Our journey to Jordan was a long one.  We traveled at 4a.m. through Kuwait into Amman.  We were upgraded to first class for the first time and had a pampered experience which made all the difference. Once in Amman we travelled south by public bus to Petra, Jordan.  Being in the middle east for the first time in my life is truly exceptional.  It feels as if we are being dropped in the desert to fend for ourselves.  Conversely, the people of Jordan are beautiful, genuine, friendly and so welcoming.  When you walk down the street you hear people calling “welcome” or “would you like to have tea with us?”  It’s been wonderful to be around people like this.

(Sunset in Petra)

Arriving in Petra was like a dream. We made it to our hostel in time to sit on the roof and watch the sunset. There were many moments when I couldn’t believe where I was.

We woke up early to beat the crowds and the heat and headed to Petra with our new American friend (who just opened a brewery called Our Mutual Friend in Denver).  As you enter into Petra you are swallowed by a gigantic canon that goes on for 2km.  At the end, you enter into the ruins of Petra.  We spent six unreal hours walking, hiking and smiling through the ancient ruins that were built almost 2,000 years ago.

(The Treasury)

(The Monastery)

Most people spend two or three days in Petra, however we only spent one.  Having come down with a cold and perhaps suffering from heat exhaustion I slept for seven hours after our adventures in the ruins.  Jordan was an a bonus trip for us that started only as a means to save money on getting to Israel.  It ended as an experience of a lifetime.  I feel blessed and honored to have experienced this wonderful country and feel sad to have had to say goodbye so soon.

Well everyone, the storm has come and gone.  It’s been an intense couple of days.  I’ve been without power in my apartment since Monday.  Yesterday, I walked a little over 8 miles to work.  Tonight, I’m leaving to go meet up with Farrell and Albert in Istanbul.  I’m excited but utterly ill-prepared.  I have no clean laundry and this is how a large part of my life has looked over the last couple of days:

(Pretty different feel than this picture I took out my window over the summer)

We’ll have lots to tell you about our trip to Turkey when I’m back. Until then, we have our regular schedule of posts on tap, including Farrell’s recent time in Jordan and Israel. Stay tuned.

Last week I got an email from one of my best friends asking for recommendations for her colleagues who were coming to NYC for the weekend.  The couple had been here before and had already visited many of the standard, first-time tourist destinations.  It was looking to be a perfect autumn weekend, weather wise, so I wrote back a list of mostly outdoor stops that are tried and true favorites among New Yorkers and tourists alike.  By the time I finished the email, I felt almost envious of their trip.  It was a good reminder to branch out from my usual destinations and revisit some of my favorite place in Manhattan.

1.  The Met Rooftop  Whether you have time to visit the full museum or not, a trip up to its roof is always worth it.  It’s open from May to late fall and has a new installation each year.  There’s also a little cafe, so you can get a bite to eat and have a drink while overlooking Central Park.

2.  The Highline Park is converted old rail lines turned into a blocks long walkway with awesome landscaping and interesting stopping points along the way.  It really never gets old.

3. Cafe Sabarsky is a lovely Viennese cafe inside the Neue Galerie.  I went there for the first time the afternoon of my 30th birthday, after a visit to the Guggenheim Museum.  It was pretty idyllic to start the celebration.

4.  The Union Square Farmers Market is simply nice to walk through, whether it be for people watching, shopping or both.

5.  I’d lived in NYC for years before I ate at the Central Park Boathouse.  Regardless of whether you actually go inside, it is a beautiful little spot.  I can go ages without going into Central Park, which always seems criminal once I finally get there.

6. I often feel an overwhelming need to get to water.  One of my favorite destinations for this is Battery Park.  On the other side of the World Financial Center there is a little marina, lots of places to sit and from certain points you can see the Statue of Liberty (which still seems smaller than I think it will each time I see it).

For all of you that have a love affair with all things food related, here are some of are some of the tastes on our plate from India.  Let me start by saying that most Indian food does not photograph well. The pictures in no way take you on a wild sensory taste explosion, however the food does.

