LANGE Family

LISTS for our RTW TRIP 2010

BEST OF

Gear

-        Packsafe 100 backpack – excellent, roomy, sturdy and safe

-        Deuter women backpacks

-        Sink plug – small but indispensable

-        Travel pillow (Magellan)

-        Sunglasses

-        Decathlon lightweight bag for beach, groceries, etc – we used it a lot.

Electronics

-        Dual SIM card quad band phone

-        Netbook MSI / Eee

-        Travel electrical multi-plug (Magellan) – excellent, with a USB port

-        Panasonic Lumix camera

Health / Personal care

-        Malarone pills – no side effects but high cost (nausea through – spoiled our appetite in IN and TH)

-        Ultrathon 12h mosquito repellent for India – purchased more in HongKong as well.

-        Motion sickness pills

-        Toilet Paper – in our pants pockets all 3 months spent in Asia – definitely a must-have!

-        Tampons – would have been difficult to find in Asia

Clothing

-        ExOfficio underwear **** wash and dry next morning – wish they made them for kids!

-        ExOfficio women tanktop – great as an underlayer

-        Lucas’ Crocs sandals – he wore them more than anything else

Not used so much

-        Platypus bottles (not used at all)

-        Compression bags (H and I sent ours back early on, only Athina kept using hers)

-        The many wipes we brought

-        Flashlights, but still useful – one would have been enough.

Not so good

-        Athina’s Teva sandals broke after the first short hike in Costa Rica!- never heard back from Teva’s customer service about it!

-        Holger’s Gregory backpack – belt screws broke in Japan (luckily, we got Gregory company to Fedex a new set to Beijing)

Should have brought

-        Short sleeve t-shirts instead of tank tops – more versatile and covering (Nat)

-        A handback/small backpack as hand luggage from the start-did not like having my stuff in the Packsafe (Nat)

-        Fewer t-shirts (Nat) – we always wear the same ones as we don’t want to dig in the pack :0

-        Travel guides – expensive to buy in the South Pacific, but cheaper in Asia

What we lost:

-        The first package we mailed from Cusco, Peru – never arrived (we suspect it never left). After that, we shipped only with tracking

-        Package to Nat K for birthday, mailed as air parcel from Anna’s Bay in Australia – again, get a tracking number!

-        Lucas DS case with game card in Osaka

-        Lucas Pokewalker in Guangzhou

-        Lucas Nike baseball cap in Xi’an

-        Holger’s sunglasses in Chiang Mai (when he let Athina use them L)

-        Nat dive watch (during deep dive in Boracay)

-        Athina’s sunglasses (not lost, just mysteriously misplaced

What we PURCHASED along the way

-        A second Netbook for schoolwork (directly from amazon.com)

-        Travel guides – directly from Amazon in the US as they were very expensive in NZ-Aus

-        New sandals (Keen) for Athina in Lima – her Teva broke after the first short hike in Costa Rica!- never heard back from Teva’s customer service about it!

-        A Keen bag for Nat in Auckland (should have brought a handbag from the beginning)

-        Hats and a handbag for Athina in Peru

-        Clothes in India (Nat /Athina), shoes in India (Nat)

-        Pillow covers and scarves (India)

-        A jacket for Lucas in Hong Kong

-        Converse  (Nat in Guangzhou/ Athina in Hong Kong)

-        Christmas ornaments from every country we visited

-        Pencils from most countries for our collection

-        Country patches for Lucas’ collection

-        Cool stickers for Athina’s snowboard

-        Postage stamps to collect (Japan, New Zealand…)

-        Chess sets in Peru, China and India for Lucas’ collection

-        Books : Harry Potter 2 through 7 – NSITT – The 4-hour workweek – Wild Swans

-        DVDs: Harry Potter 1-2 in NZ

-        Two teddy bears in Bangkok (www.ohbearbangkok.com )

-        Handbag for Athina in ChiangMai

-        Rolling suitcase for Lucas in ChiangMai

-        Cool t-shirts for Athina along the way

-        a ‘Pikachu’ t-shirt with Lucas’ name on it in Boracay

-        Souvenir photos of whitewater rafting in ChiangMai, and of SunYatSen memorial in Guangzhou

-        Hat for Holger in Boracay after he had his hair shaved

-        Leather spell books in Beijing

-        Lego Harry Potter 1-4 for Wii (Lucas’ birthday)

-        A new DS case (Lucas’ birthday)

-        Skull Candy headphones (Athina’s birthday)

-        Many cellphone charms

-        Canadian keyrings (Shanghai expo 2010)

-        Cooking aprons from the cooking school in Chiang Mai

-        Gifts, lots of them – Christmas is coming : aprons in Japan, paper products in China, textiles in India

-        And a lot of postage $$$ for packages sent home!

