I know, I haven't blogged in forever but in my defense I have been on 10 trips in just 6 months and only 2 of those were actually in India!
Quick recap here.
August 12-15, 2016 - Singapore - It was great but very HOT!! We met up with my old friend Sonja from college and she showed us the town a bit. We both managed to get sick in the cleanliest city in the world but I guess we have just gotten too used to India!
Hong Kong - August 24-28
Hong Kong was lovely as well but possibly even hotter than Singapore. We were also there the weekend that Pokemon Go came out in Hong Kong. It was crazy how many people were playing on their phones and running in to things. We loved the city and exploring the mountains around it. We got upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite at the Conrad and it was so lovely, we sat in the air conditioning a lot!
We lived on Google maps and screen shots of train connections in Hong Kong and in Singapore! I don't know how people traveled without iPhones!
Sri Lanka- September 2-5
It was nice to drive to the beautiful inland ares of Sri Lanka and Aaron's work friend Colby joined us on this trip as well. We took a car ride in to Sigiriya which was supposed to take 3-4 hours and took 6! We made the most of it but poor Colby is around 6'5" and we had a tiny car! Once we arrived it was an action packed weekend of seeing Dambulla Cave Temple, Lion's Rock, Polonnaruwa and Pidurangala Rock. We were meant to stop at a tea planation on the way back to the airport but seeing as it took us so long to get from the airport to our location we decided not to risk it.
Dambulla Cave Temple
So many monkeys!
Inside the cave temple
They were not joking around you saw this sign....
The King lived on this rock a long time ago (Sorry mom I can't remember when) but a very long time ago. It was neat to see how well they had preserved the site and all the work that went in to making this place. By far one of our favorite things we have done.
USA September 16-October 3
I landed back in Bangalore with just a few hours before taking off for the US to see the one and only Miss Marjorie Charlotte get married!! While we were home we celebrated Larry's 60th birthday, I presented at the National League for Nursing Summit in Oralndo, we saw Jane and Walter with Jane's growing baby bump and I had a girls weekend in Colorado with my Luther friends! It was really just an awesome trip home.
Ran in to a few of my old Children's of Minnesota colleagues in Orlando at the Summit!
Mr and Mrs Eriksson!!
Luther ladies getaway! Just what I needed while home!
Seychelles, Africa- October 8-11
I came back to Bangalore a week after Aaron and only had 3 days until we were off again for the Seychelles. This place was amazing!! It was as beautiful as the Maldives but had mountains and lots of places to explore as well. It was a much needed long weekend for just Aaron and I.
This picture was right before I slipped and fell on the rocks, don't worry just a few scrapes!
They gave us complimentary straw hats! Doesn't he look cute? Sorry Aaron!
We were warned about how expensive drinks at the hotel would be so we stopped at duty free and grabbed wine and a few other things to make our own cocktails. There was a market just down the street where we could grab snacks and fruit too!
As you can see just a terrible place :)
Stavanger Norway - October 23-27
Next up for me was Norway! I went to Stavanger to present to Laerdal Global Health my work with PediStars in India and my work with the National League for Nursing in the US. Laerdal is an amazing company to be involved with and I was very excited to be able to meet with their passionate team and brainstorm ways we can all help save more lives in India.
The view from the Laerdal offices.
An afternoon tour of Stavanger
A little work as well, showing how we can measure quality in CPR training with Laerdal manikins and equipment.
Last morning in town.
Myanmar - October 28-Nov 1
My flight back from Stavanger was delayed a bit and that left we just about 15 hours to get home, shower, sleep and re-pack before we headed off to Myanmar. This country was one of our favorite for sure. Everything went wrong and we still loved it here! The weather has always cooperated with our travels but this time it rained every morning. We had been looking forward to a hot air balloon ride over the thousands of temples in Bagan but it was cancelled due to weather, twice. We went for a scenic bike ride through the untouched countryside and about a quarter of the way in I fell and hurt my knee pretty badly. The had to pick me up in a van and I waited at the river for everyone to finish the ride! I played some games on the beach with some local kids and grossed them out with the swelling on my knee. Each new kid to join the group would point to the bag of ice on my knee and ask why. I would take it off and they just backed up! We had to change out flight from Bagan to Yangon and we lost a day in Yangon. But all in all we loved the country and the food and all our of experiences there.
