Why Americans don't travel abroad.

I just read this article and totally agree!! I can't believe only 30% of Americans have passports! There are so many amazing places to see in the world. Each of the reasons given are totally valid and I completely agree with each one. I have some friends who have talked about coming to visit the States and they just can't believe how big it is and how much there is to see.

"Tourism experts and avid travelers attribute Americans' lack of interest in international travel to a few key factors, including: the United States' own rich cultural and geographic diversity, an American skepticism and/or ignorance about international destinations, a work culture that prevents Americans from taking long vacations abroad and the prohibitive cost and logistics of going overseas."

It's a good article that outlines each of these reasons. I think sometimes the US media always paints a picture of foreign countries as being below American standard of living and also creates a fear for travel with scary stories of travel that rarely happen. Whenever I read articles on the States, it scares me to go back. It seems like every day there is some crazy person who goes on a shooting rampage or someone being abducted from a Target parking lot during the day. How many random murders are there in a day? It seems like a scary place and if I didn't know any better I wouldn't want to visit.

Koh Phi Phi

I've had a great time in Thailand this time around. Just such an easy place to be. Great food, chilled out atmosphere. The beaches we have been to are really different than the ones before. Krabi and Koh Phi Phi are better for rock climbing as you can see from the pics. The beaches themselves aren't the most beautiful in Thailand. I liked the beaches in Koh Phanangan better, but I'm a beach snob so what do I know? Monkeys are just everywhere. They are the same kind of monkeys we see in Singapore, but these monkeys are much more accostomed to people and come right up to you to grab whatever you're holding. The food has been really good. Koh Phi Phi or Koh Pee Pee as some of the misprinted postcards suggest, is a very small island with no motorized vehicles. Which sounds rustic and awesome, but it's completely full of tourists. I met these 2 girls from South Carolina and it was their first time to travel abroad(other than a few countries in Europe) and it was funny to see their enthusiasm. "There's so much culture here!" "We met these 2 guys, they're American so get along well, and they like the same things we do! How crazy is that?" Ha, really? Obviously those guys will say anything to get you to hook up with them. That's how traveling as a backpacker works. Also, this island has absolutely no local culture. There was nothing on the island that was made or sold for locals. Completely made for tourists who think Thai culture is wooden jewelry, floral sarongs, and cheap pad thai. Not that I'm complaining- it's the easiest place to travel in the world. But I'm over the "Disney World" feel to it. Next time we go to a beach, we want to find a more rural and remote beach. Some where off the beaten track. Again, NOT complaining about my spoiled lifestyle. Just ready for some adventure...

Krabi, Thailand

Krabi - Days 1, 2, and 3
I've realized that I just need to write about each trip as it happens or I'll never write about it. The first few days have been heaven. It feels like we were just travelling, but I guess we were 2 weeks ago for the Christmas Holiday. Krabi was an hour and 20 minute flight from Singapore. Sometimes you see tourist who are clearly jet-lagged and carrying around a huge backpack and are exhausted from travelling for months. SO glad that's not me. I've got my carry on bag and ready for one of my favourite countries in the world. We've just been beach lazy these few days. Yesterday I had a foot massage on the beach which was followed by a beer. There are monkeys everywhere. We are staying in a bungalow that is hidden in the treetops overlooking the ocean. We've got access to a private beach, and are a 15 minutes walk from 3 other beaches. The landscape is unbelievable. I feel so lucky to be here, especially when we've been watching Aljazeera news that is showing live coverage of Egypt.

This is my favourite beach so far. There's lots of rock climbing.
Even the monkey is rock climbing with his stuffed monkey!

That smudge in the left hand corner is water. I took the waterproof camera and forgot to wipe it off after I got out of the water. Waterproof camera= a necessity when living in SE Asia.

Do you see the baby?? He was super cute when he was walking around by himself.

Our private beach. The long tail boats are so beautiful.

my thoughts on egypt.

