Kersti & Billy Down Under

Visitors

2010-03-13T14:25:00.000+11:00

The terrestrial type, that is...

About a month (2?) ago, we celebrated James' birthday and had an awesome time!

Then Dan and Bri came all the way from Ohio to visit! (okay, they were driving through, but they chose us over the quicker, potentially hazardous-snow-covered-chains-and-delays northern route!) It was Bri's first visit to San Diego and we welcomed her with a bit of rain and some wind ;) The first night we decided to walk to Garnet Street without umbrellas or rain gear. So we arrived a bit wet!

Peggy joined us on Garnet St - she found us drinking margaritas at Fred's Mexican Cafe. We'll have to get our faces air brushed on velvet another time. We just weren't up for the 50 tequilas that night!

As usual, we play tricks on Peggy when she comes to visit. Maybe we'll be home? Probably not! At least this time she had her cell phone charged up so didn't have to pay $10.75 into dirty pay phones to find us.

Day 2 we went to La Jolla to walk around... as on queue, the sun came out for us.

Who's fault is it? San Andreas'! ;) (actually, I don't know the name of it - but they are standing right on a potential epicenter of the next quake. They look happy about it. Oh, new love.)

We ventured down to the former kid's swimming area to take a look at the seals! We lucked out and a bunch of them were sunning themselves on the beach. There were also many small little guys.

Where's Peggy? Where's Kersti?

Happy campers

Happy couple

Peggy and Billy enjoying the surf!

Nice Tree

I think this picture is great - maybe the the seal on the rock and the seal in the water are listening to some special message that we can't hear?!

Julia and Kersti back in La Jolla on yet another sunny day.

Julia came down from Santa Cruz for the long presidents weekend. We had a wonderful time!

We went walking in Torrey Pines State Park - it was spectacular!!! We thought it was going to be some thick forest, but little did we know it was a lovely park with the most enormous ocean views we've ever seen.

So bright! San Diego is too sunny.

Our 3rd Anniversary

2010-01-16T14:29:00.011+11:00

Kersti and I just celebrated our third anniversary! What an amazing three years it has been. It's fun to look back on all we have done! To celebrate, I took Kersti to a cooking class at the Good News cooking school right here in Pacific Beach. They have a fantastic cooking shop and culinary school which happened to be offering a Gluten Free cooking class on the day of our anniversary! Especially perfect because Kersti is on the 28-day program right now, which is gluten free. We learned some interesting techniques and recipes, and were thoroughly stuffed by the end of the class! And of course, afterwards we had to pick up some nifty cooking tools as well!

That evening, we went to see Avatar 3D. What a great movie! Everyone was recommending to see it in the theaters in 3D, and I have to agree. I had no idea what the plot was about, but I actually found it to be pretty entertaining and not as cheesy as most blockbusters I have seen recently. I would highly recommend it to anyone, the visuals were really awe inspiring. And the 3-day glasses we were given were way cooler than the flimsy paper ones with one blue and one red lense! They were thick rimmed black plastic with clear lenses, and we looked awesome ;) - especially Kersti who had to wear them over her regular glasses.

That weekend we drove up to LA, to visit Peggy, JT, Andrew, Inga, and Paul. We hoped to see the Cavaliers-Clippers (go Lebron!) basketball game, but our tickets on stubhub fell through which was a major bummer. So, we stayed at JTs and went out on the town instead. We also tried out the new Tony Hawk Ride game, which has a peripherial skate board (without wheels) that you do tricks on! It was a blast, especially as I can't skateboard worth a darn so it was nice to be about an inch off the ground surrounded by soft carpet!

We both have been working pretty hard now that we are back in San Diego. I was at the American Wind Energy Association this week, and Kersti has been helping run the next session of classes for her company. Plus, it has been crazy stormy and windy here the last week. Our apartment leaks through the windows, so Kersti had quite the busy time staying ahead of it while I was at the conference. The only good thing was that with the high winds, we got to see a type of sailboat on the bay that I had never seen before.

A beautiful sunset from our balcony, the prettiest one yet I think!

Some cooking supplies we picked up after the cooking class, thanks Mom and Dad!

We grew mushrooms from recycled coffee grounds (a xmas gift from Kersti's mom)!

When I first saw this boat from a distance, I thought it might be two boats sailing really close together. But as it got closer, I realized this was the weirdest boat I think I have ever seen. This crazy boat actually has two pontoon type hulls with mast and sails each, and then a main hull in between. The two pontoons are connected by a long rod, which the main hull can slide along. So the main hull moves back and forth between the two pontoons, depending on your point of sail. The two masts are also connected higher up. It was fast when it got moving, but seemed to be hard to keep straight.

New Year's Eve

2010-01-16T14:16:00.018+11:00

After returning from Florida, it was time for Swedish Christmas! Kersti’s family has a tradition of celebrating Christmas over a Swedish meal, including such delicacies as lutefisk, jellied veal, pickled herring, potatiskorv (homemade sausage), gravlax, ham, fruit soup, pepparkakor, spritz, and glogg!

The whole family dressed up, and I busted out my tuxedo which I haven’t worn since the wedding. Luckily my mother in law had a bowtie and cumberbund handy, because I realized that I didn't own anything since I had rented that for the wedding! I had to teach myself how to tie a bowtie. YouTube came in very handy, and after a bajillion tries and some help from the guests, I got it right in the end.

Afterwards, Kersti, Julia, and I celebrated New Years at our friend Ronnie's house. His sisters from Israel were visiting, and they had helped him decorate the whole house! Our good friend Dan was there as well as many friends from the Bay Area whom we hadn’t seen in a while, so it was a fun reunion of sorts.

It was quite the party! We danced and played musical chairs (well, an adaptation thereof). We didn't have an outdoor stereo, but I provided vocals (which everyone, including the neighbors, enjoyed). And who knew how incredibly useful bead necklaces could be? Not only do they make fine, versatile jewelry that add class to any party, they can also serve as a limbo stick AND as a hula hoop (though not at the same time)! It comes as no surprise that I am a big fan of New Years, and I was very pleased to celebrate this year with old friends!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's everyone!

Sporting off my tuxedo and bowtie prior to Swedish Christmas dinner

Paul, the newest member of the family! He proposed to Kersti's sister Inga over the holidays, and we are so excited to welcome him! He seems unsure about his decision, now that we have told him he has to eat lutefisk once every 365 days for the rest of his life!!!!!

The girls were always fighting over the apron... which was from a 1984 computer trade show.

Las tres hermanas bonitas

Kersti sporting her new Crocs slippers, and trying to hide the fact she just chomped on an enormous meringue. All in all, a very nice new years look (perhaps, though, not to be repeated).

Julia and mini-me.

Julia and Kersti at the New Year's party - we're so happy Julia is back from Argentina!!!!!!

Limbo with the bead necklace. This is right before Dan bit it... there's always one.

Hula Hooping with the bead necklace. I was struggling to do it with my hips (I can't hula hoop normally), but it worked well around my neck! I could've done this for hours!

Christmas in Florida

2009-12-28T06:46:00.025+11:00

Kersti and I moved out of our apartment in San Diego (we will be moving back into in January), and drove up to the Bay Area. Julia (Kersti’s younger sister) was flying back from Argentina after having spent six months in Buenos Aires (her blog is at http://juliainbaires.blogspot.com/). She had a fabulous time there, studying really hard I’m sure. She had a bit of adjustment to be awake during the daylight hours (they often party until dawn there), but it was so nice to see her again after such a long time.

We then flew to Florida for the holidays for a week with the Peter/Johnson family. The whole extended family was in town, and it was the first time I had seen many of them since the wedding. My younger brother David was back from Newcastle, England, having finished his first year of Med School. He leaves for Grenada, next week, so hopefully we will get a chance for an island vacation!

Sarasota is perfect in the winter, and we had some great sailing and so many fabulous meals! My Aunt is an excellent cook, and has become a pro at feeding the 20+ family gatherings. My dad has been perfecting his pie recipes, and my mom hosted two amazing dinners. It was great to see all my cousins’ kids again and of course to see my two nephews, Leo and Isaac. They are only one and two years old, but are so clever already, not to mention super cute. We went on a walk to St. Armand’s Circle, and celebrated Chirstmas with the whole family!

We are now off to the Bay Area again, where we will spend New Years with friends before returning to San Diego and moving back in to our beach apartment!

Christmas in Florida!

Why you need a fireplace in Florida

Reindeer games in the pool

Family dinner

The saxophone pros Emma and Carolyn

Going for a sail on the shearwater

Kersti helping Leo open his presents

The three Peter boys

The whole family!

Leo is a big hit with the kids

Leo checking his email

Mom, Dad, and Max in St. Armands

My bros

Dad and I on the beach walk

A beautiful day and picture, too bad I blinked!

Amy taking Isaac for a stroll

Helping Leo climb the sawdust mountain

Pacific Beach

2009-12-11T11:50:00.010+11:00

We have been living the last six weeks in Pacific Beach on Sail Bay, and have decided to stay for at least the next six months! We really like our apartment, as we have a fabulous view of the bay. It is a perfect spot to sail and wind surf, what more could I ask for! We are both working from home, and San Diego is a good spot for our work so hopefully we can stay here long term.

The weather here is ridiculously nice, but this week we had a major storm come through (depending on where in the US you are from, it might also be categorized as a "windy day with some rain"). It was really windy and rainy, and the sight of the bay from out apartment was pretty impressive. We had some leaking problems at the apartment as it turns out the windows aren't waterproof, but fortunately it rarely rains here!

Here's to becoming Pacific Beach residents!

Kersti on our balcony

Crewers coming back in at sunset

Sporting an Umpa Lumpa hairstyle

We can watch the fireworks at Sea World from our apartment

The major storm hit, it was quite the scene!

The sunset after the storm

Thanksgiving 2009 in LA

2009-12-11T11:02:00.017+11:00

This year, we spent Thanksgiving in Los Angeles with Inga (Kersti's sister), Paul (Inga's better half), Leslie (Kersti's mom) and Kappy (fam friend). Being SoCal rookies, we didn't leave until late in the morning on Thursday, and thus got to sit in 4 hours of traffic! But it was all worth it, as we had a fabulous dinner at Kappy's, an old friend of Leslie's, who graciously hosted us. The next day we visited Paul and Inga's place, where they are busy studying for their Law Degrees. Paul even showed me his loop machine for his guitar, now I know what I'm getting myself for Christmas! We went out to a nice healthy brunch at a French cafe, and then dropped Leslie off the airport before meeting up with friends in LA.

Jason Taylor (JT), hosted us at his new apartment, and we had a fabulous time despite Kersti's sickness. He recently bought a place in Santa Monica, so we had to be sure to break it in for him. Peggy and Andrew met up with us, and we first headed to a tres chic burger joint/bar, and then to a dive bar to listen to one of JT's friends play in a band. We had met some of his friends years ago, so it was fun to hang out with the LA crowd! We then headed to a courtyard themed bar before heading home.

The next morning we headed to Santa Monica beach for some volleyball, as both JT and Peggy have mad skills. It was a beautiful day with clear skies, and we finished the games off with a few acrobatic antics before heading home.

Paul, Inga, Kersti, and Leslie at brunch

The sisters fighting for the last seatbelt (in a parked car, of course - no moving infringements here!)

Kersti bundled up for the arctic weather of LA, which only she felt.

Kersti squinting for the camera

Andrew, Kersti, Bill, Peggy, and JT at JT's new apartment

Some LA celebrities

A beautiful day at Santa Monica Beach

The Dartmouth crew

How we've grown since college

Demonstrating our newly acquired acrobatic skills

Pre-Thanksgiving

2009-11-22T13:41:00.016+11:00

Now that we are back in the States, we decided to revive the old tradition of Pre-Thanksgiving! It started while we were at Dartmouth--the cross country team would have a full turkey dinner a week before everyone went off for the actual holiday. Once we moved to California, we continued the tradition!

This year, we invited our friends down to San Diego for the weekend! Dan, Phil and Telisa flew down from the Bay Area and Andrew and Peggy drove down from LA. Unfortunately, Jason (JT) got really sick so he couldn't make it, but at least we will see him over real Thanksgiving when we are in LA! We also met Telisa's friends, Jessica and Reese, who drove down from northern san diego to hang out on Friday night and Sunday.

It was a perfect weekend! The weather was fabulous, and we spent the days playing beach volleyball right in front of our apartment. Except for Peggy, who is close to becoming a professional, I think we all need to practice a bit!

Kersti headed a wonderful meal as always. She and Peggy (with Dan's emotional support) prepared a perfect (well, slightly undercooked!) Turkey, with a tasty cranberry infused stuffing. Dagny's Yams, mashed potatoes ala Peggy Johnson, green beans with leeks, a second stuffing, corncake, pumpkin pie, apple pie with Apples-by-Telisa, and pumpkin cheesecake made for quite the feast!

The whole gang ready for Pre-Thanksgiving dinner!

The design on the back of our T-Shirts! Poultry in Paradise! Thanks to Amy for the great slogan. This picture was actually taken from our patio, turkeys and all!

The front of our T-shirts, designed by Kersti!

Prepping the turkey... this was the first time for both me and Peggy, so we learned a lot! Thank goodness we had each other -- it's a 2 person job!

Peggy and Kersti in front of their masterpiece turkey. Ummm... lesson learned about the location of the thermometer ;)

Dan is ready to eat already!

Our ever-entertaining friend, Andrew, drove down from LA for the weekend. We hope to be able to see him more often now that we are only a few hours away! That's the closest he and Billy have been since 1997.

The girls modeling their t-shirts

Peggy and Kersti out on the town after dinner!

The butheads out on the town, look out!

The gang out and about causing mischief.

Andrew demonstrating the art of sleeping bag stuffing the next morning after a long and fun night!

San Diego

2009-11-08T04:30:00.009+11:00

Kersti and I moved to San Diego last week! We hope to find more permanent jobs while we rent a place for the short term. It gives us an opportunity to see what it's like to live in So Cal! We're staying on Sail Bay, in the Pacific Beach neighborhood. The apartment has fantastic views of the bay, and a nice beach and walking path is right out front. Not much privacy as there's a lot of foot traffic on the beach, but a fun spot. As we are both working from home, we figured we might as well stay somewhere nice! We will be here through the holidays, and then hopefully find a longer term place at the start of the next year, depending on our job situations.

The beautiful view of Sail Bay from our living room! There are sailboats, water skiers, and rowboats zooming around outside our window everyday!

Kersti hard at work in her makeshift office

The view from our bedroom

Not a bad office view!

