TravelStream™ news feed for member lrubin on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/lrubin en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 02 Jun 2006 17:10:43 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/europe_2003-4/1158171840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/europe_2003-4/1158171840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/europe_2003-4/1158171840/tpod.html Fri, 02 Jun 2006 17:10:43 -0400 Living and Travelling in Europe

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Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

After a truly debaucherous 20th birthday with rachel and melina and the tabula boys at the firestation, it is time to head off for my next adventure. The summer has been really rough, and I think getting away from it all is just what I need. So today im headed to spend a year studying at Cambridge in England. I'm not sure what to expect, but I CAN'T WAIT!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1120301280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1120301280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1120301280/tpod.html Tue, 21 Mar 2006 14:04:08 -0500 Lily & Beth's Adventures in ASIA!!!

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Siem Riep, Cambodia

SOoooooooo TIRED!!! We woke up early this morning, hopped next door to IVY II, and ate a good hearty breakfast. We then rented bikes for $2 a day. The bike ride to the entrance for the Angkor temples is about 7 miles... this was a bit crazy. Getting used to the type of traffic youe experience here takes some time certainly. Also, lets be honest, i am a fool on a bike. I never really rode a bike much as a kid, and hadn't ridden one since then untill paris last year, and then i rented one for Cambridge. In Cambridge there was the infamous 'lily t-boning other cyclist' incident, where i forgot which way to look and just sorta slammed into some poor girl on her bike. I think Beth is in just about the same boat, not oh-so-comfortable biking. Regardless, beth and i set off, and made it to the gate safely... though already completely drenched in sweat, not to mention my pedal perpetually fell off and only one of beth's breaks worked. We showed our passes and biked another 7 miles to Angkor Wat, the biggest and most famous of all the temples. We parked our bikes, and set off to explore this compound. It was breathtaking in a way that these words will never describe. The beauty, and that sense of serenity that just washes over you like a wave once you enter, the butterflies floating around like weightless petals, the monks, the incense, the ancient carvings from another time... its magical. We climbed ALL THE WAY to the top! The last and third set of steps are not so much steps as ther are a rock ladder, its much more like rock-climbing than going up steps. Beth got half way up and had a moment of... "crap, how do we get down???!!!". When we got to the top, we walked around, lit incense and visited all 4 of the buddha's (supposed to be good luck), and just sort of found these openings and looked out at the jungle. I think we sat for a good 2 hours, alternating between chatting and silent contemplation. LOVELY! Then we ventured out of the Angkor Wat temple complex and decided to go it in foot, so as to avoid the pedal falling off issue. We walked many a mile checking out temples on teh way. Everyone thought we were crazy... the thai workers on teh side of the road, the tourists, the tuk tuk drivers... even the fat monkeys sitting on the side of the road like statues. Aparantly tourists dont walk- - - um, okay, well i have legs... soooo its all good. We spent a good deal of time at another temple (not sure which one though), got some cold water, doctored our blisters, tried to ignore the centimeter thick layer of dirt and sweat all over us, and saw clouds rolling in... We decided it was time to head back. Our walk back was amazing. We were passed the point of exhaustion, got to love endorphines! There were soooo many monkeys! And we started getting alot of respect from the tuk tuk's and thai workers... one tuk tuk driver even yelled "way to go!" and pumped his fist at me as he drove past. Apparantly by the time we saw them the second time, and were still walking and going strong, they realized we werent backing out. Got to love that feeling. Then a monkey almost jumped on my head from a tree... thoughts of crazy disseases and rabies sent be bolting away from the tree. The bike ride back was exhausting again, and the only thing that kept me going was the thought of water and a shower. And then we made it!!! We feel soooo accomplished, this was an insane amout of physical exhertion... and the reward was so sweet. We showered and dropped off our bikes. Now well go grab some dinner at the red piano, angelina jolie's favorite digs in Siem Riep... we ate there last night AMAZING!!! The thai curry, coconut milk, potatoes, chicken dish is really out of this world. And were enjoying poultry while we still can! Damn bird flu. Anywho, ill update again soon. Only one more day at the temples... so sad.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1120197240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1120197240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1120197240/tpod.html Tue, 21 Mar 2006 14:00:54 -0500 Lily & Beth's Adventures in ASIA!!!