Obviously, I'm going to have a lot to say about the current situation in Egypt. First of all, I told you so. Well, not really, but we knew this was coming. Everyone who has ever lived in Egypt saw this coming. We just didn't think it would happen so soon. We thought it would happen next fall during the elections. The people have been upset for 30 years and now is their time to fight for their basic freedoms. Taking the internet away just ignited the anger in the people. People who have been suppressed and have lived under Emergency Law and a ruthless dictator for the last 30 years are going to be more than slightly annoyed. The police in Egypt are the most corrupt, lazy, useless members of society there. Now they have fled and people are taking the law into their own hands. I've had to bribe many policeman in my 2 years there. There is such a strong sense of community in Egypt within the neighborhoods. I talked to 3 friends last night who are in the midst of it all. Apparently, a prison near to where I lived had a riot and all the prisoners escaped. Then they went and broke the police station, which was abandoned by the police, and they stole all of the guns. My friends heard machine gun fire outside their window throughout the night. Then one of my friends, took the softball bats to the local men patrolling the streets and said, "We live in apt 15. Keep us safe." and gave them the bats. It's such a crazy thought, yet none of this is shocking. That's how things work in Egypt. The people protect themselves. And they love the army. The army is a symbol of patriotism. I mean, they defeated Israel back in the day right? Defeated=Israel just gave them the Sinai to prevent bloodshed. The army is something the people will listen to, however, the army might start agreeing with the people and turn on Mubarak. (Doesn't he just look evil? I mean, look at that face and those eyebrows!) He's 89 years old and he's fighting to keep his power. Why? Why can't he just accept defeat? Give the people what they want. Let there be democracy. He's so arrogant and so disillusioned to the situation. His family has already fled the country or maybe they were never there. They seem to spend most of their time in Paris and other parts of Europe. His son was to be the 'heir' to the presidency. Or at least that was the plan for these next elections.

How the US has stood behind him for the last 30 years is beyond me. How can we support a dictator in Egypt, but we overthrew a dictator in Iraq? Well, I'll let you answer that one for yourself. Anyways, Egyptians have lived under Emergency Law since he came into power in 1980 following the assassination of Anwar Sadat. He was killed by military men who had ties with the Muslim Brotherhood which is why this political party is banned under the Emergency Law they enacted immediately after the death of Sadat. Under the law, police powers are extended, constitutional rights suspended and censorship is legalized. The law doesn't allow any non-governmental political activity: street demonstrations, non-approved political organizations, and unregistered financial donations are formally banned. Some 17,000 people are detained under the law, and estimates of political prisoners run as high as 30,000. These are the ones who have escaped from jail. There were several protests when I was in Egypt, but everyone was immediately arrested and/or fined. When this first started, I thought it would just go away in a day or so. Definitely wrong about that. As Americans, we have to support the people who want their basic civil rights and freedoms.

On a positive note, my friends are being bussed to Sharm el Sheikh today. It will take about 8 hours to get there. The plan is to stay there a few days to see if it will die down. If not, they will be flown to Cyprus and wait there for a bit. If things are still crazy, then they will go back to the States and rumor has it, get 2 months pay and school is cancelled for the rest of the school year. The thing is, how can you go back to that? There are some teachers and even principals who have fled the country in the middle of the night. How can they come back? Wouldn't that be awkward? Also, if I've heard gun fire outside my window, I'm not going to come back. Ever. The High School principal is in London recruiting at a job fair. I hope they didn't hire anyone for next year. There might not be a next year. Glad to hear everyone is safe and I'm sure will start sending out their resumes as soon as they have Internet access.

I'm proud of the people for finally standing up for their rights and fighting the regime. However, it's scary knowing my friends are there and I'm praying for their safety. I'll feel much better when they leave, but I still have Egyptian friends there who are not able to leave. Pray for their safety as well.

upcoming trips...

2 big trips in the next few months.....

Thailand- next week!! Happy New Year- again!! Chinese-style this time....pretty excited to go back to Thailand. We're trying out 2 new islands this time- Koh Phi Phi and Krabi which I've heard good things about both.

Sri Lanka- it's official we booked our flights for 9 days in April. Just had dinner last night with a couple who has been there and gave lots of good advice. We are going with another couple and hope to see as much of the country as we can. Some of you might be asking, Where is Sri Lanka? It's off the southern coast of India. I've only heard good things about traveling there so I'm super excited.

Books I read.

Lots to update as far as good books I would recommend. This was the sequel to First, They Killed my Father. It was about her struggle to adapt to American culture after living through a genocide. Really insightful into how people have to adapt to a new environment after going through so much trauma. She also had to deal with the guilt of leaving behind her sisters and brothers who grew up in Cambodia in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge. Some parts are very intense, but moving.

