While living in Bali for a month, I was exploring some of the nearby area one night and came upon some sort of ceremony at one of the nearby temples. Curious to see what was going on, but not wanting to intrude or offend, I hung around near the entrance for a bit and listened and watched as the ceremony progressed. I exchanged smiles with the people going in and out and even tried to ask a few of them what was going on, but most spoke very little English, so I just enjoyed the atmosphere and continued to observe.

Not much time had passed when a very friendly man came and spoke good English and invited me to come in and watch. Up until this point there had been a lot of praying and ceremonious worship going on, so I was a little hesitant and offered that I was not Hindu, but he said that the prayer part was ending and now it was time for a show of some sort, the name of which I cannot remember. He welcomed me into the temple area and introduced me to some of the people there. As it turned out, everyone there was related in one way or another and this was their biannual family gathering. The kind man had to leave to go to his home a good ways away and so introduced me to his cousin Kadek.

Kadek welcomed me just as kindly and, after giving me one of his traditional dresses so I could enter the temple area, even offered to take me in and show me the inside of his family’s temple. We had visited a few temples in Indonesia at this point and I knew that non-Hindus were not supposed to be in the temples, so I politely refused, but was very humbled and touched to have been asked.
The ceremony commenced and was quite a sight to behold as different family members who had been secretly selected came out in full costumes dressed like some of the Balinese gods and demons. They shared stories, told jokes and overall made sure everyone was having a great time. They even made some jokes about me as I was the only white person and maybe wasn’t sitting quite right with my dress spread open or something. It was all in Balinese, so I am not exactly sure but I heard “American” as they motioned towards my legs and then everyone laughed, all in good humor.

I had to leave the ceremony a little earlier than it ended as Valerie was waiting for me at the house, but made sure to give Kadek my email before going so that we could keep in touch. Before I left, he also introduced me to his sister who also spoke perfect english and was a pleasure to meet.

The next day Kadek emailed me and we conversed back and fourth and set up a time to meet again and shared pictures from the ceremony.

A couple days later Kadek let me know that his sister whom I had met at the ceremony was getting married and wanted to know if Valerie and I could come to the wedding. I told him we would be honored and we asked if we could bring food, presents or anything else, but he said having us there was special for them and no presents or food would be needed. He did ask for us to bring our cameras and help document his sister’s special day and we were more than happy and excited to do so.

About a week later we met Kadek at a local supermarket and he showed us the way to his house. He again lent me some traditional dress as well as a headdress this time and also had a dress for Valerie (which she of course looked stunning in;-).

We arrived in the morning before most of the family were there and got to see the beautiful bride as she got ready for her special day as well as all the preparation for the food and drinks for the reception. The ceremony lasted about five or six hours as the Groom arrived and they were blessed by a priest and then the bride went into one room maybe to get advice and things from the women, while the groom stayed outside and was surrounded by elders who seemed to go around the circle giving him advice, sharing stories and maybe just letting him know about what an important role being a husband is and how he should honor and cherish his wife. After this had finished, most people ate the delicious lunch provided, left some offerings in woven baskets and went home. We stayed around for another hour or so as some more ceremonies took place and got a quick picture with Kadek and his girlfriend Acik before heading home to rest at about 3PM.

After we left, the family and the bride and groom were to drive the two hours to the husband’s house and continue the ceremony there until well after diner time. We also were fascinated to learn that part of the ceremony for becoming a husband in Bali meant that the groom has to have his front tooth filed off just a little presumably so others will know he is taken.

We really enjoyed our time in Bali and a lot of it was because of the friendship of Kadek and his family. Many people have visited Bali before and many will visit after us, but one of the things we love about traveling a little slower and with a lot more flexibility in our schedule is amazing friendships and experiences like this one that cannot be planned for, paid for or booked in a tour package. This is one of the main reasons we enjoy travel so much is because of the opportunities to make new friends, experience new cultures and see things from a different perspective. We hope to visit Bali again in the future and when we do, we will look forward to meeting up with Kadek and Acik again and would be honored to have them as guests in our country as well.

Click image to view larger size or to purchase a print

Photos taken using Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF] and Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens

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Things got off to a rough start for us with some trouble getting to our hotel, but after we got that sorted out, we were off to check out the sites.

New Delhi is the capital city of India and has so much to see, we could hardly wait to get started.

We started out at the Red Fort, which used to be the main residence of the royal family. The fort is huge and full of history.

This was the first time we noticed a strange habit with soldiers here that most of the western world is unfamiliar with. As we rounded a corner of the fort, we both looked back to check out the gate we’d just come through, when we saw it… a shot gun pointed directly at our heads from behind a guard post. No, we weren’t in trouble and the guy wasn’t intentionally pointing the gun at us, it’s just where how he chose to rest his rifle. As more time passed for us in India, we grew accustomed to seeing guns pointed at us, and, even more strangely, the guards often point their guns at themselves or other guards. I think gun safety is glossed over a little here. So, please don’t be alarmed if you visit India and notice the same.

