The last few days have been a whirlwind!  We packed so much in.  On Saturday, we saw Bryce Canyon (again, to get a better view -- it was rainy on Friday), then drove to Cedar Breaks National Monument  where it was 22 degrees and snowing very hard.  It was beautiful!  We were only a few miles from where the King and I had our honeymoon, in a condo in Brian Head, Utah.  We spent the night in Cedar City, Utah, as did the other family we were traveling with, who are coincidentally homeschoolers who live in Morristown, TN.  After the obligatory stop at Starbucks, we hit Kolab Canyon and then drove on down to Zion National Park, which was amazing.  We took the shuttle down a most scenic route, and really were just in awe of the scenery and setting.  Oh, and it was 50 degrees warmer there than it had been in Cedar Breaks just the day before! 

After that, we hightailed it on down to Las Vegas and got some terrific Thai food in China town.  (Weird, huh?)  And then the red-eye home.  Note to self:  never take red-eye on el cheapo airlines again.  The seats DO NOT RECLINE on Allegiant airplanes.  Ugh.  Fortunately, at least the baby slept like a dream the whole way and it was over in no time.  We arrived at 6 a.m. 

And guess what we did that same night??

Yep, you guessed it.  We took the boat out for a spin.  Tim even got some barefooting in.  Everyone should watch Tim waterski -- he's an artist.  But I bet his feet are black with bruises today!  And in case I forgot to mention it, under his patient tutelage, I, Queenofthehill, managed to get up on (two) skis the day before we left on our two week odyssey to Utah!  I was so proud of myself.  Took me back about 25 years.   And that same day, you should have seen the King on the end-of-season bargain tube we purchased; his face morphed into that of a 10-year old!  He grinned from ear to ear. 

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Because I'm traveling on Tuesday this week, I'm posting Tuesday Travel Memories on Sunday.  Today's continuation of the series showcases my pick for the Worst Case of Food Poisoning Ever. 

I struggled to choose between two very memorable occasions in making this selection.  In the end, though, the illness procured from excessive olive intake in a Nile-side restaurant in Aswan, Egypt, and experienced on an overnight train to Cairo via Luxor, beat out that disgusting Chinese Restaurant in Bangkok which made my brief trip to Hong Kong a very unpleasant blur.  And I have to say that, as a result, the best part of the King Tut exhibit at the museum in Cairo was that I got a seat on a bench.  It was that bad. 

So my advice to anyone traveling to areas of the world that may not have our North American or European standards of cleanliness is as follows:

1.  Avoid all ice.  Everyone knows to avoid water, so I won't bother too much with that one -- but don't forget:  no ice in your drink, no popsicles or Italian ice, etc.  Carbonated water is safer than flat water, germ-wise -- because you know it really came from a bottle and wasn't a used bottle refilled in the restaurant's kitchen sink. 
2.  If offered tea or coffee in a "furrin" country, make sure it has been boiled for long enough to kill the bugs.  (According to the CDC, this would be a rolling boil for 1 minute.)
3.  My fatal mistake in Aswan was that the olives in the middle east/mediterranean are preserved in oil and not brine.  Not sure that carries with it the same anti-bug feature.  This was an outdoor restaurant and they had likely been standing in the sun for who-knows-how-long.
4.  Do not eat fruit or veggies that cannot be peeled or are hard to wash -- like salad.  Make sure you peel stuff yourself, too. 
5.  Take over the counter medicine with you -- you're probably going to get sick no matter what you do.  Interestingly, we all got QUITE the opposite problem when traveling back to relatively clean countries like Israel and the US.  After a year in Jordan, our bodies were just stumped by the lack of bugs with laxative qualities in the West Bank.  One of my friends actually contracted Typhoid while on a dig in Syria and was just ever so whiney on our Israeli tour.  We didn't miss a chance to tell him so, either.  We all felt really, really badly when we learned he was really sick instead of just being a baby. 

This all sounds scary, I know, but the experience of taking the road less traveled by is totally worth it. 

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My vote for the "Place I Travelled that was Hardest to Leave" is the Greek island of Santorini.  [Click here to play the Greek National Anthem while you're reading this -- you need to get in the spirit of things!]

