Daifung vs. The Brain Invaders

Parthenon, the Acropolis

Greetings all, today was a full day of sight-seeing in and around Athens, starting with the Acropolis and continuing on to the Hellenic Agora, the Athens Museum, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch,the Panolympic Stadium (home of the first Modern Olympics), the President’s Mansion (with traditional guards), and the small streets of the Plaka, the old quarter of Athens. Near the end of the day we headed out to the Temple of Poseidon by the sea. Too tired to write more, I guess I’ll leave it to a few pictures.

The Erecthion, Acropolis

The Temple of Olympian Zeus

Column detail, Temple of Zeus

Hadrian’s Arch

Panolympic Stadium

Guard, President’s Mansion

Statues, Athens Museum

The Hellenic Agora

Temple of Hephaestus, Hellenic Agora

Temple of Poseidon

Graffiti near the Plaka

Nightime in the Plaka

Dawn over Delphi

Greetings and welcome to the continuing story of our trip back to the USA. After Olympia and the long drive to Delphi we had a good night of sleep and started out just after dawn to visit the ruins of Ancient Delphi.

The Sanctuary of Apollo

For those that remember their Greek history/mythology, Delphi was home of the famous Oracle (in the form of a series of women who fullfilled the role), who was consulted for essentially every major question or decision made by the leaders of the various Greek states. The Oracle delivered her prophecies from the Sanctuary of Apollo, the most impressive building at the site.

Athenian Treasury (reconstructed)

In addition to the Sanctuary, the complex contained treasury buildings from each of the Greek states, where they would store and display all their donations and offerings to the Oracle.

Theater, Delphi

Delphi was also a worship center of Dionysis, and festivals were held in his name featuring the arts as well as the Pythian Games, second in importance only to the Olympics.

Stadium, Delphi

In addition to the main complex, Delphi was also home to an important tholos (round) Temple of Athena.

Temple of Athena, Delphi

After Delphi we hadded North towards Meteora, passing by Mt. Parnassos, home of the mythical Roc, and accross the high plains that are the breadbasket of Greece.

Mt. Parnassos

Greek plains

Along the way we passed a lot of trucks from Bulgaria, all of whom seemed to be carrying the Bulgarian version of Red Bull

Pit Bull, stronger than Red Bull

Finally, we arrived in Meteora, home of the ‘Stone Forest’ a collection of towering stone pinnacles topped by orthodox monasteries.

Meteora

The next day we visited several of the monasteries, getting a pretty good workout in the process and climbing A LOT of steps.

Grand Meteora Monastery

Monastery of St. Varvaras Rousanou

Holy Trinity Monastery

In addition to being spectacular from the outside, the monasteries are richly decorated within.

Icons, Holy Trinity Monastery

After Meteora we had a long drive back to Athens, stopping on the way at Thermopolae to check out the monument and statue of Leonidas. It was here that the Spartans held back the massive Persian army for 3 days.

Statue of Leonidas

Windsor Castle

Greetings all, after several days without a good Internet connection I am finally able to catch up here in Delphi. WARNING this is a long post as it includes photos from the last few days.

Jan 25

The last time I posted was after a day of London sight-seeing. Well, the next day (the 25th) Nicole and I took a bus tour (out of character for me but the only option…).

The Grey Tower

First stop was Windsor, where we visited the castle that is one of the primary homes of the royal family. The oldest part of the castle is called the Grey Tower, which started life as a traditional round, moated Norman keep and eventually morphed into it’s present form. Also on the grounds is the chapel of St. George.

Chapel of St. George

Stonehenge

The next stop was the most exciting for me, Stonehenge! No one really knows why the monument was built or what it’s purpose was, but the stones have been standing for over 4500 years and the earliest part of the monument has been there for over 5000!

Stonehenge

After Stonehenge, the final stop of the day was the Roman Baths at, where else, Bath.

