93 days, 41 cities, 15 flights, 14 buses, 13 hired drivers, 8 trains, 3 boats and countless rickshaws......

We are about to take our last two flights back to the good old USA! Tomorrow morning we fly from Krabi (South Thailand), have a 6 our lay-over in Bangkok and then a 15 hour flight to LA! We will be staying with Mel and Rich in LA and flying back to Portland on Wednesday.

I feel ready for home today- went for a run on the beach this morning, lazed around and ate some green curry. We are thinking about watching a movie and just hanging out for our last night here, since we have such a long day(s) of travel ahead of us. Last night there was a festival in Ao Nang- complete with fireworks and the launching of what added up to be paper bags with candles in them. I was greatly surprised that there was not a forest fire later in the night. Ang and I did launch a fire-bag and made a few wishes as it floated into the air.

This trips has provided me with some of my hardest moments in travel. There have been moments when India brought out the absolute worst in me- and I was surprised at my actions. But this trip has also furthered my ideas and knowledge of where I 'fit' in this world and I'm excited about the next chapters of my life! I learned that the world works...even if I don't understand it. I missed home the most I ever have while travelling- but also gained the most pride I ever have had about living in the United States. The entire trip was worth every hoop that we had to jump through to make it happen and travel for 3 months!

I will be posting a lot of pictures once I'm home!

The perfect spot to end the trip.....

Ang and I have found the perfect spot to end our trip. When we left Ko Phi Phi- we didn't know where we wanted to go. We boarded a boat to Krabi and then a free bus to another beach. We borrowed a book once on the bus and decided on  random beach....and here we are! Ao Nang beach in Thailand....and it is wonderful! We wandered into the greatest place to stay- nearly a studio apartment with a view of the sea- for $25/night! We have spent the last few days sleeping in, enjoying the beach and eating as much Thai food as we can. We have a list of MUST EATS for the next few days and are slowly checking them off. We both go back and forth between being done travelling and enjoying our time here....but one thing is for sure....we both love Thailand!

I am SO excited to see my family and I know that I won't be on another 3 month trip for a while....so I'm considering life to be pretty good right now:)

Mixed emotions...and a bit of sunshine in Thailand!

We have finally enjoyed a bit of sunshine in Thailand! Although the forecast called for "torrential downpours"....we have had some sunshine the last two days. We were both very excited- not only for some beach time- but also because Marissa only had a week in Thailand and who wants to sit in the rain?! Thailand is wonderful....relaxing....clean...beautiful and filled with SO many smiley people! We can eat anything we want and not worry about getting sick (knock-on-wood)....I am thoroughly enjoying the relaxing time!

We had a wonderful time while Marissa visited- she left today. It was great to throw someone new in the mix after being gone for 12 weeks and she always makes all situations more fun. We have been on Surin beach (a great beach town) and staying in the most friendly place. We call the owner "mama"- well, not to her face- but we refer to 'mama'- who basically runs the whole show,while sitting at the bar eating mass amounts of Thai food. I'm not joking, every time we come downstairs she is eating. She is the happiest person and was even happy to take us on her errand run yesterday to help us find a bookstore.

While Marissa was here we also got a Thai massage, which wasn't the most relaxing experience- but I'm glad we did it. I basically couldn't stop giggling the whole time and it didn't help that the woman was standing on my back trying to contort my body into strange positions. Of course the three of us are lying on mats right next to each other, which also didn't help my laughter.

We have 7 days left of traveling. Being done traveling after a 3 month trip comes with very mixed emotions. From moment to moment, my emotions range from being very excited to be home to staring out at the beach in Thailand-feeling lucky! A friend gave me the advice to "not let your head go home before the plane leaves"- and I'm trying to remember that. I know that once I'm back for several days, I will miss the routine of traveling. Ang and I have become very used to packing/unpacking/negotiating/admiring and enjoying our travel life. But traveling in India rocked me and challenged my view of the world- it challenged me in ways that will probably slowly be discovered and part of me is ready to be home and enjoy the comforts we are all so lucky to have.

Tomorrow we are taking a boat to Ko Phi Phi island and will be there for several days.