I will have to say that all of Greece is utterly breathtaking, but Santorini was absolute perfection.  We went there after spending about 10 days touring in and around Athens and we really meant to use the ferry system and travel to several other islands, as well.  Every day that we were there, we dutifully packed up our bags to leave, checked out of the hotel, ate breakfast, and then re-checked in.  It wasn't a fancy hotel back then.  It wasn't the cleanest hotel.  It didn't even have a great view.  But it was perfect for us.  Sure, it is the tourist's duty to see as much as possible, right?  But why shuffle on to another island when we had already found "the bomb" as they say.  There simply was no room for improvement. 

The year was 1994.  Our everyday lives back in Pasadena, California, were filled with long commutes (mine to the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the King to Disney in Burbank), stressful jobs, and no kids.  Our careers, along with the King's pursuit of his Master's degree consumed every molecule of our energy.  By the time we reached Santorini, we had unwound significantly already.  Something about the sun in Greece, or the unbelievable gem-colored blue of the sea that is so different than what you find in the Caribbean, yet every bit as gorgeous.  And the light colored building materials or whitewash that reflect all that fabulous white and blue (Greece's national colors).  Okay, and maybe it was a little about them serving oenos at every single meal save breakfast.  The coffee they served at breakfast was equally yummy, I must say. 

But in October, Santorini is truly hotter than the mythical fires of Hades.  Our solution?  Obviously, you spend the heat of the day flying around the island on your rented motorcycle to stay cool.  If you jump off the motorcycle, make sure you're just about to get in the water.  And things are so laid back there; the only thing we *ever* needed to be on time for was the sunset over the caldera.  This is beyond a shadow of a doubt the most beautiful sunset anywhere in the world.  You see, Santorini is essentially one side of the rim of a huge volcano that is mostly underwater.  It is like the tip of an iceberg, only you are sitting on one side of the volcano and looking out over a bay that is the inside of the volcano -- at the much shorter rim on the other side.  The town of Fira is actually built down the side of that rim, but the main street runs right along the top of the "ridge".  And the sunset just fills the sky. 

Something happened to me during my stay in Santorini/Greece.  Having experienced an incomparable joie de vivre there, after my return to reality (if you can call Los Angeles "reality) I never again could care about my career to the degree that I once had.  Sure, I hung in there another year and a half, but I didn't lie awake at night stressing about that job.  My fingers had touched the brass ring of happiness and I never wanted to be that far from it again.  I kept my Greek music CDs handy in the event I needed a refresher course!  And of course, I never take off this big honking gold ring I bought in the Plaka while there.  When I look at it, I'm transported to a world of bright blue doors, spontaneous dance, and endless bartering sessions.

To sum it up, Santorini has a beautiful black sand beach, a regular beach, a rocky beach (all with clothing more or less optional), boat rides to hike around inside a smaller, active volcano, a dream-like "traditional" town called Oia, fresh roasted pistachio venders, and a dry climate that promises good hair days for the duration of your stay.  Can it get any better than that?

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Thailand wins the award for Most Different Place I've Traveled. 

I have been there a couple of times and it has rather a Through the Looking Glass quality about it.  The last time was in the fall of 1992.  In Thailand, they have everything we have, yet nothing is the same.  Blogless Kingofthehill spent an entire year in Bangkok teaching computer skills to Buddhist Monks.  The idea was that his Godly, Christian character would rub off on them, even though he wasn't allowed to actually proselytize.  He was thrown into an immersion program to learn the language, and shockingly enough, learned to read and write it fluently.  He has a bible in Thai.  It, like all Thai writing, looks a whole lot like hen-scratching or slug trails:

And sometimes, like with the word "mai" above, the same word can mean many different things if said with what are to the Western ear imperceptible changes in tone.  Lots of words and names are ridiculously long.  But somehow, the king muddled through.  He taught in a Buddhist Temple;  I honestly can't remember which one and he's not available to tell us -- perhaps he will post a comment.  This link will take you to pictures of many of the Wats in Bangkok.  The many photos I have from Thailand are not digital and our house is in such disarray, it isn't at all realistic to scan them in right now. 

