Avenue H - el camino

Hello from the Worker !

2007-09-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

Yes i am now a working bee again!.

Last weekends ski trip was wicked we could not have asked for a better day on the mountain - by 10am it has cleared off to full visibility with snow all day - none of that ice before 3pm for this weekend.
The whole extended family of 12 took off for the mountain in our convoy of cars and utes on Friday and arrived just after dark for a night of drinking, food, catch up and jenga.

Saturday was "mountain day" and although i wiped out a few times in great fashion i did get the hang of the mountain again by mid day and spent a bit of time on the higher runs before retiring early for a beer with my cousin.

Saturday night was the AB game (woo hoo) and Sunday we all drove home sore.

Wednesday i started work at EY - now i know you PWCers will be saying WHAT why not PwC and to be honest they did not even want to interview so they must have made quota for the year so Yep i am at EY straining my brain the last two days learning the methodology and wearing my little suit.

hope everyone is well and that you are ok Pam thanks for the call.

Hello from the slacker ! !

2007-09-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

Although from reading some of your blogs (or not) i don't think i am that far behind most people.

I have been home for five weeks ish now and am just doing the normal settling in things so there is nothing earth shattering to present as news Wellington is bloody cold with Winters end and i cannot wait til spring, i am closing out on a couple of job offers and an looking at homes although i think its highway robbery what house prices are all over the world.

I am off for a ski weekend with the extended family this weekend and as i have not really skied for about 8 years except for a few nice days in Canada and (dare i call it) a weekend in upstate NYC i think i will be the one to watch for the humor moments.

I know this should be a LONG blog but as you all know not a lot happens in the settling in period i have been spending heaps of time with the family which has been wonderful some early Rugby mornings to watch my nephew play, my niece swim and of course watch the AB v Italy game, some drinking with my brother and you know just settling in.

Hopefully i will blog later this week with a job and the Moet open.

Home.

2007-08-06T18:51:00.000-07:00

Well I am finally made it home to New Zealand escaping, just in time; the flooding that has just hit Asia.
It is wonderful to be back in a place where English is the main language, the toilet is a flush job and I know exactly what is in my food (and I can cook it!).
India was absolutely amazing as the photos below will show, the people wore wonderful colorful saris, they were almost without exception friendly and the food was amazing – I think I put on 5kg just being around all the great food.
The highlights of India have to be the Golden Temple, Dharamsala and of course the Taj on the sight list but I will also never forget the colors of being in India – I think I am going to have to go back.
Now that I have been home a few days I am doing the normal relocation thing and kicking off the job hunt into top gear juggling 4 agents and trying to translate the job descriptions they give me into real speak to figure out if its something I am interested in.
Otherwise I am doing a whole lot of relaxing rearranging for a cell phones and bank access and all the day to day stuff. I have to say it’s a bit of a shock getting back to reality.

India

2007-07-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

Hello again !

Yes i am still in India enjoying my last week of vacation - i cannot believe so much time has passed so fast and that i am on my last week of travel and am almost home.

Against all advice i posted another parcel home from India and what a mission ! first i had to buy white fabric which i then had to take to a tailor who had to sew a bag place all my things to be posted inside and sew it up THEN this had to be taken to the post office where i had to fill in forms and tape to the white lump because it in no way resembled a shape i know of so i think if this bag arrives in one piece in Wellington a miracle has occurred.

I have also been taking local buses and trains and my belief has been confirmed that these are the fastest and craziest drivers they overtake at speed on crazy bends, swerve near cliffs to avoid cows and goats in the road and - best of all - stop at temples to pray for driver safety !.

I am now in Dharamsala which is where the Dali Lama lives when he is in Tibet we are in the Himalayas which is quite damp and foggy so sadly i cannot actually see the mountain range.

I am running out of time so i hope everyone is well enjoying Chicago, NYC, NZ or wherever you are in your travels.

India Shopping

2007-07-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

Hello from Jaisalmer Rajasthan on the edge of the Thar desert.

I am currently melting in the heat - there is no glowing here it is so hot that we are all melting here in the heat of the desert.

