TravelStream™ news feed for member deniseosu4 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/deniseosu4 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:11:26 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/2/1258842580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/2/1258842580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/2/1258842580/tpod.html Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:11:26 -0500 Costa Rica, Guatemala & Chicken Trucks

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Manuel Antonio National Park, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Well, we made it! We arrived at O´Hare REALLY early before our flight. I killed time by reading up on Costa Rica from a book someone gave me because I was too cheap to buy my own. The only thing I learned is that you can take your stool to have it examined if you get bad stomach bug. I stopped reading after that.

We thought we were in the clear and would have an open seat beside us during the flight. Then, this family boarded and just our luck...they were right beside us. Buffalo Bill, who was their 4 year old son, sat down beside me and Nathan. He was sporting a cowboy hat, plaid shirt and green snake skin boots. His dad was beside him acrosss the isle. I had the good fortune of sitting behind his mom and small child, who I will refer to from now on as Satan´s Spawn. SS was a bit fussy before the flight. It was only 4 hours to Mexico City, so I figured she would eventually work out her crankiness. We took off and she was good. I took a little cat nap at this point. I was awoken by screaming...not crying, but screaming a mere 45 minutes later. This carried on for a good hour or so. The only good thing was that SS woke us up right in time for our feeding. I do enjoy airplane food, especially enchilladas at 330AM. I think the only time I have had Mexican Food at this time is after a long night drinking. The stewardess came over to SS and mom and told her to walk the baby around the plane. Great idea. Please disturb the rest of the plane. We finally landed, cranky and sleepy.

We had a small layover in Mexico City and landed in San Jose around 2PM. We were going to have to take a bus to a bus to another bus and end up at in Quepos around 6PM. We went outside to find the bus to start this jounrey and then we started talking to an ¨airport official.¨He had a patch stapled on his shirt...official enough for us. He told us he would drive us to Quepos for $120. Everything that I have read said not to do this, but we did. We hoped in the back of a 1982 Sentra. The ride was about 3 hours and we arrived safe and sound at Flora de Blanca.

My streak continues. I picked another shitty ¨hotel¨. Hotel should be used loosely. It had a pool and was ¨close to the beach¨ - that´s why I picked it. Turns out, there is a rather large cliff sperating us from the beach, so it ended up being about a 10 min bus ride down the road. Nathan was displeased with my choice. He told me he better see my happy ass swimming in the pool. We had a pretty shitty room in the basement of Flora´s. We did have a fridge stocked with goodies and a tv..a step up from past hostels. We cleaned up because it had been well over 24 hours since my last shower. My hair was starting to have a mind of it´s own. We went down to a restaurant down the street. We thought we had a good deal for the amount of food and alcohol. Once we converted it to colones (Costa Rica currency), we realized it was in fact not a great deal and we will not go back.

Turns out, we did have another roommate. A little lizard was crawling around our walls when we got back. Yep, it´s a classy joint. We were spent after not sleeping for 36 hours, so we threw back some Imperial (local beer) and called it a night.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/2/1258691642/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/2/1258691642/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/2/1258691642/tpod.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:01:04 -0500 Costa Rica, Guatemala & Chicken Trucks

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Chicago, Illinois, United States

So, I am all packed up and ready to go! Our flight is in 3 hours and the cab is picking me up in 30 minutes. For once, I will be early. This rarely happens to me. Typically, I have to lightly sprint to my gate, so this will be a change of pace. Nathan insisted we get the cab at 11PM. Had it been up to me, I would have had the cab come at midnight. Note: I have never missed a flight due to being late. Missed a flight because I was sitting at the wrong gate and had my ipod on too loud as they were calling my name over the loud speaker? Maybe.

So, this year will be a shortest trip. And we are staying in the same climate the whole time. So why does my bag weigh 42 pounds. This is the heaviest I have ever initially packed it. Last year, it was 40 lbs. The year before was 35 pounds. And those trips called for jeans and sweaters. This trip calls for flip flops and tank tops.

I called my friend, AT&T today to get set up for international calling and data roaming. They have yet to fail my expectation of being the worst service provider. So, I will not be making phone calls nor using my phone for anything really expect listening to the ipod. For a steal, I can call someone at $2.29/min. So, if you get a call from me, odds are - it's important. Please answer. Dad, take notes.