Second day trying for the hot air balloons... we got all the way through the safety briefing :(
Back home at 630am, many reasons for this sad face
Since it was a little rainy we did a little shopping!
Delhi! November 7-9
Just a quick volunteer trip, not included in the total at the top! Went up to Delhi to work with JHPIEGO which is a not for profit organization through Johns Hopkins and they do a lot of work in pre-service nursing education. We worked a few days to discuss what kind of skills should be covered in nursing school and how can we use simulation to teach these skills. I arrived on the day that the air in Delhi was the most polluted on record! It was so terrible. The air actually smelled like sulfur and it felt difficult to take a deep breath. We are so lucky that Bangalore isn't like that, yet. That is not fog, that is straight smog.
Hampi- November 12-13
Another trip I forgot about in my calculations! This means we are up to 13 now! This trip was a bit last minute but a few friends were headed to Hampi for a weekend and we tagged along! Hampi is about a 6 hour drive from Bangalore but is only about 200 miles. The roads to get to Hampi are in terrible condition and quite dangerous. The road was a two lane highway with massive trucks, motorcycles, tractors, cows, people walking and then us. But it was so worth it.
Our friends Bobi and Cameron that invited us/told us they were going and we invited ourselves.
It is said in some theories that the Hindu God Hanuman was born in Hampi and his face appeared in the rocks on a mountain in Hampi. The legends say that the boulders are stacked perched on top of one another because he would play with the rocks and fly away. At least this is what our guide told us! :)
Our hotel was amazing and the grounds were beautiful to explore. The rooms were carved right in to the rocks and built to blend in. The hiking area near the river was a gorgeous place to start our morning.
We visited some of the newly (beginning in 2008) excavated sites. Hampi was, at one time in history, the second richest city in the world. Second only to Rome. The markets sold gold, diamonds, rubies and other beautiful stones and jewelry.
This white granite carving is the symbol of tourism for our state of Karnataka.
Majority of the structures here are made of granite as the hills of rocks are all granite. I tried to pick out a nice selection for countertops back home.
The elephant stables!
Mumbai, Delhi and Agra with Mom and Dad - November 24- December 2
My Mom and Dad came to visit us in India and we did a little India tour with them. We started in Mumbai and stayed at one of the most fabulous old hotels I have ever seen, The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Then we headed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and spent another day exploring Delhi. It was a lot of travel but I think my Mom and Dad got a good picture of what India is like.
Mumbai
Dhobi Ghat- a large outdoor laundry market in Mumbai
The beautiful Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
Mom and Dad at the Gateway of India
We made it to the Taj!
Even though it was my second time it was still so impressive!
Last time we visited the Taj and Agra Fort it was a bit hazy and you couldn't see the Taj from the Agra fort so I'm glad I got the chance to go back.
Me and Dad!
We also spent some time exploring Bangalore!
Mom and I at the Leela Palace! My favorite relaxing spot in Bangalore.
A walking tour with Yours Truly India through Chikpet Market.
A stroll through the KR flower market.
Just unbelievable how many flowers they sell everyday here!
Continuing on our walking tour of the Bangalore Fort
And then our final stop at Tippu's Summer Palace.
Went for dinner one night and took a rickshaw ride home! Dad loved it. Sadly Mom had to miss out due to jet lag and India exhaustion!
Dubai- December 2-5
Last trip of the blog! Dubai. Seriously a city of the future! Dubai really does have something for everyone! It was a great place to rest and relax after a week of exploring India. Everything is so brand new and so nice.
Looking down at the Dubai fountains from the top of the Burj Khalifa
We were in Dubai over National weekend. The UAE have been a country for 45 years!
