VIENNA

Success! My camera battery charger arrived in Vienna this morning. The staff at the Bangkok Marriott is wonderful and were so helpful. But that was still one of the most expensive stupid mistakes I've ever made. An American tourist in Vienna I climbed 383 stairs yesterday to the top of Vienna's landmark cathedral the Stephansdom. The view was lovely, except the tower was covered in scaffolding - something I wish I'd paid attention to before attempting the climb. Vienna is a beautiful city and has a very relaxing cafe-type vibe. I had 5 meals yesterday and seem to be continuously taking pictures of food: me with hot dog (frankfurter, bratwurst, and some other kind of wurst that I can't remember all translated to "hot dog"), me with Sacher torte at Sacher hotel cafe, etc. We discovered the Vienese concept of heurigen for dinner - vinyard cafes with traditional food and local wine and an accordian player for entertainment. It was wonderful. We had no idea what was going on as the waiter kept forgetting that we didn't speak english. But it was so much fun!

Cair Bazaar Khan al Kalili Yesterday we went to the Egyptian Museum and shopping at the big bazaar. The museum was as expected - lots of sarcophogi and papyrus. My favorite part was the room dedicated to King Tut. It contained the headdress/mask that's so famous in images. The bazaar was relatively quiet as many of the shops were closed (for Sunday). They sold hookahs and lanterns, touristy kitch, belly dancer outfits, and jewelry. I've never been proposed to so much in my life as walking down the streets of the bazaar. The vendors would call out "What are you looking for? lamp? scarf? Egyptian husband?" Many of the proposals were dependant on purchasing something from their shop. I think it's hilarious, but I'm not quite sure how to take it. I prefer to think that I just look like a tourist with my light haircolor that's pretty uncommon here.

More about Cairo Yesterday I got to ride a camel while visiting the pyramids. Camels seem to be very disgruntled creatures, but they're very picturesque in front of the pyramids. Mine was the happiest one of the lot I think. His name was Easy Does It which I found very amusing. :) The ancientness of the old buildings here is staggering. We visited a church that's about 1700 years old, the pyramids and sphynx (of course) and the Citadel of Saladin. It seemed like a lot of things were closed under restoration so we were unable to see some of the other highlights. Driving here is its own adventure. I know taxi drivers everywhere are more aggressive drivers, but here there is no use of lanes, street lights are completely ignored, and honking is used as all means of communication. At one point the other evening we drove past a block with police in riot gear lined up solid along the street. It looked very scary and serious, but there was nothing in the newspaper the next day so we never did figure out what was going on.

CAIRO

Egypt so far is an expensive comedy of errors. I left my camera battery charger at the hotel in Bangkok and it's hard to describe the frustration of trying to explain the predicament to either of the Bangkok or Cairo hotels where inevitably I end up with someone whose english doesn't effectively extend to the distances needed to help me and each 4 minute call costs 60 EGP (10 USD) regardless of productivity. Oy! On a brighter note... Today was filled with the architectural interest of Cairo - pyramids, sphynx, coptic churches, the Citadel, historic mosques. Egypt has a permanent, timeless quality to it that is hard to fathom.

BANGKOK

LOTS OF WATS I'm not sure how to sum up Bangkok. We've been here for about 3 days now, primarily sightseeing wats (temples), shopping, and enjoying the hotel - all of which are fabulous. I've never seen buildings so shiny and colorful as the temples here... and there are so many of them! It's very hard to capture in a photo, but I've been trying pretty diligently. The markets here aren't as crazy as the ones in Hong Kong. Less unidentifyable animal innards, more designer knock-offs. Very fun. And as for the hotel... the Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa is definitely the place to stay (except maybe the Peninsula :). As an example of its wonderful-ness... the hotel runs a free ferry boat to take guests down the river to the nearest public transportation station. On return trips to the hotel, the ferry attendant guy hands out cold lemon scented towels and bottles of water. Cold towels! Maybe it's easier to envision if you superimpose the hot humid weather with a heat index of 107. Anyway, this stop has been wonderful and tomorrow we leave for Cairo. The news we've been hearing about Muslim-American sentiments has been really disturbing. I'm not sure if it would be less so from home, but as it is I really hope the next few days go smoothly.

SATURDAY IN HONG KONG I'm writing from a computer which is automatically translating the website into Chinese - I can't seem to get it to stop. So I guess we'll see what comes out. I've also been searching for a computer where I can upload some photos, but I'm thinking that this one is perhaps not a prime candidate. :) Did you know that in Hong Kong they don't seem to have any laundromats? We took our laundry to a window where a woman weighed it, charged us the equivalent of about 4 US dollars and told us to come back in 2 hours. I'm a fan of this system. Yesterday I discovered the joy of shopping in a place where you can divide the price tag by 8. We also had tea at the famous Peninsula hotel which was a fabulous experience and somewhat over the top in terms of service. The ladies' restroom had an attendant that insisted on pumping the hand soap for you... presumably to keep you from getting your hands dirty?

HONG KONG

Hong Kong is an amazing city! There are crazy modern skyscrapers and then little market streets selling everything you can imagine - aluminum siding, tropical fruits, whole fish, dried herbs, housewares, shoes, meat being butchered in front of you. And everything is all mixed together in an overwhelming juxtaposition of sight and smell. It's fascinating and exciting and very user friendly - the public transportation is fantastic. I'm staying at the Renaissance Harbor View hotel (at the convention center) and it has the best Club Lounge I've ever been to - tuxedoed waitstaff that bring your drinks by order and really delicious food. Between free breakfast and free afternoon tea and free happy hour, I've so far eaten almost all of my meals at the hotel. Oh... and for anyone who might be flying Air New Zealand (767-300 International configuration), seats 10A&B are the best seats in economy (Pacific Class).

FIJI ADDENDUM

Final day in Fiji... The timing is probably good as my skin is starting to get quite crispy. (I guess "lobster-y" would be more accurate, but I do feel a bit like a bucket of the Colonel's original recipe.) We're in Nadi town today doing souvenir shopping... Anybody need a tribal mask? We also took a side trip out to see a famous orchid garden named "Garden of the Sleeping Giant", named for the neighboring mountain which looks somewhat like a very large sleeping person. The garden was started by Raymond Burr of all people. (Yes, that's Perry Mason.) The flowers were very pretty and like just about everywhere we go, admission included tropical fruit juice. This is going to be a very long day - We have an insane itinerary of a Wednesday morning 4AM flight and will be on to Hong Kong next.

FIJI Bula! Today is day 3 in Fiji and the first time I've found an internet connection. So far, activities have primarily been lack of activity - lots of sleeping on the beach and hanging out by the swim-up pool tiki bars. Today we went scuba diving - the water here is fantastically clear and there are lots of colorful fish and coral. The dive guide kept picking up things from the ocean floor and handing them over: bright blue starfish, squishy sea cucumbers, sea shells. We also saw a shark, but only for a second... which is probably better than the alternative of getting too close of a view.