Off We Go

Well, We’ve been back for a few days now.
Still fighting some Jet Lag, but it’s not so bad.
We will post some pics from Hong Kong soon. I think we’ll post some previously unposted trip highlights also.
Truly monumental trip for us.
Truly awesome first year of marriage.
Truly great way to kick off my 30’s.
That’s one cardinal direction I am comfortale saying we ‘get’ now.
Go to Chicago. Head East unitl we hit Chicago.

Ben and I have been on a lot of bus rides. Three rides stand out in particular. Corfu to Thessaloniki: Miraculously I was able to sleep for 4 out of the 6 hours of windy, curvy roads high along the steep mountain sides. During one of the hours I was awake I was sure there was no way my stomach could take anymore when the bus driver mercifully stopped for a 30 minute break, during which time I breathed in all the cool fresh mountain air I could. This ride was also preceded by the funniest start up. We hopped on the bus (after a taxi ride through a very dark thunderstorm, pre-dawn) for a mere 30 second ride. We hopped off and boarded a huge ferry (with a very nice lounge area) that was waiting for us. The bus boarded, too. An hour and a half later, we hopped off the ferry back onto the bus and began our journey across mainland Greece.

In Goa, India – Margao to the fishing village of Palolem: Bus driver had his own shrine up in the front with bright orange flower garlands and images of Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary. A truly rusty, dusty, crusty (and musty!) bus. Serious guerilla driving involved. Once again a very curvy road.

But, our last bus ride in Hong Kong is where we have experienced our most terrifying bus ride. Lantau Island – bus ride up to Po Lin Monastery to see the world’s tallest outdoor seated bronze Buddha. The ride was terrifying enough that I laughed. It was a roller coaster ride. Upon reaching the top of one hill, I thought we were going off the edge. Everyone was bouncing out of their seats. Everyone white knuckled gripped the handle bars in front of them. My feet actually went up in the air. I don’t know what the bus driver was going for, but he was going for it. I think he thought he was driving a sports car…the way he had on his dark sunglasses, the way he went around the curves (despite other cars and big buses coming around the bend), the way he sped down the hills, the way he handled shifting gears…..Outside were some spectacular views of waterfalls, lush green mountainsides, and the sea with smaller islands poking out from it shrouded in a serene mist.

Love in the time of…a typhoon. If I had written earlier, I would have said the monsoon rains in India was torrential. No, the typhoon rains in Hong Kong were TORRENTIAL. Ben and I saw large pieces of glass being blown uphill, along with hats, umbrellas, and other loose items. And, of course, lots of people running for cover. It was so hard walking against the wind. Although if you walked with it, it gave you a fun little push. Ben and I spent a few cozy afternoons in wine bars or little restaurants, trying to stay dry as we watched the pouring rain.

Hong Kong is spectacular. Every kind of restaurant imaginable. Lively bars. Sleek skyscrapers and high rises. Ultra modern subway trains and stations. Covered escalators up the central hill/small mountain. Lots and lots of shopping areas and cafes. Narrow side streets filled with all kinds of colorful interesting things that remind you that you are in a part of China after all.

The flight on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong was excellent. Roomy seats. Great service. Tasty airline food. The gentleman next to me was smacking his food in true Asian style appreciation. Ben got several more choices by asking for a vegetarian dish – Indian, Oriental, or Western style.

The second half of our trip took us through Asia. We knew we were in Asia when everything suddenly got smaller. Ben could no longer stand tall on the buses or walk through doorways without narrowly missing a head bump. Ben had to fold his body into the taxis of Mumbai and make himself as small as possible. We walked through restaurant door in Ho Chi Minh City that was half Ben’s size.

In Vietnam, we started out in the bustling city of Ho Chi Minh City (still known to the locals as Saigon). It’s all about the street life. Families, friends, old, young, newborns are all on scooters or riding in a cyclo/rickshaw. They stop when it starts to rain to put on their rain gear and then continue on. People are outside eating at tiny tables with tiny stools. Lots of outside dining for the bigger restaurants. Street vendors and markets. People coming up to you to sell books, movies, cigarettes, lighters, trinkets. School children in uniforms walking in groups or hopping onto a scooter taxi to go home. Propaganda billboards and posters everywhere. Unfortunately, Ho Chi Minh City is where I had my unsavory encounter with “fresh” strawberry juice.

I fell ill and we moved onto the quiet beach town of Mui Ne. Mui Ne was a paradise. Or I should say our hotel was. I rested and recuperated in the loveliest of surroundings. The sea was right out front and it was quite nice lying under one of the thick thatched umbrellas on the beach. The pool at our hotel was heavenly. Black stone bottom pool, soothing cool water, lush plants, trees and flowers all around you (including a persimmon tree, which I have never seen before), dozens of dragonflies dancing above you, and then the blue sky. Too bad I could not fully appreciate Mui Ne because Ben went on to see some really neat features of the landscape including giant sand dunes and an area called Fairy’s Stream.