We were fortunate enough to hang out all day with the same auto-rickshaw driver, Muhammed, and he told us about the cool sites to see.

He drove us over to the government and military buildings in the area, which were pretty impressive. Here, offices of the Ministries of Defense, Finance, Home Affairs and External Affairs are housed as well as the office of India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.

Next we went over to the Indira Ghandi Memorial Museum. Indira Ghandi was a four-term Prime Minister of India, who was assassinated in 1984 by her own body guards. The memorial is impressive and beautiful and made me want to learn more about Indira herself.

Finally, as sunset was approaching, we headed over to The Bahá’í House of Worship, also known as the Lotus Temple. The building is shaped like a giant Lotus flower and is one of the coolest designs either of us has ever seen. It has 27 petals and 9 pools outside, which contribute to the cooling system for the main sanctuary. As Christians, we’re not into searching out other religions, but we can always appreciate good architecture! (Plus, it was free!)

After that it was back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep.

We checked out a good part of the Main Bazaar area where we were staying as well. Griffin got his camera bag fixed by a local taylor for about $1 (U.S.) and we frequented a great restaurant with killer Indian Thali. Yum!

From here, it was back on the train to Agra, home of the Taj!

Travel Points:

Hotel: While in New Delhi, we stayed at Hotel Payal, which we actually do not recommend. The rooms were fairly clean, had air conditioning, and wifi, but it was the service and staff attitude that really put us off. Being tourists in India, especially when one of us has blonde hair, means we elicit a LOT of attention from just about everyone. Touts LOVE to see us coming. For this reason, we try to get our hotels to come to the train station to pick us up, thus keeping us from being ripped off by people who think we don’t know any better. When I asked for a pick up from Hotel Payal, the guy told me to “ask someone” when we arrived at the train station. This basically invites every con artist around to make up wild stories about our Hotel having burned down in the night, being full because of a festival, or that it’s only for prostitutes and druggies. It took us more than an hour to find the place, which is only about 10 minutes away from the train station. When we arrived, we were not even acknowledged at the front desk until the guy behind the counter finished cleaning and dusting back there. Forget the fact that it’s 6:30 in the morning and we’re still carrying our giant backpacks… Let’s DUST everything. We were asked for our passports, but the guy told us he wouldn’t be able to check us in yet as his scanner was broken and he would need to go down the street to copy our passports. When I expressed some concern about that, he became impatient with me and starting yelling at me, demanding our passports. I reluctantly gave in and gave him my passport, which he tossed on the counter and walked away to show us to our room. The door was wide open to the outside and guests were coming and going. I took the passport and placed it on the chair behind the counter so it wouldn’t get stolen. Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we were given a room to wait in for the next 4 hours until it was. We were asked to pay for the wifi, despite it being advertised as free on the booking site. We refused and were given the password for free. Finally, at around Noon, they said our room still wasn’t ready, but we could stay in the one we had been waiting in… for a higher price. Again, I refused this and told him we would just wait until our room was ready. He gave in and gave us the upgrade for free… the only highlight of that place. Please do yourself a favor and do not stay here.

Transportation: Train trips can be booked online at cleartrip.com. Be warned, the trains fill up weeks in advanced and should be booked accordingly. For more information about the trains, including types of cars and train routes, check out seat61.com and click on India under the Asia category on the left.

Daily Budget: $45.00 for both of us including lodging, food, transport and activities.

As we have traveled around Asia, we have had a lot of fun visiting different temples.  Now you may think it a little strange to have a lot of fun visiting a temple but it is not the temples that were the fun part.  You see at a lot of the temples around Asia have monkeys hanging out at them.  Why?  Well from our understanding, in Hinduism, monkeys are considered holy and even represent or may be gods.

These moneys are very cute, smart, curious and most of all sneaky.  If you have any food, or even just some bright/reflective objects on your person and are not careful the monkeys will take it from you.  Many time we would be feeding one monkey a banana and a greedy monkey who was perhaps his partner-in-crime would come over and steal our entire bag of bananas from right out of our other hand.

Hope you enjoy the monkey postures.  We enjoyed encountering these cute and amazing animals.

Click image to view larger size or to purchase a print

Monkey Forest – Ubud, Indonesia

The Amber Fort – Jaipur, India

Monkey Temple – Kathmandu, Nepal

Batu Caves – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Photos taken using Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF] and Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens

Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA.

For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.

Photo taken using Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF]

On our last day in Bali, I drove the scooter over to Uluwatu Temple on the West Coast of the Bukit Penensula for some final sunset pictures.

I got there just as the light was starting to change and took this shot of the cliffs with the mainland of Bali in the background. If you look closely, you will notice some of Bali’s mountains created from volcanoes on the right side in the distance.