The view from our small balcony, with the rowers heading back in

Our living room

Halloween in San Francisco

2009-11-04T07:22:00.016+11:00

Kersti and I went out in San Francisco for Halloween to the Nightmare on Van Ness party. Our friends Phil and Telisa hosted us in the city prior to heading out to the club, in their fabulous apartment with a beautiful view of the eerily silent Bay Bridge (it was closed due to part of it falling down and crushing a few cars and a truck--no injuries, though!).

We dressed up as Dwight Schrute and Angela Martin from The Office. It was really a blast and I loved my costume. Kersti found this ridiculously perfect trenchcoat for me in the garage, as well as a stylish light green short sleeve dress shirt that worked perfectly with a green tie I have. We picked up some cheap glasses and did a little hair styling, coupled with printing out some business cards and name tags, and we had some pretty sweet costumes. Plus, we got to act like Dwight and Angela all night! Kersti had no problem... of course, no one knew she was dressed up as anything ;)

The costumes were a huge hit at the party. People were literally yelling "DWIGHT!!" from across the room, and asking me to take pictures with them. I was surprised how easily everyone recognized the costume. Angela wasn't as easily recognized, but Kersti had a fun night as well. Phil and Telisa were really generous to host us, and Phil organized a limo to the club which made a lot of sense given our numbers and the difficulty in getting cabs. Plus, we were able to arrive in the style to which we are accustomed. (that's a joke)

It was a great night, and Dwight and Angela really lived it up! Now, if we had just had Michael Scott there!

Dwight and Angela partying it up

Dwight's Business Card, I printed out a bunch to hand out, but they didn't last long!

Dwight and the gorilla having a stare down

Dwight and Angela getting ready to go out on the town.

Phil and I playing some DJ Hero at his place

Kersti, Dan, Telisa, and Phil

The full group before going out (minus Alex who is blocked by Telisa's hat!)

Mr. T hanging out with Dwight Schrute, who would've thought?

German Tourist Club

2009-10-29T12:20:00.014+11:00

To celebrate our combined 60th birthday (my 31st and Kersti's 29th), we got together with our friends and went for a hike in Mill Valley (just north of SF across the golden gate) to the German Tourist Club, a German beer garden set in the woods. After a short 45-minute hike up a lot of stairs, we had some beautiful views along the ridge before descending back into the redwoods surrounding the Club. The Club has some spacious decks with nice views and that wonderful forest feel to it with the dampness and the tall redwoods. Luckily for us the weather could not have been more perfect... cloudless gorgeous sky.

We spent the whole afternoon there, enjoying the German beer and playing games (including some Boggle), as well as delicious snacks that we had packed in. Kersti's cousing Christopher and his girlfirend Chandra made the long drive down from Fort Bragg, so it was really great to see them again! We then hiked back down, which seemed a lot easier, either because it was downhill or because we were all a bit tipsy!

Halfway up the hill, we decided to stop for a picture at a dangerous spot..

After a lot of stairs, we had a fantastic view. Stinson? Beach is just over the hill. Does anyone know how far you can see with the human eye? This came up on the hike and we were unable to resolve it.

The happy birthday couple

The crew at the German Tourist Club!

Enjoying the German beer and all that delicious food we carried up and down the mountain. Btw, who carried the trash?

Who knew Boggle could be so funny?

Christopher after his long drive, congrats to Chris on his Forester license!

Happy Hikers, Phil and Telisa! We'll see them soon in San Diego soon as well!

Heather and Kersti relaxing after the hike ... kersti w/ a fizzy tab! Heather skeptical that this would turn out to be a good picture.

Back in San Francisco, Kersti had brunch with her old friends, Marissa and Heather at a lovely cafe on a gorgeous day!

Climbing in the Pinnacles

2009-09-21T10:51:00.016+10:00

So, our friend Brian is an avid climber and invited us to go camping and climbing in the Pinnacles this weekend. Kersti couldn’t make it as there was a family birthday party to attend to, but I was able to go for part of the weekend. Our friend Byron from Australia is currently at Berkeley under a Fulbright scholarship, and he is also a big climber so it was good to get a chance to catch up with him as well. We drove down late Friday night after work and set up camp. It was a clear night with no moon so the stars were really fantastic. The next morning we went rock climbing on a difficult climb with a crazy inverted shelf at the top. It was my first time climbing but I gave it a good attempt. I wasn’t able to get past the shelf but I was able to get quite a ways up! It is a much rougher sport than I realized, and we were all pretty cut and bruised up afterwards. It was a hot weekend, but fortunately they had a pool at the campsite that we were able to make good use of.

This weekend also marked the start of our 28 day metabolic cleanse that Kersti and I are doing, as well as Amy! So far so good, it has been a challenge to resist a lot of the food and drink but hopefully it will help me find out which foods are good for me. Fortuitously the diet ends the day before my birthday, so I will have very good reason to celebrate!

Kurt, Dan, and I back together causing mischief again!

Our Dartmouth buddy Jason (JT) came up for the weekend from LA. We had a fabulous time, doing some way too hard runs, playing tennis, and going into the city. Unfortunately, this is the only picture we took, but it was really great to catch up with him. Hopefully we will be seeing a lot more of him now that we are back in California.

Where we climbed in the pinnacles. The horizontal ledge is at the top, it was a lot harder (and further) than it looks, as I quickly found out.

Brian, however, made it look easy.

Byron also handled it with ease, but at least this shot shows how hard it was.

Now it's my go, I just don't look as smooth...

I successfully go the ledge, but then fell, I still need some practice!

Here's Byron climbing the other wall

I'm not sure he should trust me belaying...

Byron on his way back down, I guess I can belay after all!

Scenery near where we were climbing

Dan and I celebrating our survival

Return to California

2009-09-04T13:43:00.000+10:00

While we were out in Driggs, Kersti successfully got a temporary job back in California, and needed to start earlier than planned. So she headed back to California the same day as my parents, while I stayed out in Driggs for another week getting organized. It was a quiet and somewhat lonely week, but very peaceful and I was able to finally organize my new company! I put together a website for Peter Engineering Group at: http://sites.google.com/site/peterengineeringgroup/

After a week, I packed up and drove the hybrid back to California, this time going through Utah. I passed through Salt Lake, and camped at Angel Lake. I made it back in time for Labor Day, where we went to Erik and Juliana’s wedding. The wedding was so much fun, the ceremony had amazing live music (they are both phenomenal musicians, after all). The reception was in Orinda, and we got to work through our rusty dance moves again! We also had guests for the weekend, Shannon and Wes as well as their four adorable kids Brooke, Brandon, Briana and Brigitte. They loved potential for discovery at the house, as well as the newly purchased Wii.

The capitol builiding at Salt Lake City during the drive to Cali.

Temple Square with the beautiful gardens and church

The salt flats near where they set speed driving records.

The church in Oakland where the ceremony was held

Congratulations to Erik and Juliana!

Kersti's grandmother Joan dropping us off at the wedding! To young to drive, you see.

Proudly displaying our crowns that were personally made for us by the kids

Cutting the cake!

The beautiful bride!

Kersti heading home with all her accessories..

Having fun with our guests, the Nance family!

The gigantic stuffed green stingray was a huge hit, not surprisingly!

Driggs Part 2

2009-08-10T11:49:00.000+10:00

After Juliana and Erik headed back to Sun Valley, my parents came out for the week. They absolutely love escaping the heat of Florida and relaxing up at Driggs. We picked up my Dad at the Jackson Airport, and then spent the day hiking in the Teton Park while we waited for my Mom’s late flight to get in. We almost got caught by a storm, but were able to get an excellent day-hike in around Taggart and Bradley Lakes. We then picked up my Mom and returned to Driggs, where we all spent a relaxing week. They bought some fly fishing rods and taught themselves the basics of tying flies and casting, although no successful catches yet! Kersti and I went hiking in Darby Canyon in the Targhee forest, visiting the Snow Cave. Kersti made amazing (and healthy) meals, and everyone was able to relax and recharge for a bit!

Taggart Lake with Tom, Billy, and Kersti

In front of the Tetons!

Tom and Kersti

Kersti in front of Taggart Lake

Mulling over a possible swim in Bradley Lake (I didn't go)

Enjoying some delicious phad thai

Our friendly neighbour who always greeted us upon our return

Tom and Marjie out for a walk

Kersti hiking through the wildflowers near our place. When Erik and I had run through here, there were birds hidden in the grass and as you ran by they would explode up out of nowhere.

Targhee National Forest

About to start our hike

Hiking Darby Canyon

Snow Cave

Marjie practicing her fly fishing

Billy carefully casting into the bushes

Hiking at Rick's Basin at the Grand Targhee resort

The wildflowers were in full bloom

We alo went golfing at the nearby golf course

It was Kersti's first time ever golfing, and she was shockingly good! (Except she doesn't really look like the pro's right now!)

Celebrating our successful completion of a whole nine holes!

Driggs with Erik and Juliana

2009-08-05T11:49:00.000+10:00

After flying back to California, we then drove the hybrid out to Driggs, Idaho, where my parents have a place right at the doorstep of the Grand Tetons. On our way out, we took a northern route through Oregon, and visited the fabulous Crater Lake. I don’t know how I had never heard of this place before, it really was amazing scenery. It is a huge lake-filled volcano crater, with a smaller volcano poking up in the middle. We went for a jog around part of the rim, and then drove on to Sun Valley where we visited our friends Erik and Juliana again, who were staying there for the month while performing in the summer symphony. All four of us then continued on to Driggs, stopping by the Craters of the Moon on the way. At Driggs, we went on a hike up the Grand Targhee Mountain in order to get a better view of the Grand Tetons. The wild flowers were in full bloom, and while we did get lost a couple times, it was really good to get out in the mountain air! We took the chairlift DOWN the mountain, so no hard work required on our knees!

Camping on the way to Driggs (in some crazy strong morning sunlight)

Klamath Lake where we camped

Crater Lake!

The pinnacles

Neverland

The volcano inside the crater

Goofing around at the edge of the crater

Craters of the Moon in Idaho

Kersti hiking up the black hill

Yipee!

Juliana, Erik, Kersti and I at Driggs enjoying a fabulous meal

Hiking at Grand Targhee

Juliana and Erik hiking up the mountain

Taking a break

At the top with a spectacular view of the Grand Tetons

Erik and Juliana back at my parents' place at Driggs

Saratoga

2009-07-30T11:49:00.000+10:00

We next made our long-awaited trip to Saratoga to visit Bill’s brother Max, his wife Amy, and our two nephews Isaac and Leo. Isaac and Leo were both born while we were away in Australia, so we hadn’t met them until we came back. It was so much fun getting to know them, hopefully they will remember Aunt Kersti and Uncle Billy next time we see them! They were so cute, although also a pair of trouble makers! A typical day included taking them to the park, giving Leo some ice cream, having dinner on the back porch, and playing on their back lawn (which seems like the size of a football field). David also came up for one weekend, so all the Peter bros were back together. It was a fun time; we hope to go back soon!

Picking blueberries, think we got enough? What was it? 29 lbs?

Playing in the fountains at the park

Leo loves to dance! He loves it so much he was willing to give an outdoor concert (for free!) for the neighborhood one evening.

Actually, this time he didn't like to dance. He thought the other children at the Kid's Concert smelled and wanted to keep a safe distance.

Bill and Isaac walking back from the fountain

Kersti scooting Isaac along. The guy loves to drive!

Swinging at the park

Whee!

In their spacious back lawn

Our super accomodating hostess, Amy

Nap time!

The Peter bros chilling on the porch

Isaac takes the opportunity to go for the unattended pizza!

A gift from China, our little Buddhist nephew

Boston

2009-07-20T11:27:00.000+10:00

An important stop on our trip was Boston to see Sean and Caryn and their beautiful new girl, Allyson. We had lived with Sean and Caryn in San Mateo, but had missed their wedding while we were away. Ally was born just a couple months ago, although Caryn looked completely unfazed! I swear she really was pregnant -- we saw pictures! We stayed at their idyllic new home, and Caryn’s family threw a pool party where we got to reunite with some old Dartmouth friends.

Sean, Caryn, and their new baby girl Allyson! Caryn is proudly showing off her new hat from China.

Seany grilling up some chicken at the pool party

Seany, Chalmero, and McKnizzy (real names are omitted to protect the innocent)

Visiting Chalmers at his and Margie's house in Connecticut

New York City

2009-07-16T13:52:00.000+10:00

After Rochester, we headed to New York for some city living with some Dartmouth buddies. We stayed at Ravi’s spacious pad; we really were living the luxurious New York lifestyle. The first night we went out on the town, and met up with Karim and some old running teammates, Ryan, Bonnie and Jimmy. It was quite a fun night, starting with margaritas and ending up at some karaoke bar making fools of ourselves as always.

What a crew!

Karim, Bill, and Ravi being as serious as always

Ry-Ry and Kersti!

Bonnie, Jimmy, and Kersti happy to see each other again

The next night Ravi pulled out all the stops and prepared a gourmet barbecue. His specialties included chilean seabass, shrimp stuffed jalapeños with bacon wrapped around, crazy good beef, and amazing burgers--delic! We've since made the jalapeños ourselves, but we haven't attempted the other dishes yet! Kersti says she wishes I could cook like Ravi.

Ravi slaving away

Bill supervising

Hurley!

Enjoying NYC in the summertime - admiring some urban design changes to intersections!

Breaking in Ravi's new hot tub!

Rochester

2009-07-14T13:51:00.000+10:00

In July, we headed up to Rochester, NY to visit our old friends Samer Jaber and Juliana and Erik. We first stayed at Samer’s house for a long weekend, he is a resident at the hospital there but made sure to still show us a good time. We played some kickball (Kersti was MVP), went hiking at Letchworth State Park, and he even threw us a party at his apartment. He has a great group of friends at the Med School. Even more importantly, we were introduced to the bizarre game of Rayman’s Raving Rabbits, the perfect party game.

Our gracious host Samer!

After two years of bitter starvation, Bill finally got his Arby Melt on.

All that practice partying in Europe paid off.

Bill trying to see if he can see the DJ...

Hiking in Letchworth

I wonder if Rochester is always this nice...

We borrowed Samer’s car and went up for the day to Niagara Falls. Kersti had never been, I hadn’t been since my uncle took me as a kid. It was a beautiful day, and we took the Maid of the Mist ride right up to the falls.

Kersti's first time in Canada!

Blame Canada, Blame Canada!

The second half of our stay we stayed with Juliana and Erik. Juliana is a friend of Kersti’s from when they were little, and Erik is her fiancé. They will be getting married in Orinda over Labor Day, exciting! They have a fantastic old-style colonial house they recently moved into. Juliana and Erik both play in the Rochester Symphony, and we got to see them perform while we were there. We were sure to sit right in the center of the front row to make sure we had a good view! It was really an amazing experience, plus it is much cooler knowing the musicians, we even got to go back stage. We are tres cool. Juliana performed a beautiful solo, and then they had a party back at their place to celebrate. We can’t wait for their wedding!

