Streetfood, Pickpockets, and Mayan Ruins

After 10 days on the island of Utila, we decided it was time to bid farewell to the ups and downs of island life, and head to the historical town of Copan Ruinas.  We set out for La Ceiba and spent the night, before hopping on an early 7 hour bus to Copan.  But, not before we had some traditional Honduran breakfast!

Honduran breakfast of Egg, Fried Chicken, Avocado, Sour Cream, Beans, Cheese, and Toritillas...Delicious at 8 AM!

Sarah ordered the Tajadas plate.  Fried plantains with chicken, cabbage, and onion on top.  Typical Honduran dish.

Set in the mountains of Honduras, just a few kilometers from the Guatemalan boarder, Copan is an old colonial town with cobblestone streets.

Downtown Copan Ruinas

Its beauty is stunning, but second best to the Mayan Ruins at Copan.  The Mayan ruins at Copan are considerably less popular than those at Tikal, Guatemala, however, they played a huge significance in the history of the Maya culture, housing the longest set of hieroglyphs the culture ever left behind.  Thus, Copan became the glue that helped to put much of the unanswered Mayan history together, hence its significance.

The night we arrived in Copan there was a night market with street food stalls set up.  I couldn't have been happier.  

I went from stall to stall ordering different types of food, but the one that stood out was these street tacos.  Some of the best I have ever had. 

At $1 for 3, they were a steal

Think these girls look innocent and friendly?  So did I, until Sarah caught one of them walking behind me reaching for my pocket!  She was a little thief, but very unsuccessful at robbing me. 

The next day we set out for the Ruins.  Set only 1 km from town, you can walk there past farms and livestock to the oldest historical site of this region.  I have always been fascinated by the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas, so it was a real treat to be able to visit the ruins. 

Sarah with one of the main structures of the ruins. 

That day, I got to be the tour guide

Pondering the civilization that once resided here.  Deep in thought, of course. 

This ones for you, Beezy.  

Copan Ruinas was a great place to rest, check out the Mayan civilization, and, of course, sample the local street food.  But after a few days there, the slow pace got us, and it was time for something a little livelier.  Antigua, Guatemala was next. 

Utila, Honduras - The Island of Extreme Ups and Downs

After a few weeks at home, we made the decision...the trip was not quite over.  We thought about this a lot on the trip - our plan was to come home for the holidays to see our family and friends, and then see how we felt about finishing up the trip in either Central or South America.  After being home for a bit and recharging our batteries, we purchased one way tickets to Honduras, not knowing where the road would take us.

We arrived in San Pedro Sula, Honduras at 2 AM after flying from Oakland to Chicago to Fort Lauderdale. We had gotten up at 4:30 AM PST to catch our 6 AM Southwest flight out of Oakland.  After much number crunching, Ben figured the most economical way to get to Honduras was to use our free Southwest flights to get to Fort Lauderdale, and from there the flight was only $100 each to Honduras.  Needless to say, he set us up for a nice 18 hour travel day.

The mainland of Honduras is nothing to write home about, there is not much to do and it is not very safe, so we quickly headed to La Ceiba, which is the port town to catch the ferry to Utila. In Ceiba, we met an American from Dallas who was working as a dive instructor in Utila who was able to give us the rundown on Honduras and we had a great night out with him.

The next day we caught the ferry to Utila, a small backpacker island located on the Caribbean side of Honduras, that is very similar to the Caye's of Belize, super laid back with a huge diving community.  We spent the first few days exploring the island, and walking around to different dive shops, assessing the many options.  Utila is the cheapest place to get PADI certified in the world.  Not only is it cheap cost wise, but, because of competition, they throw in all sorts of perks such as free accommodation, meals, and even beer!  We settled on Parrots Dive shop, and within a couple of days we started classes.

Ben jumping off of the dock at our hostel

Hostel in the background

Many sunsets were spent on that dock or in the hammocks where this shot was taken

Downtown Utila

This was our Baleadas spot.   Baleadas are the national street food in Honduras, a tortilla filled with beans and then your choice of meat or veggies.  Ate there at least 2x daily, literally. 

Veggie Avocado Baleada.  The pink stuff is pickled onion. 

Neither Ben nor I had ever been diving, so we decided to dive right into a PADI open water certification course, which last about 4.5 days and teaches you all of the basics of scuba diving.  We were with 8 others in our class, and got to spend a lot of time getting to know one and other.  Ben was really excited to get certified as he has been talking about it forever.  We both did great in our class material and on our two confined water dives.  Then the bad luck hit.  First, the San Francisco 49ers lost the NFC championship.   Then, the next night, we were with a couple, Mateo and Tina, we had met from New Zealand when Mateo  accidentally hit Ben in the mouth with his beer bottle and chipped Ben's tooth.  But, the next morning took the cake, during our first open water dive.

