Prior to traveling to unknown paradise that is not on the top 200 vacation destination, I searched the website to find out information about this unknown paradise. Reading articles titled ‘Welcome to Hell, arriving through a modernized Atyrau International Airport, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, former U.S.S.R.’, so really it can’t be that bad, but everything I have read was not looking good.
So I’ll have to see for myself.
Arrived Sunday night (Oct 18), received a good night sleep for a long week ahead. Prior to the end of the week, it hit, the flu, hit us all, 8 out of 9 team members had the flu, some worst then others. The first weekend trapped in the hotel with the flu. So during the second weekend, did a little touring, took some pictures, walked to Asia and back, hit the local shopping mall, well that was about 4 hours of the weekend. We did try to take a drive to see the Caspian Sea, but we were denied a driver for the long drive of 45 miles.
Shopping is very expenses except if you are purchasing vodka and cigarettes…believe it or not, I haven’t bought that much, nothing really to buy, no souvenirs, no postcards, no shot glass, and no souvenirs.
I have noticed that even though everything is extremely expenses the ladies here dress very nice showing off their Chanel, Prada, and other name brand boots. I would have to say, the boots are more expenses then some of the residences I have seen.
So the country is Kazakhstan and the city is Atyrau which is in two continents, Asia and Europe. The hotel is on the Europe side and the office is on the Asia side. So each business day, I’m in one country, one city, and two continents. The Ural River that I cross each day is the border of the two continents.
Most places that I have toured, you can always find a McDonalds, Starbucks, or a Pizza Hut, but not here, the only American restaurant is ‘TGI Fridays’. The food here is ok, they like to put pickles in most dishes, which I find odd, but it’s still good. The KZ people favorite meat is horse, I know right, how can they eat those lovely creatures, but after trying a taste, (Sorry Sis), I can understand why…it’s GOOD.
So I have 4 ½ days left of this unknown paradise and returning home will be the best thing about this place.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Lake Trout Fishing
It’s been raining back home for six days straight and Bruce needed to keep busy, so off to Canada he went-- to see me and do a little fishing for Lake Trout.
It’s 4:30am and our Canada fishing trip has already begun. We were meeting our fishing guide at 6:45am on Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park. It was a gorgeous day which also turned out to be a great day to fish. We were fishing for Lake Trout, which are bottom water fish, so fishing is a little different for us, but with a lesson from our guide (Blair), we both caught-on fast. Little toss to put the bait out and then let it sink to the bottom, two hard jerks up and reel in about twenty times then let it sink to the bottom again. After about 10 mins of this, the guide is ready to take us to another spot…but wait…someone feels a little heaviness…who could be reeling in the FIRST FISH…wait for it…it’s ME…oh my gosh I pulled in the first fish on the boat…Can you believe it! It’s big enough for one person to have lunch, but not two, however Blair’s rule is not to let the first fish on the boat go, plus he could have it for lunch. So of course I didn’t make a BIG deal out of this…Bruce had the second fish on the boat, it was so small, that actually could be used for bait. Next spot to try out and this time we let our bait sink to the bottom with a little bumping of the bait and up comes a 6lb fish on my pink bait…awesome! This is FUN…so lets make a little bet here since I’m winning…who can catch the most…so we made our bet and what, what is this, Bruce has a 3lb fish on his line…crap lets change the bet…but the sun came out and the wind came to a dead stop and the fish stopped playing the game. Darn it!
The water on Lake Minnewanka was like looking into a mirror, a person could see about 40 yards down, it was a gorgeous day and we had a great time fishing and enjoying the lake that was snuggled in the mountains.
Pictures are coming soon...
It’s 4:30am and our Canada fishing trip has already begun. We were meeting our fishing guide at 6:45am on Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park. It was a gorgeous day which also turned out to be a great day to fish. We were fishing for Lake Trout, which are bottom water fish, so fishing is a little different for us, but with a lesson from our guide (Blair), we both caught-on fast. Little toss to put the bait out and then let it sink to the bottom, two hard jerks up and reel in about twenty times then let it sink to the bottom again. After about 10 mins of this, the guide is ready to take us to another spot…but wait…someone feels a little heaviness…who could be reeling in the FIRST FISH…wait for it…it’s ME…oh my gosh I pulled in the first fish on the boat…Can you believe it! It’s big enough for one person to have lunch, but not two, however Blair’s rule is not to let the first fish on the boat go, plus he could have it for lunch. So of course I didn’t make a BIG deal out of this…Bruce had the second fish on the boat, it was so small, that actually could be used for bait. Next spot to try out and this time we let our bait sink to the bottom with a little bumping of the bait and up comes a 6lb fish on my pink bait…awesome! This is FUN…so lets make a little bet here since I’m winning…who can catch the most…so we made our bet and what, what is this, Bruce has a 3lb fish on his line…crap lets change the bet…but the sun came out and the wind came to a dead stop and the fish stopped playing the game. Darn it!