As you can see, the water was just beautiful and you can see right to the bottom until it drops off about 50 feet from the shore. We really enjoyed our time in Bali. The people are kind, the scenery is beautiful and the weather is warm. We even met with a Facebook friend from Australia for the first time and made some Balinesian friends for life and were invited to their wedding. We hope to return to Bali in the future and catch back up.

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After a good night’s sleep, we headed up to meet our hostel owners and have some breakfast. Krishna, the hostel guy not the Hindu god, gave us the run of the city over eggs and toast.

We decided to book a full day tour of the city with Krisha for the following day, meanwhile taking care of some errands.

Our tour day started early as we made our way to the Ganges River for a sunrise boat ride. As you approach the Ganges, there are several things you will notice immediately. Although the Ganges is the holiest river in India, it isn’t treated very well. Garbage swells in every inlet and touts are everywhere trying to sell you some good karma. As Christians, we’re not too worried about karma, but found it funny when a girl became frustrated with us for not buying her flowers and stated, “Whatever. It’s your life.”

Cows are considered holy by Hindu people, and so are permitted to rome the whole of the country freely, including cooling off in the Ganges. Somehow, I always thought that was a myth, but I can assure you it isn’t. So, in the garbage filled river cows drift happily by.

As our boat driver rowed us silently up river, we approached one of several important places in the life of a devout Hindu. They are called Ghats, or more specifically “burning Ghats.” A Ghat is an embankment along the river, but a burning Ghat is basically a holy crematorium. As a tout told us vying for a guide job, “Burning is learning. Cremation is Education.” According to Hindu beliefs, reincarnation occurs over and over until a person dies in the holy city of Varanasi and is cremated at a burning Ghat along the Ganges river. Unless they have great Karma, this is the only way for a Hindu to finally reach Heaven.

You can see the smoke from the Ghats from several hundred yards away and as you get closer you can see the fires burning. Usually there are at least five bodies burning and several more families waiting with the body of their loved one. The families don’t seem sad at all and instead seem happy and relieved as they go about preparing the body and fire.

We were told that in some cases the bodies aren’t burned, but are simply rowed out to the middle of the river and unceremoniously dropped in. In those cases, the person can still reach heaven, even though they weren’t cremated. Examples include the bodies of children, pregnant women, victims of leprosy or snake bites, holy men and those who commit suicide. We did witness a body being loaded up onto a boat, but we got distracted by a guy trying to sell us something, and then we noticed the boat coming back to shore without the body. When we asked our boat guide about that, he said, “snake bite.”

So, let’s see what we’ve encountered so far. Trash, Cows, ashes and dead bodies… oh, and one more thing… people bathing in the river. Now, I know that this river is “holy,” but bathing in there? I’m quite sure I wouldn’t be caught dead in that river.

After the sunrise river tour, we headed back to our hostel for breakfast. Then headed back out check out the rest of the city.

Our first stop was the largest university in the area, Banaras Hindu University. The university is beautiful and has a unique arched campus. The temple in the front serves as a place of worship for its students.

Next we headed to the Durga Temple, also known as the Monkey Temple. We love a good monkey temple! Hundreds of monkeys came to greet us and stalked everyone for food. Note: no cameras or bags allowed inside.

We visited a local silk factory where we watched as some workers used a loom to hand make embroidered bedding. We were taken to a shop and shown the beautiful silk products available to purchase. Sadly, we couldn’t fit any of the duvet covers into our backpacks. =)

Afterward, we were pretty tired due to our early start time, so we passed up another temple and headed back to our hostel.

The next day we boarded the Indian Railway for New Delhi.

Stay tuned for Part II of our Train Tour of Northern India.

See more of our picture from Varanasi in our SmugMug gallery here.

Travel Points:

Hotel: We stayed at the Sabh Laxmi Guest House in Varanasi. It’s truly a family run place. The food is great and the staff are extremely friendly and even game me a free Henna Tattoo. It’s not that clean, but what it lacks in cleanliness is makes up for in friendliness. The owner knows that the place is run down, and he’s working on it as he has the money to do so. Overall, we recommend it.

Transportation: Train trips can be booked online at cleartrip.com. Be warned, the trains fill up weeks in advanced and should be booked accordingly. For more information about the trains, including types of cars and train routes, check out seat61.com and click on India under the Asia category on the left.

Daily Budget: Our daily budget in Varanasi was around $40 (U.S.) for 4 nights and 3 1/2 days. This includes the following: hostel, taxi from the Nepal boarder to Gorakhpur, train from Gorakhpur to Varanasi, full day tour, all admissions and fees, rickshaws and food.

Photo taken using Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens

While touring North India via the Indian Railroad, we spent some time enjoying the beautiful and detailed architecture of the walled city of Jaisalmer witch is located about 100 miles west of the Pakistan border. While there, we made an afternoon trip out to the Sam Sand Dunes about 1 hour away for sunset.