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Siem Riep, Cambodia

Last night we checkec into our new guest house, AMAZING!!! The people who run it are insanely kind... they even invited us to have dinner with them. Everyone here is so genuinely nice. Beth and i just spent our first full day exploring the Angkor temples here in Siem Riep. We hired a driver that we knew from our bus company for 10$ and he drove us to all of the far off temples, and around the big loop to get a general overview. We cruised around two temples on foot for a couple hours... i found myslelf completely lost in my thoughts. One of the temples, the furthest mountain temple, was completely deserted save for us, billions of butterflies (this would scare the crap out of my sister who is absolutely petrified of butterflies... like, thinks they have teeth or something), and two young monks. We climbed the insane steep steps to the top, and i just sort of found a spot and was happy to simply exist, i didnt feel the need to DO anything. What a pleasant feeling... the spirituality is so deeply enmeshed in this place that you can't help but let it wash over and through you. You dont need to be religious, or dogmatic, or place an overly simplified deffinition on something that inherently is undefinable. Eastern spirituality is really something that i connect with, not that i would ever make the lofty claim that i could lead a truly Bhuddist life... lets be honest here, but there is a certain sense of self and connection to something greater and larger than self that really makes sense to me on so many levels. I feel that an attempt to integrate the teachings of eastern spirituality into everyday life brings nothing but serenity to myself and, in turn, allows me to be the type of person who is adding possitively to a balanced sense of the world and with the people i interact with. Anywho, thats enough ranting for the moment, back to our adventures. Our driver drove us back to our guest house, and we walked to grab some pizza at Ecstacy Pizza, our favorite pizza joint, where we ate yesterday. They of course remembered us and were so excited to talk to us again. We just called home for the first time since the day we arrived in Bangkok, i think mom was rather happy to hear my voice... though the 30 second delay made the conversatin rather comical for the guy who's phone i was using to listen. He probably thought i was borderline short-bus... you know, slow-mo. Anywho, we are inside right now... waiting out the daily ran, monsoon season and all. And since we have 3 day passes we will rent bikes for the next two days and muck around on our own around the temples. We're also making plans to get down to Pnom Phen and on to Ho CHi Minh, Vietnam. At this point it seems riverboat will be our best option to Pnom Phen and then bus to Ho Chi Minh. Weve already got our visas, so all is well. It will be really difficult to tear myself away from this place though. We also went over our budget last night, were half way through our trip, and thus far have spent only $100 on lodging, and about the same or a bit less on food. So we are well within our budget, and hopefully will have the chance to splurge on some cool stuff when we get back to bangkok. On top of John, Berryl and Megan in China, my good friend and old RA Ameen just told me he's got a buddy in Singapore we might be able to meet up with, but were not sure if well have time/money for singapore, well have to wait and see. Ive also been informed by my mom that Murray (our new scruffy poogle puppy we got when i was out in Rancho Mirage), is being trained these next two weeks, mom and murray will be doing the canine therapy thing at hospitals... this makes me so happy! Ive got to run, but will update again shortly. Love to all!lily
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1120119900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1120119900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1120119900/tpod.html Tue, 21 Mar 2006 13:58:36 -0500 Lily & Beth's Adventures in ASIA!!!

