HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2009 is looking good so far!

St. Some Where

OK, OK... so St. Some where is actually St. No Where because our day trip was to Port Stephens. No St. in the name anywhere. Yeah I know some times I don't pay the closest of attention. Anyways it was a good time. We were on a large boat, but the dolphins were really friendly and loads came right up to the boat. If I had arms slightly longer than Ryan I could have just reached out and touched them. Unfortunately our pictures were the best because as Ryan would say the our camera's "technology" was just not good enough. I think it is not the camera, its the photographer, he needs to anticipate. The problem is he really wants a new big super fast and fancy Nikkon. I think I will have to give in when when we have kids. After the dolphins we went 4 wheeling in the sand dunes, in some military style hard core 4 wheelers. It was really fun but I thin they could have pushed it just a bit further. We finished our sand dune adventure with sand boarding. Because of the high probability of injures they do not let you go down on your feet proper boarding style, instead it is more like sleding. It was really fun and super fast but the climb back up the dune and the sand in places I care not to talk about it might just be why the sport has not gone main stream like snow boarding.

Happy Holidays from Down Under

It has been a while since I wrote a blog, but Ryan has monopolized all the computer time. I have nicked named him the internet monster.
We are having a great time in Australia. For once the weather has started to co-operate and the sun is shining. We spent the first couple of days exploring the city, the Opera House, Art Museum, Botanical Garden, Harbor Bridge, Bondi Beach etc.... We even met up with some some of our friends from the China trip for lunch one day. The Opera house was great. As some of you know Ryan and I really appreciate modern architecture, so to see it up close was a true high light. All of the angles and the way the white iridescent tiles on the roof catch the light at different times of day was amazing. Ryan was also really impressed by the harbor bridge and of course the harbor. I enjoyed the botanical garden, Ryan tolerated it. The rose garden was small but still nice. The best part it that it is a free open park with great plants and trees all along the harbor with an amazing view of both the opera house and the bridge. (We hope to be able to get a spot there for the new years firework extravaganza.) We spent Christmas on the beach, still not used to the southern hemisphere thing of a bbq on the beach, but it was nice to get some sun after all the rain in Asia.

We spent the first part of today, Boxing Day, at Watson's cove which is right next to the southern Head of Sydney harbor, so we could watch the Sydney to Hobart boat race. We walked around the cove and then walked up the head so we had a better view of the start. It was cool to see all the sail boats jocking back in forth for the best starting position with harbor bridge in the back ground. We then walked to the ocean side of the head so we could see the boats race into the ocean for the sail to Hobart. Ryan was so happy.

We are planning a day trip tomorrow to St. Somewhere (can't remember the name) the Dolphins are suppose to be abundant. We are taking a boat tour, followed by 4 wheeling and sand boarding in the sand dunes, with even a stop at a wildlife sanctuary on the way home. (Yea!! koalas and kangaroos) I want to learn to surf here and I would love to go sailing the harbor with Ryan. We have not made it to Carins of Alice springs yet, so no reef diving and no big rock yet, but that is planned to come. I am sure Ryan or maybe even I (if I get a chance) blog about that later.

A not so sporty and not so co-ordinated girl's view on the Milford Trek

First of all let me say I did it!!!! 4 days of hiking from sea level up to 1141 meters and then back down. The hike was challenging but I am very glad I did it. 3 out of the 4 days were not that bad. The only day that had me a little fed up (at my worst moments I was begging for it to end) was the 3rd day when we had to hike up and over the pass, down to our last nights hut. We started the day at lower altitude with light rain, that then turn to sleet, and snow as we got higher. By the time we got to the top I was freezing and a bit wet despite the best efforts of my waterproof gear. Thank God at the top they had a hut with water, toilet and some gas burners, so we could dry off make hot chocolate and soup to warm up before we had to climb carefully down to the sleeping hut. It was a wet climb down, but we made it with out any major slips or twisted ankles. I know that is amazing given my complete lack of co-ordination, but I went slow and careful, and I only said that they were no major slips or falls. The views were amazing and the huts were very clean plus well appointed. They had almost everything you would need, running cold water, flushing toilets, proper bunk beds, heat, and gas stove cookers. No showers and no hot water, but it was a nature hike not a stay at the 4 seasons.

A digital christmas present :-)

Hey all, just got done using the free wifi at the apple store (wicked fast) to catch up on my video and picture uploads. Check out the following for all the goodies:

Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ourdreamlist/sets/

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E1FBED7FCC399470

Cheers, and happy Christmas.

PS. We got to watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart boat race today, it was awesome!

Merry Christmas!

Hey all, just a quick merry Christmas to all of you from D and I in Sydney, Australia. We plan to spend Christmas day tomorrow on Bondi Beach with the rest of Sydney. Hope you all have a great day and get lots of presents.

