THE HONEYMOONERS

Feeling global. This month we'll have been in New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Tokyo and the United States. But we're also feeling global in the circular sense as we have completed 'the journey,' the full circle. The circle began in the islands of Thailand at the small luxury hotel of The Aleenta and ended at The Peninsula, one of Bangkok's most elegant resorts, with the accomodations in between just as memorable, but not always as comfortable. The circle began as we exchanged our currency for the color-coded, different-sized foreign currencies and ended as we exchanged back to the green, homogeneous U.S. dollar. The circle began with infinite curiosity and ended with irreplaceable experiences.

We've read The Bangkok Post, The China Daily, The Sydney Morning Herald and Wellington's Dominion Post - just to name a few. We've learned about and witnessed the indigenous cultures and traditions both of the past and of today. Specifically, we've seen and co-existed with Australia's oppressed Aborginies and New Zealand's proud, and more respected, Maoris.

We lived for 2 weeks in Nong Khai, a rural city that despite all its dignity, cannot escape poverty. We taught English to Thai children there, children who live under tin roofs with no electricity, little nourishment and dismal opportunities for advancement. Yet, their smiles were contagious and their faith strong. The best, but saddest, way to describe it is that they just don't know any better.

We learned about gemology and astrology - about sapphires, opals and jade, and about the Southern Cross constellation and the different skies of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. We tasted fresh water lakes that flowed into salt water seas. In New Zealand, Amanda spotted the birth of a baby cow and we pulled over for a half-hour and watched as momma cow nursed her calf and the baby cow struggled to stand for the first time, umbilical cord still attached.

This was one of our many experiences with Mother Nature's animal kingdom. We saw too many animal species to name, but amongst the highlights were feeding a giraffe, watching penguins return to their burroughs from their day at sea and sitting in on humpback whales breaching in the open water with their baby calves trying to mimic. Other unforgettable animal experiences include walking out of dinner to the sight of a massive kangaroo, going to the Shanghai Aquarium with Tracey and Raj, viewing the feeding of the nocturnal Kiwis and watching a Koala and its baby feed and play in the Eucalyptus trees. Flying foxes, magpies, meerkats, rhinos, lions, sheep, llamas, horses, elephants - the list goes on and on.

We got dirt cheap massages and tasted fine wine. We've become quasi-winos and hope to continue that trend. We took our first helicopter ride to Fox Glacier as well as took salt, pepper, butter and sugar from restaurants to have in our campervan. We drove thousands of miles on the other side of the road and learned all about diesel engines, natural gas, LNG and 240 vault batteries and the components and functions of each. At 29 and 26 years old, we picked up some fake student ID's, which saved us a lot of Baht, Ozzie dollars and NZ dollars.

We sat on the beaches of Thailand and Australia, and drove the surreal coast lines of New Zealand. I surfed for the first time in Byron Bay, Ricky Williams' sabbatical locale. We discovered how while Americans and other Western cultures strive to be tan, the Asian culture strive to be white. They carry umbrellas and buy whitening creams for their skin.

Finally, we are grateful to have taken part of this journey with our parents - in China with the Herling's and Australia with the Shapiro's. Being with family outside of the comforts and stresses of home provided us an amazing experience to spend time with our Miami Mom & Dad and Maryland Mom & Dad. The Bund Hotel, Beijing Planetarium, Imperial Palace, Ayers Rock, Great Barrier Reef and Sydney Opera House are now permanent memories.

In regards to us, we confirmed our love and respect for one another as each day wasn't necessarily honeymoon-esque. And we now know that as a married couple, we can do some great things.

There's no doubt we missed some stuff here, but we'll be home Tuesday. Call us.

After nearly 3 weeks of successful truckin', the now inevitable happened. We were coming out of a small retail strip center when I turned the corner too quickly and the back right of our campervan brushed against the back left of an innocently parked car. I was absolutely livid at myself. Mindful everyday that there were only 3 days left until we return the car, 2 days left, last day, it came as it always does, unexpected and quick. Although it was minimal contact, it left some dents on our campervan and took off some paint from the parked car. Luckily though, the rest of the story turned out to be like our travels; a fantasy.

