A mother teaches me to sew as part of Ger to Ger Experience

The bus bounced along on the road north and for the first time in 5 weeks I just sat back, relaxed and didn’t have to worry about directions, breakdowns, or deal with the nagging internal question of “Will we make it?” The road was bumpy and slow-going, but in Mongolian standards this road was perfection. I was heading on a public bus towards Terelj National Park to experience yet another side of Mongolia; the nomadic lifestyle that is unique to this part of the world.

I had just completed the Mongol Rally, a 5 week road trip from London to Ulaanbaatar Mongolia, and the idea of someone else (aka the bus driver) driving and making decisions was a great relief. We arrived to the finish line of the rally earlier than expected and we had time to kill in Ulaanbaatar before our flights. My other teammates decided to chill out in Ulaanbaatar, but I decided to revisit and relive one of the best travel experiences I had ever experienced; a Ger to Ger adventure in Mongolia.

I convinced another Mongol Rally friend to join me on this cultural journey, John, a young traveler from Ireland. Together we found the correct public bus according to the instructions in our Ger to Ger handbook and we were heading north with other Mongolians and a small handful of tourists.

The barren landscape around Ulaanbaatar gave way to evergreen patches and rolling hills every mile north we traveled. After two hours, the bus stopped at a small looking village in the park. We departed the bus with our backpacks and immediately saw our ride – an ox and rickety cart. A local man smiled at us and said “Ger to Ger?”, we nodded and he took our bags flipping them onto the flat bed cart. We hopped up on the cart and away we went.

We had no real idea of where we were going, but we happily sat on the cart and took in our surroundings. Shortly we were at a strong river and the ox kept powering through as the water rose nearly over the top of our cart. John and I looked at each other slightly nervous, but the ox stayed his course determined to get us to our first ger stop.

We arrived at Mrs. Umaa’s ger where we were immediately invited in and served fried bread stuffed with mutton and onions. Mrs Umaa’s was still frying up batches of the bread as we sat and had our milk tea and surveyed our surroundings. The gers have such a simple, yet functional design. Two poles in the middle with a stove in between are the foundation with spokes jutting out from the center providing it’s stability. Felt surrounds the circular wood lattice wall keeping things toasty warm for the harsh winters.

John and I on our small Mongolian horses

John and I had familiarized ourselves with the Ger to Ger cultural handbook on the bus ride to Terelj. I was reminded once again about the importance of entering a ger, the respect of age and gender, and the life saving phrase in Mongolian, “Hold your dog!” After our quick, hot lunch Mr. Umaa saddled up two horses and was ready to take us to our next family 18 km away. I took a look at the horse and realized he didn’t look too intimidating thanks to his small Mongolian size, but I knew better than that.

Eighteen kilometers was excruciating to my bum and my legs, but we just kept on trotting along as John and I hoped each ger in the distance was the one we were supposed to stop at for the night. We finally came down a little clearing and saw a ger with puffs of smoke marking its territory and Mr. Umaa pointed to the ger. Hallelujah – we made it!

We arrived at Ms. Amarjargal’s family ger where we immediately bonded with the kids, a boy around 4 years old, and other cousins running around; some younger and some older. Before the sun went down we decided to take the young boy with us on a walk to an ovoo off in the distance. The boy wasn’t intimidated by strangers taking him away from his mother . He had long flowing hair which is similar for many Mongolian boys his age; in Mongolia it’s customary to only cut hair when children reach certain ages.

John carrying our new hiking friend to the ovoo

That night we ate a feast and then listened to the family call their oldest daughter who was 11 at a school in Ulaanbaatar. It’s customary for kids to be sent off to school at a very young age since there are not good schools in the area for children to attend. John and I sat and watched the touching moment between the family as they all tried to talk at once on their cell phone with spotty coverage.

They had an extra ger so they insisted that we stay inside their extra ger instead of unpacking our tent – they didn’t have to work too hard to convince me of that as the temperature was quickly dropping.

Breakfast of champions - fresh cream

The next morning we woke up to a deliciously sinful breakfast of fresh cream and bread. The food in Mongolia is nothing to write home about, however they do dairy the full fat way – nothing but the real stuff. Butter, cream, yogurt; I love learning what these products are really supposed to taste like! We drank tea and ate our bread with cream warming up around the ger stove. I watched as the father dressed his young son in a traditional Mongolian coat and sash and then they played around practicing a little fun wrestling, the traditional sport of Mongolia. It was easy to see how the cultural customs are carried forth from generation to generation.

Father and son practice wrestling moves

Part of the Ger to Ger mission is to teach visitors about the customs and culture of Mongolian families. The mother took John and I to the other ger and gave us a sewing lesson. She taught us how to make an intricate Mongolian pattern and silk phone holder. John and I weren’t the most talented students , but we loved how patient she was with us simply showing us what to do without really being able to communicate with us well. We used an ancient peddle sewing machine that I never really got the hang of, but at least I didn’t sew my finger!

Mongolian pattern

John getting his sewing lesson!

We spent the rest of the day playing with the kids who had an endless amount of energy for us. The mother next prepared the ox and cart and took us to our next family ger. Once again I’m amazed at how hearty and talented the Mongolian women are, they remind me of my grandmothers on the farms in Nebraska; they do everything – true working women.

John and I with our 'fans'

We sadly bid the children goodbye and bounced along on our ox cart to Mr. Bold’s family ger. According to our Ger to Ger handbook, we learned that Mr. Bold trains horses and has the prestigious title of ‘Lion’ from the Regional Naadam Festival where he used to compete. He became the Great Horse Trainer of Nalaih District. By the size of Mr Bold I would have though he was a wrestler; he was the definition of foreboding. It took a long time (and a little vodka) to see him smile, but when he did he looked much less intimidating! Ms. Battseseg, his wife, was also a professional herder and sews for many people around the area.

They welcomed us into their home with milk tea and bread. It wasn’t long before John and I were out with the family rounding up the cows so that the they could be milked. Our job was to find all of the calves and put them into a specific little square fence. John and I were feeling pretty rugged and were actually successful at this task! However milking the cows proved a bit more challenging!

Milking a cow...sure, it looks easy...

The next day we spent our day learning archery (which proved really challenging!), gathering up horses, and I even was allowed to help Ms. Battseseg make booz (Mongolian dumplings). She showed me how to fill the dough with the mutton mixture and pinch it together in a pretty looking dumpling. However it didn’t take long until I was demoted to simply rolling dough!

Our short stay was over and Mr. Bold loaded us onto the ox cart and we took the 15 km ride back to the bus stop to be picked up that night on the local bus. We were secured and toasty under blankets as we bumped along in the ox cart with our backpacks for pillows.

My archery form isn't too bad. My aim is horrible!

Our ox cart awaits. Mr. Bold and Mrs. Batsetseg say goodbye...

As I sat on the bus with John sharing a bottle of vodka I thought about this wonderfully rich culture and the fact that Ger go Ger really brings you an authentic experience that I’ve never been able to find in other places. Sure – this type of travel/experience is not for everyone. It’s rough, not at all luxury, and basic; but it’s real.

The Good:

This is the real deal, staying with Mongolian families on their terms. If you are someone who is looking for authentic experiences, then this is a ‘must-do’ if you are in Mongolia. Other great things about it:
• A large portion of the money goes back to the families you stay with
• Get a useful handbook and training on cultural etiquette before you go.
• You take local transportation which provides richer cultural experiences and exposure
• Provides a great opportunity for photography!
• Get to stay in a real ger – not a ger camp.

The Could be Better (or be prepared for these hardships):

• There is no bathroom facilities besides a hole in the ground with a few boards surrounding it for privacy
• No running water
• The food is very basic
• Have your own tent else you will have to rent one and it’s rather expensive
• The horse saddles are severely uncomfortable
• It’s not well planned and doesn’t really stick to the itinerary in the book. However if you keep an open mind, be patient, and know that you will get to accomplish a lot of great things that may not be in the published itinerary.

Would I recommend it?

Yes, absolutely yes! This was my third trip with Ger to Ger, and I’ve loved each one.
I found it to be really rewarding. However it is more independent travel than organized tour. You have to go into it knowing you will rough it and things won’t go as planned all the time. Be open and the experience can be amazing. I can’t wait to take another; however the next one I have told myself would be in the dead of winter so that I can experience the winter culture which I expect to be very different from the summer!

More information:
Ger to Ger Website:  www.gertoger.org

Photos from our Terelj Park Experience:

Happiness in a Jar

Can honey make the world a better place?

Prior to traveling on the Big Island my answer to that question was most definitely “Huh? ” most likely followed by “No.” However, after meeting Richard of the Volcano Island Honey Company, spending hours talking to him enthralled with every piece of information that came from his lips – my answer is now an enthusiastic “Yes!”

I am hopelessly lost trying to find the sign for Volcano Island Honey and as usual I am running late. The drive here is distracting me with it’s beauty and I think to myself that this isn’t a bad place to be lost on the winding tree lined roads of Old Mamalahoa Highway near Honokaa.

Finally I see the turn off and it takes me deeper into the maze of private farms; at the end of the road I see the sign leading me to honey. I’m here to meet Richard Spiegel, a beekeeper who is leading the way in organic honey production. I have a dream of dawning a bee suit and seeing the hives, but Richard has agreed to fit me into his busy schedule, so I am simply thankful that I’m able to meet him at all.

A rainbow frames the bee hives at the Volcano Island Honey Farm

Richard wears a wide brimmed floppy hat, has a gray beard, and a welcoming smile. He leads me into a meeting room where I learn he holds presentations for various groups including students, tourist, media, and the neighborhood also uses it for a community meeting space. Richard gets me some tea and of course offers me honey. I accept and he brings out a jar of his honey, twists open the lid, and sets it next to my tea.

This is like no honey I’ve ever seen before. It’s cream colored and thick like frosting or a butter spread. I try a little directly from the spoon out of curiosity. It’s his rare organic white honey and even though it doesn’t look like honey to me, it tastes like honey; it has a delicious sweet flavor.

Creamy smooth organic honey

I’m eager to learn about his honey production.  However, when he starts telling me about his journey from attorney to beekeeper all of a sudden I realize that maybe my real interest is not honey, it’s his story from traditional career to finding and following his passion which interests me.   His views on business and life have captured me and I can’t agree with him more.

He describes himself as a retired hippie. He started as a lawyer participating in the civil rights movement, and ended up in a VW van traveling across the US to live an ‘alternative’ lifestyle. He wanted to show people that there’s another way to ‘do it’; ‘it’ meaning life in general.

I consider the fact that fate maybe brought us together. He was out preaching my way of life way before I was born. We begin to chat feverishly about our views of work, life, and of course career breaks and travel. I am delighted; yet we haven’t once discussed honey.

Richard talking about wax foundations

After a long, fun diversion, we get back on track and he begins to show me a slide show about his business and the business of bees. His hobby had been bee-keeping and when he moved to the Big Island he decided to use the bees as a way to change people. He wasn’t really interested in starting a business, but he wanted to see if it was possible to succeed in business based on values.

Richard next began to introduce me to the complexities of bees; the information he provides me is practically unbelievable.

• 1 colony contains over 50,000 worker bees – all female
• The queen bee can live for 3 or 4 years
• 1 colony can make 60 pounds of honey a week
• All bees in a colony have a specific role
• Bees fly 2 miles from the hive searching for nectar to make honey and when they find it they fly back and do a specific figure 8 dance to tell the other bees where the nectar is located.

The sheer thought of how a bee can communicate complex geographical coordinates of a 2 mile radius without speaking is about too much for me to comprehend. Richards describes the whole process of bee hives, pollination, and honey production as a four dimensional chess game.

Honey bees

I examine the prize jar of honey further as Richard continues to tell me about organic honey production at the farm. What makes this smooth, silky, mixture which is in front of me so unique is the way the bees are handled, and the way which the honey is produced. The first key is the honey is produced from pollen which comes only from one plant; the exquisite nectar of the Kiawe flower in its most natural form. Instead of the bees finding the pollen around them, Richard takes the bees to the kiawe grove so that it’s the only pollen to choose from. You can learn more about the process and why kiawe trees are used here.

The rest of the process is complex but Richard and his team of bee lovers are coming up with ways to lead the production of truly organic honey. As I listen to him talk I realize honey is not at all what I thought it was. Instead honey production is a true science. To get the rare organic white honey it takes into account things like purity, timing, crystallization, heat, enzymes, and filters.

Organic wax foundation

In the same vein in which Richard struck out of the corporate world to show people there’s ‘another way to do it’, he revolutionized honey production too. Volcano Island Honey has gone as organic and environmentally sustainable as they possible can. From organic beeswax foundation, to the jars they use, to the paper they print on, to the fuel they use for their vehicles; Richard is making the world a better place and teaching people to accept and embrace different ways to produce honey. He calls it his Bee-green initiative.

I tour the farm and we talk for hours about bees, honey, the world, careers, passion, and life. My trip to Volcano Island Honey is more than I ever expected it to be. It is different, surprising, and educational; but the best part is that I met a kindrid spirit in Richard.

Richard is “interested in changing the world in a more positive way.” He’s doing it through bee keeping and in my opinion he’s been quite successful. His honey is on shelves all around the world. He uses his famous honey to get into the hearts and minds of people, planting seeds of change inside people.

He may actually be a retired hippie, but he’s succeeding at making the world a sweeter place.

More Information:
Website: www.volcanoislandhoney.com
Purchase products
Ways to use Honey

You can (and should) visit Volcano Island Honey Farm on the Big Island and purchase products directly, or take a tour!
Tour Information
Bee Farm Tour (watch the bee hive through a glass window)
Bee Hive Tour (Dawn a bee suit and get up close and personal!)
Educational Tour for students or non-profits

You can purchase products directly at the farm

Kona Hula Girl in Kailua Kona

Big Island – Accommodation – Kona Hula Girl

When I first wrote to the Kona Hula Girl owners to learn more about their rental property the owners said, “I do want you to be aware that this is not a traditional hotel in any way”.
They clearly knew exactly what to say to me to get me interested! He went on to explain that the rooms are ‘open air’ with no glass windows but only screens instead. It gives it a light beachy feeling. Their goal is to make it feel like a “home away from home”.

It was easy to make the Kona Hula Girl feel like home since it was their home that you were staying in. Dean and Sherri live there on the upper floors and they built and custom designed the home themselves; Dean is in construction so this was his chance to build a dream home/guest house. Since they lived in the house on the upper floors, they took meticulous care of it and were always floating around somewhere coming and going.

I got along with Dean and Sherri immediately; they were from the Midwest and northwest of the mainland and had lived in Kailua since 2003 and clearly loved it there. I love it when a room is more than simply a place to stay and instead it’s a place where you feel welcome and taken care of.

Location:

Lots of windows!

The Kona Hula Girl Vacation Rentals are located in Kailua Kona and were very easy to find. There was plenty of parking available around the house and if you didn’t have a car, it was central enough that you could walk places. It was an easy walk down to the main shops and restaurants of Kailua. It took me about 15 minutes to walk down to the shore in Kailua-Kona town where it was bustling with activity of coffee vendors, farmers markets, and cafes. However I preferred the Hula Girl location because it was off the main tourist trail and a bit more secluded from all of the tourist shops.

Since the rooms have a partial kitchen facilities, you could walk to the store (another 15 to 20 min walk) and get supplies. I will say though I think I was the only person staying there who didn’t have a car which meant that there are very few people walking to the store and the beach; I was the minority! Dean and Sherri would occasionally see me and offer me rides if they were coming or going, but I enjoyed the walk in the perfect 80 degree weather. I wanted to soak all of the lovely sunshine in!

There was a shuttle that ran through Kailua Kona, but I have to admit, it was very slow and I found that I could walk places quicker than the shuttle could transport me.

Rooms and Amenities:

There are four rooms to rent and each room is different, I stayed in the smallest room called Hualalai and it was perfect for my short term solo stay. One whole wall was screen windows with pretty white shutters to keep privacy. The room had wifi, a kitchen sink, small fridge, microwave, and a few minimal place settings and glasses. Perfect for snacks and drinks. I went to the store and bought a variety of poke and a bottle of wine and I was set for the night! It was easy to eat breakfast there in the morning with a few items from the grocery store so it was a nice way to save money.

The other rooms were the same feel, but different designs. Two of them had bay screen windows and high ceilings, which let in tons of light. Plus the Garden Room had a patio and outdoor shower.

The house had laundry facilities, beach chairs, boogie boards, and supplies that any guests could use. However my favorite amenities was the patio and grill that was available for all to use.

One very special amenity listed on their information sheet was that Dean would come remove geckos for you! In this climate geckos are normal, but many tourists get a little freaked out by the cute, bug eating creatures. I loved the fact that you had a personal gecko remover if needed! I prefer to keep my geckos around, but to each his own!

Hualalai Room I stayed in

Kitchenette was enough to make small meals

Patio for all guests to use

Atmosphere:

Open, cheery, and helpful is what come to mind regarding my stay at Kona Hula Girl. I met some couples who were staying at the Hula Girl for a few months at a time; they were repeat customers which it a great indication of how well Dean and Sherri take care of the house and provide a great experience.

Costs:

10% off your stay

Range from -
$79 per night (Hualalai room) to $85 per night (Garden Room)
Or $500 – $550 per week

Special Discount! The Kona Hula Girl is offering a 10% discount off of your stay if booked by Jan. 1, 2013  when you mention that you heard about them in Ottsworld.

Would I recommend it:

For anyone making a stop in Kailua Kona I would definitely recommend the Kona Hula Girl. I feel that it provides a more personal and homey touch than hotels and it’s a great place for longer stays since it does have the kitchen and laundry amenities. The owners on site is a big plus and adds to the atmosphere of the place. It would be a great place to stay for a week (cheaper than hotels), rent a car and be able to explore the south part of the island or the Kohala coast’s gorgeous beaches.

More Information:

Kona Hula Girl – www.konahulagirl.com
Don’t forget the 10% Discount you can get on your booking by mentioning this article.

Sherri and I before my departure

Disclosure: Kona Hula Girl hosted my stay with them.  However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

Halema’uma’u Crater glows with lava at night

I stand looking out over the jagged landscape; toppled-over trees without bark and a silver sheen provide a contrast against the dark petrified sea of lava. Occasionally I see a tuft of green sprouting up as if it was trying to reach to the sun. I imagine these scarce green leaves sprouting out of the hard lava core and screaming out, “ Life!” at the top of their lungs. I walk across the years of devastation, with each step the rocks crunch as if glass is under my feet. I stop and plant my feet firmly on the ground as I survey the area; I can feel the energy. The energy is deep beneath me, bubbling, rumbling, and aching to get out; I can feel it in the soles of my shoes. This land is alive; the Big Island of Hawaii is alive.

The tour guide, Taj, asks us all to introduce ourselves and say what we are passionate about; I knew right away this wasn’t your average tour. This ‘ice breaker’ takes place with my fellow tourists in the 13 passenger van driving towards Volcanoes National Park to witness the unstable ground we are all vacationing on. This is going to be a long day, a 13 hour tour, and getting to know each other seemed like a pretty reasonable idea.

Even though outside of my window the landscape appears very foreign to me, there is no mistaking that we are in the US when the waiver form is passed around and all of the seat-belts in the van are functional. Taj explains we are traveling between the world’s two largest mountains, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, but they don’t look like they deserve that title if you ask me. They seem like barren hills rather than mountains; however their mass comes from below the surface. ‘Below the surface’ seems to be the theme of the Big Island.

Taj chats away on his microphone non-stop as he drives along the saddle road. He begins by informing us volcanoes are simply giant masses of weak rock. The volcanoes on the Big Island are considered shield volcanoes, which are ‘built’ entirely of fluid lava flows. The lava is thinner and takes less pressure to erupt; it oozes out making it easier to view and get close to. Taj is more than an enthusiastic guide, he has a degree in environmental studies; today is going to be a learning experience for all of us. However he not only discusses the science of volcanoes, but he starts to tell us about the rich folklore of the Big Island’s volcanoes and the story of the goddess of volcanoes, Pele.

The scary and beautiful Pele

Taj points out the pu’u’s, which are small hills created from spurting lava in flank eruptions. The pu’u’s look out of place in the middle of the flat landscape; like a zit on the Big Island’s forehead. We eat our box lunches in the van as Taj prepares us for our first stop, a trek inside a lava tube. A lava tube is actually as scary as it sounds. When it’s active, it’s a conduit through which lava travels beneath the surface draining lava from an eruption source. However the lava tube we are trekking through today is extinct; the lava flow has cooled and formed a cave like structure.

I know just how much I like Taj when he says we are skipping the ‘Disney version’ of a lava tube (aka Thurston Lava Tube inside the park) and instead going to the real deal with no tourists. We get out of the van and Taj passes out rain coats and flashlights; I’m liking the non-tourist lava tube already. Kaumana Cave is an extinct lava tube which once carried molten rock from Mauna Loa’s upper rift zones down to the ocean.

We descend deep into a damp cave, ducking jagged rocks and carefully placing each step along the slippery rocks. Taj takes us into the mouth of the lava tube and invites the adventurous among us to follow him deeper into the tube. I go willingly, walking through water that is ankle deep for another 5 minutes to where he is stopped. He tells the few of us who followed him to turn off our flashlights and we all get to experience complete and utter darkness. He lectures us on the formation of the tube and tells us we can find them all over underneath the island. They are like a vein system in a body, once again reminding me that the Big Island is alive.

Kaumana Cave entrance

Hiking out of Kaumana Cave

We stop at the Halema’uma’u Crater near Volcanoes National Park visitor center and Jagger museum. Taj walks us through the museum intertwining the science with the folklore and let’s us view the Halema’uma’u crater by daylight . The crater is impressive at it spews out vog, but Taj informs us it will look completely different at night when we return. I love the anticipation he builds in us.

Halema’uma’u Crater by daylight

This area of the park is literally bubbling with activity. We hike a trail around the steam vents and Taj points out hardly noticeable plants and flowers describing them to us and telling us the Hawaiian mythology associated with them. The smell of sulfur and bright colors of chemicals make the landscape look like an experiment in a petri dish. The hike is very moderate, but Taj makes it interesting and fills our heads with even more information.

Volcanoes National Park Hike

Taj hiking by the steam vents

Chemicals oozing from the surface

We get back into the van and drive down the Chain of Craters road stopping along with way to see various lava formations, dangerous pit craters, and hearty plant life. I am left in awe of the power beneath me and the havoc it could wreak at any moment. Yet I’m also considering this same dangerous land I’m walking on as the beginning – the birth. It’s a strange dichotomy that leaves my head spinning.

Maybe I’m feeling light headed because I’m hungry, so our picnic dinner down at the coast comes at the perfect time. We drive to the end of Chain of Craters Road where the island is expanding as lava flows into the ocean. Although lava flowing into the ocean is not currently visible (and hasn’t been for a long time), you can still imagine it as you peer down the jagged coastline.

Lava covered trees along Chain of Craters Road

The rugged lava formed coast

We have dinner by lamplight while Taj shows us his personal videos that he’s taken as he and some of his friends have gone lava chasing around the island. Lava chasing is like storm chasing, and it sort of explains why Taj is so enthusiastic about teaching us on the volcanoes and the ecosystems here. Volcanoes and specifically the Big Island is his passion.

In darkness we drive back thru the Volcanoes Park and learn it’s the only national park open 24 hours. We park again at the Jagger museum to view the big finale to the tour, the glowing lava of Halema’uma’u Crater. (see the first photo) As we snap photos on tripods, Taj is able to ‘connect the dots’ from the full day of touring with a last story about Pele and her immortal friends.

