Savvy Nomads

2010-03-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

Negril, Jamaica March 6-15, 2010

Wow, is it really that time??? Time to say goodbye to Asia? So sad, but so happy at the same time! As we were planning the last course of our journey my little sister Shannon emailed me with a suggestion. . . " Why don't you finish the trip in Jamaica?" My sister and her amazing husband Adam were going there for their vacation and suggested that we join them. . .OK, but, Jamaica?

Jamaica is certainly a different pace and completely different price bracket that we have become accustomed to, but we thought, what the hell? It wasn't long after we received confirmation that my Mother Cindy and her beaux Dwayne would be joining us. Now this should be a party!!!!!

After six long months abroad, there is nothing better than seeing your family's smiling faces. It was the most surreal experience when I was reunited with my Mom and sister. . . in Jamaica!!! How awesome is that?! "Come to Jamaica and feel alright"

This was a new experience for Brad and myself. We have never been to an "All Inclusive" resort. We were just so excited that we would be sleeping somewhere that didn't have bed bugs, cockroaches, filthy linen, leaking or not working toilets, hot showers, and we would be able to stay in the same place for 7 days. The "All Inclusive" part was just an added bonus. A bonus our liver will always hate us for, but a bonus nonetheless. When we arrived at The RIU Tropical Bay in Negril we were shown our alluring ocean view room, a room that came fully stocked with it's own self- dispensing bar! Are you kidding me??? This is when I realized that this could get crazy. . .and crazy is exactly what it got!!

Mommy, Brad Shanskies, and me!! Soaking up the warm Jamaican sun :) What an amazing first day we had!

Our first night we deemed gift night. While on our trip we tried to purchase little gifts for all of or friends and family and we were itching to give them to everyone. The slippers we bought Adam in Laos were the hit of the night!

View of The RIU

It seems that everyone in the world knows that you need to wear sunscreen on the first day of your holiday, but. . . no one ever really thinks they will get burned. Oh, you will burn my friends, you will burn. Just take a look at Adam's back if you need any evidence.

Ouchy Mcoucherson and the Ouch Hounds!

One of our favorite cultural treats in Jamaica. . . The Steel Drum. These locals were having a blast while entertaining all of us overfed tourists!

Pool time!

Mommy and Dwayne :)

Let's get wet, tipsy, and try to remember NOT to pee in the pool!
According to the boys, who were somehow always hungry ( I wonder why. . . oh, wait this is Jamaica), there is nothing better than a huge disgusting looking burger after a hard day of boozing and relaxing. . . I'll take a veggie burger please. This reminds me of a sick Carl's Jr. commercial.

If you can't fit it in. . . force it! ( I'm talking about burgers here people, get your minds out of the gutter!)

Soooo cute!

Pappa Dwayne was lovely enough to treat us to a day of climbing Dunn's River Falls and ATV riding in Ochos Rios. At the sight of the perfidious falls I was ready to climb, but thought, there is no way that my mother is going to climb this! See, I thought I was being coy by evading the annoying attempts of the local people claiming that I must rent water shoes, but in the end, I suffered. It was slippery and treacherous at times but completely rewarding when we ALL finished the climb in tact. What a blast! My sister charged it!!! Go Shanskies! After the falls it was off to the ATV riding park.

Me and my Baby

Shanskies

Wow, Mommy is sure being brave. I wonder if Dwayne has anything to do with it? he he

At the end of the ATV trip we had the option of jumping off the cliffs. . . you know we were in!!!! I'm coming! Look out below!!!

Go Brad Go!!!

Our gracious tour guides :)

As everyone can see. . .my sister is gorgeous, and the local men were sure to take notice. Well local men and . . . babies. he he he This guys name is Gerber!

Tan time!

One foot left stomp?

Hanky and Ducky. Friends forever.

Ok Mon, just stop calling me Bumble Clot!

Ducky and Hanky went out for a few cocktails and this is what we saw when he came home. I'm scared. Ducky, is that you? Why do you look like one of those creepy Mexican Wrestlers?? Luche Libre style. Oh, I almost forgot, Ducky would like to give a "shot out" to his buddy "The El Salvadorian Chorizo"!

Me, Mommy and Dwayne on their last night in Negril. They could only stay for a few days. Bon Voyage! We will miss you!

Every trip to Negril must include a visit to Rick's Cafe. It claims to be the most famous bar in the world, but I would have to disagree. Trader Todd's in Chicago is way more popular!!
However, it is known for the astounding cliffs and the insane people who leap off of them. There are three different levels to jump from. 10 ft, 35 ft, and 80 ft. Yeahhhhh,. . . NO. I would gladly bounce off a cliff at 35 ft, but 80ft???? Are you crazy?? It's rather entertaining and you get served cocktails while you watch!

Just please don't have any orgies in the cabanas. . .OK?

Let's get decked out and have a sisterly beer drinking competition. Yeah, sounds classy huh. Shannon won. She claims "I do that shit like it's my job". No wonder why she won??!!

My husband shaved off his beard and only left the mustache. He looked like a 70's Porn Star (not that I would know what a porn star looks like, of course).

Juicy!!!

After Mommy and Dwayne left, it got a lil' out of control. Well, while the cat's are away. . . the mice will play!!!!!

After several days on the wagon it can be hard to get that first drink down. Brad and Adam were struggling so we made them order Cadillac Margarita's to get them going! They were super strong and I think there was some gagging involved.

Shannon and I trying to look sexy. . . OK, OK, I said trying!!!!

We saw this catamaran with the waterslide pull up to the beach and we knew it was a sign. . . We must get on that boat!!!!! I used my bargaining skills, a few winks, and we were on!!! Only there was a catch. . . all four of us had to hide in the bathroom while we drove past the marina, so the boss wouldn't see us!! Hehehehe. . We are so sneaky! Shannon and Adam liked the bathroom so much they stayed in there even longer than necessary. . .um no funny business, this is a family boat!!! I kid, I kid. . .

Once we were in the clear we jumped on deck, grabbed a rum punch, and set sail for the caves!

Who's who?

Dr. J, Adam, and Brad living it up! Thanks for sneaking us on Dr. J, it was sensational!

Just taking it all in and trying not to remember that we only have one day left.

Words really can't describe. . .

After the boat we went back to the room to "freshen up" and get ready for a night out on the town. By town, I mean a nightclub called "The Jungle". Just follow these simple rules and you're in!

These guys didn't seem to care about the rules.

Last day!!!

We had a magnificent time in Jamaica with our family! Thank you so much for making it the perfect ending to the perfect trip. You guys rock. Only, this isn't really the end is it? Those of you that know us realize that we truly are nomads. . .that being said, stay tuned for our road trip to Chicago! Next posting will be in a few days. Stopping first in Grand Canyon, then we will be in Aspen, Colorado in a week!

FPK (Fist Pumping Kitty), Ducky, and a few Jamaican Dollars.
FPK is very special. He has traveled with us since Thailand and will continue to be part of the ever-growing Savvy Nomad Family!
Love from the Bumble Clot capital of the world, SammyJoe, Brad (Dirk Diggler), FPK, and Ducky

2010-03-06T04:35:00.000-08:00

Vang Vieng, Laos February 22-26, 2010

OK folks, strap yourselves in. . . it's going to be one heck of a ride!!!

This is going to be a very different blog entry than you have become accustomed to. . . I'm not even going to try to be reserved. . . no holding back. . . no restraint for the benefit of the readers, if it becomes just too wild for your taste, go read another blog. he he he. Throughout the blog I will post links to youtube, where I posted the videos we took from that day. It is in your best interest to watch them all, to get a better idea. . .
There is only one way to describe our tubing adventure in Vang Vieng. . . INDESCRIBABLE!!!! I'm not going to bore you with semantics, nor will I even attempt to recreate one of the best days of my life, all I can offer you is some barbaric details and allow your imagination to run rampant with them. . . believe me, whatever you are able to imagine will not even come close to what actually transpired that hot and sticky February day in Vang Vieng, Laos. So, let's skip all of this bull shit, and to quote our beloved Brit friend Rave the Dave. . . "Here we fu*king go!!!"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAzwNXrkfvw

The air was heavy and the sweat was continiously dripping down our bodies as we waited in anxious anticipation for the Tuk Tuk to take "The Crew" to the river. To refresh your memory there are 10 members of "The Crew" that we formed in Laos. We all became close rather quickly and shared some of the most amazing times together! "The Crew" consits of Sambo "Laos dancer", B-Rad "Crazy Mofo", James "Monkey Boy", Sat "Cradle robbing kissing bandit minx", Fanny "Sexbomb", "Rave the Dave", Mika "Broom Man", Mario "Teetotaller", Francie"Scotslover", and Pedro"The Boss". What an amazing group of people!!!! We love all of you guys!

When we arrived at the tube rental shop a grumpy man promtly grabbed my arm, wrote the number 57 on it, and asked me to sign my name and number in his paperwork. I figured this was for them to be able to identify what innertube goes with whom, but when I cheerfully asked him he replied" The number is so we can identify you in case something happens to you, or if you don't come back." Um, wow, that really creeped me out. I have heard stories about how insanely out of control this "tubing" is, but nothing, I repeat, nothing prepared me for what I was about to experience. . .

Our first glimpse of the river is in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGasfwzDq80

My first impression of the river was complete and total awe. I sat there with my mouth open for about one full minute before I screamed "Holy F-ing Shizer" this place is nuts! It was as if we entered Peter Pan's "Never Never Land". This adult only playground was more sinful than Vegas, more dangerous than eating raw meat in Thaliand, and more fun than anything I have ever done!

There are a few things I should explain to you about Tubing in Vang Vieng. . . First, they sell alcohol in large buckets, then fill it with Red Bull ( the really really strong kind), and pop a handfull of staws in it, and away you go. They also offer FREE whiskey shots at every bar, and one bar even had a 20 foot "Whiskey Bong". Um, yeah, OK. There are about 40 bars along the river and as you float, swim, or scream by, there is always someone ready to throw you a line to pull you into there bar. Next, there are ziplines, swings, and trapeze's tempting you at every corner. There are no safety regulations in Laos, and I could not believe how freaking crazy it all was. People were literally swinging 30, 40, and even 50 feet in the air only to be projectiled into the river waitng below. And doing back flips off of platforms that were at least 60 feet high! You have to see it to believe it! Mika decided to go first. . . watch him go in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gppM06F0P8

Of course Brad and I were safe and responsible. No, really, we were! I wasn't about to get hurt, or hurt someone else, so we limited our drinking a wee bit. I can't say the same for the rest of "The Crew". But we had so much fun people watching I could have stayed there for days. . .

Me, Francie and Fanny partying it up at the first bar!

Yes, we brought Ducky, He was out of control. Drinking buckets, ziplining with a naked baby. . . Wow.

Oh, Dave, we miss you so. Rave the Dave is one of the most spirited and hilarious people we have ever encountered. Every minute spent with him was filled with laughter. . . especially when his alter ego "Rave the Dave" comes out. Look out, this Brit is Loco!!!! "Here we fu*king go!!!"

After watching Mika try the trapeze I felt it was time for me to release my inner adventure child and give it a go. It. Was. Awesome. Watch me if you dare. . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSteONiESTk

Brad and James deemed it necessary to show their devotion to their new-found friendship by taking the plunge together!!! Crazy boys. . . tricks are for kids!

I love Ducky and Ducky loves me, especially when I share my bucket with him!

Tube, drink, swing, jump, dance. . . repeat.

Ok, sure.

Sat and I have a great love and respect for one another. . . that's why I am posting this video of her http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UVfZvXkt_0

You really, really must watch it.

James "Monkey Boy" got his nickname because he will climb up anything and jump off. Not just jump. . . flip, twist, dive, whatever. He's a freaking lunatic, but he's an Aussie,. . . what did you expect :) Watch this video and you'll understand. . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDdD6WQlfu4 and another crazy one. . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8qrYe0o66U

Best time in my life!

The Boss, Rave, and Crazy Mofo.

OK, I think I finally reached heaven. Tubing, cocktails, great friends, and what??? What???? A microphone that was handed to us when we got to the bar? I was in pure heaven. Just give me a microphone and I turn into a rock star. Cauz I'm T N T, . . . Dynamite!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_uYn62rw2U

The last video is just a taste. . .watch Sat and I perform "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night" to a live crowd!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flDVpx17Sys

Me and my honey . . . Laughing our arses the entire day!

Pedro "The Boss" and Brad became instant buds and devolped a great friendship over the course of a few days. He is such an amazing guy and we are both so honored to meet him and truly hope that the friendship lasts forever. . . Who are we kidding, we know it will!! We are already planning a trip to England to see all of "The Crew" . . . Look out UK, "Here we fu*king go!!"

We hope you all take the time to watch the videos, we really feel they will enhance your blogging experience!

However, the party soon became an intense reality (I'm not even going to go into detail about me walking upstream, slightly intoxicated, looking for my husband). Everything was fun and games until we realized that we were the only people on the river. It was getting dark and we still had 3 km's (1.86 miles) to float. The river suddenly became silent. The karst formations were quiescent and became super sexy in the twilight. . . However, I thought how are we going to get back?
It was getting darker by the minute. The Boss, Rave, Brad, and I were starting to get concerned. Then all of a sudden. . . it was dark. Like, dark dark. Can't see in front of your face dark. I was scared. The water was cold, I was in an innertube, floating down a river in a foriegn country, and I was instantly. . . SOBER. What the hell are we going to do? Then, out of the mystic darkness, a voice called to us. . ." You guys need to get the hell out of the river!!!. . . We have a boat, come to the boat and we will drive you to the city." We were desperate and were so thankful for the angel that called to us in the darkness. We all piled on to the longtail boat (7 people), and cruised away, only. . . it wasn't that easy.
The water was shallow, we were too heavy, and alas. . . the boat sank. Yup, sank. We all had to get out and bail out all of the water. I mean, it was crazy, but it just added to the ludicracy of the entire situation. Eventually (we sank twice), we made it to our destination. . . kind of. He abruptly stopped in the middle of the river and told us to get out. We had to wade in the river to get ashore. It was icky and mucky and our feet were sinking in the yuckiness (I lost my sandles, sunglasses, and other vaious items throughout the day). It was the best day ever!!!! Hope you enjoyed the ride, I know we did.

Love from the most fun place on Earth, Sambo" Laos Dancer", and Brad " Crazy Mofo"

2010-02-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

Border crossing from Houay Xai, Thailand to Laos. Two day slow boat down the Mekong River to Luang Prabaung, February 17 -21, 2010

We were not happy campers, let me just begin by saying at least that. We heard so many lovely things about Laos and the wonderful Laoation people, like: "No one will try to scam you in Laos, it's not like Thailand", and " The Lao people are so friendly and honest. . . " Blah, blah, freaking blah!!! I truly believe these claims, however, the first 48 hours we spent in Laos were filled with nothing but scams, bullshit, and more scams. Oh, we were very unhappy indeed, and incredibly dissapointed. Let me explain. . .

When we inquired about booking a boat trip to Luang Prabang they warned us that the water was low and a speed boat was just too dangerous. Therefore, the only other option would be to take a "two day slow boat" trip down the Mekong. (Scam 1) Fair enough, that sounded interesting and was surely something we have never done before. They explained that the boat was very safe and would never travel with more than 80 passengers. Sure, sure. . .

After a four hour bus ride our guide took us to the border crossing and immediately to a "my shop". For those of you who don't know what a "my shop" is, it's a place where locals take you to try to scam you, or just plain rip you off in some way or another. He explained to us that we were to travel nine hours on the boat the first day, then stop at a city and stay overnight. Then wake up early and travel twelve more hours on a boat the next day. He told us we were responsible for booking our own accomodation for that night and recommended that we do so through him because the guesthouses fill up quickly. . . "you wouldn't want to be stranded without a place to stay", is what he claimed. Ok, so we booked through him. (Scam 2) He then let us in on a little secret. . . "the locals will try to scam you if you don't have the Laos money (Kip), so I can exchange your money here if you like, so you don't get scammed, of course". We changed over our money with him for a rate so pitifull that I'm not even going to tell you what the exchange rate was (Scam 3). Now I must say in our defense that we usually don't fall for these types of scams but we were exhausted and eager to be on our way. . .

After a ridiculous and severely unorganized three hour ordeal at the border we were finally ready to go. We jumped on the longtail boat, the one that is supposed to have a maximum of 80 passengers, and were in complete and total shock at what we saw. There were at least 200 stinky, sweaty, outraged tourists on this rickety-ass boat. There was nowhere to sit, let alone think about how horribly uncomfortable this ride was going to be.

Immediately a group of about 25 people started complaining to the captain about the deplorable conditoions of the boat, and the safety concerns that we all had. Everyone was shouting in fits of rage and many people started demanding that they take another boat. As this was going on the captain just started the engine and left the dock. "Sit down, we are leaving now" he calmly stated. I guess that was that.

The ride was scary at times (like when we hit rocks or scraped the bottom), but mostly beautiful and very calm. I tried not to go to the bathroom because there was about an inch of pee and poo slosh on the floor, no toilet paper, no sink, and no lock on the door. It was horrific. Luckily I was distacted by the serenity of the Mekong.

We were relaxing and starting to have a really enjoyable time when Brad and I caught a glimpse of a few locals trying to steal stuff out of the bags up front. They saw us watching and froze, but we both saw one of them steal an IPod out of someone travellers bag. We were unable to prove that they took anything and didn't want to cause any trouble, but we continued to watch them like hawks the rest of the journey.

I felt the presense of someone watching me. I looked over and these two lovely children were smiling at me. The little girl got up about six inches from my face and would not stop staring at me. I gave her a bananna. She smiled and then pointed at the seat cushion that I puchased for the ride. I gave her the cushion. She pointed at Brad's cushion. I made him give it to her. She then smiled so sweetly and held out her hand for money. Enough is enough already!!!! She was playing me the whole time!! I tried to give her Kip, but she only wanted US dollars. What the fu*k?

I wasn't about to give her anything else but she kept staring at me, so I gave her another bananna.

As we cruised down the Mekong at a leisurely pace we saw heaps of children playing in the water and waving at us. They are so adorable!

Just a glimpse. . . kinda like "Where's Waldo", only it's "Where's Sam?"

These are the lovely boats that we were to spend oh so many hours aboard. Looks like fun doesn't it?!

So here's where the fun really begins.

We are chugging along the river when the boat comes to an abrupt stop at the river bed. The captain just points at the beach. Everyone on the boat was tired and grumpy and we didn't want to stop when we were only an hour away from our stop for the night. We thought we were taking a break of some sort but then I saw the captains face and the reality of what was happening sank in. We weren't going any further.

Everyone was confused and not really sure of what was happening. The captain explained that the river was too low and the boat could not go any further, so we had to sleep here. What???? On the beach in the middle of nowhere??? In the jungle with snakes and creepy bugs, and who know's what else??? The outrage from the passengers was insane and one Aussie even threatened to light the boat on fire if we didn't get moving. We truly were in the middle of nowhere. They wanted us to sleep on the beach. We had no blankets, pillows, tents, or mosquito nets. We were in a very high risk Malaria area and they want us to sleep outside. . . WTF???!!! (Scam 4)

We quickly realized that this was actually happening and thought that if life gives you lemons. . . you make lemonade!!! But Sabai Sabai. . . so what if they scammed us out of our money for the accomodation. . . we have the Mekong, a few BeerLao, and a bunch of new friends!

Chris, one of those "new friends" offered us some 100% Deet that will rot our skin and hopefuuly ward of the Malaria mosquitos. . . he even offered to carry my bag. . . how sweet.

The whole thing was one giant scam. They knew before we even left that the boat wouldn't be going all the way. . . it hasn't for months. They get you right where they want you: tired, exausted, thirsty, and famished, then they rip you off beyond belief. It just so happened that there were ladies already set up to sell us overpriced food and drinks when the boat docked on the beach. How convienient. They even had the audacity to try to sell us blankets and pillows!!!!! No way was I going to pay for that! We "borrowed" some from them when they weren't looking. Take that scammers!

It was a rough night, I'm not going to lie. We snuck on the boat and slept on the freezing cold floor. Yup. The nasty, disgusting floor. Better than sleeping on the beach where a local man kept trying to sell everyone Opium. He was high on the stuff and really gave us the creeps.

The best part of the story happened at 5:30 am the next morning. We were startled awake by a man screaming "Let's Go!!!" I was thinking let's go where? We were forced to hike about 3km (about 1.5 miles) with our bags, in the sand, uphill, over the beach, and through the jungle. Really. . . Really? When we finally arrived we were greeted by plenty of "my shops" that somehow miraculously appeared overnight to sell us some more overpriced food. Awesome. (Scam 5)

We were just happy to be on our way to Luang Prabang and to get off that freaking beach. We only made one stop that morning to pick up some locals, and when we did one of the guys on our boat jumped off to grab something to eat. . .just for a minute. The boat started to pull away and we kept sreaming that we were leaving someone behind, but the captain left anyway. We left that poor guy behind and he ended up having to hire a speed boat for $50 USD just to catch up with us. This is really starting to become ridiculous people.

