One Year Away

There were several Bhuddist monks visiting the Palace grounds in Phnom Penh while we were there.  These two pulled digital cameras out of the folds of their robes and snapped away along with the rest of us.

Bamboo rafts on a still river near Yangshuo, China.  Notice the cormorants (large birds) sitting on the raft.  They are used in cormorant fishing demonstrations put on for tourists every night.

We found Phnom Penh to be a dirty city with little to recommend it.  The Royal Palace grounds, seen here, and the riverfront were two notable exceptions though.

The Gobi desert is a huge, flat, barren place.  The quiet and emptiness tends to inspire some deep thinking.

During our travel to Nepal we made maximum use of the airline lounges in Bali and Bangkok.  Penny’s frequent business travel really paid off.  This is a "slumber room" at the huge Thai Airways lounge in the new Bangkok airport.

These novice monks in Kathmandu, Nepal were hanging out in front of their monastery.  They agreed to having their photo taken but made no effort to appear interested… 🙂

My cousin Elias with a pole in his hand…probably up to some clever scheme.  We visited my family in Sacramento, California at the start of this trip.

The Flaming Cliffs in Mongolia are one of the richest areas in the world for dinosaur bones.  They were named for the red coloured stone.

The average Mongolian household has goats, sheep, camels or horses, solar panel, satellite dish and battery powered TV. 

This is a modern Chinese toilet.  It can function both in the regular Western sit down way or as a squat toilet.  Notice the traction on the bowl…it’s for putting your feet on while you squat.