Skid Row, Utila...where we watched the AFC and NFC Championships. 

With our instructor, Mark (in the midldle with the long hair), and part of our dive class. 

This guy is getting his Divemaster Certification.  As part of the initiation process on the island of Utila, they must drink from a snorkel anything that the divemasters put in it (usually rum, coke, and beer), and then fill their mask with beer and drink it through their nose!  Its dubbed "The Snorkel Test." 

Filling the mask with beer

Mask filled, ready to drink 

Cleared

The casualty!

40 bucks and it's good as new!

Me during confined water dive 2

Our dive class on confined water dive 2

Ben had been having some problems the previous day with equalizing his ears on the second confined water dive.  During our first open water dive, Ben and I were supposed to be buddies, but they paired him with another instructor instead, and I did not see him for the whole 40 minute dive.  When I got back on the boat, I was surprised to see that he was already there.  Apparently, he could not equalize his ears and had only gotten to about 15 feet before he had to surface because the pressure in his head was too painful.  He said he had gotten dizzy, disorientated, and lightheaded when descending and ascending.  At the second dive site, our instructor told Ben to try again, and since he wanted to give it his all, he got back in the water.  This time, Ben only made it to about 5 feet before the pain was to bad, so he went back to the boat.  When I got back from this dive, Ben was vomiting off the side of the boat, from what we though was sea sickness.  On the way back to the shop, weird things starting to happen to him.  First, his arms started tingling, then his hands cramped up and soon he was paralyzed from the elbows down.  It was terrifying.  They administered oxygen, and rushed him to the hospital, loaded him on a stretcher, and shouted that he needed to go to the decompression chamber.  They were yelling things like "what is the victims pulse?".  It was all very scary, but after about an hour of oxygen the symptoms went away.  The doctor told him that some people are unable to equalize because of issues with their inner ear, and said he should stick to snorkeling.  I think Ben agrees with that suggestion!

However, the island was filled with a lot of highs as well.  We met a really cool group of people and hung out with them for the week, having dinner at various restaurants on the island, drinks at our local bar Tranquila, and enjoying each others company.  The last day we rented 2 golf carts and went with our group all over the island in what was deemed "Extreme Golf Carting", since half of it was on mud ridden trails.  All in all, the island is knows for extreme emotional ups and downs and it definitely delivered!

Part of our Extreme Golf Carting Crew (from right to left, front to back: Glenn, Mateo, Tina, Me, Mikkel, not pictured, Ben, Kasper, Yanick).  The cart was not that clean when we brought it back! 

One of the private beaches we stopped at.  

Sketchy mini-golf/bar we stumbled upon, seriously, in the middle of nowhere.  Sign reads "The Gate has to be closed but the park is open...I'm in there!...Pull the rope so I can hear in the cave with fan and A/C."  

The Final Countdown

Upon our arrival to Bangkok from Chiang Mai, it became real.  We had 3 more nights and then we were starting a dreadful journey back home.  We both had pretty bad colds so we were knocked out the first day in Bangkok and took it easy.  We spent the next 3 days shopping, eating at our favorite establishments, and doing very little sightseeing, because, after all there isn't much to see in Bangkok!  At 10 PM on the 17th, we hopped into a taxi and headed for the airport.  We had slept only a few hours the night before, and we were going on a 22 hour journey through Shnghai and then to LAX.  In total, since we do not sleep on airplanes, we were up for 42 hours with a couple of 2 hour naps when our bodies would allow it.  It was the worst travel day I have ever had in my life, and the jet lag when we got home was not much better.  It has been 3 days and last night we were able to sleep 8 hours, which was amazing.  Anywho, here are some of the highlights from the end of our trip.

The first night in Bangkok we went to the Soi 38 night market, infamous for it's quality street food.  It was a little disappointing however after travelling and eating our way through SE Asia

My favorite dish on Soi 38, Egg Noodles and Fried Pork with Morning Glory

This is the best Pad Thai I have ever eaten, and we got it from Thip Samai in Bangkok.  This restaurant is a staple in Bangkok and only serves different types of Pad Thai.  

Khao San Road.  If you ever travel through SE Asia you will inevitably end up here at some point. 

After resting from our colds we decided to go out to Khao San...This is a typical Bar in SE Asia

Some American friends we met up with our last couple of nights in Bangkok.  Here we are enjoying our last bucket before getting a Taxi to the airport. 

