TravelStream™ news feed for member matt_and_jules on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/matt_and_jules en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:07:25 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/canada2007/1183912200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/canada2007/1183912200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/canada2007/1183912200/tpod.html Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:07:25 -0400 Our visit home to Canada Summer 2006

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Burlington, Ontario, Canada

We took a trip to Lake Ontario on the Burlington waterfront and we all had a nice dip!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/canada2007/1185308220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/canada2007/1185308220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/canada2007/1185308220/tpod.html Thu, 19 Jul 2007 05:34:45 -0400 Our visit home to Canada Summer 2006

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Cornwall, Ontario, Canada

This was the party for my side of the family to celebrate our wedding since none of my extended family could be there for the wedding in Korea.....it was a great day!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167604620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167604620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167604620/tpod.html Sun, 21 Jan 2007 15:00:22 -0500 Honeymoon in paradise, yummy food and the sandy beaches of Thailand

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Bangkok, Thailand

Our final day in Bangkok and as Matt and I are really not that into shopping we of course went to the ZOO!!!!!!!!!! Ha ha ha, well first we had lunch at subway and went to a Thai grocery store to get all the spices and necessities they just don't have in Korea.Then it was time for lions and tigers, elephants and bears. They had tortoises, zebras and a large beautiful aviary. It was a perfect Julia day, and I am sure Matt had a great time watching my excitement!And that was it: we had our last dinner of Thai food which we must say is the greatest food on earth. All the flavours that compliment each other: the fruits and vegetables mixed with meat, salt, fresh and hot spices that meld into coconut milk and strike your tongue in a tangy melody. Really to Matt and I there is nothing better. Especially after eating Korean red pepper in everything for 11 months! Ha! Ew.......We sailed away from the luxurious heat with smiles on our faces. We will always remember our honeymoon in Thailand with immense fondness. We spent the whole time in awe of actually being there; that we were able to get ourselves together and travel like this is definitely something to be proud of. The Thai people themselves compliment their country making it all the more sweet and sensuous as they were always happy, always including, and carrying on in a relaxed, welcoming confidence that was contagious. There is a saying that you can tell a good person by the way it treats those around them, or that you can tell a good owner by a good dog. Well the streets of Thailand are shared easily by human, canine and feline alike. A happy harmony of pleasant creatures all willing to share a moment, shoot the breeze and enjoy some affection. Thank you Thailand for all you shared with us, all you taught us and all you had to offer.We will never forget you. And if this is just the start of our marriage, I can't wait to see what happens next!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167510780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167510780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167510780/tpod.html Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:14:27 -0500 Honeymoon in paradise, yummy food and the sandy beaches of Thailand

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Bangkok, Thailand

We met Marisa early and took a sky train and then a boat trip to Dusit Grand Palace to see the gorgeous temples which housed the beautiful emerald Buddha. Marisa was a patient and gracious hostess as she listened carefully to our questions and humoured our awkward foreignness. We walked in and around the golden roofs and the sparkling mirrored mosaic walls of the palace feasting on ancient culture with our eyes. We paid our respects to the Buddha and left to have lunch at a really awesome Muslim restaurant Marisa likes. The food was divine!After that we went to King Rama V's (for Sylvia who loves Anna and the King as much as I do Rama V is King Chulalongkorn, son of king Munkut) Vimanmek Mansion which was made entirely of wood. We were given a view of the mansion which is more of a museum now, even though as we were told is still used on occasion for royal functions. The mansion had many special things inside showing what life was like more then 120 years ago and its walls had beautiful glass which gave a perfect view of large gardens. I liked seeing the portraits and paintings in the mansion the best, and of course the gardens.Our last stop on the Marisa tour was the Golden Mount which we climbed to get a better look of Bangkok. After ascending many, many tiny steps we stepped into a Buddhist shrine that led up to the lookout on top. What a view, and what a special moment to share with a friend from all the way across the globe; what a small world we live in today!Now for the crowning moment to an already perfect day we went the hospital to meet Marisa's family and her cousin who had just the day before given birth to a sweet baby boy (I hope Marisa will tell me the name when it has been decided). We met Marisa's mom there, who had traveled 16 hours to spend the holiday in Bangkok and have dinner with us. Matt and I were touched and honoured she came all this way. Dinner was amazing on a patio facing the river, where lights sparkled on the water as we ate.Matt and I will be forever grateful to Marisa and her family for all their help. She helped to make our holiday truly extraordinary and nothing less then outta this world. Thank you Marisa, we love you!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167445920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167445920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167445920/tpod.html Sun, 21 Jan 2007 10:16:57 -0500 Honeymoon in paradise, yummy food and the sandy beaches of Thailand