Juliana and Erik, musicians extraordinare!

Old shool friends

Hanging out at Juliana and Erik's.

Return to the States!

2009-07-01T13:51:00.000+10:00

Well, it has been a long time since we made any posts, but we decided to do some brief updates on our summer travels now that we have returned to the States. It has been a wonderful summer of catching up with family and friends, with so many people graciously putting us up.

We arrived back into California, where we relaxed and caught up with Kersti’s family. Billy briefly headed to the UK, where he met with his old company, and when he returned they made a trip down to Santa Cruz to visit Julia, Kersti’s sister. Our friend Dan came down with us, and we had an awesome time touring the campus, it was gorgeous during the summer and all the seniors were graduating.

Celebrating Leslie's Birthday

When we arrived, we were shocked to see the famous Warhorse pong table in full use in the middle of her dining room. A gift from our college buddy Parker, we were psyched to see that such a precious item was still getting use in such a perfect home. And it had clearly been being used well, Julia lived in a big co-ed house and the table was full of empty cans. So after Dan and I had practiced on our pong skills, we headed to the movie Hangover and had a good laugh. Julia was a great host!

Practicing our skills on the Warhorse table!

We then took a flight to Florida to visit the family, and with David and Max and his family all down, it was the first time since the wedding we all had been together! It was mad hot, but we had a great time at the beach and playing some croquet on the lawn.

David, Max, Isaac, Leo and Amy all in Sarasota!

Tom and Marjie working on their croquet skills

Leo enjoying the beach and staying out of the sun

Stop #21 Beijing

2009-06-18T15:26:00.032+10:00

The end of our trip! We are excited to be going back and are quite worn out, but we're also keen to see some of the really good sights here.

We had heard so many things about Beijing, both good and bad, so we really didn’t know what to expect. As it turned out, the city seemed surprisingly like the rest of China, although more developed. They had a nice subway system (we benefited from the infrastructure built for the olympics), and some lovely little neighbourhoods. Unfortunately, the amazing hostel that we tried to check in was all booked up (the first time all trip we had been turned away!), but we ended up a nice hostel in the embassy district. We did a lot of shopping while in Beijing, including the purchase of a whole suitcase to carry back all our loot and gifts.

We also had a fabulous meal of Peking duck. It was a lean version, with only half the fat, and it was by far our best meal in China. The chef first brought out the duck (cooked, but not carved) for us to 'approve'. We said it looked pretty good and gave him the nod. The duck was served with an assortment of sides: thin pancakes, plum sauce, green onions, fresh garlic, ginger, white surgar and some other things we couldn't identify. The skin was amazing. We had heard from Geneva to dip it in the white sugar--it melts in your mouth and is just delicious. After the duck, they brought out a plate of elaborately sliced fresh fruits, sitting atop dry ice (?!), and little glass cups of chilled persimmon pudding sitting in water along with floating red rose petals. We tried a berry which we hadn't had before.

And like most other places, the tea we had with the meal was really excellent. I got the impression that Chinese think of the tea like we think of wine, and I can tell you there is definitely a difference between good and bad teas. There are tea shops everywhere where you can do tea tastings, and we got some bags to bring back home. Most teas are served as loose leaves straight in a pot that you share with several people. I have become something of a tea fiend, so I really enjoyed trying out all the different types.

On our first full day in Beijing, we visited was Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The square is a large open concrete courtyard that is packed with tourist groups. It had a communist feel for sure, but it was a beautiful day (courtesy of the rain the night before) and it didn’t feel that imposing. We then went through the Gate of Heavenly Peace to the Forbidden City. This gate is where the famous portrait of Chairman Mao overlooks the square. After our obligatory photo shots, we went into the Forbidden City, which is an expansive palace for the former emperors and empresses. It is now all open to the public, and you can look into the buildings (if you can see past the crowds and finger/face prints on the plexiglass) to see the thrones and decorations. Throughout the city, there were neat sculptures of mythological creatures, like dragon/turtles and lions. The architecture was impressive if a bit monotonous. There was next to no green space. It is all paved and so doesn’t feel very welcoming or comfortable for a palace. I guess it also gets stifling hot in the summer as well, which is why the emporers spent the summers at the equally elaborate Summer Palace a few miles away. One thing we really enjoyed was the Clock Museum, where they house these crazily intricate clocks that the Chinese royalty had received as gifts from visiting dignitaries. Most were from France and England.

Chairman Mao's mausoleum is that large building behind me. We walked through to see his embalmed body, along with thousands of other reverent Chinese.

Chairman Mao's portrait at the Gate of Heavenly Peace.

A turtle dragon, I think.

Inside the Forbidden City

The Temple of Heaven

Kersti reconstructs the Temple of Heaven out of hot chili basil French Fries, yum!

The next day we visited the Summer Palace, where the Chinese royalty used to stay as a break from the heat. Kersti couldn't understand how they used this as a break from the heat of the Forbiddin City, since they used just the same amount of stone in the summer place. Hmm..

Anyway, there is a huge manmade lake in the middle, and it is much more green and relaxing than the Forbidden City. There were groups of Chinese men and women doing their morning exercises in the park grounds (to the jolly tunes of 'Jingle Bells', in fact), and we got some nice exercise walking around the lake. We also saw the famous Marble Boat, a huge boat made completely out of marble. Supposedly the Empress Dowager Cixi decided that she wanted to build up the Chinese Navy, so built a costly marble boat that was unsinkable, and of course also doesn’t float. I don’t think the Chinese Navy was especially feared during this time period.

The Chinese Royal Navy, look out!

We also went to see a Chinese Acrobat show. We didn't know what to expect, but we were wowed. I thought Kersti was just going to have a heart attack just watching them. Our favourite was the hamster wheel, where they ran around, and outside, two gigantic and suspended wheels that rotated 20 feet off the ground. Oh yeah, and of course they jope roped while doing this and even BLIND-FOLDED themselves. The contortionists were crazy too, although hard to watch at times. During another act, they fit 14 girls onto one bicycle. In america, there would have been intrusive signs warning patrons: "DO NOT try this at home".

Here I am practicing some tricks from the acrobatic show. Somehow the fellow tourists didn't seem very impressed.

We saved the best for last, and hiked 10km along the Great Wall. Again, my brother David had recommended we avoid the touristed Wall parts and hike from Jinshanling to Simatai along the wall, and man was he right. The hike really was amazing. It wasn’t very crowded at all, and while I knew the Wall itself would be cool, I had no idea that the surrounding scenery would be so spectacular. The entire time we were winding through these hills, with just one amazing photo spot after another. Parts of the Wall in this area had been rebuilt, while others were in their original condition, giving a nice mix. It was a challenging hike though, as it is very hilly the whole way through.

Defending the wall from invading Mongols (with my walking stick).

Some short sections were mostly rubble, so we had to hike around.

Kersti peering out of one of the many watchtowers.

Kersti celebrating the end of the 6,000 steps we had done on this trip.

The view back along the wall.

When we finished the Wall hike, we still had to get down to the boat to take us back. We were pretty tired, so when we found out that there was a zipline down that trimmed 30 minutes off, we jumped on it. Plus, it was one mode of transportation we had yet to try on this trip. This was Kersti making small talk before the jump, avoiding any discussion of their safety record. It was cutting off 30 minutes of walking--and downhill at that!

What the picture doesn't show was the water was a brilliant green--it was quite a treat to fly above it.

There she goes!

And goes...

And this was basically how our trip ended, now back to America!

Stop #20 Xian

2009-06-18T15:20:00.021+10:00

To view all 98 pictures from Xian, see: http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200905Xian?authkey=Gv1sRgCL2t0KX6jLLr0AE&feat=directlink

We spent a busy five days in Xian, visiting several sites that are located outside of the city. The city centre is surrounded by a rebuilt city wall, and we initially stayed at a hostel right next to the gate/entrance at the southern end of the wall. It was quite noisy, so later in the stay we upgraded to a nicer place as we needed a break.

Our first day we partnered up with another backpacking couple and went to see the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. These aren’t as well known as the Terracotta Warriors, but in many ways are more enjoyable. They have several excavated pits full of miniature terracotta works, including chariots, soldiers and livestock. The emperor’s tomb is surrounded by these pits full of what he expected to need in the afterlife, and he must have been a big eater because they had hundreds of sheep, goats, pigs, dogs, horses, chickens, etc. Inside the main building that is constructed over the pits, you walk on fibreglass directly over the pits!

The next day we went to the Shaanxi History Museum. We showed up at 2:00, only to see a line stretching around the block. We found out that they give out free tickets at 2pm each day... thus we waited and then toured with hundreds of others! The artwork was incredible, especially considering that much of it was from thousands of years ago. It really brought home how far advanced ancient Chinese civilisations were. My favourite piece was an upside down teapot which doesn't spill the water when put right side up (despite the hole in the bottom). We bought a cheap replica, so prepare yourselves to be wowed at our next party.

Our third day we took a group tour out to the area's most famous site--the Terracotta Warriors. They are housed in a huge covered hanger, and the warriors are extremely lifelike. Every face is unique, and there are infantry, archers, cavalry, etc. all ready to defend the emporer. He wanted to make sure he had a big army for the afterlife, but shortly after his burial the tomb was ransacked by a rival general and some of the warriors were party destroyed. The archeaologists have found that soon after they expose a new warrior to light, that the numerous paints that colour the soldiers wears away. So until they find a way to preserve the paint colour, they are resisting any further excavation. So only a small fraction of the total site has been unearthed.

It is very impressive in scale, but also disturbing that so much effort was originally put into it. We have heard bits and pieces from other sources about the treatment of the artisans who worked on it (many of them joined the emporer), but there was very little info at the museum. We did learn that 700,000 men worked on the tomb.

Surveying my clay army

The terracotta warriors up close (at the Shaanxi History Museum)

The two most ferocious terracotta warriors we came across...

The next day I (Bill) went to hike Hua Shan, a famous Taoist mountain outside of the city, while Kersti had a nice relaxing day at our new hotel. My brother David had highly recommended the hike, and it was quite the harrowing experience with some amazing scenery. The mountains are narrow ridges, many of which have trails along the narrow ledges. There were a lot of people hiking it, but it was a big enough area that it was still easy to get away.

The Chinese hikers all hung ribbons and padlocks along the hike.

There was one especially hairy part, where you hook into a rope and basically climb along the cliff face. Taking pictures from such a spot was a challenge, but a couple below may give the idea. I’m not really scared of heights, but I was bleeping scared doing this part…

Taking a picture doing this part was a challenge.

The last day we took a bike ride atop the city wall. It was our first time on a tandem bicycle. We think the next time will be easier since on this bicycle, the seats were much too short. Apparently they are not willing to provide bicycles sized for people of our stature. It made it a bit tiring, having our knees bent the entire time!

We also had a fabulous Chinese lunch in Xian, although the experience was a little unusual. We went to a place recommended by the Lonely Plant, and when we arrived the place was quite crowded. However, they immediately lead us upstairs into a private room. At first I was worried we would be handed a different (pricier) menu, but it appeared to be standard. The odd thing was, the private room also came with a very diligent waitress. She stood attentively while we ordered and ate, never leaving our side. She waited 1 nanosecond before refilling our cups of chamomile flower tea. Her presence made us feel uncomfortable at first. But once we started trying to talk to her with the help of our phrasebook, things improved slightly! The waitress was really friendly, and she even asked to read through our Mandarin phrasebook. I think she got a little confused though, because right as we were leaving, she asked “How may I help you?”, even though we were clearly on our way out. We couldn't for the life of us determine a possible reason why we would need her help. So, Bill just replied “Thank you” and she seemed to think that made sense.

Anyway, we ate delicious barbequed pork buns.... of the self assembly variety. So you grab the very tender pork, and layer it in one of those white buns with plum sauce, scallions and cilantro. Delicious. We also had fried taro rolls covered in sesame seeds and a fried scallion pancake. It was a ridiculous amount of food. Chinese pork buns rule!

Our friendly server and Pork Buns!!

Some Chinese drinkers invited us to join in their revelery. They were very generous and kept insisting on buying us beer. We played a dice game with them and Bill was once again complimented on being 'so handsome'. I can't take him anywhere in China without the girls wanting to express their adoration for him!

China. There are 2 of these plants next to each other -- this was the view from the Qin tomb.

Stop #19 Hong Kong

2009-05-12T23:03:00.024+10:00

See all 87 of our Hong Kong photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200905HongKong?authkey=Gv1sRgCO7V8ZfOh5fu9QE&feat=directlink

Sweet escape! We were really looking forward to Hong Kong, not only to get a break from some of the challenges of backpacking in Asia, but also because we had a gracious hostess, Geneva, Kersti’s old friend (and soccer & softball teammate) from high school. She was the best hostess ever! Her apartment was right in the middle of the city, just down the way from SoHo, the expat bar and restaurant scene.

Hong Kong has a really interesting expat community; everywhere we went it seemed Geneva knew someone and they all had exciting lives there. The city itself is very pretty, built around a harbour and with Victoria peak behind.

To get to the top of Victoria Peak, you first take the longest set of open air escalators in the world. It is a hilly city, so they come in handy, plus the rumour is they recently had a cameo in the Dark Knight. We then took the Peak Tram up to Victoria peak, which rans at a steep ~45 degree angle. The view from Victoria Peak back down over the city and harbour is really worthwhile, and there is a nice short loop at the top to walk around.

We also went to the Hong Kong Museum of History, and learned all about the Opium Wars and the handover of Honk Kong to the Chinese. It was interesting seeing the different perspectives of the handover, but so far everyone seems content. Afterwards, we went to the harbour front to see the skyline. At night they have a light and music show where they light up the skyscrapers to the music, it is a really pretty view if extremely corny.

Finally, our favourite part of our visit was when Geneva took us to the horse races with some of her friends. The horse track is right in the city, and is a very popular spot. We managed to break even, my best showing ever at a horse race!

Thanks Geneva for being such a fabulous hostess, and good luck with your return to the States!

At the horse races with our fab hostess Geneva.

Kersti after some exhausting window shopping. The convention center is behind her with the curved roof.

Going up to Victoria Peak on the Peak Tram, you can see why trams and escalators are needed!

The view from Victoria Peak

Late at night looking back over the harbour during the light show.

Stop #18 Guilin

2009-05-12T23:03:00.023+10:00

To see all 45 of our Guilin shots, visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200905Guilin?authkey=Gv1sRgCP363qrJ84fE9wE&feat=directlink

After our adventures in Yangshuo we relaxed for a day in Guilin before our flight to Honk Kong. Guilin is a bit more industrial and much larger than Yangshuo, but it was still a nice relaxing stop with the worthwhile Seven Star Park.