Alas, after 13 hours on the boat we reached Luang Prabang. What a delightfully bewitching city! All of the previous days' troubles were quickly washed away with the fisrt BeerLao, and we were ready for the next part of the adventure.

After a great nights sleep (the only accomodation we could find had one twin bed, which we somehow both fit on), we decided to explore the enchanting Wats and temples.

I want to be clear that the entire scam that we experienced was NOT an example of what the people of Laos are like. In fact, they are warm, friendly, honest and kind and we truly enjoyed their company.

Wat Xien Thong was my favorite Wat of the entire trip. While all Wats are unique and special in there own way, this one was just so beautiful. The details of the mosaics on the temples and the variety of Buddhas was incredible.

It is such an amazing feeling to be inside such a spiritual place and both Brad and I pay our respects whenever we enter a Wat.

After a full day of exploration it was time for some delicious food and a BeerLao or two. . .

Ducky is into the spicy food these days. . . just like us! And he could sure use a bath, also, just like us!

We ran into some people that we met on the slow boat and they convinced us that we should go to a local night club with them. . . little did we know that we were about to form "The Crew" that we would travel with for days, and have the time of our lives with. . .

"The Crew" consists of ten spectacular and crazy individuals. Here we have James the Aussie "Monkey Boy" on the left, and Mario "Teetotaller" on the right of Brad

James and I figured we would try our hand at dancing "Laos Style"

Ah, Sat "Cradle robbing kissing bandit minx" and B-rad at the Disco.

Sat is from London and we are already planning a trip to see her. She is so beautiful and we became great friends over the days. . .

James is only a baby. . .he's 20 and I think he was surprised that the "old people" (us) could party with such young bucks!

And then there's "Broom Man" Mika from Germany. What a character he is. Need I tell you he has a broom fetish?

Don't even get me started on "Rave the Dave". There will be plenty of him in the next blog!

We had such a blast in Luang Prabang, thanks to all of our new buds. The best part. . . this was only the beginning! Stay tuned. . . the next blog will blow your socks off!

Love from "slow boat" capital of the world- Sam and Brad

2010-02-23T00:49:00.000-08:00

HUH??? Who is it??

Ayuthaya, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Pai, and Chiang Rai, Thailand February 2- 17, 2010

After all of the Bangkok shenanigans we headed north to the sleepy little town of Ayuthaya to check out the antiquated ruins, sacred temples, and Wats. The ancient capital of Thailand, Ayuthaya used to be a major port and a superior trading powerhouse, but the city was unfortunately completely ransacked by the Burmese army in 1767, leaving only fragments of the once magnificent city.

What was once filled with exquisite palaces overflowing with treasures and brilliant temples celebrating worship, now remains a distant and mysterious memory. Ssshhhhh. . . if you close your eyes and listen closely, you can see the bustling city and hear the chants of the monks whispering within the temple walls. Ayuthaya is spectacular to see, and we were lucky enough to catch the most fantastic ruins at sunset, leaving a mystical feeling to the day.

Ducky even got involved and chatted up a monk just outside the temple walls.

We were so impressed with Ayuthaya, we decided to head north to Sukhothai, another ancient city loaded with historical sites and beautiful gardens. Brad and I have been to Sukhothai before and we both agreed that the best way to experience the ruins is by bicycle. Easy enough right? Guess again. . . When we explained this to our lovely travel companion Munah, she just stared at us with a blank expression on her face. She wearily sighed and said “ Um, guys, I don’t know how to ride a bike.” I replied “ No, Munah, I know you don’t know how to drive a moped, we will be riding bicycles, not scooters. . silly ”. She then went flush and that’s when I realized that she truly didn’t know how to ride a bicycle. Wow. What do you say to that? What else is there to say. . . “ Um. . . Let’s teach you!!!”

First, I would like to explain that Munah is a champ, she did better than anyone could have expected for her first time on a bike since she was six years old. However, there is much more to riding a bike than meets the eye. . . like stopping, and steering, and oh, peddling. She gave it a valiant effort but eventually decided that the best way for her to experience the ruins would be on the back of my bike! Go Team Customer! What a blast that was!

After a few days of “Watting” around who wouldn’t want to chill out and have some dinner at Poo Restaurant? Yummy. I’ll take the Poo covered snake bits please.

Seriously this place was so delicious we ate there twice. Good times. Lot’s o’ Chang Beer, and plenty of Poo to go around! Enough of the ruins, let’s go to Chiang Mai!

Since we all love Thai food so much we agreed that we should take a Thai cooking class so we can impress all of you when we come home. We opted for the full day course in Chiang Mai at a charming little place called “Baan Thai“. “Baan” lierally means "home" in Thai, and that’s exactly how we felt there. . . Right at home!

We received the warmest welcome from these two little boys who were playing in the street. They kept smiling and saying “Sawatdee- Kap!”(Hello), which we happily replied “Sawatdee-Ka” to you!!

Thai cooking isn’t as complicated as it seems, however there are a few special ingredients that are a necessary staple in most of Thai dishes. Of course I’m not going to tell you what they are because that would give away all of the secrets that we paid a pretty penny for. However, I will say that we needed to go to the market to pick out the freshest produce and spices to start the day. No need to worry. . .no “Black Magic”(a.k.a MSG) was used in the making of any of our dishes!

The spice man was my favorite person at the market. How cute is he?

They gave us menus and allowed us to choose 5 meals we would like to learn how to prepare.We all selected different dishes so we could enhance our Thai cooking experience with variety. . . but mostly so we could share the finished dishes!

My little honey the chef! Brad’s “Chiang Mai Noodles” was the winning dish of the day! His dish was by far the favorite.. . so freaking delicious my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Go Brad!

Munah could have had a close second but she decreed that she would like to see what Pad Thai would taste like with a shit ton of shrimp paste in it. Not good. Not good at all Munah. Actually. . .borderline disgusting. But who’s keeping tabs anyway? Hehehe

What a wonderful experience "Baan Thai" was. We truly learned so much and can't wait to have a Thai dinner party as soon as we get home. All of you are invited, just bring some SangSum and youre in!

Random, but totally Pinky's.

You already know that we sometimes fancy a nice cold beer, so it will come as no surprise when I say that we deemed it necessary to show Munah a bit of the nightlife Chiang Mai has to offer. We settled on a Muay Thai fight to start off the festivities. The fighters actually came around after the fight and asked for tips. With mugs like that who could refuse? We were then off to a few “Lady Boy” Bars to challenge the local Lady Boys to Connect Four and Jenga.

Oh how I love me some Jenga! Sorry Brad, but I royally kicked your arse at Jenga, and I will forever remain Jenga Champion at the “Lady Boy” Bars in Thailand. I know it’s not that great of a title, but it’s mine. . . all mine!

Feeling woozy, boozy, and like a bunch of floozies (hehe), we realized that we forgot to eat dinner. . .or did we? Who knows but it was time for a snack. I ordered Pad Thai from a local street cart and the woman promptly jumped on her scooter and drove away. Huh? We assumed that she needed to get some ingredients but that didn’t stop us from using her cart to cook up a lil’ something for ourselves. . . now that we are pro's and all! We added tons of Black Magic and it was delicious! She wasn’t even mad when she came back. Only slightly confused, oops!

Totally random, but totally cute.

Totally random, but totally Scholl.

We spent six lovely days in Chiang Mai. Each day was filled with amazing food, awesome experiences, and plenty of spa treatments. Feeling pampered, cultured, and ultimately relaxed we realized that is was time to brave the imfamous "Road to Pai" with it's "762" curves. . . and get the heck out of dodge.

I get motion sickness. Alot. All the time. It's an annoying problem but usually Dramamine does the trick. Usually. The road to Pai truly does have 762 hair bend turns and everyone on the bus was sick. It was a gruelling four hour crawl through the mountains and when we finally reached Pai the only thing we could say was" Thank God we will never have to do that again!!". . . Little did we know. . . We were soooo wrong.

Pai is about as charming a city that there is. It has a bohemian vibe, lots of hippies, great coffee, plenty to see and do, and our favorite: the women making hammocks. Such intricate detail, such patience. All of the hammocks are hand woven and we were so intrigued to watch them work. . . maybe we even bought a few as gifts. . .who knows??

We rented mopeds and cruised around the area to a local waterfall, a serene canyon, and an old WW2 bridge.It was the day before the Chinese New Year so we headed to a local Chinese village and were were shocked to see the adventures that awaited our wary souls there!

From the distance we could see what faintly resembeled a Ferris Wheel. Upon closer examination we realized that it was actually a Ferris wheel, just not the likes of any we have ever seen. This contraption, I will call it for lack of a better word, was scarier than hell. It's made out of wood, yes wood, man-powered, yes man-powered Ferris Wheel. What is going on???? We just looked to our own personal braveheart Munah and said "You in??" She claimed that she wouldn't miss it for anything. She was all spunky and chivalrous until she got on and the thing was rickety and crickety. The guys were spinning them round and round like a bunch of coffee crazed carnie workers! She screamed, we laughed. She screamed louder, we laughed harder. It was awesome.

Next up was archery. I nailed my target with all of 5 of my shots. . . in the neck, head and genital region. Apparantly, I'm not someone to be messed with.

Sad to leave the entertainment of the Chinese Village, but the canyon awaited us. Wow. Pretty amazing.

Hi, my name is Sam, and I'm a dork.

The fun in Pai really begins after sunset. We met up with a group of other travellers and had a fabulous dinner, exquisite box wine, and tons of laughs.We drank to escape the reality of what awaited us at our guesthouse.

Our guesthouse (we called it slum house), was as about as nasty as they come. We have stayed in the worst of the worst, and this one definitely fits into that category. I will only say these few briefs things about it( I don't want you puking or anything): 1) Lonely Planet needs to get their head out of their arse. 2) There was something that looked like blood or poop all over my blanket in the room.3) Bed bugs, bed bugs, and yes, more bed bugs 4) Mosquitos that seemed to be nesting in the stagant water on my bathroom floor 5) Need I say more?This is a picture of us showing Mr. Jans what we think about his slum house.

Random, but totally puppy.

OK, here is the irony of the story. It's quite circular actually, let me explain. . . . When we arrived in Pai we were so exausted and sick from the heinous drive we just took the first guesthouse we could find. . . no questions asked. When we realized that a grave mistake had been made on our part, we decided that we would drink away our sorrows each night to help us deal with the disgustingness of where we were to sleep. The last night we celebrated the fact that we were leaving the next day to Chiang Rai. "No more creepy guesthouses", we chanted as we drank glass after glass. . . after glass of box wine. The next morning when the alarm went off at 5:45 am, our heads were spinning, yet we couldn't be happier to leave. The bus ride to Chiang Rai can't be that long, it's just over the mountain right???? Right??? When we arrived at the bus stop where we purchased our tickets the man screamed "get on. . . you're late, the bus almost left to Chiang Mai without you!"

"Um, excuse me sir, what did you say? We are going to Chang Rai, just over the mountain, we are certainly not going back to Chiang Mai". He replied in an irratated tone" Mam, bus no go to Chiang Rai from here. All buses go back to Chiang Mai, then you get bus from there to Chiang Rai"

"What!!!!!???? Are you serious???" For the love of God someone please help me. The thought of driving the freaking road with 762 curves, hungover as all hell, made my stomach turn and my eyes fill with tears. "Sir, excuse me. . .are you sure this is the only way to get to Chiang Rai from here?" He just looked at me and said "get on, we're leaving." Team Customer stared at each other with despair and disbelief. Is this is really happening? Yup. It is. It did. I threw up in a bag almost the entire 4 hour drive back to Chiang Mai. Where we then waited for 1 hour for our next 4 hour bus to Chiang Rai. It was horrendous and everytime I think of it I feel bad for those poor souls on the bus who had to smell the booze as we sweated it out whilst puking our brains out the whole way. Sorry people. Really sorry. We eventually made it to Chiang Rai, but our bodies didn't seem to want to do anything but sleep . . .

We only spent a day in Chiang Rai, as it was the last day of the trip for Munah. We visited the White Wat, designed by a Thai artist. It is a work in progress and he hopes to be finished with the 9 structures by 2070. It seems like an eternity but once you step foot inside you understand the magnitude of his project. Simply amazing, and creepy too.

These hands are at the entrance of the first Wat in the complex. They eerily await you . .

Ducky was to scared to enter the creepy Wat so he stayed back and tried to make some tips by singing "Rubber Ducky, you're the one. . . " It didn't seem to work since the Thai Duckies only speak Thai, but Sabai Sabai. . . We are now ready to go to Laos!!!

We would just like to thank Munah for her patience, understanding, and great travel vibe. We had a blast and Team Customer will certainly miss you!!!! Safe travels back home Munah!

Love from the home of the "road with 762 hair pin turns", Team Customer

2010-02-07T04:07:00.000-08:00

Bangkok, Bangkok, and more Bangkok! January 27- February 1, 2010

Buddha has his eye on us. . . Probably a good thing, someone should certainly keep their eye on us! Ahhh, there is nothing like Bangkok. Imagine the hustle and bustle of street vendors, the ever so prominent aromatic combination of pollution, burning rubbish, garlic, sewage, MSG ( aka,"Black magic"), fresh fruit, rotting fruit, and Pad Thai. Sound delicious? Got your mouth watering yet? Sounds crazy, but it's the smells of Thailand that consume you. If you allow your senses to take over, your body will respond with joy. . . Thailand is special. Gross at times, like really. really gross, but special just the same.

Walking by a fruit stand it is almost impossible to deny your body the Vitamin C it craves. . . just make sure that you wash it first! Yeah right, who are we kidding! It is virtually impossible to find anything that even resembles toilet paper here, much less soap! They are pretty much nonexistent in this country. We try not to think about it. . . the Thai's ARE cooking our food!

Fresh coconuts are simply divine, and sooo cheap! If only Whole Foods would stop robbing Americans blind we could actually afford to buy them back home!

You can find anything your heart desires in Thailand, sometimes right on the street. For example, I am a huge fan of Tiger balm, meat cleavers, keys, and who doesn't love a lil' "Touch of Leather?"

Brad is beginning to get suspicious of my sporadic cleaver buying. I promise it's just for my creepy personal collection honey.. . . but how are we going to get them home? Let's sneak them in Munah' bag .. .

Yes, I say. . .

We decided that we should take advantage of the Wats around Bangkok. They are beautiful and incredibly spiritual. . . .this one even promised good luck if you put money in each and every bowl; there were about 40 bowls. We better make sure we don't miss one! We "Watted" around for a few hours and truly felt that if the 100 degree heat didn't kill us the 100% percent humidity surely would. One thing is for certain. . . a cold beer or three always helps you deal with the heat. . . OK, it's time to party. Enough is enough. We have been in Bangkok for three days already and haven't had a proper night out. . . Bangkok style. And by "Bangkok style" I mean. . . well, you'll see.

Every night filled with debachery should always start with the proverbial hearts on a stick, followed by a grilled leg of some sort, only to be washed away by an ambrosial and oh-so- satisfying Leo beer. As Brad and I have been here before and partied our arses off, we had a slight advantage over our poor and imperceptibly innocent friend Munah. Poor poor Munah. . . little did she know. He he he!!!

Anyone care for some veggies? I do! I do! Enough about the food, let's get to the meat of the story. . . no pun intended. He he he!

One glass of white wine. . . 120 Baht. One large Tiger beer. . . 100 baht. People watching on Ko San Road while getting harrassed by Hill Tribe ladies trying to sell you wooden "croaking" frogs. . . Priceless.

There is something special about the Red Bull that you find here in Thailand. I have never tried crack, but if I had to make an educated guess, its' effect would be quite similar to the likes of the Red Bull here. No wonder why there are so many people addicted! Oh Red Bull, how I love thee. Munah struck up a love affair with the Bull , similar to a Harlequin Romance novel. I will spare you the disgusting details but promise you it was PG compared to what was in store for us later that evening.

We are a team, Team Customer that is. . . and we are "all for one, and one for all". Wait, that's something entirely different. . . but who cares about the semantics anyway? Let the games begin! Brad and I decided to have a few cocktails while we waited for Munah. I bought this lovely hat, only to have it blown off my head in the Tuk Tuk a few hours later, but I will get to that soon enough.

Hurray! We are in Thailand and can successfully pass as Canadians. He he he.

This guy tried really hard to rip us off. At first he wanted 1600 Baht (about $40 USD) for one of these crappy umbrellas. . . we finally got him down to 200 Baht ($6 USD) and when we opened it up at the room, it had a huge hole in it! Not to mention that we saw them at the market the next day for $1. He then had the nerve to try to sell us more the next night! Crazy man.

We were starving and this guy, his name is Tree, offered to walk us to a Mexican restaurant. Yummy! One tequila, two tequila, three tequila. . . Ping Pong show.

We hopped in a Tuk Tuk and headed off the Patpong Red Light District. If you ever find yourself in Bangkok, the Red Light District is a must see. Not because it is amazing, or historical, or even remotely sanitary, but because where else in the world can you have a woman shoot a dart out of her woo woo and hit you in the chest (Brad), or attempt to hit a ping pong ball that has just been shot at you in the same way as the dart (Sam). Or be told that you have to pay for all the "Lady Drinks" that the sex show performers ordered, a total of 6,000 Baht.(Munah). We refused to pay the money and ran out of that cesspool of a place, but not before we caught a glimpse of a lady smoking a cigarette out of her. . . well, you get the idea. We loved every minute of it. . . even when our Tuk Tuk driver did a wheelie and my hat flew right off my head! We were all screamimg and holding on for dear life. . . but it was a freaking blast!

Here are just a few of the bars on this crazy street.

Um, what? I'm scared.

What would a night out on the town be without fried grasshoppers? No, I didn't eat one. . . but Munah sure decided to indulge!

If you've been to Thailand, then you fully understand the significane of the frog. If you have never been, you will just have to come and find out for yourself! We named him Ralph, and him and Ducky became instant friends. Ralph even took Ducky to a Muay Thai fight!

Real Muay Thai fight, Bangkok.

After the fight Ducky was so riled up that he challenged an eagle and a snake to a battle. Ducky made it out with only a few minor abrasions; one from a talon to the head, and the other from a fang to the wing. They all went out for beers after and had a grand ol' time.

Bangkok is truly a unique experience. We always have such an amazing time here, but it's now time to check out some of the Wats and ancient ruins. . .

Love, from the "tuk tuk wheelie poppin'" capital of the world- The Savvy Nomad Family

2010-01-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

Surin and Similan Islands, Phuket, Ko Lanta, Railay Beach, and a small portion of Bangkok

January 15- February 2, 2010

"An empty day, though clear and bright,

Is just as dark as any night"

Taken from “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank

Wow, I honestly don’t know where to begin. . . To those avid followers I deeply apologize for the delay in writing, but I have been so busy it has been difficult for me to escape the happenings of travel life and be able to retreat inside myself for even a brief moment, not to mention attempt to write something worthy of your attentive and devoted appreciation. That being said I promise I will not try to bore you with mundane daily accounts of things such as “ we did this, then we did that,” but instead aim to entertain you as best as I can while providing you with as many details of the past few weeks as long as my jostled memory decides to cooperate. However, I will warn you, this journey has been a whirlwind of action, adventure, excitement, boozing, and a seemingly endless array of insane situations. . .

I use the word journey because that is exactly what we are on.. . a journey via a meandering road called life. This is not a vacation, although it may seem like that to others, nor is it merely a trip. This journey we are on is one of intellectual, spiritual and physical significance. As we navigate this capacious world to explore ancient ruins, experience local cultures and fantasic new foods, study intriguing histories, and visit remote cities and exotic places, our senses are heightened and our knowledge expanded. It would be contrite of us to ignore the fact that we are learning so much about humanity, but more importantly about ourselves as we trek around the globe. We are constantly on the move and genuinely seek experiences that will enlighten our meager minds.

Travel does for the spirit what food does for the body. It nourishes your soul and gives you the energy to grow and further develop your inner being. This is why we travel. We are hungry, so to speak. Hungry to grow, learn, share, and live. To us, travel is the single most important piece of education one can ever experience; travel contains many of the worlds best kept secrets and allows ones' imagination, creativity, fears, and goals to be challenged, explored, and even materialized. It truly makes us appreciate the important things in life, such as: the realization that most humans are inherently good, the captivity of the twinkle in a child's eye, the genuine smiles from strangers, the hospitality from people that have next to nothing, the beauty in nature, and the realization of the importance of family, friends, and peace. Sorry about the rant. . . I promised I wouldn't bore you. . . now let's get you all caught up. . .

