Author Archives: Amy

A little natural beauty to get you pumped for the weekend…and pumped for a new “By the Numbers” blog post coming this weekend!

The majestic and truly awesome, Iguazu Falls. Enjoy! TGIF!

Good morning from Buenos Aires! It’s day 223 of our trip and continent number 5 (check out John’s awesome map). We arrived in BA last night after just about 24 hours of travel. It was a long day but we were so happy to arrive to this sweet pad! Check it out!

We’ll be traveling around South America for 2 months (capping it off with the World Cup in Brazil!). Lot’s more to come (including mucho vino and carne asada)! Ciao!

Almost 20 years ago, I was having a conversation with my old Auntie Mame (yes, I have an Auntie Mame). We were talking about traveling. At that point in my young life, I had only been to France, England, Canada and the Caribbean. I asked Mame if she had ever been to Europe, and she said she had not. I was so surprised because I remember her telling me so many travel stories. I told her, ”Well, you MUST go! Paris and London are so fabulous!” Because, like, I knew, being such a seasoned traveler at age 27. She quickly said, “A” – my family calls me “A” – “London and Paris are just like New York. You have to go to the Far East…it’s like another planet!” And the first time I was in Asia, I totally got it. She was right. In Europe, with the Latin-based languages, you can still decipher menus and street signs. And my high-school French could still get me a glass of wine and directions to the bathroom. But in Asia, good luck using that high school French (except for parts of Vietnam)! But after four months traveling around Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia…even Burma, for God’s sake…and a five-week “break” in New Zealand/Australia, we were ready for India. Or so we thought. “Another planet” didn’t even begin to adequately describe India. We were not ready.

Two emails should have warned me what we were in for… The first note is from my cousin who spent her honeymoon in India:

“India is an amazing, magnificent, terrifying, heartbreaking, and unbelievably beautiful place. Please be safe.”

The second is from a college friend, and an extremely seasoned world traveller:

“I loved it there. Absolutely crazy. Crazier than almost anything I’d ever seen. And amazing food.”

All I saw was “amazing, magnificent” …blah, blah, blah… “amazing food”…blah, blah, blah. “Terrifying”, “heartbreaking”, “crazy”, “be safe…”: missed all that. For the time being…

We started our month in India in Mumbai, and then traveled up to Rajasthan (Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaipur). Then we trained over to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Up to Delhi. Then to Rishikesh/Lakshman Jhula, and finally ended in Varanasi. And everywhere we turned, India was an assault on the senses. To wit:

Smell: It’s true: India smells delicious. This is strange for 2 reasons: One, it’s so dang hot, you would think it would smell like B.O. And two, there are cows everywhere so you’d think it would smell like manure. (And it does, but only close to the cows.) But these two scents are not the predominant odors. The spices, the food, the smell of the flowers and the trees wafting through the hot air. I understand people’s use of the word “intoxicating” after spending time there. Even when they’re burning bodies in religious ceremonies in Varanasi, you can smell the smoke, but it’s not unpleasant or overwhelming. This mix of smells – from sandalwood to dung to body odor to everything else – it may not always smell delicious, but it is indeed fragrant, and ever-present.

Taste: We had some amazing meals in India. Tikka Masala (of course), thalis, raita in many different flavors, the most delicious lassis, and so many other things I don’t remember the name of. After a month there, I did miss beef…and I’m still on a break from Indian food for now…but I’m really excited to get to London this fall and head straight to Brick Lane!

Touch: When I thought of India before actually going there, I thought of fantastic markets, crowded with tents and people, spices and textiles with incense clouding the air. Like that scene from Indiana Jones but without the murdering thieves/chase scene part. (I actually think that was set in Morrocco, but you get my point.) Well the real India lived up to this image in my head, with just one adjustment: Add about 100,000 more people to this market!

