Welcome to the Jungle

China was starting to get very cold by mid-November so I decided that it was time to warm up on the beaches of Thailand. I just had to make my way across the little country of Laos to get there. The Chinese official at the border carefully scrutinized my passport and looked up several times to see that my photo and face matched to his satisfaction. He then gave me an expressionless "OK" and handed over my passport. I then proceeded over to the Laos side of the border. Once there I had to find someone to wake up the guy who could sell me a visa. I filled out the paperwork and the slightly groggy but very friendly border official eventually processed my visa and wished me well. I had just had my first introduction to the most laid-back country I have ever visited. A few more fun and interesting days later I had put off my plans for Thailand and ended up staying in Laos for over a month.

In China I had met locals who made me feel like the only westerner they had ever seen. In Laos I was about to enter the world of classic backpacking culture: flip-flops, dreadlocks and comfortable loose-fitting pants. Everywhere I looked there were girlfriends toting around obliging boyfriends and groups of guys ready to find some thrills. My first stop was the town of Muang Sing near the Chinese border. I met up with a group of travelers who were as new to Laos as I was. Together we discovered the wonders of Lao Lao (a very strong alcoholic drink that gives you a terrible hangover) and the small-town clubbing scene. Somehow we got invited the next night to a pig roast at the house of a man named Mr. Deth. It was a night of great food, lots of singing and large quantities of Beer Lao (the national beer).

My next adventure with the same group of travelers was hiking in the mountainous jungle near Luang Namtha. We decided on a three-day journey through uninhabited jungle. I had to struggle to hike up and down the steep hills but our local guides breezed through the trail in flip-flops while smoking cigarettes. The jungle was strangely silent and we didn't see any wildlife except insects and what we thought might have been a bird. But if you count leeches we saw tons of wildlife. The first day was a constant battle against the painful little suckers but the situation got better as the trail got more elevated.


For food on the trek I was introduced to local food and traditions. Sticky rice is the staple food. It is eaten with the hands and dipped or scooped into other dishes that are eaten communally. We ate off a banana leaf and I soon found out that banana leaves have many uses besides tablecloths. They are used as a very environmentally friendly packaging for food. Though often the leaf-wrapped food gets put into plastic bags anyway. I was also impressed at the skills our guides had with bamboo and a machetes. They carve up a cup for drinking in a matter of minutes.


Back in civilization after trekking through jungle it was sad to notice the scale of forest destruction taking place. Slash-and-burn farming is commonplace. Jungle gets replaced with rice farms and immense rubber tree plantations. And it's not as if all the environmental and social issues in Laos result just from the people living there. It's hard to believe that the smiling, gentle Laos people live in the most bombed country on Earth. And who do you think bombed them? That's right, I had stumbled onto yet another country that I didn't know had been bombed by the United States. But to my credit it is known as "the secret war". The U.S. tried to bomb the Vietnamese troops that moved through Laos during the Vietnam war and dropped more bombs than during the whole of the second world war. Many failed to detonate and still continue to kill or injure lots of people today.


I stopped in Luang Prabang to do some scenic strolling through the streets and see a few temples and waterfalls. Then it was on to a very interesting destinations in Laos: Vang Vieng. The bus ride there was slow, bumpy and uncomfortable but went through some of the most amazing scenery in the country. The mist-covered mountains reminded me of pictures I've seen of the landscape surrounding Machu Picchu in Peru.

When I arrived in Vang Vieng I had to do a double-take when I saw tourists just lying around in the restaurants. All the restaurants in this backpacking town seemed to have the same business model: cushions for reclining while you eat and a continuous loop of bootlegged Friends episodes playing loudly on the television.

(Mom, if you're reading this you can skip this paragraph.) But the strangest thing about this town was that it was common to see many of the tourists limping or bandaged up as they moved about on the streets. This is because the main activity for backpackers in Vang Vieng is tubing. There were all kinds of rumors about deaths and paralyzation and it is easy to see why. Take a few backpackers, put them in inner tubes on the river, give them lots of alcohol (plus a free shot of Lao Lao with every drink) at the bars along the way, throw in a few gigantic rope swings, slides and mud pits and you have a recipe for a lot of dangerous but very thrilling lawsuit-free fun!


Onward to the most laid-back capital city on the planet with the French name of Vientiane. Happily for us travelers we were thrilled to find that the French had left behind a few wine and cheese shops, French cafes and baguettes at every corner street cart. There are also some stunning temples and buildings to visit. The tuk-tuk (a tuk-tuk is a sort of small pick-up truck that makes a sound like "tuk-tuk-tuk" and is used as a taxi) drivers in the city are hilarious because they all have hammocks in the back. Occasionally it's necessary to wake someone up if you need a ride. I was also surprised to see so many Soviet flags displayed. When I asked someone about it I discovered that many Laos people are just big fans of communism.