As I am sure you could guess, Brad and I have found that we are both passionate about SCUBA diving, thus we have taken every opportunity to take advantage of all of the incredible diving that has been available to us whilst on this trip. Yes, the Great Barrier reef was amazing, and I know that I raved on and on about it, but, well, all I'm going to say is that the three day liveaboard dive trip to the Surin and Similian Islands was the best diving we have ever experienced. Yes, even more spectacular that the GBR. . . if you can believe that. Just an example of what we saw on our first day of diving: 4 Manta Rays, pods of whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles, barracudas, lionfish, scorpion fish, and countless other surreal sea creatures. . . and this was only day one. We also did our first proper night dive. It was so creepy that I will spare you the details, but. . wow, awesome. In the beginning of this blog I spoke of us growing as people and learning new things. Well, I must admit that I had my first underwater current experience. Up until then diving was always so easy and uncomplicated. You jump in, descend down, look at all of the pretty fish, come up to the surface, grab a cold one, then blab about what you saw to everyone else. That was how I thought it would always be. I was soooo wrong. Let me explain. . .

Our divemaster asked if we had any experience diving with a current. We replied "not really", how difficult could it be? He claimed that there might, I stress the term

might be some underwater current and we needed to be prepared if the current swept us away from the group. What?? What??What the heck did he mean"swept us away?" He said it was unlikely but possible that the current is so strong that the group get's out of control and the current will literally take us away so fast we won't know what was going on. He claimed that in the event that this happens and you find yourself lost and out of control, you should 1.) surface 2.) inflate your emergency bag, and 3.) wait for the boat to find you. I am pretty sure at this point I threw up in my mouth. Holy shit, is that really possible?

Oh yes, my friends, it is more than possible. . . it became my living nightmare. . . actually my reliving, and reliving nightmare as I can't seem to get that hellish underwater experience out of my subconcious mind.

I will offer you a brief glimpse into our dive that beautiful sunny morning in the Surin Islands.
We descended to about 30 meters (100 feet). There was a slight current, but nothing too difficult (I am a strong swimmer, so I found it a fun challenge). We enter a few caves, swim out and over a large boulder and then. . . WHAM!!! I'm unsure of what is going on, but truly scared for my life. I have never felt so out of control before. The current was there. It was fast and hard.Is this really happening? All I could think about was that I was underwater and terrified to get lost from the group. I was swimming as hard as I could, but not moving, then I got swept into a rock. I looked to Brad for reassurance. He was holding on to a another boulder for dear life and pointed that I do the same. I was able to catch my breath for a moment when a member of our group flew by me so fast that when I blinked he was gone. Oh my God!!!!!! I was hyperventalating into my regulator and was sure that I would use all of my air. Our divemaster must have realized the panic on all of our faces and signed for an emergency surface. She took us up immediatly so we could find our missing diver. Thank goodness he was at the surface, but his look was priceless. Scared to death.
Both Brad and I, incapable of speaking, just stared at eachother in complete amazement of the events that had just momentarily transpired. That was all we needed to do. He got it. I got it. Diving wasn't as easy as we thought. But worth it. . . I promise. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!!!

The rest of the dive trip was superb. The food was exemplary, the staff was gracious, witty, and generous. The scenery was sensational and as we drifted along the Andaman Sea I could only think of how blessed and lucky we were to be able to experience this amazing world. We mentioned that we were going sober right? We are so proud of ourselves. . . we made it 21 days without a sip of alcohol. Honestly. It was easier than we thought, but after our brush with death(he he he), we decided what better way to fall off the wagon then on a beautiful yaht in the middle of the sea?

So, cheers to us. . . 21 days sober, and more than ready to make sure it doesn't become 22 days. LOL This was our first drink~!! I make it out to sound like we are a couple of alcholics. We aren't, we promise, it's just difficult when you are travelling to all of these lovely places. It's not like we have jobs or anything to worry about. . .

After our dive trip we decided to explore the special and memorable city of Ko Lak. Ko Lak was one of the many beach towns that were greatly affected by the Tsunami on Decemer 26, 2005. This police boat #813 was left here as a reminder to everyone of all of the ghastly tragedies that the Tsumani left in it's wake.This Police Boat #813 was stationed one nautical mile off the coast of Ko Lak when the Tsunami hit. It now sits two kilometers inland on a hill, exactly where the Tsunami deposited it. Crazy huh? It's so difficult to even wrap my mind around the idea of this. . .

It was time to leave Ko Lak. . . We had someone special waiting for us back in Phuket.

Hello Munah!!!!! OK, brief history about Munah. . .

Brad and I worked with Munah at Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas. She is awesome and mentioned to me a few times that she loves to travel too. So, when we got to Thailand we emailed her an invitaion to join us for a few weeks. . . guess what. . . she said yes!!!

AND THEN THERE WERE THREE.. .

Let the adventure begin. We were immediatly elated to have a friend join us, especially since she is half Malaysian and all of the locals kept asking her "You Thai people??" It was hilarious at first, but then we just tried to use it to our advantage. I would reply "Yes, she Thai people, you give us Thai people discount please!" It rarely worked, but our absolute favorite line came from a man who ran a guesthouse. He looked right at Munah and said" You Thai people. . . or you customer?" Ha ha ha. We were roaring with laughter and immediately decided to name our travelling threesome "Team Customer". You won't even believe all of the hysterical signs we see. . . i.e."fried friends. . . ", but this menu caught our eyes and we seriously could not stop laughing to save our lives.

Munah actually orded this dish. I swear. It was ridiculous. If the restaurant didn't smell so bad like sewer and rotting meat I would have ordered it to. She's a brave one, that Munah.Along with crazy menu concoctions you can always count on the insanity of Thai tuk tuk drivers. They are obscene, dangerous and utterly deranged. . . to say the least. These guys were seriously praying for their lives. We're just stoked that we were able to get a photo of them!

We rented moter bikes and tooled around the island of Ko Lanta. It was an experience in itself, but definitely deserved a few moments of relaxation.

Crickety bridge, don't fail me now!!!

How awesome is this sea hammock? Bananna shake anyone?

I tried to explain to Munah that just because she "look like Thai people" doesn't mean she knows how to fight Muay Thai style. The battle went 8 rounds and the winner will forever be kept a secret. . . unless you want to try the hooker* *A Thai bar game where you try to throw a ring around a hook. Try the hooker eh? Clever.

This guy was the best at the try the hooker game. He must have cheated, or. . . he has tried many hookers in his day. I Kid. I Kid. We were having fun times on the beach (don't worry, no mushroom shakes here. . .), but decided to change our atmosphere a bit. Ko Lanta was slightly tame for our liking. Off to Railay beach!

Precious Thai child waits for her father to get home from work.

At last, we made it to the famous Railay Beach!!!! The rock climbing capital of the world! This is our second time to this magical island, but we promised ourselves that we wouldn't leave this time without facing our fears and trying to rock climb. Munah is terrified of heights but we somehow convinced her that if she didn't at least attempt to climb she would regret it forever (also we would rub it in her face for weeks, perhaps years to come). It was one of the most spectacular and challenging things I have ever accomplished and the feeling of success combined with pure adrenaline is overwhelming. Sensory overload! We all conquered our fears, tried something new, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. . . .even though our arms and legs were putty for days after! This photo is of Brad climbing his way up Diamond Cave Rock, Railay Beach

Go Brad!!!!!

I sure got a workout, but I think we both found a new hobby. We absolutely loved it and intend on climbing in Vegas as soon as we get home! Red Rock Canyon is world renown for climbing and just footsteps from our back door. . . Who knew we would be so lucky!

Even Ducky took his chance at climbing!!!

Ducky loved it and fell in love with his Thai Ducky instructor. . . of course he did.
Simply said, we are having a killer time and we are more than delighted to be able to share these experiences with Munah. She has brought a fresh new energy and spirit with her and we are all getting along famously. . . so far. he he he! We love the fact that she will eat anything, and I mean anything ( i.e., hearts on a stick, bugs, to include but not limited to: grasshoppers, ants, worms, spiders. . . , fermented pork, soup with eyeballs and such, and all other kinds of horrifying animal and fish parts!) She will order the craziest thing on the menu, even if she has no idea what it is. It's so much fun and we are loving every minute of it, as I am still a boring vegetarian who practically eats the same Pat Thai day in and day out. . . Go Team Customer!!!

Here are a few photos that seem to have made the cut. The next blog will be very soon! Enjoy!
I'll take this boat. Oh, wait, you mean you want me to do what? Walk out into knee deep water with all of my bags, then try to get into the flimsy longtail boat. OK, sure thing!

Interesting concept, yet at the same time quite disgusting. Let me see if I got this right. . . you want me to put my feet into that disgusting water that 100's of other people have put their filthy feet into, only to have starving fish eat my dead skin. And you want me to pay for this? We opted to pass on this one!

Ko San Road, Bangkok. This street is this busy 24 hours a day. When we arrived at 6 am the place was packed with partiers, lady boys, hookers, and street vendors. . . sounds like a party to me!

Please don't touch the booby. . . unless of course you want to pay 200 Baht.

If she's eating it. . . it must be good! Worms for everyone!

Red Bull gives you wiinnngggss!!!

Kentucky who? I think the Colonel is being given a run for his money!

Nothing but us, the pristine sand, crystal clear water, sexy sunset. . . and oh, well the jellies. They were more than happy to join the party. Ouch! Stop stinging me you little bas*@rds!!

Ssshhhh. Let's be sneaky. They don't need to know that we have our own concept of "bottle service"

Or "bucket service". . .

Or "flask service". . .

Team customer! That is all of us with our guide IF. He has a secret crush on Munah. No one had the heart to tell him "she not Thai People".

A three man kayak. . . no problem for Team Customer!

What a lovely shrine. . . look a little closer. . .

Thai Iced Tea, my amazing husband, and Thailand. . . Wow. . . awesome.

These ladies giggled like Geisha's at everything we said. Maybe they just thought I was another silly looking, over-fed American, or maybe they just liked us?

Elephant baby. . . Can I take you home with me?

Bamboo Party!

I realize that this guy looks creepy. . . let me explain. His name is Lipper and we met him last time we were in Thailand. He is a very enlightened man and even though he still has a swollen lip from three years ago, he is not bitter.( Brad hit him in the face with a stick. . . on accident of course. Plus, like I said. . . it was three years ago!) It is, however, odd that he hasn't moved from this spot in three years. Oh, Lipper. . . where's Marcus and Schinood when you need them?

Alas, I bid you farewell for a brief moment in time. Bangkok was so intense that we feel it is necessary to allow some private space for the Bangkok blog. We wouldn't want it thinking we were stealing it's thunder. . . how could we when Ping Pong shows are involved? I guess you will just have to stay tuned to find out all about it!

Love and Chok Dee from the land of hearts on sticks, Team Customer!

2010-01-15T19:16:00.000-08:00

Thailand. . . at last.
Phuket and Ko Phi Phi January 6-16

Sa-wat-dee!!!

We can't even begin to explain how elated we are to be back in our favorite country ( ok, second best, next to home of course. . . ). Thailand is full of rich culture, exotic foods, friendly locals, outstanding beaches, ancient ruins, cheeky monkeys, ping pong shows (ewww), lady boys, connect four and so much more, but we should save some things for later. . . as we will be her for another month or so, what ever tickles our fancy.

It's funny how a little thing like crossing world time zones can completely screw up your day. We were thoroughly relaxed as we headed for the airport in Brisbane, Austrailia because we thought our flight to Thailand was only 6 hours, not so bad. Stage left, enter time change factor. That cozy 6 hour flight suddenly turned into 9 hours, plus a 3 hour layover in Singapore, and then at last another 3 hour flight to Phuket. How did we not see this one coming???? He he he. No worries though, once we arrived in Phuket. . . . Sabai Sabai.

We decided that since our first trip to Phuket was, well, let's say undesireable at best ( ie, Stevo getting robbed by a motorcycle bandit, Brad and I searching for him for 8 hours on mopeds, and us finally filling out a missing persons report to the Thai Police. . . don't worry, we got him back. But then Phuket seemed to lose some of it's luster for us. . However, it was kind of ironic that we were staying at resort called Goldigger's, don't you think?) We figured, what better way to get over that tragic day then to return to the scene of the crime and start fresh. We even stayed at Golddigger's Resort again!!! How silly are we? Goldigger's is located at Nai Yang beach, which is our favorite beach in Phuket. This charming beach town is overflowing with character and an abundance of massage parlors, quaint little restaurants on the beach, and sweet and genuine local Thai's. No wonder why we came back; we missed that special sparkle of Nai Yang.

Travelling takes a lot out of you. We candy-coat the blog at times, but planning everyday and constantly being on the move is exhausting. Be certain that we are not complaining, for it's that constant stimulation that we are both so entirely addicted to, but we needed a break. When we finally got to Thailand we posted up shop for week at our favorite little spot and just chilled. Eat, massage, swim, read, massage, eat, sleep, wake up and do it all again. Notice how drink wasn't included in that last part??? We decided that we had enough drinking for awhile. We haven't had a sip of booze since New Years Eve. . . a resolution of sorts. How long will it last you say? We'll see my friends, we'll see. After a week of relaxation it was time to set sail to the islands of Ko Phi Phi Don and Ko Phi Phi Leh.

Ko Phi Phi is what dreams are made of, especially if your dreams include Leodando DiCaprio. I'm a married woman, so of course mine do not. . . he he he ha ha ha. The infamous movie "The Beach" starring Leo was filmed on Phi Phi Leh, and has become a type of mecca for travellers ever since. We found Phi Phi disgustingly overcrowded but it is obvious why. Everyone wants to take in the beauty of the jaw dropping limestone cliffs, turqouise water and prisitne beaches, we sure know we did!! The snorkelling here was top notch, actually some of the best and most diverse that we have ever experienced, seriously. We took a day trip aboard longtail boat (no Shannon, not a Schooner, he he) around all of the surrounding islands. They served us breafast and lunch, took us to 7 unique snorkel spots and beaches, and finished the trip at shark point for sunset where we snorkelled with about 10-15 black tip reef sharks. It was invigorating and slightly frightening at the same time (I was constantly thinking about that part in the damn movie "The Beach" where the guy that got his leg bitten off by a shark!)

The Thai people have an amazing sense of humor. They are silly and fun and we love hanging out with them!

Just my attempt at trick photography, Brad is the true photographer.

See what I mean? Long Beach at Ko Phi Phi.

Just to give you and idea. . . 200 baht = 6 US dollars. And yes, that is for 1 hour. And yes, they are the best massages on earth. And yes, they are highly addictive.

This is our little friend Fee Fee. He likes you.

Patong beach. Care for any dried squid or anchovies? Yeah, us either.

Maya Beach, Phi Phi Leh

Phi Phi Don at sunset. Look at those. . . um cliffs.

Longtail boats quitely resting ashore before the next wave of tourists clammer in.

Serenity on the Andaman Sea.

We give this guy serious props! It was at least 95 degrees and that must be at least 2,000 pounds of concrete. Can someone please get this guy a cold Singha, Leo, Tiger, or Chang??

Who are those weird people trying to get into our photo. Creepy tourists.

Happiness surrounds me.

Even Ducky was just maxin' and relaxin' in Thailand. . . he's on the wagon too.

Love from the sexiest little beaches ever, The Savvy Nomad Family

P.S. Where are truly curious as to how many people are reading our blog. The only way for us to know who reads it is for you lovely people to leave us comments, so we are asking you guys a huge favor. . . If everyone who reads this would please leave us a comment on this blog post we would soooo appreciate it!! We don't expect you to write anymore comments, just this one please, so we can get an idea who is reading our blog. It's super easy. Just click on the comment button below, and leave us a comment with your name included. Thank you sooo much! We love all of you dearly and will be back in the States sometime in mid March.

2010-01-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

Cairns, Port Douglas (Great Barrier Reef), and Brisbane

January 2-6, 2010

It is almost impossible to describe the feeling you get when one of your lifelong dreams comes true. Brad and I both shared the same dream: to see the Great Barrier Reef. It is certainly not an original dream, I'm sure of that. How many children are dumbfounded when they watch that first National Geographic video about the Great Barrier Reef? The allure of tropical fish, florescent corals, sharks, sea horses, and an array of weird and indescribable underwater life that fascinates even the toughest of cynics. .. that is The Great Barrier Reef. We never guessed that we would be lucky enough to do nine dives in the most spectacular seascape on Earth. Actually, it felt like we were aliens, intruding for a moment into the lives of some foreign beings . . . were we in heaven?

Our Boat, The Calypso

There is a time to pinch your funds, then there is the time when you are about to fulfill one of your childhood dreams. . . no penny pinching here. We did it in style. In order to get the best out of the GBR, you have to set sail to the outer reef, that is where all of the insanely ridiculously awesome marine life call home. In order to do that, you have to fork over some serious dough, no worries here! It was worth every penny, and then some!!!

We decided to try our hand at underwater photography. . . let me warn you, these pictures are absoultely NO justification of what we saw. We were just us having fun, and trying to figure out how to SCUBA Dive while taking pictures and absorbing your surroundings. It was tough, but these pics are fun : )

We know that we are always saying things like "it was the most amazing thing we have ever done", and blah blah, blah, but this takes the cake. We are already planning our next trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Next time we will save up as much money as possible, then blow it on as many dives as we can. . . it was so truly out of ths world.

Maybe it was the fact that I was with the man of my dreams, maybe it was the fact that I was sailing in the Great Barrier Reef, maybe it was the diving in the best dive spot on Earth, maybe it was all of the Nitrogen that was getting to my brain from all of the dives( oh, yes, for all of you non-divers, there is a little perk that comes with diving sometimes. . . let's just say you feel quite euphoric, kinda like when you visit the dentist and he gives you Nitros Oxide. . . he he he), or maybe it was just the fact that I couldn't be happier in my life, I don't know, but all of it seemed to make me cry. . . tears of joy of course.

I will just leave you all with that. Enjoy the photos. . .and remember, compare the photos to a pre-schoolers' drawing, they by no means create an acurate picture of reality, but it sure was a blast trying!!!

OK, OK, so some of the pics were taken by our divemaster, she just wanted to help us out. . . This is a Cuddlefish. they change colors right before your eyes. So super cool! We named him "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".

Just a baby White Tip Reef Shark Mom. They are harmless!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Hi, my name is Nemo, and I live in an anenome.

Lion Fish, Lion Fish, Lion Fish, how graceful you are.

My husband the underwater model. . . who knew?

Spotted Blue Lagoon Stingray. . . bizarre. If you watch him too long he puts you in a trance and turns you into a Cuddlefish!

Just Because. . .

Oh, we forgot to tell you. . . North Queensland, exactly where we were staying, is said to be the most dangerous place on Earth. We won't get into grimy details about all of the poisonous spiders, snakes, jellies, crocs, and other critters. . . Were just happy to get out of there alive! he he he

I mean, who knew. . . saltwater crocs, really? Creepy!

After three glorious days at the GBR, it was time to say goodbye to all of our sea friends. Boo Hoo :(

Off to Brisbane for the final leg of our Australian journey. Brad was lonely, he missed Nemo, so he sparked up a brief frienship with this robotic -roo. So special that Brad.

So much talk about us, you are probably wondering all about Ducky!!!! How rude of us. . .

Ducky is not SCUBA Certified, so he had to kick back on the beach with Russell for a few days. When we got back we saw that he had become quite close to some local females. Leave it to Ducky. . .

We are off to Thailand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Russell packed up his gear and is ready to take us all the way there! What a great pilot he is, that Russell. G'day mates!! See you on the other side! Love from the most dangerous place on Earth, Sammy, B, Ducky, Russell, Nemo, Robotic-Roo, and Joseph. . .

2010-01-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

Baby Joey the Kangaroo says HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!
Byron Bay, Gold Coast, Airlie beach and the Whitsundays!!!! December 27, 2009- January 1, 2010!!
Happy New Year to all of you! We sincerely hope that everyone had as an amazing New Year's Eve as we did! It was awesome, but it took just a few gruelling bus hours to get to Airlie Beach where we rang in the New Year with sweat, sweat, and more sweat. . .

After spending Christmas at Byron Bay, were ready to head to the world Famous Gold Coast and the Whitsunday Islands. . .Tough life, we know. The catch? A 22 hour Greyhound bus ride. Woo Hoo. We were dreading it so much because we barely made it through the last bus ride alive. . . and it was only 12 hours. How on earth were we going to keep this interesting and palatable ( I only use that word because I get so car sick life is absolute hell for me on these bus rides. No more pukies pleeeeaaaasssee??) Brad decided that we should play a game. He said" Let's take a photo each hour and hold up our fingers to show how many hours it has been". Sounds easy enough, right?