As we drive back to the Kohala coast, Taj was quiet for the first time all day as he let us soak in all of the knowledge of the day. It was a long but educational, fun day. In one day we did 25,000 feet of elevation change and drove over 300 miles. Taj put on Hawaiian luau music and I dozed off in the back of the van dreaming about the birth and continual growth of this amazing island.

The Good:

• This was a well organized, informative day long tour. The customer service from booking to the day of the tour was very high quality.
• Lots of knowledge dispersed on the ecosystems, volcanoes, and mythology.
• Meals (lunch and dinner) were excellent and plenty of drink and snacks were provided throughout the day.
• Raingear and warm weather gear was also provided which was a nice touch since we were traveling through various climates all over the island in one day.
• I loved the fact that we got off the typical tourist trail and explored the lesser-known lava tube.

The Could Be Better:

• I would have loved a bit more hiking, but we had a full day to fit many things in so the hike was only for about 45 minutes and very easy. It was more of a gentle walk than a hike.

Would I recommend it:

Yes, even though I had already been to Volcanoes National Park on my own, I was able to learn so much more and see many more things than I ever could have independently. I loved our guide and his passion for what he did was evident making the whole experience fun as opposed to dry. It was a reasonable price ($179) if you consider the fact that you drive 300 miles, had two meals and entrance into the park. It was a long day, but I was never once bored. If you are going to spend 13 hours with a guide, they better be good, and Taj was certainly the right person for the job.

More Information:

Twilight Volcano Adventure Tour
Hawaii Forest and Trail Tour Company (they offer a variety of hikes around the Big Island

It's hard not to enjoy Volcanoes Park

Photography from the Volcanoes Tour

Disclosure: Hawaii Forest and Trail hosted my Volcano Twilight Adventure. However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

Aloha Vacation Cottage Patio - a great lodging rental on the Big Island

As a solo traveler I look for smaller, intimate places to stay. I feel lost in big resorts and quite frankly it’s just not my style. I was combing the internet in search of a small, local place to stay near Waimea on the Big Island and I came across Annette at the Aloha Vacation Cottages. I contacted her about availability and to learn more about the cottages to see if they would be right for a solo traveler. Annette and I immediately bonded over worldly travel and expat living. She was an avid traveler and expat for her career in Europe, however a medical scare made her re-evaluate life and landed her in Hawaii based solely on an instinct to follow her passion. Clearly you can see why we would get along!

As I pulled up to the Aloha Vacation Cottages in South Kohala in my rental car, there was Annette waiting for me to arrive. After speaking to her extensively on the phone to set up my reservation, I felt as if I knew her. I got out of the car and gave her a big hug as if she were an old friend. She introduced me to my new ‘home’ at Hale Kea Cottage, showed me around, and then we sat in the kitchen and chatted for the next hour about travel, careers, taking chances in life, and about the Big Island. She had a passion for the Big Island and her home that was delightful to see.

I only stayed 2 nights at Aloha Vacation Cottages, but it was a very memorable 2 nights, and when I left I knew I would be back again one day for a much longer stay. It was a place you could easily call home.

Location:

The cottages were nicely located for travel around the North side of the island. They are nestled in a neighborhood far from the big commercial resorts. From the cottages, you could easily reach the gorgeous public beaches of the Kohala Coast within 15 minutes, the ranchlands of Waimea, and the stunning views and hiking in Waipio Valley. Annette will send you detailed instructions on how to get to the cottages and will be there to welcome you!

Annette has maps and info at the house on how to get around the island and information on the nearby attractions and hidden beaches.

Rooms and Amenities:

Aloha Vacation Cottages consist of 2 separate cottages – Hale Kea and Hale Plumeria. Each have separate entrances and driveways. I stayed at the Hale Kea cottage; it was quite large and slept 4. It had everything one would need for a long term, comfortable stay; kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom with laundry, a patio, grill, and parking.

The living room is bright and sunny

Kitchen has everything you'll need

However, what made the cottage stand out above any other I have ever stayed in was the all of the extra amenities. I was so surprised to find all condiments, fresh fruit, and even food for a dinner (spaghetti) in the cupboard! Everything you needed for the beach was also provided – towels, beach hats, chairs, mats, boogie boards, and snorkel gear.

In addition, she offers a free laptop and wifi for you to use, a bathrobe and slippers, a cooler for the beach and ice pack, and even sun screen.

Atmosphere:

You could easily tell the love that was put into the cottages. I was especially impressed with the amount of information provided on Hawaii. Don’t bother with a guide book as Annette will have all the info and maps you would ever need; maps and pictures of beaches and other sites.

Plus I really appreciated the notes left all over the cottage with instructions. Little notes on the beach towels informing me to not use the bathroom towels at the beach. Or a note about using the ice for the cooler or how to use the cable box and the washer/dryer. I found the notes endearing and clearly a sign that a lot of love and work was put into all of the details of the cottage and your stay there.

A friendly reminder....

She even had a quilt project for those who liked to sew. A quilt square was started with a traditional Hawaii design and she allowed guests to contribute by quilting on the square. Even though I don’t sew, I love the idea of the traveler’s quilt project.

Hawaii Quilt Project

Costs:

Hale Plumeria – from $125/night + tax (double occupancy) – seasonal / 13.25% tax
Hale Kea – from $160/night + tax (double occupancy) – seasonal / 13.25% tax

Would I recommend it:

If you want a central place to stay in the North of the Big Island that feels like ‘home’, then I recommend Aloha Vacation Cottages. The price was competitive and you get an abundance of extra amenities that make it really stand out. It is clearly evident all of the work and thought they’ve put into the cottages. I just wish I had more time to spend there. I greatly appreciated all of the information provided about the nearby attractions and island. Plus – stocked cupboards = BLISS!

This was a quality place to stay with owners who were amazing hosts.

“Hawaii is about warmth on different levels: it starts with the first “Aloha” you are greeted with upon landing. The ground beneath you is warm. The sun is warm. The ocean’s warmth is inviting. The people are special. Hawaii offered me a warm, soft place to land when I first arrived. It’s what draws people here and brings them back. It’s what makes it easy for me to call home. It’s infectious. Be aware. Hawaii is now your “home away from home”– Annette

More Information:

Aloha Vacation Cottages Website: www.alohacottages.net
Hale Kea Cottage
Hale Plumeria Cottage
Inquire about Availability: www.alohacottages.net/Order.html

Disclosure: Aloha Vacation Cottages hosted my stay with them.  However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

Vanilla produced on the Big Island of Hawaii

Ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, coffee, cakes, and shakes – these are all places where you expect to find vanilla beans or vanilla flavor. But what about lemonade, BBQ sauce, chutney, cornbread, maple syrup, jelly, or salad dressing? And would you expect to find a vanilla farm (the first & only commercial vanilla operation in the US) in Hawaii?

The Big Island continues to surprise me and today the surprising secret ingredient is….”Vanilla!”

The ingrediants for Vanilla Extract

Today is my day to learn all about one of my favorite flavors in the world, vanilla. I don’t think that I’ve ever met someone who doesn’t like the taste of vanilla; it invokes thoughts of comfort food, warmth, sweets, and pure flavor. The simple thought of vanilla makes me salivate in hunger which is a good thing because I’m at the right place for lunch – the Hawaiian Vanilla Company.

I park the car next to the cheery yellow house with white trim.  It’s shaded by big trees and trimmed in flowers. It looks picture perfect as I walk up the stairs to go inside for my lunch reservation. As I pull open the screen door with a creak and walk inside the smell hits me – vanilla. I stop and take a big deep breath in, close my eyes and a little grin creeps onto my face as my stomach rumbles.

Other couples are milling around and soon we are all called into the dining area in the back where a waiter asks me if I’d like vanilla ice tea or vanilla lemonade. A vision of Willy Wonka passes through my head and I think if Willy had a vanilla room, he would have vanilla lemonade -  I’m sure of it. I order the vanilla lemonade and settle into my table for one, ready to eat and be educated for the next 2 hours.

Jim Reddekopp, the owner of the family run farm, introduces himself and starts to tell the story of how he and his wife started growing vanilla. The first thing I learn which surprises me is that vanilla is an orchid and it’s the only orchid that has a flavor associated with it.

Jim tells us his vanilla story

I love hearing the story of an entrepreneurial dream. Jim grew up in Oahu and married Tracy and they have 5 kids. This is a family operation for sure; the kids are involved in all areas of the business from working in the kitchen to working in the Orchid houses. Plus, vanilla was not something that Jim or Tracy knew anything about originally, instead they came up with the idea since the Hawaiian climate was right for raising vanilla orchids and they built their knowledge and business from the ground up.

As Jim talks about the science behind raising vanilla orchids and making extract, he simultaneously fries a skillet full of shrimp in butter served with vanilla mango chutney. He says, “Everything here is fattening. It’s the way food is supposed to taste!” As he places the vanilla shrimp appetizer on my table I can’t help but feel his enthusiasm about food. He exudes joy for bringing the farm to table movement to Hawaii and clearly is a leader and innovator on the Big Island. I think to myself, this is what passion is. When you can find your passion, everything falls into place. My first bite of shrimp with vanilla chutney is full of flavor; a fabulous start to my Vanilla Experience lunch.

Our first course - vanilla grilled shrimp

Jim continues to explain to us how to make vanilla extract with a variety of different liquors, which is surprisingly simple once you have a good vanilla bean. He also gives us a demonstration of how to remove the seeds from a vanilla bean. The waiters bring out our main course consisting of bourbon citrus marinated chicken breast on a vanilla sweet bread roll with vanilla caramelized onions and organic greens. It is served with a salad with dusted vanilla pecans, feta, and a vanilla raspberry balsamic dressing. Vegetables also get the vanilla treatment; we have Okinawa potatoes with a vanilla southwest rub served with vanilla BBQ sauce.

Prepping in the kitchen

Bourbon citrus marinated checken breast with vanilla carmelized onions

The vanilla flavors are subtle and not overpowering, and I consider licking my plate. Would anyone notice? I think that Jim would probably give me a standing ovation if he saw me do it!

After all of the new, creative vanilla dishes that I try, it is time for a well known favorite – vanilla bean ice cream.

This.  Is.  Heaven.

Vanilla bean ice cream is an 8 billion dollar business worldwide.

All of us are now fat and happy and full of vanilla, but there is no rest, we have more to learn and see. Doug, one of the managers, takes over the tour and has us get up and walk around a bit, which I’m quite thankful about.

A vanilla orchid plant growing in the shade house

Doug explains how the orchids are grown and most importantly pollinated. He walks us down to the shade houses on the farm and points out various plants along the way. From Doug I learn about the rich and proud farming community on this part of the Big Island. As I listen to Doug talk about the surrounding ranches and people doing amazing things on the Big Island I wonder if it’s possible for me to love this island any more?

The shade houses are the home to many new baby orchid plants. Doug explains that a baby orchid takes 4 years to flower; patience is a necessary trait for vanilla farming. Plus, farming vanilla is incredibly labor intensive, the vanilla orchids are pollinated one by one by hand. This explains why vanilla is so expensive.

The tour comes to an end back at the yellow house in the gift shop where you can purchase your beans and various products to take home and try your own vanilla recipes. The last piece of advice that Jim leaves us with, “Anyone who thinks that vanilla is ‘just plain vanilla’ hasn’t tasted pure vanilla. It’s divine.”
I can’t agree more. Now it’s time to make my way to the beach for a big vanilla coma nap.

The Good:
• The food was phenomenal, and service was great.
• The 2 ½ hours was very educational and took you through the whole process of vanilla production.
• I walked away with knowledge on how to make my own extract!
• I loved the fact that Jim, the owner, was involved with the luncheon. His enthusiasm and love for vanilla and the Big Island was infectious.
• I liked the fact that the group was a manageable size. There were place settings for about 15 people so it was intimate and easy to see and hear while on the tour.

The Could Be Better:
• It would be nice to get some of the recipes from the luncheon or to have some of them available on the website so that we could recreate the dishes we ate.

Would I Recommend It:
Yes!  I highly recommended a stop at the Hawaii Vanilla Company as a great afternoon to get out and see another part of the island. My lunch was a true farm to table experience; I not only ate an amazing meal with the key ingredient grown down the road, but I was educated and entertained throughout the whole process. If you are visiting the sites of Waipio Valley or Akaka Falls, then this is a great stop to make, even if it’s just to come to the gift shop or for one of their Afternoon Tea tastings. I felt like the price ($39 for lunch, drinks, tour) was very reasonable in comparison to eating on other parts of the island.

More Information:
Hawaiian Vanilla Company Website:  www.HawaiianVanilla.com
Information on the Vanilla Experience Luncheon (Reservations are required!)
Other tours and tastings offered at the farm: Vanilla Tours
Hawaiian Vanilla Company Inc.
P.O. Box 383
43-2007 Paauilo Mauka Road
Paauilo, Hawaii 96776
Phone (808) 776-1771
Fax (808) 776-1661
Toll Free (877) 771-1771
orders@hawaiianvanilla.com

See all photos from the Vanilla Luncheon Experience and tour:

Disclosure: The Hawaiian Vanilla Company hosted my Vanilla Experience Luncheon and Tour. However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

The coast of the Big Island is ever changing

After driving around the entire Big Island for a week I could appreciate the diversity of landscapes, however today is when the all of the puzzle pieces come together. The lava field piece connects with the rainforest piece. The brown desert piece connects to the turquoise waters of the coast. The towering mountains connecta with the fertile ranch lands and rolling hills. The wet side connecta with the dry side. Today I will be able to see the ‘Big Picture’ of the Big Island – from the sky.

I arrive early to Paradise Helicopters thanks to my childlike excitement; this is my first time in a helicopter. Considering I am eternally late to everything, the fact that I have time to kill is unusual, but I use the time to clean my camera and lenses since I am anticipating a lot of photos. It is a hot day, made worse by the fact that I am dressed entirely in black clothing. Paradise Helicopters instructed us to wear dark colors so that the glare would be reduced when shooting pictures out of the helicopter window; a great piece of advice. Soon the rest of the passengers arrive; it will be a full helicopter with 6 of us taking flight for the Hawaii Experience tour. A complete 2+ hour flight of the entire island plus a landing in a secluded valley.

We listen to our safety briefing from our pilot Koji. In addition to learning about the safety instructions, he also briefs us on our route for the day. The good news is we have perfectly clear weather and he feels we will have a good opportunity to see some lava flow from above. Upon hearing this my heart starts beating faster. Seeing actual lava flow on the Big Island is not as easy as one might think based on all of the tourism marketing materials you see about the Big Island. In fact, seeing lava flow is sort of like getting a winning lottery ticket. The only real way of increasing your odds of seeing lava flow is to see it via helicopter. Lava is constantly flowing on and under the island, however it is in remote places where cars or hikers can’t get to.

I am seated on the side of the helicopter in the back with a large ‘floor to ceiling’ well cleaned window. We are packed in tightly, it reminds me of taking the public bus in Nepal minus the live animals. I locate my headphones and the other passengers and myself take turns testing our audio.  I am ready for lift off – Roger!

Hawaii is colorful from above!

Koji ensures us we are all ready and the helicopter blades start up. The sensation of lifting off reminds me I forgot to take my Dramamine in my excitement this morning; I will have to tough it out. We rise up smoothly and soon we are gliding down the coastline. From above I can see the clear waters and coral formations, the perfect little golf courses, and the town of Kona. My camera clicks away in excitement.

Koji flies us between the massive volcanic mountains of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa towards Volcanoes National Park. I have already been to the park twice by car, but this new aerial view was stunning. The great thing about traversing the island prior to taking the helicopter tour is that I know the lay of the land already, I am familiar with the roads and where they lead so it is easy to orient myself even from above.

Lava oozes out of the Earth's crust

We fly over the Halema’uma’u Crater and proceed to fly deeper into the park where roads no longer exist. Soon we see it – the silver flow of molten lava. I have to refocus my eyes on the details below me and when looking closely I can see the red hot outlines of the flowing lava oozing from the earth. We fly over lava tubes, lava explosions, and burning trees caught amidst the flowing lava. Koji circles around the active areas and flames with precision maneuvers ensuring that each side of the helicopter can see equally well. We do S turns, dipping down to get the best pictures possible.

Fresh molten lava flows on the Big Island

After about 25 minutes of hovering over various lava flows, we must move on to circle the rest of the island. We leave the barren ‘other –world’ of Volcanoes Park and fly to the rainy side of the island. Dark lava rock gives way to little bits of green life below us, and eventually we are flying over a carpet of dense, green rainforest surrounding the town of Hilo.

We fly up coast to the undisturbed valleys of Waipio where the oldest part of the island is on display. Deep, lush valleys are cut into the coast line completely secluded from tourism. The only way in to one of these valleys is to hike in or be flown in. Once again Koji flies us back and forth along the coast ensuring everyone has a perfect view and then he turns and starts heading into one of the deep cut valleys. We fly by waterfalls hundreds of feet high and I feel as if I have entered a land that few people have ever seen. We snake between the valley walls and slowly Koji sets the helicopter down next to a river for a short break in this secluded landscape.

Doing a valley fly by

Multiple water falls exist all over the valleys

When I get out of the helicopter my legs rejoice finally able to stretch a little bit as well as settle my stomach on solid ground. I turn to look at my surroundings and gasp. Koji had landed us on a dime; between a river and large boulders with only 5 feet of clearance on either side. In fact the tail of the helicopter actually hangs off the river bank over the roaring river. This is one time where I am happy I have a back seat view since I would have been quite nervous if I had fully seen what an obstacle we were landing in.

Our tiny 'landing pad' in the valley

We have about 20 minutes to explore, stretch, and eat a snack. I walk along a path to a river and pick some fresh guava for a snack. I sit and simply enjoy the view in solitude; a unique and powerful moment to reflect upon my week on the Big Island and it’s pure beauty and many surprises. Soon we gather back up and lift off from the valley floor flying to the northern tip over the birthplace of King Kamehameha. Once again the landscape changes from lush green to brown desert. We have flown to the dry side of the island; cracked and barren land begging for water. We fly back down the coast towards Kona seeing some of the most spectacular hidden beaches and coral formations along the Kohala coast.

The barren, dry Kohala Coast

Koji lands us back down at the airport effortlessly. The landscape puzzle is completed and our 3 hours have disappeared from me as if it was 1. It is the perfect way to put together the pieces of the Big Island; it’s diversity, beauty, anger, and energy. This island is alive!

The Good:
• One of the most unique and longest helicopter tours offered on the island.
• Loved the intricate valley landing in the middle of the tour
• Ensured that everyone could get equally great photos and views no matter what side you were seated on.
• Lots of time to see the lava! And really one of the only ways you will see lava.

The Could Be Better:
• This should come as no surprise, but I took a lot of pictures. I loved the fact that Paradise recommended you to wear dark clothing to take better pictures, however then they had a tan seat belt that they had upholstered with white fur so it would be more comfortable. I have no idea why they chose white fur – as it should have been black. Even though I was dressed in black, the seat belt was glaring in all of my photos!

Also – this was just specific to me, but don’t forget your motion sickness pills if you are prone to that sort of thing.  This is not a smooth airplane flight – there are many twists and turns!

Would I recommend it:
If you have the financial means, then I highly recommend taking a helicopter tour of the Big Island above any other island. It clearly has the most diversity of all of the islands, so to be able to see that from above is really special.  The Hawaii Experience tour was expensive ($445) , but there are many tour options at various price points.   I was very happy with Paradise Helicopters, with the pilot, and the office staff; all were very professional and were focused on safety.

More Information:
Paradise Helicopter Tours – www. paradisecopters.com

Koji and I back on solid ground

To see all photography from the tour – check out my Hawaii From Above photo album

Disclosure:  Paradise Helicopters  hosted my Hawaii Experience tour. However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

Preparing the horses, a little 'helper' looks on

“The horses are not pets. They are workers. Do not let the horses eat; they have all day to eat. Now they are supposed to be working, they are on my time now.” This is the first thing I hear from the good looking young man dressed in levis, leather chaps with fringe, cowboy boots (with spurs), and a big rain slicker. The only thing missing is a cowboy hat, but this young paniolo opts for a baseball hat; giving this Hawaiian cowboy a modern twist.

I hear this speech from Pa’akaula while I’m perched on top of one of those referred to ‘work horses’. A wave of seriousness comes over me, as my mind switches from ‘I’m a tourist’ mode to ‘I have a job to do’ mode. I’m about to participate in my first cattle herding experience…err…job.

Strangely I’m not in Texas, Wyoming, or Colorado; I’m in Hawaii.

Prepping the work horses

The rain is pouring down, and the wind is whipping around me. The skies are filled with gray low hanging clouds hiding the beautiful pasture views from me. I think about other tourists out on the beach on the sunny side of the Big Island, but I just had to be different. Now I’m on top of a horse named Red, slightly exhilarated and slightly nervous. I can hardly believe that a beginner rider like myself is about to embark on a cattle drive with absolutely no tourist fluff to it.

But this is where I like to be, on the edge; the edge of excitement, nervousness, and newness.

Going to 'work' in the elements

“The horse’s job is to do nothing. Your job is to make it do something. These horses are not trail horses; they will not follow each other. In fact, I don’t want you to follow each other, you need to be comfortable splitting up, “ says Pa’akaula. I continue to listen to the lecture and I can feel my adrenaline rise. Pa’akaula comes over to my horse to tighten some parts of the saddle and he begins to give me my ‘driving’ instructions. He tells me how to get the horse to move forward, backward, turn left and turn right. He tells me how to stop the horse and make it stand still or stop the horse and make it back up. He instructs me to keep my heels down but keep pressure on my toes and to hold the reins as if I’m holding a bottle. I feel like I’m 16 again learning how to drive a car for the first time; it all sort of makes sense, but it’s nerve-wracking.

To top it off, the rain is blowing sideways now. This isn’t the beautiful day I was hoping for when I signed up for this cattle drive. Instead I am cold and getting more and more soaked by the second. However, somehow the horrible weather makes the whole experience seem even that much more authentic. We aren’t out here for fun; we are out here to get a job done.

Pa'akaula getting the horses ready for work

Pa’akaula tells us to walk our horses down the muddy drive until we get to the fence line, then stop and wait. He wants to see if we can successfully instruct our horses to do this simple task. I give Red two quick hard kicks with my heels and he slowly takes a few steps forward. Soon he is walking and as I continue to tap him with my heals occasionally.

At the fence line we all stop successfully. Mission accomplished! We are now given our next set of instructions. Lead our horse to the patch of trees over the hill in the distance. There is a slight pause and then Pa’akaula firmly instructs us to not follow each other. “You all have to take a different route to get to the patch of trees,” he says.

Now this is a bit more challenging, but my mind races with excitement. I pull the reins to the left and kick Red with my right heel in the hope that this will make him turn left. He stands there and doesn’t move. I think to myself, wait a minute, am I supposed to kick with my left or my right foot? My mind is second-guessing myself. Out of futility I decide to try again, this time Red turns and starts walking to the left. Success!

I walk Red towards the patch of trees and watch my cowboy peers do the same, the three of us are all spread out as instructed. I feel free, I feel in control. I never in my life have had real control of a horse; directing it solely by my desire. I’ve done trail rides before, but there was little decision really left to the rider, the horse was in control. However now it is I who is in control. I decide to turn, I don’t take the most efficient route, and I choose to stop – just because I want to. It feels amazing.

