Back for a while

We have been back for quite a while know,  and it feels so weird and different to be back. I feel like it has just been a dream and has passed and gone. Even though we are back we have over 27,000 pictures to remind me. My family and I may seem a little bit different or we do things differently. I have learned that different is not so bad. Whenever We were on our trip and we/I say something weird, my mom and dad would correct me and say "Different, not weird." I have come to realize that there are lots of different ways to do things in life.
Our family has enjoyed our travels so much. I want to thank my mom and dad for taking me on this trip!!! I don't want to live in AF anymore, I want to keep traveling. I really miss the places and the people. I will hope to never forget this experience
It has changed me and my life forever!!

Like a Dream - Coming Back from Our Trip

The past eleven months have passed like a dream. It was not only a dream trip but also it passed quickly and I'm now awake and it's gone. I'm afraid and sad that I've already started to forget bits and pieces. Here are some random thoughts:

• I wonder if we traveled too fast. One third of the journey is anticipation. One third is enjoyment. One third is remembering. I wonder if our anticipation period for each new place was too short to get the maximum out of it. Also, I wonder if having another fun thing/place so soon after each fun thing/place deprived us the opportunity to relish the memories.
• I think we turned into mild travel snobs. After seeing so many big things right in a row we were often not interested in seeing lesser things. It seemed like every little place had a shrine or temple that they were proud of but after seeing so many others and better ones we were not always interested or impressed.
• We really did a lot of cool things: almost all of Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Prague, Auschwitz, Hungarian Bath, the leaning tower of Piza, Italian Pesto, the Parthenon, Mars Hill, the Coliseum, Vatican City, Sistine Chapel, Ephesus, appendicitis, the Pyramids and Sphinx, the Taj Mahal, elephant rides, camel rides, cobra charming, leper colonies, the Killing Fields, a tropical island paradise, shellfish allergy, Corregidor, Kuala Lumpur Towers, Sydney Opera House, Tim Tam Slam, tropical glacier in New Zealand, and the Great Wall of China. Wow! I'm sure I've missed something.
• I liked having a place for everything. We generally packed our bags the same way every time so we knew where everything was because it was in the same place every time.
• There were a few basic principles that worked in every country: understand the big picture (or map), orient ourselves on the map, decide where we want to go, and go. Subways worked the same pretty much everywhere. You need a ticket that you buy from a machine (or a ticket agent) or a pass that you have filled with credit. You go through a machine that checks your ticket or pass on the way in and on the way out. There are two directions on each subway train. HAlf of the battle is finding the platform for the train going in the right direction. Having these basic strategies helped a lot in each new city and country.
• There is so much good around the world. Truly. There are angels everywhere. Often people on the street would see us looking at a map and stop to ask if they could help.
• I think part of our success is that we traveled as a family. Most everyone has a family and could relate with us. Traveling as a family also protected us. With so many eyes watching our every move we felt like we were an undesirable target for people with bad intentions. Once a vendor tried to overcharge us for some popsicles and the other people walking past got after the vendor and told us the correct price.
• Before we left I had grand ambitions for our family. I envisioned family workouts, improved family scripture study, improved family prayers, weekly boy scout work, weekly Duty to God and Faith in God work. Not sure what I was thinking. Most of those things didn't happen.
• We committed before leaving that we would attend church every Sunday and stay for all of the meetings even if they were in another language. We did very well in this goal. I think we only missed 3 Sundays. Attending church each week was like coming home. We really felt comfortable attending church around the world. The 3 times we missed were once in Turkey (touring Ephesus), once in Italy (couldn't buy bus tickets), and once in Thailand (couldn't find the church). It was worth it not only because it felt like home but also because it gave the kids a feel for what the church is like around the world.
• I felt like there were a lot of places around the world where I could be happy living. There were also some places where it would be harder to be happy.
• We were really fortunate to have been able to take this trip.
• Technology is amazing. Having Internet access from just about anywhere is amazing. The ability to do video calls (Facetime/Skype) is incredible. We were also able to use technology to access things from outside the US that are only available in the US.
• After having traveled a little now I am even more interested in hearing where others have been. My favorite response to the question "Did you see .....?" is "Not on this trip. We couldn't see everything."
• I ate best (most healthily) in Asia. I felt best. I intend to continue those good eating habits.
• We can have confidence that we can do things because we've done them before. For example, we had to re-pack at every stop. We got pretty good at it. After taking our family around the world for 11 months we should be able to do just about anything. Right?

End of Trip Mixed Feelings

How do I put my feelings about our year of travel in a blog post?  It's pretty hard when I am not quite sure how I am feeling at this point!  In one way I want to continue traveling indefinitely, but in another way I am ready to unpack my bags and not need to repack them again in a few days.  I knew when we started this trip that one day it would come to an end.  I guess now I must decide what impact this experience will have on my life.  Will I jump back into my old habits and routine and just think of all the cool places we saw?  I know this experience has changed me and I hope that some of the changes can be more lasting.

Church Adventures

Our family is LDS, or Mormon. We try to go to church every week if we can, but sometimes it is easier said than done. This is a brief recap of all of the times that we went/tried to go to church.

