Cyprus Hill

We landed in Cyprus in the afternoon.  The island is occupied by both Turkey and Greece and the green line divides the country between the two.  You have to have your passport stamped every time you cross over.  Upon arrival we noticed police in riot gear near our hotel.  Little did we know there was a local soccer game going on.  Our hotel was near a pub that supported The Hooligans.  When we got off the bus, I heard a cannon shot and of course I hit the deck.  But this is just custom if your team wins to shoot the cannon.  After a brief lunch and a group meeting, Natasha and I set off on foot and were immediately stopped by some locals at the Hooligan bar for some spirits.  We tried several drinks and headed off back to the hotel as we forgot to get Euros.  We then walked for a spell and realized we needed a cab.   We had the cab take us to the bus station.  What a nightmare - it was very difficult to find someone who spoke English and even harder to figure out the bus schedule.  After about 45 minutes of walking back and fourth, we figured out that we needed to go to the Turkish side of the island to go north.  Once we passed through immigration we realized that the Greek side was much nicer.  We found the correct bus station and realized it was closed.  So we headed back to the Greek side and had some dinner. 

      The next morning we walked through the “green zone” - this property is actually occupied by the U.N.  No pictures allowed.  We had to have our passports stamped again.  Shortly afterwards we boarded a 30 minute bus to the northern coast of the island.  We toured a castle along the coast and small boat harbour.  After a cool drink at a local watering hole with Bill, we then took a cab to the Buffavento Castle.  We then climbed for thirty minutes to reach the castle.  The views were incredible.  An interesting fact regarding this castle…it is one of the many castles still standing from the Crusade era.  It was built to help combat the Arab raiders.   We are in decent shape yet the altitude made the climb more difficult.  After climbing down the mountain we then went to the St. Hilarion Castle.  It is rumored that this castle actully inspired Disney for the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs story.  Once again, the climb was tough.  This particular climb was a little tougher as we had to find things within the castle and the castle still had several climbs within its walls.   Compared to the pevious castle hill we climbed the views from this apex were fantastic.  You could actually see Nicosia from the top of this hill. 

After heading back to the city, we ran into our fellow travelers and decided to have drinks and lunch before we headed back to the hotel for check in.  I am sure it is needless to say, but the food was great, the beer was cold, and the hooka (apple flavored) was being passed several times around the table.    We then went back to the hotel for the checkin and a much needed shower.  After the shower we found out that were headed to Roma (Rome).

 

    “You can take back the things you give, but can’t take back the days you live” - Too Short

OH MAN! We love the Middle East

Upon arrival in Oman, one could not help, but notice the western influence on this country.  T.G.I.Fridays, McDonalds, KFC, and Hardees have all staked a huge claim on this place and they were all packed with customers.  We arrived at the Shang-Ri-La in the late evening and had some great Tapas style food and then hit the bed.  We had an early morning meeting and this time we were told we actually could rent a car.  And get this…a 4X4 was recommended.  We also were allowed to team up with others for an unlimited amount of scavenges.  We teamed up with Two Steps Ahead – James and Jeff.  We rented a nice Toyota Four Runner and hit the road to Nakhal Fort.  This fort seemed straight out of the movies and could not have been any cooler.  It showed how these pioneers did it back in the day. 

Mom and Dad - Recognize this?

Then the fun really began.  We headed to Bald Sayt, a village located in the middle of nowhere.  The map showed a solid red line for the road and then it changed to a dotted gray line.  Not sure what that really meant, we were on our way.  We were driving on the freeway and then all of a sudden, the pavement ended and gravel road began.  And not gravel as in old country road.  Gravel as in crushed rocks in the mountains.  We traveled for about an hour following another vehicle and Natasha thought we were lost until we ran across a milage marker outside of the town letting us know that we still had a long trip ahead of us.  The pictures do not provide justice of just how high we were in the mountains.  We found a nice spring along the way so we stopped to explore and stick our feet in.  A local there had just killed a snake.  People take full advantage of these water sources and have picnics and hikes with the family.  We continued on twisting and climbing and eventually stumbled on Bald Sayt.  How they got the materials to make this city in the middle of the mountains beats me.  The moutain climbed ended up taking much longer than we expected so we called it a night afterwards.

