Brandon and Betty

The alternate route from Aspen to Denver known for its sites.... read more

Sunnyside Trail 6.3 miles one way 2,200 vertical feet ... read more

We deboarded our last night train before sunrise in the small city of Zhongwei. A few hours of rest and we were up again and in a van driving through rocky hills and dirt mounds on our way to Chang Tan (Long Beach), a small village on the banks of the Yellow River. A short walk through the tiny village to see the donkeys, goats and a huge water wheel that pumps water into the village, and we arrived at a little hut full of Goat Skin Rafts. These were nothing like what anyone imagined they would be. They were the skins of twelve goats, dried and inflated, and tied to a bunch of sticks. No matter; we hopped on them and headed down stream! The following day we were up early again and headed towards ... read more

Yangshou is a sweet little town in the countryside that, although quite a bit touristy is absolutely breathtaking. The landscape consisted of gorgeous mountains, modest farms and twisting rivers lined with bamboo rafts. All of the shops, bars and cafes were in walking distance of our hotel. Our favorite activity was a half day bicycle ride through the mountains. We stopped and had lunch with a farmer’s family who insisted we try all of the local delicacies, one of which included pork stuffed snails. While in Yangshou we also went Cormorant Fishing (we actually joined a man who had trained water turkeys and they snatched fish and brought them up for him), caught a spectacular light show/ballet that was put together by the same man that did the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, and had ... read more

Last week was not the best week for Bangkok. The Red Shirts had organized a large scale protest in the city during one of the busiest times of the year, Songkran, or the Thai New Year. They speak out against the current Prime Minister who they think is undeserving of his seat in office. This week it got ugly, though. When we landed in Bangkok at around 11 PM on Thursday, April 9th, it was the first major day of the protests. The airport was packed with tourists who were scared to venture into the city. Those who were willing to brave the protesters were facing four hour cab rides to the locations outside the city and then taking public transportation to their hotels, when normally it would have been a 40 minute ride to get ... read more