Here we are in the Hong Kong airport. The last airport in the last city in the last country on our incredible journey around the world. 25 countries, 191 days, 77 cities, 71 hotels, 39 flights. It will take me years, perhaps a lifetime, to process all we’ve seen and done, people we’ve met, cultures and traditions we’ve encountered, foods we’ve eaten. We all now want to go back to school and major in Anthropology, History, Religion, Economics, Architecture, Geography or any other discipline that will help me understand it all. On a lighter side, I will be so happy to see Newark Intl Airport tomorrow, get home, play some Christmas music, and chill out with the cats & grandmas.
Lots of ferries in the Mekong River Delta.All hotels lose money when Paul hits the breakfast buffet. Floating market on the Mekong. Living quarters, with laundry hang-dry, on the back of the boat.Rickshaws in a Cambodian village. Market for fermented fish in small Cambodian village. Cooking class on the boat. Awesome. Fried tarantulas and fried maggots. Yes, we ate them! Tasted like french fries.
Paul – Captain of The MekongP&V turned 10 in Siem Reap!Visiting a school in Cambodia. This was great — On a bike ride through a tiny village, we were invited to observe a proper Cambodian wedding. It was very interesting. Loved it. In the Angkor Wat Archeological park, this is the Ta Phrom temple, made famous by Angelina Jolie’s “Tomb Raider” movie. Cutest kitties ever in Sien Reap. This guy is Shadow.
Bayon Temple in Angkor
Paula Jr. Angkor Wat at 5:50AMLearning how to properly eat a coconut. Ox-cart ride in Cambodia. Super bumpy. The cutest puppies ever in a little Cambodian village.
Laos
Obama came through Luang Prabang in 2016. His presence is still felt. Crusing on The Mekong in Luang Prabang. Visting a school of the Hmong people in the Laos highland. Can you find P&V in the photo?Handing out dental kits and health workbooks to all the sweet Hmong kids.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong, our final stop! Cool infinity pool looking over Hong Kong.
Back alley canal boat tour of Bangkok.Paul loves foot massages!Thai street food is the best. Loi Krathong is a Siamese festival celebrated annually throughout the Kingdom of Thailand. The name could be translated as “to float a basket,” and comes from the tradition of making krathong or buoyant, decorated baskets, which are then floated on a river.Floating market in Bangkok. Very touristy but fun. Super cute Lemur in the floating market
This was the coolest thing ever. Riding elepahants in Chiang Rai.
See Victoria completely lounging on her elephant. He seemed totally OK with it.
Me and my friend the water buffalo. Who knew there’d be an Armani store right here in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Singapore
A few fun facts about Singapore.
Chewing gum is illegal in singapore. Punishment: selling chewing gum can result in fines of S$100,000 or up to 2 years in prison
Walking naked in your house is illegal in Singapore. Punishment: S$2,000 fine or up to 3 months in prison
You can’t make noise after 10pm Punishment: fines up to s$2,000. No group gatherings, loud family dinners or crazy parties after 10pm in singapore,
If you don’t flush the (public) toilet. Punishment: s$150 – s$500 fine. Officials actually conduct random checks in public toilets to make sure people flush after they go.
Drinking alcohol and partying between 10:30pm and 7am. Punishment: fines up to s$2,000
Being gay in singapore is illegal. Punishment: up to 2 years in prison
Annoying someone with a musical instrument or singing in public. Punishment: up to 3 months in prison
Graffiti around singapore. Punishment: caning
Flying a kite that interferes with public traffic. Punishment: s$5,000+ fine
Singapore Slings at Raffles.