BEST QUOTES OF THE RTW

‘Es organico!’ by the owner at Finca Las Brisas (Monteverde, Costa Rica)  while having us taste his homegrown very strong sugar cane liquor… July

“Buenas Noches panaqueques” (Athina, since Peru)

Japan…

‘Lucas, read the signs!’ by Athina upon arrival at Narita Airport in Tokyo, pointing at the signs …all in Japanese… Sept 3

China…

‘This is your menu’ said our guide in Shanghai, pointing to the menu written in Chinese at the Seagull palace, answering my question ‘What’s for lunch?’ Sept 20

‘I like First Class’ – Athina in the train from Luoyang to Xi’an, China – Sept 30

Our guide Sam, upon arrival in Longji, China: ‘Now we have to carry the luggage to the hotel’ – Holger: “How far?” Sam: “40 minutes up the mountain, 4-0, Can you manage?”. So glad we asked BEFORE putting the bags on. Then we only took a small overnight bag…

‘Why can’t I do that?’ – by Athina when she saw you could be carried up that same mountain in a chair by porters.

More RTW quotes from India

“What’s inside this palace?” (Holger, in Jaipur) “Only mosquitoes” (the driver)

“Everyone busy with no work” – our driver in Agra, commenting on all the people at a jammed intersection on the way to Delhi

and more…

“Je dis juste… «  or the more recent « Ich sage nur… » – Lucas on any occasion

‘Moi, je…” – by Athina, often

« Papa, scratch my back » – Lucas, every chance he gets

“I think I am starting to become a big boy. I did not get a Happy Meal, I got a menu with 10 chicken nuggets” – Lucas at McDonalds in Ao Nang, Thailand – Nov 23

“Is that a pickle on my nose???” – by 10-year old Lucas, Nov

‘I want to go to University in New Zealand’ – Athina

“My legs are frozen” – Lucas at the train station in Berlin, Dec 1 (by -10C)

WORLD TRIP 2010 SUMMARY

December 1, 2010

“I liked it a lot”,  – Lucas

“Now that we have seen the world, we can stay at home”, “Great way to travel the world” – Holger

“Will remember the time together forever” – Nat

“Can’t wait to go back to New Zealand” “Can’t wait to have my own space” – Athina

So that’s it, we did it.

As I am writing this, December 1, we are sitting on the plane back to Germany, 23 weeks after we left San Diego… We have seen and done so much, return with wonderful memories, and yet, I think the most precious of all is the time we have spent together, without work or school, just us as a family. Sometimes the hotel rooms were too small, sometimes we got on each other’s nerves, but it has brought us closer. We can do anything.

The kids were the right age for a trip like this one. Lucas was just old enough that he could participate in all the outings and activities (biking, horseback, scuba-diving…). We never had to change plans because of his age.  He has been a good traveler.

Athina has been the best travel companion we could have hoped for!  I don’t know many Southern Californian  14-years old girls who would have come along happily and enjoyed this family experience the way she did.

For all of us, this trip and move to Europe, meant once again leaving friends, school, pets and home. Americans in general are not the best at keeping in touch long term, once you are gone. It has been hardest on Lucas I think, and he still has times when he gets sad about it, and scared or angry about moving to Germany… I hope he can stay in touch with his friends, but boys will be boys. He will make new friends quickly I am sure. Athina had made some good friends this last school year, and I hope she can stay in touch too. The good thing for both is that they are already familiar with their new school and some of the kids…

For us adults, we realized we did not get to know that many people in 5 years in CA, which is kind of sad, and will likely not be in touch… Except for Beate and Markus who visit Germany regularly, and Kate W who is the new Mama of our beloved piggies.

To be continued…

THAILAND SUMMARY

- Travel guides: Guide du Routard 2010, Lonely Planet ‘Thailand Islands and Beaches’ 2008

- Airlines: Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways were both very good. We loved that Bangkok offered a lounge with snaks and drinks for all passengers.

- Lodging: Green Tulip House in Chiang Mai www.greentuliphouse.com (fun, but noisy and a little far from things), Austhai in AoNang (no customer service) and Kata Country House in Phuket (very nice, excellent customer service).

- When we planned our trip, we had initially thought about going to Laos (Luang Prabang) and Cambodia (Angkor Wat), but then decided it would be too complicated (Laos: by bus and boat, 2 days and 1 night), or questionably safe (Cambodia). Also, we were not sure how to divide our time between Northern and Southern Thailand…

- We ended up staying longer in fewer places instead of trekking or island hopping for example… With the bags, it would have been too cumbersome… Less luggage means more freedom!