The dunes are not as expansive as we had hoped and, due to the culture of India, were littered with trash. They were also spotted with people trying to get paid for singing & dancing or selling camel rides, cold drinks or strangely, something we would never really crave in the desert from our experience – potato chips.

Because of all this, it was not as beautiful or as peaceful as we might have hoped a subset sand dunes visit would be, but it was a unique Indian experience all the same and, we felt, worth a visit if you are in the area.
The picture here is of one of the dancing women with a boy selling potato chips from his bag walking towards some other travelers to offer their services in hopes of making some money for the day.

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What sort of things do you bring on board a plane when you travel?

Excluding gum and travel pillows, the use of certain travel necessities, namely electronics, will probably be accompanied with the need to use earphones of some kind.

For me, this is easier said than done.

Cue all crying babies… now.

Whenever I board a moving vehicle of any public nature, particularly for long voyages, I’m pretty sure there is an all-call announcement for any parents of small, fussy children to please gather around me and commence making noise. Also, loud talkers and snorers will sometimes fill in the gaps if there are any open seats near me that have not been taken by tantrum-throwing toddlers.

Since I knew we were going to be on lots of flights and trains, etc., I decided to go ahead with some noise canceling earbuds. I got them several months ago and tested them out immediately. I was amazed at what I could hear… (music), and not hear… Korean middle schoolers screaming their way down the hall. I even periodically missed bells and would be startled to look up and find my students had already begun entering the classroom. The earbuds I chose were the Audio Technica ATH ANC23. The price was right at about $70 US.

One problem: when listening to long e-books or on trans-Atlantic flights, my ears started to hurt from the shape and weight of the buds. Noise canceling earbuds, at least the kind we have, come with a two inch block in the middle of the cord to switch the function on or off. The silicon tips on the ear buds weren’t cutting it. The weight of the switch would occasionally pull from my pocket or shirt and tug the earbuds out of my ears, which was not pleasant and constantly having to reseat my earbuds was super annoying.

When Griffin ordered his earbuds, he experienced the same. So, we began looking for some more comfortable tips to bridge the gap between peace and pain.

We found the answer in Comply Foam, super comfortable foam tips to fit any buds.

There are several different options when it comes to Comply Foam tips. Do you want cylindrical shaped or spherical? Color or wax guard? Griffin and I both landed on the cylindrical shaped tips with a wax guard to keep them clean.

The tips feel a lot like your standard foam earplugs. They squish to get them into your ear and then slowly expand for a tight fit. The greatest thing I found about the Comply Foam tips is the added noise canceling effect. By providing a tighter seal inside my ear, less outside noise gets in, letting me enjoy more of the sound quality I was missing before.

They are extremely comfortable and don’t hurt my ears, even after long hours of usage. And, when something tugs they don’t pop out of my ears, allowing me to keep listening with no need to stop what I doing to put my earbuds back in.

As a matter of fact, my luxury item, if you will, while trekking to Everest Base Camp, was my iPod. Having some music to listen to relaxed me during the tough hikes and kept me from stressing. It may have also saved my husband’s life by keeping me from throwing him from the mountain for dragging me up there. On more than one occasion, my entire iPod would be worked out of my pocket and drop to my feet during a steep climb, but the Comply Foam tips held steady and I never even needed to adjust them. With Comply Foam, I feel like the earbuds work how they were intended, and maybe even a little better.

So, the next time a loud-talking mother and snoring father with a screaming baby surround me on a plane, I’ll just squish in my Comply Foam tips and cancel them right out of my world. Ahhh…

Any questions about these reviews?  Please see our Ethics Statement.

Photo taken using Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens

We arrived in Bali, Indonesia with the intention to stay for one month in the best house we could find for about $200.

After some searching we quickly learned that if we wanted air conditioning and internet we would need to raise our budget. After a couple days of searching we had found three really good options and finally made a decision on one house that was a little more than we wanted to spend, but had everything we wanted plus a daily maid! The house was out in the countryside about 30 minutes from the main tourist area of Kuta, which we liked, and about 5 minutes from the coast. We paid $435 to the owner, who was leaving the next day to teach Paragliding in Nepal, and moved our things in. After a couple nights of settling in and exploring the nearby area we came to this cliffside beach just around sunset. The tide was so low that the outer sandbar was taking all the impact of the waves and the surface nearest to us was as smooth as glass. I zoomed my lens all the way in and captured this sunset scene. I am so thankful and blessed to be able to witness such beautiful and amazing sights like this.

The things you can see sticking up are posts that the local villagers tie ropes to in order to collect seaweed for eating and selling. There are many shacks right along the beach at the base of the cliffs on this side of the island where the local people seem to be living the same way they have been for centuries and taking what the sea provides for their health and sustenance.

P.S. If you click on the image, you can see a similar picture taken at the same time and location. Hope you enjoy!

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For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.

