Around the World with Marc and Ann
Saved by His grace! Love to talk about God, travel, drink coffee, and visit with friends. LOVE to worship! Currently live in Turkey. Ann and I are promoting tourism to Egirdir, Turkey where outdoor life is spectacular.
I met a new friend today. Well, that is not entirely accurate. Özgür and I have spoken quite a few times before, but only a brief “hello”, “how much”, “goodbye”, “see you later”; He in broken English, me in even worse Turkish. Özgür works at a refreshment stand at one of the parks between my [...]
We’ve been in Turkey for going on a month. I guess you could say we are Turks now. Oh wait, Turks can say more than good morning, hello, good bye, and a few other niceties in Turkish. I’m not a Turk yet, but I’m working on the language. What Turks and Americans understand alike is [...]
Since 1999 we have been living in and traveling throughout Asia. Our travels have taken us to India and Thailand many times as well as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bhutan, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and even across Antarctica to Argentina.
On the way to the hotel we stopped off at a large Hindu temple and the Buddha Stuppa, a Buddhist temple that looks like a round circus tent made of concrete. At the Hindu temple there were several men who looked like evil clowns. They had painted their bodies white and then painted designs all [...]
14 November From the Pokhara airport we caught a taxi to Lakeside and found a restaurant to park ourselves in as we waited. We ate lunch and talked about everything we could think of. Directly across the street from the restaurant was a huge lake. Canoes and paddleboats lined the shores and a few people [...]
We arrived in Kathmandu yesterday afternoon. We were greeted with open arms and silk scarves by the hosts. Richard helped produce a movie here in Nepal and the director and some of the others involved in the film met us. It was a tremendous welcome and we felt at home. Jonanda (spelled wrong I am sure) is a Nepali legend. At one time he was a popular singer and is now involved in the film industry. He took us directly to the meager production offices for introductions to all the staff.
Our friends Richard and Gina arrived in Calcutta right on time from Delhi this morning. We took them to the house to rest for a few minutes and to meet Steve. After a couple of hours we took off for downtown for a little site seeing and to get a ticket for Ann and I to fly to Nepal with them. They had asked us that morning if we would join them, and we gratefully accepted.
Frack was afraid of the water because she could not swim, but Frick was pressuring her to go. They went away to fight it out and in the end she joined us. We all reassured her that she would be ok and I think her fears were abated just a little. Gunnell had decided to stay with our belongings back at the office.
At 3:15 am the phone rang. The wake up call was a little earlier than I desired, but it was needed. By four we were on our way to Tiger Hill. Tiger Hill is a viewpoint 11 kilometers from town where the British built a four-story building for the purpose of watching the sunrise over the Himalayas. Frick and Frack elected to stay in bed and miss one of the highlights of the trip. It is amazing how lust will cloud one’s judgment.
At 5 am the Hare Krishna devotees were back at it. They were singing, chanting, whooping, banging cymbals, and playing various instruments before the idols that they worship. It was just past daybreak and the sun was about to peek over the palm trees lined up behind the temple. I was convicted by their devotion.
Day One Saturday, 28 October Saturday morning came early. We arrived at Roger and Gunnell’s house at 6:40 ready to go. The Hero Honda CBZ was packed and ready to go. We had bungeed one backpack to the “windshield” and a side-bag full of clothes and other stuff to the side. Once again Ann was [...]
[Written 27 June 2000] The Sports Authority of India is where my friends and I play basketball occasionally. It is a huge complex not too far from our home that houses an outdoor soccer stadium, running tracks, two indoor gyms, basketball & tennis courts, etc, etc. Men, women, boys and girls of all ages can [...]