Love Ryan and D

Amazing New Zealand ~ the longest post yet....

So to continue where I left off.... after our visit with good friends Dave and Jane Campbell in Auckland, D and I jumped on our first of many trains. The train is called the TranzSenic and our first trip was on the "Overlander Service" to Hamilton on the north island. Why Hamilton? Well we were invited by our new friends Emma and Jared who we met while traveling China. While in Hamilton we all headed to Waitomo Caves for a mid day black water rafting trip. Basically you put on a wetsuit, head lamp and pick up a large inner tube, shortly after you jump into an icy cold underground river and float your way through the Waitomo Cave system jumping off waterfalls and looking at the cave ceiling covered in glow worms... a lot of fun to say the least. We filled up on hot soup and bagels and then Jared took us on a driving tour of their part of the world which included a few short walks, one revealing a huge thundering waterfall. The country side is just stunning and we even got a peak at the west coast of the island. That night we enjoyed some very good New Zealand Meat on the BBQ followed by multiple beers.

The next day we wished Emma and Jared good bye and hoped back on the Overlander for an all day journey through the heart of the North Island to the capital of New Zealand, Wellington. This train was fantastic, we were in the last car with panoramic glass windows giving us views or the stunning countryside as we climbed the mountains crossing glacial rivers and huge snow topped volcanoes. We got our best view of the volcanoes when we stopped at "the National Park". Finally we winded our way down into Wellington getting full views of the ocean as we entered the port city. Wellington is a beautiful city set in a bay on the south end of north island at the foot of mountains. Everywhere you look there is another beautiful vista. Although it is the capital of New Zealand and a big city, it is still small enough to navigate on foot very easily and we only needed to catch a bus once. It has an awesome waterfront with a really cool museum "Te Papa". We also rode the famous tram to spot above the city to take in the views and them begin a walk down through the botanical gardens. The rest of the time we just wondered the streets, enjoyed some good food and the atmosphere. D loved the city and says it is her favorite so far... "she would like to live there".

Next we jumped on the "InterIslander Ferry" to the South Island. The ferry is a cool way to see Wellington from the water and then as you approach the cliffs of the South Island you realize you are about to see a whole different world. We landed in Picton and navigated our way to the train station and hopped on the "TranzCoastal Service" to Christchurch "the largest city on the South Island". Again this was an awesome way to see New Zealand, the large glass windows and open viewing car allowed us to get great views of the east coast of the South Island as we journeyed south. Christchurch is a small city, and is actually based on Cambridge in the UK, and feels very similar. You have your Gothic style cathedral in the cities central square and there is a river that winds through the city "the Avon"... and you have punting boats that you can take a ride in, just like Cambridge. There is also trams that travel the city streets and plenty of restaurants to choose from. We spent our days punting the river, walking the botanical gardens and reading our books in the park and at Cafes.

Another day, another cool train journey. This time we joined the "TranzAlpine Service" over and through the mountains to the west coast of the South Island, terminating in the town of Greymouth. This train takes you up through some of the highest mountains in the country and gives you great views of Arthur's Pass and the alpine scenery of the South Island. On arrival in Greymouth we picked up our rental car... some Cadburys Chocolate Bars and began our drive down the west coast. I cant put into words how beautiful this part of the world is, around every bend we were saying "WOW"... our journey for the day ended in Franz Joseph, the small town situated below the Franz Joseph Glacier. We had come to Glacier Country to see something truly amazing, something that can only be seen over other place in the world (Patagonia Argentina), a glacier at near sea-level and something else unique to New Zealand, it is surrounded by tropical rain forest. We spent 2 nights in this amazing place, hiking to the terminal face of Franz Joseph, and a number of other short walks that allow you to view these marvels of nature in all there glory. But the coolest of all was our Helihike on the Fox Glacier. We arrived early in the morning, suited up with boots, crampons etc. hoped in a helicopter and flew up the Fox Glacier, landing about midway up the glacier. We spent 3 hours walking the glacier, our guides using there ice axes to carve a pathway through this alien environment. We climbed into ice caves formed by the glacier moving at different speeds at the surface vs. the base. We saw waterfalls that are carving underground rivers through the ice, and stood on the edge of precipices that drop into oblivion. When down, back on the helicopter for a ride back to sea-level and reality. This one is in my top 5 of all time, WOW, WOW, WOW.

