The Motherland

We arrived in Jakarta on Chinese New Year's Eve close to midnight and were welcomed with fireworks all along our taxi drive to our hostel. We left early next morning to catch the 8 am train to Yogyakarta... While this is in no way a substantial time in Jakarta, I was hoping to recognize SOMETHING in those few hours... Some glimmer of what I recall as some of my favorite years of my childhood that were in Jakarta. Granted, my memories include my best friends' houses and my elementary school, not the banks and high rise buildings in downtown Jakarta. So as I looked out the train window (which, btw, super nice train complete with cheap lunch service delivery, good way to travel in Indonesia), nothing stirred a familiar memory of this city.

However, as we got out of the city, the rice fields with workers wearing the typical cone shaped hats appeared and the lush green landscapes with palm trees and banana trees. Not to sound dramatic here, but something hit home. A part of me is FROM here and belongs here, these are the people I look like. This is my country.

As we spent the next few days in Yogya with our host showing us around, more familiarities showed up: the Indonesian words my mom uses in her daily language, like barang (baggage), adu! (goodness!), kasian (poor thing), and more (which makes me miss her); Indonesian foods I remember fondly (nasi goreng, soto ayam, sate, babi kecap, krupuk, etc.); and slowly some words and phrases were coming back to me. Not in any way where I could hold a conversation with anyone, but just that I would smile when I caught a word or two while others were conversing :)

In Yogya, we went to Borobudur (buddhist temple), saw a Ramayana dance at Prambanan (a Hindu temple), got to "teach" English to young kids at our host's school foundation (adorable!), went to one of his senior centers, and ate at a lot of great local restaurants. This is the country where I'm waking up ALL of my taste buds.

Next we headed to Malang, to be in proximity to Mt Bromo, the volcano we wanted to visit. Malang was the best choice ever (thank you, Kyle). We stayed with THE nicest people there. Richard and his family treated us like family, giving us one of their bedrooms (!!), feeding us, and taking us around EVERYWHERE! More than family, we were being spoiled :) Firstly, Richard picked us up from the train station at 5 am (we had taken the night train from Yogya and had planned to wait a few hours until a decent time) and after a nap, took us around the city with his friend on their motorbikes. The next day we went to Sempu Island with their friends and hiked through the jungle to arrive at a most pristine lagoon. Day after, trip to Batu waterfalls and the Eco Green Park (fun, even though it rained buckets), ate durian (yesssssss!), and then got picked up near midnight to catch the sunrise at Bromo. Did I mention the whole family was wonderful? The dad drove us to the bus station, despite the traffic, and leaving them felt like leaving our family (mom even gave us boxes of baked goods she made for us). Richard and his sister waved us out as our bus departed. I hope we see them again :)

We are now on our way to Bali, the last trek to our whole trip... I won't lie, I'm sad this trip is ending. Two and a half months really flew by and we experienced SO much. India feels like years ago and don't get me started on Ireland (that was THIS trip??). We have one week left here, then back to the US (with a small 2 day stint in Ireland). The kick off for NOM is the day after I get back and I'm excited to immerse myself in that again, especially since Sally has been doing all the work since I've been gone (thanks, Sally!). Even though I don't have a job I'll be coming back to, I'll be staying busy, which I'm looking forward to :)

Ok. So, Bali for one week. We're staying at my mom's friends' vacation home (SO nice of them!) in a more remote part (bring on the relaxation!). Planning to soak up as much of this while I can!

Wats Wats & More Wats

People had warned us about the ordeal to cross the Cambodia-Thailand border, but what's a backpacker trip without experiencing the real deal?