India is a VERY crowded place. Home to 1.2 billion people. In comparison, the population of the US is only 314 million people. And India is just 1.3 million square miles in area, where the US is 3.8 million square miles. Sorry, enough math. Just look at this map:

Four times the people in 1/3 of the space. And these numbers don’t take into account all of the cows! And man, there are a lot of cows. And cars and scooters. Long story short, lots of people, lots of cows, lots of beeping. Those of you that know John well know he does not like crowds. John was out of luck. There was no where to escape the crowds. And those of you who know me well know I do not like to be touched by strangers. The good news for me was it’s not kosher in India for men to touch strange women, so there was no unwanted touching (thank God!). Strange men did try to “help” us with our luggage outside every hotel, airport, and train station. And a lot of guys did sidle up next to us and touch John’s arm, tugging him to come into this store or that one (which only made John want to “touch” some of those guys with five folded fingers of discipline). But the only “touching” story that I have is this one, which was kinda sweet…

One day, in Lakshman Jhula (a holy city, and a DRY town, by the way! Travel tip: BYOB!), we were crossing the very crowded pedestrian bridge over the River Ganges from one side of town to the other. On this bridge there are people, scooters, cows, cow pies, and monkeys that steal food and sunglasses. Well, this older Indian woman had some biscuits that she was feeding to a monkey (bad idea!). I passed her and looked over and smiled and she smiled back. Then she started walking next to me (and staring…a lot of staring in India) but she was smiling and she was a woman so it was ok. Then I thought she was going to hand me a biscuit so I could feed the monkeys, I guess. But she didn’t. She just brushed up against my hand with her hand. I was confused but didn’t think much of it. Then this older Indian guru (complete with robe and turban and no shoes) who was walking behind both of us laughed. He came up to me and said, “she wants to touch you…she thinks you are a big white angel.” If only he didn’t say “big” it would have been perfect.

(SIDE NOTE: I did get asked to have my picture taken an exorbitant amount of times. I felt famous! Or, I guess, I felt white. The same thing happened to us in China, but much, much less frequently.)

Sight: There are a lot of things you can’t un-see in India. Most of these things happen along the side of the train tracks as your going through a small town. There’s not much indoor plumbing happening in small-town India, and not many outhouses either. People are just squatting there, on the side of the tracks, doing their “morning business” for the world to see. No shame. Women can’t show their ankles in public, but they can pull up their sari and cop a squat just about anywhere.

Also, I’m not sure there’s anywhere else in the world you can see a public cremation. Lucky you, they don’t allow photography along the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi where these cremations take place. Hundreds of people (locals, tourists and cows, alike) all come out to watch and send their loved ones off in a blaze of glory.

In addition to the call of nature and burning corpses, there are certainly many other beautiful things to see in India, but you’ve already seen them in books, right?

Sound: If you read John’s “Crosstown Traffic” post, you know most of what we heard in India was taxi drivers trying to give us a ride (or rather, take us for a ride) and touts trying to sell us something. We also heard a cacophony of beeping. India isn’t a quiet place. Even at night, stray dogs howl incessantly.

We did hear some cool Bollywood songs, like this one:

Catchy, right?

The Beatles famously spent some time in Rishikesh getting their India on (the hippies are still hanging out there), and after their stay they wrote a number of songs that were influenced by Indian music and culture. I don’t know the full story behind John Lennon’s lyrics to “Across the Universe” but this line captures a bit of India for me:

Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind…

But then he goes on to repeat, perhaps in defiance, “nothing’s gonna change my world, nothing’s gonna change my world…”

Well, India, you definitely changed my world. Namaste, Mom!

Hello Mom! Greetings from Cape Town! After several long, hot showers, I think I finally got the stink of camping for 2 weeks in the African bush off of me. We had a blast, though. South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana…Victoria Falls…the Big Five…more details to come in a future post (and I know we still need to catch you up on India). But in the meantime, here is a quick video of our digs. It’s a little dark (sorry!) and the tent was actually about 6’x 6′, not 4’x 4′ as stated in the video. And we were at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary in Botswana, an amazing place!

A brighter shot of the interior:

Added bonus! Our “facilities” for two nights when we were “wild camping” in the Okavango Delta. Sweet!