UPDATE: added all of January. Something must be wrong, because it was fairly easy to get to church this month.

UPDATE: added the rest of the trip, up till May. Added in cities where I forgot to previously.

End of the Trip--Seth's point of view

As our trip is drawing to a close I have thought about all the places we've been. The two countries that stand out the most to me are India and New Zealand for very different reasons. India was a chaotic, dirty, stinky mess that made almost no sense to us. There was poverty and people everywhere. New Zealand was green, calm, and it almost felt like we were home because it was similar to The United States. The scenery and wildlife was stunning and so was the ice cream :).

I think one thing that can be learned as you are traveling is that there is so much good in the world. When you watch the news you hear of bad things that happen all around the world, but when you actually go places that people are so kind and willing to help.

I couldn't tell you whether or not this trip lived up to my expectations or not because I had no idea what I was getting into. I can tell you that we have had many funny, happy, sad, and scary experiences. I'm glad that I was able to go on this trip and if I got the opportunity I will definitely do it again.

Change of Perspective

Almost three years ago Rich found out that his job had been sent off to India without him.  What a blow to lose your employment.  I remember feeling so helpless and almost trapped in our situation.  I felt so limited in the possibilities of our future.  Thankfully he had a side business that kept us going as it took several months to find a new job that was a good fit.  That new job allowed him to work from home which in turn allowed him to work from "home" around the world.  What a fantastic opportunity for our family.  An opportunity that we hadn't even dreamed about before, but has been an incredible experience.

Almost Home

Our week in Japan seemed to fly by and before we knew it it was time to pack up again.  Only this time we were headed to the US, almost home.  We started our monster travel day by leaving our hotel at 5:15 in the morning and then traveled by van, bus, plane, plane, and van for the next 26 hours until we were at Grandma's house in California.  On paper it looked like a 15 minute flight, but in reality it was the day the just didn't end.  I had such mixed emotions as we were heading back to the US.  In one way I was so excited I wanted to jump up and down but in  another way I was so sad I wanted to sit down and cry. When the plane did touch down in LA several people on the plane cheered, but honestly I was looking out the window and felt more like crying instead.  I guess I am just a little messed up right now!

End of year

Before we left for our trip We all had parties with our friends and said “Goodbye”. Throughout the entire trip we went to23 different countries including: Washington D.C, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Italy, Vatican City, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, India, Thailand, Laos, Burma, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, China, and Japan. All of the countries had there own personality.

My favorite countries that we went to are: Italy, Germany, and New Zealand

Bio Park part 2 [BY JENNA]

Seth already told about the park but I want to tell you more.

We went to the capybara.   It is like a dog size but does not look like one at all its kind of prickly not anything like a porcupine and they were like a tanish brownish.  We fed those too.

Next we went to the turtle section it was not very cool just a big place with water and land and turtles.  some of the turtles had red eyes and looked evil.

We went to the monkey section next we got 3 little containers of raisins and we fed the monkeys they climbed on us and grabbed the raisin like the raisins were candy.  There tiny hands felt so cool and felt like a new born baby's hand but smaller a lot smaller.

After that me Joe and mom went back to the kangaroos and fed them hay that was free and we got to  pet lots of them too.

these are the capybaras

me petting a kangaroo

The Monkey found the raisin!

Pottery

Inside of our bowls.

While we were in Japan, we got to go paint our own pots. They had a few to choose from, like a plate or cup, but we all chose to make bowls.

A while back, Japan had kidnapped or captured some Korean potters, and made them make nice pots and things for the emperors. They lived in Japan and made pottery for a long time, then about 40 years ago they got their freedom and were allowed to return to Korea or stay, and they chose to stay, because they'd been there for a few hundred years. Also, along the lines the Dutch did some trading with the Japanese, so the Delft Blue style of coloring and painting became popular, especially among those Korean potters, so they combined the techniques, and that's the kind of pots that we got to paint.

They had two colors, dark blue and light blue, and they had some stencils that you could choose from. I drew a dragon freehand, Joe did a Christmas themed design, Seth did a panda and some leaves, Jenna did leaves and dragonflies, my mom did flowers, and my dad did vines. They all looked pretty cool before they were fired. They take a while to fire, so our friend Sister Priddis in Japan is going to mail them to us in a few weeks. I'll make another post, or update this one when they come.

Outside of the bowls.

Japan

Lots of you probably don't know, but I took Japanese for two years in school, so now I can read and write lots of the characters. (for those who are interested: There are 3 types of characters in Japanese, Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Hiragana are for Japanese words, Katakana are for foreign words, and Kanji are symbols that represent words, which are also used in Chinese. I can read Hiragana and Katakana.) So I had a lot of fun trying to read stuff in Japanese. Usually I didn't know what it meant, but it was still fun.