I have just finished a camel safari into the Thar desert which was quite green at this time of the year due to the monsoon rains bringing out flowers and trees, the local people are even growing Millet which i was in awe of they are working with sand and at the whim of the monsoon rains to provide water and they are still working hard at growing and harvesting crops in what is still essentially a arid place working many hours a day and living without the items we are all taking for granted like telephones, TV and running water.

After the safari we drove here to Jaisalmer where i have filled my pack up with shopping so i now have no spae for my clothing and we are just now approaching the time when we have to lug our packs on and off public buses - great one huh ? but all the crafts are so beautiful that i could not resist i think i will be wearing the same clothes more and more and just throw out more.
Aside from the shopping this city is quite amazing as it seems to be carved out of the sandstone the colour of the desert and given this is soft rock the details in the buildings is amazing tiny screens to sheild the woman in seclusion ad provide heat from the day, wide courtyards for meetings and to drink chai and LOTS of cows moving slowing through the streets.

The poverty divide here is quite noticable as there are a lot of people asking for money in the streets with children in tow, its a hard question as givinf money does not really make a long term difference but it does help them that night yet also encourages begging long term - we try to give food some time but i don't know if that really is much different from giving money. We ask our guide who is a local indian how we can best help and he does not really have an answer either.

2007-07-09T06:18:00.000-07:00

HELLO FROM THE TAJ.

In India i have no way to add a 'title' to the blog so that was my best bet people.

So i had four days in Delhi and honest i was just so damn lazy i did not find a computer and spent time sleeping and doing a little sightseeing in Delhi using the death machines they call the rickshaws - i swear i have never felt less safe in a rickshaw, tuk tuk or what ever other name they go by than in Delhi i felt for sure i was going to be a gonner at least once a ride, the driver take on cars at speed and they have no protection, my screaming in the back was of little help.

I also caught up on world news in the paper and discovered the indian classifieds section where there are pages of people looking for an arranged marriage and spilling all their details on paper and i also found details of people being disowned, chaning their name and other very funky stuff which i am sure is unique to india.

the tour started yesterday and of course i showed up half an hour late and almost fell in the door of the hotel - great start.
Today we took the early moring train to Agra. the train was an experience worse than egypt and china trains - well at least in the class i was in, the AC was a disfunctional fan, the seats were a very cracked, potentially left from the 50's very sticky vinyl and it kinda smelt - BUT it was on time which apparently is not something you can say for all india trains.

ANYWAY arrived in AGRA and saw the Taj this afternoon and it is wicked well worth it, the outside is so gleaming and white and has this amazing appearence of delicacy - the interior is not lacking and without the exterior would be amazing but it just cannot compare to the exterior which everyone has seen pictures of and yes its that great.

the heat here is out of this world 90 % humidity feels like i am in a steam room all the time then 22 degree heat. The food is awesome i may have to up my meals to 5 or 6 a day just to eat all the great food.

hope everyone is keeping well where ever they are in the world, bummer about the americas cup but hopefully we can win the tri-nations.

I Made it ! ! ! !

2007-06-30T21:22:00.000-07:00

Well i made it to base camp, that mountain is amazing towering above all the other ones in the area and almost the only one with snow on the slopes. Before i arrived i thought all those people who wanted to climb it were just crazy - i mean to risk your life for a mountain? but when i saw it there i could kind of understand it is a huge challenge towering very imposingly in the landscape.
It was bloody cold even just at base camp it was hat and mittens - okay in my case a pashmina around my head like a turban for the coldest parts of the morning - the pictures are very pretty - not.

Now is Nepal it is a strange contrast Tibet is all arid and dry but drive across one mountain range in the dark 15 minutes after the last dynamite was blowing the mountain out and you are in Nepal which is so very lush and green almost like a rain forest it is so humid. it is also a stunning contrast in the people i no longer feeling like walking around with a giant scrubbing brush for the dirty children or see the scale of poverty that is so prevalent in Tibet over here.

Kathmandu is wonderful but i don't know if it would make my top 3 cities Y, i love the shopping here and the mass of confusing noise that seems to make this city tick and i have to say i am glad i am down from altitude that was a pain i felt like i was walking having just run a5 km all the time.

in sad news the kiwi boat team look like they are doomed to lose the Americas cup and the All blacks lost to Australia (we have aussies on the tour so please imagine the taunts :-( ) .
Only another 3 days here then i am off to India - Delhi to be precise.