Good morning friends! Greetings from Johannesburg, South Africa! It’s approaching 6:30am local time and we’re having a quick breakfast before we depart on our 16-day camping safari. We’re visiting South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. We hope to see some fantastic animals and experience the amazing culture and natural beauty of this part of the world.

That said, who knows how connected we’ll be over the course of the next few weeks. There might be a few times we find the chance to pop up on social media or the blog, but those opportunities are likely limited.

So bye for now – we’ll hopefully get a chance to check in soon, and we’ll report back in for sure in a few weeks, when we’re back in Johannesburg on April 27th.

Until then, Amy and John, over-and-out.

Hello friends! Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. We love the Q&A! Hope you do, too!

1. Where are you going next?

Amy: Africa! We’re actually cooling our heels at the Mumbai airport right now on a 12 hour layover! We were supposed to go to Nepal and/or Bhutan but we couldn’t get our act together. John found this awesome 2 week camping safari in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. That’s right, I said camping. And not luxury campervan camping…real tent camping. And me. In the African bush. I’m not worried…

2. Any regrets?

Amy: I regret that we didn’t make it to Nepal and Bhutan. But my 50th birthday isn’t that far away (ugh). Who’s with me?!

John: I was looking forward to seeing Central Africa. I’ve been to North and South Africa, but never the middle. But cost restrictions, limited airline connections, rainy season, and civil unrest prevented us from going to Kenya, Tanzania, and Ghana. But the safari is a really good alternative for us, we’re looking forward to it.

3. Are you tired of John yet? (No offense to John, I think I would be tired of anyone I spent so much time with.)

Amy: Not yet! ☺ We have a great time together. He’s such a great travel partner. He may have even surpassed GA as best vacation partner ever! (Sorry, GA!) And don’t forget, I get 2 hours alone every month when I get my hair did!

John: I don’t mean to get mushy, but I honestly think this trip has strengthened our relationship. The intensity of it all has really given us a chance to talk in-depth about different things and learn more about each other. And on a trip like this, you have to be honest about things, you rely on each other’s strengths, and there’s little modesty at times – it’s all out there, and that’s been a good thing for us.

4. Best meal?

Amy: Tough one but off the top of my head I would say Picchu in Sapporo, Japan. It was an Italian/Japanese fusion place. Awesome!

John: We’ve discussed this many times because it’s a question that people ask a lot, and we both agree that was likely our favorite meal. Not the fanciest or most exotic, but just delicious and unexpected. Certainly memorable.

5. Worst meal?

Amy: The one that made me barf for 2 days in Myanmar. It was chicken biryani with a dash of E-coli. The worst!

John: We’ve had a bunch of crappy meals along the way. Bad sandwiches, bland dishes, poor menu choices, some pathetic airport food…a percentage of what you eat on the road is simply…meh…

6. One place we should all visit…only one.

Amy: This is a REALLY hard question. But if I had to pick one place that I think EVERYONE would enjoy, I would have to pick Japan. Great food (even if you don’t eat sushi). Great sites. Lovely people. Clean, clean, clean! And exotic…very different from Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico/Central America & Hawaii (where I think most Americans vacation).

John: New Zealand. It’s simply beautiful. Incredible scenery, nice folks, easy to navigate, and all the modern conveniences, plus delicious meat pies and craft beer everywhere.

7. The New Zealand camper trip looked awesome. How would you rate that leg of the trip compared to the rest?

Amy: Amazing! And so different from all the hotel stays and apartment rentals. It was really great to be independent and in control of what we did each day. We had a kitchen and fridge which means we didn’t have to go out for every meal. And we had a TV with satellite and a DVD player! It was so much fun in that camper…our little home on wheels. We met lots of lovely people, too.

John: It was different, absolutely a vacation from our vacation. As Amy says, we were totally independent and free to roam, but we still had all our stuff with us all the time. It was pretty liberating, to be honest, being able to move freely every day, yet not worry about schedules and baggage and such.

