No rain in Spain

Well all is well in Barcelona.  The time has gone by quickly.  We got a decent hostel that is located near the trains and all the good stuff to do.  Of course we have spent a lot of time walking La Rambla, including one stop for paella.

Highlights:
Gaudy walking tour.  His architecture is truly bizarre and fun to stare at.  Yet another cranky, eccentric architect that becomes much more revered after his death.  La Sagrada Familia is still being finished and won't be completed for another twenty-five years!  It looks like it's melting from afar but up close it's a whole narrative as you traverse the side of the building

Flamenco.  We actually just went to a half-hour show designed for tourists, but we were mesmerized.  Tonight we see a show at what is considered the best theater in town, and we can't wait!

Jazz music.  Dara found this cool club called Jamboree, and we have visited there three nights for some great jazz.  First was Eva Cortes, a smooth, tight combo with whom Dara has already made friends on Facebook.  Then we saw Xangao, playing interesting jazz/hip-hop fusion, and last night we went to the "WTF Jam Session".  All week we've been commenting that the name of the event was unnecessarily...crass.  Then we saw the show, the first part of which certainly lived up to the title.  Some great visiting musicians sat in later, including a drummer from New York who looked like Harvey Weinstein.

Olympic pool.  Up above the city, in Montjuic Park, we found the Olympic stadium and pool.  We made a commitment right then and there to come up and swim the following day.  I'm no Matt Biondi, but we had a great afternoon.

Skyride.  From that same park, we took a cable car across the coastline of Barcelona, arriving at the beach. Beautiful views were at risk of being overtaken by a British lad who like to query his father with things like "What if we were to climb up that (scaffolding) and fall off.  Wouldn't that be scary?".  Once we landed at the beautiful beach, we pledged to come back and we will shoot for that this afternoon.

As always, all good things must come to an end, but we want more time in Barcelona!

Unique Dubrovnik

Ah, this is nice...

St. Petersburg was a treat - great entertainments and hangings out.  However, we are just thrilled to be in Dubrovnik.  The beaches are really nice, and walking the old city walls is an enjoyable hour followed by forty-five minutes of ˝it´s too hot up here!  Get me off!˝  In any case, we really enjoyed sitting outside the Troubador Jazz Cafe listening to local musicians light it up!  Today we intend to relax on the beach, and tomorrow we head to Mostar, Bosnia on a day trip.  Lots to learn and see!  Take care, all...

St. Pete's

A quick note, because I have to give up the computer.  We've had a great time in St. Petersburg.  It was very welcome after a gloomy, but interesting, experience in Moscow.  St. Pete's is much more cosmopolitan - we've had a couple nice meals sitting outside watching people and looking at the beautiful Church of the Spilled Blood, which looks like candy.  The Hermitage has just too much art, but you must try the midnight boat tour.  Russian guys in front of us turned around and asked us "Do you like cognac?".  Today we will see Peter and Paul Fortress and the ballet.  Tomorrow Croatia!

From Russia...

ahem.  Here we are in (hack) (wheeze) Mosc (cough) ow (snort)(gulp)(gack)

Turkish Delight, but I'm almost out of Jetons

So far, so good in Istanbul with one day to go before we move on to Moscow's  100+ degree temperatures.

Highlights:

-The Blue Mosque.  An obvious choice, but it is really amazing walking in to the structure.  And the outside is already beautiful so that's saying something.

-Drinking banana tea and playing checkers with Dara at one of the nargileh places.  Some guys' jobs is to walk around and get dormant water pipes going strong again.  They exhale so much smoke that their head is totally surrounded in a cherry-flavored cloud.

-The Ayasofia.  It has many layers, literally and historically.  Now a museum, as you walk in you can see the foundations of its early incarnations as a church under the Byzantines.  Once you go in, you see many beautiful Christian-themed mosaics that, ironically, are well preserved because they were plastered over when the Ottomans converted it to a mosque.  Justinian, Constantine, Jesus, Mary, the whole crew is in the house.  In addition, the requisite Arabic postings of Allah, mohamed, and the four other important guys.  There's a hole you can put your thumb in and try to twist it all the way around for good luck, but it didn't seem like it was worth waiting for a mob of grinning tourists to get the photo of your inevitable fail.

