry. Yesterday we took a boat within one of Bangkok's
canals. Now, we're on a small transit boat from the thai mainland to
Ko Samet, a beach island about 3-4 hours from Bangkok.
Paris), autos, tuk-tuk and we're now on our third boat. The first was
HK's Star Ferry. Yesterday we took a boat within one of Bangkok's
canals. Now, we're on a small transit boat from the thai mainland to
Ko Samet, a beach island about 3-4 hours from Bangkok.
It's a little cloudy and it poured during the bus ride. But the water
looks blue and welcoming. When we get to the island, we'll have to
travel about 3 km to the southern point where our resort is and
oceanfront room (!) awaits.
I know, tough life.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Thai Pearl jam
We're in a bar with a guitarist in Bangkok. Full bar. Lots of brits it
seems. A Thai guitarist. We request via napkin pearl jam. He played
(is currently playing) last kiss. Not what I had in mind. Should have
requested something harder, off Ten perhaps. I wonder if he can play
Baba O'Riley?
seems. A Thai guitarist. We request via napkin pearl jam. He played
(is currently playing) last kiss. Not what I had in mind. Should have
requested something harder, off Ten perhaps. I wonder if he can play
Baba O'Riley?
We also passed a note up for annies song. I'll keep you posted.
Ps now U2. With or without you.
Is a Puzzlement
More tunes I've been humming here in Thailand:
*Pretty much all of "Miss Saigon's" final act takes place in Bangkok:
"Gee, isn't Bangkok really neat? The things they're selling on the street..."
*There's a line in Lola's "A Little Brains" number from "Damn Yankees" that goes something like, "I took the zing out of the king of Siam"
ANYWAY, we heading out of Bangkok city to the beach tomorrow! We'll take a bus to a boat to the small island of Koh Samet for a few days. There, we'll relax at Nim Ma Nora Dee Resort.
Bangkok has been great, but also a bit exhausting. There is no place on Earth like Koh San Road where it is buzzing at all hours. It reminds me of a casino where the day of the week, and even the hour of the day, is irrelevant: anyone can buy, eat, drink, do nearly anything anytime. It has certainly been a treat to experience it!
Speaking of buying and eating:
Craig and I had some custom clothing made for us. Craig bought a suit and shirt (that makes two suits and three shirts custom made for Craig in Asia, as we did some shopping in Hong Kong). I had a nice skirt suit and a silk black dress (classic LBD) made for me. It's been fun going in for fittings and experiencing the evolution of the clothing from design to finished product. We've also eaten well here! We've enjoyed delicious Thai dishes, including Pad Thai thrice, and also the freshest, sweetest fruits.
Besides the reclining Buddha we saw when we toured the Wat Pho temple, we saw a HUGE standing Buddha and a GIGANTIC sitting Buddha today. We also visited the Royal Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Golden Mount (which afforded us a lovely view of the city), and an old Teak mansion (Jim Thompson's home and silk store). We also browsed in the frenetic Siam Square, checked out a jem store, and met some interesting people. Along the way, we rode in taxis and tuk tuks and a long boat along the canal.
We've shot some great pictures. I realize, though, that the delicious aroma of jasmine flowers and the smoke from the burning incense ubiquitous in Bangkok will not come though in in the dozens of photos we took. I'll remember it, though... :)
Hope all is well.
love, seren
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Getting to Know You...
Songs we've been singing since arriving in Thailand:
"One Night in Bangkok" from "Chess"
Every song from "The King and I"
The part of "Miss Saigon" when Chris learns that 'Kim's a barbelle in Bangkok'
All is well here in Bangkok with us :)
"One Night in Bangkok" from "Chess"
Every song from "The King and I"
The part of "Miss Saigon" when Chris learns that 'Kim's a barbelle in Bangkok'
All is well here in Bangkok with us :)
What we saw today
(15 meters tall by 46 meters long, built of stucco and covered with gold)
Bridge on the River Kwai
The question has been posed to us as to how far the bridge over the River Kwai is from Bangkok and whether we will see it. It is about 2 hours from Bangkok towards the northwest (I think) and we will not be going that way. Instead, we are heading to the beach. We'll watch the movie. But in the meantime, like the little yoda-like creatures in Spaceballs, we'll just whistle.
Love,
Us
Love,
Us
Friday, August 14, 2009
Swatikka from Kho San Road in Bangkok
We are safe and sound and taking in the craziness of Kho San Road! We had a lovely and relaxing breakfast at our Siem Reap hotel, took a tuk tuk to the SR airport, and enjoyed an uneventful 45 minute flight to Bangkok. All checked into our Kho San Road hotel (the 'boutique' Buddy Hotel right ON KSR), we have already mailed our (hopefully) final package home, put up our laundry, and explored the area a bit.
All is well here in Bangkok! We hope you are well, too :)
love, seren
Hi from chabad
Of Bangkok. It's like a JCC with lots if Israelis and a restaurant.
Very out if place. But has ac.
Very out if place. But has ac.
Seren & I
Getting to know you
Getting to know all about you
Getting to like you
Getting to know you like me
Getting to know all about you
Getting to like you
Getting to know you like me
Just don't call Thailand "Siam".
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Hello Bangkok
Just landed after a 40 minute flight from siem reap, complete with a
vegetarian meal. Time to go to the hotel and do laundry. And before
that, get visas and bahts.
vegetarian meal. Time to go to the hotel and do laundry. And before
that, get visas and bahts.
Ironically, we weren't worried about finishing our Cambodian money. We
used dollars almost exclusively and donated $0.75 worth of riels to
charity in the airport. Sorry jeff, there are no coins in Cambodia,
only bills. But we got you a nice crisp 1,000 riel bill (a drop less
than twenty-five cents).
Languages on tv
In our hotel on Cambodia, we can watch tv in the following languages:
English
Thai
Khmer
Hindi
Mandarin
Japanese
Italian
Korean
Malay
Vietnamese
Spanish
French
German
Russian
Dutch
Bahasa
Fuchian
English
Thai
Khmer
Hindi
Mandarin
Japanese
Italian
Korean
Malay
Vietnamese
Spanish
French
German
Russian
Dutch
Bahasa
Fuchian
Truly an international hotel.
Last Night in Cambodia
And here's what we did...
First, a pizza dinner. We were just tired of local cuisine. I love tropical flavors as we experienced here, but if I ate coconut milk one more time, I think I would have thrown up.
Second, a stroll through the night market for more bargaining with the locals over silk products. Bargaining here is more fun than in Morocco, if only because the prices start out much more reasonable (probably because everything is really cheap).
Third, a Cambodian massage. His-and-hers, full body. Was nice and relaxing.
Fourth, a "moto" ride home. We found a guy who may or may not have been a moto driver (probably wasn't; a moto is a motorcycle-and-driver for hire). We paid him a dollar to drive us home. Lots of fun, but it undid the relaxation from the massage.
Tomorrow morning, we're off to Bangkok.
Until then...
Love,
Craig
Humidity
Not that I read Seren's entry, but damn, humidity is a killer. I've never felt so disgustingly sweaty in my life. There is not a dry spot on my body. Hong Kong had worse humidity, but at least there was AC is lots of places (which, I think gave me a call). Here, there is no relief from the weather.
Time for dinner and a massage.
Five things I learned in Cambodia
1. Fish + coconut milk + herbs and spices = DELICIOUS
The 'national dish' of Cambodia is Fish Amok (a really yummy curry dish that is mildly spicy and often served in a coconut shell) and it is delicious!
The 'national dish' of Cambodia is Fish Amok (a really yummy curry dish that is mildly spicy and often served in a coconut shell) and it is delicious!
2. Saying Southeast (and Central) Asia is hot is like saying that the ocean is damp: it is an incomprehensible understatement. Night or day, and in the shade, it is hot hot hot (and humid as hell). I don't drip sweat here- I swim in it, and my clothes are soaked by lunchtime. It's wonderful to be here, but we are appreciative of the lovely hotels in which we're staying that have air conditioned rooms!