The above photo was taken a mere four hours into the seemingly impossible journey.

The first few hours were all fun and games. Silly photos, lots of laughs, and definitely some interesting activities (we actually made a crossword puzzle for all of you guys! Look for it on the blog soon!). Then after the reality set in that we were going to run out of fingers before this nauseabus terminated, the depression started to sink in and Brad's wonderful idea just made me pissed off. How do you say "over it" in Australian? Not a G'day mate!!!!! he he he

No one, and I mean NO ONE would like to be woken up just after they were able to finally fall asleep after 15 hours, just to hold up a notebook for a stupid photo. I will get you for that one honey. Look how sleepy I look. He just kept writing the numbers on that damn notebook and waking me every hour. Funny Huh? Yeah, I'll show you funny.

After this indeterminate, infinite, interminable, limitless, measureless, monotonous, multitudinous journey finally came to a halt, he begged for just one more photo. The dreaded 22nd hour.

Let's just say that one is not "blog worthy". There are kids reading this blog too.

Ahhhhh paradise, well almost. Let us explain. The beauty of the Whitsunday Islands is rare. These islands are often considered to have some of the most exquisite beaches in the world, and we would have to agree. However, let's just imagine taking a child to a candy store and not allowing them to have any candy. Torture right? That was what the WhitSunday's seem to be for us at first.. . Torture.

At first glance you believe you have entered paradise, yet you are not allowed to even touch the water. Has anyone ever heard of Irukandji jellyfish?? For those who haven't, here is an idea: they are the most deadly of all jellyfish in the world, live in the waters of Northern Australia, are the size of a thumbnail, and oh, yes, invisible. Did we mention that one sting will kill you? OK, so what happens next? We are introduced to the lovely "Stinger Suit". This suit covers every inch of your body, and if you want to go swimming you have to wear it. Fun fun fun. After we got over the idea of being fully covered while we take a dip, we realized that if you can't beat em, join em! So stinger suits it is!!! We decided that the very best way to experience the 74 pristine Whitsunday islands is by boat, so we booked a 3 day cruise around the islands. Yeah baby!

The boat was loaded with travellers from all over the world (we were the only Americans. . . Woo Hoo!), and we were so elated, as this was our first live-aboard boat experience. The 97 foot Schooner is called New Horizon, and it caters to those yearning for a unique and upbeat sailing expedition. There aren't many rules. . . you were even allowed to bring your own alcohol! However, no glass was allowed, so people were showing up with what everyone calls "Goon". Back home we call it "box wine", only box wine doesn't quite affect your brain like Goon does. Just have a look at Brad after only 2 glasses of this shit.

I told him I would get him back. . .

We sailed around many islands, including Hamilton Island. I don't know how many of you know this, but I sent in a video application to audition to be the so-called "care taker" of Hamilton Island, what CNN called the "Best Job In the World". There were millions of applicants, obviously I didn't get the job, but it was fascinating to actually be there! Whitehaven Beach is nothing short of spectacular. We were unable to bring a camera to this beach, so we borrowed this photo to give you and idea of how perfect this beach is. Pretty stunning huh?

We relaxed, swam, read, snorkelled, went scuba diving, ate fabulous meals, drank, and danced on this marvelous vessel. We met so many new friends and can't wait to visit them all over the world!

Reading after a mid afternoon dive. Life is great!

Spending time with each other. . . our favorite pastime.

Sunset over WhiteSunday Island

Just when we thought it couldn't get anymore epic. A full rainbow to welcome us into the evening.

Fancy an early morning dive??? WE DO!!!! We saw so much life under the sea, but some of our favorites from this dive include a few whitetip reef sharks ( don't worry, they are harmless. . . unless provoked!!), massive sea turtles, and the adrenaline charged swimming through sea caves. Can we get a Hell Yeah??!!

That's me cannonballing our two German buddies! Look out below!

After three glorious days on the boat we made it back to Airlie Beach safe and sound. . .with the worst case of sea legs you have ever seen. Actually, at times we both still feel that telltale sway of the Schooner. It was New Years Eve, and who else to party with but our new found buds??

We did our best to clean up, but living out of a backpack limits your abilty to become completely "fresh". Rubin, you've been there. You know what I mean. Everything just starts to get that musty, wet, stagnant smell, that reminds you of that childhood friends' house that you never wanted to have a sleepover. Well, at least we were all in the same boat . . .he he he. We met up with Bleppi and Mo (Germany), Sophie and Laura (Belgium), and Lioiic ( France), I called Lioiic Sparrow, for Jack Sparrow 'cause he looked like a pirate to me. Actually, at first I called him Frenchy he got pissed off, and in his cute little French accent claimed "why does everybody call me Frenchy? Can't you get anymore creative?" Ok, Sparrow it is!!! He named me "California Dreaming". I'm not sure how creative that one is, but I'll take it, at least he didn't call me Sambo.

Mo, Laura, and Sophie at the beginning of the night, before we were all sweating to death! It was 95 degrees, 100 % humidity, and the jampacked bar had no AC, but who needs AC when you are having the best time ever??!! Stinky McStinkerson and the Stink hounds!

Bleppi need to step ouside for some fresh air and what he got was Mo pouring an entire rum and coke on his head to cool him off. I have never seen Brad laugh so hard in my life. It was genius. Geat job Mo! At least Bleppi was a good sport about it. . .

California Dreaming and Sparrow! Woo Hoo!

As the night progressed, we got sweatier. . .

and sweatier. . . (nice hair by the way)

and sweatier. . . Champagne toast anyone?

Alas, we rang in the New Year to the DJ playing the newest Black Eyed Peas anthem, "Tonight's Gonna to be a Good Night". We shed a few tears because we really miss you guys! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and wishing you the very best in 2010!!!!

Ducky was just a tad upset that we locked him in the hostel for New Years Eve, but he was more than overjoyed when we took him to the Lagoon on New Years Day to meet our new friends, and introduce him to "Whalecome to Australia", Bleppi and Mo's pet killer whale. Can you believe that these guys actually travel around with him? Crazy Germans.

Love from the home of stinger suits,endless bus rides, Irukandji's, kangaroo burgers, Goon, and a killer whale named "Whalecome to Austalia" !!!

-California Dreaming, B-rad G

and Ducky!

2009-12-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

HO HO HO!!!!!!!!!!
Merry Christmas and all that jazz!!
This is just a quick shot-out to all of our amazing family, friends, and avid blog followers. We love each and every one of you and can't thank you enough for your support and love. It can be super tough travelling at times and it always perks up our day when we think of you guys! We hope that all of you snowmen and snowwomen had a spectacular Christmas, even though there are a few of you (you know who you are), that should be getting coal in their stockings. he he he

We spent an incredibly awkward Christmas on the beach in Byron Bay, Australia. There was no snow, no snowmen, no Santa, Rudolph, or stockings. We had no presents to open, no egg frickin nogg, no mistletoe kisses, no family(other than Ducky and us), no cranberry sauce, no Christmas tree, no creepy little elves, or Christmas decorations. However, what we got instead was quite dreadful actually. . . (we make it sound bad, but the bad parts always seem so much more interesting than the candy coated shit, right?)

We arrived at our absolutely disgusting backpacker hostel and wanted to cry, literally. Due to high season, and an overabundance of greasy, grimy, smelly, backpackers (we are no longer in the "backpacker" category, please refer to us only as Savvy Nomads), we had no other option but to stay in this hellhole disguised as a hostel. My Lord people. . . REALLY. REALLY??

It was a full on marsh, equipped with pond scum and all. It was difficult to distinguish between the actual pond scum and the people staying there. Unbelievable. It was like visting the elephant exhibit at the zoo. Yuck!!! The refridgerators were so overflowing with nasty food that they started to leak and raw chicken, YES!, raw chicken juice was dripping on the floor, paired with rotten milk, melted butter, rotting fruit, and an array of other types of truly disgusting shit, that were to difficult to decipher. There was no cutlery to be found and the can opener had black mold all over it!!!!! Everything was closed so we were forced to use this kitchen to cook in!!!!

We are still recovering from it. Think of a happy place. Think of a happy place. . .

As gnarly as it seems, we somehow managed to pull it off and have a quite delightful Christmas dinner. Sure, sure. . . Truth be told, our biggest issue was not with our hostel, but with the dissapearance of Ducky!!!

He left us on Christamas Eve and decided to go party with some people he met on the beach. We were livid and told him that he must stay at home with us. . . Enough is enough already!. . . But, Ducks will be Ducks and he went out anyway! Bad Ducky!

He had no idea that we had already planned a Christmas intervention with Russell the Ohana Bear. Russell was ready to intervene, but Ducky was nowhere in sight!

Brad went looking for Ducky and ran into this restaurant owner in China Town.

"Oh No" he exclaimed! I saw that ducky and thought he would make an excellent Peking Duck Salad, so. . . I kidnapped him and tried to serve him to my guests, but he ran away! "So Sorry my friend!"

Brad decided to let Ducky have his space, and we hoped that he would be OK. . .

Alas, Ducky made it home safely on Christmas morning, but we wanted to hear the story from him. . . so here is Ducky's Xmas adventure, told by Ducky Himself. . .

Hi friends, Ducky here! Quack Quack.

I'm sick and tired of Sam and Brad making me out to be an alcoholic. I'm just having fun while travelling, isn't that what Duckies do? Do you think Donald was sober all of the time? Sam and Brad told me not to go out on Xmas eve, but I knew that there was tons of fun to be had, and besides, that hostel was freaking nasty. I thought I was going to get Salmonella just being there! So I packed up all of my important party items: cell phone, notebook and pen (for late night booty calls), lighter and smokes, and my cool shades! Plus I took a fifty-spot from Brad's wallet. Thanks B-Rad. Now I was ready to PARTY!!!

On the way out of the swamp hole (aka Hostel), I ran into this bloke named Rastaguana. He seemed cool enough and offered me an Xmas toke. Why not, I mean it was Xmas. . . After we sparked up a fattie, had a few laughs, and we were lit up like a couple of christmas trees (no pun intended), I asked him for directions to the beach. I'm not sure exactly what he was trying to say, his thick Iguanan accent was certainly confusing, but I sure hope it wasn't his intention to send me to China Town. Beacause they sure do love their Duck there!

As I stumbled down the street I noticed this cardboard looking man lurking after me and creepily whispering "here ducky ducky ducky. . ."

Next thing I knew I was stuffed beak first into a brown paper bag and immediatley felt my oh so high world crashing in on me. What have I got myself into????

SAM!! BRAD!!! HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Think fast think fast. Good luck I've been travelling around with two Savvy Nomads who happen to know a thing or two about these such situations. I though to myself what would Brad do?

Play Dead! So, I was lying there playing dead and the chef cried "Dat Duck had heart attack! Let jut put him in salad and charge people double cause he made outta rubba!! You know how hard it is to get raw rubba in Ausatralia, what a delicacy!"

He looked away for an instant and I made my move. I lept off the table and waddled my ass out of there as fast as possible! Whooooeeee!!!!

I was sweaty and out of breath when I ran into this kooky looking dude dancing around in the streets. "What's the matter little man?" he sang. I explained my situation and he said that the only solution was to accompany him to the Pub for an icy cold brewsky and some quality people watching. He admitted it was a genuine Austrailian pastime. Thank God for weirdos named Dave who don't wear matching socks!

Off to the pub!

We shared stories about life and I explained to him how I was new to the party scene. That was all it took. He made it his mission to introduce me to things (and people) I never knew were possible for a Ducky!
Thanks Dave!
As the night progressed it began to get creepier and creepier by the minute. One second I was enjoying my glass of Sauv Blanc, than the very next I was observing clothespin nipple clamps! Wow, freaky shit I say.

Dave introduced my to this girl, let's just call her Suzie ( rymes with. . . ) Suzie confessed that she has always had a fettish for Rubber Duckies. I was slightly intoxicated and my beer goggles were definitely playing tricks on me, but I figured, what the hell??! Let's just, how do I say. . . dive in?

I'm telling you this broad was rather persuasive and it wasn't long before she made me into her own clothespin bondage slave. Ouch! Geez woman, how many fettishes do you have????

I went along with it of course. . . solely to amuse her. I mean it was kinda degrading, but kinda kinky too. It was getting late and I decided that for the benefit of my own pride, I would put the camera away for the evening. XXX

It was extraordinary and I arrived home in the wee hours of the morning. . .

Only to find a strange Bear sipping tea with Sam and Brad. OH NO!!!! Have they replaced me already?? As I cautiously approached, they welcomed me with open arms and showered me with Christmas joy and laughter, and then dropped the bomb on me.

"Ducky, this is Russell the Ohana Bear. He is an Interventionist and is here to help you." Honestly, I didn't put up a fight. I really missed them last night and I am ready to clam down. . . slightly, if only for a hot minute. Plus, on the way in I checked out Russell's bag and saw that he had a flask of Bourbon in it. Oh yes, Russell and I will become close for sure. . .

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!! LOOK OUT NEW YEARS EVE. . . HERE WE COME!

Love from all of us on Christmas from the Vegemite capital of the world, Sammy, B-Rad, Ducky and Russell!

Check out our youtube Christmas video that we made just for you guys at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA-oxkPlaP8

2009-12-21T16:21:00.000-08:00

Christchurh, New Zealand, Melbourne and Sydney, Australia

December 4-23, 2009
G'day mates!
Wow, where do we begin? Where we left off I suppose. . .
Let's just say we ended our New Zealand trip with a bang! Our festivities included, but were certainly not limited to: braking a toilet at the hostel, drunken karaoke at a private club with locals (Bohemian Rhapsody, Sister Christian, and much much more, Brad even had his karaoke debut and he was fabulous!!), dancing with a Will Farrell look-a-like, lots of late night french fries, meat pies ( don't ask), and crazy walks home. It was super awesome and highly entertaining. But alas, our time in New Zealand was up and we are now rocking it out in Sydney, having the time of our lives!!! But let's take you a wee bit back to the day our arrival in lovely Australia.

We were sad to leave the SS MacPherson behind, but happy to finally be out of New Zealand and in into the outback. . . Australia that is. Whooopppeeee!!! New beginnings, warm weather, heaps of kangaroos, cockatoos, crocodiles, koala bears, lizards, snakes, bats, spiders, weird people, vegemite, dingos, beaches, and incredibly horrific outfits ( I mean really, really horrific, puke worthy for sure). We arrived in Melbourne and we decided to give couchsurfing another shot. An incredibly nice and generous man named Paul decided to take us in to his cozy home. Paul is awesome!!! He is what couchsurfing is all about. He even made nachos for us, he surely knows the way to my heart! After settling into our room he peeped his head in and said" you guys want to see some kangaroos???" Are you kidding me?? I have been dreaming all of my life of the day I would actually be in Austarilia and see a wild kangaroo! He took us to a golf course by his house that was just loaded with kangaroos and their babies. It was truly an experience for us and we can't thank him enough for it. Thanks again Paul, you rock!!!

We stayed with Paul for 6 days and toured around the amazing city of Melbourne. Delicious gourmet foods, heart warming wines, tasty chocolatey treats, and tons of sights to see. . . we had a blast. Melbourne is a truly remarkable city, and was a nice warm up for Sydney, which happens to be our new favorite city in the world ( we love love love Sydney!), but we'll get to that in a minute. Hold on to your diapers folks! While we were in Melbourne, Paul suggested to us that we rent a car and drive The Great Ocean Road, he claimed it was a "must see", boy was he right!!!!!
The Great Ocean Road is about a ten hour scenic drive along the southern coast of Australia from Melbourne to Port Fairy. Words simply cannot describe the beauty of this drive and the breathtaking scenery we experienced (all while Brad was driving on the opposite side of the road, and using an ass- backward stick shift. Go Brad!). This jaw dropping drive was one of the most amazing drives we have ever taken and we highly recommend it to anyone travelling to Australia!

That's me in the corner. That's me in the spot light. . .

We have been having such a tremendous time in Austraila. We LOVE it here and are just taking in every day. We are so grateful and feel so fortunate to be able to travel and to expereience all that the world has to offer. However, we are getting slightly homesick, especially at the thought that we will be sleeping in a Teepee on the beach on Christmas! We miss all of you!!

Heaps and heaps and heaps of Kangaroos! Brad wanted to get out his boxing gloves and go head to head with a kangaroo. Suri boot it, no go so B-Rad.

We saw these birds while driving the Great Ocean Road, so we pulled over, and Whammo! They flew right on top of our car. How cute!

This liitle guy is sooo adorable that I wanted to snatch him up and put him in my backpack. I named him Frankie, and I think he likes you.

The big happy couch surfing family! Paul, Brad, me, and the two puppies, Montie and Mollie!

Beware of these signs. If you see one, run! It means that there are several tourists in the area. Creepy!

Fancy an up close and personal encounter with a Koala?? He's yawning, how silly. Silly bear. We named him Earl, and I think he likes you too.

Just in case the cars coming directly at you aren't enough of a reminder. . .

The Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road. Nuff said.

OK, so here's where the story gets good. That's me drinking free champagne at a clothing store in Sydney!! Yes, the Aussies got it right for sure. Get the ladies all lit up, then let them loose in the store. I'm liking it, but my happiness was short lived; I saw the price tag on the dress that I wanted. . . let's just say I would need at least a case of free champagne or an American Express Black card to even consider buying it, but thanks for the champagne!

My husband got jealous of the free champagne, so he bought himself the new Audi. He He He

Fancy Connect Four anyone? Stevo?

OK, I'm scared. Kangaroos are cute, cuddly, and fun. Why would you want to eat them? They actually do eat them here. How sad. It's weird and I told Brad that if he ever ate one the big D- word would be coming his way soon. LOL

Ahhhh the Sydney Opera House. How gorgeous it that??!!!!

Sydney at night!

One of my favorite pics!

Didgeridoos are cool. We just had to buy the Cd!

Ducky has lost his marbles. We caught him at a Foam Party in Sydney with a bunch of other under age duckies! We called in an interventionist. His name is Russell the Ohana Bear and he is a pilot trained in helping rubber duckies who are out of control. Russell will make his first appearance in the next blog!

Also- look forward to a story that I am putting together about our terrifying experience when we stayed in an insane asylum for a night while in New Zealand. We are almost too scared to talk about it, but we will, for your entertainment of course. Love, from the land of people who eat kangaroos, Sambo and B-Rad

2009-12-03T21:44:00.000-08:00

South Island, New Zealand, November 24-December 4, 2009

Open mouth. Insert size 10 women’s shoe inside mouth. Cringe. Feel terribly bad. Single tear. Apologize to New Zealand for the harsh words of the last blog. Smile and thank New Zealand for her forgiveness.
Ok, ok, so I was horrifically wrong. New Zealand is not overrated at all. Overpriced, yes, but definitely NOT overrated. In the past week we have truly experienced some of the most spectacular scenery that we have ever encountered, and we owe it all to New Zealand. After a long and exhausting trek, I had a moment with this beautiful country and all of her wonders. I finally gave in and thought . .this isn't that bad after all. .
Franz Josef Glacier is an Ice Age materpiece. Simply marvleous darling. We were expecting it to be quite chilly, but as you can see, the sun is out and it's warm enough to be outside without a snowsuit on. Yippeeee! The hike to the glacier was through the receding glacier channel, and was tricky yet manueverable. The only thing missing? Ice pics and crampons for B-rad.

To Queenstown from the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers we meandered our way through the mountains and into the wild wild west (or so it seemed. . . ). The Cardrona Hotel was a unique bit of history combined with a timeless appeal of sex. Just seeing if you are paying attention. He he he : )

We aren't old are we?

I only say this because after spending a day in the adrenaline charged city of Queenstown I felt my true age of 27. Hello? Where did the crazy skydiving, scuba diving, mountain climing, thrill-seeking junkies we all know as Sam and Brad go?? They must have hid somewhere very far away and I am ashamed of them. We were in the presence of every adventure sport in the world, literally right at our fingertips. . . Bungy jumping off of everything and anything, skydiving, canyoning, and a ton of other almost obscene concoctions, but we chose. . . drum roll please. . . horseback riding. Yes folks, I said it. You heard me correctly. Horsebackriding. But, I must warn you, this was not your ordinary horsebackriding trip.

As everyone knows, The Lord of the Rings was filmed in NZ, and this horseback riding trip advertised that it would take us to the place where they filmed several parts of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Series. At first we were sceptical, but decided that if they kept their promise this could very well be one of those "once in a lifetime experiences", so we booked it, and it was.

