Posts Tagged 'monks'
Nicole is the Alberto Granado to my Che Guevara.
Or is she Che, and I, Alberto?
The bike I wanted but too small for the both of us…nor could it go more than 40mph
Our helmets from back home. We didn’t trust the Vietnam standard of safety…
She’s pretty thrilled about getting to Hải Vân Pass. Note: This is one of the BEST driving roads in the world.
When we got to the top of the mountain, we found a little known strong hold from the war.
Ha Long Bay. Translation: Descending Dragon Bay
Our little private beach in the middle of Ha Long Bay fully equipped with hot water, only from 8-10PM, clogged toilets that are sucked out in the morning by a septic boat and painfully chilled nights. BUT we had a rock climbing instructor!
AND! Water-tubing!
Christmas tree in Ha Long Bay. Juxtaposition anyone?
This is pretty much what the middle of Vietnam looks like.
The entire country is pretty much covered in rice fields. Hence why they’re the 2nd biggest exporters of rice.
After a hard day’s work.
Quintessential rural Vietnam.
There were cold nights. So cold that Nicole refused to take her gloves off and instead, snapped pictures with her nose.
Lost in the middle of no where.
I can’t do a travel blog without an old wrinkly man. I JUST LOVE THEM!
When we finally made our way into Cambodia for Christmas!
Photobombed.
Angkor Wat just made for a nice backdrop for my real attraction. MONKEYS!
We’re lunch buddies.
Nicole was also taken in by the monkeys.
A group of monks checking out a bombed temple (One of many casualties from the Khmer Rouge regime) in Siem Reap.
Getting her praying on.
Big temple. Little people.
Angkor Wat is ABSOLUTELY amazing! Which is why I really wish they closed it off from the public. We’re only going to ruin it.
These guys should be the only ones touching this temple.
I found an odd-looking monkey by Ta Prohm.
Learning the ways of the monkey.
Cambodia is an AMAZING honeymoon locale. I’d personally prefer it over a Bora Bora or Maui…
THE bridge over the river Kwai.
When Nicole met a rather large kitty cat.
This is how the Thai’s play tug of war…Notice the team work on the cat’s end.
She soon saw something…much larger.
My favorite 4 legged creature in the world! Sorry Chubs…
We took a bath with one.
The last time I was in Thailand, in 2010, the country was going through a quasi civil war.
Thailand was in turmoil with the city of Bangkok practically in hiatus, a country wide curfew & little to no tourism for a solid 2 months.
Turn the page 2 years, and it’s like April, 2010 never even happened. The immigration line more crowded than the 4 Train during rush hour.
A much more peaceful & harmonious country than my previous experience. With the exception of Khaosan Road in Bangkok & Haad Rin in Koh Phangan, which still acts as a war zone between alcohol and the human liver.
A replica of Angkor Wat in the Grand Palace in Bangkok. 2nd attempt to make it to Cambodia. Fail.
I feel like the older monks are much more expressive than the younger lads.
That's a man with swag - Floating Market.
There's street food and then there's river food. Literally.
Karra & I were loving the "River" food.
Thai Tacos. The Thai's knows how to present their food well.
Things I do on my free time...
Don't try this at home...or anywhere else for that matter.
Love Tiger Temple.
That's the patented guilty Chubby face
Haha. The fella isn't fighting fair.
Playtime mixed with aerial assaults.
Note to self, if ever in a jungle with Tigers...they are great climbers. Tiger temple is here to assure that there still will be Tigers in Jungles for our children.
The beautiful Karra with me on this trip. Reunited from Vietnam 2009(10).
This is what happens when one mistaken the brake for the throttle and conveniently there is a solid concrete pole around to ride up on.
And I was just being an idiot.
Barracuda hunting. Quite a sight to witness.
A species of angel fish...I think. =/
Can you spot the cute fella?
Reminds of me Nemo's home.