We had a lovely time relaxing in the parks of Guilin.

It turned out that it was locked in place.

Kersti fortuitously discovered a panda exhibit in the middle of the park. Unfortunately, the exhibit wasn't complete, so they had the pandas temporarily (I hope) housed in bare cells. There were several pandas, and they seemed relatively content chewing down on their bamboo, but other animals at the nearby zoo were not so lucky. I recommend steering clear of Chinese zoos, it is depressing seeing the animals caged up like that.

We ended our night by having some delicious Sichuan food, including this chicken dish which was delic but ridic spicy. All that red is hot peppers...

Stop #17 Yangshou

2009-05-07T16:43:00.015+10:00

From Lijiang we flew to Guilin, and then took a bus one hour south to Yangshou. The bus ride was made mildly more or less tolerable (depending on our tastes) by the video that was playing. From what we gathered, it was a Chinese version of Police Academy. It was soooo baaaad! The portrayal of women in the movie was horrific. Anyway, enough of that. We arrived in Yangshou at night so with the help of some Aussies, we found the main hotel drag and picked a nice hotel. At first I was not convinced that we should pay double to get a western toilet and was tempted to pay for our first squatter... but oh, if I were in a movie, the director would have paused for some foreshadowing... Our first night in Yangshou I got TERRIBLY ill and didn't leave the hotel room the following day. (Thank god for the western style toilet! ;)) Poor billy had to shuttle up and down the 4 flights of stairs constantly to get water, replace the DVDs, get himself food, get me some food (eventually)... he was a very good nurse!

During one of his excursions (for dinner I think), he was approached by a group of girls who asked him if we would accompany them on a bamboo boat tour down the Li River the following day, in exchange for some English practice. Billy left it up in the air with them (as my health was uncertain), but when they called the following morning just as they said they would, we decided to join them. (Note - billy thought they were 13-14 years old. But, as it happened, they were all 19+ and in university.)

The next day turned out to be a ton of fun, as Kersti was feeling good enough to join the students on the cruise down the river on the bamboo rafts. The rafts were powered by what looked like a lawn mower engine with a spinning blade out back, and zoomed over some very shallow water. The scenery was truly spectacular, with limestone karsts lining the banks. The students were really fun, they spoke limited english but were keen to try. Afterwards, they bought us a nice lunch (we ended up chipping in) at a Chinese restaurant. So Kersti's first meal back after being sick happened to be a huge Chinese banquet, but the food was all really good (not too surprising seeing how we had Chinese students to order for us).

The stunning limestone karsts surrounding Yangshuo, the whole area is all like this!

Two of our student friends with who we went on the bamboo rafts.

Our delicious chinese lunch after the rafting trip, including rice cooked in pumpkins!

Hiking amongst the karsts.

At a tourist site, we dressed up as Chinese royalty in costumes they would rent, it was hilarious. Tons of Chinese tourists got a total kick out of seeing us dressed up as well, and they even wanted to take pictures with us! It was totally corny, and totally worth doing!

Stop #16 Tiger Leaping Gorge

2009-05-07T15:54:00.015+10:00

To see all 113 (I know, a lot!) of pictures from trek, check out:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200905TigerLeapingGorge?authkey=Gv1sRgCPfh3ISE95Ho6wE&feat=directlink

From Lijiang we took a 2 hour bus ride through the country-side to the base of the Tiger Leaping Gorge. It's named after a legend that says a hunter was chasing a tiger and to get away, he lept across the river. It's quite a distance, so who knows ;)

The first day was a rigorous 5 hour climb, but the second was much more leisurely, and the third day even more so. We stayed in luxurious mountain hostels, so it was quite a nice trek all in all! It was amazing to be up in the mountains again, with the crisp, clean fresh air. Though I think this shocked our bodies which were used to the warmth and humidty of SE Asia as we were struck with horrifically chapped lips and dry skin!

All these captions have been provided by Billy, who so kindly sacrificed espn.com time to enter them and to add all the captions on picasa ;)

A yellow striped lizard along the trail.

I have no idea why that donkey keeps following me, or why the man wearing it is carrying my pack, or why I'm carrying Kersti's uber light pack, or why Kersti has no pack! (note from kersti... yes, we paid a mear $16 AUD for that luxury, worth every penny!! We didn't even barter we were so happy for the service. But in truth, the donkey was usually 1cm from our legs and not that nice, safe looking distance! At times I thought he was going to accidentally nudge us off the cliff with his nose.)

Kersti, mountain explorer extradroinare!

Pack back on, manhood restored.

We made it up the 28 bends!

The view back along the gorge.

Our room at the Tea Horse Guest House, my favourite place we have stayed all trip!

The sunrise from our room, as you can imagine we were in no rush to leave.

Tibet Butter tea, where they melt probably a whole stick of butter (or heap a bunch of lard) in the tea. It was disgusting, but perhaps Leslie (Kersti's mom) would've loved it, as she is known to eat butter straight! We were also intrigued by the hostel's use of Christmas cups!

For some reason Kersti didn't want to stay there very long...

The alien flower of the passionfruit tree.

Getting wet at the waterfall that crossed the trail.

These goats didn't stop for anyone!

Heading downhill...!

Happily finished with all of the tough hiking.

The view of our second night's lodging, which of course coudn't rival with the night's before!

Relaxing with fellow hikers after the hike, somehow the night was a bit blurry...

Down at the bottom of hte gorge, at tiger leaping stone where the tiger supposedly jumped across the river while escaping a hunter.

This is right before I re-enacted the famous leap..

On second thought, maybe I'll just stay on this side.

The ladder straight up on the way back, but fortunately it was sturdily built out of coat hangers and dental floss...

Cannonball!

The mail is here!

(Note from kersti... We encountered this on the road out of the gorge. We were in a van with the craziest of drivers who thought that it was best to drive on the wrong side of the road, which coincided with the CLIFF EDGE. I was so nervous I nearly fainted. The road (sometimes paved) was perched on the edge of a massive cliff. I often wished to just get out of the car and walk...

At one point during the drive, I had my eyes rivetted on the road when all of a sudden we heard a huge BOOM and I saw a cloud of smoke eject horizontally out of the mountainside in front of us. The driver thankfully immediately slowed to a stop and we quietly waited for a landslide to crush us with 1 billion tonnes of rock and bury us half alive. As you might guess, the landslide never came and after a minute the driver cautiously drove on. Only in China are they dynamiting the ridiculously steep hillsides while people are just walking and driving along the road!)

Stop #15 Lijiang China

2009-05-07T15:39:00.008+10:00

To see all 65 of our Lijiang pics, click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200904LijiangChina?authkey=Gv1sRgCNe9qOLe6vyC3AE&feat=directlink

We flew from Kunming to Lijiang and were quickly delighted by the old city. It's a maze of 2-storey wood and stone buildings that line laneways and canals.

Billy took this nice aerial shot to show the density of the old city!

Exploring the city with the critical map in hand.

This water wheel was connected to grinders that pounded flour or rice or something.

At night the city lit up and was sooo beautiful! Red lanterns everywhere.

We went to Black Dragon Pool park, which was what I think is a typical park... very much manicured, but still very pleasant. In the background, there is SNOW on Jade Snow Mountain. Haven't seen snow in a while!

I bought a giant sun hat to compensate for my lost sunnies ;) We had a day of shopping... we bought fleeces and food supplies for our hike to Tiger Leaping Gorge (next entry). The supermarket was ridiculous... there are salespeople walking around the store eager to help you with whatever (but to us they just seemed to follow us around), there is no fresh food, and everything is in 5 times as much packaging material as I deem to be necessary. It took us quite a while to figure out what to buy, but we ended up reasonably successful. I think everything turned out to be at least edible.

One of the hundreds of Chinglish signs around town.... this was one of our favourites! "Civilized behaviour of tourists is another bright scenery rational shopping." -- Okay, got it!

Exploring the markets... I was off to buy some fresh fruit. We also bought freshly made potato chips (straight from the fryer), but they weren't very good. Big fat bummer.

We ate at Prague's Cafe 3 times because we have been finding chinese restaurants to be extremely hit or miss... actually, mostly miss. It's a bit disappointing really. One night we had a great dinner at a MEXICAN restaurant!?!

Our hostel was really, really good... we met all sorts of nice people who gave advice on the trek to Tiger Leaping Gorge, and the staff was uber helpful. All of a sudden it was so easy to get things done, which was quite a relief! I (kersti) also got to do lots of reading and relaxing.

Stop #14 Kunming China

2009-05-07T15:06:00.012+10:00

All 18 of our Kunming pics are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200904KunmingChina?authkey=Gv1sRgCLuJh6Xm15ik7gE&feat=directlink

We flew from Vientiane to Kunming China and quickly realised China is not like SE Asia. Our days of easy travelling were over！On the bright side, the temperature dropped 10 C.

We arrived at the airport and were harrassed by 10 different touts in the terminal. Bit ridiculous really. Then we walked outside and tried to get a taxi to the hotel. We were turned away from 5 different taxi drivers!! Unbelievable... we couldn't figure out why they wouldn't take us when we were pointing to chinese characters in our Lonely Planet. Anyway.. we walked out of the airport and caught a city bus. We had to pay 5 times the fare since they don't provide change！

Billy miraculously figured out where we were and we started walking from the bus stop towards the hotel.

En route to our hotel near the university of kunming.

We toured a bit around the city while we waited for the international hospital clinic to open. We went to a tea shop and tried 4-5 different types of tea, which was quite fun. Tea is $$! We couldn't believe it! But tea is like wine to the Chinese, and they are willing to pay for it. We had a bit of sticker shock and just walked away with a bag of black tea. No $100 bag of green tea for us!

This is one of the 3 hospital buildings we had to explore to get Billy's tests done. It was quite the experience, one which I hope is never to be repeated! All I can say is, ICK! They don't even have soap in the bathrooms at the HOSPITAL!

Escaping the city for a bit, Billy walked around the university campus which was covered in parks, flowers and trees.

In Kunming we had a hard time finding suitable restaurants... either they were gross or they didn't have english menus. But we did follow Lonely Planet's advice and visit Salvadore's Coffee House. This turned out to be a godsend... not only did we meet english speakers who could give us lots of advice, but we had wonderful, recognisable food. I think we ate here 3 out of 6 meals. Billy even ordered the bacon burger twice ;)

All in all, Kunming was not that nice of a city, but we had a good time in the area of our hotel. Our hotel had the most useless staff we've ever encountered... "Can we use the phone?" - No ... "Can you make change for 100? ($20 AUD)" - No... "Can you call a taxi?" - No. ARRRRRRGH.

We also had an interesting time purchasing plane tickets to Lijiang. The internet sites that sell tickets don't accept international credit cards without all sorts of extra info which requires a printer, scanner and fax machine. Too bad we NEVER had access to any of those things, and we were in a business center for goodness sake. Technology is just not up to snuff. So anyway, we called the airplane ticket office (who incidentally callled my mother in california--oops--guess they really do pay attention to contact tel numbers) and they told us they would come to our hotel and we could pay cash. Luckily, though we were nervous about it, it wasn't a scam and it turned out to be easy-peasy. We've since bought 3 other plane tickets in a similar fashion.

We also made an investment into a Mandarin phrasebook... infinitely useful. Though it's not to be used as a 'teach yourself chinese pronunciation' guide! Billy has been doing that and we later learned he was only 20% right! DOH! Mandarin is a tough language to learn.

Stop #13 Vang Vieng, Laos

2009-04-28T23:38:00.008+10:00

To view all 45 our pictures of Vang Vieng, check out: http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200904VangViengLaos?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrHmor59NyQlQE&feat=directlink

Sunset from the deck of our hotel

A 4-week old monkey! (I know, a bit risky - so if I die of some mysterious disease, perhaps tell the doctors about this encounter.) But who could resist holding a baby monkey?! It did smell bad, though.

We went caving and inside were amazing stalactites. Being Laos, and not a state park in the US, they let you do whatever you/they like. One example was this... our guide showed us how to hit the stalactites in the photo with a stone to make noises like an organ. It was really cool.

We also went into this cave... via intertube! Quite amazing to be deep in the cave on a river.

Billy demonstrating how it was done... you just pulled yourself through the cave by the rope. Once we were deep into the cave our guide had us turn out our (1950-era) headlamps and to let go of the rope. We just drifted unknowingly for a few minutes... and then when we turned on our lights again, we were all surprised to find out where we were in relation to the others. You couldn't really tell you were moving at all. (I of course head a death-like grip on poorBilly's wrist, so I was quite confident he was still next to me.)

En route to the caves we wandered through fields and tiny villages。

What else did we do in Vang Vieng... TUBED DOWN THE RIVER, of course. An extremely popular event with the 18-22 crowd, we also found it to be a good time. You rent a tube, jump in the water and drift between the various bars along the river. When you feel so inclined, you visit a bar and try out whatever rope swing or water slide they have on offer. Most of them we didn't try for safety reasons (yes, they were extremely sketchy and we were shocked we didn't see people go splat on the rocks).

Once away from the main bar area we encountered some cooler places... One had stone picnic tables in the river, so your legs got wet but the food was dry on the table top. There the owner gave Billy a shot of whiskey from a bottle with tons of things in the bottom. We asked what it was and he said, 'Very good for the manhood!!!', while pointing to Billy's waist. Billy (being a proper amateur) took a large sip only to realise that it was horrific stuff. I took the smallest of sips and my mouth and throat were on fire for minutes. ICK. So after that Billy ordered a 'Jim Beam on ice.' The owner said, "with coke?" No... just with ice. So the guy came back with a highball glass with ice in it, with bourbon filled to the top. The cost was $1.20 US. We couldn't understand how he would expect any living person to be able to drink that much alcohol and still successfully navigate down the river!

We had some other food mishaps in Vang Vieng... I ordered a Mixed Fruit Salad (and I even pointed to the Lao translation on the page under 'salads', not smoothies) and was given a smoothie containing a mixture of fruits. At the same restaurant I ordered Ice Milk Tea and got another damned Lipton Lemon tea (iiiiiiirgh). Anyway, vang vieng will never be known for their food. It is not good.

In other adventures... we went to the hospital because Billy was violently ill. Perhaps the drink that was 'good for manhood'? Nah, it was something worse. Anyway, the doctor, after a thorough examination which included the most ridiculous check up on his vitals, recommended rehydration salts and diahrea stopper pills. Exactly what we've been told NOT to take when you have a real infection! (not the rehydration stuff, but the stoppers). So we quickly left without taking him up on his prescription meds! It was only $8 US for the visit, but I felt robbed！！

Stop #12 Luang Prabang, Laos

2009-04-23T16:08:00.010+10:00

All 54 of our Luang Prabang pics are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200904LuangPrabangLaos?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ3J88-ZuIvMLA&feat=directlink

Our first stop in Laos was the lovely town of Luang Prabang... a UNESCO World Heritage site. We were enamoured by the 2-story french colonial style architecture, the quiet streets, the pleasant river, the nice people and the delicious food.