The plan was to take a bus to the border, walk over, grab a tuk tuk to the train station, and do the last leg to Bangkok by train. We left our hotel in Siem Reap (the same one Maria had stayed at almost exactly a year ago!) at 6:30 am to wait at a pick up point at 7. We got transported from one location to another and were finally underway on bus around 9. The border took more than 2 hours of waiting in the sweltering heat (insert nice little mental image of Kyle and I dripping with sweat), so by the time we crossed the border, there was no way we'd catch the train at 1:45 pm. Finally got put into a minibus that flew over pot holes like crazy and seemed to stop at every other gas station and made it to Bangkok around 7 pm, where we got dropped off at the skytrain to find our way to our hostel. Success!

[Two] nights in Bangkok. A short stint there, but nothing but extraordinary. Thai people are super helpful. Every time Kyle and I pulled out our map, an elder Thai man would come up to us and ask if we needed help and gave us suggestions of where to go. Two out of those 5 times, we were shoved into cheap tuk tuks after the elder man negotiated a cheap price with the driver (note: if you travel to Thailand, drive with the government tuk tuks... Way cheaper) and taken our merry way to a bunch of attractions. It just so happened that it was a special buddhist holiday while we were there so we got to go into a bunch of wats that are usually not open to the public :) So many wats. I think we saw 5 in one day. Very cool. (Towards the end... "another wat, another Buddha"). Went on the backwaters of Bangkok, ate street food in the back alleys, and saw more wats. The second day we were resting up from a day of walking in Lumphini park (where the Thai like to group exercise) when I noticed everyone had stopped dead in their tracks. A second later the national anthem started playing and after it was over, people resumed their jogging. Interesting, and weirdly twilight zone-ish. Apparently this happens everyday at 8 am and 6 pm. One can even be arrested for not stopping during the song because it's disrespectful. Good thing we stopped walking too. We made a quick beer stop at Patpong, I got pooped on by a bird (that's lucky, right?), and then we caught the night train to Koh Tau.

We arrived in Koh Tau at 11 am after the train/ferry (the latter of which the people's  nausea on either side of us couldn't handle). Met up with our French host and during our 4 days, met half the French community of Koh Tau ;) It was the night before my birthday and the Frenchies decided to help me celebrate. Thank you, Kyle, for taking care of the aftermath :) Our last full day on Koh Tau we went diving and snorkeling. Best.diving.ever. (Well, of the 3 places I've been to, but this IS considered a diving paradise). Saw stingrays, turtle, lionfish, baracuda, and other creatures whose names I can't remember :P

Koh Phangan is where we reunited with Kelly :) For the couple of days we were there, we balanced our big habit of eating a lot with a LOT of hiking. A larger island than Koh Tau, but less touristy and more habitable (whereas everyone on Koh Tau was a scuba instructor and an expat).

Two days later, we made our way to the west side of Thailand: Krabi. Definitely a more family friendly destination (and honeymooners for that matter) and understandably so... We took a boat to Railay which so far has my favorite soft sand beaches surrounded by giant cliffs.  We treated ourselves to a nice hotel with AC, got upgraded (again, my luck ;), and scoped out the beaches on this peninsula.

Our last day in Thailand we spoiled ourselves with some Thai massages. Oh my God. These ladies worked their full muscles into our bodies, it hurt, but felt so good. Knots? Gone. A very intimate back cracking experience...

Twelve hours of travel (another 6 hour layover in our favorite airport: Singapore, where we explored the butterfly garden and koi pond) and now we're in Indonesia, the motherland :)

Same same but different

Here's an attempt to writing a post from my phone, since I can't seem to find the time otherwise :) Currently en route to Krabi from Koh Phangan via bus after catching the ferry this afternoon. This so far has been the least stressful day of travel compared to others. Whoever started managing "joint tickets" combining ferry, bus, and trains in Thailand... Bless them.

Ok. So since last time a lot has happened. Let's start with Cambodia!

Jan 15- 25 Phnom Penh (and Kep)

Our first week Kyle and I stayed with Craig, who I had met in Cincy once. Blast of a time. Ate a lot of good food and learned a lot about the Cambodian culture (including about bar girls which the title of this post is a movie of). The prior king had died in October, yet they were still mourning until February and had his picture posted everywhere.

