Author: Steve
We have been in China the last month and have had no access to our blog site because China does not allow access to the company we use for blogging. We are now in Japan and will do our best to get back on track.
On the beautiful Li River - going from Guilin to Yangshuo
Author: Amy
We very quickly came to enjoy our time in Thailand. Even though the Chiang Mai Metropolitan area has a population of close 1 million people it has a slower more appealing pace than what we initially thought we would experience. The people are so polite and respectful and always have a smile on, you can’t help but be happy.
Here we are at our art class.
Things are so inexpensive we were able to enjoy many classes that we might not have done if the price was higher. Whenever you approach a place (business, market, etc) the people are always smiling and so happy to have you there. The prices are great so you want to stay. We had the kids teeth cleaned – it was too booked for Steve and I. We also took a painting class from a wonderful artist in town. It was so much fun – we went 2 different days for an hour and a half. I don’t really see a future for any of us but it was a great, relaxing way to spend some time. We also had our share of massages. Massage is a huge part of Thai culture, everywhere you go people are getting massages. We took advantage of this on our first day in town and throughout our time there. Such an amazing luxury for such a great price, we couldn’t resist.
Just one of the MANY massage establishments.
Something you often hear about in Asia but is hard to comprehend is the transportation. Throughout Chiang Mai there are loads of motorcycles, scooters filled with people and families – it’s not strange to find a family of 4 or more people on one scooter. We relied mostly on tuk-tuk’s and songthaews to get us around town. Our hotel was a bit out of the center of town and we usually paid about $3-$5 USD to get all 4 of us across town. The vehicles are called tuk-tuk’s because of the sound their motor makes. They are basically a motorcycle with a back seat that fits all 4 of us. Sonthaews are red pickup trucks with 2 rows in the back that are basically a shared taxi. Our first tuk tuk ride was a great experience – our hair in the wind driving through the city. By the end we were always looking for closed taxi’s. The amount of pollution in the air is a huge challenge and waiting at the stoplights is just miserable. Steve got to be an expert at haggling with the drivers – you can never take their first price – Steve hates haggling and often would get the price down and then when we would get off he would give them the original price they asked for. He’d say to me – “you don’t think that was worth another 65 more cents?”
The tuk-tuk
One of the drivers asked Keegan if he wanted to ride up front with him - so here's what it's like to ride shotgun in a tuk-tuk!
A Sonthaew - just hop in the back!
Steve negotiating our best rate!
Author: Kendal
Pretty bird . . .
For a couple of days Dad had been emailing a nice family here in Kuala Lumpur that have been traveling indefinitely for the last few years. He was hoping to get some information on worthwhile sites to see here in Kuala Lumpur. I like it when we meet up with other people to mix up our “just us four” group. We ended up meeting up with them at the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park. Once we got our tickets and we went inside Dad started having second thoughts about going to a BIRD PARK… he has been “attacked” by birds many times in his lifetime. Whether he liked it or not in we went. The park calls itself the largest free flight aviary in the world, with over 3000 birds, it certainly lived up to its name. We saw all sorts of different birds from peacocks to the hornbill; they even had parakeets, and our dad’s favorite the Mohawk pigeon! The birds are all around you and are free to fly about. Keegan and I fed some birds in the bird feeding area, when we were feeding them they climbed on our hands to eat/drink you could see them lapping up the liquid with their tongues it was so weird!!!! It was really fun to watch even though they scratched our arms pretty hard. They weren’t even afraid of us, their colors were so vibrant I could have stared at them all day. We met up with this traveling family at the pale flamenco attraction (yes pale not pink). The parents (Brandon and Jennifer) were really sweet it was really fun comparing stories that we had all had during both of our trips. They had 3 adorable little girls; Emily (8), Marie (6), and Asya (8 months). We all had an amazing time watching all the birds and watching the eagles feeding as well as the highly entertaining bird show. They even had some random monkeys hanging around the bird park.
Having fun feeding the birds
The beautiful Victoria Crowned Pigeon
Here I am feeding the birds, they had a tight grip
Keegan found out pretty quick how strong they hang on as they eat
We got together again at the Kuala Lumpur craft center. The main craft they had is called Batik painting, it is a certain type of painting that they do on fabric here in Malaysia. I was so happy because we were able to paint – I love crafts!! First we had to pick a picture that we wanted to paint, and then we traced the lines of it onto our piece of fabric. Our instructor traced our lines with very hot wax, we were given step-by-step instructions on how to paint using water based dyes. The parents weren’t allowed to do the craft even though my mom wanted to really badly, they were told that they were only allowed to buy, lol. Once we finished we had some good-looking artwork; hawk (Emily), owl (Marie), tiger (Keegan), and a lovely flower (me). We had a really great time getting to know this family; they are a super nice family.
Here's a picture of our instructor applying the hot wax outline
That's me and Keegan painting with Emily and Marie
Author: Steve
Last week Keegan and I took a day trip to the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur.