Hope everyone is well in NYC, London and NZ.

Almost at Everest

2007-06-22T01:28:00.000-07:00

Now at 3900 ft altitude and in the second biggest town in Tibet which would be smaller that Lyndhurst NJ or about the size of Masterton NZ - tiny with one main street and a few side streets branching off it - it is very chinese in feel - well both the laundry man and intenet man as well and the people i walked by on the road all seemed more chinese than Tibetian.

We are here for two days partially to see the seat of the Panchen Lama and to get ready for the last few days before the big mountain (E) which is at half the oxygen level of sea level i hope to climb the 200 m to tthe base camp but as it takes about 2 hours i am now sure how it will go - i may be talking the horse and cart option up the hill.

Today, we sat in a jeep for only 2 hours (yesterday it was over 10 hours whilst i was sick as a dog with the only relief being a lake, the opportunity to ride a Yak and lunch - and outdoor toilets) i think i have also seen almost as many monestaries as it is possible to take they are all very beautiful and colourful but most of the times we don't get the best explanation so it can be a little bewildering.

anyway i cannot wait to see E and this is the last blog until Kathmandu as there will be no more email contact so until 10 days bye hope NYC, NZ or whereever you are is treating you well

Tibet

2007-06-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

Finally made it to Tibet and amnow dealing with the altitude drinking a heap of water and getting out of breath climbing a dozen stars - particularly hard with a hangover let me tell you.

The highlights of China had to be the great wall, terracotta warriors and a night we spent in a homestay with a local family in the quiet - of course the food rates as well.

Have been in Lhasa 3 days and i find the people very colourful in their dress and very keen to be friendly.
i have walked the kora at the Potala this morning (where the dala lama lived before 59) there are always locals carrying their prayer wheels and flags are flying in a lot of places adding color to the city.

So far this is wonderful and i am looking forward to getting more out of the cities into the country soon.

Out of Beijing

2007-06-08T23:33:00.000-07:00

Well i am now of of Beijing and the most noticable change is in the toilet situation, apparently it is only going to get worse and we are already at dug long drops with no doors that i can smell at least 100 m away. Until i have a picture all i will say is now that we have to drink 3 liters of water a day for altitude reasons certain parts of my day are not looking plesant.

Since left Beijing two days ago we have been to Xi'an cycling the wall of the old city and are now off to walk a little more so sorry its short.

Finally a picture of MOI

2007-06-06T00:52:00.000-07:00

Okay since my photo thing does not work here is a picture of me and my frind Kirsty in Munich on a stinking hot day walking around the gardens and another one by Kirsty of my antics at the beer hall... just to prove to you all i drink beer (if that was ever in doubt)

Climbed the Great Wall yesterday, i must say those men musst have been as fit as anything with all those stairs, i reached the top gleaming - well it was mid 30's C in the sun. The Great Wall was one of my real must do's - you know the reason you go to a country and i have to say it was totally worth it to stand on the wall and look out over the landscape.

Kim and i have had the tour introduction and i can now say the thing i am most afraid of is going to be the bathrooms or lack thereof i may encounter and the amount of hiking my unfit body may be called on for - but time will tell.

Hello from Beijing

2007-06-02T03:03:00.000-07:00

First this is a chinese version of Blogger so please excuse any typos.

I arrived on the plane at the ungodly hour of 6.30am - there was a slight haze outside that i thought the morning would burn off and i was busy filling in the immigration forms wondering does my cosmo magazine count as pormo material and is my ipod a radio transmitting device (i checked no for both).

Having cleared customs it was to the taxi rank since i now had cash, a hotel and my passport all the critical elements for the start. However on leaving the airport i noticed right away that had been no moning haze but was the Beijing pollution 'bubble' - to my mind it smelt like dried fish and looks like any dawn haze that lasts all day and has made my eyes red for two days now - so i really look like i have been on a 5 day bender.

However ! into the taxi with a cabbie who had to call several people to find out where my hotel was at - which as i was staying at the marriott was a little worrying.... however off we go into the haze with the driver listening to his english language tape and trying to get me to respond with the helpful answers as well - not likely in my state.

Having arrived at the hotel they must have felt sorry for me so they only made me wait one hour to check in then i could feel human again.