Philippines
Boracay, Pamalican Island, Manila
Good times at Michael & TJ’s wedding in Boracay Meeting up with some friends at Michael & TJ’s weddingThis guy didn’t have as much fun at the wedding as we did!This was our second stop in the Philippines – Pamalican Island. Beautiful desert island with huge lagoon filled with huge friendly sea turtles.Hiking on the island. Planting trees on the island. Look closely because you’ll never again see Paula with a shovel in her hand 🙂
Street market in Manila. Super cute kids in Manila
Vietnam
Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Da Nang (Hoi An), Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Mekong River trip up to Cambodia
I have no idea what we are eating here in Hanoi. Piles of dried shrimp in HanoiPick up your fresh turtle for dinner tonight
Hanoi hair salon ; please note V & P seem quite concerned.Visiting a bunker in Hanoi. Coooking in Ha Long bay. Street scene in Hoi An (Da Nang)Vogue photoshoot in Hoi AnThese net fisherman were the real dealBamboo boats in Hoi An. Fishing for crabs in Hoi AnNo excursion is complete without a dance party Vietnamese classical music on the Mekong RiverTook lots of ferries like this in our Mekong River adventures. Rickshawing around a little tiny village on the Mekong
Bhutan is a tiny and remote kingdom nestling in the Himalayas between its powerful neighbours, India and China. Almost completely cut off for centuries, it has tried to let in some aspects of the outside world while fiercely guarding its ancient traditions.
Fun facts:
Bhutan only began to open up to outsiders in the 1970s.
Television did not come to Bhutan until 1999.
Radio broadcasting began in 1973 and the internet arrived in 1999. For years, the country cut itself off, fearing that outside influences would undermine its monarchy and culture.
About 700,000 people live in Bhutan. The people and government of Bhutan are proud of their culture which is based on Tibetan Buddhism. 97% of Bhutan’s people are Buddhist.
It costs an official US$250 per day per person to visit Bhutan. It’s the government’s way of keeping the country from being overrun by mass tourism.
Archery is the #1 sport in Bhutan. Paul became an expert.
Feeling victorious after our successful climb to Tigers Nest Monastery, which you can see in the background. The monastery was 10,000ft above sea level so we were quite winded.Paul hanging prayer flags at the birthplace of a famous monk (pictured). This was on the way up to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery.Hanging prayer flags on the way up to the monastery.Victoria & I almost at the monastery.Taking a hike with the hotel dog in Paro.
Cooking class in Paro. Learning to make momos, which are Bhutanese dumplings.Hiking in Paro.Made it to the monastery. Hiking is rough at high altitude.Spinning the prayer wheel.Hanging out in the rice fields in Punakha.Yes that is a cow right outside our hotel room. They ran the place. This was in the Punakha Valley. Looking good in our Bhutanese dress. The mens’ outfit is the “Kho” and womens’ is the “Kira”.The future king and queen of Bhutan.Hiking in the Phobjikha ValleySoccer at 9,000ft. Brutal!Traffic jam in PobjikhaThe largest sitting Buddha statue in the world here in Thimpu.
Hanging out with monks-in-training in Thimpu.
Nepal
Mount Everest! We were flying at about 33,000ft and Everest is 29,000ft. So we were almost at eye level with it. So cool.
Shopping in Kathmandu
I would hate to be the cable guy here in Kathmandu.
Not sure I should try this guy’s street food, but it smells good.
A nice Hutong (old town) in BeijingGreat Wall of ChinaTerra Cotta Soldiers in XianCalligraphy classMarket in XianBiang Biang noodles in XianLove the Chinglish — “Grass smiled slightly. Please wrap around”Paul waiting for the girls mani pedi. French Concession neighborhood in Shanghai.Water calligraphy in Shanghai.Working out in ShanghaiMany neighborhoods have these little hard rocks that serve as a foot massage.Shanghai street food!We must use every part of the chicken.Loved the open Tai-Chi sessions in China. Mag-lev train to the Shanghai airport. 431 kph is 267 mph!Dancing amid the beautiful scenery in YangzhuoFloating down the Yulong River in Yangzhuo
Making fans in Fu-Li
Serious Chinese massage in Fu-LiRock climbing in Yangzhuo. Paula couldn’t watch.
Buggage = Baggage + LuggagePanda volunteers for a day in Chengdu
Panda poopsI never see Paula cleaning like this at home…
Awesome backstreet electric scooter tour of Shanghai
Korea
Korean police station.Cat cafe in Seoul!
Downtown SeoulOld town SeoulCool bookstore in SeoulMore cat cafes!
Cat butt-sniffing is universal.
Cultural village in BusanStreet food in BusanFighting, just like home.Fried rockfish with special sauce in JejuTop of the mountain in JejuTangerine farm in Jeju
From the book My Mongolia by J. Peter Morrow (published 2017) – memoirs of an Amercian who lived in Mongolia for 15 years.
