Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The Complete Photos: India



We were in India for longer than any other country, so I presumed that we'd have more photos of it than any other country. But, it turned out that Vietnam is still the record holder for the most pictures. Still, I think we did a good job of recording our adventures in India: From the passes of the Himalayas to the The fortress at Bundi, its all there.

Oh, and the Taj Mahal.

RTW: India

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The Complete Photos: Cambodia



Our Cambodia side-trip in Southeast Asia was less than a week long. Most of the stuff we saw was either stuff relating to the Killing Fields (which we didn't really take photos of) and Angkor Wat (which we took a lot of photos of).

So, get ready for a lot of pictures of ruins and jungle!

RTW: Cambodia

Monday, November 26, 2007

The Complete Photos: Vietnam



Vietnam's photos turned out to be a beast to upload. We were there for about three weeks, and ended up taking a massive 682 photos! As you might imagine, Vietnam was one of our favorite locations. We were actually planning on spending only two weeks in Vietnam, and a week in Laos. But, instead, we decided we'd give Vietnam the time it deserved and skipped Laos. (Don't worry, Laos, we'll be back!)

RTW: Vietnam

Also, as regular readers know, we went to Cambodia for a week, after about a week in Vietnam. Then came back to Vietnam for our final two weeks. I've decided to put all the Vietnam photos together in the above album, and Cambodia will be my next entry!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

The Complete Photos: Tasmania



After nearly a month in New Zealand, we were off to Tasmania for 10 days. With our little rented car, tons of natural beauty and more wine, Tasmania seemed like a natural sequel to New Zealand. And, it gave us a few more days of comparatively normal life before plunging into Southeast Asia.

RTW: Tasmania

Thursday, November 22, 2007

The Complete Photos: New Zealand



Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! (Well, everyone in the US at least. To those of you outside the US, Happy Non-Thanksgiving!)

Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, I've often maintained that I'm a little numb to the wonders of nature. Being surrounded by majestic pine forests, dramatic mountain ranges and the stunning Puget Sound my whole life has set the standards pretty high, so it generally takes something really exotic or something really, really over-the-top spectacular to impress me.

New Zealand has both! And lots of it! Pancake rocks. Stunning glaciers. Desolate mountain passes. Winding roads. And some of the bluest water I've ever seen.

Oh, and wine too!

Anyhow, enjoy the 300+ images we took during our 3+ weeks in New Zealand.

RTW: New Zealand

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The Complete Photos: Tahiti



We were barely in Tahiti for two days, so we ended up with only 41 photos of our visit there. I think we'd both like to go back someday when we had a lot of money to burn and more time to relax.

RTW: Tahiti

Oh, and get ready, because the next entry is New Zealand... and there are a lot of photos.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The Complete Photos: Easter Island



We were only in Easter Island for about three days, but managed to take over 100 photos there. So, as you might guess, we really like it. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip, and provided us with some wonderful photo opportunities.

RTW: Easter Island

Monday, November 19, 2007

The Complete Photos: Chile



Although we were in Chile for a longer period of time than we were in Bolivia, we ended up with about half as many photos. This is probably because we spent most of our time there in fairly large cities. Anyhow, here's what we did take, including La Serena, Valparisso and Santiago.

RTW: Chile

Even though Easter Island is techincially part of Chile, I'm going to post it as a second album.

Friday, November 16, 2007

The Complete Photos: Bolivia



Since we were only in Bolivia for about a week, there are a lot less pictures than the Peru batch. But, with Isla Del Sol, the salt flats and the altiplano, they might be more stunning on a photo by photo basis. I'll let you decide though:

RTW: Bolivia

Thursday, November 15, 2007

The Complete Photos: Peru



I've begun the long process of uploading all the photos we took on our trip to Flickr. If you have a lot of time on your hands, and if you'd like to check out every photo we took in Peru, they are now online here:

RTW: Peru

This is probably just the first entry in a series, so check back and I'll keep adding new posts as I get new albums up. Also, keep in mind that this is -literally- every photo we took in Peru. So, not only are there lots of them, but a lot of them are a little random or blurry.

"Hmmmm..... another out of focus photo of a flat desert. Interesting."

Enjoy!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Reverse Home Sickness



Well, two months have passed since we got back from our big trip. It's amazing to think that we've already been home as long as we have. When I compare what we've done since we got back, to what we probably would have done if we were still traveling. It's easy to see how time works different when you are at home and when you are away.

"So, what have you been up to since we got back?" You ask. Good question. Let's review, shall we?

After the initial fanfare of our return, Sarah and I spent about two weeks living with my parents while we hunted for a new place to live. Eventually we found a small studio on the north portion of Seattle's downtown (in Belltown for those of you who are familar with Seattle). And, after much box moving (see my last entry), we finally got settled in.

About the same time we started moving back in, Sarah was able to start back up at her old job at Organizational Research Services. Fall is always the busiest part of the year at ORS, so no sooner had she gone back to work than she's found herself back on a plane again. First to Austin, then to Chicago (for your Grandmothers 75th Birthday), and then to Baltimore. So, I'm sure if you asked her, in some ways she probably feels a little bit like she's still travelling. Well, minus the Buddhist temples and stomach bugs.

As for me, I was supposed to be rehired at my old job at RealNetworks, but the company is currently in the middle of a hiring freeze. As a result, I'm sort of in limbo. In addition, the longer I'm on hold, the more I am convinced that its time for me to move on and find a new job elsewhere. To that end, I've been spending the last couple weeks doing things like setting up an online portfolio and reapplying to the old contracting agency I used to work with. Which pretty much brings us to here...



To be honest, as happy as I am to be back amongst friends and family, I've been suffering from a bit of Reverse Home Sickness. As much as I like having a space that is mine and Sarah's again, and being able to be unpacked and settled; there is part of my that finds itself daydreaming about traveling again at the slightest provocation.

I'd read about other travellers going through similar experiences when they returned home, but honestly thought that I would be immune to it. I mean, let's face it, by the time Sarah and I returned home, I was definitely ready to be home. In addition, being back in Seattle, we've been keeping ourselves busy seeing a number of movies, visiting galleries, going to wine tasting and even making wine with my dad and a family friend, Gary.

So, it came at a bit of a surprise when, after watching Darjeeling Limited, I started finding myself experiencing pangs of, well, home sickness. And, combined with my current jobless state, Sarah's had to deal with me falling into several moping funks. During one of her trips out of town, I found myself watching a documentary about the Dalai Lama... primarily because I knew it was filmed in McLeod Ganj and northwestern India. Other times, I've found myself staying up late to listen to Rick Steve's on NPR, or turning up a special on Vietnam.

It's odd that India has been so central in my Reverse Home Sickness. As all of you who have been following this blog know, India was a bit of an uphill battle for both Sarah and I. So, its a bit surprising to even me that I find myself wanting to go back. But, as a friend and fellow traveller pointed out: "...I remember reading in Lonely Planet words to the effect that 'Most travellers leave India for the first time eager to have escaped, and then find themselves drawn inevitably back.'" And, apparently, that's me too.

I won't really speak for Sarah, but I do think that she's been spared a bit of the Reverse Home Sickness thing if only because work has kept her distracted and busy. That said, I did recieve a call from her late one night from Baltimore: "I can't fall to sleep, and just keep thinking about that bus trip we took in India. The one from Dharmasala to Pushkar. Remember that?"

So, even though we are now back at home, and occasionally find ourselves on opposite sides of the country from each other. It seems a part of us is still out there traveling together.