Good friends in far away places

Two different friends – both from San Francisco – just happened to be in Sydney this weekend. I actually wanted to set Ted and Jessie up 2 years ago when Ted first moved to SF, but it never happened. Alas, they missed each other by an hour this time too. Ted was jet lagged and went to the hotel and Jessie and her boyfriend were just arriving. It would have been nice for them to meet. Pics in front of the classic spots are attached.

I mean, I am in school. Right?

Classes deserve some mention here, as I am in Sydney for a reason. They especially deserve mention because I really like them. I am probably the only exchange student that has bought books – let alone busted out a highlighter... They are Negotiations & Strategy, Legal Aspects of Business, Financial Institutions Management, and Managerial Decision Making.

On a different note… Dania has decided to stop taking the Pilates certification class. It was a 1.5 hour commute each way and would only give her a very basic certification. We just received an email from the instructor stating that a further $1,500 is owed because “Australian contract law states that by attending the course, you agree to all terms and conditions of the course. These conditions require payment in full regardless of you completing the training or not.” We never signed a contract, and Dania made clear that it was on a trial basis to be paid on a pro-rated week-to-week arrangement. All I have to say is watch me get us out of this one... Thank goodness for my Legal Aspects of Business class. If this doesn’t provide the necessary tools, we may have to resort to the learnings of Dania’s new class – Jiu Jitsu! Hay ya!

High on Sydney

We have done so many things in so little time. It is almost unbelievable. Selected highlights thus far… we went to a pyrotechnic show in the round, which was incredible. We were here for Australia Day, which is their July 4^th. The fireworks were much more elegant and thoughtful than our ‘bigger is better’ American displays. We saw Turandot performed by the Sydney Opera in the city’s equivalent to Central Park. Their production put the Metropolitan Opera’s park production to shame. And on and on.

Sydney really is amazing. The quality of life here is great and the people are really friendly. An American accent receives an open armed welcome. When traveling, I usually think the more different, the more interesting. Sydney feels familiar. Yet, we really like the place and have not even explored the half of it. Stay tuned…

Life’s a beach

We arrived in Sydney last week and are definitely glad to be calling one place home for the next three months. Having done numerous trips like this one, I find that travel fatigue sets in after about 4 or 5 weeks. We could probably have gone longer, but would have had to slow down the pace.

The set-up in Sydney is great. Dania and I are living with two of my classmates (Shivika and Carolyn) who are also on exchange from Duke. We are two blocks from Coogee beach, which is close to more famous Bondi beach. The terrace is just perfect for people watching and hanging out in sunny 80 degrees (you can see me outside apt on 1st floor). As you can tell, I’m really just trying to get you to come visit… seriously we have a pullout couch.

Long tail boat tour

We hired out a boat for a canal tour through old Bangkok. Everywhere we went people smiled and waved at us from the shore (despite the fact that everyday they probably see several boats) – a true testament to how friendly the Thais are. Our skipper put on some Thai pop music about 45 minutes in – totally killing the romantic sunset cruise mood. Annoying at first. However, we were the only boat with music blaring, and the kids on the shore LOVED it. We started waving our hands to the rhythm and the people on shore responded in kind.

Cucumber on my face

Dania was interested in getting a facial. For $5, I figured why not join in on the fun to see what all the fuss is about. It was most likely my first and last. I didn’t really read the offer that we signed up for, so my face was subjected to a variety of treatments. My mind was left wondering… Is this one orange extract? Next one butter? Mud? Ice cream sandwich?

When the cucumbers hit, I definitely knew what they were. These cucumbers were on my face for about ten minutes in total. Most of the time they just sat there, but every few minutes the young lady doing my facial would come over and mash them into my face. In between these incidents, I was left with my own deep thoughts... Wouldn’t it be funny if I suddenly sprung up and screamed flinging cucumbers all over the people next to me? Should I taste the cucumbers?

If you notice a little extra shine about me in our pics, you can thank the $2 haircut and the cucumbers.

Sexy Show a-go-go (Warning R rated post)

The last time I was in Bangkok as a young 20 something single male, I didn’t make it to the infamous Patpong red light district. So, of course, I decided to make amends as a late 20 twenties recently married honeymooner. Dania was game.

Walking along the street, hustlers are everywhere trying to get you in to see their “sexy show.” We went into a place called Wildcat and ordered 2 drinks for 100 baht each (equivalent to $6 total and the original deal presented on the street). Soon after, they try to hit us up for another 600 baht to see the show. We refuse and harassment ensued on and off for the next 15 minutes. We stood firm, and I mentioned getting the tourist police and flashed my blackjack. We then stayed without incident.

The show consisted of general dancing in various stages of nudity interspersed with an array of truly talented acts. These all involve vaginas and one or more of the following: darts and balloons (what accuracy!), ping pong balls (3 at a time!), strings with needles (ouch!), sex toys (do you really want to know?), champagne (would you toast to that?), cigarettes (I think I saw a smoke ring!), and beer bottles (now that’s a bottle opener!).

Further “entertainment” was provided by two friendly Israelis sitting in front of us with whom we struck up a conversation. They had already lost 2,000 baht. The dancers kept coming up to them. At one point, while a dancer was all over one guy, his friend looks back at us, points, and says “I think that’s a man.” It was pretty funny.
Sorry no pics on this one – you pervs!!

