Why we had never heard of this “Angkor” is beyond me – seems like Angkor Wat has undeservedly stolen the thunder of what I thought to be the most incredible temple I’ve seen yet on our travels.

The Temple of Many Faces was an absolute thrill to explore. Forget the fact there were way less people, being morning the temperature was much more tolerable, and that we ditched our verbose tour guide from yesterday - this temple was just much more interesting to look at. With the hundreds, maybe even thousands of faces carved out of stone seemingly staring straight at you, how could we not be enthralled!?!

“Ladeee, buy postcard, one dollah!” almost began to put me in a trance-like state hearing this over and over as we wandered around the temple area. It’s a heart-breaking site to see the young children that have been sent out by their parents beg for money – it was just so hard to know what to do. Repeatedly telling them “no thank you”, as politely as possible, usually did the trick. Luckily Jason had a piece of candy, which got one little munchkin off our heels.

We ended the day at the jungle temple, which was pretty neat. The branches and roots of trees have become intertwined with the structures here, and are really amazing to check out. Unfortunately the Asian tour groups had made it to this complex by the time we arrived, making it almost impossible to get a decent photo. They’re notorious for lining up in groups of 30 and hogging the photo opps! We did manage to get away from them by accidentally wandering into the “keep out” area. Bonus points to us for seeing hidden treasures.

We got dropped off by our taxi driver in Chinatown this day. We figured by the looks of it on the map it would be an easy walk over to the park in the center of town. Maps can certainly be deceiving not clearly defining railroad tracks, or the large gulches of water blocking passages. Over an hour of winding our way through the streets at mid-noon in about 90 degree heat, 100% humidity we stumbled onto the park. I saw the Islamic Arts Museum from afar, and figured this would be a perfect time to capitalize on the fact that museums are always air conditioned to freezer like temperatures. Jason took the bait and we were in.

The feature exhibit “Spice Journeys –Taste and Trade in the Islamic World” was perfect, seeing as we’re eating and drinking our way around these countries. This was certainly no SF MOMA, but it did the trick. More than anything I was amazed to see Jason in a museum seeming somewhat interested in it all – I guess a food based exhibit will do that to him.

With no set plans in place after wandering around the park for a while, we decided we’d make it our mission to get to the KL Tower (the tallest building in KL). We thought we don’t need no fancy maps, we’ll just look up in the skyline and track it as we go. In theory this is a wonderful idea, although not sure if you’ve ever tried to get to a tall building merely by following where it appears to be. Let’s just say 2 hours later, drenched not only from the sweat dripping off of us, but also from the rain that ensued, we found it.

The view from atop this 287 meter structure was pretty amazing – you could see a 360 view of everything in a 50 km area. They also give you an audio tour to guide you through what you’re looking out at – more than anything Jason was into the ambient Moby music playing in the background. By far the coolest thing was the insane lightening storms that opened up from the sky. Bolts were literally illuminating in the horizon, and the rains turned from a trickle to a full-fledged downpour. That’s when we knew we’d be taking a taxi home to end that adventure filled day.

It didn’t hit me until yesterday at the Kuala Lumpur bus station just how difficult it could be to travel alone. The scene   at this bus station was insanity – people everywhere, to the point we could barely roll our bags through the crowds.   Each time we moved in any direction our backpacks seemed to knock over the person next to us. It was easily 90   degrees, and there was no air-con in the lovely station. Our bus to Melaka was leaving in 10 minutes, and the 3 hour bus ride would have no pit-stops.

This is where my respect for the unaccompanied traveler comes into play – just the feat of going to the bathroom with your entire fleet of luggage gets major props. I luckily had Jason to watch my big bag, and stupidly decided to keep my large backpack on. I could barely squeeze through the turn stall to get into the bathroom, on top having to scrounge for money to pay for the entry. Then came the task of jockeying for a stall with that large thing on my back, since people don’t line up in many S. Eastern countries – you kind of have to fight for a stall. The constant stream of ladies pressing into the very crowded bathroom was a claustrophobic’s nightmare

The thought of adding a rolling bag into the mix would have been unheard of – not to mention the floor was sopping wet and I felt like I had to disinfect my shoes just from standing in the puddles of bathroom water. So, what would you do if you were all alone, with all your bags, and no-one to watch your stuff? WWJD – what would Jennathan do? I must admit, I think I would have had a nervous breakdown in this moment!!!!

