Seat of Our Pants » blogsherpa

How Studying Abroad Allowed me to See the World

Jaime — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:57:51 +0000

I didn’t always love to travel. Actually, in the grand scheme of things, I’ve loved it for a just a short time. I would be downright mad as a kid when my parents packed us into their van for weekend adventures. It meant missing my Saturday morning cartoons, a GROSSLY unfair thing to do in my mind. I didn’t like going away for summer camp. In fact, I made it just two days at tennis camp before calling my parents in tears, asking to be picked up. I moved away for college, but just a three hour drive away – just far enough but not too far.

It’s not that I wasn’t curious about other places. I have memories as a child of standing in my parents garage, staring at a world map that hung there. Splayed across the pastel-colored continents were little red pins, marking my father’s travels. What would it be like to be in those far off places, I wondered, but just as quickly I would turn and run to our backyard to play. Why would I need to travel when all the joy and happiness I knew was found right there at home?

It’s that sort of mentality, combined with a fair deal of shyness, that kept me close to home for most of my life. If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I have a very different philosophy about travel today. So what gives? What happened between the Saturday morning, cartoon missing tantrums and taking a year off to travel the world?

A rash decision made my final year of college.

Checking out what I looked like as a study abroad student 11 years ago

Driven by a foolish desire to impress a worldly boy, I signed up to study abroad for a year. Sadly, the boy remained unimpressed but it was a decision that changed my life.

As a lifelong lover of old masters (that’s art-speak for guys that painted a long, long time ago), I chose to study in the ground zero of Renaissance Art: Florence, Italy. I shared an apartment with seven – that’s right – seven other girls, just five minutes from the Duomo, Florence’s central cathedral. The location was unreal, the roommates were amazing and the wine flowed like $2 magnum bottles should. Wine aside (sort of), the experience was a once in a lifetime slap in the face. Finally I understood what all the travel hype was about.

I came home alive, buzzing with the love of travel, thirsty for more. It took that initial step out the door – to Italy, in my case – to see what traveling is about. It’s not just a pin on a wall map (though you can be sure I’m going to have one of those in my future garage). It’s a glimpse of what else is out there: the amazing people, the awful people, the delicious food, the crazy there’s-no-way food stuffs, the foreign culture that feels just like home and the culture that opens your eyes.

Sharing the study abroad experience with me were seven amazing women – who ten years after our tear-filled good-byes, I was able to meet up with again recently in New York. Many of them are married. Some have children. All of them are just as great as I remembered them. Ladies, if it wasn’t for our time together 11 years ago, I wouldn’t have had the courage to see the world.

Thank you.

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My Dumb Little Protest

Jaime — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 03:12:14 +0000

If you’d seen me just one minute ago, you would have caught me in a rather telling position. With one hand covering my eyes and one on my keyboard, I was scrolling through our website, peeking through my fingers at our recent posts. How many days have passed since I’ve last made an appearance? My embarrassing results: I posted something in early August and before then it was early July.

Yikes.

Such utter lack of attention to our beloved website begs the question: why have I abandoned writing for this project? My simple answer is also a confession. Not posting anything is my one and only form of protest. We’re not traveling anymore and god dammit I’m bummed about it. There, I said it. Not writing was really all I had to use as a protest. I’m an adult so tantrums were out. I’m a relatively responsible person, so running back into the world with our little re-entry savings is out of the question, too. All that was left to do is go on with life. But I could stop writing for our travel blog! Yes, that’s the ticket. I’ll stop writing and that will make me feel better.

My return to these pages shows you how great a solution that was. The reality is this: I miss travel blogging. I miss the community of fellow travel bloggers. I miss our readers and their comments. Writing for this site was an important part of our life for over a year so why would stopping it suddenly make me feel better? It wouldn’t – it doesn’t – plain as that.

Sweating it out in Jaipur, India

No, I’m no longer struggling in an Indian internet café in 110 degree heat with 1,000% humidity, being swarmed by mosquitoes to get a few line post up. We’re not dealing with that caliber of travel, but the adventure hasn’t necessarily ended. We’re currently living in a trailer in a retirement-age mobile home park (seen in the photo above) an hour outside Yosemite National Park. We have most of next month booked for road trips. I’m working on an independent website project (more to come on that later…) No – I’d say the adventure is far from over.

