Social Norms

Every country has it's own particular set of cultural and social norms, which are most "visible" when you first arrive in-country.  As Rob once said, it's best to take lots of photos when you first get to a place, while things still look exotic.

This is also true in European countries, as I discovered during my short respite from our Big Trip.

In Finland, separate checks at restaurants are the norm.  People like to pull their own weight.

In Finland during the winter, the sun rises after 9 am.

In Finland, no one tips.  When asked, my colleague said there was no need and "it is because we pay people well!"

In Finland, people protect the environment.  They turn the lights off when they leave a room.  This includes meeting rooms and bathrooms at the office.  They also recycle religiously.  Rubbish bins, including little ones in my hotel room, had recycle and rubbish sections.

In Finland, the daily high temperature is sometimes -18 C (equal to 0 F)

In Finland, it's a given that women and men are equal.  It isn't a matter of the father helping out.  It's a matter of how they will divide the labour.  It isn't a matter of whether the parents will get parental leave, but how the mother and father will divide up their 14 months of parental leave.  It isn't a matter of whether close to half of all peacekeepers will be women, but how they can influence other societies to become more gender equal.

I'm looking forward to observing the cultural and social norms of Australia next...

Nadia

Desert Weather

The weather here is really strange. We arrived at a hotel near Ayers Rock on January 13. After a 5 minute walk to a different part of the resort, sweat was dripping down my back. The sun beat down on my neck as I explored the sand dunes in the desert. I was expecting it to be boiling, and that it was. After dinner, the wind started howling. All day afternoon we had watched rain pour down on the horizon, and overnight that rain moved over our hotel. In the morning the formerly blue sky was replaced with a sleek grey blanket. It sprinkled as we drove the 20km to Ayers Rock, a sacred site to the aboriginals. While walking around the rock, the temperature was perfect. The sun didn't burn our shoulders, and the wind kept us cool. We couldn't have asked for a better day to hike. A couple hours later, we got on a bus to drive the 450km to Alice Springs. At our first pit stop, I got off the bus without my sweatshirt. I mean, we were in the desert, why would I need a sweater? But by the time I got back on the bus I was shivering. For the rest of the day, while the wind howled and the sun stayed hidden, I bundled up in my soft grey sweater. Who knew that in twelve hours it could go from scorching hot to freezing cold. The weather here sure is unpredictable. 

Maya

Six Month Reflection

We are about half way through our Big Trip.  We've been on the road for six months.  We travelled in 10 countries in Asia, including Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Palau, Singapore, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

I left Asia on Friday, taking a small detour from our Big Trip.  Despite short daylight hours and freezing temperatures (-11 C / 10 F), I couldn't refuse a quick work trip to Finland for a consultancy on women's rights and peace (my two passions!).  Rob and the girls are departing Asia on Tuesday, heading to Australia, where we will rendezvous on Saturday.  After a month in Oz, we continue our journey eastward towards the Americas (see map for planned itinerary).

Now that Asia is already behind me, it's a little odd to think that I won't be (easily) having noodle soup for breakfast any more...

I also find myself reflecting on our trip thus far.  A lot of people have asked me what my favorite part of the trip has been, or which country I liked best - questions I find impossible to answer!  Every part of the trip has been magical in its own way.  Some parts were very exotic.  Some parts were really fun.  Some parts were rich because we shared them with specific people (old friends, family, even new friends).  Some parts were adventurous and daring and exciting.  Some parts were hilarious.  How can I compare and rank the wonders we have seen and experienced?!?!

Alaronis on June 28, 2015, in Thailand

People have also asked me if I'm tired of traveling.  In all honesty, I'm not!  We are in a rhythm now, with our routines of packing and unpacking, and knowing our respective roles when we get to hotels or airports or train stations.  We plan slow days in which we only have one short thing planned for the day.  We plan free mornings or whole days in which we have no plans other than catching up on school work and trip planning, or hanging out reading, or playing games, or messaging with family and friends.  And we have periodic rest stops, typically at houses, in which we have a week or more in which we don't tour or move around.  We haven't been "on vacation" for six months - we have been traveling (the difference between the two is the pace).