The water on Lake Minnewanka was like looking into a mirror, a person could see about 40 yards down, it was a gorgeous day and we had a great time fishing and enjoying the lake that was snuggled in the mountains.
Pictures are coming soon...
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Peking Duck
Hello from China…….
We arrived safely and we all are healthy…how do I know that all 4 of us are healthy??? Well during the lay over in Hong Kong we went through a temperature check after departing the plane, when we arrived in Beijing China, we went through 3 temperature checks as well. The first check: the medical team, in their breathing mask, took each passengers’ temperature inside the plane, and then once we departed the plane we went through two more temperature checks. Each day when we enter and depart the Hotel and Office, our temperature is checked as well…So I feel we are all very healthy…
My first and only tour of Beijing was Saturday (July 11) and I did the Royal Canal Boat tour, the tour took us to the Five-Pagado Temple (Built in 1473) it is a museum to house 1,200 stone carvings from ancient times. Then to the Purple Bamboo Garden, which I loved, it covers an area of 140,000 square meters, including three lakes with two small islands in the lake. This place was a family park, I watched people enjoying the hot summer day, exercising, and the most enjoyable was watching several retires gather to sing. The garden is great place for people to SING. The Chinese people gather and sing for us Westerners. The last stop was ‘The Summer Palace’ which I swear there were over a million people there. It was hot, very hot, and I have never seen that many people in one place. There were vendors selling postcards, toy whistles, steaming corn on the cob, ice cream bars and plenty more items.
My second weekend, I went shopping which of course I loved. I purchased pearls, purses, sunglasses, flashlights, matches, and some Christmas gifts. Had a big time! I love to negotiate with the Chinese, we upset some of them, but I’m sure they got plenty of money from us. So it’s very fun to buy what ever you would like for very cheap then get on the web to find out what you actually bought and how much it would of cost if you didn’t get it in China.
I’ve had several massages here, full body for $30 and foot & head massages for about $5 each. The full body massage…once again I had quite the experience, Sarah and I decided to do a full body massage, the ‘girls’ speak very little English and we speak less Chinese. So they stuck us both in one room to have the massage, good thing we had two beds. Inside the room there was a shower, which the ‘girl’ asked me to take first, so I did (haven’t done that before a massage), so then it’s Sarah’s turn so she pretends to take one. The massage took an hour and of course it was a good massage, however this of course is not like your normal massage, one of us received a ‘credit card charge’ and both of the ‘girls’ got to first base. OM! So anyway, after the hour massage the ‘girls’ once again wanted me to take a shower, however this time both ‘girls’ and I are in the shower room and one of us is still naked…oh my that’s a first. So the ‘girls’ leave and I’m out of the shower and it’s Sarah’s turn. While I’m trying to get dressed, here comes one of the ‘girls’ again…so really it’s a good thing I grew up with two sisters.
So today was the total solar eclipse around 9:30am in Asia, so of course we stop work for a spell to check it out, however today like all other days in Beijing China, we could not even see the sun from all the pollution. Since we are now in 2009, some of us just watched it on the web.
Total solar eclipses are rare events, averaging their occurrence in the same given area an average of once every 370 years. Totality of longer than 7 minutes is a rare event, fewer than 10 per millenium (a thousand years). The total solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 has a totality of 6 minutes and 39 seconds. It is the longest solar eclipse our generation will experience. It begins in India and ends in Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It travels the course of 3 hours 25 minutes. The umbra travels along a track approximately 15,150 km long that covers 0.71% of Earth’s surface area. An observer in the umbra experiences total solar eclipse. The next total solar eclipse longer than 7 minutes will occur in June 25, 2150, two generations away.
So I leave on Saturday and arrive back to American on Sunday, I was happy to go to China, but I’ll be very happy to be home with my man.
We arrived safely and we all are healthy…how do I know that all 4 of us are healthy??? Well during the lay over in Hong Kong we went through a temperature check after departing the plane, when we arrived in Beijing China, we went through 3 temperature checks as well. The first check: the medical team, in their breathing mask, took each passengers’ temperature inside the plane, and then once we departed the plane we went through two more temperature checks. Each day when we enter and depart the Hotel and Office, our temperature is checked as well…So I feel we are all very healthy…
My first and only tour of Beijing was Saturday (July 11) and I did the Royal Canal Boat tour, the tour took us to the Five-Pagado Temple (Built in 1473) it is a museum to house 1,200 stone carvings from ancient times. Then to the Purple Bamboo Garden, which I loved, it covers an area of 140,000 square meters, including three lakes with two small islands in the lake. This place was a family park, I watched people enjoying the hot summer day, exercising, and the most enjoyable was watching several retires gather to sing. The garden is great place for people to SING. The Chinese people gather and sing for us Westerners. The last stop was ‘The Summer Palace’ which I swear there were over a million people there. It was hot, very hot, and I have never seen that many people in one place. There were vendors selling postcards, toy whistles, steaming corn on the cob, ice cream bars and plenty more items.
