Gili Islands - Lombok, Indonesia

Our last night in Lombok was spent on Gili Trawangan, the biggest of the 3 Gili Islands. There are no cars on the island - only horse and buggy, which is a nice change from the craziness in Kuta. We walked the whole island in about 3 hours, looking at all the coral that washed up on the beach. The coral is being destroyed by all the activity, which is a bummer. You can imagine that these beaches were pristine and gorgeous before any people came along.

Brennan went scuba diving on Gili Meno and Gili Air. He saw lots of coral and huge sea turtles and said it a great diving spot. We enjoyed our last day of island life before heading back to Bali for our flight.

Puri Mas Resort - Sengiggi, Lombok

Paradise found. We highly recommend Puri Mas to anyone considering a trip to Indonesia. This beautiful boutique resort is located along a beautiful quiet beach north of Sengiggi. The design is incredible - amazing landscaping, beautiful Balinese statues, tasteful bungalows, a classy restaurant, and an infinity pool overlooking the ocean and Bali's volcano.

We LOVED it! The staff learned our names and made us feel like family. A couple of expats (one aussie and a kiwi) live here in huge villas year round - they never want to leave this paradise. The aussie (who looks like a British rocker) is so removed from the world, he asked us if we heard there was an earthquake in China. You mean the one that occurred 3 months ago? Then, he said he kind of heard about a storm in Burma. This guy was a trip.

A group of Russians were also staying there and they were so pleased that we made it to the summit of Rinjani that they bought us a celebratory shot and gave us cake! We feel like we made friends with everyone there (guests and staff), it is so small and intimate. The people thought Brennan was a hollywood celebrity and wanted to take pictures with him :)

After such a tough hike, we treated ourselves to hot stone massages at the spa. The spa, about a 5 minute drive from the main resort, is an exotic retreat nestled in the mountains. Wild animals roam the grounds (huge peacocks, expensive tropical birds - even a toucan!, and creatures we had never seen before with shimmering feathers). I can't even describe it - it feels like you've been knocked on the head and woke up in a fantasy world with mystical creatures and incredible decor, incorporating nature everywhere. And, the massage hadn't even started yet! By the pool, we met another animal lovingly referred to as Osama - check out the pic of Lassie with sunglasses and a turban. He was one cool dog.

We stumbled upon Puri Mas when staying next door at a bungalow and ended up staying 4 nights. It was truly the highlight of our trip. We felt completely relaxed and fully restored after only a couple of days. We cannot recommend this enough (and its only 1/4 of what you would pay at home) - we would love to come back here one day. A truly amazing paradise.

Gunung Rinjani

What an adventure! The Rinjani volcano is the second highest in Indonesia. It blew up a long time ago (maybe one million years ago?) and created a huge crater with a lake at the bottom and another volcano ("baby volcano" as Brennan lovingly calls it). Baby volcano erupted as recently as 2004, when people went trekking to see it!

It was a long 3 day trek to the crater rim, the summit, the lake, the crater rim, and to the village. We awoke the first morning at 5 am to the mosque prayer songs, blasting from the speakers in the village nearby. We met our guide, Ishmael, 5 ft 3in, known to the locals as the "Mountain Devil." Our ride to the beginning of the trek was an adventure in itself - we picked up children on their way to school, stalled 6 times down a road filled with potholes, allowed a guy to ride on top and then jump off the roof 45 min later, and stopped at a grocery store to pick up a case of Bintang beer - great service, huh?

We were nervous at the start of the trek - Rinjani looked so far away - the summit is over 12,300 feet and we started at about 1,800 feet. We made it up to the crater rim in good time (by 4pm), climbing over rivers of hardened magma, hiking above the clouds, and doing the stair master up dirt for the last 2 hours. We set up camp and fought off the monkeys for our dinner. We watched a stunning sunset and set by a fire and saw the most beautiful sky, including the southern cross and the milky way.

At 2:30 am, we awoke to a bunch of Bahrainian sissy boys complaining about their breakfast before the summit hike. If I had ever known the hike would be so tough, I wouldn't have done it. We quickly passed the Bahrainians, and kept trekking towards the summit before sunrise. The first 1 1/2 was a steep ascent in brown dirt with sheer drops on either end - good thing it was dark and we could only see one step at a time because it was really dangerous!

The last hour was pure hell - hiking up at a 60 degree angle on lose gravel. Each step forward required about five steps - and endless stairmaster on the highest level. After the first 15 minutes of this with the cold wind blowing us and seeing the drop off to the lake below, I wanted to quit. But then Brennan started cussing "Rinjani you mf'er!" and I cheered him on. It was scary, cold, and challenging - a total test of one's mental perseverance. I came up with a rhythm of taking 12 steps and then taking 4 breathes and step by step, we made it to the summit an hour later, just as dawn was breaking.

