italy: milan

My summer holidays started with two weeks in italy...i flew into bergamo airport, near milan, simply because i'd never seen milan before...i found the bus that took me to milano centrale, which was an hour long ride and would've been a lot faster if traffic had been moving...as it was, it was a lot of stop and go, which didnt make me feel very good...

i took the subway to my hostel, and tried to check in...unfortunately, i was too early, and my room wasn't ready...so i dropped my bags, then walked to the nearest supermarket to get lunch...from there i walked into the historical center of the city, ready to explore...

my first side was the duomo of milano...the outside is super impressive, to say the least...really really impressive...apparently i'm not the only one who thinks so, as there were heaps of tourists wandering around the platz in front...i went inside the church, and wasn't nearly as impressed by the interior as i was the exterior...(the inside was still very nice, just not as awesome as the outside)...

the galleria was the same as the one i'd seen in december in napoli, i'm guessing they were each designed by the same person or group...

i shopped that day, a lot more than i usually do...it is something a lot of people do while traveling, but i'm not usually one of those people...i bought three dresses in a single day! I also picked up a lonely planet guide for italy...

from the duomo platz i walked toward the castle...while walking i realized the sun felt really good, but i was sooo tired...so tired that when i walked into the castle i sat on a bench and sortof dozed for about 20 minutes...i could hardly keep my eyes open, eeek...the inside of the castle was made up of several museums...

on the other side of the castle i found a big park...filled with paths to walk, and people...

i enjoyed wandering to the other end of the park where i found an arch modeled after the arc de triomphe in paris...i wanted to sit on another bench, but all of the benches in the shade were taken, and i didn't think i could handle more sun by that point...whoops...

i stopped at a random cafe on the way back to my hostel for dinner...since i was in italy, i figured i should go with a basic italian meal...spaghetti bolognese, bruschetta, and sparkling water...the food revived me a bit, thank goodness...

dessert was from a gelato place near my hotel...YUM...of course i ate too much, but i didn't care, i was starting my holidays :)

canada: a new kid

when i was in the states in 2008 i went to visit my friend brooke in 2008...she'd moved to toronto after leaving korea, which was where we met...(we actually worked together at two different schools)...this time i wanted to visit brooke again, partly because she has a new baby boy...(he's not that new, he's 7 months old now)...there are things to see and do in toronto, but i haven't ever really done any of them...each time i've visited, it's just about spending time with brooke...
they picked me up from the airport, and we went back to her flat...when we arrived at the flat, i got my first chance to see the baby...(he was asleep in the carseat when i got in the car at the airport, and i'm not silly enough to wake up a sleeping baby just to say hello, nice to meet you)...he has a beautiful smile, and no fear...(i'm sure this will be a trait his parents just love in a few years:)...i held him, he smiled, i fell  in love:)...who doesn't love a kid who babbles all the time? sometimes it seemed as though he really thought he was saying something...

the baby has easily reached all his milestones, and is currently becoming competent at pulling himself up to standing by using furniture and hands...he can't stand on his own yet, he hasn't quite figured out how to work his feet to make this happen...he's a speedy crawler, and doesn't stay still very often...
during my days in toronto, we walked a lot, which i loved...brooke loves walking as much as i do, yahoo!! neither one of us thinks anything of a 3 hour walk...of course, with the baby, you have to think about going inside from time to time, stopping for a while in a park, (there seem to be small parks all over the city,) feeding the baby, changing the baby...we still did a lot of walking, but this time with all these considerations...everyone loves the baby, he gets a lot of attention whereva he goes...as we went through various neighbourhoods of the city brooke would describe them too me...who lives there, old or new, expensive, rundown, yuppie, hippie, etc...in all of the neighborhoods there were heaps of unique restaurants, stores, fashion, etc...toronto is such a mix of people...languages, cultures, etc...