Photo taken using Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens

While in Varanasi, India, we were told about a religious ceremony that happens every night in one of the ghats on the Ganges. We decided to go check it out one night and were quite surprised at what a production it was.

There were 7 young men all performing the same rituals while music and bells were join on in the background. The ceremony starts around 7PM and last about an hour. If you come to the ghat before 6PM you can usually get “free” seats at on of the temples for a good view but will be asked to give a donation at the end. We decided not to go for the donation seats, but were able to get a decent views even after showing up at about 5 minutes after 7.
Valerie has written a post about Varanasi that we will post soon, but for now, let’s just say it is a very interesting city.

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For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.

Okay, I had to. Sorry.

On our way to Nepal, we couldn’t find a flight that didn’t stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, so we figured why not check it out for a few days.

After checking into our hostel, one of the cleanest we’ve stayed in, we headed out for some food. We got a good night’s sleep and then headed out to see the sights the next morning.

We started out with a visit to the Batu Caves. The caves were located at the top of some pretty steep stairs, with monkeys jumping all around as you climb them. We stopped off at a side cave to check out the cute monkeys, which ended up being more interesting than the Batu Caves themselves. We did check out the temple located in the caves and then actually went back to take some more photos of the monkeys. =)

Click any image to view large and/or purchase.

After going to view an old train station, we headed to the National Mosque. We turned up only about 30 minutes before scheduled tourist times, so we took a walk around and Griffin took some photos outside.

When prayer time was over for the Muslims participating at the mosque, we headed inside to have a look. While Griffin was dressed appropriately in pants, (and so was I),I needed to don a tourist rental robe. I was dressed from head to toe, with only my face visible. We were free to walk around the mosque with exception of the main prayer room in the center. The mosque was beautifully built and surrounded by pools and stained glass. It was a nice breezy reprieve from the sweltering heat outside.

Finally it was getting dark, so we headed to see the beautiful Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world. These towers, completed in 1998, stand 88 stories high. Beautifully lighted, they are the centerpiece of the Kuala Lumpur night time skyline. We took photos and mostly just took time to marvel.

We took a little time to rest the following day as we waited for a red-eye flight to depart at 3:15am. Surprise! It was delayed by about 12 hours. After sleeping in the airport, we were finally onward…

We’re happy with our decision to check out Kuala Lumpur, and hoping to view more of Malaysia at another time. So, if you’re ever in the area, consider a stop over to check out the beautiful sites…and the cute monkeys!

Travel Points:

Hotel: In KL, we were lucky enough to find Serai Inn, an incredibly clean and friendly place, not too far from the subway station. It’s within walking distance of pretty much everything you want to see in Kuala Lumpur, except the Batu Caves. We enjoyed talking with the staff and they were also nice enough to lend us a room while were were trying to get everything straightened out with our flight.

Transportation: In KL, we mostly just walked everywhere. There is a subway system which is pretty nice and the people at the ticket counters can help you get where you need to go. If you want to check at the Batu Caves, then you need the Number 11 bus, which runs about every 20 minutes or so.

Daily Budget: Our daily budget for KL was $34 US, for 4 days, beginning when we arrived on the afternoon of Sept. 29th, until we departed on the afternoon of Oct. 1st. This included all lodging, food, transportation and tickets.

Photo taken using Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens

While in India, we took a trip to the city of Agra to visit the Taj Mahal.  Valerie and I have always wanted to see this amazing building and we were not disappointed.  It is by far one of the most beautiful buildings we have seen in our lives!

I love the symmetry and elegance of it, the story behind it, the mostly white color and the detailed inliad carvings throughout.

The entrance fee was the highest we have encountered at 750 Rupees ($15) per person, but it is a sight that should not be missed if you visit India and was worth it in the end.

We happened to be visiting Agra right around the time of the full moon and were also excited to learn that for the two nights before and after the full moon as well as the night of the full moon, you can purchase moonlight viewing tickets for the same rate as the day tickets.  We went the last night of our stay in Agra, 2 nights before the full moon.  We would recommend doing this if you have a chance.  The experience was very peaceful and something special.  It was only us, two other foreigners and an Indian family when we went, which was a stark contrast to the hundreds upon hundreds of tourists we had visited with in the daytime.  It was very dark even with the almost full moon shining on the Taj from behind us, but just to sit there and listen to the far away sounds of an Arab prayer call and the crickets while looking at the Taj was quite special and peaceful.

How To Get Moon Viewing Tickets

Moon viewing tickets cannot be purchased at the main ticket gates of the Taj.  They must be purchased a day in advance from the Archeological Survey Of India Headquarters in Agra.  It is a pink building about a 3 KM drive from the Taj and should cost about 150 Rupees for a return trip.  You will need your passport to purchase the tickets.