I learned quite a few exciting things about Guatemala today! I am really thrilled with all the knowledge I am taking with me. I now know to stay away from MS13, or something along those lines! I do have my backup wallet with me. Keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks Mark for watching my devil cat. I hope she doesn't pull the whole moaning and hissing episode.

xoxox
Denise





]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/2/1258395862/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/2/1258395862/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/2/1258395862/tpod.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:41:04 -0500 Costa Rica, Guatemala & Chicken Trucks

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Chicago, Illinois, United States

Another year, another trip! However, this year, it's only Nathan and I setting out on this adventure. Frank can't make it this time because, well, I have no idea to be honest. So, please keep your fingers crossed that we come back friends - we're going to need the extra luck!

We're setting off to Costa Rica and Guatemala for 12 days. We decided to go for a shorter trip this year because of 2 reasons: 1) we would kill each other if it were longer and we want to be friends after this and 2) we're cheap! This trip will be a good test for us to see how we would manage being roommates. Yes, we are continuing our quest of really becoming Will & Grace.

This trip could not come at a better time for us. For those of you who have not heard, Unilever announced last Tuesday that they're closing our office and moving us to New Jersey. The best part is how they're trying to sell us on how beautiful the office is out there with "rolling cliffs near by." Mind you, we sit on the 30th floor on Michigan Ave overlooking Millennium Park. Sorry Unilever, but Chicago wins. Hands down. And where are these rolling cliffs you speak of? I have been there numerous times and all I see is a building that reminds me of Office Space. I call bull shit.

So, Nathan and I have been entertaining the idea of moving out east, living in NYC of course. Unilever has a shuttle that goes around the city and takes people to the office, near these mysterious rolling cliffs. We were initally looking at getting our own places in the villiage. Now, keep in mind that I have not had a roommate since Dayna, and we all know how successful that went! However, in order for us to live in this area and still maintain our same lifestyle, Nathan, Sam and I are considering living together. After crunching the numbers, it really just makes sense to do the whole roommate thing. Definitely feels like I am taking a step back. I look at my other friends...buying nice houses, having babies, being responsible...and here I am, potentially going to live in a shoe box with 2 gay men. Who's grown up now?

So, yes..this trip comes at a great time for us to get away from it all and clear our heads. I am sure we will be distracted by all the great adventures we have planned we won't have time to dwell on it. We're going white water rafting, zip lining, water fall repelling and drinking our days away on the beach - and that's only Costa Rica. I have no idea what Nathan has planned for us in Guatemala. We divided and conquered the planning again. Well, we haven't really conquered it yet since we're still in the process of planning and booking things, but we're close to getting there! We have time...it's still 4 days away. Plenty of time to figure the rest of the minor details out such as how do we get from the airport to our hostel? And where the hell is our hostel? We always seem to pull it together somehow!

I will try to keep this updated as much as possible along the way!


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1226662200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1226662200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1226662200/tpod.html Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:41:35 -0500 Asian Invasion 2008

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Seoul, Korea Rep.

So, we made it to Seoul after a very long 13 hour flight. I am just so happy to be off the plane!! Surprisingly, the flight went by relatively fast, thank you Simply Sleep pills and free wine :)

I have to admit, I like airplane food. For my last meal in Chicago, Mark & I went to the ever classy Burger King. I forgot how much I enjoy flame broiled burgers. Then, I had dinner round II on the plane around 2AM Chicago time. It was a nice surf & turf action - some shrimp, salad, potatoes and steak. It wasn't grade-A, but I ate it. I will eat anything. That tune might change here in a few days. Then, I took a nice little nap (thanks to my sleeping pills) until my next feeding. I am like a baby. This time, I was not impressed with my "omelet" but again, I ate it. After my omelet, I put on my shoes to go to the bathroom and I realized a strange thing happened on the plane - my feet and ankles became swollen. It hurt to lace up my Nike's and it really looks like I have cankles. I just hope the swelling goes down before we start our adventure today.

