Oct 2009

Borneo miles traveled 1146
When you hear of Borneo, you probable think of jungles, beaches, and wild animals well you would be right. We landed in Sandakan in the Malaysian Province of Sabah on the northeast side of Borneo. From our hotel, we made our arrangements to travel via bus to the fishing village of Semporna- the nearest point to visit the Sipadan Marine Park. The next day, in Sandakan, we took the mini bus to begin our journey to the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. This center was created to rehabilitate orphaned, captured, or wounded orangutans. Their biggest threat at present is the elimination of their habitat due to palm oil plantations. We ended up arriving after the first feeding, but this gave us time to go for an amazing jungle hike. The Dipterocarp trees towered hundreds of feet over our head and had roots as tall as my lovely wife. The sounds of the forest all around us and the density of life were mesmerizing. We ate a leisurely lunch, watched their introduction video, and toured the exhibits before the main event: viewing orangutan feeding time.
We walked about twenty minutes into the rainforest.

Jane of the jungle

Sara's jungle queen hat

jungle walk

Mike in the jungle

towering trees

Sara and dipterocarp roots WOW

Mike at feeding time

Sara Feeding time

feeding stations

Jungle snake

jungle lizard

Oran and staff

One needed some guidance

Close up

playful cartwheeler

en route to food

Oran swinger

Orangatan on rope 2

oran

The clowns attack

Sneaking in for left overs

Oil Palms as far as the eye can see.

Malaysia, miles travelled……6555
Our flight on Malaysia Air was longer than expected. We thought flying time would be around 8 hours, but it turned out to be 12. Also of note, we are now a day ahead of time in the U.S. When we call our friends in the morning, it is night time for them of the day before. We got off to an inauspicious start on Malaysia Airlines with a round of orange juice and confusion regarding our in flight entertainment. Soon this was remedied by a flip through the in flight magazine. We discovered we could choose from dozens of movies, languages, games, music, and learning programs. We were even able to make up our own playlists for the flight! Sara watched a program exploring the mysteries of the Big Bang and Mike failed in several contests of Yatzee against the computer. Later, the stewardess, dressed in Malay attire, came by with selections of free beer and wine. This helped us prepare to take a nice rest and pass the time until touchdown.
Kuala Lumpur’s airport was modern, clean, and posh. We wizzed through immigration faster than any other country and hailed a cab to down town KL. The cab dropped us off at Lanson Place, where we would stay with our friend Spencer, who just happens to be in KL on business.

Lanson Place

Kuala Lumpur City Centre Park

Crazy KLCC tree

Petronas Towers

Petronas Towers

Batu Caves

Caves steps

Batu Caves 5th Incarn of Vishnu

Back of statue KL skyline

Shrine Batu Caves

Batu caves

Batu Shrine

Batu Shrine

London….miles travelled…3460
We touched down at London Heathrow bright and early the next morning. The only problem with sweet onboard entertainment is that you don’t sleep as much as you otherwise might. This was to cause some problems throughout our trip in London. British Airways flies into the new terminal and it was impressive. Sara’s chum, Neal, from Ohio University met us at the doors of the terminal. He kindly had taken the day off to pick us up and take us on a quick and dirty tour of Old London town.

Our first stop was for food at Hampton Palace. Hampton Palace is one of Her Majesty’s residences west of London.
It is most renowned for its hedge maze, which incidentally has the goal of getting to the middle, not exiting), and its many colors of brick from different phases of construction. At the palace, we had our breakfast and walked about on the grounds. The grounds were thoroughly beautiful and the coffee and cake truly hit the spot as we caught up on the goings on of the family Thathapudi .
Before leaving we made a quick itinerary of spots to hit, we made reservations at a local Inn, and got a pass to enter the congestion zone of downtown London. All cars that enter downtown during peak hours pay the special fee which can be done at some gas stations and news stands. Neal buzzed us around London for the next couple of hours. We saw Buckingham Palace, Notting Hill, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and Big Ben in a whirlwind of key points. On the way to the Inn, jet lag finally got the better of me and I slept for the final twenty minutes. We crashed around one thirty that afternoon, and slept until breakfast the next day.
We used the first part of the next day to tour the small town of Watford. We had coffee and later a pint. We saw shops for bangers which we found out were various kinds of sausage and hot dog. We ate fish and chips, and tried to log on to the local wi-fi. We visited the sculpture of the Watford hornet, the mascot of their local football club. The wi-fi proceeded to rip us off and we got even further behind on our blog though the coffee was quite good. We watched some movies in our room. We bought tickets to see “Wicked” in London’s theater district, and hit the hay early hoping to maintain our readjusted time-clocks.
We managed to wake up early enough for breakfast and prepare ourselves to spend the afternoon with Neal and his family who graciously invited us to dinner. When he picked us up, he asked if we were interested in seeing the lads play Belarus in the church of football, Wembley Stadium. Not knowing anything about it but always being up for an adventure we said yes. We got the tickets for Wednesday and were on our way to lunch. His wife, Kirsty and his two girls, Madelyne, and Isabella, along with their puppy, Poppy were amazing hosts. We went for a walk in the wood and each of us got quite muddy. We ate lunch and played Karaoke on the Playstation where I learned Abba tunes and the words to popular hits from the 90’s. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day. Neal helped relocate us to our central London digs in Thornton Heath and left us to our own devices for the next couple of days.