I can’t say enough about the people in Kuala Lumpur, they are so very nice. Getting around can sometimes be an adventure. I can’t imagine driving in this city, the traffic is so heavy and widespread and the motorbikes weave in and out everywhere. The street lines don’t matter much, it seems everyone just goes where there’s open space. Taxi drivers have a method of driving on the wrong side of the street for as long as they can until it get’s too dangerous – which for me always having to drive in the front seat is immediately, especially when I don’t have a working seat belt. For the four of us to walk across the street is an adventure all on it’s own. We have been using the rail-system when possible but not everywhere we go is accessible by the rail system. The majority of the time we have been using taxis because they are pretty reasonable once you get through the negotiation process. On every taxi there is a big sign on the door that says, “This is a metered taxi, haggling is prohibited”, which if it were true would be very convenient. However, it’s not true, it seems you need to haggle your price every time you walk to the door. And if it rains, forget about it, that same distance doubles in price. You can ask for a meter but they have many excuses why they don’t meter; the meters broke, traffic is too heavy you’re better off with a flat rate, it’s Friday night, it’s the holiday, etc.
Batu Caves is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India dedicated to Lord Murugan. The statue is the largest statue of Lord Murugan in the world and stands at 140 feet tall.
Because it was so hot and the stop on the rail system closest to the Batu Caves was quite a bit away Keegan and I decided to get a taxi. We negotiated 25 Malaysian ringgit (MYR) to get there from our hostel; which is about $8.25 USD. When we finished our tour at the Batu Caves we decided we wanted to go to a nearby train station, we heard it has a cool mall connected to it. Mind you, this is half the distance back to our hostel so I’m thinking on the high-end maybe 15 ringgit. We always walk a few blocks away from a major tourist site to get a better deal on a taxi, however, this day Keegan and I were immediately sieged by a couple of taxi drivers right outside the gate. I told them where we were going and they said it would cost 50 ringgit!
After walking the 272 stairs to the top you enter the Temple Caves. The limestone hills that form the Batu Caves are around 400 million years old and reach as high as 328 feet.
“But we want a meter and we know that’s half the distance from where we came and we only paid 25 ringgit.” One taxi driver turns and walks away and the other one agrees on a meter. As we are walking to his taxi the taxi driver says, “Where did you come from?” I say, “What does it matter, we’re not going back to the place we came from we’re going to the nearby train station”. “Yes but where did you come from?” “Close to downtown but again what does it matter if you are going to use a meter like you said you would, it shouldn’t matter, right?” Then the taxi driver says, “You are telling me lies but I am not angry at you”, and walks away. Keegan and I just looked at each other in confusion . . . so we guess he didn’t want to use his meter. We walk about a half a block and 5 more taxi drivers come (one being the head guy in charge of the taxi queue) to ask us where we were going and basically offered the same price, 50 ringgit. I had just spent the last 5 days haggling and I was feeling slightly accosted at this point so I pointed my finger at the sign on their taxi’s and said (in a very nice voice), “Every one of your taxi’s has a sign on it that says no haggling but I haven’t been in one taxi that uses a meter yet. I don’t want to get in trouble with the police for haggling with you so do any of you use a meter? That’s the ride my son and I want, a metered taxi”. They all walked away. Reality is there were more than enough clients for them to work with; they didn’t need to deal with me. So I looked at Keegan and said, “Am I crazy or do you understand my point?” “No, you’re not crazy Dad, I understand your point but I’m not walking to the train station! It’s way too hot and the stations too far. Let’s try to get another taxi and try to haggle for a better deal”. We walked a few more blocks and haggled for a ride, we decided to go all the way back to our hostel and ended up only paying 30 ringgit.
Taxi is short for Taximeter – a device fitted to a taxicab or other vehicle for automatically computing and indicating the fare due.
Yeah right . . .
Author: Amy
Outside one of our many stays in Kuala Lumpur the Rainforest Bed and Breakfast
After having a few longer-term rentals we thought we would try to do Malaysia in parts – the beginning and ending in Kuala Lumpur and the middle in the Cameron Highlands so we could see the city and the outskirts. We’ve envied some other travelers we’ve encountered that seem to wing it and thought we would try winging it on accommodations for the Cameron Highlands. That didn’t work!! When we arrived we learned that Chinese is the second largest population in Kuala Lumpur and Chinese New Year is a HUGE celebration. Companies and Federal offices all close for at least a week. We could not find any place to rent in Cameron Highlands, as it is a popular destination for those to get out of town. Ultimately we stayed in Kuala Lumpur and did a bit of hotel/hostel jumping.
Cherry Blossom are a sign of new beginnings
Kuala Lumpur was in full festive swing. Everywhere you looked was covered in red. We were able to see some lion dances that were so pretty. 2012 is the year of the dragon so there were huge beautiful displays of dragons all around. One thing Kuala Lumpur does right is their shopping malls – there are a lot of them and wow are they beautiful. Chinese New Year is considered a time of new beginnings so the theme is also cherry blossom trees. A time for cleaning out the old and starting the New Year fresh, with new beginnings. Kuala Lumpur was a great start to our time in Asia.
