Finishing up Greece - Off to Bangkok!

It’s the night before Andy and I leave for Bangkok and we know that everything is about to change. Since Aug. 1 we have been tripping around Central and Eastern Europe, making ourselves at home in all of the typical ways in which an American assimilates with Europeans. We haven’t stood out too much, except for me wearing shorts, which is apparently very un-hip here. We tried all the local fare, took in a couple of American Hollywood movies, checked out the must-see museums and even partied quite hard in a few cities.

But now, as we flip through our Southeast Asia Lonely Planet, reading about all the cultural differences, it has just hit us that the first leg of our trip is over and that we are on the cliff of an utterly life-altering experience. Neither of us has been to an Asian country before and besides hearing of our friends’ recent travels there, we know pretty much nothing about what we are getting ourselves in to.

For the past three weeks we have been hunkered down on Corfu, Greece. After spending two weeks at a nice, inexpensive studio apartment on the beach, we moved up the coast a bit to a town called Pelekas. We found a trippy, hippy hostle named The Rolling Stone that is run by a cute couple and their twin daughters. The wife, Ira, was German and her husband, Themis, was Greek. They were so incredibly nice and accomodating and we were really taken in by their generosity and peaceful nature. Their smiles were addictive and infectious. Besides the fact that the rooms were kind of sandy, you had to shower while sitting on the toilet and the mosquitos seemed to have the run of the place, the aura of the place was warm and cozy.


(The hang out chill space at The Rolling Stone)


(E and the local dog Sophie in front of the hostel's shuttle)

The beach was a short jaunt down the driveway and it was less crowded and more natural than Agios Giordos. The water was, again, crystal clear and warm. And the best part about the whole experience was that we were there to meet our friend, Ms. Gina Fong/Seidler. Our Bud G was there for a retreat with her Scanner friends and it was an absolute treat of all treats to get some loving from home. As we walked out of our room the first day we were there, we were preparing to trek up the huge moutain to get into town to find G. As we turned our back to lock our doors, much like when you are dreaming and all of a sudden some random person shows up, there she was, G, saying, “What’s up party people?”


(Born to be wild)

Ahhhh. We hugged and laughed and hugged and were just so taken with a familiar face, especially this cute one in front of us. We went down to the beach and sat on the sand and talked and talked and laughed and hugged a little more. After all, they don’t call us The Huggers for nothing. Throughout the week, we got a ton of love from Gina and it was excellent. We had yummy pizza one night for dinner in Pelekas Village and then after we walked G home to her hotel on the hill. The next day, Gina rented a four wheeler and Andy and I scooted around on our trusty bike named Fabrizio. We went back to Agios Giordos to do some sunning. The clouds didn’t cooperate so we just hung in a café, checked our email and read our books.

The whole experience of being with a friend from home was surreal and then quickly changed to comforting. We were so isolated from home, except for blogs, email and one call home, that to jump back into a friendship was, at first, bizarre. We both felt like we had changed so much from when we left and we wondered if G could tell. Did she notice how we have grown? Did she think we were different? After the initial shock, it turned totally mellow. Gina was still Gina and we love her for that. And despite feeling like we have changed, we were still both ourselves. Weird, huh?

So on our last night at The Rolling Stone, a nice looking American couple from NYC popped in during dinner looking for a room. Andy and I were eating and we turned around to wave hello when it was quietly announced that there were two American couples at this trippy Pelekas hostel at the same time. After eating, playing a game of Backgammon (the world’s cruelest game), and then subsequently cleaning our dirty dishes, we sat and had a drink with the couple from NY, Yanni and Menna. As if the world was not small enough, it apparently came to light that Andy and Yanni were both from Westport! And if things couldn’t get any weirder, Yanni and Andy grew up two houses away from each other. Friggin crazy, right? So once that was out there, our friendship, in its infant stage, was growing up rapidly. We talked into the evening chill and watched together as the moon rose over the cliff guarding our hostel from the flat lands of Corfu.

The next day the four of us had lunch on the beach together. Andy and Menna went snorkeling around the rock outcropping while Yanni and I had an epic one-hour long frisbee toss in the shallow waters of the beach. We were diving all over the place to make the perfect catch. We realized that we were all going to be in Athens at the same time, so we made a plan to sight see together. Andy and I had once again, scored a new set of friends.

After an 11-hour bus ride from Corfu to Athens with only one bathroom break, we made it to our hotel in Athens. The countryside of Greece is breathtaking, truly incredible. We snaked along the coast as the sun beat through the tinted windows, creating marbled beads of sweat that formed on my recently shaved head down south toward my new fu manchu moustache. We listened to our ipod the entire time and we received awe-inspiring sun streaks through the cloudy sky timed perfectly to a jazzy Phish jam. I got the chills.

The next day was election day in Greece and we met Yanni and Menna at Syntagma Square where our plan was to hike to the Acropolis and see the Temple of Athena, The Parthenon, The Temple of Dionysis and all the other unearthed artifacts that are scattered throughout the ancient city. When we arrived, a hand written note on the gate informed us The Acropolis was closed due to the election. Shit all, we said. We opened our Lonely Planet Greece and from a payphone called the other museums on the list of possibilities. All closed as well. Well, what do you do when you got nothing to do? You eat! We went and got some yummy, tasty, delicious Souvlaki in the touristy section of Athens. During the meal, we were bombarded by street vendors selling all kinds of street shit. There were magnets, barking fuzzy dogs, Donald Duck umbrellas, fake Coach purses, and harmonicas. Andy had always wanting to learn how to play the instrument and was recently inspired by our Bud G who whipped hers out the other day on the beach and began wailing. She haggled with the local and snagged one for 4 euro. Get ready world for the cuter version of John Popper!


(We just found out the Acropolis was closed. Mwa)

As we walked along after the souvlaki feast, there appeared out of nowhere a microphone and a cute young blonde newswoman who wanted to hear our take on the election. We tried to give her a few soundbites and then moved along. It was really hilarious! I wonder if we were on TV? We’ll never know I guess.


(Hey, are you from Westport?)

So Day Two in Athens was a do over. We went back to the Acropolis and it was open and swarming with tourists who were shut out the day before. Despite the mass of humanity buzzing around us, we thoroughly enjoyed the sites. There was a lot of restoration going on and we pondered whether it was necessary to try and recreate what was once such a marvelous structure. Menna and I both thought that fixing the temple was like an old woman getting a boob job to try and look young. Sure, her boobs look nice, but come on, we know it aint the real thing. We both agreed at there is majesty in crumbling relics. After the Acropolis we had a nice lunch (more Souvlaki!) and then took in the Museum of Archaeology. Old statues, beautifully ancient vases, even little stone balls, were uncovered for our modern eyes. Some of the exhibits dated back almost 6000 years! And because we made it there so late in the evening, the crowds were gone: truly the perfect way to browse the 10,000 square meter museum.


(The money shot. The Parthenon sans crowds. Good work Andy)

So now, as I type, Andy is alseep with the Lonely Planet Southeast Asia book on her chest and we are leaving for the airport in the morning. We are flying from Athens to Bahrain and from Bahrain to Bangkok. Europe has been absolutely incedible. I feel like I got a taste of what I wanted. I saw some sites and did the touristy thing from time to time, but what I sought was an experience where I understood and got to know the local people and their lives. I saw the countryside and awed at its history. We saw where our ancestors came from and we will never forget the feelings that were stirred up. And now, we head to a land that is as foreign to us as anything we know. We are there to represent the western world and we hope that it is as fun, suprising, magical and intense as Europe was. Somehow I think it’s going to blow our minds. I hope it does.