Aloha!!! The friendly Hawaiian greeting was heard all over the island during our trip. It was often followed by Mahalo, which is Hawaiian for thank you. We flew into the city of Honolulu on the island of Oahu. Our trip included beach bumming on Waikiki, surfing, biking, stand up paddling, and was capped off by visiting the picturesque north shore of Oahu.
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Hang Ten in Hawaii
Upon my arrival to Thailand I was immediately inundated with friendly faces. The amount of those faces only increased during my sojourn in Thailand. This is a short video of some of those great faces.
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The Friendly Faces of Thailand
My travels to northern India included visiting the cities of Uttarkashi, Rishikesh, Gangotri and a trek to Gaumukh Glacier (one source of the Ganges river). Here is a video journal of my experience.
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Northern India
What started off as a quiet festival where water was sprinkled on the hands of family members to wish them luck, has catapulted to annual water warfare on the scale of 2 submarines fighting for the last watering hole in the universe.
Songkran Festival | Thai New Year
Chiang Mai, Thailand
“Teacher, teacher, catch it, catch it.” “It’s not catch it’s hold,” I corrected her. They then proceeded to yell, “HOLD” in unison. “Wish, wish, teacher.” Everybody closed their eyes and made a wish before we let the khom go. The khom is a type of floating lantern used in Thai culture for the celebration of several festivals, one of which is Loi Krathong. Loi krathong is an annual Thai festival where people thank the Goddess of water, Phra Mae Khongkha. People participate in the festival by placing intricately decorated “floating crowns” in a body of water or releasing khoms into the majestic night skies. Lastly, a beauty contest accompanies many Loi Krathong celebrations. Wouldn’t you know it, one of my students, Ploy, won the beauty contest for the celebration at Kasetsart University. Below is a video of Ploy, my students, and myself releasing a khom. The video captures me practicing my Thai speaking skills as well. Enjoy!
Home to a stupefying array of flora and fauna including 1,500 varieties of fish, 4,000 kinds of mollusks and 500 species of coral, the Great Barrier Reef is a symphony of life. Coral are of special interest to many visitors. Much like how humans’ skin can acquired a beautiful tan when the sun shines on in, coral’s colors radiant brightly when exposed to the sun.
Our day at the Great Barrier Reef was overcast and there was actually a strong downpour of rain on our last dive. As a result, the coral was not as colorful as usual the day we visited. Nevertheless, Kentae, Arnita, Shanita, Ladonna and I enjoyed our trip to the Great Barrier Reef. The largest marine preserve in the world is a wonder to behold. The trip included 3 dive sites. I put together a few video clips from the dives that convey the visit better than words. I hope you enjoy it.