Consider this post my cure. I’ve stopped my silly no-writing-protest. In its place are plans for future blog posts here at SeatOfOurPants, updates on our twitter account and the occasional tantrum that (fortunately for you all) only Martin will have to deal with.

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Trouble in Ladakh

Martin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:17:14 +0000

It’s been almost a year since we visited Ladakh. Now, news out of Leh is that flash floods have killed hundreds of people in the region. Both locals and foreigners remain unaccounted for, and the whole area is cut off from the rest of the world.

Normally it never rains in Ladakh. As the above picture shows, the architecture and layout of the towns are simply not made to deal with precipitation. The massive rainfalls devastated the mud-brick houses, washing many of them away.

We can’t help but think and worry about the people we met there, the friends we made and the places we visited. It’s such a remote and beautiful corner of the world, and its vanishing lifestyle is so fragile and precious that a disaster like this is very likely to send the whole place reeling.

Get well soon, Ladakh. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.

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Jersey Shore: Living Up To The Hype

Jaime — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 03:12:34 +0000

The ladies are burned to a bronzed crisp. The men’s hairdos are greased into stiff perfection. The sun is shining and tanned skin is as abundant as bad taste.

This is the Jersey Shore, a surreal strip of boardwalk that has been featured in a number of popular reality television shows recently. We were in the area and decided to stop by for an afternoon to see what the hype was about.

The boardwalk itself surprised me. It has a classic old fashioned vibe. Pastel colors abound, as do fun games and the usual bad souvenir shops. The beachfront has calm water (it’s the Atlantic ocean, after all) and white sand. It’s paradise – in theory.

The reality is this: the Jersey Shore isn’t about the waves or the sand (you have to pay to access the beach anyway). It’s all about the people watching. Yes, you could make the argument that all boardwalks are about people watching and I’d have to agree with you. But this one takes the cake. It’s, well, it’s just plain ridiculous.

Most striking, in my opinion, are the extreme measures the kids (most of the people strolling the boardwalk were high school age) took their bodies to. The boys were heaving around overworked upper bodies on little chicken legs. The ladies looked like they had just rolled out of a tanning bed because, you know, you have to tan before you go to the beach to tan.

The food was terrible, as Martin describes here, but the people were unlike any we’ve ever seen. And coming from two people that just spent 14 months traveling the world, that’s saying something. If you’re in the New York area and have a half day to kill, head on over to the Shore. Pack a lunch, plenty of sunscreen and at least $7 to get to the beach. Otherwise you might have to spend your day in the shade of the carnival games, vying for one of these fabulous prizes.

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The Sunny Center of the Free World

Martin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:43:38 +0000

The Forum Romanum, Trafalgar Square and the National Mall in Washington, DC. These are all big stacks of monuments, gathered together to impress visitors to each capital. The white marble monuments speak of warlike efforts, of heroism in the face of danger and of the self-glorification of the ruling people.

What makes the Mall stand out from the others is the fact that it is still a work in progress. New monuments, such as the World War II memorial, are still being added. It is also an active place of mourning and devotion – we found the Vietnam war memorial especially gripping: a place where people leave flags and flowers for their fallen loved ones.

Other than that, it is a pleasant, sunny expanse – the perfect place for a stroll with an ice cream in hand. If this fails to entertain you, you can always go check out the Lincoln Memorial. Isn’t Lincoln’s head just strangely Frankensteinish?

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Not What We Thought We’d Have to Fear

Martin — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 00:48:04 +0000

I think food is half the journey. I love trying new things, experiencing new flavors and making mental notes on how I’ll enrich my cooking once I come home. There’s also that element of fear involved: will my stomach be able to handle this stuff? Are deep-fried bamboo worms really safe to eat?

Coming back, we supposed that the stomach adventure was over. Food safety standards and pasteurized products would keep us safe from Delhi belly and the Rangoon two-step. Imagine our surprise when we realized that we had a hard time digesting American restaurant food. All those processed items like fluffy white bread, sausages, cheese and god knows what they do to meat over here – almost ended up making us sick.

Thankfully, our friends have been treating us to home-cooked food, made with love and good produce. Meanwhile, I’m not sure if I want to eat a cream cheese bagel or have a Starbucks latte ever again. Funny how things work out sometimes.

