Turkey

Our first night in Istanbul was cold, so we decided to warm up with a cup of tea and a round of Nargile, the traditional water pipe in Turkey.

My very first Turkish turkish delight....it really was delightful.

Traditional Turkish meal, goes by the name of "Shish".

Hanging lamps in Istanbul's egyptian spice market. The smells, sounds and sights were all very tantalising to the taste buds.

Tea seller near the Blue Mosque

Turkish tea in its authentic glass. The first one is a rose tea and the second is the popular apple tea. Both very good afternoon treats.

Here we are at Turkens Pension in Olympos on our last morning of our 4 day stay. Behind us is the lovely honeymon sweet where we lived during our time there.

Here we have what is known as the eternal flame of Olympos. There is an area about 45 minutes away from the town, there are these rocky slopes that exude a flamable chemical that ignites when it reaches air. They are controlled so there were about 6 pockets lit at the time. Pretty impressive that this flame is kept going by without any wood or anything.

We have become avid backghammon players since our arrival inTurkey, and today we decided to walk up a mountain to find a nice place to play our new game.

Lazy afternoon on the beach in Olympos

Breathtaking isn't it. Olympos is an amazing place because it is surronded by rolling hills and, on a clear day, even snow capped mountains. The air is clean and the loudest noise was the chirpping of a bird.

Here we are in a place called Pammukale, on Turkey's southern coast. The special thing about this place are the spectacular calcium deposits that have formed into small pools and been filled with runoof water fromt the thermal springs up in the hills. They are really amazing becasue seeing them from afar, as you would expect them to be cold to the touch.

LAST STOP IN ASIA - PHUKET THAILAND - VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL

Here is one of the floats passing through the streets after a string of firewoks had gone off.

Street walkers take part in the procession.

Our last moring in Phuket town marked the day of the fire cracker. Men dressed in white and yellow walked the streets, setting off huge long strandds of fire crackers. I am not quite sure of the meaning behind the display, but I will be sure to find out and fill in the blank. It was an amazing sight and one that I can't truly bring life to with words.

Having a ball in Phi Phi, Southern Thailand

How could one not have a great time when you live in a world like this?

Our chauffer for the day.

Maya Bay, Phi Phi Thailand

Here we are at "The Beach", which was made famous by Leaonardo DiCaprio and freinds with the of the movie "The Beach" in 1999. Its actually really sad becasue with all the tourists wanting to see the beach, the waters have been polluted and the coral destroyed. It was a lovely day none the less.

I KNOW!

This picture was taken by Kim from the inside the boat. The water was that clear and the fish were that friendly.

One last hoora in Bangkok!

One day we took a walk on the wild side and ventured off the Kaho San road.....this is what we found. This pier was dominated by hundereds of wild, revenous catfish. The smell wasn't too bad, but they were a crazy bunch. Bags of bread scraps were for sale and could be used a fish food......it was quite a sight for first thing in the morning.

We can't quite put our fingers on what it is exactly that screams "tattoo and pierce your body" when getting into Bangkok, but we got sucked in, for the second time. Don't worry though, it was very clean...honestly!

so I decided to get this lovely row of dots meaning good health and protection in the Palao faith.......

...and for Kim, a lovely Franji Pani flower on her hip. Kim really hopes that the talented artisits in Toronto will be able to clean up the rough edges! Life lesson from Kim, don't get tattood in Bangkok.