The Bucket List

So during this downtime between trips I've been thinking of all the great places in the world I'd like to see.  Of course, the budget-conscious side of me popped up and said, "you should check where the cheapest places to visit are" (yes, I talk to myself, but not in a split-personality/i-hear-voices kind of way).  Google is seriously my best friend!  I was able to find all kinds of pages where people have analyzed the living expenses in countries all over the world.  The website that got me started on this kick: http://opentravel.com/blogs/the-cheapest-places-to-live-in-the-world-500-a-month/.

Now, this is by no means an exhaustive list of all the places I want to visit, but it is a list of the cheapest places I want to go:  Costa Rica, Belize, Laos, Bali, Nepal, Bolivia, and Egypt.  Right now, I'm planning to visit the following countries this coming spring:  Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines.

For now though, I'm biding my time until January; then it's off to Austria and Italy!

P.S. I haven't forgotten about the Kuwait pictures and post.  Its a work in progress!

Jordan

I actually made the trip to Jordan about a month ago.  I wanted to show you all Kuwait first so that you could get a sense of exactly how refreshing it was to leave for a few days.  Unfortunately, I'm not a great photographer and I didn't want to post pictures of random construction and trash piled on street corners, so all you'll see here are pictures of Jordan.

The biggest difference that most people are probably aware of is that while alcohol is illegal in Kuwait, in Jordan it's fair game (yes, I did hit the duty free shop when I got there).  Other than that, the first thing I noticed was when I took my first step out the airport doors.  The air was cool and refreshing, and there was no heavy humidity.  While I was there, the high temperature ranged from 70-85F (as opposed to the 110F+ weather in Kuwait). 

Our hotel was in downtown Amman.  Not the worst place I ever stayed, but far from the best.  It was a block from a liquor store and a block (in the opposite direction) from a Papa John's.   I should have taken a picture of the Gideon Bible next to the copy of the Koran in my hotel nightstand, but alas, the pizza had all my attention.

After sufficiently stuffing myself with pizza and relaxing with Stella, I went out for a little walk around the mall next door.  I didn't actually shop anywhere, but I have no doubt that I could've spent a good chunk of change at some of the stores.  There were several outlets, and a couple Starbucks - which I did hit for my Carmel Macchiato and a "Jordan" coffee mug.

The crazy thing (both in Jordan and in Kuwait) is that there aren't many crosswalks, so if you want something on the other side of the street, prepare to play live Frogger.  For some reason I was a lot braver in Jordan than I am in Kuwait and I crossed the street in  moving traffic several times.

The only thing I had time to go see on this trip was the Dead Sea.  From the shores of the Dead Sea, I could see Jerusalem, Jericho, and the Jordan River (or if you're a fan of The Ten Commandments, "the River Jordan").  On the way there we passed Mt. Nebo. POP QUIZ: What is Mt. Nebo known for?  (It took me about an hour, but I figured it out on my own... you can too!)

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my trip to the Dead Sea...

Its not very clear, but this sign was posted at sea level, and in the valley depicted is where the Dead sea is - about 390m below sea level, and the lowest point on earth.

Here's another sea level marker.

 The shore line is covered in crystallized salt, and the water is actually heavy with it. 

 As you can see, the sand on the beach is mostly salt crystals.

Like I said, you can't see it really well, but that's Jericho on the far shoreline. I tried to get a decent picture of Jerusalem, but no luck.

Apparently the Dead Sea also has a high concentration of minerals so there are health spas up and down the Jordan side of it.  Everywhere I turned I think I saw a pamphlet on the "healing properties" of it.  On the way back to Amman, our driver stopped at a gift shop that sold all kinds of skin care products that supposedly came from the Dead Sea.                                                                     

All in all, it was a great trip.  I do plan to go back though because I want to visit Petra (right - you may recognize it from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - its the city built into the cliffs, and yes, its in Jordan!).   My next trip is going to be to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and maybe, just maybe, before then I'll have some pictures of Kuwait to share that are worth seeing.   

Do I have to come out?

So today marks the end of my second week in Kuwait, and I'll say it's been a rough two weeks--three if you count the hectic week I had before I left the States.  I had plenty of time to prepare to come here.  Some only had a week or two whereas I had an entire month to get ready.  But did I make good use of that time?  Not really.  In addition to being a loner I'm also a horrible procrastinator.  So here's what I've been going through the last few weeks. 