NOTE TO PHOTOGRAPHERS: No tripods of any kind are allowed in the Taj Mahal grounds.  In the daytime you can usually get an exception to this by going to the Archeological Survey Of India Headquarters Office in Agra a day before and asking for permission and the proper paper work.  For night viewing you are not allowed a tripod and, as far as I could find, can’t get special permission for it at all.  You are only allowed one camera per person and no video cameras for the night viewing.  On the day viewing I had already put my larger Velbon UT 43D travel tripod in the locker and come back though the security check when they found my Joby cell phone tripod I had forgotten was in my bag and they made me take that to the locker as well.  The Locker is about a 8 minute walk round-trip from the entrance, so it is a bit of a pain to go to and get back from.  Please leave your tripod in your hotel or put it in the lockers before trying to enter.  They will find it and make you do a locker run otherwise.  The night viewing, from our experience, was too dark for pictures with anything but full manual settings and, since no tripods are allowed, you must get creative with the wobbly barricade railings and ground in order to get a decent shot.

Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA. For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.

Do you know some great orphanage in Thailand that could use some English teachers and a professional photographer? Perhaps you know of a church in need of some able hands in Africa. Maybe you know of a local or international non-profit that could use a logo, brochure design or website?  We would love to help them, but we need to know about them first.  If you know of any organizations that are in need of some manual labor, helping hands or even some of our more professional skills, please let us know by contacting us here.

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We’d love to consider helping your organization or a good one that you know of.  Here are the skills we can offer for free:

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Do you know someone that lives in a foreign country? One of the biggest ways we can save money while traveling is to stay with friends (or friends of friends) and family. We love meeting new people and always enjoy talking to people who live in other countries. We have met and stayed with some new friends through couch surfing, etc. and have really enjoyed those experiences, but it’s always nice to know that you and your host have a friend in common. If you know someone who would be willing to host us for a night or two and you wouldn’t mind sharing their name, country and city here, we’ll get back with you if we will be heading their way. Most of the money we save by staying with friends and family will go back into our volunteer budget, so you or your friends would be helping us out and allowing us to help others in the future. Thanks so much in advance for taking a minute to think of anyone who might be able to host us in a foreign country and letting us know here.

Photo taken using Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens

As some of you may have known, about two weeks ago we attempted a trek to Everest Base Camp in Nepal.  We ended up encountering a snow storm which kept us from actually making our goal, and Valerie also came down with a case of HAPE requiring us to take a helicopter back to Lukla after trekking for nine days and hiking to within an hour of base camp.  I am working on a post about the whole experience which I will share later, but wanted to share one of the many beautiful views from that area.

The Himalayas are amazingly beautiful and seem to have the cleanest air and water I have seen in the world.  It’s hard to get a bad picture up there and at every step we were amazed by the ever  changing breathtakingly beautiful scenery.

This picture was taken on day 5 of our trek shortly before driving in Tengboche for the night.  It is a picture of one of the many Buddhist Stupas along the trail with the beautifully and sometimes deadly summit of Ama Dablam standing at 22,349 feet high in the background.

TECHNICAL INFO: This picture was taken using a setting called Auto Exposure Bracketing which is available on many SLR and some point and shoot cameras.  This allows me to quickly take three differently exposed images – one over exposed, one under exposed and one with the correct exposure.   I used the Velbon UT 43D provide to us by One Source Network for stabilization to make sure here would be no movement between or during the time the picture were being taken.  I then used NIK Software’s HDR Effect Pro to merge all the exposures into one image which is more similar to what the human eye can see than what the camera is usually able to capture.

Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA. For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.

Yeah, underwear.  Why?  Well, it’s pretty important when you think about it.

Underwear doesn’t get too much attention until you’re preparing to make do with only what you can roll up and fit into your backpack for a year.  So, it may sound strange, but we did a lot of research about the subject.  To the shock and horror of our friends and family who learned of it, we chose to go with wool underwear.

WHAT?  WOOL UNDERWEAR?  ARE YOU CRAZY?

That was pretty much the response we got.  But we’re not talking about your grandmother’s wool knit caps here.  I wouldn’t want to put on crocheted undies, either. We’re talking about fine Merino Wool.  The bottom line, so to speak, is that merino wool is not itchy.  As a matter of fact, it’s some of the softest stuff you can put on.

So, why go with wool instead of other, more readily endorsed intimates?  Here are some facts about merino wool underwear that may have you giving your skivvies more scrutiny.

First, they are extremely comfortable.  Like I said before, they are not remotely itchy and they actually have a little smoother feel to them than cotton.  Comfort is the highest priority when it comes to underthings, as I think we can all agree.  They are also temperature regulating, which means warmth to me and coolness and breathability to Griffin.

Next on a backpacker’s list is care.  Sink laundry is not ideal, but it is sometimes necessary.  Hanging wool items to dry over night is all you need and, get this, they even come out wrinkle free!  Who knew?  Plus, wool is a long lasting and tough material, so I’m not going to need to mention my unmentionables to some street vender in India.