-The Basilica Cisterns.  A great way to cool off on a hot afternoon was visiting this underground water storage and distribution system.  It's got fish in it and two statues of Medusa.

-Food - I have found that anything I tried here that also existed in Greece, it was better here.  Take a hike, Athens moussaka!  Now there's something tastier!

-Whirling Dervish show - Five men dressed in white go on a spiritual journey right before your eyes for fifty Euros.  How can you beat that? Really quite amazing to see - they looked so relaxed.

-more to come: we're not done yet!

Four great things about India

It took me awhile, but here were some enjoyable moments from a truly unique country:

• 
  
  Fire restaurant in New Delhi, especially the appetizer platter
• Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort, and of course the Taj Mahal - all beautiful structures with great patterns and great stories within.  Once in a lifetime.
• Tere Bin Laden - check this movie out if you get a chance, although I bet it's hard to find in the states. Enjoy seating in the Ebony section, with recliners!
• Jaipur - a pleasant town with castles and elephants

Ready to gobble up some Turkey food!

Well we've had a great week in Greece, including:

-A great day trip to Hydra with beautiful clear, deep, cool waters for swimming.
-Wonderful views of the Acropolis, including the Parthenon and surrounding buildings being fortified for posterity's sake.  They are humbling views, both up close, from nearby rooftops, and down in the city's streets
-Great walks through Plaka, including some decent food
-A super day trip to the beach near Athens - calm waters and a sunbed!
-Mythos!
-Rooftop movies - the great atmosphere totally makes up for a weird flick: "The Last Station".  An odd way to end your life, Leo!

Now we are on to Istanbul this evening.  Hopefully we'll catch up with you there!  Thanks for following and commenting - it's great to hear from you.

Another old building

Just a quick update for now:  we have successfully transitioned from India to Greece, which is quite a difference.  I just can't describe India.  I won't.  No, I can't.  I don't know.  Anyway, we walked around the Acropolis last night, and are headed out for a one-day island hopping cruise tomorrow.  Now I'm about to look for opera tickets so I'll check in later all!

Hello everyone, just a quick update because my time's running out on this computer.  We have enjoyed the truly unique country of India, with the super-friendly people (sometimes so friendly you think to yourself it's creepy) and the delicious food that's hard to forget.  Most of all, we enjoyed the Taj Mahal.  That Emperor had commitment! 22 years, 20,000 people, massive tons of marble and precious stones to boot - all to spend somber time remembering his beautiful late wife...

Tomorrow we're on a day trip from Agra to see Fatehpur Sikri, then more relaxing at the hotel and back to New Delhi the day after for sightseeing and a day trip to Jaipur.  I'll keep you posted! 

Top 5 Reasons to Love Vietnam by Dara

1. Traveling by Boat-

Vietnam is a long narrow country filled with rivers where many of the locals and the tourist enjoy travel by boat. You can have a young, beautiful Vietnamese woman row you in a rowboat. You can do it Miami Vice style in a fast boat along the Saigon River. You can ride a motorboat to watch the buying and selling of fruits and vegetables at the floating market on the Mekong River and of course you can sail through the beautiful, emerald green waters of Ha Long Bay.

2. Pho-

A steaming hot bowl of noodles, spices and meat floating in a tasty broth. I love that they give you a fork, a spoon and chopsticks to eat pho with. First, use your spoon to slurp up some broth and finely chopped scallions. Then use your chopsticks to add add some fresh bean sprouts and minty leaves that come with the pho on a separate plate. Then scoop up some rice noodles and lean beef with your chopsticks. Mmmmm mmm.

3. Motorbike Traffic-

There are over 20 million motorbikes in Vietnam and about two stoplights. I mean I was born in raised in New York City but I'm getting heart palpitations trying to cross the street here. Yet I greatly admire the multi-tasking ability of the Vietnamese motorbike drivers and riders. One guy is texting on a cell phone. Another is picking his nose. One is petting the Chihuahua riding on the handlebars. One is loosely holding a baby, all while honking madly and weaving in and out of congested, downtown Ho Chi Minh City traffic.