we also shopped...i had a couple places i wanted to go while in canada, mac, and lululemon...both of those started out as canadian brands, though i think they're both american owned now...brooke also helped me pick out a couple dresses...i don't often have occasion to wear them, but i love them, and booke has great taste...despite having a baby and being busy with him all the time, brooke still knows what is going on in the fashion world...yay!!
we ate great food, as brooke is a bit of a foodie...she isn't a snob about food, but she knows where to find good food...and she wants others to experience it as well...my favourite place was a bakery/ice cream shop...we got to choose the ingredients for our custom made ice cream sandwiches...i had a sugar cookie with raspberry sorbet...there were three other types of cookies, and heaps of flavours of ice cream...
we also ate mexican food, and korean food...that's the first korean food i've had in ages...(i don't know if it even exists in ukraine, but if so, i'd bet it isn't nearly spicy enough)

one night we went to see the movie magic mike...the acting was...um...not good...the storyline was also sorely lacking...but those aren't the reasons i wanted to see the movie...i enjoyed the scenery:)
the last day we went to a place called sugar beach...a man made beach, though you can't get into the water from this beach...the umbrellas are cotton candy pink, and there are white beach chairs all over...it was relaxing and comfortable when we visited, i'm sure it's packed on weekends...the baby stayed on the blanket for a while, then got curious about our neighbors, much to their amusement...
the next time i visit brooke, it's likely that the baby will be walking and talking...i can't wait!!

stateside: chicago

Arriving in the states for the first time in nearly 2.5 years seemed overwhelming, as usual...(this is the 2^{nd time i've been away that long)...i flew into chicago, my friends kelley and jon picked me up at the airport...my flight left kyiv just after noon, i landed in chicago around 8 in the evening...since the flights were all day, i tried my best to stay awake the entire time, though i usually tend to sleep quite a bit on flights...i figured if i stayed awake the entire time, i'd be able to go to sleep on chicago time, and get my body onto chicago time asap...}
kelley knew i needed some food and toiletries, (and she knows i love supermarkets – yes, i'm wierd) so she took me to a supermarket and a cvs pharmacy...who knew there were so many choices for so many objects? I haven't really had so many choices in a while, i was overwhelmed...who needs ten different brands to choose from when it comes to face wash? And within each brand there are more choices...eeeeek!! i loved the supermarket too, i loaded up on fresh produce...

the next night kelley and jon made dinner plans with magan and eric, a couple i met during the ireland trip...it was great to see them again, and catch up on the past year...we met at a ptzza joint famous for chicago deep dish pizza...lou malnatis...i'm guessing a lot of people in the states (chicago, anywho) would recognize the name...tasty pizza, though really filling...

that was saturday evening...sunday afternoon a storm hit the chicago area, and knocked out power for a while...the storm didn't last long, but there was some hail, and very strong winds...tree branches were down everywhere...kelley used to work in insurance, and as she said, a storm like this one would've meant a whole LOT of overtime for the next couple weeks...their house didn't get power again until more than two days later...

if it had been may, this wouldn't have been such a big problem...but it was july, and it was HOT...the heat index was around 110F, and kelley and jon have a dog named meatball...meatball doesn't love that kind of heat, to say the least...we all stayed in the house sunday evening, but by monday afternoon it was too hot for the dog, (and us, to be honest)...kelley and jon's friend andrew (whom i also met on the ireland trip) volunteered to take all of us, so off we went for the evening...meatball and andrew are great friends; kelley, jon, and i are just tolerated:)

the next day (tuesday?) i went to work with kelley, at one of her library branches...i spent the entire time on a computer, buying plane tickets...not too long before her shift was over, my friend laura (whom i met in korea, during my first years there) picked me up...

laura and i went back to her flat, then took the train into the city to an area called bucktown...if anyone reading this is from chicago, you'll know this name...since i'm not from the area, i haven't a clue where it is...apparently it's a trendy neighborhood? Chicago has a good public transport system, though to someone who doesn't live here, it's rather confusing...transfering from one train line to another isn't always straightforward...fortunately, laura knew where to go...

we ate dinner at a pub, then wandered around bucktown...at one point i got distracted by a display counter, and found red velvet cupcakes:)...yum...laura doesn't have the same sweet tooth i do (does anyone?) but she knows how i get about my sweets...i know i don't really need to be eating things like red velvet cupcakes, but i also know that after this summer it could be quite a while before that's even a possibility again...

laura got me on the right train back to kelley and jon's suburb, kelley picked me up at the station...(i dozed off on the train for a while, when i woke up i was seriously concerned i'd missed the stop...fortunately i woke up just in time)...