Next it was time for an adventure. We went to a village where there was a river that flowed under a mountain. It was possible to take a boat ride through the cave to the other side so that's what we did. It was a little scary but still lots of fun. There were no hotels so we did a homestay in the village and were introduced to village life in Laos. The family actually spent the evening watching television together. I felt right at home.

Savanahket is pretty sleepy town and I was there for only a day or two. So the only thing I really remember about that place is that we were there on a Friday night and were wandering down the street and stumbled upon a celebration. It was insisted that we join in the revelry. We still have no idea what what being celebrated because nobody spoke English but it was lots of fun and even grandma ended up drinking a little too much. In exchange for the good times and some booze we taught them the Hokey Pokey.

After stopping along the way to take in a few more waterfalls and coffee farms I ended up in Don Det which is in a region called the Four-Thousand Islands. Yes, even though Laos is a landlocked country they really do have lots of islands. The islands are located on the mighty Mekong River. And what better place to celebrate Christmas than on an island in the sun? Time to party! Again! I celebrated with a big group of travelers which even included a Dutch girl that I had originally met while in Ethiopia. We started out talking about different traditions and how each of us celebrated Christmas back home but ended up deciding that the Swedes had it best. Everyone got up and danced and sang around a palm tree. The Swedes insisted that they really do dance and sing in a circle around the Christmas tree back home and that they really weren't making this up. (It made a lot more sense after lots of Beer Lao.)

Laos was lots of fun but eventually it was time to move on. Next stop: Vietnam.

Photos

Here is a listing of all the photos I have posted so far. Enjoy!

Africa

Europe

Mongolia

Korea

China

Signage

Laos

Slurp, Spit, Shove

After many failed attempts in childhood to dig my way to China I finally arrived by plane in mid-October. I started out in Beijing where the Olympics had just recently finished. So one of my first stops was the Olympic village. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to watch much of the Olympics during my travels but it was still very exciting to see the buildings that I had heard so much about like the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube. There definitely weren't as many crowds present as during the Olympic games but the Olympic village has become a new tourist site for visitors to the city. The futuristic buildings and perfectly symmetrical trees lining the wide open spaces made me feel as though I was walking through an architectural drawing.

Beijing is huge enough that what looks like only a short distance on a map can take a very long time to reach. But eventually I made my way to other tourist sites like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. I was so amazed by the Forbidden City that I spent an entire day there and I think I could have spent another. It was huge and a perfect introduction to the architecture and wealth of history in China.

While in Beijing I got my first taste of real Chinese food. One of my favorite things to eat was stuff on a stick. At night vendors line the streets and have tables full of everything you could possible think of that fits on a stick. You pick out what you want and they'll grill or fry it for you right in front of you. And of course I ate lots and lots of noodles that are supposed to be slurped loudly because that kind of noise is not considered impolite.

What is also not considered impolite is spitting. The Chinese looove to spit. Even old grandmothers will make the disgusting sounds of clearing their throat and letting one fly. At first I was intrigued and joined right in but then it got old and it got annoying hearing and seeing people do it all the time. I decided I didn't like it.

After Beijing I headed southwest to my next Chinese city, Xi'an to see the famous Terracotta Warriors. The site is huge and I was surprised to see that most of it is not yet excavated. The warriors that you see in photos have all been painstakingly glued back together once they get dug up. And what's even more amazing is that the tomb was found because a farmer was drilling a well and noticed some pieces of pottery. By looking at the location of where he drilled you can see that if he had dug even just a foot or two in the other direction he would have never found this gigantic burial. I saw some Pagodas, city walls and towers in Xi'an during the next few days but my next destination was Luoyang to see the very impressive Longman Caves.

I was surprised to find that China's tourist destinations are not full of Western tourists but of Chinese tourists. Imagine the busloads of Asian tourists you know and love back home in the US, multiply it by about one billion and you will get an idea of what a tourist spot in China looks like. They take photos of just about anything. Including me. At first I thought that I was just accidentally getting in the way of their photos but it turns out they were pointing those expensive-looking lenses in my direction on purpose. Eventually I encountered people who would ask first or wanted to pose with me and I was more than willing to do so. I was a little relieved to realize that I wasn't imagining it and that that everyone really was staring at me! Especially on the train rides.

