A Long Overdue and Quick Update

I know that I haven't posted anything in over 2 months, almost 3. But I have a good excuse! I have been so busy with my coursework that I didn't have the energy to write anything else. And, as I'm finishing my last paper tonight, I still don't.

We leave tomorrow for a 3+ week trip around Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. We'll be spending about 10 days with our friends Abigail and Jesse, in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and an unknown location that Chris has organized for us. Then, we'll spend New Year's in Bangkok and, after recovering on the 1st, we'll welcome my parents as they make their first trip to Southeast Asia. We'll visit Bangkok, Koh Samet, Chiang Mai and Chiang Dao in Thailand, then head to Cambodia for a stop at the Wats in Siem Reap and a quick visit to Phnom Penh.

I'm excited for the whole trip and to show my parents our adopted and adored "home." But I'm really excited for Laos. Every person we've mentioned it to has either said, "Ohhhhh I LOVED Laos" or "Ohhhh I can't WAIT to go to Laos." I just stumbled upon a blog post whose writer put into words what I've expected Laos to be like (the last paragraph, not the "Dragon" part...) and I'm even more excited to get this paper done, get packed and get out!

Here it is: http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/12/18/gonzo-traveler-robin-esrock-discovers-why-he-travels-in-laos/

Happy Holidays to any of our friends and family who read this! We wish you all every happiness as we move into a new and HOPEful year!

xoxo Jenna and Chris

A great website!

I just came across this website that tells you (out loud) how to pronounce words...I always wondering if I am pronouncing words from other languages correctly (place names, food names, etc.) and this is a great resource!

http://www.forvo.com/

Check it out...

Below are some photos from our recent trip to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat and the other nearby temples. I'm not sure what I expected from Cambodia, but it was really amazing. It is a poor country, filled with people who have suffered unbelievable atrocities under Pol Pot and his regime, yet everyone seems to have a smile on their face. I can't wait to go back! More details to come...

Part I: Greeting the Smells of India

OK, as promised, I'm starting the large task that is writing about our India trip....

The trip started out in Delhi. Actually, that's not true, it really started at the Bangalore airport. If you've heard of Bangalore, it's probably in its capacity as the IT capital of India. This, despite all of Chris' warnings that India was going to be "tough" and unexpected, put me in the mindframe of expecting something, oh I don't know, modern? However, we get out of the airplane in the "International Terminal" and begin to look for the "Domestic Terminal" from where we will continue our journey. I use the quotes because I am not sure I would even call them a terminal or separate them into two, because they are basically 2 big, connected rooms that you still need to go outside to move between. We step outside and, wham!! India whacks me in the face. First of all, it doesn't smell good, a little like curry, b.o. and pee, all mixed into one, fine package. Secondly, many, many rickshaw drivers start accosting us. The ones who weren't peeing in the bushes on the side of building, that is. As we are carrying our luggage and walking toward the "Domestic Terminal" it didn't seem to make sense, but as we were continually reminded throughout the trip, making sense and India didn't really go together. This would be proved, not a moment after pushing through the rickshaw drivers, by the x-ray machine at the entrance to the "terminal." First, you go to a window outside, with your e-ticket printout and pick up your ticket. Then you walk to the door, with a "line" (anytime I use the words line or queue, they must be taken with a grain of salt. While we Americans tend to be an orderly bunch, the Indians prefer "cluster" approach. One you propel your way to the front of the cluster, you arrive at the machine, where a guard asks you what bag you are checking. This bag, and nothing else you are carrying, gets put on the x-ray machine. Now, to me, this didn't make sense. Couldn't you just go inside and check in another bag when you get to the counter? Yes. But again, it goes to show I know nothing about what makes sense here.

After braving this chaos of the outside world for a few minutes, we were safely inside the "Domestic" piece of the airport. A true caffeine addict, I was ready for a non-Indian-Airlines-brewed cup of coffee. I figured they wouldn't have a coffee shop in this 1970's throwback of an airport, but I started to wander around. Lo and behold, I found a place that claimed to serve coffee. We hadn't changed money over before we left, generally preferring to use ATM machines when we arrive, to get the best rates. I stood in line at the coffeshop and asked if I could pay with a credit card (I was that desperate). No? Maybe Singapore Dollars? Hmm..US Dollars? With the shopkeeper growing increasingly impatient, I asked where I could find the nearest ATM. "No. No ATM" How can an airport NOT have an ATM machine?? So I move on to a man selling silk scarves. Surely, HE'D know where an ATM was. Shot down again. No currency change booth either. Finally, I gave up, knowing that my coffee dream was slipping away. Instead, Chris and I got into line to check in for our flight. I couldn't remember the time difference between India and Singapore, so I started surreptitiously checking out other people's watches. "Crap," I thought, "my watch stopped again." I thought this because everyone's watches showed a half hour time difference (plus the time zone difference) from mine. I mentioned this to Chris and he looked at his watch too - Same as mine. This is when we asked someone else in "line" about the time. Turns out - India is HALF AN HOUR away from the rest of the world on time. That's right - it's 3.5 hours different from Singapore, and likely about 8.5 from the Eastern US. I personally think this is what's thrown the whole thing off!