Cambodia. To be completely honest, I knew little to nothing about it or their history. "Khmer Rouge" was just a faint memory from high school history, but after our 2 weeks there, I can assure you I'm now more knowledgeable (Mr. Powell would be so proud). Despite their horrific and bloody (and pretty recent) past, they are the friendliest folk. Maybe because tourism is still relatively "new" to their country, but they treated us with honesty everywhere and not once did we get scammed. Tuk tuk drivers became friends and moto taxis were safe modes of transportation (especially compared to India ;)).

Went to Cambodia because I wanted to meet up with Kelly who is doing this cool project where she's painting murals for non profits. I was supposed to go to Zimbabwe with her in November, but the timing hadn't worked out then :( What we thought would take 2+ weeks of painting, we ended up finishing in 3 days ;) That's what we call amazing teamwork, people! Had a lot of fun painting with her.

The weekend before we took a quick trip to Kep and Rabbit Island (a 20 min boat ride). While this is the "holiday getaway" from the city, it was the most peaceful laid back town with little tourists. Granted, a lot more French people, but overall tourism hadn't chirped this beachside town yet. Spent a day at Rabbit Island trekking around in the jungle and laying on the beach, then eating delicious blue crab at night. I even had another successful bike ride there! ;)

Jan 25-28 Siem Reap

A seven hour bus ride to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh but totally worth it. Cambodia's landscape its hiked with these beautiful gates that mark each of the provinces. On the bus ride (and the one from Kep), I started capturing some of them when I could. Each is so intricately detailed and different from the other, even for what looks like the poorest of towns. I think I'll make a collage out if them. Other things noticed on the bus rides: all cows are white (or off white) and houses are built on stilts for the rainy season in the summer. Apparently then the water levels can get so high, villages look like they're floating on water (some are). Our bus also made a couple of pit stops where you can get your fresh array of fried tarantulas, crickets, and beetles. Yum.

Siem Reap is where Angkor Wat is located. Actually, Angkor Wat is just one of the many amazing temples. There's a whole hoard of them! We spent a whole day climbing them (in the western world this would never be allowed)... Temples over 800 years old, some covered with overgrown trees. Awesome. Note, if you decide to climb all the temples, you will be utterly pooped by the end of the day.

The next day we got a blind massage (mom, if you're reading this, my masseuse wasn't as good as yours), went to the Old Market, and took in an Apsara dance with dinner.

Alright, we're supposedly close to our destination, so the Thailand post will have to wait. P.s. I'm still loving my life :)

I is for Istanbul and India

So blog updates aren't happening as frequently as I initially had planned... because overall, I'm staying too busy vacationing ;) But! I have a few minutes on UD's laptop, so here goes a quick recap of the past 3 weeks or so

Oh, before Istanbul... the rest of my time in the Netherlands was fantastic. Spent New Year's at my aunt's place in the center of Amsterdam with great friends and family (my cousin and her fiance came to visit from Germany!), then flew off the next day.

24 Hours in Istanbul
I had the option of having a 6 hour or 24 hour layover for my flight to New Delhi... so I chose to see the much dreamed of city in a day. I had once met up with a couchsurfer from Istanbul in Cincinnati, and while he wasn't there to show me around, he arranged his good friend to give me the best snapshot of the city I could have asked for in 24 hours.

Great Kurdish dinner -- real Turkish coffee -- seeing that one-important-street-whose-name-he-told-me-to-remember -- attempting to play the Kanun -- the most amazing Kanun music he played -- drinking Raki (Rika?...sorry, awful memory) and some kind of root juice and eating Turkish cheese -- going to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia (ohmyyyyygawwwwddd), and the Palace all in one afternoon -- taking a ferry to the Asian side ("Hi Asia! I'll be back tomorrow!") -- taking a stroll through the Spice Bazaar -- then off to the airport with minutes to spare (I ended up having a 6 hour layover, so it was all good :)).