the next day was 4 july...independence day for my country...i had wanted to go somewhere, or do something, but it was hot...the heat index was something around 115F...not at all fun to even think about going outside...so we didn't...we relaxed all day, not doing much...

the next morning jon drove me to the airport, for my first set of visits...

venice

mandy and boyd took a day off to show me venice...yay!!
we started the day by waking up w/out alarms, which is always nice...we drove about ten minutes down the road to a town called pordenone, which is the nearest train station to their house...the train took about an hour, and the final station was in the middle of venice...you walk out of the train station and there is a canal right there! i wasn't really expecting that, i'm used to having to get to the city centre...there were tourists everywhere as soon as we got off the train! waiting around, posing for photos, chattering away, eating gelatto, etc...

the city of venice is built around canals...before the city existed, the area was basically a malarial swamp...one of the reasons the city was founded was that locals could deal with the mosquitos, but the constant invaders couldn't...a natural protection of sorts...now the city is famous because of the canals, though i can't begin to imagine being there in the middle of summer, when it must be sweltering...one of the most famous things tourists can do is take a gondola ride, though i didn't do so...the lowest price i've heard was 70 euro, and i bet most people pay more than that...it's crazy expensive...sure, it's an experience i'd love to have, but would i really appreciate it that much? i doubt it...
our general plan was to walk to the platz (san marco square, i think it's called?) and find a restaurant nearby for lunch...walking there ended up taking an hour or two, as we had to walk down the same streets and alleys as every other person in the city...i didn't have a map, but if i had, i doubt it would've been very useful...just follow the people...along the way there are heaps of stores, gelaterias, etc...

most of the stores we saw were geared toward tourists...it's amazing that they all succeed in staying open, and making money, because they all sell the same stuff!! venice is known for it's glass, so every third store sells glass...in every way imaginable...jewelry (earrings, necklaces, bracelets, etc) and vases and wall decorations, and plenty more...i loved all the bright colours, and could've spent hours browsing...needless to say, much of what is available isn't cheap...and many of the stores had signs saying they were having a sale...which made me wonder, are they ever not having a sale? i wanted a ring, so i ducked into quite a few of the stores...mandy and boyd tolerated me, mandy was looking for a vase...in some ways it seemed as though there was a huge variety in styles, but when you want something specific, it seems like everything you see is the name, and not what you want!!
we finally got to where we wanted to be for lunch...just outside the restaurant is one of the areas gondolas congregate and take on passengers, which meant it was great for people watching...we ended up having to wait to eat about 30 minutes, so we watched a lot of people...

after lunch we went back to san marco's piazza...(i finally remembered the italian word, not the german word:)...san marco is a big church and museum...i would've enjoyed wandering inside the building, but the queue was long, and i had no desire to wait...neither did mandy or boyd...while walking toward the church boyd said he saw someone famous...mandy and i didn't see anyone we recognized...as it turned out, boyd recognized a couple people who were filming an episode of "an idiot abroad"...a dwarf known as willow, and karl somebody or another...clearly, i still don't know who these two are...
on the walk after lunch, i finally found a ring i wanted to buy:)...yippee:)

from the piazza we made our way to the rialto...it's probably the most famous bridge in the city...considering there are heaps of bridges in the city (it is built on water, after all) this is saying a lot...i took pictures off each side of the bridge, then got (more) gelatto from a vendor nearby...YUM...
after that, we took a water taxi back to the train station, and bought tickets for the next train back to pordenone...it was a slow train, and took over an hour, but i didn't care...
i think i'd go back to venice, but i'd rather be there in the middle of winter, when there are far fewer tourists!!

the last few days in seoul with the fam

Our flight back into seoul landed around 2200…not the greatest of times to be landing, but oh well…after zipping through customs and immigration we got back on the trains…two hours later we got to my area of town…that is, the area in which I last lived…since hana had suggested switching hotels, we decided to find one in an area I knew…the first place we walked into seemed to have an automated system, and I don’t know enough Korean to figure out how that works…the next place was full up…the third place we tried had rooms, and at first we wanted to stay four nights there…but the desk clerk told us the price would more than double over the weekend, and we had no desire to do that…howeva, the price that night was fine, and it was too late to do anything else…so we slept in rooms that looked like the wallpaper had been thrown up out of an interior decorators trash…terrible…