Now we’ve seen a lot of bats on our travels thus far -- although never a fan, I’ve never been as scared as our interaction with these little beasts on the Night Safari at the Singapore zoo. I guess we were probably asking for a little thrill, since the sign denoting the enclosure of fruit bats read “Beaware of low-flying bats:  Enter at you're Own Will”. I thought if the zoo had an open enclosure where you could be around free-flying fruit bats, they’d probably be off doing their own thing.

WRONG! All I know is one minute into our walk (mind you it’s night and dark out) I feel a “woosh” by my head, and low and behold a fruit bat has just side-swiped me. Jason was behind me and saw the whole thing. This is of course when my fear of being infected with rabies started to surface, to which Jason replied he’d keep his eye on me. Although I was ready to bolt from the enclosure, Jason was taking his sweet-old time, getting as close as he could to these non-caged creatures hanging off the trees.

The night safari is quite a unique experience, providing close encounters with animals you don’t typically get to have interaction with -- sometimes to close. There are no cages or bars, just enclosures that are natural to the environment (most of the time we were asking ourselves if there really was anything keeping the animals contained). The crazy thing is as you’re walking through the zoo, many of the animals are freely roaming (mainly deer). There is no doubt the night safari is a must see while in Singapore, and it certainly got us in the mood for our African Safari’s in just a couple weeks!

This is how our new-found friend, John, described Singapore. After spending four days there it’s easy to grasp this. The ease of everything in this land is what first comes to mind – effortless access to shopping, efficient public transportation, not an over-abundance of people (relative to most other Asian countries), and food venues for every taste.

With American fast food restaurants on more corners then we have in the Bay Area, a California pizza kitchen (that we ate in our first night craving the familiarity of home), strip mall after strip mall (even more insane than Scottsdale), and most everyone speaking English, I would have thought I was back in good ole CA. Let’s just say this was a great place to recharge our battery without the struggles of trying to figure out a foreign culture.

There were some areas that made the country feel distinct, just not unique to Singapore. Little India and Arab Street were two neighborhoods we walked around and had meals in – lovely food, great atmosphere, but I felt like I was in India or the Middle East. This eclectic feel seems to sum up some of the culture we experienced in the country, being that of a melting pot of many different ethnicities.

The stereotype of Singapore being a very clean country was certainly true, although not to the point where I was scared of a flogging for littering. I was expecting litter police on every corner, or some sort of disciplinary sense to the country, which thank goodness we were far from experiencing. AND, gum chewing we did all we wanted.

Although we had originally planned to spend a week here, with all the recent bombings and political unrest in the country, I decided a long layover on the way to the Maldives would be more my speed. I must admit, I do regret that decision to a certain extent after meeting some of the nicest and welcoming people ever. However, the strong military presence did make me feel a little uncomfortable, highlighting the fact there truly is concern of tiger rebel attacks throughout the nation.

We basically had from 5pm on Friday, until 8 am on Saturday to soak up what we could of the country. Staying in Negombo, a beach town north of Colombo was a perfect launching pad. Our lovely resort was right on the beach, from which we watched the most gorgeous slowly sinking sunset into the ocean. The colors in the horizon were some of the most intense we’ve ever experienced.

A tip from a local guy on a great restaurant led us to Choy’s and some of the tastiest seafood delights we’ve ever eaten, including a whole cuttle fish. If that meal was a true example of Sri Lankan cuisine, we are big fans of all the fresh fish and tasty sauces they use in their food.

In our tuk-tuk ride back home from dinner, we had an eye opening conversation with our driver about how the country is being affected by the tiger rebels. It was quite sad and heart wrenching to hear how the low tourist influx has greatly upset all of their livelihoods – this also explained his eagerness to show us around town. This fact made me feel a tinge of guilt for being yet another tourist nixing Sri Lanka off our list because of my likely irrational fears of attacks.