Thank you thank you thank you, Saner.

10.5 Days in India
Not sure how much detail I can go into here because we did A LOT and I only have a few minutes to spare...

UD is awesome. He took off 11 days from work to show Kyle and me around A LOT of India. We were constantly moving. His parents were awesome too. We were constantly fed (speaking of which, eating hasn't stopped at any point in time on this trip so far...).

First few days we spent around Delhi and Rajasthan (sp? again, sorry) -- saw the fort in Amber, went past Jaipur, spent a night in Rathumbar (sp....again...sorry... I can spell check when I get back to the US), and did a safari! Last night in Delhi, UD drove us around to a lot of the highlights there :) We drove through a loooot of villages. India is so colorful... in the dress, trucks, houses, everything.

Then off on a flight to Goa. The famed hippie party beach Goa. Definitely saw some more tourists around here. And understandingly why they accumulate at some of these really nice beaches for months. UD (illegally? hah) rented a car and we drove around to the beaches in South and North Goa for a couple of days and our last night we danced our butts off at Tito's in Arunja. Interesting. Men LOVE to dance here. In fact, you'll hardly see any ladies (hence why entrance is free for us, yet 1500 Rupees for men). And they won't approach you. They might stare, but they wouldn't dare touching you. Ah, nice. But yes, back to the dancing. Men loving to dance. Fantastic.

Then flight to Kochi in Kerala. Layover in Bangalore where our flight had been an hour delayed, but because I'm the luckiest person in the world, the other flight had waited for us and we were escorted on. Kerala is definitely more laid back (beach towns in general?). People are friendly and generally more approachable. It's called God's Own Country. No wonder. It's beautifully lush and has stretches of nice sands and peaceful backwaters -- "the Venice of India". Took a trip out to Cherai beach and spent a night there at a CSer. Next day we went to Allillepey (sp...) where we took a houseboat trip for 21 hours. Best. thing. ever. HIGHLY recommended. You float through the gorgeous backwaters, step inside some of the waterside small villages, choose which fresh fish you want cooked for dinner, (get fed constantly again,) and enjoy the serene scenery. So. Relaxing. Next day, Supi (our driver for 3 days and fantastic drummer) took us to...(frick...another name I don't remember...) Aliithhgrhgjgfd waterfalls. Another breathtaking view (pics to be uploaded later some time!)

Kyle and I got spoiled on this part of the trip. Drivers, people that carry our luggage, free time shares, servants making our food... Hope we didn't get used to this because I have a feeling the rest of this trip won't be like this :) (Thank you, UD!!!)

My Guinness, what a lovely place!

...too corny? pshh.

Howdy dear friends! So I've been enjoying the last few days in total relax-chill-let-my-mom-feed-me mode, being back in Holland for the Holidays. Now to recount my first part of my trip in Ireland before the food lethargy sets in...

Aaron and I met up at O'Hare airport where he forewarned me of all the Irish accents at our terminal. So excited. I had found a mini Bailey's bottle in my fridge (no idea how long it's been there), so it was only appropriate to start our journey off with it.

We land in Dublin Thursday morning and take the bus into the city. Yay doubledecker front seats. After checking into our hostel (Aaron had found this place... best hostel I've ever stayed in -- Barnacles in Temple Bar), first things first: we need our first Guinness. 

Dublin... the rumors are true. People are so freakin' nice and helpful. They do not, however, all look like Colin Farrell. And when they go out, girls all wear 7" heels, skirts (IN THE WINTER!), and 7 layers of makeup #didnotfitin. But seriously though, people are awesome. Always wanting to help.

We made our way to Phoenix Park, more beer, and the Guinness Brewery. This is where jet lag hit. hard. 7 floors of information and history of Guinness. We could barely make it up the stairs. So we might not have absorbed all the knowledge there was, but we surely absorbed Guinness at the top of the Gravity Bar looking out onto Dublin.