So the next morning we decided to switch hotels…after looking around online, we found one that looked promising, and made the booking…it would be too early to check in, so we used the last hour or so of our time in our current motel to make a trip to coffee bean…(as long as I was in Korea, I wanted as much coffee bean as possible)…after my morning fix, we got back on the subway, and found the new hotel…fortunately, it wasn’t far…we’d booked two double rooms, but they only had one left when we showed up, so they upgraded one of the rooms for free!! Hana and I ended up with a small suite!! A lounge with a half bath, big tv and computer…and a bedroom with two beds, a full bath, and a big tv…woo hoo!! The view was straight into the side of another building, but you can’t have everything, at least not all the time…especially compared to places I usually stay when I’m traveling, this place was pure luxury…I loved it…when we checked in, mom’s room wasn’t ready yet, but that was okay…we left everything in our room, and took off again…

The first place we went was deoksugung…another palace…when we got there, there was a changing of the guard ceremony at the gates, but since we’d already seen one of those at gyeongbukgung we didn’t feel like watching it again…this is the palace of longevity and something else…mom and hana probably remember better than I do…it’s smaller than gyeongbukgung, and at the back of the area is a museum I’ve never visited…I’m sure it’s a great museum, but I’m not one for museums most of the time…we saw a statue of king sejong and it seemed like a good place to take a picture…as we walked up, some schoolgirls asked to take pictures with me and hana…we obliged, having fun with jumping photos…mom was a pretty good photographerJ…the ladies then took a photo for us, of the three of us, which was nice…of course, it didn’t get the king in the background, but oh well…

Wandering through the palace was nice…there is a pavilion with Russian/western influence, a few gates, the traditional throne room, etc..in one corner is what remains of the worlds largest water clock…it didn’t look like much to me, but I guess very little of it remains…I would’ve loved to have seen a picture of what it should’ve been, it would’ve given me an idea of what I was seeing…there was also a large bell on display, I’ve forgotten what that was from…as we walked out, we could see all the school classes having class photos taken in front of the throne room…

After deoksugung, we split up…mom went to namdaemun market, while hana and I went to insadong…insadong is an area that is touted as a traditional art area…that’s true, but it’s also completely touristy…again with gazillions of little shops selling kitchy souvenirs…but there are also great tea shops, and art galleries and yummy food…hana was looking for some souvenirs for friends back home, so I wandered with her, and helped her remember which shops were worth visiting again after we’d wandered all the way through the area…she got her ceramic stuff, as well as a stamp with her name on it…that was fun, and the guys in the little booth weren’t at all pushy…they even made her a couple bookmarks with her stamp…hana’s name is simple, and because of what it means in Korean, it’s all over the country…we weren’t giving the guy something strange to carve…(have I ever mentioned that the word “hana” is the Korean word for the number 1?)

After insadong, we went home…shopping is tiringJ

I’ll leave the DMZ tour, which we did the next day, for another post…it’s a full on experience to say the least…

Our last full day in seoul, hana wasn’t even awake at 10am…mom came to our room around 1015, and I didn’t think hana would be up anytime soon…and if she was, I knew we wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon…so we agreed to meet later in the day, for dinner and our last night…eventually hana did get up, and we both got ready…my idea was to get coffee bean, then go to Olympic park…I thought it was a 20 minute walk from the subway station where I’d lived for a year…I was wrong about the length of the walk, but at least it was a nice day…most of the time I could see part of Olympic park from the windows of my flat…hana and I walked through the park as well, trying to get a few photos, and just enjoy where we were…the flags of all the nations that participated in those Olympic games are still flying in the park…which is nifty, because not all of those nations exist anymore…(Czechoslovakia, USSR, etc)…we saw a few sculptures, walked along the remains of an old fortress wall, etc…on our way back to the hotel, I got us going the wrong way on one of the subway lines…argh…you’d think I’d know which way to go after living in seoul, but I still get confused from time to time…whoops…fortunately, the timing worked out, we saw mom in the hotel lobby…

