One (More) Night in Bangkok

We are all back from Cambodia and in one piece. The bus trip back only took us 15 hours rather than 20 this time! Bus didn't break down, but a bridge was broken, and we had to wait on the road until they fixed it. Alison got some great photos of the progress, in addition to a photo of a guy with 2 gigantic pigs strapped to the back of his moped. Random!

The last day we did another run around Angkor Wat to see the bass reliefs and the "milking of the sea" which was Meric's favorite. He just likes seeing the gods pulling on their snakes, I think. Alison befriended a bunch of Buddhist monks, and they had all kinds of questions about Catholisism, such as, "What do you do to celebrate the full moon?" I don't think she wanted to get into the separation of the pagans from the Christians, too complicated for their limited English, so she just said, "Nothing." Apparently, the monks shave their heads every full moon. They are also not allowed to touch women, and nearly all Cambodian boys spend a time in their adolescence or young adulthood practicing to be a monk. Our friend Chi was a monk from the age 15 to 20. Now he's just a regular guy who happens to live with them still, and is referred to as a "pagoda boy."

We are staying another night in Bangkok here since we missed the bus to Chaing Mai already. We are in a divy-er place than last time, called Lucky Beer's Guest House. Alison has to shout to talk to me in my room it's so loud in there from the noise of Khao San Road. Thankfully we have ear plugs! I keep thinking I'm going to run into Leo DiCaprio eventually, or some guy who has slashed his wrists in the room next to me....I watch too many movies!

We'll be up in Northern Thailand for the next week. Venera, if you are reading this, I can't help but think of you every time I step into a Buddhist temple!

Carla Kroft - Tomb Raider!

Random! We're in Cambodia for a week, at Meric's request. He has always dreamed of seeing Angkor Wat so here we are, in Siem Reap. Did you know one of the temples here was the famous Lara Kroft Tomb Raider set? It's the "jungle temple" officially called Ta Prohm, but who can remember that? We had a blast, posing like Angelina Jolie complete with boobs and lips. The bus trip out here was quite an ordeal. Supposedly we booked a "VIP" bus trip but it was the bus from HELL. It broke down a number of times, the last time being the AC and it felt as hot as a sauna in there. We made it to the Cambodian border 10 minutes before the passport control office closed. Then we got on the oldest minibus in the world and proceeded down a dirt road that looked like it had been cleared of land mines only recently. The potholes were so large the girl behind me dented the roof of the van with her head when we all were airborne. I've got a rather large bruise on my back as well. We traveled down this yellow brick road for about 7 hours, in the dark, crossing bridges that I was glad I couldn't see. The funniest comment was made by a Dutch backpacker sitting in front of Alison, "Oh my God, I don't know how, but I must've fallen asleep for a minute there because I was just dreaming I was a basketball."

We are here though, and are much stronger in character for our experience and having a great time climbing the temples in Angkor. We got up this morning to see the sunrise over Angor Vat and also hiked to a waterfall that had a submerged temple and gibbon monkeys calling down to us from the treetops. The best part is we get to cruise around to all of these things in a Tut tut (called for the sound it makes) driven by our friend Chi. I tried to convince him I could drive the motor bike and he cound ride, but he wasn't convinced and I got NO SUPPORT from Alison on the topic.

Well, we're hoping to leave Cambodia on Saturday and head up to Chaing Mai to trek with the hilltribes and build a raft out of bamboo. I think I may burn some insense to the Buddha for a functioning minibus to bring us there.

Love, Carla

One Night In Bangkok

I think we did more sightseeing in Egypt in 10 days than any other country so far! After taking in all the sights in Aswan and Luxor, we took an overnight train back to Cairo. Somehow we booked our trip on the Egyptian train, rather than the tourist train, and shared our car with the largest friendliet Egyptian family I have ever met. The kids were constantly sharing their cheese sandwiches with us, asking us questions about America, and taught Jon some new Arabic words. There was no sleeping to be had, with all that attention, and if we did happen to dose off, the tea man came down the isle shouting "Saoung Sang! Saoung Sang!" Alison swears she will forever hear those words in her sleep from now on.

Sad to say good-bye to Jon, but we were happy to move on to Thailand. Egypt was a bit exhaustive, with the hassling of the locals and the constant haggling of prices from cab fares to kashery. I think Jon just did it for the mere enjoyment of it, because what it came down to was haggling over 60 cents at times. My favorite parts of Egypt were the sidewalk water stations (tap water is safe there!) and playing backgammon at the cafes drinking mago juice. The felucca trip down the Nile was pleasant enough as well, and Jon and I were brave enough to swim in the Nile to cool off. Hopefully I won't get any interesting parasites from that dip. Mom! I'm kidding! Don't worry about me!!!

After 2 nights in a row without sleep, we arrived into Bankok at 2 am. The pace here is sooo much more relaxed compared to Cairo. Must be that Buddist influence. In about an hours time we will be meeting up with my friend Meric from San Diego as he is on a 3 month tour of Asia and planned to travel with us for a month. I just woke up from a well needed nap and ate THE BEST Thai vegetarian dish I have ever consumed. I even got soy milk with my meal! I haven't had soy since I left the US 4 months ago!

With the plethora of internet cafes on this street alone, no doubt you will be hearing again from me real soon. Andrea, isn't it amazing how there's a cheesy 80's song for nearly every occasion?

All my love,
Carla

You are the King, yes a very tired King

Special Edition: This is Jon's perspective on travelling with the crazyhappening duo.