Anyway, coffee-free, we eventually board the plane, Kingfisher Air, which just seems to be the nicest domestic airline in India. We were really impressed and would definitely fly them again! It was a nice treat, after our short and already overwhelming introduction to India!

Note: Bangalore is in the process of opening a NEW airport, which I'm sure is going to be very nice, so you shouldn't be afraid to go!

Part II: Delhi in my Belly...Coming soon

It was just requested that I update the blog, and since I can't say no to a fan :) and since I now spend my days at a desk with a lot of free time, I really have no excuse. I was thinking about why I update this blog so infrequently - is it sheer laziness? Well, yes, I do have that nice lazy streak everyone wishes they could have, but it's more that Singapore just isn't as "interesting" at Turkey. By "interesting" I of course mean bizarre, frustrating, foreign, hilarious, etc...It's just a much nicer, and more "normal" place to live. This isn't to say one is better or worse than the other. I have recently put together my "Istanbul list" for a few friends who've gone to visit Istanbul and it made me miss it. I now have a small and constant hankering for lahmacun, and I occasionally miss the ferry ride commute to work (which truly proves that there's nothing like time to erase the negative - like the stares and the crowds and being surrounded by a boat full of people lighting up a cigarette at 8am).

On the other side of the coin, Singapore is everything people say it is; it's clean, efficient, organized. It's also lush and green, and hot, hot, hot! The food is delicious and the shops are more than enough to get me into trouble! There just haven't been many things here that make me say, "What???" Rather, things just kind of "make sense". Hence part of the reason for my lack of communication. The other part is that I've been pretty much working full time and I just completed my first semester of my Masters program (yay!) It was alot more work than I expected and took up most of my free time. But now that I'm free from classes (for a few more weeks) I appreciate that free time even more. One of the projects from this semester was to design a website, which I did, and it's here. There are some updates on there about the trips we've made this year (to China, Thailand, India and Bali) on the website, along with some library related things that I don't recommend you look at unless that's what you're in to (Flight of the Conchords reference, if you weren't sure. Are they coming back on the air? I miss them.)

Our last trip (well, my last trip. Chris' last trip was a field trip with his students to the non-resort part of Bintan, Indonesia) was to Bali. It was incredible and is now on my list of favorite destinations. The people are amazingly friendly and warm, and the places we stayed were nothing short of luxurious, all at a good price. We were amazed by how upscale it was (of course, I'm talking about the tourist areas.The local parts of the island were more rustic). Rather than a bunch of beachside shacks, the restaurants and bars in Bali were chic and the food was some of the best we've had in our travels. And not just local cuisine either. I had several italian dishes that would rival anything I've had in New York, and a usual meal, including wine or beer, appetizers, a main course and dessert, would be well under $20USD per person. It was amazing! One of the best experiences in Bali was taking a day trip with Wayan, who we met at the Three Monkeys Cafe, in Ubud, where he was our waiter. He is such a nice guy, working hard to support his family and he was really knowledgable about the island. During out tour, Wayan took us to a temple where there were hundreds of school children on a field trip. They were so curious about us and so friendly with the biggest smiles - It made all three of us (Chris and I and our friend Katie, another teacher) want to try and find a way to teach, at some point, in Bali). 4 days was too short of a time to spend in Bali and we look forward to going back and getting to know better the island and the Balinese people.

Still nagging me is the knowledge that I have to post about our India trip. As I think I've mentioned before, I'm intimidated to begin writing about it. It was such a long trip and overwhelming in so many ways, that I was mentally writing a long post about it while we were there, but now it's hiding somewhere in my brain. I do promise, though, that I'm going to start it today and hopefully finish it tomorrow. The photos are in a few different places, including the website I mentioned before.

On an exciting note, both Chris and I leave Singapore soon for our US summer holiday! We can't wait to get home to see family and friends and leave a bit of the heat and humidity behind. See you all then!!

The Police!

This is a great week! We had a short week thanks to Chinese New Year, which we got to experience last night. We also got to go see The Police play at Singapore Indoor Stadium on Monday. The Police aren't a band I'd even think of going to see at home (although I do love so many of their songs) but there's something about being far away from home that any "import" is a big deal (and yes, I know the Police are from the UK and that is not my home either!)

It was a really fun concert, preceded by some more fun beer and pizza's at our friends' place. I didn't get videos or decent photos of my own, because i had read that we couldn't bring cameras into the arena, and you just don't break rules here. Or so I thought. Most people had cameras, and I found this good montage of the show YouTube:



And I learned one very important lesson from the show...Old(er) Sting...Wayyyy more attractive than Young Sting. Who knew?

Chinese New Year photos and a posting about India (that I've been putting off because there's so, so much to write about) to come!