We leave for Beijing in 2 hours. The local time here is 6:42AM on Friday and we land in Beijing at 9:40AM. We are all sorts of confused with the day and time. We were trying to figure out on the plane how far ahead Beijing is from Chicago - Frank said 12 hours, I say 13 hours and Nathan thinks 14 hours. So, we really have no clue. All I know is that we are going to hit the ground running once we get there.

Once we make it to our hostel, we are going to see the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Bell Tower and Drum Tower. I think tonight we will keep it low key and go out for dinner & drinks near the hostel. But that could all change with the wind!!

I hope everyone back in Chicago & Ohio are doing well!

Cheers,
Denise

Oh, and if you're curious, I got all my stuff to fit in my back pack! It weighs a lot - 40lbs! It is 7 lbs heavier than last year. Nathan came in the lightest at 33 lbs and Frank was with me at 40 lbs. I am soon going to hate lugging this thing around...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1228705920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1228705920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1228705920/tpod.html Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:33:53 -0500 Asian Invasion 2008

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Seoul, Korea Rep.

Well, our last few days were pretty uneventful in Phuket. Thursday evening, we went to dinner and a movie (Twilight). It was nice to do something different. Friday was another beach and pool day, shocking. I did go to a tailor to have a dress made. It's so cheap here, so I thought why not. I kind of created it myself, so if it looks like shit..I only have myself to blame. Friday evening, we were all excited to go out and drink it up. We had some drinks in the room and then headed out to Bangla Road. Well, as it turns out, it was the King's birthday so EVERYTHING was closed. The little markets, the bars, some restaurants. Fantastic. We just continued drinking in the room until we passed out.

Saturday, it was overcast and nasty outside, so we decided to shop the day away. These vendor people are rude though. I am not a fan of them. They yell at you. They start off ridiculously high and they are tough to get to come down. They really pissed me off so I left empty handed. Saturday night, our last night in Phuket - I did nothing. I ate some tasty Mexican food and crashed. I knew I had a lot of traveling ahead of me, so I wanted to get some sleep. Not that I haven't got a lot on this trip...I know, I am lame.

Sunday, we finally checked out of the hotel. I think they were all very happy to see us go. They kept asking us during the week, "you check out today?" We told them not til Sunday every time. We packed up, headed to the pool - it was a glorious overcast morning. We checked out at 2PM, but our flight wasn't until 2AM on Monday, so we had lots of time to kill. We shopped for a bit. I did not come up empty handed this time. Although, they were still incredibly rude. I wanted this wallet for 200 bhat (roughly 7 bucks) and he would not budge from 350. We got into a little argument and I told him I could not do 350 because I was leaving and I needed to eat tonight. He told me I did not need to eat. I wanted to strangle his little Indian throat and slap him. I just yelled back - I am sure I was "that rude American" but I didn't care. I really don't care for these people. I then picked up my dress! It's a little more low cut than I expected but I still like it. How can you not like a dress that was made for you? After shopping, we saw 007 to kill some more time. Then, we ate some tasty McDonalds (again) and headed to the airport. I swear, I don't want to see McDonalds for a LONG time.

Now, I am sitting at Seoul. Our flight left Phuket at 3AM and we got here around 9:30AM Monday...which is about 8:30PM on Sunday Chicago time. Our flight isn't until 7:30PM tonight and we land at 5:30PM. We still have 7 hours to kill in the airport and it's going to be a long 13 hour flight home. I just hope I don't get cankles again. Chicago - see you soon :) Oh, have I missed you!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1228363980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1228363980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1228363980/tpod.html Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:52:27 -0500 Asian Invasion 2008

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Phuket, Thailand

Well, it has been awhile since my last update. Sadly, there is really nothing to report! Everyday is like Ground Hog Day: wake up, eat free breakfast, go to the pool, go to the beach, nap, eat, drink, repeat.

On Saturday, after we got the news we were going to be here another week, we slept the day away. I think I heard Frank at one point crying in his sleep :) He really wants to go home. After a little cat nap, we went to 7-11 to pick up some booze - hey, there is nothing else to do. We drank for awhile and then I called it a night. Nathan and Frank walked around for a bit but came back shortly.

