Wearing Ourselves Out in Beautiful St Petersburg Russia

Lindsay and I are known for cramming a lot of travel into a little amount of time. We would much rather take months to explore destinations then weeks/days but sometimes our schedule, jobs, etc make this impossible. Because of this we often find ourselves exhausted at the end of each day of travel. I remember in particular one day in St Petersburg Russia we basically wore ourselves out to the point where we feel asleep on the lawns of cathedral. It was a beautiful early summer day in St Petersburg and we had just arrived via an early morning train from Moscow. There was so much to see and so little time (we only had a few days) so we immediately hit the streets to explore. We mapped out a route that would take us past all the big sights and we started by climbing the large tower of St Isaac’s Cathedral for a view over the city. We then made our way to Palace Square to take in some of the most beautiful architecture in all of Europe. We continued on to the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and in-between all of this we stopped at numerous canal intersections to simply people watch. By the time we made it to the beautiful and majestic Kazan Cathedral we were exhausted. We noticed that the grassy grounds in front of the cathedral were a favorite relaxation spot of the locals and we decided to sit with them for awhile. We found a nice spot on the grass to lay down just for a second…about an hour later I woke up and realized that we had literally passed out and fallen 100% asleep on this cathedral lawn. We were so exhausted that to people walking by we probably looked like we had passed out. In fact, at the time my business associate was traveling in St Petersburg Russia and we were joking that he probably walked by and saw us and thought “was that just Marc and his wife passed out on the cathedral grounds.” After waking up we decided to head back to the hotel room to “recharge.” When we arrived we laid down for a quick “power nap” but didn’t wake up for about 2 hours! At first I was extremely upset as I felt we had lost an entire evening of exploring. However, we quickly learned that at this time of year the sun does not set in St Petersburg until about midnight so we had plenty of time to explore. So of course we hit the streets again and were out exploring until about 2:00 AM. Travel can be exhausting and on that particular day in St Petersburg it really caught up to Lindsay and I.

The Bazaars & Markets of Istanbul Turkey

There is nothing more quintessentially Middle Eastern than a “Bazaar.” These large markets will sell anything such as food, spices, toys, souvenir’s, clothing, animals, etc, etc. The sights, sounds and smells of these markets is absolutely intoxicating. Lindsay and I got our first taste of Bazaar in the incredibly beautiful city of Istanbul Turkey. We rode the efficient street car up to the large and exciting “Grand Bazaar” which is a large indoor market. The moment we stepped in we were hooked! This Bazaar is a bit more touristy then some (simply because of its location in Istanbul) but it was still amazing. There was row after row of shops selling everything you can imagine. There were thousands of people coming and going and the hustle and bustle was very exciting. Bargaining is an art form, and must, in the Middle East so we decided to try out our skills. We found a very cool decorated piece of cloth that had Arabic writing on it and thought it was the perfect souvenir. To this day I have no idea what we ended up paying for it (it was cheap) but I do know we bargained hard. :) Near to the grand bazaar is the famous “spice market” of Istanbul. This incredible market has little stores selling every spice and ingredient you could ever imagine. Because of this the area is extremely colorful (all of the spices everywhere) and the smells are out of this world! Each shop owner is anxious for you to buy something and is always happy to offer a taste of what they are selling. Many of the shops in this area sell the famous “Turkish delight” candy. It is hard to describe exactly what this is but it is a lot like the inside of a jellybean. It comes in boxes with numerous assorted flavors which are usually fruity and sweet. After one taste Lindsay and I were hooked and bought a box of the stuff for our long train ride to Syria which was coming up shortly. I remember vividly walking through the spice market in Istanbul and having all of my senses overloaded…in a good way. There were bright red/white Turkish flags flying over head, piles of colorful spices all over, numerous smells, sounds of people talking, bargaining and yelling, etc. It was something we had never quite experienced but were immediately hooked. Over the next few weeks as we travelled through the Middle East we were lucky enough to experience numerous other bazaars/markets and we loved every one of them. We will never forget our first taste of a Middle Eastern marketplace in the Bazaars of Istanbul, Turkey.