We had just left Beijing when we got to Fukuoka, Japan. If you don't know, Beijing is extremely polluted. It always looks like a big dust storm is happening. You can't hardly see the building 4 blocks away. Japan is completely different. The air is super clear, and everywhere we went just felt super clean to me. Sister Priddis taught us that the Japanese don't do anything halfway. She also taught us that they have these 'Community Days' where everyone goes out all day and pulls weeds and cleans stuff for the city, and that is pretty cool. We learned that Japan is so safe, that you don't even need to lock your car or house when you leave them, I thought that was awesome. Imagine if that's how it was in the U.S. When you go into a restaurant, they will always give you a towel or something to wash your hands, which was nice. All of the people were very kind, even though almost nobody spoke English. In the end I really liked Japan.

I am nothing...

We absolutely loved Japan. In large part we enjoyed it so much because we had a friend who took care of us very well. She advised us on activities, recommended restaurants, rented a mini-van, and coordinated other friends who could drive the van for us while she was at work teaching English. On Mother's Day she even hosted the dinner. She introduced us to some Korean friends who made us a yummy authentic Korean meal of Pugogi (garlic and beef) and Chimda (chicken, potato, and carrot curry). I think Joe asked for the recipes. We visited a Shinto Shrine, a bio park (zoo), an aquarium, Nagasaki Bomb Museum and several other places. The other reason we enjoyed Japan is because the people were so kind and we felt so comfortable.

The places we visited were often an hour or longer drive away. As we drove we often spoke with whomever was driving about Japan and Japanese culture. I don't remember how the subject came up but I remember learning that in Japan children are brought up to understand their place in the world. The person who explained it to us used the words, "They are taught from the time they are very young that they are nothing." I interpreted this to mean that they are not as important as the world, their country, their city, their school, or their family. I think it is meant to teach the children to be less selfish and think of others first in every context. It says nothing about the worth of the individual or their capacity or ability to do great things. It provides a value system to be used when making a decision.

In the context of this value system, the graciousness and kindness of the Japanese people is easy to understand. I wonder how different the world would be if we were all brought up understanding where we fit in. I think I could use a little more of this "I am nothing" attitude. I think way too much of myself and way too often.

Bumps in the Road

While traveling we have hit some bumps in the road, literally and figuratively. We had Joe's little trip in Boston. We missed a train in Germany. We had Seth's acute appendicitis in Egypt. The six of us shared a two-person sleeping compartment on an overnight train. We had Sam's shellfish (?) allergy on a remote Malaysian island. Our latest bump in the road happened in March while we were in Australia.

Aquarium

Here in Japan We have been staying at the US Navy base. Everyday somebody picks us up in the morning and drives us to something they want us to do or see.

One of the days they took us to an aquarium. There were lots of crabs, starfish, and other sea creatures that you can touch. Lots of them felt weird and squishy. There was also a dolphin show that was super cool. The dolphins jumped super high and did back-flips and things like that.

The Bio-Park Part 1

   Yesterday we went to a "Bio-Park", which basically is a park/zoo.  When you are walking up to the entrance area on the right there are two blue and gold macaws just chilling on a branch with no cage or anything, and on the left there is a Llama that has a very short railing between you and it.  When we got our tickets and got in the park we went to the giraffe feeding (we basically ran across the park to get there on time).  Once we got there a trainer brought out this big branch with a bunch of leaves on it.  He stuck it in a hollow pole and the giraffe started ripping leaves off the branch.  It was kind of cool because I had never seen a giraffe eat a tree.  After we were done we went to the cage right next to the giraffe's.  In it there were ostriches and zebras in the same cage.  That's when I learned that Ostriches are UGLY.  They are the most ugly animal I've ever seen and I don't understand how it could even be called a bird because when you see it you definitely don't think of something that is graceful and eats worms or something.  That's not the Ostrich.

If you are lost in Japan...

"If you are lost in Japan, write down what you want and give it to a Japanese school child. After correcting your spelling and grammar the child will help you."

-- A friend who has taught English in Japan for 5 years.

Beijing Zoo [BY JENNA]

My mom and I went to the zoo in Beijing.   My favorite part was feeding a giraffe.   Here are some pictures.

Pandas

baby monkey

me on elephant statue

me with cotton candy

me feeding a giraffe

me on a turtle statue

me on a lizard statue

Fukuoka, Japan

I will let you know right now that this post is mainly for my brother, Bryce.  So if you want to skip over it, I am not offended at all.   Nineteen years ago he served as a missionary in Fukuoka, Japan.  I know he has wanted to return, but just hasn't had the right set of circumstances available to do so.  We spent one day in the city of Fukuoka so I spent some time in a park he recommended and just enjoyed visiting a place he loves so much.  As we walked around I imagined him being here many years ago.

Favorite Part of China

China was a great place for us.  I guess we were prepared and expecting it to be "India" hard and we were pleasantly surprised how much we liked it there.  The one thing we did not like about Beijing is the air pollution!   While in Beijing we visited the Olympic park, the Great Wall, saw an acrobatic show, saw the Forbidden City and Tienanmen  Square, the Temple of Heaven park and bargain shopped at a few of the markets.  

Food in China

Food has often been an adventure on this trip even when we didn't mean for it to be.  Sometimes it gets a bit hard finding food that we can identify AND like.