Lions dance and then they give oranges to the crowd. It's a popular custom to give oranges because in Chinese, the word "orange" sounds like "Ji", which means "good luck"
The big red dragon at the mall. Based on the year he was born Keegan is a Dragon.
Meeting the God of Fortune
Famous Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur - they remain the tallest twin buildings in the world ever built. We never did get to the walkway - it was closed when we tried and we never made it back to try again.
Author: Keegan
Hi Everyone,
We were just in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and one thing I wanted to tell you about Kuala Lumpur is their shopping malls are hugely amazing! One of the first malls that we went to had a TON of cool stuff to do. We were hungry but we didn’t want to have a whole meal so we decided to have some ice cream instead, they have a lot of different and really cool ice cream shops and the one we went to had four soft serve machines with all of these different unique flavors. So you choose which flavor and then you fill the cup with how much or how little ice cream you want, then you get to put whatever toppings you choose on top. They weigh it and that’s how you pay for it! Oh and I forgot to mention almost all of the people are super nice and friendly. Did I forget to mention the mall was HUGE, it had 10 floors and inside of it there was a THEME PARK, yes, you read that right a huge theme park inside of the mall!! There was a ginormous roller coaster that went around the whole room it was in!!! We didn’t go on it though because our family isn’t a big fan of rides. LOL. That same day my mom, Kendal and my dad each got a haircut. I didn’t get one though because I didn’t think I needed one yet. After that we went to go do some good old archery with a bow and arrow (also inside of the mall). For lunch we had some really good Pad Thai. There was also a movie theater and bowling alley in the mall, which we didn’t do that day but my dad and I bowled a different day. For me the most um…. how am I going to say this AWESOME and UNIQUE thing EVER was our fish spa. There are these tiny little fish, they call doctor fish or garra rufa fish, that are inside of a tank that has an open lid, you put your feet in and get your feet like um… smoother. They get smoother because when the fish nibble your toes they get all of the dead skin off so your feet become smoother than ever! When you put your feet in the tank they all SWARM TO YOUR FEET and it tickled so much that I couldn’t help laughing — hysterically! I am a bit embarrassed because during the time when there was only like five minutes until we could take our feet out, Kendal, Mom and Dad’s fish were all tired of eating and resting but my little fish were STILL EATING and when I put my feet in further they just climbed up my leg and it tickled even more than before! After we got our feet smoothed up we decided to go back and have a good nights rest after an amazing day at the mall.
P.S. We are a little behind on our blogging because right now we are in Chiang Mai, Thailand; so sorry for the inconvenience.
From The Angeles Family
Here's a part of the rollercoaster, the other half leads into another large room.
That's my mom and Kendal at the archery room, they both really liked it.
There I am taking aim
I took this picture because I thought it was funny how long they washed Kendal's hair without using any water.
My mom laughed a lot that day, she kept telling the stylist's that she didn't want her hair curled but they just kept saying, "It's okay, it's okay, we make you sexy for you husband". So I guess that hair style is sexy, LOL!
I didn't want to put my feet in at first so the guy that works there helped me by putting them in for me.
They loved my feet!!
Author: Steve
Our Jordan guide left us off at the border crossing of Jordan and Israel. We made it through customs fine and our Israel guide was waiting for us as soon as we got through on his end.
While in Israel, our driver was Muslim, our guide was Christian and they were both Palestinian. Let’s just say we learned more about this area than we could ever have imagined. Just the simple fact of going through another border into Bethlehem, which is Palestinian territory, is something we did not clearly understand until we got there. I have chosen not comment on the politics or the religions of this part of the world but I will say; we have met nice people here as we have in other countries throughout the last 7 months. To be in the Holy Land wasn’t something that we planned to do when we started our trip but we are all happy to have seen what we have seen and the experiences here will stay with us forever.
We got very lucky with our guide in Israel he was born and raised in the location of the 6th Station of the Cross and his wife on the 8th Station of the Cross, he said it just like “I grew up on 27th Street and she grew up on 84th Street”. It’s amazing to think that places talked about in the bible are still lived on today. He was so well-informed and openly shared with us answers to all the questions we had, and we had many.
While we were in South Africa, Amy was working with the tour Director, Jasmine at Jordan Select Tours via email to tailor a 2-week Middle-East (Jordan and Israel) itinerary, keeping in mind the time frame we had and the age of our kids. We are very happy we chose to go with this tour company, the guides were great and they did a great job overall. Since it would be tough to give a summary of everything we saw in Israel I listed our 2-day itinerary below. It seems like a lot, which it was, but something else we learned is that all of these locations are pretty close geographically so we saw everything without being rushed. We walked most of our tour in Israel. Also, it’s off-season so there were very few crowds and we weren’t really slowed down at any site.
Here is the list of religious places we visited:
Mount of Olives, Dominus Flevit, Church of All Nations, Garden of Gethsemane, Western Wall, Old City of Jerusalem, Pool of Bethesda, Church of St. Anne, Stations of the Cross, Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the ancient site of the Crucifixion and burial of Jesus), Mount Zion, Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, Tomb of King David, Room of the Last Supper, Church of Dormition, Church of John the Baptist, Russian Orthodox Church, Shepherds Field, Manger Square, Church of the Nativity and the Milk Grotto.