Back to our hostel... night out? Why of course. Pub crawl with about 10 other peeps from all over the world, starting dance parties, ...and somehow spending a lot of money. (Note: Americans have a habit of buying rounds. A lot of other countries don't.) That night Aaron lost his jacket, I lost a glove, but we kept our dignity. Good job.

The next day we head to Galway (bus naps are the best). Galwayyyy. My favorite town in Ireland. You still have the friendliness we had encountered in Dublin (if not moreso), aaand you get the town quaintness. Cobble stone streets, local farmer's market (where I met up with Helen's brother), and making friends with locals at the pubs.

We spent less than 24 hours in Galway because the next morning we caught the tour to Cliffs of Moher and some other surrounding seeings. GO TO CLIFFS OF MOHER! So breathtakingly beautiful. And our driver/tourguide was hilarious... would.not.stop.talking. Dunno how he can multitask like that. Some highlights of that tour: The Cliffs (don't jump, it's high), a 5,800 year old tomb, a celtic cemetery, and an iconic sunset. 

Headed back to Dublin that night for Aaron's last night in the Ire. We wanted to take it easy, but somehow found our way back to our favorite pub from the pub crawl (Peader Kearney's) where we danced to some Irish jigs for the rest of the night.

Sunday Aaron desserted me ;) After he left in the morning, I wandered around and discovered some things on my own, such as: Trinity Dublin College, the Book of Kells exhibit, and Stephen's Green. At TDC, I saw a double rainbow(!!), the Book of Kells' artistry inspired me, and Stephen's Green astounded me in the middle of the city. Hello inner tourist.

Met up with my CS host for the night, who took me out for a few pints with his friends. Later met up with his roommate, played an excellent wing-woman role (so good at that), and ended up at a hipster bar singing karaoke and dancing away (there might be blackmail material out there).

The next day was the first chill day. Might have been lazy pants, until we eventually ventured out for food, and Simon took me to St Patrick's Cathedral. More being a tourist then went on my way. Met up with CS host #2 who is ridiculously too nice and had a good evening with some more pints.

A girl I had met in the hostel and some other person had told me to go to Belfast, so that convinced me. The next morning I went off to Northern Ireland and checked out Belfast city. Got there around noon, adjusted to the British unit system (it's part of the UK), learned about its history and current political situation by taking a tour of City Hall, got misled twice (Castle Court is not a castle, but a mall; and Victoria Square is not a park, but another mall) and finally met up with my CS host and the other girl he was hosting for the night. Goooood night in, we made a Mexican dinner with some mean guacamole and fajitas to show our appreciation, drank good wine, and had long conversation into the middle of the night. 

Next morning I met up with a tour at Carrickfergus Castle down the road, headed to Carrick-a-rede Ropebridge, checked out the oldest whiskey distillery at Bushmills, and made a friend at Giant's Causeway while checking out the ridiculousness of the rocks. 

One of the many benefits of travel is the friends you make along the way. They both make the experiences and make them last. People are awesome.

Since the 20th I've been back in Holland with my momz. It's good to be back with family and nice to have this "break" before I start my Asia travels. Love spending this time with her and old good friends to remind me where I am grounded and what home means. These days are filled with laughter, reminiscing, LOTS of Indonesian food, and reconnecting. On the 27th, my favorite cousin from Germany and her recent-fiance will be coming to visit so I can't wait to see them, as well as the other friends I still need to meet up with. Here's to a happy new year. The next morning I'll be heading off to Turkey.

Oh, on the bus ride to Dublin airport, I also found out I got accepted to INSEAD :) Looks like I'll be living in Fontainebleau as of next August... then heading to Singapore for the second part of the program. Suuuuper excited. My cousin's wedding in Munich is in June, so I'm thinking of just sticking around in Europe and doing some more travels before starting schools. Yay more travels!

Take care, friends all over the word, and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a fantastic Happy New Year wherever you are! I appreciate you all :)