Print Update
01-29-2009

Today we reached Kampang Phet and had the opportunity to visit our first National Historic Park. This park contains quite a few temple ruins, the remainder of the old city wall and a standing, sitting and reclining Buddha image. After visiting the ancient city we rode our bike around some small temples and rural areas nearby to see some of the traditional wooden thai architecture of homes built on stilts near the river.



After leaving the park a young girl with two children pulled up beside us on her scooter asking us if we needed any help. We asked if it was possible to set up our tent in the park, but after she spoke with the police on duty there at length, she explained that he would unfortunately not allow it. Somewhere in the mix she lost her cell phone and we thanked her for helping us before she quickly sped away in search of the phone. We decided to take a look around the city to see what we could find, when a man speaking English told us he had a guest house called the Triple J. This place was amazing with a incredible display of teak chairs and tables all over the grounds. Tomorrow we continue north through the farmlands on smaller rural roads...

Print Update
01-28-2009

Thinking we would cut out a bit of hassle and pollution by getting out of Bangkok quickly, we decided to take a train just outside of the city and cycle from there. As usual, cycling is typically the most efficient option as we missed our train waiting at the wrong platform and had to wait three hours for the next one to leave!!! In the end, it was perfect and we reached Ayuthaya in the afternoon.



We cycled from there to Ang Thong, reaching the small city just before sunset. The cycling was mainly through flat, agriculturally developed land. Originally we were on a larger two lane road which had too much traffic. We don't have the greatest of maps for this area in Thailand, but soon with the help of some local students we were on a much smaller, more rural road. By the time is was dark, there was one hotel in town which looked really nice, so we were afraid to find out the price and tried to find something that looked more within our budget. After about an hour of following three amazing women around on their scooter who tried to find us another place, we learned this was really the only option in town. We did find two places that rented a room in a house for $40/month though. When we returned to the hotel again, we found out that the hotel price wasn't too bad - 300 baht ($8) and really nice. After dropping off our stuff and rinsing off, we headed to the night market to get some food. It was great to be back on the bikes again...

Print Update
01-27-2009

The past days here in Bangkok have been ones filled with taking care of logistics and researching our intended route here in southeast Asia. We have been averaging about 5-6 hours a day learning about the current information/history of each place we intend to visit. We recently found out that a friend from home will be joining us for part of the way here.



Having been on the road now for almost three years with just the two of us, it will be really different, but also exciting to have another person along for the journey. We have also spent a bit of time working out the logistics of meeting Todd here in Bangkok in a couple of weeks. We can't wait!
As far as Bangkok goes, the food and accommodations have been unbelievable and we are still getting used to seeing so many women out in the streets. One of the main tourist hubs is on and around Khao San Road, which is both equally amazing and horrendous. You can find both your old, fat foreigner with a beautiful, young Thai girl, as well as an amazing variety of other types of life. On and off throughout most of the day, especially at night, there is a lot of street food everywhere - people selling from small stalls and vending carts to small tables set up on the side of the road. You can find anything from coconut curry, pad thai, banana pancakes and fruit shakes to sticky rice with mango, fruit salad and mueseli, fresh squeezed orange juice and noodle soup. There is also a shop for everything - tailor made suits, books, clothes, jewelry, DVD's, massage parlors (watch yourself), hair salons, bags - you name it.
Our first impressions of the area in and around Bangkok were an interesting mixture of China and Nepal. The Chinese aspect was attributed to the vast amount of concrete and advertisement within the city, while the country side and smiling people reminded us of rural Nepal. Bangkok as a whole seems fairly large and spread out.
On our third night, we headed out to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year one day early, which is quite unusual for us. We were so excited to see the dragon that we decided to come back the next night for the real celebration. When we returned the dragon was in full swing. We got right in there up front and got sprayed by the water spitting serpent which was exactly what we were hoping for. The closer we moved to the dragon, the more fun things got with people being packed together so tightly, we moved as a mass in one direction or another.
Before we left Bangkok, we had to apply for our Myanmar visa. Regulations have tightened up in the last 6-10 months due to continuing pro democracy demonstrations by Buddhist monks, students and other activists within Myanmar. We hear that in the last year it has become much more difficult to travel by bicycle within Myanmar, but we will try anyway. The biggest challenge seems to be the lack of government approved hotels and guesthouses, making the distances you must cover each day significant (200k). We have also read accounts of other cyclists being followed by police for hundreds of kilometers in areas unfrequented by tourists. Applying for the visa was relatively straight forward, though we were asked some questions about our backgrounds and intended purpose for a visit to Myanmar. Not wanting to wait the two days to retrieve the visa, we will head with the bicycles tomorrow toward Chang Mai...

