10 US Dollar = 60 minute massage with not one, but two masseuses. And strong ones. We probably could've bargained even further, but I really can't complain at all.
If you have ever thought about coming to Bali, go. Please, for the love of whatever you may believe in, go.
White water rafting, monkey forest and other things tomorrow...
Off to bed to get some sleep before the big day.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Egypt, oh Egypt
Brent and I are sitting in the Luxor airport with, literally, like 10 other people. Does no one else fly out of Luxor? It's kind of creepy but I suppose the airport is nice and clean and there was no line at the security. We're flying Qatar air to Bali via Doha and singapore. I have a feeling Qatar air is going to have some pretty sweet perks and good food. Anyhow enough about the Luxor airport...
We spent our first two days two nights in Cairo. If you ever decide to come to Egypt I recommend this length of time or less. Go to see the pyramids at Giza, the sphinx, Memphis, the egyptian museum and maybe the bazaar if you're into shopping. Once you're done that - get out of Cairo. It's impossible to walk anywhere. Crossing the streets islike the human version of frogger and people are constantly trying to give you their "business card". I felt bad for the people there that were being generally being friendly bc we had to completely ignore them.. You just never know. Our hotel was decent though and the staff accomodating- with breakfast stretching until 11. On the third night we took an overnight train to Luxor which was a comfortable ride after Brent convinced me to take an ambien.
Luxor, although known as the hassle capital of Egypt, wasn't THAT bad in terms of being hounded. A donkey pulled cart
man - I think they're called kaleshes - followed us for a mile and eventually got off his donkey and asked for a tip bc he claimed he gave us advice. This young boy - maybe 15 - also grabbed brents butt cheek, the right one to be exact. I thought he was propositioning him for sex but brent claimed he was trying to get his wallet. Either way, it was funny/scary to watch.
Other than that Luxor was awesome. The temples of karnac and Luxor were really cool. We also saw the Valley of the Kings and a few other sites on the west side. It's amazing how preserved the sites are in Egypt. Maybe it's because they get out a centimeter of rain a year, not sure... Looking at the mummies though, Egyptians are darn cool are preserving things.
We're currently now in the Singapore airport on our way to Bali, Indonesia. I've never been in a nicer airport in my life. They have a butterfly santuary?! Behind me is the largest plasma screen TV in the world. Also, we're riding Qatar Airlines... one of the best airlines I've ever been on.
Must go retrieve Brent. Write later...
We spent our first two days two nights in Cairo. If you ever decide to come to Egypt I recommend this length of time or less. Go to see the pyramids at Giza, the sphinx, Memphis, the egyptian museum and maybe the bazaar if you're into shopping. Once you're done that - get out of Cairo. It's impossible to walk anywhere. Crossing the streets islike the human version of frogger and people are constantly trying to give you their "business card". I felt bad for the people there that were being generally being friendly bc we had to completely ignore them.. You just never know. Our hotel was decent though and the staff accomodating- with breakfast stretching until 11. On the third night we took an overnight train to Luxor which was a comfortable ride after Brent convinced me to take an ambien.
Luxor, although known as the hassle capital of Egypt, wasn't THAT bad in terms of being hounded. A donkey pulled cart
man - I think they're called kaleshes - followed us for a mile and eventually got off his donkey and asked for a tip bc he claimed he gave us advice. This young boy - maybe 15 - also grabbed brents butt cheek, the right one to be exact. I thought he was propositioning him for sex but brent claimed he was trying to get his wallet. Either way, it was funny/scary to watch.
Other than that Luxor was awesome. The temples of karnac and Luxor were really cool. We also saw the Valley of the Kings and a few other sites on the west side. It's amazing how preserved the sites are in Egypt. Maybe it's because they get out a centimeter of rain a year, not sure... Looking at the mummies though, Egyptians are darn cool are preserving things.
We're currently now in the Singapore airport on our way to Bali, Indonesia. I've never been in a nicer airport in my life. They have a butterfly santuary?! Behind me is the largest plasma screen TV in the world. Also, we're riding Qatar Airlines... one of the best airlines I've ever been on.
Must go retrieve Brent. Write later...
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
In Egypt
Arrived in Cairo last night.... What a busy city. Everyone we've come across is working for tips so they all are incredibly nice. Our hotel is right near tahrir square. Taxis and honking all night through the window. Drivers are crazy. Nobody pays attention to lane lines and nobody uses headlights--as if they are trying to conserve energy. Temps in the high90's. We made triple sure both our hotels have working AC. We're off to see the Pyramids, the Sphinx and finish the day off by cruising down the Nile.
As a side note, we're majorly hurting for clean clothes. I refuse to pay the exorbinant amount hotels charge to get your clothes washed but also don't want to spend an afternoon in a laudamat.
Off to breakfast and our Cairo adventure begins...
As a side note, we're majorly hurting for clean clothes. I refuse to pay the exorbinant amount hotels charge to get your clothes washed but also don't want to spend an afternoon in a laudamat.
Off to breakfast and our Cairo adventure begins...