Our departure was bitter sweet, leaving behind this rich culture and beautiful land that we barely got a taste of, although our next stop along the way was the Maldives -- that certainly eased the blow!

Believe it or not, one thing that Jason had never done before in his life was to go fishing. What better place in the world to try our hand at it, then in the beautiful Maldives. His dream of catching a fish and eating it came true this day. In fact, between the two of us we caught about a dozen fish during our night fishing excursion – they were all snapper except for one barracuda that Jason wrangled in the last minute. Dinner that night was a plate full of snapper sashimi and a whole grilled barracuda that the chef prepared for us – both delicious. Jason can now cross catching and eating his own fish off his list (since unbeknownst to me this was something he had always wanted to do)! Check out our cut throat fish catching competition in the video clip.

Scuba diving in this region of the world is like nothing we had ever experienced. The array of coral and range of tropical fish is tremendous, not to mention the water is so crystal clear it makes the visibility perfect. Throughout our three dives, one being a night dive we saw turtles, reef sharks, octopus, squid, a sting ray, lobsters, puffer and lion fish and hermit crabs just to name a few of the highlights.

The night dive was especially an amazing experience – the scariest part is getting up the courage to jump off the boat in the middle of the ocean, while it’s pitch black outside. We used a high powered flashlight to illuminate the reefs, and saw some very different things then during the day. It was especially exciting/scary swimming through some caves and overhangs, which was something we had never done before. Although I had a brief “Open Water” freak out moment when we surfaced after the dive and the boat was quite far away – but, they eventually saw us and picked us up.

One thing I’ve always had was a complete fascination with the ocean world and marine life. So, we were all over the opportunity to go on The W yacht with the resident marine biologist to learn about the local sea life, and then have a snorkeling eco-adventure. This proved to be one of the most beautiful and interesting snorkeling experiences I had ever had. It was great having the trained eye of the marine biologist who was able to point out so many things that we would have never seen on our own, for example two mating octopus.

Our time on this little slice of heaven in the Maldives is about to come to a close, but not before one last night fishing excursion. It’s sad to think that these beautiful islands and atolls are slowly getting swallowed up by the ocean, and it’s estimated that within the next 20 years there will be no more islands (global warming of course). This is my plug to everyone to save up your money, and figure out a way to get to this slowly disappearing place in the world – it’s like no tropical paradise we’ve ever seen and truly magnificent!

There is no doubt that the desert safari is a classic activity that must be enjoyed while in Dubai. Yes, it’s tailored for the traveler, but certainly gives you a good perspective of the arid region at the same time mixing in some of the schmaltzy touristy stuff that we secretly all love.

The adventure got off to a very slow start when our “no personality” driver picked us up from the hotel in our 4 x 4, and literally didn’t say one word for the 45 minute ride to the “safari site”. We had no idea where we were going, how long it’d take, nothing. And to top it off, the other 4 passengers in the car didn’t say anything – kind of that weird awkward silence, where at a certain point it would be even more uncomfortable to break the quiet and say something.

When we arrived to the edge of the vast desert land our driver took some air out of the SUV’s tires, since clearly we were about to get down and dirty with 4 wheeling it on the dunes. It was a blast high tailing it up and down the sand dunes, coming very close at times to either tipping over or getting stuck in the sand (we saw a bunch of stalled cars stuck in the sand) – it was an absolute thrill. Jason and I were even the lucky recipients of the back seat where you could especially feel every bump magnified – definite sore on our tush’s.

We made some scenic stops along the journey to take in the grandeur of the barren region, as well check out some camels, and my favorite was watching the sun slowly set over the desert. This funny couple was really into taking our picture as the sun set, so we got some killer pictures of us as they directed us to pose in silhouette positions – it was kind of strange, but all we cared about was getting a good picture.