Fried Insects!! I have eaten most of these, including the Water Bugs from the Chao Praya river (see last blog post).

Even on our last flight to LAX the learning did not stop.  This Chinese couple from Shanghai had never been on an airplane before.  We had to teach them how to put the seats back, and use the headphones.  They loved us, and showed us a video of their daughters wedding in China on a knock off iPad.  They did not speak a lick of English but somehow we interacted for a couple of hours and realized that they were going to LA to their daughters second wedding celebration.  Their daughter had moved to LA and married an American, and their kids paid for their trip to LA, which included a trip to San Diego and Las Vegas.  They couldn't have been more excited. 

We arrived at LAX at 9 AM, had been up for 40 hours, and we were exhausted.  We had seen the sun rise and set...TWICE.  We went home and napped for a few hours, and then the culture shock hit.  We both have had similar thoughts over the last few days.  We couldn't help but think that everything looked so clean, that it was strange people traveled in their cars alone.  We saw trucks, with one person in them.  WHAT?  You could easily fit 20-30 people in the bed and give them a ride, what's your problem?  When we get up it is weird to imagine that we can not just walk outside to a street stall and get a bowl of soup.  It is weird to be back, to think that the trip we planned for for 3 years is over.  We will just have to see how we adjust over the next few weeks or so. 

Playing with and Eating Exotic Animals in Chiang Mai

HOLA AMIGOS!  QUE PASA!?  Ok, so we got to Chiang Mai, and Sarah was very excited to play with animals.  She had heard all sorts of things and was ready for a shenanigan party!  Sillyness ensued.  We are in Bangkok now, just about 24 hours from departure so I will spare little time writing this blog.

We got to play with baby tigers, only 3 months old!  They told us to be careful, sometimes they bite. 

My little buddy

Our Family!!!! 

Then we went to a snake show...scawwieeessss!!! 

Then the guy in the snake show put a snake on Sarah

That night we went out to enjoy the nightlife of Chiang Mai, and were invited into Thuan's birthday party.  No we did not know her or any of the old scallywags that hung out at this joint. But, nevertheless, as usual in SEA, it turned into a very entertaining night. 

At the party I was offered some quality steamed insect (I am not sure if this is a cockroach, if someone can clarify that would be helpful).  It was crunchy and salty, and gave me a semi allergic reaction.

The next day we went trekking in the mountains.  It included a butterfly farm, bamboo rafting, elephant riding, lunch, zip lining and rappelling, a visit to a local village, waterfall swimming and white water rafting.  All for $30.

I decided I would get on the elephant bare back and try to ride it.  It was absolutely terrifying, these animals are huge.

Safety First!!!!!!!

That night we decided to go out and try to find some actual tourists to hang out with, and we succeeded.  We ended up with some Canadian and English folk that took us out into the wee hours of the morning.  We ended up meeting up with our friend from Laos, and this chap is quite the character, it was a great night! 

The following day we went to a cooking class, and this is the local market that we shopped at to get our goods.

Watch out Gordon Ramsey...this is NO Hells Kitchen!

Dragon fruit...tastes similar to Kiwi

Second time making spring rolls, we are getting pretty good at this

I know it sounds impressive, and it took a lot of work, but we made our own curry paste.


My green curry, made with 21 chilis.

Finally on our last day in Chiang Mai, we decided to do Mahout training.  Mahout training is a class where you learn how to command an elehphant and ride it bareback.  It was a wonderful day filled with trekking through the jungle on top of an elephant.  Yes, I know I look like a terrorist in these photos. 

Sarah's elephant is happy!

The elephant would "kiss us" and this is Sarah's reaction to the kiss. 

Bathing our elephants after a long day.  They would squirt you with water from their trunks.  

Trekking through the jungle on our little buddy.  Sarah switched with me and was the commander after this.

On our last night in Chiang Mai, we treated ourselves to a nice sit down dinner, consisting of Sangsom Whiskey and a 6 course meal.  It was a splurge at $15, but we fit it into our budget.  It was a suggestion by a Thai we had met.  They specifically served Northern Thai cuisine, and it was honestly the best Thai food I have ever eaten in my life.

Sampler Appetizer which included fried pork, chinese sausage, pork rinds, pork based curry soup, a tomato beef dipping sauce, and a green chile dipping sauce. 

Minced pork salad was out of this world good. 

This was a curry based noodle dish that I can say was the best Thai Curry I have ever had. 

And for dessert you ask? Pig Brain! Yes, it was tasty in flavor, but a little chewy