One of the bungalows, maybe ours?
Monday, January 31, 2005
Moorea
Looks like we've got our accomodations on Moorea set up...a groovy beach bungalow in a little Islander run compound with only 6 units. It's not exactly cheap, but it has a kitchen and a great white sandy beach on the lagoon. With the kitchen we can make our own simple meals, mainly fruit I'm guessing. It really took some digging to find a locally owned place. And they speak French, not English!
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Friday, January 21, 2005
Our first stop--Chiang Mai
Last night I booked our flight up to Chiang Mai and just booked our first two nights at the Lai Thai Guesthouse. It's a little big and fancy for a guesthouse, what with the pool and all. Some of them only cost about $1.00 a night! But we wanted something really comfy with a pool and are willing to pay the $16.50 a night. We're getting two rooms for the 5 of us.
Chiang Mai is a very old city with walls and a moat! Our place is right on the moat and hopefully easy walking distance to the night market and all.
The elephants we'll see later, up in Chiang Dao.
Chiang Mai is a very old city with walls and a moat! Our place is right on the moat and hopefully easy walking distance to the night market and all.
The elephants we'll see later, up in Chiang Dao.
Monday, January 17, 2005
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Breaking News!
Today Joyce decided to join us in Thailand! With any luck we'll all fly over together and can share the whole adventure. We've also decided to extend the visit to March 22nd. I'm guessing that we'll all go to the airport together, she'll fly home and we'll be off to Bali.
This will be the third Spring in a row that Joyce and Krista travel together--last year was Paris and Kuaui the year before. This time me and the girls get to join them. Next time we'll have to get Krista's dad Jerry on board, maybe Italy?
Hmmm, I wonder if we can send Joyce home from Thailand with an extra huge suitcase full of souveniers....
This will be the third Spring in a row that Joyce and Krista travel together--last year was Paris and Kuaui the year before. This time me and the girls get to join them. Next time we'll have to get Krista's dad Jerry on board, maybe Italy?
Hmmm, I wonder if we can send Joyce home from Thailand with an extra huge suitcase full of souveniers....
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Our plans evolve
Thailand is taking over my brain. We've gone from considering a few trepidatious days in Bangkok to maybe a night in Ayuthay and now we're way off the deep end...flying up to Chiang Mai in the north for a few days, then another hour north to Chiang Dao up in the mountains (golden triangle territory) to the awesome Chaing Dao Nest (check out their menus) http://nest.chiangdao.com/ and maybe a bit of treking on elephants to the remote hill tribes, a bamboo raft trip down the Mae Ping river and there's something about exploring caves. Ack. It all looks so amazing and it's so damn cheap. I think we may have to extend our Thailand stay.
From Chaing Mai, I'm guessing we'll take the train down to Ayuthaya, the ancient capital where Yul Brenner did all that dancing, etc etc etc... It's a 10 hour trip, so we may stop over to see Sukhothai, another ancient capital. From what I understand, you can open the windows on the trains and the scenary is stunning. And Ayuthaya looks to be an astonishing place.
It's hard to know just how much appetite we'll have (and especially the girls will have) for all these amazing ruins. But I'm really liking this itinerary. By the time we get to Bangkok with all of it's congestion, pollution, gem scams, tuk tuk touters and hordes, we won't be quite so blinky eyed and innocent.
From Chaing Mai, I'm guessing we'll take the train down to Ayuthaya, the ancient capital where Yul Brenner did all that dancing, etc etc etc... It's a 10 hour trip, so we may stop over to see Sukhothai, another ancient capital. From what I understand, you can open the windows on the trains and the scenary is stunning. And Ayuthaya looks to be an astonishing place.
It's hard to know just how much appetite we'll have (and especially the girls will have) for all these amazing ruins. But I'm really liking this itinerary. By the time we get to Bangkok with all of it's congestion, pollution, gem scams, tuk tuk touters and hordes, we won't be quite so blinky eyed and innocent.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
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Gearing Up
Yesterday we got our itinerary from Air Brokers.
We finally did it! We’ve finally taken the plunge and booked passage to Thailand, Bali, New Zealand and Tahiti! We’re leaving March 8 and returning June 8. This has been a huge decision for us, with much angsting and tearing of hair, in no small part because we’re giving up our rental house and packing most everything up before we go.