The journey continued... back in our rental car we continued down the west coast, joining the "Heritage Highway", named as such because it guides you through one of the many "World Heritage" areas present in New Zealand. Again, just beautiful, awe inspiring vistas around every corner. We spent the day stopping at a number of short beach and forest walks that allow you to explore what lies just beyond the rode, places like the "Blue Pools", a set of natural pools that are filled with crystal clear turquoise blue glacial water and a number of stunning waterfalls. The road takes you along the coast and then banks east through the mountains past the largest lake in the Southern Hemisphere and into the city of Queenstown, and our basecamp to prepare for "The Milford Trek". Queenstown is an awesome little city, sitting on the shores of a lake surrounded by high mountain peaks. This is the adventure sport capital of the world and you can do anything crazy you can imagine in this place. After a few days, and fully preparing for our 4 day hike through Fiordland (we needed hiking bags, sleeping bags, survival gear, clothing for all 4 seasons, food, maps etc... we set off by bus to Te Anau to check in at the department of conservation office. Next we journeyed to Te Anau Downs and what would be the start of another top 5 experience of my life, hiking the Milford Trek. For those of you who don't know some background on this hike. The Milford Trek, also know as "The Finest Walk in the World" is 53.5 kilometer trail through the heart of spectacular Fiordland National Park, part of the Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. 14,000 people hike this trek every year, although it is restricted to 40 people per day and you can only walk in one direction so you very rarely see any other people on the trail. I am not going to go into detail on how we spent our 4 days but will call out some highlights. First, you begin the walk by taking a boat from Te Anau Downs the Glade House.. the start of the walk at the base of the mountain range in the rain forest. You are now officially in the middle of the wilderness and the adventure begins. Over the walk you will climb from just above sea level to 1143 meters above sea level and then back down to sea level. You will and we did experience all 4 seasons in one day, and you will see some of the most incredible wilderness on earth, from the valleys, to the literally thousands of waterfalls, snow caped mountains, ice fields, crystal clear rivers, dense rain forest, beech tree forests, fern forests, glacial landscapes, lakes, the remains of large avalanches and much much more. The accommodation on the trail is great, each night you stay in mountain huts with bunk-rooms, a drying room and kitchen area with gas stoves supplied. There is running water, it comes fresh from local rivers and is ice cold, but clean and drinkable. You will get to see much of New Zealand's bird life, from Blue Ducks to Kea's... the worlds only Alpine Parrot and a really cool bird to see since they have the intellect of a 2 year old and love to get ahold of hikers gear. It was a hard 4 days, the toughest time was the accent to the highest point in freezing rain and snow to be followed by an even steeper decent through ice fields and avalanche valleys. But the scenery was worth every minute and the sense of accomplishment at the bottom is fantastic. On the final day you make your way into the final valley at end at Sand Fly Point, named for the little buggers that bite the crap out of you over the 4 days, the place is supposed to be teaming with then, but we were lucky and there were not that many on our final day. You meet a boat at this location and sail into Milford Sound.

When we got to Milford Sound we decided to take a scenic cruise of the Sound and just relax and take in this amazing place.... pictures don't do the sound justice, and the same goes for pics of the scenery on the hike itself, but I tried my best. We spend the night in an awesome private lodge (Milford Sound Lodge River Chalets on the river with floor to ceiling windows looking at the river in front of us and cliffs of waterfalls. The next day we made our way back to Queenstown and then to Auckland for another night with Dave and Jane... today we tooled around Auckland and then headed for the airport. This post is coming to you from Sydney Australia.

PS... the reason I did not post anything earlier was 2 fold... public internet in NZ sucks... and secondly I was too busy having the time of my life. I will do my best to post video on youtube and pics on flickr tonight and the next few days, so take a look.

And one more thing,,, New Zealand is the coolest country we have visited so far.

The City of Sails aka Auckland, New Zealand

D and I have been in Auckland since Tuesday morning and are loving it. We are staying with our good friends Dave and Jane in a suburb of Auckland named One Tree Hill. The weather is fantastic, clear blue skies, and a nice cool breeze off the ocean. Given Auckland is the City of Sails... I decided to go sailing, and how cool is it that I went sailing on the NZ 41 America's Cup Boat (1995). I took the helm and guided the yacht through a number of tacks in Auckland Harbor, grinded the sails up, and pulled in a jinnika from the foredeck. All in all a great way to spend the morning. Danielle and I also headed up the famous Sky Tower "the tallest building in the southern hemisphere", a great way to get a 360 view of the city/ suburbs. The city itself is very small, almost like a mini Cape Town foreshore and as such really easy to walk around and explore.

Yesterday, Dave, Jane and their two kids took us by ferry to Waiheke Island off the coast of Auckland, where we grabbed some lunch in a beach side cafe and spent the day on a beautiful beach. The ferry ride is also a great way to see all the islands/ volcanoes that make up the seascape around Auckland.

On Saturday we leave Auckland and head to Hamilton to stay with our friends Emma and Jared... until my next post.

- Ryan

The Kingdom of Cambodia

Ankor Wat @ Sunrise, originally uploaded by fromthevillage.


