February 4 , 2007 - Families

Throughout our stay in New Zealand, we came into contact with many wonderful families. Sometimes we became involved with these families and sometimes we just observed from afar. We were quite impressed with how these families interacted. It seemed a throwback to a simpler time when families spent more time together and were less scheduled and frenzied than families seem to be now. It gave both of us hope that you can raise a family without getting caught up in play dates and resumes for kindergarten. I don't know if it's seeing these good examples or just having space in my life, but I actually feel like I might want a family someday. I know that is absolutely shocking to many of you. But it's true. It's good to be open to it anyway. :-)

February 6, 2007 - The Bone People

I read an amazing book that is set in New Zealand's south island. It's called The Bone People and is written by Keri Hulme. The story is quite unique and has a lot of Maori details in it. It takes a disturbing (and unexpected) turn part way through it, but the book is written such that even such difficult subject matter is worth reading. What makes the book is the writing style. It is absolute poetry. The phrasing and cadence is unlike anything I've read previously. I found myself thinking like the author talked. It was really cool. I highly recommend this one.

The Bone People

February 7, 2007 - Belly

Our flight from New Zealand to Australia was only a few hours, but I experienced some crazy swelling during that short time period. Not in the usual places like the ankles and feet. Nope. It was my belly. I swear it looked like I was 6 months pregnant for the entire day and I literally could not suck my belly in. It was hilarious. I even waddled like a pregnant woman. Thankfully, it magically disappeared overnight, but we were cracking up about it all day.

Buddha belly

February 8, 2007 - Sydney and Nice Hotels

We arrived in Sydney and found a place that we could afford to stay. We pushed past the hungover 20-year-olds and made our way up to our room in the 7-story backpackers. Our room was a little cave with no natural light and bunkbeds. It was more than a little depressing and we quickly made our way out onto the city streets.

As we walked along, we passed several posh hotels and I was overcome with longing for the good old days when Genentech would put me up in glorious hotels all around the country. It would have been a slice of heaven to stay somewhere so luxurious. I'd much rather be traveling around, not working and staying at cheap hostels than the alternative, but once you get used to the "good life", it's really hard to go back.

February 9, 2007 - Night at the Opera

Sarah and I really wanted to see a performance at the Sydney Opera House. We tried to get tickets on several different dates and it wasn't working out for us. I went back again later in the day in the hopes of something opening up, and it did! Seemingly out of nowhere we scored two great seats to the opera we most wanted to see - La Traviata. Obviously meant to be.

We only had jeans and climbing pants so we did a bit of shopping and got something a little more appropriate to wear. We had no choice but to wear our flip flops, but that turned out to be just fine. We even went across the street to a beauty salon so we could blow dry our hair. The ladies thought we were crazy because we dried our own hair while they sat there watching us!

The performance was phenomenal. The woman singing the lead role was unbelievably talented. Her voice was exquisite and we were mesmerized by her the entire night. There were two intermissions and it was fun to walk out onto the patio and take in the views of the harbour. We just felt so lucky to have this amazing experience.

Opera girls

February 11, 2007 - Rainy Days and Fatty Cakes

We went to the Blue Mountains with the intent of seeing the beautiful scenery and doing some big hikes and bike rides. The weather had other plans. It started raining as soon as we stepped off the train and didn't stop til our last day. I think it was actually a blessing in disguise because we were both fairly tired from our travels and it would have been difficult to sustain enough energy to do the hikes we were planning.

So instead of hiking, we made mad dashes to the cafes and indulged ourselves in cappuccinos, sweet treats and fatty cakes. It was lovely. Sometimes you get what you need, despite it not being what you want.

We started calling all muffins, pies, etc fatty cakes (said with a british accent) because Anke gave me a card with a picture of a very fat cat that looked shockingly like Tiny Her with a quotation that read "I shall eat fatty cakes every day until you return." Ironically, Simon has TH running laps in his hallway while Sarah and I are the ones eating fatty cakes every day. :-)

February 13, 2007 - Inheritance of Loss

A new Mann Booker Prize book is out. It's called Inheritance of Loss. The story sounds like it would be interesting. It's about Indians and Nepalese and the insurgency that has arisen in those areas. On top of that, numerous critics have gone on and on about the beautiful writing, florid prose and delectable character development.