The final destination of the safari was to a campsite setup literally in the middle of the desert. Here, we got to ride a camel, although we basically just went around in a circle in a little area (this was more about the photo op!). When we entered into the actual interior of the site, it was amazing to see the sprawl of carpets and pillows blanketing the sand, which is where we enjoyed a delicious traditional Arabic dinner. We also got to smoke the hookah underneath the stars in the open desert –that certainly hasn’t happened often in our lives. Lastly, we enjoyed an amazing performance of a belly-dancer who was absolutely incredible, pulling off some very unique moves. It was certainly an action packed evening that will be emblazoned in our minds.

Watching the sun slowly sink into the ocean, palm trees swaying in the slight breeze, radiating colors reflecting off the Indian Ocean and the faint sliver of the moon beginning to show, was like no sunset we had ever experienced– it truly seemed like we were gazing out at a beautiful painting sprawled across the sky.

There is no doubt Mauritius is a stunning paradise. Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, 300 miles east of Madagascar, which is 300 miles east of South Africa, this island is in the middle of nowhere. It has become the holiday getaway for many travelers, especially Europeans (few Americans). The sprawling mountains, expansive sugar cane fields, palm trees, and long stretches of beach are very reminiscent of Maui. However, the ever present French influence and language used in the country is the main thing that gives away we’re in a foreign country.

Although our resort is a luxurious hideaway tucked along the east side of the island, much of what we discovered of the country seems to boast a very different picture of a deprived population. It seems that recent bad weather and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community.

Driving a rental car for the first time in 3 months (since Australia) gave us the freedom to explore and get a sense of the Northern part of the island. We decided to just get lost following the coastal road up north, which yielded some breathtaking views. We circled down to Port Louis, the very “not” happening capital of the country, and got some fresh squeezed juice at the harbor.

It feels like we just can’t enough of island living, realizing at this point in our travels what a disproportionate part of our trip we’ve spent on the beach, in the pool or the ocean. We do realize how fortunate we are to have these opportunities -- when we get back to the “real world” we know we'll look back longingly at this moment in our lives.

Jason and I have always been a couple to spend a lot of time together – him working from home, and me working part time allowed for that. However, nothing prepared us for the amount of concentrated, one on one time we’d have with each other on this trip -- many days talking to no other people except ourselves. So you could see how 5 months into our travels we are itching to meet new people, and trying not to kill or smother each other in the mean time.

Often times we have the name and e-mail of someone to contact in a country from friends and family, however we never quite know what we’re going to get. It really does feel like a blind date, meeting up with couples or an individual after exchanging a couple e-mails, and wondering "what will they be like or will they like us?".

This is how we felt sitting in the lobby at Le Meridien waiting for our “dates” of that evening, Nicky (a family friend’s, first cousins, daughter, who just happened to move to Mauritius 3 weeks prior – a random connection) and her husband Trevor. Each couple that walked by we’d slightly make eye contact with, wondering was that them. We were so happy when a young couple our age walked into the lobby, and came towards us.

It’s amazing how one dinner out with a fun couple can recharge us for a long time. Not only does it give us something interesting to reflect on (as do you’re update e-mails so keep those coming), but it also validates that we can still socialize with other people (at least we think we can!)

So, thanks to all of our "blind dates" throughout this year, who have made many of our evenings so much fun!

We'll be roughing it at Arathusa Lodge in the Sabi Sands game reserve for the next 4 days, which means this is the first time on our entire trip we will be completely out of touch.  Expect some exciting animal pictures and safari updates on June 26th!

We just returned from our 4 day safari in the Sabi Sands, a game reserve connected to Kruger Park in South Africa. Unsure of what to expect from Arathusa (since we’re not exactly the roughem’ type), we were pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful lodge equivalent to hotel like accommodations (minus televisions and internet). The main difference here was the position of the site perched on the edge of the most amazing waterhole in the middle of the bush, a spot where tons and tons of animals would gather to drink. Often times we’d just be lying in bed relaxing, and look up to see outside our window groups of elephants or impala or hippos gathered around the hole.

