026a - India - Hannah's opinion 08/12/08 Delusions and Ego Written by Hannah Before I start I am going to free myself with this disclaimer: I realize we spent a very short amount of time in India, and only saw one region - and of that region were in predominantly touristy cities. I do not believe that my observations (opinions) encompass India as a whole and I willingly admit there must be exceptions. I also need to state that while planning this trip I tried to talk Nico into allotting India a 9 week stay (which we amended in lieu of [View Full Entry]

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The colors of Rajasthan are best described through photography. Here are some of our favorite photos. [View Full Entry]

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027 - India - Rajasthan 07/30/08 - 08/17/08 Colorful Rajasthan NOTE: Remember to check the links at the bottom of the entry. The timing of our visit to India fell smack in the middle of monsoon season. For this reason, we decided to focus our efforts on the colorful, desert state of Rajasthan. Here we would navigate the congested pink bazaars of Jaipur, philosophize with a chillum smoking gurugi of Pushkar, fight off chapati eating monkeys in Bundi, and soothe our weary bones at a palacial hotel in Udaipur. Our first stop was Rajasthan's capital 'Pink City' of Jaipur. [View Full Entry]

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026 - India - Delhi 07/25/08 - 07/30/08 Delhi and the Taj Where do I begin with India? Where can I begin? It's like attempting to draw the first stroke in a painting when you don't know which color to choose, and there's a billion different shades to pick from. Prior to arriving we asked every veteran-India traveler to tell us what it's all about. We read the travel books and some pleasure books*, and tried to prepare ourselves for what lay ahead. Sure enough, it was like nothing we could have imagined. Okay, the basics first. It's crowded. There's well [View Full Entry]

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025 - Indonesia - Ubud 07/18/08 - 07/25/08 Art shopping in Ubud We stopped by Ubud, Bali to do some art shopping and little bit of pampering. You may recall Hannah's story a few months ago when we went for the first time. Ubud is the cultural heart of Bali and also the creative hub for all the arts. In addition to paintings you can find sculptures, home appliances, gold, silver, batik... pretty much anything. We bought a couple of great abstract art pieces as well as a gigantic 'ninja' painting. The tricky part will be finding enough wall space to [View Full Entry]

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024b - Indonesia - Gili Air Side Story Mama Miskah's Gado-Gado written by Hannah In all honesty, gado-gado is one of the milder Indonesian dishes, which means it has more flavor and less heat. Wilted spinach covered with a liquefied sweet peanut sauce and decorated with cucumbers and fried tofu. Those of you who know me well know I have a major sweet tooth, and will combine almost anything sweet with peanut butter (marshmallows, honey, chocolate, etc.). So the fact that this dish became an immediate favorite shouldn't be surprising. Ingredients 2 large bunches of re [View Full Entry]

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024a - Indonesia - Gili Air Side Story 07/11/08 We're Engaged! What better way to propose to my girlfriend of four years, world travel partner, SCUBA diving buddy, camping companion, cooking mate, best friend, life activity partner, than to do so in a place that is so special to us: the sea. Under the sea that is, about 25 meters below, in tropical Indonesia, with our fellow instructors and divemasters, and turtles and angel fish, watching us and baring witness to the surprise! The Ring The story begins in Bangkok, about a month earlier, as I searched for a ring suitable [View Full Entry]

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024 - Indonesia - Gili Air 06/13/08 - 07/18/08 Indonesian paradise Gili Air will always have a special place in our hearts. What started off as a cool place to do a dive master internship ended up as a personal exploration of the love we have for each other: Hannah and I, companions and partners, traveling the world, committed to each other through thick and thin, ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED AT LAST! A first glance reveals tropical paradise: pristine waters, swaying palm trees, temperate days lounging on the beach, afternoons snorkeling or diving Han's reef, and lazy nights at th [View Full Entry]

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023 - Thailand - Bangkok 06/07/08 - 06/13/08 Travel Errands in Bangkok This, our fourth stop in Bangkok, was one dedicated to running some much needed 'travel errands'. Since Bangkok is a major hub of Southeast Asia (or all of Asia for that matter) it's always good to schedule a few extra days here for taking care of traveling needs. In our case, our list was pretty extensive and easily filled up the whole week. Here's the list: *Apply for our 60 day Indonesian visa at the Embassy (the maximum amount you can get 'on arrival' is 30 days so we [View Full Entry]

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022 - Cambodia - Phnom Penh 06/04/08 - 06/07/08 Beautiful Chaos (written by Hannah) Cambodia is far and wide the most chaotic place we've been to date. Though all traffic in SE Asia seems to lack standards, we came up with our own interpretation of 'rules': *The Law of mass tonnage - not to be confused with the seamen term - this literally means the biggest vehicle has the right of way, no matter how wide or narrow the road is. *There is always room for one more - one more person, child, pig, chicken, luggage, etc. *Always honk - even [View Full Entry]

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