It would take too long to describe all the places we visited In Thailand, so I will gear my description more toward the cultural features.  For example, in Thailand you get a level of service that is just unrivaled anywhere else.  Hotel, restaurant, shops, etc.  The people are just plain nice and you are treated like, well, a KING!  That is a beautiful side of Thailand.  As Buddhists, though, they are very accepting of other people's eccentricities and probably think of themselves as realists where the flaws of mankind are concerned and you see much trafficking of prostitution in Bangkok.  Sadly, this seems designed primarily to meet the "needs" of the tourism industry.  That's the ugly side of Thailand.

The prevailing attitude of the VERY smiley Thai people is:  "mai pen rai."  This means something akin to  "never mind."  They don't get uptight about much at all.  Good thing, too -- you should SEE the traffic!! 

If you are a shopper, Thailand is the place for you.  Unlike other countries where things tend to be inexpensive, the quality of most Thai products is fabulous.  Things to look for:  Thai silk is very special.  It's signature qualities are bright colors, colorful patterns (see mudmee silk) and a two-toned sheen (meaning that something may be one color viewed in one direction and quite another color when viewed differently).  When I was there, I bought my silk at a palace store and drew up designs and had someone custom make outfits for me. That was fun! When in Bangkok, you should at least visit the Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company -- just to see the loot!  It is pricey, though.  Other products to buy:  silver, leather, and gemstones.

The food, of course, is out of this world because it is Thai food!  So, if you are looking for a shift in your personal universe, book yourself a flight to Bangkok.  Make sure you also hop a flight up to Chiang Mai -- a  cooler, more mountainous setting with a night market to satisfy the savviest shoppers.

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The most logical starting point for "Tuesday Travels" is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.  It was the first trip I ever took outside the good ole U.S. of A.  Back in college in the 1987-88 school year, I was selected for a year-long humanitarian mission working with handicapped children in some very special schools in Amman run under the auspices of the royal family.  But you don't want to hear all about that; you want to hear what Jordan was like!

If you are like me (and keep in mind that this was the very first time I'd ever left the country and it was for a solid year), you picture Jordan as a land of sifting sands with a few Bedouin tents dotting the smooth, flat landscape.  You would probably guess that it is hot all the time, and that it rarely rains. 

I didn't even pack a coat.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived to find that Amman is actually a very modern city, built around its historical roots and ruins.  Occasionally, though, in an open field, you would get to see a Bedouin Tent.  But it would have a TV, a Deep Freeze, and assorted other amenities you just didn't think you'd ever see in a tent.  I was surprised to learn that most directions in Amman are given based on which hill/mountain/"jebel" they are located on (and traffic circle).  There is plenty of vegetation, landscaping and miscellaneous greenery in Amman and even more so in beautiful towns nearby like Salt.  No sand at all unless you are at the beach!  And I was VERY surprised the time it snowed 4 or 5 inches.  (You should have seen us "sledding" down the middle of the road on big black garbage bags -- the police from the local station even joined us!)  Did you know that the Dead Sea Valley is lush and green and stuffed with wildflowers in the Spring?  Or that it rains all through the really cold Winter in Amman?  Me neither. 

After a mere couple of weeks of exploring the country, I was actually more than ready to come home.  And at the tender age of 22, a year seems like an AWFULLY long time.  But I had committed, had no return ticket, and somehow muddled through.  And I've always been so glad that I did.

There were lots of surprises for me.  I'm sure there's a photo of me next to the definition of "culture shock" in some manual used to prepare people for working overseas.   Although the autumn was lovely, I spent the winter months bundled in a used coat that I bartered for down in the Suq and carrying around a kerosene heater.  There's nothing less cozy than blocks and terrazo when it is cold and wet outside.

The food was wonderful.  Shwarmas and Falafels were cheap and could be purchased right off the street.  I didn't miss a thing in that department, although I will confess we occasionally visited the Pizza Hut and the Cincinnati Chili House.  And when we wanted to be Americans for a short time, we would go dancing at the Marriott.