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Siem Riep, Cambodia

Beth and I are happy and healthy in Siem Riep. After 40 hours of overland travel, some aircon and a clean shower were very welcome indeed. We had some breakfast, showered, and felt like new people. Our guest house was great! UNFORTUNETELY... Beth lost a small pink pouch she had in the top of her backpac, containing her old cell phone, and the memory card with all of our pictures from the first week and a half of the trip. Our gust house has been really helpfull trying to locate the bus drivers etc.. from yesterday, and they are all checking to see if they can find anything. This is devestating news, but life goes on. We left our bags at the mekong palace and made our way Psarchaa area. Looked around and found a lovely guest house for 4$ a night, brand new, clean, lovely, with AC!!! We are quite pleased. We ate at a pizza place, and the family who ran it talked to us, and the girl was shocked when she asked us how tall the runway models we were watching on tv really were , and i stood up and put my hands quite a few inches above my head. Even we are giants here. There was a bit of a downpour (every afternoon here apparantly during monsoon season), and now were at a aircon internet joint. I find myself absolutely in love with the cambodian people, all so friendly, all so excited to show that their country isn't just a horror story, that they have wonderfull things to offer, and they seem so genuinely pleased to prove to us that they are a foreward looking nation. The government here is VERY strict. You will be sentenced to life in prison or execution if you are caught with a fire-arm or with illegal narcotics. They are really trying to prove to themselves and the west that the evil khmer rouge didn't klill their spirits, and that even after years of civil war, the cambodian peopel haven't given up. Tommorow well hire a car to explore the temples. Well get a 3 day pass and the next two days explore by bike and by foot. For those of you lacking on history, but up to date on movies, these are the temples from Tomb Raider (ie. how Angelina ended up falling in love with cambodia, adopting a cambodian child, and buying an entire cambodian villiage). We might go by riverboat to Phnom Phen when we are through here (its the jump off point for Ho Chi Minh/Saigon, Vietnam... but still not sure. till next time... love to all!lily
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122046260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122046260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122046260/tpod.html Tue, 31 Jan 2006 16:36:00 -0500 Lily & Beth's Adventures in ASIA!!!

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Beijing, China

Soooo... It seems as though today hasn't even been a day, more like three. Our train pulled into the Beijing station just a wink before 7:00 am; though they felt the need to wake us all up at 4:00 am??? Beth & I were rather happy to be parting with our not so friendly Chinese lower bunk counterparts. And I'm sure they were happy to be parting with their stinky American upper bunk pests. We loaded up with all of our stuff (our bags seem to be expanding... that means presents people), and ventured into the Beijing train station. We had a momentary pow wow to re-read our directions for our hostel, ie. check our bus number. We had the number, but boy oh boy did we walk around the station for an hour before we found where that particular bus stopped... good times. We had an equal amount of difficulty figuring out our stop, but eventually we stumbled upon it... ah if only we had a Babel fish. Then my personal favorite, not being able to get to the next step of our directions. We ran into a high end Chinese business hotel, and they were insanely helpful... they called our hostel, went online, searched a map, and found the address of our place, and means to get us there. They refused to let us pay for anything. We walked the 20 minutes to our hostel, and were too early (only 830 am) to check in, so they hooked us up with free breakfast, and held our bags. We finally checked in... walked into our 6 person dorm room to find some burly Aussie dude fully snoring and out cold on his bed, and as we were unpacking we were surprised to see a French guy walk out from the shower in his towel, blush, say "my name is Jacque... we are friends now" and kind of... hop back into the bathroom. We decided to make b-line for the summer palace (our destination furthest from the city center), and yet another bus debacle. As we pulled up, it was pouring rain, but we sucked it up and walked through the rain, up the steps for 2 hours, all around the summer palace, before quitting and heading back to find another bus. This bus scenario was rather pleasantly surprising. The ticket taker lady spoke no English, but really seemed to want to help us, so found some young girl to come and translate for her... it was sooooo appreciated!!! The bus dropped us near Tiananmen square, but we made a detour to find some famous Peking duck place for Beth (yes... the one Fidel Castro &&& YANI dined in). Then walking through Tiennenmen... roused feelings of either 'need to fly a red kite' or 'need to protest something... anything'. Then kept walking until we passed through Tiananmen Gate, past Mao's Mausoleum. Does it seem strange to anyone but me that in CHAIRMAN MAO's mausoleum complex there are capitalistic street vendors peddling everything from soda to Mao long underwear, not to mention pay for toilets... dumping on the man's communist vision a wee bit are we? We were too late for the forbidden city, that will be for the morning we leave. Lots more walking, tea break... Oolong has been Woooonderfull to me on this trip. More walking, an attempt to shop met largely by failure, two more confused bus missions, one amazing dinner at some place called drum and gong fusion, and back for what I can only hope will be a restful nights sleep. Tomorrow is the great wall, we've decided against the overpriced 12 hour long group tour, and will probably get lost on some bus temporarily before making our way to the wall, but C'est la vie mais non?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122123360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122123360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122123360/tpod.html Tue, 31 Jan 2006 16:30:37 -0500 Lily & Beth's Adventures in ASIA!!!

