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« February 2006 |
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| April 2006 »
Thinking about some exotic place to go this summer? Somewhere reasonable (if not downright cheap)? How about Ladakh. It is a land of monasteries or "gompas" (as they are called there)...surreal landscape...situated in Northern India. Ladakh is surrounded by the Zanskar range in the South, Ladakh range in the North and great Karakoram range in the Northwest
The Indus Valley civilization is one of the oldest in the world and dates back around 5,000 years. Centuries ago, it was a place where merchants from Tibet, Kashmir and China passed through, exchanging ideas and goods. Now, we tourists pass through, exchanging ideas and taking a little of Ladkh back with us.
I had always thought of Ladakh as a barren, lunar place to go but glaciers feed the many streams and irrigate the fields. This creates brilliant patches of green valleys against the lunar background.
Continue reading "Ladakh, India - A Summer Destination" »
We've taken several trips in France, hiking inn-to-inn. It is the best of all worlds: daily exercise (as easy or hard as you want); wonderful food; very charming little towns and interaction with the locals.
You do NOT have to speak the language - but a few words, a French dictionary and gestures should do it!
Please don't listen to people who say the French are rude and unhelpful! We have always found the opposite: even armed with Metro maps and instructions...we've ended up sitting on trains that have dead-ended; gotten lost in obscure locations; and have thrown ourselves on their mercy - someone has always tried to help. Yes, some people may appear curt, but cut some slack, folks...they may be in a hurry...just as we are, rushing around with people to see...places to go.
Continue reading "Inn-to-Inn Through France" »
We were going to visit Sri Lanka in February '05, but the Tsunami literally "washed" away our plans for one year.
Sri Lanka is a large island, off the tip of South India...extremely green, a mountainous interior, with beautiful sand beaches. And, it's hot all year - a great place to escape our Nothern Hemisphere. It also has a long history with interesting sights.
Our trip was arranged by Aitken Spence Travels, the largest tour operator in Sri Lanka. We had our own driver/guide, a car with a/c, ***** Hotels, water and soft drinks included on all drives, fees for admissions and sights. This gave us the flexibility to stop any time something piqued our interest. For example, to watch an elephant (on his way to "work") walking down the middle of the traffic....
Continue reading "Sri Lanka - Arranging A Trip" »
Helia has come up with a customized itinerary that sounds great!
15-Days exploring Ljubljana; hiking inn-to-inn through the Julian Alps and Triglav National Park; Lake Bohinj; and Piran (on the Mediterranean).
They made the walks more difficult (at our request), built in some days for rest - or not -, and gave input regarding the weather, etc.
Continue reading "Our Itinerary for Slovenia" »
Slovenia is a small country in Central Europe (formerly part of Yugoslavia). The only information I had came from two people we met in Ladakh last year. Two physicians (with teen-age son in tow) were traveling for two months on a Sabbatical and had just come from Slovenia. They raved about the scenerary, sights and people, how easy it was to get around....I thought "hmm...something to keep in mind for next year".
It's now next year, and time to plan a trip there.
The first step was to "Google" which came up with Slovenia and their unbelievably comprehensive website with links to everything that you could possibly need. They also sent a huge packet of information, including the map below.
Continue reading "Planning a Trip to Slovenia" »
My first trip to Europe, in 1972, was a good old TWA get-away tour. An "if today's Monday, it must be Paris" trip...and it was great! Paris, London, Amsterdam and Copenhagen in 14 days. My recommendation:
Take a package trip. Yes, you have to cram a lot into a short period of time but rearrange your thinking from, "I'll never have another chance", to "I don't have to see everything...I'll come back again". You can't do it all...I can't do it all. Even with 130+ countries under my belt, there are so many places I'd love to go back to, so many places to still see, and so much I've missed. It's just a fact of life - so deal with it and go!
Continue reading "Your First Overseas Trip - Europe, Asia or Russia" »
Life on Koh Chang is what Phuket and Koh Samui used to be...very laid-back and relaxed. But they are building like crazy...get there soon!
Hotels? Hotels for ANY budget...we stayed at the luxurious, Barali Beach Resort, but wallking along the beach came across huts, low-price hotels, medium-price hotels for every budget. We never ran across any Americans...primarily Norwegians, Swedes and Europeans. The Barali was loaded with Swedes and most of them stay for, at least, one month to excape 16+ Daily hours of darkness at this time of the year. I don't blame them in the least!