Seth Has Negotiating Skillz!

Yesterday we went to Beijing's Pearl Market and had a blast. I was proud of all of us for negotiating good prices and for having fun doing it. The rules of thumb we had before going in were:

• Counter-offer at 10% of the first offer
• Don't pay more than 15% of the first offer
• Don't be afraid to walk away

We all had chances to negotiate but I think Seth was the best at it. He had a way of doing it where everyone had fun, even the vendors. The negotiations were not done verbally but on a small calculator that was passed back and forth with offers and counter-offers. All numbers were in Yuan. Here is my favorite sample of Seth's skills during negotiations for a pair of Timberland hiking boots.

Vendor: 750
Seth: 65
Vendor: 700
Seth: 66
Vendor 600
Seth: 67
Vendor (laughing): "Give me a 3-digit number."
Seth (with a smile and a twinkle in his eye): 68.5

Sam and I laughed out loud.

Seth ended up getting the boots for 120 Yuan, about $20.

Desperation Parenting

We planned a day to visit the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square while in Beijing.  We managed to get there on public transportation with the help of only one person.  We found a little food to eat and then purchased our entrance tickets.  I make all of this sound pretty easy, but please remember we are in China and we don't speak or read any Chinese.

Initial Impressions of China

I had read terrible things about China's lack of friendliness toward foreigners. I was prepared for everyone to not like us, give us a bad time, and otherwise abuse us as tourists. I was intimidated by its reputation before I arrived but I think I understand the reputation a little better now and have figured out how I will deal with it.

China at its best....or worst

Ch'in Shih Huang TI, the first unified Chinese emperor, planned to build the Great Wall of China. About 2,600 years ago he did this to keep the Huns out of china. The Great Wall is made up of brick and plaster being 25 feet high and 30 feet thick. The Emperor of China forced about 1,000,000 people from their homes to work on the wall. The workers were forced to build watch towers every 100 yards to spot enemies and to signal to the warriors on the wall that a battle approached. Workers that died while building the wall were buried underneath the wall. The wall was worked on for hundreds of years . About 1,000 years after Ch'in Shih Huang Ti, the new Chinese emperor decided to make the wall even longer to protect unprotected area.

Disneyland Hong Kong [BY JENNA]

They planted a bunch of flowers to make Micky Mouse

We went to Disney Land Hong Kong, and it was so much fun. The first ride we went on was a roller coaster.  I had never been on a roller coaster before in my life. One of the parts was going up a hill most of the way and then falling backward, once you stopped right in front of you was a fake bear that was hitting TNT when he hit it it came down and launched us like 60 miles per hour In 2 seconds.

The Visa Game

Most of the places we have visited on this trip we have been able to get a visa on arrival.  We have only had to apply in advance for two, India and China.  Those are also the most expensive visas we have had to get.

Shortly before we began our trip we applied for our India Visas.  They were good for 6 months so we were able to time it to get them before we left.  It was a major ordeal to get them all filled out.  It seemed like what should be a straight forward process was not.  We spent hours getting the applications ready to send.  When I dropped them off at the Fed EX office to be shipped I felt like I was turning in a college paper and just needed to get my final grade.  Yes, that much work and effort went into those applications.  It was a huge relief to get our passports back and get the passing grade of an Indian Visa.

New Zealand Scenery

While on our RV trip through New Zealand we saw some amazing scenery.  We spent a lot of time hiking in the national parks and saw so many beautiful lakes, rivers, mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, and green forests.  If you enjoy being in the beautiful outdoors, New Zealand has a lot to offer.  I will include a few of the photos we took in New Zealand so you can get an idea of the places we visited.  

Souvenirs (this post will be updated)

In all of the places we have been I have liked to pick up a souvenir or two. I know this is not the most exciting thing, but a couple of people have asked me if I have gotten any souvenirs. We have gotten so many souvenirs we have had to send 9 boxes back full of souvenirs. Most of the Souvenirs from Thailand on were from night markets. Here is a list of the Souvenirs I have gotten on my own. 

Stick-tron

During our time in the RV we rented, Jenna, Seth, and I played a game I call stick-tron. On lots of the hikes and at campgrounds Jenna, Seth, and I collected good sticks, so that we could use them during stick-tron

Stick-tron is kind of like Frisbee tag. For the Frisbee we use a Frisbee with a hole in it. The person that is it throws the disc and tries to hit someone, but you can block it with your sticks. Most of the time there are lots of bushes to hide in and trees to climb.

New Zealand RV Trip [BY JENNA]

We were staying at my dads friend's house, and he drove us to the place where we were got our Abuzzy RV.  We followed our friend to the nearest grocery store so we could buy some food.  When we were parked and ready to go in he left.  We got some really bad dish towels, but we made them work.

We looked around the RV and opened up cabinets and we found a GPS and that was really helpful, all you needed to do was type in where you needed to go and I programmed it in and you could go.

The first night we made the beds and one of the beds had a crack right in the middle of the bed, the person who got to sleep there got a blanket and the nice pillow.  There was a bunk bed the crack bed and a mini king size bed on top of the drivers seat.