The trip was so epic words simply cannot describe it. We lied and said that we were experienced riders, so they put us in the advanced group. There was only four of us and our guide. Our guide gave Brad the most difficult horse ". . . because Brad has the most experience. . . "he he. We just looked at eachother with a wee bit of panic and thought it's only horsebackriding, how crazy could it get?

I almost fell off, Brad almost fell off, we were laughing so hard snot was coming out of both of our noses. We cantored and cantored and our butts slowly became numb to the bouncing up and down on the hard leather saddle. Then our guide said" who's ready to gallop through the fields?" That was all it took. Saying the word gallop in front of a horse is like saying the word walk in front of a dog. We didn't have time to answer, our lovely horses answered for us an in an instant we became jockeys on the race track and we were floating over the grass in a full on gallop. It felt like flying actually. Who needs bungy jumping, seriously. That gave us more of a natural high and adrenaline rush than we ever could have imagined. It was so extremely senational I only hope that I get to do it again soon, very soon.

The scenery was stuff that dreams are made of. There was a point that I looked back at Brad and started to cry. . . it was that beautiful. This was one of the best experiences that we have ever had. We had to cross the river in the valley several times and our guide explained that the river bed changes daily and we need to be very careful of quick sand. Was he joking? Apparantly, because this river is in a glacier bed it is very unique. In fact, there are only two other rivers in the world that experience the same type of activity, i.e, quicksand and other, not-so-fun things. He checked the first crossing and immediatly his horse started to sink. OH NO!!! ATREYU! ATREYU!! Where's Valcor when you need him?. . .

Eventually we found a safe crossing and only managed to get slightly wet. It was a day for the record books. We will dream of it often.

Next we were off to the Milford Sound. Which is not actually a sound at all, it's a fjord, but I won't bother you with the technicalities of fjords and sounds, I actually want to keep you awake. We splurged and opted for a boat cruise through the fjord, and it was worth it! We won't tell you how much we paid, but we will say that we saw several types of endangered birds, including penguins, alpine parrots, and guinea pigs. lol. Sea lions also made several guest appearances. The steep cliff faces dropped dramatically into the black ocean. Cascading waterfalls everywhere. Yes, oh yes, new Zealand is FAR from overrated.

Brad taking in the serenity of a waterfall on one of our various hikes through enchanted forests.

Thanksgiving was rough for us. We were both incredibly homesick and tired of the wet, cold rain. We bought a bottle of champagne and decided that we were going to go out and treat ourselves to a wonderful meal, being Thanksgiving and all. Well, we started playing Yahtzee, and lost track of time. We were starving so we headed out to town. Of course, all of the resaturants were closed, except. . . Furgburger. I thought is said Furburger and almost shat myself. So, Furgburger it was. Nice freaking Thanksgiving. I want cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, tofurkey and MY FAMILY!!!!! We have had many adventures in NZ, and here are just a few photos for your enjoyment.

Mirror lakes, South Island

This is me holding a rare and highly endangered land octopus, only found in New Zealand coastal areas.

The southernmost tip of New Zealand. If you look closely you can see Antartica in the background. You can certainly feel it.

Just in case you need to do any revamping Mom. . . he he he ha ha ha

Ducky feels bad that we are spending so much money and he confided in me that he wanted to help the family out. I insisted that it wasn't neccessary, but Brad thought he should start contributing at least to the beer fund.

Ducky was gone for days. When he finally returned( I think he was hungover, but I am not sure), he exclaimed "I got a job modeling!"

So, Ducky is now a model. Awesome. Go, Ducky!! Show us the money!!!

Hopefully he won't get any complexes, you know how those model types are.

Love to you all from the land of hobbits, orcs, sheep, and cows- Sam and Frodo

2009-11-24T20:23:00.000-08:00

Wellington, Marlborough Wine Country (Renwick), Nelson, Abel Tasman National Park November 17-22, 2009

The ugly side of things. . .
Well, well, well. . . Aside from pretty much catching the worst weather almost everywhere in New Zealand ( freezing cold rain, rain, and ah yes, more rain), and getting our butts handed to us in the funds department, NZ is finally starting to show us a sneak peek at a few of the reasons why we came to this over-priced, and slightly overrated country in the first place. I realize that this sounds harsh, but remember, we are only speaking from personal experience. However, here are a few tips for those thinking of coming to New Zealand.

- Bring lots and lots of money. I mean tons. Sure, it may be the adventure capital of the world, but you WILL pay top dollar for every single activity. Even if you want to park your overpriced campervan somewhere for the night. Here are a few examples: kayaking in a national park will run you $145.00 per person, for a 2 hour trip. Mountain bike rentals anywhere between $55-100 a day. Skydiving- forget about it, believe me, you can’t afford it. Quad biking- $150-200 per person for 2 hours. Fancy a dip in the natural hot springs? Sure, for a fee of $25, no problem. But oh, for a mere $200.00 a person you can swim with dolphins in the freezing cold ocean. How about a case of Coke? For that price it should be the Colombian kind. . . Or you can try the ever-so-famous bungee jumping. Now I really wouldn’t want to compromise safety, but I didn’t realize that it was sooo pricey. I’m not trying to sound bitter but we really want to stress the importance of researching before you go. . . So you don’t end up like us. Broke, wet, grumpy, and fat from all of the potatoes and rice we are eating to save money.
We truly thought we would beat the system by renting a campervan and living in it. Well, we are definitely living in it, but it is costing us!! We rented the van for 28 days and figured the money that we spent on the van would be saved because we would camp out in the wilderness every night for free. Sorry, not happening. Sure, you can pull over on the side of the road and hope that you don’t get harassed by pissed off locals, but I’m over that noise. Most of the campsites are called “Holiday Parks”, by this they mean “ Park your campervan on our lot and we will charge you $35 a night”. So at this point we are paying $65 a day for the camper, $35 dollars a night to park the damn thing, anywhere from $50-$100 a day for gas. Oh yeah, didn't I mention that gas is twice as much here? Not to mention the one way rental fee, and the huge fee to cross the ferry ($250) from the North Island to the South Island. You do the math. . . That is all without including the price of food, or God forbid we actually want to partake in one of the activities listed above, or grab a beer at a pub. A good beer will run you $11.00 for a bloody PINT!!!! Yikes!!!!!!!!! I am not even going to go into detail about the sandflies. . . I will just say that they are everywhere, and to give you an idea about how aggressive they are, they are even attacking my husband. Yes folks, I must admit I find it hilarious because he finally knows what I have been going through my whole damn life! A true quote from Brad “ Sam, these bites really itch don’t they?” “Be quiet Brad, you only have one. I have fifty-six.”
Trust me, we are not cynics, and we are truly sorry for the rant. It’s just a little frustrating because we are well aware of how far the US dollar goes in other countries. Now that I got that off my unreasonably small chest ( he he he), let’s talk about the wonders of this truly beautiful country.

The Beauty of it all. . .

There is no wonder why they chose to film Lord of the Rings here. Ascetically, this country is really THAT amazing. Sweeping neon green pastures, lush forests, hobbits everywhere (I kid, I kid), cascading waterfalls, thousands of acres of National Parks, seascapes that will blow your socks off, mountains, lakes and rivers galore, and an endless supply of sheep, cattle, and birds. Which reminds me. . . I met a new best friend yesterday. He is a Llama and I named him Alf cause he looked just like him! He came right up to me and let me pet him.. . It was a moment of sincere bliss for both of us. Well, maybe the apple I gave him had something to do with it.

Back to it- So, what have we been doing other than complaining and eating you say? Let’s pick up where we left off, in Wellington.
Wellington has a fantastic art and theatre scene. Very beatnik and eclectic. We love to watch live local theatre so we decided to go see a very off the wall play called “The Death and Dreamlife of Elephants” at BATS Theatre. It was amazingly cool, slightly weird, and ultimately confusing.It reminded us of the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. We left the theatre not sure of what had just happened, but we knew we liked it. Liked it a lot I say. Then we slept in our van parked on the side of the road in the middle of the ghetto. OK, that was a joke Mom 1 and Mom 2.
We crossed the Cook Island Strait on the ferry and it was truly a breathtaking experience. It is said to be one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world, and we can see why. It was lovely and we actually had sun for the entire ride. Yippeeeeee!!!!! Then we were off to Marlborough Wine Country, FINALLY!!!!!!! (I have been waiting for this for weeks!)

Everyone who knows us knows how much we love wine. With both of us being in the hospitality industry forever, we have genuinely developed a genuine passion and respect for wine. A visit to the Marlborough Wine Region to us is like a visit to Disneyland for a five year old. Get it? It is one of the most respected wine regions in the world hosting hundreds of spectacular wineries. The best part. . . They all give FREE wine tastings. What, you may say? Yes, free wine tastings. We were in heaven. At least something is free here, and it’s my favorite thing ever. The VINO!!!!! The catch? The tastings are free, but how are you going to get there? Well, there are several places that offer a guided winery tours for a few hundred bucks, but we like to consider ourselves savvy. Savvy Nomads that is. So what did we do? We rented bikes for the day and started early.

We started with the furthest one, smart move I might say, then worked our buzzed way back to town. It was one of the best times we have had on this trip. Beautiful wines, adorable boutique wineries, and we even made friends along the way. It’s amazing what a lil’ wine will do for you socially. LOL. Good times, seriously. Vino Vino and more Vino, then a very deep sleep that makes you forget you are in a campervan in a parking lot. Next move: Abel Tasman National Park.

Side note:
I forgot to mention that our van doesn’t get any radio stations and it only has a cassette player. Really? Really? After weeks of my horrific make-shift karaoke sessions in the car Brad truly had enough. He pulled over at a Salvation Army Store, ran in, and came out with a dilapidated cassette tape from the 1970’s. It’s a compilation cassette with over 20 local NZ artists, and with song titles like “Computer Dater”, and “Grandad’s Piano”, we new we were in for a some serious audio orgasms. “Computer Dater” turned out to be our favorite.
Back to it:
Abel Tasman National Park is gorgeous. We are both seriously out of shape but somehow figured we would try to tackle the 18 mile loop to Anchorage Bay and back. . . in one day. On foot. In the fog. We did it, and we are both still paying for it. I can finally now walk without looking like a total idiot, but Brad is still having problems getting in and out of the van. LOL! What a freaking workout that was, and we did t in only 9 hours!

Don't ever forget to take time to stop and smell the roses

We are at a local coffee shop in Hokitika, (home of the original White Bait Pizza, er, yum???) right now, sipping on our long blacks, procrastinating because our next stop is the Franz Josef Glacier. And you all know how we feel about the cold at this point. Awesome. Let’s go to a glacier! He he he. Wait, is that what I think it is? The sun? Gotta go. The sun is peaking around the clouds. Who knows how long it will be here!

Houston, I think we have a problem. . . We need your help!!!! Ducky is getting out of control. He tried to get a tattoo on his tail that said "I love Beer". What should we do? We heard about a great interventionist in the area. . .we are getting to that point. Any advice?

Peace out and love from the home of “Computer Dater”- Alpha 1 and Beta 2

2009-11-22T23:27:00.000-08:00

Just a little something I've been working on. . . I hope you all enjoy.

COMPASSION FOR THE LION
A balmy night in a local night club somewhere in Fiji. . .

A young testosterone charged twenty-something slicked up and scantily clad is ready for a night of action and dancing. All he wants to do is find a young person to dance with. He is not desperate, just not gender specific. He has spent hours upon hours watching Bollywood films whilst practicing all of the latest moves. He aims to impress. It doesn’t matter that he is only 5’1. It doesn’t matter that he only weighs 90 pounds soaking wet. It doesn’t even matter that he is wearing a very expensive Fijian version of Old Spice. All that matters is that he looks great on the dance floor wearing his perfectly tailored, perfectly pressed, perfectly perfect outfit.
He comes here every Friday with hopes of filling that nothingness that is slowly sucking the life out of his small body. He knows that everyone is mystified and intimidated by his slick moves and smooth style and that’s why they choose not to dance with him. But that is going to change tonight, this is his territory and tonight is the night this lone lion finds love.
He scans the club with desire, his loneliness disguised by his imitation Oakley sunglasses. Maybe, just maybe, someone will join him. He arrived tonight as soon as the doors opened to ensure a prime table location right in front of the dance floor. He made sure it was the largest table with the most chairs. . . Just in case.
He strolls up to the bar and buys a pitcher of beer with five glasses. . . to signify his willingness to share. He pours the frosty Fiji Gold into his glass and coyly sneaks a peek at the girls that are starting to filter into the club. His foot slowly begins to tap with the beat of the music.

Not yet. Wait for it. Wait. for. it.

Suddenly the music changes and the undeniable ching-ching a ling ching-ching of a Bollywood song is pumped through the smoke laden air. This is it, his moment to shine. It doesn’t matter that there is no one else on the dance floor. It doesn’t matter that everyone is staring at him. He sets down his pitcher and coolly slides to the dance floor and with an explosion of raw emotion, passion, and two left feet, he makes his usual Friday night debut. Nothing else exists for the next two minutes, thirty-two seconds except him, the dance floor and his favorite music. Alas, the song is over and a terrible mash-up of Beyonce’s “ All the single ladies” blasts through the air.
Dripping with sweat, smelling of an intense mixture of curry, beer, and stale cigarettes, he makes his way back to his table. Giggles from around the club, whispers and stares from the cute girls, fat guys, and even the lady boys. They all want me, there are just intimidated, he reminds himself. He notices a table of six young locals sitting next to him. Maybe they will ask me to join tem. He looks around and then suddenly meets the pretty one’s eyes. The hair on the back of his neck stands straight up and his already clammy hands turn into showers. She smiles and gets out of her seat. She is coming over! Be cool. Be cool.
“Bula”, she sweetly says.
“Bula”, he says with a shred of confidence.
“Do you mind if we take a few chairs from you? We have a couple more people joining us.”
He tries to hide his disappointment, “Sure, I have some friends coming too, but we’ll probably be on the dance floor most of the night”.
“Vinaka.”
“Your welcome. Have fun.”
What’s a few chairs to him? Those girls were too old for him anyway, plus, they were probably Kalavos.
Boom boom da da deedeedee. .
Wait, there it is again. That pulse that turns him into a maniac on the dance floor. He’s off again, body convulsing to the beat of the music. His eyes wild and his body monster like, with legs and arms flailing in every direction, scaring the shit out of everyone who is watching. Then suddenly he catches a glimpse of someone at his table. Like a lion on the prowl he stalks his prey, then instantly realizes that this beautiful lioness is taking the remainder of the chairs at HIS table. ROAR!!!!
“Excuse me darling, what are you doing?”
And with the most conieving and delicious grin she replies “All of my super hot girlfriends need a place to sit, I hope you don’t mind. You’re a really good dancer by the way.”
“Sure, um take the chairs, maybe we can, um, dance later?”

“Yeeaaah, no. But thanks for the chairs!” she laughs and practically runs away.

She was messing with me about the good dancer thing.

He is left standing alone at his table. No chairs. No friends joining him. Just him, his pitcher of beer and the extra glasses. . . and just then the bus boy walks by and removes all of the empty glasses from his table.

Feeling defeated but not allowing his embarrassment percolate to the surface, he decides to pound the rest of his pitcher and hit the dance floor once again. Remember, this is his night and nothing will let him down. He knows he is an amazing guy, they are just intimidated, remember?
Hopefully the beer will give him some liquid courage. . .
Slightly rejuvenated and certainly still hopeful about the evening, he optimistically floats to the dance floor, and with an heir of confidence he glances back at his table. . the one that is now being taken by the bouncer to be used for a large party at the other side of the club.

Alone in the night, depression sinking in once again, he sighs to himself. . . Maybe next Friday.

Samantha Scholl
November 23, 2009

2009-11-20T18:17:00.001-08:00

The above photo was taken at Farmgate Winery in Hawkes Bay Wine Region. It is one of our all time favorite photos :)

Napier, Hastings, and Wellington, New Zealand November 15-20, 2009

Hello there to all of our family and friends! Thanks for following us on our travels, we really look forward to reading all of your comments. It makes us feel a little closer to home. . . It gets lonely on the road sometimes and we are sooo far away!

My lovely husband. . . on top of the world!

A lil' nappy nap with Ducky.

O.K, so we went out in Wellington. It was a crazy evening that includes getting all of our drinks bought for us by willing locals! This was an ad on the back of the door in the Womens Restroom! Really? Really? Hilarious!

He wanted it, trust me!

Still tramping around in the SS MacPherson. internet is difficult to find and quite expensive, but stay tuned for one hell of an amazing blog. . . This was just a teaser. Love from the most campervan infested country on earth, Dollface and Darling

2009-11-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

Auckland, Bay of Islands, Russell, and Whangerei New Zealand November 8- 14, 2009
It was truly sad to leave Fiji behind. . . The warm and cozy tropical weather, genuine hospitality and the great company that we had been experiencing for the past 12 days. We had an otherwise easy 3 hr. flight from Nadi to Auckland, but the kid behind me (funny his parents called him Sambo), kept kicking my seat. I mean seriously exploding on the back of my seat like a wild caged animal. It takes a lot for me to get agro angry but I actually saw red a few times and imagined inflicting violence upon him or his unobservant mother. I peeked at him through the seats and gave him an evil glare that meant business. He just looked at me, and with that little booger-faced smile, gave my chair another whack! He was doing it on purpose that little brat. I will smack those boogers right off your face. . . be calm. Relax. Find your inner spirit. Ok, ok.

Auckland is like any other big city only so much cleaner. We absolutely loved it! So much to see and do and the food is amazingly cheap and delicious. We would stop off at these little places and you could get Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese including the most fantastic and original display of sushi that I have ever seen. We were very impressed with the city and even bought a handy little HP Netbook. It is 930pm and I am sitting in our campervan right now writing this journal, after a few glasses of delicious Bach 22 Merlot 2007.

After a few days putting around the city and checking out the sights and getting our campervan together we headed to Whangerei, pronounced somehow and Fengaray, don’t ask! We stayed with Mervyn and Liz Mathews on their cattle and sheep farm on the outskirts of the city. They cooked us a home cooked meal and even took us on a tour of their 150 acre farm. It was truly an experience. We met Mervyn in October 2006 on the Nomad Adventure Tour in Africa. He gave us his information and said if we were ever in New Zealand to give him a call, and that’s exactly what we did.!!!
After the night at Merv’s we were off to The Bay of Islands about an hour and a half from Whangerei.

The scenery is quite lovely but I feel that we are slightly spoiled because of how much we have actually been able to experience whilst traveling. Beautiful, yes, but overly impressed, not yet. It doesn’t help that it is only about 55-60 degrees. The Bay of Islands is supposed to be this amazing beach town with a lot of things to to but it was raining and cold and all we could really do is walk around the town with overpriced shops catering to tourists. We decided to take the Ferry across the bay to Russell and swing by this little boutique winery called Omata Vineyards. It was super cute and the view was out of this world. Omata sits on top of the peninsula and has sweeping views of all of the islands and the sea, not to mention the wine was scrumptious! We opted for a 2004 Shiraz, yummy in my tummy.

After the winery we decided to go down to the port for a lil’ stroll, we were in for a surprise. What started out as a relaxing day turned into a crazy, adrenaline charged afternoon. As we approached the dock I noticed two people scattering about and looking frazzled. I asked if everything was ok and the girl said:” NO! I caught a bird on accident!” A large sea bird went after her bait and got hooked in the mouth. It freaked out and wrapped itself in the fishing line and then in her other line. It was a tangled mess, bobbers hanging from all orifices and was obviously in a tremendous amout of pain. The little girl cut the line, but the bird was still trapped and about to drown. It was crazy, we were all frantic and trying to get the bird but it kept swimming away and the seagulls were trying to kill it so they could eat it. I almost leapt off the pier with all my clothes on but my ever-so-grounded husband pulled me back. We were all freaking out and screaming and borderline hysterical but then one of the workers must have heard our desperate cries and raced out on his trusty Zodiac. Alas, after about 20 minutes he was able to get the bird out of the water. We thought it was dead but it survived. He cut the line and the bird wearily swam away. It was a happy ending to an almost deadly afternoon. . . For the bird.

Later that night we found a camp sight at the scenic Tutukaka Holiday Park, and froze our ass off our first night in the camper. Tonight it is also freezing but we are all cozy and bundled up, and warm from the wine again! Today was more of a driving day. We had a late start and then I drove al the way from Tutukaka to Auckland. It is quite interesting and pretty challenging driving on the other side of the road and having the steering wheel on the other side of the car.I must say I don’t like it, not one bit. It is hard and stupid. I mean why do the Americans find it so necessary to do EVERYTHING different from the rest of the world? THe time zones are different, kilometers vs. miles, Fahrenheit vs. Celsius, and it is even impossible to order just a plain cup of black coffee here. They look at you like you should be in a flipping mental institition. All I want is a normal cup of coffee. None of this long black, long white, short this, tall that, JUST GIVE ME MY COFFEE PLEASE!!!
Anyhoo, we are snuggling up again in our lovely campervan that we have named the SS Macpherson ( the SS stands for Sheared Sheep). Life is great. New Zealand is cool, but we are still waiting to be blown away. Not literally anyway.