The next day we set out to have some fun.  We had all agreed that we wanted to make it to the Wahiba Sand Dunes.  We asked around and found out about a village of bedouins who might be able to help us have some fun in the desert.  Right as we arrived at the dunes, a guy flagged us down wanting to show us the dunes (for a fee, of course).  We agreed and ended up having the time of ours lives.

He first took us through the sand dunes.  They are very dangerous and if you don’t make it up the dune (you have to gun it to the top), you run the risk of tumbling over or sinking in the dune.  Only after we finished did the guide tell us that he has seen many a tourist tumble in their rental cars attempting to ride the dunes.  All three of the guys attempted driving the dunes.  Jeff and David were experts….but it was so freaking scary.  At one point I wanted to get out and let the boys do their thing, but the sand was so hot that I couldn’t stand it.  I had to stay for the ride and closed my eyes and screamed the whole time.

The guide then took us on camel rides.  This was wild.  David almost fell off of his.

I also got a henna tatoo by a local lady.  We had a great day in Oman.

Our next stop…CYPRUS!

Sure, Why Not? Sri Lanka

 I THINK we landed in Columbo, Sri Lanka on Monday morning.  This was another leg where we could travel to other cities so we first went to the local train station and purchased tickets for a later train south to Galle.  We then set out to see a little bit of Columbo.  We went to a local market and bought some toys and then took them to a boys’ home.  It was holiday for them, so there were only a few boys there as most had gone home to their families.  Soon after we arrived, some other teams arrived and we all played cricket with the boys for some time.  It was great fun.

That early evening we took our train to Galle.  There were only third class tickets available which meant that it was mostly standing room only.  Plus it was the middle of rush hour so the train was packed.  EVERYONE stared at us the entire time.  We could not stop laughing because even if you stared back, they did not stop.  I, of course, started talking to some people and pretty soon the whole train became our friends.  We must have talked to a least 30 different people throughout our 2 ½ hour train ride.  Something very interesting…we went 2 ½ hours to the next major city and the train was packed the entire time.  These people live in other cities and take this 2 ½ hour train ride TO and FROM work every single day.  That’s five hours of travel time in one day.  That’s nuts and makes you appreciate your small 30 minute or 1 hour drive each way to work. 

Our hotel in Galle was located inside an old Dutch fort.  It is actually a vacation home owned by a couple in California.  It was a mansion and very cool..  Two local boys ran the hotel.  Anything you asked them, they responded "sure, why not?"  Can we get some orange juice?  Can we do some laundry here?  Did the Dutch build the fort?  The answer to every question we asked was "sure, why not?"  Too funny.  

The next moning our taxi picked us up bright and early and we headed to the Sinharaja Forest Reserve.  It rained on us the entire time we were in the forest.   We had a local teenage boy that lived in the surrounding village take us through the forest.  The first thing he warned us about were the leeches.  Natasha heard the word leech and the paranoia set in.  Before actually going into the rain forest, our guide rubbed salt all over our shoes and legs…but the salt was not enough.  I couldn’t believe that the guide was wearing flip flops!  He was continuously flicking off leeches from his legs and feets.  The salt was a minor deterance and the leeches were still all over our shoes and the guide helped us get them off evey few minutes or so.  Once we came to a waterfall that required crossing, Natasha refused to go any further.  (I am editing David’s blog and just have to comment that I could just see myself slipping and falling into the water that was infested with who knows what….there was no way I was doing that.) 

So we returned back to our vehicle and then went to Uda Walawa, the largest nature reserve in the country. We paid a guy with a 4x4 to take us through the 76,000 acre park. Within two minutes of entering the park, we had a female elephant come within 20 feet of the vehicle. Pretty cool!!! We also saw some crocodiles resting along the creeks, and other animals such as water buffalos, a rare wild cat, and tons of different exotic birds. 