The sunrise was amazing - we were cold and shivering on the summit's edge, with only a few other people that actually made it up (10 people out of 50 attempting). We could see 360 degrees around Lombok, and could see Java, Bali, Samboa, Komodo, and the Gili Islands. The descent down was pretty fun running on the loose gravel - it felt as if we were skiing down, and it didn't hurt when you fell - the soft sand that we cursed going up did us a favor on the way down.

That day, we hiked down to the crater lake and the hot springs for some much needed rejuvenation. Even these simple hikes were tough - steep descents along rocks. When we had to climb back up the crater rim to camp for the next night, I felt defeated - it had been a long day - at least 10 hours of hiking. But the sunset at the crater rim, with the view of baby volcano, was worth it.

We hiked back to the village with mountain devil running down the mountain. The porters who carried our gear and food in flip flops are amazing and sprinted down as well. By the last day, all we could think of was our upcoming spa resort - we were so stoked for hot showers!

It was an amazing experience. Despite it being so strenuous, we are so happy we did it - the view of the stars and the sunrise at the top will always be with me along with the confidence that we accomplished this difficult goal.

Bali

We are spending a few days in Bali on the end of our Lombok stay. We are staying at the most crowded beach, Kuta, which is a big maze of stores, restaurants and surf shops. So far, everyone has been very friendly and we found a great mexican restaurant called TJ's. It's too crammed here for a long stay so we are just doing some souvenir shopping and heading out. There are tons of surfers here. From what I saw, the waves were big and closing out - looked difficult to surf. There are lots of tiny alley ways and streets here filled with scooters - we are constantly dodging them, as well as the alley cats - gross. They also put offerings of flowers and herbs on a banana leaf for the animist spirits. Petrol is sold in absolut vodka bottles in convenience shops as seen in the picture.

Railay Beach, Thailand

We arrived in Railay after a ferry from Phi Phi. The tide goes out so far that they drop you off in knee high muddy water, and you have to inch yourself along a concrete path that you can't see, in order to get to the beach. Everyone has to do it - even those in five star resorts with big luggage. Can you imagine Mom doing this, Alexander and Dad?!

We arrived just before sunset and explored the west beach. You can walk from the east beach to the west beach in about 10 minutes. There are huge cliffs surrounding every beach - a popular spot for rockclimbers. Unfortunately, we finally experienced the monsoon. It rained hard most days, with a couple hours break of sunshine. Luckily, we made it over to the most beautiful beach, Phang-Nga, where the picture is taken. Huge limestone karsts just out of turquoise water - a postcard view of Thailand. It wasn't that crowded and we had a blast. Brennan swam out to the rock and climbed up on it a bit. From across the beach, it was hard to even see him - the rock is so big.

We are in Phuket now near the airport. We are excited about our trip in Indonesia. We leave for KL tomorrow and then Bali the next day and plan to spend most of our time in Lombok, climbing Rijani (a volcano), and relaxing on the Gili Islands. Wish us luck - it is the busy season so it requires a lot of planning! Hopefully, it will all work out!

Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

On the way to Phi Phi, we spent the night in Phuket at the On On hotel (the really sketchy one where The Beach was filmed). I remember when I saw the movie how freaky it looked - I can't believe we really stayed there with the awful flourescent lights in the scary hallways and the screens between the wall and the ceiling. We survived! Brennan and Mimi loved it.

We headed to Phi Phi Don by ferry - arguably Thailand's most beautiful island. After arriving at the harbor, we trekked for 45 minutes up and down hills and dirt pathes to a beautiful stretch of sand called Long Beach. It was isolated and gorgeous! Turquoise waters, a great view of Phi Phi Ley (the sister island) and a nice Thai restaurant where we enjoyed plenty of fruit shakes. We spent most days relaxing in the sun. One day we went snorkeling at Phi Phi Ley and swam in the most beautiful lagoon. The water was so clear and the fish are colorful and surround you. I bet the pictures we posted look fake to you - but Brennan actually took them!

We went out on the town one night - lots of Brits up for partying. We stumbled onto a Thai boxing show, which was really cool. They don't even wear headgear and it looked like they were kicking each other's spleens pretty hard. Then, for a free bucket of liquour, people from the crowd challenge each other to box. An Israeli girl challenged and was matched by a tall blonde British girl. We can't believe how hard they punched and kicked each other! At first, Israel's muscles were looking strong and we thought England would go down quickly. Then, England pulled through and won big time! Mimi went over to congratulate her, and the girl said "Don't do it" - she was already so sore. So, after a couple more crowd fights, everyone headed to the dance club for free buckets. They played fun techno dance music and we got our groove on - especially Mimi. After awhile, we notice a waitress had her 4 year old daughter on stage dancing with all the drunk kids. Yikes.