The next two days we spent sleeping in late and then going to see plays. Wicked was Sara’s first choice and was very fun. At the theater, we picked up our newest hobby. We purchase the cheapest seats. We have a drink before the play, and order drinks ahead for half-time. Genius, no waiting in line…America take note. Then after intermission we sneak lower down to unoccupied close up seating! Awesome. The next day, I chose Othello. On the way there, we visited Trafalgar square and ate at a pub nearby. The performance was excellent and in the second half we sat in a private box facing the stage. Not too shabby.
On Wednesday after breakfast we packed our belongings and moved to another inn right by the airport. After depositing our bags, Sara and I went on a little shopping spree. I got a little jacket, darn it, it’s chilly in London. We enjoyed a light lunch at the boring, but reliable Subway. After this we began the journey back into town to meet Neal at Dollis Hill station on the way to Wembley.
After we met Neal, we had time to have a snack and meet his mom and sister. They were extremely friendly, and we enjoyed our traditional Indian snack from their home region. His mom gave us candy bars to sneak into the stadium—thanks!! Wembly was amazing and the game quite fun, though not as rowdy as we expected. We even got outfitted in England attire beforehand….Sara with her practice jersey, Mike in his cap, and Neal in his official jersey.
England triumphed over Belarus. We had fun cheering them on to victory. As we left Wembley, we herded like cattle to the tube (London subway station), all the while hearing shouts of “Green Army” from the crowd. Later, we found out what green army is about (google- "green army advert" if interested).
We have decided that London gets the”Nicest People Award” in our tourdeflor. We were surprised, too! Yes, everywhere we went people were very helpful and friendly and we look forward to getting back there in December. Before departing, we made reservations for our accommodations and planned to meet up with Neal and family again. We had such a genuinely good time. Cheers!
Tomorrow – head to Southeast Asia.

NYC…miles travelled…2057

We spent two glorious days in NYC. I had never been and Mike had been some 10 years ago, and that was in the Bronx. NYC was so much different from what I had anticipated. First of all, I must admit that I did not realize that NYC was actually made up of little islands, several of them to be specific, which I saw upon approaching from the air. As we flew by and saw the giant skyline, I asked Mike, “Do you think we will see the Statue of Liberty?” He leaned over and after a moment says, “Yep, there it is.” At first I couldn’t find it, and then I did.
I must say that the Statue of Liberty looked much smaller than I thought…..I guess I expected the size of a sky scraper. It looks so huge on TV! The city itself I expected to be much more overwhelming, however, to my surprise it felt more like a neighborhood. My friend lives in Astoria, and we walked to several neighborhood restaurants and the fruit/vegetable stand. Yes, I was very happy to see vegetables after the dearth of the last several months. I am just happy I didn’t get scurvy. Central Park impressed me too because I imagined just a big wide open green space, but it is a park with trees and squirrels and peaceful trails and just beautiful. Mike and I walked through it from West to East so that he could take me to the Art Museum. We stopped for a cup of hot coffee which was delightful in the cool fall afternoon wandering the leafy paths of central park. I loved the old brownstones in the neighborhood surrounding Central Park. Mike promised we could live in one someday.
Being in NYC also gave us a lot of food for thought. It was a serious contrast coming from Central America. We began to notice things about being “home” that were really missed during our short three months bouncing around Latin America. I realized some nice things about “home” that were just not on the radar when I returned from Nicaragua after a much longer stay back in 2000. I guess it comes down to an appreciation of some of the little things about our culture. Simple things, like getting in a taxi without having to fight your way to an acceptable price because there is a meter in the car, like finding our friend’s apartment because there were numbers and street names visible that make up her address making it much easier to locate, like being able to go to a tourist area and not be bombarded by people bidding for your business….instead we went to a ticket counter and purchased a ticket for a fixed price, like knowing how much something costs because there is a price tag on it. Also, New York tap water was delicious and safe. Mike drank somewhere near two gallons over those three days. Yes, although I am the first person to enjoy a good challenge, Mike and I decided that we were exhausted from haggling and hyper vigilance that is unfortunately necessary to make your way unscathed around Latin America as a tourist. It was a huge stress reliever…….which allowed us to enjoy our short stay to the hilt! To add to all of this the New Yorkers that we met were all amazingly friendly and helpful. My aunt Lauren always said that New Yorkers weren’t nice, but I think she only said that to keep the secret to herself…New Yorkers were amazingly helpful and friendly.
We had the luxury of staying with our friend, Diane, from Phoenix days…..in Astoria (for those of you who know the Big Apple). You rock, Diane! We had a fantastic and economic Indian meal in her neighborhood. We went to Times Square and saw “Surrogates” a decently entertaining flick. We had cocktails in the revolving Marriot looking out over the city. We rode around in the subway. We visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Mike was particularly touched to see a father, who was obviously an immigrant taking his son to see the statue. The New York Policeman was helping him find his way. The boy was smiling and the father was very happy. The Statue did look more impressive close up, but I still was surprised that it wasn’t bigger. We very much enjoyed the history of Ellis Island. Mike’s family arrived before Ellis Island was commissioned through New Orleans, and Sara is not sure if she has family that arrived via New York, but we are from immigrant stock and the experience was moving. We also had a renewed perspective on immigration on arriving from South and Central America to add to our experience of working with family re-unification for three years at Catholic Charities. The hope and promise of the United States shone particularly bright to us and we were both a little emotional. Poor Diane had to absorb all of our homesickness and gratitude in a few short days, but I think she survived.