3. Tissues (especially those little pocket packs of Kleenex) are invaluable. They can serve as napkins, toilet paper, sweat-wipers (I went through an entire pack of them today while touring Angkor Wat--- I know that is gross for you to read, but just imagine how gross it was for Craig to be with the sweat-ball that was me today), and, well, tissues. When traveling, be sure to bring plenty of tissues!
4. Angkor Wat and most of the the other temples nearby were originally built to be Hindu Temples, though the later temples built in the area were built to be Buddhist Temples (and the Hindu Temples were actually turned into Buddhist Temples in later years).
5. War is bad. There are bullet holes in many of the magnificent walls and doorways in and around Angkor Wat. What a shame.
Craig and I enjoyed a VERY full day touring the many temples in and around Angkor Wat. We even rode an elephant as part of our adventure! We have very much enjoyed Cambodia, and now we are getting ready to head to Thailand. We fly from Siem Reap to Bangkok tomorrow (Friday) morning.
All is very well for us, and we hope you are great, too!
love, seren
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Siem riep
Good morning from Siem Riep, which I spell differently each time I write. Today we are exploring Angkor Wat and several other neighboring temples. Should be beautiful. SR is a small tourist town, not as bustling as PP which makes it a little easier to feel comfortable. Just as humid though.
Hello from Siem Reap
We found our hotel and we're enjoying being in a new city here in Cambodia! We're off to Angkor Wat tomorrow :)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Time for Some Pictures
We've had no luck adding videos due to various restraints (no youtube in Korea; 3 hours to upload in Phnom Penh). So here are some pictures from our last few weeks (not necessarily in the right order):
Seren & Dr. Lee, her colleague at Donshin University. We took a tour around Gwangju with him:
I think this is us in a folk village in Seoul. Think Old Bethpage Village or Sturbridge, Mass.
Craig at the DMZ. That door leads to North Korea. If I approached it, that guy would deck me before I even would know what happened.
Seren didn't try (same place):
Seren's host family and our hosts for 2 nights in Gwangju:
Craig, Seren, Elaine (Jericho '98) and Joe, her fiance in Hong Kong
Is that Seren with the shrimp from the Bubba Gump shrimp company at the top of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong? You bet it is!
Hi from the top of Victoria Peak, HK.
Seren with our soju (Korean petrol that is supposed to be palatable, and maybe it really is. A small bottle costs a little over a dollar and can get a lot of people drunk) as we did laundry in Busan:
Before doing a 3D simulation one night in Gwangju (although she got nauseous, Seren didn't throw up).
Seren got her fortune told in Kowloon. The guy said that I was a catch.
In front of a building on the grounds of the Royal Palace in Phenom Penh, Cambodia:
Love,
Us
Seren & Dr. Lee, her colleague at Donshin University. We took a tour around Gwangju with him:
I think this is us in a folk village in Seoul. Think Old Bethpage Village or Sturbridge, Mass.
Craig at the DMZ. That door leads to North Korea. If I approached it, that guy would deck me before I even would know what happened.
Seren didn't try (same place):
Seren's host family and our hosts for 2 nights in Gwangju:
Craig, Seren, Elaine (Jericho '98) and Joe, her fiance in Hong Kong
Is that Seren with the shrimp from the Bubba Gump shrimp company at the top of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong? You bet it is!
Hi from the top of Victoria Peak, HK.
Seren with our soju (Korean petrol that is supposed to be palatable, and maybe it really is. A small bottle costs a little over a dollar and can get a lot of people drunk) as we did laundry in Busan:
Before doing a 3D simulation one night in Gwangju (although she got nauseous, Seren didn't throw up).
Seren got her fortune told in Kowloon. The guy said that I was a catch.
In front of a building on the grounds of the Royal Palace in Phenom Penh, Cambodia:
Love,
Us
Phnom Penh
We left Hong Kong Monday and flew to Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Monday morning. Between the quick flight (2 1/2 hours) and the time difference (we gained an hour), we were able to hit the ground running in Cambodia! After checking into our hotel and enjoying the hotel breakfast out by the pool, we walked around the corner from our hotel to the National Museum where we saw a great deal of Khmer art. We walked through the beautiful open-air building observing Cambodian art from its Hindu roots through today's Buddhist art pieces. From there, it was a quick walk to the magnificent Royal Palace. Again, we enjoyed the Buddhist art through the many Palace buildings. After, we traveled by tuk tuk (a small, covered, golf cart-like carriage attached to a motorcycle) to the main Buddhist center on a hill in the middle of town- Wat Phnom. Everything looked beautiful and exotic, and VERY different from anything we've seen thus far in the trip. It's fascinating
to see how a Korean Buddhist temple differs from a Cambodian Buddhist temple. Soon we'll be able to compare Thai temples, as well.
We spent some time yesterday evening walking around near the river (the Tonlé Sap, Mekong, and Bassac rivers meet in Phnom Penh). We found a lovely restaurant with live traditional Cambodian music and dance performances and sat right on the water while we enjoy Craig's birthday dinner.
to see how a Korean Buddhist temple differs from a Cambodian Buddhist temple. Soon we'll be able to compare Thai temples, as well.
We spent some time yesterday evening walking around near the river (the Tonlé Sap, Mekong, and Bassac rivers meet in Phnom Penh). We found a lovely restaurant with live traditional Cambodian music and dance performances and sat right on the water while we enjoy Craig's birthday dinner.
Day 2 of our visit to Phnom Penh (today, Tuesday, 11 August) started with another yummy breakfast by the pool of our hotel. Then we stepped outside our hotel and found a tuk tuk driver interested in taking us around for the whole day. We started at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. It's a former high school-turned torturous prison run by the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh's not-so-distant history. It was chilling to learn of the history that is barely history (the Khmer Rouge came into power in 1975). From there, we traveled just outside of the city to see Choeung Ek, better known as The Killing Fields. This is where victims where taken to be murdered and tossed into mass graves. Victims' sculls have been turned into a memorial, though bone and clothing of the victims are still around the grounds of the Killing Fields.
The Khmer Rouge atrocities have been compared to the Nazi genocide, though the Khmer Rouge had the reverse intentions (the Nazis attempted to create a 'perfect' Aryan race by eliminating any race that would taint the ideal, while the Khmer Rouge murdered the educated, wealthy, successful citizens who threatened the power of the Khmer Rouge). Besides being gruesome and tragic, it seemed rather short sided of the Khmer Rouge. For instance, after all educated medical professionals had been imprisoned or murdered, who was left to care for the ill? The answer was a group of woman, many of whom were illiterate, who were put in charge of health care. The most disturbing photos we saw in the museums today were those of the actual Khmer Rouge militants. These were young boys who looked no older than sixteen years old looking mean and angry and carrying lethal weapons. It was a grim period in Phnom Pehn's past...
After, we decided to cheer ourselves up with some shopping therapy. And here is where we discovered the REAL outlet shopping. Check the label of our clothes. If you are wearing Calvin Klein, Gap, Banana Republic, North Face, or a number of other brands, your shirt/shoes/bag may have been made in Cambodia. We found clothes with labels from many clothing lines we recognized, but items at the market cost $1-$10. We each bought a shirt, I found a pair of shoes, and Craig bought a bag. It was fun shopping. From there we went to the Central Market, a huge French-built market in the center of town (hence its name) where one could buy anything and everything. From edible bugs to watches to shoes to dishes and flatware to clothes to fish to flowers (real and fake), one could shop (ie bargain) at the Central Market and never have to shop anywhere else.
After we said goodbye to our dear tuk tuk driver near our hotel, we walked through a park to the water and enjoyed a rest. We feel that we really experienced Phnom Penh fully.
Tomorrow we are off to Siem Reap by bus. We are looking forward to exploring Angkor Wat tomorrow and Thursday before we fly to Bangkok on Friday morning.
We hope all is well with you!
Hong Kong Impressions
I am so glad that we visited Hong Kong on our way from Northeast Asia (Korea) to Southeast Asia (Cambodia and Thailand). It is fascinating to note how different the countries (culture, food, atmosphere) are from one another!