My first introduction to train travel in China was quite an experience but I soon got the hang of it. Everyone sits in the waiting area until literally five minutes before the train boards. Then your ticket is checked and you are allowed to pass through the gates and try to catch your train which can be pretty far from the waiting area. Don't be afraid to push and shove because that's the best way of getting a seat if you haven't been assigned a seat number. Be sure to bring a container for your green tea. Boiling water is provided so you can also make instant noodles for yourself whenever you get hungry. Be sure to pack lots of seeds whether they're sunflower, pumpkin, or pine nut because cracking them open and spitting the shell on the floor is a perfect way to pass the time on your long journey. And bring enough to share. One of my favorite train rides was when I sat next to a woman who shared her pumpkin seeds with me. She spoke no English but seemed to be very intrigued with this western girl sitting next to her. She even checked the roots of my hair to see if it was the real color. She had no hair of her own because she was dressed as a monk and had it all shaved off. Another time I had a conversation with a guy and we were talking about how so many things are made in China. "Yes" he said, "and very good quality too." I think he truly believed that. My past experience with Chinese products would prove otherwise but I didn't have the heart to contradict him.

Anyway, back to the Longman Caves in Luoyang. They reminded me a lot of the caves I had seen back in Turkey minus the gigantic statues. It's incredible how two "cultural relics" on opposite sides of the world can look so similar. I say cultural relics because that is what all important historical objects and sites are called in China. Signs will tell you "Don't score on the cultural relic" or "it's duty of us that obligation cultural relic". Couldn't understand that last one? It wasn't a typo. The Chinese struggle a bit with the translation on signs. I've seen signs that say "Be careful of your treasures" to mean you should watch your belongings or "Don't throw something dirty on the floor". It's as if someone was handed a thesaurus and told to go crazy. You can kind of understand what they mean and they're good for a laugh so I hope nobody ever decides to correct them.

It's not as if I hadn't made a few mistakes of my own in China. One day I stopped in a restaurant mainly because it had a picture menu and that usually makes ordering food easier. I pointed to the meal that I wanted and was startled to find that I had accidentally ordered not the drumstick-rice-veggie-duck egg meal that I had intened but the duck head-rice-veggie-duck egg meal that I was served. Oops. A second glance at the picture and I figured out that it really is a duck head in the picture. I ate everything else on the plate besides the duck head and the guy even complimented me on my chopstick abilities (many Chinese seemed to be very impressed that I knew how to use chopsticks) but noticed that I didn't finish eating my duck head when I was ready to pay. I think he was asking me if I wanted to take the duck head with me but I just smiled and vowed to try some duck at a different place next time.

Eventually I found myself in Shanghai where the smog is think, the buildings are tall and the bikes are plentiful. Actually that probably describes a lot of cities in China. Actually I could probably describe Shanghai with two words "under construction". The building frenzy is completely out of control. Anyway, there were some interesting sites to see in Shanghai like the French Concession, the Bund and the Shanghai Museum. I was in Shanghai when the results of the American election were announced. I had to find someone who knew who had won. Needless to say I did not see any dancing in the streets like I heard about back home.

My next stop was the very pretty town of Fenghuang. I met some Chinese people who were about my age and were spending the weekend in Fenghuang as well. They invited me to join their group and we spent some time seeing the sights and of course singing karaoke. I am embarassed to admit that they convinced me to sing Britney Spear's "Hit Me One More Time". I was sober. The drinking came later in the night when we had some good old Budweiser beer brewed in China.

I made a stop in the city of Kunming and then visited a smaller village where I made some conversation with the locals with my phrasebook and did some hiking where I saw lots of rubber trees. At night I ended up being invited to someone's birthday party which was of course celebrated with lots and lots of karaoke.

A month is really not enough time to see very much of China since it is such a huge country. But the weather was getting cold because it was mid-November and I was ready to head someplace warm. It was time to head south to Laos.

Kraaaazy Korea

The bright lights and crowded streets of Seoul were a bit overwhelming after all that peacefulness on the Mongolian Steppes. I had almost decided to go straight to China. But then I couldn't resist the urge to impress every Korean I meet for the rest of my life by visiting that quirky little peninsula out in the Pacific known as South Korea. I grew up in Northern Virginia and have known plenty of Korean-Americans. So when I arrived in Korea and stood amongst the sea of people all around me on the busy sidewalk I couldn't help but think to myself "So this is where they all come from!"

I started my exploration of the country in Seoul where I given a wonderful tour by a friend of the family. The tall skyscrapers, throngs of busy people, and large, efficient subway system were exactly what I had imagined experiencing in my first visit to a large Asian city. I was excited to throw out some random Korean phrases that I had learned back home such as "I'm hungry" and "where is the trashcan?" I was thrilled to be told that I have excellent pronunciation. I don't even think they were saying it just to be nice!

