much to my chagrin...

Best sugar-coated mystery fruit ever!

silkworm--juicy but good.

Lynn and I with some bubbly.

Apparently I suck at updating things later on. Ima writer at the moment I think of it--my whole goal to carefully reconstruct my trip for my readers has been a major fail. sorry. but I will give you bits and pieces along the way while its still fresh in my mind. Because it really is important to document these things--Im just doing a terrible job at it. apologies dear readers (Gaga--Im glad you read this and I am trying to journal my trip like you said to :) )

but right now--there's a world film festival going on here in bangkok. so I just got home from watching a documentary about poverty in Mexico called Los Herederos. much to my chagrin there was very little Spanish and it was a very different dialect than I am used to--but the movie was very good for being almost completely silent.

So lately--I've been going to movies, eating American food, and really enjoying Bangkok. Last weekend-- Ryan's tutor family took several of us to the most amazing buffet place ever. and then Seaves' uncle took us to an awesome restaurant. To be honest I don't eat much Thai food other than what's at lunch and its kinda cafeteria food so Im doing a bad job eating real thai food regularly. I just really really like good food--that's the truth. but if I say, "ah, yeah when I travel I really like to experience the culture and the cuisine" I sound so much better. but really I like to eat. speaking of--here's a tidbit from China.

First night--Tiananmen square. Roasted Duck. tons of people b/c it was the 60th anniversary of the PRC--wow. can we say propaganda galore. and large float like gaudy things crowding up the square. but a delightful time.

Second Day-- Tiananmen square, forbidden city (lots of steps--lots of pretending to be Mulan), night market ( things I ate: silk worm, starfish, eel, fruit candies, bubbling soda, dumplings, seahorse.) Im adventurous.

I LOVED CHINA.

First leg of my trip!

So on my first day of travel--October 2--air asia (the ryan air of asia--for those of you who know about ryan air) delayed our flight from kuala lumpur to China. but we would not be discouraged at the beginning of our travels--so we turned our 6 hour layover into a quick trip into the city to see the petronas twin towers (the second tallest building in the world!). here's a photo...I am working very hard at my solo shots. since I am similarly working on my independence. there's gotta be some perks to being an adult other than figuring out loan payments, right? so here's to my independence! and here's to Malaysia--good job on the English (they speak English really well!)

Anyway--we left our apartments around 2 Pm on Saturday October2, and arrived in Beijing at about 2 Pm on October 3rd--and thus begins my epic journey. more to come.

-CD

Just a little hello!

I saw the Taj.

here's proof. I will write more later--currently Im quite ill from Indian food--even though it is my fave new cuisine. also, (this probably shoulda come first) CONGRATS MOLLY AND DAVID!!! they are engaged. hooray!

To India!

clearly the great wall to my right. I suck at photos--maybe there's some good group ones I can steal.

halong bay-me being sad about photos.

Alright--so layover in Bangkok for a couple hours in order to gear up for India. I am unbelievably pumped about India and seeing the Taj Mahal. Its just one of those things I never thought I'd see. Traveling just makes learning easier. that's what I've discovered, and that actually I know very very little.

We were very blessed to have gorgeous weather all the way up the coast of Vietnam. I got to see a gorgeous beach, a couple of UNESCO world heritage sites, and Ha Long Bay. Unfortunately, Im an idiot and lost two hundred of my photos by accidentally pressing a button. Most of vietnam was wiped from camera. This photo is of me in Halong bay being sad about it. not necessarily the best photo--my camera is not quite up to par...but you can see the rocks jutting up in the background and my sweaty, pensive self!Thankfully, I can steal Lynn and Cass' photos which are infinitely better than mine. and I can do some justice to my travels. I plan on detailed photo blogs when I return. Oh goodness, a new semester is starting in less than a week. I just reached the halfway point in Thailand. I feel there's still so much to learn, do and read. and ya know--grad school apps. but for now...I shall bask in the gloriously hot India sun, in very modest clothing while I marvel at the taj and other things, like the oldest mosque in India. and maybe Ill get a henna tattoo. In prep for a real tattoo. we shall see.

I just caught up on many of your blogs, and I miss you dearly. and really do wish that I was going to Baylors homecoming. we did a sic 'em on top of the great wall! also, I have not sent postcards on this october trip--Im just bad at it, and I can't remember who I've sent postcards too--so if I sent you one--you should probably tell me. I don't think some people got theres--there's a lot a LOT of things to keep up with traveling. passport trumps postcards. this is my apology. however, if you want to send me mail. I'd LOVE it....unabashedly so.

-CD

china-vietnam

I dont really have time to do this blog justice, but just so ya know...updates will be coming. china was awesome and cold. and celebrating the 60th anniversary of the PRC. pretty exciting stuff. and vietnam is a delight--we are training up the coast-I am of course sunburnt. but its good. and I will tell you all more later. I miss you guys,
-CD
p.s. sorry this blog is such a tease. more to come. promise.

just think--great wall, forbidden city, mudbaths, mekong delta, haircut (not really info on that one), and beach time...to come!

Who could know? (said in a high-pitched Dutch accent)

A couple weekends ago, a few of my friends and I jaunted over to chinatown. have I mentioned that bangkok is huge? I could literally find a new area of the city every weekend-its quite daunting. but anyway, our thai friends took us to Chinatown and ordered food for us. delicious shark fin soup (Im afraid that they are destroying all the sharks-and this is bad, maybe I should adopt this cause). but it was good and we ate some other stuff that I have no idea what it was--and then came dessert. It was rice dough balls filled with sesame in a ginger soup. and it was awesome. I just realized that I have completely neglected to tell you dear readers about the culinary delights (that I am oftentimes subjected to with less favorable outcomes.) but mostly good.

at lunch time, dessert consists of strange gelatin things. sometimes in coconut milk and then you add ice. most times corn is somehow involved. yes, corn is a dessert food. they have corn sundaes at kfc. no lie. but you know what else they put in their ice cream-beans. straight up beans. and it is surprisingly good. I mean who knew bean icecream was the way to go--lynn's response is the classic, "asians, we know what's up."

this is me with one of our friends who took us to chinatown.