We packed quite a bit into Hong Kong, but it was striking to note how much of the culture is about SHOPPING! Yes, there are traditional markets, and we visited them (Graham Street Wet Market, Temple Street Night Market, etc.), but there is also an immense amount of upscale shopping to done. I'd never seen so many Gucci, Dior, and Tiffany stores in such close proximity to one another. There are freestanding luxury stores, and huge shopping complexes full of designer shops. And a visitor does not have to look far---the shopping finds you: in walking from the Star Ferry terminal to the escalator to return to our hotel, we passed through a gorgeous high-end mall; the airport had incredible shopping, including Hermes and Jimmy Choo stores.
Did I mention our hotel? When I visited Hong Kong solo seven years ago, I stayed right at the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula across from Hong Kong island. This visit, we stayed ON the island of HK in the Midlevels (about halfway to Victoria Peak). It was a steep walk to our hotel (HK is an incredibly steep volcanic island), but Hong Kong, thankfully, installed covered escalators ascending from sea level to Midlevels. It was VERY cool riding the escalator home. It's a fun way to travel...it's fun that the escalators are a means of travel in Hong Kong: "Craig, should we take a bus home or a taxi or should we walk? No, let's just ride the escalator!"
When we checked into our hotel, Craig smartly used his charm to get us a free upgrade to a suite (Craig's such a savvy traveler). The bedroom of the suit had floor to ceiling windows on two sides and affording quite the city view. We could lie in bed and enjoy the whole Hong Kong skyline from the Midlevels. We could even see some of the harbor and Kowloon! It was high class!
We left HK Monday morning and now we're exploring Cambodia!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Rocking and Rolling Cambodia
Hi from Cambodia. We are in our hotel in Phnom Penh, having tried to have an easy night. Right now, I'm uploading some videos and backing up some pictures. Tomorrow, we are heading to the Killing Fields, which are about 10 km from here.
This morning, we woke up at 530 am in Hong Kong, took a taxi to the Airport Express train and trained to the airport. Our flight was at 855 am and we made it just in time for last call (our fault, we shopped too much). We arrived here around 11 or noon, and proceeded to obtain visas. It's my first visa, so I was excited.
We took a taxi to our hotel ($9, payable in American cash. The greenback is widely accepted here. We've only had $0.50 in the Cambodian ried and that's about as much as we will ever have. Jeff, we're figuring out how to get a coin, if they have). We even had to take out money from an ATM in the airport to pay for the visas ($20/each) and the ATM spit out greenbacks. In certain places, however, the exchange rate between rieds and dollars encourages local currency. That makes sense, it maintain the value of it.
We dropped off our stuff at the hotel and head off for the National Museum which is a collection of Khmer artifacts, as well as Buddhist and Hindu sculptures from throughout Cambodia, dating over the last 1000 years or so. It was cool. Our next stop was the Royal Palace, which I don't know if it is still active. The highlight there (besides a building that was a gift from Napolean III and fits in like a European building would in Cambodia [i.e., it doesn't]) is the Silver Pagoda with a silver floor and one Buddha encrusted with 9,000 diamonds and another Buddha made of emerald or crystal.
Our next stop was via tuk-tuk (motorcycle-powered cab) to see the tallest temple in Phnom Penh (about 90 meters; it's a flat city). This is a tourist trap, with boys/men selling the right to free their caged birds for $1. I forget what else was there. From there, we walked to the night market where there were plenty of fruits and inside-out animals.
From there, dinner on the water, complete with a birthday banana split and then a swim in the pool at the hotel and now bed time.
Good night.
Love,
The Birthday Boy
This morning, we woke up at 530 am in Hong Kong, took a taxi to the Airport Express train and trained to the airport. Our flight was at 855 am and we made it just in time for last call (our fault, we shopped too much). We arrived here around 11 or noon, and proceeded to obtain visas. It's my first visa, so I was excited.
We took a taxi to our hotel ($9, payable in American cash. The greenback is widely accepted here. We've only had $0.50 in the Cambodian ried and that's about as much as we will ever have. Jeff, we're figuring out how to get a coin, if they have). We even had to take out money from an ATM in the airport to pay for the visas ($20/each) and the ATM spit out greenbacks. In certain places, however, the exchange rate between rieds and dollars encourages local currency. That makes sense, it maintain the value of it.
We dropped off our stuff at the hotel and head off for the National Museum which is a collection of Khmer artifacts, as well as Buddhist and Hindu sculptures from throughout Cambodia, dating over the last 1000 years or so. It was cool. Our next stop was the Royal Palace, which I don't know if it is still active. The highlight there (besides a building that was a gift from Napolean III and fits in like a European building would in Cambodia [i.e., it doesn't]) is the Silver Pagoda with a silver floor and one Buddha encrusted with 9,000 diamonds and another Buddha made of emerald or crystal.
Our next stop was via tuk-tuk (motorcycle-powered cab) to see the tallest temple in Phnom Penh (about 90 meters; it's a flat city). This is a tourist trap, with boys/men selling the right to free their caged birds for $1. I forget what else was there. From there, we walked to the night market where there were plenty of fruits and inside-out animals.
From there, dinner on the water, complete with a birthday banana split and then a swim in the pool at the hotel and now bed time.
Good night.
Love,
The Birthday Boy
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Cambodia
Hi from phnom penh where it is 1018 in the am (11 hours ahead of new York). Time to experience life here. It's 30 degrees.
On train to airport
We checked in our bags at the Airport Express in hk and now we're on
board the 30 minute train to the airport. Revelry was at 530 this
morning and we're checked in by 630. There may be wifi on this train.
board the 30 minute train to the airport. Revelry was at 530 this
morning and we're checked in by 630. There may be wifi on this train.
See you at the airport.
Put a fork in it
We went for dinner last night in soho, the hip western area. Dinner
was at a western vegetarian restaurant. I Gad "sausage" pizza, Seren
had a veggieburger. We used forks for the first time a restaurant
since who knows when. Was good. My pizza had goat cheese, something
that had been missing from my diet for a while.
was at a western vegetarian restaurant. I Gad "sausage" pizza, Seren
had a veggieburger. We used forks for the first time a restaurant
since who knows when. Was good. My pizza had goat cheese, something
that had been missing from my diet for a while.
Hong Kong in 3 days
Day 1:
Victoria Peak, Man Mo Temple, Hollywood Road, Cat Street Market, Graham Street Wet Market, suit/shirt (custom!) shopping, escalator (!), Shabbat dinner at the home of our Pardes Talmud teacher's parents :)
Day 2:
Shabbat services at a gorgeous synagogue- Ohel Leah (established by the Vidal Sassoon family, and therefore related to the Shanghai synagogue we visited, M+D), lunch at the Hong Kong JCC, the Hong Kong Zoo, the HK Botanical Gardens, HK Park (including very cool aviary), tea museum, ceramic and stamp museum, escalator (!), custom suit and shirt fitting, dinner in Kowloon with fellow Jericho High graduate and her fiance, Temple Street Night Markets, Seren gets her fortune told!
Day 3:
Kosher Mart and tour of HK JCC, stroll through Central, subway to Kowloon, Hong Kong Museum of History, dim sum, walk down Chatham Street, high tea at the fancy schmancy Peninsula Hotel, Star Ferry to Hong Kong, dinner in Hong Kong's very fun Soho area, 30-minute foot massages (people doing the massaging, and not fish), escalator (!), blogging :)
We are off to Cambodia tomorrow! Hong Kong has been fun and HOT (hotter than a sauna at a Korean bathhouse)! We hope all is well :)
Victoria Peak, Man Mo Temple, Hollywood Road, Cat Street Market, Graham Street Wet Market, suit/shirt (custom!) shopping, escalator (!), Shabbat dinner at the home of our Pardes Talmud teacher's parents :)
Day 2:
Shabbat services at a gorgeous synagogue- Ohel Leah (established by the Vidal Sassoon family, and therefore related to the Shanghai synagogue we visited, M+D), lunch at the Hong Kong JCC, the Hong Kong Zoo, the HK Botanical Gardens, HK Park (including very cool aviary), tea museum, ceramic and stamp museum, escalator (!), custom suit and shirt fitting, dinner in Kowloon with fellow Jericho High graduate and her fiance, Temple Street Night Markets, Seren gets her fortune told!
