Thailand: Land of Smiles

December 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 09:50:00 +0000

it's been ages since my last blog entry; almost a year! We finished our project in Indonesia in April and then I went backpacking with Sara in Xinjiang, China for a few weeks until my project in Thailand began in May. I am still living in Bangkok and have had the chance to return to the U.S. a few times to visit family and friends and to celebrate my cousin Brad's wedding to an awesome woman, Erin, in August.

Here are some of the highlights from the final months in Indonesia and our trip to Xinjiang, China..

First, some info on Xinjiang...
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers over 1,600,000 square kilometers (617,763 square miles), one-sixth of China's total territory, making it China's largest province. Xinjiang borders Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. With a population of over 19 million, Xinjiang is home to 47 ethnic groups including the Uygur, the major ethnic group in Xinjiang.

Lake Karakul, Xinjiang

the yurts we slept in (it was 0 degrees!)

yurts around Lake Karakul, Xinjiang

ancient city near the border of Tajikistan. this city wasn't in our guidebooks nor were there any other tourists there. incredible to see a place that was once significant to be reduced to rubble and absolutely untouched

spices and dried fruits in the market in Kashgar, Xinjiang
(world's most delicious apricots and almonds)

boy selling pomegranate juice outside the market in Kashgar, Xinjiang

Sara posing with family at the Kashgar market

man selling food at the animal market just outside of Kashgar

Sara at the beginning of our camel trek through the Taklamakan Desert, Xinjiang

setting up the tents to spend the night

wearing a traditional Kyrgyzs hat at Lake Karakul (the people we stayed with in the yurts were originally from Kyrgyzstan)

PAPUA, INDONESIA
Alex and me with the Dani tribesmen in Baliem Valley, Papua

SUMATRA, INDONESIA

my friend, Tatiana, and me relaxing on the beach on a Saturday in Pulau Sikuai, Sumatra

Pulau Sikuai

Sulawesi, Indonesia

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 20:24:00 +0000

alex and i went to bunaken island off the north coast of sulawesi a few weekends ago to scuba (renowned as one of the best diving destinations in the world). we stayed at a chilled-out place, bunaken cha cha nature resort, complete cool owners/divemasters /staff, hammocks, home-cookin' and a plethora of underwater plant and animal life

cha cha main lodge

view from the deck of cha cha

bunaken island... you can see cha cha nature resort, very tiny on the right side... volcano in background

view from the arrival hall: returning to jakarta airport on a clear sunday

malaysia last weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:49:00 +0000

i met my college buddy, kyle, and his brother darren, in kuala lumpur for the weekend...havent seen him since graduation. although time was limited, we had a blast. check out his travel blog entry by clicking here to read more details about the weekend
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
magnum + le tigre (we've probably got at least twenty of the exact same picture from college)

rose, vic and kyle in bukit bintang (near where i used to live in kl)

rose rose rose

vic, rose and me at pantai hill park where they live in kl

xmas/new years in colorado

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:25:00 +0000

christmas in denver....berkeley and jay

------------------------

new years in aspen
-----------------------

laura laura laura

siblings

kleve and laura... no black eye incidents this year

may & me

rocking the fur like nobody's business

happy new year!

peacock

Seattle

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:05:00 +0000

i talked to my friend, carina, today, in seattle
its raining there and everyone talks about the weather
as if they were brits

being from romania, once surrounded by british friends in bucharest
carina feels at home
with all this weather talk

still missing the sun
black sea coast parties
techno 24/7
go go dancers on podiums on the beachfront
eastern europe's finest
(north of the danube of course)
and this is the norm

carina...giving me an on the spot sales pitch to go with her to burning man labour day weekend
california desert
the last time we saw each other was in amsterdam
her bachelorette party
and then again in bucharest and sofia
autumn 2006
drinking bulgarian wine
with andy
eating sarmale in branesti, romania
homemade by andreea's mother
the best ever
and i'm still set on spending as long as it takes to learn her culinary secrets
my romanian family... the dobres
tuica and the works
in the words of andy "sunt mahmurrrrrrrr"
(it would be "mahmura" if he were a woman)

poem about a girl by jeff from new york

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:01:00 +0000

the point

it's probably true that
coming before
thick morning

stars
(crystalline all)
whitehot points
in inky heights
scattered by the thousand
(now falling by the million)
scream past
with no sound

and, smoldering at the edges,
no moon—
just your eyes
aglow the same

floodzzz

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:22:00 +0000

friday, feb 1st...jakarta and its been raining for two days
left the flat at 7am en route to a meeting at the port... floods everywhere... traffic jammed
men carrying their wives on their backs, wading through the water
countless people crammed on motorbikes, drenched, determined to arrive at his/her destination
wearing plastic ponchos
water up to their knees
somehow the bikes still glide through the water
for six hours we crept along in the traffic coming back from the 1st meeting
the other two cancelled because of the floods
40% of jakarta below sea level
dilapidated infrastructure
3% of the population of Indonesia has adequate plumbing
"macet sekali" (translation: traffic jamm...literally does not move)
we're lost in the abyss
natural moats developing...surrounding shacks not castles
airport completely shut down
cancelled our plans to leave the country
no choice
no one going out
nor coming in
we are trapped but i dont mind
this is indonesia

tonight, saturday, it thunders, roars....deep from the belly of the charcoal sky
starless
electric apprehension nearly tangible
but not quite
brooding over the week ahead
if the rains persist we'll be housebound until who knows when...
delaying our work further
this is indonesia

-------------------------------------------------------------------
any other day you just look around and all you see is gone
all you see is gone
how can u sit there watching someone else?
(-josh and dave)

family..