The parked car belonged to the guy who was working the counter at the auto store located right in front of his now damaged car. The damage wasn't that bad, but it was still damage. A broken tail light and some paint chipping. The kid could not have been nicer. We talked civilly and he made a call to see how much the light would cost to replace. He was so apologetic that the accident happened and that he'd have to ask me for money even though it was all my fault. While we settled on the price, $100NZ, the other two guys from the store were helping Amanda get some of the paint off with one of their products that they sell. I didn't even have a $100 in my wallet and had to go to the ATM to get his money.

After trustingly leaving the scene to go to the ATM, we pulled into an auto repair shop conveniently located across the street. Amanda ran back to pay the guy his money while I engaged in conversation with even nicer people, auto repair people nonetheless. Interrupting their lunch, the husband and wife came out of the office still chewing and we explained our situation - that we were returning the car tomorrow, we have a $5,000 deposit and we were desperate to try and get this fixed in the next couple of hours. Although they couldn't help us, they sympathized with us like we were their own children and the guy made a call to his car-repair friend Dave who works from home and lives less than a mile away. Dave agreed to see us on such short notice, but made no promises obviously.

When we arrived at Dave's house, just minutes away, he greeted us like an old friend, listened to our predicament and seemed instantly determined to help us. He had a look at the damage, discussed the possible scenarios with us and together we decided he should get started right away. Not until we gave him the keys did he say it would cost us about $280NZ. I told him I'll happily pay him $300NZ if he could get it done right and timely. He needed 3 hours initially so we packed a backpack and had a walk around town.

Things still weren't exactly clear - will he do a good job, will we be able to stay in the campervan that night or will he need it overnight, what are we going to do for 3 hours. But again like a fantasy, the small suburb of Christchurch, Woolston, provided us with some unforgettable memories. We got pizza at Big Pizza, the only pizza joint in town besides Dominoes. I got a quick hair cut to pass the time. The haircut lady, who was hanging out with her Mom at the store, not only offered us her salon chairs to sleep in, but also if we needed to, she'd drive us wherever and whenever we needed. Then when we left, she gave Amanda some body lotion and wished us luck. After that, we went to the local saloon, had a beer and watched TV in the bar's lounge area on really comfy sofas. When it was time, we walked the half-hour back to Dave's house to see how he was going (here it's 'how you going' not 'how you doing').

Magic. The dents were gone and the paint job was nearly done. Dave just had to apply the clear to seal it. He said he would be another few minutes, but that if we're at his house, we're like family so just make ourselves at home. I mean....

We were able to take the car that night (so that we had somewhere to sleep), but had to come back to Dave's in the morning so that he could do some last minute touches. We obviously obliged and were back at Dave's at 10am, having to return the car at noon. He finished up his work, we chatted with him and his wife, exchanged emails and were on our way. Only after a "God Bless" from them of course. The real test would be Kea Campers inspection.

No worries mate! Despite the detailed inspection by Kea, we received our full deposit back with no questions asked. Simply an unbelievable 18 or so hours, that with time, seem even more unbelievable especially considering the damge would likely of cost us at least half our deposit.

We are now 'vacationing' on the beaches of Australia for another night or two before heading to Thailand for another night or two and then back to the U.S. on October 17th. Looking forward to seeing and catching up with everyone.

After a 3 hour cruise, they call it a ferry, we arrived in the South Island and hopped in our campervan that was parked a few decks below to drive ourselves off the ship. To go from the North Island to the South Island, you actually head East to West as Wellington, at the bottom of the North Island, is further North than the port city of the South Island. And as Daylight Savings time was October 1st here, we are now 17 hours ahead of most of you.