Now i think i have a fairly OK sense of direction so i decided to walk to the temple of heaven in the afternoon, when i asked for a map they all looked at me VERY funny when i said i would walk and said get a taxi !. But it did not look far and i just thought if i can navigate many citys prior to this one how bad can Beijing be????

lets say i got totally lost and ended up at the Forbidden city which is in totally the opposite directions - and i swear i was really looking that those street signs and the map together not just doing a walkabout, so yesterday was more of a lost wandering that anything else.

This morning would be different i set out again determined to find this temple complex and after many lost turns including into the pearl market where i only brought one thing i found it (huh to the hotel staff) and spent hours walking through the complex, being in other peoples pictures (why) and listening to people practcing opera singing of all thigns - i have decided it is not to my taste but then there are all sorts in the world.

i know some will ask if i am surviving on rice and believe me the answer is NO i have found starbucks and italian which will do until the tour starts.

Munich

2007-05-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

So i have been a little lost and busy in Mucich, and not just at the beer halls people, so thats my reason for not blogging in a few days - after 2 liters of beer i just could not face the computer.
I arrived when it was hosing down with rain, which is always a downer on the day for walking around, but it proves no vacation can be all sunshine.
Therefore the first night in Muich was spent cowering inside, snug in a bean bag talking with random strangers (this become a theme for Munich) waiting for the rain to at least break so i could run out for Turkish food - see Rob i remembered you talking about how good this food was round the train station and i agreed enough to eat it more than once.

During the next few days the rain was patchy therefore i managed to join a walking tour which was interesting not only because the guy running it was as energetic as the ever ready bunny as he showed us all through Munich even singing and dancing at some point inside a church - actually as the tour incorporated 2 beer halls in 4 hours maybe he was running on something else.
I also went to Dachau which was on my must do list. I thought i had read a lot about various concentration camps but actually walking through the gate the prisioners came in through and then walking the whols camp to feel its size and seeing the museum made me realize i actually did not know a lot at all - Being there kind of hammers it home what happened, how it happened and the effects - luckily i had on sunglasses because i cried a few times that day.

Then my friend Kirsty arrived and a lot of what i remember is beer gardens and halls, when it was nice and hot (think 30 degrees C) we sat outside in the center of Munich and spoke to a bunch of random people - i think that is the beauty of the beer garden people seem to come and go from the table and talk to each other and not just the people they came with.
When it rained we went to the indoor beer halls and listened to the music and tried MANY beers all in the name of why not have another.
Now before you think all that has been done is drinking we made it to Schloss Nymphenburg where we walked for 5 hours in 30 degree heat, i really get a kick out of these castles and palaces in Germany they are so ornate and have a lot of whimsical charm inside the palace and gardens - this one had a church deliberatly built to look like it was falling down for heavens sake and just so the grotto inside would be in a realistic setting i guess.

Am off to Antwerp tomorrow and to Beijing on Thursday i will try and get to a USB functioning computer before i fly.

Germany by Rail.

2007-05-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well i finally have a picure i am willing to share of me, but now i have to wait and find a place that has a connector for my camera (so the suspense will continue).

I have been travelling Germany by rail and have noticed that on any semi long journey people seem to treat the train like a real outing and not a chore - they bring along bottles of wine and picnics to share with their group, honestly with my water and bag of chips i feel a bit of an odd one out, i think of taking wine myself but would probably look like a wino as i don´t have the glass to go with it and would drink from the bottle.

I also learned today that sunday is footy day (OK i knew this in principal) - i however happen to travel on the last two Sundays as all the shops are shut and most towns operate a little slower on Sunday. What i found today was that it felt like the whole town was quiet because they were sardined onto my traain carriage heaading here to Augsburg for a game.

At first it was a bit of a pain standing for over an hour and a half with no AC but it was ok - kind of like being on a train on the way to a rugby match only i was not drinking and did not get the jokes.

THEN the train stopped and i though no way can anyone elsse fit on but somehow about 30 well tanked guys jammed on and i spent the next half hour jammed next to some guy literally) who had eaten way to much salami and drunken to many largers whilst forgetting to wash - yummy.