“The Unpleasantness” – The Tout That Pushed us Over the Edge

International travel can be extremely tough. It is one of the most rewarding things a person can do but it can also be extremely frustrating at times as well. One of the worst travel experiences Lindsay and I have ever had was with a tout in Varanasi, India. I have written before about how bad the touts (people who hassle you on the street to buy things) are in Varanasi but for the most part they are all quite harmless. Most just want to sell you cheap silk, give you a shave, take you on an “unofficial tour”, etc. However, we learned the hard way that there are also bad, and malicious, touts anxious to prey on tourists. One of the most incredible sights in Varanasi is the “Burning Ghat.” This temple on the banks of the Ganges river is where bodies are cremated and ashes spread in the water. The sight of this is impossible for tourists to resist but we had been warned by our friend Papu (we meet at the hotel) to not go to the Burning Ghat without him. Unfortunately we did not head Papus advice and wandered near the temple to explore. We were cautious enough not to get to close but did get close enough for a picture. Sure enough a very raggedy man immediately started to bother us. He was very dirty looking with torn clothes, missing teeth and an unkempt appearance. He immediately started bothering us for money since “pictures cost money.” We knew this was not true and politely declined his demands thinking that he would go away. Oh how we were wrong…he became more and more stern in his demands for money until Lindsay and I started walking off. We knew things were getting bad when he started to follow-us continually yelling at us to give him money. Although Varanasi is a busy place for some reason there was nobody else around when this was going on which made the whole situation very tense. Lindsay was getting extremely upset (for those who know Lindsay you know this is rare) and began yelling back at him to leave us alone. I remember vividly seeing how upset Lindsay was getting as she was just glaring at him and shaking her head (I am shocked it didn’t scare him off as it was scaring me…ha ha). I eventually found myself with 2 options. 1. I could physically attack this guy to get him to leave us along (it really was this intense). However, that could have quickly gone bad and the last place I wanted me, or my wife, to be was in a jail in India. 2. I could pay him the money he wants to have him leave us alone. The latter generally never works but I was desperate. I gave him the money and sternly demanded he leave us alone. Sure enough he stated it was not enough and even after taking the money kept yelling and following us. It was at this moment that I realized this was probably not going to end very well….a physical confrontation. Just as things were at their worst a group of Indian teenage boys turned the corner and saw that the man was bugging us and quick yelled at him to “leave us alone.” The tout took off running the other direction and the Indian boys smiled and asked us to “not believe all Indians are like this.” We were so grateful that they were there as the situation was truly getting extremely tense. It took Lindsay and I a good few hours to “cool down” after this altercation. We just wandered around the rivers edge in Varanasi talking about it until we were finally able to laugh a little at the situation. Over the next couple of days we did get to see the Burning Ghat with our local buddy/guide”Papu” which was a completely different experience (the touts did not bother us at all as we were with a local). While we were touring around we noticed another westerner couple getting hassled. We eventually learned that many of the men who hang around the Burning Ghat are “social outcasts” which explained a lot about how the man who bothered us dressed, looked and acted. To this day I can still get Lindsay fired up by talking about this experience. It was probably the worst travel experience we have ever had and we will never forget it. Luckily it did not spoil the rest of our time in Varanasi and we ended up loving that ancient and incredible city.

This is the picture that got us in trouble with the tout.

Ice Cream & Friendship in Aleppo, Syria

There are at least two truths in this world: 1. Sometimes the simplest travel experiences are the most memorable. 2. Lindsay Duncan loves ice cream. :) These two simple truths collided perfectly at a little ice cream store in Aleppo Syria. In our experience the vast majority of people in Syria are extremely nice and the young Syrian man that worked at the small ice cream store near our hotel was no exception. This tiny ice cream store was on the small street/alley just outside our hotel so every time we were coming/going we would walk by and each time he would wave and smile. Eventually Lindsay had to succumb to the ice cream so one night we ended up stopping…and I am so glad we did. The young man was ecstatic to see us and quickly ignored all other customers. With his broken English he did his best to make conversation and was so excited to show us a picture of “The Terminator” on his phone which was to him the ultimate American icon. After our brief chat he really wanted a picture of us so we happily posed for him. We also got a picture with him as we never wanted to forget our nice friend in Aleppo that works at the ice cream shop. During this encounter I ended up getting a pretty unique picture of Lindsay. She was walking up to order ice cream and was surrounded by women in full black cloak burkas. Even though she had a head scarf on she looked so funny surrounded by these women all dressed in black. It seems funny to write about such a small and trivial memory but it is these types of friendships and encounters while traveling that you just simply never forget.

One Night of Camping in Banff Canada

During our epic road trip to Canada in 2007 Lindsay and I found ourselves in Banff Canada which is easily one of the most beautiful places in the world. After touring around the local highlights (Lake Louise, Banff Lodge, etc) we spent the early evening strolling around Banff’s cute downtown area. We did some shopping and sight seeing before eventually getting some dinner. We were trying to decide were to stay for the night and ended up getting a nice secluded campsite about 15 minutes outside of town. I don’t remember the name of the camp ground but like most in the area it was incredibly scenic. Since we already had dinner we simply bought some Starbursts to roast over the fire and sat there talking, laughing, etc. We then retired to our small little tent and all 3 of us (Me, Lindsay and Sundance) got real cozy. We had brought a tiny little generator and ended up watching a movie before settling in for the night. Everything was perfect until the middle of the night when I was woken up by Sundance barking like crazy. Lindsay jumped up and unzipped the tent so that her and Sundance could take a look around. It was of course pitch black so Lindsay would shine the flashlight in one direction, while both her and Sundance’s heads would move in that direction, and then go in another direction. It was hilarious because there heads would move from side to side in perfect unison following the light. I remember making the conscious decision that if a bear was going to kill me I would rather not see it coming so just laid there and tried to go back to sleep (the opposite of “manning up”). Despite the flashlight/bear fiasco in the middle of the night we ended up sleeping very well and woke up the next morning ready to go. We ended up driving the entire way from Banff Canada to our loft in Salt Lake City in ONE DAY! It was a long drive but the 3 of us just turned on the tunes and took in the amazing scenery as it passed by. It was the perfect ending to a truly epic road trip through the beautiful western US and Canada.

