The End!

Before: (January 20, 2010) Pale Oregon skin, excellent physical condition, intrigued by the world...

After: (December 10, 2010) Tropic tan, 10# weight gain, wiser to the ways of the world...

Our trip in a nutshell: USA-Cook Islands-New Zealand-Australia-USA-Japan-Thailand-Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore-Turkey-Italy-Croatia-Italy-C***-Canada-USA-Germany-South Africa-Mozambique-South Africa-Madagascar-South Africa-Zambia-Botswana-Tanzania-Egypt-Jordan-Oman-USA!

What an amazing year! Not a bad honeymoon.

We experienced so many adventures- kayaking to a deserted island, tubing through caves, backpacking, hiking on glaciers, rock climbing, scuba diving, running hashes all over the world, shark cage diving, riding horses in the Snowy Mountains, swimming with Whale sharks, snorkeling, bike tours, getting stung by stingrays, hiking, Oktoberfest (where drinking is a sport), whale watching, tubing the Vang Vieng, swimming on the edge of Victoria Falls, riding elephants and camels, a safari, and avoiding shark attacks in Egypt!

We experienced so many foods-White Bait sandwiches in New Zealand, Okonomiyaki in Japan, Chicken frog in Malaysia, Singapore Sling in Singapore, Paw-paw and passion fruit in the Cook Islands, Beer Lao in Laos, Laksa in Borneo, Haxe (pig knuckle) in Germany, Baba Ghanoug in Oman, Kushari in Egypt, Zabu in Madagascar, Ink Fish Risotto in Croatia, Simet in Turkey, Green Curry in Thailand and Fish and Chips in Australia.

We experienced so many different accommodations- friendly B&B’s, Japanese ryokans, Turkish gulet, Cambodian dive boat, safari tents, hostels, Capsules in Japan, apartments, Egyptian dahabiya, run down motels, fancy hotels, beach house, camper van in Tasmania, villas, rustic bungalow, and a hut in the Routeburn Track, New Zealand.

We experienced so many different types of transport-motorcycle, ferries, dhows, riding in the back of trucks, chapas, Tuk-tuk, Citroen taxi, 4WD, rental cars (driven on the “wrong” side of the road!), Floating bus (Venice), slow boat, “VIP” bus, mini-van with chickens on the roof, bullet train, long boat, airplane (toooo many to count), felucca, safari truck, moped, pirogue, and gondola.

We experienced so many sites- Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam, Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, S-21 Prison in Cambodia, The Grand Bazaar in Turkey, St Marcos Square in Venice, Red Light District in Bangkok, Diocletians Palace in Croatia, Avenue du Baoababs in Madagascar, District Six Museum in South Africa, and the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.

We experienced so many wonderful people- friends and family who met us out on the road, friends we made along the way, locals who reached out to us, and hashers we ran with.

Thanks for reading! Now get out and travel!

Trish and Dean

Muscat, Oman

After an uneventful overnight in Amman, Jordan we arrived in Muscat, Oman with a sigh of relief. Gone are the hawkers and the garbage strewn streets…here the streets are practically paved in gold! Colorful flowers and ornate street lamps all strung with lights! It was like Disneyland. (To be fair, it is not always strung with lights- they are celebrating the 40^th National Day).

We wandered through the Mutrah Souk with its labyrinth of alleyways in a fog of frankincense. Here you can barter for gold, silver, pashminas, old guns and other Arabic trinkets.

We headed into town to hike through the mountains. The view was incredible from so high up! Unfortunately, I think we lost the trail…as we ended up having to climb over a dam to get back to the waterfront. Omani women don’t exercise, so our cab driver Mohamed said to Dean “Your wife is very strong!”

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the third largest mosque in the world. The complex is over 40,000 sq meters and is able to accommodate an amazing 20,000 worshippers. Construction started in 1995 and took six years to complete. It is well known for the huge Swarovski crystal chandelier and the second largest handmade Persian carpet in the world. The carpet took four years to make and weighs a staggering 21 tons. It was handmade in Iran by a workforce of 600 women.

We rented a car and drove two hours to the town of Nizwah. In the 16^th and 17^th centuries Nizwah was the largest oasis, the centre of trade and the capital of Oman. The Nizwah fort was built in the 17^th century, construction spanned 30 years and it is one of the oldest and most famous forts in Oman. They did an amazing job of restoring it.