When it finally game to my stop it was a mad dash for everyone off the train onto the platform where there were about a dozen police with guns, batons and dogs geez christ i hoped they were not bag searching as i really did not want my underwear all over the train station was my first thought, the second wow impressive team spirit to metit such a police turnout. They focused on the mean looking guys carrying (i swear) crates of beer and left moi alone although some guys were getting bag searched when i dogs went ape.
To top it off some nutter is blowing off firecrakers and party poppers in the tunnels under the railway station - would a sane person not save it until several dozen police were not around?.

so anyway that was my sunday morning ish, more action and boredom than i thought.

In other Helen news i had a awesme few days staying with a friend, i have discovered German junk food and have not been drinking with any more strange men.

Only another 10 days and i will have to start practicing my Chinese (i am hoping for veggie dumplings)

Photos of Germany - but still none of me (next time i promise)

2007-05-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

I think most of you have been to Germany and will recongnise all these places so maybe i should have a name that place competition instead.

As the middle east was Pyramids Germany seems to be culture and museums (i will not be posting the beer pictures as the never come out). So for those of you still reading here are some Germany pictures from Berlin. Dresden and Cologne... i have NO idea how to rotate picture so please rotate your head (this may be the car i end up with in NZ).

Pedicures and Other Regimes

2007-05-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

I finally have a new gleaming pedicure!, this is HUGE to me as i was wandering around with bare naked toes to match my hairdryer less hair (WHO told me not to pack that hairdryer? i look like a 60´s escapee on a bad day hence no Helen pictures).
Anyhow, I had been searching for a pedicure in an, ask the receptionist at the hostel and go looking if its on the way, for four days thinking surely German woman want pretty toes too? i was at the point of maybe not.
I finally had sucess today although it was a totally different experience than my little NYC lady i guess they are not the norm here - think 15 dollar kmart special for the foot soaker, holding my own toes aloft for the loofa and putting on the toe seperators myself and to cap it off only a dozen very strange colours to choose from - still they look pretty and thats what counts when you are weraring flip flops.

In other regime news i had four days in Berlin where i visited museums on everything from the Nazis to the holocaust, the Berlin wall and the reunification to the Babylon architecture period - there were times i thought my brain would stop working there was so much information but it was all so wonderful that i had to keep going to more museums.
My main time out was the discovery of German beer, in what seems to be half liter glasses, drunken with various Aussies - i have not yet found another Kiwi but the Aussies are always happy drinkers i have found.

I am now in Dreden where besides the very exciting, for me, pedicure i have walked my feet off around the old town, been caught in a rain storm and been on a steam boat down the river to walk more miles around the castles.

Tomorrow i am off to Cologne but for now back to the bar luck has it this place has a bar and its happy hour.

Bye Bye Cairo HELLO Beer Gardens

2007-05-02T02:17:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow I fly to Germany leaving behind these three wonderful countries i have experienced in the last few weeks, to sum it up i have:

Eaten way to much falafel, hummus and bread - but it was so good
Hiked for miles up mount Sinai, at Petra and through the Souks and markets
Semi honed my haggling skills in preparation for China and on, but i know i am still being taken like all the other tourists - but maybe not quite so much
Done more Karaoke than in the last 9 months - i fully believe the word Disco here actually means Karaoke.
Not danced ! this I am missing - i tried to take to the floor here in Cairo but lets just say it was not a great idea.
learned a few swearwords to use at all the overly persistent men who literally follow you around, beep their horn and grab at you (yesterday it was for an hour honestly what did the guy think was going to happen)?
Tried the local Egypt wine which to my brutalized through many cheap wines palate was still very very rough - but not quite as bad as the Vietnam wines for those who have tried the wine in Vietnam you will know what i mean.
Have, i think, used all the methods of transport available - plane, public bus, public train, taxi, coach, horse, donkey, camel 4*4, snorkeling equipment, felucca and boat .
De-Stressed - i think i have finally ousted all the stressed from New York.
Done all the temples i can bring on the beer halls and castles of Germany.

On tour we had one American lady from Seattle who was totally American - what i noticed was than when she said she was American everyone hastened to say they liked America and how America was their friend, i thought this a bit strange given i thought America was not well liked in the middle east that is until i realized we were mainly travelling in American allied countries like Jordon and Egypt, i recall in Syria she did get a different response and was even yelled at on the bus once or twice. For my experience most people have been more than friendly in all the places i have been and i have received more than one free meal and tea.