8. When you joined your friends on that trip was it pure heaven to be able to socialize with familiar peeps?

Amy: YES! We need more visitors, though. When/where are you coming to visit?!

John: It’s been great meeting folks along the way and socializing, but hanging out with good friends for a week was a lot of fun, for sure. It just feels comfortable, like you don’t have to work at it.

9. It’s been 6 months now; are you still getting along great and clicking?

Amy: Yes. We are still happily married. ☺ Don’t get me wrong, we bicker like everyone else, but I’m so grateful to have this time with John. So many of our friends have already been married for 10 or 20 years. For us, it’s just 2.5. It’s really special to have this time together. It’s like a crash course in becoming an old, married couple (which is what we aspire to be!).

John: As I said above, it’s been a great experience for us. You can’t help but have disagreements along the way, but you learn quickly how to navigate through those moments and move on. It’s key to survival. And it’s made us that much closer.

10. How informed are you on the Malaysia Airlines flight? Are you following big stories like that it or are you staying unplugged?

Amy: Too plugged in. It freaked me out a little to be honest. The day after the flight went missing, we flew from Melbourne to Mumbai. Three flights over 24 hours. I’m not afraid to fly but I have to say I was not looking forward to that day. We didn’t tell anyone either because we didn’t want you all to worry needlessly. Just one of my sisters knew…just in case.

John: I think a story like that freaks you out whether you’re traveling or not. It resonates a little more with us perhaps because of the frequency of our air travel, and the part of the world we’re in, but it’s sad and creepy no matter where you sit. We flew on Malaysian Air twice, makes you think sometimes…

11. Did you bring a years worth of tampons?

Amy: Ha! No. The only place the guidebooks say you can’t find them is in India, so I bought a stash in Australia.

12. What about toothpaste?

Amy: Toothpaste and teeth brushing is universal, thank goodness. Unfortunately, hand washing is not.

John: Toothpaste is widely available. The flavors are a bit exotic sometimes, like the pine-flavored toothpaste in Korea, but no problems with dental hygiene…just dental work.

13. I know Christmas found you a little nostalgic for home; any other weak moments?

Amy: I feel like I’m actually getting better as we go as far as homesickness goes. Around two months in I was exhausted. I felt like I needed a vacation (ha!). But I recovered. Since then, we’ve been building in “breaks.” A week in Bali with nothing to do except sit by the pool was heaven. And our friends coming to visit in NZ really helped. Now, as we approach summer and South America and Europe (where friends/family are meeting up with us), I’m getting really excited! Skyping with my family helps a lot, too.

John: Christmas was tough for me, yes, but since then I haven’t really had any homesickness. But I will tell you this – I have come to APPRECIATE home so much more. This last month in India, in particular, makes you value the everyday things that much more – tap water, indoor plumbing, stoplights, even the TSA. You can’t believe how lucky our “inconveniences” are…

14. What has been the most amazing culinary treat this far?

Amy: So much amazing food! I feel like we have already talked ad nauseum about Japan. The fresh fruit in Bali was delicious. And the EGGS! Fresh, fresh, fresh eggs. I had them for breakfast every day for a week.

John: Amy raves about a fried chicken she ate in Taipei. I really liked a crab bowl we ate in Japan, and a fruit-ice dish in Tainan, Taiwan. We’ve eaten lots of great food everywhere, I wish we could remember it all.

15. How are the roots doing, Amy? Love when you do the salon pics!

Amy: Pretty good! The tough part is keeping up with them. I got my roots done every 3 weeks in NYC. I’m averaging every 5 weeks on this trip. I keep telling John he’s going to have to Photoshop out my “skunk strip” in all the iconic photos (Taj Mahal, et al).

16. Dying to know if you have had any clarity during your travels about where you will go when you return and what you will do; still thinking about Maine?

Amy: Yes, still thinking Maine. When John and I aren’t sightseeing, playing cards or blogging, we’re planning our perfect house in Maine. It’s going to have a rockin’ basement bar!

