RTW Adventures of J&M

 
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October 24, 2009

Reconnecting with Friends

After coming back from our trip, J and I hosted a "We're Back!!" party to reconnect with our Seattle friends. Aside from the fresh Costco strawberries we strictly served drinks and snacks that we encountered during our world travel which included Coopers Pale Ale (Sydney), Estrella (Barcelona), Tsingtao Pure Draft (Beijing), San Pellegrino Limonata/Aranciata (Rome), Malbec (Buenos Aires), Dulce de Leche (Buenos Aires), assorted salami from Salumi's and marinated mozzarella (Rome).
 
For a little bit of entertainment, J and I decided to have a friendly photo contest during the party. He and I each picked and anonymously displayed 5 of our "best" photos and asked our friends to pick their three favorites. The winner got to decide our next vacation destination! Here were the winners in descending order:
 
1. Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand
2. Bluff Cove Lagoon, Falkland Islands
3. Buenos Aires, Argentina
4. Amsterdam, Netherlands
5. Barcelona, Spain
6. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
7. Barron Falls, Australia
8. Paris, France
9. London, UK (tie for 9th)
10. Tongaririo Crossing, New Zealand (tie for 9th)
 
Right now, I'm thinking the Maldives. =)
 

                   
Click here to download:
Reconnecting_with_Friends_tag_.zip (1176 KB)

Filed under  //   Amsterdam   Barcelona   Buenos Aires   Cairns   London   New Zealand   Paris   Seattle   South America Cruise  

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July 10, 2009

Picture of the Day: Riding shotgun down the Rangitata

 

Location: Rangitata River, South Island, New Zealand

Memories:
  • M vs. Rain Clouds - did M manage to set up a dry tent by herself before the downpour began? Yes she did!
  • J gets caught in the downpour while bike riding to camp.
  • Saving a lamb from the river by boat
  • Sitting in the front of the raft! That will never happen again!
  • Cliff jumping

Filed under  //   New Zealand   Picture of the Day  

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May 1, 2009

A souvenir from New Zealand

To willchen, naptime, "special building phase" and vvolfii
 
 
5th Annual Big Sib vs. Little Sib Settlers of Catan Showdown
Sunday, July 5th 2009
Same time, same place
Appropriate dress required

Filed under  //   New Zealand   souvenirs  

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April 14, 2009

Cipro and Imodium to the rescue

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen, my second blog post on food poisoning. I'm amazed that it didn't happen sooner. Truth be told, I've had weird bouts of stomach aches throughout the RTW trip, but this was the first time that warranted the usage of Cipro, an oral antibiotic, and Imodium, an over-the-counter drug that decreases the activity of the myenteric plexus (if you have to ask what it is, look it up on wikipedia).

It all started the night before we left Australia. Like my first food poisoning episode, it couldn't have happened at a worse time - I was about to embark on a 15-day camping trip! That night I took two Imodium pills hoping that my immune system would sort things out while the pills took care of the symptoms. A week elapsed before those drugs began to wear off, but the stomach bugs were still there! So, I went on another round of Imodium and started taking Cipro - 1 every 12 hours for 72 hours. This time it worked, but my myenteric plexus only recently got back to its regularly scheduled program - 3 weeks after Australia. Either Imodium is really strong or I'm just super sensitive to it.

Here's a video of the hot mud pools in New Zealand's north island with a very descriptive (and accurate!) narration by our Flying Kiwi friend, Katie. It's pretty appropriate for this particular post, no? =)

     
Click here to download:
Cipro_and_Imodium_to_the_rescu.zip (247 KB)

Filed under  //   Cairns   food poisoning   New Zealand   sight-seeing  

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April 9, 2009

Sleeping under the stars in New Zealand

With only a few exceptions, J and I camped our way through New Zealand. Most of the caravan parks we stayed in had kitchen, laundry and bathroom facilities, but the campsite that stands out in our minds is Lake Pukaki (South Island) where there were no facilities except a "long-drop" toilet. There, we slept with our tent door facing the serene lake and the majestic Mt. Cook in the distance. It was amazing!
 
1. Lake Pukaki and the snow-capped Mt. Cook
2. Our bush camp on the shores of Lake Pukaki
3. Prime real estate
4. Dining with an unbeatable view
5. The night sky featuring the Southern Cross - can you spot it?
6. A view from our tent in the early morning
7. Sunrise over the mountain ranges of the Southern Alps

             
Click here to download:
Sleeping_under_the_stars_in_Ne.zip (418 KB)

Filed under  //   New Zealand  

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April 6, 2009

J&M goes Zorbing

Zorb - n. A "sport" in which one to three human beings roll down a hill inside a gigantic plastic ball.
 

   
Click here to download:
M_J_goes_Zorbing_tag_New_Zeala.zip (229 KB)

Filed under  //   New Zealand  

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April 3, 2009

200km/hr @ 15,000 ft!

This is what peer pressure makes you do.

       
Click here to download:
200kmhr_15000_ft.zip (2973 KB)

Filed under  //   New Zealand  

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April 1, 2009

The reason I stayed in New Zealand

As J mentioned earlier, he left New Zealand a couple of days ago while I'm still here. Singapore would've been fun to see, but I didn't want to miss seeing the Milford Sound. As you will see in the pictures below, it was an incredible sight!

Next stop, Queenstown, where I have a date with 15,000 ft.

           
Click here to download:
The_reason_I_stayed_in_New_Zea.zip (23176 KB)

Filed under  //   New Zealand  

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March 25, 2009

Breathtaking

It took J and I 8.5 hours to hike the Tongariro Cossing - one of the most amazing day hikes in the world! The first half of the hike was EXTREMELY hard, but the views were so worth it!
 
Here are two photos that I took from the peak of the Tongariro Crossing.
1. Blue Lake
2. The Emerald Lakes

   
Click here to download:
Breathtaking_tag_New_Zealand_s.zip (9713 KB)

Filed under  //   New Zealand   sight-seeing  

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March 23, 2009

First days in New Zealand

Things done/seen so far:
 
1. ZORBING - once together and once by ourself
2. Hot boiling mud pools
3. Lady Knox Geyser
4. Downtown Taupo/Taupo Lake
5. Hot Water Beach
6. Lots of cows and sheep
7. James caused a stampede of cows
 
Sorry, no photos because the computer I'm using cannot read HC SD cards. =( I hope to have something up in 2 days when we get into Wellington.

Filed under  //   New Zealand   sight-seeing  

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