Roman Baths, Bath

Jan 26th

Alps

The next day we flew from London to Athens, catching fantastic views of the snow-capped Alps. We arrived to late for any real sightseeing, but we could see Hadrian’s Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus from our hotel Balcony.

Hadrian’s Arch

Temple of Olympian Zeus

We also were able to visit a stone-topped hill next to the Acropolis with fantastic views. To top it off, we could see the lit-up Acropolis that night from the roof-top restaurant of our hotel.

Nicole with the Acropolis behind

The Acropolis at Night

Jan 27

Corinth Canal

The 27th we started our 4-day tour of Peloponnese and Central Greece with our driver John. He has a big Mercedes Yellow Cab and turned out to be a fantastic guide! We started by heading out of Athens towards the Corinthian Canal, which connects the Agean and Adriatic seas via the Gulf of Corinth. It was a bit of an adventure because there is a farmers strike and the farmers all over Greece are using their tractors to block highways, bridges and the like. Luckily John knows the areas very well and could take some local roads around much of the mess.

Temple of Apollo, Ancient Corinth

After crossing the canal we headed on to Ancient Corinth. We started out at the museum, then moved on to check out the ruins.

Mosaic, Corinth Museum

Mountain Fortress

After Corinth we continued on through the countryside passing several mountain-top fortresses from the Byzantine era before arriving at our next destination, ancient Mycenae.

The Acropolis of Mycenae

For those interested in Greek history, Mycenae was the home of Agamemnon, the king who ultimately commanded the Greeks in the war against Troy. It was here at the Acropolis of Mycenae that the kings of all the Greek states met to decide whether or not to attack Troy, and at the time the valley would have been filled with tens of thousands of soldiers awaiting the decision to march.

View from the Acropolis of Mycenae

Next stop was the picturesque sea-side city of Napflio.

Napflio

Napflio is very popular with honeymooners and taking a look at the location it’s easy to understand why. The town was founded by the Venetians, and they left their mark in the form of 2 fortresses that originally gaurded the town. One, Palamidi, was situated atop a high mountain overlooking the city,

Palamidi

while the second, Bourtzi rests on a small island just off the coast.

Bourtzi

After leaving Napflio, we went over high mountain passes, crossing Central Peloponesse on the way, eventually, to Olympia. On the way we stopped for a bit in the pretty village of Langadia.

Langadia

Church, Langadia

Eventually we made it through the rain to Olympia.

Olympia at night in the rain

Jan 28

Western Pediment of the Temple of Zeus, Olympia Museum

The next morning we woke up early and headed over to Ancient Olympia. We started at the archeological sight but soon fled to the museum to escape heavy (and freezing cold) rains. The museum is amazing, and contains a number of famous statues including the Hermes of Praxiteles, that in addition to the remains of the east and west pediments of the Temple of Zeus.

Hermes of Praxiteles and statue of Nike, Olympia Museum

After the museum, the weather had cleared and we re-toured the ruins, including the Temple of Zeus, whose gigantic columns are all collapsed, and the huge Olympic Stadium. It is incredible to think that you are walking on the same field as the ancient Olympians thousands of years ago!

The Temple of Zeus (with one restored column)

The Olympic Stadium

After Olympia, we headed up to Patras to cross the Gulf of Corinth to the Greek mainland.

The new Patras-Andirio bridge and the old fortress

While we were driving over to the ferry landing I happened to notice the reflection of the new bridge (built just before the Athens games) and the fortress that gaurded the Patras side of the old ferry route. I asked the driver to stop and was able to take the photo above (thanks John!).

View from the ferry, Gulf of Corinth

After that we boarded the ferry for the ride over to Andirio, then followed winfing mountain roads to Delphi, possibly my favorite place in the world and the end of today’s update. I will post again when I next have good Internet access. Take care all!