I visited the usual temples and tourist sites in Seoul and waved hello to North Korea at the Demilitarized Zone but one of the most intriguing experiences in Seoul and my first Korean television appearance was when I went to a ProLeague match. I'm sure most of you have never heard of ProLeague so I will explain. It is professional video gaming and works very similar to a professional sport in the US. Fans go to a "stadium" to watch two teams compete. The uniformed players (mostly teenagers who are paid to do this and devote about eight hours a day to training) compete head to head up on two booths on the stage. The action gets projected up on the main screen for the audience and three commentators talk strategy and statistics. At least that's what I'm assuming they were talking about since it was in Korean. The whole thing is nationally televised. Not many westerners frequent the matches so it was no surprise that they had to get a close-up of the westerner sitting in the audience. I saw myself on television during a rerun about a week later waving at the camera. I had a hard time following what was going on in the match but soon figured out that depending on which side of the audience of screaming girls was louder was the one that was in the lead. And then all of a sudden without warning there is a winner! The thrill of victory! The agony of defeat! All I could do was shake my head and say to myself "only in Korea..."

My next stop was the southern coastal city to which I owe my existence, Busan. My parents met there over 35 years ago while my father was in the Army and my mother was teaching on the base. The American base doesn't exist anymore but I finally got to see the city that I have heard about all my life. I met up with some more "extended family" who were very generous in showing me around the city and introducing me to some very delicious food.

Can't make up your mind as to what to have for dinner in Korea? Not a problem! You can get a little bit of everything. Literally. Whenever you order something off the menu your table automatically starts to fill up with tiny side dishes that also double as your entertainment for the night. It's possible to spend a few hours sitting around with friends and throwing out guesses as to what it is you just put in your mouth and most likely the Koreans can only tell you the Korean word for it. But of course the most famous, beloved and recognizable side dish guaranteed to be served with every meal is good old kimchi. I don't really get why the Koreans love this spicy, garlicy fermented cabbage so much but they go absolutely crazy over it.

So when I got to my third Korean city, Gwangju, and heard about the kimchi festival that would be taking place while I was there I knew this was something I had to witness. My visit to Korea coincided with peak festival time in the country and I had already seen some very enthusiastic Koreans enjoying festivals in Seoul and Busan.

I was visiting a friend of a friend who introduced me to the wonderful world of English teachers living in Gwangju. (Thanks Kent, Leah and Stuart for your hospitality!) Westerners there get to experience something akin to celebrity status. While at the kimchi festival my companion and I were assaulted with paparazzi-like photographers and were interviewed for both a radio and television program. I did my best to praise everything about kimchi but I wonder what their reaction would have been if I had told them the truth: all kimchi tastes the same to me and it's OK but in my opinion not necessary to eat with every meal.

If I had to pick one other thing that I thought Koreans love as much as kimchi I would say hiking would have to be it. Hiking is "Good for health!" But a Korean would not be caught dead on a trail unless they were wearing an outfit made of some high-tech fabric, top-of-the-line hiking boots, an oversized visor to keep the sun off the face and walking sticks even if it's only a two hour hike. And it's not as if they're hiking in the middle of nowhere. The trails can get very crowded when they all march up the mountain at the same time.

Drunken business men, people stopping me on the street to try to help me find God, soju (an alcoholic drink), taxi drivers blatently disregarding traffic lights, plastic food in restaurant windows, convenience stores on every corner (literally), neon crosses on churches, a world-class Biannle exhibit in Gwangju and free McDonalds delivery are a few more things that I will remember about my visit to Korea. But by the end of my two weeks there my legs were getting a little cramped up from all the sitting on the floor and that's when I knew I was ready for my next stop: China.

The Sound of Silence

Horses, mountains, sand dunes, lakes, yaks, gers, and nomads. Mongolia has so much and yet so much nothingness at the same time. With the lowest population density in the world at about 1.7 people per square kilometer and some parts having only about .3 people per square kilometer, it would seem like there is just a lot of open space. Well, there is a lot of open space but believe it or not there's also lots to see and do out in the middle of nowhere.

I arrived in Mongolia at the end of August and had just completed almost six full months of nomadic travel. Obviously there would be no better place for me than to visit with the real nomads of the Mongolian steppe. I arrived in the capital, Ulaan Baatar and met up with some strangers who were looking to take a long trip out to the countryside. We got ourselves a solid Russian van, a driver we called D.C. (who spoke no English except for "lunch" and "sleep"), some camping equipment, plenty of food and water and embarked on our three-week adventure.