We continue to practice this horse control for the next 40 minutes; trying to teach the horse that we are the boss. The rain also continues, harder and harder. I can feel my jeans are already soaked underneath my rain slicker. The rain is dripping off the brim of my hat as well as my nose. I feel real. I feel like a paniolo; a Hawaiian cowboy.

Pa’akaula tells us to scan for cattle, we now need to get an idea of where the cattle are so we can round them up. We walk the horses around the vast fence line scanning for cattle. However, truth be told, I don’t think I am looking for cattle as I am still struggling with becoming the master of Red. Red does the turns I instruct him to, but not quite with the precision I would like and the perfectionist in me wants to get it right.

Our pawns...we must move them wisely

We spot the cattle all grazing in the same general area; there are about 35 of them. However off to the left I see black animals running the opposite direction of the herd and wonder if I should be pointing these ‘runaways’ out. However Pa’akaula reads my mind and quickly points out that those aren’t cattle, they are wild bore.

Pa’akaula motions for us to gather up near the rest of the cattle; it is time to get down to work. The wind is whistling, the sky is dark and the cows look as if they really don’t want to move. He gives us a little advice about how to use the fence line to keep the cattle ‘pinned’ in. He also suggests to be vocal in order to get the cattle to move. Pa’akaula looks at us each slowly and says, “Ok – this is your adventure, good luck!” and walks away on his horse. The perfectionist in me panics and wonders if he is leaving us! The three of us look at each other and swiftly make a game plan as there’s no time to waste in this uncomfortable weather. My fellow tourist herders bolster my confidence. We spread out as we have been doing all morning and go along the perimeter of the herd of cattle. Pa’akaula is watching from a perimeter spot ready to step in and chase any ‘runaways’.

“Ya” I meagerly say, and walk towards the cattle in my area. Meager isn’t going to cut it. “Ya! Ya!” I yell. The cattle take notice and begin to walk in front of me. I smile to myself and think, “I just made cows move. “ I’m amused by the thought and strangely proud.

Red and I use the fenceline to herd the cattle in

The rain continues to pour down on us, but we are moving the cattle, slowly to the pen. I belt out more “Ya! Ya!” vigorously as I go up and down steep, narrow, muddy sections of the pasture. I am amazed that a beginner like myself it tackling this terrain, but there’s no time to dwell on it; I have confidence now in the ability of my sure-footed horse. I hold on as if I’m riding a mountain bike leaning into the hills and back on the downhill. All the while my eyes are on the cattle. I can see us all converging on our end destination. Pa’akaula opens the gate and the cattle instinctively enter.

He closes the gate to the muddy pen signaling that our work is done. The three of us let out a sigh of relief and nod to each other in the rain; signaling a job well done. Today none us of feel like tourists, we feel like paniolos.

The cattle are in the pen! Our work is done!

The Good:

• Beginners can participate in the cattle drive
• The website description was accurate – there was no fluff!
• The instruction by the Ranch was good and even though we were separated in distance, they kept an eye on you.
• Provided rain slickers!

The Could Be Better:

• The weather could have been better! That’s honestly all I could come up with!
• They don’t always run the tour as they need enough people to do it. Check with them to see if they have a cattle herding experience available when you are there.

Would I recommend it:

Absolutely! This was one of my favorite things I did on the Big Island. I had always had a dream to herd cattle for some reason, and this was a great way to get a taste of it in a very unexpected place. There are many places that offer trail rides on the Big Island, but Dahana is the only one who offers the cattle herding experience. I was skeptical at first thinking it might be watered down for tourists – but I honestly felt like I was a part of the real thing. It was a lot of time on the horses, but the time went fast – even in the rain!

Website: Dahana Ranch
P.O. Box 1293 • Kamuela, HI 96743 • toll free: (888) 399-0057 • p (808) 885-0057 • f (808) 885-7833 • dahana@hawaiiantel.net

Disclosure: Dahana Ranch hosted my Cattle Drive experience. However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

A turtle captured on my Photo Safari

A familiar diesel idle echoed through my ears as the big safari truck pulled up next to me and my little rental car. This truck was my transport to go on safari on the Big Island of Hawaii. However I wasn’t searching for wild game, instead I was searching for good photography.

Photo Safari Hawaii was immediately of interest to me when I started researching my trip to the Big Island. They offer private photo ecotours all over the Hawaiian Islands, creating a custom experience for each client. The Photo Safari guides are experts in their knowledge of the islands as well as photography of the islands. The tour provided an insiders guide to the best places to shoot, as well as fine art photography exercises to enhance your photography.

Even though I have been doing photography for a while now, I always think it’s good to try to improve your skills and get refreshers. I get into bad habits, I get lazy, and I was hoping that this Photo Safari experience would help me brush up on my skills as well as take me to some hidden places on the island. I chose to do the Big Island Light Chaser ½ day tour.

Kohala Coast - chasing the light

Sean picked me up in the early afternoon and we went out to shoot the Kohala Coast and ‘catch’ sunset pictures. Sean clearly loved the Big Island, he came here 10 years prior from the mainland and had never been back! His love was evident also in the amount of knowledge he had about the Big Island. He rattled off stories and facts as I enjoyed the view and asked questions. It was nice to let someone else drive me for once and allow me to look for shots . The whole week I had been juggling the beauty of having complete control of my journey and being able to stop where-ever I saw a great shot, with having to watch the road and figure out where I was going!

Our first stop was the Pu’ukohola Heiau; a sacred rock structure peered out over the Kohala Coast. We stepped out of the truck and I secured my camera and lenses while Sean brought a little laminated notebook full of lessons to help me think about photography in different ways.

Kohala Coast

Sean and I had already talked about my experience as a photographer, but I told him that I wanted to experience the tour as his normal student would experience it. Typically their customers carried SLRs and were beginners or enthusiasts, but he did say that many clients also come with point and shoot cameras and more frequently there are people who simply show up with a mobile phone! He mainly focused on the beginning steps of photography and how we see and process light. It’s a great place to start when it comes to photography, as it’s important to understand the types of light and how our brain processes them.

We wandered along the paths and Sean provided a nice mix of history and photography information. He would ask questions about aspects of light and composition and then show examples from his book. Next he would challenge me to find examples of what we were speaking about and shoot them. We didn’t get into the nitty gritty of aperture and shutter speeds very much, yet I know we could have went there had I wanted to.

We changed a bit of our itinerary based on the weather on the mountain; the heavy cloud cover made us stick to the coast for our sunset shots. We made 3 or 4 more stops after the Pu’ukohola Heiau; a mix of beaches and resorts to practice the various parts of composition. We ended on a secluded little stretch of beach where the sun glistened off the still tide pools; a perfect location for sunset. I thought to myself, I doubt I would have found this place on my own.

There's plenty of inviting beaches along the Kohala Coast

Sean spotted a big sea turtle resting on the rocks so we went over as close as we possibly could to get the shot. He advised me on the lighting conditions and I was able to capture the big creature without disturbing it.

We stayed until the sun went down shooting away experimenting with different settings and angles. My light finally disappeared and therefore my photo paintbrush disappeared with it. I packed up my camera and Sean drove me back to my cottage. On the way back I was able to get some great advice on other places to visit for continued photography practice during my time on the Big Island.

Sunset on the Big Island

The Good:
• They pick you up anywhere on the island in a large, comfortable truck with plenty of room for equipment
• You get a ton of information about the island, the history, and the must see places.
• It did reinforce the basics of photography for me and really did get me to think about contrast and light more before I took the shot instead of just dealing with the situation in post –processing. I thought the exercises were effective at getting you grasp the concepts in a non-technical way.
• Even though my experience focused on basics of composition for beginners with light, contrast, lines, and points, the tour has the ability to be more advanced and cover aspects of more technical manual settings too.
• They have cameras you can use – but you do have to rent them as a separate charge. Same for underwater casings and any other specialized equipment.
• They operate on all of the islands and they offer multiday workshops with focus on underwater photography.

The Could Be Better:
• Since this is a half day tour, there is no real review process of what you shot and discussion of what worked and didn’t work. However that type of portfolio review is included in the longer workshop tours.
• The cost is prohibitive for a solo traveler – $550 for 4 hours. This is an investment in your skills, not just a fluff tour, and the price reflects it. The downside about the prices is that it is a private tour and therefore you can’t really be combined with other people if the truck isn’t full. However, if you are traveling with companions and you organize it as a group – then you can fit up to 5 people in the truck and then the cost is reasonable for such a tour. So the key is to find people to go with you and help reduce the cost!
• The website provides information about the tours, but you will likely really have to contact them personally to get additional info that you need regarding details of the tour and the photo instruction. I didn’t find the website very informative for the price of the tours.  On tours with higher price points, I do believe more information is better than less. In addition, there are not many images or reviews of the tours listed on the site. I personally think that a photography business like this should be showing off the great images that their clients have taken, but, what can I say, I’m picky about websites!

Would I recommend it?

I love this concept, especially for the islands of Hawaii where everywhere you look is begging to be photographed! The key is that it is a private tour – so it can be tailored to your needs, and that’s what you are paying for ultimately.
I would recommend this tour for the person who:
• Really wants to invest in learning about the basics of photography
• Someone who wants to learn how to get off of auto mode and start to learn about the more technical side of shooting
• Has a few companions that want to also learn about photography in order to bring down the cost a bit
• The super serious photographer who wants access to the best locations on the island but doesn’t have time to research them on their own.
• Someone interested specifically in underwater photography as they have a special workshop for underwater shooting

To get more information or to book a tour check out
Photo Safari Hawaii – www.photosafarihawaii.com

Disclosure: Photo Safari Hawaii hosted my ½ day Light Chaser tour. However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

The ticket to your dreams

Accepting change is hard. Most people don’t have a choice, when the world changes – they eventually have to change with it. My mother on Facebook is a great example of this; it was the only way she was going to keep up with her grandchildren’s lives. I have to admit though – I’m a bit scared of the day I need to try to teach her how to use Twitter – that just may be the scene of my head exploding and brain matter going everywhere.

But actually making change, creating it from your own idea or desire for an end product; that’s about impossible for people. Creating changes in your life that society or no one person didn’t dictate can be seen to be as challenging as climbing Mt. Everest, starting a career break movement in the US, or teaching my mother how to use a cell phone.

But change has to happen if you want to save money to accomplish your travel dreams, or any dream for that matter. You have to be strong enough, have willpower, accept sideways glances and sometimes ridicule, and you have to follow through no matter how much the world around you is against you. However I can guarantee that when you persevere, and the willpower wins, the world will pay you back in ways that you can’t even understand now.

See Warren and Betsy on MarriedwithLuggage.com

Warren and Betsy Talbot know this. They are experts at making change in order to achieve their travel dreams. That’s why I was excited to hear that they wrote a book to teach others how to save enough money to travel or achieve any dream. The ebook, Dream Save Do , is not simply about saving money for career break travel; it’s about saving money to accomplish whatever dreams you have. It’s about how to make change in your life; how to take control of your finances and mindset in order to achieve goals.

I met Warren and Betsy in 2010 as they were preparing for their career break travels. They agreed to be our inaugural Seattle Meet, Plan, Go! hosts.  They have since been traveling for one year now and have decided to turn their 3 year planned career break into a lifestyle of location independent work and travel. Their first big project was writing the Ebook Dream Save Do which describes a focused way to think about money differently and how it can be used to fund your dreams. They took the processes they used to change their lives and save loads of money to create a plan with concrete steps that apply to everyone so that others can do the same. They continue to track every dollar spent on their travels at their Around the World Expenses Blog They live what they teach.

Saving money isn’t rocket science. It’s willpower and the ability to make change in your life. There is no way to get rich quick, just as there is no effective way to lose 20 pounds in a week and keep it off. The ebook provides concrete ways to save money, change your life, and provides you the inspiration you will need in order to follow through.  Woven among the concrete steps is their story of how they did it; the successes and the failures, the a-ha moments and the tears. It’s theory put into practice.

Kindle Version on Amazon $9.99

The book covers:

Dream: Defining your Dream, Creating Dream Porn, Determining the cost of your Dream, and Setting a Date
Save: Create the Vault, Calculate Current Spending, Resolving Credit Card Debt, Creating your Phrase to Save, Cutting Expenses, Revising Spending Habits, Where to ‘Find’ Money, Performing a Monthly Review
Do: Publicizing your Dream, Screwing up and Getting Back on Track, Learn to Handle Peer Pressure, Planning Your Holiday Spending, Enjoying the Saving Success

It’s sold on Amazon in a Kindle version for $9.99

But my personal take-aways from the book was how to :

Achieve goals
Create change in your life that you and others can be excited about.
Look at our consumption based society differently
Look at how we live differently
Achieve goals (yes, I know I said it already, but it’s such a strong message in this book. If you don’t like to achieve goals, then don’t get the book – you will be disappointed.)

As I read through the guide, I highlighted things that really spoke to me such as,

•  “We were trying to let money dictate our lifestyle instead of the other way around.”
•  “A budget is limiting only in your spending. Your imagination has no limits.”
• “You will learn to assess the value of everything – what it costs you in more than just money and whether it is worth having. It will become second nature, and you will be surprised at how often you truly want to say no to something when many people just accept what is offered without evaluating the true cost. You will be more discerning about what comes into your life and therefore what comes out of your life. “
• “People notice what is different from them. You can dye your hair blond, get a tattoo, or wear a cowboy hat in the city to get attention. Or you can stop spending and see how many people take notice. Some will think it an oddity, and some will consider it a challenge to their own spending habits. Either way, you’re setting yourself apart and opening your self up to scrutiny.”
• “…money is a means to an end, not the end itself.”

Why should you consider buying this book if you have a dream of doing extended travel?

Because the first thing I hear from people I speak to is – “You have to be rich to take travel like you do– right?” And it’s normally followed by “How much does it cost?” People’s biggest perceived hurdle to extended travel or career breaks is financial. Now I’ve just given you a way to shatter that perceived financial hurdle and understand how you personally can save money live the life you are dreaming of.

No more excuses.

Buy Dream Save Do today.

Warren and Betsy also collect dreams for others – here’s mine – Be a Solid Gold Dancer.   What’s your dream you want to save for? Please share in the comments!

Hiking your way to spectacular views

I’m a mountain person more than a beach person. I like to spend a little time at the beach, but lying there or participating in water sports hold my attention for only so long. My preferred beach time is about 1 ½ hours and then I’m done and long for a change of scenery.

So what in the world does a non-beach person do in Hawaii?

We hike.

Hawaii is synonymous with sand, waves, lifeguards, and underwater delights but don’t overlook the thousands of great hiking opportunities on the islands! While I was in Oahu I visited the beach occasionally, but I made sure that I found the trails too. Luckily I had a few friends on Oahu who also liked to hike and took me to some of their favorite and easy spots to get some spectacular views and a little bit of exercise.

Old Pali Road Trail:

This used to be the old highway used to get from leeward to windward side of the island. It was literally built on the side of a mountain barely hanging on – it was an adventure to traverse to the other side of the mountain no doubt. It’s now been replaced with a proper 4 lane highway complete with a tunnel, but parts of the old highway is still there to hike on. To get there you have to go through tourists. They are there for the lookout and the spectacular view – but you can go much deeper than that! From the lookout, go down to the right and go past the ‘closed’ sign away from the tourists at the lookout snapping photos. Take the old Pali Highway through dense jungle perched along the side of this lush mountain, you will be walking along old parts of the highway as you descend. Ron also picked fresh guava off the trees and we snacked on them on the way down! We hiked about 45 minutes down and then slowly turned around and came back up. You can hike all the way through to the end though.

The view from Pali Lookout

Remnants of the Old Pali Highway

Trees guarding the trail

Difficulty: Easy (until you turn around and come back up!)
How to get there: You can start at the top or bottom. We started at the Pali Lookout (the top)
More information:  www.hawaiistories.com/eric/2005/04/24/old-pali-road/
www.oahumom.com/2011/06/hiking-old-pali-road.html

Kaiwa Ridge Trail (Lanakai Pill Box Hike)

On the windward side of the island above the town of Lanakai are perched old army bunkers (pillboxes) on the ridge. They provide a spectacular view of the ocean and Lanakai below. This is a ridge trail so there are no trees or shade here – but you do get a strong wind keeping you cool. The hike took Yen and me about 1 ½ hours, but you could do it much quicker if you didn’t take as many pictures as I do. I also enjoyed a nice rest at the pill boxes and simply sat there and took in the view. Yen actually spent her birthday camping in the pillbox recently in order to watch the sun rise – a beautiful and brave idea! The best part is after you are done with the hike, you can go take a dip on that beautiful beach you peered down on from the top!

Not a bad view to stay focused on while climbing the trail!

Hiking to bunkers in the distance

Pillbox view...color doordianted with the ocean!

Difficulty: Intermediate – it’s steep in the beginning – but the steep section is short. You need to be sure-footed as you are on the ridge and you are scrambling around rocks, but I saw families with young kids doing it – so don’t be too intimidated!
How to get there: You will see the trail head directly across from the Mid-Pacific Country Club. There should also be a small sign further up this “street” indicating the Pillbox Hike.
More information: www.best-of-oahu.com/lanikai-pillbox-hike.html
www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=HGP040-030

Makapu‘u Point Lighthouse Trail

The lighthouse trail is an easy but rewarding hike taking you to a view like no other on the island. You hike upwards toward the only working lighthouse on Oahu, but you will end up above it at the end. You aren’t allowed to get to the lighthouse as I certainly tried but was stopped by a big menacing fence! The trail is simple and paved the whole way but it does have a constant upward slope – good for the quads! There are no trees along this paved trail, so if it were sunny it would be a scorcher. However I went when it was moody, rainy, cloudy, and windy. The skies were perfect for photography and captured the massiveness of the island.

The sole lighthouse on Oahu

Paved trail from the parking lot...this is as steep as it gets!

A blustery day makes for nice photos!

Blocked access - The lighthouse will have to wait for another day.

Difficulty:  Easy to sort of intermediate (only for the climb…but it’s completely simple!)
How to get there: The park and trailhead are located off of the Kalanianaole Highway (Hwy. 72) at the southeasternmost point of Oahu.
More Information: www.hawaiistateparks.org/hiking/oahu/index.cfm?hike_id=23
www.hawaiiweb.com/oahu/hiking_and_camping/makapuu_lighthouse.htm

Kawainui Marsh Trail and Ulupo Heiau

Ron and I worked off our haupia (coconut) jello shots from the night before by doing this easy hike along the marsh. The Kawainui Marsh Trail, which is paved and runs through the marsh, is perfect for riding bikes as well as walking or jogging. It is about three miles long, paved, meandering through marshland with unobstructed views of the Ko’olau mountains. When we reached the end of the trail, we kept going up the hill and for a short walk on the highway to get to the Ulupo Heiau (sacred place). The massive stone platform of the heiau measures 140 by 180 feet. It was believed to be an agricultural heiau and offerings and ceremonies there were for improving harvests. Since this was a sacred place – I also decided this was the perfect place to leave my many leis I had received on the island. So hopefully I added a little bit of good karma to the taro crop planted below the heiau!

Beginning of the marsh trail

A perfectly groomed trail and landscape!

The sacred heiau full of lei offerings

Difficulty:  Easy!
How to get there: Ulupo Heiau is a mile south of Kailua Rd, behind the YMCA. Coming up the Pali Hwy from Honolulu, take Uluoa St, the first left after passing the Hwy 72 junction. Turn right on Manu Aloha St and right again onto Manu O’o St.
More information:  www.aloha-hawaii.com/oahu/kawainui-marsh-and-ulupo-heiau/
www.hawaiistateparks.org/parks/oahu/ulupo.cfm

Enter into the Past at Iolani Palace in Oahu

The grand koa wood staircase was shining with a new coat of oil as the focal point of the room; it’s beautiful curves lead the eye gently from the second floor down to the first floor. Men and women dressed in ornate gowns and neck-restricting tuxedos floated around the staircase receiving each other with a proper handshake or curtsy. The party was just beginning as horses pulled up to the ultra modern palace depositing people of stature out of their buggies. The year was 1882 in the island nation of Hawaii.

Even though I like to live in the present, I couldn’t help but imagine the past as I was led through the Iolani Palace in Oahu. The docent painted a perfect picture of arriving at a ball in the mid 1880’s – the sites, sounds, and even the dinner entries that would be served.

The grand ball room in the Palace where you could dance the night away (picture by Iolani Palace)

When I arrived in Hawaii the week prior I realized how little I knew about our 50th state which seemed to be but a few specs in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. After all, the Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated, inhabited pieces of land in the world. There is a whole history and culture here that goes beyond the beaches and tourism you normally associate with Hawaii. I was eager to learn more about it and a great place to start was Iolani Palace.

King Kalākaua opened the palace doors in 1882 and it is known as the only royal residence in America (a fun trivia fact!). It was filled with the best that the royal family had to offer, luxuries like flush toilets and electricity; however I was mesmerized by the ornate woodwork framing each door, the art hung on the walls, and the large china vases decorating the rooms. However it’s the staircase that captures you; shining in a golden cherry brown, begging you to slowly walk down it as you lazily drag your hand down the smooth railing lingering for a moment in order to make a grand entrance.

The koa wood staircase begging me to climb it! (Photo courtesy of Iolani Palace)

Staircase view from the 2nd floor (photo courtesy of Iolani Palace

Protecting History

Yet due to the age of the residence and the need to preserve every inch of this beautiful space and furnishings, you are warned, reminded, and closely watched as you walk through the palace to ensure you touch nothing and go nowhere off the tour path. The tour starts by being given a pair of shoe ‘condoms’ to slip on over your sandals in order to protect the floors inside. No cameras are allowed inside due to the effects of flash photography, and you are lectured on touching nothing. The no camera policy was torture to me as every way I turned my mind was composing the perfect picture in my head; I wanted to capture every detail, color, and curve. I was even restricted from taking a pen inside to take notes with, but they happily provided me an old fashioned pencil. The protection of this palace is very serious business and once inside you can understand why.

The well preserved dining room (photo courtesy of Iolani Palace

The porch provides a grand view

History of an Island Nation

The docent tour leads you backwards through history of what it would be like to attend a royal ball at the palace. From the grandeur of arrival, to the calorie laden dinner menu, to dancing all night in the ball room; the King and Queen knew how to throw a party.
However it wasn’t all about parties in the palace, upon King Kalākaua’s death, the palace became the official residence of his sister, Queen Liliuokalani, the last monarch of Hawaii. She was overthrown by foreign (American) plantation businessmen and put under house arrest inside the palace in 1893. You see the quarters in which she lived for years as the palace beneath her turned into a heavily trafficked government office building and royal items were stolen or auctioned off.

The 1882 view of the Palace

The Palace in 2012...just as beautiful!

Visiting Hawaii?

I found this tour to be not only an architectural delight, but also a way to get more in touch with the history of Hawaii and the islands beyond the beaches and high-rise hotels. I would recommend it to any visitor of Oahu.
I could go on and on about what I learned about all of the cultural which has been lost over time, but I will leave that to more informed historical accounts. I suggest that before you take a trip to Hawaii, even if it is for pure relaxation and pleasure, you take a little time to educate yourself about the history of this island nation prior to American occupation.

The intricate architecture details of the palace

Here are some great resources I found:

Book: Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani (prior to her being put under house arrest) – It covers the history of Hawaii prior to the overthrow and the overthrow itself. It also covers life in Iolani Palace and the island culture.

Movie: Princess Kaiulani – (2009) – The story of a Hawaiian princess’ attempts to maintain the independence of the island against the threat of American colonization.
View the movie trailer 
Many scenes were filmed in the Iolani Palace – you actually get to see people using that grand staircase! This isn’t necessarily historically accurate, but it is a light and fun way to gain a little knowledge before hopping on the plane.

