So, what have we been doing all this time you ask? Well... our only book we haven't sold yet is the Lonely Planet guide to Nepal (fantastically useless even in Nepal), so it's been a little slow here to say the least. Exercising and eating tuna mainly. Very big deal. Oh yeah, and we also compiled a montage blog for you guys. Yes, that's what bad T.V. shows do when they run out of material. Same, same. Here's the deal though, we'd like you guys to vote for your favorite. We're dying of curiosity, so, with no further ado.
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Category 1 - Best of the Talking Animal Clips: Ty and I love to do voice-overs for animals- here's a few of our favorites.
Category 2 - Culture Shock: Traveling is full of surprises.
BUGS - the first day in Bangkok and the first day we actually saw a bug (gasp) in our hotel room. We photographed it thinking the little creeper was special. Since then, we've become a little more relaxed regarding insects in our living quarters and even in our food. Besides spiders or mozzies - I have an instant smush policy for these two particularly detestable pests.
CRAMPED SPACES - self explanatory.
INNOVATIVE DESIGN FEATURES - seriously, this goes down as my favorite (in long retrospect) construction oversight.
INTIMACY WITH ODD ANIMALS DURING MEAL TIME - Really? A rabbit?
STRANGE BEHAVIOR OF FOREIGN ANIMALS - I don't mean to stereotype, but Nepali dogs just sit differently.
STREET GARBAGE - within a few a minutes of touchdown in Nakhon Si Thammarat, we were appalled by this pile of garbage right on the sidewalk. It turned out to be a lot like that little cockroach in the room...REAL STREET GARBAGE - turns out our first reaction was a bit premature. These are some photos of downtown Kathmandu.
The Mill Creek Town Center is going to look pretty sterile upon our return I reckon.
TOURISTS VS. NON TOURIST AREAS - if you read our Cambodia blog, you might remember we were shocked with the difference between what the government of a country wants us to see as tourists, versus what is actually there. For instance, the tourists stairs to Monkey Temple are on the left. In the picture you can see Ty veering off to the right...
toward the local stairs.Category 3 - Worst of the Worst:
WORST POSTURE - wow, that's bad.
WORST HATS
WORST WAGER - so this one may need some explaining. I was feeling a little insecure about my melanin deficiency, so I scanned the beach looking for someone whiter than me. Low and behold, I found her. I proudly and immediately pointed her out to Ty who quickly informed me that I WAS AS WHITE AS HER! No way! Determined to prove her wrong, I forced her to photograph both of us from a distance and we made a friendly "who's whiter" wager.
I lost.
WHO WORE IT WORSE?I still think I have this guy beat.
WORST MEDICATION MIX-UP - we met Matt and Marie at a night club the night before this picture was taken. We hit it off and arranged to have breakfast the following day. I got up that morning and accidentally took a sleeping pill instead of an Aspirin, then it was off to breakfast. I don't remember this meal, but apparently I spilled my eggs on the ground and then proceeded to pick them up with a spoon and put them into a chips bag. Ty documented the evidence.We actually became fast friends regardless of this embarrassing mishap!
WORST CAMEO - One Man Wolf Pack.
WORST OLD-GUY-SPEEDO-POSE - runner up.
WORST OLD-GUY-SPEEDO-POSE - and the crown goes to this guy. Hands down (so to speak).
WORST PURCHASE - yep, these guys paid nearly ten dollars to "have their picture taken with a baby panda!" The green ball there amazingly transforms into a panda through the magic of green screen technology. For an additional nominal fee, you could buy extra postcard pics for loved ones.Category 4 - Near Death Experiences:
TIGERS - so admittedly, our near-deaths started out pretty tame (get it), but if you remember, we did get pretty dang close to bigger ones too.
ELEPHANTS - cute enough I guess, a little water, a little laughter...
but Ty's face was like looking into a crystal ball. Maybe she knew we'd end up in a stampede just hours from this picture?
FURRY JERKS - as you may recall, this photo was taken mere seconds before the attack that changed my opinions of monkeys forever.
RHINOS - "Just your standard rhino chase, really." Demian Knight.CROSSING THE ROAD IN HANOI - holy smokes this was tricky.
FLOODS (x2) - this is our first Thai bungalow complex that flooded in November. In last week's flooding, the bungalows were filled with several feet of water.Category 5: Great People
NAN - we've officially deemed the flood "worth it" as it brought us closer to our dear friend Nan. This was one of the most memorable evenings of our time away. Thank you Nan!
SIMON - what can we say? Despite this completely self- deprecating photo, Simon, to this day, is one of our very favorite and most memorable people we've met - ever. We love you Si!
DANCY - we spent a lot of time and had many of laughs with this celebrity couple. And how about those smiles?!
I never quite got it down.