The cars we drove around in for our desert safari!
How cool is my Dad?
Showing us how they train falcons for hunting in the desert.
The Bedouin camp were we had a lovely dinner and show.
The last day we drove to Abu Dhabi and saw the Grand Mosque. It was beautiful and reminded us all a lot of the Taj Mahal.
So that is what we have been us to for the past 6 months! We head off on Friday for 16 days of exploring Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. I will try really really hard to actually post after that trip! :)
Quick recap here.
August 12-15, 2016 - Singapore - It was great but very HOT!! We met up with my old friend Sonja from college and she showed us the town a bit. We both managed to get sick in the cleanliest city in the world but I guess we have just gotten too used to India!
Hong Kong - August 24-28
Hong Kong was lovely as well but possibly even hotter than Singapore. We were also there the weekend that Pokemon Go came out in Hong Kong. It was crazy how many people were playing on their phones and running in to things. We loved the city and exploring the mountains around it. We got upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite at the Conrad and it was so lovely, we sat in the air conditioning a lot!
We lived on Google maps and screen shots of train connections in Hong Kong and in Singapore! I don't know how people traveled without iPhones!
Sri Lanka- September 2-5
It was nice to drive to the beautiful inland ares of Sri Lanka and Aaron's work friend Colby joined us on this trip as well. We took a car ride in to Sigiriya which was supposed to take 3-4 hours and took 6! We made the most of it but poor Colby is around 6'5" and we had a tiny car! Once we arrived it was an action packed weekend of seeing Dambulla Cave Temple, Lion's Rock, Polonnaruwa and Pidurangala Rock. We were meant to stop at a tea planation on the way back to the airport but seeing as it took us so long to get from the airport to our location we decided not to risk it.
Dambulla Cave Temple
Pleas notice the warning about the potential for a wasp attack!
And then started on these stairs....
And then half way up.... the wasp nests. The things that look like duck bills hanging off the rock are all wasp nests!
Luckily we made it without disturbing the bees!
The King lived on this rock a long time ago (Sorry mom I can't remember when) but a very long time ago. It was neat to see how well they had preserved the site and all the work that went in to making this place. By far one of our favorite things we have done.
These were the ruins of Polonnaruwa. It was interesting to see but we were very hot and tired after climbing Lion's Rock and as Aaron said "they were a little too ruined!"
We did stop at a great local spot for lunch where everything was coked over open flame and everything was delicious!
Last day was Pidurangala Rock which was a bit less crowded and you had do some real climbing to reach the top. The views were worth it.
Forgot one trip- I went to Chandigarh in Northern India to help with a simulation workshop
I landed back in Bangalore with just a few hours before taking off for the US to see the one and only Miss Marjorie Charlotte get married!! While we were home we celebrated Larry's 60th birthday, I presented at the National League for Nursing Summit in Oralndo, we saw Jane and Walter with Jane's growing baby bump and I had a girls weekend in Colorado with my Luther friends! It was really just an awesome trip home.
Ran in to a few of my old Children's of Minnesota colleagues in Orlando at the Summit!
Luther ladies getaway! Just what I needed while home!
Seychelles, Africa- October 8-11
I came back to Bangalore a week after Aaron and only had 3 days until we were off again for the Seychelles. This place was amazing!! It was as beautiful as the Maldives but had mountains and lots of places to explore as well. It was a much needed long weekend for just Aaron and I.
This picture was right before I slipped and fell on the rocks, don't worry just a few scrapes!
They gave us complimentary straw hats! Doesn't he look cute? Sorry Aaron!
We were warned about how expensive drinks at the hotel would be so we stopped at duty free and grabbed wine and a few other things to make our own cocktails. There was a market just down the street where we could grab snacks and fruit too!
As you can see just a terrible place :)
Stavanger Norway - October 23-27
Next up for me was Norway! I went to Stavanger to present to Laerdal Global Health my work with PediStars in India and my work with the National League for Nursing in the US. Laerdal is an amazing company to be involved with and I was very excited to be able to meet with their passionate team and brainstorm ways we can all help save more lives in India.