John: Still leaning towards Maine, ideally, but the dialogue continues. Jobs trump location, ultimately. We have to find the right jobs before we can settle somewhere for good… But we do keep taking notes about our dream house, which at this point will be a “small bungalow” with all the luxuries of a large, modern hotel. We’ll call it “Oxymoron Acres.”

17. We will be in Italy 6/27 – 7/5, will you? (from our friend, Andrew)

John: We won’t, unfortunately. We’ll likely have just arrived on the Iberian Peninsula, working our way through Portugal and Spain before arriving in Pamplona on July 6th for the Running of the Bulls. And yes, we intend on running.

Amy: Bargh! I’m so bummed we’ll miss you guys. Please extend your trip and come meet us in Pamplona! We may need a good doctor, Andrew…

18. When are you climbing Kilimanjaro?

John: That was in the plans at the outset of the trip, but as mentioned earlier, it’s no longer happening – Kenya isn’t the safest place right now, and it’s rainy season there and in Tanzania. But some day.

Amy: I don’t have an official “Bucket List” but if I wrote one up, Kilimanjaro would be on it. I’m so bummed. But we wanted to be in India for Holi (March) and we have tickets to the World Cup in Brazil (June). April is rainy season in Kenya/Tanzania and climbing is difficult/tours are limited. We couldn’t cool our heels in this part of the world for another month to wait it out. Maybe for my 50th if I don’t do Nepal/Bhutan?

19. What are you looking forward to at this stage of your journey?

John: I’m looking forward to the World Cup in Brazil, and we’re in the initial stages of planning to meet family in Spain/France in late July. Really excited about that prospect.

Amy: Ditto what he said. But I’m really looking forward to every leg coming up…Africa is going to be awesome! After safari, we’re doing a week in Cape Town. Hello wineries! And then South America and the World Cup. The 2010 World Cup was so amazing…I can’t wait for this one! And Europe…so many friends and family are talking about meeting up with us. It would be so fantastic and fun and special. I really can’t wait for all of it!

20. What have you learned that has been most meaningful so far?

John: For me, without question, it’s been a shift from being upset about what’s lacking, and instead appreciating what I’ve got. I know it sounds corny, but I’ve realized we’re very fortunate to have these lives, and live where we live, and never have to worry about the most basic of things, like clean water, a few decent meals a day, and a roof over our heads. Not to be preachy, it just resonates when you find yourself surrounded by people whose everyday lives are missing those things we take for granted.

Amy: I too have learned that I need to be more grateful. Every day. And I have learned that I need to help others in need. Every day. John put it so well above. We are so very, very fortunate. Not just me and John…all of us…all of you. I follow Pope Francis on Twitter (don’t laugh, he’s awesome…check him out.) He tweeted this the other day: “How good it is for us when the Lord unsettles our lukewarm and superficial lives.” (Just insert the words of your choice for “the Lord”…the Universe, Mother Nature, Allah, Buddha, G-d, you pick.) We were in India when he tweeted this and of all the places we’ve been, India has been the hardest. Very, very unsettling. I won’t get too graphic here, but just let me know if you want me to unsettle your lukewarm life. I’ll tell you some stories of the things we saw in India.

21. How have you changed, if at all?

John: I’ve lost some weight, and I have a new front tooth.

Amy: I will do my best to never buy bottled water again. Seriously. John mentioned it above but we are so FORTUNATE to have clean, potable water flowing from spigots in multiple rooms in our homes. If you’ll allow me to be preachy for a moment…please stop buying bottled water.

22. Has John considered letting his hair or beard grow for the entirety of your trip or what is left of it? And if so, did Amy put the kaibash on it? If not, why not?

John: I was growing my hair out at the start of the trip until I tried to get it “cleaned up” in Hanoi. It got “cleaned up” shorter than I liked, and grew in pretty poorly and unevenly. I finally just got it cut short in New Zealand. And while I’m not growing a beard, it’s well known that I’m not very good at shaving. Amy has been supportive of whatever I want to do – I’m the one who gets frustrated with my hair, and I shave when it gets too itchy.