Speaking of sheared sheep. This brochure is disgusting. The NZ Board of Tourism should be ashamed of themselves. Click on this picture to enlarge and you will see what I mean.

Just incase you wanted to crack all of your teeth, or perhaps let your children poop out gemstones. Hey, wait a minute, where's that damn kid from the plane. . . he he he

Brad showing off his lovely cannon

Bay of Islands

Ever since we started bringing the Ducky around we have been super popular.This guy hopped right in the campervan. . . then pooped on my foot.

Fancy an afterhour poo?

Stinky, icky, smells like a sewer, but we paid to see it!

Now, here is where it gets kinda tricky. We want to include Ducky in all of our activities, however, we are not sure of the legal drinking age for Duckies in New Zealand. We gave him a sip, only because he was so cute, and he jumped right in the glass. We are slightly worried that he liked it a wee bit too much. We will have to keep an eye on him.
Love from the most creepy brochure of a man shearing a sheep that we have ever encountered- Sammyjoe and Bradleymac

2009-11-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Yasawa Islands, Fiji October 31- November 6, 2009

OCTOPUS, PIGGY, KING! KING, OCTOPUS, PIGGY! KING, KING, PIGGY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You may be wondering what in the world we are talking about, kinda sounds crazy huh? Well, Octopus, Piggy, King is a game that we played at Octopus Resort against all of the other couples staying there. You see, I am the true gamer in this marriage and I played all of the games that night (including the Limbo, a beer chugging relay race and a crazy balloon dancing game), trying my damnest to win a prize, e.g, a bottle of champagne, or a massage. It was time for the last game of the night. I was sweaty and out of breath but certain I had this one in the bag. I will win this one.

It was the grandaddy of all grandaddies, the last game of the night, but with the best prize ever. . . a complimentary one night stay in their most luxurious oceanfront beach bungalow with a large flat screen TV, AC, oversized walk in shower (with HOT water, remember, we are in Fiji), king sized bed, and double beachside hammock (a prize worth $500.00!!). The only catch. . . I needed to convince my wonderful husband to play with me. I said "Baby, I know you hate this whole game thing, but all you have to do is stand there and let me use you as my personal human jungle gym and leave the rest to me." He finished the last sip of his Fiji Gold and grabbed my hand with confidence heading towards the spotlight. He looked at me directly in the eyes and with burning determination he said "Game on!" We all know what he was really thinking. . . "A happy wife is a happy life" he he he. Also, the next day was my birthday, and how sweet would it be to stay in the PIMP Pad for a night and leave the congested dorm behind?

The panel of judges gave all of us the stare down. The ring leader Nick, who is the owner of the resort explained the rules: "When I say Octopus, the lady must leap into the gentleman's arms like he is carrying her over the doorstep after their wedding. When I say Piggy, she must jump on your back 'piggyback style', and when I yell King, she must sit on your knee and you must hold her up. I'm going to say all of these very fast and in all types of order. When I stop, you must hold the position, and the last one to complete all of the moves is OUT!. . . Ready, set, GO! Piggy, Octopus King!".

Ok, you get the point. We dominated that beach and won the Grand Prize! It was the best birthday present ever, not to mention that I also went scuba Diving , and had a beachside massage on my birthday. . . ok, ok, so what if I am spoiled??

Fiji is a beautiful country rich with culture and plenty of things to do and see. We experienced as much local culture as possible but were also able to dive into the ocean and spend many hours in the underwater playground of the Fiji Islands. The snorkeling here is as good as it gets and the diving was great, but the snorkeling was just as awesome. Our biggest regret; we don't have an underwater camera, so you will have to use your imagination!

We had some issues posting the pictures on this blog, so please bear with us. . .the photos are out of order, and seem to be in a disarray, but don't worry because we bought a laptop today.Yeaahhh!!!! Can't wait to try it out! I am so fed up with Internet Cafe's I could write an entire article! But just wait, there will be tons and tons of new and improved blogs coming! I promise!

Let's talk about Kava. The locals call it Grog, I call it absolutely insane and borderline repulsive, yet somehow I was nicknamed the "Kava Queen" by the locals at Oarsman's Resort. I'm pretty sure 30-40 cups of it is considered over -doing it for my first time, but I am an extremist by nature, what can I say.

Sambo=0, Kava=1

Brad's Mom told us that Kava is amazing and that we must try it when we were in Fiji. OK Cyn (love you Momma PH), you must be a true Fijiian at heart because this muddy water was out of control eewww. Local Fijian's do not drink alcohol, they drink Kava, and there is a few sacred rules they follow. 1. You must be invited into the Kava ceremony, and should bring a gift if possible.2. Clap once before you receive your bowl, drink it, then clap three times before you pass the bowl back. 3. You must finish the entire cup in one gulp.

Kava comes from the root of the pepper tree and is a mild hallucinogenic. It makes your mouth numb with the first sip, and I am not even going to tell you what it does to you after 30 bowls. Let's just say we felt stoned for days.

We loved everything about Fiji, especially the sweet and genuine Fijiian people. We had such a blast and we were so sad to go we almost changed our ticket. But we must keep on moving, the inner Nomads in us are ready to move on. . . Auckland New Zealand is where we are now. We are freezing, but can't wait to see what New Zealand has to offer!

Love, from the Kava capital of the world- Kava Queen and Jungle Brad

That's Brad, me and Jimbo. Jim was our gracious host at Octopus. What an amazing guy. Thanks Jim!!

Relaxing with our friend Thomas! You rock Tom : )

Gazing out into the deep blue sea. Life is so fantastic!

The wonderful crew at Oarsman's Resort! Thank you for your hospitality. . . and the Kava!

The view from the boat at Octopus Resort

So sad to leave our tropical paradise!!! We will be back, oh yes, we will be back!

Ducky loves Fiji, and yes Kim, that says "Kim we're in Fiji trick"!

2009-11-01T14:24:00.000-08:00

October 25 -November 1, 2009

Train carrying sugar cane, Lautoka, Fiji
The first leg of Fiji, Lautoka, a.k.a "Sugar City"

We were going to couchsurf the first few nights we arrived in Fiji, but Lyndee's friend Dozer Dave claimed he had a friend named Kevin in Fiji that we could stay with who just happens to have a six bedroom home right on the beach. Wow, what a tough decision it was, but we decided to give Kevin a shot. He he he.
When we got off the plane I thought we overslept and they flew us to India instead of Fiji, it is that similar here (except a bit more quiet), but after a few moments we were able to slip right back into "travel mode". Everyone is so friendly here. Some of it genuine, most of it, well not so genuine. Everyone wants to be your friend. . . especially the Kalavo's. Bravo Kalavo!
Honestly what happened after he picked us up is still a blur (alot of Fiji Gold's were involved), but Kevin's hospitality is amazing! Kevin's brother Gary from Washington State was visiting as well and we were shown the local Fijian culture first hand. These guys are hilarious and a bit crazy, but we aren't so normal ourselves! They took us to a so-called private "drinking club" where we got sloshed with the local Indians. This alone was truly worth the flight over from Hawaii! These guys were lit up like a tree, their already jumbled English now complete jibberish. The one guy even passed out on the chair and fell onto the ground. The others just laughed at him at drank even more, as if the final goal was to fall right off your chair.

We partied it up the first few days, learning all the local slang terms such as; Thundered, which can be used in almost any circumstance,. For example, "Wow, I got really thundered last night", or "Geez, my legs are thundered from that walk", or even better, "Ouch, my head got really thundered from that Roman Candle you shot at it last night. Got it?" Next we have Birds. Such as, "let's go chase some birds", or "let's find some birds to bring back to the house for a bonfire", or my favorite, "do you think those birds are Kalavo's?". And at last we have the infamous Kalavo. I'm just going to use it in a sentence for you. "If that Kalavo actually thinks I am going to pay for what I can get for free, she's crazy."

We had a chance to visit the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, which is one of the loveliest orchid gardens we have seen yet. That's me, giving a presentation on the importance of watering and caring for orchids. Huh? Yeah, I'm full of sh*t. Kevin hooked us up with a snorkel trip to a private island off the coast of Nadi, called Suluva. It is less than half a mile around and just has a few palm trees and some gorgeous white sand speckled across it's shore. The snorkeling was great, but the full body aroma therapy beachside massage I received from the local Fijian masseuse was simply divine!

Kevin, Gary, Nilla, Sam and Brad, about to partake in a Roman Candle War games. Yikes!
We are currently visiting the Yasawa Islands off the Western coast of Fiji. It is pretty darn cool, but you'll just have to wait to find out all about it!
We have yet to try Kava, but I believe we will do so soon. I 'm pretty scared. It looks like muddy water and smells even worse, but when in Rome, I guess.
Also- we posted two blogs today so please read on to the next blog for Kauai and Oahu, Hawaii!!!!
Love from the most Bravo Kalavo place on earth- Lautoka, Fiji, Bangers and Mash forever

Brad, Cody and Gary chillin' beachside at Smuggler's Cove

Local fresh produce market. Lautoka, Fiji

2009-10-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

Kauai and Oahu, October 14-25, 2009

"Trebek, I'll take Hawaiian islands for $1000"

"O.k. Brad, What does getting stalked by a shark, swimming with dolphins in the wild, Sarah McLachlan, a flat tire, getting kicked out of the Saint Regis, DiDi, and the Na Pali coast all have in common?"
"The island of Kauai?"
"That is correct Brad, and in addition to the $1000 we are offering you a chance to rent a beautiful, white Sebring convertible!"
Kauai is charming, romantic, laid back, and everything that you would imagine a tropical paradise to be: pristine beaches, warm waters, superb snorkeling (stay away from the sharks!) and excellent coffee, but there is a gem in Kauai that can be seen nowhere else on Earth: The Na Pali Coast. The discovery channel claims that the Na Pali coast is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and we agree.

If there is only one thing you must do while in Kauai, it is to book a trip with the Na Pali Riders and cruise the Na Pali coast in their spacious Zodiac boat. Check them out at www.napaliriders.com.The Na Pali Riders came highly recommended by a fellow traveler, but we are incredibly tough critics.

Photograph courtesy of Bill Crane. Thanks Bill!

We have been on several boat trips and the service and sights have been questionable at times, to say the least.
We arrived at the shop and were immediately greeted with both of our charismatic leaders for the day; Bill Crane, the amazing photographer, and Captain Chris, our knowledgeable captain. If even a sliver of what the photos on the wall in the office portray is seen today, I know it will be a once in a lifetime experience. The 17 miles of untouched coastline is truly breathtaking and is one of the most spectacular sights we have ever seen. Seriously. Not only did our captain entertain and educate us on our journey, he knew exactly how to tap into your emotions by playing Sarah McLachlan and Enigma. He claims that the dolphins love Enigma, well it worked like a charm! Within minutes our boat was energized by the energy of thousands of spinner dolphins thrusting out of the water to our delight. Our captain said"Put your masks on and slide in, the quieter, the better, and witness the show". What a show is was. We were surrounded by the sweet sounds of dolphin chatter, and could see them everywhere around us. It was so thrilling and delightful to be in the mix with one of my favorite mammals!
It was a day we will never forget, thanks to the Na Pali Riders! They promised us if we came back during whale season we would surely get up close and personal with these magnificent creatures. Don't worry, we WILL be back!

On to Oahu-
Wow, Oahu was a time to relax and regroup. . . except for our trip to Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. That was an evening of complete debauchery amongst friends, and well a few hookers(Raven), just kidding! We stayed with my best friend Lyndee's sister Shori, her husband Pete, and their lovely sons Kai(3) and Kenji(1). Thanks so much for your hospitality!!!!!

It was awesome to finally see the World Famous North Shore, too bad the waves weren't "going off" at Pipeline, Alligators, Sunset, or Rocky's, or Brad may have picked up surfing. . . yeah right, maybe body surfing:) Hawaii was everything we hoped for and soooooooooooo much more, but it is time to say farewell to the USA and Hello FIJI!!!!!!!!!

Love from the most coffee, macadamia nut and tuna poke infested islands of the world- Savvy Nomad 1 and 2

Rubber ducky, looks like you found some friends along your travels. . .

2009-10-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

Somewhere off the coast of Kauai. . .

Like sands through the hourglass. . . These are the days of our lives. . . Hawaii style.
We woke up late that morning and even though we are on "Hawaii time" we felt rushed to get to the reef early because that's when the fish are plentiful and the light from the sun creates less of a glare. We arrived at the beach and ran down the powdered strip of heaven, snorkel gear in tow, and belly flopped in the crystal clear Pacific. Our innocence still in tact. . . for the moment. We were so delighted and somewhat bewildered because we had the beach to ourselves. We should have known better.
Our smiles as wide as the deep blue sea, Brad says to me"Don't forget to spit in your mask babe, remember, the greener, the cleaner!" As we competed for the biggest loogie to defog our masks I sized up the reef. It was a long off-shore reef with a seemingly endless supply of fun. We started off our snorkel adventure in a lazy, dreamy float and our eyes were constantly lighting up with every new and different species of fish we "discovered". We were the Lewis and Clark of the ocean and ready to share our discoveries with any willing listener at the local pub after our journey.
Reef on our left, drop off channel on the right, we meandered our way through pockets of bright colored coral loaded with beautiful tropical fish, moray eels, eagle rays, sea turtles, sea urchin, lobster, and oh, so much more. . .
It was about that time to defog our masks again and when we lifted our heavy heads out of the water we both looked at each other with slight distress. . . Wow, we were extremely far from that "powdered strip of heaven" we mentioned earlier. "No worries", Brad says, "let's just head in". We were cruising in at a rather steady pace when. . . Cue jaws music. . .
Brad taps my arm and does the universal scuba sign for danger. Thinking it was just a lionfish or scorpionfish I motioned for the location. By that time he was grasping my arm in a way that meant there was real danger involved. He looked at me with panic in his eyes and I knew this look meant one thing and one thing only. A Shark.
I pop my head above water and say. . "HOW BIG!!!???" Brad doesn't answer this but instead, his voice shaky says" swim slow, be calm, and do not panic Sam. Let's just get into shore safely".
I was out of my mind! "baby, where is it?". Once again, he avoids the question and at this point he has my arm in a death grip and he is literally pushing me through the water like a 500 horse powered engine. I tried to remain calm but my adrenaline was pumping so hard I felt as if the shark could hear every beat of my heart and I was sure it could smell the blood rushing through my veins. We were on our borderline hysterical way back to shore and Brad claims "it's stalking us, BE CALM." O.k, sure, be calm my ass! It is nearly impossible to remain calm in that environment, and that's when I noticed my bracelet; Glistening and sparkling in the water like a fishing lure. Oh my God!!! It's my bracelet! In a frenzied attempt to rip it off my arm I caught a glimpse of a very large dark shadow slipping in and out of the reef. That's it. We're doomed. Shark bait is our destiny. Brad held the lured hand above water and continued to maintain order. If it wasn't for him I would have been swimming faster than Michael Phelps on crack, but Brad, my calming husband promised me everything was going to be O.K. After what seemed like an eternity we arrived back at our powdered strip of Heaven, and Oh, did it feel like Heaven. We made it!!!!! We made it!!!!!!
That's when the laughter came. Rolling around in the sand like a bunch of lunatics (I was so elated to be on land I think at one point I was eating the sand). When we finally calmed down I asked him again. "So, seriously, how big was it?"
"that's between me and the shark" he says, and until this day he has not revealed the size of our oceanic predator, and honestly, I'd rather not know.

2009-10-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Kauai, Hawaii October 13-19, 2009, This is just a little side blog, the real Kauai blog will come shortly :)
Many people that we meet tell us that we our living the dream, and while this is most certainly true, it is important to point out that it is our dream. We realize that we are lucky to be able to do what makes us so happy in life and we are thankful everyday for that. I have been given great advice from so many wonderful people throughout the years and because of it I have deeply grown as a person. I am at a point where I have no regrets about decisions that I have made in my life to travel, move from city to city, not to have children at this point in time, etc. . . and I have been ultimately successful in achieving my goals and I am truly HAPPY . Because of this I believe that I am finally in a position in my life where I am able to give some friendly advice as to how to get to that point . Please do not confuse this with arrogance or pretentiousness. I mean only to answer so many questions that I receive on a daily basis as to "how do you do it?" In the mission statement of this blog we claim that our goal is to "inspire, intrigue, educate, and entertain", and I would like to dedicate a little section to inspire, so here goes. . .
On Life:

Find what makes you happy and DO IT! Happiness is the key to everything. I simply cannot stress this enough. I am sure that you know what I am talking about here. If you are unhappy at work, then that will trickle into every aspect of daily life, and so on. . . Find a way to find happiness, it is worth it! If you are in a terrible relationship, or even in a relationship where you just don't love the person. . . GET OUT! I am so tired of hearing people say how their significant other doesn't make them happy, or blah, blah, blah. I realize that a relationship is hard work, but if you can't fix it, move on. I promise you will be able to find someone that appreciates and loves you for who you are. Of course most of you reading this blog are in amazing relationships, I just want to say that this advice is aimed as a general for everyone, not geared specifically towards those reading this blog.
Open your hearts, please. I believe that love is at the center of our driving energies; spiritual, emotional and physical. Love balances us out. I don't mean that you have to find that "one true love", I just believe that the more you give love, the more that you will be loved. Exuding positive energy is a great way to give to the universe, and you will almost always get positive energy in return. Don't sweat the small stuff and please try to stop arguing with others over trivial things, it wastes so much time and energy that could be used for. . . um well, use your imagination. Remember that Beatles song "all you need is love. . . ", they were really on to something don't you think? Happiness and love are are synergistic and when you put them together they are like one big screaming or. . , wait well everyone likes those right?
Life is short, so remember. . . no regrets! No one wants to be that person that always says " I always wanted to. . . ". One day you are going to wake up and you will realize that your life seemed to just pass you by. Life comes at us so fast! You do have a choice; Do you watch your own life idly pass you by like a bad rerun of Roseanne, or do you become an active player in the game? If you have always wanted to skydive, learn to paint, go to college, swim with sharks, change careers, or volunteer, why haven't you? It is important for us to find what makes us happy and do it! Remember? If you have always wanted to travel and learn about other cultures but aren't able to, bring the culture to you! Look in your newspapers for local art or culture fairs and attend them. Go see a movie that has subtitles! Yes, subtitles. Foreign films are amazing :) Try Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, or Ethiopian foods. They are delicious! Open your eyes and open your hearts to other cultures. The United States is incredibly unique because we have so many amazing cultures and right at our fingertips and most of the time we look right past the beauty in this diversity!

Money isn't the only key to success and material things should never take over your life. Yes, we all need money to survive and in this economy I may sound like an ignorant nincompoop if I say that money isn't the key to success, but please hear me out. Material things have begun to take over our lives and it seems as if everyone is trying to keep up with the Jones's. Think twice about buying that over -sized, gas guzzling SUV, that is way too expensive, and just not eco-friendly at all. We try to live beyond our means and that is when the money problems truly start to begin. It seems to me, as Americans we have an insatiable appetite for, well. . . things. Cars, homes, True religion Jeans, flat screen TVs, cell phones, gadgets, gadgets, and more gadgets, Sham Wow's ( just seeing if you were still with me), etc. I am not immune to this, believe me. Las Vegas is a prime example for excessive consumerism and maybe that's why Vegas has the highest foreclosure market in the US? Living beyond your means=trouble. It can be a vicious cycle but it all boils down to the first two points : Love and Happiness. Contrary to popular belief, money and material things will not bring you either one! Try to cut back on the gadgets, homes, and Starbucks, and save your money so you can actually do something that makes you happy (I realize that many of us, myself included, would put up a good argument that Starbucks does make us happy)!