4. Water Puppet Theater-

The art of traditional Vietnamese Water Puppetry is over 1000 years old. In step with traditional Vietnamese village life, the series of vignettes that make up the puppet show all take place in the water. Skilled puppeteers standing behind a bamboo screen in waist high water skillfully recreate a village boat race, the planting and harvesting of rice fields, a fishing expedition, children playing in the lake and the legend of a Vietnamese King sailing on his way back from fighting the Chinese during the Ming Dynasty. According to the legend a sacred turtle jumped out of the lake, took the King's sword in his mouth and disappeared back into the lake to signify the ushering in of a peaceful era in Vietnamese history. The water puppets are so cute and joyful. The musical accompaniment was absolutely divine. It was a real treat for a fan of puppetry.

5. Nha Trang Beach-

Nha Trang Beach, located on the South Central coast of Vietnam, has clear, just-the-right-temperature water, plenty of local flavor and fresh seafood vendors who will cook you up a plateful of tasty crab, lobster tails, scallops and tiger prawns right on the beach (and then pull your hair and try to sell you cigarettes while you're trying to eat). It's a great mixture of French Riviera style with a Coney Island vibe complete with a Ferris Wheel and plenty of Vietnamese families frolicking in the waters or playing volleyball in the sand.

Honorable Mention-

Eating Lychee, Dragonfruit, Passionfruit, Mangosteen and other crazy-looking, tasty fruits that we don't know the names of.

What do you love about Vietnam?

Top 5 Reasons to Love Japan by Dara Ross

I Am Desperately in Love With Japan










1. Fabric Town and Craft Shopping-
There are so many awesome places to buy craft supplies and get inspiration in Tokyo. It is a crafter's paradise. For more of crafty shopping in Japan visit my crafty blog bayanjargal.com.

2. Kyoto-
Geishas, a 10-course Japanese tasting menu at Giro Giro, ethereal temples, traditional architecture, fried eel, octopus on a stick and a Manga museum.

3. Akihabara/Electric Town-
The flashing lights. Wires and cables sold by the meter. A whole district just for techies full of the latest computers, cameras, cell phones and peripherals 'til your heart's content. Just imagine if B and H photo were on steroids and not just one block but a whole town, open everyday, super late and with lots of places to eat in the midst of a USB cable and iPhone 4 shopping frenzy. I mean, there was a whole aisle of Swavorski crystal stickers to decorate your cellphone. I picked up a cool camera strap for my camera and a thing that will turn your iPhone into a necklace. It has a dock connector at the end of it and it comes in a bunch of cool colors. I saw a few Japanese people ON THE SUBWAY with an iPhone 4 hanging around their necks. Just hanging there. Like a piece of jewelry.

4. Miyajima Island-
This beautiful island is located about an hour from the city of Hiroshima. You can take a ferry to the island. There is a beautiful, orange gate in the water. It looks like it is floating.

Also on the island is a cool museum. We saw an excellent exhibit about the life and the work of the beloved Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa.


It was the 100th anniversary of his birth. There were hand-drawn and colored storyboards, film posters and costumes from his films on display. My favorite things were the kimonos from "Ran" and Kurosawa's paints and paintbrushes. He liked to draw and paint and color. The comprehensive exhibit reminded me a bit of the Tim Burton exhibit at MOMA.

There were also many tasty things to eat on the island including fresh oysters, grilled octopus and spongy, sweet cakes shaped like leaves that were filled with black bean paste or custard. Miyajima Island was a great place to spend the afternoon; I'm just not sure about all of the deer running around trying to bite your T-shirt and steal your food though.

5. Bento box-
a box full of just a bite or two of yummy Japanese goodness. Even the ones that we bought at the 7-11 were amazing. A sushi rice roll, a piece of shrimp tempura, a few noodles, some seaweed, a piece of fried chicken, a fish ball, a slice of Japanese radish, a half of a pickled egg. Nibble, nibble, nibble.

