Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is our first destination.  Wow! I believe over 9 million people live here.  For all you worried, I'm pretty sure we'll be able to find toilet paper and razors and something to eat here :)
We plan on spending about 3-5 days here.  It's obviously way too big to explore everything, but we definitely plan on hitting some of the highlights.  We'll be staying in a hotel around Soi Rambuttri called the Rambutri Village Inn,  which is basically near "backpacker central".  To help give you a better concept of what the place can look like, here's a picture (I know many of you have this eerie image of dormitory style rows of bunkbeds and low lighting and danger) This place has a great rooftop pool that we hope is as good as it looks as well, price- whopping $28 per night for queen bed and private bath (yes it has hot water and wi-fi as well).  This was actually about as much as we'll pay for a place we anticipate, which was astonishing.

Bangkok will be our first big dose of culture shock.  We anticipate a full day or two worth of jet lag adjusting after the 22 hour flight.  Our hotel is very near a lot of the sites, to make for easy touring the temples, etc.

Angkor Wat

Short Video on one of the first larger historical places we're planning on visiting in first couple months.

Uncle Claudie's BullShit and Music Barn

Before departure, Christina and I had a chance to run up to my family's "roots" in Knottsville, KY for a good ol family gathering and lunch at my Uncle's custom antique barn.  I love it there, the pace is slow, the family is friendly, quirky and funny and the food is always great.  Every seat is pretty much a rocking chair, the place is heated by this great wood burning stove, and every wall is covered with antique farm equipment, collectibles and everything old and unique.  This place would make Cracker Barrel very jealous.  Most of the items were a part of my family's heritage as they used a lot of the items farming or living with.  There's old washing machines, telephones, lanterns, a really cool old timey working cash register, piano, jukebox and much more.  My Uncle has friends and family up during the warmer months for music and dancing every Tuesday and although I haven't made it to a jam session, I bet its a blast.  We got a chance to catch up with a few of my aunts and uncles (I say a few as a my dad is 1 of 13 children so getting everybody together at once is almost impossible).  I'd estimate I have some 400 first and second cousins in this area.  We'd fill a every pew in a good sized church by ourselves if everyone showed up at once.  Some of my favorite aunts were there, Rosie, Stella, Agnes, Becky, Irma, and then Uncles, Buck, Hubert and Bullshit Barn Owner himself-Claudie.  We had a chance to even get Claudie some custom made hats this past year for the place, it's funny to see the older guys wearing them. They all say "Claudie's Bullshit and Music Barn, Knottsville, KY".  If that's not classic, I don't know what is. It was nice to see them again, and just sit in the rocking chairs with the wood-fired stove going, pigging out, rocking and then watching the first good snow-fall.  Amazing. I must say, It's good to have roots and better to remember that you have them.

45 Day Countdown

So here we are less than 45 days from departure of Owensboro for our Great World Adventure. Many tasks have been accomplished over the harvest months in order for us to travel stress free for a year. The first major undertaking was our garage sale which grossed over $600. This mission had two purposes; one, get rid of unwanted/unneeded belongs and second, generate cash for our trip. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED with overwhelming success. Just for reference: one night (private room, private bath) at a popular hostile in Thailand = 80 bot. American Dollar $1 = 30 Bot. Our profits could cover room charges for approximately 220 nights in Thailand!


We finished up the last round of immunizations needed and the most painful part was shelling out another $200 bucks. Afterwards, Todd and I stopped at Thai Cruise which is this charming authentic Thai restaurant off the main strip in Evansville, IN. Joe, the owner was from Thailand himself and spent a great deal of time at our table discussing his/our travels. We were extended a warm invitation to visit him again for other Thai lessons and we've already setup a date.

All profits and shots aside the blessing I'm most grateful for is the leasing of our home. Leaving the house unoccupied for a year was not an option and the seller’s market is down; this was one "T" that had to be crossed before we could go anywhere. As fate would have it of course, the house did rent with no problems and the new tenants moved in on the 15th of October. As for us, we moved in with Tom and Janice Millay aka Todd's parents!

The accommodations are quite nice. One bedroom, one bath at the opposite end of the house so it’s really like a private living quarters. I am excited to kick back for a few months before our trip and relax. I plan to read some good books, visit my family and friends and enjoy not having the responsibilities of a home to manage.  With forty five days to go before we say goodbye to our life in Owensboro,  I can say I'm more excited than nervous and all arrows are pointing to "GO!"

Attached are a few pictures taken over the last couple of months

Gas to Evansville $10, dinner at Chilli's $32, all the shots needed for world travel $412...not catching a disease in a third world country.....priceless!

Today,  Todd and I traveled to Evansville, IN to receive immunizations for our upcoming world adventure.  No place in town gives the recommended shots and the closest place that did was Vandeburgh Co. Health Dept.  In doing research for what vaccinations we would need, I found out Yellowfever is the only one required before entering Southeast Asia and most other foreign countries in third world areas.  However, all the rest are highly recommended. Better safe than sorry for us!  We opted for 4 shots and 1 live vaccine in the form of a capsule.  Here's the list of "Supertramp Vacciniations" along with the cost for each.

Hepatitis A and B Vaccine - $39 
Tetanus Vaccine - $20
Polio Vaccine - $23
Yellowfever Vaccine - $82
Typhoid Oral Vaccine - $32 (this is a pill you take 1 every other day for 7 days)

Times total by 2 (Todd and I), add the $20 administrative fee and you've got yourself a $412 vaccination bill!  Definitely more than expected but I think it was a good investment in our health.

Visit to Tucson and Phoenix with Lady Gaga as icing on the cake!

Todd and I had an amazing trip to Tucson, AZ last week! A romantic evening in Nashville started the trip off perfectly.  We met a wonderfully charming couple, the Loveless's, in the hotel bar dancing the two step like no bodies business.  Arriving in Tucson, we settled in and took it easy.  Friday was filled with Tucson fun.  First, lunch with Krista at the UofA campus followed by a good old fashioned afternoon nap, then drinks, games, pizza, cupcakes and making the acquaintance of a totally cool lawyer man named Phil.

Saturday, LADY GAGA DAY...!!! Morning 3 mile run, followed  by pastries at Beyond Bread, then off to get a hour rub down at the local massage school and lets not forget the fun in the sun at the hotel pool once we arrived in Phoenix.  Ben (future bro in law) and Krista (our sister) let us grace them with our company at their favorite vegan restaurant "green restaurant" and joined us for the Lady Gaga concert. SPECTACULAR SHOW!  My butt was only in my chair long enough to adjust my fishnets in the four inch heels I was sporting.  Next day, we tubed in the Salt River in Mesa, AZ on our way back to Tucson.

Monday, Happy Anniversary!  Breakfast at Mimis was the protein we needed for the hike on Sabino Canyon.  Beautiful, simple beautiful! Todd and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with a jamba juice toast. Later, the four of us enjoyed our favorite picks of sushi and a nice pinot noir at a downtown restaurant. 

We left Tuesday for home......well at least home for the next couple of months! ;)  Thanks, Ben and Krista for another great trip!