Koh Tao had far too many people in the water at the same time. Otherwise, an amazing dive site.
The best place to stay in Koh Phangan.
Nom, the nicest guy on the island of Koh Phangan, sleeping on the deck of Munchies. He kinda runs the joint. No pun intended...
Nom's pup. Dogs in Thailand are extremely territorial. Some fights can get pretty ugly...
He waits for low tide when the smaller fish gets trapped in pools via the sand bars...
You could practically walk half the way to Koh Samui from here because the shore is so shallow for so long.
A morning's hard work.
The morning of a Moonset (Wish I had my camera with me!) & a Rainbow.
From my Trapeze lessons. =)
Where do I start with Myanmar…
Firstly, it is, by far, THE safest country I’ve ever had the pleasure of setting foot on. Though tourism isn’t as vibrant there as say..neighboring Thailand (which I personally take as a good thing), and their infrastructure would put fear in a MetLife/Time Share vacationer’s comfort zone…it is an amazingly gorgeous country.
PS: Excuse the ripples in the sky on a lot of these images. The downsized files for downloading efficiency has it’s cons.
Some major sweeping going on in Shewdagon Pagoda, Yangon.
The main stupa at Shewdagon is covered completely in gold with the top part blinged out with 2,000 carats of diamonds.
Shewdagon is regarded as the most sacred pagoda in all of Myanmar...
My buddy Kyaw Kyaw. If anyone's going to Bagan anytime soon, please let me know. I promised to bring him flashlights. There's no light by where he & his family lives.
Kyaw Kyaw's son & nephews.
Kyaw Kyaw's lovely neighbor.
Perhaps we can make this hair wrap this a new trend in New York? =)
Kyaw Kyaw's wife grinding up the root of a sandalwood tree to use on...
...On mini Kyaw. It's a natural sun block that is used in Myanmar. BTW, do pack sun protection if going to Myanmar, it's almost impossible to find western sunblock. I found out the hard way.
Thatbyinnyu is a pretty bad ass temple.
Maybe it's just me, but I LOVE the way the elderly looks. To me, every wrinkle has a story or a wise tale behind it.
Swag
Happy Wrinkles
This is as dangerous as it gets in Bagan...
The shepherd
Young monks taking a stroll in Bagan.
Yeah...it's a pretty magical place.
I want to stay at a monastery for a bit. No worries, I won't become a monk anytime soon.
Joined them in their morning food route the following morning. Their route must've been at least 5 miles. In bare feet...kudos.
Doing what I do best...stalking.
I'll be honest, I don't remember which temple this was...There were over 2,000 of them in a land no larger than Manhattan.
I wasn't kidding when I said 2,000...
Only time in my life where I saw the sun rise & set 4 days straight. Worth every cup of coffee.
Spent 4 days climbing the largest temples...I took a fall on one of them...but that's a story for another post.
Typical visitors of Myanmar: Middle aged French & German couples. Would make for an AWESOME honeymoon my American brides!
I tried desperately to get on the balloons. Got cancelled on twice because of the wind.
Betel, a popular "chew" product in Myanmar. Kinda numbs your mouth a bit. It's said to caffeinate a person, as well as remove hunger.
I love going to local markets. As Anthony Bourdain has always said: "Go to the local market to find out what their cuisine specialties are"
The local "floating" market was a bit dry...
Why..."Hello" to you too!
Nga Pha Kyaung Monastery, Inle Lake.
The famous single legged rowing fishermen in Inle Lake, Myanmar.
Like the Scottish, the Burmese also wear skirts. New trend 2013?
Spent half the day fishing in a lake FULL of fish...ended up needing to buy fish from the local fishermen. I just have the worst luck with fishing.
Brought the fish back to Maung Lay's (my boat driver) place and his mom cooked us a feast!
Maung Lay was crazy enough to let me take his boat for a spin...he had NO idea what was coming to him.
Spent a good time in Muang Lay's village and realized how happy everyone is in this country.