Day 3:
Kosher Mart and tour of HK JCC, stroll through Central, subway to Kowloon, Hong Kong Museum of History, dim sum, walk down Chatham Street, high tea at the fancy schmancy Peninsula Hotel, Star Ferry to Hong Kong, dinner in Hong Kong's very fun Soho area, 30-minute foot massages (people doing the massaging, and not fish), escalator (!), blogging :)
We are off to Cambodia tomorrow! Hong Kong has been fun and HOT (hotter than a sauna at a Korean bathhouse)! We hope all is well :)
Pacific Coffee Company
has free internet. And just waiting for our drinks. It is hot and especially humid in this city. It's really astounding. When we got out of our bus Thurs pm upon arriving, Seren's glasses fogged up.
Off to Kowloon!
Love,
C
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Hong kong is so urban
But were enjoying it. It's very vertical. Last night had dinner with
my high school friend elaine and her fiancé. Wonderful tour guides.
Today to Kowloon. Laters.
my high school friend elaine and her fiancé. Wonderful tour guides.
Today to Kowloon. Laters.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Random Note
It's not everyday that a former professor makes it onto the Supreme Court. Congrats Justice Sotomayor (with whom I took a trial advocacy class in law school).
Now, off to the peak of Hong Kong.
Love,
C
Another Note from Busan
This airport is great, even if it's tiny. There are 6 gates in the international terminal (there is a domestic terminal that we have not seen). It appears to be new, probably built for the World Cup in 2002. Both before and after security (and emigration) there are free internet kiosks with some decent computers that allow yours truly to send these updates. Our flight is boarding 10 minutes late, but no worries.
Until Hong Kong...
The trip that keeps on giving
Today went went to a post office in Busan to mail home items we no longer need but want to keep, such as our Paris and Korea guide books, as well as the many gifts and souvenirs we purchased recently. This was the fifth packaged we mailed to the states over the course of the five weeks we've been away. We opted to send today's package by boat, which takes about three months ('surface' mail costs nearly one third the fee for airmail, and we're in no rush to see the items). So, one day in November we'll check the mail and find the package we shipped off today. How fun that will be! It's like the trip that keeps on giving :)
Hi from the Busan Airport - A Busan Wrapup
We had a fun last day in Busan. We started at the fish market. Think South Street Seaport. Upstairs in the market are fish tanks and raw fish restaurants. So we had some traditional Korean sashimi ("kwai") with the regular side dishes - spicy pepper sauces, soy sauce, a fresh wasabi (looked the same as Japanese but tasted fresher, like Passover horseradish). No rice, but kimchi.
To the fish, you take either a sesame leaf or a lettuce leaf stuff it with whatever you want - fish + hot sauce(s) + garlic + jalapeno pepper + soy sauce + wasabi + anything and fold and eat. The jalapeno was burningly hot. The garlic fresh. After each bite, we needed a break. The meal was also served with a potato salad and a cole slaw-y type dish. Overall deliciousness, even if our mouths burned.
Next stop was the local market, where Seren got a new pair of glasses and her eyes checked. The good news: she can still see as well as usual. Then a post office stop for some more mailings home. Next, we took the subway back to the Lotte Department Store (attached to the Lotte Hotel, the nicest hotel in Busan), where I bought a tie and we sampled in the basement supermarket. Most importantly, in the subway entrance underground foyer area into the Lotte basement, Seren did a quintessentially Korean activity. She watched how Krispy Kreme doughnuts are made. :) KK donuts are fairly traditional; Dunkin Ds have many more Korean flavors and styles, including peanut with peanut glaze.
Last, we got our bags, went to back to the Lotte Hotel to catch a bus to the airport and just checked in. Flight in an hour. See you in Hong Kong.
Love,
Craig
Hi from Busan Airport
Seren's waiting in check-in line and I'm checking in email. What a great world. See you in Hong Kong!
Hi from the Lotte Hotel
The nicest hotel in Busan. We are catching a bus from here to the
airport to catch our flight to Hong Kong. Tootles.
airport to catch our flight to Hong Kong. Tootles.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
I miss you already!
We are off to seea few more hot spots in Busan (the Jalachi fish and another local market, the Busan Tower, and the HUGE Lotte Department store), and then we head to Hong Kong tonight. We've had a wonderful visit to Korea and I am very sad to leave. Korea, I miss you already!
Our visit to the orphanage
*I should preface any story that involves me conversing with Koreans with the fact that there is about a 20% chance that I misunderstood or misspoke, as my Korean language skills are that of a kindergartner (I am being generous at that!).
I wanted to show Craig the orphanage in Gwnagju that I visited with other native English speakers nearly every Saturday during my year in Naju. The Sungbin Girls Orphanage houses about 80-100 girls between the ages of one and eighteen. I had introduced the girls to my parents and brother when they visited me in 2003. During those visits, like my regular Saturday visits, we played and sang and giggled together in the cafeteria/multipurpose room of the facility.
I jumped at the first opportunity Craig and I had to visit the girls, which was Sunday evening just after 7pm. At that time, however, everyone was up in the dormitory part of the building getting ready for bed. Craig and I were invited to say hello, and we shared the gifts I'd brought from the US, as well as the candies we'd bought on our way over. We invited the girls to practice some English and we played games and we giggled in the girls' rooms (one little girl got a kick out of Craig's leg hair-- I was unable to catch a photo of her staring and twirling his leg hair in her little finger, but it was pretty funny).
We learned that three girls sleep in a one room (Korean style- on mats on the floor). There is usually one older girl with two younger ones, but the age range differed from room to room: a 17 year old, for instance, rooms with two six year olds, and a 14 year old rooms with two eight year olds (ie, the younger the girls, the older their thriod roommate).
Though we saw smiles as we laughed with the girls, the reality of the situation was harder to ignore. When I used to meet the girls in the cafeteria/multipurpose room, it almost seemed like camp or a school. But watching the girls brush their teethe and get ready for bed was hard.
The most challenging part of the visit came when Craig and I visited the last bedroom. There, an adult supervised a bunch of girls of all ages watching television. I explained to the adult, in Korean, why we were there: I lived in Naju seven years ago. At that time, I visited the orphanage nearly every Saturday. Now I am in Korea on vacation with my husband and I wanted to show him the place.
"You husband?" she asked?
"Yes," I replied and gestured towards Craig, who was playing with a few girls despite the language barrier.
"You're married?
"Yes," I said assuming the language barrier necessitated her to verify my marital status.
"Do you have any children?"
"Not yet," I said, not at all surprised, since Koreans have no problem asking strangers about their family planning.
"How about this one?" the woman said, pointing to the smallest girl in the room who could not have been more than three years old.
I smiled politely and said that we were just visiting. My hear broke a bit, though, as the weight of her genuine offer set in.
I previously associated my visits to the orphanage with giggles and smiles (how naive, I know). This visit left me with a different impression (a more real one, perhaps). I am comforted to know, however, that Saturday visits continue with new native English speakers who live in the area.
For more info, see here: http://www.sungbinkids.org
I wanted to show Craig the orphanage in Gwnagju that I visited with other native English speakers nearly every Saturday during my year in Naju. The Sungbin Girls Orphanage houses about 80-100 girls between the ages of one and eighteen. I had introduced the girls to my parents and brother when they visited me in 2003. During those visits, like my regular Saturday visits, we played and sang and giggled together in the cafeteria/multipurpose room of the facility.
I jumped at the first opportunity Craig and I had to visit the girls, which was Sunday evening just after 7pm. At that time, however, everyone was up in the dormitory part of the building getting ready for bed. Craig and I were invited to say hello, and we shared the gifts I'd brought from the US, as well as the candies we'd bought on our way over. We invited the girls to practice some English and we played games and we giggled in the girls' rooms (one little girl got a kick out of Craig's leg hair-- I was unable to catch a photo of her staring and twirling his leg hair in her little finger, but it was pretty funny).