Fancy Arabic dinner! Dean ordered the mixed grill and I had the waiter order a vegetarian meal for me. It was fantastic….a spinach-noodle-bean soup, hummus, big salad and vegetable stuffed bread. We are now addicted to the lemon-mint drink…that’s what happens when they don’t serve alcohol!

We drove another two hours out to Wadi Shab, an oasis created by thousands of years of rain eroding unimaginable amounts of earth. Most of the locals stayed right by the parking lot, which is where the wadi meets the sea. Perfect for us, as we hiked for an hour down the wadi by ourselves!

Clear water rimmed by wild date palms….not a bad place to be!

After an hour we got to a point where you could only continue by swimming. Emerald green water on a hot day…

Disclaimer: I got this picture off the internet! I had read about the “keyhole,” a narrow head shaped space eroded out of the rock face at what appeared to be the end of the wadi. We had two local Omani’s following us, and they couldn't believe it when I swam through the tiny cave (actually, I couldn’t believe it myself…very dark, deep and claustrophobic!)

Disclaimer: This is not Dean, I don’t know who this is…but it is a good picture, so I stole it off the internet! After you swim through the hole without your head getting stuck, you come into a magnificent cave with a waterfall. The Omani locals quickly swam back to get their friends probably saying, “We followed these crazy Americans into this tiny cave, come see!”

We (as well as our B&B host and another guest) were invited to lunch by our cab driver, Mohamed. The Omani people are so hospitable! We got to experience a true Omani meal. We were brought into the front room that was filled with incense smoke (looked like something out of a Cheech and Chong movie!) and watched TV (why talk?) His children then set the table, well tablecloth. We were summoned to the floor where we ate whole fish, rice, different fruits and juices. Our host kept refilling our plates with food, and saying “eat, eat, EAT!” The wife and children were not present. Afterwards we had Omani coffee and dates. The other female guest and I were brought into another room to meet the wife. Normally, the women and men would be in separate rooms the entire meal…but we were treated differently since we were “westerners.” Fascinating!

Our last night in Muscat we ran with the Jobel Hash House Harriers. We were driven out into the desert with a group of about 30 runners. We ran on a freeway (not yet open!), through a work camp (locals staring in awe), down a dry river bed, through a long dark culvert (with lots of things to trip over), through a construction site and back. All in all, a wonderful way to end our stay in Oman! Now on to one night in Munich, Germany….and HOME!

The Red Sea, Egypt

We arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh, known as "Egypt's answer to Las Vegas" or the "Red Sea Riviera." When we went down to the beachfront promenade we immediately encountered a Hard Rock Cafe, TGI Friday's, KFC and McDonalds. We stayed at a beautiful B&B run by an Italian couple and located in a nearby village with a mountain backdrop. Local food, goats and camels running around...much more our speed!
Lucky for us, Sharm is also known as a "scuba-diving paradise." We came here only to dive...as did EVERYONE else! We did get to complete two "checkout" dives and see how amazing the crystal clear water really is. Unfortunately for us (and some Russian and German tourists) there were two shark attacks in two days (and later a fatality). So we were unable to dive the Thistlegorm, a 129m-long cargo ship that sank in 1941...Dean's dream dive.
We moved an hour north to Dahab, the "Ko Samui of the Middle East." A backpackers dream.... crystal clear diving, golden beaches and a rugged mountain backdrop. We snorkeled right off the promenade, and it was amazing!
We stayed at a great apartment in the village (again, lot's of goats and camels). Dean and Tim (the owner), on the rooftop arisha. Ocean view on one side and mountains on the other.