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Hagia Sofia

Martin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 23:28:57 +0000

There are very few buildings and architectural monuments that manage to move me emotionally. Istanbul’s ancient Hagia Sofia is a clear exception: a place where history, architecture and religion have clashed over and over again. It is a defining building for this part of the world, and a beautiful one at that.

The current Hagia Sofia dates back to the 6^th century, even though there has been a Hagia Sofia at this site since 350 AD. It is famous not so much for its exterior as for the interior – the way the central dome is constructed represents a revolution in architecture. Walking in, you get the sense of being inside a giant hall in a separate universe, completely apart from the outside world. It was the main church for the Byzantine empire: a central place in the first thousand years of Christian history.

In 1453, the city fell (or was liberated, depending on how you look at it) to the Turks, and Hagia Sofia was converted into a mosque. I have mixed emotions about this: the black and golden shields that hang in there so obviously do not belong in that space (they were added in the 19^th century), and the Arabic script painted inside the main dome look clumsy and out of place. Ironically, the conversion into a mosque probably saved Hagia Sofia, as the church had fallen into a state of serious dilapidation during the last decades of the Byzantian empire. In 1935, the government declared it to be a museum, and I believe this is the best solution for this incredible building. If you want to see an actual example of Islamic architecture, the stunning Blue Mosque is just across the street.

Hagia Sofia is a stunner.

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Hagia Sofia Walk-through

Martin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 23:19:54 +0000

Sometimes, a picture says more than a thousand words. At other times, it may be necessary to use video to convey our messages. Check out this video below: it’s a walk around the upper gallery of the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul.

This video is from the ground floor of the same building.

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How We Spent an (Almost) Free Day in Istanbul

Jaime — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:35:15 +0000

Istanbul is not cheap. It’s a bustling metropolis of European caliber price points. But it’s also one of the coolest cities we’ve been to. So how did we handle our day there while managing to stay within our meager backpacking budget? A good pair of shoes, a little imagination and loads of sunscreen.

Before letting you in on our cheap little secrets I’ll get the painful bits out of the way: there are two absolute must-do sites in Istanbul that are not free. There’s no getting around it. You’ll want to see them, you’ll be sorry if you don’t, so plan to spend around $10/person for the Hagia Sophia and $5/person to see the Byzantine Cistern. More on those two in a moment.

Right then! Let’s get to it. We’ll begin our day with it’s most important meal: breakfast. Any decent hotel/guesthouse/hostel will include the cost of it in your stay. Our breakfast was simple fare: an egg, bread, olives, tomato and cheese but it will cost you nothing (above the cost of the room itself). Many of the hotels in the Sultanahmet area have rooftop decks with spectacular views of the Blue Mosque. Delicious, nutritious Turkish breakfast overlooking the Istanbul skyline: Free!

Take time to soak in the morning views over breakfast, but it’s best to set out early. The Hagia Sophia, Istanbul’s jaw-dropping 1,700 year old church-turned-museum opens at 9:00am and you’ll want to be there on the dot. We were lucky and beat the busloads that poured in as we were leaving. As I said, expect to pay around $10/person to enter but take my word for it – it is worth every penny.

Once we had our fill of the amazing Byzantine-era church, we checked out the ancient water Cistern located conveniently across the street. A few flights below street level, the Cistern is a dimly lit colonnaded Byzantine-era water tank. It still holds a pool of water and giant fish, to boot! Again, it will set you back $5/person to enter but you don’t want to miss it.

Istanbul waterfront

A short walk from the Cistern exit is the Bosphorus waterfront, a popular place to grab a ferry. In the interest of saving money, we opted out of the ferry, preferring to spend the afternoon walking. As long as you have a good pair of shoes, walking is the absolute best way to check out a new town. Taking a stroll along the waterfront: Free!

By this time we’d worked up quite an appetite. Thanks to some great advice from @ayearinmotion and @noplacelikeoz, we knew just the spot for a great inexpensive Istanbul waterfront specialty: the fish sandwich. Passing up the more expensive fish restaurants in the area, we found a great little vendor on the far side of the bridge. A fresh caught grilled fish sandwich: $2/person

A short walk up a steep hill after crossing the Galata bridge is Istiklal Caddesi in Beyoglu, a fantastic area recommended to us by @italofileblog. We walked up the hill, but the area can be reached by tram if those legs are starting to tire. Chic restaurants and great window shopping abound here. Exploring the maze-like backstreets of Istaklal Cad: Free!

