Scouting???

I knew scouting was in my future at some point it just came up on me so fast. I know nothing.

However, I know I better get use to it because it will now be a part of my life for a long time.

The Rain Gutter Regatta

Thailand

Thailand was AMAZING!!! I loved every minute of it. I would go back. I love that we stayed right on the river, I loved that it is so cheap, I love that you get to take boats for transportation, I love the shopping.

One evening we headed across the river to the night market for some shopping.

Some of the houses on the river. Very humbling.
One of the many temples.

I couldn't resist a picture of these. Gross.

The Royal Ground

Our last night in Thailand we had a dinner cruise with the group. It was wonderful. I wish I enjoyed the Thai food, but it was so nice to float on the river.

India

I have decided that India is a place all it's own.

When we arrived at our hotel we were taken through airport like security to even get into the hotel. We were not allowed to touch our bags as the employees had to scan the bags before they went into the hotel. Through all this there were about 4 security guards watching our every move with large machine guns over their shoulders.

Where am I??

Once we cleared security and walked into the lobby we were greeted with flowers and a red dot between the eyes for good luck.

People would be sleeping all over the place.

One positive about India, you can use the bathroom just about anywhere. This little "bathroom" was on the corner of an intersection.


A little rickshaw ride back to our bus. Clearly not made for large Americans.

The second hotel we checked into in India had their own idea of a king sized bed.

A Favorite!!

We did the Taj Mahal at sunrise one morning and it was amazing. I loved walked the grounds. It was beautiful.

This was our Sunday service we had out in the hotel court yard.

We rode jeeps up to Amber Fort over looking the city. Beautiful, but very hot.

I bought this fabulous umbrella on our way up and loved every minute of it. A few of the locals wanted to have a picture.

We were able to ride elephants. It was amazing. They had the elephants all painted with bright colors.

Gandhi's House
Oreo Ecstasy.

Need I say more.

In a land of very interesting food I was happy with small treasures.A little shopping with the ladies.

The men of the group got together to do a picture and the Indian men slowly started to gather around to be in the picture. It was amazing how they would just step right in with the group. Some even handed their cameras off to have pictures taken.

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I decided to spice it up a bit.

It was amazing to see India and all it has to offer. The Indian people are the most happy people I have seen. They have very little, but always have a smile to share.

China Part 2

During one of the business visit the students went on the spouses decided to do a little shopping together. We braved the Beijing subway, which I am sure all of China was on it with us, and headed back to the Silk Market for some bargain hunting.

I had so much fun with the spouses. It was a great group of women to hang out with.

We stayed at an amazing hotel in Beijing and this guy's job was to stand by the elevators and push the button for you. We were treated like royalty.

We went to the Summer Palace in Beijing and the tall guy was the tourist attraction. There was another student in the group that was about 3 inches taller than Brad that got some attention. It was good fun.

A lesson I quickly learned in China....always look at the signs on the door of the bathroom stalls.

This first sign is the one I kept my eyes open for.

Squat over the hole in the ground if you dare.

The flight from HELL!!!

We boarded a flight in Beijing to Shenzhen, China one evening. Once our sit backs were up and tray tables were in the up and locked position we slowly backed away from the gate, right on time.

After a few moments the crew made an announcement that we would be delayed a bit as to weather in Shenzhen. As minutes slowly passed and tensions started to rise the Captain again made the announcement that would be "sitting on the runaway for a long time." Time slowly crept along. As the flight attendants started to deliver meals we knew it would be a long time.

Meals were delivered and the smell was enough for me to decline a meal and work on the peanut butter crackers I brought along.

Brad on the other hand accepted his meal and once looked it over decided the roll was about all he would stomach.

To his surprise, he broke open his roll, and...................

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what looked like poop, was bean paste in the middle. Seriously, where were we. Stuck on a airplane, in the middle of China, with smelly food. Could it get any worse????

YES!!!

Lucky me I was sitting next to a man that was clearly starting to get upset that we were not taking off. What does he do. He explodes. He was so mad that he broke his tray table. Scary, Yes. I was so nervous. Brad was sitting next to me and couldn't keep a straight face. the man grab his things and wanted to leave, however he wanted to leave before Brad and I could move out of our seats. I climb on my seat and Brad was trying to move as fast as he could, but this guy was ready to move. He walked up to the front of the plane. In amazement as i wounder what just took place and grateful to be alive..He comes back and wants to sit down again not waiting for us to move.

Lucky, the Captain came back and this guy followed him.

After my brush with a mad Chinese Man the flight crew announced that we were clear to take off. After 3 and a half hours locked in a plane with nasty food and angry men, I will trilled to be taking off.

After the episode with the mad Chinese man the flight crew made the announcement that we were cleared to take off. 3 and a half hours after boarding, nasty food, and crazy town we took off.
On a side note...Crazy guy went to 1st class. Seriously???

China

The trip of a life and came and went so quickly. Looking back i can't believe it is over. Lots of fun memories.

Since Brad started school two years ago we knew this trip was upon us. The MBA program he is finishing up goes on a trip. The school group goes to different countries and cities and the group will met up with different companies.

We left Friday April 29 and flew to Seattle to catch a flight to China. Our flight was delayed for two hours maintenance, but that slowly progressed to 5 hours before Delta finally decided to place everyone in a hotel for the night. Needless to say lots of tired mad passengers. (An email will be sent to Delta)

We finally took off Saturday morning at 8:00. By the time we landed in China it was 10:00 am Sunday morning.

Once we arrived in Beijing, China we went straight to the Great Wall. It really was amazing. A surreal feeling to be there and walk down.

We took a ski lift up and walked down about a mile and then took an Alpine Slide down to the bottom.

The Silk Market...My Favorite. This place had six floors with just about anything and everything to buy. With a little patience and some bargaining you could get whatever you wanted for a fair price. I loved it and could have spent a few days going up and down the rows of merchandise.

We had a meeting at a Golf Club in Shenzen, China.(Mission Hills) It was the most amazing golf course I have ever seen. It has twelve different courses. We had lunch there and the Executive of Hong Kong Disney talked. It was very interesting.

Hong Kong at night. I would love to go back and explore the city more. We were only in Hong King for a night, but we made the most of it. We found a night market that was once again bargaining for what you want. The next morning we went to a Jade Market with lots of local vendors selling their jewelry.

After lunch we checked out of our hotel and headed to Hong Kong Disney for the rest of the day. So much fun!! The park is small. I would guess that Hong Kong Disney has about half the rides the Disneyland has in CA. For the afternoon that we were there we were able to do it all. No lines.

After a day at Disney we had to catch a late night flight to Delhi, India.

Alive and Well

We made it back alive and well.

Lots to report, but I need to catch up on my zzzzz's.

A big shout out to all those that took care of my crew so we could go for two weeks.