Our first dive site was the Canyon...a long narrow trench that runs perpendicular to the reef shelf. Divers descend 30m to the bottom of the canyon, so you can see bubbles coming up and out of the ground. Very beautiful! Afterwards you drink tea and eat lunch at one of the many pillow strewn restaurants.
Our second dive was at the famous Bells and Blue Hole. This is the Bells, a narrow breach in the reef table, named because of the noise the tanks make as they ring against the rock on the way down. You descend through a chimney, exiting at 27m. It is like riding a glass elevator!
Above you can see the Blue Hole....a gaping sinkhole that drops straight down- some say to as deep as 130m. Unfortunately, the site has claimed many lives...thrill seekers that have gone to far, or divers who have lost all sense of direction in the "blue." It was very much like sky-diving!
The Bedouin's and their camels. You can take a camel safari out into the desert, even spend a few nights. You can also take a Bedouin-led camel convoy on a dive trip...the camels carry the scuba tanks and dive gear!
Our last day we intended to hike from Blue Hole out to Ras Abu Gallum Protectorate, 400 sq km of coastline with excellent snorkeling. Two different locals told us to grab a taxi (ie. back of someones truck) and once at Blue Hole, begin hiking on the coastal trail. Which we did...until we reached the "Egyptian Tourism" policeman, who informed us we had to have "permission" to go further. To make a long story short, we met up with some other hikers and managed to bribe the policeman to allow us to continue. All of which took about an hour...making us very late for our scheduled taxi ride home. We did get to snorkel...and justice was served when we realized that our taxi driver was the deliverer of the Tourism Police's now cold (since we were held up) lunch! HA! On to Amman, Jordan for a night.

Luxor, Egypt

We arrived in Luxor, the “hassle capital” of Egypt…wow, we didn’t think it could get any worse! The good news is that our beautiful little hotel, El Nakhil, was located on the opposite bank of the river nestled in a palm grove.

We took the ferry across to the Luxor Temple which is right in the heart of the modern town. At sunset the temple is lit up, creating an eerie spectacle as shadow and light play off the reliefs and colonnades.

In front of the temple is the beginning of the avenue of sphinxes that ran all the way to the temples at Karnak 3km to the north. It is currently being excavated…so for 3km you find the remains of sphinxes on sidewalks, in front of shops and along the street.

The next morning our "Dahabiya-mate" Duncan joined us for a bike ride. We decided to bike around the tombs and temples. Here we are making our way up the Valley of the Kings, as quoted in Lonely Planet “the road in is a gradual, dry, hot climb…” Riding a 1960’s one-speed bike in the desert seemed like a good idea at the time. The best part was looking at the faces of all the tourists as they roared by in their air conditioned buses. Envy? I don’t think so, but hey…at least we burned a calorie or two.

Traffic also got hairy at times…..our goal was to NOT be passed by a donkey.

The Temple of Seti I, which was recently restored after being damaged by floods in 1994. In places you can still see color. It is amazing to think what these temples must have looked like brightly painted!

We had so much fun passing donkeys the first day that we decided to try it again. This is the Temple of Hatshepsut, surrounded by limestone cliffs that rise nearly 300m above the desert plain. It has also been designated as one of the hottest places on earth, perfect for an early morning bike ride. Ugh.

More vibrant color. The reliefs are incredibly detailed…Sad to say, but Lonely Planet quoted, “the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities has stated that tourism is the greatest threat to the Egyptian monuments, and that if nothing is done they will be destroyed in less than 100 years. “

The Valley of the Queens….no cameras allowed in the tombs, thus no pictures! The tombs have suffered great damage from mass tourism: carbon dioxide, friction and humidity produced by the average of 2.8g of sweat left by each visitor. The inside of the tomb is comparable to a “steam room” and smells like a high school locker room. You move fast.

The Temples of Karnak are an extraordinary complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks dedicated to the Theban gods and the greater glory of pharaohs. The Temple of Amun is the largest religious building ever built. This is a picture of the Great Hypostyle Hall which is large enough to contain both Rome’s St. Peters Basilica and London’s St Paul’s Cathedral. The hall has a forest of 134 towering papyrus-shaped stone pillars.

Our last day in Luxor we visited ACE (Animal Care in Egypt, www.ace-egypt.org.uk), a small UK charity dedicated to making a difference to the lives of working animals. We have been traveling for eleven months and have been to over twenty countries...and I can tell you that I have NEVER seen animal abuse like the kind we've seen in Egypt. Definitely my new charity (once I start getting a paycheck again!) On to the Red Sea for some diving!

