A Few Random Pictures

I'm sure nobody has even noticed my lack of blogging.... but I keep telling myself that I need to write more about my trip. Finding the time and energy however has been a struggle lately. I journaled a lot while traveling and it tends to be that the more I journal personally, the less I blog and vice versa. Though since I've been home, I've not done much of either. :) 

Today I just have a few random pictures from my trip around the world (it was more like half the world). I'll try to write more soon! 

Kids grow so much in 3 years time!

the beautiful, awesome city of Istanbul

Hagia Sophia

Met up with Dad overseas for a couple weeks 

a famous mosaic inside the Hagia Sophia

Travel Meme

Well, my friend Jen tagged me to do this travel meme and I figured, why not!? I love talking about traveling, so doesn't take much to get me going... Enjoy.
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• The A to Z Travel Meme was created by Julie Fox.  You can find the original post here.

A: Age you started travelling?

Well, my first real trip was at 13 years of age, my family went to Kotzebue, AK for 3 weeks. Then at 14, we began traveling the Western side of the USA several months of the year. But my own personal travels began when I was 19, when I went to Arctic Canada for a winter.

B: Best beer you’ve had and where?

I don't drink. How about best baked good or something.... well, that would be too hard to choose, so let's just skip it.

C: Cuisine (favourite)

ooh... I'd have to say right now, it's Greek or Mediterranean- love me some kebabs, or donairs, or whatever else you want to call them.

D: Destinations, favourite, least favourite and why

Choosing a favorite destination is like choosing a favorite star in the sky, nigh unto impossible... a few of my favorites- countries would be Mongolia (cause its one of the first places I lived internationally, love the wilderness and barren land and the amazing people) and Lithuania (cause of the rich history, unique language, friends I've made and they love basketball) :) Cities would be Kashgar (such an interesting blend of modern and ancient all in one location) and Vancouver, BC (it has mountains and ocean all together, what more could you want?)

Least favorite? I don't like to say I don't like a place cause there is always something about everywhere that is unique and interesting. Guess I would have to say Beijing and parts of India, though I would go back to both places.

E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”

A completely black night with no manmade lights in sight, where the world becomes an ocean of starlight, complete with billions upon billions of tiny stars stretching from horizon to horizon. Unreal. So close that you can almost reach out and grab one!

And then walking on the Great Wall of China (past the restored area) on a semi clear day, when you can see the far distant hills dotted with watchtowers and know that where you are standing, others have walked- a couple thousand years ago!

F: Favourite mode of transportation

Sometimes plane, sometimes car. Depends on where I'm going and what I'm doing.

G: Greatest feeling while travelling

Stepping onto an airplane, knowing you are headed thousands miles away, to an strange and unknown place, where you discover culture, places, history and make remarkable memories. 

H: Hottest place

Fiji Islands - HOT and HUMID! this Alaskan girl didn't think she would survive!

I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where

Flying on Emirates Air from Dubai to Seattle. Long flight, but the flight crew was great. I think I spent half my time in the back galley with the flight attendants. Even got cheesecake from first class. Also, Sri Lanka Airlines had great service. On both though, I think I got preferential treatment cause I was friendly... haha always make friends with the flight attendants!

J: Journey that took the longest

I've been on several long ones.... when you come from Alaska, you can just tag on about 5-7 hours more than if you were flying directly from the Lower 48. Probably my longest has been about 40 years to Mongolia. Though if you count the time I was stranded in Beijing for 2 days because of a missed flight, then that would be the longest, at about 3 days.

K: Keepsake from your travels

Memories. I have other things I've bought over the years, but memories are precious and can never be taken away. :)

L: Let-down sight, why and where

Taj Mahal, Agra, India - well, it was supposed to be a 9 hour train ride from where I was staying, turned out to be 19 hours on a train. By the time we got to town, it was too late to go, so we went the next morning, but it was closed (always closed on Fridays). So we went to the park across the river where you could see the backside of the Taj, but it was so incredibly polluted. Pictures were a disappointment.

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel

wow, hard to pinpoint a time. Maybe the first winter I spent in Mongolia... we went to Beijing for a week and there was so much to see and do. I had always known there are amazing places around the world, but I actually got to see some in person and not just in someone else's picture. Walking on the Great Wall, I knew I wanted to see other amazing things, both natural and manmade, in other countries.

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in

Radisson Hotel in Kaunas, Lithuania. I don't stay in hotels very often overseas, but that trip was part of group travel/event, so accommodations were chosen for us. Very nice place!

O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while travelling?

mountains, clouds, basically nature. But people too. Anything that I want to remember. :) 

P: Passport stamps, how many and from where?

Uh, dunno. I almost filled one passport and just got a new one a couple years ago, with 52 pages instead of 24. Not everyone stamped my passport and some countries I've been to more than once. Currently, I've been to 18 countries and 43 states. 

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where

Maybe the three Buddhist temples in UB, Mongolia. I'd say there were more on the creepy side, than simply quirky.

R: Recommended sight, event or experience

Great Wall of China, Broadway show, eating authentic ethnic food

S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while travelling

mmm hard to say, I like eating the ethnic food, so am willing to pay for that. If it's a really great historical place, I don't mind paying to go inside. Other than that, I'm pretty tight with my money.

T: Touristy thing you’ve done

uh, stop to take pictures of moose on the side of the road in Alaska. haha I had friends visiting and they wanted to stop and take pictures. I wanted to keep on driving.

U: Unforgettable travel memory

Too many to recount. Ask me in person sometime and I'll choose one.