Honorable Mention-
JR Railpass and JR Yamanote Line: Having an unlimited rail pass that got you ushered through the subway gates with a smile was really cool. I also have to give it up to the JR Yamanote subway loop that stops at Harajuki, Electric town and fabric town, everywhere that I wanted to go on one, easy to navigate line.

What do you love about Japan?

Goodnight, Vietnam. Sleep well.

I'm going to save comment on the Cu Chi Tunnels for the time being.  Let's pick it up in Hanoi.  So due to bad weather conditions, technical problems, or a combination thereof, our flight was delayed about four hours.  Lucky for us, we had already booked a hotel pickup in Hanoi.  To our relief, there was a guy waiting for us ready to take us to our hotel.  Of course, he put us in the cab and then told us to "three minutes wait".  Three turned into about fifteen, but soon we were safely on the road.  We arrived at the Little Hanoi Hotel around 3 A.M., and needless to say we slept in that day.  Our hotel was located in the Old Quarter, and we enjoyed the relative (emphasis intended) calm of traffic in comparison to Saigon.  That means you only have to deal with crossing between 50 motorbikes at the same time, compared to 100!  We splurged on an air-conditioned Thai restaurant instead of street food.  After an afternoon of exploring the city, we were off to HaLong Bay.    It is a nice grouping of islands, such as the two facing each other called "Fighting Cock Islands".  After a smelly minivan ride from Hanoi to Ha Long City, we boarded the bus with a huge Danish family and a Vietnamese-American family.  The Danish people liked to play handclapping games and the Vietnamese-Americans mostly chilled on the lower deck.  Good views, good swimming, nice caves, some great meals, some lousy karaoke, a mixed review on the boat quarters (squeak, squeak!).  Check it out if you're in the area instead of another night in a Vietnamese city.  Because of poor traffic conditions, we made it back to Hanoi just in the nick of time to catch the water puppet show - they've been doing it for A THOUSAND YEARS!  Since then, nothing but beach at Nha Trang.  Tomorrow, Delhi! Rupeeeeeeessss! (I don't have a million).

Snakes in a bottle

Our group of six from Vy's guest house connected with the rest of the gringo train about 7:30 this morning.  We departed through the hectic and motorcycle-dense Ho Chi Minh City.  As our tour guide pointed out, Vietnamese is a tonal language and people drive motorcycles because they are much cheaper.  Women drive them, families of three and even three with a baby can be found on one, I saw someone texting obliviously while sitting behind the driver on one.  And don't even get me started on crossing the streets - it's quite a bit worse than San Salvador.  We mostly stayed on this block tonight!

Anyway, back to this morning.  On the road to the Mekong Delta - a coffee break with some delicious espresso to break up the trip, then we arrived and boarded the motorboat and began coasting down the Mekong River.  One of the first sights was the floating market, where a variety of foods and other goods are sold.  Rush hour had passed - vendors mostly chilling out as we passed by.  We continued on and toured some local industries such as coconut candy and poprice (yep, just like it sounds).  Oh, and snake wine - slightly fruity for skunkwater.  These businesses really know how to bring out the flavors in foods.  Back to the boat and onward to lunch, passing countless boats and beautiful scenery along the way.  Besides our standard included lunch fare of pork, rice, and beans, we split a fried "elephant ear fish" with a nice couple from Malaysia on their suggestion.  It was good and, again, enhanced by the ricepaper taco-type deal that they showed us how to create.  After a nap in the hammock and a gaze at the tour guide's python, we were ready to get on a rowboat commanded by a crew of women.  Dara sported a hat - yes, the kind you are thinking of.  All in all, we weren't ready to get back on the bus after a great ride along the river.  I'll remember that forever.  Tomorrow, Cu Chi...

Cy Gone

We are in the urban center of country #2, the loud and vibrant city once known as Sai Gon.  Motorbikes abound!  This afternoon we landed in Ho Chi Minh City and found not a phone in the airport, but luckily found a cab who didn't try to jack up the price and a host at our guest house who is very generous and accomodating! Moreover, since we've got here, we've noticed the sharp difference between here and Japan moneywise.  Most prices are negotiable, but far less than Japan.  Tonight we had a much better dinner than we had our last two nights in Japan, costing about 1/10th the price!  (Beef pho, which was delish).  The evening was taken up by buying plane tickets for domestic  trips here and booking a trip to the Mekong Delta tomorrow.  Saturday we may visit the Cu Chi tunnels, which saw quite a bit of activity in the early seventies...

