Wrapup final post from D

To wrap up this segment of our travelogue I'd like to thank you for coming along, being supportive and for the little notes you all sent back here and there along the way. Please subscribe to this blog so I can take you with us on our next adventure!

Thanks also to Chris and Emma for looking out for our house so well. It was a joy to come home to.
Anyone else looking for a good reliable house-sitter in the next year let me know and I will put you in touch with the sweetest couple...they are doing this to save up for their own trip to Asia!

So our journey to Asia covered 4 countries and spanned 5 weeks.

We enjoyed the sights, meeting up and traveling with our friends Joe and Katie, getting to know their great group of friends and seeing our friends in Thailand as well.
But....Without a doubt the positive images (not the war and genocide ones) that stand out as the highlights of the trip are the gorgeous Halong Bay outside HaNoi, Vietnam and Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia.

It was enjoyable, stimulating, challenging, educational and a lesson in gratitude.

Our guide Phaly in Cambodia is exactly my age and her story is one that is both heartbreaking and happy. She managed to survive during the time of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot's Genocide. She spent several of her preteen years in an internment camp working in the fields 18hours a day on next to no food and split up from her entire family. Before being interred she watched her brother beaten to death by soldiers in their small village. After being liberated by the Vietnamese she managed to be reunited with her whole remaining family (a miracle for that time!) Since the regime had killed off anyone with an education or wealth the entire country has had to start from scratch. She secretly learned English from a schoolmate which has allowed her to succeed as a guide and to do good charitable works in whatever small way she can. She helps coordinate the English school sponsorship of over 50 young kids from a village close to where she grew up in the hopes of giving them more opportunities than they have now (work in fields, sell produce on the street for barely enough to feed themselves)
Our travel group collectively pitched in enough to cover at least one child's classes and uniforms as well as the required uniforms for another little girl.

Thanks to Katie and Joe for inviting us along on the Cruise along the Mekong Delta that inspired the whole thing! And for introducing us to all our fantastic new friends :Yvonne, Aileen, Nelson, Julie, Julie, David, Winnie and Stephan!  And thanks Joe for always providing a good laugh when we are out and about since your innate charm makes everyone comfortable regardless of culture or language barrier.

And a huge thanks to my most patient, handsome and the awesomest travel/life partner ever! Kim I love you and can't wait until our next fun jaunt together be it across town or across the world!

Hugs and bye until the next trip.....

Phaly our guide singing us a farewell song

Nelson, Julie, Joe and Katie dancing!

Man oh man those ladies loved to feed you 'like big baby!'

Back in Sac

Well, we are back home again after 6 weeks of Southeast Asia. Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Hong Kong. Dana and I will post pictures and more soon to tell you all about this trip!

Hong Kong and Home!

Day 1 HK
Arriving Hong Kong. ..we laughed at the size of our room.Space is a premium here. Our room is smaller than a cruise ship cabin! The footprint of the bathroom would fit in that of a small bathtub.
It is chilly and grey here, basically what I'd consider San Francisco summer weather. We have done hardly anything but eat yummy food and walk around and ride the tram from one end of HK to the other.
Day 2.
Walked from hotel to the central area where the ferries are. Took the slow one to Cheung Chau island, one of the outlying islands of the Hong Kong group of islands. We paid an extra dollar to be in the deluxe area of the ferry ...I can't tell the difference other than more windows but with this weather the grey mist outside doesn't allow for much of a view. There was a beat up dance floor. . No we didn't entertain the other passengers, although it crossed my mind.
We walked along the water and up a hill at the end for views of the reclining rock and went through a pirate cave. While waiting for the next ferry back we snacked on street food dim sum... the best was a soft mochi filled with nothing but perfectly ripe mango...delish!
After a little rest in our tiny room we headed off to Central Hong Kong for dinner and an evening of dancing to end our trip off. Dinner was stellar at Crystal Jade where they hand make all their noodles. Then off to an Italian restaurant for the Wednesday night with Hong Kong Swings. The group was very warm and friendly, with many visitors like ourselves from out of town.

Last day of the trip...airports and airplanes:
A nice smooth and uneventful day that lasted FOREVER! Got up at 8 for breakfast and pack up, left hotel for the airport at 10 am and after 19 hours of travel made it home. Neither of us got to sleep much on the plane as we were right next to several screaming (and I mean top of their lungs screaming 2year olds)
As soon as we were showered a 5 hour nap was in order then dinner and grocery shop in Sacramento. Our Thursday technically lasted a total of 36 hours thanks to crossing the dateline.
Both of us are happy to be home and excited to see family and friends and get to dance and play on this side of the world for a bit!

'Love is all you need'

Adventures in Medical Tourism for those who are curious...

Before leaving the States I decided not to change off the insurance I'd had for over 20 years figuring that I may be paying a few extra dollars a month over the Obamacare options but my coverage and out of pocket when seeing doctors is much lower. Turns out I should have just gone ahead as they are raising my rates 80% to the unmanageable next month. Sigh...I know, same story for most.
While in Thailand I took care of a few things that would otherwise have cost me...well.. literally many hundreds of dollars.
I spent an afternoon at the Ram Hospital in Chiang Mai. From 2:30-5:30
During that time I got to see a Dermatologist who looked at a few questionable spots (all fine), looked my face over carefully and examined a bite, prescribed some cream for the bite and nitrogen zapped some annoying tags (something my Auburn Doc here won't do because they are harmless despite the discomfort...and if she did I'd have to pay about $130 per zap (in the past I insisted she do one that I kept cutting while shaving, boy did I regret it when I saw the bill)
After that I saw the Endocrinology specialist who did the familiar annual exam I usually have done here in Sacramento. He sent me upstairs and the pic is of the two ladies who managed to get blood for the thyroid panel from my ultra dehydrated body (forgot to bring water to the hospital and by 5 when they tried it was almost impossible...this is not unusual for me I always over-hydrate if I know I'm giving blood) I swear I almost made the one on the right cry. She brought in her friend to finish the job and I chugged a liter or more in between attempts. I would have been prepared except in the states it takes days for the order for blood draw to go through and several more for the results. Here it all happened in one place and they emailed me the results the next morning.
So all told....2 specialty doctors, cream for my bite, zapping, blood tests and delightful service $93.75 US.
My copays to see two specialists is more than that and then there's usually a sizable bill in the mail in a month for what the insurance didn't cover.

Also, Kim and I went back to the UCLA trained dentist we'd seen years ago in Chiang Mai. We had a full cleaning, polish, floss, full state of the art x-ray exam and analysis. For the two of us for all that it was $90 USD (less than what we pay for a cleaning alone for one!)
We still love our Mary at Dr Zendner's in Colfax but this time we spent the money on travel instead and I know she'd understand and take us back in 6-8 months when it's time again!

Warning large page may take a while to load! Random Pics to round out the trip

Here is a random selection of additional photos from more recent at the top to the early part of the trip at the bottom. Enjoy and hopefully this will fuel your wanderlust to get out there and do your own adventuring.