The next day we headed back to Columbo to meet the group. We learned our next stop is OMAN!!!

A Short Teaser - Bangkok

We only got to spend a short six hours in Bangkok.  We were both really excited to go there.  Needless to say, we did not have time to relive any seens from The Hangover II.  We went to a temple where they made us rent clothes that covered our ankles. 

We also had to take a boat ride while in Bangkok.  While on the boat we saw people throwing bread into the water and there was a swarm of fish feeding on the bread.  It was crazy.

Afterwards we did a few other scavanges, ate some delicious lunch (green curry) and went to get traditional Thai massages.  When we arrived, we saw this sign that made us laugh - sorry,  no happy endings to report. 

 It just so happens some of the other teams where at the same massage place.  We all had completed our scavenges for Bangkok so we headed back to the airport.  We are off to Sri Lanka!

Inle Lake, Myanmar

We took an eight hour taxi ride to Inle Lake from Bagan.  We left at 9 pm.  It was the craziest ride.  It was a straight shot on one street that twisted up and down a mountain.  At 3 am, the belt that goes around the a/c and the power steering broke.  We were stopped on the side of the road for 30 minutes but our driver was eventually able to fix it.  We arrived at Inle Lake around 5 am the next morning.

After checking in our hotel that was located on the lake, we had a quick breakfast and then set off.  You had to hire what was basically a taxi boat to get around.  We traveled throughout the lake and witnessed  first hand how the locals depended on the lake.  They bath, brush their teeth, clean their laundry, clean their animals, play, and fish in the water. 

 There were some water buffalo cooling off in the water and some kids were climbing on top of them and diving into the water.

We also got to see the long-neck women.

I loved this place. 

The next morning we went caught a plane back to Yangon and shortly thereafter we caught a flight to Bangkok. 

Myanmar, Bangkok, Sri Lanka, Oh My....

We have seen some amazing places over the last week or so. 

Myanmar - this country was fantastic!!!

         Before we get into this leg of this amazing journey, please take into consideration that the experiences and photos that we are sharing of Myanmar have not been experienced by many Americans.  Keep in mind that the country does not have a national banking system - this was a problem for us as most places would only change crisp new $100 bills.  Without ATMs, we were stuck with the cash we had on us when we entered the country.

We began this leg by arriving mid-morning and checking into the wonderful Governer’s Residence Hotel and promptly met for our morning group session. This leg would be one of the longest legs, thus the delay for this post. Our itenerary’s included a choice of four cities including Yangon, the city where we originally landed. We teamed up with the Sydney Sisters, Katrina and Fiona. That same day we spent most of our time at a local orphanage and spent some time with the children and staff. Needless to say it was fantastic. Another team - John and Jack, joined the four of us and we had a great time touring the home and playing with the kids. The Sydney Sisters brought little toy dinosaurs and whistles for the children and the childen were so excited to the toys. We gave the children stickers, and I gave a couple of my baseball caps away . Then John and Jack busted out bosslewood air planes and the children were amazed. Next we all took turns in a little lot playing football (soccer). Of course I showed my skills. Yeah right!!

Before calling it a day, we also went to see Aung San Suu Kyi's house which was really cool to see (from the outside as it was surrounded by a tall gate).  

 The next morning we flew to the city of Bagan.  Upon arrival Natasha made the comment that  the weather was actually pleasant.  I had to explain to her that it was only 7:30 A.M.  It was very shortly after that conversation that it was HOT.  I think we spent all our money  on  bottled water .  The first thing we did was  have a breakfast at a river side café.  It was a simple and healthy breakfast of cheese pizza and fries.   A habit of the locals is to take a beetle nut, lime paste, and cigaette tobacco roll that up in a leaf and dip it.  It was a task of ours and I tried it.  Basically, it was homemade Copenhagan. 

After this, the sites that we witnessed were breath taking.  We loaded up on a horse and carriage and was off on our journey.  We went to too many temples to name but just look at the pictures. 

