skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Just another earthquake in Southern California. Yesterday's was the biggest I've felt since moving back here in 2005. I was at work. The building jolted, the windows creaked. People got up from their chairs, walked into the hallways, looked at each other and went "oooh, earthquake."
The big one will hit eventually. They've been talking about it for ages. I remember in 1986 everyone at school was talking about how Nostradamus predicted the big one would hit that year. I was so scared I slept on the floor of my parents' room and piled all our canned food next to me.
Two weeks away. We got back on Sunday. There really is no place like home. Not that I didn't have a good time. I did. It was fun. It was hot. It was jam packed.
We were a week in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Four of those days (4 in a row) were for Mr. Octopus' brother's wedding. Bengali people loooove to party. You've never seen people have so much fun without alcohol. They just love being around each other. They may get tired every once in a while, they may be sleep-deprived, but that doesn't stop them for hanging out every day.
Then Mr. Octopus and I did a side trip to India for 3 days to relax and celebrate of 3rd wedding anniversary. We did 1 day in Delhi and 2 in Agra. The Taj Mahal was awesome. I highly recommend. Definitely see it with a guide because you will miss things if you do it yourself. We stayed at the Oberoi Amarvilas, which was excellent. Very pricy, but I think it's worth scrounging up your pennies to stay here. Every room has a view of the Taj.
Then we went to Hong Kong for 4 days. HK is a cross between Chinatown (a clean Chinatown, the cleanest one you can imagine), Wall Street and San Francisco. The food was good. We went into a few hole in the wall places and each was great. It was a welcome change after 11 straight days of Indian food. HK is also like one huge mall, which got annoying after a while. Name brand stores everywhere. People shop like crazy. I think that shopping is the most authentic HK experience you can have.
I should mention that it rained every day of our trip. The upside was that the rain cut down the heat, which was not nearly as oppressive as I was expecting. Still, I would've liked at least one clear day.
Anyways, I'm glad to be back home. I have a nasty case of jetlag. This morning I woke up at 4am. Yesterday at 5am. I hope to shake it off before the weekend is here.
We're on day 11 of our vacation to Bangladesh, India and Hong Kong. We're currently in Agra. Can't write much right now because the one hour I signed up for on this computer is ending soon. A few thoughts.
I thought I'd been to the third world (Vietnam) until I arrived in Dhaka. Hardly any women are out on the streets in Bangladesh. The only women you see on the streets are either the very poor or those accompanied by men. Everyone of any means is driven-- either by car, bus, baby taxi or rickshaw. No one drives themselves (that goes for men too).
In our first 5 hours in India we saw cows, goats, pigs, donkey and monkeys. Our hotel room in Agra has a view of the Taj Mahal. We've visited the Taj twice and it did not disappoint. We're off to Delhi this afternoon, then to HK tomorrow. I am craving non-Indian food.