Alaronis on December 28, 2015, in Cambodia

It has been an amazing journey so far.  We have learned a lot about the world and each other.  I am so looking forward to the adventure of the next six months!!!

Nadia

Angkor region, Cambodia

After a couple of weeks relaxing, eating and exploring Phnom Penh, we headed north to Angkor where we spent 3 days on a bike riding tour of ancient Angkor temples and other incredible ruins. A couple of mornings Nadia, our friend Matt and I were out the door at 6am to walk through some of the temples just as the sun was rising and without the hoards of visitors that would be at the same temples a couple hours later in the day. We stayed in Siem Reap, which is a nice town at the heart of the Angkor region with plenty of restaurants, pubs, and things to do and see.

After Angkor, we flew to Sinahouk Ville on the coast where we went scuba diving off an island a couple of hours offshore. We also ran in the near year at a fun beach party along with our good friends Matt and Sheila. Cambodia is a beautiful country with lots to offer - nice people, good food, lots of history (good and bad), beaches, and plenty of inexpensive ($6/hour) massage options -foot, back, shoulders, head, etc, after a long day of biking.

Note: This blog program isn't set up to hold too many photos so I'm now also posting photos on my Facebook account at: robmaroni. If any blog followers want to see more photos just sent me a 'friend request' and I'll accept so you can see more than I include in the blog.

Rob

 At Ta Prahm Temple

Corridor at Angkor Wat

The jungle is enveloping the ruins at Angkor

 Mira at Angkor Wat

 Beautiful stone sculptures

 The forests around Angkor

 Sunrise visit

 Local transport in village

 Amazing detail

 Man meets nature

 A colorful temple we visited

 Fishing village we took boat ride through

Living in a World Without Sun

Sweat dripped down my forehead as I hunched even further down, doing my best to keep my head from hitting the low ceilings. It was stuffy, and it was hot. I don't know how people survived living in the tunnels for so long. There was no room for me to move around, in fact, there was barely enough room for my shoulders to squeeze through. The tunnels were made by Vietnamese soldiers during the American war. They used no machines, and yet they still managed to create a complicated tunnel system expanding over almost 2000 meters. There are three levels, ranging from 3 meters to about 10 meters underground. As I walked through the tunnels, my back scraped the ceiling continuously. I can't imagine what it would have been like before people enlarged the tunnels for tourists. The lights flicker, and when there is a turn the lights almost completely disappear. Luckily, when we went down lightbulbs had been put into the tunnels, but during the war, candles were the main light source. What would it have been like at the time? Did the tunnels shake when bombs landed nearby? Could they hear tanks thundering overhead? What could it have been like, to live for so long in a world with no sun?

- Maya

 Entrance to tunnel

 American tank

One of the tunnels (enlarged for tourists!)

Old Friends

We are with Matt and Sheila, my parents' friends who came to visit. Sheila is open to trying new things but unfortunately she was sick the night my sister decided to try some local cuisine. Matt hates bugs even dead ones. He freaks out when there is a bug 5 feet away from him.

Maya took us to a place called Bugs Cafe.

She loves trying new things, including bugs, but nobody else liked it. We took a look at the menu: 

And Matt was not happy. We ordered. We ate. And I will never have another barbeque skewer again! The tarantula was hairy.  The crickets felt like they were still alive in my mouth, and the water bug was squishy! Matt didn't want to be the only person who didn't eat a bug so he picked up my water bug and heled it up to his face, then we took a photo, then he dropped the stick and gagged! He had at least 6 beers!!

- Mira

Same, Same, but Different

We are very luck to be traveling around the world, experiencing and learning diverse histories and cultures.

There are so many similarities and repeated histories between and among us humans, once you get over the superficial outside differences.

Nadia

The Angkor dynasty (700-1300 AD) in Cambodia, was characterized by wars with the Cham and the Siams.

Land mines and unexploded ordinances (bombs) remain a serious problem in Cambodia.  Yesterday's newspaper reported the death of a farmer from a 30-year old anti-tank mine.  Many of the mines were laid during the 1970's, when the USA was actively bombing Cambodia and neighboring countries.  The USA supported various sides in the many wars in Southeast Asia during that time period - much like they do in the Middle East today.

I can only hope that we eventually learn and spend our resources for good things, like sharing food and beauty with friends.