Amy: I have enough problems with my own hair to worry about John’s. I haven’t had my hair cut in 6 months. It’s pretty scraggly. At this point, I’m thinking of hacking it all off!

23. Aren’t you exhausted!?!?!? I’m worn out just looking at all the pictures.

Amy: Yes, we definitely get tired sometimes. When we do, we call for a “weekend” and spend a day in bed watching movies in the hotel. It definitely helps! (And right this minute, I’m completely exhausted! It’s 12:30am local time; our 1:30am flight to Johannesburg takes of in an hour. Then it’s 8 hours on a plane. Pfft.)

John: You do need breaks, you can’t sight-see every day, it gets tiring. Sometimes you just want to lay around and watch tv, catch up on emails and laundry. And you need days off to plan ahead as well. So we plan a few weeks to a month of touring and sight-seeing, and then we’ll plan of week of just taking it easy. New Zealand and Australia helped a lot, but after nearly a month in India, and the upcoming safari, I think the week in Cape Town will be a good refresher.

And with that, we’re done! Thank you for all the great questions. If you’re game, we’ll do it again in 3 months or so. OK…time to board. Africa, here we come!

Better late than never! It’s our first Guest Blog post here on WFM with guest bloggers, Jodi & Matt Arden. The Ardens are our dear friends from NYC who trekked halfway across the world to meet us in New Zealand. Hilarity ensued (and we are forever grateful)! See below… (And more to come on India later this week!)

BY JODI & MATT ARDEN, WFM GUEST BLOGGERS, SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND

When Amy and John informed us of their decision to go gallivanting across the globe, we promised to meet them somewhere that would be both disruptive to our sleep patterns and our bank account. It was their skepticism that made us all the more determined to fly as far West as possible, testing our will and our wallets.

We are still unsure to this day if we were driven by the delirium of our first 27 hours of travel, or the excitement of reuniting with Amy and John, but before hopping our flight to Queenstown we skipped the eggs at the Sydney Airport and sent a digital challenge to Amy and John; wake up and get ready!

They responded thusly.

Game on. Our trip was clearly developing an early theme.

And that’s actually what New Zealand is about … having fun. The culture, the people, and the places seem to all be made to fully trigger your enjoyment sensors. Whether you’re snapping a selfie at a breathtaking vista or guzzling down a bottle of local brew, you’re overcome by the same dizzy joy.

But, our journey had an added wrinkle of bliss. One 22-foot long wrinkle named Chuck.

A Chuck is the only way to truly experience New Zealand. So, while we’d love to fully capture all of the magical details of our time on the South Island, it would simply take too much time and too many pages. Plus, we’re already 3 weeks late delivering this post, and we all know how Amy is about a deadline.

So instead, we present the Top 5 things you learn when travelling New Zealand in a Chuck Wagon.

1. You Get to take Pictures Like This

Every few miles there is something amazing to see in New Zealand. Part of experiencing the country is having the freedom to pull over at any time or place based on any whim (FYI, John’s whims are typically meat pie based). There are literally beautiful things to see every few kilometers and you’re never going to see the most amazing parts if you’re not on the open road, taking cliff-side hairpin turns in an oversized moving van driven by two American knuckleheads who really really really like driving on the right side of the road (in a left-side-of-the-road kinda place).

Let’s face it, the danger is half the fun! It really makes you appreciate the beauty even more! Plus you get to take awesome pictures like this!

We’ve decided to make this the cover of our first album (karaoke themed, of course). Because riding NZ in a Chuck makes you the rock stars of your own World Tour. Well, that is until you pull over to discover a Lynyrd Skynyrd / Starship concert at the base of a mountain in a vineyard. Because there are real rock stars in New Zealand and they built this city on rock & roll … or you’ll tell yourself that after 5 hours drinking in the sun.

But without a Chuck, you can’t stumble upon things like this.

2. Everybody Poops

That’s what you learn. Real fast.

