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Is this an appoved childseat?
You see this all over Asia...kids balanced on motor bikes. Are we overprotective or are there millions of crazy people there?I got home 2 weeks ago today, but still have not adjusted to day to day life off the road.
After 27 flights (San Diego to Houston to DC to Newark to San Francisco to Newark to London to Newark to Beijing to Hong Kong to Guangshou to Saigon to Hoi An to Saigon to Singapore to Sydney to Wellington to Aukland to Wellington to Melbourne to Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to Phuket to Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur to Beijing to Newark to San Diego) totaling 46,631 miles, and thousands more driving across Australia and New Zealand and taking trains and buses across China and Vietnam, I'm not tired of traveling. In fact, right now I'd happily repack and head back out.
The trip home took us to Melbourne, Phuket, Bangkok, and Beijing where we began our Asian Journey on a cold December day. We stayed at the same hotel in Beijing and it was strange to see the same city in the midst of a hot smoggy summer.
In Melbourne, we went to the Rod Laver Stadium and posed with all of the greats. It's a very different city than its
Transportation
These are the boats you take from island to island in Phuket rival Sydney. Much more European with English-like weather.
I was happy to leave the winter behind in the Southern Hemisphere and enjoy some time in Thailand. Sunny beaches, cheap food, five dollar massages, and the friendliest people we met on the trip. Phuket is a great place to drop out for a while. We took a snorkeling trip and got to hang out on the beach from "The Beach." It is as beautiful as it is in the movie.
In Bangkok we chartered a boat and spent a few hours weaving in and out of the channels where people live in ramshackle houses perched precariously over the water. Women in canoes paddled up to sell us water and trinkets and spectacular temples were mixed in with absolute poverty. I want to go back and see more.
In Beijing we went to see the great wall. It really is a work of art. Impressive even in small chunks, but when you think that it's 6000 kilometers long it's hard to fathom.
I finally did some shopping in Beijing and had to check my bag for the first time on the flight home. If you're going to take
a long trip get some travel underwear and a couple of stay-dry shirts and you'll never have to worry about your bag. Having one backpack, which was never filled until the end, was the best choice I made.
For those of you who love to travel and don't yet have a family, let me give a final word of advice. Don't get in a serious relationship with someone you haven't traveled with. Also, take your kids on the road when they're young and teach them patience and appreciation. The best part of this trip was spending time with Heidi and the kids. When we were trapped in a hut all day in rainy Byron Bay Australia, lost in Danang Vietnam, sick and freezing in Beijing, and trying to get things back left in a hotel safe in Guangshou, we stuck together. One of my favorite images of the trip was when we were delayed 20 hours in Beijing Airport because our plane had a door that wouldn't seal and then had defective tires. All of the passengers were screaming and yelling and Zack was sitting in the middle of the angry mob with his headphones on smiling and looking
Peaceful Monks in Thailand
Not like the ones in China who hit me with metal cups until I gave them money... at his Ipod. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I'm looking at pictures of cats." I stopped caring about the delay and looked at pictures of cats too :o)
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