So to sum it all up: Live a life full of love and happiness and aspire to achieve your goals. Money is a helpful commodity to have but "money does not make the man". Take time to stop and smell the roses , plumerias if you are in Hawaii, and love life! It is so AWESOME!
Thanks for your patience and interest in this blog. I love you all.-Savvy Nomad 1

2009-10-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Maui, Hawai'i October 8-13, 2009
Aloha friends!
Leaving Kona was difficult and even though we were excited to explore Maui we realized that we were about to embark on an entirely different type of travel: Couchsurfing. You are probably wondering what we mean by this "couchsurfing", so here's the deal. . . Couchsurfing is an amazing network that links travelers from all over the world. It creates friendships and allows travelers to experience the culture of the places that they are visiting through the locals' eyes. Basically, there are "surfers"(us), and "hosts"(the people that allow us to crash at their place for free). It is a super cool, exciting, and FREE way to travel. We signed up on the website http://www.couchsurfing.com/ (check it out!!!), and created our profile. We felt that because Maui is so darn expensive we would try our luck at Couchsurfing there first, and what a insane experience it was!! Seriously, WOW.
We stayed with two guys Joe (looks like Sinbad) and Nick (looks like one of the Little Rascals), and they even picked us up from the airport, how sweet. These guys are insane. We have never laughed so hard in our lives and our stomachs are still hurting from how out of control they are. Just to give you an example, they created this Youtube video, crazy hilarious. Nick videoed it and Joe plays, well. . . Joe. please watch it!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IrSg-8JEMA Also, here are some other hysterical links that we think you will find pretty silly! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tcR19y7GPM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UV_v1mdniQ
The first day we arrived in Maui our hosts took us on a drive around town to show us where everything was located, then it was off to the sushi bar Sensai for some delicious grub, and my favorite. . . karaoke! Scream! Oh what a night, I kinda stole the show. "Let's give it up for good dental hygiene". Too funny. We are loving Hawai'i, karaoke everywhere! By the way, if someone dares you to eat a whole chunk of wasabi, don't do it unless you want to burn really bad when you go number 2. Ring sting sting anyone?
They hooked us up with a helicopter tour of Maui. . . for free! How sweet is that? Such spectacular views of the island. Waterfalls everywhere and every shade of green imaginable. Heaven on earth. We also went ziplining. . . yeah team, for free. They are professional photographers and all we had to do is be their models for the ziplining shoot. O.k, twist our arms. We rented a Jeep and drove the West Maui Mountain drive and stopped off at astounding beaches for snorkeling and body surfing. Nick also wanted to introduce us to his friends :Patty, Sandy, Bob, and Russell (inside joke, but really funny I promise). Hey, why do two nuns always travel together? So the other nun don't get nun. he he he. The only inappropriate thing we saw with them was Maggie, their 16 year old friend who likes to drink pool water(lol). O.K., enough with the jokes already, Brad's getting violent.
We went to a nude beach called Little Beach( lot's of little things there. . . the water was kinda cold if you know what I mean) and had a blast! The shenanigans that go on there are too crazy to post on this so-called "family-oriented blog", so email us if you want the details!
Throughout the week Brad and I saw so many fascinating and exquisite sights: The drive to Hana, Haleakala Crater, and Tedeschi Vineyards, Maui's only winery. They make their wine from pineapples, so delicious. . . and nutritious. . . That's what we like to tell ourselves! Brad is such and amazing driver and I must say that he drove around the entire island of Maui without a single complaint! Thanks Brad! You rock baby!(and thanks for not allowing us to drive over any of those treacherous cliffs into the oceanic abyss, my Mom would have been really mad. Lol)
The last few nights we were lucky enough to be invited to stay with Scott, an amazing local singer. His favorite song to sing is "True Colors", by Cyndi Lauper. I kid, I kid. He is a dive master/ instructor at Maui Dive Shop. If you dive with him make sure to tip him phat, or he will pull your regulator out of your mouth, then put a giant octopus on your face, all while laughing so hard he wets his wetsuit! So scary, but completely untrue. Our friend Tracy, who also just happens to live on Maui invited us over for a sensational home cooked meal of fresh seafood enchiladas. Yummy Mcyummerson! Thanks Tracy! The only thing missing was David Beckham.
So, too sum it up for us : Maui = great laughs, magnificent beaches and snorkeling, dazzling landscapes, super scenic drives around the island, fantastic new friends, phenomenal sushi at "Sushi Paradise", and of course. . . karaoke.
Love from the most "honk you horn around the corner" place on earth- Savvy Nomad 1 and 2

2009-10-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

October 1st-8th, 2009 Kona, Hawai'i
Aloha! Greetings from paradise! We are sorry that it has taken so long to write, but there is just so much to see and such a small amount of time and we want to truly grasp the essence and spirit of this awe-inspiring place that we call...Hawai'i!
We are currently in Maui experiencing all kinds of crazy adventures, and we will get to that later, but for now, it's all about Kona (and I don't just mean Kona Coffee or Kona Brewing Company!!! He he he we do love our coffee and beer though!)
Let's start at the beginning, shall we? The night before we left for this wondrous journey there was this twinge in my stomach that was all to familiar. . . anxiety. Although we realized that we were about to embark on an amazing trip, the fear involved with quitting a great job, leaving friends, and most of all, leaving a place we have learned to call home, was challenging and a bit unsettling. Not to mention the fact that since the last world journey we have seen the movie Hostel (sooo creepy), and plenty of episodes of "Locked Up Abroad". Do us a favor, don't watch those while we are gone or you will be seriously worried for our safety! Hehehe

We took the Red-Eye flight to Kona and literally the second we stepped of the plane we were greeted by our lovely friend Sarah, who promptly Leid (not to be confused with laid), both of us with the most beautiful and fragrant fresh Plumeria Flower Lei's. She then took us to her and her fiance Kalani's fabulous resort( it is actually their house, but it is so awesome it should be a resort!). Their lanai(porch) overlooks a harmonious combination of the turquoise waters of the Pacific Ocean, the exquisite black lava rock, and plumeria, pikake and guava trees. Their so- called back yard (more like a private garden of eden) is complimented by a waterfall, lagoon, and what they call 'Pond", which is actually a jacuzzi that has a view of it all! Let's just say all of those initial feelings of anxiety were washed away with the first mimosa that spectacular first morning in Hawai'i.
Sarah and Kalani were the most amazing hosts and they truly encompass the meaning of the ever-so-famous "Hawaiian Hospitality". Captain James Cook came to the Big Island of Hawai'i as an explorer in the 1700's and had a first hand experience of this Hawaiian hospitality, but he and his crewmen took advantage of these amazing people. With them they brought greed, dishonesty, violence, and diseases that wiped out much of the population, and eventually the Hawaiian people had enough. . .and in 1779, as Kalani would say. . . "they slaughtered his ass"!
Kalani is a true Hawaiian through and through. He is so incredibly proud of his heritage (and his flaming jeep and CIA trucks lol)! He is full of so much knowledge about his culture, past, present and future. He holds the key to all of the secrets and blueprints of the Big Island. SSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! It's all Top Secret stuff!!!!!Hahahahahahahahaha

I GOT STUFF!
That very first day they took us for some fresh Kona coffee at the Coffee Shack which overlooks Kealakekua Bay, Puu Honua O Honaunau, which is the City of Refuge, snorkeling at two-step, one of the best spots on the island, and this was all before noon!!! Then it was all about the GUAVA! GUAVA! GUAVA! GUAVA EVERYWHERE!
For sunset they took us out on their hand made Kealakekua(Hawaiian word for double hulled canoe), which they named the KINI KINI. Now this is a canoe, not to be confused with a boat, and if you do confuse it you will be thrown overboard by the Canoe's Captain Kalani! he he he. He built this amazing vessel by hand and it is truly spectacular!

Kalani, Brad, and his super cool dog Awa!

The rest of the week was filled with many crazy and cool adventures. For our One Year Wedding Anniversary, yes folks it's already been a year, they hooked us up with one of the most amazing things we have ever done: A night Scuba Dive with Manta Rays!!!!! Check it out at:http://www.konahonudivers.com/mantaray.shtml
They took us to the most remote and beautiful beaches, we are not allowed to tell you the names, it is all very Top Secret, CIA type stuff, but we will say that it was all truly breathtaking. Sarah took us to her property at Waiohinu that has the most jaw dropping views of the coastline and lot's and lot's o' cows, and cow pies! he he ha ha
So much happened on the Big Island, it was truly too much to explain, but let's just say that karaoke was involved, watching moonrise's, visiting with Aesha's loving parents Alan and Irene, and our absolute favorite. . . the Valley of Waipio, and the hike to the waterfall Hiilawe.
This was truly one of the most spectacular sights we have ever visited! So serene and magical!

Best Day Ever!!!! Best Week ever!!! Honestly we can't thank Sarah and Kalani enough for their hospitality and friendship! You are both truly amazing and our trip was so much more than a trip, it was a learning experience that we will treasure forever! Mahalo, Mahalo, Mahalo! Love from the home of the Biggest of all of the Hawaiian islands- Savvy Nomad 1 and 2

2009-10-05T00:26:00.000-07:00

Sin City, Nevada. . .city of dreams, hookers, and . . . us.

One lonely rubber ducky found his way into our suitcase on the eve of our departure. Look out for the Ducky.

We have lived here for 2 ½ years and have observed some really weird things going on. We always hear “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas”, but our burning question is…What if you live here? We feel it’s our duty to share some thoughts on Vegas. We owe you that much! Vegas is awesome, creepy, crazy and just ridiculous. Here are a few prime examples:

A gaming bar that puts up a huge banner out front that claims “FREE PISTOL TO ANYONE THAT GETS A ROYAL FLUSH”. Really? Really? OK, let’s get people shitfaced, take all of their money, and then give them a pistol. Awesome.
Nowhere else in the world would you pay $600.00 for a bottle of Grey goose and think you got a sweet deal. If I pay that much, it better be loaded with pee pee from the Gods. Oh, wait…I think it is, maybe that’s why I am always praying to the porcelain Goddess?
I have actually had people come to my bar and ask me the most ridiculous things I have ever heard; here are just a few examples… “Do you live here?” My answer to that question (I actually heard that question several times while working in Vegas), is “No, I actually live in Detroit, but I fly here every morning just to serve cocktails to intelligent people like yourself”. Another one is “any chance you would like to come up you my room for a drink?” My reply is “Of course, you are in luck because I moonlight as a prostitute” Really people? What about me making you a freaking martini makes you think that I want to sleep with you? Maybe it’s my Red Rock shake?
The most insane thing that I ever heard was this drunk couple offered me to “videotape” them in their room. Gross, but kinda tempting. I just told them that they could just find a hooker to do it for much cheaper. What is wrong with people? And Oh, I do not do drugs, know anyone that does drugs, nor do I look like a crackhead. So, please stop asking me if I can find you any “party favors!!!”
What you see is not what you get. The most popular Las Vegas slogan of “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, should be changed to “move to Las Vegas, and for 10,000 dollars you can create your own private Alien”. And by alien I mean, the over-injected lips, inflated boobs, face lifts, eye lifts, cheek implants, butt implants,, veneers, hair extensions, gel tips, air- brushed tanned people, that are scarier than any horror film that I have ever seen. I actually ran into four of these aliens on my way into the post office and I almost pooped my pants. All I could think was “we are getting invaded!!!” What’s even scarier is that they actually think that they look good.
Squirrels eating watermelon.
Endless supply of porn, always creeping it’s way into our lives…
The 75 year- old man walking around with a 22 year- old smoking hottie that is definitely not his granddaughter!! Eeeewwwwwwww. Yucky Mc Yuckerson and the Yuck hounds!
Only in Vegas will you see a bartender work his/her ass off all night, just to pump every single dollar into the machine as soon as they clock out. Now that is just plain silly. (Or Brad sneaking in just 'one more' sports bet").
Strip clubs, strip clubs, strip clubs, and the oh- so-famous Green Door
Only in Vegas does Del Taco taste sooooo good.

Now, there are a shit ton of crazies that live in Nevada, and I don’t just mean North Vegas. They are everywhere, especially the guy on Sahara and Fort Apache, but we still love you Las Vegas!
On a serious note…We met so many wonderful people while we lived here and can’t thank you enough for all of your love and support! This is not goodbye, just a Fond Farewell!! LOL
So please follow us as we venture around this spectacular world and we promise that we will not disappoint you.
Love, from the most sinful place on Earth

- Savvy Nomad 1 and 2
Stay tuned for an amazing Kona, Hawaii blog. . .

2009-07-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been way too long since our last post and oh, so much has happened. We have been living in Sin City, a.k.a Las Vegas, Nevada for the past 2 1/2 years, we got hitched on October 3, 2008, after 10 wonderful years together. We have been saving our duckets and are getting ready to embark on a new world journey. Look out world, we are rested and ready to take on anything! We are awesome. We are strong. We are Savvy Nomads. Love from the most "what happen's here stays here" place on earth, Sam and Brad!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stay tuned. The new blog will have all kinds of awesome little trinkets. . . videos, pictures, stories, travel advice and tips, and much much more. . .

2007-03-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

NICARAGUA MARCH 17-??????????I took this photograph at the Monte Verde El Jardin de Mariposas, a butterfly garden in Costa Rica but forgot to post it with the Costa Rica blog. I hope you love this picture as much as we do! It just makes us feel all warm and happy inside.

Let´s get down to business, shall we? Here is the scoop.....
We left Costa Rica and headed across the border into Nicaragua. We decided to begin with a sleepy little surf town called San Juan Del Sur. The Nicaraguan side of the border is erratic, misleading, and ambagious, to say the least. We were sweaty and irritated when out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of another couple that appeared to be as exasperated as we were. I slowly creeped over and with the biggest smile I uttered ¨Do you speak English?¨ It was love at first sight. Not only did they speak English, but they are from Toronto, been together for 4 years, been travelling the same amount of time that we have and...they were also going to San Juan Del Sur!!!! Wow, this could be fun... As it turns out, fun is a huge understatement, we had an absolute blast with Steve and Tania!! Let the story begin...

Our first day in San Juan Del Sur was classic. We decided to visit a beach that was 12 kilometers away( of course we couldn´t just stay at the local beach, that would be way to easy). After some intense bargaininng we jumped in what seemed to be a cab- type van thing( he had the lowest price...for a reason), and were on our way to the beach. It was supposed to take 20 minutes. After a 25 minute errand run around town, in which he picked up a spare tire, a huge container of water, and one of his friends, we finally began the torrturous grovelling tip-toe to the beach. After 10 minutes on the unpaved road the car started smoking and overheating. We stopped, they opened the hood and poured some water into the smoking engine. We were at a stand still for at least 15 minutes. This happened three more times and then finally (it had been well over an hour) he just stopped the car and old us to get out and walk the rest of the way...and pay him full price.- Yikes. We were fed up with this nonsense, as well as intoxicated by the fumes, so agreed that would be best. The beach was lovely and the water sublime. The waves at this beach are said to be the best for surfing in all of Cental America, and by the looks of the professional surfers out there, I believe it. We all wanted to have a go at it so Tania and Steve decided to rent a surf board. All was going swell (no pun intended he he he), when Tania surfaced from the water and started walking toward us, head down, broken surf board in hand. Long story short, there was a big, bad Nicaraguan guy pounding his fist, looking at Steve when he brought the board back in 2 pieces. They had words, and they tried to get them to pay $300.00 U.S., yeah right. They finally agreed upon( well kinda) $50.00, and we ran as fast as our sunburned legs could carry us. On the road we flagged down a passing pick up truck (safety in numbers), and he pointed for us to get in the back. Score!!! Well at least we thought we scored, he dropped us off on the side of the road after only 5 minutes. We thought, O.k., we can do this, it will only take us a few hours to walk back, it might be fun. The sweat was dripping down our bodies like glue and we needed a cold drimk. Alas, a bar seemed to be on the horizon, but what is the crowd for? As we approached the bar, there were a bunch of locals screaming and yelling at what looked like a mini boxing ring...a cock fight, oh no, get me outta here fast! Brad and Steve wanted to experience a little local flavor so they went in and watched the action. They came out looking disorientated and Brad says¨The white one lost, he´s dead, and Sam you are so happy you didnt witness that..¨ Yes I am Brad. Yes I am.

We walked for an eternity until we realized we were lost. Just at that moment a huge red dump truck with a faded Coca Cola Ad on the side started our way. He slowed down, Steve explained where we need to go, and he told us to get in. Score! Well, once again, he only took us a few minutes and then let us out. We finally made it back after sunset, but not before we came upon the creepiest monkey ever at this little farm house. As usual, Brad wanted to snap a photo. As soon as he got close enough the monkey lunged at him and almost took his head off. Brad took the pic just in time!!!!! (We also found a wooden dildo on the side of the road, no joke, but that is an entirely different story...creepy and geeky and it smells like stinky pinky!)
Scary monkey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After San Juan Del Sur we headed to Isla Ometepe, a volcanoc island in the middle of Lago De Nicaragua, the bigget lake in Central America. There are two volcanoes on the island, Conception and Maderas. Conception is still active and many people visit the island to hike up one or both of these extraordinary volcanoes. We didn´t realize that we were some of those people, but after the boys convinced us that we should do it, we reluctantly gave in. We opted for Maderas, the inactive one. It took 12 hours from start to finish and was the most gruelling hike of all of our lives to date. Our guide only spoke Spanish, which added another intriguing element. The path was rocky, steep, wet and muddy. When I say muddy, I mean filthy, slippery, thick, stinky mud that cakes on your clothes and shoes and reminds you that you are loco for attempting the hike in the first place. Once we finally made it to the top we were rewared with a magestic prize...Crater lake. This tranquil and undisturbed place is genuinely awe-inspiring. We felt at peace here, if only for a moment. Time to go down....I wanted to kick and scream and call a helicopter to pick us up, but the damage was done and we had to get down before dark.

The mud was everywhere. Our shoes were covered, but luckily there was a ¨lavadero de zapatos¨, translated laundry mat for your shoes.

I never thought the mud would come out of these pants, but it did! I should have been in a Tide commercial!

I love adventure, but this is ridiculous! I must admit that I was bitter they entire way down.

My mother and your mother were washing shoes, my mother........
Conception and Maderas. View from the ferry across Lago de Nicaragua.

This monkey baby was so precious. Her name is Cindy, imagine that! We got to play with her for an hour and she kept stealing our staws and cervesas. It is such an invigorating feeling to hold a baby monkey. She was the highlight of the day!

They are really weird about their rum here in Nicaragua aren´t they?

Just having a romantic evening out on the town. Love is grand!

This photo was taken at the broken surf board beach, right before we got chased outta there!!!!

Granada, Nicaragua, March 23-25, 2007

We are finally up to date on the blog! We are in Granada today, where we must say goodbye to our dynamite new friends. We have had such an amzing time with them ( where´s my q-tips ) and know that we will stay in touch. We are off to Honduras tomorrow and they are headed to Guatemala. Don´t worry Tania and Steve for we will always have Nicaragua. lol.

Viva¨Team Nicaragua!!!¨

2007-03-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

PAVONES, COSTA RICA...Home of the best: twilight swims, sunsets, skinny dips, hermit crab Battle Royals, cozy beds to sleep in, awesome snorkeling, and waves...only we don´t surf all that well...
OSA PENNINSULA, COSTA RICA This penninsula is home to hundreds of species of wildlife that can only be found here. Corcovado National Park takes up more than 50% of the penninsula and many mysterious and endangered types of wildlife enjoy their life here without the fear of being hunted or poached. Ticos, or Costa Ricans realize the importance of preserving the environment and the evidence is displayed by the many National Parks located throughout this ambrosial country.
Monte Verde, Costa Rica
We have been waiting to experience the Rainforest Zip Line since our decision to come to Costa Rica...2 years ago!!!!! I must say that flying through the tree tops at 20 miles an hour, 400+ feet in the air does something special for me. O.k. I´m weird, but I think you all already knew that right? It was well worth the 2 year wait and our adrenaline is still pumping!!!!! Yipeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He looks nice and calm, but on the inside he is crying like a little baby. If you look close you may be able to spot his diaper! I kidd, I kidd!!!

Nan, this one is for you! We just wanted to add another cow to your collection. We love you and can´t wait to see you! The monkeys here are friendly and so cute too!

Central America has provided us with many new friends and this guy is awesome! His name is Elam and we took an intense nature hike with him and a few others (and a guide Mom, don´t worry) through Corvovado National Park. The hike was strenuous and at times we were actually hiking in waist deep water in the river...yikes! Remember that movie Stand By Me? Yeah, I sure do, and after being in the river about 30 seconds Elam chuckles ¨Hey guys, make sure you check for leeches!¨I laughed and pulled out my bathing suit bottoms for a look-see and guess what I find? A leech has decided to make my private area his lunch!!!!! I screamed and ripped it off, but I am deeply scarred for life, not literally cauz he was only on there for a few seconds, thank God! Like I said before...if it can bite( or suck my blood in this case) it will find me!
Yet another lovely hike in Costa Rica, only this time it was around the base of Volcan Arenal. Arenal is an active Volcano and the last major erruption occured only 38 years ago, killing hundreds of people and 45,000 head of cattle. It is constanly errupting on a small scale everyday and on a clear night you can view the bright orange lava creeping down the sides. We took a trip to the Baldi Hot Springs and enjoyed an evening in the caliente agua while sipping on cocktails at the swim up bar. It was a marvelous night!
This green parrot is common throughout Costa Rica. Unfortunately, we were unable to snap a photo of the specatcular Crimson Maccaw, which is found on the Osa penninsula, so his distant cousin, the Green Parrot, will have to suffice!
This photo was taken just before the hike around the Volcan Arenal. We saw many monkeys, parrots, and a Tucan!!!!! We were also lucky enough to spot several three and two toed Sloths while we were in Costa Rica. Sloths are the cutest animals. They seriously look like Ewoks!
Igunas are plentiful in Costa Rica, and they are sooo huge. This guy became our friend rather quickly after he found out we had raisins!
Manuel Antonio National Park. The water was so warm and clear we just couldn´t resist several qiuck dips throughout our hike in the park.
Sunrise over the Osa Penninsula. Isn´t is grand?
We finally made it to Costa Rica!