I took this picture from the Mount of Olives. I thought it was so interesting because you can see the Jewish grave-sites immediately in front of us (there are many more which you'll see in the next picture), then after the trees you can see a number of walls, one after the other, that's the Christian grave-sites and after that right in front of the farthest wall are all the Muslim grave-sites. Now if you look at the wall on the right side you will see the Golden Gates (said to be where the Divine Presence appeared and where the Messiah will return). Behind the wall you see the gold dome which is the Dome of the Rock. If you look to the left you can see the black dome which is the Church of the Holy Sepculchre. The Kidron Valley separates the Mount of Olives from the Dome of the Rock.
Now here we are on the other side of the wall looking at the Mount of Olives. You can clearly see all the Jewish grave-sites leading up to the Mount of Olives from this shot. The church on the left is St. Peter in Gallicantu Church.
The Western Wall or Wailing Wall (men on the left, women on the right). It's said that construction started back in 19 B.C by Herod the Great.
Keegan decided he wanted to say a prayer.
The site of the First Station of the Cross. The arch above the entrance has thorns carved into the stone depicting the crown of thorns.
Jesus meets his Mother at the Fourth Station of the Cross. Some believe that the footprints on floor are where Mother Mary stood.
Coming upon the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where many believe Jesus was crucified and buried.
The Calvary (Golgotha), the place where many believe Jesus was crucified. On each side of this altar under glass is the Rock of Calvary. Beneath the altar is where many believe is the location of the crucifixion.
Beneath the altar there is a hole many people believe is the place where Jesus' cross was placed and raised.
The Stone of the Anointing, also known as The Stone of Unction; many believe this is the spot where Jesus' body was prepared for burial after his death.
In front of the Ediule of the Holy Sepulchre - The Tomb of Jesus
Keegan in line about to touch the spot where Jesus is believed to have been buried.
The Tomb of King David, located at Mount Zion.
This was the path-way said to have been the path Jesus took with his Disciples after the Last Supper and then crossed the Kidron Valley and it's the same path-way Jesus walked after he was arrested and he was taken to Caiaphas the High Priest.
Author: Kendal
Since the sun sets early here (5:30pm) we make sure to get a head start to try and do everything on that days list of activates before the sun goes down. So starting the day at 8:30am we headed to Beida (Little Petra), it was the same as Petra except not as big. Little Petra is a place where the Nebataeans used to entertain their guests. The Nebataeans built this cool city around 100 B.C.
Primary structure in Little Petra
We weren't sure if Keegan was going to make it up but he did.
After that we headed to Wadi Rum for a jeep tour. Wadi Rum is the largest desert in Jordan. On the way to Wadi Rum our guide, Hytham (that’s his name), told us about how arranged marriages used to work and how they work today, and about how boys and girls go to separate schools and a lot of other things, it was very informative. Once we got to the meeting point, we switched into our guide’s truck and began our 2½ hour tour of Wadi Rum. Wadi means valley or dry riverbed like a desert and Rum comes from an Arabic root word meaning high or elevated. So, it was a huge desert with mountains reaching to the sky. The ride was very bumpy, to say the least, I’m pretty sure my bum is still bruised. The first thing he showed us was the Seven Pillars of Wisdom. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, comes from the Book of Proverbs, 9:1: ‘Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars’. T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) wrote an autobiographical book about his experiences as a British soldier between 1916-1918. He was the one that ended up naming that mountain range the Seven Pillars of Wisdom. The next stop we had to get out and climb this giant sand hill. When we were going up we started yelling “HELLOOOOO” randomly because the echo was really cool. We raced down the hill, even though going up the hill was deadly the race down made it worth the hike. Continuing the tour we stopped by the rock art on certain walls in Wadi Rum. The rock art dates back to about 10,000-12,000 B.C., if not more. Our guide then drove us to a big tea tent, inside they made us their famous Bedouin tea, the people here say it’s too sweet but we thought it needed more sugar. As we sat by the fire with our tea and listened to this large Italian tour group ask for more sugar, we saw the face of Lawrence of Arabia carved into a large rock. The tour was a different kind of experience that we can add to our list of experiences on our trip.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
A great view of Wadi Rum!
The distance to go up wasn't that bad it was the sand that was the killer.
That's me and my mom running down.
Here's a picture of some of that old Rock Art
Walking to a Bedouin Tea Tent with our guide. The rock right in front of us has a picture of the face of Lawrence of Arabia carved into it.