We learned that three girls sleep in a one room (Korean style- on mats on the floor). There is usually one older girl with two younger ones, but the age range differed from room to room: a 17 year old, for instance, rooms with two six year olds, and a 14 year old rooms with two eight year olds (ie, the younger the girls, the older their thriod roommate).
Though we saw smiles as we laughed with the girls, the reality of the situation was harder to ignore. When I used to meet the girls in the cafeteria/multipurpose room, it almost seemed like camp or a school. But watching the girls brush their teethe and get ready for bed was hard.
The most challenging part of the visit came when Craig and I visited the last bedroom. There, an adult supervised a bunch of girls of all ages watching television. I explained to the adult, in Korean, why we were there: I lived in Naju seven years ago. At that time, I visited the orphanage nearly every Saturday. Now I am in Korea on vacation with my husband and I wanted to show him the place.
"You husband?" she asked?
"Yes," I replied and gestured towards Craig, who was playing with a few girls despite the language barrier.
"You're married?
"Yes," I said assuming the language barrier necessitated her to verify my marital status.
"Do you have any children?"
"Not yet," I said, not at all surprised, since Koreans have no problem asking strangers about their family planning.
"How about this one?" the woman said, pointing to the smallest girl in the room who could not have been more than three years old.
I smiled politely and said that we were just visiting. My hear broke a bit, though, as the weight of her genuine offer set in.
I previously associated my visits to the orphanage with giggles and smiles (how naive, I know). This visit left me with a different impression (a more real one, perhaps). I am comforted to know, however, that Saturday visits continue with new native English speakers who live in the area.
For more info, see here: http://www.sungbinkids.org
Forget everything your mother said
"Don't talk to strangers, and certainly don't ever get into a car with strangers." "Never accept food from anyone you don't know." "Don't share cups or utensils."
Throw it all out the window in Korea!
On our hike today, we stopped to ask for directions. The first interaction while a family enjoying a picnic ended with an invitation to enjoy some fresh melon while we accepted Korean travel advice. The second time, the two hikers simply changed their hiking route to take us to our destination. On the way, we passed a village in which a group of men were playing a game on a tennis court (of sorts) that resembled volleyball, but maintained the rules of soccer (no hands). The athletes invited us to play, but we said we'd rather watch. They insisted on sharing their presumably homemade rice wine (dong dong ju). Of course they poured our drinks into previously used rice bowls (rice bowls and soups bowls and cups are all the same thing often).
On our way to the bathhouse, I stopped to verify that we were walking in the right direction (after the long hike, we weren't interested in wrong turns). A nice young couple simply guided us to their car and drove us to the bathhouse.
Koreans are so kind. We don't think twice when we're offered food or are invited to get a ride somewhere. When we arrived in Busan yesterday and attempted to buy our subway ticket to get from the bus station to our destination, a man jumped in to help us. While we only had a 10 (man won), the subway ticket machine accepted only ones (chon won). The man took our 10 (man) and walked away. Craig asked me, "Who is that guy and where did he just go with our money?" But neither of us was worried. Sure enough, the man returned a second later with 10 ones (chons). No one batted an eye.
Throw it all out the window in Korea!
On our hike today, we stopped to ask for directions. The first interaction while a family enjoying a picnic ended with an invitation to enjoy some fresh melon while we accepted Korean travel advice. The second time, the two hikers simply changed their hiking route to take us to our destination. On the way, we passed a village in which a group of men were playing a game on a tennis court (of sorts) that resembled volleyball, but maintained the rules of soccer (no hands). The athletes invited us to play, but we said we'd rather watch. They insisted on sharing their presumably homemade rice wine (dong dong ju). Of course they poured our drinks into previously used rice bowls (rice bowls and soups bowls and cups are all the same thing often).
On our way to the bathhouse, I stopped to verify that we were walking in the right direction (after the long hike, we weren't interested in wrong turns). A nice young couple simply guided us to their car and drove us to the bathhouse.
Koreans are so kind. We don't think twice when we're offered food or are invited to get a ride somewhere. When we arrived in Busan yesterday and attempted to buy our subway ticket to get from the bus station to our destination, a man jumped in to help us. While we only had a 10 (man won), the subway ticket machine accepted only ones (chon won). The man took our 10 (man) and walked away. Craig asked me, "Who is that guy and where did he just go with our money?" But neither of us was worried. Sure enough, the man returned a second later with 10 ones (chons). No one batted an eye.
How romantic!
Some couples celebrate their anniversary with a couple's massage. Craig and I celebrated in a Korea bathhouse sitting next to each other while we each dipped our feet into fish tanks full of skin-eating fish. We held hands as dozens of small fish nibbled the dead skin off of our feet, which were tired from our four hour hike in a Busan mountain among Buddhist Temples. Though the fish ate our feet at Hurshinchang (touted as the largest bathhouse/spa in Asia), Craig and I ate fish for dinner :)
Our last full day in Korea was packed: the UN Cemetery and Korean War Memorial; a visit to Boemosa Temple; a hike to an ancient fortress; a hike which took us passed many other smaller Temples; a cable car ride; a visit to the bathhouse; dinner including Korean raw fish; pat-ping-su (red bean and ice with fruit and fro yo--- simply delicious!) for dessert; and a beer at a bar.
We still have some time in Busan before we head out to Hong Kong.
Our last full day in Korea was packed: the UN Cemetery and Korean War Memorial; a visit to Boemosa Temple; a hike to an ancient fortress; a hike which took us passed many other smaller Temples; a cable car ride; a visit to the bathhouse; dinner including Korean raw fish; pat-ping-su (red bean and ice with fruit and fro yo--- simply delicious!) for dessert; and a beer at a bar.
We still have some time in Busan before we head out to Hong Kong.
The Busan Bucket List
In the last 24 hours, I've been able to check the following items off my life's Bucket List (things I need to do before I kick the bucket):
1) used a modern bidet - there's one in our bedroom in our hotel. it tickled a bit.
2) walked around naked with a lot of Korean men for 2 hours. We went to a spa/bathhouse where everyone walks around naked and moves from bath to bath. Beautiful facility. If you have questions, email me and I'll answer them. I don't want to expand too much on this topic because it'll make me blush.
3) went into a bar called "Beer & Girls." And left it quickly. The only woman we saw there didn't look like the kind of woman referenced in the bar's name.
4) drank dongdongju - rice beer. We've actually had it twice and neither time did we pay for it. It is rice beer that is probably made only in bathtubs. Today we got lost on our hike. Some korean hikers lead us back to our path and while walking with them, we passed some people playing soccer/volleyball (volleyball played with a tennis net where you can only use your head and feet, no hands). The players offered us some dongdongju. It went straight to our heads.
5) had fish eat my feet as part of a spa treatment. it tickled but got rid of the dead skin on my feet. - http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/5/27/12054/2157/travel/Asian+Spa+Fish+Feast+on+Human+Flesh+
Two Questions About Korea
Two things I don't understand:
1) The fascination with Franklin & Marshall University. We've seen dozens of tshirts for F&M, both for sale and being worn. And we have no idea why.
2) The shininess prevalent in suits, ties and dress shirts. I don't get the fashion. I will write about the wackiness of fashion though soon and I actually think that the two concepts are related.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Brief overview of our four days in Gwangju
SO much to say about our time in Korea outside of Seoul! I'll give a brief overview here:
We took a bus to Gwangju and my host father met us the newly-renovated and gorgeous bus station. From there we went directly to my host family's new home in Gwangju. What a beautiful apartment! We enjoyed a delicious homemade Korean meal with my host parents, brother, and sister, after which we took a lovely walk around on a walking path made on top of former railroad track. We slept at my host family's and then (the next day) visited Naju, my former residence. There are many many MANY more apartment developments, but it still has that small-town feel (we didn't see a single other foregone our whole time in Naju). We vistaed Naju highlights, including Dongshin University, the apartment in which we lived, Naju High School, some relics from Naju past, the Naju Pear Museum (yup, there's a museum dedicated to pears!), and , of course, the Naju penis :) Later we went to a KIA Tigers baseball game, then returned to our host family's home for Korean style pizaa (with sweet potatoes and mayo--- hard to explain, yummy to eat-- we took pictures).