Talk to Locals: They are more than happy to tell you about the history and preservation of the Polynesian culture in Hawaii!

Iolani Palace Tour Information:
Guided Docent Led Tours – Adults: $20 / Children (5-12) $6. This tour is available from 9:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
Audie Tours – Adults: $13 / Children (5-12) $6. This tour is available from Monday through Saturday 11:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Be sure to check the times and costs on the website which will have up to date information and details.
Get all of the details including great historical information, information on the restoration, and learn about upcoming events on the Iolani Palace website
www.iolanipalace.org

Disclosure: Iolani Palace hosted my docent led tour . However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

A water color sunrise over the shark cage!

Da dum, Da dum, Da dum….

I hate scary movies; I’ve been a terror wimp my whole life. I have never even watched Jaws. The movie poster alone sent me into tears running for my mother and making me think twice about jumping into the lake – let alone an ocean. It was good that I grew up in the land locked Midwest as I was pretty sure that sharks couldn’t get to me there in Illinois River; however, I didn’t completely rule it out.

So when I spontaneously clicked on the ‘contact’ button on the Hawaii Shark Encounters Website – I have no idea what came over me.

Yes...I actually wanted to do this. Photo by Hawaii Shark Encounters

I’ve changed a lot since I was a kid – I used to be terrified of adventures, now I crave them. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I’m having a midlife crisis….I mean how else could you explain my participation in the Mongol Rally this summer? But for whatever reason, seeing sharks up close and personal in the Pacific Ocean suddenly seemed exciting to me instead of terrifying. It’s kind of like when all of a sudden I started liking olives…I’m not really sure why, but it just happened. Sharks, olives…not quite the same, but suddenly I’m craving them both.

Hawaii Shark Encounters runs tours off the North Shore of Oahu; home of the big waves. The website provides a lot of information on the tour and sharks in general. Their big warning about the tour is not about the sharks, but about seasickness. Apparently it’s a small boat about 3 miles away from shore, which equals a pretty rocky experience. I decided I would pack my Dramamine just in case.

My friend Ron and I got up, made a big pot of coffee and took off for the North Shore at 5AM. Yes, that wasn’t a typo. The tour started at 6:30AM, apparently the water is a bit calmer then. As I got closer to the harbor, my nerves started to kick in a bit, but strangely I felt rather calm. Since I had been involved in so many ‘questionable’ activities around the world, I felt like to do this activity in America was probably the safest place I could ever do it! We are a country of ‘watch out’, ‘be careful’, ‘danger’, ‘sign this waiver’…so I felt pretty relaxed.

We arrived on time and easily found the boat. There were 9 other people signed up to meet sharks up close and Ron decided he would simply come along for the ride and be my photographer. I was excited for the familiar company! We popped some Dramamine and the boat took off.

There were two guides on the boat who lectured us on safety instructions while we drove the 3 miles out to the floating cage. The morning was gorgeous and the sun was just starting to rise. My coffee had kicked in and I was feeling alive as the warm Hawaiian sun hit my body. Calm, cool, collected. The guide said that only 5 of us could be in the cage at the same time so we would need to go in two groups. “Who wants to go first?” he asked.

Photo from Hawaii Shark Encounters

Without hesitation I raised my hand and said, “I’ll go.” Ron turned around and looked at me somewhat surprised; I’m pretty sure he was more worried for my safety than I was! My feeling is that I might as well be bold and first, else I just get nervous waiting around.

There it was – off in the distance, a red flag attached to a silver floating cage. Rocking gently on glistening blue water. It looked safe enough…

We were lectured again on safety of how to get in and out of the cage. I had the feeling that the only danger I was really in was slipping on the boat itself somehow. I slowly descended down the ladder into the surprisingly warm water, steadied myself on the rungs of the cage and put on my mask. I took one last look at Ron as he snapped pictures and I dipped my head underneath the water.

I'm going in!

Alone with the sharks!

There they were, staring back at me. Galapagos and Sandbar sharks calmly swam around the cage circling around the boat and us; there were about 12 of them and 5 of us. The biggest ones seemed to be way over 6 feet. I was surprised at how big they were when they swam underneath the cage. They weren’t frenzied or menacing, but instead they seemed to simply be going about their business. They were sleek, and moved about fluidly. It was sort of like seeing the Abominable Snowman after Hermey the elf pulls out his menacing teeth and he’s simply a white fuzzy snowman.

My disposable camera shot....

Rays of sunlight providing a shark spotlight

The hardest part about the cage experience was the fact that it moved around constantly in the waves, I felt like I was being jostled around like a pin ball. It was challenging to hold on, try to take photos, dodge a few jelly fish, AND make sure that my foot didn’t inadvertently float outside of the bars and end up as shark breakfast. Since we were 3 miles from shore the waves and subsequent cage movement was pretty substantial. Even though the cage floated, it didn’t move as fluidly as the boat does on water so after a while even in my Dramamine state I started to feel a bit queasy. I stayed in the cage for about 20 minutes and then got out to let other people in and give my stomach a break. Ron greeted and eagerly waited for my underwater report of shark sightings. I survived! But first, I had the pleasure of a warm fresh-water shower.

Awwww...not a bad way to start off a morning!

The good:
Overall the experience was quite fun and very safe. It was really beautiful to simply see the sharks swim so close by. It was exhilarating but not terrifying…perfect! Plus – I loved the warm ‘shower’ at the end – it was a great touch! Finally, if you didn’t have a camera with you, you could buy a disposable one on the boat.

The could-be-better:
The website talked extensively how the tour would include an opportunity to really learn about sharks; the website states “A very important part of our tour is shark education”. During the boat ride to the cage we were supposed to get a ‘talk’ on shark biology, behavior, and learn about the importance of them in the Hawaiian culture. Unfortunately this didn’t happen at all. The only things the guides really briefed us on were the safety instructions.

Would I recommend it?
Yes. However I would like to get the shark education promised on the website. I’m sure that if we had asked, the guides would have provided it. But in the excitement of the moment, I honestly forgot about it.

To get more information or to book a tour check out
Hawaii Shark Encounters – www.hawaiisharkencounters.com
Learn more about the cage

Disclosure: Hawaii Shark Encounters hosted my shark cage experience . However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

My Kindle kept me tweeting through Mongolia.

I found a new piece of travel gear this summer which I’ll never leave home without any longer. As I raced through the Mongol Rally, my new Amazon Kindle was probably my most used travel gear after my camera. I used it constantly, yet I never finished a book during the whole 5 weeks of travel.

One of the most common questions I get when people speak to me about my participation in the Mongol Rally is “How did you stay connected? It seemed like you were always tweeting. Did you have a satellite phone?”

The surprising answer I give them is “I used my Kindle to stay connected.”

Yeah for 3G!

When I was in Seattle this spring attending the World Domination Summit, Dave from WhatsDaveDoing.com and I were talking about how I would stay connected during the rally. At the time I didn’t really have an answer. However that’s when he recommended and showed me his Kindle with 3G. As I sat and played around with it using the ‘Experimental Browser’ (this is seriously what it’s called in the menu dropdown!), I was intrigued. And I repeated somewhat incredulously to him, “You said the connectivity is free?”

“Yes” he answered with a mischievous smile as if he were sharing a secret to a hidden treasure.

I started to research this free 3G connectivity further on the Amazon website and found the following details:

Free 3G Wireless
No annual contracts, no monthly fees. Download books anytime, anywhere. Unlike cell phones, with Kindle Keyboard 3G there are no monthly fees or commitments — Amazon pays for Kindle Keyboard 3G’s wireless connectivity.

Global 3G Coverage
Travel the globe and still get books in under 60 seconds with wireless coverage in over 100 countries and territories.

I looked at the coverage map and to my surprise I saw that most of our route was covered in some way.

Kindle Coverage map

So I did it – I purchased the Kindle Keyboard 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6″ E Ink Display – includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers

And decided to add it to my possible ways to stay connected during the Mongol Rally without draining my bank account.

As we left the UK and our Tep Mifi device behind I turned on my Kindle and immediately it picked up a 3G signal. I opened up the Experimental Browser and went to twitter.com and was able to follow hashtag streams as well as easily reply to tweets and post my own. Now the web browser is nothing to write home about but it’s perfectly adequate for checking and sending e-mail, looking stuff up, and reading mostly-text websites. Truly – the websites do need to be simple and no flash or Java script – but most of the popular websites offer a mobile version of their site that is pretty light and simple which makes it useable on the Kindle.

Pros:

• Automatically finds 3G connections as you move throughout a country and cross borders without having to do a thing.
• It saves you money on ridiculous international mobile phone roaming charges. Allows you to easily check your email and social media accounts. It’s free!
• It picked up signals better than our unlocked mobile phones.
• Oh yeah, in addition apparently it allows you to store and read books too! Who knew?!

Cons:

• The browser is really clunky. You have to be very patient for it to load the screens. It’s sort of like playing Atari again. Old school.
• There’s no touch screen functionality. Once again – think old school.
• No color
• The battery life is shorter when using 3G

New Version:

There is a new color touch-version out of the Kindle that moves it a step closer to the Ipad but still places it in an affordable price bracket.  Kindle Fire, Full Color 7″ Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi

However – read the details closely. This new touch Kindle does not include free 3G. Amazon states,

“We apologize for the confusion. Our new Kindle Touch 3G enables you to connect to the Kindle Store, download books and periodicals, and access Wikipedia – all over 3G or Wi-Fi. Experimental web browsing (outside of Wikipedia) on Kindle Touch 3G is only available over Wi-Fi. Our Kindle Keyboard 3G will continue to offer experimental web browsing over 3G or Wi-Fi.”

Conclusion:

The Kindle is my new favorite travel item! It helps me stay budget and connected; the two most important things I look for when I travel! The connectivity in addition to the fact that it lightens my pack by leaving my heavy travel guides and books at home is all I need to make it an essential travel item I won’t leave home without!

How do you plan to stay connected when you travel overseas?  Share in the comments!

Let the Lodging Games Begin!

London is getting ready; it’s digging, building, expanding, erecting, tearing down, wiring, and preparing for the world’s summer party – the Olympics. During my visit there this summer it was evident the moment I walked off the train in St. Pancras station.

My heart went a flutter when I looked up and saw the 5 shiny, colorful rings placed high in the rafters. That’s when I was reminded that London was getting ready for the world to arrive; so many nationalities from Europe would be arriving on a train like I did that morning. They will be pouring into London with anticipation and excitement to see the opening ceremonies.

When I stepped outside the station it hit me…jackhammers and horns invaded my ears and I looked around to see more cranes around me than trees. London was preparing rapidly and I wondered if they would ever get done in time. It reminded me of when I visited Beijing in 2007 as they were hectically putting the finishing touches on their big Olympic party preparations. Somehow they pulled it off and I’m sure London will do the same.

The London skyline with the new Olumpic equestrian track in the forefront

I looked around this already crowded, heavily touristed city and wondered – where will all of these people stay during the Olympics? I’m sure some Europeans may just take the train in for the day and not even bother with accommodations in London when it’s only an 2 hour train ride to Brussels or Paris. However people coming in from further distances will most certainly be fighting for hotel rooms and hostel bunks.

If you are looking for Olympic lodging, then don’t forget to check out the less obvious places such as Couchsurfing or Tripping (hospitality networks where locals invite you into their homes for cultural exchange), and certainly don’t forget short-term apartment rentals.

In my recent trip to London our Mongol Rally sponsor, Oh London, put us up in one of their short-term apartment rentals. Apartments have turned into my favorite ways to travel lately. This summer it was the perfect way to experience London, save money, and be ultra comfortable. Four of us stayed in a local neighborhood close to the tube, and were able to save money by eating in and doing our own laundry.

It’s most convenient to use apartments when you are traveling with a group of 3+ people or are staying in a location for an extended period of time.

For the 4 of us we had plenty of room to spread out, and had two bathrooms. We could all sit in the living room and utilize the wireless in comfy chairs. The cost of the apartment was about the same or slightly less than a hotel in which 4 of us would have been crowded into one little hotel room with two beds all sharing one bathroom!

Deb relaxing in the living room

If you are in a location for a longer period of time (5+ days), then you can also save money by going to the local grocery store and buying your own food which can be utilized over a number of days. Even if you just plan on eating breakfast in the apartment you can save money. Think about buying one bag of coffee for $12 that can be used for the whole 5 days of your stay or stopping at Starbucks and buying a latte every day at $3.50 for 17.50 multiplied by 4 people equaling $70 just for coffee!

While we stayed in our apartment in London we made dinner in our swank kitchen every night as well as breakfast and really only went out for lunch during the day as we were site seeing. It saved us oodles of cash…to be spent on better things like bottles of wine!

Deb and I cooking dinner

Dave and Rick working in our spacious living room

If you are worried that you will miss out on having a hotel staff or concierge, we didn’t miss that attention at all. When we arrived at the apartment there was a big binder with loads of information about nearby restaurants, shopping, bars, and maps.

If you are considering a trip to London this summer to watch the summer games, then start to consider your lodging choices early and make sure that you don’t overlook short-term apartment stays in London as a great place to rest your weary Olympic feet.

Learn more about the pros and cons of utilizing apartments when you travel.

A well-supported team!

I may never win an Oscar, Emmy, or even a Bloggie, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t give an acceptant speech. So – here goes; we couldn’t have made it to the Mongol Rally finish line without the support of our amazing sponsors. We utilized each and every one of them during our journey and all rejoiced that we had them on our ‘team’. If you are a future rallier, then you may even want to consider these tools for your trip! Here’s how we used their products on our journey:

All Ways Rentals (New Zealand) – They bought our Nissan Almera for us! We never would have even made it to the start line without them. They had advised us that a 4 door Almera would be a good choice for this journey and they were absolutely right. Prior to leaving London they even serviced it for us and provided a couple of new tires which we were very thankful to have. The Hot Box lived up to our expectations and ended up raising approximately $4000 for charity once we reached Mongolia! It was a sought after vehicle as people stopped us all over the country asking to purchase it from us.

Our car the first day

The last day...with a bit more wear on the car!

Intrepid Travel – They fueled us up all the way to Ulaanbaatar! Thanks to the Intrepid trip raffle, we rose $2000 to put towards fuel for the trip. We were a little worried at first that the $2000 wouldn’t take us very far, but once we drove out of Europe the fuel prices dropped and we were able to make it the entire way on our $2000 budget! Not only did Intrepid help us raise this money, but they also bought our carbon offsets for our journey!

Fill her up thanks to Intrepid!

Track24 Solo – This little device was not only tracking our progress, but it provided peace of mind. Every day the satellite tracking device would sit on our dash board (or sometimes our back window nestled in a roll of duct tape) sending a signal to the satellites every 10 minutes; thereby plotting our position on a map. The great team back in London and Dubai would update our facebook accounts daily with the latest satellite view and occasionally put in their own commentary about our camping choices. This was also a way to send text messages back to our team of social media experts (SMAC) once we were out of email/texting areas. We’d send a text via the Track24Solo and they’d post it to our twitter hashtag. Finally, the device also provided a ‘panic’ button that we thankfully never had to use. The little red button was safely nestled under a red protector on the back of the device. If we had pushed it, then an immediate message would have been sent out to our emergency contacts we had identified earlier. I think some of the other teams we ran into could have really used this feature!

The track 24 was a lifesaver!

Panic!! Panic!!

SMAC – Candice Walsh and Cailin O’Neil were our team on the ground helping us keep our sites and social media accounts running when we no longer had access or time in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Mongolia - Ottsworld Hijacked!  They put up with our neurosis and posted blog posts for me as well as posted to Facebook and twitter accounts. Then the world of WordPress threw them a curveball in the form of a malware attack on my site which shut it down. While I was driving through Mongolia my site in shambles, but luckily I had Warren Talbot on my side and he was able to fix everything while I was slowly driving along avoiding potholes.

One Sim– I must admit I didn’t have many expectations of One Sim in the beginning as I don’t normally use a cell phone when traveling. I simply turn my phone off and rely upon wifi connections or do my research/planning in advance. However, little did I know that the world One Sim card would turn out to be a life saver many, many times on this trip! As we entered Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan we used it numerous time to make calls to various hotels, hostels, and apartment rental places as we frantically looked for places to stay. We used it to communicate with other teams via text messages. And finally, the most important thing we used it for was to tweet our updates in text messages while driving through Mongolia. This was the only thing that really kept us connected throughout the entire journey.

Two Nav Compe GPS – Our GPS navigation system helped tremendously getting in and out of the various cities we drove through. When it’s mapping functionality ran out when we left Europe, we thought we’d be putting it away, but we discovered another use for it…the compass and driving data. We used our Two Nav all the way through Mongolia to ensure we were going the right direction as well as to know how far we had gone (which was never as far as we had thought we went!) This really helped us understand where we were and if we could make it to the next village to fix the flat tire or not!

Oh London – Thanks to Oh London our team had a comfortable apartment (or in London speak…a flat) to stay in while in London the week before the rally. This was invaluable as we were able to work together to get the supplies we needed, pick up our car, and get the car prepped for the journey. Plus, it helped us save money in the expensive city of London by cooking for ourselves in our apartment all week. The location was perfect for hopping on the tube and getting to see the sights pre rally.

Cooking dinner at our Oh Loondon! Apartment

Roomorama – Even though Roomorama came aboard at the last minute their contribution was greatly appreciated! They provided us apartment lodging in Brasov Romania, Kiev Ukraine, Volgograd Russia, and in Ulaanbaatar after we finished. It was a great way to stay in a central location and get to see some of the sties even though we were moving through the cities quickly. Lodging can be one of the most difficult things to deal with in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, but Roomorama had great apartments in these lesser known cities that were perfect for our team. Plus – the apartment we had in Kiev was da bomb…I really didn’t want to leave!

Dave finishing off dinner in our Roomorama apartment in Ulaanbaatar

Nox Audio – They kindly provided us each a set of audio earbuds so that when we got sick of each other in the car we could listen to our own music! Music and earphones are essential for any road trip!

Tep Wireless – They provided us super internet connectivity (via wifi/mifi) while in the UK. They also provided us units for the rest of Europe, however they weren’t nearly as reliable as the ones for the UK. Overall though – if you are going to travel in England – they are a great gadget to carry with you in your pocket!

And last but not least, a couple of people who sponsored us are also worth my thanks. The talented Hop/Jaunt design team supplied us with our awesome logo for our team seen every time we filled up with gas! And the Indie Travel Podcast  for helping us on the media front get the word out about the charitable adventure!

Looks like my time is up and they are about to escort me off the stage! Thanks again to these great sponsors – we were so happy to have you as part of our team!

I finished the rally – listen to my post race podcast from Heather on Her Travels - Mongol Rally Podcast and get the low down on how it all went from my lips to your ears!

Wifi for your pocket...perfect for travel bloggers!

I’ve been walking around London all last week with a hot pocket…literally.  I’ve been carrying my Tep wireless hotspot device in my pocket as I ride the tube, visit Greenwich, the London Eye, Borough Market, Brick Lane, museums, and friends.  The Tep device was a life-saver providing me a constant dose of internet access, which for a blogger is as necessary as blood flowing through your body.

Tep provided my Mongol Rally teammates and I these tiny little devices for our week in London to utilize as we moved around the city prepping for the Mongol Rally, as well as while working in our London Apartment .  The Tep Pocket WIFI device is small and basically works through mobile signals.  It sends out a wireless signal and allows me to connect multiple devices (laptops, phones, ipads) and utilize internet via 3G.  This helps me get around the issue of not being able to use my American locked cell phone without becoming bankrupt form international roaming charges.

I used the pocket WIFI all week in London and it allowed me to communicate with friends who I was meeting, to find my way around the tube, make skype calls, and use the GPS maps on my phone to not get lost in the packed London streets.  But most of all it allowed me to stay connected and update my social networks while out touring around London.  This was a luxury I don’t often get when I travel with my locked US cell phone.  When I got back to the apartment it was my on-ramp to the internet and allowed me to write posts, upload pictures, and search the internet for the various gear we needed.

The Tep pocket wifi was the most useful device I have used for working and traveling abroad.

In addition to loving the connectivity and freedom it provided me in London, they were simple to pick up and return.  We picked the devices up at the airport and we easily return the devices by mailing them back in a provided envelope – sort of like NetFlix.  The devices came with the proper charges and plug adapters too…so honestly you don’t have to bring anything with you but your laptop and phone…turn it on and you are good to go!

Also, if you are coming to Brittan with your laptop or locked cell phone – check out this great promotion.

We are happy to have Tep as a Mongol Rally team sponsor.  They are also providing us pocket wifis for all of Europe with limited data so that we can stay connected as we drive towards Mongolia!

Disclosure:  Tep is a sponsor of our Mongol Rally team and provided our team with pocket wifis in London and Europe.  However, all of the opinions expressed here though are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

Live like a Local in an Apartment

I sat outside in my neighborhood in Barcelona at one of the many outdoor cafes on Avenue de Gaudi. The avenue was lined with little shoe and fashion shops I had never heard of, coffee shops, mobile phone retailers, and some small tapas cafes. I was surrounded by locals of all ages at other tables drinking coffee enthusiastically and talking to each other in Spanish at a rapid pace. The sun was shining, but everyone was protected under the café’s tents. The atmosphere seemed lazy and laid back. Most of the people were clearly friends or neighbors catching up with each other this morning before running their errands to the market.

Contrast this with the Las Ramblas – the Times Square of Barcelona where most visitors to the city stay near. Las Ramblas is loud, packed to capacity, and lined with Burger Kings and Starbucks among Zara’s and H&M’s. The place is heaving with excitement, people trying to sell you things, and simultaneously take things (pick pockets). That’s what most people see when they come to Barcelona.

Don’t get me wrong Las Ramblas can be a ton of fun and excitement, but for me it’s not really what I look for when visiting a city and it certainly isn’t where I want to stay.

My apartment

As a long term traveler and nomad, where I sleep is quite important to me. Over the past few years I’ve been experimenting with various types of accommodations when I travel. I’ve done hostels , house-sitting, couchsurfing, guest houses, and regular hotels. But with my recent trip to Spain I decided to try yet another form of accommodation – short-term apartment rental.

I stayed in an Oh-Barcelona apartment for 2 weeks in a local neighborhood near Sagrada Familia. I had ample time to explore my quiet little neighborhood and critically look at the benefits and downfalls of staying in an apartment while traveling.

Benefits of Staying in an Apartment While Traveling:

Local Culture
This is one of the best ways to meet local people, understand local culture and feel like a local. You see the real culture of the city, not the tourism culture; trust me, there is a big difference. I met my neighbors, I learned where my local markets, pharmacies, and post offices were. I even learned about the grocery shopping culture which can be quite unique to each country! It’s hard to imagine, but as I walked down the street to my apartment, I felt like I belonged. Granted, you can stay in the more touristy areas, but I really loved visiting sites and then coming ‘home’ to my quiet little neighborhood.

Quiet Barcelona

Saving Money
This is probably the most concrete benefit. Short term apartment rental might be a similar cost as a hotel, however you save money in other ways that are huge. I went out and got 100 Euro worth of food which lasted me 4 nights of dinner, 5 lunches, and about 7 breakfasts. If I would have had to go out for all of those meals and cups of coffee it would have been about 300 Euros easily. In addition, the internet access was included and it was FAST. Most hotels make you pay for wifi these days – ridiculous rates for crappy bandwidth. Here it was all included. In addition, I was able to do laundry in my apartment which also saved money and made it much cheaper than a hotel.

