Island Hopping in Greece

Greece

Kos

A Greek island just an hour ferry ride from Bodrum, Turkey

 One of the biggest no-no's during service was driving or riding or touching or being in the near vicinity of motorbikes (well, not really, but...) so after leaving Thailand, I rented one.

Kefalos, Kos

Yes, it actually looked this blue.

Orthodox church

Santorini

One of, if not the most popular Greek islands

They've made romance part of their tourism. One of the things to do listed in wikitravel is "Plan your wedding in Santorini." Everyone's doing it.

Our hotel

Red sand beach

Traditional houses

Sunset in Oia

Right after the sun set, a guy proposed to his girlfriend. Aww. I guess if you're not getting married in Santorini, at least get engaged.

Athens

We took our last ferry ride to the mainland and stayed in the capital of Greece.

Acropolis

Parthenon

Amphitheater

Changing of the guard at Parliament

Meteora

Home to "monasteries in the sky"

In the past, the monasteries were only accessible by ladders, or monks and goods were pulled up using ropes and pulleys. According to this website (http://travelwithachallenge.com/Greece-Meteora.htm), the ropes were replaced "when the Lord let them break." I took the steps.

Great Meteoron Monastery

Varlaam Monastery

Can you find all 4 monasteries in this photo?

Next: FOOD

Next stop: Turkey

I made it to Europe! The first time I'd left Asia in over two years, and then went right back again - to the Asia side of Istanbul - for dinner. After 5 days in Istanbul, I traveled south to Ephesus, famous for its ancient Greek/ Roman ruins and then to Bodrum, a town on the southern coast before heading to the Greek islands.

Turkey

Istanbul

Spring tulips in bloom

 According to the Turks, the tulips that Holland is famous for originally came from Turkey.

"The History of Tulip from Turkey to Holland:" http://www.kokachi.com/tulip.html

Hagia Sophia: formerly an orthodox church, now a mosque

Sultanahmet aka Blue Mosque

Inside the mosque

All women were required to wear headscarves which were provided at the entrance. The mosque is closed during prayer time but I made it just in time to get a couple minutes inside. During prayer time, outside, I could hear the call to prayer echo between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque which are only 1km from each other.

Basilica Cistern

Ferry on the Bosphorus

Back to Asia again a couple days later, this time by accident, when I took the wrong ferry.

Ephesus

View of Selçuk, the nearby town, on our walk to Ephesus

Roman baths

Latrines: where people used to do their business
Better than squat toilets in Thailand?

Amphitheater

Şirince, wine village

Wares at the local market

Bodrum

The port

Buildings by the sea
I'm not sure who lives here but they must get wet!

There's no food photos in this one because there are so many they'll be in a separate blog post just for food.

Next: Island hopping to Greece!

The Long Way Home: Malaysia

Leaving Thailand feels like it was a long time ago, but I just got home a week ago. In between, I made a couple stops: Malaysia, Turkey, Greece and Germany. It was the perfect itinerary to transition back. Each place took me a little closer to the U.S., geographically, climatically, and culturally.

Malaysia

While we were volunteers, we weren't allowed to travel to the southernmost provinces of the country (because of violence and insurgency) so naturally the first thing I did after completing my service was take a train to Malaysia (which passes through those provinces).

The formerly forbidden city of Hat Yai *gasp*

Sunset on the island of Langkawi

View from the cable car (Langkawi)

Colonial streets of Georgetown (Penang)

Tea plantation (Cameron Highlands)

Lots and lots of tea

Mossy Forest (Cameron Highlands)

Pitcher plant, which captures bugs by closing its "lid"

Petronas Tower (Kuala Lumpur)

Petronas Towers (KL)

And of course, a blog post isn't complete without a food picture: this is nasi kerabu.

Ordinary Moments

An RPCV's advice for last weeks in Thailand: "Take photos of anything you may not have photographed - your house, your counterparts." The everyday things.

 My house

My front yard

My landlady's house, where I spent many pleasant evenings

Jackie, the dog

My housemate

I discovered recently I have not one, but two of these living above my ceiling.

My bathroom, an integral part of my Peace Corps life

I felt particularly proud taking this picture after cleaning.

My walk to school

 Garlic-loaded truck

I bet they could pile this higher.

 View of my school from the English room

 Me and my host sister, who is studying nursing in Chiang Rai

Faces of Geegu, my little brother at site

The Last Weeks

Question of the week: "How do you feel?"
"Ready to go back, but not ready to leave Thailand."

Said my first goodbye to my bike, which I sent back last weekend.

Played frisbee at Andy's farewell hat tournament. (My team won!)

Received my first goodbye present: Lisu (hill tribe) clothing from one of the teachers.

His wife is Lisu and his mother-in-law made the outfit.

I'm sure the next weeks will be filled with more of the above.