We began by heading south towards the Gobi desert. Usually when you think of the desert you think of sand and more sand. While there was plenty of sand there was also a constantly changing landscape. Each moment that I looked out the window it looked completely different from the last. Rocky hills turned into grassy plains and then instantly into miles of dry brush for as far as the eye could see.

One of my favorite parts about camping in the middle of nowhere was that I could experience absolute silence. It was kind of eerie at times and I can now understand people when they say "the silence was deafening". Being out in the middle of nowhere is an amazing experience. I recommend the Gobi to anyone who wants to get away from civilization for a while and feel like they're walking on the moon. Well, without the whole zero gravity and no atmosphere thing. While we were in this region the sky got so completely dark at night and without clouds so that we could see an absolutely amazing star display. It wasn't hard to spot a shooting star every few minutes.

The highlight of my time in the Gobi was when we visited Khongor Els. This is where there are gigantic sand dunes rising right up out of a riverbed area and in front of some very majestic mountains. The scenery was just unreal before and after an approaching storm that left a rainbow in its wake. We had lots of fun sliding on the dunes and not so much fun getting completely sandblasted when the wind picked up. I am also proud to say that I got to ride my very first camel.

Another highlight was getting to see 5,000 year old rock carvings that would obviously be a huge tourist attraction with hundreds of souvenir stalls if they existed in a western country. It is a much different experience getting to discover something for yourself instead of signs telling you what you're supposed to see and where to see it. I found the feeling similar to waking up after our first night of camping and getting to see huge wild rams butting heads with each other (the kind that stand up and run at each other on two legs). Or seeing little birds follow our van like dolphins playing in a ship's wake. And seeing gigantic eagles spread their wings and fly away as we approached.

From there we headed northwest towards an area that the guidebook said was not frequented much by tourists. We ended up being invited to stay with many different families and sometimes got to sleep in the gers (easily transportable Mongolian houses made of wood and felt). Even though we couldn't speak the same language we were able to communicate through phrase books and photographs. There were of course rounds of vodka and even airag which is fermented mare's milk. If you think that sounds gross you should see what they go through to get the milk. Those Mongolian horses are definitely half wild. And we thought the goats they taught us to milk were hard!

Mongolians move their homes a few times a year so they can't grow crops and rely almost entirely on their animals. In fact, after travelling over miles and miles of terrain we saw only one lonely potato patch. They eat a lot of dairy products and drink "tea" that's almost entirely made of milk. This is where I would love to say we had some fantastic goat, yak and cow cheese but am sad to report that Mongolia has a truly pathetic cheese scene. The Europeans in our group barely managed to suffer through the drought. However, no matter where we went we were always offered to try the beloved airul which is rock hard dried cheese curds. Sounds delicious, right? OK it wasn't all bad. I have to say the fresh yak cream with sugar and fried bready things were great.

Life on the road is not so glamorous. Water is scarce in Mongolia so that means people don't bathe much. Since we were camping every night and living the Mongolian lifestyle I had only one shower during our three week trip. Occasionally we would stop the van if we saw a creek or would wash ourselves if we camped near a lake but for the most part we were "roughing it". We were proud of the dirt under our fingernails!

Roads in Mongolia don't really exist as we know them. Most roads are just dirt tracks that wander around, merge with others, become eight lanes across and then disappear. Sometimes we would even have to make our own. The ride was so rough we even came up with a bump level system to warn each other about the likelihood of our heads hitting the ceiling. Most times we couldn't figure out how D.C. knew where he was going. There are absolutely no signs to tell you where you are and each rocky outcrop looks exactly like the other. We found it hilarious when D.C. would pull over off the "road" when we hadn't seen another vehicle all day. Or how some of the tourists sites were out in the middle of vast stretches of land but still had parking lots.

We eventually made our way up north to a lake region. We visited an inactive volcano and got to ride horses. A strange thing about the lakes that we saw is that there are no boats. They don't seem to fit into the nomadic lifestyle. And fish doesn't fit into their diets. So if anyone has been looking for a perfect fishing spot I can give you some pretty good tips.

By this time we decided we were a bit tired of Mongolian food and let me explain why. All Mongolian dishes can be created from these ingredients: noodles or rice, onions, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and meat of various animals. It's understandable that these types of foods fit in with their lifestyle but we were craving something that wasn't chopped up to little bits or boiled to death. We got D.C. to take us to town and after about a half hour search we found someone willing to sell us a cut of meat. We were expecting maybe some goat meat if we were lucky but we somehow managed to get ourselves a fantastic piece of yak meat. Since we didn't have a grill we improvised with what we had. We cooked that yak meat George Foreman style between two rocks we heated in the campfire. It was the best steak I have ever eaten.