On our last day, we packed our bags and left Diane’s apartment to meet up and enjoy one last lunch with Diane. Our final stop in New York was ground zero. It may not have been the best pre-vacation visit, but we both felt it was important for us to visit. We took the subway to Rector Street. We had a little difficulty find the spot at first. Finally, we found a small box with a man giving directions to the museum and the viewing platform in the American Express building on the second floor.
It still was not easy to find for two non-natives in the big city. The site itself is now cleaned up and humming with construction of the new towers. It is 100% cranes and concrete blocked off by huge concrete blocks and fencing. We visited the memorial museum next to the firehouse on Liberty Street. The museum was unpretentious but managed to share much of the emotional, personal, and national impact of those horrible and violent moments. It was tasteful and somber and again left us with much to ponder.
New York is now on our list of potential homes. I hear they are hiring social workers…
Finally, we took public transit to JFK airport and boarded British airways to head to London. The plane was beautiful. The drinks… plentiful, entertainment…excellent, and staff…amazing a perfect foreshadowing of our trip to London.

Guatemala…miles travelled….333 but it feels a lot further...
But first, I forgot to insert these two pics from our Bluefields entry. One is of my current Goddaughter Shary mentioned in the previous blog and the second is of a student I have been visiting since I taught him in the second grade, Jordon. I did not want to leave our blogs of Central America without including their snapshots!

Thank goodness, the bus was comfortable and the food was good and we made it safely to Guatemala. We traveled through politically volatile Honduras with four check point stops (with police checking our Id’s) but no worse for the wear.


In El Salvador we had a 2 hour stopover in San Salvador. San Salvador looked like a nice city. Close to the bus stop our only dining options were sushi (which Sara can’t stomach), Wendy’s, and Pizza Hut. We chose Pizza Hut and much to our delight discovered it was the poshest Pizza Hut ever, including Pizza Hut Café with gourmet coffee. We enjoyed beautiful landscapes between sleeping spells. Guatemala City is quite a modern city, much more so than the one Mike remembers from 10 years ago. We made our way to our hotel……oh yeah, minus #2 of 3 valuable possessions (you remember the loss of our camera at the start of our trip in Peru?) …..well we have now followed it with another loss…my ipod. Take this note to self: on long bus/plane trips do not fall asleep with things you value on your lap…..you are liable to forget them when you wake up groggy from your slumber and are shuffled off the bus. By the time you realize you are missing it, someone else has picked it up! This is a lesson we hope to take now into the rest of our travels in hopes of keeping our laptop! We spent a good deal of time on the phone that first morning trying to see if the bus line could check to see if the i-pod was wedged between the seats somewhere. Alas, it was of no avail and sadly our i-pod with 80’s hits and personal favorites was lost.

The next day, we took the bus to Antigua to visit Sara’s friend Efrain that she knew from her time in Bluefields. Efrain was, then, involved in the church’s youth group and is now a religious brother of LaSalle. We had just enough time to meet his community and get a tour of the school they operate. Afterward, we drank coffee and caught up on the past several years. It was wonderful. The brothers then invited us to have dinner with them and we graciously accepted. We thanked them for their hospitality and Efrain enlisted some friends to give us a ride and he escorted us back to the capitol. So, we saw absolutely zero sights in Guatemala, however, it was well with the trip to see Efrain. He is in charge of campus ministry at his school for about 2,000 students. He regaled us with many stories regarding his creative exploits with his students.
The next morning we departed GC for NYC by way of Miami. We were actually close enough that we walked to the airport, and after paying a couple bucks each to leave a country we barely got to visit we were airborne once again. We are really sick of the restaurants in the terminal of Miami airport for American. We invariable skip Manchu Wok because we have been disappointed there too many times and head for the bar/grill near the end of the terminal. Our three hour layover passed soon enough and we were headed to fall in New York.