My Office Pictures - 2013-04

This picture was taken in the ferry from Wellington, New Zealand (on the north island) to Picton, New Zealand (on the south island). Our van was on deck 3 and this was taken on deck 7. The ride took about 4 hours. Going in to Picton was really cool. It seemed like we just kept going and going and going inland.

This picture was taken at a laundromat in Hokitika, New Zealand. It was a great find for us. Not only did we get our laundry done but there were electrical outlets and we found free Internet access from a nearby library. It was just about perfect for campers.

Australia Summary

We spent 10 days in Australia: 5 outside of Sydney and 5 in Sydney.

Food Adventure- Kiwano

While we were in the grocery store I saw a fruit that was about the size of a pear. It was bright orange and had hard spikes around it, We decided to buy it and try it. We took it to our RV and cut it open. We were astonished when the inside was dark green. It was really hard to get a bite without also getting a mouthful of seeds so I'm not sure how you are supposed to eat it, but anyway it didn't taste very good and so we threw it away after having a nibble.

Lake Matheson

We've been in New Zealand for a few weeks now, and I think it's my favorite place we've been to. Everything is green, and the people speak English. We avoided big cities and stuck to nature, and we've been on a ton of hikes. We've seen a few waterfalls, and some awesome beaches, but I think our favorite was Lake Matheson.

Lake Matheson is basically this super reflective lake by a mountain. The first night we went, it was all ripply and not good for reflecting, but we decided to come back the next morning. It was amazing. Here's a picture:

Yes, I did take this.

Mount Doom

Remember Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings? Here's a picture:

While here in New Zealand, we got to see it, and sort of climb up it. It's really called Mt. Ngauruhoe, and it's usually covered in snow, not lava. Here's a picture:

They look exactly the same right? 

Family Togetherness in an RV

Since beginning this adventure we have had a lot of family time together. Sometimes that has been the best part of the trip and sometimes it has been the hardest part. Here in New Zealand we brought the togetherness to a new level as we spent two weeks in an RV.

Bush Walks and other Adventures

We split our time in Australia between the Blue Mountains and Sydney. We started off taking a train to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains and then a taxi to the apartment we had rented. We were pleasantly surprised to find the apartment was actually a whole house. After living out of hotels and hostels for the prior month it was so nice to stay in a house with different rooms and a real kitchen! The downside of the house was it was located a bit out of town. When I had inquired about renting it I had asked if we needed a car or if there was public transportation available. The owner had given me directions on public transportation and said it would take 20 minutes to walk to the town. Once we were in our house I took a few of the kids on the 20 minute walk to town to find the grocery store. Forty minutes and many hills later we arrived in the town. So much for the 20 minute walk to town! We loaded up on food and then took a taxi back to our house. I looked into renting a car, but there wasn't one available in the area that would hold 6 passengers so we opted for expensive taxi rides and long walks for a few days.

Funny Things We've Heard or Said on this Trip...

Update: added "Whoa, there's a glacier!"

“Do you want to get undressed and play some games with me?”

Context: One of the children was excited to play some games and meant to say "After we have our pajamas on do you want to play some games with me?"

“How are your breasts?”

Context: We were at Kentucky Fried Chicken and we had just explained the names of the different pieces of chicken that were available.  Later, during the meal the child, thinking that I had ordered the biggest pieces of chicken available, had meant to ask how my chicken tasted.

“Hey! Shut the door!”

Context: In our apartment in Germany the bathroom door was right off the kitchen.  Near the end of dinner one of us needed to use the bathroom.  While doing his/her business someone else needed to go, hadn't noticed someone else going in to the bathroom, and opened the bathroom door. What would you have said?

“Jenna just ran into a pole.”

Context: Pay close attention.  We were in Krakow (Poland) and the Elaine and I were in the ticket booth buying tickets to a soccer match.  The kids were restless and outside playing around.  One of her brothers came and reported the incident to us.  Apparently Jenna had run into a pole and not a Pole.

“Whoa, there's a glacier!”

Context: In New Zealand, after hiking for 30 minutes with the express intent of seeing the glacier that has been there for hundreds of years, one of the children was so surprised to see it when we actually got there.


Check back later. I'll update this as we go.

Wildlife in Australia

     While we were in Katoomba we saw a lot of wildlife. From our deck we had a good view of a field and some trees. One evening my mom was out on the deck and she saw some movement in the field. She looked over and saw a fox! We got a few pictures and it went back into the bushes. After that we thought about it and realized that Australia is known for its dingos so maybe the fox was really a dingo. We looked online and looked at the differences. We found that a dingo is basically a wild dog and the easiest difference to spot is the black legs on the fox and not on the dingo. We looked at the pictures, but we couldn't see the legs of the fox because it was in some brush. After that we looked out the window and saw another fox (or dingo). We all stormed onto the deck and scared it off, we were all bummed, but Jenna saw that it had black legs like a fox. After that I was setting up my hammock on the deck and my mom was searching where to go to see a wallaby (basically a small kangaroo). When I looked up I saw a black thing in the fields, when I looked closer I saw a wallaby. I ran inside to grab my camera and I came back out and watched it for a few minutes. After a little, the wallaby hopped back behind the bushes.