Egypt and Pictures.

2007-04-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

Okay so the above pictures are of me riding a camel in the Jordon Desert and of Petra the famous rose city.

I DID manage to make it up mount Sinai with the help of a camel - i walked part of the way then did the sissy thing and got a camel up to the 750 steps which i walked in time to see the sunrise over the mountain - very stunning and beautiful it is kind of like the sunrise at Santorini a giant Ball of fire coming over the horizon - as we started walking at 2am need i say the coffee afterwards was wonderful?.

I have also been spending a bit of time at the beach snorkeling the blue hole in Dahab which is theis freaky 300 m deep hole in te middle of a coral reef just of shore - so i now have tan (suckers stuck in winter) that is looking pretty great.

I have passed through Cairo and been to the Pyramids and even went inside the smaller of the two for a walk around. I have recently been in Aswan where we over-nighted on the feluucca and for all of you who told me horror stories about that bit shame on you! i found it to be not bad although the sound of my electric toothbrush in the morning scared a local donkey.

Visited Abu Simbal in a convoy - everything in Egypt appears to move in a military convoy although i really think its overkill to have a machine gun mounted van in the front of all the buses - or is it a tourist here sign?.

We have visited all the temples from Aswan to Luxor and went to the valley of the kings today on a donkey (thankfully no pictures exist of me swinging me feet along the ground and holding on as my Donkey attempted to start a donkey race). The valley of the Kings and Queens were amazing all i can say is they were pretty advanced 3000 years ago if we still cannot figure out all their tricks.

Tonight we overnight train to Cairo where i have a few days before heading to Germany i will finalize plans and let everyone know where and when i will be for all the cheap tickets in the next 2 days

Jordon Highlights

2007-04-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

Jordon is one of those must come to countries that has so much on offer that each day for the last few have been so jammed packed with amazing things that its impossible to put them on a camera or into words, but some of the reasons to visit Jordon are:

The Dead Sea - there is just something freaky about sitting in the ocean with it being nearly impossible to put your feet back onto the ground and your whole body supported by water. I thought the sea would be somehow thicker to support weight but it feels just the same. It is almost just like the laws of physics are having some fun and that you can fly like superman in the water or sit like you are watching the rugby, and the mud from the bottom actually does feel wonderful. OK its not all good - the water tastes disgusting - go on put 1/3 salt in a cup, top it with water add some mud stir and see what you think.
Petra - I think this actually surpasses Pompeii for my favourite ruin (i know i had a lot of discussions on this versus Ephesus but i have a new favourite) its a masterpiece still because of the whole sites layout. Walking 2km down the narrow gorge before you even see the Treasury past burial caves and water cisterns as well as rest stops is kind of like a teaser because THEY are all so great. Then there is the treasury which in life is overwhelming because if the how-the-heck did they cave that from the rock face thoughts. The rest of the site is not so so after that there are hours of hiking through the royal tombs, sacrifice alters and defense gorges - Petra is way cool because of how it was built and what remains.
4*4 in the Dessert - This goes in just for the buzz because i had a great driver showing me the dessert in this very old Toyota pickup whilst we sat on benches in the back (OK no seat belts but half the other jeeps did not even have headlights so we were one up) the rush of the wind is amazing as is the sand flying as he rushed up the side of sand dunes, down over others, donutting through the dry sand areas that have not seen water in eons and careening over the edge of sand drifts and gully's. Also a pretty grand way of getting a free exfoliation.
Camel riding - watching the morning rise over the desert from the back of a camel is a pretty beautiful experience BTW my camel did not smell so maybe that added to the great factor!.
There are other things that rank in there dancing in a Bedouin tent, walking the souk in Amman, singing in the amphitheater at Jeresh but these are the top contenders on why to visit this place.
Tomorrow we are leaving for Egypt to climb mount Sinai. Can i do it or will my feet give out half way even i will have to wait and see.