Well I'm here to tell you that this book is terrible. It's depressing and choppy and the characters are utterly unlikable. Sarah and I both tried to read it and just couldn't take it. Life is too short to waste on bad books. What is really sad is that this book won such a prestigious prize and has garnered so much praise from other authors. It seems like everything is rigged these days.

Disappointing

February 15, 2007 - Night Diving

We went out for a night dive on the boat so we could see what lies beneath. This is a very cool experience, but I have to say that it is quite frightening. You go down there and can't see anything and have no idea where you are or how to get back to the boat. Thankfully, a dive master accompanied us on this dive and I spent a great deal of my time just looking for the pink glow stick attached to his leg. I had to calm myself many times just to keep from freaking out. It's interesting to butt up against your own boundaries and try to push through. In this case, it was especially good to conquer those fears because the sharks were out feeding on fish from the lights of our boat. It was one of the most amazing diving experiences I've had.

Kinda scared

February 16, 2007 - Conquering Fears

Sarah has always had a fear of being in the ocean and swimming around. She doesn't like the fact that you can't see what's out there because some of those fish are big and have sharp teeth. But she was determined to give snorkeling a try out on the Great Barrier Reef. She did that a couple times and had such a good experience, that she decided to try scuba diving. Scuba diving can be a bit stressful even for people who don't have water fears so I was extremely impressed with her willingness to get in there and conquer her fears. It takes a lot of courage to do that and it's something most people wouldn't bother with.

Sarah's first dive!

February 17, 2007 - Boat Buddies

We made some really good friends on board our dive boat. A group of us really took to each other and were inseparable throughout the trip. I find it interesting how an environment like that makes it easy to bond with people. It makes sense. You're on a vessle that you are unable to leave, everyone eats at the same time and in the same room, we all get up at the same time and do the same activities together. On top of that, you're doing something slightly dangerous and are really relying on each other. All these things combine to make an easy bonding experience.

Sarah and I loved having a set of friends. We have so many dear friends at home that we get to see with regularity and that just doesn't happen on the road. You rarely get to see the same people over and over again. We felt really lucky to make these good friends and to be able to have our own little community for a few days.

Boat buds

February 17, 2007 - Slow Down

Before you go out on a dive, the dive master shows you a chart of the area and the dive plan. You're given directional and current instructions and some hints on where special fish might be found. Me being the type-A achiever that I am, often go off into the water with a mission to dive the route the dive master has suggested and back to the boat before running out of air. My hope is always to see cool things along the way.

After my first dive with Jen, she gave me some words of wisdom. Slow down! She could hardly keep up with me and had to abandon some cool fish just to stay with her dive buddy. I think this is a life lesson. I'm always on a mission, always trying to achieve something. I'm missing so much along the way! I've known this about myself for a while but clearly still need to work on it. ;-)

Slowing down

February 18, 2007 - Nearly Drowned

When I was a little girl of about 5, I nearly drowned in a public swimming pool. I couldn't swim yet but wanted to check out the deep end. Dumbass. I was right under a lifeguard but somehow that 16 year old guy didn't see me amongst the throng of girls in bikinis. Thankfully some adult saw me drowning and swept me up from behind and delivered me to my mother. Ever since then, I've been a little afraid to put my head under water. I've taken swimming lessons twice and have tried many ways to overcome this fear. Yet it persists.

And so begins my tale of the waterfall swim up in the Atherton Tablelands. We were all taking turns jumping off of a very slick rock behind the falls. The goal was to jump towards the falls and let the force of the water pull us through. Well.... I get up to do it and fall right on my butt onto the rock. It didn't actually hurt but I felt a little embarrassed. So I get back up and decide to skip the rock jumping part of the mission. I proceed to swim through the falls but instead of getting pulled through, I was being pulled under. I was fighting desperately for air. The force of the falls was extreme and I couldn't get oxygen. I was being held in place with water falling violently on top of me and pushing me under. I was really scared. It was intense. I kicked and kicked with all my might and finally got through the falls. At that moment, Billy, the guide, was there to help me swim the rest of the way.