Dahabiya down the Nile River

A highlight of any trip to Egypt is a cruise down the Nile. After deciding against the felucca and the "cruiser" we opted for the Dahabiya. These boats were described by medieval historians as lavishly decorated, two-masted wooden boats with private cabins and bathrooms. Perfect for the middle aged couple who has hit their eleventh month of travel! Note the "tug boat" in the picture...most of these boats are actually pulled as sailing can be quite slow.
The top deck...where we wine, dine and generally laze about. The boat also stops at major tourist sites along the way. We were offered a swim in the Nile...but passed. After watching what goes into the Nile...no thanks!
Here is proof of the "lazing"...lot's of naps and book reading. The view is pretty amazing...palm trees, camels, donkeys, birds, villages all drifting past. In the morning we would open up the large window in our room and watch the shore go by.
The Temple of Kom Ombo at sunset. Unique in Egypt, it has dual dedication to the local crocodile god Sobek and Haroeris, meaning Horus the Elder. We raced down there with our "boat-mate" Duncan (from London) to explore.
The reliefs inside are amazing! Some are giant sized. It is a strange feeling being able to reach out and run your fingers over them.
The Temple of Horus, the falcon god. The sandstone temple was buried by sand, rubble and part of the village of Edfu around 200 years ago. Excavation was begun by the mid-19th century. We got to view this one early in the morning...which was ideal. Nice and cool, and less tourists!
The hieroglyphs, meaning 'sacred carvings' in Greek, are the earliest form of writing yet found. More than 6000 hieroglyphs have been identified, although less than 1000 were in general use.

Fun to look at...we would walk along trying to find the most unique character...slugs, snakes, frogs, faces...
We sailed! One afternoon they turned us into the wind and lifted both of the sails. Possibly because the tug boat needed fuel...but it made us happy!
The famous Nile sunset. Seen either from a temple or along the shore...stunning.
Our last morning we awoke to find camels along the shore. One of the local villages has a camel market which sometimes has as many as 2000 camels brought down from Abu Simbel. They are trucked or walked from long distances. Now on to Luxor from more temple-mania!

Aswan, Egypt

We arrived in Aswan…along the banks of the Nile river. This is the view from our hotel balcony. We could watch the Feluccas sail by and the horse drawn carriages go along the waterfront. A nice transition after the craziness of Cairo and Alexandria.

The Tombs of the Nobles, which date from the Old and Middle Kingdoms. At the top of the hill is the Kubbet Al-hawa, a small tomb constructed for a local sheik.

We found the one “floating” restaurant that serves cold beer (Muslim country…very little alcohol served!) Luckily, they also served delicious food…baba ghanoug, tahini, clay pot stews (tagens), lentil soup. The view of Elephantine Island and feluccas sailing by as the sun set was stunning!

The next morning we went to Sharia as-Souq…a bazaar selling things such as clothing, spices, perfumes, etc. As usual, my favorite thing to see is the food. Hanging meat is always a winner. Keeps me vegetarian.

The souq in all its glory. We got hassled to no end. “Madame….you come into my store???” Our favorite is the “block” where they get in front of you holding some touristy item and won’t let you by. Or the “where are you from?” and when you say America they saw “Obama!”

We took a felucca ride around the islands. The boat goes much slower than you would think….however it is a peaceful way to travel for a few hours. Many tourists take a multi-day felucca ride up or down the Nile. No toilet..and you sleep on the deck on some slabs of foam. Most we passed were packed with people lined up like sardines. At this point in our trip we will have to pass on this form of travel. We have had our fill!

The “cruisers” that stack up along the Nile. There are 270 of these…so many that there is now a moratorium on the launching of new boats. They are like a floating hotel….most have pools surrounded by astro-turf, restaurants, bars…possibly even a casino. Not my cup of tea.

The west bank…you can take a camel to the 7^th-century Monastery of St. Simeon. Having already experienced riding on a camel we declined, but what a great picture!

We had the felucca drop us off on Elephantine island so that we could go to the Aswan Museum…only to find the museum is “closed”. We decided instead to walk through the Nubian villages. In the 1970’s the Nubian lands were drowned when the High Dam was created. They were forced to rebuild their houses on higher ground or move....so two villages now reside here. While wandering around we mostly encountered herds of sheep. Now on to our dahibya boat ride!