On Sunday, both of them slept the day away again. I could not stand to be holed up in that room, so I went down to the pool and read a book, cover to cover. That is something I have not done in a very long time. But it's easy to do with a Nicholas Sparks book. That evening, it was the same: eat & drink on our little deck area. We did notice something unusual about our neighbors, one of them sleeps outside. They were 3 men from Iran. They brought home a new Thai girl every night, so we were curious about the sleeping situation. Apparently, one of the guys and the girl of the night sleep in the King bed, the other guy gets the cot and the loser gets the deck outside. They are nice though and bring us pistachios. It's always a welcome treat.

On Monday, nothing new here: pool, beach, nap, eat. We have become rather boring. We are so sick of the food here. We did have Thai food that night because we are burned out on Subway, Burger King and McDonalds. We did walk around for a bit after dinner and we bought the Jackpot dice game. I also bought a wrap for the beach, mainly because I can't keep wearing my sun dresses as cover ups - I need to save those for the evenings :) We did make another trip to 7-11 to get some more Tiger beer. We sat outside the hotel and listened to the band. They love Celine here - love her. If I hear "My Heart Will Go On" one more time, my ears might bleed.

On Tuesday, again, same shit. We did split up after the pool though, Frank went shopping, Nathan stayed at the pool and I went to the beach. I really wanted to ride a jet ski, but I didn't feel all warm and fuzzy about leaving my passport and money on the beach while I play around in the ocean. We met up that night and grabbed dinner and a few beers again from 7-11. We sat outside the pool and drank a little before getting some food. Then, we came back and prayed that 4 of our English speaking channels had something on for us to watch - jackpot: 90210. They are WAY behind the US in terms of episodes. But I was still glad to see something familiar.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1228364160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1228364160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1228364160/tpod.html Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:01:29 -0500 Asian Invasion 2008

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Phuket, Thailand

On Wednesday, we woke up and it was yet another beautiful day! Last week, the weather wasn't the best. It was really overcast every single day. However, the past 3 days have been nothing but blue skies and sunshine. We woke up and I really didn't want to eat breakfast at the hotel again. I am so sick of eggs, toast and pineapple juice. But we did have a pleasant surprise: bacon & hash browns. I decided to forgo McDonalds and eat yet again at the hotel.

After breakfast, we headed to the beach, surprise surprise. I know a lot of you are probably thinking "poor Denise, stuck in Thailand and is forced to go to the beach and pool everyday." I know we are not getting much sympathy back home, but trust me, it feels like Ground Hog Day and it gets rather monotonous. Today, I really wanted to kill time at the beach, so Nathan and I rode jet skis!! It was awesome. I was not a fan of the salt water splashing in my face therefore impairing my vision, but it was still awesome. We signed some waiver form that said we basically had to buy a jet ski if we screwed up. He did say they have no insurance so don't wreck. It was very reassuring. Nathan and I played around in the bay. Although, I was gunning mine full throttle and I was not going nearly as fast as Nathan. I was jealous he got the faster one. When we got back to the beach, he said he wasn't even going max speed. I was jealous.

After the beach, we headed to a Mexican restaurant because we were craving chips and guac. It was quite possibly the worst guac in the world. We sent it back. We had a few beers and margaritas and came back for a cat nap. We got ready and headed out to the bars. There is this one gay bar that I love. They have shows every night at 11:30PM and 1AM with lady boys dressed at Britney, Christina, Madonna..all the queens you can imagine! the sing show tunes which makes Frank happy. We are starting to know the people who work there...never a good sign. Chai, who is the cutest little Thai boy, brings us drinks and talks to us about our trip. We stayed for both shows and then got some McDonalds. I don't think I am going to eat McDonalds for A LONG time when I go back. I never eat the stuff at home, but I eat it all the time here.

Today, we are doing the same thing: pool & beach. Although, I think I might parasail today. Something to break up the monotony. Also, I want to wish Julie a very happy birthday! I can't wait to see you in a few weeks for the wedding...if I make it back :)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1227936900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1227936900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1227936900/tpod.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:41:55 -0500 Asian Invasion 2008

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Phuket, Thailand

We spent the rest of Thursday and Friday much the same. In the morning, we wake up and hit up the free breakfast. Although, it's starting to lose it's appeal. I don't understand why they serve curry and rice for breakfast. Where is the bacon and hash browns? After breakfast, we head to the pool for the morning and then go to the beach in the afternoon. We come back and nap til about 7PM and then head out for dinner. Picture ground hog day. However, Saturday was a little different.