Just Buggy

Check out this camouflaged moth I spotted on a metal window frame in Bangkok. Que Fauna!

shAR(T)jah

Sharjah is Dubai’s neighboring emirate. We ventured there because it is the “cultural capital” of the United Arab Emirates.

We went to a unique museum funded by the very rich sheik of Sharjah. The permanent collection has Warhols and a lot of other great modern art. The exhibition was of Lore Bert and had just opened. She was there, and we interrupted her meeting with a guy in a headdress. Spoke to her, got her autograph, will save it for 50 years, and then sell it. See I knew this vacation would pay for itself! (If you like that one, you should hear my other rationalizations for the thousands we are spending.)

Anyways, now on to the art… There was practically no one there (unusual thing #1), in each room there was often only one work exhibited (unusual thing #2), and no title/nameplate (unusual thing #3). I liked #1 & #2, as you really got to concentrate on the works. Some pics with, of course, our little flourishes added are posted.

Care for a $500 lunch?

In Dubai, it is not that hard to do. So Dania and I had our long awaited splurge at the Burj Al Arab Hotel – the world’s only self proclaimed 7-star hotel. You can’t even get near the building unless you are staying there or have a meal, drink, or spa reservation. $1,500 for a room was a little too steep, so we opted for lunch. We embarrassingly ordered only one course each, which was still extremely pricey (a weak dollar and 7-stars = not good combination). However, the view over the city was definitely worth it.

In the elevator down, we started talking with a couple from Jordan. The man was one of the IT people for the hotel, and he was able to get us into the other underwater restaurant (we had tried earlier, but you have to have a reservation there to see it). I almost would have preferred to eat there. There are massive windows onto the Gulf Sea with many large and colorful fish swimming around. We saw the VIP room witch goes for $10,000 a night – before drink and food. Must be nice…

Step Right Up… And Win a Pearl?

We stumbled upon the Gulf version of throwing a too big ball into a too small jar at a carnival during Dubai’s annual shopping festival. Diving for pearls used to be big business here pre the Japanese invention of cultivating pearls. However, for 10 dirhams ($2.50), you can buy 10 oysters to have someone look for your very own pearl. We must have seen 100 oysters opened and alas no winners, but it was interesting.

The shopping festival is a 45 day event starting in late December that is a really big deal ‘round these parts. Fireworks, street fairs, parties, many tourists, raffles, etc. They definitely take shopping seriously here, you should see the malls. One of which has an indoor ski slope. We actually took a guided tour of one of the themed malls that details the life and adventures of an ancient explorer called Ibn Battatu.

P is for Prostitute

P should be for Priceline.com. However, after finally checking to see where the heck our ‘winning bid’ landed us a hotel room, we found the following neighborhood description in our Athens guidebook “Omonia has degenerated into a dodgy, traffic clogged meeting point for drug addicts, prostitutes, and down-and-outs… best avoided after dark.” Nice… While I hate to disappoint some of you with a lack of prostitute sightings, we did see a few drug addled dudes. A real first was seeing one druggie wake another one up to snort coke off a shop stoop. Would have been a great blog pic... Don’t worry. We are safe and the hotel is great. Though I am know carrying a large blackjack at night.

Hitching a ride in Athens

We had an amazing day on Tuesday. We started the hop on hop off bus around Athens, which is a total rip off. Got off and found ourselves in the posh Kolonkai neighborhood. It is at the base of a mountain that has an amazing view over the city and the acropolis. We climbed it, having a funny basic conversation in Greek with an old man along the way, and then finally hitch-hiked a ride to the old world Plaka neighborhood for a killer lunch. The driver, Nikos, gave us the skinny on the real Athens (hate to disappoint – but it ain’t that good).

It was a beautiful day, so we wandered some ruins. We passed by a Univ of Indianapolis cultural center and stopped in. They had a fascinating exhibit on Native Americans by a turn of the 20th century photographer named Edward S. Curtis. I know. I know. Why come to Greece to learn about the Indians, but so it was… We then hit up the National Archaelogical Museum, which was really interesting.

The next day was just as great with a ferry visit to the island of Aegina. The pic is from a temple complex in the middle of nowhere called Aphaia – figured we’d spare you the obligatory Parthenon pic. We had the place all to ourselves. Amazing…

R&R in Eilat

We had a nice time in Eilat. Weather could have been a little better, but it was pleasant enough. Aside from just relaxing and eating, we went Israeli folk dancing, bird watching, and snuba diving. The last is a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving. We loved it, as the fish in the red sea are very beautiful. Back in Tel Aviv and off to Athens tomorrow.

Petra = Amazing

Add another favorite place to the list. First introduction to this ancient Jordanian city was during the “Petra by Night” tour. It consisted of 150 people marching 2 km - in a single file line - under a full moon - in complete silence - on a candle lit path - to the Treasury building (see pic from the following day). Getting to the Treasury was half the fun, as the path slowly descends and twists through towering rock. After emerging from the path, the building had several hundred candles arrayed in front of it, and there was a Bedouin playing eerie yet beautiful music.

We did a jeep tour through a place called Wadi Rum the day before. (See pic)