The view from the Laerdal offices.
An afternoon tour of Stavanger
Myanmar - October 28-Nov 1
My flight back from Stavanger was delayed a bit and that left we just about 15 hours to get home, shower, sleep and re-pack before we headed off to Myanmar. This country was one of our favorite for sure. Everything went wrong and we still loved it here! The weather has always cooperated with our travels but this time it rained every morning. We had been looking forward to a hot air balloon ride over the thousands of temples in Bagan but it was cancelled due to weather, twice. We went for a scenic bike ride through the untouched countryside and about a quarter of the way in I fell and hurt my knee pretty badly. The had to pick me up in a van and I waited at the river for everyone to finish the ride! I played some games on the beach with some local kids and grossed them out with the swelling on my knee. Each new kid to join the group would point to the bag of ice on my knee and ask why. I would take it off and they just backed up! We had to change out flight from Bagan to Yangon and we lost a day in Yangon. But all in all we loved the country and the food and all our of experiences there.
Since it was a little rainy we did a little shopping!
Just a quick volunteer trip, not included in the total at the top! Went up to Delhi to work with JHPIEGO which is a not for profit organization through Johns Hopkins and they do a lot of work in pre-service nursing education. We worked a few days to discuss what kind of skills should be covered in nursing school and how can we use simulation to teach these skills. I arrived on the day that the air in Delhi was the most polluted on record! It was so terrible. The air actually smelled like sulfur and it felt difficult to take a deep breath. We are so lucky that Bangalore isn't like that, yet. That is not fog, that is straight smog.
Hampi- November 12-13
Another trip I forgot about in my calculations! This means we are up to 13 now! This trip was a bit last minute but a few friends were headed to Hampi for a weekend and we tagged along! Hampi is about a 6 hour drive from Bangalore but is only about 200 miles. The roads to get to Hampi are in terrible condition and quite dangerous. The road was a two lane highway with massive trucks, motorcycles, tractors, cows, people walking and then us. But it was so worth it.
Our friends Bobi and Cameron that invited us/told us they were going and we invited ourselves.
It is said in some theories that the Hindu God Hanuman was born in Hampi and his face appeared in the rocks on a mountain in Hampi. The legends say that the boulders are stacked perched on top of one another because he would play with the rocks and fly away. At least this is what our guide told us! :)
This white granite carving is the symbol of tourism for our state of Karnataka.
Majority of the structures here are made of granite as the hills of rocks are all granite. I tried to pick out a nice selection for countertops back home.
Mumbai, Delhi and Agra with Mom and Dad - November 24- December 2
My Mom and Dad came to visit us in India and we did a little India tour with them. We started in Mumbai and stayed at one of the most fabulous old hotels I have ever seen, The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Then we headed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and spent another day exploring Delhi. It was a lot of travel but I think my Mom and Dad got a good picture of what India is like.
Mumbai
The beautiful Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
Even though it was my second time it was still so impressive!
Last time we visited the Taj and Agra Fort it was a bit hazy and you couldn't see the Taj from the Agra fort so I'm glad I got the chance to go back.
Me and Dad!
We also spent some time exploring Bangalore!
Mom and I at the Leela Palace! My favorite relaxing spot in Bangalore.
A stroll through the KR flower market.
Continuing on our walking tour of the Bangalore Fort
And then our final stop at Tippu's Summer Palace.
Dubai- December 2-5
Last trip of the blog! Dubai. Seriously a city of the future! Dubai really does have something for everyone! It was a great place to rest and relax after a week of exploring India. Everything is so brand new and so nice.
We were in Dubai over National weekend. The UAE have been a country for 45 years!
The cars we drove around in for our desert safari!
Showing us how they train falcons for hunting in the desert.
Camel rides!
The Bedouin camp were we had a lovely dinner and show.
So that is what we have been us to for the past 6 months! We head off on Friday for 16 days of exploring Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. I will try really really hard to actually post after that trip! :)