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Beijing, China

It has been another one of those 5 days in one sort of days. We woke up, took full advantage of free breakfast, walked to the bank to exchange money, ranted about the grossly inefficient banking system here in China, missed several busses, took a bus to another bus station, wandered about to find the appropriate bus, found out the bus to the great wall stopped running, arranged for a driver to take us there, wait, and take us back (all for 8$)... did I mention it was pouring rain the entire time?!!! Made our way to the Great Wall with our wonderful cabbie. The hydroplaning was a bit much, but it was down pouring... what can you do. We made it to the great wall, paid our entrance fee... and started a climbin' and a climbin' and a climbin' ad infinitum... again, in the pouring rain. Dry wasn't even a concept I could fathom at this point. The great wall is certainly awe-inspiring. Just the scale of this thing is breathtaking. But the rain... oh the rain, up and down 5 billion stairs, for hours and hours, in a torrential downpour. Then there was the drive back. And then, yet another attempt at mass transit Beijing style. More busses, and walking in the pouring rain, but finally... the pearl bazaar. SHOPPING!!! Sooooooo many knock-offs... watches, MP3 players, games, purses, shoes, clothes, jade jewelry, ethnic silk, etc... Oh so many funny things I want to buy for people, for example, the Mao murse, or Mao long undies... got to love it. Then after many hours of rummaging around, it was back to our little youth hostel via several busses and more rain, and wonderfully drum and gong fusion for dinner. Did anyone notice there was no mention of food since breakfast... Beth and I forgot to eat, weird. We've reconfirmed our car to the airport tomorrow (we leave at 2:30 pm, our flight takes off at 530). We'll wake up early to see the MAO-soleum, and the Forbidden City, and hopefully we'll get in touch with Ariel (our friend from the Shanghai hostel), I've just received an e-mail from her and she'll be here tomorrow and swears by this bagel joint, so with some luck it will all work out. Tomorrow night well be back at home in the sweet sweet Khaosan. I can't wait to be un-original, one of a flock of backpackers, sheep lacking any individuality or uniqueness... no I'm serious, after China I don't want ANY attention... I just want to blend in
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122225900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122225900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122225900/tpod.html Tue, 31 Jan 2006 16:26:14 -0500 Lily & Beth's Adventures in ASIA!!!

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Bangkok, Thailand

a rather insane session of throwing away/giving away EVERYTHING short of selling organs, we re-packed our lovely newly slimmed bags, and hit the sack. We woke up bright and early (the ladies at our guest house kindly woke us up at 8 am as requested), Beth ate breakfast... I slept in an extra few minutes, and we brought our things to the front desk to hold for a few hours while we went to see Mao's Mausoleum and the Forbidden City. Finding the bus there was rather simple (cue twilight zone theme song here). The line however to get into the Mao Mausoleum was the longest I HAVE EVER SEEN, think Disney world times infinity plus all the sea worlds six flags and anything else you could possibly think of. All of this from the people who are so strongly anti 'the line'. You know the Eskimo situation where they have a ton of words for snow... Beth and I have concluded that there is in fact NO Chinese word for line. Nevertheless... Beth was really into seeing Mao's embalmed remains... me, not so much into the embalming thing (think back to the Uncle Ho days), so we made a solid plan... to meet at the KFC at the far end of Quenmen, past Tienenmen square. Beth waited in line for hours, I talked to a billion random Chinese people (which was awesome!); and we were reunited both happy and healthy. Then walked to the forbidden city, and through the forbidden city, and I must say... most of what its got going for it is the whole forbidden thing, the architecture I imagine is rather interesting, but all covered up by scaffolding, so rather anti-climactic. Then walking back to find a proper bus stop to get us to our hostel, 2 wrong busses (including but not limited to one railing/Beth's sitting and breaking incident) and a bunch of walking later and we found ourselves back at our guest house to collect our bags and catch our car to the airport. Uneventful ride to the airport, checking in... and OH CRAP, I left my tube with my painting at the guest house, 2 minutes of me beating myself up for being such a moron, how could I be this stupid et cetera, then logic kicked in, found a phone, called the guest house, had her find my scroll, had the driver pick it up and drive it back to the airport and meet me all before the flight took off (all for 5$, which he kept refusing until I chased him down with it and thrust it in his hand). With my sanity intact, I boarded the plane... with 25 minutes to spare. AND THEN, they grounded the plane for almost two hours. I was at this point ready to eat my own leg I was so hungry (note the lack of mention of any breakfast, lunch or snack... my stupidity with the scroll thing lead to my lack of consumption at the airport as per my previous plan). Beth and I for whatever reason (namely the confused trainee who tried to send our bags to Hanoi), ended up seated apart from each other, which was fine. I ended up between an older Chinese woman traveling to Bangkok for a cultural anthropology meeting... do you know Shanshan Du? haha. The guy next to me was some business IT type. The three of us were planning our raid of the kitchen, and how to best distract the flight attendants and hide the cart in our aisle... it was great. Way to represent for the Chinese! We got into Bangkok a bit late, dropped our backpacks and my scroll at left luggage, and departed for the taxi stand with only the tiny (the size of a football) backpack, and a plastic bag with our cup o noodles china style. We saw newbie backpackers confused wandering around, not knowing where to go... ah, we've come so far. Caught a cab to the Khaosan, walked to our guesthouse, knocked on the door (they lock it at midnight), and they were still holding our room for us... they remembered us from 6 weeks ago, and that we were coming back to day, and HELD OUR ROOM! I love these people. They boiled some water for us, and we ate our bowl o' noodles, and now are on internet. Tomorrow is the payoff for being cheap bastards for 6 weeks.... MASSAGES, FACIALS, SCRUBS & SHOPPING SHOPPING SHOPPING!!!!!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122297360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122297360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122297360/tpod.html Tue, 31 Jan 2006 16:18:35 -0500 Lily & Beth's Adventures in ASIA!!!