From there we decided to get dinner…it was still pretty early, but none of us had really had a proper meal yet that day…we ate at kimbap town, though none of us had kimbap…

from there, we took the subway to the stop closest to namsan tower…namsan is a little mountain in the middle of seoul…there is a tower on top, much like the sky tower in Auckland, or the space needle in seattle…from the subway station to the bottom of the cable car, there is no direct walk…you have to walk up a bit, and turn a couple corners…fortunately, we found it relatively quickly…the cable car takes you to the base of the tower, and from there you have more choices…you can eat, visit the teddy bear museum, or take a really fast elevator ride to the observation platforms of the tower…we went with choice #3…despite living in seoul for more than three years total, I had never been to the top of the tower…(or even to the bottom of the tower, for that matter)…I don’t know why…while waiting for the elevator, we had our picture taken…the company takes the photo of every individual/group going up the tower against a green screen…at the top, you can choose to have your photo put against the backdrop of a daytime tower, or a nighttime tower…just because we liked the family photo idea, we decided to get the nighttime photo…fun stuff…mom and hana looked pretty good in the photo…

The elevator ride up is really fast…they play a video on the ceiling of the elevator, which makes you look up, which helps to equalize the pressure in your ears without anyone realizing it…the video is dumb, but you can’t expect a whole lot…something about blasting off into outer space…I found it amusing more than anything else…after we got to the top, we wandered around, looking out at the city…seoul doesn’t have a particularly memorable cityline…so while there were lots of lights, there weren’t any “ooh, aaah, look at that” sort of moments…it didn’t help that along the inner side of the room, lights were on and stuff was for sale…but I’m glad we went up…the line for the elevator to go down was fairly long, but it also moved consistently, so I had no complaints…the line to go down for the cable car was just as long, and moved in fits and starts…it was chilly, all three of us whinged a bit…all in all, it was a pretty good last night in the city…

The next day we didn’t do much, even though mom and hana’s flight wasn’t until 1850…I took them to the airport, said my goodbyes (not easy, and something I’ll never get used to doing, even though I end up doing it a lot)…then I went to lindsey’s flat for the next couple days…

bali

this was my third visit to bali....the way i arrived was totally different from my other visits...this time i took the ferry from java....from the town of ketapan to the town of gilimanuk...it's a pretty quick ferry ride, less than an hour...i sat in a room that had a no smoking sign, but this is indonesia, where NOTHING is non smoking...within 5 minutes of me sitting in that room, i counted at least 10 men lighting up...i might as well take up smoking, for all the second hand smoke i've inhaled in this country...
the ferry arrived at gilimanuk, which is really nothing but a transit point...there is a bus station right next to the ferry station, so i headed that way, and only had to wait 1.5 hours for a bus to denpasar...of course while i was waiting, people tried to convince me to hire private transport, or to pay for the rest of the mini bus so it could leave immediately...i didn't, i'm cheap...i ended up arriving at a bus station in denpasar (the capital of the island) at 2 in the morning...not exactly the optimum time to arrive anywhere...i checked out the hotels near the bus station, but they were all full...so lucky me got to sleep at the bus station, which wasn't nearly as bad as i expected...early morning arrived, and i took a bemo to kuta, one of the best known beach towns...
kuta is crowded...very very crowded...bali has well and truly recovered from the bombings of 2002 and 2005...(it remains to be seen whether this year's bombing in jakarta will affect tourism over the rest of the country)...i arrived to find the town considerably more crowded than it was the last two times i visited...this time i had a much more difficult time finding a place to stay...i walked around to place after place after place, only to find places that were full, or WAY out of my budget range...i started to poke my head through every open gate, some were house compounds, some were temple entrances, and some were hotels...it was by doing this that i stumbled into the place i ended up staying...it was a bit dark, but i was getting desperate...and i got lucky...very very very lucky...it was cheap, and perfectly adequate...WOO HOO!!! kuta is crazy full, and each day i was there, i heard the hotel people tell lots of people that they were full...
kuta is in no way representative of indonesia...at all...it's a beach town, and a touristy one at that...on the beach there are no locals, unless you count the numerous vendors, surf instructors, massage ladies, etc...the beach is filled with tourists, in bikinis, boardies, etc...a few european men in speedos, older ladies in bikinis with skin WAY darker than can possibly be healthy...lots of backpackers...the area where people stay is filled with shops where you can buy everything you don't want...knickknacks, clothes, postcards, bus/train/plane tickets...there are official stores of various brands, like quicksilver, billabong and roxy...i bought two new bikinis, one of which i needed...the other i just couldn't say no to...there are also lots of knockoff stores...i laughed every time someone tried to tell me their wares were authentic...riiiiiiiiight...i now where authentic gurci sunglasses:)
there are LOTS of spas...i ended up treating myself to a couple foot massages, HEAVEN...it would've been very easy to spend a lot of money pampering myself...
i spent my days laying out on the beach...soaking up sun...(yes, i wore suncream AND covered my face)...occasionally cooling off in the water...the waves were good for surfing, at least it seemed that way from the number of people out there surfing...or trying to surf...or trying to learn to surf...lots of people seemed to think they could teach themselves to surf, which was entertaining for me to watch...hee hee...(i'm mean, i know, but it's funny to watch people wipe out)...watching all the people on the beach was also entertaining...some people really need to choose different beach attire...
i flew out of bali at 6 in the morning, which required getting to the airport at 4...not fun...but easy, and probably the least crowded i felt the entire time i was there!