The main street is lined with cafes/restaurants, internet cafes, small shops selling silks, massage places and travel agencies. This town definitely relies on tourism, which appears to be its most critical economic activity.

We walked down to the river just after sunset.

Okay--we had some delicious food, but we also had some non-palatable food. This green chilli dip was so hot that I could barely handle it. It's my own fault for ordering it (!) so I ate it until I could handle no more. It was served with fresh veggies, which didn't help take away the heat!

We tried the Lao Lao Whisky! With a little water, we thought it was quite good. That huge glass was about $0.90 US (and I opted for the more expensive one).

Trying some more food -- this was at Tamarind restaurant (quite nice!) . We had delicious strange drinks... Billy had a bael fruit drink w/ cinnamon and I had some type of dried plum fruit w/ coconut milk. Lao people eat sticky rice and then dip it into smaller, communal dishes. So you grab some sticy rice and kind of squeeze it together, and then grab some other food (in this case, sausage, dried buffalo, noodles wrapped in lettuce, pickled bamboo, and some green veggies.) We also had some barbecued pork -- the skewers were bamboo and quite ornamental. Anyway, I'm a big fan of sticky rice! It was fun to eat and I just wanted more. I imagine children love it.

This is when we tried the dried river weed with chillies, garlic and sesame seeds dried in it. Then they fry it for a few seconds to make it crispy. They serve it with chilli paste and PURPLE sticky rice (seasonal only, my friends). This was DELICIOUS. I wanted to cart back barrels of the river weed, but I quickly realised it would break into one million pieces. So sad. I did get a small package that will probably endure the trip, but it won't last me 10 seconds. I loved that stuff.

And you know the red tea that Thai's drink? It's called 'Thai Ice Milk Tea' at some western restaurants? Well they serve it in Laos too - with lime or milk, but it's so hard to find. No one seems to know where it can be purchased either.

Some pictures to show the architecture and sites!

This was the royal residence, built in the 30s but abandoned in 1975 when the family went into exile (and were never heard from again). But we had bad luck and it was closed for the day.

I'm modelling my new thai pants... they are very interesting and have to be fully removed if I want to go to the toilet. The first time I wore them was at the water festival in Chiang Mai. As I got drenched during the water fights, I looked down and saw black dye running down my legs and discoloring my toes. Nice! That's what you get for $5.

This French patisserie was gooood and Billy really liked the idea of eating at a desk.

Cruising the colourful markets... we picked up two small items for ourselves, but for some reason neither of us have felt a strong urge to shop. I want to help people by giving them money, but I don't want what they are selling! I already have too many things as it is. I'm usually most intrigued by the food stalls ;)

So yes, we mainly relaxed in Luang Prabang and ate food. That was pretty much it. Billy did hike up a 100m mountain while I checked email... Anyway, sometimes you just need to re-charge.

Pai - Mountain Trek

2009-04-23T16:05:00.006+10:00

Jungle Trekking... this was one of those adventures that I signed up for, knowing full well that it would not be fun, but that 'in the end I'll be glad I did it'. Now that the pain and discomfort is a distant memory, yes, I am glad I did it. But I assure you in no uncertain terms, I was not a happy camper during the 2-day trek.

We left Pai in a truck... I had the creme de la creme passenger seat, and Billy was in the bare bed of the truck with 4 israeli military guys (who were all very nice and interesting). The drive was quite long (2.5 hours) and I thought of Billy every bump of the way ;( The only consolation was at least he could enjoy a breeze!

We started our hike at 11am (nice hot time!) and went up and down a few mountains. The terrain was extremely steep and slippery. We were wearing our keen's (those outdoorsy closed toe sandals that are quite popular) and we should have been in hiking boots! No matter... all I had to do was dump out the sharp objects from the footbed every so often.

The guide made us all bamboo walking sticks (modelled below). Without those, I think I would have fallen off of one of the myriad steep cliffs. They were mazing.

One person at a time, please.

Enjoying some cool water on his feet at lunch time. We had fried rice in plastic baggies and tangerines ;) Best part was we didn't have to carry them!

There's Billy in the waterfall.

Much of the landscape was recently burned, or still burning!

We stayed the night in a village with a hill tribe family - the children escourted us down to the river so we could quasi wash the dirt off of ourselves!

They invented a game where the used our bamboo walking sticks to move themselves between squares.

The front yard of the house we stayed in.

Preparing breakfast

This is where we ate and slept!

The village is behind Billy

Tart!

A TARANTULA'S HOUSE

This is a banana tree... and the conical shape at the bottom is the BANANA FLOWER. We had banana flower salad in Pai that was delicious.

Emerging from the jungle we trekked across dried rice paddies... the rainy season will come in a month and that's when the farmers will start planting again. It was in this village where we stopped our trek and got back in the truck for the drive back to Pai.

What an adventure!

Stop #11 Pai (NW Thailand)

2009-04-16T18:10:00.001+10:00

From Chiang Mai we took a minibus up into the mountains to the small, quiet town of Pai.

The drive wasn't that great. Billy and I shared the 1.5 seats next to the driver, who refused to turn on the air con (which of course we paid extra for), and the road was very, very windy. We were in one of those vans where the engine is underneath the front seat (very popular style here)... and so at one point, the window was down and I wanted to show billy how much heat was coming up from under the seat. As I was grabbing his arm and guiding it to the heat geyser, an entire bucket of water landed on my face and body. Yes, the Songkran festival continued. So I sat for the next 2.5 hours in my drenched clothes. The water was so dirty that as my shirt dried, a huge dirt stain became visible! Anyway, at least I had a moment's respite from the heat.

Once we arrived in Pai and checked into our lovely little bungalow, we were put at much ease.

This is our first bit of real nature of the trip!

I made Billy pose in front of our bungalow so I could capture a glimpse of the beautiful gardenia's outside.

Pai turned out to have some delicious food -- we ate Banana Flower Salad, Stewed mini Crabs in Coconut Milk, spring rolls, pizza, curries and lots of pad thai. All quite nice. Many of the restaurants were closed down, but we still ate well. We had a delectable banana roti (indian style crepe) from a street stand. MMMMmm!

Yeah, all we did was really relax and recenter ourselves in Pai ;)

Stop #10 Chiang Mai - Songkran Water Festival!

2009-04-16T17:34:00.005+10:00

We celebrated the Songkran Water Festival in Chiang Mai -- it is the celebration of the new year and has turned into a multi-day, citywide water fight. You can't escape getting water either dumped or sprayed on you. So, rather than trying to fight it off, we joined them.

I (Kersti) had a pink elephant water gun backpack and Billy had a big water gun. We also had a bucket. We stood on the street by a bar with a bunch of other people. There were 2 big trash cans that were being continually refilled by a hose. And you could periodically purchase ice from a man across the road to bring down the temperature of the hose water. This was all well and good when it was hot - but in the early evening the wind picked up and it became quite cold! When you're covered in soaking wet clothes, you can't regulate your body temp as easily. Anyway, it was great fun.

We really enjoyed Chiang Mai. There were tons of temples to visit, lots of street stalls selling good food, heaps of markets to walk around at night and very nice people. It was also nice that our hotel was equipped with properly working air-con!

We took another cooking class (Baan Thai Cooking School) and we have to say that it was not a very good class. It was not nearly as good as the one on Ko Chang. There were too many people trying to cook too many different dishes. The instruction was poor and the recipe book they gave us has probably only 40% of the actual instructions. They also used a lot of ingredients that are going to be hard to find, and they weren't big on supplying substitutes. Here's what we learned to cook:

Billy: pad thai, red curry, deep fried coconut covered bananas, tom kha gai (chicken/coconut) soup
Kersti: green papaya spicy salad, chiang mai noodles (curry dish), sticky rice w/mango, tom yum spicy soup

At the cooking class we met a couple from Sweden whom we liked very much. We ended up going to a bar after the class to do some more water fighting and then joined them for a stroll around the night markets later that evening. Hopefully we shall see them again somewhere!

The food was really good in Chiang Mai - they even had a chocolate shop that we went to. I had the most delicious chocolate milk and a lovely molten lava cake. The waitress was a thai girl who had spent a year in Indiana. Her english was top notch and we enjoyed talking to her and learning about the festival.

We also had a few massages... we both had thai massages (after going to the chocolate shop) and then billy had another the next day while I opted for a foot reflexology massage. It was interesting to compare that foot massage to the one I had in Ko Chang because the areas that hurt the most were quite different (in ko chang they had been my head/sinus zones since we had just been scuba diving, and in chiang mai they were different -- though I don't know which zones they were since the poster was in thai and they couldn't translate!)

Anyway, thai massage is great for both of us because it's a lot of stretching and relieving muscle stress. It's perfect for billy who is notoriously tight. I think his bones are too big for his muscles. Anyway, he loves the cheap massages!

Here are all the pictures (they're combined with Bangkok):
http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/ThailandBangkokChiangMaiPai?authkey=Gv1sRgCPnFga_E857liAE&feat=directlink

Dive Trip - Professional Pics

2009-04-16T16:46:00.002+10:00

We've finally added some cool underwater shots from the Dive Trip -- see this posting:

http://kandbdownunder.blogspot.com/2009/03/similan-islands-dive-trip-more-pictures.html

Stop #9 Bangkok

2009-04-15T15:41:00.007+10:00

After a rough day of sickness in Phnom Penh for Billy (he's got the amoebas), we left for Bangkok by plane, only to realise I was sick 30 minutes before we were supposed to leave for the airport! At first we tried to delay our flight by calling the airline, but then I decided to take the meds and risk it. We left for the airport one full hour later than we intended. It was a very stressful drive and I was mad at our driver for not hussling a bit more -- I mean tuk tuks were going just as fast as our camry! Anyway, we made it to the check in counter 47 minutes before our international flight and they allowed us in! Phew!

In Bangkok I recovered from my illness and Billy did some exploring. We both went out and about on the second day - did some shopping and site seeing around the Royal Palace. We also experienced a monsoon rain -- the streets were almost immediately flooded and cars were just driving through 6 inches of water!

Here's Billy at the Royal Palace.

Here are the pictures from Bangkok (and Chiang Mai): http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/ThailandBangkokChiangMaiPai?authkey=Gv1sRgCPnFga_E857liAE&feat=directlink

On the whole, we were glad that we didn't stay long in Bangkok. It's a big city and we have enjoyed the smaller cities and villages much more. But it was still a big step up from Cambodia, so we weren't complaining.

Stop #8 Cambodia

2009-04-13T17:55:00.008+10:00

All of our Cambodia pictures can be seen here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200904Cambodia?authkey=Gv1sRgCMTlhoqetNOh0QE&feat=directlink

I must warn you however that I mean ALL of our pictures are on that site! About 80% are pictures from temples -- so possibly quite dull for you, but hopefully they may give you a sense of what we've been up to. Here are a few of the best and we'll try to add more info soon.

Crossing the border (by foot) into Cambodia from Thailand. This was a weird trip -- tons of different busses and people trying to take advantage of us. But at least we were safe!

A very typical house that we saw often... many had small ponds in the front and hungry/starving animals around.

The Tol Sleng Genocide museum in Phnom Penh where the Khmer Rouge interrogated and tortured their victims right in the city.

On the streets of Siem Reap

Climbing around the jungle-invaded temples

In front of Angkor Wat

Narcoleptic Bus Driver?

2009-04-07T20:32:00.004+10:00

When we first took a bus into Cambodia, I was concerned that our bus driver was narcoleptic. Not only did he keep drifting over to the other side of the road, he also seemed to keep falling asleep on the horn. I later realised that this is just how they drive here, that all the smaller motos and tuk-tuks just get out of way out of the bigger vehicles. Surprisingly, Kersti seemed to take this all in stride--perhaps aided by her anti motion sickness drowsy meds!

Billy's Quote of the Week

2009-04-03T00:06:00.002+11:00

"Wow, I finished my popcorn already? I didn't even realise I was eating it. I thought I hadn't even started it."

Belly Button Update

2009-04-02T23:21:00.002+11:00

To our faithful readers, I need to follow through with that picture of billy's new belly button.

As an incentive to look through all of our Ko Chang Pictures, I can tell you that you will find a picture of Billy's NEW reconstructed belly button. I don't think you will be disappointed.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200903TratKohChang?authkey=Gv1sRgCPy6sYvYmKT_lQE&feat=directlink

Most interesting welcome at a restaurant, ever

2009-04-02T23:15:00.002+11:00

We walked to a nearby restaurant here in Hat Kai Mook on Ko Chang... as we approached, we realised no one was there, but three children. A girl (age 9), a boy (age 2-3) and an infant in a stroller welcomed us. The boy was completely naked... his shorts were laying near a medium sized puddle. ;) They were very nice - laughing and running around - but they didn't understand our English questions and we decided they weren't going to serve us any food.

So we started to walk away and immediately their parents arrived. We said we were just checking it out and started to leave. At this moment, the naked little boy ran up to me and gave me the biggest hug (he hugged my legs).

Anyway, it was very cute and was very funny.... and odd.

(Mom -- it was at this restaurant they they serve kottbullar och lingon... you wouldn't believe it, but the swedes have taken over this part of the world... they are everywhere.)

Ko Chang - Cooking Class, Waterfall & Elephants

2009-04-02T22:46:00.006+11:00

Here are our pictures from the last few days on Ko Chang...

http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200903TratKohChang?authkey=Gv1sRgCPy6sYvYmKT_lQE&feat=directlink

I don't have time to go through them to remove duplicates and pick favorites -- so sorry there are an excess of photos. Better than none I suppose? The Cooking class was really great -- we made Pad Thai, Tom Kha Kai soup and Jungle Curry -- all were delicious and we look forward to recreating these masterpieces in the US! So build up your spice tolerance because we like them hot!

Stop #7 Trat & Ko Chang

2009-03-31T18:04:00.005+11:00

After a night stay at a Swedish guesthouse in Phuket, our ears were clear enough to fly to Trat via Bangkok. Our flight from Bangkok to Trat was quite delayed, so we decided to stay one night in Trat before taking the ferry to Ko Chang.

We stayed at Pop's Guesthouse in Trat. It was really quite lovely. The owners were extremely helpful and made everything so easy.