This is a picture inside the tea tent
Meeting back up with Hytham we hopped into the van and drove to Aqaba, which is right across from Egypt on the Red Sea. Once we got there we were pleasantly surprised to learn that we were going to be staying in a nice beach resort while in Aqaba for a few days. Since Aqaba is farther south than Petra, the weather was very warm and we even got to go swimming and get some sun time in, which was a big bonus! There were U.S. military personnel also staying at the resort with us, they told us that they came from Oman and have a few days off before heading up through the Suez Canal to a Naval Station in Rota, Spain. We could see their large ship from the beach. It was great to see all the different U.S. men and women together just laughing and having a good time. Keegan and my dad even played volleyball with a bunch of them. I know what they are doing is serious. I guess I’m starting to better understand that we have a great melting pot of many different types of people in the U.S. and I like that.
We could see the US military ship from the beach
It was kind of hazy but you can still see Egypt across the Red Sea
Here we are just having some fun
That's Hytham our great guide in Jordan.
Author: Amy
Our trip to Jordan and Israel was not in our original travelling plans but what a great decision it was to come to these countries. The education has been immense on so many levels. I must say, a country is typically prettier and nicer with someone showing you around. You get right to the “It” spot, see the wonder and move along – that, I’m sure, has something to do with our impression of these countries. Anyhoo! We visited Madaba, which is a Christian town known as the city of mosaics. There is a Greek Orthodox Church that holds a huge mosaic map of the Holy Land. Queen Nor was the queen of Jordan – she was born American and the people loved her. While she was Queen she made a number of advances for women and children in Jordan. We visited a mosaic handicraft shop that employs handicapped people to make the mosaics and the profit goes to them to help their community. We learned how the mosaics are made and what makes the pricing different — the smaller the tiles the higher the price. The same day we climbed Mount Nebo where you can see all of the Holy Land, the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea, Jericho and Jerusalem. The Jordan River Valley has profound meaning for religious travelers. Although they never found his remains they mark Mount Nebo as the site of Moses’ death. The church there was under construction so we stayed outside; it was a very windy day. Our last stop of the day was at a crusader castle 900 meters above sea level in the city of Kerak. We’ve learned that the crusader castles are huge and this castle was just that. It was a very dark castle with stone-walls and seemingly endless passages.
Mosaic map of the Jordan River Valley at the church in Madaba, Jordan
Outside the church in Madaba, Jordan
A windy day at Mount Nebo
On Mount Nebo looking out at the Jordan River Valley
Another amazing day was visiting the Baptism site of Jesus by John the Baptist. It is a very spiritual site for religious travelers as well. It’s a great visit with an actual guide and an audio guide. Jordan opened the site in 1996 after they cleared it of landmines. As you reach the river Jordan where the Baptism took place you see Israel on the other side with their tourists visiting the Baptism site from that country. Both sides have armed guards protecting the site and the border – that was amazing for us to see. Many churches from many countries and of various denominations have been built and are being built in this area. It’s very pretty and it was warm in January, I can only imagine how hot it would be to visit in the summer.
The site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus
Walking to the Jordan river - the baptism site of Jesus
See Israel on the other side of the river, we are on the Jordan side of the Jordan river. Military from each country sits armed on their side of the river.
Our tour of Jordan ended with a visit to the Dead Sea. It truly is mind blowing to think of all the things that have happened in Jordan over the centuries. We feel so fortunate to have had a glimpse of this part of the world and trace many of the steps that have been so powerful in the history of the world. We arrived late in the day at the Dead Sea and you could reach it from our hotel so we walked down and took a look at it and decided the next day we would venture in and take our mud bath and do our float. The sea was calm and we were looking forward to our big adventure. Oh what a difference a day makes. After breakfast the following day we dressed in our swimsuits and walked down to the Dead Sea. Yes, it was overcast and a bit windy but we were ready to “do this thing!” WRONG! Red flags were all over the beaches and a guard from the hotel said, “it’s not safe you can’t go in”. We made the best of it by rubbing the mud with all the special minerals on us and wiping it off with the water from the Dead Sea. The water is almost like a mixture of water and baby oil. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the earth at about 1300 feet below sea level (or 400 meters) and has an amazing 30%+ salinity percentage, it easily stings your eyes and any open wounds. The Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea because of its extreme mineral content; there are no plants, seaweed, moss, or any fish or creatures of any kind that can live in that water . . . simply amazing. All along the shore you see the rocks covered in salt. We were sad our Dead Sea adventure turned out that way but we enjoyed the rest of our day just the same at the hotel and even got some schoolwork done!
The Dead Sea with the red flag flying!
Applying the miracle minerals . . .
Although they wouldn't let us swim we put our feet and hands in.
The mud seems oily and the Dead Sea water almost seems like water with baby oil in - amazing!
Author: Steve
We had intended on going to Istanbul after Spain but after realizing the weather was much colder in January than we had initially thought, Amy started looking into the Middle-East (only one backpack and no real winter clothes is an easy excuse to help dictate some of our travels). Obviously we have heard and read mixed reviews about the Middle-East some saying that certain countries were beautiful retreats while other’s saying to stay away from the region completely. After a lot of research we decided to stay away from the countries that could or would possibly put us in danger and venture to a couple of countries that could provide great historical experiences and allow us all to learn about a part of world we know nothing about other than what we see and read in the media: those two countries being Jordan and Israel.