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Bangkok, Thailand

What a difference a day can make! Beth and I arrived last night tired, disheveled, smelly, and itchy from bug bites and generally discombobulated from China (and 6 weeks of non-stop moving in general). Today we woke up, Beth ate breakfast... I slept (what else is new), and we headed out for a wonderful day of shopping and primping. We began with a lovely herbal full body scrub, a full hour with massage. Then we moved to another spa and had a full hour oil massage. Then lunch (back in the land of chicken soy sauce noodles & green curry yay!). A bit of shopping, and off to yet another spa for a full hour facial. All three of these treatments (over three hours of glorious relaxation!) cost us less than 20 bucks!!! Beth was slightly (okay maybe more than slightly), concerned about how sanitary the facial would be, but she made it through like a champ... I even survived cucumbers on my eyes, without vomiting.. We did lots of shopping, I bought a ton of silk, a couple of bags, a few skirts, some chunky silver rings, sunglasses (mine are bu-u-sted after this trip!) and some other random stuff... money stretches insanely far here! But I've got lots of gifts (and lots of fun stuff for me too... hee hee). Tomorrow well check out of Pragkorp, finish up shopping on the Khaosan, and head to the huge mall for more shopping before we head out to our airport hotel.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122356700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122356700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122356700/tpod.html Tue, 31 Jan 2006 16:15:01 -0500 Lily & Beth's Adventures in ASIA!!!