After the buggy ride we rented some bikes and of couse my bike did not stand a chance.  I punished that thing.  With every bump in the road the seat went lower on the bike and eventually the handle bar would not stay straight on the bike.  After sight seeing for an entire day we then took a taxi for an 8 hour cab ride overnight to Inle Lake.  More to come...

Taipei, Day 2 - Its still a small world...

      We took a train out to Hsinchu today to do some scavenges there.  We saw the East Gate and then the City God Temple.   Remember we meet someone yesterday from Sugarland, TX?  Well,  today at the City God Temple we met a local lady who spoke perfect English.  I asked her if she had ever been to the states and she had not, but her son lives in Houston and goes to school there.  So crazy. 

     We completed some of the food scavenges and that was quite interesting.  The first was zong-zi and was a pork and rice mixture.  The second was Boba and is a milky drink that has tapioca pieces in it.  Both were yucky.

     When we got back to Taipei, we went to fishermans wharf and saw the “Lover’s Bridge.”  A group of girls approached us and asked us to take a picture with them.  Turns out they were from Manilla and since we were there just last year at this time, we had plently to talk about with them.   We also got to eat the world’s tallest ice cream cone.

     Shortly thereafter it started to pour down rain.  Earlier in the day, my purse broke so once it started raining, we went shopping for a new purse and then headed back to the hotel for a quick nap before the group meeting tonight.

    Tonight we found out that Myanmar is our next destination.  I had read up on Myanmar in the past as Zoe was hoping we would make it there on this trip.  It has only recently opened up to tourists.  I am really excited to go but just a little nervous.  Its super hot there and is going to be the complete opposite of Taipei and its modern way of life.  I am loving this trip!

Taipei, Day 1 - Its a small world after all....

….. On a personal note I woke up somewhere about 7 hours into our 12 hour flight and could not for the life of me remember boarding the plane, storing my luggage, or anything.  Needless to say we both missed the chicken and rice dinner we were told.  Breakfast was served shortly after we woke up and the rest of the flight went well. 

      We landed in Taipei at 06:00 A.M. local time and proceeded to our hotel via bus.  During our rides the MC of the trip Bill always provides us with interesting facts about the country that we are currently occupying.  The two facts that stood out the most to me was the fact that Taiwan was the first democratic government of Asia and the birth rate is amongst the lowest in the world. 

    We checked into our hotel (The Regent) and were out and about within three hours.  We went to the Taipei Main Station which contains both the metro and the high speed train.  It was not very hard to figue out the train schedules and the locals are eager to help.  For some reason, we stand out and look lost.  A local gentleman we met explained a few things to us and was great help.  Just to show us how small the world really is, we found out he was  from Sugarland, TX.  How cool is that??  So we ended up buying tickets for the high speed train and boarded a train to Kaoshing to see the Tiger and Dragon Pagoda.  It was really cool seeing the country side via train and Natasha read that at one point we were traveling at 266 kmh.  Pretty fast!!  I can’t think of any trains state side that go that fast.  The Pagoda were very vibrant and colorful.   

    We took the train back to Taipei and then traveled the city by metro.  We then went to see a local movie.  To be clear, American movies were available (Titanic 3D, The Lorax), but our scavenge was to see a local movie.  We purchased two tickets, popcorn, and some not so normal Sprite.  The movie title was Z108.  When we purchased the tickets, we simply asked for the next available screening of a local movie so we had no idea what we were in for.  The movie was basically an attempt to take every concept from an American or Western movie and incorporate it all into one.  It had everything from zombies and martial arts, to cops and drug lords, to strippers and sex scenes, to serial killers and family relationships, plus there was even one black guy and a black joke.  The dialogue was horrible and we laughed through most of it because it was so over the top.

  After the movie, we went to Tapei 101 which is a building/mall with 101 floors. We took an elevator to the highest floor you can reach (89) and it only took 37 seconds. We called it a night after that.