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:39:00 +0000

Congratulations Brad and Erin!

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:01:00 +0000

Congratulations on your engagement!

My cousin, Brad, and his fiancé, Erin

se rappeler

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:14:00 +0000

sauver le meilleur pour le bout

Jakarta, October

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 07:21:00 +0000

Jakarta golf caddies

alex, my colleague, and me...going to a PR dinner

Reminiscing

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 06:58:00 +0000

Snowmass/Aspen... ya viene muy prontito amiguitas!

mis hermaos...NYE 2007...hace tanto tiempo

Griffin and Tyler, my cousins!

sunset view from Angkor Wat, 2006
Southern Bulgaria in February

Abby and me at 6 Fingers Winery...Melnik, Bulgaria

Bulgaria, 2006.. home sweet home

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 06:52:00 +0000

this was foyer of my apartment on Hristo Botev in the Sofia, Bulgaria. check out those doors! we lived on the 8th floor...sans elevator...80 steps every day... haha

sampai jumpa lagi Chase

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:33:00 +0000

Chase, our trainee, left today to embark on his first assignment in Dubai.

We will miss him...

Losari Coffee Plantation

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:50:00 +0000

My mom came to visit and we flew from Jakarta to Jogja and then drove two hours to a tropical oasis in central Java to Losari Coffee Plantation, surrounded entirely by volacanoes. The views were stunning.

We woke up early to do yoga in an open-air hut, overlooking the lush vegetation. We drank "jamu", herbal remedies, mixed by "ahli jamu" (an herbalist) and walked on the plantation grounds, visiting the organic garden & traveled on foot to the various stages of coffee production. We ate fresh palm sugar & minature bananas plucked from the trees...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

photo taken in front of the dining lodge

the vegetable & herb garden

having a good ole time

learning tricks of the trade in the kitchen

the food was so delicious

like a pair of bookends

celebrating mom's birthday!!!

yummy birthday cake

dinner, the last night

photos taken in central Java

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:29:00 +0000

transporting sheep

children playing at a nursery

men selling spices at the local market in Jogja

man transporting live chickens

typical public transportation

Borobudur

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:02:00 +0000

my mom came to Indonesia in September & we woke up at 3:30am to see the sunrise from Borobudur, the biggest Buddhist temple in the world!

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:33:00 +0000

we went out for dinner in Jakarta with Chase, Helena, Megha, Alex and my mom before she left..

Jakarta

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 18:51:00 +0000

this is the second weekend in a row we've stayed in Jakarta...a record for us. It's been fun to chill here and become more acquainted with the city.

Last night after work, Alex, Ben, Luke and I played tennis and then we joined some friends for thai food, etc..

here are some pics

Jakarta: city planning at its finest.ben and alex amused

luke and me

nicole and me

last Sunday we went to brunch with our friend & neighbor Helena.

making friends

June in paradise

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 15:34:00 +0000

mahynoor came for a visit en route to hong kong in june and we traveled to bali for a few days

monkey forest temple rules

riders on the beach in seminyak

hungry monkey

choosing the right board..

working in August

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 15:24:00 +0000

We interviewed the Governor of Bali last week for our research.
Alex, Nicole and me with the Governor outside his cribsaying hello

upon returning from Bali last monday, I spoke at a seminar on the future of aviation in Indonesia with a focus on air safety. the Minister of Transportation and the CEO of the national air carrier also spoke. it was fun.

17th August: Indonesia's Independence Day weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 14:54:00 +0000

ashley and her boyfriend, justin, came from boston to visit. i hadn't seen ashley in two years, since she came to malaysia and had never met justin before...we had a fantastic time

bali pier at dawn

shades

fisherman

kuta beach sunset

woof

ashley, nicole and me

ashley and justin arriving on gili t island

which one is the two-headed cobra at kudeta (seminyak beach)

Gili T

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 14:02:00 +0000

Gili T independence day parade August 17th

a hidden gem in Jakarta

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:02:00 +0000

Our new friends, Feizae and Donny, took Alex, Nicole and me to this amazing seafood market on the outskirts of Jakarta last Wednesday night where we got down and dirty with eardrum-blowing-mouth on fire-deliciously spicy fish, prawn, mussels, and crab. i tried crab eggs for the first time and loved them. tons of cholesterol and so damn good! sinful indeed.

It was a local place and, as foreigners, we truly made a spectacle walking in. Feizae and Donny loved it. Everyone there was extremely friendly and smiling, as Indonesians in general are... and the food was tasty and cheap.

we'll be back.

Gili Trawangan

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:30:00 +0000

Alex, Nicole and I flew to Lombok from Jakarta on Friday night and then took a 30 min boat ride to Gili T, arriving just after midnight. We stashed our backpacks in a dive shop, convincing the security guards to let us lock them in with the wetsuits and went out to enjoy the Gili nightlife. Our first stop was Rudy's bar, where we befriended a wide assortment of international travellers and managed to rent bikes from the bartender to ride around the island.

Gili T is unique because no motorized vehicles are allowed on the island so the only forms of transport are biking, walking, or riding in a horse-drawn cart. The island is not very big.. you can bike around it in an hour or two. There are open gazeebos , lounge chairs and hammocks scattered freely throughout the island, inviting you to relax. The atmosphere in general is friendly and welcoming and all the locals are smiling and laid-back.

We did some diving, although not as much as I would have liked to, but it's all about finding the right balance and there's plenty to do on and around the island anyway. The diving was pretty phenomenal though and i'm excited for the next opportunity...