The next morning Billy had a Thai massage while I relaxed a bit. My plans of relaxing in an air conditioned cafe were bunked due to a neighborhood blackout (caused by some fire related activity a few doors down, but we only saw fire engines, never smoke). We then took the ferry over to the island.

While waiting for a taxi to take us to the resort, the clouds rolled in, thunder began to roar and soon a DELUGE began. We were seated in the back of a taxi-truck... so 12 people in the back of a truck w/ luggage, with the people seated nearest the front getting soaked from rain coming through the area between the windshield and the roof/canopy, and the people seated at the back getting soaked from rain off the roof! We were seated in the middle, so we didn't get that wet. But it was amazing!

We settled into Penny's Guesthouse and had a dip in the lovely pool before getting some dinner and heading to bed.

Similan Islands Dive Trip -- More pictures

2009-03-31T18:02:00.002+11:00

Here are the photos taken by Danny who was one of the divers in our group. He took some fantastic pictures and movies. The best pictures have been added to the end of our dive trip photos in this album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200903DiveTripSimilanIslandsThailand?authkey=Gv1sRgCNDTk_Sf3puvAQ&feat=directlink

When we get to the states we'll show you the videos he took of the manta, devil and eagle rays. They are huge files, so unfortunately we can't post them!

Similan Islands Dive Trip

2009-03-31T17:01:00.008+11:00

See the first half of our dive pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200903DiveTripSimilanIslandsThailand?authkey=Gv1sRgCNDTk_Sf3puvAQ&feat=directlink

We bought a CD with professional pictures of the trip, including underwater photos -- and we have lots of pictures from our friend Danny that we met on the boat. He was in our group and took heaps of great shots of the manta rays and other cool creatures. Will upload those pictures soon!

Just another beautiful sunset...

Our dive boat, the Black Manta

Sunning in the early evening on the top deck

A curious and friendly Hawskbill Turtle came over to be photographed.

Our dive trip was fantastic! The water was calm, the boat was very luxurious (for a dive boat), the crew was very kind, capable and helpful, the food was delicious, the diving was pretty spectacular, and the islands were beautiful. Could we have asked for more?! They even gave us massages for $20/hour ;) Yes, I took them up on that!

Billy did all 14 dives of the trip, while I skipped 2 night dives and only did 12. It was a lot of diving... 4 each day, with 2 on the last day. We dove at a new place each time, but the islands were close together so there wasn't much travelling. We dove at Richelieu Rock, which is one of the premo spots in the world.

Here are some highlights...

We saw HUGE, I mean, really, really big manta rays. They were 3 meters across and came amazingly close to us. We must have seen 5 while under the water, and a couple more from the dive deck. Billy saw a smaller one (2m) just while snorkeling! They are curious rays, often circling us to get a second look.
Once we came over a ridge and held onto the edge of the rock (very strong current) to watch a white tipped shark swim around in circles. After a minute or two the shark swam off and immediately a big (2.5 m) eagle ray swam into the scene.
Leopard Sharks
There was heaps of purple soft coral that was so elegant.
Big fat moray eels (4)
Tiny sea horses (Tigertails)
Hawkesbill turtles
Heaps of interesting fish... schools of blue surgeon fish, giant barricuda, some lion fish, Parrot fish, long finned bat fish, octupuses, Kohl's stingrays, Giant Trevally, seal faced pufferfish, box fix, unicorn fish, sea cucumbers, scorpionfish
Delicate whip coral, staghorn coral

They served meals after each dive, which were SO good. It was the best food of the trip thus far. All was spicy and delicious. The desserts at tea time (after dive #3) were so good... sticky rice w/ mango, mango custard filled buns, dim sum... and we always had fresh fruit (dragon fruit, papaya, watermelon, pineapple).

The only not so good part of the trip (besides not seeing a whale shark) was that we re-created a scene from that horror movie, Open Water. We had started a dive around 5:30pm, so dusk was setting in. We had flashlights - but it wasn't a night dive. Anyway, they dropped us in the ocean and our group started the descent. There was a strong current so we quickly drifted from the boat. We descended slower than the group because Billy was taking his time equalising (our dive guide was well informed that Billy was slower to equalise, and we had already done 3 dives with him). Anyway, the visibility was poor and all we could see around us was green, plankton filled water... but we could see the bubbles generated by our group members. All of a sudden, the bubbles disappeared and we couldn't see our group. I immediately wanted to surface. Billy though wanted to give it a minute, so we waited about 45 seconds, looked around everywhere. Finally he agreed to go up... we were at about 16 meters so we did a safety stop for 3 minutes at 5 meters and surfaced.

We were so far from the boat and they couldn't see us! The water was choppy--the only time of the trip actually. The waves were small - maybe 1,5 meters, so nothing huge, but it definitely restricted visibility. We started swimming towards the boat, but we couldn't move very fast with our super crappy rental fins. With the current, we were probably going backwards. At this point I started to flip out. I was not a happy camper! But Billy kept me quasi calm. We stopped trying to swim and I took off my fin and started waving it around as best I could. Eventually they spotted us and a small boat came to pick us up... But OH MY GOD I WAS TERRIFIED! So that's why I decided not to risk it again with the next 2 night dives. No thanks.

The reason we got lost from the group was the current was much less at the deeper depths, so while we took our time descending, we drifted from the group. The guide went back up without doing a safety stop, so he surfaced much faster than us. In hindsight, perhaps we shouldnt' have done the safety stop because that caused us to drift even further from the boat. But I didn't want decompression sickness! But I guess for that short of a dive we could have gotten away with it. But my computer told me to do it, so I did. Anyway... it was an adventure.

Stop #6 Similan Islands, Thailand

2009-03-24T19:13:00.002+11:00

We're both happy to be in Thailand! We have arrived in Phuket and are waiting for our dive captains to pick us up! Tonight we head onto the Black Manta for a 5 day trip. I think we'll be doing enough diving to last us a while... 4 dives a day! Yikes! But hopefully that will increase our odds of seeing a whale shark! Keep your fingers crossed ;) And also keep your fingers crossed for calm seas...

Note -- we won't be back online until at the earliest 28-Mar, so don't hold your breath! All is well, though.

Cheers!

Stop #5 Kuala Lumpur

2009-03-24T19:05:00.002+11:00

This entry will remain brief because we have very little to say about KL that is remotely positive. After being in the country less than 10 minutes, our daypack was stolen right from under my nose (me=kersti). Classic - so frustrating - and so avoidable on our part. We just dropped our guard. Anyway, it was rotten.

So we tried to enjoy ourselves -- we went to the bird park and to the Batu Caves. But everywhere we went it was dirty, disgusting and people took (or tried to take) advantage of us. The redeeming factor of KL was our hotel pool... lovely ;) It turns out that Billy and I are exactly the same speed. We raced twice and tied both times. Later on, when we looked at the pool from above, we realised that it wasn't square and that I swam a slightly longer distance. We shall have to re-do the competition at another date.

Okay, enough about KL. We shall never return!

But the bad thing is... we lost all of our Bali and Singapore pictures... we never uploaded them because we were (a) stupid and (b) had something better to do and/or (c) the internet was too slow. Sad.

Singapore (cont)

2009-03-24T18:55:00.003+11:00

The next morning we went off to the Asia Civilisations Museum (after a quick stop at the train station to buy tickets). It is in a beautiful old colonial style building and features those cultures which are prominent in Singapore. Afterwards we walked around Boat Quay and back towards a shopping district. We had indian/asian fusion for lunch, which was really delicious.

In the afternoon we went to the Raffles Hotel for afternoon tea and cake. It is a gorgeous, gorgeous building... it's a white structure that exudes british colonialism and wealth. As mear tourists we weren't allowed inside the lobby, but we snuck a peak past the Raj-era dressed doorman. It is at the Raffles where you see a disproportionate amount of caucasians! It was strange how I really noticed that.

We saw a doorman dressed just like this guy... maybe it was the same dude?

To try a Singapore Sling (invented at the Raffles), we went upstairs to their Long Room bar. But we were tourned off by the atmosphere and decided to head across the road to the Chijmera development. If we lived in Singapore, we would love to frequent that place. It has an inner courtyard, facing the back of a catholic church, with bars and restaurants lining a beautiful, tree-covered square. Quite lovely. And as we were the only 2 people at the bar (5pm on a Saturday--low key time I guess!) the bar tender paid extra special attention to the Singapore Slings, which turned out to be lovely. I could only drink one though -- so sweet and filling!

We had a quick, but delicious $3.50 meal (that was so big we shared) and then went off to the train station. We had sleeping berths for the overnight train to Kuala Lumpur. Our cabin had it's own bathroom! So high class ;) Anyway, we settled in and went to sleep. An hour into the trip they woke us up and we had to go through immigration... but by 11:30pm we were back on the train, not to be woken up again until 6:00am to announce that we were 30 minutes away. Hmm... 30 = 90, but oh well!

Stop #4 Singapore

2009-03-22T15:57:00.004+11:00

Singapore was fantastic... we really enjoyed it!

We got in late Thursday night. We tried to 'beat the system' by not flying into the expensive Singapore airport, but instead flying into the cheaper Johor Bahru airport across the causeway in Malaysia. This turned out to be a 'not-so-great' choice! We first had to wait, and wait, and wait for the first bus. This bus dropped us off at another station and told us to run onto another bus, which we did! We were the only ones with luggage (should have been a sign that we were the only idiots). Bus #2 dropped us off at immigration. We walked through the big building, had our passports stamped and got onto Bus #3. Bus #3 took us to another immigration building... can't remember what we did there... then Bus #4 took us to a few blocks away from our hotel (thank god! otherwise we would have had no idea where we were). All that travel took us about 3.5 hours, to travel a small distance. Nice ;)

Anyway, we arrived alive and well and went immediately to an area of hawker-style stalls and had a late (11:15pm) dinner... delicious. Then we returned to our hostel where we slept in a room with no windows and the most freezing (and smelly) air-conditioner! ;)

The next morning we walked around town--saw the music/concert hall and several shiny/fancy malls. You can get lost amongst the endless air conditioned sub-ground malls. The MRT subway connections to malls is quite the tribute to capitalism. Anyway, after a delicious lunch we went off to the zoo.

The Singapore zoo is part zoo, but mostly just an amazing garden. The animals were great and the scenery amazing. Billy says it is the best zoo he has ever visited. We sat and watched the orangutangs for ages. They have the 'cages' set up so the animals appear to roam freely above you via fake vines connecting all the trees. If you look closely at the trunks of the trees, you'll see they have wires set up as deterrents, so the animals stay up in the canopy until they find a tree that takes them down to a proper enclosure. Anyway, those orangutangs were just like us... one was lounging with his back to a tree trunk, with one leg crossed on the other, chewing no a piece of grass.... it was quite funny. Another was hanging upside down on a vine for show. Anyway, it was great. We got to sit down next to 3 of them to take a photo ;)

We also saw 2 white tigers demonstrating the process of reproduction... unfortunately for their offspring, they are related. We learned all white tigers in captivity are decendants of the same tiger captured in India in the 50s. (or 1850s? ... I was tired-memory poor).

After hours of walking around the zoo I was completely exhausted. BUT, no rest for the weary. We went next door to 'Night Safari'... for 3 more hours of zoo, this time in the dark. Luckily we got to ride a tram around for some rest. We also watched a night animal show which was okay. It did make me lose all faith in humanity. In general, people are just idiots and can't be helped. The trainer must have said, 'please, NO FLASH' in 8 different languages, over and over and over again... and yet, it seemed like the Papparrazzi was there taking pictures of brangelina. The highlight of the show for billy was the python. The zoo keepers pretended they had an emergency and asked us all the remain calm while they ran through the stadium asking us to lift up our legs and bags. I was freaked out, not sure if it was a joke or not! They stopped at a big metal door in the ground... asked those sitting above it to move away quickly... they opened it up and pulled out a MASSIVE PYTHON. Scary...! But I was glad to realise it was a skit, and that they hadn't accidentally lost that 3 m snake.

Anyway it was pretty fun to see the nocturnal animals 'out and about'. The highlights... 2 giant ant eaters, male lions roaring, sun bears, fruit bats and some rhinos.

Stop #3 Bali (cont.) - Notes from Billy

2009-03-22T15:52:00.003+11:00

Here are just the few pictures we have from Bali (pre-camera and files being lost)... http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200903Bali?feat=directlink

After a full day on Monday (volcano, monkeys, dance), we relaxed Tuesday morning at our hotel. We spent some time arranging a few more items for our trip online, and got some excellent indonesian lunch from a hole in the wall restaurant. They start with a plate of rice, and then you choose what you want to go with it, such as curries, fried potatoes, cooked spinach type vegatbles, etc, all served in small portions from a display case. It was spicey and fun to try so many different things.

There is a religious celebration going on over two days while we areat Bali. Balinese are mostly Hindus, with some animism incorporated in, unlike the rest of Indonesia which is mostly Muslim. They have temples for the trinity of Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (theprotector), and Shiva (the destroyer) all over the island. Each house will have its own temple, so there are literally mini-temples on everyblock. On the first day of the ceremony going on right now, each family celebrates at their own private temple. Then the second day is celebrated at the public temples. The big public temples are the onesthe tourists like us go to. In preperation for the ceremonies, each family has put together a tall decroation made using a bamboo tree as the base, and set them up along the street (in front of each house). It is somewhat like decorated flagpoles all along every street.

Driving through some of the small towns, we encountered these beautiful decorations. Since many towns build RIGHT UP to the road, you can imagine 2 lanes (one in each direction), a tiny side walk (maybe) and shacks/buildings built right up to the curbs. There are businesses selling fruits, souveniers, artwork, food, etc... Anyway, the decorative poles placed in front of the houses draped over the street and just made it feel very alive.

That evening we rented a driver again to take us to Ulu Watu, a temple built right on the southern coast of the island. There were a lot more tourists here, and the monkeys are notorious for being aggresive; it was important to hide all sunglasses and jewelry so they wouldn't steal them! The temple was in a spectacular location, and walked toseveral different viewpoints.
Afterwards, we went to Jimbaran to have some bbqed snapper on the beach and to watch the sunset, which was lovely.

Stop #3 Bali - Why use toilet paper when there is a hose?

2009-03-17T14:23:00.005+11:00

Day 2 in Bali was quite the adventure. We had our usual Indonesian breakfast at the hotel—mie goreng with tons of fresh fruit, walked to the shops to get water and cash, and then met our driver. He put out his hand and said, ‘G’day’. We thought, oh how nice… ‘G’day to you too!’ we said. We introduced ourselves and then asked him what his name was… and he said, ‘Gaday’!. Oooooh ;)

So we jumped in the car and made our way through holiday traffic towards the mountains. Our first stop was a restaurant perched on the side of a ridge, overlooking a valley at the base of a volcano. It was an amazing view! You could see where the most recent eruption (1992) flowed and there was a huge blue lake just above the valley, at the base of another mountain (not sure if it is a volcano as well).