Talk to you soon.

Waiting for Peter

Geishas.  Oh, how we tried to find ye.  A Canadian man named Peter swore over the phone that he could take us on a walking tour of the Geisha district and we would get to see some.  Buddy didn't return phone calls today, and he wasn't where we could find him either.  Take a hike, Peter! By wandering around and hunting, I managed to catch a glimpse of one beautiful geisha in the back of a taxicab, although some teenage boys managed to score some closeups - lucky dogs!  I hope our compadre David was able to steal a glimpse, because we gave up.  We've got a ten course meal to get to here.  I'll let you know how it goes.  No more shrines; no more temples - good to see you, but tomorrow we hit the train to Hiroshima.

On to Kyoto

Well, we're checking out of Tokyo for the time being, although we'll be back, hopefully to see the Tokyo tower up close.  We had a nice three days here - the Imperial Palace is not quite worth the trip by itself because you can only go in two days a year, but we stumbled upon the Museum of Modern Art which we found impressive and surprisingly vacant considering the quality.  We've had some good food and some great food; the more Japanese, the better!  Yesterday after our outing to the Palace and Museum, we split up for a bit so Dara could do a bit more craft shopping and Tim could wander the streets aimlessly and then take a nap.  Last night we hit Roppongi...wwwwhhhh...it's not that we're too old, just too married for that place!  We just missed the subway on our way back, so we had to cab it, which is not cheap at all.  The driver kept checking our map at every stoplight so he could recalibrate the GPS to find the perfect route - at least we know he took a direct route...

Anyhoo, now we're off to Kyoto on a shinkansen - those fast trains, although we are on one of the "slow" fast trains.  Perhaps I'll talk to you from there!

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!  Are you out there?  Please comment and follow!

Konnichiwa!

Hello everyone! I am up early because of the jetlag effect, so I came downstairs to share a few thoughts.  And the first thought is...ｙｕｍｍｙ food and nice people have made this trip extremely pleasant so far. And that's good because it's not cheap! Sixty-five bucks a night for bunk beds was the best deal we could find. And if you know of a better one don't rub it in because we are at peace. 

Yes of course the flight from New York was long. We slept, read, watched "Dear John", talked about our feelings, etc. But eventually we landed in Japan.  By the way, thanks to Arthur and CarolynAnn for helping us transition from New York to the blue skies! From Narita Airport we took the train into Tokyo, which was clean and smooth riding. We asked a cop for directions to the hostel, got some local cash and checked in to our coffins. The shared rooms have beds inside your own private lockable...box. We went out for a nice dinner of skewers (fish, chicken, beef, and tripe we think) and udon noodles before walking home and crashing. Our sleeping schedules were off but we slept through the night to try and get back on track, even though we naturally woke up in the early morning hours.

Today was a day of shopping. First, breakfast of rice with shrimp and chicken tempura. Good, ｂｕｔ we were still looking for a home run mealwise. The servers were taken aback by tipping; well, okay, I can live with that! Now onto shopping. We figured out the subways and headed out for some of Dara's recomended craft shops, stopping at Electric Town first for a USB cable and a camera strap. Then on to craft shopping; see what cool stuff Dara can make with them in the future . Oh, time to eat! We eyed some good-looking food in the shopping center, so we picked a nice place with shopping center, so we picked a nice place with food in bento boxes.   The mysterious vegetables always ｐｒｏｖｉｄｅ a surprise to the palate, and the FISH BALLS! Yum!  Next up is sleep because museums and temples await!

Crunch time

We WILL get everything done in time!  Yes, we WILL!

Two weeks left...

Hello everybody!

We are leaving June 29 for Tokyo.  Preparations are underway!  We are looking forward to it, and although we will miss you all, we will think of you often!

First three stops:
Japan-Vietnam-India

Wish us well!

Tim and Dara