The Island Village of Playon Chico, Panama

Located on the Atlantic side of Panama lies a magical set of islands called the San Blas. The Kuna Indians call this land home and are lucky enough to live amongst the thousands of tropical islands that make up this paradise. Lindsay and I stayed on a tiny island called Yandup and the closest village to us was called Playon Chico. I had read about it so I knew it was small and remote but nothing prepared me for what we saw as we were landing in this remote village. Almost all of the structures are wooden huts except for a few small cement buildings like the airport shack, police station, etc. When we first flew in we immediately took a small boat out to Yandup so only got to see the village quickly as we floated past. However, one evening during our stay at Yandup our local guide “Leo” took us into the village which was truly one of the most unique Lindsay and I had ever seen. There are no streets in Playon Chico just dirt paths that criss-cross through numerous huts, etc. The locals are busy doing day-to-day activities and many of them are selling crafts out on the street. The Kuna Indian women wear beautiful colored clothing and seeing so many of them in one place was amazing. There were of course tons of little kids running around, many of them naked, and they were all as fascinated with us as we were with them. At first Lindsay and I almost felt bad for them but we quickly realized that these kids, and people, were living a life that very few people will ever get to enjoy…A simple life of family, nature and community. I remember vividly seeing people huddled around the 1 pay phone in the village waiting to talk to family members who were probably living in Panama City. Our guide Leo would simply take us from area to area explaining the culture and showing us points of interest. I remember being particularly impressed with the town police station which was just a small concrete building with a hand painted sign that said “Policia Civil Playon Chico.” The entire time we were there we were constantly being followed around by little kids who were always smiling and laughing. As we were leaving the village we were all sitting in the boat waiting to leave just as the sun was setting. I remember thinking how remote this place was and that very few people would ever be lucky enough to see it…then all of the sudden I saw two white guys walking through the village in white shirts and ties. Sure enough the village had a resident pair of LDS missionaries who were lucky enough to live amongst these people and help them in their daily lives. I of course ran to talk with them and they were just as surprised to see me as I was to see them. They offered a few more insights into how the Kuna people live and we had just a great chat. Eventually the evening was done and we were on our way back to Yandup Island in our little boat. This was not our final goodbye to Playon Chico as Lindsay and I flew out of there on a tiny little plane. As we flew over head we looked out the window and said our final goodbyes to the incredible Kuna Indian village of Playon Chico, Panama.

A Room with a View – Shanghai, China

Shanghai is truly one of the most incredible cities in the world. Visually speaking there are few, if any, cities that come close to matching its futuristic skyline. While planning for our summer 2010 trip to China I had one main agenda for Shanghai…find a room with a good view of the city for cheap. The reason I wanted this so much is because the skyline of Shanghai (specifically the futuristic Pudong area) changes into a lightshow at night and I wanted to be able to enjoy this from the comfort of my hotel room (after wearing myself out enjoying it on the streets). There are numerous hotels that offer this and they all come with a pretty hefty price tag. However, after lots of research on trip advisor I was able to find a hotel called “The Bund Riverside” which promised to offer some of the best views of the city. The hotel was off the main tourist area a little but that actually is a good thing. Furthermore, because it was not a Marriott, Hilton, Westin, etc we were able to beat the rush and prices of other western tourists. After arriving in Shanghai, via a night train from Beijing, we took the convenient metro right into the heart of the city (Nanjing Road). From there we walked a few blocks away from the hustle and bustle and found our hotel. Upon arriving I was nervous that we would not get a room with a view as we had requested because there were hundreds of other Chinese tourists staying at the hotel. However, after checking-in I was very hopeful as we had a room on a high floor. When we walked into the room I was literally blown away by the view. I had high expectations but nothing had prepared me for the SPECTACULAR view that we saw. The room had a huge bay window that looked out towards the Pudong area of Shanghai (this is the futuristic looking part of the city with all the great skyscrapers). The hazy morning sky was the perfect backdrop to the concrete jungle before us. It was such a perfect view that it honestly looked fake. Just when we thought nothing could top this we noticed that there was a large ledge at the bottom of the window so that you could sit, or lie down in my case, and gaze out over the city. Over the next few days I found myself constantly grabbing a pillow and lying next to the window to just watch this magnificent city. At night the scene was absolutely incredible as the entire city (each skyscraper) would light up with lasers, twinkling lights, changing colors, etc. I know it seems odd to go on about a view but if you look at our pictures below you will see just how incredible it really was. If you ever find yourself in Shanghai, China and are looking for a “room with a view” then don’t miss out on The Bund Riverside Hotel.