Week 1 (Pre-Kuwait): I'll say I spent about half of this time hanging out with friends--going to Buffalo Wild Wings for drinks (did that at least 3 times), playing games, and just hanging out in general. About a quarter of the time I used to get ready to leave my house in someone else's hands and manage my finances from abroad.  The other quarter of the time I spent doing nothing... sometimes walking around the house thinking of all the things I should do before I left, but then going and watching some of my DVR backlog.  Needless to say, I had to do a mad dash the last 24 hours before I got on a plane.  A couple good friends (one of whom is house sitting) came over and spent the night.  I hadn't packed, I hadn't cleaned... I hadn't done most of the things that I wanted to do around the house.  So, I spent the night packing and cleaning and got about an hour of sleep before I got on the plane.  Oh, I forgot to mention that that weekend I had come down with some crazy bug and had spent nearly two whole days in bed (seriously I've never been that sick in my adult life), so I had even less time and was trying to do everything while coming back from the brink of death--excuse the drama.

Week 2 (Getting to Kuwait):  Let me just say that traveling when you're sick is a nightmare.  I was popping Day/Nightquil pills like there was no tomorrow, and whenever the plane would change altitudes my ears would pressurize.  Here's the really fun part: I was so congested that my ears would not pop until maybe an hour after we'd taken off/landed.  However, one good thing about having stayed up all night before I left was that I was already almost completely adjusted to the time difference. So flying sucked, you get the point. 

I get to Kuwait and you could see/taste the dust in the air from their recent storm.  I knew I had to go to the visa counter and get my visitors pass, but what I wasn't prepared for was the ATM in the airport not accepting my card (or maybe it was broken).  So there I was, coming off 24 hours of travel, sick, in a strange country, and no way to get money for a visa.  [Note to self: next time pull out more cash before getting on the plane]  I did have a little cash and some traveller's checks on me, so I got in line at the bank to get some Kuwaiti Dinars.  Well they wouldn't honor my checks, and I really didn't have enough cash left to convert, but a woman behind me in line heard my predicament and offered to give me the Dinars I needed to get the visa.  She was an American but had lived all over the Middle East, so she knew exactly what to do.  I really don't know what I would've done if she hadn't come along to save my butt.  Thankfully, the folks from my company were waiting for me and I had no trouble getting to my flat.

The next few days my post-flu cold came back with a vengeance, and I spent most of that time in bed too.  We had a bit of a dust storm during that time and all I really recall about it was waking up one afternoon and seeing a cloud of dust hanging in the air.  Yeah, there's no way to keep out the dirt.  If you come to Kuwait, you just have to accept it as a part of life. Anyway, my roommate was the greatest.  She had cleaned my room before I got here and had cooked for me.  She even made me chicken noodle soup from scratch when she found out I was sick.  (You're the best T!)

Week 3 (Adjusting):  This last week I really haven't gotten out much.  Between our commute time to work, the long workday, and taking care of necessary stuff like laundry and grocery shopping, and getting enough sleep, I really haven't had time for anything else.  Plus, I'm a big chicken and don't want to venture out on my own in this strange country.  We live in the hood surrounded by dirt (you'd have to see it to understand), so I just don't feel comfortable walking around outside especially after it gets dark.  I don't have my driver's license yet either so I'm at the mercy of those who do.  I do get one day off every week though and my roommate, who has a license, has already helped me get some stuff planned for next weekend.  I'll have pictures and more to tell about Kuwait then.

Things to look forward to:  Shortly I'll be travelling to Jordan to get some medical screening done.  While I'm there I think I'll try to go to the Dead Sea and maybe some other things if I have time.  I hear that you can see Jerusalem across it, but no, I can't go there--not on that trip anyway.  Then sometime this summer I'll be flying back to California for a little mini break; I might try to squeeze in a quick visit with my family in Nebraska.  Finally, this fall I'm planning to fly to Austria to visit my brother who's spending a year studying abroad.  That's the one I'm really looking forward to. 

'Til next time... 

Charter

I've come to realize that although I am, as you may have guessed,  a serious loner, I often find myself travelling the populated world for one reason or another.  Thinking back, I wish I had started this blog 10 years ago before my adventures in Japan, the Middle East, and North America began, so I'm seizing the opportunity to start before I head out into the wide world once more.  Follow along if you dare to enter the mind of a hermit.