Brad, Phil, Me, and Candyce, Pavones, Costa Rica

COSTA RICA March 3-March19, 2007
PURA VIDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hola mis amigos y familia! Costa Rica is muy perfecto y muy bonita! Me gusta Costa Rica mucho! O.K., O.K., I 'll stop with the spanish, but we are so proud of how far our Spanish has come along in the past couple of weeks.
We reluctantly left Panama and were ready for our first stop in Costa Rica...Pavones! My best friend Lyndee's parents live in Pavones in a spectacular beach house that overlooks the Pacific ocean. A constant breeze of sweet smelling flowers fills their beautiful home and we felt so warm and cozy here we REALLY did not want to leave. Once again we became spoiled very quickly! Wow, we could get used to this...They took us in, fed us, let us do our laundry, and even had a fridge stocked with beer and wine, they must have known we were coming...(not really.. we kinda showed up unannounced). We would like to thank them again for the warm welcome and sincerely great time we had with them. Thanks Phil and Candyce, we look forward to visiting again soon!

Eco-Tourism and Costa Rica
Everyone who knows us knows about our love of nature and the outdoors, which is why Costa Rica was a perfect place for us to visit. Although we have definitely experienced our share of the outdoors throughout this trip, the cultural experiences ( and culture shock..you all remember the India blog...) has been the forfront of most of this journey thus far, but eco-tourism is what drew us to Costa Rica. People come to Costa Rica for the nature, the lush tropical rainforests, and the vast array of animals, reptiles, and birds that cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. We are polishing up on our Spanish, meeting locals, and having a blast. Costa Rica was wonderful...PURA VIDA!!!!!!!!

2007-03-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

Brad, Me, and Brad´s Mom!!! Put this one on the wall Cyn! We love you!
Bocas Del Toro, Isla Bastimentos, Panama Feb 20-26, 2007
We started off our Panamanian leg of the journey on the islands of Bocas Del Toro. We were treated to an unexpected kindness by the gentlemen who own Al Natural Resort on the Island of Isla Bastimentos ( Thanks for calling Cyn!!). We had no reservations to this resort and wanted to be able to stay near Brad´s Mom, but they were full. They made an exception for us and allowed us to stay in their own personal guesthouse for free...minus the cost of food. Mind you they fed us three sumptious meals a day, and provided us with enough wine with dinner to make even the most graceful( yeah sure) and unexpecting person fall off the dock...he he he. Thanks Vincent and Michele!
The times we had while visiting this remote and lovely island were surely some of the very best we have had on this entire journey. The snorkeling was perfect, the weather was perfect, the kayaking was...well yes, can you guess it...PERFECT. We truly LOVED it here and WILL be coming back, hopefully sooner than later.

I am so happy I just don´t know what to do! We had just hiked around the southern tip of the island, through dense tropical forest, where we spotted the most beautiful butterfly in the world, the Morpho, as well as the endangered Poison Red and Green dart frog.The jungle opened up to the sea and the breeze was invigorating and delicious. We continued the hike until we stumbled upon a man screaming at us with his Carribean accect to " Come over and grab a f*cking cold one" this man is named Palo. Palo is a local who was born on the island and is one of the funniest characters we have met on our journey. He loves to swear, particularly F*ck this and f**cking that, and offers the coldest beers on the island. He is hilarious and we had a blast with him..Cheers until next time Palo!!!!!

Isla Bastimentos...pure paradise. I feel that over the past 7 months I have severely abused the word ¨paradise¨ and thus rendering its' poignant and true meaning useless, but I will admit to you now that Isla Bastimentos is paradise in its most intrinsic form. The aesthetics alone of this unworldy place will blow you away, not to mention the warm tropical turqouise waters that soothe the soul, the bluer than blue skies, the greener than green rainforest, the whiter than white sand beaches and the rainbow of creations under the water that are so exquisite you are intoxicated by the sheer reality that such beauty and harmony exists in this vast and complicated world. Earth.... what a dynamic creation.

My photographer boyfriend snapped this perfect photo of the Poison Red and Green dart frog, an endangered species. This frog is disappearing rapidly from our world and we feel so priveliged to have been able to view it in its diminishing natural environment. This shot is amazing don´t you think?

Me and Cyn (MPH he he he) having the best time ever snorkling in the Caribbean! That day we saw: snappers, eagle rays, morray eels, parrot fish, trigger fish, baracuda, octopus, scorpion fish, sea urchin, sea cucumbers and tons of mini florescent fishies that were soooo cute...right from our dock! The huge brain coral and sea fans were some of the best!

This was at the beginning of our 10 hour hike over the volcano..It reminds me of a song I used to know, wanna hear it here it goes....¨Over the river and through the woods, to Granmother's house we go¨...only the river is a Volcano, the woods are jungle, and Grandma doesn´t live anywhere around here. Sh*t, what should we do?

Who is this local islander? It´s Bradley, the long lost Kanuk who fell in love with Isla Bastimentos and decided to stay there forever...well maybe not forever, but there will always be a special place in his heart( and mine!) for this most perfect island paradise.

The elusive Quetzale is a spectacular site, if you are lucky enough to spot it. This gorgeous bird is the prize of Cerra Punta, Panama and draws faithful bird watchers from all over the world. We were hoping to catch a glimpse, and even had our trusty binoculars close by at all times (thanks Mike and Julie!), but were unable to find this rather shy birdie. We have had our share of wildlife though, dont you worry about that...Ever heard of a three toed sloth? Yeah, we have seen 6 of them, two of which had babies, and all in the wild, but that part of the story will come later in the Costa Rica section of this tardy blog.

This is a spectacular view of the mountains and Volcano, just outside Cerra Punta, Panama. We decided advantagously, and certainly spontanously, to hike the 15 mile (11 hour) hike from the city of Volcan over the Volcano, through the virgin tropical RAIN forest (notice I capitalize RAIN...most humans with any level of intelligence would bring a rain jacket when hiking through a rain forest) and into the town of Boquette. Problem is, we had know idea where the trail, if you can call it that, was going to let us out. We ended up somewhere in the mountains, in the pouring rain, without any idea where we were or how we would get back to Volcan. It was too late to even consider hiking back through the jungle, and we just stood there at a crossroad, arguing which way would take us back to civilization. Then out of nowhere this clunking minivan pulled up, the owner and his son took one look at our pathetic, Gringo asses, and asked if we needed a ride. Why yes, fine young gentlemen, however did you guess? He took us to town, a 20 minute ride by car, and dropped us off at the bus stop. Our journey did not end there. No, No my friends it was just about to begin. We hailed down an old yellow school bus, jumped in and in broken spanish asked if it was going down the mountain. As kids, we both loved the Atari game "Frogger" , so jumping from city to city finding our way home only seemed like a silly little game, one in which a warm, bed bug free bed awaited us at the finish line! The school bus ride down the mountain lasted 1 hour. Once we were in the town of David, we desperately searched for a bus to take us home, but to no avail...we had just missed the last bus! We jumped on another bus ( 1/2 hour or so) going in a similar direction, hopped off and hailed a taxi for the duration of the journey. Big Mistake!!!! This guy was pinche loco! He was zipping around like a madman all while text messaging some unlucky girl somewhere. We were terrified and and the dense fog was not doing anything to ease our tense nerves. After 40 minutes of horror we finally arrived at our destination...at 10 p.m! Frogger's got nothin on us. To bad the bedbug-free bed does not exist in Sam's world...

This is a view from our boat on Isla Bastimentos. The picture cannot even begin to show the true beauty of this magical wonderland, but I´m sure you can use your imagination!

Brad and his beautiful mommy on the uninhabited island of Zapitillos, Panama. This is the island where the first Survivor was filmed. The scenery is breathtaking as are the surrounding coral reefs. Once your boat docks and you hop onto the soft sand, you feel as if your feet are the first to ever explore this seemingly endless beach.

O.K, I have finally accepted my fate. If it can bite me, it will. This also includes animals, such as one particular dog named Barney. This picture doesn't even come close to showing all of the 250+ Sand flea, or as the locals call them Chitras, bites I accumulated in in 6 hours time on Carenero Island. I have never in my entire life been in such itching agony! I cried myself to sleep one night, then went hysterical the next day and experienced "temperary itching insanity" (it actually exists...I swear) and told Brad I wanted to come home. What a nightmare that was. For me to actually contemplate leaving paradise, you know how truly unbearable those bites were. Don't worry, the scars last as a loving memory of Chitra Island ( so the locals call it, a bit of advice I would have liked to know BEFORE going there! ) However, I did have an amazing time on Chitra Island, minus those pinche pests! Chitras = 258 Sam = "I want to go home" ...single tear

Fancy a nap in a hammock with your loved one? I know I do!

So sad we had to leave Bocas! Sobb sobb, choke coke, more sobb, more choke...WWWWAAAAAAAAAA! O.k. so we're babies and we got spoiled like good little babies should while we were in Panama. Now it´s back to the real travel life...sobb sobb.

We are actually in Costa Rica right now, and have been since March 3, 2007. we promise to have that lovely blog posted as soon as possible. Costa Rica is awesome, but we must move on. Off to Nicaragua!!! We'll keep you posted.

2007-02-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

My own little snowman!

Don't ask, don't tell.
Smithsonian magazine, the ultimate adventure and discovery...three issues free.

My Aruba and Brad's Juicy....love love love you guys!!!!!!!

Me and my Mommy. How beautiful is she? I LOVE YOU MOM!

Patron, B-Rad, and Little Bobby Fordham.

Our favorite person in the universe! We love you Evan more than anything in the whole world!

Daddy's little girl forever! I LOVE YOU DAD!!!!!

Not even a prayer could help the Bears to victory. oh well, let's have some more cocktails, shall we?

Coolest night ever!!!!!

My brother Mike, his fiance Julie and us. We had such a spectacular first night back in Chicago. Thanks for the gear mike and also for letting us eat you out of house and home.

Chips chips chips...dips dips dips. Kitty turntables and no what i'm sayins?

Another day in paradise...yeah sure.

Well well well, here it is, the CHICAGO BLOG!!!!!!!
We had so much fun at home with all of our friends and family. Too bad that the Bears had to go and screw everything up! Just kidding, as you all know too well, we weren't actually watching the game, we were fake fighting, falling down, taking crazy pictures, talking nonsense, and shooting tequila all while enjoying the company of our closest friends! We had such an amazing time with all of you and we really want to thank you for taking such awesome care of us while we were home. Also, thanks for listening to all of our stories with such enthusiasm while acting like you really care to hear yet another India story. Mom, thank you for keeping a neverending fridge that was always stocked with dips and puddings, my jelly belly really appreciates you! Shannon and Adam...you guys rock! Can't wait until we can mooch off you again in May...he he he! Dad, spending time with you is always special, thanks for everything.

We love the moon, cauz it good for us! It is such a blessing to have the best families in the world as well as the best friends anyone could ever ask for. We love all of you and thank you for your support and undying blog attention! See you in May! Love, from the freakin coldest week of winter in Chi-Town! -Sam and Brad

By the way, thanks for introducing us to the best song in the world...Dick in a Box.

2007-01-31T23:49:00.000-08:00

In loving memory of Lynda Joy Varner.
January 31, 1976 - July 4, 2005
Lynda,
You are always with us and we have felt your presence many times throughout our journey. Thank you for watching over us and keeping us safe. Every time we see a butterfly we remember your beautiful smile, contagious giggle and we feel your loving spirit. We love you.

2007-01-27T23:15:00.000-08:00

H-o-t-t-i-e-s
A little excessive for the cost of hygiene...mind you 1,000 dong is @ 6 cents.

Silk Factory, Dalat, Vietnam
Beautiful Dalat!

Crazy intersection in Saigon. Try crossing...we dare you.
Our new friends we met along the way. Victor, Gia and Ryan. Check out his travel website at www.theroadislife.com

Pagoda nestled within the Marble Mountains, just outside of Hoi An. Oldest Pagoda in Hanoi.

My friend, he likes you.
View from Hai Van Pass, Danang
Bullet ridden bunker where my father was stationed during the war in Vietnam. It's almost impossible to imagine that these bullets were aimed towards my Dad. My stomach tightens just looking at this picture.
Old American Bunker used during the Vietnam War. My father was actually stationed here at this very site. The feelings that I experienced here changed me forever. I love you Dad. Thank you for your courage and bravery during the war( and throughout my life)...they did not go unnoticed.

Vietnam. For many of us who were raised in the United States, the word Vietnam is synonymous with the word war. Our parents, friends, siblings and others close to our hearts may have fought and even perished in the infamous American War in Vietnam. In fact, this is the very reason why I chose to visit Vietnam in the first place. My father was a soldier for 13 months during the Vietnam War. I cannot even begin to imagine the repugnant horrors he witnessed, but I always believed that coming to Vietnam would somehow fill this inexpressible void that I have in my heart. I was right. It has not been the easiest part of the journey, but by coming to Vietnam I now feel that I am able to share something with my father in a way that I cannot describe. Historic nostalgia. I must admit I was anxious and terrified to visit Vietnam and face the harsh realities of the damage caused by war. My fears were reinforced the moment that we stepped foot into the War Remnants Museum in Saigon. The tears became an tumultuous river down my face as I grasped Brad to maintain from hysterics. As I faced my fears and tackled the task of actually visiting the museum, I slowly began to see Vietnam for what it is: A truly progressive and extraordinary country that has some of the most exquisite topography, delightful people and heavenly food that I have ever experienced. I see a growing economy that has the ability to please and entice visitors from all over the world. The point of all of this melancholic talk is simple. I no longer think of war when someone mentions Vietnam, I visualize a magical place full of lovely surprises, and I hope that by the end of this blog, so will you. That said, let's begin the fun part of this blog. No more sappy stuff...(but it had to be said.)
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam January 17- 19, 2007

It started with the coffee. Imagine a lustrous warm silk blanket being delicately teased across your naked body. The goosebumps evanesce into a perpetual sea of harmony as they unite with the most gratifying titillation that they have ever experienced. Right as you are about to explode with uproarious moans of ecstasy... O.K., O.K, I know children may be reading this but what I'm really trying to say is...: That lustrous silk blanket is Vietnamese Coffee, and that body is your tongue. Vietnam is full of an array of the most charming surprises and it all started with the coffee. That is: Cah Phe.
Saigon's population= 6.5 million. Saigon's number of motorbikes=7.5 million. Crazy huh? Just try to visualize yourself crossing a jam packed 6- way intersection with no traffic signals with what seems like an infinite number of motorbikes whizzing around you like a starving pack of rabid ligers.lol... It sounds silly doesn't it? We have seen just about everything on the back, front, and sides of these amazing machines, yet we will never fully understand the physics involved with balancing an entire family on 1 motorbike. We have actually seen up to 5 people on one of these maniacal contraptions, but the day we saw a women nursing her baby while driving with her two other children behind her ( both between the ages of 3-5), we just had to go for a few beers...you know, to help us relax and discuss this truly unbelievable motorbike culture.
Saigon is a bustling city that oozes backpackers out of every pore (some of them actually look like they came out of someones pores...gross. We've been around the world and some of the worst hygiene we've seen has been from fellow backpackers. Come one people, get it together! I will even lend you a comb so you can comb your lice infested, wanna-be dread locked, nasty nasty nasty, thing on your head that kinda resembles hair!) We met some friends on the ever-so-long and disgusting bus ride from Cambodia to Saigon. We went out for some Ginger vodka...truly delicious, and got quite tipsy ( something new). Saigon is a cornucopia of flavors; around every corner something new and exciting teases our imagination and often upsets my sensitive, and oh so vegetarian inner being. Snake wine? Iguana wine? Crow wine? How about a concoction of all three. Seriously, crows with all the feathers and everything, ENTIRE crow, snake and iguana bodies stewed together in a large glass vat, filled with wine. Perfectly viewable to all! We are told this wine is an intense aphrodisiac, and paired with dog meat (yes they eat friendly Lassie's over here), it is quite sensational. We decided to pass because we were still brimming from all of the kittens we ate the night before.
Dalat, Vietnam
After absconding from the city life we we ventured into the mountainous region of Dalat. Humble, quaint villages accompanied by quiescent mountain landscapes and once again, phenomenal food and delicious people. Maybe it's the other way around, but either way, Dalat is marvelous. We hired local guides for the day, The Easy Riders, as they call themselves, and hopped on the back of their motorcycles for an adventure ride through the mountains. Dalat is an extremely childing land. It seems that the land will produce almost anything. We witnessed fields of fresh vegetables, fruits, coffee, rice, wine vineyards, Mulberry trees for the production of silk worms, and an abundance of beautiful flowers. Our guide took us to a local village where we were able to witness the entire process of silk being made into material. It was truly magnificent. First, the silk worms are cultivated and fed a feast of mulberry leaves. The mulberry leaves are the only food that they will eat, therefore the entire plantation grows these trees just to produce food for these hungry worms. The worms are well cared for until maturity (28 days). They weave a tight cocoon of silk produced solely by their saliva. The cocoons are sent to the silk factory where they are handled by workers and turned into silk by machines. The best part is that nothing is wasted. The worms are sold to the market and eaten by locals and brave travelers! The silk produced is gorgeous and I must say I went against my vegetarian nature and purchased some lovely gifts for some seriously lucky people back home.
Let's talk a moment about the delectable food in Vietnam. Until 1958 Vietnam was still very much under French control, a terrible, unwanted and destructive situation, but one good thing did result from the French occupation: French influenced Vietnamese food. Conceptualize if you will; fresh baked baguettes smothered in fresh, creamy French cheese, add to this already heavenly mixture fresh Vietnamese vegetables, soy sauce, and a dash of spices and you have a most palatable treat! That is only the beginning! We had better Italian food here than we had all over Italy. A damn shame isn't it? They have truly honed their culinary talents and conquered the multifaceted world of food.
Nha Trang, Vietnam
A cozy little beach town, Nha Trang brought us many delights. We were able to practice our newly learned Scuba skills in the South China Sea! The visibility was only 5-10 meters, but nothing compares to the feeling of weightlessness as you cruise through the underwater world. The water was warm and the surf was huge, but a quick, refreshing dip or two in the sea was all we needed! This beach haven is where we discovered the best Italian food on the planet. Gorgonzola cream penne, pesto spaghetti, black olive & caper brushcetta, and exquisite French wine made us deliquesce into our seats and come back for more three nights in a row!
Hoi An, Vietnam
This riverside village is known for it's talented tailors and we took advantage of the opportunity to have some success oriented... lol.. suits made at great prices. There are over 200 tailor shops in about a 1 mile square radius...yikes! Madam, madam, myyyyy shop! Chilled here for a bit, drank our share of $3,000 VD( Vietnamese Dong) beers, that's one beer for about 22 cents! However, as always we are on the move, so off to Hanoi! We took an absolutely, excruciating, painful, horrifying, and utterly irritating 16 hour bus trip to Hanoi. All I have to say is if anyone turns on the lights in my bus and starts blaring Vietnamese music at 3 a.m. EVER again I will cause then great harm. I may even turn them into a silk worm.
Halong Bay, Vietnam
Pristine, archaic limestone mountains ascending from the sea towards the blue, haze covered sky. Halong Bay is one of the most beautiful places we have visited, yet the hoards of photo-snapping, Coca Cola drinking tourists took away from its' once undisturbed beauty. It's such a shame that the Vietnamese have turned this place into an all out circus. The excessive tourism has ruined the natural environment and the once clear bay is so over-polluted from all of the tourist boats I doubt any fish even call it their home anymore.However, we have no room to talk because we are tourists, whether we like it or not, and just by us being there we contributed to the demise of this alluring and mystifying natural wonder. Enough about Vietnam...let's talk about the fact that we are going to be home so soon!!!!!!! We can't wait to see everyone and once again we would like to thank all of you faithful readers!!! We love you and can't thank you enough for all of your support. See you soon!
Love, from the place with the cheapest beer in the world, Bangers and Mash 4-ever