http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Erin-and-Dan/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Erin and Dan en-us Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:41:44 +0000 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:41:44 +0000 Nov 17Last time I left you I was having a terrible experience in Saigon. That evening my husband Daniel booked a room at lavish Equatorial Hotel and arranged limo airport pickup for Cheri. She arrived at 1130 pm and we enjoyed catching up since it had been several years since seeing each other at my wedding.Nov 18Woke up early had a fantastic breakfast at the hotel and set out to do some sight http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-455023.html I am in hell. After coming from the paradise of Cambodia and I must have used all my good traveling luck. I hope I get some back. Let me start over.Yesterday morning Dy took me to the National Cambodia Museum which was incredibly interesting and I learned a lot about the Buddhist and Hindu religions in Cambodia. We then went to a restaurant made of of several rows of bamboo and straw huts with ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-453869.html Up at 715 showered ate breakfast and jumped back on Dyrsquos motorbike. We drove about 35 minutes out of Siem Reap and into the countryside. Saw some interesting things a woman breastfeeding while riding on the back of a motorbike a man relaxing in a hammock hanging from a truck while his two friends attempted to repair it and a child two years old using a small machete to chop at a tre http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-453366.html I love traveling.No.I LOVE traveling. From the moment a trip idea materializes in my brain until the moment I step off the return flight home. I love the planning debating talking and reading about it. I even love paying for airline tickets hotel rooms and new backpacks. Therersquos nothing like throwing the bare essentials into a bag getting on an airplane and knowing you are about to have http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-452970.html We welcomed Dallas and Sable Northington into the family on June 18th. They were less than four pounds together when they came home and are as of publishing date tipping the scales at a little more than 5.5 pounds together. They grow up so fastI've published two videos of them sleeping eating and playing on YouTube. The links arehttpwww.youtube.comwatchv0PGmHSNgHb8 A few days homehtt http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeonggi-do/blog-418448.html There are so many people in China that retirement for men is mandatory at 55 and at 50 for women. So what do the Chinese do Go to an old folks home become reclusive and moan that no one visitsNope.Instead they become fully sociable joining clubs taking up hobbies singing and playing games. And the place to do it all is the Temple of Heaven. Here they dance play hackeysack sing in large c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Temple-of-Heaven/blog-418411.html HAPPY FOURTH OF JULYWe got up at 630 ate a tasty buffet breakfast in the hotel and boarded the tour bus at 800. Off to the Great Wall From this point in the wall you can go right or left. Right is an easier incline but left has a better view and there are fewer people. So we chose left. Oye.It was extremely hot and humid. I'd like to say that's the only reason I had such a hard time. But al http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Great-Wall-of-China/blog-417306.html Well we decided to give it one more shot and visit China. For those of you who are avid Erin and Daniel blog readers you are probably thinking But Erin You were deported last time you were in that godforesaken country Why on Earth would you want to return I might say I wanted to bring a little bit of American democracy to those freedom deprived peoples during our Independence weekend. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-416027.html March 16 I woke early in the morning ready to hit the ground running. I still hadn't decided what to do about staying in Kyoto for another day or heading back to Osaka. The hostel serves a 500 yen breakfast about 5 tart yogurt with pistachios and dried cranberry two homemade organic rolls one wheat and one green tea with butter and honey and one egg scrambled with chopped ham and parsley s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/Gion/blog-382349.html For those of you who don't know I made the very difficult decision to quit the teaching job I love and accept a position as a career counselor a contracting job with the Army. The U.S. economy is having a worldwide affect and Korea's economy took a sharp downturn about 5 months ago. The Korean dollar is worth about 30 less than when I arrived. Therefore I needed to earn U.S. dollars. Sounds e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/Gion/blog-382147.html I want to do a quick catchup before I do a blog about Japan. February 14 Valentine's Day Daniel surprised me with a beautiful 7diamond flower necklace before we met two other couples for dinner and a show called Nanta. It was a hilarious musiccomedyperformance much like Stomp because it's based around percussion. It was FABULOUS and I highly recommend you see it it plays in dozens of ma http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeonggi-do/blog-381626.html The week of January 23 was the Lunar New Year. Although I know a little about this holiday I am including a link to a great website that briefly describes Korean customs for this holiday. Please check it out so you can better understand this important holiday and its interesting customs. It will take you about 45 seconds to read.httpwww.newyearfestival.comnewyearinkorea.html http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeonggi-do/blog-378719.html Do you know that drinking game called Never Have I Ever in which someone begins by saying something like Never have I ever eaten raw squid and everyone who HAS done that takes a drink Well now Daniel and I have the distinct privilege of taking a drink next time someone says Never have I ever been deported from the communist People's Republic of China. Yes that's right folks. Dan and I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Kowloon/blog-359844.html What a city Hong Kong is an amazing mix of ethnicities like I have never seen before. Pakistani Bangladeshi Chinese Japanese Western and Eastern European Canadian American African... it's all here. And it all works. We are staying on Nathan Road Kowloon on the mainland not the island packed with massage parlors restaurants jewelry purse and shoe stores. A block away are the famous http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Kowloon/blog-358252.html Hello from ChinaDecember 25 Daniel and I arrived after a quick 1 hour 45 minute flight on which dinner was served to Pudong International Airport in Shanghai China. We had hoped to see someone from our hostel there to pick us up I had requested a shuttle but when I called they had yet to leave. It would cost 220 yuen 38 but they wouldn't arrive for an hour. We had decided instead to ta http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-357275.html First Daniel and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We might be on the other side of the globe but you are all no less in our hearts and thoughts this season.Well it's the holiday season You aren't hit over the head with Christmas here the way you are in the States. You don't see advertisements everywhere decorations in October or charities asking for donations every time you http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/blog-355145.html Here are just some videos I have thought I'd post them http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/blog-347655.html As some of you know my best friend Shannon and her boyfriend Aaron came to visit a couple weeks ago. It was so nice to have a face from home and to be given the chance to play host for a week. It helped make Korea feel more like our home. Despite Shannon battling some serious jetlag we all had a great week. They arrived on Wednesday night and we took them on base for pizza yes pizza all that t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/DMZ/blog-342447.html Hi EveryoneIt's been quite awhile since my last blog early August when I got back from NY so I thought I would buckle down and get one written. We haven't been doing too much other than work a lot. Dan got back from GA in early September and soon after left to go to the field for two weeks. I have picked up some tutoring jobs which gets me home after 9pm every night of the week. The extra incom http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/blog-330978.html Dorothy had it right... there really is no place like home. I had my one week summer break from July 28 Aug 1 so I flew home to Mom and Dad's house and spent the most perfect relaxing week with them. But before I carryon about the excellence of the week I'll back up a little and fill you in on some of the other details of my life.Dan is now at Fort Benning Georgia taking the Master Gunner c http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/Finger-Lakes/blog-308173.html