My second weekend, I went shopping which of course I loved. I purchased pearls, purses, sunglasses, flashlights, matches, and some Christmas gifts. Had a big time! I love to negotiate with the Chinese, we upset some of them, but I’m sure they got plenty of money from us. So it’s very fun to buy what ever you would like for very cheap then get on the web to find out what you actually bought and how much it would of cost if you didn’t get it in China.
I’ve had several massages here, full body for $30 and foot & head massages for about $5 each. The full body massage…once again I had quite the experience, Sarah and I decided to do a full body massage, the ‘girls’ speak very little English and we speak less Chinese. So they stuck us both in one room to have the massage, good thing we had two beds. Inside the room there was a shower, which the ‘girl’ asked me to take first, so I did (haven’t done that before a massage), so then it’s Sarah’s turn so she pretends to take one. The massage took an hour and of course it was a good massage, however this of course is not like your normal massage, one of us received a ‘credit card charge’ and both of the ‘girls’ got to first base. OM! So anyway, after the hour massage the ‘girls’ once again wanted me to take a shower, however this time both ‘girls’ and I are in the shower room and one of us is still naked…oh my that’s a first. So the ‘girls’ leave and I’m out of the shower and it’s Sarah’s turn. While I’m trying to get dressed, here comes one of the ‘girls’ again…so really it’s a good thing I grew up with two sisters.
So today was the total solar eclipse around 9:30am in Asia, so of course we stop work for a spell to check it out, however today like all other days in Beijing China, we could not even see the sun from all the pollution. Since we are now in 2009, some of us just watched it on the web.
Total solar eclipses are rare events, averaging their occurrence in the same given area an average of once every 370 years. Totality of longer than 7 minutes is a rare event, fewer than 10 per millenium (a thousand years). The total solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 has a totality of 6 minutes and 39 seconds. It is the longest solar eclipse our generation will experience. It begins in India and ends in Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It travels the course of 3 hours 25 minutes. The umbra travels along a track approximately 15,150 km long that covers 0.71% of Earth’s surface area. An observer in the umbra experiences total solar eclipse. The next total solar eclipse longer than 7 minutes will occur in June 25, 2150, two generations away.
So I leave on Saturday and arrive back to American on Sunday, I was happy to go to China, but I’ll be very happy to be home with my man.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Vermejo Park Ranch
For Christmas of 2008, Bruce (the love of my life) gave me a weekend get away to Vermejo Park Ranch in New Mexico. At Vermejo Park Ranch there are several things to do, hunting, fishing, site seeing, and relaxing…
So in May, I cashed in on my Christmas weekend get away, which Bruce and I had great time fishing, getting lost in the park, and relaxing in the cold, rainy weather. I can say Bruce did get some entertainment while we were on this Christmas weekend get away.
My responsibility is to load the boat with the light weight fishing stuff, fish (one pole) and not to hook Bruce. Bruce, loads the heavy fishing stuff in the boat, drives the boat, fishes with two poles, and takes my caught fish off my hooks. So let me tell you how the weekend went…I lost two pretty, shiny, trout baits and damaged my fishing rod, hooked myself a couple of times, received several bruises on my legs from pushing the small fishing boat off into the water, tangled my line with Bruce’s line, froze, and almost fell out of the boat. Every time I did one of my entertainment stunts, Bruce would just smile and shack his head. He was a great sport and we did have a great time.
I love to fish, but of course I’m not good at it…
During the weekend we saw over a thousand elks, hundreds of deer, herd of buffalo, three black bears, two bald eagles, and one coyote. I did hear some turkey gobbling and some other unknown bird sounds.
This was the second year of enjoying Vermejo Park and hopefully there will be more to come…
Learn more about Vermejo Park Ranch - http://www.vermejoparkranch.com
So in May, I cashed in on my Christmas weekend get away, which Bruce and I had great time fishing, getting lost in the park, and relaxing in the cold, rainy weather. I can say Bruce did get some entertainment while we were on this Christmas weekend get away.
My responsibility is to load the boat with the light weight fishing stuff, fish (one pole) and not to hook Bruce. Bruce, loads the heavy fishing stuff in the boat, drives the boat, fishes with two poles, and takes my caught fish off my hooks. So let me tell you how the weekend went…I lost two pretty, shiny, trout baits and damaged my fishing rod, hooked myself a couple of times, received several bruises on my legs from pushing the small fishing boat off into the water, tangled my line with Bruce’s line, froze, and almost fell out of the boat. Every time I did one of my entertainment stunts, Bruce would just smile and shack his head. He was a great sport and we did have a great time.
I love to fish, but of course I’m not good at it…
During the weekend we saw over a thousand elks, hundreds of deer, herd of buffalo, three black bears, two bald eagles, and one coyote. I did hear some turkey gobbling and some other unknown bird sounds.
This was the second year of enjoying Vermejo Park and hopefully there will be more to come…
Learn more about Vermejo Park Ranch - http://www.vermejoparkranch.com
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