Home Sweet Home
Basically you have a real home, a couch you can nap on, comfy chairs and a place to really relax. When I travel a lot one of the things I miss most is a real chair. I get tired of sitting on hotel bed or uncomfortable hotel ‘office’ chairs. My apartment also had an ipod doc, dvds, and a nice kitchen. You have your privacy and don’t have to deal with any front desk clerk or common space. It’s all blissfully yours, and because of that, it’s also more secure than staying in a hostel or hotel where people come in and out of your room.

Neighborhood
You will really get to know your neighborhood. After a few days I had figured out where the post office was, running routes, grocery stores, butchers, bus routes, and the pharmacy. A few more weeks and I’m pretty positive I would have known everyone on my block! One of my big surprises is that the nightlife in my neighborhood was very quiet. I used to have this vision of Spain as the party capital of the world, and it held true in the tourist areas I went to. But in my neighborhood, it was laid back, and comfortable. Restaurants closed at midnight and few people were out.

Barcelona without tourists

Concierge Service
It’s also important to note that most apartment rental companies make sure they you aren’t missing out on a concierge serve – they provide you with loads of information to help you get around your new location. My apartment had maps, subway routes, guides, and Oh Barcelona provided me with a huge stack of discounts for tours and sites. Oh Barcelona also provided great information on their Facebook page as well as their Barcelona Blog.  I honestly used it as my guidebook and to find out what events were going on in the city during my stay.

Disadvantages to Staying in an Apartment While Traveling:

No maid service
You’ve got to keep the place tidy yourself; if you are like Pigpen from the Peanuts gang, you may be in trouble. And if you are staying for an extended time then you have to clean the sheets and towels too – or you can opt for just being gross.

Supplies
You have to remember you are staying in an apartment – not a hotel. You don’t always get everything you need and end up having to buy daily things that are expected in a hotel – soap and toilet paper for example. Most places will have some staples for cooking such as oil – but there is no guarantee. My apartment didn’t have any soap, kitchen towels, pepper, or close-pins to hang up your clothes after washing them. In this respect, if you aren’t staying in the apartment for a short time, this can become expensive. You have to purchase all of these staples and you barely get to use them. Especially when you cook, you have to buy a whole bag of sugar, but you may only need a couple of teaspoons. I look at it as karma….leave the non-perishable things for the next person!

Dining Guilt
Here you are in a new city that is known for their amazing cuisine, but you have your own kitchen in which you can save money and cook for yourself. I went out to eat at restaurants very minimally for the two weeks I was in Barcelona because I felt guilty about having this great kitchen that I should be using. I sort of felt like I missed out on the food culture in Barcelona (however my pocket book was happy about it!). My best advice to combat this loss of country food culture is to take a cooking class when you arrive and learn how to cook the local cuisines. Then you can have the joy of learning how to shop in a foreign country, get your supplies, and cook up the local food yourself immediately practicing what you learned!

Local Butcher/Ham store...yum!

Isolating
If you are a solo traveler, staying in an apartment by yourself is a bit isolating. In hostels or couchsurfing it’s easy to meet people and other solo travelers, but when you have your own apartment, it becomes harder. I honestly think this is a great lodging solution for couples and family, but it’s certainly possible to do it solo too. If your solo, you’ll just need to make some extra effort to meet others which I actually prefer to do.

Conclusion

Overall I would absolutely recommend this type of lodging for travelers – especially long-term or career break travelers. It’s a great way to slow down, save money, and feel part of a community that is very foreign to you. You’ll connect more with the country and the people.

Rating my Lodging Experiments:
1. House sitting
2. Apartment stays and Couchsurfing (tie)
4. Hostels
5. Guest Houses
6. Hotels

Have you ever stayed in an apartment as part of your travels, what was the best and worst thing about it?
Disclosure: Oh Barcelona Apartments is hosting my accommodation in Barcelona. However, all of the opinions expressed here though are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

A Mongolian boy watches television in his ger in the Gobi Desert

We are seduced by video.  It’s everywhere – your tv, the internet, your phone, and in your car.  You can’t escape it.   And I’m willing to bet that most people want to be a part of video, behind the camera or in front of it; we are fascinated by it.  In my world of travel writing and blogging, video is becoming more and more prevalent.  Seeing a place, hearing a place, watching the people move around a place has an impact much greater than words.  It supplements the words and sets expectations about a destination.

If you are looking to learn more about how you can take your amateur travel videos up a few notches to well-produced, effective videos which really impact people, then I’ve got the ebook for you.  Lisa Lubin is a Emmy award winning television producer and I’m proud to call her my friend.  She has taken her television production talents and turned it into a consulting business.  Video is the largest growing component on the web. LLmedia video consulting will help elevate the level of your video to get your business where it needs to be to compete in today’s market.  In addition to offering one on one consulting  at LL Media, she also recently came out with a new ebook for the beginning video enthusiast:

Video 101:  Tips and Tricks for Awesome Visual Storytelling.

The first thing that struck me about the book was the cover.  It was a book about video story telling and here was Lisa with her Canon SLR camera.  That seemed odd to me; but it just goes to show you how behind the times I am when it comes to video.  People today shoot high quality video on their SLR’s.  I of course own an old SLR that doesn’t have this feature and now of course I want one.  Damn you Lisa!

The 2^nd overall thing that struck me about the book was how many similarities there are to photography, or at least the kind of photography I like to do – photo journalism.  It’s about telling a story – whether that be with still shots or moving picture…the goal is the same.  To provide the viewer with a story and knowledge that goes beyond what they may initially see.  This also explains why Lisa is such a great photographer!

The Book

The book is organized into 4 main sections:

• Story
• Shoot
• Writing
• Editing

And a bonus section on the Top 10 Commandments  of Visual Story Telling

A Glossary of terms is also provided so not only will you shoot like a pro now, you’ll sounds like one too when you start to infuse words like “B roll” and “natsound” into your vocabulary!

Within each section there are Tips sprinkled in like this one,

“You do not want to ever completely pre-interview a subject. You want the on camera interview to be as natural as possible. Pre-interviewing can take away any  spontaneity to their answers. Of course give them an idea and ask them some things, but do not ask them everything.”

At the end of sections she provides a ‘tear sheet’ that you can easily print out and take with you to make sure you have all of your bases covered.

My Thoughts

I enjoyed the book and even though I haven’t shot much video yet, it helped me really think about how to tell a story to my audience.  It made me think about my photography and journalism.  But it also introduced me to new concepts around interviewing and editing that I hadn’t come across before.  Lisa studied journalism in school, I studied accounting…nuff said.

For those of you who travel and want to capture a high quality video story of your travels – this will certainly give you the tools and theory to get you started.  Or if you simply want to improve your journalism, it will provide tips that apply to writing, photography, and video production.

Whether you shoot video to sell a product, inform, promote yourself or your blog, spread your ideas, entertain, or porn (ok…I just threw that one in to see if you were reading) – then Lisa’s book will be a great jumping off point to give you direction and ultimately get you making good, effective videos.  Yeah…and it probably does apply for porn too come to think of it.

Click here to view more details and purchase the Video 101 ebook.

Lisa working as a television producer before her travels

The art of La Boqueria

The colors are the first thing that grabbed me, a collage of vibrant green, red, and yellow swirling together from afar, but upon closer inspection each had it’s own boundaries. Once I was in front of the masterpiece, it appeared that each color was placed with care in such a precise fashion. Yet at the same time there is a chaos to it that is indefinable. It can’t be fenced in or contained. I feel like it wants to burst out on to the streets. I’m in Barcelona, but I’m not at the famous Picasso museum , the line was far too long for my patience, so I did the next best thing, I went to the colorful La Boqueria market along Las Ramblas.

I wandered the stalls taking in the colors, shapes, sounds and smells. Now this was a museum for the senses. It wasn’t only a place to purchase your food supplies for the day, but it was also a social meca where locals and tourists clashed in the typical fashion. Tourists with cameras (like me) slowed down the locals trying to simply do their shopping and socializing for the day. The locals who shopped at this market must have had a huge love for their local merchants if they were willing to put up with all of the slow, gawking tourists.

Colorful tomato at the market

La Boqueria market was also the first stop on my Cook and Taste workshop/tour provided to me by Oh Barcelona apartments. My first thought was that it was ingenious for an apartment rental company to offer cooking classes, as it’s the perfect complement to staying in an apartment where you have a kitchen at your disposal and can go back and practice what you learned immediately! The course not only taught you how to cook popular Spanish meals such as tapas and paella, but it also took you through the market.

Teresa, our guide and chef for the day, started by explaining the layout and history of the market. She rolled her little two-wheeled shopping bag into the heart of the market briskly passing the stalls in the front which were more expensive due to their prime real estate and touristic sales. She went to the market daily and like most locals had relationships with specific merchants who she bought from regularly. This is where the social aspect of the market came in. It wasn’t just about going and purchasing your vegetables, bread, and fish – it was about interacting and relationships. Imagine if you went to your local Whole Foods and actually knew the baker or the butcher and they knew about you, your life, and family? This is what I love about markets outside of the US, it’s more than just shopping and an exchange of money; it’s an experience.

Teresa purchasing fish from her friend's stall

We picked up fish, vegetables, olives, and about 4 dozen eggs (!); all fresh and nothing pre-packaged. We stopped to have some of the famous Jamón ibérico, (cured ham leg from the black Iberian pig) sliced right off the leg of the pig, a sight most Americans would be disgusted by, yet it of course excited me. The meat was like butter and practically melted in your mouth. Each leg can cost upwards of 200 Euro, a big investment, but totally worth it for a family…who really loves ham.

It might not look pretty but it tastes like heaven

After filling her shopping bag we wheeled it back to the Cook and Taste kitchen to start the process of preparing our dishes. The kitchen was long, narrow and enthusiastically designed. The bright yellow tile gave it a warm, welcoming feel and the long island counter in the middle served as cooking workspace as well as a place to dine. Theresa passed out the recipes and summarized what and how we were going to cook. We would prepare 4 dishes, gazpacho flavored with smoked cheese, a tapa potato omelet on tomato bread, seafood paella, and Catalan Cream dessert. As I flipped through the recipes it became clear to me why we had bought 4 dozen eggs.

The colorful, lively kitchen classroom

Teresa asked for volunteers to help prepare and be responsible for each dish and quickly handed out aprons and assigning people jobs while explaining to the whole class the history of the dish and how it would be made. We made one dish at a time so that it was easy to follow along, take notes, watch, and participate – the pace was perfect.

After the Catalan cream was prepared and ready to be chilled, Teresa opened up a bottle of red and white wine and poured us all a glass of our choice. Now I really felt like I was cooking! A very light social atmosphere fell over the group of 14 students as the afternoon progressed and we all flitted around the kitchen listening, watching, chopping, talking, and drinking. This was by far one of the most enjoyable ‘tours’ I had ever been on.

Teresa working on the paella

Frying it up in a pan...

Expert instruction!

Finishing touches

One of my favorite things about the class was Teresa’s instruction. First, she managed a class of 14 people single-handedly. Second, she not only taught you how to prepare a specific recipe, but she provided tips and techniques on cooking in general. She had been a chef her whole life and had previously worked in 5 star hotels, but now was happy to be doing this instruction of a profession she clearly loved. She taught people how to hold a knife and chop properly, how to check to see if oil was hot, how to blanch tomatoes, how to flip omelets with a plate, and how to present a meal like an artist. We learned all of her little tricks and techniques and came away with more than simply recipes to follow.

As we prepared each dish we drank more wine and munched on olives, but finally the time came where we could all properly sit down and enjoy all of our hard work. We had a feast! I would be hard pressed to choose my favorite dish as they all turned out scrumptious.

The fixings for our tomato bread

Finally, our 6 hours of cooking instruction was completed. We were all fat, happy, educated, and ready to go out and attempt the recipes ourselves…after a proper siesta of course!

The Cook and Taste workshop was my favorite thing I did while in Spain. Granted, I love to cook and learn about a country’s food culture, so the subject was of great interest to me…more so than going to a museum. If I consider the fact that we had 6 hours of instruction, a historical tour of the market, unlimited wine, and a feast of 4 courses for 72Euro ($100), this was the best value I experienced in Spain. For the same cost the night before I went to an Italian restaurant, spent 75 minutes there eating, met no one, and learned nothing.

If you are in Barcelona, and especially if you are renting an apartment with a kitchen – then consider taking the Cook and Taste workshop. Your stomach and kitchen will thank you.

In what cities have you taken great cooking classes?  Share in the comments!

Details:
Cook and Taste Workshop Website
Cost – 60Euro + 12 Euro for market visit (if you are staying in an Oh-Barcelona apartment, they offer discounts for the workshop)
Timeframes – 2 courses a day 10AM and 5PM

See all photos from the Barcelona cooking class and market tour:

Disclosure:  Oh Barcelona Apartments is hosting my accommodation in Barcelona. However, all of the opinions expressed here though are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

Me on my motorbike in Barcelona

I unfolded my stiff white document for the first time and ran my hand over the glossy picture; it had been tucked away in my passport holder for the last 2 months just waiting to be used. Now I proudly handed over my international drivers license to the young clerk at the motor bike rental agency in Barcelona.

As I became familiar with the neighborhood my cozy Barcelona apartment was located in, I saw a familiar site – motorbikes parked on sidewalks. Barcelona is not a huge city – but it is the 2nd biggest city in Spain with a population of 1.6 million. This was a perfect sized city with a great climate for motorbikes as evidenced by them zipping along the streets. I thought to myself – if I actually lived here I would definitely own a motorbike.

Even though Barcelona has an excellent metro and transit system which will get you about anywhere, I quickly realized it would be way more fun to see the city via motorbike with the wind in my hair zipping down the roads…just like old times in Vietnam. After all, since I was practically a local living in an apartment in Camp de L’Arpa neighborhood, I might as well cruise around the city like a local. Plus, it was a great chance to practice some driving skills before getting behind the wheel for the Mongol Rally!

Tree lined streets in Barcelona

Viator tours offered a 3 hour scooter tour of Barcelona which began in the Barceloneta neighborhood at a place called Cooltra. They not only run ½ day city tours, but they also rent motorbikes for the day or longer periods.

After a very short introduction to the motorbike, we took off following our guide Miguel. There were only 4 of us so it was rather easy to stick together among the traffic and stop lights. The feel and balance of the bike all came rushing back to me – just like in Vietnam. However the rules were different in Barcelona; namely there were actually rules!

Since there are more cars than motorbikes you have to keep a pretty close watch on the road when you are riding; after all, cars are bigger than a motorbike and they will win. In addition, I was all of a sudden aware of the fact that it was easier to go faster in Barcelona than it was in Vietnam. Saigon was throttled down in speed due to the mass congestion on the 6 million motorbikes on roads – and you were rarely ever able to get up speed at all. But in Barcelona there was plenty of open space on the roads with only stop lights to slow you down. Finally – there were a lot fewer reasons to use a horn , but I found myself with my thumb on the horn button poised out of habit.

We made 4 stops along the tour. The stops consisted of quickly parking the bikes, Miguel walking us to the site, and then he told us a little about the history. It was very short and sweet, but useful.

Port Olympic and Parc del Forum and Beachfront
Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia
Park Guell (upon entering it felt like Disneyland on crack)
Montjuic Park

Gaudi's funky Park Guell - Barcelona

The rest of the time we drove around the city following Miguel through every light and turn. The traffic was never too bad and I found the whole driving process really relaxing. I even had time to look around me and see the sites as I zipped by.

Overall I would recommend the motorbike tour as a unique way to get around Barcelona and be a part of the local culture. I was able to get a feel for the city outside of the metro, feel some freedom, and occasionally go fast! However I can’t say that the tour is without some needed improvements; if you do go, be aware of these things which were disappointing and slightly annoying to me:

• Very slow to check in – waited an hour (and there were only 4 of us total). The office and paperwork were extremely inefficient. A case of too many employees and no one knew what to do.
• They didn’t really have a great way to teach new people how to ride except for on the sidewalk. (and the other business owners were not very happy about that!). Out of the 4 people who went on our tour, 2 of them had never ridden before. There was very little assistance given in that respect.
• The guide was rather hands off until the tour started. He sat around smoking until the rest of the disorganized staff tried to teach people how to ride.
• I would have liked to have a map of where we were going and a bit of a initial introduction before we took off.  It would have been helpful but the only instruction or conversation we had from the guide prior to taking off was to try to line up two by two when stopped at a light and if we got separated to stay where we were and the guide would come and get us.
• It would have been nice to use the bikes to get out to sites that were a bit further away and not as easily reachable by metro. La Sagrada Familia, the number one tourist stop in Barcelona, was one of our stops yet I would have preferred to skip it and go more remote with the bikes.
• The bikes were ok and basic. However, they asked my friend to take one that died at stop lights since he was more experienced with riding. In my opinion you should never give a customer a bike that has issues no matter what kind of rider they are. The guide should have taken it or simply provide a different bike since there were many siting around.

Scooting around Barcelona

Tour Information:
Barcelona Scooter Tour – 50 Euro – The tour covered the bike rental, helmet, insurance, and a guide. Tips were extra.

Disclosure: Viator tours hosted me on this Scooter Tour. Oh Barcelona Apartments is hosting my accommodation in Barcelona. However, all of the opinions expressed here though are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!
Oh yes….and one more thing – the pictures provided were from another traveler on the tour, Brooks. There was no way I could have ridden the scooter AND take photos of myself!

The best (Glorius Superba) of Sri Lanka...and the worst

Since this was the first time I had traveled as a couple, to wrap up my travels to Sri Lanka, I decided to give you a little best/worst article; but not just from my perspective…from me and my travel partner’s perspective.  Finally – Russ gets to speak up and be heard!  We came up with the questions together and answered them completely separately.  Then I put both of our answers together for the post.  I found it quite interesting to see what we agreed and disagreed on!

Favorite overall place and why:

Russ: Unawatuna – Brand new hotel, great service, lovely little beach town and we found a few great restaurants. It was a really relaxing place to finish the trip. The only downside was the lack of a good beach, but the hotel and food more than made up for it.

Sherry: South of Galle at Auraliya Villa…it was the beginning. Not only was it a luxury villa we had to ourselves with a private beach, 3 black labs, and a staff of people waiting on us – but it was where we really started. I love the newness of a relationship and getting to know people. Besides that – the location was perfect as it was near Galle, and you seriously couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful beach and place to play in the turquoise waters.

Auraliya by night

Worst place and why:

Russ: Polonnaruwa – While there were some beautiful ruins there, especially the sleeping Buddha and the Vatadage, but getting there was when I realized I’d messed up the trip planning and there wasn’t anything, I mean anything, in town and to make things worse the hotel and it’s manager just sucked.

Sherry: Polonnaruwa – I was just generally unimpressed with Polonnaruwa since I’m not a temple person. The day was super hot, and I was tired of temples, and you couldn’t wear shoes in area so you were walking on hot stones!

Best Lodging :

Russ: Kingfisher, Unawatuna – Brand new room with every modern amenity, a view of the ocean, a phenomenal restaurant downstairs and most of all, the staff were wonderful and especially doting. Ask for Nama.

Sherry: Unnawatuna – Kingfisher Boutique Hotel. It was at this time that we finally agreed to slow down and just relax. After being on the move the whole month we found this perfect hotel to stay for 4 days.

Worst Lodging:

Russ: Top Secret, Hikkaduwa – Tiny little room with unbelievably stifling heat and oh yeah, that big ass cockroach that walked across me while I was trying to fall asleep. Never again!

Sherry: Polonnarwja Siyanco Holiday Resort. It was way too expensive for what you received. And my final straw was that there was no wifi at all and everything I asked for on the menu they were out of. Something as basic as cheese. I just felt the place was poorly run from a service perspective.

Best Food:

Russ: Waterfalls Homestay – They served us an amazing home cooked curry outside overlooking the valley and the waterfalls.

Sherry: Waterfalls Homestay in Ella served the best and most authentic breakfast by far. Fresh curd, and egg hoppers. The nightly dinners were amazing too. Curries were good, but the 2nd night they served us fresh crab which was a real treat!

Worst Food:

Russ: Devon Restaurant, Kandy – All I can say is grizzled, boney chicken anus.

Sherry: Actually I’d like to nominate the whole town of Kandy as the worst food! Everyplace we went – Devon’s, White House, a Chinese restaurant, the pub – they were all huge disappointment because they were empty, closed all together, tried to overcharge us, or simply had horrible service. Specifically the sweet and sour chicken at Devon’s was my most memorable worst. It wasn’t that it tasted horrible; it was that the whole night was horrible. That was the night the crappiness of Kandy food actually brought me to tears – much to Russ’s surprise.

Best travel moment with the other person:

Russ: Sherry scoring us the expensive room at a new hotel by bartering her writing and photography services. Get Some!

Sherry: Actually I will go into sappy mode for a second and say that there were actually many of these to choose from. Russ helping me with my technical email issues, removing bugs from the room, riding the trains together, making it to the top of Adam’s peak when Russ cut the line. But one time sort of sticks out to me as I found it surprising. I am lazy, when something breaks I tend to throw it away. However when my bra broke and I was disappointed and about to throw it away, Russ stopped me and said he could fix it. He pulled out a little sewing kit he carries with him and preceded to stitch it all back up – and I’m still using it today! I just found the image of him toiling with a needle and thread on my bra quite amusing…and nice.

Worst travel moment with the each other:

Russ: Dinner, Kandy, Devon restaurant. Sherry needs to eat, because when she doesn’t eat, she can get a bit…cranky. I’ll only add that when the food did finally come, it made things worse, for both of us. Refer to ‘Worst Food’ above.

Sherry: Let’s just say – it’s never good to mix 24/7 of togetherness with ex-girlfriends, quitting smoking, and booze; a lethal combination for being able to get along. Somehow we got through that night thanks to a deck of cards.

Best activity:

Russ: Three temples and gardens tour in Kandy . The temples and the gardens themselves were very nice, but everyone we encountered that day was a breath of fresh air and wanted nothing from us except to show us their country. It was a welcome change of pace and a rare travel day.

Sherry: Festival in Nuwara Eliya.  It was completely unexpected, great photography, and totally off the tourist trail…everything I love.

Hindu procession

Worst activity:

Russ: I’d have to say the safari at Yala. While it may be due to my expectations, the park wasn’t that interesting, we saw very little wildlife and definitely no leopard, the guide was pretty average and didn’t care much what we saw and the ride in the jeep itself was horrible.

Sherry: Yala Safari. It reminded me to never spend money on a safari unless it’s in Africa and you have a big long lens.

Most stressful moment:

Russ: Honestly, I don’t really remember any except dinner at the Devon restaurant in Kandy.

Sherry: trying to get on a super crowded train to Hatton during Poya festival. It was as if we were strategizing a war as the train pulled in and a large crowd of people tried to push and shove their way on. I was actually wondering if we would get separated in the craziness let along be able to get our bags on and not break our bottle of vodka in our side pocket of the backpack! Once on the stress didn’t really stop – we rode for 3 hrs in a very uncomfortable and cramped position.

The one thing I’d return to Sri Lanka for:

Russ: – Auraliya, a villa we stayed in near Thalpe on the south coast. It was huge, beautiful, right on the best beach and the food and service was to die for.

Sherry: Easy…Auraliya

Most annoying travel habit of each other:

Russ: Sherry can sometimes have trouble getting moving, I’d be ready to leave to eat or head somewhere and she’d say “I’ll be ready in 5 mins” but 15-20 minutes later, there’s a good chance I’d still be sitting there.