Now comes the amazing part.  Merino wool is naturally anti-microbial.  Why is that important?  Because it means that your underwear naturally fights odors.  Let me say that again:  Your panties will protect you from pungency!  I hate to tell you this, but that’s already been put to the test on our trip.  While trekking to Everest Base Camp, showers were a luxury.  For those that know me, you know that feeling dirty is something I absolutely hate.  It was nice to know that my undergarments were fighting dirtiness on my behalf.  Plus, they are moisture wicking, which is great for exercise, like trekking, or just making sure you’re comfortable on hot days exploring a new city.

After a lot of searching for the perfect panties (and boxers), we landed at PULSE Activewear, a Denver, Colorado based company specializing in wool undergarments.  What first appealed to us about PULSE Activewear was the field testing they have done to ensure the comfort and performance of their products.  They tested their designs on athletes before finalizing the product line.  Their materials come from New Zealand, world renowned for its merino wool, but the products are actually manufactured in the U.S.A.  Pulse Activewear had the pieces and designs we were looking for and at reasonable prices.

We each selected three pairs of underwear and I also decided to try out the V-Neck Sports Bra.  I’m serious when I tell you, I may never be able to wear synthetic underwear again.  We’ve both been impressed with the level of comfort that we’ve found and Griffin, in typical guy fashion, likes that they need fewer washings, if you get what I’m saying.

PULSE Activewear Men's Classic Boxer Shorts

PULSE Active Wear V-Neck Sports Bra

The only, and I do mean only, negative we have found is solely cosmetic.  The lighter colors tend to attract dyes from other fabrics, which left our beige briefs with black and blue splotches.  It doesn’t really matter since no one will see them, but you should either stick to dark colors, or be very careful with what you wear and wash with the lighter colors.

Throughout our travels, I plan to let you know about which travel products we’ve tried and which ones we recommend.  Well, tried and true, the wool underwear from Pulse Activewear is something I would recommend to everyone who wears underwear.  And if you don’t wear underwear, I don’t need to know…

P.S. Go like their Facebook page and then contact them for a 25% off discount on their products.  Tell them Valerie and Griffin sent you;-)

Any questions about these reviews?  Please see our Ethics Statement.

Photo taken using Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF]

For our last week in Korea, we were excited to have some family and a friend come visit as we took a final tour of Korea with them.  We visited the markets of Busan, the historical temples and palaces of Gyongju, Our home and schools in Ulsan and did some sightseeing in Seoul before heading out.  In Busan we stayed in a hotel right next to Nampo Dong Market and the Jalgashi Fish Market.  One of the Ajjumas (middle aged woman) in Jalgachi was kind enough to pose for me as I snapped a picture of her fish.

We are already missing many things about Korea.  First and foremost we miss the friends we left behind there.  Some other, much less meaningful things we miss are fast internet, and reliable power/infrastructure which we have found to be lacking in Nepal and India in many cities so far.

Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA.

For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.

For us, leaving our home in Atlanta, meant leaving behind NorthPoint Church as well. Griffin worked on the IT staff at the church and Valerie had attended NorthPoint or one of its satellite campuses for many years.

We were extremely happy to find Jeonha Church, which happened to be about a 5 minute walk from our apartment. No, it’s nothing like NorthPoint, but we have really grown to love the huge church with a tiny English worship service inside.

On Sundays we begin our service at 2pm, since that’s when our worship area becomes available. We sing the same songs we have encountered at churches back home and have the same general program. But, as you look around the room, you will notice one important thing: diversity.

On any given Sunday at Jeonha Church, you’re likely to encounter five or six different nationalities represented. We regularly meet people from The Philipines, Brazil, South Africa, New Zealand, England and, of course, the U.S. and Canada. Not to mention, our Burmese pastor, who speaks 4 languages fluently.

We have been privileged to meet so many great friends through our church here, knowing that these are friends we will keep in touch with long after we all leave Korea. We are especially close to our wonderful pastor, Azel, with whom we also made the year long journey to becoming Taekwondo blackbelts.

We feel extremely fortunate and blessed to have gotten to attend church here for the last two years, and we hope to visit again in the future.

Photo taken using Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens

One of the fun surprises while visiting Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was a half day trip to the Batu Caves. These Caves are located about an hour outside of the city and can be easily reached by public bus number 11 for about $1 per person. The limestone caves are quite unique looking and one of them even has a Hindu Temple in it, while the other can be explored for a fee and it is full of bats. What made these caves especially fun for us was the monkeys that hang out all around the entrances and on the stairs up to the caves. They are very cute and we found out that monkeys really are curious just like the monkey, named George, we read about as children.
This week’s travel photo is of one of one of the monkeys eating a Rambutan Fruit. I liked the way he seemed to be hoarding the fruit from the other monkeys and the contrast of the macaque, the fruit and the blue textured wall in the background.

Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA.

For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.

Photo taken using Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF]

After a brief, but enjoyable time in Malaysia, we headed out to Kathmandu, Nepal where we are getting ready to climb to Everest Base Camp. We had initially given ourselves a few days to get everything in order and then head up the mountain, but Griffin’s camera broke on our last day in Malaysia. It has some kind of software error and all the repair shops in Kathmandu are closed due to the biggest festival of the year here, so we have been in the city for about a week, so far. Kathmandu is an interesting city to explore. Lots of noises, sights, and smells, but not all of them very peaceful or enjoyable to put it lightly. There is a lot of history to be seen and some of the buildings have real charm to them. The people here, from our experience so far, are very kind and helpful and even in the touristy area of Thamel where our hostel is, seem to genuinely appreciate and like talking to us as visitors and friends.
This week’s travel photo is of the man in charge of selling candles at one of the many Hindu temples sprinkled throughout Kathmandu. I chose to photograph him because I felt like he had a kind look to him and the lighting from the candles seems to light up his features and age nicely. I wonder what sort of things he has seen in his lifetime and the changes he has seen in Kathmandu since his birth. The Hindu devotees give a donation to the candle lighter and then put the candle in front of one of the temple idols, possibly saying a prayer in the process. Sorry, I don’t know much about Hinduism, so feel free to let us know more info in the comments if you know more about it.
This photo was taken with the Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF] lens which is the first wide angle lens I have had and I am really enjoying it. I feel like it pulls the scene into the camera and shows more of what you can see in reality than an 18mm lens can. Hope you enjoy.

Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA.

For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.

If there is one thing an expat can appreciate, it’s returning “home” for a visit.

However, after being away for more than a year in one of the world’s healthiest countries, we were more than a little shocked at the sites we saw when were stateside for three weeks in September 2010 last year.

Don’t get me wrong, Griffin and I appreciate good food, and both acknowledge that we have some pounds we’d like to drop, but it’s so disheartening to see the health of America declining so rapidly.

In Korea, on the other hand, you’ll be hard pressed to find an obese person anywhere.  As the origin of the world’s leading martial art, Tae Kwon Do, along with all the beautiful and well used-hiking trails, exercise is made a priority here.

So is healthy food.  Vegetables, fresh and ripe, garner every table at every meal.  We were surprised and happy to learn that a Korean national food, Kimchi, is listed in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) top five healthiest foods.

Kimchi, that spicy, fermented, national treasure, is eaten three times a day by most Koreans.  According to the WHO, this vegetable and red pepper paste based food is high in fiber, but low in calories, and makes up for 80% of your daily need of Vitamin C and Carotene.  It’s also rich in vitamin A, thiamine (B₁), riboflavin (B₂), calcium, and iron, and contains a number of healthy bacteria.  In addition, it’s extremely good for your immune system and has been proven to fight off viruses and infections.

We’ve often wondered about the process of making Kimchi, and after more than a year, we finally got to experience it first hand.

Thanks to the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education, we were sent to a one day “Kimchi School” at the Onggi Festival in Ulsan.

There, we were assigned a helper, and given all the ingredients and tools we needed.  We were surprised that it is such a hands-on process.

After mixing some oil, ground red pepper and garlic together with some chopped onions and radish, we painstakingly smoothed the mixture between each leaf of a special cabbage plant.  Our helper then rolled and wrapped our edible artwork into a picture perfect breeding ground for the helpful bacteria that will ferment the dish and give it the tangy flavor it needs, along with the added nutritional factors Kimchi is known for.  The plants were carefully set into our handy clay pot, and we were told to set them outside for about three days to let them age a little before bringing them in to refrigerate.

We each made three Kimchi cabbages.  (One of which was donated to a local nursing home by each participant.)  This took us about an hour once we got underway.  However, we’ve been told that Korean women make Kimchi only once per year.  I have no idea how long that would take, but I know Americans should give it a try!

Thanks, Korea, for making the world a healthier place, one spicy cabbage leaf at a time.

We hope you like the pictures.

Travel Photo Of The Week: Looking Up at the Petronas Towers Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Click to view larger size

Photo taken using Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF]

The first stop on our around the world trip after we left Korea was Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which is home to the tallest twin buildings buildings in the world – the Petronas Towers. We spent about three day in Malaysia and really enjoyed it. Some of the highlights of our trip were seeing the Petronas Towers of course, seeing cute monkeys at the Batu Caves, Enjoying great Indian, Malay and Chinese food and just walking around exploring the city. We had not planned to go to Kuala Lumpur, but had a stop over and decided to extend it on our way to Nepal. We were glad we decided to stay a few days and really enjoyed exploring some of Malaysia and meeting some very kind people as well.

For more beautiful pictures of Malaysia and many other places in the world, check out my friend Trey Ratcliff’s site here. I think you’ll enjoy what you see.

Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA.

For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.