Dhaka, Bangladesh – Friends introduce us to the "Maximum City”

Maximum - people, traffic, chaos, noise, heat, politics, religion, construction, kindness, opportunity....  The road was packed with cars, three-wheeled pedal rickshaws, motorbikes, motorized rickshaws, people, piles of dirt and other construction materials.  Vehicles haphazardly inched their way forward, across or backwards – usually only centimeters from other people or vehicles.  There appeared to be no traffic laws, no center lines, no turn signals and no one to stop cars from going down the wrong side of the road when the traffic got bad.  At one point we watched a legless man, barely visible in the chaos, successfully scoot his way across a "three lane road" which held five lanes of traffic!  The only certainty was the maximum pressure exerted on car horns and the maximum volume that resulted!

Sweat poured down our faces and drenched our clothes in the sweltering heat, and we just had to smile.  What an amazing place!  Different in so many ways from back home – making it our favorite type of country to travel in.  Bangladesh was 4 days of intense learning and wonderful reconnecting with our friends Moushumi (Mou) Khan, her husband Munaf and their daughter Sarah.

Mou and Munaf ensured we saw and experienced everything possible during our brief visit to Dhaka.  They hosted us for a tour of the city, a peaceful boat ride and village visit outside the city, spa treatments, shopping and of course, amazing food.  Luckily,  Mou encouraged us to visit during Bengali New Year so we were able to meet many of Mou and Munaf’s friends and crash all the big celebrations throughout the city.  Mou can tell you funny stories about how her foreign friends were the only thing that got her past security into one exclusive neighborhood party!  Funnily enough, we felt like minor celebrities in Bangladesh.  It turns out people like to meet and be seen with foreigners.  People even kept stopping Luke and Ryan to take pictures with them (and inviting us into private parties). 

Now for a quick history and geography lesson!  Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world (aside from city-states like Monaco and Singapore) and has the 7th largest population with over 160 million people.  87% of the country is Muslim with the rest predominantly Hindu.  Bangladesh is a relatively new country, having gained their independence from Great Britain in 1947 (as part of the partition of India and Pakistan) and then achieving independence from Pakistan after a war in 1971.  Today, the country is messily democratic in a dynastic sort of way (think Nehru/Ghandi, Kennedy, Bush) and is having political instability with frequent strikes that are shutting down commerce and hurting the economy.  We loved learning from our friends and their community about what is occurring politically and what they aspire to achieve.  A fair segment of the population live in less than ideal situations but there seems to be an agreement among the people (maybe not the politicians) that the country must work together to advance living standards for all.  There is a lot of work to do in Bangladesh but also a lot of enthusiasm for a better future.  We look forward to following Bangladesh's path over the next few years and visiting again when we have more time.

Bangkok - Back in the Vibrant City

The next leg of our journey took us to Bangkok, our beloved home base for several previous trips in South East Asia.  For us, Bangkok radiates all the positive craziness of Asia -- the millions of entrepreneurial people with shops everywhere, the wild traffic (which is so much better now that the sky train is open), the wonderful smells of any kind of foods you can imagine...we absolutely love Bangkok! 

Yet again, we were blessed to have friends living in a city we were visiting - including, Bee (Rangsima) Bhakdibhumi, our classmate from Dartmouth/Tuck who we had not seen since our five year reunion twelve years ago.  Bee, her husband Joof and youngest son Bing, welcomed us with open arms and showed us a beautiful riverfront area we had never seen.

We spent the next day getting our visas for Myanmar/Burma and showing the boys parts of Bangkok.  Our visa application process became interesting when a protest group marched outside the Embassy and we had a few nervous moments thinking about  the movie Argo.  The protesters were angered by recent attacks against Muslims in Myanmar and were burning the Myanmar flag.  In between applying for and picking up our visas, we visited Wat Pho to see the Reclining Buddha and experience their famous foot and body massages.  After Ryan's foot massage, he exclaimed that he "had new feet!"

That evening we caught up with Jay's brother's friend, Waan.  She showed us the famous four faced buddha near a massive shopping center and we enjoyed a great dinner with her while getting new dirt on Loron (Jay's brother).

All too quickly, it was time to leave on our way to Bangladesh to visit yet more friends.  Thanks to Bee and her family, and Waan for their hospitality on the first leg of our stay in Bangkok!

Singapore - City of Friendship!

Imagine traveling with only your family and not seeing anyone you know for three months.  You might be getting a little tired of each other, wanting a break from Mom and Dad (and freedom from the kids), and desperate to change it up.  Then imagine seeing three of your dearest friends and their awesome families in the span of four days.  This was what it was like for us Singapore.  We could not have asked for a greater gift than spending time with the Hayling/Misner and Entwistle families that Christy knows from her Henry Crown fellowship at the Aspen Institute, and the O’Callaghan family that Jay has known since 4^th grade. 

I am not sure who had more fun in Singapore, the parents or the kids.  Luke and Ryan felt like they were back in the US as they played with their English-speaking friends.  They did everything from lounging on the coach and eating pizza while playing Wii and watching movies, to jumping on a trampoline, playing soccer, having squirt gun fights in the pool, and just running around like crazy kids. 