D and I just arrived in New Zealand after a great visit to Cambodia. We stayed in the small city of Siem Reap and spent 4 days exploring the amazing Ankor Complex and the surrounding countryside. We enjoyed both the sunrise over Ankor and the sunrise at Ankor Wat. Ankor is an incredible experience that I would rank with seeing the pyramids. Words are hard to use to describe what you get to see, and pictures don't do the structures justice, but take a look anyway. We really enjoyed our visit, very friendly people, great sights and good cheep food.

Now off to sail on an America's Cup Yacht.

Lets go to the moives

Last night we found a theater in Saigon that was playing the new James Bond film in english.. it was awesome, I would highly recommend it.

- Ryan

Video from Vietnam on YouTube

Check them all out @ http://www.youtube.com/user/vanwykrl

Vietnam pictures now on Flickr

Man bathing next to his boat in Vietnam, originally uploaded by fromthevillage.

Check out our pics from Vietnam so far @

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ourdreamlist/collections/72157609981749387/

Good morning Vietnam!!!

Vietnam is very different from all the other Asian countries we have visited on this and past trips.

This country has been ravaged by wars in its nearly continuous struggle for autonomy. First came an entire millennium of Chinese domination, then occupation by the French, followed by Japanese invasion in WWII, then the French Indochina War ensued, the communist divide of north and south, aka the Vietnam War, followed by War with Cambodia and finally with the collapse of the USSR in 1991, peace.

Why the history lesson, well it helps to explain what you see when you visit, its a country with clear Chinese influence in its temples, palaces and old towns, you see the French influence in the buildings in the cities (2 of our stays have been in historical french hotels) and we walked across a Japanese covered bridge yesterday. The new homes are Vietnamese style which is a kind of blend between all three (see pic). The infrastructure is still under development, given so much was destroyed in the most recent wars, it is much more underdeveloped than China, Thailand etc.

The people however make up for this lack of development, it was explained to me that they really don't have this concept of unemployment because everyone does something to make money, thus they are employed. In most countries you would see the poor in shanty towns etc.. in Vietnam many of these people live on their boats on the rivers, dredging sand to sell for construction, fishing or taking tourists for trips. Others take to the streets on there bicycles or motorcycles serving as make shift taxis to take people from A to B. When you drive along the roads you will notice that virtually every house serves as both a house and some sort of business, many of these folks are rice farmers and try to supplement their income with any other activity that is needed. You will see old women carrying trash in 2 baskets tied to a pole over their shoulder, these I was told are the recycling ladies, making something out of nothing. Other women carry fresh fruits and vegetables from one location to another, selling them to houses and businesses as they go. Everyone is working and this goes on from early morning until late at night.

The sense of community is alive and well, as you walk the cities both in the morning, afternoon and late at night you will see people out and about enjoying each other. From groups of old ladies playing a game of make shift badminton on pavements along the streets, or women doing aerobics at night in park along the lake and kids rollerblading with their parents on the flat area in front of a monument. People look happy and yet they don't have much, this should be a lesson to us all.

Now the traffic! Firstly if you want to cross the road don't expect cars and bikes to yield to you, or a nice crosswalk/ light. To cross you need to step out into the street and walk slow and deliberately, no hesitation, for the motorcycles will miss you even though it looks like they are going to hit you. However if you hesitate, then they cannot anticipate your movement and they may well hit you. How did we learn this, well the old saying watch and learn is how... Danielle and I also took a cyclo trip around the old quarter in Hanoi, you sit in the front while a 55 plus year old man peddles a bicycle behind maneuvering you through the crazy streets. We really enjoyed this but you need to let go of your fear and trust the old man because if not you will be terrified, as we came inches from being hit by buses, bikes etc. We have not got to Saigon yet, but I hear it is exponentially worse than anything we have seen just yet. Another aspect of the traffic is what these folks manage to transport via scooter, it is just amazing (see pics), the most incredible thing we saw (unfortunately not fast enough with the camera) was a live cow on the back of the scooter. Also just like Thailand the whole family, father, mother and 2 kids fits on a scooter and weaves in and out of some very scary traffic.

The highlight so far for me has been the 2 days sailing on a junk in Halong Bay. Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was made famous in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, James and Wai Lin attempt to chase down Elliot Carver played by Jonathan Pryce in the Ha Long Bay area. It is just beautiful (very similar to the Adaman Sea off the coast of Thailand) with thousands of limestone islands jutting out of the ocean. We did some kayaking from one island to another and spent 2 days cruising aboard a traditional Junk with only 2 other couples, so we had the place to ourselves. The food prepared on board was awesome. We also got to explore one of the largest caves within the islands and see the floating villages.

Danielle wants to go explore the shops in town, so I have to go...

One last thing, because Vietnam is not fully developed as a tourist destination yet, the 5 star hotels are affordable (this is the holiday part of our Round the World Trip, got to take a break from the job of traveling) and the food is really cheep. You can take 2 to dinner with drinks (good food) for $10.

- Ryan