New Years Trip to Thailand

Hello Everyone!

We hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season and that 2014 is off to a good start. We unfortunately couldn't make it back to the states this past Christmas but managed to get out of Hong Kong for a nice vacation over New Years.

A couple of days after Christmas we flew to Krabi, Thailand and after a 2 1/2 hour car ride and 2 ferries we arrived on the island of Koh Lanta for a weeks stay there. We enjoyed a lot of relaxation by the pool and beach as well as a few days out exploring the island and nearby islands.

With our special companion, Pungo (a school project for one of Ryan's co-workers)

View of resort at breakfast

Beach at resort

Looking up the hill to resort....many, many steps to get to our amazing view!

The ocean pool

Gas up on the side of the road from liquor bottles

Greek dinner one night with the largest gyro I've ever seen

Lounging on New Years Eve

Sunset from our room

Our resort did a nice New Years Eve gala dinner and show that we attended. We met a couple from Australia at our table and went down the beach with them for a few drinks at some nearby bars while waiting for midnight. Once we got back they had a countdown (which they forgot about and did at 12:01) and fireworks! 

New Years Eve Gala

Fireworks to ring in 2014

The next day we did a speedboat tour to 4 different islands in the area for snorkeling and swimming. We stopped at 2 islands to snorkel around the cliff's edge and coral, 1 island for lunch and the last island to swim through a cave to small beach.

First snorkel spot

2nd island 

Spot for lunch and swimming 

Outside the Emerald Cave

Swimming into the beach inside

A few days later we rented a motor bike to explore the island. Koh Lanta is 30 km long so we were able to go up and down the whole island over 2 days. It was fun to explore some areas on our own and pull off into roadside beaches for a quick swim and exploring.

Old Town Lanta

No, I did not drive- just posed! 

Ryan chased monkey all over the beach 

We had a great time relaxing and exploring the area throughout the week. We wish we could have been home to see family and friends for the holidays but this was a close 2nd!

On the way to the airport....that is a monkey holding onto the back of the pickup! 

And Ahri says Happy Holidays! 

1 Year in Asia

Hello Again!

A few weekends ago Ryan and I celebrated being in Asia together for 1 year. This past year has really solidified the meaning to me of, "Time goes by fast when you're having fun." We've been to 6 different countries, had hundreds of stamps added into our passport (mostly Ryan with at least 4 a week from China) and added one small dog to our family. This past year has been life changing to say the least.

Oddly enough, over our 1 year anniversary weekend, we were traveling to Xian, China. Ryan was there during the week to do recruiting at some local universities so we decided to meet up and travel over the weekend. Luckily for us we were joined with some of Ryan's co-workers who were amazing tour guides and translators for us throughout our trip.

Ryan ready to recruit some more engineers! 

Our first stop was to visit the Terracotta Army. The Terracotta Army was built for Emperor Qin as a protective army for his afterlife. Building began in 246 BC and took 700,000 workers to complete over the Emperor's lifetime. It wasn't until a farmer was trying to dig a well in 1974 that the Army would later be discovered. Only a small fraction of the tombs are currently open and the majority of the army still remains buried. 

The farmer who discovered the Terracotta Army

The largest tomb uncovered so far

Portions of the tomb currently being excavated

Partial warriors being currently placed together 

In front of Qin's main tomb which has yet to be touched

The next day after a trip to the Xian History Museum, we headed over to the Xian City Wall. The wall is a 14 km square that centers around the heart of Xian. It was used to protect the citizens from attack when Xian was the capitol of China. 

The popular thing to do is rent bicycles and ride the entire loop of the wall. Ryan talked me into a tandem bike saying, 'When are we ever going to get to ride a tandem bike again?' Well...I think we are happy we took our opportunity and not eagerly search out another one again. It took us a bit but we managed to get the hang of the bike and enjoy a nice little ridge on a 2,000 year old wall. 

The beginning of our trip- all smiles

Once we got the hang of it we moved onto take selfies 

The wall at night

That night we were able to slip away for dinner and some light-seeing on our own. Some things you just have to see twice- once in the day and once at night. Plus, Ryan promised me there was a Dairy Queen nearby and I can never pass up a chance to get a Blizzard, espcially since Hong Kong doesn't have one yet! 

The ceiling of the mall was a large screen that played a video of changing seasons

Ryan and I have had an amazing year living in Hong Kong and we can't wait to see what the next year brings! We can't thank everyone enough for their wonderful support and love that we feel from the other side of the world- if it weren't for that it would be a lot more difficult to live so far away; thank you. 

- Kirby