Jay and Christy were wined and dined by their friends – enjoying an adult dinner along the Quay, lunch at the China Club and coffee at a hip breakfast spot.  The grand finale was the BBQ/pool party that Laura & Brooks hosted at their home for the Orris and Hayling/Misner families.   Our combined 7 kids and their dog Aspen splashed in the pool, ran around enjoying grass between their toes and played board games as the adults indulged in wonderful wines, food and conversation.  We can’t thank our friends enough for the huge boost of love and support they gave us which helped propel us on to the next stage in our journey.      

In addition to seeing our friends, we took in a few of Singapore’s sights.  In the beginning, we tried walking, but the scorching sun and withering heat quickly convinced us that taxis were a better mode of transport.  Singapore has continued to grow rapidly, enhancing its skyline and river front with artsy buildings and fun attractions.  We were awed by the giant 3-tower hotel complex which has a large boat shaped structure sitting on top of it, complete with the hotel pools and restaurants - 56 stories in the air.  We also loved visiting a Lego art exhibit where the artist created fascinating sculptures all out of legos.  We are now inspired to see what we can create with the numerous boxes of legos we have in our basement. 

Tasmania - A Bit off the Beaten Path in Oz

Christy and Jay travelled to Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef back in 2000 so we wanted to explore new territory in Australia during our short 1-week visit.  Australia is as large as the continental USA (imagine having a week to visit the US!), so we choose to focus our time on the island of Tasmania --- Tazzy, as the Aussie locals like to call it. 

After spending a quick 24 hours checking out Melbourne, we hopped over to the coastal town of Hobart in Tasmania.  We knew very little about our destination before arriving and did not even know what a Tasmanian Devil looked like aside from the wild Looney Tunes cartoon character. 

We learned more about the Tasmanian Devil and Australia’s plentiful marsupials than we had ever imagined during our visit to the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park and a private night visit at Bonorong Wildlife Park (and Rescue Center).  Bonorong was our Tazzy highlight.   We are animal lovers and loved interacting and feeding rescued marsupials of all sizes (ranging from big kangaroos to tiny little sugar gliders) and feeding the cute little FEROCIOUS devils by hand.  Pound for pound, it has to be the meanest, loudest animal out there.

Two years ago, Luke did a school report on wombats, so it was cool for him to pet Ben the wombat and see and feel the wombat’s armor and “cuddliness.”  Our private night guide had raised many of the animals and had scars/love marks all over his arms and legs from the devils, wombats, and other animals he raised.  After seeing all his “love” wounds, we hesitantly fed some screaming devils a wallaby leg (we will be attaching a video soon - it's sure to generate some laughs).

We rented a car and did a loop through Tazzy that took us from Hobart to the Bay of Fires and Freycinet National Park, where we hiked along snow-white beaches and up small, rocky mountains.  We stayed in the Australian equivalent of a KOA, where the kids found a "jumpy cushion", a variant on the jumpy castle.  We also visited the penal settlement in Port Arthur (where the worst of the convicts from Great Britain and Australia were sent).

We timed our visit in Tasmania over Easter and luckily, the Easter Bunny found us in Hobart and bequeathed us with too many sugary sweets – thus encouraging bad behavior for days to come.    We also celebrated Christy’s birthday with a hike to Wineglass Bay – very appropriate considering her love of vino. 

Tazzy reminded us of Maine with its sparse population of 500,000 people and its ample open-space - over 1/3 of the land is national forest.  While Tasmania may not deserve a trip on its own from the US, if you are in the area, you must see one of Australia’s wildlife treasures.  

Look closely for the extra head!!

Mmmmm, leather!!!

Queenstown, New Zealand - Adrenaline Junkies Paradise

After several months in Africa and South America, we had kind of forgotten how easy it is to be in a western, English speaking country.  When we arrived in Queenstown, it felt a little like we had arrived back in Boulder.  Queenstown is an outdoor mecca in one of the most picturesque settings you can imagine.  The renowned Remarkable Mountain range stands guard over the city on one side and Queenstown’s picturesque Lake is on the other side.  Everywhere you look, you see the ridgelines of the other “remarkable” mountain ranges on the South Island of New Zealand.   With only four million residents, New Zealand’s vast beauty is amazingly untouched and we rarely saw boats on the lake or hikers on the trails we explored in Queenstown or Wanaka.

Since we were in the adrenaline capital of the world, we decided to partake ourselves by careening through canyons on jet boats, 4x4’ing down “roads” and across rivers with a maniacal Kiwi, and racing each other on the luge.  We will attach a video soon to show what the jet boats can do at 85 km/hour in only 4 inches of water in a narrow canyon!  

Christy and Jay had a chance to revisit some of the places we had been to 12 years earlier.  We all got reacquainted with some favorite foods (Jay with sushi, kids with Subway and Mexican food), and Christy moved from South American reds to New Zealand whites.  We also spent some time perusing Queentstown’s awesome outdoor stores for some needed clothing replacement and into a local salon to get haircuts.

It was hard to shake an involuntary urge to speak Spanish and we found ourselves responding “si” and “gracias” more often than not.  And driving on the left side of the road required a little more focus but overall we found ourselves very comfortable in the young, vibrant, outdoorsy traveler hangout.  If we are ever banished from North America, we will make our home in Queenstown.  And if we don’t come home in May, you’ll know where to find us.

Air New Zealand's youngest employee distributing candies

Crazy hair day!

Incredible Wanaka!