Caroline & Conor Go RTW

Set Them Free

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:19:49 -0500

By Conor

There are old ladies walking around the streets of Chiang Mai selling the freedom of small birds.

The ladies have round straw baskets, each containing three birds. When I see this, I cannot resist setting them free.

They chirp excitedly when I open the basket, and they fly away. I wish I could set all the birds, but it costs too much.

(Note: Buddhists believe that showing kindness to small animals brings good karma.)

Travel Sick

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:32:10 -0500

By Conor

When we arrived in Australia for the first time, it was sort of a relief. People spoke English, the weather was nice, and we were in a nice house.

But after a while I started having a recurring dream. In the dream I was back home, except I felt sad, sad that I wasn’t traveling any more.

After a while in Australia, I started getting bored. Every day we walked to the beach, swam, watched TV, and then slept.

I longed to be somewhere more exotic. Somewhere where people didn’t speak our language, somewhere that elephants could roam the streets, somewhere different.

When I heard the news that we where going to Thailand next I was overjoyed. I couldn’t wait to go. I knew I would miss the comforts of Australia, but I wanted adventure.

I guess you could say I wasn’t home sick, but travel sick.

False Alarm

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:23:00 -0500

By Caroline

We got to the hotel in Wollogong, south of Sydney, at about 3 pm. We watched an episode of the Simpsons and then went for a walk to find a place for dinner.

When we returned to the room after dinner a man from the front desk reminded us that this hotel had very sensitive fire alarms. He said even steam from the shower would set it off. He told us to be careful while showering and to be sure to close the door tight.

We nodded and headed upstairs.

I was really tired because we had been on the road for about three weeks and that always tires me out no matter how much sleep I get. I fell into a wonderful sleep. I was so warm and cozy. The bed was comfortable and I had three pillows all to myself.

But before long I was awakened by a loud beeping. I woke up and groaned. I thought it was a car alarm going off — but it kept going. Soon the whole family was awake.

Someone started banging on the door and my dad answered in his underwear (I felt bad for the man on the other side of the door). The man told us that the fire alarm was going off and we had to evacuate. I yelled “BUT IT’S 3 AM!!”

Apparently this didn’t matter so we walked down the fire escape stairs. (I always have the urge to this do when there is no fire just to see if an alarm actually will go off like the door says it will.)

We stood outside in the freezing cold in just our pajamas waiting for the fire engine (Thank god my dad remembered to put on some pants.) Most people looked cranky but one large Japanese tour group looked like they were having the time of their lives.

Finally the fire truck came. If I had a chance of falling back to sleep before it was totally gone now. The sirens were so loud and the flashing lights made me cover my eyes.

The firemen seemed bored and unconcerned. I guess they are used to false alarms from this hotel. They quickly checked too see if an actual fire caused the alarm to go off. After about ten minutes they said there was no fire and we could go back to bed.

This left me with a question… Who takes a shower at 3 am?

Caroline in Oz - Featuring Marlee, Joss and Conor

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:55:58 -0500

Caroline in Oz - Featuring Marlee, Joss and Conor

"Traveling in New Zealand is like traveling inside a painting."

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:21:12 -0500

“Traveling in New Zealand is like traveling inside a painting.””

- —Caroline James

Here area some pictures to show what I mean.

Here is the video of our Agrodome Adventures (and more things we...

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:14:23 -0500

Here is the video of our Agrodome Adventures (and more things we did in Rotorua).

—Conor

A Visit to the Agrodome

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:12:41 -0500

By Conor

After leaving Auckland,New Zealand. We drove to a town called Rotorua. It is famous for its geothermal springs…and its Agrodome Adventures.

Agrodome is a company that lets people do extreme sports such as Zorbing.

Zorbing is a sport where you climb inside a giant plastic ball and you roll down a hill!
Caroline and I went in one together. We did a Zorb with water inside the ball!
So we sloshed around inside instead of going upsidedown.