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Paris and the Mediterrean
Travels have been absolutely fabulous... except for the fact that decent internet that doesn't cost $1/minute is no where to be found. Currently I'm in an internet cafe in Katakolon, Greece (a town not too far from Olympia, Greece - sight of the ancient Olympics. I have to make this post fairly brief as Brent doesn't like it when I spend too much time on the computer and ignore him ha!
Paris was awesome. The food being the best part. Baguettes, cheese, wine, crepes - absolute heaven. The sights were pretty cool too. Eiffel Tower and the Musee d'Orsay being my favorites.
We're been visiting the Meditterean countries the past week and a half: Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey. Istanbul was my favorite city, although very busy. Mykonos, Greece, a small island, was my favorite slower-paced place. We visited a beach called Super Paradise. :-) Today we went to Olympia and I loved it, even though our time there was minimal. We raced on the stadium track and checked out the Temple of Zeus.
I'm working on uploading pictures, but it takes FOREVER.
Paris was awesome. The food being the best part. Baguettes, cheese, wine, crepes - absolute heaven. The sights were pretty cool too. Eiffel Tower and the Musee d'Orsay being my favorites.
We're been visiting the Meditterean countries the past week and a half: Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey. Istanbul was my favorite city, although very busy. Mykonos, Greece, a small island, was my favorite slower-paced place. We visited a beach called Super Paradise. :-) Today we went to Olympia and I loved it, even though our time there was minimal. We raced on the stadium track and checked out the Temple of Zeus.
I'm working on uploading pictures, but it takes FOREVER.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Iceland
Yikes, it's been so long since I've messaged. Part of the reason was due to the fact we were "stealing" slow internet at Granny's and it was too much of a hassle to try to get things accomplished online.
Iceland was unlike any other country we've been to - glaciers, geothermal spas, geysirs, waterfalls, volcanoes, stretches of volcanic rock that make you feel like you're on the moon - the place was really neat.
The people there were tall... I think I was below average height. Everyone was blond blue eyed, despite having 50% Celtic genes. Apparently, the Norweigan Vikings stopped off in Ireland for brides on their way to Iceland.
Here are some pictures from Iceland: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=839008185905%3A1842509038&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
We are just finishing up our trip in Ireland were we went to my cousin Eoin's wedding and got to see lots of relatives. The weather was uncharacteristically warm and sunny for Dublin. Hopefully I'll have those pictures up soon... we'll see.
Iceland was unlike any other country we've been to - glaciers, geothermal spas, geysirs, waterfalls, volcanoes, stretches of volcanic rock that make you feel like you're on the moon - the place was really neat.
The people there were tall... I think I was below average height. Everyone was blond blue eyed, despite having 50% Celtic genes. Apparently, the Norweigan Vikings stopped off in Ireland for brides on their way to Iceland.
Here are some pictures from Iceland: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=839008185905%3A1842509038&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
We are just finishing up our trip in Ireland were we went to my cousin Eoin's wedding and got to see lots of relatives. The weather was uncharacteristically warm and sunny for Dublin. Hopefully I'll have those pictures up soon... we'll see.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
In Iceland
Wooo HOoo we´re in Iceland. We arrived into Reykjavik a little later than expected as we had to land at Reykjavik´s domestic airport due to fog at Keflavik. We didn´t get to the hotel until noon (where we probably would´ve arrived close to 8am).
I am so excited to explore Iceland. The people here look like an amalgam between Norweigan and Irish (more so Norweigan I suppose)... perfect for Brent and me. We took a short boat ride to look at some puffins... I thought they were going to be a lot bigger and cooler, but, hey, the boat ride was nice. We then explored the city by walking and ended up at a museum. The museum had this great audio tour with wax structures (I seriously thought they were real until Brent convinced me they weren´t). The tour chronicled Iceland´s history from about 800 - 1500. Turns out many of the Icelandic women are of Celtic descent where men are of Norweigan.... go figure.
Must get to eating now. Very hungry. Not sure we´ll be as adventurous about trying local cuisine as we were in Peru. Petrified shark, no thanks.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Peru Pictures
Hi Everyone -
After an absolutely incredible experience in Peru, we're in Boston shortly to visit my new niece, Ariana! She is the most adorable girl I've ever seen.
Peru was awesome. We spent two nights in Lima, two nights in Cusco, one night in Aguas Calientes (town that people stay at to get to Machu Picchu), another night in Cusco and one final night in Lima. I will hopefully have time to write more later, but here are some pictures (which I hope to also have time to label while in Boston).
You have to check out Brent's post Machu Picchu meal....
Picture link:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=773583335905%3A1586485778&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
After an absolutely incredible experience in Peru, we're in Boston shortly to visit my new niece, Ariana! She is the most adorable girl I've ever seen.
Peru was awesome. We spent two nights in Lima, two nights in Cusco, one night in Aguas Calientes (town that people stay at to get to Machu Picchu), another night in Cusco and one final night in Lima. I will hopefully have time to write more later, but here are some pictures (which I hope to also have time to label while in Boston).
You have to check out Brent's post Machu Picchu meal....
Picture link:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=773583335905%3A1586485778&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
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