We spent the next day with the dean of Dongshin University with whom I studied and published three Korean/English texts (FUNNY STORY! I hadn't told my Korean friends about my publications, but my host mother came across 'Seren goes to Naju' and was shocked and excited- she now owns a copy of it). We saw Mudungsan (Gwangju's famous mountain) and Damyang, where we visited a bamboo park and ancient Korean writer's hermitage. Later, we visited the orphanage where I used to volunteer (more on that later).
The day after, we enjoyed downtown Gwangju. Has it ever changed! There are heaps of Western restaurants- Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kream, Smoothie King, Outback Steakhouse, KFC, Pizza Hut. We also found an Indian restaurant run by people from Nepal. It was literally the first time I walked into a restaurant in Korea and the employees and cooks were not Korea. It was delicious Indian food! Another change is that there are a bunch of nail places all around downtown Gwangju! I remember my friend getting her nail polish changed only (ie, not a full mani) at a fancy Korea department store seven years ago. Well now there are Korean nail places everywhere! It is so funny!
We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the home of a former Naju High School colleague and her family, then went to a LIVE Bar (ie, bar with live music) with my host parents- a very fun doubke date.
I was so sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially my host family, but I am confuted by the fact that I've seen them twice since I moved out of Korea six years ago---- we didn't say goodbye, we said 'see you again.'
No we're in Busan, the second largest Korean city; a port city on the southeast corner of the peninsula. We intend to spend out second anniversary visiting the UN Cemetery and a Korean War Memorial, two Buddhist temples, an ancient fortress, and, of course, a Korean bathhouse (the largest in Asia, so it claims to be).
Hope all is well with you! We are certainly happy and healthy as we adventure our adventure in Korea and our anniversary!
love, seren
We took a bus to Gwangju and my host father met us the newly-renovated and gorgeous bus station. From there we went directly to my host family's new home in Gwangju. What a beautiful apartment! We enjoyed a delicious homemade Korean meal with my host parents, brother, and sister, after which we took a lovely walk around on a walking path made on top of former railroad track. We slept at my host family's and then (the next day) visited Naju, my former residence. There are many many MANY more apartment developments, but it still has that small-town feel (we didn't see a single other foregone our whole time in Naju). We vistaed Naju highlights, including Dongshin University, the apartment in which we lived, Naju High School, some relics from Naju past, the Naju Pear Museum (yup, there's a museum dedicated to pears!), and , of course, the Naju penis :) Later we went to a KIA Tigers baseball game, then returned to our host family's home for Korean style pizaa (with sweet potatoes and mayo--- hard to explain, yummy to eat-- we took pictures).
We spent the next day with the dean of Dongshin University with whom I studied and published three Korean/English texts (FUNNY STORY! I hadn't told my Korean friends about my publications, but my host mother came across 'Seren goes to Naju' and was shocked and excited- she now owns a copy of it). We saw Mudungsan (Gwangju's famous mountain) and Damyang, where we visited a bamboo park and ancient Korean writer's hermitage. Later, we visited the orphanage where I used to volunteer (more on that later).
The day after, we enjoyed downtown Gwangju. Has it ever changed! There are heaps of Western restaurants- Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kream, Smoothie King, Outback Steakhouse, KFC, Pizza Hut. We also found an Indian restaurant run by people from Nepal. It was literally the first time I walked into a restaurant in Korea and the employees and cooks were not Korea. It was delicious Indian food! Another change is that there are a bunch of nail places all around downtown Gwangju! I remember my friend getting her nail polish changed only (ie, not a full mani) at a fancy Korea department store seven years ago. Well now there are Korean nail places everywhere! It is so funny!
We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the home of a former Naju High School colleague and her family, then went to a LIVE Bar (ie, bar with live music) with my host parents- a very fun doubke date.
I was so sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially my host family, but I am confuted by the fact that I've seen them twice since I moved out of Korea six years ago---- we didn't say goodbye, we said 'see you again.'
No we're in Busan, the second largest Korean city; a port city on the southeast corner of the peninsula. We intend to spend out second anniversary visiting the UN Cemetery and a Korean War Memorial, two Buddhist temples, an ancient fortress, and, of course, a Korean bathhouse (the largest in Asia, so it claims to be).
Hope all is well with you! We are certainly happy and healthy as we adventure our adventure in Korea and our anniversary!
love, seren
Kimbop
As I mentioned in the last post "bop" means rice. "Kim" means seaweed. "Kimbop" is rice and seaweed and served in one of two ways. First, and more traditionally, as a sushi-type roll with seaweed on the outside, then rice and then a menage of veggies and, sometimes, fish. We've had it once and had tuna on the inside. Interestingly, this was not Japanese-sushi tuna. Rather, it was tuna with mayo in a sushi role. Was still delicious, but unexpected by me (Seren knew better). Cost per roll is about $1.80.
The other kimbop is a sandwich of sorts. A triangle of seaweed, stuffed with rice and a bonus. We've had it with just (1) spicy sauce, (2) tuna and spicy sauce and (3) tuna and mayo (american sandwich style). This costs about $0.50 and is sold in all convenience stores (including 7-11).
Bibimbop
As I promised, tonight for dinner, while doing laundry, we had bibimbop for dinner. It was the first Korean food I ever tasted (at a Korean place on University Pl. in the Village a few years back). It is basically a rice salad. To make, combined: fried egg, warm rice, some veggies and spicy sauce. Deliciousness ensues. Be sure to mix it before eating it. Then eat it with chopsticks. We went to a mom and pa shop and spoke to them and their daughter in English/Korean as we tried to supplement the daughter's English education. Apparently, English education is very good for writing, reading and grammar. Speaking is not emphasized as much. The food was served with kimchi, a miso-type soup, oshinko-type pickled radish and some spicy veggies. After dinner, as we waited for our clothes to dry, we shared a cup of soju (the rest of the bottle is in our room fridge).
Next lesson is on kimbop (bop means rice).
Hi from Busan
Off to do laundry. And I'm in the mood for bibimbop. I'll define all the Korean food we've eaten later.
halfway there
there's a 15 minute rest stop on any bus ride longer than 2 hours or so. the rest stops are every hour +. we're on one and there's a free computer with internet. hi from the rest stop. there's lots of food here including grilled cuttlefish/squid. we're skipping it.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Leaving Gwangju
At the bus station right now, waiting to board our express, first class bus at 1310 from gwangju to busan. Busan is the second largest city in Korea and is on the beach in the south. Apparently, one million people were at the beach there on Saturday and/or Sunday.
Gwangju was fun and we'll miss it, but onwards and upwards!
Love,
Craig
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Two Parts of Korea
First, we're in a PC Ban right now which is basically a collection of lots of young people playing computer games to all hours of the night. The computer we're on is one of the best computers I've ever used. But it really demonstrates the crack-cocaine aspect of computer games. And I can relate. My games of choice were, among others, Civilization and Civ2 as well as Doom, circa mid-90s, and I could play them all night.
Second, this article is about an underground stream that was recently recovered and renovated in Seoul. We saw it last Thursday night. It is a pretty spot next to an ancient gate in Seoul (the east gate) and a few malls and markets. The mall is open from 9am until 5am and the markets are open from 1030pm until 530am. I think the markets are staffed by wholesalers selling their wares to retailers who shop at night when their shops are closed.
Love,
Craig
Hi from Korea
Us in Korea. This is from the Bamboo Park in Damyang near Gwangju. Also in the picture is Professor Lee, Seren's colleague from her time at Donshin University in Naju, who served as our guide today.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Time Zones
We are 13 hours ahead of the east coast, 16 hours ahead of the west coat. We woke up today at 830am and had a traditional Korean breakfast. Our friends at home were still making their Saturday night plans. The Saturday Mets game is still going on (they're winning as of last check). Crazy time zones.
Multiplying by 12s
My grandfather was in the boys clothing business where everything was sold in dozens. My grandfather, to this day, knows his 12-times-table backwards and forwards and loves doing his math.