Unbelievably good. I definitely recommend this one. It's a memoir of Ayaan Hirsi Ali who grew up in Somalia and fled to Holland to escape an arranged marriage. She ends being a part of Dutch Parliament and denounces Islam which obviously caused a huge controversy in Europe. It's completely shocking how she was raised and also sad as that's how so many Muslim women live. She actively fights Islam and her life is very much endanger because of this. Even if this book had nothing to do with Islam, the whole part of the history of Somalia and Ethiopia is fascinating as I had no knowledge of any of that.

Great read. A female journalist went to live with a family in Kabul, Afghanistan and writes about the people in their village, post 9-11. Again, shocking how women just have no rights or able to make their own choices. After living in the Middle East for 2 years, these books are still shocking but also so insightful. I'm so glad that I'm not a woman who is enslaved in an arranged marriage and forced to hide my identity behind a burka.

WOW. So good. The narrator is Death during Nazi Germany in WW2. Enough said. So well written, I couldn't put this down. You must read this.

Halong Bay

No matter where you are, someone will try to sell you something. Outside the window on the boat. We bought Pringles.

We ended our trip at one of the most recognizable places in Vietnam. It wasn't the best time to go, but we still had a good time. We also weren't prepared for the cold so we had to do some emergency shopping in Hanaoi for jackets and shoes that weren't flip flops. The bay is absolutely beautiful even with all the fog and clouds. We took little trips to a fishing village, pearl farm, kayaking was an option that we didn't take, climbed one of the small islands for a great view, and hiked up to a cave. Very glad we made the trek up to the north of Vietnam. Rarely do I want to go back to a country, but I would like to go back for a long weekend to Saigon and fly from there to Phu Quoc island since we missed that part. I have some friends going there next week so we'll have to see how that goes for them. It's great how everyone loves to travel and you can learn so much from everyone before you go to a place.

Hanoi

Hanoi was a pretty crazy city when it comes to traffic. We rode a cyclo which is a bicycle with a cart in the front. We ride in the cart and a man pedals us around. It's very reminiscent of colonial days.

View of the traffic. Craziness.

This is where Ho Chi Minh's body is. He was embalmed and stuffed. You can see the body on certain days, but the dress code is very strict and you can't take pictures. Apparently, it's like a holy site for Vietnamese and they adore him as the liberator of Vietnam from its colonial past. This family is taking a family picture in front of the mausoleum that contains his body.

Inside one of the temples. The offerings are just set out like this and even though there are so many people walking around, no one takes the money.

Dalat

View of the lake from the pagoda.

View from the 8 story pagoda

I feel like I should talk about the rest of Vietnam. We went up to a little mountain town for a few days. Of course the bus breaks down on the way there and ends up taking 8 hours to get there. I'm so over traveling by bus these days, but there was no airport in Mui Nei. The city has a very strong European influence as far as the architecture goes. Apparently, during the war both sides agreed not to bomb this town because both sides used it as a vacation spot for the generals. We took a cable car to a gorgeous pagoda overlooking a lake. There were monks living there and we watched them offer sacrifices and pray. Later we went to the 8 story pagoda and climbed the steps to the top for another amazing view. We had great weather on these days which made the scenery even more beautiful. I would recommend visiting Dalat if you had time to travel through the middle of Vietnam.

Man chasing his son who was not cooperating with the family picture in the Botanic Gardens. It was pretty funny until he caught his son and beat the crap out of im in front of all of us.

Dalat is known for its flowers. When we were at the airport, we saw lots of people taking flowers with them to Hanoi.

A church right by our hotel. Which was odd because I thought the Vietnamese govt really discouraged Christianity. I guess it's not as bad as it sounds, there were several churches in each city we visited.

Highlights (in pictures)

Highlights of southern Vietnam so far. Tomorrow we head toward the central part of the country then up to the north for the last week of our vacation.