I had no better food in India, than the food that we ate at the ashram.  Because we received whatever food they made that day, we hardly know the names of the dishes, so bare with me.

Breakfast

Chai out the ying yang

Lunch

Veg pastry

Most of the what was served is South Indian food, with a couple of Northern dishes.  Delish!

*Take a look back on the food we’ve eaten around the world:

New Zealand  / Indonesia / Thailand / Cambodia & Vietnam

The Indian sunsets will take your breath away.

Where do I even BEGIN with India?  I could write it a love letter to this country that would last an eternity, and beat it up at the same time. There are moments when I am on the verge of tears from the stress of traveling here; then there are moments when I feel certain I belong, and should stay here forever and ever.

Just some flowers falling from the tree in the most beautiful way possible.

After Vietnam, India opened her arms to us with the warmest embrace and we really needed it.  We were able to stay at our friends apartment in Chennai, and spend what turned into almost 3 weeks at the Babuji Ashram. A typical day at the ashram went like this:

6:30 am – Meditation (Let’s be honest, I skipped some/most)

7:30 am – Breakfast

9:00 am – Meditation

10:00 am -12:30 – Reading in the air conditioned library

12:30 – Lunch

1:30 – 4:30 – Nap or Rest (Definately not burning any calories)

5:00 pm – Meditation

6:30 pm – 7:00 pm – Watch the sunset from the highest point I could find

7:30 pm – Dinner

9:30 pm – Bed

Seems pretty awesome, huh?  Without getting too dramatic, or going into crazy detail, the time we spent at the ashram was amazing.  It was a rest from traveling and the daily experience of searching for our next meal, and we spent time apart.  It was peaceful, empowering, deep and fun.  We loved it and I know I will think fondly on the time we spent there for the rest of my life.

Bay of Bengal

After our 3 weeks stay at the ashram, we headed to Mumbai (Bombay).  This city is insane.  I have heard a lot of numbers, but I think the population is 20 million.  We walked through a market that was offically the craziest and most chaotic place I have ever been in my life.  I would be lying if I told you that we took Mumbai full on, but we didn’t.  We chilled out.  Met awesome travelers.  Saw some sights. Took some train rides.  And saw the ocean.  It took us a couple of days to regain our stamina and now it is off to Jordan.

Everyone swims in ALL their clothes.

I can’t wait.

As I told you on Saturday, we are in India. In Chennai, India to be exact. We have been here at the Babuji Memorial Ashram for 2 weeks and it has been so wonderful for us to stay put somewhere that is so calming.

(via Pinterest)

If any of you have been to India, it can be kind of hilarious. Here are some hilariously awesome things about this place:

• People here always refer to a man as a fellow. So they will say something like, “Don’t do that to me fellow,” or “He is just a young fellow of 18+.”
• Albert has been working out at a gym down the street where the manager gives him ridiculous workouts to do in front of everyone, all while blasting Phil Collins and Ace of Base especially for the American in the gym.
• When you meet someone they will ask you, “What is your good name?” For some reason, I always feel like I am lying when I tell them Farrell.
• The Indian head bobble. Check out this amazing article about each kind of bobble.

Of course with all the hilariousness also comes chaos, frustration and waves of heat insanity, but the hilarious moments can make it all worth it.

It seems like time is moving so fast.  We’ve already been in India for over three weeks but I had to write about all the crazy, awesome (and not so awesome) stuff we ate while we were in Cambodia and Vietnam.

The best thing we ate in Cambodia was Kumer Curry at Khmer Kitchen Restaurant in Siem Reap. It is a coconut based curry with sweet potato, carrots and onions. It was so delicious.  When our Cambodian friend, Sombum, invited us to his village, we spent a day eating all the wonderful local food they made for us. The desserts made from all kinds of rice and potatos were our favorite.

In Vietnam, obviously Pho is where it’s at. Though I haven’t really been eating meat all too much since I have been here, I did get Chicken Pho and it was seriously amazing. The flavors of Vietnam were all in there.  Lime, anise, lemongrass and chilis make for the freshest bites of your life. Al ate a lot of Banh Mi. His favorite was this one from Nha Hang Ngn Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh. I had their amazing spring rolls.

