Middle East and SE Asia - 2024

After 4 days is the fairly intense hustle and bustle of Bangkok, we are now being very lazy relaxing on the island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. While we have left the details of much of our current trip open for improvisation when we get each new place, this was one stop on our itinerary we knew we just wanted to chill out on the beach ⛱️ and enjoy Norma's specified beach trifecta: a hotel room, pool, restaurant, and the beach all within 50 meters or so.  On this, our chosen accomodations at "DDHut Koh Tao" seem to have pretty well hit the jackpot :-) We'll definitely be adding this place to our list of spots in Costa Rica that have met Norma's exacting standards:-) So far, all we're doing is migrating between "stations" here at our hotel, and taking a few walks along the beach to check out the local food options, etc.  The food here is wonderful, and surprisingly cheap too.  Our lunch yesterday was outstand...

Having left the Middle East, we're now into the meat of our trip, where we'll be taking much smaller hops than the 6 hour flight (with a 4 hour time change!) coming here from Bahrain.  This is our second time in Bangkok, and it's been very different from our first visit.   Last time both Norma and I were here on business, and we only had time for a little bit of sight-seeing. This time, we focused on seeing interesting things and places, and visiting with Jonathan, our Costa Rican exchange student who has been living here the past 5 years.   We started the visit off with dinner over at Jon's apartment, which was just a short cab ride from our hotel in the heart of Bangkok.  It was great to see him, and we spent the following two days touring interesting neighborhoods, parks and gardens (the Jim Thompson house is a must see!), and taking a canal cruise at sunset - very cool!  While it is quite hot h...

So... We're spent the past 4 days zooming around Bahrain in a whirlwind of touring with our son Niall.  Bahrain is an interesting place, even though it probably doesn't pop up on most typical tourist itineraries, even if you're traveling in the neighborhood!  That said, we've definitely enjoyed our time here, both as an opportunity to see a bit more of Niall than is typical at home, but also as this is our first time in the region and it has exceeded expectations in many ways.   First, the history here goes far deeper than one might expect for a country completely built on the petro-economy since oil was first discovered here in the 1930's.  In that respect, it's similar to others regional economic powers like Kuwait and United Arab Emirates.  But prior to that time, Bahrain has been a trading cross-road outpost for centuries, if not millennia.   We visited several archeological sites that went back to almost 2500 bce, including a fort that change...

After two full days in Istanbul, we keep on finding new things to see and do in our last two days before head to Bahrain to see Niall.  First we took a really nice (and inexpensive!) cruise around the Bosphorus.  It's always interesting to get a waterside perspective on a city like this, and this trip definitely exceeded expectations :-).  Afterwards we found the Turkish Archeology Museum, which was among the best museums of this focus that I've ever visited.  This is a part of the world with so much ancient history, and like most Americans, we are largely ignorant of the significance of the place and the people here over the past 3000+ years.  Finally, we were able on our last day to get to the Museum of Islamic Science and Technology, as well as the Museum of Islamic Art and Design.   Both were again outstanding museums- easily the equal of our Smithsonian museums in Washington, DC.  If you decide to visit, lo...

Well, tomorrow is our last day in Istanbul, and while we've only had a short visit, I think we be explored a good bit of the old city.  For a place that's been continuously inhabited for at least 2000 years, it's surprising how few truly ancient landmarks remain (the Hagia Sophia, and a few columns or obelisks are the only things things you see on the surface), but the signs of antiquity underlying everything!  Yesterday we visited one of the best examples of this, a huge underground cistern that was part of Constantinople's water supply system for more than a millennium.  Given that much of the built fabric above ground has been destroyed (by fire, earthquake, or warfare) and rebuilt numerous times, it was amazing to see something like the cistern completely intact! We've aslao been continuing to visit museums and historical sites, including the Blue Mosque, which is perhaps the best known here, and is clearly a bit of architectural "one-upsmanship...

After yesterday's somewhat inauspicious start, we arrived safely  and almost on time in Istanbul, just after sunset. An easy 60 minute taxi ride brought us into the old city to our hotel, only a couple of blocks from the Grand Bazaar.  After a light snack, both Norma and I called it a day after being on the road for roughly 24 hours straight.   We each slept like logs, and fortunately I set the alarm so that we didn't miss our breakfast!  10+ hours of sleep was just what we needed, and a good hot breakfast was right behind it on our list.  The Niles Hotel where we are staying has a wonderful rooftop restaurant with a view out to the Sea of Marmara. After breakfast, we headed out for our first day of exploring. First stop was to check out the Grand Bazaar, the world's most visited tourist  destination (90+ million visitors per year) and the first real enclosed shopping mall (built in 1730!). Architecturally it was pr...