And finally, I cannot write about Mongolia and not mention the man who created the largest land empire the world has ever seen. Mongolians view Genghis Khan not as a murderous violent ruler as he's perceived in the west, but a legendary revered conqueror. (Interesting fact: scientists have figured out eight percent of males living in the former Mongol empire are his direct descendants. That's .5% of the world's male population or 16 million people) He is honored today with a big statue in the capital and his name on Mongolia's top brand of vodka.

Next up: Korea!

Club Ukraine

When I first stepped out of the train station in Moscow my first thought was that it feels a lot like home. The streets are wide, full of SUVs, buildings and monuments are built on a gigantic scale and the weather was hot and humid. It came as a bit of a shock to someone who has been strolling around quaint (by the way the British love to make fun of Americans for using this word) European cities for a while. Moscow would fit right in if you lined it up next to most of the cities you see in the U.S. It got me thinking about all the things Russia and the United States have in common. For instance, both have an eagle as the national symbol but ours only has only one head.

But let me tell you what I have been up to since leaving Turkey. After a second failed attempt at a Russian visa in Bucharest (the first attempt was made in Turkey) I continued north and arrived in Kiev, Ukraine during the last days of July. It was no small feat finding my way to the hostel by Metro not only because of the lack of English but also the lack of signs. As I was exploring the city I found that more so than anywhere else I've traveled (especially Africa) people were mistaking me for a local. They would ask me something and I would have to communicate to them that I had no idea what they just said. I figured out the first two people were asking me for the time. When a third person asked me something I just held up my wrist for her to look at my watch. Maybe she was asking me where I got my stylish shoes or where I got my hair done because she was not asking me for the time. Anyway, it made her laugh. And I was told that in this part of the world when you make someone smile or laugh it is genuine. People here don't smile to be polite.

Finally I was standing in the Metro looking at my map and carrying my backpack when someone asked me something that sounded like "shapuchalsamgetusakaperchavoalaminski?". I don't understand how I could have looked any more like a tourist in this situation but then again I guess tourism is not that huge in Ukraine yet. Suddenly I realized what was going on. Since the signs in this city aren't really that great everyone just asks each other where things are. Why go to the trouble of putting up signs when you can just ask the person standing next to you. This would be a great system if everyone spoke the same language.

Another reason that I was surprised to be mistaken for a local is that I was not wearing high heels or a skirt. The women of Kiev do not leave the house without applying make-up or strapping three-inch heels to their feet. After a few "where could that girl possibly be going dressed in a miniskirt and halter top on a Tuesday morning?" I began to realize that everyone was not headed to a club and that this was just their normal everyday attire. It's a bit of a tourist attraction in itself really. Find a cafe that is located next to a cobblestone street and watch the women try to not to fall. I have spoken to a few travellers that suddenly became interested when I mentioned: "if you enjoy seeing skinny women in miniskirts and see-through tops then Ukraine is the place for you." Maybe they should put that line on their tourism brochures.

While in Kiev I was fortunate enough to celebrate the occasion of my birthday with a friend from back home. We had a great day touring her native city and her family was generous enough to treat me to a wonderful birthday celebration. So here's a big thanks to Maria and her family!

Since the Russians in Kiev were generous enough to accept my visa application (probably because I was able to refrain from laughing even though they talked like Borat) my next stop was Russia but had to wait two weeks before they would give me permission. So I headed over to "the new Prague" better known as Liviv, Ukraine. It has been given the designation of "the new Prague" because it is a lovely and very European-looking city that is yet to be inundated with tourists much as Prague used to be before cheap flights and British stag parties ruined the atmosphere of the city. It was a great place to spend some time relaxing and seeing the sights.

Then it was back to the ice-cream eating, underground mall shopping, manpurse and mullet sporting, buttery-filled food city of Kiev. I loved the gigantic monuments and grand Soviet-style boulevards but it was time to move on to Russia. Where I got to see more monuments and wide Soviet-style boulevards. Actually Ukraine and Russia seemed very similar in many aspects. Both have and overabundance of churches. And inside these churches are people running around kissing everything in sight. Something else I found amusing was that the women in revealing clothes suddenly considered themselves "decent" enough to enter the church once they covered their heads with a scarf. And forget about waiting patiently for tickets or food or whatever else you might stand in line for. A remnant of the communist era has left people with a blatant disregard for waiting your turn. And even if you do manage to get to the front of the line the lady will only sell you a ticket if she feels like it. And if you don't speak Russian you can forget about getting on her good side.