Print Update
01-20-2009

After a great stay in Jordan, we crossed the border to Egypt ready for wildness! We have heard so much about the over zealous Egyptian touts that we were ready for a battle about everything. We knew the first scam we would encounter would be getting the local bus to Cairo. Wow, they even have the customs officer at the border working with this one! Fortunately, we knew where the local bus station was and after telling the customs officer it was right down the street to the left, he laughed and told the taxi drivers waiting nearby to forget trying to coax us into a taxi.









But we have to say overall that the touts are not nearly as bad as we expected. For sure, we had to bargain for everything, but most people were great natured. For us, it was pretty similar to India, which was great.
Overall Egypt was pretty relaxed, which perhaps has to do with the decrease in tourism since the terrorist attack in Dahab in 2005 or the current war to the north. There has obviously been a lot of tension among the inhabitants of Egypt due to the war in Gaza. From what we were told by young local people and what we observed, many of the citizens of Egypt want to protest in the streets against the war, yet the government is keeping a tight reign of control. It is tough to say what they are protesting, their governments response or the actual war, seems to vary. On many street corners and main streets in Cairo, the sides of the road were lined with military and police buses/campers of sorts. Inside soldiers slept on cots, waiting for any outbreak of protest, so they could attempt to dissipate the action quickly.
We are going to keep this entry on the short side, since we were not on the bikes and did not visit any schools or medical facilities during our brief stay in Egypt. After visiting the Pyramids and Egypt Museum in Cairo, we headed to visit the Mediterranean city of Alexandria for a day and then down to Luxor to visit the Karnak and Luxor Temples and the Valley of the Kings. We sailed out onto the Nile in the evening with a local man we had met earlier the day before and watched the sunset with both he and his two sons as we spoke about life in Egypt and Sudan where the man�s father is from originally. After leaving Luxor we were grateful to have the opportunity to climb Mt. Sinai in the middle of the night to see the sunrise which was really amazing. It was here that Moses received the ten commandments.
We decided to travel to Amman for our flight to Bangkok overland through Israel. The boat from Egypt to Jordan would avoid the undesirable Israeli stamp in our passport, but it is about double the price of going over land, especially since we have our bikes waiting for us in Eilat and we can avoid taxi fees. It was a crazy day! At ten o�clock in the morning, we left by bus from Dahab to the Taba border between Egypt and Israel.
The exit from Egypt went pretty smoothly, but entering Israel proved to be a long process. Meredith�s passport expired this summer and as a result she has a new passport which is almost empty; Keith on the other hand has his Pakistani visa and extension still in his passport. We were surprised this stamp didn�t cause us too much trouble yet in Israel, but today it would. We were detained for over two hours for questioning and background checks (even though Meredith didn�t have the stamp, she was questioned as well since they knew she was in Pakistan with Keith). With time already extremely tight, we were getting a little anxious. Finally, we were cleared and went to a local field school to pick up our bikes from some friends� of Yoav�s.
There we met an amazing guy, Amir, who offered to give us a ride to the Jordan border (it was now too late to cycle) and send Yoav�s backpacks we borrowed to travel in Egypt to Tel Aviv with a friend, so he can pick them up. Wow, we couldn�t believe how incredible this guy was!
Once we got to the Israel border, the first border guard looked a bit hesitant. We didn�t think this was a good sign. She then proceeded to tell us that bikes were not allowed across this border to Jordan. We couldn�t believe it. She went on to explain that it is not the Israeli side, but the Jordanian side that doesn�t allow the bikes. She was really nice, but told us, "there is a 99.9% chance [we] won�t make it through and if [we] get sent back, we can not get a refund on our Israeli exit tax". An entire family was sent back just a few days ago.
We had to take the chance, since our flight was that night and we still had to take a bus to Amman and get to the airport. On the Jordanian side we opted to smile and act confident, pretending we new nothing about the bikes. We can�t believe it but it totally worked. No one even mentioned the bikes at all!
On the other side, we jumped into a taxi to the bus station (we really had no time to bike now) which was an ordeal itself with the bikes. Amazingly, a bus to Amman was leaving in five minutes and we hopped on. After about a five hour ride, the bus driver dropped us off on the side of the highway and it was about a 5 kilometer cycle to the airport. We packed all of our gear and got the bikes ready for the plane just as we were allowed to pass through security and get to our gate around 1:00 a.m.
The whole day was pretty unbelievable and we felt extremely fortunate and blessed. We arrived in Bangkok at about 11:00pm to the sound of croaking frogs and more tourists than we have seen in the last two years combined�this place is wild!! Every guesthouse was full and after about 1.5 hours, we found room in a dorm. We can�t wait to see everything tomorrow and sleep a bit�.