     A few days later we were going to a youth conference, while we were driving we passed a kangaroo crossing sign. A couple of minutes later we saw a dead kangaroo on the side of the road. Later in the trip we saw dozens of kangaroos behind little fences. All of them were wild and the little fence was to separate them from the road (I think). We saw a few hopping around and it was pretty cool.

     There were these birds that are beautiful with their white feathers, and you're thinking wow that bird is pretty cool until it lets out its death screech. It literally sounds like its dying all the time. You can't go five minutes without hearing one of them. There are also other kinds of birds, there are small ones that look like parakeets and other ones that are great big black birds. Australia has all sorts of cool wildlife, and I don't know if New Zealand will be able to beat it.

How does it fly with that big head?

Wallaby, it kind of looks like a really big bunny

Fox (not dingo)

Malaysia and Singapore

This post is a summary of my experiences in Malaysia and Singapore.

My Office - 2013-03-27

This first one was on the 8-hour flight from Singapore to Sydney.

This second one was on the deck at the house we rented outside of Sydney in a little tourist town of Katoomba. We loved it here. We saw foxes, wallabies, and a wide variety of colorful and loud birds in the fields and trees you can see behind me.

Gambling on the Internet

This is a technology post. If you are not interested I won't be offended if you don't read the rest.

I didn't realize I was a gambler until I took a chance and got burned.

Culture Shock in Singapore

Last November when we arrived in India I experienced culture shock. India was so different from anywhere I had ever been before. At times it seemed like sensory overload with all the sights, sounds, and smells. It was hard seeing so much poverty and dirt everywhere. But at the same time it was exciting with all the colors and smells and things to see. India is a place that has to be "experienced."

As we continued through other countries in South East Asia there were other moments of culture shock. But it was quite mild compared to what I had experienced in India.

Marina Bay

Yesterday we went to Marina Bay.  We left from our hotel and went to the subway station. We had never been on the subway here so we had to figure it out.  Once we figured it out we went down to the platform it was really nice.  There were doors in front of the tracks so you couldn't fall in and the whole thing was colored, unlike most subways which are grey.  We stayed on the subway for a while then got off.  When we got out of the subway we walked towards the famous "Merlion" which is a statue that is half mermaid and half lion.  On our way there we took some pictures of one of the strangest buildings I've ever seen.  It had three towers with a boat on top!  I think it was a hotel and casino.  After, we kept walking towards the Merlion.  When we got there we realized it was as weird as it sounded.  It was a white statue that was 20 feet tall of a "Merlion" we took a few pictures and moved on.  As we walked a long the bay we say a giant Ferris wheel, like The London Eye, a strange looking science museum, and all sorts of strange skyscrapers.  None of the skyscrapers were square, it was almost as if they were having a contest to see who could have the strangest. There was everything from long and skinny ones to ones that seemed like they should tip over.  We kept walking around and as we got to the base of the three towers with the boat on top we found a mall.  We went in and noticed that there was an ice skating rink. We thought it was weird.  Then we got some food that was pretty good. After that we went out to see the light show. The three towers had projectors on them that projected on the fountains and the lights made made movies of people and other things.  It was pretty cool what they could do with just some fountains and lights.  When that was done we took the metro back home.

the subway station

Jenna jumping in front of the towers

Yes that is a boat on top, kind of strange

the merlion and three towers

on the left is the Ferris wheel then in the middle is the science museum
and on the right is the three towers

ice skating! to bad we didn't do it

Tioman - MY point of view

I really enjoyed the island of Tioman in Malaysia. It's basically your stereotypical tropical island, with super clear water and nice beaches. It was way fun to go snorkeling, because the ocean water was as clear as swimming pool water. The thing I didn't like about Tioman, was that I got sick part way through.

Tioman Island

Here in Malaysia on the island of Tioman we have been staying on a beach. Everyday the tide is super high and super low.  Every time the tide is low I have gone and looked for shells. There are four beaches that we have been to on the island. The beach normally has no one on it. 

 At each beach I have found different types of shells. At one of the beaches I found a bunch of cone shaped shells. On that same beach a monkey opened our backpack, opened a package of crackers and took some crackers. A monkey also took our trash. At another beach I found a bunch on Hermit crab Shells.

I have found some really cool shells. Often I have have to dig for the shells or go out in the water and look. There are so many different colors and shapes of shells. There are so many shells I can not walk on the beach without stepping on some. 

I have named each type of shell. Biter is a shell that looks like it has teeth. Ice Cream looks like a scoup of ice cream with chocolate sauce on it. The Pyramids have cools bumps and colors and are in the shape of a cone. Swirly is  a long skinny shell with little bumps all over it.

Jenna and I have both been finding and collecting shells. We like to go out on the balcony and trade shells. We have been here for 10 days so I have quite a big collection. Here are some pictures of where I got my shells. I will and pictures of the shells on an update.