“Monglia is the last horse-based nomadic society in the world. Nearly half of the population still live in gers, their traditional felt tents, many of them herding their animals in isolation in the country side. Most of the rest live in Ulaanbaatar, an ex-Soviet-era regional city of Russian, Mongolian, and international character that is now a gold-rush boomtown.
Then there is the rest of the country, four Californias in land mass with 2.9 million people, the least densley poulated country in the world. It includes unbroken steppe land that once extended to Ukraine, Siberian Taiga in the north, towering glacial peaks in the west and the incomparable Gobi Desert in the south. In other words, it is packed with beauty and nature, mostly undisturbed by humans. “
Our ger camp in the Gobi Desert.Victoria doing homework in the ger.Free time in the afternoon.This looks like a doll house, but this is actually our ger in the Gobi Desert.
Sand surfing in the Gobi.Puttiing together a little toy ger.
Playing around on the Flaming Cliffs, an important archeological dig site where the first dinosaur eggs were found back in 1922.Flaming Cliffs
Playing “ankle bones” with our new friends. Really fun game played with dried goat ankle bones.Inside the ger.
Golden Eagle Festival
After the Gobi Desert we went to The Golden Eagle festival, which is an annual traditional festival held in Bayan-Ölgii aimag, Mongolia. In the eagle festival, Kazakh eagle hunters (Burkitshi) celebrate their heritage and compete to catch small animals such as foxes and hares with specially trained golden eagles, showing off the skills both of the birds and their trainers. Prizes are awarded for speed, agility and accuracy, as well as for the best traditional Kazakh dress, and more.
The Eagle Festival is featured in the 2016 documentary The Eagle Huntress, in which the 13-year-old Kazakh girl Aisholpan becomes the first female to enter and win the competition.
These Kazakh guys looked great.
Loved the 2-humped camels. Much easier to ride.We were very lucky to meet and have lunch with Aisholpan’s father. He was awesome.Victoria made a friend at the festival. Universal language of cat photos on my phone.Teaching her to play pattycake.Paula with the cutest Kazakh boy.Victoria with the second-place winner. This gentleman has been featured in National Geographic and other publications. Paula wants to know why the pilot teddy bear is more expensive than the flight attendant teddy bear???
The Original Hello Kitty on Takeshita Street aka “Cuteness Street”Loved the cat cafes! You pay by the minute to hangout and pet the cats.
Golden Gai neighborhood in the Shinzuku district of Tokyo.Paula and the kids trying out my capsule hotel in Tokyo. Really fun but I didn’t sleep so well. So strange to sleep in a tube.Sumo Wrestling. Loved it!
More of our favorite cat cafe.
Tokyo shoppingWaiting for the girls to finish shopping. A common situation for me & Paul.Took the kids clubbing — just kidding. This was a cool interactive museum called TeamLab in Tokyo.
Our first bullett train “Shinkansen” ride from Tokyo to Hakone.Formal Japanese breakfast at a ryokan in Hakone. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese house with tatami mats and sliding screens, etc.This is breakfast. For real.Mini octupus with a hard-boiled quail egg in the head. I had one. Was pretty good. Nijo-jo castle in Kyoto. With some students on a field trip. Mochi making in the little town of Otso, near Kyoto. Mochi is basically pounded rice. Sukiyaki lunch at Mr. Tsuji’s house in Otsu.
Victoria: “What is up with these construction pilons?”Pontocho alley in Kyoto.Getting ready for a Geisha makeover.
Ge
Victoria as a Geisha.Dinner with a real Geisha. So much fun.
Me and the Geisha playing the “grab the bowl” game. She won easily. So tired after a day of touring in Kyoto.USA vs England Rugby World Cup game in Kobe. England won 45-7Takemashi Street in Kyoto.Victoria in Kobe.
Sand surfing in AswanPaul looks great in this cap. The arabic writing on the wall says “Bookstore”, just in case you thought it was something more profound.
King Tut’s actual mummy in King Tut’s tomb. The rest of the tomb contents are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.Paula walks like an Egyption is tomb of Ramses II in Valley of the KingsFranco tourist. Ready for Egypt!Paula looking good at Karnak TempleMummy practice on Paul