- We liked Chiang Mai a lot, because of the pleasant climate, the old city and the many (350+) magnificent temples (and Carrefour ?). It was easy and cheap to get around, and people were very friendly as well.

- Southern Thailand: We spent 4 days in Ao Nang near Krabi, and it was fun, with lots to do, but most of it had to be with organized tours (Even to go to the beach, you had to take a boat!). Then we had another week on Phuket, and the more research we did, the more we realized that this was going to be an expensive destination, especially for the outdoor activities.

- Phuket was disappointing. It is very industrial-looking, and over-built everywhere… The beaches are crowded, the affordable restaurants mediocre, and the bars sleazy (even without going to Patong !). We have never seen so many Russians, and Russian food on the menus than on this island in our whole life… To move around, it is expensive as well ($18 for a 15 minute ride from Kata to Patong!–$5 in Chiang Mai for 20 minutes).

- Activities: we had thought about going to a water park: Splash Jungle, but the cost would have been about 6000B/$200 for tickets and transportation… Likewise, the tours to ‘James Bond Island’ (where ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ was filmed) in Phra Nang Bay were overpriced… I wish we would have gone sea kayaking in the caves, but in the end, we just stayed put, hung out by the pool and saw Harry Potter. We will definitely not return to Phuket.

- We purchased quite a few things in Thailand, mostly in Chiang Mai… Athina found a cool handbag, and some vintage t-shirts she loves.

- We love Thai food, and enjoyed our cooking day a lot, but overall, the malaria pills were still giving us nausea (we narrowed it down to that) and we did not sample it as much as we should have.

- Only Lucas never got sick from food throughout the whole trip. However, he barfed in the car between Ao Nang and Phuket (with 3 seconds warning to Mama!).

- That was Thailand! We are glad we have shortened our trip, we are ready to go home.

Thailand Blog

~ Adventure Day - First we visited a Butterfly and Orchid Garden, where the orchids were all held in pots above the ground, allowing the roots to have full contact with the air around. Next we went for a bamboo river cruise. It was very wet on the raft and I started to get sick with the rocking of the raft. Then we went for an elephant ride, which didn’t help the sickness, because they rocked back and forward A LOT. The entire group used about ten elephants, and there were three that didn’t go in the river on the way back. Guess what we had two of those three. So unfair. I still prefer a horse. We then had lunch there, then went White-Water Rafting. It was okay, but due to my stomach feeling blah, it wasn’t very fun. After that we headed to a waterfall where we could go swimming, but we didn’t because the water wasn’t very safe. Lastly we went to the Long Neck Village, though I stayed in the car because I was so tired. We had been gone 10 hours by the time we got back to the hotel, around 6 pm.

~ Cooking Classes - We started the day with a visit to a local market, where they explained different fruits and vegetables. Then we arrived at the house and decided on what we would like to do. First we started with the appetizers. I chose to do a Pad Thai, which was VERY good. My mom, dad, and brother did some spring rolls. One thing they did much better than the cooking class in China was that all the ingredients for the dishes were very similar, with a few differences, which yielded such different results. Next we did a salad. My mom got her Papaya Salad, though one small chili was already too much. We also did a soup, stir-fry, and a curry paste and curry. To make the curry, you take a bit of curry paste to add the flavoring. I hardly added any, and my curry ended up very sweet. It was pretty good. I’m glad we did the all-day alternative.

~ Chiang Mai Zoo - At the Chiang Mai Zoo, we took a ticket for the tram, so we could go around the Zoo without having to walk too much. It was pretty much like any other Zoo with the same animals, but they also have a white tiger as well as the Snow Dome. The merkats were as cute as ever and we also saw these puny monkeys.

- Snow Dome - The Snow Dome is this hall where they bring the temperature down to -6 degrees Celsius. We got these huge winter jackets. Depending on your shoes you got these huge rubber booties. We did because we were wearing flip-flops. We were all in shorts, except my dad who was in pants, and got these tall boots that came up to his knees. In the Snow Dome, there wasn’t much to do except go tobogganing down this twisty slide. It was really fun, but really cold. If we can do -6 degrees in shorts, then we can do it in Europe where we’ll have proper clothes. It was a lot of fun, and for 30 min. it cost 150 Baht (US $5).