Monkey beach where I found lots of my shells

Beach near where  we stayed

beach near where we stayed

Almost Perfect Vacation

We have spent the last 10 days on Tioman Island which is off the coast of Malaysia.  We have had a great time swimming in the South China Sea, jumping off the dock, snorkeling, hiking through the jungle to other beaches, collecting shells, tying scuba diving, reading on the deck while listening to the waves crash on the rocks, watching the monitor lizards, building sand castles, and enjoying beautiful sunsets.

I am our family's...

edit: added 'floating dock', 2013-03-13
edit: added an example of being a human pillow in the furniture section, 2013-01-11
edit: added 'guinea pig', 2012-10-07

For this trip I am our family's...

• IT staff.  I support all of our technology:  iPods, iPads, Kindles, laptops, phones, Skype, Internet, online school, online school tools, printing tickets, translating recipes on food packets, web sites that don't work just right.
• Baker.  I make the "dough" that pays for all of this. Joe suggested I change this one to "Dough Boy" but I didn't like the connotation...
• Pack horse.  Somehow I always get the heaviest backpack for the longest time.  When the kids have their turns they watch the clock.  When their 30-minute turn is up they drop the backpack where ever they are.  But when dad has the backpack no one watches the clock...
• Furniture.  Whenever we are not in motion I become furniture.  Particularly, Jenna and Joe like to lean or lay on me.  This happens at Church, at the bus and train stops, and on the buses/trains.  Even when there is other furniture around somehow dad is better. On our bus ride today Jenna sat on me and Joe leaned on me and I held the food, water bottles, and rice paddy hats from slipping under the seat in front us every time the bus driver jumped on the brakes. I need a nap!
• Heater.  If it is at all cold anywhere I can count on Jenna and Joe snuggling up.  Some times this is nice when they form a small wind break.  Some times this is bad when they can't handle being around each other.
• Garbage disposal.  If anyone doesn't like or can't finish what they are eating, it ends up on my plate.  There is no limit to what it might be.  For instance, in Germany it was authentic home-style sauerkraut and pork chops eaten at a Church activity.  I liked it and could have eaten 3 plates more if my and Jenna's plates hadn't already filled me up.
• Guinea pig.  When we come across an unknown food item everyone looks to me to try it out first.  "If it won't kill dad then maybe we can try it too."
• Floating dock. Since we've been on Tioman Island and swam/snorkled multiple times every day I have become the floating dock for tired swimmers. It's not that bad since it is salt water and I float better in salt water.

Don't get me wrong.  I am NOT complaining and we actually have a fun time joking about my roles.  Hmmm, maybe I should start coming up with roles for the others...

Enjoy THIS Journey???

On our travels we have tried to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.  Part of the experience of travel is getting from place to place.  We have used many different transportation methods and some have turned out more enjoyable than others.  But sometimes the less than perfect arrangements turn out to be the most memorable.

It's the map's fault!

Last week we decided to visit the bird park in Kuala Lumpur. It wasn't to far from where we were at so we thought we would just walk. We let one of the kids have the map and navigate us there.

Baby Watch

This is NOT (repeat NOT) a "we're having a baby" announcement. This is a story of how a street vendor tried to get me to be a customer by insulting me.

Food Adventure- Deep Fried Squid

Yesterday for dinner I had deep fried squid.  It came out and it was just the tentacles (I was kind of disappointed about that).  It was really chewy and didn't have much of a flavor,  the squid looked like KFC chicken in little strips, but tasted like rubber.  It was fun to try it, but I don't think I will try it again.  Sorry no pictures.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - WOW

We're staying in a downtown hotel in Kuala Lumpur. We can see the monorail right outside our window. We can see an intersection where 5 or 6 streets come together. Our corner room has large windows on two sides. The windows don't seal all the way and so we hear lots of street noise but traffic isn't so bad.

Scuba Diving

A few days ago, I went scuba diving. We noticed a little shack when we first came to the island that said “izmi diving”. I didn't know what izmi was, but the diving part sounded promising. So we went the next day to the shack and talked to the owner of it about diving. He told us about the intro course and it sounded like fun. Later we talked it over and decided that Sam, my dad and I would go. We went out to the little shack at 11 in the morning and we learned what all of the tubes that connect to the breathing tank do. One changed your buoyancy, one was how you breathed, one showed how much air you had, and the last one was an emergency breather thing. Then we went out to chest deep water and did some drills that taught us how to breathe and obtain neutral buoyancy.  I kept drifting around because I was so light.  After about 15 minutes of that we went deeper. The deepest we ever got was 12 meters. We saw all sorts of fish and coral. The teacher of the class showed us a puffer fish and tried to make it puff up, but it wouldn't. The teacher tried to catch some fish, but they were way too fast for him, he also pointed out odd fish and other things. As we went down lower and lower we had to pop our ears so they didn't explode or something. We spent about a half hour under and then we came out. The scuba equipment was about as heavy as my backpack and so it was hard to climb out on the ladder. It was really fun, but I wouldn't be too interested in getting certified.