3. Amy loves any opportunity to host houseguests and has clearly missed it.

We’ve all visited Amy and John back when … you know, they had an address. No detail was ever left out when they hosted. Whether you were invited over for dinner or just stopping in to have a drink (which would eventually include custom cocktails, a fully cooked dinner, and a freshly baked cake), nobody opens their home to guests like Amy and John.

This holds true in a Chuck.

Amy woke us up every morning with fresh pressed coffee and even made us pancakes. Lunch was a pleasant affair and by the time we were ready for dinner cheese, crackers, fig jam and wine were put out in equidistant quadrilateral positions. This was, of course, all enjoyed in a dirt free Chuck as Amy hermetically sealed all windows and doors and barred shoes from entering the cabin.

We know they are having fun on this little adventure, but man does she miss entertaining.

4. Chuck Breeds Cultural Assimilation

Proof: While Amy was setting up a group selfie shot, this is how both Matt and John reacted immediately and unprompted to the phrase: “pretend there are girls standing next to you.”

5. You get to see Springfield, NZ.

Granted, on its surface stopping in a one street town with a population of 219 probably doesn’t sound all that exciting. But you’ve never been in a Chuck. With a John.

No word in the English language can quite describe the exuberance with which John screamed when he saw Springfield’s greatest landmark through his window. Though if you reference #2 on our list you can probably guess what I did in my pants as I was driving.

With a face full of gas station ice cream (sadly, they were out of meat pies) John brought our adventure literally to a screeching halt with these pivotal trip-altering words:

OH MY GOD!! THERE’S A GIANT DONUT WITH A HOLE IN IT YOU CAN TAKE A PICTURE IN!

And there was. So we did. Thanks Springfield.

And that, in a nutshell, is our impression of New Zealand. It’s simultaneously the most beautiful, fascinating, weird and fun place we’ve ever been.

But that may also have a lot to do with the company we kept.

Thanks Chuck.

Greetings from Agra, India…home of the Taj Mahal! So excited to visit the Taj and share some photos, but in the meantime, here is the “palace” we stayed at in Jodphur last week. A very cool, very Indian place! (We’re a few cities behind because of bad internet.)

Namaste from India, Mom! We just finished up our first week here and it’s been…well, it’s been interesting. John and I are both working on blog posts about our first impressions. Look for those in the days to come. But in the meantime, I wanted to tell you about some of the amazing animals we’ve seen so far. Yesterday, we hired a car to take us from Udaipur to Jodhpur…about a 5-6 hour car ride (see “The Map” page). From the time we left Udaipur at 9am to the time we went to bed in Jodhpur around 10pm, we saw the following animals:

chipmunks
a hawk
green parrots
countless other birds (cranes, pigeons, sparrows, geese)
one mouse (who probably is not long for this world)
one skinny cat
dogs and puppies
cows (and cows with jewelry, painted horns and other bling)
oxen
water buffalo
wild boar (with piglets! If that’s what you call baby boars…)
goats
sheep
camels
monkeys (and wet behind the ears monkey babies!)
horses
bees (and a crazy-big scary next/hive)

All those animals in just over 12 hours! Here are just a few pictures…more to come:

We have a great hotel in Jodhpur (video to come!) but the internet stinks. We leave for Jaipur tomorrow…maybe we’ll have better luck there. More news to India to come soon…promise!

Hi Mom! We’ve been having an amazing time along the Great Ocean Road this past week. Koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, crazy birds and amazing views! More to come from John on the flora and fauna, but in the mean time…another hotel room video! This past weekend was Labor Day Weekend here in Victoria and it’s the same here as in the States: the end of summer and a three-day weekend. What did that mean for us? Lots of fellow travelers on the road and a dearth of accommodation. But thankfully, we found a great place to crash. Perfect for the holiday weekend! Check it out! (Once again, because of internet restrictions, we had to compress the video so you need to click the link below and it will take you to YouTube…all safe, promise.)

The Nelson Hotel

I know we’re behind on reporting our New Zealand and Australian adventures…more to come this week. Promise! (We have to because we leave for India on Saturday and who knows what the internet will bring…)