Buddah Day!

Leslie and I arrived last night in Bangkok without a hitch! The things that stand out:
-- people are really, really proud of their country and want to help you in any way
-- things are very inexpensive
-- the driving here is absolutely insane...blind faith gets you through
-- tuk-tuks are the way to go - little moped-like rickshaws
-- buddahs are all over...there are 3000 in Bangkok alone
-- extreme fruits and veggies abound
-- monks are all over - talking on cell phones, eating, cruising
-- pollution is abundant
-- air conditioning is really appreciated
-- the weather isn't unbearble ... it's definitely warm, but not boiling
-- motorcyclists are everywhere
-- thai massages are great!
we are really enjoying ourselves and thankfully the 12 hour time change hasn't affected us yet. check out leslie's blog - www.puddledog.blogspot.com - to hear what she has to say about this whole bangok thing! we leave for river kwai tomorrow and i'll most likely have internet again in 4 days. until then, adios!

The Great Adventure

While I feel that my post-first-trip life has been quite an adventure, the real one begins tomorrow when Leslie and I depart from the US, layover in Tokyo and arrive in Bangkok, Thailand. Here's what we will be doing each day:

Day 1 Bangkok	Dive into dynamic Bangkok and explore all the fantastic sights, smells and sounds this amazing city offers.
Days 2-3 River Kwai	Gain an insight into the perilous lives of the POWs on a ride on the notorious Death Railway or a visit to the JEATH War Museum. Why not check out the stunning Erawan Falls?
Days 4-5 Ayuthaya/Chiang Mai	Discover the ancient ruins and temples of Ayuthaya, one-time capital of ancient Siam and now treasured World Heritage site. An overnight train then takes us to Chiang Mai with its happening night bazaar and great restaurants.
Days 6-8 Hilltribe Trek	Colourful ethnic minorities reside in the hills of northern Thailand. Meet many of these friendly tribespeople on the hilltribe trek and enjoy an elephant ride or an exhilarating bamboo raft trip.
Day 9 Chiang Mai	Continue the Chiang Mai experience with a traditional Thai massage, experiment with Thai cooking or find bargains at the night bazaar.
Days 10-11 Chiang Rai	Chill out on the banks of the Kok River in the picturesque rural town of Tha Ton before boarding a local boat for a trip down to Chiang Rai.
Day 12 Golden Triangle	Head into the infamous Golden Triangle where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Burma collide and maybe take a boat ride down the mighty Mekong River.
Days 13-15 Bangkok	Return to Chiang Mai after some heavy duty travelling and then it's onward bound for Bangkok. Hit the streets of this vibrant city and discover why Khao San Road is such a well known travellers' hangout.

Redwoods!!!!!

Awesome place....Shady Grove around Crescent City in Redwood National Park. Go. Enjoy it. Play with the trees (careful, they could stomp you OR eat you...see the picture of me getting attacked). My mom is REALLY strong.

Crater Lake

One great secret of the United States - Crater Lake. My mom and I were flabbergasted at the immense beauty this not-so-well known place has. Formed 6000 years ago from an erupted volcano, the crater is about 6 miles across and a tecnicolor blue molded with turquoise that is just unbelievable. The lake's beauty combined with the fact that the park has a TON of snow left made it very special. I HIGHLY recommend you go, and when you do, hike down to the water (1 mile down) - there is only one trail down. Also, go in July or August because then you can take the only boat allowed on the lake around the perimiter and to the mini-volcano island in the middle.

More Crater Lake!

You have to go! If you are coming here from Portland, here's the route to take:
Highway 84 East to Exit 13 (Hwy 126). Follow city roads and take Hwy 126 to SR 97 at Madias. It takes you alongside the mountains and into the Oregon desert.

Butchart Gardens

The Butchart Gardens in Victoria are absolutely goregous! They made me want a house just so I could grow some roses and pretend to have a somewhat green thumb! The greens all melded together beautifully and all of the colors jumbled together to create a very picturesque place. In addition to flowers, trees, and bushes of all sorts, there is a hog-type thing you have to rub for good luck....hopefully it works.

Heellloooooo Caaavvveeessss.

What better to do on a rainy Oregon day than go to the Oregon Caves? Pictured here is...well... either stalactites, cave bacon, stalagmites, shelfs, calcite - all things we saw.
Cool cave info: It takes 1,000 years for a stalactite to grow one inch and if you take a piece of cave with you, the next 15 years of your life will probably be spent in jail. These caves are not as cool as the Mammoth or Luray caves, but they are definitely interesting.
It is always humbling to be in complete darkness for a few minutes and really scary too.

Mooooove Over

Well hello there elk friends! It was in Redwood National Park that we encountered these large beasts. Were they in a fence you ask...NO! Which is great except that they could kill you in 2 seconds flat. Much like gender segregation in an elementary school, the male elk ate in one field adjacent to the female field. I had only seen an elk head (thanks dad!), which is neat in and of itself - elk are beautiful and quite strong.
After our run in with the elks, we went to see some Redwoods. As always, they were not a disappointment. We managed to find a grove of trees that was recomended to us by a park ranger we ran into at a restaurant...should you ever go to this park, go to "Stout Grove." For lack of better words, it was awesome. It was raining and because of the mammoths, we managed to keep quite dry.

Mendocino

After going up, around, down, and in loop-de-loops on Highway 1 for a good many hours, my mom and I arrived in the great town of Mendocino. We were greeted with warnings of tsunamis and were told that there was a large earthquake just North of our destination. Thankfully within 5 minutes, the warning was called off and the ipod kept us from hearing about it on the radio (Those of you not familiar with Highway 1 - you really can't get off of it and it is nearly all coastal).
Mendocino is just beautiful and you can easily climb down to the water and putz around on the beach. Tide pools are easily accessible and there are coves that would be fun to kayak in.
It was in Mendocino that my mom and I became "The Stupids." Much like one of my favorite book families, we made our fair share of stupid remarks. For example, my mom, when asked if she would like coffee or tea replied "yes." I couldn't remember the word for goose for the life of me and identfied the poor creature as a duck. I also fell down while running and made quite a lovely sight for all watching :) And that was just day one...

Summer 05

Woo hoo. This summer is going to be fun filled with traveling on anything from an elephant to a rickshaw. My nomadic lifestyle begins in the good old US with my mom up and down the West Cost. Next I will be in Thailand with lovely Leslie and then Cambodia and Vietnam by myself. This summer will be the perfect culmination to a long teaching year and hopefully a peaceful experience to ready me for another interesting year. I hope you enjoy it :)