Out of all the Agrodome Adventures, Zorbing was my personal favorite.

Up next was the Shweeb.The Shweeb is the first human, pedal powered, monorail.
First you get inside a small capsule attached to the monorail,inside the capsule their is a seat and pedals. You sit down and pedal through the monorail track!

Finally came the Free Fall Extreme. The Free Fall Extreme is a big sky dive simulator.
First you haft to put on a sky dive suit and goggles,then you lie on a giant fan facing up,and then the fan goes up and you float!!!

Agrodome Adventures are awesome!!!!!

Catching Up

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:59:55 -0500

By Caroline and Conor

It’s been a while since we’ve posted, but we are working to catch up! New Zealand was great. We drove all over the country and saw some amazing scenery.

New Zealand is a country made up of three main islands: The North Island, The South Island and Stewart Island. We went to the North and South Islands.

We started in Auckland, which is the biggest city (but not the capital). It is on the North Island. Here are some pictures.

A Tale of Two Flights

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:10:52 -0500

By Conor

On our way to New Zealand, our family went on two different but similar flights.

FLIGHT ONE. The first flight we went on was 12 hours and with LAN Chile, this flight was from Santiago, Chile to L.A.

Once in our seats we saw our personal entertainment system, which had games, music, movies, and TV shows. You could start the program or movie any time you wanted so it was pretty fun, they also had a wide selection of movies and TV shows.

The meals on this plane were not so great. They only served us two meals and nothing in between, and to top it off the food wasnít good and I barely ate any of it.

FLIGHT TWO. The second flight we went on was also 12 hours but with Qantas, this flight was from L.A. to Auckland, New Zealand.

When we found our seats we also found our entertainment systems, which, once turned on were not so great. This was because you couldn’t watch the movies or TV shows when ever you wanted to, they started and ended at the same time all over the plane, so sometimes I would click on a movie and it would start half way through! Also they only had six movies an 3 TV shows you could watch.

But, the service on this plane was great. First we had a great dinner, then a while later they gave us a snack, and a while later gave us another snack! In the morning they gave us a hot breakfast including hot chocolate, and 3 hours before the end of our flight they gave us hot towels.

Full Cama or No Cama

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 10:23:00 -0400

By Caroline

I’d rather be in a semi-coma than ride in semi-cama. Let me explain.

When you buy a bus ticket in Argentina you get three levels of service: Semi-cama is the lowest, cama is in the middle, and full-cama or first-class is the highest.

The first bus ride we went on was full-cama. This was probably a bad idea considering we got used to the service. When we got on we were served olives on a stick, which seemed pretty fancy to me. Afterward the waiter came around and gave us ice cold sodas and offered whiskey to my parents.

Our personal TV’s turned on and music started playing. Soon we were served cheese and a roll and later came trays with our dinner - breaded steak, a mixture of potatoes peas and carrots, a roll, and for dessert a cupcake.

After dinner wine was served to the adults and a movie began to play. Halfway through the movie our waiter brought champagne around and little pieces of candy. After the movie Conor and I reclined our seats which went all the way back like a real bed. There were walls in between each row and a curtain between each seat.

Our waiter walked around and collected our trash. He even tucked Conor and me into bed with the provided blankets and pillow.

I slept pretty soundly considering the whole night there was a thunderstorm outside.

We were woken at 7 and given breakfast which was a roll with butter, some yogurt, orange juice, and a toasted medialuna with ham and cheese. We arrived shortly after breakfast.

Our next ride was a lot less luxurious.

There were no full-cama buses heading to Salta, our next destination. We booked four semi-cama seats.

When we boarded the bus I knew things were going to be bad. First of all it smelled like coffee mixed with peanuts. We were going to be on this bus for 23 hours so I knew the smell was going to get on my nerves. Second, our seats barely tilted back. How would we sleep. Third, there was barely any leg room. These were just the things I noticed when we first got on the bus.

