There is a merry war raging outside—long strings of firecrackers popping to usher in the New Year, Chinese style. The real celebration happened 5 days ago on the night of the 17th, but the small family-owned shops around campus are still closed and the fireworks are still going. It is good to be home. Because of the Chinese New Year and an annual conference ELIC has every year in Thailand, we’ve had the last five weeks off to travel, rest, and have adventures generally, and oh, what adventures! I’ve learned that Hong Kong is reminiscent of London, saris require a complicated series of folds, yanks, and tucks, salt water stings your eyes, geckos make clicking sounds in the night, and people are people everywhere. I wish I could type at light speed and give you a full description of everywhere we’ve been, but these pictures with their popcorn descriptions will have to suffice.

On the day we left, Mikayla's students spontaneously accompanied us to the train station and waited in the cold until our train departed. This is them huddled outside the car window: Angel, Stella, Carl, and Missouri. Mikayla and I took the overnight train from Nanchang to Shenzhen, the closest you can get to Hong Kong and still be in China. We went through customs, found our hostel, and were jolted with a dose of culture shock as we reveled in two hot cups of Starbucks and talked with some German rock climbers. Hong Kong was controlled by the British until '97, and still feels very much like a western city.
Mikayla's wingspan vs. the square footage of our hostel room.

The Hong Kong skyline from Victoria Peak, the tallest point on the island accessible by tram and about a thousand escalators. We watched the sunset from the top.

It was windy.

Hong Kong at night from the top of a double decker bus.

Mikayla's EPIC PANDA! picture, elegant in black and white. We came to see the pandas thus: on our first day in town, we were resting in a park enjoying the sun when three friendly Indonesian women berobed in Muslim garb offered us some oranges. We asked them what we should do while we were in the city, and they suggested Ocean Park. Mikayla and I, thinking it was a nature reserve, took a taxi to the other side of the island only to find that Ocean Park looked very much like an amusement park. It's gates were crowned with a giant plastic seal wearing a captain's cap. It looked cheesy to me, but Mikayla wanted to check it out, so we got tickets and went in. It turned out to be a kind of fantastic zoo with pandas and an aquarium and rides that we didn't have time to partake of. It was wonderful to be outdoors in the sunshine though, and there was a gondola ride up the mountain to the other half of the park that offered a great view of the island.

After two days in Hong Kong, we flew to Bangkok, a sweltering city of waterways. This is a picture from the ferry. Note the Thai flag waving in red, white, and blue, and also the yellow flag, which is the King's birthday color. Each day of the week has a color, and the day of the week you were born on is your color, so the King, being born on Monday, gets yellow. In honor of him, nearly everyone wears yellow t-shirts on Mondays. I'm not kidding. They love their king! They aren't forced to and it's not weird, they just love him. He's been the king for 60 years.

Long Live the King!
After a long and hot search one morning for a cheap ferryboat that was not touristy, Mikayla and I found one that went to the Grand Palace for a mere 18 bhat (50 cents). With a feeling of victory in our navigational skills, we bought tickets and walked up to the gate. It was noon. Our faces were melting off. We looked at each other and turned around to find some Pad Thai before going in.

The Grand Palace. Gold plated turrets jutting into the sky. Colorful mosaics of mirrors. An operational temple requiring tourists to cover shoulders and knees=everyone wearing matching skirts and shirts. Definitely worth the trip.

On our way to Hyderabad, India. Mikayla picked up some light reading in the Bangkok airport: Mao, the Untold Story. For the truth about Mao, check it out. Also of note, Thai Airways takes good care of its passengers, and inflatable neck pillows are priceless.

Priscilla and Bonita took us to buy salwars, kameezes, and saris in downtown Hyderabad.

The array of fabrics was overwhelming.

Chai is my favorite.

We accompanied a medical team on their weekly visit to a village where the people live inside hollow concrete cylinders. The doctor said the most common problems were protein deficiency and worms.

Mikayla organized a game of "pass the slap" for the children. They were so excited to show us their homes and hold our hands.

A family driving a metal stake into the limestone so that explosives can be packed into it.

Our new friend Lalita decorates Mikayla's arm with chocolate frosting...actually, mahendi. When it dries and flakes off, the brown lines are tatooed on and stay for a week!

Mikayla and I got a chance to visit the Choko home, where their son Sammy, 19 and autistic, sang some of his original compositions for us. Mikayla sang along.

A boy in the 2nd standard, smiling instead of doing his lessons. I was a distraction in the classroom.

Another boy takes his turn reciting the numbers in English at the blackboard.

While we were there, Republic Day happened, India's Independence Day. The students performed in honor of the occasion.

Mikayla and Alli enjoy ice cream on the boat from Ranong to the island we stayed on, Koh Phayam.

The beach. It was our living room for a week.

Mango sticky rice, fresh pineapple, and a coconut puff.

High tide.

We had the second tier bunks on the train ride home.
Random Fact of the Day: Cashews look like this. Can you find it?