Upon arriving to Arathusa, we were immediately ushered out on our first game drive with our fellow lodge goers; this would be our first of the six, three hour game drives throughout our stay. These drives were conducted in open air 10 seater land-rover vehicles, which gave an incredible vantage of all the surroundings. Our driver Jaqcue, was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about all the animals we’d find, and our tracker Morris, seated on a single seat that jutted out from in front of the vehicle, had eyes like a hawk. He had this incredible ability to trace animals’ tracks, and eventually lead us to groups of them.

My first impression of a safari was that there would be animals running around all over the place, never quite understanding quite the expedition we’d have to go on to find the little creatures. The discoveries were definitely worth the wait though, as our adrenaline would mount the second we happened upon a sighting.

You don’t realize how scary it is to be so up close and personal with wild animals, sometimes just several feet in front of you. The elephant sightings were especially intense, since often times we’d find them in large groups, snapping trees left and right, directly in front of us – they could easily have tipped over our vehicle. By far the most exciting spotting was the male lion that had blood smeared on his face and leg, probably from a recent kill he made. I was scared he’d mistake me for a fellow lion, since my fake fur hood definitely was mane-like.

The big hype in the safari scene is spotting the Big 5 -- these are the animals classified as the most difficult and dangerous to hunt by foot. They include elephants, water buffalo, leopards, rhinoceros and lions. AND, we were lucky enough to spot them all!!!! Although spotting the animals was always a thrill, just being on the game drives was an adventure in itself, and also really gave us time to be in our thoughts.

On top of the amazing animals and surroundings, we met some really neat people at our lodge. Sharing meals, our long game drives, and relaxing moments gave us time to connect with others in the most amazing environment, something I was so sad to leave.

Although I thought that going to a zoo to see animals mights be similar to a safari, these experiences aren't even in the same league -- no bars, no windows, and no protection from the wild animals, which makes the safari such a thrill.  I am definitely turned on to the whole safari experience, and am already trying to figure out a way to do one more before we leave Africa.

We were informed that during slow season in Cape Town, we’d have no problem walking up and getting on a tour to Robben Island. But, when we arrived at 9am to the ticket office we were told we could only get on the 1pm. The only good thing about this is we had time to wander around the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront; this is the very “touristy” area, equivalent to Fisherman’s Wharf in SF. We did however manage to find Jason’s Asic’s shoes he’s been on the hunt for, so it was a blessing in disguise we had to wait.

At 1pm, we boarded the “Sea Princess” ferry and set sail on the 30 minute ride to Robben Island. The views of Cape Town were magnificent from the back of the boat. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the visit, since the whole ferry process was quite hectic and unorganized, not to mention we were informed that the main attraction of Nelson Mandela’s prison cell was under retrofit and we would not be able to enter it.

The main attraction to Robben Island is similar to that of Alcatraz, as it served as a prison primarily to political prisoners during apartheid. It only closed as recently as 1995, and now is a popular destination. We began our tour of the island on a bus, guided by a very knowledgeable Yolanda. She showed us the limestone quarry where Nelson Mandela served 18 long years doing hard labor, prison cells, some of the incredible wild life that occupies the island, as well the amazing views looking onto the Cape.

The next portion of the tour was more interpersonal. We were greeted by an ex-prisoner who led us through some of the barracks, sharing with us his experience serving in the prison as well telling us some of his political views. His passion and commitment to his beliefs and hopes for South Africa were incredibly moving. In fact, I was so moved by his story that I left my hat in the cell he was talking to us in. Amazingly, the girl sitting in front of us on the ferry (out of 150 people) happened to find a hat and low and behold I was reunited with it.

There are certain activities we do along our trip we know not to tell our parents about until after we’ve experienced them –- cage diving with great white sharks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean certainly falls into that category.

Our friends Josh and Sarah were gung ho to do this adventure, something that hadn’t really been on our radar mostly because it’s winter here in Cape Town and the oceans are freezing. I can barely handle the temperature of tropical bath water without getting goose bumps, none-the-less the Atlantic Ocean during winter. However, somehow Jason convinced me I should do it!

