Top 10 Lists

Although the trip is over, we have fond memories and loads of photos to remember it by. As a quick summary of the highlights, we present our top ten best and worst moments.

Best Moments (in no particular order):
1.   Friendly's restaurant in Hue, Vietnam
2.   Angkor Wat and surroundings in Laos
3.   Sauna experiences for $1
4.   Opium Museum in Northern Thailand
5.   Mud bath in Nha Trang, Vietnam
6.   Taj Mahal, India
7.   Elephant camp, Lao
8.   Staying at Le Meridian in Thailand
9.   Seeing family and friends along the way (David, Priscilla, everyone in Israel)
10. Hiking in Anapurna mountains in Nepal

Worst Moments (in no particular order):
1.  Bus ride from Chiang Mai to Pai
2.  Noisy/aggressive drivers in Vietnam's big cities
3.  Overnight bus to Nha Trang, Vietnam
4.  French tourist in Lao
5.  Filth and contamination in India
6.  Marc's GI problems in Nepal while hiking
7.  Travel back to Kathmandu
8.  Indian embassy in Chiang Mai
9.  Punkass in Nepal
10.Vietnamese local trying to scam us on his motorbike

Thanks for partaking in our journey. We especially enjoyed your comments, knowing that although we were far away, we had reached you, and with your comments -- you reached us.

Sharon & Marc

Familiar Faces At Long Last

Entry 44:
Sometimes you can't get the best flight times to where you're going. Case in point, our flight to Tel-Aviv departed around midnight. We touched down around 3am. Like zombies, we walked through the airport and found our way to a cab. Later that day, after sleeping in comfortable surroundings, washing our clothes, and generally lounging around, we had dinner with Keren and Ima. It was great to see family after being on the road. This part of the trip was all about familiar faces.

The next day we drove up to Mitzpe Alummot and continued from there for a sightseeing venture to the church on top of Har Tavor. There were great views, both inside and out:

After 4 months on the road, it was time to switch to a slower pace and also detox the body. For the next several days, we would only eat raw vegan food and fruit/vegetable juice.

As soon as we recharged the batteries, we headed back to Tel Aviv. Since it is so rare that we're ever in Israel for Sharon's birthday, we were excited to go out and celebrate in style. We chose the Derby restaurant where we met Keren for a fish dinner. We had fun joking around with the waitress who was also from South Florida.

We wasted no time before visiting friends. We met Sam, Ofira, Ayelet, and Eli for dinner at a restaurant on the fashionable Rothchild Street. The next day we met Yaniv and Debra (Yaniv is Sharon's childhood friend whom she hadn't seen in ages) for lunch and Mora, Shlomi, and their baby for dinner. Meeting people has never revolved around so many meals as it does when in Israel.

For as long as we've known each other, we've heard of these epic 4x4 adventures captained by Sharon's cousins Asa and Elana. Finally, we managed to get a sneak peak into what one may look like. Sharon's uncle, Amnon, picked us up and drove up to Asa's house where we loaded the vehicle and set off to Kfar Kish. We spent a few hours driving up and down the lush green hills of the Galilee. We then picked a nice spot for lunch and dined in style behind the truck.

We made our way up to Alummot, where dinner would be hosted at the Mintz residence. Since we were coming up along with one uncle and two cousins, my parents wanted to invite the rest of the family. And so - we had a bit of a family reunion up there that night. Alek and Raya came up from Kiryat Gat; Dikla and Pushkin drove up from Ramat Aviv.

After dinner, we spent hours on the couch listening to Pushkin tell tall tales about his colorful life. Along with these were some dirty jokes translated into English for Marc's sake.

It was time to head back to Tel Aviv where we got to spend time with Orly and Abe. A special visitor came all the way from New York - Sharon's cousin Eitan. We got to hang out with him at Orly's house for a few hours.

As a ritual, we visit one of our favorite eateries whenever we are in Israel. Dr. Shakshuka is where it's at for any meal of the day. We had breakfast there and then walked off the meal in the surrounding streets of Yaffo. That night we visited yet another one of Sharon's cousins - Limor. We got to watch her son's Bar Mitzvah video as we couldn't be there in person.

Other than visiting people and eating, we like to get some culture in while in Israel. We decided to see something new and headed to Beit Bialik, the house-turned-museum of one of Israel's most famous children's authors/poets, Chaim Nahman Bialik.

We were supposed to see a nearby museum as well, but it turns out it was under construction when we got there. Instead, we headed to Shenkin, a hip area walking distance from the museum. We hit up a falafel place nearby that was recommended to us by Elana, Falafel Benin, which was establish in 1955. Not a bad hole-in-the-wall.

Later that night, we were treated to a wonderful dinner (more for the company than the food) by Carmit and Amir. They even bought us a cake, which we gladly ate back at their abode while they told us stories about dates grown in the Israeli dessert. Thanks for the samples!

February 10th was election day. We went to Sharon's old high school and put in our vote for the next Prime Minister. We can't stay too serious for long, so we drove to see Keren and the kids for dinner that night.

We were treated to a capoera dance by the little ones:

See what we're missing by being in the US?

Getting back to cultural undertakings, we checked out the Diaspora Museum where we found miniature replicas of synagogues from all over the world:

We now had only a few more days before our flight back. We made sure to see as many more people as we could in that time. We met up with more of Sharon's cousins (or second cousins) - Kobi and Yifat (as well as their significant others) for dinner at Ramat Aviv Gimel. We met with Sharon, an old high-school friend whom I hadn't seen since that time. We hung out a bunch more with Orly and Abe, including at a Nurit Galron concert and on the beach.

We also checked out Nachlat Binyamin, a pedestrian mall near Shuk HaCarmel, for its artist fair together with Asa and Elana. We purchased a name placard for Marc's nephew Jacob.

On our final day, Ima treated us to lunch at Batya's on Dizengoff- a restaurant famous for its Eastern European cooking. And what a feast it was. We then drove to Orly's mom, Simcha, who lives nearby, for a quick visit. We were astonished to learn of her 2-year journey on foot from Uzbekistan to Israel when she was 5 years old. It sure makes us look like real wimps.

That night, we packed our bags for the last time and headed to the airport for our final flight. Four and a half month earlier, we started our journey on a 14-hour flight to Hong Kong and we were about to complete the final leg back to Los Angeles. It was Valentine's Day and so these two lovebirds snuggled in the back of an El Al jet and spent 15 hours reflecting on their time abroad.

For more photos, go to: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

At the Crossroads of Europe and Asia

Entry 43:

Believe it or not, it was quite refreshing to touch down in modern Istanbul after spending the last 3 months in the developing world. We cabbed over to Hotel Poem, which was in old Sultanahmet, a wonderful neighborhood of cobblestone streets and beautiful buildings. Most of Istanbul is a mix of modern and ancient buildings with a great streetcar network to carry locals and tourists alike around the city. Even though it was January and the temperature barely reached above 60 degrees F, we were happy to be in the cosmopolitan city.

Everone's heard the jokes about being a Turkish millionnaire, but the Turkish government has actually revalued its currency, the Lira. To make it even more confusing, the Euro is also a common currency and ATMs also dispense American Dollars. We were really happy to have held onto our cheap pocket calculator that we picked up in Vietnam.

Istanbul is an anciet city filled with historic places from both the Muslim world and the Christian world. The sights and sounds stand out.

1. Great architecture can be found in the famous mosques of the city (both inside and out):

2. Colorful artifacts:

3. The food experience: both tastes and sounds.

Ever since the authors of this blog got together six and a half years ago, they have been talking about one day owning their own stainless steel manual citrus juicer. For years they never purchased one, just waiting for the perfect one to present itself. Not any old juicer would do. It would have to be a real "heavy lifter." As we wandered down the streets of Istanbul, we found many vendors selling fresh pomegranate juice. We asked the owner of a nice juicer where he purchased his. He pointed us in the right direction and we headed to the Bazaar. After much investigation and negotiation, we were the proud owners of one heavy lifter. However, this presented us with a new problem...

How to get this thing back home. We roamed the isles in search of a cheap duffle bag. Lo and behold, Sharon spotted a symbolic duffel bag that could not be passed up. It carried the San Francisco 49ers logo. We thought it to be the perfect one for our needs. It was a good thing that we only had one more stop on our journey before heading back to California.

A trip to Turkey would be incomplete without the requisite "Turkish bath" experience. Our hotel staff recommended a particular hammam that has been around for centuries. For those of you that have spent time in the steam room of your local gym, you'll be surprise to learn that this was quite a different experience. After disrobing and wrapping yourself in a cloth, you make your way wearing your wooden slippers to the domed steam room. The majority of the room is a massive heated stone platform on which you lie to warm up. After 30 minutes or so, we were taken into a side room where we lay on stone beds and were scrubbed enthusiastically from head to toe with soapy water and sponges. This is how they used to bathe in the old days before showers were installed in the home. After the scrub down, we sat on the floor near a sink, filled up buckets with cold water, and cooled ourselves down by pouring them over our bodies.

Istanbul was quite an amazing place and a great introduction to the ancient culture of Turkey. We would certainly put it on our list of places to go back to, especially the far-reaching places off the beaten path.