Moscow had some very cool tourist attractions such as seeing the dead, embalmed body of Lenin (a very strange experience) or St. Basil's Cathedral in the Red Square. Plus, there were many great museums to see. I have to say I felt much more cultured after spending a few days in Moscow. Which by the way is the world's most expensive city. (It's true, look it up: http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/23/cities-expensive-world-forbeslife-cx_zg_0724expensivecities.html )

Now it was time to embark on what I had come to Russia to do: take a Trans-Siberian train to Asia. I planned to leave behind the incessant click-clack of high heels in Moscow and ride all the way to Irkusk, a journey that would take a total of about four days and many bowls of instant noodles. Luckily, I met some awesome Russian guys that spoke no English but did speak the international language of vodka. As for the scenery it went something like this: birch trees...birch trees...birch trees...birch trees... multiplied by about four days. I have to say that I did get a good sense of the scale of the country much more so than if I had flown over by plane.

I finally made it to Irkusk and had to put on every item of clothing I owned after stepping off the train. Brrr!!! From Irkusk I made a journey with a few other travelers out to Lake Baikal. The lake is the deepest lake in the world and contains one-fifth of the world's fresh water. It actually looks more like an ocean when you stand next to it. The area surrounding the lake is not very developed and some places are only accessible by boat. For that reason the lake area has some beautiful untouched scenery and incredible views from the hiking trails.

Eventually I was able to get the Tetris song out of my head and that was when I knew I was ready to head south to Mongolia.

Yes, I'm Still Alive

Ah, Europe. Where people sip miniature coffees and oversized beers. OK, OK, I know that my blog is a little behind right now but I intend to brıng everyone up to date. I left Egypt and headed to Italy by plane and stopped in Milan before setting off for Eastern Europe.

I got a small taste of Italy while in Milan. Literally. I always thought it was a bit of a cliche to say that you love Italy. Everyone loves Italy. It is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. But one bite of a real Italian panini and I was utterly infatuated. I also took pleasure in seeing the Italian business suit in its native habitat. Very nice. And who could forget the people zipping around on scooters, beautiful statues and fountains everywhere and amazing designer clothes in the store windows. While there I was able to view Leonardo's famous painting "The Last Supper". It was much larger than I imagined and just remarkable seeing it in real life.

After Italy I made stops in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and now I have made my way back up to Ukraine. This sounds like a lot but going just a few miles in this part of the world puts you in a new country. Most of them used to be all the same country anyway. I have started to get used to traveling by train though bus travel is still more common and efficient. (The buses here have air conditioning and schedules!!) And it's almost as if there are as many Roman ruins lying about on the side of the street as there are in the museums.

As I got off the train that took me to Ljubljana Slovenia I was preparing myself for "Eastern Europe". I had heard from other people that Eastern Europe was much less developed than Western Europe and a whole lot cheaper. I was begining to think that those people were lying to me. Ok so I wasn't deep into the East but as far as first impressions go Ljubljana could easily be a random riverside town in France. There were nice restaurants, pretty bridges and even a hilltop castle to complete the setting.

Ljubljana would be a great place for a relaxing vacation but so would my next stop in Split, Croatia. The seaside city is full of cobblestones, beaches, and a picturesque stone palace that has been turned into a shopping center. I spent a day at the beach lounging and people-watching. One of the reasons that I wanted to visit Slovenia and Croatia is that a long time ago some of my family emigrated to the States from this part of the world. My mom always says that my younger brother gets his big size from that part of the family. I believe her. It looks as if the entire population has to shop at "Big 'n Tall" stores. And by watching the locals it seemed like the bigger the guy the smaller the bathing suit!

After Croatia, I headed over to Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was a very scenic bus ride through mountains and along a winding river. Until we started to pass through the city of Mostar. I started seeing what looked like bullet holes in the building walls. And then, wow, they are bullet marks. So many of them! It seems like the fighting stopped long ago but there were a lot of very obvious scars left behind. The same was true when I arrived in Sarajevo. I dimly remember when I was young hearing news stories about "the fighting in Bosnia" but seeing things up close is a completely different story. All I can say is that it definitely makes an impact on you.

As a city, Sarajevo is still an interesting place to visit. The scenery reminds me of something in Switzerland but with Mosques. I enjoyed pleanty of sausages and fried dough things. I was also introduced to plain yougurt as a beverage which seems to be common in this part of the world. Yum.

Next was Belgrade in Serbia. Here was where I was really beginning to realize my ignorance of world affairs. I was on my way to visit the US embassy to get some extra pages taped into my passport. I noticed a couple of bombed out buildings on the way. I made a mental note to ask someone about them. Here is how the conversation went later with a Serbian:

Me: "So, who bombed out those builings I saw down the street?"
Guy: "You guys did. The Americans."

