Home.

The long long trip home wasn't nearly as painful as anticipated thanks to in-seat TVs, a great-sleeping toddler, OK-sleeping adults, and having been away long enough to be excited to get home.

Our first day back was like Christmas for Addi, rediscovering all of her toys. It was nothing short of heaven for a homebody who left home for 108 days because he loves his wife. And it was a task-master's dream with stacks of mail to sort through, services to reinstate and suitcases to be unpacked. Everything seems fresh and new and we are all experiencing home through new (and improved) lenses.

I didn't feel it happening while on Adventure, but I am a more relaxed, more balanced, happier person...a little bit more able to enjoy the moment. I hope I can hold on to this newly discovered piece of me while enjoying this transition period and once engaged in a new job!

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Manly

We spent our last day at Manly beach. It was windy, but perfect weather for playing in the sand and wandering through beach front shops. Jim and Addi took a dip, but I chose to watch from the sand. We ate some world famous fish n chips, said goodbye to Australia, and savored the final hours of our amazing adventure.

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Sydney is Super

The truth is that we did not want to come to Sydney. We tried to cancel this last leg to spend more time is SE Asia but could not pull it off. So, we came prepared for a very expensive not very good time.

Boy were we wrong! (about the 'not very good time' part...we were right about the 'very expensive' part) We L-O-V-E Sydney! Perhaps we like it because we have been out of the 'western' world for so long, but I think we like it because it is beautiful and easy to navigate. Either way, it ties our favorite cities list (with Bangkok).

Yesterday we meandered through Darling Harbor. The bay is clean and clear, pedestrian traffic only, and lined with open air cafes, fountains, parks and gardens. We went to the Sydney Aquarium which was huge and amazing with some of the most active sea life we have ever seen! (Note for Greg: they have a huge Lego model of Moby Dick). We saw platypus, manatee (or what the Aussies call dugongs), sharks, all of the fish we have been snorkeling with, and a crazy active octopus.

Today we went to see the Sydney Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, Circular Quay, the Rocks (the 'old' town) and Pitt Street (Sydney's 5th Avenue equivalent). These attractions are all close together so we were able to wander somewhat aimlessly and still find our way to each. There was a strong autumn breeze blowing off the water at the opera house and at one point Addi lifted up her shirt, stood in the wind, and shouted "I just love this!". Ah, we have unleashed a free spirit. Gulp. We took a short cruise of the harbor, watched some good street performers and stopped at a few waterside restaurants for snacks and drinks. The weather was perfect and we came home (to cook our money saver ramen dinner) feeling happy and relaxed.

Tomorrow we head to Manly Beach for our final day on this adventure.

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One Night in Bangkok Makes a Grown Man Humble....

And that grown man man is Jim...
First when they made him put on ankle-length draw-string pants to meet the 'smart-casual' dress code at the Vertigo roof top bar, 60 floors above Bangkok, where we soaked in the incredible 360 view of the city while sipping cocktails
...and again when then they made him put on flowered draw-string pants to meet the same dress code at The Blue Elephant, where Bonnye and I took our cooking class a few weeks back, and where we had a very elegant Farewell to SE Asia Dinner last night.

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Somber Entry

Upon reading this newspaper headline, I am beginning to feel like we have pushed our luck in escaping water tragedy.

We just missed the massive flooding in Queensland and Victoria, Australia in January and apparently got out of Phuket just in time to miss theirs. If we had not cancelled Kho Phi Phi, we would still be stranded there! Not to mention the 2004 Tsunami which (mildly) impacted Tanzania while we were there and the Japan Tsunami (to which we feel close-although are still very far away).

While on a somber topic, the news reports that more than 150 villagers died in the Burmese earthquake we felt last week.

As Addi says, please "make prays" for all of those impacted.

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No Snorkeling, No Beach, No Sun. Ever.

(Monday) We woke up to another wet, grey day in Phuket. "Who cares?" we said, with a cup-half-full frame of mind "We are snorkeling at Rayas Island today! No one cares about rain when you are under water!" We hopped in the pick-up van with several other hopeful snorkelers and drove an hour to the pier...only to be told "There are 15 meter waves. The trip is cancelled." So, we turned around and came home, defeated.

Defeated? NO! After a carb-loaded lunch at our favorite rainy-day spot, Jim got a haircut and, as usual, came out looking like George Clooney! Addi got free braids with beads. We made a stop at the store to buy snack foods, another stop at the bootleg DVD stall to buy a copy of Peter Pan, and we were ready to snuggle in for a rainy day afternoon. I updated my resume and responded to a recruiter back home; Jim caught up on some work and played the Angry Birds Droid game; and Addi continued her endless questions about pirates and fairies. When the movie ended, Addi and I got pedicures.

Not exactly a day at the beach...but not a bad day at all!
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(Tuesday) we got the call canceling our trip to the Samilian Islands before we went to bed last night. "High winds, heavy rains, big waves" This was supposed to be the snorkeling highlight of our trip, so it was a tougher nut to swallow than yesterdays cancellation. Jim worked and Addi and I went to an indoor play-space for the day. Addi had a blast on the huge jungle-gym, at Arts-and-Crafts Corner and on the various rides they had.

We went to our first Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, hoping some good-old rock-n-roll and american grub would turn our frowns upside down. No such luck. It was over priced and mediocre. Ugh!

Maybe, just maybe, we will see the Phuket Sun before we leave tomorrow morning?
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(Wednesday) Tropical storm continues. High winds, big rains, turquoise ocean has turned brown, and my cup is half empty. Only one week left on this great adventure and we spent the last 5 days in the rain...not snorkeling. Now we are just hopeful our flight to Bangkok leaves on time...or at all! (Rumors of canceled flights swarming around the cabin-fevered crowds). Also hopeful my Blog Publisher will work there to upload the last 3 entries!

Pass the chocolate Tim Tam cookies, please.

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Photographic Reality

(Sunday) Today we hopped on a boat to Phang Nga Bay and admired some of southern Thailand's natural beauty. It was cloudy with occasional drizzle, but a nice enough day for cave kayaking and island hopping!

The turquoise bay is a maze of limestone karsts and mountains- bursting out of the sea at perpendicular angles. We kayaked 500+ meters into one of the islands; through a pitch-black bat-filled cave,and emerged in a perfect movie lagoon. The blue-green water was surrounded on all sides by steep green walls spotted with caves leading to other lagoons.

The last photo in this entry; the gorgeous limestone karst jutting out of the water like an upside down bottle, was the first to make my 'Absolutely Must See' list back in December when I was in planning stages. I couldn't wait to admire this natural beauty; to ponder it with the unspoiled solitude that all of the photos I had seen portrayed. But when we got there, the 'viewing island' was swarming with tourists. There were even rows of souvenir stalls! I was heartbroken. How could this place be such a lie?

But the reality is that is happens over and over again. Heck, I've done it over and over again. Just look at my picture-you would believe we were the only people there, right? Angkor Wat was the other place where I was not able to reconcile tourist-swarm reality with my expectations (silent, peaceful, Zen) ...and I know I let my photos lie there too. I took pictures to reflect the reality I wanted. I am a tourist, so I realize that complaining about tourists is hypocritical but....had to do it. With that rant out of the way....

We wrapped up the day at a truly secluded island beach. It was only accessible by boat and was perfectly desolate before we arrived. So...I was still able to find some of the image I had been carrying for 3 months. And when I look at my photos years from now, perhaps my memories will forget the swarms of farangs (Thai for foreigner).

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