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Bangkok, Thailand

And now finally the strawberry, a burst of flavour adding depth to the whole experience!We waved goodbye to Phi Phi and took a boat back to Phuket. We hit the mall to burn some time before our flight. Finally we were in the air and on our way to Bangkok to learn more about the mysteries and histories of Thailand.Marissa and her brother met us at the airport and took us out for some delicious pad thai at a restaurant that you could only find with some help from a friend who knows their way around. The food was so good and so was the coconut milkshake. We chatted a bit but as we were tired they dropped us off at our hotel and we made plans to meet the next day.A big thanks here to Marisa's brother who got us a room at a gorgeous hotel that I am sure normally would have been way too expensive for us but it was high season and we knew we would have to spend a bit more in the big city. His friend worked for the hotel group and was able to get as a really sweet room for the price of a bargain room. I felt like Paris Hilton in all these glamorous surroundings.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167352200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167352200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167352200/tpod.html Mon, 15 Jan 2007 13:13:14 -0500 Honeymoon in paradise, yummy food and the sandy beaches of Thailand

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Phi Phi, Thailand

We spent a lazy morning together soaking up some married bliss before packing up our towels and heading off for our sunset tour. We choose a tour of snorkelling, kayaking and exploring Phi Phi Lei that we both will never forget as long as we live. It started out raining, oh no! So we didn't actually get to explore monkey beach or the Viking caves, which was a bummer! But everything turned up roses as the rain stopped quickly when we finally reached Maya Bay. Those of you who know the movie or at least saw the previews for "The Beach" (starring Leo) will have some sort of vague understanding of why I simply cannot put true words to describe this scene to you. Picture everything I tell you here as seen in a tropical blue haze with vivid, sharp colours and to the music of birds and soft waves.We started with some amazing snorkelling at the reefs along the rock faces. What a site! We saw plenty of Nemos and striped fish and florescent fish, even a puffer fish! So cute! Then just as we were playing in a school of striped blue fish Matt noticed our boat pulling away! Oh my, but we were able to call them through the help of another boat, got back on board, and took off for Maya bay. Picture snorkelling towards a great, sheer rock face and following the coral into a sea cave. You crawl through the opening onto a rock beach and see a beautiful, thick tropical forest opening ahead. You follow the sandy path through the dripping, green foliage until it spreads open like a magnificent curtain and then you see it: A beach of white soft sand and water that is clear and turquoise sparking like diamonds. The scene is awe striking, and it left an impression I am sure will never fade.In our world of development, there is rarely a place that is left uncarved, untapped, and uninhabited. Phi Phi Lei has no permanent shelters, no hotels, no outhouses. No one can stay behind, and no one can change its beauty; it is one of those few, final places frozen in time. We spent some time here basking in its beauty and snorkelling in its pristine waters. We watch the sunset and headed back with our fellow travelers sharing a feast of green curry and fruit aboard our boat. *Sigh, another perfect day!We finished our stay finally with a late dinner right on the beach. We sat at the end of the patio looking off into the cobalt abyss and dined on giant prawns and masaman curry. A spur of the moment decision and Matt swept me away onto a hired long boat that drifted though the bay under twinkling star lights. We floated for what seemed like forever and yet, only just a second of time, lost in the happiness the two of us have created.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167261900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167261900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167261900/tpod.html Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:09:58 -0500 Honeymoon in paradise, yummy food and the sandy beaches of Thailand