~ Biking Tour - The tour took about 4 hours and we saw a Chinese Temple (with a ‘drunken’ [we think the guide meant Dragon]). We also saw a local bakery (where they worked on the floor, in front of the TV [relaxed, but effective]), we ate lunch at a local orphanage (the food was delicious), saw some temple ruins (one was built by a drunken [apparently he really was drunk, not a dragon]), and saw a local market, selling bamboo rafts for the Festival of Lights the next day. It was pretty fun, though my butt REALLY hurts now. The seats were not comfy.

~Night Bazaar - At the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, I got a string of little ball lanterns that are a chocolate and red color, alternating. It’s perfect for my room. I also got a shirt (Little Miss Whoops), and Lucas got a rope dragon (a dragon made out of rope). He also got a four wheel cabin-size suitcase, because of all the things we bought in Thailand. I also got this really cool handbag that I love. It’s very vintagy and awesome. I wanted a vintage Rolling Stones T-shirt, with the Union Jack on the tongue, but the only one’s I could find where with the US one. It was overall pretty cool.

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~ 4 Island Tour - We decided to do a day trip to different beaches, because the beach at Ao Nang is HORRIBLE!!! This trip cost about $15 per person for the day, including a box lunch (lot of rice, with a chicken curry and a piece of fried chicken). My mom bought a big beach mat before leaving so we could lie down on the beach. Good idea! Our first stop was Phranang Cave, the supposed home of a local princess spirit, worshipped by the local people. This was a nice beach, where we swam in the water a bit, but we didn’t much time there so we just had a quick dip. Next we went to Poda Island, where we had lunch. It was pretty funny when these monkeys made a mad dash for someone’s stuff, then sprinted back into the trees. There was this sign that say ‘Do Not Feed Monkeys, For Your Own Safety’. The Monkeys kept hanging around the sign, and it was like they wanted to change the sign to ‘Do Feed Monkeys, For Your Own Safety’. We went swimming and snorkeling for a while, which was really fun. Next we went to Chicken Island which has a rock formation that looked like a chicken’s head. Here we didn’t land on the shore; rather we just dropped anchor off shore and jumped in. We did some fish feeding, then me and my dad just hung onto the anchor line and floated around since the current was pretty strong. It was really fun. Lastly we went to Tup Island, where at low tide, there is a sand bridge connecting to two islands. We weren’t there for low tide. The water reached up to our chests and the distance was super long. I just hung on to my dad and got a free lift. The dude on the boat had warned us that on the right side of the boat there were sea urchins, and people (my mom) started to worry, someone (my mom) asked if there were any on the sand bridge (left side of the boat) and the dude quickly replayed that no, no, there’s nothing to worry about. After spending some time there, it was time to go home because it was already three. The trip had lasted 5 ½ hours.

~ Rai Leh Beach - We took a Long Tail Boat (160 Baht/person round trip) to go to Rai Leh Beach. We put our beach mat in the shade and we spent a lot of time in the water. It was very warm and enjoyable. We bought a cut pineapple from a vendor on the beach. It was very good and sweet. We then took a Long Tail Boat back. Overall a fun day.

~ Food Carts - In front of McDonalds were several different food carts, where you could purchase meals, such as Pad Thai, Fried Rice, or Papaya Salad, for 40 Baht (US $1.50) each. I ate a delicious Pad Thai four nights in a row. It was delicious. You could choose shrimp, chicken, beef, or squid. For breakfast we had a Thai Pancake (like a crepe, just fried) and a fruit shake (the pineapple was good, and the apple was interesting). We ate breakfast for four at 200 Baht. Unfortunately the last morning (US Thanksgiving) they weren’t there so we ate Starbucks, though it made me sick after. After eating the 40 Baht meals, my mom and I were never feeling bad. My dad and brother had McDonalds instead, which added up to 400 Baht. We’re keeping the budget about equal.

Phuket

- Here in Phuket we pretty much relaxed at the pool side and finished up the blog as well as the school work. The beach was pretty far, and most of the beach was full of long chairs, with Russian tourists. It was really fun to just relax and soak up the sun before hitting the snow in Europe.

?LODGING

In Chiang Mai, we were in the Green Tulip Guesthouse, which was nice, we got internet in the rooms, since we were on the ground floor, but they had music on that was really loud, not cool. Also, every morning and evening, when they opened and closed the big industrial-like rolling doors, it was so loud. But the rooms were spotless, which was very good. They were very helpful with planning our time in Chiang Mai, which made it very easy. They were also very friendly.

In Ao Nang, we stayed at the AusThai Hotel. It was a recently opened hotel, that no one knew, and they were very unfriendly and knowledgeable. They had never done any of the tours or gone to the beaches, so they could not recommend anything. The breakfast was very expensive, so we had breakfasts of pancakes and fruit shakes at the street vendors, five minutes away. The owner was also very rude, in general.