Before Vietnam, we were in India. Flying to India was great. Very comfortable seats on Emirates. Tasy food. 1000 channels. And a video camera pointed at the runway and surrounding area as we landed. We stopped in Dubai for a layover. What a fancy airport. Rolex clocks, groves of lit palm trees, and a gigantic shopping gallery.

We landed in Mumbai the same day the bombings on the trains occured. It was a lucky thing we landed in the morning otherwise we would have been stuck at the airport due to all the extra precautions the city immediately took. Mumbai took immediate action and the city was back on its feet the next morning. By the way, the Western line in Mumbai carry 6 million people daily and make more than 2,000 trips.

Mumbai is another city that is all about the street life. At first, your mind doesn’t know what to take in first. There is so much to see that is new and different. And, it’s all so busy. Tons of people, tons of cars, tons of scooters, tons of buses and taxis. People crossing the street from all different angles and at different times. Ben really got the hang of crossing the street even though an army of vehicles was merely inches away – it all had to do with timing and speed (this also proved and incredibly useful skill in Ho Chi Minh city). Street vendors with items galore. Regal Indian women in their beautiful sarees. People carrying baskets of food items on their head. Men pulling huge carts, oxen pulling huge carts. Cows walking down the streets. Cows lying down in the streets. Beautiful colonial architecture. Gardens. A city beach. Beggar children. One had her eye on Ben and was determined to win him over. Approached him every single day we were in Mumbai.

Mumbai has some of the best Indian food we have tasted. Lots of delightful dishes. In my desire to try different foods, I received dubious looks from waiters who would shake their heads and inform me that what I was ordering was very spicy. This happened several times and each time the dish was nowhere near spicy (especially this mild pomfret fish with a coriander sauce). The condiments they placed on our table were much more spicy, yet they didn’t blink an eye when we slathered our food with the condiments. Ben and I have yet to figure it out, but we think the waiters might be referring to a certain Indian spice that makes the dish “spicy”, not necessarily spicy as in hot. Ben enjoyed the food here so much that he thinks he can eat Indian food forever.

From the Gateway of India, we took off on a day trip to Elephanta Island. Oooh. What a trip! Across the choppy Arabian sea to a monkey inhabited island with temples carved into the rocks.

From Mumbai, we flew to Goa. Goa was quite the adventure. We did quite a bit of our adventure-ing on buses and scooters to the different beach towns. We explored North Goa on a scooter and that was just a wonderful carefree day. Vagator and Anjuna had gorgeous views of the coastline, palm trees swaying in the air.

I loved our little nook on the beach in Palolem ( South Goa). We had our little hut, but our side of the beach was awesome. Little Green Island was nearby. You could walk to it when the tide is low. I loved it when it was low tide walking across the soft sand. The fisherman were quite busy over on our side. It was fascinating to watch them work on shore, but it was also neat to see them in their boats out in the sea.

We also went to Benaulim and used this place as a base to explore other towns such as Varca and Colva. We stayed a mere three days, but the town is so small we actually began waving and exchanging greetings with people we’ve had interactions with. They certainly recognized us as we drove by on our scooter. There was this one corner where quite a few people hung out just to socialize. Even restaurant owners would pop their head out and say something about the dinner we had with them the night before (one profusely apologizing about my tea not coming out in a timely fashion).

There is so much life on the beaches of Goa. Other than the fisherman and the sea foods they catch, there are cows, dogs, crows, and all kinds of shellfish. Tons and tons of shells, too.

Goa during the time of a monsoon was pretty fun. Lots of running for cover. Or pulling over if we are on our scooter. We stopped in abandoned buildings, under big trees, under little trees, into shops where we are always obliged to buy a little something, restaurants. And, there were times there was nothing to do but get completely soaked. Good thing it was never cold. One of the funniest moments we’ve had was when we ran for cover under a huge palm tree and three cows got up off the beach and joined us. One kept trying to nudge Ben to move over. But, there we were keeping company with the cows on a rainy afternoon under a palm tree in India.

Goa was also where all the little gadgets and stuff Ben said we needed for the trip came in handy. We had plenty of uses for Ben’s headlamp during blackouts and during pitch black walks back to our beach hut (which sometimes involved rain and nervous dogs barking at us). The rope came in handy to hang wet clothes. Shoelaces were useful to tie down one of the doors so the dogs wouldn’t take shelter in our hut “patio”. And, thank goodness for the camp towel.

What an amazing trip Ben and I have had! There are still too many thoughts and memories jumbled up in my head. The last thing (things?) I am going to mention is food because Ben and I definitely love to eat. We had two exceptional meals that we thoroughly enjoyed. Both times, neither one of the chefs blinked an eye when Ben asked for vegetarian and on the spot created a menu for Ben. Ben’s dishes were deliciously amazing and so were mine!