V: Visas, how many and for where?

I love traveling to countries where I don't require a visa as a US citizen. I think I've applied for 3 different Chinese visas and 2 Indian visas over the years. The rest I've been able to get when I arrived in country.

W: Wine, best glass of wine while travelling and where?

Again, I don't drink alcholic beverages... but if we are talking wine, as in fruit juice, it would definitely be freshly squeezed pomegranate juice on the street in Kashgar. So strong, sour and powerful! It was only a small glass full, but it was enough. And after we drank, we watched as they took our glasses back, set them back on the table and promptly refilled them for the next customer.... guess a little germs don't hurt? ;)

X: eXcellent view and from where?

So many amazing views! Sunrises and sunsets on the barren rolling hills of Outer Mongolia, the coast of Iceland... but one of the most spectacular was driving through the Canadian Arctic in the peak of Autumn. The mountains were ablaze in color and it went on for miles and miles. Then driving home 2 weeks later, I watched as the sun set on my right hand, casting it's last light on the mountains, coloring the freshly snow-covered peaks with golds, oranges and pinks. Indescribable.

Y: Years spent travelling?

Going on 11 years, though I didn't go out of the country every year during the past decade.

Z: Zealous sports fans and where?

Don't think I've been to a real sporting event outside the country. NHL Blackhawks game was pretty cool, but the next hockey game will be better! When I was in Lithuania walking around town, there was a street 3x3 basketball tournament going on; that was pretty cool. Everyone there loves basketball and I watched a couple really good games.

Out and About

Last week I was able to go for a drive into the mountains south of where I am staying. I didn't drive, but I enjoyed the ride greatly. It was a gorgeous day - about 60 degrees with sunny skies. As we drove higher and higher into the mountains, it got a little cooler and snow became deeper. A lot of the road near the top of the mountains were covered with snow and melting slush. Before that, the roads were swimming in mud. 

country road

 My pictures don't even begin to do the sight justice. I love seeing rolling green and brown hills set against a backdrop of snow capped mountains, with a blue sky above. Our Creator is an amazing artist!!

mud slide/waterfall

 On the way back down the hill, we slid and fishtailed a little. Seems we weren't the only ones who had problems with the slickery (yes, I did mean to say slickery) roads. We passed a vehicle that had slid off the road. They stopped us and asked for help. Neither of us had a tow strap, but they had a piece of wire. I didn't think it would work; it wasn't very thick wire. But they hooked the vehicles together and we started pulled. Snap! The guy tied a knot in the wire and refastened it to our trailer hitch. Yes, a knot in the wire. We tried again. The car started moving forward, but not back onto the road, merely along side it. Then it started tipping a bit. Mr. Allen said, "if they go over, we're going with them...." At one point, I really thought they were going to roll down the hill. Pretty sure my heart stopped for a second or two. But somehow we pulled them out of the ditch and back onto the road..... all with a piece of wire that had a knot in it!!!! Yep, that's the way it's done here. :) 

 Today I got the chance to go into the city to look around a bit. Thankfully we had a little bit of blue sky, which is always nice. Missed the changing of the guards at the City Square, but got a video of the soldiers marching into the building. It doesn't seem like a very practical way of marching, but sure looks cool! 

Kyrgyz flag

 Just a couple years ago, the country had a revolution. This monument shows how they (supposedly) got rid of the bad and kept the good in the government. There are two main parties constantly vying for control, each accuse the other of being corrupt. And they're both right. 

Revolution Monument

national hero - Manas

Bishkek's "Big Ben" :p

Curly Hair!!

So, I know this has nothing to with traveling... but these made me laugh! If you have curly hair you will totally understand!!! Or if you know someone with crazy, curly hair, they maybe you'll understand a little. Anyways, I got a good laugh from them, so thought I'd share. Don't forget to smile today! 

:D

You know you're from Alaska when.......

1. Your idea of a traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a motor home on the highway

2. "Vacation" means going to Anchorage for the weekend

3. You measure distance in hours

4. You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events

5. You think of the major food groups as: moose meat, fish, canned food and berries

6. There are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at the grocery store at any given time

7. You know what Bunny Boots are

8. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow

9. You can go to McDonalds to order off the $1.50 menu which they feel is equivalent to the $0.99 menu 

10. You go to school, work, or both in the dark and come out in the dark 

11. 30 degrees is shorts weather 

12. You tell people you live in an igloo for kicks 

13. You don’t swim in natural bodies of water for fear of swimmers itch or beaver fever...or leeches 

14. Having a moose in your front yard is a legitimate excuse for being late to school 

15. You refer to the continental US as the "lower 48" or “the states”

16. You get an attitude when you have to pay tax in the lower 48 

17. Salmon isn't a delicacy, it's a staple 

18. You don't sleep in the summer because it's too short to miss a minute of it 

19. Half your friends own a snow machine and you think people that call them snow mobiles are dumb 

Nasa Rocket sent into Northern Lights - 2012

20. You've seen the northern lights and you know why they are such a "big deal" 

21. You only watch the news when they announce the amount of the year’s PFD

22. You wear flips flops all year without getting sick 

23. You've never seen cotton or tobacco growing, but your neighbor has a 30 acre pot field 

24. You know the term "studs" isn't referring to hot guys. 

25. You give up and tell people in the lower 48 that you DO live in an igloo and you DO have a pet polar bear named Mishka when they refuse to believe otherwise. 

26. You call someone without a crack in their windshield a tourist 

27. When you go to the Lower 48 you wonder where everybody's block heater cable is