Right after we started moving they served us lunch (this was at 11 am). Lunch was a small ham sandwich and 5 pieces of NASTY hard candy. Then the movie started playing. There were no audio jacks so there was no way to hear the movies in English. You had to decipher the Spanish subtitles. Twenty-three hours with no chance of being distracted by movies! I thought, this is gonna be a long ride.

Conor and I just listened to our Ipods and read a little for ten and a half hours. Finally at 9:30 we got dinner - a cold slab of gray rotting chicken, a dry roll that made me gag, and a biscuit thing for dessert. I didn’t eat any of it. Good thing we brought snacks.

That night I probably slept one hour total. The rest of the time I listened to my Ipod. No breakfast was served on this ride and we got off the bus at ten o’clock in the morning feeling cranky and a little faint from lack of food.

My dad said: “They should have served the whiskey on this ride.”

For me its full-cama or no-cama.

Party With Mr. Puffy Pants

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:16:39 -0400

By Caroline

We got to the tour agency at 9:45 after the worst ride on the subway I have ever experienced. It was so crowded and I couldn’t have moved my arms if I tried to.

If that wasn’t bad enough all the other trains were behind so at every stop our train had to wait 10 to 15 minutes for the other trains to start catching up. I was definitely glad when that ride was over.

At about 10:30 we boarded a bus and headed off to Estancia Don Silvano. It was about an hour drive and on the way there our tour guide Christian walked around and let us sip some Mate from the special cups.

I wanted to try some but I was reluctant to sip from the communal straw. I decided to take a drink even though I might get all sorts of germs in my body from the old grandmas who drank before me.

Mate is like an herbal tea but a thousand times stronger. It caught Conor and I off guard. Christian was standing next to us and watching our reactions so we had to paste smiles on our faces and tell him it was very good.

Once he walked away though I poured what was left of my orange TicTacs into my mouth to get the taste off my tongue.

After that little episode we arrived at the Estancia. We got out of the bus and saw a bunch of guys wearing puffy pants. We were given meat empanadas and some nasty juice.

The puffy pants men led us to an area where we could choose from two activities: horseback riding around the property or a horse drawn carriage ride. We all chose the horse back riding.

My horse was pretty calm and gentle so I was happy. The puffy pants guys rode in the lead and whistled so the horses would follow. After about 15 minutes of riding we got off and we could wander around the Estancia alone. It was really pretty, especially because it is spring here.

About 20 minutes later we got ushered into lunch. The table was set with bread, potatoes and salad. Then they brought out the first course: sausages.

There was one sausage that was good but the other was a blood sausage. It was sooooooo NASTY. Conor cut his open and all these bloody weird shaped things fell out. It made me want to puke. But this was only the first course.

While we were eating there was a performance. There were different dances from the different parts in Argentina and the music that went with them. Then they brought out the second course: chicken. The chicken was really good.

You would think that was enough but right after we ate the chicken here came huge platters of steak. I’m sure the steak was good but I was too full to eat it. For dessert they served ice cream.

I can’t believe how much they eat in Argentina.

After everyone was done eating we got taken to bleachers on one side of the Estancia to see the puffy pants guys ride their horses. They had races and played a game where you had to start at one end and have your horses run full speed while the rider has to get a stick through a ring at the other side. It was cool to watch.

After the show was over we were served Mate again (I poured my behind the building to get rid of it) and cookies. Then we got back on the buses and headed back to town.

That just left me with one question. Why are there no fat Argentineans?

Xul Solar

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:18:00 -0400

By Conor

Last Wednesday we visited an art museum about Xul Solar. Xul Solar wasn’t his real name it was just a name he made for himself. His real name was Oscar Agustin Alejandro Schulz Solari.

Xul had a eccentric way of looking at the world which means he thinks his own way, for example, he made up his own time zone, made up his own language (he also could speak many other languages), and had a hobby for founding religions.

Xul’s paintings were really interesting and expressed a strong point of view. For example one painting is of tall stairs leading up to a mountain top but at the top there is nothing. I interpreted that painting as the stairs of life, they climb higher and higher but at the top all you find…is nothing.