The only downside of the view was that it had to come from a touristy restaurant, where they charge a ridiculous some for the food. Oh well.

Our next stop was a coffee, tea and spice plantation. Again, perched on a hill overlooking the terraces. Have you heard of that coffee that is made from the beans that are passed through an animal before roasting? I don't know where I had heard of it -- probably in a movie. It's the most expensive coffee in the world and is made right in that little hillside farm. We saw the animals in their cages -- with the special beans ;) Unfortunately, that coffee wasn't part of the free tasting, and we passed it up in the shop ($55 for 100g). In hindsight, perhaps we should have bought it... It would be quite epic to try it, though I think I would have to psych myself up.

On the tasting menu were delicious things -- plain coffee (lovely and rich), gingseng coffee (w/ milk), hot chocolate, ginger tea and lemongrass tea. All were fantastic. I got to drink them all because Billy was experiencing some Bali Belly at the time. Probably courtesy of that tourist restaurant (again, doh!). The shop had heaps of delicious looking spices -- huge bags of whole nutmeg, chilli peppers, etc... Too bad we are on the road!

The next stop was the Sacred Monkey Monestary in Ubud. This was AMAZING! There were huge banyon trees, buddhist stone statues covered in moss and tons, and tons of monkeys. We saw many baby monkeys, which were awesome! I guess it reminded us a bit of Indiana Jones.

Since we lost our camera, I downloaded these from their website: http://www.monkeyforestubud.com/photos.html The only one they don't have is of all the baby monkeys we saw. ;(

After the monkeys we walked around the shops in Ubud -- it was a very busy market with people haggling us left and right. Some of them seemed so desperate. It was really quite depressing actually. I wanted to do more, but the last thing I wanted was to buy the (excuse my language) 'crap' they were selling. We bought some over priced coconut shell bowls and 2 pendants. I think those are our only Bail souveniers! Doh!

After a nice dinner at a restaurant tucked away in one of the little streets, we went straight to see a touristy, but good Balinese dance. I can't remember the style--there are several different types. But anyway, the very graceful young female dancers fascinated us -- they integrate movement with their eyeballs into the dance. As well as flowery hand gestures. The music was Gamelan style (or is that the instrument name?).

Oh! 'Why use toilet paper when there is a hose?'... many of the toilets didn't have TP, instead just hoses. But also common is just a bucket with stagnant water and a scooper to use to splash on yourself. I think I would die.

Stop #2 (cont) - Oil Spill & Moreton Island

2009-03-15T16:34:00.006+11:00

After our night of fitful sleep we had a clearer picture of the storm, and learned we were unable to go to Fraser at all. So we went to Eumundi, per the suggestion of the Info Centre lady and toured their fantastic market. It was enormous and we had a nice time walking around and sampling some of the delicacies... ginger beer, kettle corn, fresh bread, crepes, wine.

After an hour or so at the markets we drove south to the Ginger Factory where they process ginger into food products/candies. The place was ideal for elderly tourists, but we enjoyed ourselves! The grounds were covered in lovely plants (which all tourned out to be difference species of ornamental ginger), and as the rain came and went we didn't get too wet. We toured the factory and learned about the harvesting and processing process. The roots they pull up can be as large as a shoe box! Soon after picking the ginger they stick it in brine to harden the outer skin (can be 1-7 days). The whiter and softer the ginger, the fresher it is. Good to know!

They use a crazy laser sorting machine that detects the fiber content of each piece and sends it to the right pot. Then they soak it in syrup for up to 12 days. That syrup is later used for ginger beer. Anyway, we tasted a few products at the end of the tour - which made it worth it.

After the Ginger Factory we sorted ourselves out and decided to head to Moreton Island and stay at the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort. Shortly after this we learned of a massive oil spill that hit moreton island!! What Luck! But as it would happen, the spill is on the Eastern side and we were staying on the Western side. The only major downside (besides the ecological disaster of coruse!) was that most of the island was closed off as a result, and we had to stay within the resort property boundary. So no exotic sand island lakes for us to see.

So on 12 March we took the ferry over... we were lucky to make it! We drove like crazy people from the post office (from where we had shipped some luggage home) to teh ferry and made it just in time.

As we road the ferry out of the Brisbane River, we saw the oil tanker that had caused the spill (and the next day it was to spill more into the river!).

We arrived at the island and everything was lovely... tropical island feel. The first thing we did was to go sand toboganning down a massive sand dune! Quite fun... We went down 3 times, each time re-waxing the piece of particle board we rode on. I (Kersti) wore swim goggles they provided, but billy braved it in his sunnies. I can tell you from the photo the tour guide took, I looked pretty ridiculous! Imagine someone trying to keep sound out of their mouth while going down a sand dune face first, but also trying to keep their eyes open, wearing green rimmed swim goggles.

A few hours later we watched a ranger feed a kookaburra... and then that evening we fed dolphins by hand. Obviously feeding wild animals is never a good idea, so we shouldn't have done that. But it was so hard to resist and the rangers were very informative (and took measures to make sure we didn't pass on disease).

See all our pictures! http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200903SunshineCoastMoretonIslandQLD?authkey=Gv1sRgCPrdm-7N9KzIkQE&feat=directlink

Stop #2 - Cyclone Hamish & Brisbane

2009-03-11T17:41:00.003+11:00

Unfortunately our plans to visit Fraser Island have been thwarted by Cyclone/Tropical Storm Hamish. He's done a number on the island, but we're trying to still figure out a way to visit another island. We're hoping to go to Moreton Island (closer to Brisbane) tomorrow.

Last night we camped in Cotton Tree at a random campsite right on the beach and were blown around all night by gale force wind and rain! Oh well! Hopefully tonight we'll get some more sleep.

Stop #1 - Central Australia

2009-03-11T17:38:00.003+11:00

We spent 3+ days visiting Kings Canyon, Kata Tjuta and Uluru in Central Australia. It was amazing... the weather was mild for the area, the scenery amazing and the hikes stunning. We managed to see 3 beautiful sunrises (some of you won't believe we actually woke up!)... as well as sunsets.

Since we're still on the move (and will be for some time) we can't write too much here... but please see our pictures! http://picasaweb.google.com.au/kersti.miller/200902Uluru?authkey=Gv1sRgCLrriIHXi7HpVQ&feat=directlink

We've left Melbourne!

2009-03-11T17:32:00.003+11:00

We departed Melbourne on 6 March, after a few extremely busy weeks! We had tons of fun at Ormond, as there were many parties and functions to welcome the start of the new school year and a new master of the college. But it was terribly hard to say good-bye to all our friends.

For a few more pictures, see our album at: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/kersti.miller/200902Ormond?authkey=Gv1sRgCKiuu6mWv8PeEQ&feat=directlink

Farewell party with friends..
Farewell at Ormond...

Billy's Belly Button Reconstruction

2009-02-18T20:42:00.003+11:00

While the jury is still out regarding whether or not Billy will have a new belly button, I can report that he is recovering from his hernia surgery! The poor guy had to go under the knife on Monday morning, in yet another foreign country. He had surgery to repair a hernia in his umbilical cord (I know, we still have those?!). They installed some mesh to reinforce the wall, so hopefully it won't happen again.

Faithful followers of William Peter may recall that he had an abdominal hernia surgery in Sweden circa 2002 (or 03?). That was during our backpack journey through Scandinavia. On the whole, I must say that the Swedish hospital was far superior in all ways. The upside to the Australian hospital was that he and I could understand what people were saying (and he did not have to fear that he was about to die--based on a misunderstanding of the purpose of gasping noises Swedes make while speaking). The downside, he didn't get those nice, knee-high stockings this time, nor was the hospital run as efficiently as we would have liked.

For example, we were told to arrive at 7am sharp. No easy task for two lazy bums who prefer to wake at 7:30am. We arrived only to sit, and sit and sit. While we sat there, we realised that they were calling forth people one by one to review their records and to take vitals (blood pressure and weight). They took those vitals in the waiting room, in front of everyone. When they called Bill in, it was to a room 4 ft x 6 ft with no natural light or windows. Ick. The nurse asked him all sorts of questions, one of which was, 'Do you have a service provider?'. At first I thought this was a question about insurance, but as Bill stumbled, she clarified, 'Do you have someone at home to take care of you after the surgery?'... so I jumped in, oh yes... 'I can provide the services.' I wonder if they will pay me for that.

Anyway, by 9:45am I confessed to Bill that I had to leave to head to work! So I left him to fend for himself. Terrible, I know. Anyway, more importantly, I did return to the hospital once he was brought into the recovery wing!

He had a slow recovery... before heading home he had to be confident that he could walk up and down the hallway, and make it to the taxi cab without getting ill. This took a long time... I think I called the taxi around 9:30pm, and we were home by 10. The thing that annoyed me was that I was constantly having to orient different nurses to Bill's condition -- and each person seemed not to have read the special notes about his inclination towards nausea. So they gave him pills which made him nauseous and then wouldn't give him the anti-nausea medication. I just couldn't help wondering, would the Swedes have done that? ;)

So he's okay... tired, weary, not anxious to return to the office... will report about aformentioned belly button soon.

I Survived!

2009-02-11T09:21:00.002+11:00

Last night was the last night Ormond was not serving food, starting tomorrow students are starting to arrive and we are back to the 21 meals a week plan. It has been a harrowing month, and at times my energy reached extreme lows due to the lack of proper nutrition. Thank goodness for Kersti, or I surely would have perished weeks ago. We made it through the last night via a pizza night with the SCR, to celebrate our triumph.

As I may have mentioned on here previously, we have a new Master coming in this year, and so this weekend we have two days of planning to discuss the new changes at the College. While we won’t be here for most of it, we are excited to partake in the process, as I think a lot of great changes will take place.

Wilson's Promontory

2009-02-02T20:40:00.018+11:00

So this weekend we managed to escape the stifling heat of Melbourne (it has been over 40 degrees Celsius or over 110 degrees Fahrenheit for several days), and headed to the coast to go camping at Wilson's Prom. We rented our car and picked up our friends on Friday after work, only to learn that our friend Lisanne had decided to bring her mattress, boogie boards, and chairs with her. Once she realised that we had not rented a moving van for our trip, we shoved what we could and left the rest behind. We folded up her foam mattress in the back seat between her and Brian, separating them in case things turned to blows, and headed out. We got in just before dark, but not before the mosquitoes were out in full force. It was quite hot with very little breeze, and unfortunately Kersti was attached by the mossies in full force. She ended up with well over 70 mosquito bites, and is still recovering.

But we had an awesome time, the "Tidal River" campsite is located right next to the beach, and we could hang out during the day and night at the beach. We went on a nice hike to a remote beach on Saturday, then hung out near our campsite as our other friends arrived.

Saturday night, around 4 AM, the wind really picked up, with gusts over 40 knots. The tent next door collapsed on the people asleep in it, and one tent down the campsite blew off into the trees at one point! We woke up the next morning to see that most of our friends had taken down their tents and were crammed up sleeping in the cars. Fortunately, our tent had held up well!

So after recovering Sunday we went for a beautiful hike around the Tidal River site. We got excellent views of the area, despite the wind. We then made the 3-hour drive return to Melbourne, to discover that things were still hot, but at least below 40

Enjoying the sunset at the beach near our campsite.

The group on our hike, with some major wind!

Showing off that masterpiece in sculpturing: the sand ball!

We didn't leave our chairs very often.

One of many wombats around the campsite, they will break into your tents if you keep food in them!

It was Kersti's kinda beach, no major wave action and crystal clear water!

Fashion statement or protection from the bugs?

At the end of our hike

Looking cleaner than we actually were at this point.

Ormond Visitors

2009-01-26T17:15:00.011+11:00

This last week we hosted our friend at Ormond for a barbie, some backyard cricket, and tennis. Ormond is really quiet right now before the students return, so we have the place mostly to ourselves! Having a barbie truly is an Australian tradition, they literaly have public barbies everywhere!

Our friends at the Ormond barbie

Brian showing off his backyard cricket skills

This is what happens to my racket when I lose in tennis

Matt and Kersti

Enjoying the roses at Ormond

Summer in Melbourne

2009-01-26T14:22:00.010+11:00

Some pictures of us hanging out in Melbourne. We are trying to make the most of our last couple months here, and are seeing our friends as much as possible.

Byron and I in Melbourne Central en route to a moview

Kersti by the Telstra Dome

The tower in Melbourne Central used to make round shot

Trams in Melbourne

I'm confused....

The State Library of Victoria (which houses Ned Kelley's Armour!)

A baby possum at Ormond

Our Second Anniversary

2009-01-26T14:21:00.004+11:00

Kersti and I recently celebrated our second anniversary (14 January). We went out for some lovely dinner and drinks at one of our favourite restaurants, the Long Room. It has been an awesome year together, and the next one promises to be just as wonderful and exciting! I love you Kersti!

My beautiful wife at our Anniversary Dinner!

Emjoying the feast! Calamari, sushi, yum!

We also did enjoy the cocktails, of course.

Yamba and New Years!

2009-01-26T13:56:00.023+11:00

For New Years, our good friend Byron graciously invited us to spend the week at his beach house in Yamba and on his farm in nearby Grafton. We had a big group of us, and really enjoyed hanging out on the beach, tubing on the river near his farm, and playing some beach cricket. His family was so nice, and they have a beautiful farm house with sugar cane and horses. It is looking likely that Byron will be spending a year or two in California starting this June, so it will be good to hang out with him in the United States upon our return as well. It was a great way to ring in 2009!

The gang on New Years!

Our Gracious Hosts, Byron's mom and pop

Matt and I about to do some Tubing!

Kersti and I before take off...

Sporting our impressive life jackets

Kersti pull starting the motor?

Kersti showing her lawn bowling form!

The group at dinner

Enjoying Yamba, with some dinner at the Bowls Club :) How Aussie. But can you beat the $2 wine?

Playing catch with a sand ball

Some beach cricket!

Enjoying the fireworks on the beach

Happy New Year!

Our host Byron, plus Tyler and Andrea

Our amazing meals!

Hanging out at the beach house

Australian Open

2009-01-25T10:28:00.012+11:00

'The tennis', as it is called, started last week and we have been watching as much as possible. We think of ourselves as quite lucky to live in a town which hosts a grand slam. It's so EASY to head over and watch the matches... and if you're not at the courts, the matches are on every television around the city. So while picking up an afternoon coffee at the cafe downstairs in my office building, I can catch bits of the current matches.
We have made several trips down to watch the matches live, and we have caught some exciting, close matches. It is especially exciting when Aussies are involved, the Jelena Dokic match was a great one.
We have been extremely fortunate that a friend of ours was kind enough to invite us to watch the matches from the Corporate SuperBoxes two different nights. We have been able to sit with a big group of our friends in comfort. While it has been some late nights staying up for the matches, it has been well worth it!