Additional random information:

• Since the beginning of the trip Ang has been obsessing about when she can start to get rid of clothes and other items. Her whole goal was to take items to India that she would never have to wear again. She has talked about this so often that I finally had to break it to her that I couldn't go through the list of what she will leave in Delhi one more time.  In theory, this obsession is related to making her backpack lighter. However, it is getting to the point where she has talked about giving away everything except for one shirt and the pants she will wear on the plane. You should have seen her excitement when she could finally leave her running shoes behind. She suggested a celebration ceremony. Our backpacks are getting lighter and we are finally down to flip flops and sundresses!
• We got upgraded to Business Class from Delhi to Bangkok....it was awesome! The seats go flat, movies galore.....we are both hoping for an upgrade on our long flight home.

Rain, Rain.....go away.....

We are on Phuket Island in Thailand....with not much to report. It is raining and predicted to rain for a few days... Marissa met up with us in Bangkok and it has been amazing and great to have her here! We spent the day roaming around Thailand and eating pad Thai and too many spring rolls....seeing a few of the sights and catching up. We flew to Phuket two days ago and have a great view from our hotel room balcony of the beach...and the sun did come out for a short while today. We are hoping for a few days of sun before Marissa has to head back on Monday!

Nepal.....A few pictures from our hike....

Just one of the many beautiful views from our hike. Nepal was amazingly beautiful...the people and the scenery.

And you wonder why I want a Nepalese baby?! Too cute for words.

All of the porters and villages carry everything on their head. We asked a young girl if we could help carry her crops up the hill. Here is Ang trying to carry 25 kilos.....it was really heavy! Our poor guide had to help us halfway up.

Views from our last night on our hike.

One of many panoramic views.

Touching the top of Fish Tail mountain.

View from one of the highest points....and yes, I'm wearing a fanny pack.

While we were in Nepal there was a festival happening- and part of the festival was people building these huge swings for the kids. We took advantage of this one on our hike.

Baby playing in the corn that is drying.....

Here is Ang and our guide, Hari. Check out Ang's socks and pants....awesome.

Rafting on our first day.

Here was Ang's birthday present from me....peanut butter and Nutella...we both thoroughly enjoyed it!

We had a decent amount of time to kill at the Delhi Airport....at one point we had both pushed three chairs together and were making ourselves at home.

Everest, Tibet, Bhutan......

Okay....get your cup of coffee.....I feel like I have a lot of updating to do! While flying to Bhutan we flew right by Mt. Everest and Tibet. We jockeyed for seats on the left side of the plane and even got a few pictures- once in a lifetime, for sure.

We have had really limited access to e-mail in Bhutan, but now we are back in India! I haven't really wanted to write about this- in fear of jinxing ourselves....but now that we are officially back in India, I can tell the story. When Ang and I applied for our Indian Visa, we applied for a multiple entry visa because we knew we wanted to visit Nepal and Bhutan. However, a "multiple entry" visa means that IF you leave India you must be gone for 2 months before you can re-enter. This seemed like a ridiculous rule and after being in India for 2 months we were sure that not EVERYONE could enforce it. Well....we were hoping. We had also read and heard of numerous people either getting back into India OR almost getting deported. We had never heard an official story of someone actually getting deported...just almost. This did create some fear for Ang and me and we talked about what we would do if this happened.

Obviously, the risk of being deported was not enough risk for us not to leave India. I even made some very "official" itineraries (WORD documents- guys)- because we had read that IF the neighboring countries were included on your original itineraries you would be permitted to enter back into India. Regardless, Sunday morning we were nervous! Our Bhutan tour guide had taken our passports to the Bhutan side of immigration and had them stamped. We are not sure why we never had to go to the immigration office on the Bhutan side. Two Indian guys, arranged by our Bhutan travel guide, picked us up and drove us across the border into India. We then went to the Indian Immigration Office where we were both prepared to do quite an acting job, including tears or offering a bribe, if necessary. No acting needed......the immigration officer didn't bat an eye as he stamped our passports of re-entry. WHEW!!! We did a mini-high-five as we walked out of the office.