Sherry: My obvious answer is smoking. But that’s too easy so I’ll go with the fact that Russ could not leave a question unanswered; or maybe it’s just boyish curiosity. I would ask a question like “I wonder how many steps there are to the top of Adam’s Peak?” He would immediately hop on his phone and look it up. I simply asked the question not really wanting to get an answer…just thinking aloud…I’m not used to people around me actually acting on it. I realized that if I didn’t want him to look up the answer to some random question I had then I shouldn’t verbalize it.

Best item we packed /brought:

Russ: Backgammon board.

Sherry: Russ’s unlocked smart phone which allowed us to contact guest houses while on the road, and tether to his cheap 3G connection and allow me to work when I desperately needed to. Also – I’ll include backgammon and a deck of cards as the most used items!

Even the cat wanted to play backgammon

What item did we forget:

Russ: Me? Forget something?? Nah…

Sherry: Sleep Sheet – would have really helped me mentally with those buggy rooms! Yes – I’m a wimp.

Best new travel tip learned from each other.

Russ: Probably trip advisor as a central source of information.  I definitely use it more often now.

Sherry: A process for collecting and recording receipts. Now – ask me if I’m still using the process…

Favorite person you met:

Russ: Roshon, our tuk-tuk driver in Kandy. He came along at the right time, just when we wanted to see a lot and didn’t want any bullshit along the way and that’s exactly what he gave us. Along with a smile and a good sense of humor.

Sherry: The staff at Kingfisher hotel and restaurant. They were all great – Nama helped us with everything – and was just a cool guy. The waiter at the restaurant would hang out and talk with us at breakfast time and tell us about the surrounding area. You could tell that they all really liked what they did.

Thing we didn’t see that we wanted to:

Russ: I would have like to have scuba dived the great basses. Can you say humpback whales?!?

Sherry: The leopard in Yala Park. We spent all morning on safari looking for leopards and didn’t see a one. Then learned that the afternoon safari had many sightings…damn luck.

Favorite photo taken.

Russ: Young men washing to cleanse themselves before hiking up Adam’s Peak.

Sherry: People boarding the train in Hatton

Favorite photo take of the other person:

Russ: Sherry Doesn’t Like to Have Her Picture Taken
Sherry: Flower Inn with the stuffed animals

Plan your trip to Sri Lanka with Sri Lanka Holidays

Auraliya's perfect, private beach

I walked into the room and there it was staring back at me, frozen in place next to my suitcase. I stopped abruptly, sighed and looked carefully at its shiny black body and spindly legs. The one light bulb in the room seemed to make the big cockroach’s body shimmer even more in ickiness. I stood there for a moment trying to decide how brave I felt like being. Would I take care of this myself in a brave confident fashion, or would I succumb to my stupid fears and rely upon others around me to handle this common hotel ‘guest’ issue in Sri Lanka?

I crumbled. I backed out of the room carefully keeping one eye on it to make sure it didn’t dart off to an unknown place that would keep my girlie mind occupied all night and ultimately keep me from sleeping. I saw our guest house host in the living room and tried to tell her in a very calm and non-wussy fashion about the large cockroach ruining my evening. She quickly sprung up and apologized (which was nice but not necessary at all), walked into our room and with her bare feet quickly stepped on the bug (not killing it), but ushering it out of my room cupped under her foot.

So much for being non-wussy…after watching how calmly she took care of it in bare feet I pretty much felt like a stupid girlie American. I’d like to say that I slept great that night; but visions of cockroaches danced in my head instead. Something I never fully got used to in Sri Lanka – but I had to learn to live with.

Finding good budget lodging in Sri Lanka was a gamble thanks to really poor (or lack of) websites and marketing of the guest houses. Sri Lanka is still relatively new to tourism due to it’s warring past, and the marketing and technical infrastructure and understanding of what western visitors expect and need isn’t quite fully developed or reliable yet. So we turned to TripAdvisor.com to determine all of our lodging bookings as we moved swiftly throughout Sri Lanka. It was the one source that we could really count on for honest reviews of these places and quickly understand what our options were for lodging as we arrived in a town. Prior to getting into a town we would research quickly and then make phone calls to the guest houses and try to reserve them the day before we arrived. Or sometimes we’d arrive and use Trip Advisor to know where to look first for a place to stay, walking from guest house to guest house negotiating rates.

We stayed in many places that ranged from amazing to ‘get me outta here!’ Here’s a rundown of the best and worst guest houses we used in Sri Lanka during our month of travel. Hopefully if you travel there you’ll be able to use this as a starting point for your research.

Note: I rate these based on things that are important to me; cleanliness, the demeanor of the owner, wifi availability and connection, lot of plugs for electronics, food, and value.

A League of Its Own

Galle and around:
Auraliya – this isn’t a guest house, or a hotel…it is absolute paradise. A luxury villa south of Galle that houses 12 people, with a staff of 5 to wait on your every need, and the best private beach I’ve ever been to. The entire villa is rented at one time, and thanks to my good friends who own the villa, they graciously let us stay there for 4 nights to kick off our trip and a birthday present to me. Pure luxury.
Auraliya Trip Advisor Reviews
Auraliya Website

Auraliya - a perfect paradise!

Great Places

Unawatuna:
Kingfisher – a new and modern guest house in Unawatuna was my favorite guest house experience. A bit more pricey, but totally worth it for the great location, and beautifully designed rooms. We had a balcony that was spacious with nice furniture and a view of the beach. This place was brand new and will quickly be one of the best places to stay in Unawatuna. The accompanying restaurant had amazing seafood and the service was top notch.
Kingfisher Trip Advisor Reviews
Kingfisher Website – not completed yet email duminda@web62.com Can find a bit more info here

Kingfisher's new, simple, bright rooms!

Nuwara Eliya:
Hill View Bungalow - A newly built top floor made this guest house a favorite stay. In fact, we had a reservation somewhere else and once we saw this place with its lovely furniture, balcony, and fireplace in the room we immediately decided to stay put. The price was great for the quality of room and service. The owners were amazing cooks and very accommodating doing laundry and organizing rides/tours for us. We ended up staying 3 nights when we originally planned on 1 night in Nuwara Eliya.
Trip Advisor Reviews – not listed yet…but don’t let that discourage you!
Office Phone – 0522223496 Address: 74 St. Andrews Road. Under Bank

Loved the design, color, and fireplace in this room!

Ella:
Waterfalls Homestay – This guest house was tucked away among green trees and monkeys and true to it’s name – it had a stunning waterfall view. This place was top notch because it was run by an Australian expat couple who clearly knew what western tourists expected in service. There was less of a culture gap and because of that it was a favorite place to stay. Great for hiking and the food and hosts were a highlight.
Waterfalls Homestay Trip Advisor Reviews
Waterfalls Website

Common area at Waterfalls

Average

Sigiriya:
Flower inn – There weren’t many great budget/backpacker choices in Sigiriya – but the Flower Inn came highly recommended for it’s food. And the recommendations were correct. As for the rest of the place, it was generally humorous. No AC, hot water, and one of the funniest (and somewhat ugly) rooms I’ve stayed in. It was filled with old stuffed animals and fake flowers. However what the place lacked in design, it was a good place to meet other travelers, had a great location for Sigiriya, great food, and it was cheap.
Flower Inn Trip Advisor Reviews

A few stuffed animals, and plenty of artificial flowers!

Kandy:
Nature Walk – a nice place a bit far from the main part of town, but it was easy to get a tuk tuk to get around. Great AC and nice room. A beautiful balcony and view and hot water. Wifi was sporadic, and the food was quite blah. Service was also pretty average and the owners worked hard at trying to sell you more all the time.
Nature Walk Trip Advisor Reviews

Yala:
My Village Guest House – A strange geometric design, and a little dark inside the rooms, but the place was clean and the AC worked. Price was reasonable, and they sold safari tours that were in line with the going price on the street. The food was average. The owner was ok. No wifi. Nothing to write home about…but I slept well.
My Village Trip Advisor Reviews

Worst

Hikkaduwa:
Top Secret/Harmony Guest House – I have to preface this with the fact that it was the cheapest place we stayed – so maybe I was expecting a bit too much. The rooms were dismal at best. There were plenty of bugs joining us in the room and even on the bed (this is a deal breaker for me). It was hot, stifling hot, uncomfortably hot, did I say hot? No AC or hot water. However the wifi was good, the beach area was one of the best for hanging out, and the owner was really nice. Food was nothing to write home about.
Top Secret Trip Advisor Reviews
Top Secret/Harmoney Guest House Website

Adams peak
Wathsala - the best thing this place had going for it was that you didn’t have to spend the whole night there because most people get up in the middle of the night and hike Adam’s Peak anyway! The owner was helpful, but the guest house was old and worn. The rooms were full of run down furniture, the towels were dirty, there was no hot water (yet we were told there would be hot water), and no AC. The food was average and the service at the restaurant was s—l—o–w. The worst was the bed which was made to look like a queen bed, but it was actually a full bed turned sideways and then a foam padding stuck at the bottom to fill out the rest of the queen frame.
Wathsala Trip Advisor Reviews

Polonnaruwa
Siyanco Holiday Resort - This guest house was designed for bus tours through the surrounding ancient ruins – not really for backpackers. They offered some sad looking buffet food and host that wasn’t very helpful. The AC was advertised but barely worked, the rooms were average in design and comfort, no wifi, and only about ¼ of the food on the menu was actually available. The owner claimed to know very little about the prices of tours and tuk tuks and generally you felt like he wasn’t on our side when it came to trying to get a good tourist experience and value. It was extremely overpriced compared to others on this list and the lack of quality is oozed.
Siyanco Trip Advisor Reviews

Our overall lesson about lodging in Sri Lanka was that there was no consistency across the country on price vs. quality/service at all. Every time we walked into a new town I felt like we were gambling with our accommodation choices.

Trip Advisor was a big help on this trip. Since we utilized Trip Advisor to make all of our accommodation plans in Sri Lanka – we also ‘paid it forward’ and made sure we put in our own reviews of each of these places. After all, websites like Trip Advisor only really work when you give and take.

Do you ever use Trip Advisor to choose/research hotels? And do you give back and enter your own reviews?

Have you ever noticed that little blue image at the bottom of my blog before? Go ahead…take a look now…I’ll wait until you scroll down…

Yes – that’s right, I’m the member of an elite travel blogging team that travels the world to bring you the best stories and content inspiring you to dream and hopefully buy a ticket of your own one day! I don’t just do this just for you, but for millions of people, people who read LonelyPlanet.com. This team is called BlogSherpas…and we work hard to carry travel information down mountains, over rivers, and through deserts to our audience. We don’t wear special uniforms or have funny hats, but we do wield laptops, cameras, and carry anit-diarrhea meds.

This elite traveling team has now banded together with their cameras and has brought you one of the coolest, most-inspiring, ebooks you’ll see this year. Before I go any further…we are bringing it to you for FREE. No strings attached…just beautiful photos from across the planet that will will give you a travel jolt!

The Planet D Photography for Lonely Planet Blog Sherpa

Around the World with 40 Lonely Planet Bloggers takes readers on a world tour featuring almost 70 countries, and introduces the world of professional travel blogging. Within it, each blogger, hand picked by Lonely Planet, shares a collection of stunning photos that capture the essence of their travel.

“From an experiment born of our Innovation team, the Lonely Planet Blogger program has grown to encompass some of the most experienced travel writers around the globe.  The original concept was simple: get the best travel bloggers out there to share their thoughts and ideas with as large an audience as possible. Lonely Planet had the audience and some stunning content, but by inviting in great bloggers we broadened our content offering while exposing these writers and photographers to a new audience. Our mission was to shine a light on the best travel writing and images on the planet.” –Lonely Planet Editorial Team

The ebook features some of my favorite photographers such as Dave from the ThePlanetD, Barbara from HoleintheDonut, Georgia from GingerBeruit, Todd from Todd’sWanderings, Abigail from InsideTheTravelLab, Keith from VelvetEscape, and many more. I was proud to have my photography among this great elite travel group!

UnpoppedCollar photography for Blog Sherpa

And, if photos aren’t enough, then be sure to visit each Sherpa’s travel blog, and check out the other Blogsherpa contributions in the “Blogs We Like” section of each Lonely Planet destination page (lower left corner). Such as this page about Sri Lanka.

The ebook is FREE and I’m not going to make you do anything for it.  I personally get tired of jumping through hoops for things online.  However – do know that this book took a lot of time, effort, and money on all of our parts and it is a professional publication.  So – if you are interested in good karma, then please consider doing one of the following prior to downloading the free book.  These are all of my projects that I work diligently on to inspire others to travel.  I would appreciate your support.

• Sign up for my Ottsworld Monthly Newsletter – the best of Ottsworld each month for the ‘busy people’
• Sign up for the Meet Plan Go Newsletter a wealth of inspiration & ‘how-to’ career break travel advice
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Enough talking…start viewing…for FREE! Dig into the 88 pages of color, excitement and passion for travel that jumps out at the reader and beckons, “Come, join me on this globe.”.

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A story of 2 tourists, 1 tuk tuk driver, and 3 temples

I’m going to huff and puff and blow your temple down!  This is the story of 2 little tourists, 1 tuk tuk driver, and 3 temples; one made of wood, one made of brick, and one made of stone.

Once upon a time there were two little tourists…ok – we aren’t that little…but it’s a fairy tale…geez!  The two little tourists, Sherry and Russ, were staying in an ancient town with a sweet little name, Kandy.  Kandy was known to be the spiritual center of Sri Lanka.   Russ said  that if you’re in the spiritual epicenter, then you should focus on spirituality.  So even though Sherry wasn’t a very spiritual person, she decided to give Kandy spirituality a try and go templing.

(Ok all of you grammar nuts, I know that ‘templing’ is not really a word…at least that’s what this spell check says to me. But to me ‘templing’ is used as a verb and is the act of visiting temples…multiple temples. To go ‘templing’ indicates you spend the day visiting temples; and that’s exactly what they did with the help of a tuk tuk driver from Kandy.)

The two little tourists met a nice, quiet (this is very important when choosing a driver) tuk tuk driver named Roshan who they negotiated with for a day trip to see the 3 famous temples outside of Kandy. These temples were special for their unique architecture; one made of stone, one of brick, and one of wood. After a bit of haggling, Roshan agreed to their low-ball price and picked Sherry and Russ up promptly the next morning.

Having read the fable of the Three Little Pigs before, Sherry and Russ decided to visit the temples in the reverse order of the traditional fable in hopes that they wouldn’t run into the Big Bad Wolf.  Or maybe Roshan just drove to them in whatever order he wanted…who really knows…

Off to see the Three LIttle Temples in Kandy Land

Temple Made of Stone

They first pulled up to the stone temple of Gadaradeniya Viharaya. Roshan parked the tuk tuk, looked the the two little tourists up and down, and assessed their temple worthiness – and they promptly failed.  Actually, it was Sherry that failed. Roshan told Sherry to take off her hat,  cover her legs, and told them both to leave their shoes at the tuk tuk. Luckily Sherry was not new to templing and the leg coverage thing was no surprise to her.  She dug deep down in her day pack and got her pashmina; wrapping it around her like a towel to cover her non-temple worthy skin. Roshan smiled and settled back in the tuk tuk for a little nap while Sherry and Russ explored.

Sherry and Russ walked across the hot pavement and towards the entrance of Gadaradeniya Viharaya and a man came up to them and started to talk about the temple explaining it’s history. Sherry immediately thought to hersef, “Great – we have an unwanted leach-guide who has attached himself to us and will demand money at the end…oh joy.” She tried to be aloof, but the man kept talking and walking with the two little tourists through the various rooms of the temple. Sherry and Russ learned that the temple was unique for it’s construction; it was built on top of a large slab of undulating stone which formed little lily pools where lotus would bloom. The man continued to lead them into another area with a red, ancient-looking door adorned with intricate paintings and an old metal door knocker shaped like a fish.  The man opened up the creaky door to unveil a giant golden Buddha statute and Russ squealed in glee as if he was unveiling a long lost treasure.

The Buddha statue loomed above them with colorful flowers arranged at its feet. The self-proclaimed guide continued to pump their brains with history and fascinating facts. The guide said he was an artist ,so he painstakingly pointed out all of the restoration which was being done in the various corners of the temple. At the end of our ‘tour’, he asked for nothing which surprised and befuddled Sherry and Russ.

Flowers adorn the Temples

The temple is perched on a stone slab

Knock, Knock...

Temple Made of Brick

Sherry, Russ and Roshan next moved on to the brick temple, Lankatilake Viharaya. Once again Roshan parked and reminded the little tourists of the ‘rules’. They walked to the ticket booth and paid a very small fee; then the man who took their ticket continued to walk with Sherry and Russ and started telling them about the history and materials of the building. These etheral, impromptu tour guides the little tourists kept encountering were locals who lived in the nearby villages and ‘worked’ at the temple taking tickets.  More often than not these tour guide fairies were taking naps. The guides simply enjoyed showing people around as part of the entry ticket to the sacred temples. They asked for nothing and filled the little tourists’ heads with information and knowledge; an unusual set of events in Asia.  But hey…this is a fairy tale…right?

Gods hid behind curtains and were unveiled for a quick viewing and photographs specifically for the little tourists.  The brickwork in this temple was stunning. Rounded domed corners made of red bricks seemed to defy gravity.

Unfortunately Roshan’s little tuk tuk could not defy gravity. When the 3 travelers were taking back roads to view their final temple they were stopped. No, it wasn’t the Big Bad Wolf, it was a Big Bad Hill. With all of his might Roshan tried to make a run for it while Russ and Sherry leaned forward in the tuk tuk trying to keep the little vehicle’s weight grounded up the steep, rut-filled hill. But the tuk tuk and Roshan’s driving skills were no match for the hill. It huffed and puffed and eventually Russ and Sherry had to get out and help push it up the hill along with the crowd of locals which had gathered around them.  The little tourists, Roshan, and the locals all rejoiced when they made it up to the top safely.  The little tourists  bid their new friends farewell, gave their thanks, and continued their templing adventure.

A bricker outer layer hides a brick inner layer...

Brickwork that a wolf would be proud of

Temple made of Wood

The third little temple was made of wood and Sherry was pretty sure the Big Bad Wolf could have blown this temple down if it really wanted to. The Embekka Devale temple was probably the least sturdy of the three, but the carvings were impressive. The temple consisted of a long hall with pillars and intricate carved designs on each pillar, with no two alike. Once again the little tourists attracted a local ‘guide’ who accompanied them every step of the way.  The guide pointed to the ceiling and said in his broken English that no nails had been used for this temple, it was a complete wood architecture miracle!  The guide took Sherry and Russ to see the statues, allowing them time to photograph the sacred Gods and Goddesses. The little tourists thanked the guide once again and left completely satisfied AND without a single splinter.

Wood carvings tell a story...

The nail-less roof of the wood temple

The best part of the visiting these three little temples the whole day was that there was no Big Bad Wolf to ruin the day. The little tourists were fully expecting to be constantly ‘sold to’ and propositioned to buy more of ‘insert name of anything here’. But the Wolf never showed up. Instead, the little tourists paid their money to enter the temples, but then were showered with attention and information…and asked for nothing in exchange. And the best part of the story was that Roshan never tried to sell the little tourists anything further or convince them to do more with him and his little tuk tuk. Roshan simply picked them up when he was supposed to and dropped them off at the end. And for that, Roshan actually got his original asking price. After all, sometimes peace and quiet is worth money.

And of course…they all lived happily ever after…duh…

View all the pictures from the Fairy Tale Day:

“It’s just too hard…” People often say to me.
“…the airport security strip search, the extortionary bag fees, the long flight, my knees being crushed against the seat in front of me, customs, immigration, not knowing the language or the currency, the hassle of transportation, the fear of being ripped off, and then there’s the process of where to stay and what to do…it’s all just overwhelming. That’s why I don’t travel out of the US.”

Strangely – these are some of my favorite parts about international travel – minus the knees being crushed and the bag fees (which I think are robbery) . Strangely I don’t mind the security process…after all – a long-term solo traveler can use some ‘patting down’ once in a while!

However in my preparation for my Mongol Rally adventure (some would say absurdity), I had to go through an international travel process that about made me agree with all of the US international travel naysayers…getting visas.

My teammates and I are traveling through 15 countries this summer and I diligently went through the process of researching each country’s visa requirements for Americans. I was feeling pretty good when my research yielded the results of only needing 4 visas out of all of those countries…yippee!

Not too fast….

That yippee quickly turned to “Oh shit!” when I realized that the cost to get these 4 visas was be over $700 when all said and done.

Up until this experience, I had thought China and India would go down as the ‘worst and most expensive country visa processes’ – but now they were bumped by the Central Asian countries of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and the super ‘paperwork’ power – Russia. I was in the visa big leagues now.

Just when I was completely panicked looking through the myriads of forms, invitation letters, restrictions, and timeframes; ready to give up; I saw a light…a savior…a paperwork machine. Enter the Visa Machine.

A well-oiled machine?

No, this is not a George Jetson-like ATM device where you put in paperwork, scan your passport, and out spits a visa sticker (but damn that would be nice). It’s a service offered by the Adventurists who are responsible for creating and holding the Mongol Rally among other silly, absurd, scary international adventure races. They saw an opportunity and grabbed is…which is quite American of them…yet they are British. They put together a service and slick website where you can find out exactly what visa you need based on your nationality, order the visa, fill out the paperwork, mail it to them, and they will then be your bitches and run around to all of the embassies in London and get these ‘pain-in-the-ass-visas’ en mass. They are ‘experts’ at getting these hard to get visas since they have hundreds of Mongol Rally teams going through this process yearly. They know the ins and outs of the processes, forms, and silly requirements necessary to increase your chance of getting one of these visa’s issued.

I was sold. I was willing to pay a premium for them to handle this quickly as I would only be in the US for a couple of months and I certainly didn’t have plans to run around to various embassies or mail off my passport every few weeks.

As I started the process, I thought it would take a day to get it all organized and mailed to London. Five days later I realized it wasn’t as smooth of a process as I had hoped. Since I was the first of my teammates to go through this process I started taking notes for them so it would be easier. Being first is never easy. For those of you considering using the Visa Machine, here’s some information which might be helpful to you as you go through the process.

Materials Needed:

The first thing I learned is that you need some basic information prior to even being able to pay for the visas. Before you even start, you should have the following:
• A passport that isn’t expiring within 6 months with plenty of blank pages…duh.
• Access to a printer
• A glue stick
• A stapler
• Approximately 10 passport pictures 35mm by 40mm EXACTLY
• A ruler with mm on it!
• Scissors
• A copy of your resume/CV to refer to (for Russia)
• Your route for the rally with your entry and exit dates predicted for each country
• What city you will enter the border at in Russia
• A hotel in Russia and Uzbekistan with address and phone number that may be along your route. (Note that it is not necessary to have a reservation there or even stay there for that matter…you just need something close that you can enter on the form)
• PATIENCE….
• In the absence of patience…have whiskey or cigarettes available in great quantities.

What is the process?