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Bankok, Thailand

Today will be the last post from Asia... wow. So seeing as how the Khaosan epitomizes the backpacker brigade lifestyle (at least the conformist sheep poser backpackers), I've decided to comment on this place of wonder and uniformity. Tom Robbins says "When socialism is pushed beyond a certain point, it becomes totalitarianism. Capitalism, on the other hand, if carried to its extreme, becomes anarchy". The Khaosan is in a perpetual state of anarchy. Everything is for sale, from floppy (a.k.a poopy) pants, shell necklaces & Thai prostitutes... to your soul. Yes, its true... one could easily sell their soul here: this place turns the waspy prepster just out of college into a fake dreaded floppy pantsed trustafarian; and the true backpacker crunchy hippie (we lovingly refer to the Taos brand as sage monkeys) reeking of patchouli, in to a uber-consumer capitalist to the tenth degree. But you can't help but appreciate the magnitude of this hidden universe... this one street in the middle of bustling Bangkok, where time has stopped, and it is perpetually the day of Jack Kerouac. Khaosan Road Syndrome1.) I shall wear as big a backpack as possible to bear proud witness of my creed.2.) I shall not leave the Khaosan road without my Lonely Planet guidebook (aka the bible)3.) I shall wear the traditional international backpacker's uniform and don at least one piece of local clothing (e.g. conical hat in Vietnam, a krama in Cambodia etc) to show my oneness with Asian people.4.) I shall eat banana pancakes and phad thai on a regular basis, for it is quintessential Asian food.5.) I shall stay in local family run guest houses.... and eat the local food, for I shall always endeavor to be in tune with local culture, and because it is the cheapest.6.) I shall make pilgrimage to a Full Moon Party on Koh Phanang on Hat Rin at least once in my life.7.) I shall bargain without mercy and hone my skill to a sharp edge, so that I can proudly proclaim our sacred motto "I got it for less"8.) I shall not leave he Khaosan road without having my hair colored, dreadlocked, corn rolled or shaved off.I could probably continue this list for days. But alas, its time to head out of this internet cafe, and make the most of our last day in Bangkok. No there will be no Thai prostitutes, chasing the dragon OR midget mui thai... I mean some good clean fun at the Siam square mall. Ah, capitalism. Then off the comfort suites... yay, our first western shower in 6 weeks!! See you tomorrow (well mom at least).
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122616200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122616200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lrubin/asia_2005/1122616200/tpod.html Tue, 31 Jan 2006 16:08:13 -0500 Lily & Beth's Adventures in ASIA!!!

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Rancho Mirage, California, United States

Wow. I am home. Well, at my mom's house in California... not sure where home is right at this moment. Beth and I got into LA at 11 am yesterday morning after about 31 hours of airplanes and airports... ick. We caught the free bus to the airport from Comfort suites in Bangkok, checked our backpacks (and my precious and almost ill-fated tube for my painting), and enjoyed some time without those enormous hunchback inducing bags. Beth was fully decked out crunchy Khaosan style... the flop over pants (I lovingly refer to them as her poopy pants because, well, it always looks like she's got a dirty diaper because of the droop), the ethnic halter top, the stanky sneakers (oh-so-stanky), the hair bandana, the big floopy curls ( i know floopy isnt a word, but it seems appropriate), and of course the enormous cotton sack. It was wonderful. I, being slightly less exciting, or less prone to change my style, or just generally anti-the crunchy sage monkey look due to sensory overload in Taos, take your pick... just wore my reserve zip lock packet of real clothes... jeans, hoodie, flip flops ( I did go for the head turban though... but mostly because my hair was psycho curly, and I am always cold). It was SUPER weird to be in real clothes... Beth and I lived in athletic shorts and racer back tank tops for 6 weeks... stinky too. The flight to Tokyo was about 7 hours, the food was terrible (what a surprise, we were back on American airlines), grey eggs, covered in what could only be described as an alfredo sauce... ICKY! Regardless... there was lots of reading, and some terrible movie, and a 3 hour layover, and then the 12 hour flight to LA, watched about 3 movies, slept, ate (or didn't) eat more terrible food. Made lots of fun of Beth for how bad her shoes stunk... its all love though :) Picked up our bags at LAX, went through passport check and customs (where I was accosted by some bastard customs agent... Where have you been? Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, ChinaHow long were you in Vietnam and Thailand combined? uh... about 3 weeks.What is your profession? I just graduated university, so either a student or unemployed... Well, then how did you afford this trip? My mom bought me a plane ticket as a graduation present.WEEELLL.... isn't that nice for you! What is this guys problem. wow. Then rechecking bags, biding each other adieu (soooo sad!!!), and off to my plane to Palm Springs (only a 45 minute flight). Beth unfortunately had A LOT more traveling to do to get to West Palm Beach, Florida. Landed in Palm Springs, met mom, grabbed a pastrami sandwich.. and FREE water WITH ICE!!! And I've been just generally chillin', doing laundry, helping mom with the house, eating lots of red meat, and GASP veggies, and loving the free water supply, and ice, and picked up her new car (Piiiiimp!), and running around doing errands etc...its off to Taos with mom in a couple of days to do some mandatory daughterly manual labor (cleaning out the storage lockers, dealing with the Z, etc..), and hopefully catching up with a few of the peeps. Hope the travel-blogs were fun for everyone. Ill send one last one soon when I upload all the photos.
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