One of our day trips was Petra, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Petra is easily one of the most eye inspiring places I have ever seen. To walk down the path of the Siq, a dark narrow gorge, which is over 1 km long and huge rock walls some as tall as 650 feet on each side is mind-boggling enough and all worth the trip but then you come upon the majestic view of “The Treasury” . . . it simply moves you beyond words. I never imagined it would be so incredible. That all of this was built starting around the 6th century B.C. and still stands today for us to walk through to see first hand the magnitude of the builders during that period is something very hard to grasp. We spent the first two hours with a tour guide as he walked us though all the highlights of some of the main portions of the site. Then we took the next 5 hours to walk and venture on our own, with the main objective of walking the 800 plus steps up to see the Monastery and view the End-of-the-World viewing point. Since we are seeing so much during our time in Jordan and Israel we only had one day in Petra but you could easily stay there a number of days and probably still not see everything, it is that big. I am blown away by the ruins and monuments I have seen thus far in Jordan, they are huge and plenty and I am simply amazed by one place just as much as the next.
We all took a short horse ride into Petra.
Kendal and Amy walking through the Siq
You can clearly see the outline of men and camels carved into this wall.
Walking from the Siq into the Treasury
The Treasury (also known as Kazneh) is Petra's most popular site, it was built around the 1st century B.C.
Keegan took this picture - interestingly camels store water in their feet not their humps and according to our guide it used to be complimentary to call your wife a camel.
There was one incredible site after another.
Here's a shot of one of the over 800 carved tombs in Petra as we were walking up to the Monastery.
The Monastery, like the Treasury, was also built sometime during the 1st century B.C. That little object on the bottom is me.
The Monastery, is the largest tomb facade in Petra, measuring 45 meters high and 50 meters wide!
Climbing up to view "the End of the World"
The view of the End of the World
Here's a view up above looking at the Monastery - we walked up from the right side of this picture, you can see the stairs leading to the front of the site.
The rock colors and formations were incredible.
Leaving Petra after a long, fun day!
Author: Keegan
AHLAN WA SAHLAN TO JORDAN!
( Ahlan wa sahlan in Arabic means Welcome)
Our arrival to Jordan started out great because our airline (Turkish Airline) had the BEST airplane food EVER! Wait, can you hear me?? I said it had the BEST airplane food EVER!!! (I highly suggest you to take this airline when/if you ever go to Jordan). So, now we are in Jordan, yes the Middle East, and we have a guide so we don’t have to think about where we are going to go and how we are going to get there! On our first day we went to Jerash, Ajlun and Amman. In Jerash and we had a local tour guide who showed us around. When you enter Jerash there is a huge arch to welcome Emperor Hadrian that was built in 129 A.D. It’s a beautiful stone arch – sadly Hadrian died before he came to Jerash so he never got to see the arch they made for him. While we were there we walked on a street that horse-drawn carriages rode on like a lloooonnngggg time ago and you could see where they rode because they left indents on the street. We also saw a theatre. In the theatre there was a certain spot that echoed so everyone could hear and if you stepped out of the place there would be no echo. The type of stone and how they made the theater was the reason it had that great sound system. So it was pretty cool! There were musicians there that played some traditional music for us. We learned that the theater is still used today for concerts. What I liked the most were the ruins for a temple specifically for Zeus the King of the Gods.
Hadrian's Arch
This is a picture down one of the main colonnaded streets
Here's one of the indents from the carriages I told you about
Here's the entrance to the temple of Zeus. You walk up the stairs and go a long away again until you hit more stairs, it was a huge temple.
This structure was off one of the main roads - people lived in Jerash over 6500 years ago.
In the amphitheater this musician played for us and then grabbed my dad and started dancing with him...awkward.
Jerash was huge, it seemed like we walked forever.
The columns were amazing. Our guide put a spoon in a crack on the bottom of one of the columns and moved the huge column with his hands. The spoon started moving up and down, they made these columns sturdy enough for very high winds.
We had a great time in Jerash!
We also went to Ajlun, north of Amman, which is a HUGE castle! We were able to explore the castle – it’s amazing how much is still in place after all that time. The castles are always cool inside because the stones keep the temperature down. I always wonder how they made these castles way back then.
Inside the Ajlun Castle - it was built in 1184 A.D.
Another shot inside the Ajlun Castle - it was huge and almost everywhere were perfect places to make a movie
One of the great views from the Ajlun Castle - back then it was used to watch for enemy attacks
The hotel we stayed at was in Amman and Amman is Jordan’s capital. We saw ruins at the Citadel and one was the Temple of Hercules built between 162-166 A.D. We also saw ruins for an amphitheater. It was a full day but it was cool to see all the ancient ruins. While at the citadel in Amman we ran into a lot of school kids – they were on break from testing in the morning. Other than the girls wearing headscarves they seemed like anyone you would meet anywhere else. They actually were really friendly and kept saying “hello, hi” to us. They asked my mom to take a picture of them all together with their cell phone, they were very happy teenage girls and they said they loved the U.S.