There is no way I could write this post and not mention the Vietnamese coffee. Can I just say, DANG! So good.  Also, when we were on the old junk boat in Halong Bay, we made fried spring rolls. They are so easy to make. Roll up some carrots, onion and mushrooms and wrap em up!

And lastly, there was this…

Yum.

While we were in Halong Bay one of our guides told us about the significance of the five Chinese elements in the lives of the Vietnamese. Depending on the year you are born, you are characterized by one of the five elements. For instance, I am the element of wood. In Vietnam, when you are thinking of getting married, you first visit a fortune teller to find out if you and your partner’s elements match. If they don’t match, the relationship ends. It sounds so incredibly final, yet as Miss May reassured me, “They will still be friends. No problem.”

Let me just start by saying that Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) is totally awesome. Let me follow that up by saying we didn’t have the best time there. We arrived in Saigon with 50% of us pretty ill. Albert had gotten sick in Cambodia and was recovering slowly when we arrived in Vietnam. He spent about 5 days in bed. I spent a lot of those days worrying about him while sightseeing as much as I could; he slept.

I was run down, worried about Al, feeling lonely, reading too much news and feeling like a jerk for being an American in post-war Vietnam.  It wasn’t the best way to start off our trip but after almost a week of resting and recovering, we explored a lot of the city.  There are trendy cafes hidden in alleyways, hip boutiques and great food.  Saigon is what’s up in Asia.  I prefer it over Bangkok.  I said it!

From Saigon we headed straight north to Hanoi.  The motorbikers in Hanoi (and Saigon) are insane.  There are 5 million motorbikes in Hanoi alone. People with whole families, stores, and livestock are riding motorbikes around the tiny streets.  We saw a couple accidents, thankfully nothing too bad, but it is still scary and dangerous.

Hanoi has a very strong French influence and it’s chaotic and charming all in one.  There are lakes throughout the city where you can sit all day and watch the craziness around you.

We made a last minute decision to go to Halong Bay, a bay with over 2,000 islands.  It has been named a natural wonder of the world and is truly phenomenal.  The bay is covered with old Asian junk boats with traditional sails.  It was beautiful and peaceful.  I feel lucky to have experienced it.

Vietnam is a wonderful, crazy, beautiful and exciting place.  The food is fresh and unique. The people work hard and enjoy life.  The culture is rich and passionate.

From Thailand, we crossed the border into Cambodia by bus.  We had read horror stories in our guidebooks and throughout Internet forums of scams that happen crossing the Thai-Cambodian border.  Apparently there is a “bus mafia” that spots you before you go through the border, so we went into it prepared.  We wrote down the prices of each taxi ride, bus ride, visa cost, etc. so that we’d never have our guidebooks out.

Though you are never really prepared, everything went smoothly. We beat the bus mafia and enjoyed a stunning taxi ride from the border to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The scenery was so gorgeous. It’s unbelievable and not what I expected.

(South Gate, Angkor Wat)

One of my favorite places in Cambodia was Angkor Wat, which translates to mean “City of Temples.” And it is just that.  Built in the early 12th century by King Suryavaman II, Angkor Wat is the largest Hindu temple in the world.  We spent a whole day walking through only a tiny part of the grounds. Some people spend a week or more there.  I loved it – it was so breathtaking and remarkable.

(Ta Prohm, Angkor Wat)

(Bayon Temple, Angkor Wat)

Our second favorite part about Cambodia was meeting our friend Sombum (pronounced Sombomb). He was kind enough to take us home to his village with him. We spent a day with his family and also part took in a high school graduation.

Sombum’s brother started a non-profit school which is run 100% by people in the village. If you are ever moved to donate in Cambodia, I truly believe in this school. Check out more here.

Cambodia really left a strong impression on me. The people of Cambodia have struggled and risen from a horrific genocide. Their country is still covered in millions of landmines. Yet, they are some on the most friendly, giggly and welcoming people I have met so far. I can’t wait to return.