singapore

singapore has got to be the cleanest, most orderly big city. EVER. We arrived late in the evening, but were able to catch the last train into town. In finding a hostel, we again got lucky, and got the last two beds at the first place we tried...which is awesome, because wandering around the city with all our stuff in the middle of the night would not have been fun, no matter how safe the city is supposed to be...
singapore is a city state, measuring about 40km one way, and 25km the other way...it's only been completely independent since the mid 60s...before that it was part of malaysia for a few years, and before that it was a british colony...it's just barely north of the equator, so the temperature stays pretty steady all year...and it's humid...it's connected to malaysia by two causeways, over the johor straits...on the other side of the city are the singapore straights...
it's independent, but it's not a free society...the laws are pretty strict...no jaywalking...no littering...no eating/drinking on public transit...for each of those three, the fine is S$500...if you're caught with drugs, you're going to be in jail for a LONG time...if you're caught trafficking drugs, it's a mandatory death sentence...and they DO carry it out...anywho, because the laws are so strict, everything is very orderly and clean...there are trash cans on the streets, so you don't even have to carry anything for very long...
the standard of living is quite high in singapore...the average income is about the same as in the states...and i don't think there is much homelessness or poverty at all...in a lot of ways, singapore reminds me of seoul...but cleaner, and people aren't nearly as rude...since singapore doesn't really have it's own culture, there are lots of foreigners...LOTS...it's the only place in this entire trip that i wasn't stared at just for being a foreign female...i was ignored, which is great!! fabulous, relatively cheap public transport, HUGE apartment buildings, glitzy stores...and there are coffee beans everywhere...there is a lot more english spoken here (locals call it singlish) and people are really helpful in general...
because public transport is so good, people don't walk very much...of course, that doesn't stop either one of us...the sidewalks are great, they're everywhere...little india was probably my favourite section of the city, just because i enjoyed the real india so much...little india actually has a fairly significant indian population, so there are tons of restaurants, stores selling everything you don't need, stores selling indian sweets, a few temples, etc...even a grocery store where i was able to get more chai masala...YUM...i surprised a guy in one restaurant by knowing the hindi name for a couple curries, hee hee...i love indian food, and i've missed it...i haven't been eating it in other places we've been, because it doesn't seem authentic...the other places we've seen it have all been restaurants, geared toward tourists...this is the first place we've been where we've been around a lot of indians, (who are mostly here on 2 yr contracts, or came on those contracts and stayed) so the food is geared toward them more than anything...i found places to eat where there weren't any tourists, but the places were packed with indians...that tells me it's good...it's fun to eat with my hands, it always surprises people...why use a spoon and fork if the locals don't use them?
my biggest day of walking included seeing temples, mosques, cathedrals, a couple parks, and more...each day was a long walking day though, since it's so easy to walk everywhere...the sidewalks i mentioned earlier are actually walkable...you don't have to walk around stores spilling onto the sidewalk, or around motorbikes or cars parked on the sidewalk, as in other countries...
i also got to see a WWII allied war cemetary (over 24,000 memorialized there, none of them american,) a huge monastery, the philatelic museum, chinatown, and the esplanade, in view of a giant ferris wheel...(i think the ride to go around it once is 30mins+?)...i believe the ferris wheel is supposed to be the biggest in the world? on the esplanade is the merlion, which is supposed to be the sign of singapore...i have no idea how they came up with this...the merlion is a combination of a lion and a fish...???????, right???...one day i saw the largest fountain in the world...it's close to suntec city, one of the malls/big buildings/offices in the city...legend has it that if you walk around the fountain clockwise three times with your hand in the water, you are guaranteed good luck...i did the walk, so we'll see about my luck, eh?
one day i went out to sentosa island, off the southern tip of "mainland" singapore...it was originally used to defend singapore, but now there is only one historical anything left on the island, a fort used for defence of the colony...the reason i went to see sentosa was to see the fort that was last used in the defense of the island during WWII...(a lousy defense, the guns were pointed the wrong way)...they've turned the fort into a pretty good interpretive center...you can see a couple of the large guns used, and they've got sound bites of what actually happened when the japanese invaded...good explanations of pictures, etc...i ended up getting distracted, and didn't see as much as i planned, but i had a great time anywho...its easy to get to the island, you can go by public transport, and it's cheap...of course, while it's cheap to get to the island, being on the island isn't cheap...the rest of the island is a resort...there are lots of things to do, most with high prices...riding one of those wheelie things where you are standing up and you just push the handle forward, going up a tower, watching the dolphin show, etc...there are several beaches, none of which are all that...i walked on one of them, and was stunned by the awful quality of the sand...if you're going to build a beach, why not build a good one, eh?
singapore is by far the most expensive place we've traveled, but we both liked it...it does howeva seem quite sterile...b/c of all the laws about littering, and whatnot, there isn't anything that makes the area feel lived in...no street stalls of yummy food...no street instrumentalists...no graffiti (sp?)...it was convenient, and super easy though...