Amman, Jordan
Temple of Hercules - much bigger than this picture shows
That's what's left of a hand and elbow from a huge Roman-Greco statue
That's me and Mom running to check out a view of Amman and the ruins from the Amman amphitheater
The Jordan Valley and the ruins of the Amman Amphitheater
Here are some fun facts about Jordan:
1. Did you know that when kids go to school they learn… all at public school
A. The Torah- Jewish
B. The Bible- Christian
C. And the Koran- Muslim
2. Did you know that Amman is also known as Philadelphia?
Amman means the city of brotherly love.
3. Do you know how Arabic is read and written?
From right to left. The binding on the magazine in our hotel was on the right.
By for now!
Keegan
Author: Amy
All of these sites deserve their own blogs – they have so much history, character and personality of their own. Unfortunately, we are heading out of Spain and it’s time to get these blogs posted.
The Giralda and Cathedral of Seville – There is a mausoleum with the remains of Christopher Columbus in the Cathedral. Part of his DNA was sent to Huston, Texas and it was confirmed that his remains are here. He is held up by 4 Heralds representing 4 Kingdoms, it’s an amazing display. The Giralda is the Minaret – built between 1184-1198 for the Mosque of Seville. Minarets provide a visual focal point and are used for the call to prayer. The muezzin would ride his horse up the ramps of the 98 meter tower to call for prayers, 5 times a day. I would consider this to be the center of Seville, we passed the Cathedral countless times during our stay in Seville. One evening we saw the 8pm bells toll – it was a magnificent sight and sound that we all will remember. The Seville Cathedral was built over the Mosque of Seville and it is the biggest “Gothic” temple in the world.
Cathedral of Seville
Giralda
Christopher Columbus rests here
The Alcázar in Seville is a gorgeous site – it is a group of palaces mostly Arabic style but throughout there is some Gothic influence. It is filled with mosaic tiles and one room is more beautiful than the next. Kendal felt she was a princess in another life and hoped this was where she lived. The gardens here are beautiful. There is a huge labyrinth of 6 foot tall shrubs that the kids ran through for more than an hour. We went here with my brother and his family and sent him and his wife to the Cathedral – we stayed back with the kids and let them enjoy the outdoor gardens. It was a fun day.
Alcázar
Fountain at Alcázar
Hiding in the Labyrinth garden at Alcázar
Gardens of Alcázar
The Alhambra in Granada, Spain. My understanding is that this location was the last stand for the Moors before the Christians invaded and took it all over in 1492. It is also where Christopher Columbus received the support of Isabella and Ferdinand to sail to the New World. It is a wonderful retreat. We took a day trip by train with my brother and his family. It is a very busy place and they only allow people to enter morning or afternoon. We arrived at 11am but were not allowed in until 2pm. Visiting the main palace is dependant by the time they give you. We were given 4pm, our train left at 5pm. We considered trying to get a peek and running to the train but people were in line at 3:30 – a lot of people! Rather than be rushed we skipped it. The Alhambra is really an estate with multiple castles and gardens. The scalloped windows frame the beautiful views of Granada and the snow-capped mountains. A huge part of the Moorish influence is the gardens and their water features. Water was the purest symbol of life to the Moors. It’s truly a beautiful site and even more are the views of the surroundings snow-capped mountains. Hope you enjoy the photos
On our way to Granada
Beautiful water features at the Alhambra
In the Palace of Charles V
Gorgeous view from Alhambra - snow-capped mountains
Inside the Roman Baths at the Alhambra
We always love the ancient water systems
Author: Steve
Unfortunately or fortunately it is not bullfighting season in Spain, it typically starts up around Easter and goes through to the end of summer, with a few exceptions throughout the year. This time of year the bullfighting moves to South America and Mexico. We did however take a walk over to the main bullfighting ring here in Seville, Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, for a tour. This ring was constructed during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was very interesting to learn more about this deep Spanish tradition of bullfighting, like how it was a sport that took place for Spanish Kings and Royalty back in the 8th to 15th centuries, it changed during that time from a fight on horseback to a fight on foot. Before the bullfight came to Spain it’s history originated from the sacrificing of bulls in ancient Greece through Roman times.
We weren’t allowed to run around the ring like I wanted to so that was a little disappointing. I always thought they had locker rooms, so I was hoping to check out where the matadors get psyched up but they have no locker rooms . . . they get dressed at home or if they are visiting, at their hotel room. I think if it would have been bullfighting season Keegan and I would have gone to see one but I doubt we would have enjoyed the long brutal process.
On January 1, 2012 a ban of bullfighting in Catalonia took effect. Barcelona, which resides in the Catalonia region, saw their last bullfight at the end of this last season on September 25, 2011. A lot of controversy surrounds this topic in Spain; some believing with great passion in preserving this deep tradition and others want to eliminate the barbaric nature of this sport. The fight to ban bullfighting in Andalucia (Sevilla falls within this region) will be a tougher battle due to the much stronger support of maintaining all their deep traditions and how they view this has a pure art-form. Only time will tell . . .