Print Update
01-09-2009

The war is escalating here; Israeli ground troops have entered Gaza and more and more reserve troops are being called in daily. So we decided to skip the last couple of days cycling in Israel and go to Jordan early. We only have 2-3 weeks before our flight to Thailand, so we will visit both Jordan and Egypt without the bikes.






Today we were the first people to cross the Jordan border at its opening time of 6:30 a.m. We were able to avoid both the Israeli stamp as well as the Jordanian, gratefully receiving both on separate pieces of paper. (With an Israel stamp in your passport, it is high unlikely, if not impossible to enter Syria, Iran and Malaysia.)
Without the bikes, our time here was mostly spent learning about the history and visiting the cultural sites. After a short visit to Wadi Rum, a beautiful spot in the southern Jordanian desert marked by towering sandstone and wandering camels, we visited Petra for two days and spent the next three days canyoneering in Wadi Fed, a sandstone and granite canyon with Yoav and Liron, our friends from Israel. We made it out of the canyon as the sun was setting and knew it would be difficult to hitch a ride back to Aquaba in the dark. We tried anyway for about an hour.
In the meantime, a local Bedouin boy asked us to come and spend the night in his family�s tent. Bedouins, nomadic people living in this area, are renowned for their hospitality. This family was amazing. The father was not at home; we were greeted by the mother, grandmother and five children, including a small baby. Yoav has spent quite a bit of time in the desert of Jordan and has stayed with many Bedouins, yet he has never sat and actually spoke with Bedouin women. (Yoav speaks Arabic quite well.) It was really a special night.
The family made us sweet Bedouin tea with camel milk and bread cooked under the coals of the fire. We gave them all the food we had in our packs. This family of course knew of the war in Gaza and knew that Liron and Yoav were from Israel, but welcomed us all openly.
Some of the older children knew a few words in English. They attend school in a nearby village, though they also have responsibilities with the family animals. It is also hard for them to attend school regularly since they migrate up and down the valley, finding fresh food for their animals, depending on the season. This family had sheep, camels, a dog to help herding the sheep, and a few chickens. They asked Yoav and Liron to bring them a new chicken if they were ever able to return. It was an amazing visit that we are incredibly grateful for. Without traveling on the bikes, it can be difficult for us to get to know the local village people and learn more about their values, struggles and way of life since you are mainly dependent on public transportation and hitching. We are really grateful for such amazing hospitality and kindness.

Print Update
01-02-2009

It is 2009 and the war here has sadly intensified, with Hamas rockets reaching further into Israel and more aggressive Israeli air strikes as a result. We stayed with Meidad and his family for two days. Arad is only about 18 miles from Be�ersheva, a major city that has been hit by missiles from Hamas.

We were told by Meidad�s mom to not cycle our original route toward Dimona due to the fact that there has been increased violence along this road due to the war, with rocks being thrown at cars and further north the same group has thrown Molotov cocktails at passing vehicles as well. In light of this advice, we took a different road around this area.
With an early start, we followed a great road as it snaked along the high desert plateau. Just before a chemical and nuclear plant, we got a call from Yoav asking us if we could come for Shabbat in Jerusalem. With things getting worse rather than better with the fighting it would be nice to be with friends, but mostly it was certainly going to be the last time we saw Ruti, so we were excited and happy to go. The only unnerving part to taking the bus was that it stopped in Be�ersheva, the city that was bombed 10 hours ago. Upon reaching the Ber sheva station, the streets were mostly quiet, but still a large section of life continued, with people boarding busses, shopping and carrying on with daily life, something we are told many people in areas of conflict �have to do�.

Print Update
01-01-2009

Waking up this morning we were reminded of the war that has been going on for the past week here in the Middle East. The reminders were series of fighter planes that travel over head as we cycled throughout the day. On December 27, 2008 the war between Hamas and Israel began, this only 8 days after end of the six month ceasefire ending on December 19, 2008.








Throughout the past week we have met several people who have insisted on clarifying the reasons for Israeli�s Gaza offensive. Some people tell us the multitude of missiles sent on Christmas day from Gaza was the last straw and Israel had to do something. The explanations we have heard have ranged from uncertainty to perhaps over zealousness. The issues starting this war are nothing new and at this point it is difficult to envision a clear resolution. Although we are excited of course to be here, it is very unsettling, (in many respects) to be cycling during war time.
As we continued on, we reached Masada National Park, an ancient outpost of King Herod and the location of the final stand of Jewish Resistance against the Roman army. Athough the Roman army secured victory in the end when they breached the final wall and entered the city, they found 960 of the inhabitants killed by 10 elected Jewish men. The Jewish inhabitants of Masada believed it was better to die by their own hands, than by those of the Romans. The site is magnificent and while visiting we met Meidad, an employee of the park. He was really interested in cycling and asked us where we were staying for the night. We didn�t know, so he offered for us to stay at his home in Arad, a nearby city. We took the employee bus to his town and met his family. Happy New Year!