Our next move was a return to the Sultanahmet area for a much needed cup of Turkish tea and a plate of baklava. We opted to sit on a main road to people watch while divulging in the sweet, crunchy goodness. A little people watching while satisfying our sweet tooth: $2/person

Carpet vendor in the Grand Bazaar

A little pep talk was needed before our next destination. It went something like, “I will not spend money. I will just look. I will not fall in love with anything.” Our destination (which you might have guessed): the glorious Grand Bazaar. Housing over 4,000 stalls, this maze of glittery, golden temptations is something you have to see to believe. Our tip: don’t show an interest or you’ll walk away with the object. The shop keepers are that good. Fortunately we’d already bought our souvenir a few weeks earlier, so we walked away without spending a dime (well, lira to be exact). Spending an hour playing what-would-we-buy-if-we-had-money in the Grand Bazaar: Free!

Blue Mosque Interior

The final site for the day was the Blue Mosque. Our tips: check out the closing times, as it is a place of worship and closes several times a day for worship. They enforce a strict dress code, but have helpful swaths of cloth for those who might need a little more coverage. Donations are welcome, but they charge no entrance fee. Spending time checking out the interior of this enormous Muslim holy place: Free!

Dinner was an exploration of another Turkish specialty: the kebab. This was followed by a cone of (strangely stringy) Turkish ice cream while watching the last of the sunset over the Blue Mosque.

It takes stamina but a day in the the fascinating ancient city of Istanbul is possible for just under $20/person. Thank you Istanbul for the kind of day that makes us know we’ll return (with a long list for the bazaar) soon!

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A Day of Decadence: The Anti-backpack Break

Jaime — Sat, 29 May 2010 13:01:32 +0000

Batumi is being pimped out as the next “it” place on the Black Sea coast. Construction workers are furiously working to revamp this coastal town. It looks to us like they’re trying to turn the town into a Nice of the East. While I understand their desire to bring in more tourists, I can’t help but think that they’ve missed the point. Batumi, as it stands today, is a wonderfully romantic old town. It took us all of ten minutes here to fall in love.

The smell of seawater hangs heavy in the air. Tank-top clad women, so different from the their Turkish neighbors, stroll proudly down the boardwalk. Sidewalks are lined with trellises covered in twisted grape vines. Ancient men sit together on the street corners playing backgammon. It’s the kind of place we’ve been searching for; a place where you unpack your backpack, buy bottles of wine and fill your day with deliciously decadent activities. So, to celebrate Batumi’s aged romantic vibe (and in the name of all things anti-backpacker), we spent yesterday in the pursuit of decadence.

The day started with breakfast in our room of left-over cheese pie and orange juice. It’s not necessarily a decadent start to the day, unless you know that they came out of our in-room mini-fridge. That’s right. We have a fridge in our room. Total decadence.

The morning’s activity was a short ride south of town: a still intact Roman fortress. The ruins were close enough that we only had to spend just two hours round-trip to see them, thus leaving our afternoon free. For anyone who plans to drink wine for most of the day, sightseeing in the morning is a must.

Lunch was, surprise-surprise, more cheese pie (it seems to be all they eat here), washed down with a local brew. OK, actually it was two big mugs of beer each. But who’s counting?

We were scheduled to play tennis in the late afternoon, so we whiled away the hottest hours of the day (and the lunch buzz) relaxing in our room. Once the sun had passed sunburn time, we headed to the tennis courts dressed in our Wimbledon best. Neither of us have actually played tennis in our adulthood. Needless to say, we were amazing. An hour spent accidentally whacking the ball over the boundary fences – decadent(ly embarrassing)!

Our tennis cool-down session was spent at a restaurant overlooking the sea. A bottle of delicious Georgian red wine later, we were eating more cheese pie and watching the sun set over the Black Sea coast.

It doesn’t happen very often, but every once in a while we have the perfect (anti-backpacker) day.

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