With our flight back to Chicago on Sunday, we started to get a little worried since both airports are still closed. We aren't even sure at this point when they open up and if we will get a flight out of here. After laying by the pool for a few hours, we decided to call the airline. Frank was the brave one to make the call. We booked our flight through expedia so we started with them. They told Frank that they need to get a waiver from Asiana in order to re-route us. They asked if we could fly from Phuket and we were so happy at that point. We told them we were in Phuket and could leave at anytime. That's when they delivered the news, "we can get you out of Phuket on December 8th." I'm sorry, I thought you said December 8th? Surely that can't be right. Oh, but it can. Apparently, all the flights out of Phuket are booked until 12/8. They said if we could get ourselves to another city, they can try to re-route out of there. That's when we all jumped up and ran to the computers downstairs. We checked everything, but Phuket was booked solid until 12/5. We could get on a flight to Singapore. Asiana flew from Singapore to Seoul and then to Chicago. We were thrilled. We would get home on 12/6. We ran upstairs and called back Expedia. What they failed to tell us was that since they already made a change to our reservation, making another change would cost $250 per passenger, plus the difference in airfare. The flight from Singapore to Seoul: $1400; from Seoul to Chicago: $1500. Our one way ticket: $500. You do the math. We obviously said no. We would only get back to work one day early and it just wasn't worth paying over $2500.

So, here we are in Phuket, where we will remain until December 8th. We land in Chicago the same day, due to the time difference. We miss all of our friends and family terribly. But as Frank always says, "If there is any place I want to be stuck, it's here in Phuket" and then he cries because he wants to go home to Zac.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1227791280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1227791280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1227791280/tpod.html Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:34:54 -0500 Asian Invasion 2008

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Phuket, Thailand

Our flight to Bangkok is scheduled for today (Thursday). I am sure you have heard by now that the protesters have now taken over both airports in Bangkok, closing both of them. There is no end in sight. They said they won't leave until the Prime Minister steps down. Great. Our flight is canceled. We have decided to extend our stay here in Phuket and ride it out. We expect the airport will be open by Sunday, where will catch a flight from here to Bangkok, hopefully in time to catch our 11M flight home. We are optimistic that it will all work out. We really have our hands tied and there is nothing we can do at this point except to enjoy the beach a little while longer! Wish us luck :)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1227621420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1227621420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/deniseosu4/1/1227621420/tpod.html Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:28:49 -0500 Asian Invasion 2008

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Phuket, Thailand

After a long night of drinking and watching the lady boys, we had to get up early to ride elephants! This is one of the things I have been looking forward to the entire trip! A tuk-tuk picked us up at 8AM and we headed to this "Safari" about 15 minutes from our resort. When we got there, it was nothing like what I expected. I felt so bad for these poor elephants.

At first, they put us in this cow-drawn carriage. I felt bad for these cows too. We rode up to a water buffalo that was tied up and we climbed on top to take a picture. Poor water buffalo. The one cool thing that we saw was a demonstration on how they use the rubber from the rubber tree. They showed us how they collect it, what they do with it, how long it takes to dry and the products made from this rubber. Next, we were off to the elephants. When, I thought about riding an elephant, I thought about climbing on top of one and walking through a creek. I don't know why, put I didn't expect a guide with a cart strapped on top of the poor elephant. Frank and I hopped on. It was an interesting experience. The guide had a pick to hit the elephant! Frank said that they have tough skin, but a pick?? That seems a bit cruel. But the elephant walked around the safari and through a creek, not what I pictured but oh well. We then went to an elephant show where they train these baby elephants to play basketball, soccer, dance, etc. I felt bad for them and that I was supporting this awful cause. We then headed to a monkey show, which wasn't much better. The monkeys live in this little houses tied up. These monkeys ride bikes, played basketball, collected money - I was all a little too much! But I did get my picture taken with it.

We then headed back to the resort where we bummed around at the beach and pool. It was a nice relaxing day. We went out to the bars that night, thinking it was our last night here, but we were wrong. Very wrong....
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