Print Update
12-30-2008

After meeting Ruti, Liron�s aunt, we headed over to the kibbutz dining hall. Although the specific structure of a kibbutz may vary (for example, some are religious based, while others are not, at some kibbutz the majority of food and meals are shared, at others meals are more independent), a kibbutz is a form of community living.





All members of Sde Eliyahu kibbutz earn the same salary for whichever job they choose. Even if members choose to work outside the kibbutz, their entire paycheck is allocated to the kibbutz and they are given the same weekly/monthly pay as everyone else. Although work starting and ending times vary, depending on your chosen position, each member works approximately forty hours per week. Hard work is valued and expected.
Three meals are provided daily in one large, central dining hall. Financially, Sde Eliyahu is considered a very successful kibbutz, due to its spice production and ecological/organic farming practices, including the bio bee program, where some genetic engineering and innovative pest management is done on agricultural pests to increase production. In fact, Liron�s uncle, with whom we were staying, is an entomologist who was instrumental in the development of many of Sde Eliyahu�s pest technologies. Seventy percent of the food grown and eaten at the kibbutz is organic. For more information about Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, please visit www.seliyahu.org.il/eOrganic.htm.
Once a dedicated member of this kibbutz, a family is given a two bedroom home (another bedroom is built if you have more than four children) and have use of kibbutz owned vehicles. When a child is married, if they decide to continue living at the kibbutz, a home is built for them as well. Furnishings, clothing, and personal food items are bought with family members monthly salaries. Sde Eliyahu is a large kibbutz which houses a primary and secondary school for children living both at their kibbutz and nearby kibbutz as well.
From Sde Eliyahu we headed south entering the West Bank. The road was fairly busy as we cycled from just outside Jericho toward Ein Getty, our destination for today. In Ein Getty we hear there is a free campground as well as a beach of sorts where you can swim in the Dead Sea. Around 4 p.m we reached the town and hopped in for a swim. Compared to the average sea water the Dead Sea houses more than 20 times the amount of bromine, 15 times the amount of bromine and 10 times the iodine. This mix of valuable nutrients (with bromine beneficially affecting nerves, magnesium-skin allergies and iodine-thyroid function) many claim the Dead Sea to have therapeutic properties. People also report stinging sensations while in the water. Fortunately or unfortunately we can not verify either. It was awesome floating around as the sun slowly set behind us casting faint rays on the far side of the sea.

Print Update
12-29-2008

The brother of the family woke us with a quick good morning from outside our tent. He had prepared some hot water, tea and coffee, which was left on the porch of the house. After a bit of tea we packed up and thanked the family before heading down to the Sea of Galilee. It was really amazing to cycle along this body of water visiting the place where Jesus lived, ministered and gathered followers in Capernaum.






In no time we were in Tiberias, a town on the western banks of Galilee where we ate at one of the best falafel shacks to date. The weather was cloudy progressing to stormy as the afternoon approached. Finally the rain, which had held off until now, let loose just at the southern end of the Galilee. We found some bushes to hide under while the storm quickly blew over. Getting back on the bikes, the road was cool and damp as we made our way towards Sde Eliyahu, the kibbutz of Liron's mother�s family. When we finally reached the kibbutz it was nearly dark. While waiting in the school to find directions to Liron�s family�s home, Keith stumbled upon the school library where he met some students. One of the guys volunteered to show us the way and soon we were off cycling into the dark wet night.

Print Update
12-28-2008

The bus to Kiryat Shmona was packed with soldier returning from the weekend break. The amazing mix of militarism and religion engulfs our surroundings as automatic machine guns and riffles resting against seats and bus walls lay next to soldiers praying and reading out of the Torah. Amazing. Upon reaching Kiryat Shmona we quickly packed the bikes and began making our way along the Jordan River.





An amazing dirt road followed the Jordan to its west until reaching the Karkom village. As usual, we began combing the village looking for a house in hopes of setting up our tent in their garden. After some time we seemed to find a good one�Eand went in to ask. Two twin sisters answered the door and quickly invited us to stay the night inside. Their older brother, who was in charge of the house while their parents were away on vacation called and thought it was best for us to sleep outside until he met us when returning from work. An hour later around 5 pm he met us with a plate of rice wrapped in grape leaves, a dish his Iraqi grandmother had made. He apologized for his discretion and we explained that we totally understood and very were happy outside in the tent. They let us take a shower and the brother explained a trip he had taken on an ATV in Israel from north to south. It was a really nice evening together. Returning to our tent that evening we could see the reflections of the moon of the Sea of Galilee as we brushed our teeth and readied for bed.