Bhutan was a quiet, cute, quaint country that is still set back about 200 years ago. The people are very smiley and warm- and the traditional life has not been altered much by the outside world influence. Ang and I were definitely the youngest visitors that we saw. This seems to be a trip that people do in groups/couples after retirement- I'm sure due to the cost. Bhutan cost $200/person/day- which includes accommodation (very nice, accommodation!), food, tours etc. However, since Ang and I were so close to Bhutan we decided to visit anyways- despite our cheap backpacker attitudes.

When we arrived and were picked up at the airport our guide nearly immediately asked "Lindsay, do you have longer pants to wear?" I was in long shorts- which I soon learned were inappropriate.  As I put some pants over my shorts to enter the first temple- he then asked "Lindsay, can you make those pants longer?" I'm thinking in my head....'no, maybe I had my mom hem them too short!'....but I quickly pulled them down to cover ALL of my ankles. Just as I got my pants settled, he said "Lindsay, can you please remove your headband?" Boy, was I off to a  BAD start in Bhutan. Ang stood there smiling- modestly dressed, with no head band.

Several days later as we drove on an extremely windey road and I fought yet another stomach bug (which after 3 rounds of antibiotics I think is gone!)- we pulled over to view the Eastern Himalayas. I immediately started throwing up over the side of the mountain. Seconds later, I felt a hand pulling down my shirt- yes, once again our guide, who was trying to cover up the 2 inches of exposed underwear I was showing. I have to admit, that while throwing up...modesty was not my first priority- but obviously, it should have been. Yikes!

While in Bhutan we saw some very cool sights. My favorite was Tigers Nest- a monastery that was literally built into the side of a cliff. We hiked for about 2 hours to get there and the views were fantastic. We visited lots of temples, holy sites, a nunnery.....all very serene and spiritual experiences. We happened to visit the nunnery during evening prayer and everyone was reciting prayers, singing and playing instruments- very cool.

We also went to a mini- zoo. What is  mini-zoo you ask? Well, that means there is only one animal at the zoo. Our guide had told us about the "national animal of Bhutan", and that would be the animal we would view. There was a legend that one of the God's had merged the vertebrae of a cow and the rib of a God to create this animal years ago. Of course, when we were headed to a zoo Ang and I were both doing some eye-rolling, wondering how they were going to show us an animal that had the body of a cow- and the head of a God. After a short walk, we saw many large animals roaming around. As we read the sign on the cage- we quickly realized that we had mistaken the word "Goat" for "God"- and our guide had been saying 'body of a cow-head of a goat' (not God)......ahhhhh.....a bit more likely....and the national animal DID in fact look exactly like a cow-goat. We could not look at each other the entire time- in fear of laughing.

We are in Delhi for 2 days- staying with one of Ang's college friends who has been nice enough to host us. His apartment is VERY comfortable and we are having trouble motivating to explore Delhi. The BEST news of the week is that Marissa (my friend from college) is meeting us in Thailand! We fly to Thailand tomorrow and will be hanging out with her for a week! Very exciting.

I can't believe that we have about 2 weeks left to travel and that we have spent over 2.5 months in India, Bhutan and Nepal. I feel very lucky....and at the same time, the comforts of home are sounding more and more appealing. I can't WAIT to get my hands on a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.

The land of Gross Domestic Happiness.....

I'm going to do a very quick blog, because internet access in Bhutan is limited. What a wonderful little country!! Bhutan measures it's success on Gross Domestic Happiness vs. Gross Domestic Product.....could a country get any more cute?! It is also a country of only 700,000 people and nearly 100% Buddhist. They LOVE Buddha and their Royal Family!

We arrived from Kathmandu 3 days ago and have been shuttled around by our driver and guide for the last few days. The only way to see Bhutan is to hire a driver and a guide and it does make life a lot easier! We have seen some amazing temples, places, views of the Eastern Himalayas....and had the most wonderful interactions with people. Yesterday we were in a temple when a woman from the village had come to visit the Lama regarding the destiny of her sick child. She brought an offering of rice and money. He took the offering, prayed over the offering and lit incense while she sat at his feet.  Eventually he rolled a pair of dice to see if the lucky numbers predicted that her child would be healed. The dice shared that the child would be healed, which led to a huge smile on her face...it was an amazing moment that nobody else shared except for us, the woman and the Lama. Of course, the entire experience was translated by our guide....very cool!

All is well in the land of Bhutan.....