The view from our comfortable Superbox

Kersti pointing out where she would have hit it

Briand and Peter, are generous hook-ups!

Deeply intent on the game

All smiles in the comfortable air con

Kersti on the way to the SuperBox

Out on the smaller courts, Marty Fish in action.

The man-giant Isner as part of the American doubles team, man is he intimidating on the court!

Beating the heat with a little wine and beer!

David Starting Med School in Newcastle

2009-01-23T11:06:00.002+11:00

So Dave moved to Newcastle, England a couple weeks ago, and is already well under way starting Medical School. I know I would struggle with the Newcastle Winter, but I think he will really enjoy some snow after Florida. He says he is enjoying Newcastle, and is full on taking biochem, histo, physio, and the always exciting anatomy.
Good luck David!

Newcastle in the Winter

Shots & Planning

2009-01-17T09:24:00.002+11:00

Bill has been working every day on our trip plans for Asia... we've received all the vaccines we're going to get (less the malaria pills we'll pick up before we leave). The typhoid made our arms quite sore, and Bill has had a mild reaction (flu like symptoms), but the doctor says, 'that means it's working!'. Bill got his shot one week before me, so this week I hopefully will have side effects to look forward to :)

The planning is really quite tough. We're constantly grappling with the trade-off between seeing more places or taking it slow. And other problems pop-up like, we thought we had our general travel route all mapped out, but then we decided to tweak it around so we could take fewer malaria pills! Things we hadn't even thought of.

And thank you to Christopher and Megan (and my dad) for sending me all your travel tips. It has been REALLY useful. And it also enables us to confidently skip the areas you didn't like. Once we have it pretty much sorted, we'll post the itinerary on the blog.

We hope everyone is sticking to their New Years Resolutions and enjoying 2009!

Byron Bay and New Years!

2009-01-06T20:41:00.020+11:00

After meeting up at the Los Angeles airport, Kersti and I took the long flight back to Australia. We stopped in Melbourne for only five hours, just long enough to go home and repack for our trip north to Byron Bay!

We flew to the Gold Coast, then drove south to stay at our beautiful and remote resort in the Byron Hinterlands as an early celebration of our second anniversary. We were caught in a huge thunderstorm during the night drive to the resort, but Kersti did a great job in getting us there safely despite our obvious tiredness. The resort was set in the rainforest of Northern New South Wales, and the weather was fantastic. The next day, we made the short drive into Byron Bay. While crowded, we had a lovely time hiking up to the lighthouse and enjoyed lying out on the beach.

The next day we drove down to Yamba, where our gracious host Byron had generously opened his beach house to our friend for New Years. Yamba is a quiet beach town, in a gorgeous setting. There, we met our friends Tyler, Andrea, Sophie, Lisanne, and Matt, as well as Byron and his family (it was a touch crowded). We had a fantastic New Years, hanging out on the beach and watching fireworks. While I was up my usual antics, fortunately Kersti survived unscathed. We spent the next couple days hanging out on the beach, body surfing, diving off of the rocks, and taking a tinny up the river to see dolphins and kingfishers. We then sent to Byron’s family farm in nearby Grafton. Their house was a beautifully renovated farmhouse, and we spent the day on the river tubing and trying out wakeboarding.

Byron’s family was so welcoming, and we had a fabulous time. Byron will be heading to the States in June on a Fulbright, so hopefully we will get the chance to repay the favor and host him in the States at some point!

Byron Bay, not bad for a hippie hangout

Enjoying the sunshine in Byron Bay

The beach of Byron Bay, with the lighthouse in the distance.

Hiking up the lighthouse

The view from the hike.

A goanna

The trees overhead

It was an easy, if hot hike

We made it!

The storms rolled in very fast..

Hanging out by the pool at our resort

Kersti showing off her new swimsuit.

Kersti showing off her cut knee, a result of my throwing her in the pool...

Back in Australia!

2008-12-29T12:02:00.002+11:00

Billy and I have safely arrived back in Melbourne... and we easily survived the 15 hour leg from LA to Melbourne. We have 3 more hours to relax and pack, and then it's back to the airport for a flight to the Gold Coast :) I just realised we never rented a car for our drive from the Gold Coast to Byron Bay ... so hopefully there is still at least one car available, or else the 2 hour drive will be a long walk.

Anyway, we had such a wonderful time in the US for the holidays! We wish everyone a happy new year!

Cheers,
Kersti

Merry Christmas from the US!

2008-12-27T03:29:00.006+11:00

Kersti and I had a wonderful, relaxing time back in the States this Holiday season. It has been two years since we have both been home, so catching up with family was priority one.

Kersti and I both spent the first week in Florida. Life was well on the Peter Compound, it was reassuring how much things were the same (besides the impressive pool my Dad put in the back, I think our back pool patio is as big as our house now!). The weather was unbeleivably nice, I told Kersti to pack jeans and sweaters, a lot of good it did in the 80 degree, sunny weather. We played lots of tennis with the family, got in a couple beautiful sails on the Shearwater, explored the mangroves by dinghy, and ate lots of great food. We caught up with my cousins' kids, with five of them around things get pretty chaotic at times! And we celebrated my Grandma's 92nd birthday for the third time (there is some confusion about her age), and I got to spend quite a bit of time with her over the trip.

Kersti went back to California for a week to spend Christmas with her families, but we are meeting up in LA to fly back to Australia together on the 27th. It was sad that we couldn't be together for Christmas, but this way we both got to see our families (only fair after being overseas for two years). When we get back we turn right around and fly up to Byron Bay to celebrate New Years with friends, should be a good beach bumming holiday.

At home with the parents

Kersti and I heading out for a dinghy trip on Sarasota Bay

Kersti at our launch dock through the mangroves in front of the Peter Compound

The Peter Compound, not much has changed at Old Oak!

My cousing Bill and their beautiful daughter Gracie

The graceful elder of the generation - Emma

Of course I had to make a sand ball on Siesta Beach..

Sunset at the new bridge

Walking across the bridge

Cammie, who was just a baby when I left!

Kersti playing the part

A virtuouso peformance

Heading Home!

2008-12-09T11:46:00.000+11:00

Kersti and I are heading back to the U.S. for the holidays this Saturday! It will be my first time home in two years, so I am really psyched to see the extended family. I think I will be in for a shock when I see who much my nephews and nieces have grown! Kersti will also be coming down to Florida for a week, where we celebrate my Grandma’s birthday before she heads back to California for Christmas. It is then back to Australia to celebrate New Years at Byron Bay, so a nice three week break for both of us. I can’t wait to see everybody!

Isaac!

2008-11-26T16:05:00.009+11:00

Kersti and I are again a proud Aunt and Uncle! My brother Max and his wife Amy recently had their second boy, Isaac Christian Peter. We are very happy for them! And just in time for my parents visit for Thanksgiving, as well. We can't wait to see our nephews when we do get back to the States!

Isaac, the latest Peter boy!

Max, the proud father.

Kersti already thinks that his brother Leo is the cutest kid ever, so we have high expectations for Isaac.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T15:30:00.007+11:00

Happy thanksgiving to everyone back home in the States! It is sad to not be home for thanksgiving, but at least we will get to head home soon (only a couple weeks now!). Fortunately, I was able to get my tryptophan fix: our American friends Lindsay and Andrew graciously hosted us to a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner last weekend. Kersti prepared a delicious pecan pie and yummy yams, and despite some difficulties with our less than stellar oven, the food was a success as it always is. Plus, now I have some delicious left-overs!

The girls hard at work in the kitchen preparing delicious food. Our hostess Lindsay is third from the right.

Getting ready to carve the turkey, pathetically my only contribution to the cooking.

Kersti enjoying the thanksgiving cheer.

Lindsay and Kersti putting on the finishing touches.

Our friend Andrew sporting his "Movember". Strangely, Kersti did not want me participate in this event.

Day trip to Hanging Rock

2008-11-16T20:51:00.002+11:00

Yesterday we drove about an hour north-west of Melbourne to Hanging Rock, near Woodend in the Macedon ranges. It was a wonderful day! The weather was perfect and the area surprised us in its beauty and peacefulness.

Hanging Rock is a volcano that has been eroded away over time to leave a labyrinth of rocks at the top of a small hill. At the base of the rock is a park that has been used since the late 1880s as a recreation area. There are large lawns, cricket ovals and a racecourse that is still used today.

We enjoyed hiking around, climbing in and around the rocks, and seeing the wildlife. We saw Kookaburas and Rosellas (both birds), and an echidna even presented itself right along the path. No koalas or roo's to be seen, which was a bit of a surprise. Oh well, we were very lucky with the echidna.

Click here to see all the pictures on Picasa Web Albums

Kersti Finishes & An Exhibition

2008-11-16T20:31:00.005+11:00

Kersti has completed all her school work for her masters! She will find out her final marks on December 12th. She'll miss graduation but will try to postpone until the March graduation dates. She jokes that the only person who needs to be at her graduation is my dad, Tom Peter, because her dad, David Miller, was my only friend/family member at my masters graduation!

Kersti's project was awarded 'honorary mention' and displayed as part of an exhibition for the Architecture, Building and Planning faculty. It was quite a shock because she did not submit anything to the competition! You can't see it, but her bits are above her head to the right. (The are extracts from an urban design framework.)

And here are all the people that came to see Kersti's posters...

just kidding

Billy's Birthday Celebration in Torquay

2008-11-11T21:52:00.009+11:00

This last weekend we had a lot to celebrate, including my 30th birthday and Kersti handing in her last assignment for her Master’s! So we rented a beautiful house down in Torquay, a beach town about an hour and a half out of Melbourne. About 15 of our friends came down for the weekend, and we had a blast with excellent meals, time at the beach enjoying the sun and the boogie boarding, and just a little bit of partying at night as well. It turns out that I can still party like I’m 29! The weekend was an amazing success, no surprise given Kersti’s careful planning as always.

Kersti and I at our lovely house in Torquay

Our team: sophie, lisanne, brian, and Kristen

The other team: byron, Lindsay, james, Carmen, Andrew, and Matt.

Trust fall!

Light as a feather, stiff as a board…

Kristen giving Byron a little shove…

Cooking some steaks

Trying to get a better view

Andrew proud of this water drinking abilities

Sophie, Kersti and Kristen proudly displaying the birthday cupcakes they prepared.

Andrew and Matt at the beach, we were lucky with great weather

Lisanne doing some cartwheels with plenty of room to play cricket on the beach

Kersti proud of her clean and tidy kitchen

What can I say; we had a lot of margaritas…

Melbourne Cup Day

2008-11-11T21:50:00.002+11:00

Melbourne Cup is Australia's most important horse race... it's so famous that it is even a public holiday in our state of Victoria. As it was the day before my 2 final projects were due, we didn't go to the races... but we did go to a quick party at Ormond and watched the race on tv.

Literally 6 minutes before, I was wearing sweats and working hard in the computer lab.

Here I am wearing my fascinator (from last year)... with Inis (who is visiting with her professor husband from Vasser)

After watching the race, which ended in a PHOTO FINISH! (the closest race they think of all time), we took 'the long route home' around the building to enjoy the roses.

Dad, these are the chocolates you sent me!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T19:49:00.010+11:00

Our friends andrew and lindsay threw a fantastic Halloween party last night at there new place. Kersti and I dressed up as Harry Potter and Hermione, making good use of our Ormond robes and borrowing some ties. There were a lot of great costumes, and it was great to catch up with friends we haven't seen in a while as we have been pretty busy. And, the best part was, I got to cast spells all night!

The two muggle-born wizards representing the house of Ormond.

Our gracious hosts Lindsay and Andrew.

Expecto Patronus!

It's Leviasar, not Leviaso...

Cricket and Croquet!

2008-10-26T20:02:00.012+11:00

Kersti organised a relaxing afternoon of outdoor games for the Ormond Senior Common Room (the resident tutors) this last weekend. We got to work on our important croquet and backyard cricket skills, as well as getting to enjoy some delicious snacks. I'm still not sure I understand croquet, but backyard cricket is a lot of fun and a lot harder than it looks!

Don Bradman about to score another century.

Adam Gilchrest leading off for the Aussies.

Watch out for that spin bowler!

Our antique croquet set.

Lining up to whack it...

I guess I missed!

Nikolaus getting a close look at the lie.

What? I wasn't cheating! I though you could use your feet!

Ai mistakenly thinks she is supposed to hit the soccer ball.

Right before all chaos broke loose on the croquet pitch...

Tennis at Melbourne Park

2008-10-26T19:53:00.009+11:00

Kersti and I have been playing a lot of tennis recently as members of the Melbourne Uni Tennis Club. We have been able to play a lot of mixed doubles competitions, which make it fun to play together, and we have met a lot of really great people. We have signed up for a weekend league, which should prove interesting when it gets hotter as the matches are from 1-4!

Friday night, the club rented out Melbourne Park for the evening. This is where they play the Australian Open, which we went to last year and had a great time. It was really exciting to get a chance to play on the courts, including a show court with the stands around us. It was a very different surface, which took some getting used to, and was a really neat experience.

Kersti's Birthday

2008-10-26T19:40:00.011+11:00

So this Wednesday we got to celebrate Kersti's birthday (actually, we try to celebrate Kersti's birthday week, might as well enjoy it). Although she is super busy right now with school work, she was able to meet up for a nice lunch and then a nice dinner after work. She finishes school in a couple weeks, so we will be able to have a more proper date then, but we still had a wonderful time.

The birthday girl!

Meeting up for a nice, sunny lunch on hardware lane (there aren't many hardware stores there).

We ate dinner on the east side of downtown, a ritzy side of town we haven't been to much (with good asian food).

Some beautiful flowers awaited for her upon her return, thanks to her Dad!

Where's Kersti?

I tried making some chocolate chip cookies (a poor substitute for cake), but you gotta start somewhere!

My Birthday!

2008-10-26T19:35:00.002+11:00

So, to celebrate the big 3-0, Kersti and I had a lovely night down at the Docklands, eating at a Turkish/Moroccan restaurant with fantastic views of the water and the city. It is the same restaurant that we went to with Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Bob when they were here, and we had been meaning to go back for some time.
Thank you all for the birthday messages, it was nice to hear from so many people in the states that I haven't heard from in a while. I received many wonderful gifts, including an express package of Cheetos from Mom and Dad which was huge. Kersti got me a some cool gifts as well, especially a software package to help with my guitar playing. I think she may regret her decision though when I start using it all the time though!