Hitchin' a Ride

During my two months of traveling after Korea, I spent a lot of time moving from place to place. Although I walked my legs off most days, it was inevitable I would be hitching a ride at some point. And, hitch a ride I did...

Number of...

Airplanes: 17

Personal cars/vans: 4

Hired cars: 1

Taxis: Hundreds

City buses: 7

Micro-buses: 3

Tour buses/vans: 3

Subways: Several in Shanghai and Istanbul

Trains: 3

Funiculars: 1

Maglevs: 1

Faluccas: 1

Med/Lg Boats: 3

Canal boats: 1

Horse & Buggies: 1

Camels: 1

Elephants: 1

Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is Turkey's largest covered shopping market. With thousands of stores, it's an overwhelmingly exhilarating experience. As the end of our trip neared, we had less time, less money, and less space to purchase everything we wanted but enjoyed the afternoon strolling through the tip of the iceberg.

The ubiquitous evil eye—here and there in Jordan and Egypt, but ALL OVER Turkey!

Turkey has some of the most beautiful lanterns I have ever seen—another reason to return.

Traditional Turkish designs decorate bowls, plates, and tiles everywhere.

Of course, no country visit is complete without a new scarf... or two.

Oh, the jewelry... so unique and so beautiful.

*all photos courtesy of Andrea G.

Turkish Delight

My favorite Turkish delight is not the savory little sweets found throughout the country, but the beautifully rich rugs—particularly those in one man's Istanbul shop. I regret not buying one when I look back at the stunning pictures, but I guess it just gives me another reason to return to the city! Although, it doesn't take much convincing beyond that...

Yum!

Turkey offers a lot of delicious food options and we were thrilled to taste test many of them, but we found ourselves especially loving the following five:

1. Borek

A baked or fried filled pastry made from phyllo. It is often filled with feta cheese, meat, or vegetables. I usually enjoyed the cheese or spinach-filled borek.... yum!

2. Gozleme

A stuffed, hand rolled pastry that is cooked over a griddle. Oftentimes, it is filled with the same ingredients as borek—cheese, vegetables, or meat—but we also enjoyed it with honey and peanut butter... yum!

3. Baklava

Although it looks similar to borek and gozleme, baklava tastes very different. Made from phyllo dough, baklava is sweetened with syrup or honey and frequently coated in pistachios... yum!

4. Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Perhaps it is not a "traditional" Turkish dish, but Istanbul loves their stuffed baked potatoes. Similar to the counter at Subway, you can choose from a variety of different toppings for your potato including olives, meat, coleslaw, mushrooms, onions, potato salad... Why not top your baked potato with potato salad? Yum.

5. Stuffed Waffles

A great idea! Why choose toppings for a baked potato or Subway sandwich when you can put things inside a waffle? Chocolate sauce, carmel sauce, pistachio cream, strawberry cream, whipped cream, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanuts, walnuts, kiwi, strawberries, pineapple, yellow cherries, red cherries, green cherries, sprinkles, coconut... yum!

FYI: It's possible the stuffed waffles may upset your stomach...

Awkward...

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

When I'm in Egypt and I'm all templed out, I like to do something different. Hop on a relaxing river boat, sail down the Nile and stop on an island. A banana island, that is.

It's true.

On Luxor's banana island, hundreds of banana trees bask in the sunlight while farmers sit and wait for the fruit to ripen. Why do tourists visit the island? I'm not sure. There aren't any mummies or pyramids or temples or statues to see. In fact, the only other thing to look at is the crocodile the locals have captured, which they now poke with a stick. Obviously, that's not a good idea. But, after a tour around the land with a semi-informative guide and a quick poke at the croc, we sat in the shade and enjoyed a heaping platter of bananas. Maybe that's why people go. Who would turn down a perfectly good banana?

Our boat, the Tom & Jerry

Baby bananas

Egypt vs. Algeria

Tension mounted as team spirit swelled on November 14, 2009 when Egypt hosted Algeria in the World Cup qualifying game in Cairo. American friends were strongly advised against attending the match, and the U.S. embassy warned its citizens to stay off the streets that night. Ever since 1989's World Cup qualifying win by Egypt drove an Algerian player to gouge out the eye of an Egyptian team doctor, the two teams have been at each other's throats.

Even before the game began on the 14th, Egyptian fans attacked Algeria's bus with rocks and bricks as it transported the team from the airport to their hotel. Four players were injured and required stitches. Concerned officials, fans, and players questioned the safety of the team and demanded answers from FIFA but none were given. On the day of the game, Egyptians were in high spirits as they waved flags throughout the city and performed an ongoing symphony with their car horns.

How else would you get a flag to secure to the hood of your car?

A 2-0 win over Algeria sent fans racing to the streets as Egypt moved one step closer to World Cup victory. Car horns blared instantly as the winning goal was made and within moments, firecrackers screamed and popped throughout the night air. It was later reported that dozens of people were injured during late night skirmishes and Algerian fans demolished an Egypt Air office in Algiers by setting furniture on fire. From the safety of our friends' balcony, we listened to the chaos ensue down the road and yelled our congratulations to passersby.