The Jordanian people were wonderful.  Hospitality defines Jordanian people.  It is not unusual to be walking down the street and be invited in to a complete stranger's home for tea ("shy" -- yummy concoction about half sugar and half tea) or for a shopkeeper to offer you some Turkish coffee.  You coffee aficionados will appreciate that, upon stepping out the door of our apartment, you would have been daily knocked over by the oh-so-satisfying scent of freshly ground coffee wafting up the street, mingled strongly with cardomom.  To this day, when I smell cardomom, I am transported to that stoop! 

There's a rule of etiquette for those visiting Jordanian homes that says one shouldn't admire the belongings of another -- because the other will be required by his sensibilities to give you the object of your compliment.  Likewise, it is rude not to take or eat what they offer you; so we ate lots of things that we really didn't want and I do recall that my best friend Joanna became very resourceful at disposing of unwanted food:  no house pet or potted plant was safe from her stealthy deposits. 

Shopping was fabulous.  There are no fixed prices except in the grocery store.  The price of everything else is open to debate; even taxis!  I must say, I came to LOVE that.  The shopkeepers think you're a complete idiot if you don't counteroffer about half of whatever price they state -- then settle on some price that's somewhere under halfway between half and their original asking price, although you can do better than that if you're buying multiples and if you are willing to walk out of the store a time or two.  Everyone leaves a transaction happy that way.   I have lots and lots of gold from Amman. 

There were many, many palacial dwellings -- all made of heavy concrete or blocks and built in metal blackout shutters.  The richest folk had gorgeous wooden doors (and there were LOTS of rich folks there).  Wood is so rare in that area that it is truly a luxury.  You'd see lots of manicured, watered lawns; many with swimming pools.  The homes of all the important people were guarded [badly] by uniformed military men with machine guns.  We lived in an apartment on the bottom floor of the home of the [then] first minister to the court of the king and there were always guards on the front gate of his home.  I found that unnerving the first night we arrived, combined with the firecrackers used in a wedding celebration going on down the street.  There aren't a lot of machine guns in Six Mile, where I come from.  Ironically, we learned later that there were never guards on our side gate, so we knew it was just for show.  One of our landlord's guards actually shot his own toe while we were there -- he fell asleep!

There were lots of poorer homes, too, of course.  They look a lot like concrete boxes.  And honestly, the cityscape looked very sloppy because the builders always left a ton of exposed rebar on the roofs of houses.  Turned out there was a tax on finished houses that could be avoided if you claimed it was unfinished and rebar must have been the evidence.  And truly, real estate is so pricey in Amman that most families just built UP another story when their kids got married so they'd have an affordable place to live. 

In Jordan, the work week is Sunday-Thursday and we volunteers took Saturday off, too.  Our "employers" knew we were Sabbath-keeping Christians and were most accommodating.  We spent most of our free time touring the countryside.  There is a plethora of "Desert Castles" leftover from the Crusades, the nearby well-kept Roman city of Jerash, as well as biblical sites like Pella and Mt. Nebo (from which Moses viewed the promised land he would never enter), not to mention the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, both of which we spent a good bit of time in.  One of my favorite places was Petra, though.  I made the pilgrimage there 5 times during our year.  It's an amazing, enormous, dramatic ruin of a Nabotean city, in which Harrison Ford filmed Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and that is what most people visualize when they hear the name.  My latest Smithsonian Magazine tells of many new discoveries made since I was there last in the fall of 1991.

This is the year I caught my Wanderlust bug.  During winter break, we had a 2 week trip to Egypt and at another time, several of us traveled to Syria.  At the end of the school year, I went on an educational tour of Israel for 3 weeks (which took some doing back then, since Jordan and Israel weren't on speaking terms). More on those places in other blogs.  We were always very happy and relieved to return to the relative safety, comfort and cleanliness of Jordan after our jaunts to other lands.

I highly recommend a visit to Jordan.  While I haven't taken my children there yet, I have traveled with lots of folks who did have them and Jordanians love children very much.  It definitely will go on my list of cool places to take kids. 

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