The next night, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the main beach at Phi Phi. It was stunning! The main beach at Phi Phi was destroyed by the tsunami so they are still rebuilding in some areas. It was kind of eerie to be there and think about it happening, but the island is so beautiful, you just forget about it.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

On our way to Phuket, we had a one day stay in KL. We were impressed with the huge, clean highways, plenty of Mercedes and big cars, and gleaming towers. We headed to BB Plaza, a big shopping area and spent some time wandering the mall with hilarious asian t-shirts (who is baby milo?). Brennan got his hair cut and we treated ourselves to western treats - cafe lattes and cookies:)

We found Summer's guesthouse which was right on top of Al-Baghdaddy restaurant - was it meant to be or what? Too bad the meal at Al-Baghdaddy's wasn't good and there was a cockroach in our room :( Our street was the international bar/club street and clubs stayed open late, which surprised us since most people don't drink here (Muslim culture). We had a good dinner at a food stall complete with roti canai, naan and tandoori chicken - $4 easily fed 3 people.

We saw the Petronas towers, the second tallest buildings in the world. Inside is the nicest shopping mall we have ever seen - too bad we can't fill our backpacks with Chanel goods. We saw lots of women wearing the full burka while shopping at designer stores.

Temples of Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia

These temples are incredible! I remember seeing my dad's pictures of Angkor a few years ago, and immediately wanted to go there afterwards. But, the pictures do not do it justice. These temples, built at different time periods ranging from 800-1200 AD, are massive, detailed, and are being overtaken by jungle. It is easy to imagine yourself stumbling upon these temples in the jungle and being humbled and afraid by their awesomeness - especially the gates and the huge stone faces.

We met Mimi at Sweet Dreams guesthouse (it doesn't live up to its name - more like terrible nightmare with mosquito attacks at night and a leaking ceiling). I said to Mimi - if this same hotel were in the US, we'd be fearing for our lives. But, we got good Khmer food and it was cheap and the people were nice.



We explored the temples with Mimi - seeing the incredible Angkor Thom first (the old imperial city). We were amazed just by the gate (one of the four gates) and spent awhile taking pictures there. Bayon, one of the major temples, includes over 260 faces on many symetrical towers - just incredible! Preah Kahn, the Buddhist University, was one of our favorite sites - peaceful with long corridors, some crumbling with huge trees growing out of the rocks. Ta Prohm was even more overtaken by jungle - straight out of Tomb Raider - which the locals love (were forced to watch it at our guesthouse).

We woke up at 4am for sunrise at Angkor Wat which was beautiful. We toured temples all around and then enjoyed an American ice cream titled "Mr. San Francisco" and "Mr. San's babies". We thought this was hilarious - it could be the delirium from lack of sleep and touring all day.

The town of Siem Reap is really nice - french colonial architecture. Pub street has lots of trendy bars like "Angkor What?" and "Temple Bar".

Cu Chi Tunnels

The Cu Chi tunnels are located 60 kms northwest of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) where the Americans would go for R&R. This is where the Viet Cong dug a series of tunnels to fight the americans and supply troops based in the south. The tunnels total 258 kms. Summer was afraid to go down in the tunnels, so I went for a half day trip by myself.

Arriving at the tunnels, we learned about the American war and how terrible the Americans were and how smart the Vietnamese were. The video was so biased - everyone on the tour who knew I was American was apologizing to me. The Vietnamese tour guide helped the americans during the war and said how silly he thought the video was. He is moving to america in a couple of months (after 30 years of waiting to enter the country) and he is very excited.

The entrances to the tunnels were so small - the average westerner could not fit in. Some have been widened for tourists. I could fit in the original entrance. I crawled 80 meters on my hands and knees down to the third underground level (30 feet underground). The tunnels, even though they are touristy, are not well lit. I had to use the flash from my camera to see where I was going. At one point, the tunnel was so narrow (this is protect against gas and water attacks from the Americans), I had to crawl on my stomach. I couldn't imagine living underground here - people lived here from 1968-1975 and had kitchens, bathrooms, and meeting rooms down there.

Next to the tunnels is a firing range, so as your are crawling through the tunnels, you hear AK 47s firing off. I fired an AK 47 after finishing crawling through the tunnels. I wasn't too bad, but didn't hit the target down range, a stuffed deer target.

The booby traps were really disturbing. They had a lot of smart techniques to protect themselves like lining the tunnel entrance and air holes with GI clothes to prevent US dogs from smelling the Vietnamese below. They also would wear sandals backwards when retreating from battle to confuse the enemy.

Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon

We both really enjoyed our stay in Saigon. The wide tree-lined avenues lined with french architecture and cute boutiques and trendy restaurants along Dong Khoi really impressed us. The french know how to design a town (even though the Vietnamese don't like to admit this).