thailand 4

layna and i met up again in chiang mai...it's basically the second city of thailand...smaller, more laid back than bangkok...still full of temples, shopping, guesthouses, and markets...chiang mai is a great town to take a cooking course, or a thai language course, or a massage course...there are tons of tour agencies, and tons of trekking options...unlike nepal, where we did all of our trekking independently, there is very little independent trekking in thailand...treks in thailand last anywhere from 1-7 days most of the time...you can go see mountains, hill tribes, waterfalls, ride elephants, etc...there are also TONS of temples in chiang mai, most of them still in active use...something like 300 temples, which is nearly as many as in bangkok...chiang mai is also fantastic for shopping...there is a night market at which you can buy nearly anything...there is also a sunday walking market, during which a few streets are blocked off to traffic, and become crowded with stalls and people...i thought the stuff available at the sunday walking market was more unique than at the night market, but still, it was all stuff i didn't need...
chiang mai was where i had to throw away one of my pairs of capris...the first item of clothing that has bit the dust...i had thread, and had already patched them once, but they were done...sad...
one of our days we went to prison!! there is a women's prison in chiang mai, and as part of the program to help the women learn something useful for when they get out, they have the chance to become massueses...the women in the program go through a 180 hr training course for thai, and foot massages...the women working in the salon are all w/in 6 months of being released...we loved the massages, and wondered how much the women received for each massage they do...

after chiang mai, we went to chiang rai...the guidebook says it's a more laid back version of chiang mai, which i thought was plenty laid back to start with...we stayed in a place 23km outside the town, and the best part was the truck ride to and from town each day...standing in the back of the pickup with the wind in our faces was awesome...i could live here, but it's not a great place to visit...there is one temple worth mentioning though...called wat phra kaew...yup, the same name as the temple in bangkok...legend has it that the emerald buddha (the one living in bangkok) was actually found in the chedi of this temple in chiang rai...apparently lightning struck the chedi, and it opened up to reveal the buddha...there is now a copy of the original buddha, just .1cm smaller in all dimensions...

our last chiang was chiang khong...it's the border town on the other side of the mekong river from lao...most travelers come here for a night, maaaaayyyybe two, before crossing the border...for locals, it's an important market town for hill tribes...we ended up loving our guesthouse, and wishing we had more time to spend here...the owner of the guesthouse is a woman who said she ran away from chiang khong for 19 yrs, before returning and opening the guesthouse...she worked in chiang rai first, then went to school in bangkok...it was fun to hear how she has expanded over the years, and how her dog loves farang (foreigners)...the lives of women in thailand are MUCH better than the lives of women in nepal and india...