Episodes like this certainly don't enhance my comfort with being in the water. I'll just have to keep trying to become a stronger swimmer and use better judgement with my water activities ;-)

The offending falls

February 21, 2007 - College Revisited

We met up with our boat friends Jeremy, Alfonso, Berta, Chio, Gal and some additional MBA students for a night out on the town in Sydney. We had a few drinks and were dancing our butts off. We had so much fun and just didn't want the night to end. It finally did end but not til 4am. We had to drag ourselves out of bed the next morning at 7am to catch a flight to Bangkok. It was incredibly painful but totally worth it. Every now and then, it's great to revert back to being a party girl and dance til dawn.

February 22, 2007 - Mutant Message Down Under

This book was a real treat for Sarah and I as we travelled through Australia. It's interesting to read it while in the country because the theme of the book is a western woman going on a walk-about with an Aboriginee tribe. Learning about Aboriginee culture was very interesting, but the real power of the book is in the message - which is very much aligned to things Sarah and I are experiencing and searching for. With messages about releasing attachments to objects and certain beliefs, enduring discomfort by altering focus, the futility of spending your life developing security instead of your humanity and accepting people for who they are, we felt that this book spoke to us and reinforced things we are trying to embrace. We had a lot of great discussions while reading this book. I very highly recommend it to anyone open to receiving a mutant message.

Another good book

February 15, 2007 - Bangkok Hard

When we landed in Bangkok, we were immediately overwhelmed by the place and the people. On the plane, we read in our guidebook that the airport is a bit crazy and tourists should only take metered taxis - not taxis from the people who stand at the arrival area. Okay. We got to the arrival area and were accosted by hordes of people who were talking very rapidly and pressuring us to ride with them. We kept our wits about us and went to get money to call the guest house we were interested in staying at. By the time I got back with the money, Sarah was surrounded on all sides and had agreed to a ride in some guy's taxi. You should have seen her face - she was quite at her wit's end. I was scared to death the whole way but we made it to our guest house unharmed and with all our bags intact. It's funny how exhausting it is to keep people away when they want something from you.

The next day, we did a little research to find out how to get down to the Krabi region. We knew we wanted to take a train instead of fly so we could see a bit of the countryside. We went on a little excursion to the train station and it was quite an experience. Let me just start by saying, "It was hot." You haven't felt hot until you've been in Southeast Asia during the hot period. In addition to the heat, the air pollution was unbelievable. Locals all wear face masks so they aren't breathing in so much of the fumes. We definitely got a contact buzz everytime we walked outside. On top of those things, the city is nearly impossible to navigate on your own. Maps don't make sense, street names don't exist, you can't see more than a few feet in any direction because of all the buildings piled on top of each other. Somehow we got ourselves into the heart of Chinatown, trying to find the river so we could get on a boat. We couldn't figure out where we were and it felt like we were making poor choices with each alley we decided to go down. Just when I thought I'd have to pick Sarah up and haul her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes, we blessedly saw water. That little shred of hope was all we needed to pluck up the courage to keep going. After much confusion, we made it onto a boat and back to our guest house where we promptly packed our bags and left on the next train out of town.

Bangkok wasn't our kind of place. Now we know ;-)

February 23, 2007 - Train - Tuk Tuk - Bus - Taxi - Boat

Getting from Bangkok to Tonsai was quite an effort. We took an overnight train for 13 hours down to Trang. This was a pretty interesting experience. There were many locals on the train so we got to observe them a bit and we got to see some of the countryside. This was also my first experience with a sleeper train. It's difficult to lay down to go to sleep while on public transportation. I mean, it's one thing to briefly nod off on a Muni train and many of you know that I can't stay awake on an airplane anymore... but to haul yourself up a ladder and lay down to sleep is just difficult.