The ungodly hour of 5 a.m. rolls around and we’re whisked away on our two and a half hour drive to False Bay to begin the adventure; this early hour was set to try and avoid the bad weather that was supposedly rolling in – that’s always a settling thought when you’re about to go out on the high seas to go cage diving with sharks and a storm is impending!

The boat journey was quite choppy, as we barreled over large surges; all four of us required a second dose of Dramamine. It’s at this point, while Jason and I are huddled together for warmth, that Jason looks at me and concedes it’s just way too cold to even think about putting on a wet suit and getting in the water. Gotta love those “I told you so” moments.

I too was apprehensive as the stinky chumm of anchovies and fish guts was being ladled in the water, the bait was being tossed over, several people were blowing chunks over the railing, and low and behold the great whites were beginning to circle – not the most inviting scene. Then, the cage was dropped in and the first divers made their way into the contraption, the thin bars being the only thing separating them from the powerful snapping shark jaws. All four of us at this point began justifying to each other that being on the boat was just as cool as being in the water, and there was no need to risk catching colds in the frigid waters.

Something in us snapped after our little rationalization session, and we decided to put the wetsuits on and just do it. We made the plunge into the freezing water, and immediately my toes went numb from the intense chill. The hardest part in the surging current was ensuring your limbs didn’t slip outside the cage, which we all struggled with as our bodies flailed.

Suddenly we hear “down” yelled and we instantly jumped into action, immersing ourselves in the water to view the sharks directly in front of our eyes. The captain used bait to attract them directly in front of the cage, giving us the most intense, up close image of these powerful creatures. At one point a shark came for the left side of the cage, lodging itself literally inches away from Jason, and even biting off some of the protective foam from the cage (check out the video clip). The last shark of the day just about gave us all a heart attack, categorized as a Beta 2– not exactly sure what that means, except that the experienced captain seemed blown away by its over 14 foot length!

At least we can say we lived to tell the tale . . .

I practically had to beg Jason to include Paris as a destination in our trip, since his last experience over 10 years ago was uneventful in his memory. Being that he was a backpacker, roughing it in hostels, scraping by each day just to eat, he wasn’t gung ho on coming back. However, I think he would concede that this town is right up our alley.

This is the first time in a long while we’ve been in a city we can really explore by foot. Getting lost in the charming alleyways and vibrant boulevards of this town has consumed most of the past 3 days, and has been so exciting. This town as most people know is about its food, wine, Café’s, boutiques, beautiful architecture, amazing art museums and of course the people. We’ve been pleasantly surprised to find the “French” to be quite welcoming, anticipating the rude, stand-offish stereotype we’ve all heard about.  We even had a waiter today hand draw us a map to our next destination.

My Aunt Nancy and her husband Richie just so happen to be here, and we spent a fun-filled night cruising the town with them. The evening began at the Grand Palais viewing an interesting art installation that looked more like a construction site. From there we walked down the Champs Elysee, through the Louvre, eventually meeting up with their friend Carla who has been living in Paris for the past 4 years.

Carla is a queen in this town, seemingly knowing every person in each place we stopped that night. A very interesting part of the evening was visiting her artist friend Laurent’s art gallery. No doubt a creative mind, he had fashioned an entire world and story around his art pieces in this most unique art space – it was quite fun exploring the space.

Being that is stay’s light out until about 10:30pm in the summer, people don’t eat dinner until much later. That night I think we sat down at 9:30 pm to an authentic French meal. There was quite a lengthy process of picking just the right wines for our meal, which the owner personally hand chose (another friend of Carla). People take their food and drink here very seriously, as the owner seemed offended when I ordered a double espresso at the beginning of the meal to perk up. He actually came back with a chewable vitamin C as a remedy for my dreariness, which was very sweet!

We are enjoying this city so much that we have extended our time here. Tomorrow the plan is to go to Versaille for the afternoon, and the following day we’ll probably go to Champagne with Nancy and Richard to go wine tasting. Even with our jam packed long days, we’ve barely scratched the surface of this town. I was however informed by my cousin Sofi that Eva Longoria is getting married here today on 7/7/07, so maybe we’ll crash the wedding. . .