Wassaaap(bi)

Dairy Queen, Dairy Queen, Dairy Queen. Just because you call it a Blizzard doesn't make it delicious.

More Punakaiki

Earlier this week, I posted a picture of the sunset from New Zealand's Punakaiki beach. Here's some more pics of the beautiful, rugged South Island west coast.

Part of the beach curls between two cliff faces, where an inland river meets the ocean.

Windswept and rocky, Punakaiki isn't much for sunbathing, but it is absolutely gorgeous.

The Family Jewels

This is the title of a story in our textbook. Let's just be honest, they really don't have much of a leg to stand on if the authors of the textbook try to claim this isn't about… well, you know.

Sunset on Punakaiki

(On the west coast of New Zealand's South Island)

Trains in Thailand

Here in Asia, we take lots of types of transportation, many more than we have in the US. Songtaews, tuk-tuks, motorbike taxis, long tail riverboats, trains, and even the occasional pedicab.

A Malaysian pedicab

Most of them are fun, and even better, cheap. However, Chinese trains rank down at the bottom of my list.

While economical, They. Are. Disgusting.

The amount of trash and food/human waste that accumulates in the cabin is mind-blowing, and the bathroom is usually bombed out and deemed unusable after about 30 minutes.

The rest of the trip is smoky, stinky, and generally cramped.

However, Thai trains are fantastic. Their service and cleanliness is top-notch, and the views aren't bad, either!

Here's a view out the window during our recent train ride from the mountains of northern Thailand down to the capital, Bangkok.

I Love Tea

The title probably didn't shock any of you. If you know me (Aaron), you know that I can't turn down a big glass of sweet tea with lemon. No way, no how.

However, this post is about… (Yankee) hot tea. [head slightly hung in shame]

That's right, since moving to Asia (read: since moving to a place with no heat), I have taken to drinking a lot more hot drinks, mostly hot tea (and writing about my tea mugs). Admittedly, I grew up loving Twinings Earl Grey tea on cold days (something I learned from my mother), so I always have an eye out for new and intriguing Twinings flavors. 

Our time Down Under didn't disappoint. In Australia, I snapped up this little gem:

Later, in New Zealand, I was even more pleased to find this delight:

A New Zealand slant on a tasty classic?? Kiwi goodness combined with the elegant goodness of Her Majesty the Queen? Not to be missed! (This one was a little too floral for my tastes, it was still quite nice to have around during our travels.)

Then there's this one:

This might be my favorite hot tea. Of all time. And it's not even Twinings. It's like an Atomic Fireball was melted down and then steeped - spicy cinnamon and sweet sweetness. Perfection.

Someone from the US mailed this to us (if you know who you are and need a recommendation for sainthood, contact me) and since we've gotten back to our frigid home, I have been hitting this one. Hard.

Merry Himalayan Christmas

No, we're not just now celebrating Christmas, but Stacy's video review of our December/Christmas festivities reminded me of a… unique… Christmas gift I received from a friend this year. See if you can guess what it is:

One more chance:

And…

…

if you guessed…

…

a yak penis, you would be correct. Well, technically, there is more going on here than just a penis, but we'll just leave it at that.

Threat to Air Travel

Over the last few months, we have been traveling quite a bit. Lots of trains, lots of taxis, lots of tuk tuks and ferries and boats. And lots of airplanes.

On one of the many flights we were taking, Stacy happened to glance at the safety bulletin that was placed in the seat-back and something caught her eye:

That's right, folks - if you're traveling to New Zealand, leave your Furby pet at home.

I'll be honest, it has been about a decade since I have even heard someone utter the word "Furby," but apparently down under, they still see them as a threat to air travel.

Sorry Furb.

December 2013

So, I know it's already March, and no one wants to hear Christmas music in March, but I didn't get to make my December in review video until we got back from all of our travels.

So, here it is:

And We're Back...

For the last 2 months, we've been traveling so we haven't been blogging. Now, we're back. With lots of pictures and videos to blog about.

Let's do this. Your patience will surely be rewarded.