What now.....

http://picasaweb.google.com/marsicovetere.of.steph/ChiangMai#

We are back in the states for good or for worse.  Mac has a great job opportunity in NM and is there checking out the place.  

Our last days in Thailand were filled with the city-life which is not really our style but good to experience. The heat was smuthering so we spoiled ourselves and got AC(aircon in thai).  We went to the Grand Palace which was like a little disney land.  We weren't wearing the proper attire so we had to put clothes over our clothes which made us even hotter.  We paid homage to the little jade Buddha and marveled at the detailed murals and buildings. 

We also went to a traditional Thai show.  The hand flexiblity was amazing, the costumes so intricate and the narration loud and full of every intonation you can imagine.  

We also went to a floating market with cute Thai ladies selling everything from rice, fruit, pad thai, hats and trinkets all from their boats.  A very unique place.  We then took a boat ride through a water community full of water lizards and weird, pink slugs-like creatures.  

27 hours of travel later, we arrived the same day we departed-hmmmm.  And now we are seeing friends and family and figuring out if we want to go back to the real world again.  We took a 5 day backpacking adventure in the desert with doggies and Lewises which was spectacular, as always, and a great way to avoid the culture shock.  Feel free to keep us informed of any adventures you find that we can or should  go on 'cause that would be a great excuse to procrastinate the rat race.  

Chiang Mai

We are on the last leg of our journey and not ready to come home. Who knows if we will yet........ We have been hanging out in the city a bit and finding it is very hard to get out of here without paying a ton of money for a tour. We have been climbing(of course) and that was great, and a butt kicker for some. Tommorrow, we are going to get our own elephant for a day. We get to learn commands, bath it in the river and ride it. I can't wait. This has been my(steph) dream for this trip and it is going to happen tommorrow!! Yes!!!!!

We took an amazing thai cooking class and learned soooo much. The food we made was 5 courses and just as beautiful as was delicious. Don't worry, we have all the recipes( Now we can have sticky rice whenever we want!!!)

A Random list of Fun:
--massages for under $5.00
--pad thai for 10 cents( a real steal at this walking market)
--a foot massage in the street
--saw a little falcon chase a lizard down a tree and eat it
--we went swimming in the community pool
--contemplation to stay....HUGE
--we have hot showers!!!! Don't take for granted anymore
--Anna stepped in monkey poo
--we all went to the dentist today for cleanings and fillings and such (very cheap and, don't worry, very professional)
--climbed in a cave in a bamboo forest
--we are practicing our acroyoga moves...lots of work to be done

That is all for now. Take care and see you all soon

Tarutao and now Malaysia

http://picasaweb.google.com/marsicovetere.of.steph/Tarutao#5306598351830789906

We are in Malaysia now after a great stent of adventure in Tarutao national park.  We wrestled crocs, ate monkeys, paddled through the swap and mangroves and rode on sea turtles.  Ok, not really all  is true but it was paradise and all to ourselves. The saltwater croc cave was the sacry thing i have ever done. Just plain eerie and who knows if the crocs are truly gone or not.  It was quite the adventure day portaging the boat many times, getting totally muddy and being in the middle of the forest.  Carzy.

Skinny dipping with the glowing water(illuninarios) was like magic as well as swimming in pools with a waterfall.  Great time.  We have made our way down here to renew our visas and eat some different food.  We will be in northern Thailand in a few days to hop on some elephants and to learn how to cook.  hope all is well.

Hard to leave Tonsai

Hey everyone,

Mac is finally doing a post, I haven't read Stef's so excuse me if Im repetitive. Thailand is so darn nice to be in. Its so simple... we get up, have a delicious (cheap) breakfast, and then either slowly walk to an amazing climb (every climb is the best we've ever done), or chill on the beach. We do this day after day if we want to. Yes, we are spoiled.

The climbing here is spectacular. I thought that I was going to die in the heat initially, but Ive become used to it, kind of. We also avoid the direct sun like the plague. Tony, Anna and Stef and I went up and did a climb called Humanility a couple days ago. It had this one mind-blower move where you are up about 3 pitches and you sort of lean across the void to a massive stalagtite (tufa is what they call them here) in order to gain enough pressure to keep your feet on these small slopey holds. It sent electric shocks up and down your spine to hang out in the air like that. It was fantastic.

Take care everyone! We love you!








Check out these pics from Cambodia and Phi Phi

http://picasaweb.google.com/marsicovetere.of.steph/CambodiaAndPhiPhi#

Pee Pee or Phi Phi or PP

We are having too much fun to be writing much. The snorkeling is amazing with spottings of eels, tons and tons of fish, nemo and nemo's dad, sea horses, huge puffers and ocean caves while sea kayaking around. This is our only day that we actually got a little sunburned--man!!!
We also have been climbing a bit, watching our back for the attacking monkeys and giant skiters.
We met a Cali guy who was ending his 6 year adventure sailing around the world. He happened to be selling his 31 ft sailboat so we bought it!!!! Just kidding, but we would love to (any sponsors out there?????). We ate dinner on the boat under the moon and dreamed of this different lifestyle. Thought provoking.......
We are making our way down to Malaysia, island hopping and happy to be able to cool off in the ocean.

Siem Riep and Phnom Pehn

We are in Cambodia right now and just got back from Angkor Wat. The temple is amazing, 900 years old with such incredible detail like we have never seen before. We rented bikes for a $1 a day and rode around the area(which can be death defining) stopping at the different wats, in awe of the energy put into this place. we split from lydia and madge then(boo hoo) and now we are down south again ready to explore the history of this place tommorrow. Then back to the thailand beach.

Some interesting things that have happened:
--ate crickets--actually quite good
--sat with 3 monks and chatted for hours
--bazaar spottings on a moto(motocycle)---5 possible 6 people, babies, 3 dead pigs, a ladder, a person holding their IV bag, a mirror, a TV, a mattress, 5 huge bags of salt.....
--we ate mexican food!!!!!
--2$ haircut
--tuk tuk rides
--6$ massages from the blind

We visted the prison (Tuol Sleng) and the Killing fields yesterday in Phnom Pehn where 20,000 people were brutally murdered and tortured. It was a very emotional day to actually be in the place where so many suffered, where the country was destroyed for no reason, just the need for power and control. We were walking on bones and clothes in the path of the mass graves, unbelievably heavy. We paid our respects to the 2 million that died here in Cambodia. We are so lucky to be alive

We are now flying back to the beach in Thailand for some more adventures. Until next time

check these out!!!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/marsicovetere.of.steph/Cambodia?authkey=ML3vJKNmzaA

Tonsai Beach

Here are 2 links to some pics b/c we can't figure out how to post them. These pics are from our 10 day in Tonsai Beach with pics from Railey as well as our 2 day stay in Phi Phi(pronounced pee pee---I'm not kidding). We have had some exciting adventures so far. Some including a broken boat in the middle of the Adaman Sea, snorkle trip(we spotted the world's most dangerous water snake), monkey fighting girl for pinapple(scary), a cave as a short cut home, a bat cave, 6$ massages(we have already had 2), amazing climbing crags, Mac enduring a fever in the tropics, monkey playing with dog, lemon shakes(we couldn't survive without them), and tropical fruit galore(dragon fruit, pina, watermelon, mango....). thats all for now


http://picasaweb.google.com/marsicovetere.of.steph/TonsaiPhiPhi?feat=directlink#

http://picasaweb.google.com/madgicaldragon/ThailandI#