The conversion between Korean wan and the American dollar is divide the Korean value by 1,200. Lots of dividing by 12 and cutting off a bunch of zeroes. And always in my head. I'm sure Grandpa is very proud in Queens.
Helsinki
I discussed it already, so I won't say much. Farthest north I've ever been. Flat, flat country. Beautiful view from the takeoff and landing. The beer from the plane is still in my bag, untouched. The airport is pretty snazzy. Lots of good food options. Seren bought a t-shirt (she needed one). And I think that's all we have to add.
Love,
Craig
Love,
Craig
La Vie Parisien
A week later, Paris time.
We landed in Paris Wednesday evening, July 22. Three fulls day and lots to do. Our hotel was near the Bastille (no prison there anymore), which is at the eastern end of the tourist downtown, though well within the downtown area. We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and walked around the area a bit, trying to find a good dinner choice.
I should first mention that there is a kosher McDonalds in the Tel Aviv airport. If it wasn't 8 am when we were there, it would have been Big Macs for everyone (in Paris, it's called a "Royale with Cheese" - thank you Quentin T.).
We walked around our area, and decided to have something to drink and a snack. We stopped at the Red Lime (No idea why it's called that) and had some coffee/hot chocolate and a caprese salad under an awning as the rain came down. When the rain stopped, we self-toured the area, finding Rue de Rivoli (a main east-west drag in Paris that abuts most of the big tourist sites), before settling on a Parisien bistro for dinner. I had some salmon tartare (the most delicious lox in a long time) and frites (ketchup, not mayo) and Seren had veggie lasagna. Two glasses of wine too and we were happy campers. To bed though we went, but not before being caught in the rain. We spent $10 on a cheap umbrella that might as well say "tourist" in bright neon lights. It probably won't make it home, but it's a fun memory umbrella.
We woke up Thursday and started our day at the Basille street market. Seren bought a cute black dress, I bought cheese bread. Oh my God good. From there, we walke dto the Marais - the Jewish/gay area that is home to lots of shops. We found it when first we walked towards a Korean restaurant that had a Judaica shop across the street. From there, we found a bakery with omigod apple streudel.
We took our streudel and went to the Louvre. Mona Lisa was there, as well Delacroix and Jacques-Louis David (my favorite Louvre artist). We also saw the Venus de Milo (still no arms), Nike, a really cool painting of David and Goliath painted from two sides and framed in a back-to-back frame so that you can see both sides of it. We also saw IM Pei's Pyramid, a painting that looks like my uncle (which I have to email to my family), and the Egyptian stuff. The Louvre was a zoo except for the Egyptian and other not-as-popular things. We also sped through those rooms. In that sense, it reminded me a lot of the Met, where I have always sped through the Egyptian stuff (too much pepper in my paprikash).
After art-ing it all up, we stopped for some apple streudel in the Tuileries. Beautiful day for a beautiful garden with omigod food. From there, we walked to the Orangerie, which I didn't even know existed. It is home to Monet's Water Lillies and the water lillies are housed in two oval rooms, where you are surrounded by the Lillies in 360 degrees. Wonderful presentation. On the basement floor there is some Impressionist work, but not much. Ironically, much of the Renoir was absent, instead being shown in an art show in the Modern Art Museum of Seoul (we didn't go).
Next, on to the Musee D'Orsay for some real Impressionism. And we saw it all, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, Gaugin, Van Gogh, and everyone else. I love D'Orsay and we walked through most of it.
Next stop, after it stopped raining (Paris was like Miami - it rained for a little bit every afternoon), we met my parents for dinner next the Arc de Triomphe. Dinner was delicious with some fantastic grilled bass. I love French food. We also briefed and debriefed on our respective trips. And we made plans to meet with David Darmon, our omnipresent French friend, the following day.
From there, to bed. Th0ough our cab drove by the Eiffel Tower (from across the river) and we got to see it all lit up.
Friday morning, we woke up and raced to the Marais to buy two things. First, food for a Saturday lunch picnic. Second, we bought falafel at what is considered the best falafel place in the world. The falafel was delicious and had a decidedly French twist in the sauces, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
Next stop, we booked it across downtown Paris to the Arc de Triomphe. We didn't realize how long Paris is, but along the way Seren used the nicest public bathroom in all of Paris -- at the 5 star Hotel Regina across the street from Louvre. It was bathroom in style.
The Champs-Elysee was ready for the finish of the Tour de France but we just marched on. When we got to the AdT, there were my parents and David waiting. It was good to see David and this time we got to take pictures (we saw him in Morocco, but our camera's battery died and he lost his camera after taking pictures). Seren and I climbed to the top of the AdT for wonderful views of Paris. I had never been up there and enjoyed seeing Paris from that vantage.
From there, we went to the Eiffel Tower. I was in Paris about 15 years ago and it snowed. Therefore, the ET was closed. This time, to the second floor we went and had a gorgeous view of Paris. Lunch followed with my parents and David. Another French bistro, and my global tour of world beers continued. Kronenberg 1664 - the French Budweiser. I mean that with all connotations it may come with.
After lunch, Seren & I went to the Rodin Museum to pose as our favorite Impressionist statues. Seren does a wonderful Thinker (no pic of Seren, too difficult to do pictures on this thing).
Following Rodin, we went home, showered and got ready for Shabbat dinner at the house of one of our classmates. She lives in the 19th arrondisement, which is due north from where we were staying. We took the Metro to Danube and found her street - L'Egalite (near Liberate and Fraternite) and had a delicious Moroccan shabbat dinner. Because of the Jewish season, we didn't have any meat with dinner, but the main course was gefilte fish-like balls. And lots of salads, like we had in Morocco. Coincidentally, our classmate - Pascale - 's mother is a cousin to our hostess in Fes, Morocco. Mom is from Meknes, which is the city in which we were pickpocketed, about any hour from Fes. Dad is from, I forget. Dessert was wonderful French baked goods. Seren had an omigod chocolate mousse cake; I had very good apple tart.
We walked home from dinner, through the Tunisian Jewish community as apparent from all the kosher Tunisian restaurants (closed for Shabbat). Next time, we'll check them out. Lamb, here we come.
We woke up Saturday morning and went to services around the corner from our hotel. It was a very diverse congregation - from modern orthodox to rightwing fur-cap orthodox. Seren sat in the nose-bleed section. I sat third row and did gelilah (not going to explain, sorry) as well as opened the ark after services. We found the synagogue in a funny way. We were walking Thursday morning and saw someone who looked distinctively Jewish - long beard and baseball cap). We approached him and said "s'licha" ("excuse me" in Hebrew). In a broken-French conversation, he pointed our the synagogue and invited us for dinner on Friday and lunch on Saturday. We declined Friday night and said we didn't know what our plans would be for Sat. He was wonderfully polite and I felt bad for declining (I really want to pay him forward somehow). On Thursday, our lunch plans for Saturday could have been meeting with my parents or picnicing or this or that or otherwise, just up in the air.
Anyway, after services, there was a little snack/kiddush with strict gender separation. Our Thursday man was there and invited me over for lunch (with Seren), but I declined, feeling badly for that. After kiddush, we met David at our hotel and brought the food we had bought on Friday to the Place les Vosges (the Gramercy Park of Paris) and had a wonderful picnic of turkey bacon and salami sandwiches, with a bottle of French wine and eggplant cavier. After lunch, we walked around the area, then saw the islands of Paris (including Notre Dame) and generally our area. David was a terrific tour guide as usual. Seren and I walked along the Paris Plage (the "beach" set up along the River Seine. You can't swim in the Seine, but you can lay out. No French women were doing what would be expected of a French woman. Oh well).
We returned to our hotel to start packing. Our evening plans were to meet Seren's korean friend who was landing in Paris at 9pm, another friend of Craig's from Nice who lived in Paris and David. The plan was to meet David at 10pm near a canal that is the site of a big scene in Amelie (which I don't remember).
At 10pm, David was there. Seren's friend wasn't and the other Nicoise person was unreachable. The threesome had dinner on the canal, with delicious fish and Seren had almost omigod pasta. With drinks. And canals. And walks, laughs and pictures. We wished David a fond goodbye. We'll see him again soon. We better.