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Phi Phi, Thailand

And now for the perfect purity of vanilla!We were picked up at our hotel early for our boat trip to Phi Phi Don where we would spend the next three days. This was a moment we had both been dreaming about for months! Phi Phi Don and the smaller Phi Phi Lei are small islands south-east from Phuket.We arrived at Phi Phi Don where we got a cute little room sandwiched between the two beaches in the middle of the island complete with friendly cat neighbours and lizards on the outside walls of the bungalow, perfect! To get anywhere on this island you have to walk as no motorized vehicles are allowed to spoil this island paradise. The island was a small network of roads in between two beaches with tour booking/internet shops, little souvenir shops, restaurants, and bars. The whole place had this amazing vibe of relaxed carelessness that Matt and I relished in as we settle down for the afternoon under an umbrella on the beach. We played Frisbee in the surf and worked up an appetite. We walked across the island, took a look at the tsunami memorial and watched the sunset. By time we actually got back to our hotel and washed up the island was all but asleep for the night! Unbeknownst to us, the restaurants all closed early so we missed dinner in a beautiful restaurant on the beach I had been eyeing and instead settled for some drinks at a bar and a stroll along the beach. How easy it is to get lost in thought as you walk hand in hand with your best friend in the island heat, listening to the sound of the waves. We finally did find a cheap but delicious restaurant called Papaya where we had some green curry and pad thai before going to bed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167171840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167171840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167171840/tpod.html Mon, 15 Jan 2007 11:30:10 -0500 Honeymoon in paradise, yummy food and the sandy beaches of Thailand

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Phuket, Thailand

So we had this great bike and still had not brought her out onto the open road for an adventure so we spent the day Tuesday on the bike circling the island along the coast. We saw beach after beautiful beach as we twisted along mountain roads and through the countryside. When finally it was time to say goodbye to the bike, we headed back to Patong beach for some Seadooing and more fun in the sun.We ate curry and naan bread at an Egyptian food restaurant and sat and enjoyed a hooka before calling it a night. We went home to pack for the next morning; we would be off again for another scoop of our great adventure in Thailand.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167062400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167062400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1167062400/tpod.html Tue, 09 Jan 2007 13:31:50 -0500 Honeymoon in paradise, yummy food and the sandy beaches of Thailand

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Phuket, Thailand

We got up as early as we dared and got on the motorcycle in search of a very romantic afternoon. We found it at Khao Phra National Park where we visited the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project, and frolicked under a waterfall! What a pristine site; it had been along time since I had seen nature like this. We saw a bunch of gibbons swinging in the trees, a cute lizard, an enormous spider and a centipede longer than my middle finger. And don't forget flora like you never imagined! Everything was tropical and a perfect lovers' paradise!We roared back through the countryside on our phat bike and got all spiffed up for a romantic Christmas dinner overlooking the beach. There was a live band, fancy cocktails, and a decadent meal of steak and Thai curry! Thai food sure beats the socks off turkey! The most wonderfully thing happened that night! As we finished our meal and went hand in hand to the beach for a stroll there were people launching these beautiful lanterns into the sky! In honour of the tsunami victims over 5000 hot air lanterns were let off in to the night sky lighting hope for those who were lost, and for what was lost 2 years ago. The island was so beautiful that night. I cannot imagine the splendorous site it must have been before the disaster. It was the perfect way to end the perfect night: two lovers hand in hand walking along the beach as lights twinkled above the soft waves. On an adventure with our soul mates, we wished that night never would have ended. We too bought a delicate paper lantern to launch into the sky. We dedicated it to our marriage, our love and our future, and let it fill with our dreams and drift up and away into oblivion.Tired, happy and a little tipsy, we took a tuktuk home. Tuktuks are open air taxis and it was the perfect way to end the night with a warm tropical breeze blowing through your hair.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1166972400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1166972400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/matt_and_jules/thailand/1166972400/tpod.html Tue, 09 Jan 2007 12:02:02 -0500 Honeymoon in paradise, yummy food and the sandy beaches of Thailand

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Phuket, Thailand

Our first order of business was a trip to Patong Beach, the largest of the beaches and tourist centre area, to rent a motorcycle for dirt cheap. After Matt picked out the loudest and beefiest one (650cc, Honda Shadow Classic) we set out along the coast, on the wrong side of the road, to pick a beach to sloth away our afternoon. We stopped at a Rasta café along the side of the road which sat on the side of a mountain overlooking the beaches below. After sampling their view and wares (see picture of me drinking from a coconut) we headed to Karon Beach to burn to a crisp!After a delicious dinner of pad thai noodles and curry we watched the sunset and went to bed early, as honeymooners do!
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