As we made our way into town looking for a BP gas station (we only go to BP's b/c if we spend over $250NZ on diesel we get a free NZ picture book), we were stopped by a friendly woman police officer who kindly asked us to drive FASTER. Apparently, we were going too slow and holding up traffic. I just wish the officer would of called our Moms to tell them that we were driving too slow - i'm sure that would of made them quite happy. In our defense, it's a challenge everyday driving on the roads of New Zealand. Besides the stunning scenery and the ridicously windy and uphill roads with little to no guard rails, there are one-way bridges everywhere, as common as stop signs back home. It's a shame that NZ couldn't of used a little more cement to make the bridges two lanes b/c first you have to identify that it is indeed a one-way bridge (after it appears out of nowhere upon a blind turn up or down a mountain), then you have to determine if it is your turn to cross or the cars waiting on the other side. Thus far, we have driven about 3,000KM (~ 2,000 miles) and have been lucky to avoid the horror stories that we hear on local radio about car troubles. No worries as we have easy roads from here on out and sadly only 4 nights left in our little self proclaimed house-car.

Anyway, we spent our first night in the small town of Blenheim (population 600), which is the gateway to the Marlborough Region, South Island's most recognized wine country. We spent the next day bike riding thru the serene landscapes and vineyards and visiting 6 or 7 different wineries before heading off to the 'thriving' city of Nelson (pop. 1,800). In Nelson, we sort of became locals as we went to dinner and the movies, shopped and ate at their Saturday market and even went to the local car mechanic to try and get our DVD player fixed, but he couldn't fix it (we've sinced got it fixed). From Nelson, we continued West to Abel Tasman National Park, where we stayed at Old MacDonald Farm, a 100-acre park with power sites, cabins, etc. as well as sheep, cows, llamas and some other weird animals. The 100 acres, at the foot of the National Park, is actually for sale for $7MM NZ. In my opinion, those 100 acres could be had for about $2MM US if anyone is looking for some land banking opportunities. We had some rain the next day so we had just a short hike in the Park before we headed Southwest to Westport (pop. 800), where we had a quick stopover for the night. The next morning we saw some seals in the wild hanging out in their colony and then continued South, down the West Coast, for hours of awesome Coastline driving before reaching Glacier Country, home to the famous Franz and Fox Glacier.

We signed up for the half-day glacier hike, but then after much deliberation and due diligence, which included trying on the boots we'd wear for 4 hours on the ice as well as driving to the glacier to see what we'd be hiking, we made the decision not to do the hike because it simply would not have cooperated with Amanda's foot condition. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because instead, we both took our first helicopter ride ever (inspired by Worm & Michelle's Alaska trip) and helicoptered up to the Fox Glacier, de-boarded the heli and got to walk around the mountain and glacier before taking the smooth heli ride back to ground level. While we were both a bit apprehensive at first, it turned out to definitely be one of our best experiences on the trip.

From Glacier Country, we headed inland a bit to the ski town of Wanaka (pop 2,100), which is a quaint little town similar to Aspen. There, we checked out a movie at the local movie theater, which is one of the town's main attractions refitted from being the former Town Hall. More important though, they show their movies in traditional New Zealand style, meaning there is an intermission in the middle, where we pre-ordered our dinner and had 10-20 minutes to 'regroup,' which is a concept that I fancy given my attention span.

From Wanaka, we headed to Queenstown, which is where we are now finishing up our third night before we head to Dunedin then Christchurch. The accepted and acknowledged Adventure Capital of the World, Queenstown is pure adrenaline. Here, you can skydive, bungy jump, canyon swing, paraglide and do many other crazy things that you just wouldn't imagine until you came here. We bungy jumped.

Fine, we watched bungy jumping, a lot of it, for hours literally, and more today. There are different jumps around town and we've checked them all out (from the viewing area). Tomorrow, at the famous AJ Hackett bridge site, the first commercial bungy jumping operation, there is nude bungy, down to your undies. We'll be checking that out as well before we hit the road. Queenstown has been fantastic. They are over 7,000 people here and stores stay open past 6pm. There is also a casino, where we played NZ-style bingo (for free) on Date Night (Wednesday) and both won. Amanda won $20 in cash and I won a $10 drink voucher.

Because our camera is officially broken and we're working off of disposables, i'm not sure there will be anymore pics posted, but feel free to send us pictures of you.

Lastly, New Zealand is one of three democracies NOT to have a written constitution. First to tell us who the other two are wins a present. Thanks for reading!