Sand duuuunes

Last night we went out to the Sand dunes- yes, sand dunes in Southeast Asia- weirdness. It was almost like being back in the Sahara Desert. There are little kids out there who will sell you a ride on the sandboard. I talked to one kid awhile. They always make a face when you say you're American. He said he was 10 years old (looked to be about 6) and only went to school in the morning. Afterwards, we were headed out to the other dunes, but a flat tire complicated that plan. It's funny when you're stuck in a situation where you aren't able to articulate what the problem is. Owen kept going to each gas station and miming that we need a new tire and the response was always. "No gas." We ended up stashing the bike and going back to the harbour to watch the sunset. Again, spectacular.

Are you talking about the war in Vietnam?

Yeah, I'm talking about the war in viet-effing-nam! Lots of Forest Gump quotes to go around during the first few days in Vietnam. Facebook seems to be blocked all over the country, so I'll just have to put up on pics on here. We cross the border on the 30th which means we first had to get to the border. If you've never done a land crossing at a border, you really haven't lived. It's always sketchy- no matter where you are. We took a van through the jungle and had to basically dig the van out of the mud road a few times while taking a 'short cut'. Then we got out of the van, no instructions- just pay the driver and walk. First we crossed the Cambodian border then walk a few hundred feet to Vietnam. Again, no questions, no searches, just quiet stamping of the passports. Then we are about 20 km from our hotel so we hitch rides on the back of some guys' motocyles. The most amazing sunset I have ever seen in my life was behind us as we rode off on the rocky roads. The next day, we took a boat tour down the Mekong Delta which was pretty unbelievable and also went to a few War museums in Saigon. Obviously, they were pretty biased in their depiction of the war, but also very informative of how much damage the Americans caused especially with Agent Orange. We even saw a man/boy? not sure who had the effects of Agent Orange as his head was completely deformed. Really upsetting stuff. We made our way to Mui Nie and have been relaxing on the beach the past few days. On the 4th, we make our way up to a moutain town, Dalat, for a few days, then fly up to Hanoi and Halong Bay which I'm super excited to see. I can't believe it's Jan. 2nd and we still have 9 more days of vacation.

Highlights so far in Vietnam:
-sunset at the border
-watching the dragon dance on New Year's and when the dragon comes up to him, Dan drops his beer in fright
-stumbling upon a school field trip with the cutest kids in the world
-good food but AMAZING coffee- tastes like chocolate
-walking around with Matt, who is 6'10'' and having the locals laugh, point, and take pictures
- stumbling upon a big street festival in Saigon which featured food from around the world

-lazy days at the beach

Streets of Saigon were lit up for Christmas!

the day after Christmas.

I'm sitting on the balcony watching the sun set on the ocean while 2 Cambodian kids in the distance are pushing each other around in a makeshift scooter down a hill. The last few days have been a lazy blur as what usually occurs once I get to a beach town. Yesterday we drove around on motorbikes to different beaches. I had a manicure and pedicure for $5 while sitting on the beach drinking a beer. What a Christmas. The only productive thing we've done the last few days was go and get a Vietnam visa which took literally 5 minutes to complete a form at the embassy. We leave for Vietnam tomorrow- just a few hours away by car. Not quite sure what the plan is from there. Either take a boat to a small island or float down the Mekong Delta and stay with Vietnamese families. Either one sounds amazing. Then it's off to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) for a few days and up the coast. We fly out of Hanoi on January 11th so there's still plenty of time for vacay. I've finished 2 books in the last few days and working on a 3rd. This book is about the Cambodian genocide during the Khemer Rouge. It's a tough read just because it's hard to believe that someone so young could go through such horrific events. It's a memoir of Loung whose family is separated when she is 5 years old. Very intense, but very good insight into what happened during the late 70s. It's so crazy to think that if I stopped someone over 30 years old, they would have lived through this violent time and still have strong memories of it. I'm reading the sequel- Lucky Child. She was the one picked to go to America and leaves behind siblings in Cambodia. She talks about how she adjusts to American life and tries to recover from what she endured. Highly recommend both.
This is a memoir by a guy who quit his job as an engineer in a cubicle to seek adventure. He starts out biking through Afghanistan and going down the Nile in Ethiopia and Sudan. My favorite chapter was about taking camels through the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia- apparently this is a whole other book and I can't wait to read that one. Owen loved this book. I liked some of the chapters, some weren't that interesting to me as I'm not really into kayaking and rafting.

Lots of beach time and poolside to read which I love.