Turns out it was actually NATO but really mostly the Americans who took action. Hmm...maybe next time I'll just Google that kind of stuff. No wonder he liked Canadians better. Maybe the reason we never learned that in history class was because it wasn't history yet. I think the books only went up to the 80's.

The rest of my time in Serbia I spent at the big old fort by the river. There was some kind of medieval festival going on so I watched lots of fights with fake weapons. The fort contains the Military Museum so there were plenty of real weapons like tanks and cannons to look at too.

Next came Budapest, Hungary. No, being in Hungary did not make me hungry though plenty of people have already asked. It did however, make my fingers and toes very wrinkly from all the time I spent at one of its thermal baths. The thermal baths were great because they had a bunch of indoor and outdoor pools all with a different set temperature. You didn't have to worry about getting too hot or too cold because the next pool over was just the right temperature.

There are a lot of things to see in Budapest. I spent much of my time going to museums and admiring the incredible achitecture of the city. I won't bore you with names (OK so I don't really remember the names of most of them) but I enjoyed checking things out. A number of attractions centered around communism which was helpful because as I mentioned above I don't really know much about the history of this part of the world.

After running around to so many big cities I decided to stop and relax for a while in the mountains of Transylvania at a place called Brasov. There were plenty of castles to see and plenty of opportunities for great hiking.

From Brasov I stopped in Bucharest. Then it was on to two different cities in Bulgaria, Sofia and Plovdiv. These places have lots of Roman ruins in their museums and many visible traces of the communist era. I was introduced to the Cyrillic alphabet which makes street signs useless to someone who can only read English.

I have to say that it takes a bit of getting used to when a Bulgarian shakes his or her head back and forth instead of up and down when they mean yes. And I am glad that I will not be celebrating my birthday in Bulgaria since I would be expected to buy all my friends drinks! Who came up with that idea?

Next stop Turkey. Turkey has become one of my favorite places I have visited so far. The variety of the landscape, the history and the friendliness of the people has left a very positive impression in my mind. Best of all Turkey was where my mom and (honorary) Aunt Becky came to visit me!

I spent a little over a week in the country before their arrival. I ate kebabs just about every day and discovered I have the enviable talent of sleeping through the call to prayer even if the hostel is right next to a mosque. (This should come as no surprise to those who know me well.)

I spent some time in a region called Capidoccia in central Turkey. The best way to describe the towns would be for you to picture the Flintstones' town of Bedrock. It's a place where people carve their homes out of rocks or build underground cities. The rock formations are amazing and like nothing I have ever seen before. Well, except maybe in Star Wars. The hiking trails are great because there are early Christian churches and tombs carved into the rock and scattered around to peek inside as you go.

The tourist attractions like the monasteries, church clusters and underground cities are fun to climb in and around and kind of make you feel like you are a kid on a gigantic playground.

Back in Istanbul I met up with Mom and Becky. I have to say that the anticipation of seeing them was a little bit like waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus. It was a wonderful reunion and good to see familiar faces for the first time in over four months. They came prepared with Rick Steves' guidebooks and comfortable shoes. We were about to "do" Istanbul.

We saw the major tourist things like the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Underground Cistern, a Bosphorus cruise, museums, bazaars and palaces. I had the privilege of hearing them quote Rick Steves at every opportunity.

I reveled in being spoiled by sleeping in a real hotel bed, eating good restaurant food and not having to think about planning my day. What a life! The food in Turkey is considered to be some of the best in the world. I was certainly not disappointed. Even just the fruits and vegetables were some of the most delicious I have ever tasted.

We flew south to Ephesus where we did things like lie on the beach, see a show of traditional turkish dancing, view famous Roman ruins and drink a lot of Efes (the local beer). We rented a car and I got to drive a car for the first time in a long time. We stopped in Pamukkale for more Roman ruins and really cool water springs that leave behind rocks that look like snow. Then back to Istanbul for more Baklava.

Just as they were getting used to being called "lady" by the locals Mom and Becky were off for home. I was sad to see them because I had had such a good time.

Now I am on the hunt for a Russian visa. I tried without success in Istanbul and also stopped in Bucharest on my way up here to Ukraine but to no avail. I am in Kiev at the moment and will give it one more go. My plan is to take the Trans-Siberian over to Mongolia but I may have to find a plan B. The good news is that I will be meeting up with my Ukrainian friend, Maria while I am here. Maybe she can help me decipher some of this Cyrillic...

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for (unless you've already seen them), photos!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27899&l=8e560&id=638697758

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28449&l=5c68f&id=638697758

Enjoy.