We woke up early Sunday morning for an 8am flight to Helsinki to Seoul.
Just a quick note for those who care. Shabbat starts in Paris at 920pm and ends close to 1030.
Love,
Craig
We landed in Paris Wednesday evening, July 22. Three fulls day and lots to do. Our hotel was near the Bastille (no prison there anymore), which is at the eastern end of the tourist downtown, though well within the downtown area. We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and walked around the area a bit, trying to find a good dinner choice.
I should first mention that there is a kosher McDonalds in the Tel Aviv airport. If it wasn't 8 am when we were there, it would have been Big Macs for everyone (in Paris, it's called a "Royale with Cheese" - thank you Quentin T.).
We walked around our area, and decided to have something to drink and a snack. We stopped at the Red Lime (No idea why it's called that) and had some coffee/hot chocolate and a caprese salad under an awning as the rain came down. When the rain stopped, we self-toured the area, finding Rue de Rivoli (a main east-west drag in Paris that abuts most of the big tourist sites), before settling on a Parisien bistro for dinner. I had some salmon tartare (the most delicious lox in a long time) and frites (ketchup, not mayo) and Seren had veggie lasagna. Two glasses of wine too and we were happy campers. To bed though we went, but not before being caught in the rain. We spent $10 on a cheap umbrella that might as well say "tourist" in bright neon lights. It probably won't make it home, but it's a fun memory umbrella.
We woke up Thursday and started our day at the Basille street market. Seren bought a cute black dress, I bought cheese bread. Oh my God good. From there, we walke dto the Marais - the Jewish/gay area that is home to lots of shops. We found it when first we walked towards a Korean restaurant that had a Judaica shop across the street. From there, we found a bakery with omigod apple streudel.
We took our streudel and went to the Louvre. Mona Lisa was there, as well Delacroix and Jacques-Louis David (my favorite Louvre artist). We also saw the Venus de Milo (still no arms), Nike, a really cool painting of David and Goliath painted from two sides and framed in a back-to-back frame so that you can see both sides of it. We also saw IM Pei's Pyramid, a painting that looks like my uncle (which I have to email to my family), and the Egyptian stuff. The Louvre was a zoo except for the Egyptian and other not-as-popular things. We also sped through those rooms. In that sense, it reminded me a lot of the Met, where I have always sped through the Egyptian stuff (too much pepper in my paprikash).
After art-ing it all up, we stopped for some apple streudel in the Tuileries. Beautiful day for a beautiful garden with omigod food. From there, we walked to the Orangerie, which I didn't even know existed. It is home to Monet's Water Lillies and the water lillies are housed in two oval rooms, where you are surrounded by the Lillies in 360 degrees. Wonderful presentation. On the basement floor there is some Impressionist work, but not much. Ironically, much of the Renoir was absent, instead being shown in an art show in the Modern Art Museum of Seoul (we didn't go).
Next, on to the Musee D'Orsay for some real Impressionism. And we saw it all, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, Gaugin, Van Gogh, and everyone else. I love D'Orsay and we walked through most of it.
Next stop, after it stopped raining (Paris was like Miami - it rained for a little bit every afternoon), we met my parents for dinner next the Arc de Triomphe. Dinner was delicious with some fantastic grilled bass. I love French food. We also briefed and debriefed on our respective trips. And we made plans to meet with David Darmon, our omnipresent French friend, the following day.
From there, to bed. Th0ough our cab drove by the Eiffel Tower (from across the river) and we got to see it all lit up.
Friday morning, we woke up and raced to the Marais to buy two things. First, food for a Saturday lunch picnic. Second, we bought falafel at what is considered the best falafel place in the world. The falafel was delicious and had a decidedly French twist in the sauces, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
Next stop, we booked it across downtown Paris to the Arc de Triomphe. We didn't realize how long Paris is, but along the way Seren used the nicest public bathroom in all of Paris -- at the 5 star Hotel Regina across the street from Louvre. It was bathroom in style.
The Champs-Elysee was ready for the finish of the Tour de France but we just marched on. When we got to the AdT, there were my parents and David waiting. It was good to see David and this time we got to take pictures (we saw him in Morocco, but our camera's battery died and he lost his camera after taking pictures). Seren and I climbed to the top of the AdT for wonderful views of Paris. I had never been up there and enjoyed seeing Paris from that vantage.
From there, we went to the Eiffel Tower. I was in Paris about 15 years ago and it snowed. Therefore, the ET was closed. This time, to the second floor we went and had a gorgeous view of Paris. Lunch followed with my parents and David. Another French bistro, and my global tour of world beers continued. Kronenberg 1664 - the French Budweiser. I mean that with all connotations it may come with.
After lunch, Seren & I went to the Rodin Museum to pose as our favorite Impressionist statues. Seren does a wonderful Thinker (no pic of Seren, too difficult to do pictures on this thing).
Following Rodin, we went home, showered and got ready for Shabbat dinner at the house of one of our classmates. She lives in the 19th arrondisement, which is due north from where we were staying. We took the Metro to Danube and found her street - L'Egalite (near Liberate and Fraternite) and had a delicious Moroccan shabbat dinner. Because of the Jewish season, we didn't have any meat with dinner, but the main course was gefilte fish-like balls. And lots of salads, like we had in Morocco. Coincidentally, our classmate - Pascale - 's mother is a cousin to our hostess in Fes, Morocco. Mom is from Meknes, which is the city in which we were pickpocketed, about any hour from Fes. Dad is from, I forget. Dessert was wonderful French baked goods. Seren had an omigod chocolate mousse cake; I had very good apple tart.
We walked home from dinner, through the Tunisian Jewish community as apparent from all the kosher Tunisian restaurants (closed for Shabbat). Next time, we'll check them out. Lamb, here we come.
We woke up Saturday morning and went to services around the corner from our hotel. It was a very diverse congregation - from modern orthodox to rightwing fur-cap orthodox. Seren sat in the nose-bleed section. I sat third row and did gelilah (not going to explain, sorry) as well as opened the ark after services. We found the synagogue in a funny way. We were walking Thursday morning and saw someone who looked distinctively Jewish - long beard and baseball cap). We approached him and said "s'licha" ("excuse me" in Hebrew). In a broken-French conversation, he pointed our the synagogue and invited us for dinner on Friday and lunch on Saturday. We declined Friday night and said we didn't know what our plans would be for Sat. He was wonderfully polite and I felt bad for declining (I really want to pay him forward somehow). On Thursday, our lunch plans for Saturday could have been meeting with my parents or picnicing or this or that or otherwise, just up in the air.
Anyway, after services, there was a little snack/kiddush with strict gender separation. Our Thursday man was there and invited me over for lunch (with Seren), but I declined, feeling badly for that. After kiddush, we met David at our hotel and brought the food we had bought on Friday to the Place les Vosges (the Gramercy Park of Paris) and had a wonderful picnic of turkey bacon and salami sandwiches, with a bottle of French wine and eggplant cavier. After lunch, we walked around the area, then saw the islands of Paris (including Notre Dame) and generally our area. David was a terrific tour guide as usual. Seren and I walked along the Paris Plage (the "beach" set up along the River Seine. You can't swim in the Seine, but you can lay out. No French women were doing what would be expected of a French woman. Oh well).
We returned to our hotel to start packing. Our evening plans were to meet Seren's korean friend who was landing in Paris at 9pm, another friend of Craig's from Nice who lived in Paris and David. The plan was to meet David at 10pm near a canal that is the site of a big scene in Amelie (which I don't remember).
At 10pm, David was there. Seren's friend wasn't and the other Nicoise person was unreachable. The threesome had dinner on the canal, with delicious fish and Seren had almost omigod pasta. With drinks. And canals. And walks, laughs and pictures. We wished David a fond goodbye. We'll see him again soon. We better.
We woke up early Sunday morning for an 8am flight to Helsinki to Seoul.
Just a quick note for those who care. Shabbat starts in Paris at 920pm and ends close to 1030.
Love,
Craig
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