In Phuket, we stayed at the Kata Country House, just next to the Club Med Phuket. They have a really cool pool, where we stay most of the time to just enjoy. We’ve had three weeks of nothing but beaches, beaches, beaches, which is why my mom booked this hotel. The food is okay, though there isn’t anything really close by, so we have to make do. Overall it’s a good end to the trip.

Overall Thailand is not worth the hype everyone gives it. The beach is much better at Boracay, and they speak better English there. Chiang Mai was really fun, with all the things we did. We also finished the Harry Potter series in Chiang Mai. In Phuket we got to see ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1’. It was really cool. They stopped it in the right place, and it was much better than the sixth one. I can’t wait to have it on DVD and to see Part 2 in July. Ao Nang was okay, the islands had some nice beaches, but to get to them you had to take a boat. Phuket was not worth it (except Harry Potter). Overall, I would not come pack to Thailand, Phuket especially.

December 1, 2010

Last day of the world trip

Dear Twinkie,

Thank you for reading Harry Potter with me.

I really like the story, magic, wizards and witches.

I would have a different ending because I don’t think that it would be so easy that you use expelliarmus and the dark lord dies?

My favorite character is Harry and my least favorite is Voldamort.

Some are better in movies and some better in book. But in the movies they show it to you and in the book you need to see it in your mind.

I really enjoyed you reading to me on this world trip. I’ll always have those memories with me when I think of the world trip.

Thank you

Yours truly,

Dobby

We got a few more gifts, updated the blog and the photos, prepared our ‘Best of’ lists, and are ready to go home. One more packing session and we are flying on Wednesday morning directly from Phuket to Berlin. The weather in Europe right now is unusually cold for this time of year, and it has been snowing quite a bit in France and in Germany. Everyone is warning us! After so many years without a ‘real’ winter, we will need to go out and buy some winter boots and jackets, especially for Lucas and Athina. They will be starting school on December 6^th: Lucas in 5^th grade, and Athina in 9^th grade. They will have a couple of weeks to get into the school routine, and then the Holidays will be here. We are looking forward to enjoying the Season: Christmas markets, making Christmas cookies and a gingerbread house (looks like it could be a gingerbread Hogwarts this year), decorating the tree, playing in the snow. We will be spending Christmas with the whole family this year, in Germany and in France…Of course, that’s once we have unpacked what we need from the 150 boxes that are waiting for us…

Today, we took a taxi to a large shopping center in Patong, called Jungceylon, and surprised the kids with going to the movie theater to watch the new “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)”. They were so happy! They had been waiting to be able to watch it… The tickets cost 160B (about $5) per person, so that was reasonable!

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We had lunch there, went to Carrefour supermarket (but it was not a very nice one!).  Nous avons aussi appele Meme pour son 89eme anniversaire! Elle avait recu notre carte postale de Boracay justement hier.

We mostly stayed at the hotel, in the pool, finished all the German schoolwork, caught up on our blog and uploaded photos, read for fun, played games, drank many strawberry ice-cream shakes (wait-that’s just Lucas).

We walked to Kata beach- by going all the way around the Club Med !! The beach is nice, but very crowded: beach chairs and umbrellas set up everywhere… What a difference from Boracay.

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 We are so happy we did all our water sports and most of all our scuba-diving there instead of here!! It was much much better, and easier as everything was in one place…

Another problem in Phuket is the cost of transportation: 400B ($15) to go to Patong alone! So we have not been moving around a lot. Even Kata itself is not very nice or pleasant for a stroll. In the evenings, we walk to this pizzeria that we like, and back, past many souvenir and swimwear shops, tailors and massage parlors…I don’t think we will ever come back here.

www.katacountryhouse.com

After a change of mind and a lengthy search to find something within our budget, we booked a room here in Kata for the next 6 nights. When we saw how warm and humid the weather here in Southern Thailand was, we decided we wanted to have a swimming pool. Also, since the prices here in Phuket are quite high compared to the other places we have been to in Thailand, we figured we would not do many activities or day trips, so it would be nice to stay in a comfortable place.

Our room is pool side, and ground floor, so that Lucas can just jump in whenever he wants to. It reminds us of Athina when we went to Maui in 2001, who would be the first in the pool before breakfast and the last one out…

This afternoon, we spent a long time in the pool, and had lunch poolside J . Just like in AoNang, it rained in the afternoon, and the evening was cool and dry… We explored around the hotel, on the main road, but were not impressed. No food stalls except for pancakes.  Our hotel is just across the road from Club Med Phuket, so the location is very good. We’ll go to the Kata beach tomorrow.

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