Best part of the Philippines

The very best part of our visit to the Philippines was being able to see my parents.  They have been serving as missionaries in the Philippines for 15 months now. We were able to rent an apartment just a few floors above where they live so it was easy for us to run down and see them very often.

World War II and the Philippines

While in the Philippines I was able to learn quite a bit about the Pacific theater of World War II. Most of my world war II studies have been about the war in Europe so I must admit I didn't know a lot about the Pacific war. I knew the Philippines were part of the war, but didn't understand how or why. So here is a little history lesson about what I learned. The Philippines had been under US rule since 1898 and in 1935 became a commonwealth of the US and was on a 10 year plan to full independence.

Live Shells on Corregidor

While in Philippines we visited the island of Corregidor for a day tour. It was a really neat tour that included a stop at the Pacific War Memorial Museum. I think the neatest part of the museum was the artifacts displayed. Our guide told us an interesting story about one of the artifacts.

Beware of Extra Fees

Update: They got us again. See below for details. (2013-02-26)

We recently returned to Manila from a quick trip to Palawan, a Philippine island. We had talked ourselves into making the trip and are super glad we did. It was not an easy trip to coordinate and we felt like we were exceeding our budget we were therefore conscious of every expense.

Thrilla In Manilla

Muhammed Ali said it first, "Killa and a Thrilla and a Chilla, when I get that gorilla in Manila" in reference to his boxing match with Joe Frazier in 1975. There wasn't any boxing or gorillas but it was thrilling to be there.

The family at the Manila Temple.

Island Hopping in the Philippines

There is a local joke that the number of islands in the Philippines depends on whether the tide is in or out. There are about 7107 islands and we got to visit 2 of them during a one-day island hopping adventure.

Sam on one of the islands.

Underground River

Early in the morning our driver and tour guide came to the hotel to pick us up. Two other people got in and then we started the device. It was only two hours, but it felt like five. We were on a windy road through the mountains, it was impossible to do anything, partially because of the road and partially because of the driver. He made sure we got there on time, but it was at a price. He sped the whole way there and I was sure we were going to die. Before we went to the river we went to a cave. I think it was call ulong or something. We hiked up it and whenever you knocked on the stalactites the made a noise like you just hit a xylophone. The cave wasn't very safe, but they don't really care about that here. There were overhanging rocks tons of vines that could trip you, and the ladders felt like they were older than the cave. At one point in the cave they tied a rope to us and then we walked up a steeper part of the cave. When we got to the top there was almost a half kilometer. Jenna, Sam and I were the only ones to do it. It was so much fun and at the end, to stop you they had padding attached to the zip line and a rope came out of the pads. The employees put all of their weight on the ropes and when a person came down they slammed into the pads. That stopped most people , but some people hit the net behind the pads. The we headed for lunch. It was average I thought, but the rest of my family liked it.

My Baptism [BY JENNA]

I got baptized in the Philippines let me tell you about it!
The day before my baptism I got my interview.  We were in the Temple annex when the  Mission President came and said it was time.  He asked me if I was ready, If I wanted to be baptized and a few other questions.  When I came out of his office I raced to my dad and hugged him saying I passed!  I passed!

Cambodia

After spending a week in Siem Reap we traveled by bus to Phnom Penh, the capital city. At the bus station we arranged for a tuk-tuk to take us to our hotel. We passed the Palace and noticed many people taking photos and flower arrangements every where. We thought it looked like some type of ceremony. Then our driver said something about roads closed due to the funeral. We finally made it to our hotel and after checking in we looked on the Internet to see about the funeral. We discovered it was the funeral for the King Father. He passed away in the fall, but the actual funeral was 100 days later. Not the best timing for us to be arriving in Phnom Penh. The funeral was a multi day event with the procession on Friday, two days after our arrival,  and the cremation on the following Monday. As a result, many things were closed and not available for us to see and many extra people were in Phnom Penh.  We made the most of the situation and saw a few things like the killing fields,the Thol Sleng prison and shopping in the Russian Market.  We were also able to visit the Cambodia Mission Office and meet the mission president and his wife.

 I have to admit that Cambodia was a bit of a disappointment to me since I was really looking forward to visiting the country.  I think our rough entry into the country was hard and then we just didn't have the best timing in Phnom Penh.    Maybe we were just looking forward to our next country, the Philippines and being able to see my parents.  Now I am not saying that we didn't like Cambodia, our experience there just wasn't what we had hoped for.  However, my interactions with the Cambodian people were mostly positive (aside from the scam artists) and I am glad that we went there.  Maybe another time I will return and have a different experience.

Joe getting measured for a shirt at the Russian Market.
 He had a shirt custom made and we returned to get it a few days later.  

Sunset from the balcony of our hotel in Phnom Penh.  

The streets reminded us of India (without the cows)

Digging trenches by hand.  It was a very hot day!  It gets hard seeing all the poverty .

Stone Heads

We visited Angkor Wat while we have been here in Cambodia. They have lots of big stone heads on some of the towers. We aren't quite sure what they mean, but they look pretty cool. Here's a picture of one: