Victorian Vacation

Despite our international travels, Will and I have done a fairly small bit of Australian exploration since getting here. I think deep down we knew (hoped?) that people would come visit us and we would just have to do it all again once they got here. So we waited.

And finally, finally we had our first visitors! My parents spent one glorious week sleeping in the 5-star accommodations of the Chateau de Stone. Most notable features: shower that doesn't fully close and subsequently leaves much water on the floor; only one computer that hosts a little thing we like to call the internet; 200 of the 600 sq. ft. dedicated to the six suitcases the traveler may or may not be carrying; a spacious air mattress covering another 50 of the dwindling sq. ft.; a little dog that glowers interminably at the travelers when the travelers take her bed and she is, therefore, made to sleep on the floor (really, she couldn't understand why her mommy and daddy were sleeping on an air mattress, and she camped out on the couch in protest).

But thank goodness we had the amazing city of Melbourne to offset the less-than-luxurious accommodations. Thanks to my flexible work schedule, I was able to spend most of my days taking my parents around the city. A few notable pictures:

My mom and I at the Skydeck -- an observation deck atop the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. Pay no attention to the man in the yellow jacket.

Man in the yellow jacket and me in a picture together

City of Melbourne at twilight

We saved the real travel for the weekend, when we rented a car and drove the Great Ocean Road, and also took a trip to Phillip Island. The Great Ocean Road is similar to the Amalfi Coast in Italy, for those of you who know your Italian destinations; basically a long, winding coastal drive with lots of picturesque scenery, cute towns, and wildlife. The first stretch is known as the Surf Coast, which is some of the best surfing in the world. The Great Ocean Road technically begins in Torquay, which is the home of QuickSilver and Rip Curl. Bells Beach, where the longest-running international surf competition is held, is also part of Torquay. We concluded our trip at the Twelve Apostles, a famous rock formation consisting of rock towers caused by the erosion of the mainland (there used to be twelve, but they've been consistently crumbling).

Family picture at Devil's Elbow, a scenic lookout along the Great Ocean Road

Overlooking Apollo Bay

We saw a koala on the side of the road! (Actually two, but one was really high up in the treetops) Native Australians were fairly impressed with our sightings.

Cape Otway Lighthouse -- The most significant lighthouse in Australia. Not sure why because it cost a significant $16 to tour it. This is a covert, unpaid-for picture.

Two of the 12 Apostles (I'm thinking Peter and James)

The rest of the Apostles

Eroding Mainland

Loch Ard Gorge (named after a famous ship that wrecked there)

Despite the long hours we logged in a car the day before, Sunday we were up bright and early to take a trip to Phillip Island, an island a couple of hours outside of Melbourne that features lots of wild life-- most notably the Australian version of the March of the Penguins.

We stopped at a dairy farm on the way to Phillip Island. The little joey in this picture was very uncooperative.

The Nobbies on Phillip Island -- a mating ground for seals who were not mating on this cold day

Look closely and you'll see a kangaroo! He was a shy booger ...

... there he goes. Australians were not quite as impressed with our kangaroo sighting. Apparently they're pesky little creatures that hop in front of cars. Come to think of it, our very first kangaroo sighting was roadkill.

Every night at dusk the Little Penguins (their actual name, not a cute nickname I just adopted for them) come in from sea to their little burrows. Little Penguins aren't comfortable crossing the beach because it is when they are most vulnerable to predators, so you watch them muster up their courage (it sometimes takes a good ten minutes), and then waddle (very quickly, as far as waddling goes) across the sand to the brush and the safety of their burrows. It's super cute, but unfortunately they don't allow pictures. Apparently taking even un-flashed pictures "upsets the Little Penguins" although the floodlights and amphitheater installed on the beach don't seem to bother them one bit. Of course, I knew I couldn't come back to my dear readers empty-handed, so I snuck a quick picture of a couple of solitary Little Penguins while no mean ranger with a walkie-talkie was near by (seriously, there was this one ranger who was standing near a group of tourists who were watching the penguins, and after asking a few people to kindly refrain from taking photographs, she yelled into her walkie-talkie: "I need backup on the boardwalk. There's cameras everywhere!”). So enjoy your illicit picture. Know I faced great danger and possible penguin excommunication to bring it to you… all in the name of blogging, of course.

Sunset waiting for the Little Penguins to appear

Our illicit, covert picture of Little Penguins on the way to their burrows

So that concludes our very Discovery-channel-worthy adventures around Melbourne. We loved having my parents here, and hope to see some more of you coming through Australia before too long... Anyone? Anyone? Chateau de Stone is always open!

Thailand and Beyond!

Whew! After a whirlwind week, I just put my parents on a train to the airport, where they will embark on the last leg of their Tour de World by catching a plane to Hong Kong. They have now officially been out of the United States for over a month, and still have another week to go. I hope I have that level of energy at their age... which is... ahem... 45? 35? I mean, they must have been... ahem... practically teenagers when they had me... hmm... never mind.

So back to Thailand. I'm going to give you the abbreviated version, which will consist mainly of the highlights of the trip (THAI FOOT MASSAGES!!!), since who really wants to spend an hour reading a minute-by-minute account of a trip that consisted mainly of--you guessed it--many Thai foot massages.

I jest... but not really. Upon arriving in the fair city of Chiang Mai, I was promptly introduced to the inexpensive pleasures of the traditional Thai foot massage. In fact, it was so good and so cheap, that I vowed to get a foot massage every day. On my fifth day, I realized that the foot was not made to be pampered so vehemently, and that, in fact, I was developing bruises and blisters from being rubbed and prodded so often. So I skipped Monday. But I'll be a chicken's mother if I didn't get one last foot massage, bruises or no bruises, on Tuesday before my flight!

Riding in the sontag to the Thai foot massage salon on my first day in Chiang Mai

Beyond the Thai foot massage, what did I spend my time doing? Well, my parents and I visited a Thai silk factory, where we got to see the whole silk production process... and I mean the whole process, all the way from conception (literally). I'll include a story board describing the process:

Mating moths... slightly pornographic.

Nine months later (not really). Silkworms eating leaves to gain strength for their cocoon spinning.

Silkworms spin cocoons, upon which the financiers of this operation put into sunlight to kill the poor silkworms (where's PETA when you need it?)

Thai silk matron boiling the cocoons. She has the thread (silk) of the shells attached to a spool, which she unravels while the silk is boiling. Each cocoon contains 50 meters of silk.

My parents and I also took an all-day excursion to the Golden Triangle-- the border where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar (formerly Burma) meet. It's called the Golden Triangle because of the opium trading that took place in the no-mans-land between these borders, and gold was the only accepted currency.

Me holding opium flowers

We took a boat ride across the border to Laos, where we were introduced to the Laotian snake whisky (and armadillo whiskey, and scorpion whiskey) that they produce. It was... interesting. But when in Rome, one tries the Roman water, right? Eww.

Laotian snake whiskey

Me being the brave sport and trying the Laotian snake whiskey

The THAI-Tanic (get it? get it?) that took us from Thailand to Laos to Myanmar

We also went to the border of Myanmar, but didn't cross because they charged money to get in. As if.

On the way back to Chiang Mai, we stopped at the Karen Longneck tribe. I'm sure many of you have seen pictures of these women in National Geographic; any Karen woman who is born on a Wednesday of the full moon has to put rings around her neck to lengthen the neck and shoulders. They start applying the rings at the age of five, and keep going until they get 25 or 26 rings. And the rings are HEAVY! (I know because they had display rings to try on... it was only half the size of the full-grown women's rings and I was dying!)

I must say, I felt like an uber-tourist taking pictures of these women, who are made by the tribe to pose for tourists like me who just want a good picture (although I bought one of their home-made shawls, which I know helps them out). You could see some resentment in their faces at having to sit there like lawn ornaments. But, of course, I still took the picture. All in the name of blogging, of course...

Karen Longneck woman and her little girl, also with rings on her neck

A Longneck woman and her six-month-old little girl who will begin getting the rings when she turns five.

The next day we went to ride elephants! Since we have friends in Chiang Mai, we knew where to find the good jungle rides (some tours try to take you around a parking lot, which is not Indiana Jones enough for my taste). First we watched the elephants perform in a show, which was AMAZING. These elephants are so well trained, it's unbelievable. They can kick a soccer ball, they can dance to music, they can even PAINT. I began to think, if elephants can be trained this well, we're really falling short of Darcy's potential...

Elephant painting a self-portrait with its trunk

What made the elephant ride even more authentic was the never-ending rain. You guessed it: rainy season began while we were in Thailand, and never let up. Of course, I trusted Mila the elephant not to slip in the muddy downhill jungle slope. Trusted her with my life. Yup, not a worry in the world. Turns out Mila wasn't the one I needed to be worried about. My dad's elephant's baby (or is it my elephant baby daddy?) took a certain shine to me when we reached our destination and became a little over-demonstrative in its exuberance, rubbing its muddy body up against me and almost pushing me down a very slippery slope. Lesson learned: even the littlest elephants are quite powerful.

My dad (the one in yellow) and his baby elephant that followed him everywhere

The elephant drive thru-- a tree-top "restaurant" for the elephants passing through. Of course we, the patrons, were funding the snack...

My mom and I riding Mila, the elephant

Me and little baby elephant

Me after little baby elephant decided he luved me

A couple of other highlights: mango and sticky rice and the night market, often enjoyed in conjunction with each other. Mango and sticky rice is a desert dish served with sweet rice, and is really really good. The night market is exactly what is sounds like.

Yum!

Alright, that about sums up my Thailand experience! It was amazing, and I will definitely be back with Will some day. But meanwhile, back in Melbourne, I really missed these guys…

All is Well...

Me and the family at the Empress Hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand

A couple of people have recently pointed out to me that I've been back from Thailand for over a week and have yet to post a blog about my trip, about my thoughts, or even just letting people know I didn't get eaten by elephants while over there. Rest assured, there was no elephant-induced devouring (although they did get pretty up close and personal). My sole excuse for the lax blog etiquette is that my parents are in Melbourne for the week and I've been busy showing them around. It's been quite the experience, sharing a 600 sq. ft. apartment with four people and a precocious white puppy dog (although the worst part by far has been sharing the one computer with internet-- wars have been fought over less). This weekend we're going to the Great Ocean Road and Philip Island, to see Australia's version of the march of the penguins! I'll post more about that and about Thailand when we get back, but for now, here's some pictures to tide you over.

Just got finished riding the elephant

Me and the baby elephant

Getting into the Asian spirit

Monkey on my back? Who, me?

Off to Thailand!

I'm headed out the door to catch a plane to Thailand. After flying all night, I'll arrive in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia tomorrow at 7 am, then finish the trip to Chiang Mai by early afternoon. Poor Will and Darcy will be all alone, so I'm sure they would enjoy some friendly e-mails to keep them company!

I, personally, cannot wait to eat my way through the city of Chiang Mai. Hopefully I will return having fully indulged my ridiculous obsession with Pad Thai, and maybe even have added a couple of new dishes to my Thai food repertoire... as long as they westernize it for me and hold the chili.

Ta for now!

Darcy Down Under Goes to College

In order for this blog to make sense, I need to give you some background information that I have been meaning to share for a couple of weeks now: Last week, I started a new part-time job at Trinity College of the University of Melbourne, planning their summer schools. I'm working a couple of days a week, and I really like my supervisor, who is extremely flexible. She's also new, which is nice, as we have been figuring things out together.

Anyway, today was the first day of one of our summer schools (well, it's really the winter school, but who's focusing on semantics?). Last week Sue (my boss) and I were thinking of ways to break the ice with the kids who are going to be coming in, and she thought it would be a good idea to bring Darcy in as a conversation starter of sorts. So just like that, Darcy got through Admissions and was accepted into Trinity College, no SAT scores or essays required.

Will and I spent all day yesterday preparing Darcy for her first day of school. We prepped her on current events (Michael Jackson's tragic demise) and economic trends (global crisis). Finally, she took a bath and was all scrubbed down and ready to meet the new kids!

Getting pretty for her first day of school

Out the door!

After taking a (very traumatic) first ever escalator ride, getting on a big train, and being stared at by 3 piece suits, we made it to the University. Darcy fit in well with the other kids and settled into her new office quite nicely.

Darcy in her new office

After and hour or so she was ready to meet the students and begin her ice breaking function. She performed admirably even allowing teenage girls to squeal and chase her around the room. Once the lectures began, Darcy curled up in my lap, tired out by the excitement (and the squealing girls). Even Darcy can get too much attention. At seeing the seemingly calm puppy, everyone commented on what a well behaved dog I had. It was a day of firsts in more than one respect!

Though Darcy slept through her first ever class, she still contributed the occasional "smell" to the lecture. It's OK, though, because everyone always blames it on the dog!

After all the excitement she needed a real nap, so we went back to the office and she turned my desk into her own personal den.

Taking a page out of the George Costanza handbook

Overall, today was very successful and Darcy did a great job in her role as demure and cute little dog on her first day of college, and in fact, secured an open ended invitation to return whenever she wants to. It will probably stand until she comes back and lets her sleepy time flatulence loose for all my co-workers to smell.

Darcy at the Beach

Monday was Darcy's first beach experience. My friend Debra and I both took our Westies for some fun in the sand. Darcy met Tofu (and I met Debra) when the two dogs were in quarantine at the same time, and luckily they enjoy playing (ahem, getting into mischief) together. Here are a couple of pictures.

Debra and I with our bundles of joy

Tofu and Darcy... how cute are they?

Darcy rediscovered her love of digging. The poor beach was filled with holes by the time we left, and I swear that all of the misplaced sand was in her fur!