For more photos on Istanbul, go to: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

Land of moustaches

Entry 42:
We landed at the airport in New Delhi, which was remarkably modern compared to others parts of the country we had seen.



We made our way to the taxi stand and after we felt somewhat confident that our driver might actually know where to go, we jumped into the car. As you might imagine, he basically had no clue where he was going. Fortunately, Sharon spotted the street name and after a couple of 3-point turns, we found ourselves in the lobby of the hotel.

Since we didn't have much time to waste, we headed for the elevated metro and went a few stops to the downtown area in an attempt to book our Delhi city tour and a private tour of the Taj Mahal. Wouldn't you know it - all the information found in our guidebook and online was outdated! But being resourceful, we managed to take care of business and find a wonderful travel agency, book our tours, and find a vegetarian thali restaurant right near our hotel.

Delhi is an enormous city. We spent just as much time in traffic as we did sightseeing. Our first stop on the city tour was Lakshmi Narayan Temple, a Hindi place of prayer that was architecturally beautiful.


Next, we hit the Lotus temple of Bahai. The grounds surrounding the main building were nicely manicured, but the building itself was in the shape of a lotus flower. Inside were rows of seats like you'd find in a temple or church. We were asked to take off our shoes and wait in line to enter. Once inside, we realized nothing was going on, and headed back out.

The Indira Ghandi Museum showcased letters and photographs of this assassinated former prime minister, which was interesting.

As all tours do, we ended up at a tourist trap (AKA shopping center) where we were herded like cattle inside for a display of "authentic" Indian handicrafts. We already knew the drill, so we stood outside instead. While we waited for our group, we noticed a local man pull out a cigarette and toss the empty package on the ground. Sharon kindly informed him that there was a trash bin no more than 5 feet from where he was standing. The man seemed embarrassed, thanked Sharon, and went to pick up his trash and deposit it in the appropriate place. Sharon proceeded to remind him that "it's your country," hoping that the one-person-at-a-time motto will catch on. Our guess is that they don't have the "Woodsy the Owl" public service campaign on Indian television.

The next day, our driver picked us up at approximately 5am for the four-hour drive to Agra. Even though it was 100 and something miles away, with all the traffic, it takes a long time to get there. Our first stop was Akbar's tomb. It was a beautiful building, but we chose to take a quick snapshot and continue to our main destination, as time was short.

On the way from Akbar's tomb we picked up our guide, Ram. When we reached the gate to purchase our admission tickets, our guide walked up to the window with us and somehow managed to get Marc in for free by showing his white cane. After going through the metal detector, we were inside the grounds and Ram told us the history of this memorial shrine.

When you first enter the grounds, you are not yet faced with the famous Taj Mahal building. Rather, you see another beautiful building and walk through it to enter into the courtyard of the Taj Mahal.

As you go through the arch, you are slowly exposed to more and more of the famous white structure. At first, you see just the main dome; then you see a set of pillars alongside it; and finally you see the whole picture:

After walking through the gardens, it was time to finally enter the building itself. For those of you who saw the film Slumdog Millionaire, you'll be disappointed to know that foreign tourists are actually given cloth foot covers to wear over their shoes while Indian tourists remove their shoes and walk barefoot. We guess that's why the foreign tourists pay the higher admission price.

Seeing the Taj Mahal is not an every day occurance. Consequently, we wanted to have a souveneir of our journey there. We asked some locals to take our photos. Without exception, all the pictures taken of us ended up being lopsided. Luckily, our tour guide was good with the camera...

We were impressed at the amazing handiwork displayed in the intricate stone inlay and carved marble walls. All in all, it's a long journey to get there, but it is really spectacular and worth seeing in person.

That night, we returned to the hotel around 10pm, but did not have much time to sleep as we needed to be at the airport around 3am. While this was to be our final night in India, there are some things we will never forget.

People have often asked us to describe our time in India and compare it to other parts of the world. Unfortunately, India can in no way, shape, or form be compared to any place on earth. So when we tell you the following idiosyncrasies, it is not meant to be judgmental, but rather for information purposes only:

1. Red puddles are sometimes found on the ground. These are not the result of colored rain. Rather, Indians chew bettlenut as a stimulant and then spit out red juice onto the ground. Red remnants can also be found on the chewer's teeth.

2. Bathrooms may be a rarity or an inconvenience in many places as we often saw men peeing against a wall out in public.

3. Indian men's dress code is drastically different from that in the West. We saw men wearing sequenced vests and our tour guide wore a pearl necklace around his neck.