Xul’s methods of painting were watercolor and tempera which was die mixed with eggs. He also made sculptures, one featured in the museum was a life size skeleton made out of wood!

Going to Xul Solar museum was probably one of the coolest things I’ve done in Buenos Aires because I actually liked his art and I don’t usually like art!

Scenes from Buenos Aires

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:38:00 -0400

By Caroline

Here are some of our favorite pictures we took wandering around Buenos Aires.

Dog walkers are everywhere, with lots of well-behaved dogs.

A corner store in our neighborhood.

Antique glass for sale at the San Telmo market.

From the Japanese Gardens.

Freddo has the best ice cream we’ve ever tasted - love the dulce de leche flavor!

Statue from one of the city’s many parks.

Crazy tree roots!

Enough said.

Argentina Zoofari!

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:27:00 -0400

By Conor

On the way to the Lujan Zoo I didn’t know what to expect. I had read that at the zoo people could pet wild animals. I hoped that they weren’t mean to the animals to make them behave.

When we got there, the first thing we did was go to the elephants. The zoo keeper explained that these were Asian elephants and he explained how to ride them.

Caroline and I were the second to last in our group to ride the elephant. It was really cool because it feels like you are riding a wild animal.

After the elephants we headed to the camels. Since the camels there had only one hump, we had to sit in chairs hanging from him.

Next was one of my favorites, the monkey cage. When I sat down for a picture, the zoo keeper dropped seeds on my head. The next think I knew, monkeys were climbing on me, jumping on me and eating the seeds off my head. One even hung by its tail off my arm!

Next were lions and tigers. I wasn’t old enough to go in the adult tiger cage, so I hung out with a dog named Pupsy.

After that, we went to the baby lion and tiger cages - and I could play with them. They were so cute!! The baby lion cub was so small, but the tigers were much bigger.

Next was a surprise. We walked around a corner and saw the first baby bear the zoo ever had. They were unbelieveably cute!! They stumbled around and tried to bite my pants. I loved them.

Finally, we went to a big pen with deer, cupabaras, sheep, ducks and emus. It was a great trip.

Help Wanted: Dog Walker in Buenos Aires

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:31:21 -0400

By Caroline and Conor

There is no shortage of dogs - or professional dog-walkers - in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Peru's Floating Islands

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:26:00 -0400

By Caroline

If you ride in a boat about thirty minutes away from mainland over Lake Titicaca you start to see what look like hay stacks with houses on them. That morning we had woken up at 5:30 and got in a car to go to the boat that would take us out on Lake Titicaca to the Uros islands.

These islands are also called the reed islands because they are entirely made out of reeds that grow around the area. I got out first and stepped on the reeds sure that they would sink but it was stable and sort of bouncy. The houses on the island were simple and made of reeds and mud.

There were only a few people living on each island. It seemed weird to imagine that the kids living on these islands have to take a boat to school everyday. It was beautiful seeing the floating islands out on the highest lake in the world.

Our next stop was Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in...

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:33:53 -0400

Our next stop was Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. It’s huge. When you are on the lake, it feels like you ar on the ocean.

Cuy - It's What's For Dinner

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:30:00 -0400

By Caroline

In Peru (and Ecuador) guinea pigs (cuy) are a very popular food. At our house, guinea pigs are pets, not dinner!

Incredible Incas

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:22:40 -0400

By Conor

One thing that makes you realize how great the Incas were is how much they knew so much about the earth.

For example, at Machu Picchu there is a strip of grass that nothing is buillt on because the Incas knew that under the strip of grass was a fault line. If they had built something there and an earthquake had happened, everything they built would have collapsed.

They also figured out how to move enormous rocks from one mountain to another.

The Incas were such good builders that they were able to fit rocks together and build strong structures with no cement. The rocks just fit perfectly together.

Machu Picchu is incredible!

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:08:00 -0400

Machu Picchu is incredible!