MARK (A.K.A. TKP) - some of the best times on Samui were our improvised and private, "Full Moon Parties" with 3LD himself...
and the guy's got style too! We love you dude!
BRYAN AND ALY (Aly dry on deck and not pictured) - this was Bryan's birthday and the day he took liberty to do anything he pleased including jumping off the junk, "cause it's mah birthday!" We miss you Bryan, and I'm sorry "Captain A" wouldn't let you drive the boat.* And yes, of course there are many, many other fabulous people who aren't pictured here, but still absolutely made our trip lovely and memorable! Ty and I agree that the friendships we made were the most rewarding aspect of our travels *
Category 6 - Memorable Moments:
HALONG BAY - one of the most exciting and joyous times we've ever had. Wonderful people and ridiculous scenery!
BATTAMBANG, CAMBODIA - There was something so genuine and heartwarming about this place and our chance encounter with these guys. Inexplicable and truly unforgettable.
TEACHING IN THAILAND - Ty and I cherished our time working with the Thai community.NEW YEAR'S IN SIHANOUKVILLE, CAMBODIA - being welcomed in and watching the fireworks with the locals was a definite highlight of our trip.
BOOGYING WITH KA - shaking our groove things with Ka on our last night in Cambodia! What a blast!
TY'S B-DAY IN VIETNAM - our trip was filled with chance encounters like this one. The kindness of people stands out as an important theme throughout our entire trip.
MOM'S VISIT - we were so happy Claudette was able to make it to Thailand for a visit...
and damn proud of her open-mindedness too. Can you believe all that hair fit in Ty's helmet?!
SOBERING MOMENT WITH SAMATH - one of my most lucid memories of the trip was hearing of Samath's personal experience with genocide here at this monument.ORPHANAGE TRIP - Spending time with the kids here was an unforgettable experience.
MY NEW FOUND LOVE FOR GOATS - thank's Nepal.
THE WALK - The clear stand-out of our Nepal experience!
GROSS - the one on the left is the 40th page in the book English for Bar Girls. I will say nothing about the classy bar in Lamai.
POOP PAINTING - this painting was above a urinal in Pai. From what I can make out, it looks like a snail going potty. Ty was not pleased that her name appeared in the painting.
HAPPY MENU - we were pretty shocked to see the menu items in Sihanoukville, and no, we didn't indulge.
TOILETIQUETTE (yeah, Ty coined that word) - Remember this one from Angkor Wat?No smoking
No squatting
No washing your feet with the butt hose
No showering with the butt hose
NEPALI BOOZE ADVERTISEMENTS - The only thing funnier than the Nepali booze ads are the cigarette ads; we'll get to those later, but first, here are the best of the booze ads...
1 - we would have saved a lot of money on airfare had we known we could have imported "The Complete Nepali Experience" from the privacy of our own home.
2 - we wondered what fine product won this "officer's" a.k.a PILOT's choice.
Yikes. Can we get the name of your employer?
3 - who directs Fox News?
4 - excellent advice for you playboys out there.
5 - paging Dr. Freud.
5 & 6 - while in Nepal, Bryan Adams made an appearance and consequently every bar played nothing but that "Summer of 69" album for six weeks straight. Ty thought both of these guys were Bryan Adams.In addition to this blatant error, the slogans are pretty funny too.
This advertisement is not for booze and is therefore not in the running, but it is actually Bryan Adams though. We had to do a side-by-side comparison in order to finally fully convince Ty that the dudes above were not, in fact, Bryan Adams. On a side note, never, ever, play "Everything I Do" while we are in earshot - EVER.
NEPALI CIGARETTE ADS - okay kids, let's analyze some advertisements for media literacy. What could these smoking companies be saying in their sub-text?
1 - Damn, baby, you are sexy! Is there a compartment for an oxygen tank on that hog?
2 - You know what really inspires me? Tracheotomies!
3 - Duuuuude, I like my life like I like my waves and my tumors...kingsize (and gnarly).
4 - This is written in Nepali, and the guy's wearing a helmet, but we're pretty sure it's Bryan Adams.
5 - No way, is that the Officer's Choice guy? I'm pretty sure the FAA doesn't allow smoking in the cabin. Someone had too much of his choice whiskey and forgot the rules.
RANDOM 1 - for being landlocked, this culture really takes care of their marine mammals.
RANDOM 2 - The only thing worse for your walls than daag is that pesky dhabba!Wasn't that a blast? Now it's time for you to vote! Here's what you gotta do. Review those pics, pick your fave, then vote for it either on Facebook or in the comments section below. Go!
Also, if you have alternate humorous commentary on any of the ads, we would be delighted to edit the blog and add your quotes.
It's coming down to the wire friends, and we are getting increasingly excited for the reunions!
Missing you all!
Nick and Ty