1. Go to the Visa Machine website, choose your nationality, and then choose the countries you will be driving through (note that you must know your driving route before you can even complete step 1). It will tell you if your nationality requires a visa or not. If a visa is required, add it to your ‘cart’.
2. Then go to your cart and fill out the basic data required (name, passport number, nationality, address, where you want your passport mailed back to, the entry and exit dates for each country you are applying for, and for Russia include the cities you will be passing through and the name/address of the hotel you will potentially stay at).
3. Then get out your credit card and kiss your money goodbye.
Don’t be fooled like me and think that was all there was to it; this was just the beginning. Get your payment confirmation via email and continue…
4. Next print off all of the applications for each country as well as the instructions on how to fill out each application.
5. Read through them without filling anything out at first and learn what type of information you are going to need to gather in order to fill them out. For example, I had to get letters from my insurance company as well as bank statements for 3 months stamped and signed by my bank for Russia visa)
6. Spend the next few days filling them out EXACTLY as the instructions say.
7. Then mail them out to London along with your passport and extra passport photos.

Some issues I ran into:

Quite frankly, the Visa Machine website didn’t really have this type of info on it and therefore I wasted a lot of time trying to get everything together that I needed in a quick manner. You don’t know what you really need until you pay and have committed.
Plus, I had very slow responses to my email I sent to the Visa Machine which added at least 2 days to the process waiting to hear back from them and hounding them on Twitter.
Due to some of this delay I had to expedite two of the visas in order to get my passport back in time.

Some oddities I ran into:

I found it very strange that each of these visa applications asked my marital status and gave me the choices of married, single, widowed, divorced. It left me wondering what they would use this information for or why it was relevant. Would they be trying to find me a husband as I pass through their country? Maybe in Russia I could become an American bride – that would be a switch! Or maybe they would offer their condolences that I was an old maid. Or maybe they would require me to marry a border guard in order to enter the country? Crazy.

For the Russia visa I also needed to provide my complete work and education history complete with dates of graduation/work, supervisors names, and addresses. Were they going to hire me for a job in their country?

Final Results:

In the end with expediting some of the visa’s it cost me the pretty penny of $930 (880 for visas + 50 for Fedex to London). Of course it’s also important to understand that you may not get any visa issues at all; the embassy can reject the paperwork. And even if you get the visa issued and in your passport, this does not fully guarantee entry into these countries at the border nor will you get your money refunded. Basically…it’s a gamble…get ok with that.

Now my precious passport is living it up in London without me. I wonder if it’s having separation anxiety as I am. Has found a nice place to stay among all of those great  London hotels , is going to see Big Ben, and most importantly – will my passport attend the Royal Wedding and sit next to Elton John or Prince Harry?! I will be patiently waiting for its return into my life in a couple of months with (hopefully) 4 shiny, new visas attached to it!

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Books are weighty...

One of the hardest things about constantly traveling and living a nomadic life is the fact that everything you own you must carry.  This really cuts down on my shopping and actually helps me save money.  Every time I look at that colorful scarf, or cool new camera equipment I immediately think…but I have to carry it.  One of the most challenging things about carrying everything you own on your back while traveling is the dreaded ‘Guidebook Dilemma’.  I love having a real guidebook in my hands to flip through and read, not to mention the maps where I can make notes.  But they come at a big cost…they are bulky and heavy…and quite frankly my shoulders and back scream out in agony at the thought of carrying yet another book.

On my recent travels in Sri Lanka, I tried to go without a physical guide book and attemped simply have a file on my iphone.  But I’m old…and the iphone is small; I found the whole thing a pain in the ass and knew that it wasn’t the right solution even though it was the lighter solution.  While I was on that trip a representative from Sony contacted me about a contest they were running for their new Sony Reader centered around travel.  I immediately thought…this is the answer.  A light electronic file, but something that actually feels like a book.

I was really excited to be chosen as one of the few travel blogs hosting the Sony Reader contest where you can win $10,000 to travel anywhere in the world…yes you read that right.  You’d be crazy not to enter – you have absolutely nothing to lose!  It’s really simple to enter – all you have to do is imagine you’re on your dream vacation and you’re writing a postcard to me from that dream destination.  In your postcard, tell me where you are and what you brought along with you to read.

However if you are a math geek and look at the odds of this contest and think, there’s no way I can win…then consider this:

I’m also giving away a Sony Reader by handpicking my favorite entry from my website readers and giving away one Reader Pocket Edition™ and $25 gift card to Reader Store! Your odds are pretty good for this Ottsworld reader prize – there are only 10 entries so far and any statistician would tell you that these are good odds – so make sure you enter!

Entry ends on April 19th!

Winner selection

Starting April 20th, voting will start to take place at www.readergetawaygiveaway.com .  All visitors to the site will be allowed to vote for their favorite entries and you can begin promoting your postcard to your own online audiences and friends.  The person with the most votes** wins the $10,000 dream vacation and 2 Sony Reader and giftcard prizes!

**Voting runs from April 20 – 26th.  Participants are encouraged to promote their postcard to obtain votes. When voting begins, entrants will receive an email notifying them to start getting votes and will be given a unique URL for their entry.   Winner will be notified and entry will be displayed on the contest microsite at www.readergetawaygiveaway.com on or around April 28, 2011.

Experience old architecture of Lebnanon

I crave authentic experiences when I travel. I want culture not tourism. That’s why my time in Lebanon was so special; while living with a family I was able to experience the real Lebanon, with no tourist sugar coating. However, because I was participating in a GeoVisions cultural exchange program, I was not really exposed to the tourist side of Lebanon. So when people contact me to ask where to stay, I don’t really have any advice. Sure, I’m sure my host mom, Mira, would love to take everyone in, but I don’t think that’s practical.

Beirut is a modern, slick, wealthy city full of cool experiences and plenty of high end lodging and all inclusive resorts to choose from as a tourist.  However I was exposed to one lodging options which was in line with my “experiences not tourism” motto. I was lucky enough to go visit a volunteering opportunity outside of Beirut and there I not only found really inspiring people, I also found a really unique guest house experience that will give you an idea of what living outside the big city is really like. Beirut is a modern, slick, wealthy city full of cool experiences. However, if you are looking for a more rustic, authentic experience during your stay in Lebanon, then be sure to check out the Taanayel Eco-Lodge.

Arcenciel is full of authentic experiences

Taanayel Eco-Lodge is part of Arcenciel, a non profit organization founded in 1985. You can learn more about Arcenciel in a post I wrote about the myriad of volunteering opportunities there. The Eco-Lodge profits actually go towards funding the NGO, so if you stay at the lodge, it actually benefits the community and helps Arcenciel continue to run their community programs.

The Eco-Lodge is located in the heart of the Bekaa valley approximately 45 km from Beirut. It’s a traditional village with atypical adobe houses of the region; you take a step back in time to what village life was like in Lebanon decades ago.

It starts with the architecture. From the outside, the hostel doesn’t look like much but an old encampment. That’s because they took great pains to build the hostel in the style of an old home as a walled compound with an open courtyard of sorts. You even enter the lodge in a traditional way…with an authentic knocker. The lodge has 3 large rooms for sleeping requiring people to share space (another authentic experience) and a couple of common areas for people to sit, play games and socialize.

The unassuming entrace

The 3 rooms have no traditional beds, instead there are mattresses on the floor, just as they would have in an old Lebanese home. Each room also had a fireplace and a basic bathroom. Rugs were strewn out on the floor which gave it a big comfortable slumber party feel. All of the décor was authentic; rooms were filled with old pitchers and pottery from long ago.

Prices start at $20 per person per night. The rooms are organized as shared rooms so you do share the space with other people. Or you could rent that complete room out if you’d rather have privacy. There is also a great restaurant associated with the Eco-lodge which fills up with locals and workers from the community volunteer center next door. You can get authentic Lebanese dishes and smoke shisha in the evenings.

Typical shared guest rooms with matresses on the floor

Common areas to relax and socialize

The hostel is actually located in a small town of Taanayel near Zhale, and the Anjar ruins close to the Syrian border. Besides seeing the ruins, there are a number of other things you could do around this area for a couple of days such as hiking or simply volunteering at the community center. It’s an easy 1 hr 15 min. bus ride into Beirut from the hostel so you can use it as a great stop over from Syria to Beirut if you are backpacking the area.

To book the lodge or find out more you can get more information from these sites:
Hosteling International Taanayel Eco Lodge
Lebanon Hostels

Volunteering opportunities at Arcenciel

View photos from Arcenciel:

Colorful Beirut is best seen on foot

“Why did you come here in February? It’s the worst month for weather; it’s so unpredictable.” This was the common question I was asked throughout Lebanon. The sky was heavy with moisture and dark clouds rolled in over the Mediterranean; it was pouring rain yet again. The taxi driver dropped me off near the medical gate at AUB, American University of Beirut, and gave me a sheepish smile as I got out of the cab, expanded my umbrella and stepped out into the wet street.

This rainy Sunday I was scheduled to take a walking tour of Beirut and I didn’t want a little rain to stop me…again. I was actually planning to take the tour the previous weekend, but it had been rained out due to torrential downpours (seriously, it was raining sideways). But this weekend, Ronnie confirmed the predictable unpredictable February weather would not stop the tour so I showed up with an umbrella eager to finally learn more about this unique city on foot.

I had accidentally happened upon this walking tour while surfing around the internet for information about Beirut. I was scouring the events/activities section of Time Out Beirut online and came across Ronnie’s walking tour, Walk Beirut. I immediately was interested; it lasted 4 hours, it was a way to get some exercise, and it promised to be full of the Beirut war and rebuilding history that I was constantly trying to understand. It was to cover a large part of downtown Beirut which I had already walked around on my own, but this would actually allow me to get some answers to my many questions about the buildings, the rebuilding, and the long drawn out war.

A raincoat and umbrella clad crowd gathered at the AUB main gate. As each new person walked up they asked if this was the Beirut Walking Tour and Ronnie personally greeted each person and shook their hand. Ronnie is the mastermind behind Walk Beirut and he’s a former student of AUB.   His family is Lebanese and lives in Beirut, but they also lived in the States during parts of the civil war.  All of this means that he has a great grasp on the Lebanese history as well as a good understanding of what tourists might want or expect.  He started the Walk Beirut tour in June 2006, but had to cut it short following the war with Israel in July and August that summer. Tourism more or less disappeared until early 2009, and he brought the tour back to life that year, in April 2009, and it’s been ongoing since.

Ronnie teaches us about the Roman Baths as we take a load off our feet!

Ronnie started out by providing some general background on Lebanon and AUB university. Then he went on to start explaining that Beirut had been embroiled in 15 years of war from 1975 to 1990 of which the primary unrest occurred in downtown Beirut very near where we were standing. Miraculously, as we started walking away from AUB, the rain trickled to a stop and all of the umbrella’s were packed away; even though the sky still looked like a water balloon ready to pop.

We walked on to the Banque du Libon which isn’t a particularly memorable building, but Ronnie used it to provide the background on the current Lebanon political/religious structure, how businesses are tied into religious quotas, and why the American dollar is such a key currency in Lebanese life. With 18 recognized religions which must be represented in government it’s no wonder Lebanese politics are super confusing.

We walked our of Hamra and towards the are referred to as the Green Line in the war. Here Ronnie provided some background on the mix of architecture (Turkish, Frecnh, and Lebanese) you see peppered throughout Beirut. Most fascinating was the explanation around why old dilapidated building still lie in disrepair admist fancy new condos and refurbished homes. This was one of the things that had confused me during my time in Beirut. There wasn’t necessarily a ‘bad part of town’, instead there would be these abandoned looking bombed out buildings standing among shiny new ones. Upon closer look though, the buildings were abandoned, there were people living in them in a seemingly unlivable situation. Due to complex rules around rent control and family ownership these buildings were a constant reminder of the confusion that Beirut exemplifies.

The run-down buildings are still standing

The refurbished home next door...

Next we walked deep into the war history by dissecting the most impressive reminder of the war – the Holiday Inn. If you are in Beirut, then you’ll run across this abandoned war beacon sometime during your stay no doubt. It’s hard to miss aprox. 30 floors of concrete pocked by bullet holes. It hovers over the corniche and the Mediterranean for everyone to see. The Holiday Inn was open for exactly 1 year from 1974 to 1975 and was originally the largest Holiday Inn in the Middle East. But in 1975 it became the focal point of the war as it overlooked the Green Line which was the heart of the fighting for 15 years. Due to the complex landlord ownership rules it still stands and is owned by the Kuwait royal family with no real intention to do anything with it in the near future. Currently the space is let out to the Lebanese army and they store various equipment in the ground floors.

The Holiday Inn 'shell'

Next we crossed over into the major rebuilding areas of Beirut. We learned all about how Solidere is the company taking on the challenge of bringing the city back to life and rebuilding downtown. It seems as if Solidere is equally loved and hated, but is probably pretty par for the course in Beirut. We walked through a heavily secured area, the old Jewish quarter of Beirut and saw one of the only synagogues in Beirut. This area was heavily bombed during the war by the Israelis….yes Israel. Opposition groups stored arms and artillery in this area thinking Israel wouldn’t bomb their own areas…but in the Lebanese war…nothing was off limits. The neighborhood was flattened.

We moved forward towards the heart of downtown by moving further back in history to the time of the ancient Romans and saw the old Roman ruins that lie beneath the city. They seem to be completely overshadowed by the rest of the fascinating Lebanese history, but it was an interesting stop in this diverse landscape of Beirut. We also walked into the main circle which was full of French colonization history and which had also been leveled during the war. However, this area was the jewel of the Solidere project as it had all been refurbished and rebuilt to be a shiny new home of Beirut tourism. Shops and coffee bars lined the spoke-angled streets which all led to a central clock tower at the hub. It was here where we took a short 20 minute break to get some coffee, snacks, or use the facilities. Considering we had already been walking for 3+ hours, it was time for a break.

The rebuilt downtown full of coffee bars and shopping

Apparently Mother Nature all felt like it was time for our break as during our 20 minutes of free time she decided to burst the water balloon and relieve the skies of their misery as rain pelted down with force. Luckily, our little tour group led a charmed life as we watched it rain from the shelter of coffee shops. As if Mother Nature knew Ronnie’s tour schedule, she stopped right when we were supposed to meet again and continue our walking tour.

The water drenched clocktower provides a nice glow

It was getting quite dark and the wet streets provided a bright reflection of the streetlights, but we walked on learning about the recent history in Beirut – the history of the last 5 years. This tumultuous time was equally disturbing as the civil war considering it was full of 15 assassinations of Lebanese leaders in the short span of about a year. We stopped at Martyr’s Square where Ronnie provided us a very informative explanation of it’s history from France occupation to the civil war to the recent Cedar Revolution. It was clear that this square was the focal point for Beirut…the new Beirut…the one full of hope.

Martyr Square Beirut

It was completely dark by now and we continued to walk through old bombed out neighborhoods which had yet to be slated for redevelopment. It was eerie and at times felt as if we were walking through a giant haunted house and I braced myself for some goblin to jump out at me. Ronnie led us to the neighborhood of Gemmayze which really signified the new Beirut…the nightlife. Gemmayze is the place to be when it gets dark. It’s lined with small little bars and cafes that go all night packed full of locals and expats enjoying the intimate surroundings. It was fitting that it was here where we ended out 4 ½ hour walking tour as we all poured into a little bar for a celebration drink and a toast to Mother Nature for keeping us miraculously dry during our afternoon of walking.

A haunting scene in Beirut at night

The tour was probably the most informative and useful time I spent in Beirut. I unfortunately taken the tour at the end of my month long stay in Beirut; however I see it as a the perfect ‘warm-up’ for your arrival into Beirut. Ronnie provides you with a historical base, a map, and a thirst to explore more. I was thoroughly impressed by his knowledge, professionalism, and ability to handle a crowd of 30 to 40 people walking through the busy and chaotic streets of Beirut. I highly recommend the Beirut Walking Tour to be one of your first stops in Lebanon.

Walk Beirut Website – http://www.bebeirut.org/walk.html

Tours run Saturday and Sunday in the winter months and cost $20US – a good value for 4 1/2 hours of walking and information!

Disclosure: Ronnie did provide me this tour free of charge; and I in return offered to buy him a beer at the end of the tour…

Wadi Musa

“Yella! You are in charge!” yelled Mo as he headed towards the door. “If anyone stops in, tell them that we have 2 rooms available and have them wait here until I get back.” I looked up from my laptop, my eyes met his, and realized he was talking to ME. Cheryl the bubbly employee from the Philippines was putting on her coat and they were getting ready to leave the hotel. “Whoa…wait a minute…you are leaving?!” I said somewhat panicked.

Mosleh was the owner of the Cleopetra Hotel in Wadi Musa and it slowly dawned on me he was indeed walking out and leaving responsibility for the hotel with myself and the two other people in the common area; we were ‘in charge’. He said he had to drive Cheryl home and that he’d be back shortly. The other 2 people in the common area were just as dumbfounded as me. Mo and Cheryl disappeared through the door and the three of us looked at each other in amusement. I had been in Wadi Musa for a few hours and I was in charge of a hotel….cool.

Luckily on ‘our watch’ there were no customers or crisis situations; and Mo was back in about 15 minutes with a big smile on his face and ready to make us tea for our hard work. Clearly Mo was the energy of Cleopetra – he made the place hum. As the three of us sat around the heater and talked, I started to ask the French couple about their travels. They were at the beginning of an 8 month trip and had a very impressive and varied around the world itinerary. Then they slipped in, as if it was an afterthought, “This is our honeymoon.” I gave them the obligatory congratulations and learned they had just been married last weekend.

Mo walked up to the heater and I told him about the newlyweds and he immediately jumped up, clapped his hands together once and said, “We have to celebrate!” He walked over to the windows at the front of the hotel and started to close the blinds. The couple and I looked at each other in complete confusion wondering what clandestine celebration was coming next! He came back and rifled through the televisions channels until he found the one he was looking for, pumped up the volume as high as it could go, and said “We dance!” and started moving his hips and arms to the music.

The Arabic music was blaring, we looked at each other, shrugged, put down our laptops, and got up and started dancing. I was amused by the whole situation and think I probably spent more time laughing than trying to move my stiff hips to the lose Arabic music. I started peeling off my layers of sweaters as dancing was clearly the best way to stay warm! The four of us danced for about 20 minutes, as patrons walked into the lobby we’d scoop them up and have them join in the dance party fun. It was one of my most memorable nights I’ve spent in a hotel in all of my travels.

As the evening died down Mo taught me how to play Arabic backgammon; a version I had never been exposed to before. Finally, I was full of tea, thoroughly entertained, and exhausted. I had to retire to my little room as I had a big hiking plans in Petra the next day.

The sleepy town of Wadi Musa

If you are going to stop at Petra, then you must go through the town of Wadi Musa. Actually, it’s the place most people stay in order to get to Petra and Wadi Rum; it was blessed with the perfect location for tourism in Jordan. The town seems to mainly be hotels and they come in every shape, size, and cost. I had decided upon Cleopetra since it was a budget option and I knew the ticket to Petra was expensive. I had decided to spend my money on Petra, and not a hotel – after all, I would hardly be spending any time there except to sleep .

However, surprisingly my experience at Cleopetra was one of the key things that made my whole trip to Petra so enjoyable. I wasn’t expecting much, but I got a lot – especially as a solo traveler.

Cleopetra has longevity – it’s been in operation for 16 years.  When I arrived, it had just gone through a remodel, so the rooms were very small – but new, very clean, and functional. You couldn’t ask for much more for $25USD + breakfast and shuttle to Petra Gate. However they provided much more than a room; they provided a fun community atmosphere that as a single traveler I appreciated. Cheryl cooked up group meals each night and they served about 16 people in their small little dining room each evening. The meals were huge for $6 plus a drink and a fresh, warm, ‘to die for’ desert from the local bakery. It was a great chance to meet other travelers, learn about where they were from and more importantly where they had already been. The dinners were a wealth of information providing tips on Petra, Wadi Musa, transportation, things to do, places to stay…I chucked my guide book and simply took the advice of my fellow travelers.

The common area was also small, but because the rooms were so small, people tended to hang out on the couches and continue their travel conversations. I felt like it was a hostel type environment – but with private rooms. Mo was also constantly acting as the concierge setting up transportation, tours, and activities for people around the area; and occasionally he’d orchestrate a dance party or backgammon tournament.

In the morning the breakfast was included in addition to a free shuttle to the Petra entrance. I found the whole place to be a great value for what it offered me as a traveler, and the socializing it offered was an unexpected bonus. I’m not the only one who feels this way as Cleopetra is consistently ranked in the top 2 or 3 hotel options in Wadi Musa; where there is some tough competition from big players in the hotel industry. I’m convinced the key to their good reviews is the heart and soul of the place – Mo. I was impressed as he seemed to singlehandedly organize people’s itineraries around the area, ensure the guests were happy, and seemed to be the social director of the place. At the end of my stay he gave me his business card – it read

Mosleh Farajat
Peacemaker
Helpful and honest advice as you need it.

If you are heading to the tourists sites in Jordan – then be sure to stop by Cleopetra and tell Mo hi. Give him my best, have a glass of tea with him, share a dance, and attempt to beat him at backgammon (Good luck at that!).

Cleopetra Hotel Information:
www.cleopetrahotel.com
Phone:  +962 77 6582385
email:  cleopetra_h@hotmail.com

Making friends in Feynan - Mahal Aoodat

Smoke billowed throughout the tent and left the area a-glow in orange. The flames lapped up from beneath the metal spherical disk. She pounded the dough into a flat pizza like form and simultaneously stoked the fire with more wood with her free hand. The spherical metal ‘griddle’ was just the right temperature…thwak! The flattened dough landed on the griddle and immediately went from dough to solid form, bubbling from the intense heat. Kids covered in dust stared at me until I gave them a glance and then they turned and ran the other way or tried to hide behind anything to escape my eyes. It felt as if I was in an undiscovered land or had moved backwards through time; and in a way – I was.

The process of making shrak

I was lucky enough to get invited into the Bedouin woman’s tent to watch this process. The woman who’s face I could not photograph was making shrak, a Jordanian bread which is used at every meal at Feynan to scoop up food and make sandwiches. The sandwiches weren’t for locals, it was for tourists who were staying at the Ecolodge nearby. The Feynan Ecolodge integrated into its Bedouin environment so as to practically go unnoticed; however a few lucky tourists have discovered its charm.

I was actually visiting the unique lodge in order to write about a new volunteering experience offered through GeoVisions, but I found that the experience was much more than staying at the lodge; it was about interaction with the whole community.

The lodge is situated on the Dana Biosphere Reserve, the largest reserve in Jordan as well as within a Bedouin community. This means that it’s a stellar place to hike, go mountain biking, do some canyoning, and get a cultural experience; an outdoor travel playground!

The lodge employs about 27 local Bedouin as staff; from cooking, to front desk, to candle making. Why candle making? Because one of the most unique things about the lodge is that there is no electricity…it’s completely unplugged. The massive solar panels provide all of the power the lodge needs, however at night since there are no light fixtures, the whole lodge is lit with over 250 candles placed around the common areas and in the rooms. This was a unique accommodation thanks to the candles; it created a peace and serenity like no other place I’ve ever stayed.

Illuminating the lodge...every night...

Thanks to no electricity, I untethered myself from my laptop and started my adventure with a guided hike with one of the Bedouin guides from the lodge. We hiked to the Neolithic ruins and some of the oldest copper mines in the world where Christian slaves were later worked to death by the Romans. A Roman aqueduct and mill, and remnants of Byzantine churches remain. I had specifically asked my guide to take me to some of the Bedouin families so that I could also learn more about their mysterious culture.

We walked up to the first tent and found some children (teenagers) around who immediately kindly asked us to sit with them for tea. Tea in Jordan is like a television set to Americans – the culture revolves around it. My guide explained that the Bedouin used a black tent for the winter months and a lighter color tent for the hot summers. The kids showed us the clan of rabbits living in their tent and we discussed the ‘standard’ questions in English – name, age, and where from.