Krista’s folks have generously agreed to let us ‘move in’ to her art studio (which has been built out of their detached garage) for the week prior to departure and a few weeks after our return before we head up to Eugene for the Oregon Country Fair.
I picture us setting up our beds, a few dressers, a desk and computer, maybe the ol’ TV. It’s about 400 square feet but it has really great north light! This will give the poor cats a place to hang, with familiar furniture (to pee on). Very cozy.
My guess is that we won’t actually rent a place again till August. And this lack of rent sort of balances out the airfare, amazingly. We’ve scored “around the pacific” tickets that let us choose how long we want to stay in each country. At this point Thailand gets 6 nights, Bali about a month, NZ a month and a half, and Tahiti (or rather the neighboring island of Moorea) a relaxing 8 nights, so that we can come home rested, tanned (or sunburned) and happy to be alive. I hope.
We also get to claim that we’ve visited Taipei, Singapore and Brisbane Australia!! (Well, their respective airports anyhow). How cool is that?
If we’re really lucky, it looks like Joyce (Krista’s mom) may drop in on us in Bali and/or Thailand for a week or two. She’s wonderful.
I have high hopes that while in Bali we’ll be able to get 3 or 4 of Krista’s designs made into sarongs. Hopefully hundreds of sarongs. A new business venture for Deva Luna. If I can pull it off in time we’ll have them to sell at the Oregon Country Fair and can possibly help pay for this absurdly expensive trip.
We’re debating taking our new laptop with us, but even without it I expect we’ll be online throughout our journey and will be able to post photos along the way.
And by the way, we really aren’t planning to move to NZ. We really are coming back. But still, I’m kind of hoping that while we’re gone Bush and Cheney will be impeached, we’ll pull out of Iraq, and that the US will somehow embark on an aggressive new policy of renewable energy, environmental restoration and global economic justice. Take care of that for us, will you?
Love and Hugs,
Rob
We finally did it! We’ve finally taken the plunge and booked passage to Thailand, Bali, New Zealand and Tahiti! We’re leaving March 8 and returning June 8. This has been a huge decision for us, with much angsting and tearing of hair, in no small part because we’re giving up our rental house and packing most everything up before we go.
Krista’s folks have generously agreed to let us ‘move in’ to her art studio (which has been built out of their detached garage) for the week prior to departure and a few weeks after our return before we head up to Eugene for the Oregon Country Fair.
I picture us setting up our beds, a few dressers, a desk and computer, maybe the ol’ TV. It’s about 400 square feet but it has really great north light! This will give the poor cats a place to hang, with familiar furniture (to pee on). Very cozy.
My guess is that we won’t actually rent a place again till August. And this lack of rent sort of balances out the airfare, amazingly. We’ve scored “around the pacific” tickets that let us choose how long we want to stay in each country. At this point Thailand gets 6 nights, Bali about a month, NZ a month and a half, and Tahiti (or rather the neighboring island of Moorea) a relaxing 8 nights, so that we can come home rested, tanned (or sunburned) and happy to be alive. I hope.
We also get to claim that we’ve visited Taipei, Singapore and Brisbane Australia!! (Well, their respective airports anyhow). How cool is that?
If we’re really lucky, it looks like Joyce (Krista’s mom) may drop in on us in Bali and/or Thailand for a week or two. She’s wonderful.
I have high hopes that while in Bali we’ll be able to get 3 or 4 of Krista’s designs made into sarongs. Hopefully hundreds of sarongs. A new business venture for Deva Luna. If I can pull it off in time we’ll have them to sell at the Oregon Country Fair and can possibly help pay for this absurdly expensive trip.
We’re debating taking our new laptop with us, but even without it I expect we’ll be online throughout our journey and will be able to post photos along the way.
And by the way, we really aren’t planning to move to NZ. We really are coming back. But still, I’m kind of hoping that while we’re gone Bush and Cheney will be impeached, we’ll pull out of Iraq, and that the US will somehow embark on an aggressive new policy of renewable energy, environmental restoration and global economic justice. Take care of that for us, will you?
Love and Hugs,
Rob
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