Christian Disco and Hamman the Damascas Way

2007-04-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

So we have arrived back in Damascus and last night being Friday (i think) and a few of us decided to go to what the Lonely Planet (LP) referred to as the 'Hot Sweaty Christian Disco' - now i was hoping for a great night dancing a la Korea or New York with such high praise from LP how could we go wrong ? PLUS this is the only disco in the city!. We rocked up all dressed in heels and tuxes to find the only nightclub in the city had only 5 people in it all doing Syrian Karaoke, can i ass this to the must do list before you turn 80?
We sat as its only polite, ordered a drink - have you tried a Martini loaded with Campari? and threw ourselves into it, no dancing but some god awful singing ensured.

Today on the recommendation of the infamous LP again i tried a local Hamman, these are very different from the tourist Hamman but still most people have the general idea, this one was probably petty old - a carpet covered the main en trace as it was closed to men at the time but inside the Hamman i found i was in need of one of the little diagrams because i kept getting things in the wrong order, was missing my little clog shoes, was wearing a towel into the steam room, and wasn't prompt enough to lay when the Syrian lady with the large arms wanted to attack me with a scrubbing mitt - may i say 5 hours later it still hurts my back?. It always interests me that in the Hamman the woman are very open with each other and communal but once dressed in their garb there is a set distance to be maintained.

Tomorrow we head for Jordon where i get to ride a camel for the first time - woo hoo

Hello from Syria

2007-04-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

First i know i promised pictures, but there is no way this little computer i am on will let me upload anything so you will have to wait until i get to Jordon at least for that Sorry.

So the flight, i ended up as usual when i fly economy next to a linebacker on the flight to Germany and next to a guy who wanted to intorduce me to his son on the flight to Syria - well at least it was a nice welcome to the country - right?.

Damascus is, if possible, filled with more yellow cabs, noise and horns than New York city - i swear i did not think it possible but it may be true, the approach of close your eyes and just cross the road here otherwise you could be standing on the curb forever prevails here and i just sscurry after a old lady and pray.
Damasus's Souk rivals that of the one in Istanbul for noice but i think the one in Aleppo outdoes it for size, there were whole sections devoted to shoes, food, clothing and even one for racy underclothing - i wonder how they all make money.
There have been a few odd looks at my T-shirts and shorts although i am not the only tourist or the only one in a t-shirt (but it must be the bare arms they are staring at right?).

So so far Syria has been wonderful but i have to get off this tiny computer and back outside to look at the sites and try and track down a beer.

Leaving On The Next Plane

2007-04-05T08:10:00.001-07:00

That is if the slow snow drifting here in the East Village abates and does not move out to JFK. . .

I think starting this trip in an area not known for its alcohol consumption might be a very good thing given the amount of alcohol consumed in the last few days – I feel I at least have fully doused my body in alcohol to kill of any potential germs –I am playing the travel training excuse here – well and the many long and protracted good-bye drinks.

I am actually pretty sad to be leaving New York, it is an e0xtremely vibrant city full of wonderful food, drinking, shopping and museums which I actually did not see enough of the last one as I was to busy doing the former - shipping home 29 pairs of shoes proves that!

My first stop will be Damascus, Syria which is reputed to be the oldest continually inhabited city in the world, how cool is that?

The Hangover is Over

2007-03-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate the grande entrance of my 30's, i had a wicked night and unfortunatly think i was a little to busy talking to take to may pictures, hence you will have to imagine the night.
To set the scence i will say, beautiful middle eastern setting, 5 courses of amazing food, a great belly dancer (thats the dancer not my attempts which one hopes will increase when i am in the middle east), wonderful wine and best of all teriffic company that kept going until 4 with me - which led to the hangover the next day, thanks god i did not have to show up at a job that day.

There are only 9 days until i fly out and i think i am spending more time wandering the streets appreciating being in NYC now that i have in the last two years, just soaking in the atmosphere i guess you could say looking - thats until the cabbies go crazy with their horn or one tries to run me over that brings me back down with a jolt and makes me hope Syrian traffic will be a little less hectic and i can stop looking for yellow vehicles heading straight for me!.

The Blog Starts.

2007-03-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

First thanks for all the entries in the 'Name that Blog' competition P and L I owe you champagne when i am back in New York!

After the naming it was just a few clicks of the mouse and thanks to an ok photo that was passed my way this blog was created, hopefully, to provide everyone that reads it many laughs at all the stupid and wonderful things i will see, do and drink on my travels from NYC back home to New Zealand.