The entrance to the Plaza de Toros
Kendal in the museum
In front of the area reserved for royalty, that's as close as they'd let us non-royals get.
The ring just begging us to run around on it
This beautiful chapel is located right before the matador enters the primary door to the ring. It's the matadors time to say his prayers.
Here is the "Puerta Principle" the principle or main door to enter the ring. We tried to lose our guide so we could sneak in the ring but she was watching us too close.
Author: Steve
It is uncanny the amount of ham that is not only eaten but displayed in this country. It is truly a religious icon of staggering power. To not eat ham in this country I believe would be social suicide. Spaniards are the largest consumers of ham in the world, it’s estimated that each Spaniard eats about 5 kilo’s of cured ham per year, that’s over 11 pounds! The last few days as we went out for tapa’s I imagined myself with my head face down on the table raising my hand in the air mumbling, “no más jamon, no más jamon”. I definitely appreciate the intense curing process involved, the many different types of ham and how differently the livestock is fed. Most of it is really great tasting, in fact I’ve read that Spain’s ham is some of the best and nutritious in the world . . . but every meal?
In any case I researched what the great fascination is between this country and it’s ham and sure enough, it dates back to some religious origins. The history of ham dates back as far as 1300 B.C. when the Celts arrived in what is now Spain and ham was so important to their survival that they had granite statues of pigs made and used as territorial markers and tombstones. The Muslims ruled Spain between 711 A.D. and 1492 and in the Quran it is strictly forbidden to consume pigs. However, when the Christians regained control of the region and kicked out the Jews and Moors, it was again popular and symbolic to eat pork to display openly that you were not a Jew or a Moor. It was another way for the Spanish Inquisition to monitor who was not converted to Christianity because they refused to eat pork. If the convertor did eat pork they sometimes still didn’t believe you really converted and you were arrested for questioning and many times worse. This is a symbol of cultural strength, defiance and fortitude over hundreds of years and so proudly displayed throughout the streets of Spain. So basically some five-hundred years later and Spain is still shoveling down ham like there’s no tomorrow.
Jamon
Jamon
Jamon
Jamon
and more Jamon
Author: Steve
As I’ve mentioned before in past blogs, our street, Calle de San Jacinto, is a very active pedestrian location. A couple Friday’s ago we were heading out the door to catch a bus for a day trip to Jerez and as luck would have it they were putting up a stage in the middle of Calle de San Jacinto for a flamenco show. We decided to forgo the Jerez trip and do it the next day so we could see the show. One of the main pastry shops was setting up a big table outside to sell some great pastries. After listening to the flamenco for a while we decided to buy a treat. I got in the semi-long line and right as I was about to ask for a cookie, a man (I believe he was the owner) comes out with a large pan of, what looked like custard with cookies crumbled on top. The crowd, all with lustful smiles, became slightly aggressive and I was pushed out of the way. Before the man started to spoon it out a news reporter came up with a cameraman to interview the owner regarding this desert. Needless to say I was quite curious as to why these people wanted that custard dish so bad. After doing my best to stand my ground I looked over at Amy and the kids, they were sitting and talking to a grandfather-type gentleman and they were all looking at me (laughing) with a euro in one hand and holding it straight out. Okay I guess that’s the trick, so I started holding my euro up high to get what I wanted. I got one for us to share and it was very good. We think it’s a warm flan, which made the dessert the texture of pudding, the gentleman Amy was talking to rubbed his large belly and said with a big smile, “it’s just a lot of sugar and flour”.
Keegan in front of the stage right before the performers came out. It would be hard to count how many times they had a stage on this street while we were there.
This was the first stand they put up . . . oh my gosh how they love their churros!! They even add additional stands throughout the city during the holidays. A favorite treat that we've seen is dipping their churro's in chocolate sauce.
Here's the cameraman and news reporter interviewing the owner with his dessert. I'm in the background after being pushed back. When the dessert was only half gone the owner would just grab a spoon full and eat from the pan, a quadruple dipper - true story.
Got my euro and ready to buy.
Another day we headed out I was very nervous for the safety of my family . . . the last few days prior to this they had been remodeling the facade of a building for a new bank a few doors down. As I walked out the door I looked up and saw 2 snipers on the roof in front of our apartment and there were people blocked off from the bank and that section of the street with police tape. Amy thought immediately that they were probably bringing money to the bank especially with all the police cars everywhere you looked. I told them to hold still I would go check it out. As I got to the line I saw a man walking out of the bank with his hands semi-raised and then I saw another man behind him. The man behind him had his jacket open and under his jacket you could clearly see a vest of EXPLOSIVES! All I’m thinking at this point is these people are crazy and my first thought was to yell to Amy and tell her to run and save the children. But as I looked around everyone was smiling. Well they were shooting a movie and the guy in front was the Director giving the explosives guy/actor direction. We stayed and watched for a while since we had never been so close to a filming like this in our lives. We got to see everything it was very interesting. We always felt we were walking on a movie set as we walked down our street and seems like we were.
Snipers on the roof.
The blocked off street used as a movie set.
Journey For 4 