When we got off the train, we were quickly swept up by some locals and put into a tuk tuk. We felt pretty hilarious with all our bags hanging off the back and sliding around on the roof. We made it to the bus station (I use that term very, very loosely.) We took the 2 hour bus ride from Trang to Krabi and were let out in the middle of nowhere. It looked like a 7-Eleven surrounded by a bunch of huts. People were coming at us from all directions and were trying desperately to figure out how the hell to get from the outskirts of town over to the little bay town where we wanted to stay. We finally threw our hands in the air and paid one of the harrassers an outrageous amount of money for a taxi ride to AoNang. From Ao Nang, the only way to get to Tonsai is by boat. We didn't think we could handle any more moving around or negotiating, so we stayed the night in Ao Nang and took a boat over to Tonsai the next day.

Boat girl #1

Boat girl #2

February 23, 2007 - New Culture, New Everything

Sarah and I are both fairly well-traveled, but neither of us has been to an Asian country before. We knew it would be different than anything else we'd experienced and we prepared ourselves to welcome all these things and really enjoy the experience. This was the first country on the trip where we didn't have any experience with the language. We read up on how to say a few phrases and we learned more as we went along. We learned about their customs and did as they did - we took our shoes off before entering a place, we greeted people with hands palms pressed together, we bought Thai pants (and learned how to put them on ;-), we layed around in hammocks, we ate local dishes and drank copious amounts of pineapple lassi and thai ice tea. The other thing we learned to do was bargain. This is part of the Asian culture and it's expected that people will haggle with each other to try to negotiate the best price. This is something that we just don't do in our country and it almost seems rude to challenge someone on the price of their goods. However, we got into the spirit of bargaining quite readily and became pretty good and getting prices lowered. Turns out that they key is to be willing to walk away at any point and then you usually get what you want. Something that can be applied to other parts of life as well.

February 24, 2007 - Positive Energy

Sarah and I are both positive-minded people and that trait has been essential on this trip. Whenever we undergo hardships, we always search for the bright side. Anytime we're struggling with all our luggage (which is frequent), we think about the great exercise we're getting. What better way to get strong than to haul your bodyweight in luggage up and down the streets of Sydney... or what a great calf workout to have to walk up the stairs with heavy backpacks.... or the good balance development you get when you're trying to get out of a long-tail boat and have to wade through shin-deep water and try to avoid the razor-sharp coral scattered everywhere. Endless possibilities there.

Now that we're in Southeast Asia, it's all about the cleanse. When you sweat this much and are constantly too hot to move, it's important to visualize yourself sitting (willingly) in a suana and getting all the toxins out of the body. This is a good thing. Sweating is healthy. Sweating is good. Mmmm hmmm.

February 24 , 2007 - A Hut of Our Own

When you're jumping around every few days in a new city or a new hostel or a new country, you start to long for stability. It's amazing how desirable it becomes to just stay in one place for a long period of time. I suppose that's the balance we're always trying to strike - our innate desire to be nomadic and to keep moving and our equally innate desire to settle down and establish roots.

Since I was a child, I have always been someone who moved around a lot. I suppose I have my mother to thank for that. She is a nomad at heart and, now that she doesn't have kids to look after, has a job that moves her around to different parts of the country every 3 months. When I was growing up, we rarely stayed in a house more than a year or two. The apple doesn't fall far - I've down quite a bit of moving around since I left home and this trip is part of that.

Sarah and I were looking forward to Thailand because we knew that we would have a hut of our own and we could unpack our stuff and let it sit there for a whopping 3 weeks. Our little place at Dream Valley was barely held together and had a charming bounce to it since the floor wasn't supported through the center. Even though we had to share the hut with several geckos, hordes of mosquitos and a gigantic lizzard, it still felt gloriously like home.