The Black tent for winter

We moved on to another tent with our new teenagers in tow as if I was the Pied Piper and my western features were the flute enchanting followers to my path. At the next tent we sat for tea and some adults joined us to come look at the westerner and ask the standard questions. My guide introduced an older man and a teenage girl explaining that the man was the teenager’s grandfather. As we went through this conversation more and more people started to gather around. Young boys about 4 years old hung around the old man staying a safe distance from me…the stranger.

I asked my guide if the boys were more grandchildren and he said no, they were sons. What? I must have misunderstood. “Grandchildren?” I asked again.
“No, sons.” He said again. I looked at the 15 year old granddaughter and back at the 4 year old sons and realized that this was my introduction into the common cultural situation in this part of the world – multiple wives. I thought to myself…what a lucky old man!

The grandchildren....no...the sons..

The young girl’s name was Mahal Aoodat, and she had a paper in her hand that she studied for a while and then looked up at me and asked. “What do you do in your three time?” I was stunned, but clearly she had notes she had made at school and was ready to practice them. I channeled my ESL teacher translation powers and realized ‘three’ meant ‘free’. I gave her a big smile and answered her, “I like to take pictures.” while motioning to my camera. This was the beginning of a beautiful Bedouin friendship.

I spent the next 2 hours sitting on a mat outside the tent with Mahal Aoodat by my side looking through her English language workbooks, explaining things, helping with pronunciation, and answering more questions. The school was administering an English exam the next day, so I must have been seen as an angle sent from English Heaven! I learned she was the only girl in a family with 7 brothers…not to mention a number of uncles who were10 years younger than her! After a short while, I had a whole tribe of kids around me who just wanted to hear me read in English. They brought tea after tea to me, and eventually I was even able to take a few pictures.

At sunset, Mahal Aoodat accompanied me to meet with the other hikers who had come to watch sunset over the dry riverbed. We walked together and I promised her I would stop by the school the next day (not really knowing if this was allowed – but hoping I could play ignorant tourist and break the rules if I had to!). We watched the sunset and I introduced her to more tourists from around the world. She then went back to her family and I returned to the lodge after a very long day and an extremely full bladder of tea!

I spent the night visiting with other travelers by the fireside and then went up the roof deck to star gaze before I blew out the candles in my room and went to bed for some of the quietest and most peaceful sleep I’ve had in months.

The next morning I was up early, grabbed some warm shrak and cheese for breakfast and quickly went walking to the school with my camera. The kids were all playing in the school yard but quickly stopped when I walked in. I made eye contact with Mahal Aoodat and gave her a smile. Soon I was surrounded by curious but shy kids simply wanting to stare at me. A few brave ones would try to ask me questions. Eventually the teachers showed up and they went through morning calisthenics with the kids who were all lined up in the school yard according to grades. Actually, the boys were the only ones doing the calisthenics and the girls simply stood in the back of the lines and stared at me and giggled.

School kids...the same all over the world!

The teacher invited me inside and showed me the school. There were 3 rooms which housed all grades – from aprox. 6 yrs old to 16 yrs old. The teacher started to hand out the English exams and asked me to read the questions to the kids in English – then he proceeded to translate them all into Arabic…which sort of defeated the point of the test…but oh well. After talking to the teacher and watching the kids try to take the exam, I thought I better leave as I was a bit too much of a distraction to the kids. I told everyone goodbye and slowly walked back to Feynan lodge.

Some beautiful young ladies...

I was sad I had to leave that morning as I imagined what it would be like to stay in this community a month and the relationships you could build – not to mention the amazing photos you could take once you were a part of the community rather than simply a visitor. Wadi Feynan is definitely a unique experience some travelers get to experience. And if you find yourself in Jordan – I suggest you go and have tea in Feynan with Mahal Aoodat and see how she’s doing on her English!

These are the cultural experiences I love. This is why I travel.

Learn more about volunteering at the EcoLodge

Learn more about Feynan lodge, hiking, and Dana Reserve

View all photos from Feynan:

Lovely Sunset over the Gobi Desert

I’m happy to announce – I’m in love!  My heart is all a flutter, I’m wearing a permanant grin, and when I see the pictures – I can hardly contain myself!

I’m in love with my wide angle lens!

I used to travel with two lenses a portrait lens 17 to 55mm and a telephoto 75 to 300mm – I thought that was all I needed.  And then I went to Mongolia.  I decided in order to capture the vast landscapes of the Gobi Desert – I wanted to get a real wide angle lens.  So I purchased a 10 to 22mm and took it to Mongolia to shoot landscapes.  I’d only limit my use of the lens to shoot wide open spaces.

Gobi Desert

Sure – I liked it – but I wasn’t necessarily in love with it…yet.

However over the last year I’ve gotten to know this lens better, and it has grown on me.  I realized I went into my initial relationship with my wide angle lens with all the wrong intentions.  I was narrow minded – I thought it was only best used on landscapes – big, wide-open spaces.  Granted, it is good for those types of shots…

Puma, Nepal

Grand Canyon

But then this summer I realized just how versitile the lens could be.   It has now become my favorite travel photography lens.  A wide angle lens can give massive impact to your photography.  It creates distortions and lines that my telephoto lens would never be able to do!  One of my favorite things to photograph with my wide angle is clouds.  In fact, I will now stop if I see good clouds, just so that I can get a photo – regardless of what the landscape is!  The clouds seem to zoom through the picture with the wide angle bringing the whole thing alive and the viewer feels like they are in the photo.

Gobi Desert Storm

Netherlands

Notre Dame

The lens isn’t just for the outdoors, it can also be used in cramped, confined, small spaces to take in a whole view.  This is perfect for rooms like this one in Amsterdam.

Museum Wall

Speaking of cramped space, it’s also perfect for city streets.  Very few cameras can get a complete shot of the buildings of New York City while standing on a street corner – that’s where the wide angle comes in.

NYSE Wall Street

Empire State Building

Leuven Belgium

It also has some fun distortion effects.  Whatever object, or part of the object, is closer to the lens will appear larger than the rest of the image; sort of providing a 3D effect.    I love to compose shots with the wide angle lens for this effect.

Brooklyn Bridge

Snow Canyon Utah

Louvre Paris

My photography tutor in Laos taught me that when photographing people – it’s better to shoot wide so that you can capture how the subject is relating to the space around them.  Sure, I still like tight people shots, but I do get so much more from travel photography where I can see the person and there surroundings.

Luang Prabang

Have you fell in love with the wide angle lens yet?  I thought so…

Better go make your holiday shopping list now!

Speaking of the holiday, I’d like to remind people that my photography is for sale – just click on any of these images to see how to purchase them, or simply browse through more photos from that gallery!

Our home for the night

Even though we were unable to hike Zion Narrows thanks to pending rain, we were still able to drive through the scenic park and capture some stunning images. The main highway through Zion, State Road 9, is worth the potential delays due to construction or traffic. The hairpin turns lead you through and park and literally through the mountains. One of the highlights of the drive is the Zion tunnel. Construction of the 1.1 mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel began in the late 1920′s and was completed in 1930.

We weren’t able to stay long in Zion as we only had one more day and Steve wanted to see Bryce Canyon yet too. Zion and Bryce are actually pretty close together, only a half day’s drive through some beautiful canyon land.

Our drive was constantly interrupted by “Can you stop for a quick picture?” We’d pull over precariously along the shoulder and both get out and shoot photos quickly and take off towards our destination again.

Our final destination was the very small town of Tropic situated 8 miles east of Bryce Canyon National Park. We knew we needed to stay near the park that night in order to get the best early morning photography light the next day and quite frankly the only choices for lodging outside the park (which was booked solid) was in the tiny town of Tropic.

We pulled up to Bryce Point Bed and Breakfast both a little leery. It was an older ranch style home situated in a residential neighborhood. This was clearly someone’s home turned bed and breakfast and we wondered just what we should expect. We parked the car and gingerly walked to the front door and knocked. A middle-aged woman greeted us warmly and invited us in.

As I stepped inside I only had one thought; this was just like my grandmothers old home. An old lazyboy which had seen better days, handmade afghans draping over the flowered couch, shag carpet, family portraits and pictures everywhere you laid your gaze, a TV blaring Wheel of Fortune, and finally an old man in a chair intently watching Pat and Vana flip letters. It felt more like I had walked into one of my relative’s homes rather than a bed and breakfast.

The woman introduced herself as Carol. And the other couple tore themselves away from the television and introduced themselves as LeMar and Ethel. For some reason to me – the whole situation felt a little odd. I’m not sure why; maybe I had just spent too much time in hotels recently and hadn’t quite adjusted to Bed and Breakfast accommodations yet. But it honestly felt like we were staying as a guest in my aunt’s house and less like paid accommodations. We made small talk about our day’s drive and we asked about all of the pictures and learned of LeMar and Ethel’s kids who grew up in this house. They were long gone now and their kid’s pictures adorned all of the bookshelves.

Clark's old room

Regardless, they took our credit card and processed it and happily showed us to our big room – the Clark and Stacey room. This of course conjured up visions of my parents renting out my childhood home and naming my old room the Sherry room and adorning it with my picture. The Clark and Stacey room was sure enough the old room of Clark, their son. It looked as if it might have the same furniture from circa 1978; but it was large, had it’s own bathroom, and even had a wireless connection, so I wasn’t complaining. In fact – Ethel even took the time to show how to use the in room VCR and showed us the massive movie library of VHS tapes we could choose from!

Every passing minute I was in the Bryce Point B&B I was growing more and more at home and in love with the place. Sure, it was like visiting relatives, but at the same time, it was like visiting relatives. They were genuine good small town people who loved to carry on a conversation, were extremely helpful, and made a good pot of coffee.

The next morning I was pleasantly awakened by the smell of bacon frying (could that be the best aroma in the world?) and active conversation going on in the kitchen. We went out to join the other guests for breakfast and found out the B&B had a full house! We squeezed into the table and everyone introduced each other and made small talk with Carol as Ethel made her famous pancakes, with homemade apple syrup.

As I sat and learned more about Tropic, Ethel, LeMar and Cathy, I realized that what we had stumbled upon in this residential neighborhood was rather special. It was good, solid, old-fashioned hospitality. I felt at home and comfortable. I’ll take that any day over the Holiday Inn!

Ethel and Carol

Photo by Steve and his tripod!

The sun had long since gone down and our attitudes seemed to go down with it. At 9PM we hit road construction requiring us to turn around and go another hour and a half out of the way to get to our ultimate destination, St. George Utah. We had spent a long fun-filled day of hiking and driving across Arizona and Utah; we were tired, hungry, and ready to arm wrestle over who got to use the shower first. After coming across the ‘Road Closed’ sign, we tried to keep our spirits up as well as our energy with some Diet Coke and an upbeat playlist on our ipod (Steve chose heavy metal). As we drove the extra miles in the wrong direction, we knew we were driving through some beautiful scenery, but we had no idea what it looked like as it was bathed in black, inky, darkness.

As we crossed over time zones we arrived in St. George at half past midnight, tired, hungry; not quite according to our road trip plan. The hotel property was dark and there was one man at the front desk; as soon as we walked in he knew who we were. We were most likely the last reservation to arrive that night. He welcomed us to Red Mountain Resort and Spa with a pleasant smile, checked us in, gave us a folder of information and then said, “I believe we have a saved you some dinner in the refrigerator. One moment and I’ll get it for you.”

That’s when the night took a turn in the right direction. We walked in the room in our villa and knew immediately, 2 nights here wouldn’t be enough!

Rooms

The very, very large bathroom!

I had actually heard of the Red Mountain Resort and Spa on Twitter of all places. I was tweeting about some hikes I wanted to do in Zion and the Red Mountain Spa twitter presence chimed in with some information for me; I was pleasantly surprised. A few days later when Steve said he wanted to go to Zion National Park, I looked up Red Mountain Spa’s website and passed it along to him; he ended up booking our nights there. Who says Twitter isn’t good for business?

I woke up the next morning, moved aside the curtain, and peeked out the window; to my surprise I was greeted by glowing red sandstone cliffs of the Mojave Desert. Since we had arrived in complete darkness it was as if I woke up in another world. The resort buildings blended into the surrounding landscape as if Martha Stewart had designed the perfect picture of home and nature.

We went to the restaurant on the premises to have breakfast, as all of our meals were included with our Signature package. After a few days of eating at fast food roadside stops, the healthy menu served at the resort was a welcome sight! A buffet of healthy choices awaited us. Each had a little tent sign next to the serving dish indicating if it was ‘detox friendly’ or not. I found this a humorous thing to point out as it seemed that everything about this resort and spa was detoxifying – not just the food.

As we walked to the main building after breakfast – I tried not to notice the dark cumulus clouds over the cliffs. The main reason I wanted to go to Zion was to hike the Zion Narrows river hike. But I knew what those clouds in the distance meant; the Narrows hike would be closed if there was any threat of rain due to the deadly flash floods in the canyon. We talked to the recreation director and they confirmed my fears; there would be no hiking in the Narrows today.

I felt like the all of the excitement had just been squeezed out of me until I was empty. I don’t think Steve was nearly as effected by this news as I was, but maybe he had his eye on the list of spa treatments for a rainy day.

After a short sulk at Mother Nature, I looked around our spacious room in it’s soothing desert colors and lovely terrace and decided, this isn’t a bad place to be stuck for a day. Our Signature package could keep us more than happy here with included meals, fitness classes, cooking demonstrations, and spa services. I had my first spa treatment since I left Vietnam a year earlier and enjoyed every moment of it; a very different and calming Arabian ritual treatment that felt like an out of body experience. We did some full moon for photography, and ate an amazing outdoor dinner bringing an end to a day that didn’t quite go as planned, but was a great substitute for the Narrows hike.

Colorful Snow Canyon

The next morning we were able to take part in one of the highlights at the resort – a guided morning hike through Snow Canyon State Park. I was surprised at the number of people who met that morning for the hike. There were about 6 different hikes going out that morning alone; each with 2 guides from the resort. They drove us into the park and we proceeded on a wonderfully guided hike perfect for photography and exercise. The guides were helpful and super social; what a great start to the morning! In addition, I learned about the resort’s weekly Pound Puppy Hike; hikers can hike with a dog from the nearby ‘no kill’ animal shelter. We missed the puppy hike by a day – but definitely a reason to go out of your way to stay at Red Mountain Resort.

Overall, we had some bad luck with roads and weather, but the resort more than made up for it. Steve was already determining when he was going to come back to St. George just so he could stay at the resort! Upon leaving, I felt like my body and mind had been fully detoxed. Plus, I now know where I will stay when I come back to Zion to try to do the Narrows hike again; Mother Nature permitting of course!

Disclosure: our original room reservation was upgraded for the purpose of this review.

Follow the orange brick road...

Location – St. George, Utah
A 40 minute scenic drive to Zion National Park makes this an ideal place to stay for your National Park visit. Plus the resorts location is nestled near the Snow Canyon State Park which is an excellent recreational playground!

Environment:
It was all about balance. From the soothing décor to the healthy food choices and fitness centers; you’ll find your balance here. In addition, the resort has various lodging options, spa services, indoor/outdoor swimming pools, life coaching classes, cooking classes, and a super staff to keep everything running and the guests satisfied.

Atmosphere:
It really was a laid back, soothing place to stay. Many of the guests were there for a week long stay and I understand why. It’s a great get away from the rush and demands of daily life. I really appreciated the environmental approach they took and I love the various unique programs such as the Pound Puppy Hike.

Contact:
Red Mountain Resort and Spa have a great online presence and as I said I was made aware of them thanks to their Twitter presence.
Website: Red Mountain Spa – www.redmountainspa.com
Twitter: @Redmountainspa
Facebook: RedMountainResort on Facebook
Blog: www.redmoutainspa.blogspot.com

Photos from our Snow Canyon Morning Hike with Red Mountain Spa:

A comfy couch! That's all I need.

I live my life very deliberately – and I have very few regrets. In fact, my regrets are the usual…I wish I would have kept up my violin skills, I wish I would have learned how to ski at a young age, and I really regret I didn’t learn a language in college. But now I have one more to my small list…I regret I never tried couch surfing until this summer.

The usual reaction from friends and family was, “You’re going to do what?” “Do you know these people?” “How do you know it’s safe?” Couch surfing stirs up some valid concerns in people, but I decided I needed to finally give it a test run after 4 years of somewhat traditional travel and living nomadically. By signing up for couch surfing, I was going to stay with complete strangers while in Europe this summer. These weren’t my normal complete strangers that I often meet and talk to (aka internet/twitter friends), nor were they friends of friends – they were strangers; strangers with a couch, an open mind, and a love of travel.

For those of you who have never heard of couch surfing – it’s been around since 1999 and it’s here to stay; it’s now the world’s largest ‘hospitality exchange’ network with over 2.2 million members in 237 countries and territories. This isn’t a fad. It’s the ultimate travel community; encouraging people who love to travel to interact in various ways. This can be simply meeting for a coffee, walking around a city together or welcoming strangers into your home for a few nights.

The Facts

It was my friend Lisa Lubin who was my tipping point to couch surfing finally. There are a myriad of articles that have been written on how couch surfing works, so I’m not going to re-write a fact based article – but to learn more on the ‘how’ here’s some great resources:
The couch surfing facts
How it works
How to be a good guest

Instead I want to talk about my specific experience of staying with 4 different strangers who I know call friends in the Netherlands and France.

Meet My Hosts

Before arriving in the Netherlands – I had organized 2 homes to surf in through the online network; a single man and a couple. I wish I could say that I chose them very carefully from a journalistic research point of view – but quite honestly, they were the two people who accepted my couch surfing request!

Graham and I

My first host in Amsterdam was a Canadian expat who had lived in Amsterdam for over 15 yrs. Graham was a veteran couch surfer; having played both roles as host and surfer. When I arrived at his apartment, he showed me his space, we sat and talked for a bit and then went out for an evening walk together around the city. He explained the layout of the city, pointed out buildings, things to do, explained how the transportation worked, and then we went to dinner together. That night I only had one thought -

Why did I wait 4 years to try Couch Surfing?

I quickly learned anyone with good manners and social skills can be a good couch surfer. Yes, you are getting a free place to stay, however that doesn’t mean that your host’s apartment is a hotel and they are the concierge. Since I have spent time house sitting, I simply approached it the same way I do when I stay in someone’s home for house sitting. The key is to give back more than you get.

Graham was the perfect introduction to couch surfing. I stayed on his super comfortable couch for 4 nights and he completely opened his home to me providing me a key, a large bag of maps and guides, and access to the internet! We talked endlessly about travels, cultures, photography, our families, the Netherlands, and expat living. Every time I had a simple question about where something was or how to get there, he helped me.

He accompanied me to the Aalsmeer Flower auction, on a bike ride to see windmills, and on a canal boat ride. I’d like to believe that I actually showed him things and places he didn’t know about in Amsterdam; but maybe I’m that’s a bit much to assume! My favorite times with Graham were the dinners. He made me dinner one night, and the next night I made an Asian feast for both of us; it’s about give and take. You are a guest, and you need to be a grateful guest. Considering I have no home – trust me, I’m totally grateful when someone opens up their home to me!

Akshay and Payal at the cheese shop

Next I moved on to a new home in Amsterdam for 4 more nights; the home of Akshay and Payal an expat couple from India who were somewhat new to Amsterdam. This time I didn’t have a couch, I had a whole room to myself! The first night we must have stayed up until 1AM talking and drinking beer. Payal cooked up an Indian feast including homemade roti…yum! I hadn’t had homemade roti since I volunteered in Delhi years ago. I had just met this couple but we immediately clicked. We talked endlessly about India and I had a hard time remembering where I was – India or the Netherlands; as these cultures collided in my head like bumper cars!

As we talked about our cultures and travels, I realized that one of the big benefits for hosts is they can sort of travel the world without leaving their home. By opening their lives to travelers from around the world they learn about cultures from around the world. So far, my experience with CSing hosts was they were thirsty for travel. Akshay and Payal went out exploring with me one day and in true adventurous traveling fashion I even convinced Payal to have her first raw oyster at the farmers market!

That evening it was my turn to cook. Since Indian cooking doesn’t really require an oven Payal wanted to learn how to use her new European oven. I decided to cook an American classic – my mother’s chicken casserole. We went grocery shopping together and I showed Payal how to make Midwestern American food; a processed food nightmare including canned cream of mushroom soup and Velveeta cheese. I felt a bit guilty for propagating unhealthy American food…but she said she wanted to learn it! Sharing cultural foods and stories with Akshay and Payal were a highlight for me.

Next I moved on to unplanned couch surfing for a few short stays. I stayed with a gay couple Rotterdam who opened up their amazing flat with two pudgy adorable cats. Daniel was Dutch and Oliver was Lebanese. This was perfect because I had yet to stay with someone actually from the Netherlands and I was looking forward to meeting Oliver since I was planning to be in Lebanon this winter. Daniel and Oliver treated me like a family member…cooking up a multiple course feast! They also helped me with all of my transportation for the next day when I wanted to go out and photograph the Kinderdijk windmills.

Audry and Eros

My final CSing experience was in Paris. I wanted to go to Paris to do photography so decided that I was having such good luck with CSing, I might as well continue down that path.  Audrey and her cat Eros took me into their apartment for my very quick trip to Paris. I learned that Audrey not only used hosting as a great way to ‘travel’ without going anywhere, but she also used it to keep her English language skills up to date. Another great benefit for the hosts!

I was lucky enough to experience 4 very different environments from large to small flats, men, women, couples, expats, natives – but the one thing they all had in common was their generosity and interest in the world and other cultures.

I look back on my previous travels and wonder why I never tried this before; I feel silly for waiting so long. No more regrets – couch surfing will be a part of my travels moving forward. And if I ever do own a couch again – I will be thrilled to host travelers from around the world!

The benefits to couch surfing are numerous for the surfer AND the host. Here are the benefits that I discovered:

Steep, narrow stairs...

Doing Good – Let’s face it, the sharing of cultures and love of travel creates a better world
Social outlet – for a solo traveler like myself, CSing allowed me to go out and explore on my own, but have people to come ‘home’ to and talk about what you did that day which is one of the things I often miss when traveling solo. You can share your experiences with someone!
Insider information – every host armed me with guide books, maps, and sometimes even bikes or public transportation cards. I really had no need to buy any guide books before arriving in a new location.
Local Knowledge – I learned things about Amsterdam I never would have learned if I had stayed in a hotel or a hostel – like how steep the stairways are in an average Amsterdam apartment!
Lifetime Friendships – everyone of the hosts I stayed with are now friends of mine on Facebook and I converse with them regularly in the hope to see them again some day!
Saving Time – I saved oodles of time by simply being able to ask my host questions about how to get around or ideas on what to see/do. Transportation can be tricky and time consuming…but in my situation my hosts were able to provide me the information I needed to easily get around.
Saving Money – yes, you save money…but that really shouldn’t be your motivation for why you want to couch surf else you are missing the point.

The couch surfing motto is “Participate in creating a better world one couch at a time.”
Based on my experience, I think they are achieving it.

Thanks to my awesome hosts – Graham, Akshay, Payal, Daniel, Oliver, and Audrey!

It’s projects like this that give me faith in us as a global human race. It reinforces to me that even though we all come from different backgrounds, religions, families, cultures, and experiences – we CAN all get along.

Have you ever couch surfed? What benefits have you realized from surfing? If you have a couch would you consider opening your home to surfers?