There are many Thailand websites that can help you with hotels in Koh Chang and other destinations in Thailand.
Continue reading "Visiting Koh Chang, Thailand" »
The two weeks just flew by (even with all my inhaled dust, dry skin and boo-boo's), and was time for our group to say good-by.
Our leader, Charles Higham, was not only extremely knowledgeable, but personable and funny. It's rare to find an academic with such great personality...someone who knew how to make history come alive (I envy his students in New Zealand). We viewed several ""National Geographic"" specials where he was the expert on Ancient Angkor Civilizations. Many thanks to him, and his experts, who had to painfully stand by and watch our group of novices fumble around, learning a little bit about Archaeology, and trying not to wreck their handiwork!
This experience was one that we'll never forget and would repeat without question.
Continue reading "Dig Over, Time for R&R in Koh Chang, Thailand" »
The last day of the Dig finally arrived.
We had dug through the Iron Age and were rapidly digging into Bronze Age. Bronze tools, a blue glass bead, shell bracelets had all been found and catalogued with new finds all around us, and there was still another 3-6 feet to be dug through.
I was still spending all my time in the Pit while ex-Marine did whatever was asked of him. He had now learned to say: "Good Morning", and "Is there a problem?" along with "No Problem" in Thai. What a linguist...and the little Thai women were still hoping I'd come to an unfortunate end so they could come to America with him.
Continue reading "My Exciting Discovery on The Earthwatch Dig, Thailand" »
No dirt or dust today...instead an amble into Phimai to see its Historical Park which was built around the 11th-12th century A.D. Additions were made during the 13th century A.D.
This ancient monument was probably used by the King and nobles for religious ceremonies and there are many different complexes on the site. It was excavated and restored in 1968.
While "ambling", at least 15-20 buses of Thai boy scouts passed us by...waving and shouting "hello". We were surrounded by the time we walked into the Historical Park. They all wanted to know our names and where we were from.
Continue reading "Finally! A Day Off From The Earthwatch Dig, Thailand" »
Most of our group is in the 50- 60+ range, a lively, vibrant group of people. One couple has worked on many "Habitat for Humanity" projects including one, in Kenya, where they slept on a concrete floor; Vickie, was in the Peace Corps in her younger days and taught English in Thailand - she excelled in piecing together pots and translating some Thai for us.
The pit is shaded with a huge canopy but it gets very hot down there in the afternoons. The thai villagers have a little stand on our site and sell rice cakes, homemade cookies and other goodies. There is also a ice cream man who peddles his cart out to us around 2pm every day. Some very weird and different flavors - not quite "Ben & Jerry's" in my opinion.
Continue reading "Our Earthwatch Dig Group in Thailand" »
We left the hotel every morning carrying our gardening gloves, foam pads to sit on, knee pads, digital cameras and sun screen. We'd then rush to look down in the Pit to see how it had changed from the day before...it never looked the same...skeletons had been removed...a new layer excavated...and I couldn't wait for my day to start.
But first I had to get down there...this pit is deep, and getting deeper by the hour. Other people zoom down the ladder carrying tools and buckets but I go slowly, one step at a time.
Continue reading "Troweling Away in An Archaeological Pit , Thailand" »
We took a public, air-conditioned "non-chicken/dog/goat" bus from Bangkok to Nakhom Ratchasima where team members welcomed and transfered us to the Phimai Inn (pronounced "pee-my"). Our room was on the 4th floor, stairs only. The room is very adequate, tv programs in Thai with no CNN (thank goodness!), and there is a swimming pool (which we never use because we are too tired at the end of the day to even float).
Phimai is a busy little town, with a night market every Monday night, which was that day. But who had the strength after flying Chicago to Tokyo to Bangkok and then busing to Phimai...not us...nor anyone else in our group.
Continue reading "On the "Dig" - Thailand" »
I spent the 1st 10 years of my life digging in the sand with my little pail and shovel on the beaches of Chicago. That must left a major groove in my brain because I've loved to dig ever since. Archaeology, didn't seem like a major stretch from digging in the sand so when I found out that many "Digs" take volunteers with no experience, weeks of internet surfing started.
I finally came up with an Earthwatch Institute expedition, "Origins of Angkor" which takes place in Ban Non Wat, Thailand, lead by Professor Charles F.W. Higham, University of Otago and St. Catharine's College, New Zealand.
Continue reading "Archaeological Dig Volunteer in Thailand" »
My research starts by surfing through most ski and resort websites. This year, I chose Zermatt - we've summer- hiked there twice before but never snowshoed in the winter.
Zermatt has a terrific site - information galore - trail maps, hotel listings with prices and direct links to the individual hotels if you prefer. I like to take my time and browse through each hotel's link before deciding.
Next step? Air and rail - how to get there for the least amount of money. We picked Switzerland because the Swiss Franc isn't too outrageous again the U.S. Dollar. Even though the $ has gained some ground against the Euro, some hotels in Euros countries are ridiculously expensive.
Continue reading "Arranging a Trip to Zermatt, Switzerland" »
We were skiing in Crested Butte, Co in 1995. Standing at the mountain base , I saw a young girl running down the mountain on snowshoes. All she was wearing was a sweatshirt, sweatpants and running shoes attached to her snowshoes. My eyes lit up and, under his breath, the ex-Marine muttered "I think she's found another sport for us to do". How right he was! It turned out she was a member of the ski team and every morning they ran up the mountain and down the mountain for endurance.
All you need is equipment (we use Atlas Snowshoes), hiking poles (our choice is "Leki") and you are ready!
We took a lesson at Crested Butte and decided that just walking along in the snow was too easy and a little boring. It would be a lot more fun, not to mention a challenge, to hike UP, the mountain with snowshoes on (of course that was my idea) - and that was the beginning of our new sport.
Continue reading "Snowshoeing in Europe" »
The comments I hear most often from friends and neighbors is "how can you spend so many hours on planes?" "Why don't you just travel around the U.S.?" "Drive?"
My theory - sooner or later - age and my body won't be able to take those distances. I haven't received any sign from above (or below), that I will live a very long time with intact knees and any kind of memory. I'm hopeful, when the time comes, the ex-Marine will push my wheelchair, carry the supplemental oxygen and bags of medications. Until then, go for it!
Another reason is the cost of flying domestic. My son lives in Oklahoma, and it is rare find a fare for under $350 round trip from Chicago! Right now, you can fly to London, Ireland, Paris and other places for the same Fares!!! No offense, Oklahoma City, but I'd rather fly to Ireland.
Continue reading "Flying Around The World" »
If you have thought about a trip to Asia, put Sri Lanka at the top of your list. It's rare to find a destination that combines wonderful food, gorgeous hotels and some of the sweetest, most helpful people it has ever been our pleasure to meet. "Madam, where do you come from? Madam, what can we do for you? Madam, thank you for coming to our country!" Some of the many comments we heard over and over again.
Sri Lanka has mountains , historical sights, beautiful beaches and national forests. And, it is reasonable to visit!
Continue reading "Fruits and Flowers Everywhere in Sri Lanka" »
The description in my Lighthouse Hotel, Galle, Sri Lanka, described a "Marma Body, Mind and Spirit Massge" as - an exotic and therapeutic Ayurveda inspired massage using aromatic herbal oils that stimulate the Marmas, the body's vital pressure points. This full body massage begins with the balancing of the head's Marmas. The body's Marmas are then massaged with the therapist's feet and then by hand with long sweepint strokes. The treatment concludes with a herbal body mask followed by a warm shower. 6,600 rupees for 90 minutes.
That came out to $66 US for 90 minutes. Even cheapskate me couldn't pass that up!
Continue reading "A "Marma" Massage, Sri Lanka" »
We headed in to the Sinharaja Rainforest which is a world heritage site. This forest is the respository of Sri Lanka's endemic species of flora and fauna and a wonderland for birders (which we are not). (I am a "look...there's a yellow bird" type birder.) It is also a major respository for leeches since it rains almost every day.
That was all I had to hear -- leeches! Like most people, I picture "The African Queen" with Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart pulling giant leeches off themselves. No, contrary to that movie -- leeches are itsby, bitsy little things - some the size of a thread.
Continue reading "Leeches in the Rainforest, Sri Lanka" »
Today we drove to Pinnawala, the elephant Orphanage. This orphanage is the home to about 60 elephants including babies found abandoned in the wild. We weren't in time for the bottle feeding - would have had to leave the hotel about 5:30am - just a little too early! But, we did arrive in time for the elephants parading from the Orphanage down to the river. They are taken to the river twice a day for a bath.
Continue reading "Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Sri Lanka" »
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