4. Indians love to honk their car horns. When we asked one of our drivers about that, he mentioned that it a game to them. In fact, honking is encouraged on the road. Many vehicles have phrases such as "Horn Please" or "Blow Horn" (see below):

For more incredible pix, head to: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

India's Venice...Almost

Entry 41:

Being back in India may not have been such a culture shock after being in Nepal, except for the fact that Varanasi is not your average city. Its downtown area is comprised of a maze of alleyways that lead to the holy Ganges River. Each alley has a different purpose, or at least it once did. Each was related to a particular commerce once upon a time. Today, one of the most important ghats, or stairways leading to the water, is the one where cremations take place around the clock. Bodies of the dead are carried on stretchers down the narrow ghat until they reach the cremation site. The family then needs to purchase wood, which is charged by weight. The secret is to finding the right amount of wood so the body burns thoroughly, but that you don't overspend on unneeded wood.

Varanasi is called Kashi, or City of Illumination, by people coming here for a pilgrimage. It is called Banares in Poly language, the language of Buddha. It is surrounded by rivers on 3 sides - a liquid barrier to the holy city and is among the holiest cities for Hindus. Everyday 60,000 pilgrims come to Varanasi. They must stay a minimum of one night and are provided free accommodations and meals (money is provided by the rich). Indians strive to make pilgrimages there at least once in their lifetime to bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges. We watched people bathing, doing laundry, and sending cremated remains all into the same body of water.

To top it all off, there are many cows in Varanasi. They are also considered holy by the locals, so other than providing milk, they are not to be disturbed. We had an interesting first encounter with a cow when we arrived and were searching for our guest house. We found ourselves walking down a street when a cow charged toward us. As we had no where to go, being stuck between a store front and other people on the street, Sharon let our a scream. But, to our luck, the owner of the cow soon came running after it and redirected it elsewhere.

As is true for the rest of India, Varanasi was not a clean city. There was trash lying on the streets everywhere. After seeing the cows chomping on this rubbish, we decided it would be best to stay away from dairy drinks. Interestingly enough, the urine of cows is used for gallbladder surgery in Ayurvedic medicine.

No Lassi for us:

While we're on the subject of cleanliness, neither of us would never walk barefoot in the streets, especially in India. However, plenty of locals do. That is, they attend ceremonies at various temples nestled inside the narrow alleys. Because you must take your shoes off, people either have to ask someone to watch their shoes (which is not so efficient considering the numbers of people going to these temples as well as the cost involved), or leave their shoes at home. Most seem to go with the latter plan. This means they have to skip over cow dung and garbage on their way to temple.

Lucky for us, our friend Priscilla from New York planned to meet us in Varanasi. We accompanied her on a city tour, which included a boat ride along the Ganges early in the morning to watch the locals bathe.

We also ended up in a silk production factory where we were urged to purchase something, but were fortunate enough to watch how their beautiful art is hand made on the premises.

Some of our other stops on the city tour included the Temple Mother of India where a map of the entire country was laid in 3D on the ground; Varanasi University which we drove around; Monkey Temple (we weren't allowed to enter, however); Sarnath, an important Buddhist pilgrimate site where Buddha gave his first sermon.

.

The most unique aspect of our connection with Priscilla in Varanasi was our trip to the Smile Train Hospital. Priscilla works for an organization in NY that fundraises money for children in 3rd world countries suffering from cleft palate. The hospital's incredible work was featured in the Academy Award winning documentary short called Smile Pinki. We were fortunate to spend several hours with the hospital's head surgeon, Dr. Sabai, who showed us around, told us about the progress made, as well as what goals he has to expand in the future. It was touching to see these kids waiting with their families to have surgery, knowing that in a short time their lives would be different on so many levels. They'd appear like their peers, their speech would improve, as well as their self-esteem. All this for the price tag of a few hundred dollars and about 2 hours of surgery.

.

As we were walking through the alleyways one night, we came across a young man trying to get tourists to come listen to some Indian classical music. He told us there was no charge for the show, but donations would be collected at the end. After removing our shoes, we leaned up against the wall, sitting cross-legged on the floor. We were joined by one Russian tourist and when it appeared as if no other tourists would come in, the show began.

We were treated to a half hour of tabla and sitar (Indian musical instruments). We put a small donation in the bucket and resisted pressure to purchase the accompanying CDs.

Every night at precisely 7pm in the Main Ghat, an elaborate ceremony would take place. Spectators, including ourselves, sat on the stairs watching the ceremony with fire, music, and dance.

Varanasi is one place that cannot be recreated with words or photos. Anyone who has the least bit of interest to visit India, absolutely must include the holy city in their travel plans. Make sure to forego the fancy hotels in town and stay in one of the guest houses along the ghats. Here are some views from the rooftop of our guest house:

p.s. - don't drink the water!

For more photos, check out: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com