There are more scooters here than anywhere else in Vietnam or Southeast Asia even. We've become pros at crossing the street without flinching.

Our first day we visited the war remnants museum where there is a collection of US military aircraft, helicopters and tanks. Deeply moving was the photo gallery showing pictures taken by photo journalists that died covering the war. Some pictures were the famous ones on the cover of LIFE magazine, while others demonstrated intense battles and the contrast between war and nature. We walked around the reunification palace where the North Vietnamese tanks stormed the gates.

That night, we grabbed pho at a little restaurant called Pho 2000 where Bill Clinton ate (some funny photos of him and Chelsea up there). We checked out Saigon at night - drinks on top of a famous hotel at the Saigon Saigon bar, which had a hilarious filipino cover band and then checked out a trendy lounge underneath the opera house. The clubs impressed us with their decor, but they were pretty dead.

During a rainstorm one day, we saw the Sex and the City movie. First, the movie was great - but it probably wasn't as fun with a Vietnamese audience. The didn't laugh at the jokes but laughed at the fact that American girls keep dogs as pets. (dogs are normally food in Vietnam hence the giggles anytime a dog came on screen).

Mui Ne

Mui Ne is a laid back beach town with cute bungalows lining a golden strip of sand. There is a height restriction here, so the developments blend in with the palm trees creating a nice relaxing vibe. We rented a little bungalow on the beach and have been spending our time reading, discussing philosophy based on our books, and just lounging around.

The first day was cloudy so we went for a long bike ride to Phan Theit, a fishing village that we found out was 20 km away. The ride was an adventure, lots of hills and no gears on the bike, trucks and mopeds whizzing by. Sometimes a guy on a moped would slow down and ride next to us, and cheer us on up the hill.

We should have known that Phan Thiet would smell like fish, but nothing can prepare you for the overpowering smell once you get close to the village. It was a true Vietnamese town, unspoiled by tourists. We found a cafe, without an English menu, and it was refreshing to be treated with big smiles and great drinks. We communicated with a lot of pointing and body language - it's nice to see a local town and get a feel for how locals live, compared to the many vietnamese we meet in the tourist sites that are always out for a few bucks.

We raced a thunderstorm back to Mui Ne and chilled out at another cafe. We made it back and it rained the rest of the night.

The next day was gorgeous with sunshine and blue skies. We soaked up some sun and then ran into 2 guys that we met on the sleeper bus who will be at Wharton in August. One knew our friends Marcelo and Antonia - small world. We ended up having drinks and dinner with them later and going to a casino. The casino was hilarious - all e-games, and only foreigners allowed. They give you $20 just for walking in and free drinks. Ari, the Wharton guy, won almost $200 on the slots without spending a dime! Too bad we aren't that lucky, but it was still fun. I think we'll try our luck again tonight.

There are a lot of kite surfers here and the wind is strong every afternoon. We've seen a lot of european kite surfers around and one instructor told us he came here 3 years ago and never left. It has been great to relax for awhile before we head to Saigon.

Nha Trang

Ahhh, the sleeper bus. Everyone has to experience it while traveling through Vietnam. For around $11, you can travel a 12 hour distance at night, in the comfort of a cramped pod in a bunkbed contraption, Vietnamese music videos blasting, and endless stops to pick up more Vietnamese people through the night who can then sleep in the aisle when the bunks are full. A rest stop a midnight really did the trick when we stopped there for what seemed like an eternity. One traveler was sick and sitting in the aisle next to us - she then got yelled at to go get in her bunk by the bus driver.

Shockingly, Brennan passed out for the whole trip and woke up in Nha Trang. He didn't have to deal with Vietnamese people on the phone at 3 am, the unbearable music, or the girl about the puke.

We arrived safely in Nha Trang - yay! We managed to find a guesthouse in our daze and grabbed breakfast and headed for the beach. The beach was pretty - surrounded by large mountains. A wide boulevard lines the ocean, almost like in the french riveria, and hotels are on the other side of the road. There is a lot of construction going on in Nha Trang - and it will host the Miss Universe pageant on July 14- something people are really excited about here!

After hanging out at the beach, we grabbed a german lunch - beers and brats - and took a long nap. We checked out some of the bars and restaurants at night - there are lots of cute trendy bars with a tropical vibe. Nha Trang is a party town in a Myrtle Beach kind of way (spring break 2008!), but we were too tired to party hard. Brennan is an old fart and made me go to bed early.

Brennan's grandfather was stationed in Nha Trang during the war. It is hard to believe that 30 years ago, this beach resort housed many soldiers preparing for battle. On our last morning, we saw Vietnamese soldiers getting ready for their morning workout on the beach - clearly times have changed.

Brennan wanted to go scuba diving, but they had problems looking up his certification - so we headed to Mui Ne the next day for a more laid back scene.