It is an experience travelling in Muslim coutry with two women. It is often assumed I have two wives! When I have walked alone I seem to be left alone most of the time. My main achievment to date is that I have introduced Carla and Alison to Kashery: an Egyptian staple consisting of rice, pasta, lentils, and chickpeas topped with tomato sause and fried onion. Not only is it cheap but it is also readily available everywhere. Sadly, I will be en route back to the UK by the end of the week. The crazyhappenings pair have been great to be with, except that they now regularly beat me playing backgammon. When this happens they have been subjected to the "darkside" of Jon. I suggest that Egypt is no longer part of "crazyhappenings" but should be considered as "darkhappenings."

But It's a Dry Heat

Greetings from Egypt! Alison and I recovered from the flu in Istanbul just in time to fly to Cairo and meet up with our friend Jon. He had been to Egypt before and had the holiday time to join up with us there again. We have greatly appreciated his escort services as this is a mostly Muslim country. If women don't keep their legs and shoulders covered, they get hissed at. Sarongs are our savior in115 degree heat (that's 40 Celcius for the rest of you)! We spent three days in Cairo where we czeched out the pyramids, the market, and the famous Cairo Zoo (beat that Tim Dennis!). The zoo had a wonderful collection of the rare canis familaris, some random birds (I think they were ducks) and the largest collection of guinnae pigs I have ever seen. These guys were, by far, the healthiest animals there. If I was a guinnae pig, I would want to live in the Cairo Zoo. Our night life consisted of sitting in the local "pub" drinking Turkish coffee and playing backgammon. Alison and I have really improved our skills and now Jon has to work to try and beat us! Right now we are in Aswan and plan on taking a felucca boat trip down the Nile. I will send you another newsletter at a later date, just wanted to let everyone know we are well and in safe hands here in Egypt.

Love, Carla

One Million Dollars...I Mean Turkish Lira

We are constantly quoting Austin Powers here, with the ridiculous currency, so many zeros! The exchange is 1.6 million Turkish Lira to one US dollar. Anyway, even though the prices seem huge, everything here couldn't be cheaper. We haven't paid more than 5 dollars a night for hostel accomodations and we have stayed in some very nice places. So much nicer than Greece! After leaving our home at the Tango Pension in Koycegiz, Alison, me, and our new friends (Aussies Karen, Pete, Brigid, and Canadians Marnie and Karla) went on a 4 day boat cruise down the coast of Turkey to Olympos. We shared the boat with 8 brilliant Aussie blokes from Melbourne and Sydney. We all got along phenomenally and right from the start felt like a big family.

Our crew on the Sempatik didn't speak much English, so other than the occasional point to, "Underwater city!" or "cave...swim...20 minutes" we were on our own to entertain ourselves. As Marnie summed it up, "We would cruise, stop in a bay, swim, eat....cruise, stop in a bay, swim, eat." We gave the crew nicknames--Sketchy, Skippy, and Captain. It was a fun, relaxing 4 days and I did quite a bit of snorkeling, got over my fear of heights with cliff diving, and earned the highest compliment of "Legend" with my new Aussie friends.

In Olympos, we are all staying in Treehouse bunks at Bayrams. Yesterday Karen, Pete and I went on a 20 km trek in the mountains to the lost city of Olympos. Last night we checked out the fires of Eternal flame that never go out. Some gas in the rock ignites when it comes in contact with oxygen. Brigid and I sang the Bangles "Eternal Flame" over and over until a tarantula came out from under a rock scaring the crap out of us. A Turk came running over yelling, "No kill! If you do 7 brothers come!" I wonder how he knew exactly 7 more tarantulas would come after us?

Tonight Alison and I say good-bye to our friends and catch an overnight bus to Istanbul to meet up with the Hash House Harriers. Turkey is really a beautiful country and the locals are wonderful people. Alison put it perfectly by stating, "Turks have a saying, you are not a tourist, you are a guest in their country." This is definitely a place I hope to return to someday.

Hope you are all well, I send my love.
Carla

So... Have You Ever Been To a Turkish Prison?

That was meant to be an Airplane quote, in case any of you are concerned I may have made it into a Turkish prison. Yes, Alison and I are in Turkey right now, in a charming little town called Koycegiz and having the time of our lives.

We left Greece after visiting Santorini and Rhodes, deciding that Naxos was our favorite island. We did meet some very nice Canadian men who treated us to drinks (just drinks!) on a very nice bar right on the cliff. Radek called it the "James Bond bar" and he was right. He challenged us to find a view just as nice as the one in Santorini and then email him the photo. We intend to do our best! We also had fun hanging out with Jeremy there, a guy from LA, who pretended to propose to me in Ia for a photo op. by Alison and shocked this random woman, who thought she was witnessing a special event.

Rhodes was quaint with it's old town and nicer beaches than Santorini. It was my turn to sunburn my a** on the nude beach. The hostel was just crap, though, and I nearly told the guy running it so. What can we expect for 8 euro a night?

We get to Turkey, though, and it is just paradise. The hostel is so clean, the staff friendly like family, and everything is half the price we were paying in Greece. Yesterday we borrowed bicycles and went to a waterfall where me and a Canadian, Karla, impressed the local Turk boys there with our flips off the rocks into the pool
below. Today we went on a boat for the day and saw Turtle beach, swam in the lake here, and visited a mud bath. Just wait until you see us covered in mud! My skin has never been softer. Alison and I are hanging out with 2 Aussies, 2 Canadians here that we met at the bus stop. The local Turks are very friendly also and we went to a bar tonight and watched traditional dancing and I drank too much Uzo. I just wanted you all to know how beautiful Turkey is so far and how you should all put it on your "must visit" list for the future. It is the best of Europe by far. We haven't even made it to Istanbul yet!

My love and thoughts to you all!
Carla