Home sweet home

Dream Valley

February 25, 2007 - Great Travel Partners

There are many people that you are friends with, that you love dearly and that you can't imagine not being part of your life. But there are very few people that you can travel with. Sarah and I have hit the jackpot with each other as travel partners. We have so much fun together - which is essential. But more than that, we are completely aligned. We almost always want to be doing the same thing at the same time. We share meals, our sleep patterns are perfectly in sync, we get emotional at the same time... the only thing we take turns with is being sick - therefore we always have someone to take care of us ;-)

We've already developed the abiility to communicate through telepathy. We so frequently think the same thing at the same time that we're unsure where one of us starts and the other ends. I keep telling Sarah to "get outta my head!" and she keeps telling me that she can't find the door. Hee hee!

What's even better is the support that we give each other. When one is struggling, the other is always there to help. We really rely on each other and the trust we've developed in just the past 3 months is solid. We spent the night in different rooms one night and the next morning we were so glad to see each other. It was strange to not have her sleeping right beside me. You feel like something important is missing.

So we took a chance that we would enjoy traveling together and it has paid off. We are so lucky to have each other and this experience is all the more phenomenal because we can share it with each other.

Great scenery

Amazing experiences

Silliness

Always together

February 25, 2007 - Letting People In, Letting Them Go

We have met so many wonderful people on this trip - both locals and other travlers. That's part of what makes traveling so fun. We have intentionally opened ourselves up to meet new people and therefore it's been really easy in each place we've traveled. When you're open and willing to let people into your life, you can make amazing connections. We've learned so much from people we've met and we feel like we've shared a lot too. That's one of th cool things about being gone for such a long time. It always seems worth it to make the effort to get to know people even though one or the other will be moving on and out of your life in either a few hours or a few days. At home, we're much more guarded about who we choose to open up to. We want to invest our time and effort in people who will be around for a while. On the road, that's not possible. So you take what you can get and move quickly into more intimate relationships with people where you're sharing your life experiences, your plans, your dreams, your feelings.... all of it. But you also have to let people go. You have to be thankful for what you had and leave it up to fate whether you will see them again, keep in touch by email or just have those few moments.

Mexico

New Zealand

Australia

Thailand

February 26, 2007 - Can't Sleep, Doesn't Matter

Last night I couldn't sleep. I woke up after just a few hours and laid there for quite some time. At first I was anxious about it. But then I realized that it doesn't matter - at all. I have nothing to do that requires me to be fully rested for the entire day. Even if I go out climbing, I can come back and take a nap in the afternoon. This is something I would never have felt at home. Life was so busy that there wasn't a moment to spare and not being able to sleep one night would wreak havoc on an entire week. When I get home, remind me not to get so busy that I can't function if I don't sleep through the night.

February 27, 2007 - Two Hearts

Sarah and I are very much involved with our trip and committed to meeting new people and having new experiences. On the other hand, we're also very much tied to our friends and family at home. We feel like we have two hearts - one we take with us as we travel around, and one we've left at home with all our loved ones. It's actually a beautiful feeling - to be able to experience the wonders of the world and make all sorts of new friends but to have a solid foundation of people at home who love us and who we absolutely adore.

Two hearts

February 28, 2007 - "I'm on Lead Honey"

When you're climbing, it is normal to get scared, especially when you're on lead and you're making difficult moves. It's not uncommon for people to become irritable with their belayers if they think the belayer isn't paying close attention to them.

Sarah and I were climbing for the second day in Thailand and I was leading up a climb. I was resting right before the crux and had started to move up. I was pulling the hardest move on the climb and didn't have any rope. Sarah still had me locked off. I kept pulling up trying to overpower her and in the sweetest voice you can imagine, I said "I'm on lead honey, I need some rope." She quickly played out enough rope for me to get to the next clip. When I got there, we both started cracking up at what I had just said. You know it takes an amazing amount of trust to be sweet in a moment like that. I thought that was really cool. And it's true, in that moment, I knew Sarah was paying such close attention to me that she momentarily forgot to let out the rope. Sarah's always got my back and this goes to show that I know that on several levels. =)

Support system

Big trust