Meal #1: Meppel, Holland at a beautiful chateau restaurant called De Havishorst. We started out in the Garden Patio and had refreshing prosecco with berries, mixed olives, seasoned bread sticks, seared tuna with a tiny glass of a type of gazpacho to accompany it, then a perfectly light perch with a subtle green sauce. These were our appetizers, our 5 course meal had not begun.

Move to the Dining Room for courses 1, 2, and 3. Monk fish salad, baked Sea Bass, and then skewered lamb with tasty little potatoes that are particular to Holland. A glass of wine to match each dish.

Move to the Wine Cellar for course 4. Samplings of several Dutch cheeses made within 25 miles of Meppel. We asked for samplings of old sharp cheeses. There were several goat cheeses, several hard cheeses, a blue cheese, and a really nice one with cloves. And a glass of a perfect port to go with it all.

Move to the Dessert room for Course 5. Light fluffy raspberry dessert cake and some other light fluffy fruity thing in a glass. A sweet dessert wine. Coffee, tea and chocolates.

Meal #2: Hong Kong in a tiny room with seven tables close together, up on the 9th floor of a very non-descript gray building whose elevator had a hard time starting up. The restaurant was called the Yellow Door Kitchen. The food, I think, was authentic Shanghai cuisine. We loved this meal because every dish was new to us and it was all very delicious.

There were 8 appetizers that came with the meal. Pickled cucumber, sliced pork with a spicy garlic sauce, spare-rib with cumin, corn in a clear sauce (vinegar-y), stir-fry beef in a spicy sauce, lotus root with a tasty oil over it, sesame dried tofu with dried greens, and tiny silver fish with minced green pepper.

The main course consisted of 6 dishes. Crucian carp soup, Chicken in a very unique chile pepper liquid, beef slices with bread crumbs and other seasonings, Very tender, buttery silver cod fillet with mushrooms in a spicy sauce, stir-fried squash with ginger, and the very special final dish: Eight Treasure Duck, Shanghai style stuffed duck.

This was followed by dim sum soup. And finally, the delectable dessert. Two huge cherries with a tiny sweet dumpling in the center in a cinnamon/ginger (?) syrup. Yum!

Is pretty Hard Core.

We eventually left Mumbai after a few days. (Please note that “Left Mumbai” is neither a pun or euphamism)

🙂

Anyway, We started the trip in Goa in the Latin Quarter of the capital city, Panaji. It is the only Latin Quarter in India. It is really neat. The inn that we found is a restored, red Portugese Mansion that was built in the 1530’s.

We rented a scooter to explore the north part of the state.

Geez

I think I just found a new extreme sport- Scootering in a stall-prone bucket of bolts with my wife on the back- in India. They take no prisoners here. Heavy traffic, including semis and buses, coupled with the opposite side of the road and roundabouts. Drivers also have a very different concept of what lanes and passing are all about as well.

Needless to say, we had a blast (you can read thankful to be alive here) 🙂

that brings us to the present.

We are staying in Palolem. During the high season it looks like it has plenty of guests. However in the monsoon, it is all fishing village. We are staying in a bamboo hut on the beach.

Now! On to some pics!

Something about this pics should tell you we’re not actaully just in Wisconsin

Beach Cows, Oh yeah.

Here is one of the beach called Vagator.

Very  nice and monsoony-

Here is an action shot of the scooter.

It really was a short cut- Honest- the beach was just over to the right

this shot is from Old Goa, It is a truly cool fallen city.

It was said to rival Lisbon in the 1500’s and Vasco de Gama was a govenor there. It is now a jungly and deserted area filled with beautiful cathedrals and convents and merchants mansions.

This scene unfolded this morning outside of our hut. The fish were all brought in by the outriggers and sold to the villagers.

Here is one of the outriggers.

The wood is joined with rope and pitch.

Pretty cool.

And last but not least is a pic of Joon getting her daily exercise in!

Thanks again for everyones great coments! It is a high point for us when we can find a little connectivity.

Well- It’s up to seven blasts now. They are saying about 150 dead.

But Joon and I just had a great Indian meal (possibly the best paratha I have tasted) and we have a comfortable place to stay.

We are going to keep our heads down for a day or two and then make like a baby.

Hello to everyone. Joon and I are in Mumbai. The flights were great.

Unfortunately there have been three bomb blasts throughout the city. The first destroyed a train car headed close to our station. All phone lines are jammed and all trains are being diverted from Mumbai. Both Mumbai and Dehli are under a red alert.

On the bright side, I have a contact with a person here that can help us out if need be.

We will keep everyone posted if our itinerary changes.

Thanks & love you all.