The 2-0 win placed Egypt and Algeria neck and neck, and a rematch was scheduled on neutral territory, in Sudan, to settle the tie. On November 18, the day of the rematch, we waited to board our plane for Istanbul and ended up sharing a gate with a flight heading to Sudan. A sea of red engulfed the waiting area as loads of excited fans waited anxiously and chanted for their beloved home team. Several eager airport employees whispered rumors of a Sudan-bound man named, Ehab Tawfik—a famous Egyptian singer—who was on his way to the gate. Minutes later, we found ourselves posing for a picture with him, per his request. Famous Egyptian singer or four American girls... I guess fame is in the eye of the beholder. In the end, Algeria beat out Egypt in a 1-0 win and secured a spot in the highly coveted World Cup match in South Africa, summer 2010.

The famous Ehab Tawfik, and apparently equally famous four American girls. Although the picture is off-center, it's quite an accomplishment considering the previous attempts found the photographer holding the camera backwards. An up-close photo of his iris would not have been the same.

......................

Egyptian pride overflowed onto the highways in Cairo the day of the first World Cup qualifying match. Check out the video for a dose of team spirit:

Shop 'Til You Drop

Cairo's most famous souk (market), Khan el-Khalili overflows with enough treasures to satisfy even the most insatiable shopper. Baskets of seeds and spices perch next to brightly colored scarves. Alabaster bowls balance precariously on shelves while camel bone carved trinkets intrigue shoppers who brave the winding back alleys. Each jagged turn offers the possibility of undiscovered treasure and many shop owners extend unfulfilled promises of discounted items, freebies, and marriage proposals.

Egyptian man: Hey, Spice Girls! Good prices for you.

Us: Did he just say Spice Girls?

Egyptian: You from Australia, I know. You marry me. I love you forever.

Us: La shukran... No, thank you.

*all photos by Andrea Gregory

Pretty Woman

I really screwed up this year. In an effort to save money and out of sheer laziness, I never visited a hair salon. At some point this spring I convinced Andrea to trim my hair about 1/8" (wasn't sure how great her skills were) and she did a decent job. However, it recently became apparent how bad my split-ends were becoming so I decided to get a cut before leaving on my trip.

I just returned from the best salon experience I've ever had, and the "screwing up" factor is in the realization that I should've been going regularly all year long. It was fantastic. The salon was beautifully decorated and the stylists were perfectly professional. They hung up my purse, massaged my head, and spent endless time on making sure I looked better at the end than when I came into the salon. The stylist's assistant even helped blow-dry and straighten my hair, and with two people simultaneously working on me I couldn't help channeling Pretty Woman... except for the whole hooker thing.

It was a relaxing and indulgent experience that I definitely wish I could have again, and it didn't break the bank—only $16! I love Korea.

Special Visitors

A breath of fresh air arrived on September 4th when my parents landed in Korea for a much-needed visit. It had been just a few weeks shy of a year since I'd last seen them and their timing couldn't have been better. That day at school felt endless as I waited for their phone call to let me know they were in the country. I told each class about their visit and watched as the kids' eyes grew huge with disbelief. "Teacher, your mother and father...Korea?! Wow..." One class commented on how happy I looked as I told them and I could see my excitement rub off on their faces as their smiles widened.

As the last class arrived, I finally received the phone call from my dad. They had made it safely and were sitting in my apartment waiting for me. A 40 minute class couldn't have gone by slower than that one, and when the final bell rang I grabbed my stuff and headed out the door. Without letting my sandals slow me down, I literally ran all the way home and laughed to myself as my own image conjured up thoughts of a sappy movie or commercial. It was worth the run when I busted through the door and saw them standing there—face to face, not on a computer screen.

With only a few short days before they headed to Japan we tried to make the most of our time together. They sampled a few ubiquitous Korean dishes (galbi, bulgolgi, and bibimbap), visited my school, strolled through my neighborhood, indulged in some shopping, met my friends, and experienced one of the largest palaces in Korea—Gyeongbokgung.

Although short, their visit was exactly what I needed to reenergize and refocus myself for the remaining month of school and two months of traveling. I was sad to say goodbye, but excited for the experiences they had yet to have in Japan. Sharing my life in Korea with them is absolutely one of my most cherished memories from this year.

With a stroke of luck, we arrived just in time to see the changing of the guards ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace.

A palace bedroom

The painted ceiling of a palace room

A tour guide in traditional Korean dress, hanbok.

The populated palace suddenly opened onto an expansive garden.

For Lee & Nicki

I miss you guys tons!!! Can't wait to see you back in the states.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame... One More Time!

Our last baseball game experience in Seoul was a flop for these reasons:

1. We found out after arriving at the game that we had Unreserved Seat tickets.

2. It was Children's Day, which meant... no school.

3. On Children's Day, kids get into the game for free.

4. Everyone in Seoul is trying to save a buck.

5. There were no Unreserved Seats available...

6. And no standing room available...

7. And no walking room available.

So, in July we decided to try again, but this time with better tickets. We got our tickets, showed up early, and walked right in to our shiny, empty seats. The game was excitingly close and although our team (Doosan) lost by a point, it was the hottest day of the year, AND it rained; we were more than happy with the experience. Go Doosan!

Check out this video for some spontaneously choreographed stick banging...

Bang–Bang–BangBangBang–BangBangBangBang–DOOSAN!