-Ted

View from Delphi, across olive groves to the Gulf of Corinth

Parliament in the early morning

Greetings all, Nicole and I made it safely to London yesterday and today did a bit of sightseeing. Right now I’m feeling more inclined to sleep than write, so I’ll just add a few pictures to chronicle the day.

Nicole & Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Cleopatra’s Needle

‘The Gherkin’

The Tower of London

The Tower of London

Tower Bridge

St. Paul’s Cathedral

Nelson’s Column

The National Gallery

International Finance Center HK

This will be the last post from Hong Kong, as PCCW is coming to collect my DSL modem in a few hours and we are leaving early in the morning on Friday. I’m not sure exactly how I feel about leaving Hong Kong. I’ll be glad to be away from the crowds and pollution, but this has been my home the last 3 years and is the place where I met and married Nicole so it will always have a special place in my heart.

Well, gotta get back to packing now since the clock is ticking. Look for a post in a few days from London and in the mean-time take care!

-Ted

Angkor Wat

Greetings all! Nicole and I are back from Siem Reap after a fantastic couple days. It was a little tiring seeing so much in such a short time, but it was invigorating as well to be surrounded by the remains of such an incredible culture. Visiting Angkor has been a dream of mine since I was about 10 0r 11 years old and saw pictures in a book, so the visit was particularly special for me.

Tonle Sap Lake

On the afternoon we arrived, we visited the Tonle Sap lake, which during the wet season covers over 10,000 kilometers and floods all of the nearby forest. We took a relaxing cruise on the lake and estuary before heading back for an early night.

Angkor Wat @ Sunrise

The next day we woke up around 4:30AM in order to see sunrise at Angkor Wat. While we didn’t get the rich colors that sometimes accompany an Angkor sunrise, the whole experience was pretty magical. Our driver dropped us off in the dark, with only moonlight to guide us. We could barely see anything and stumbled with the other folks accross the first causeway and through the outer gate, eventually finding a spot right by the reflecting pools. It was incredible to watch the temple slowly revealed as the sun rose.

View of Angkor Wat from a balloon

Entrance to Angkor Thom

After Angkor Wat we headed to Angkor Thom, which was the capital of the Khmer Empire and stretches 3km on a side.

The Bayon

Inside of Angkor Thom we first stopped at the Bayon temple, which features over 200 carvings of the face of the King that commissioned it. We also visited the Terrace of the Elephants and several other monuments within Angkor Thom.

Terrace of the Elephants

Preah Khan

Next we went to the Preah Khan temple, which has the only round columns of any Angkor-era building.

Ta Prom

After Preah Khan the next stop was Ta Prom, the temple that has been completely overgrown by the jungle (though the jungle has been mostly cleared back now).

Ta Prom

From Ta Prom we drove about 45 minutes outside of Siem Reap to visit a temple called Banteay Srei, which was built out of pinkish-red stone and is one of the most intracately carved monuments in the greater Angkor area.

Banteay Srei

Sunset from Pre Rup

We finished our day with sunset from another temple called Pre Rup.

The next day we visited a few more temples and generally relaxed, returning to Angkor Wat to see it in different light. Then it was time to head back to Hong Kong (with a long lay-over in Vietnam). It was a great trip.

After getting back all focus has been finishing up packing and shipping boxes while getting ready for the trip back to the USA. We leave on Friday early morning for London on the way to visiting Greece and Egypt. Hope to see many of you back in the USA after we arrive!

-Ted

Nicole with my mom and dad on the Great Wall @ Badaling

Greetings all, the above picture and all the others in this post are from our recent trip to Beijing; more on that later. Today, with much trepidation, Nicole and I met with Dr. Pu to revie last week’s MRI results. Happily, there was no significant difference between my recent scan on the 7th and my previous scans in November. This is definitely good news as it indicates that the tumor did not grow and the contrast did not increase to any perceptible degree over the past few months, even though I had not taken chemo since October. I am hoping this is indicative of the Chinese medecine boosting my immune system so that it can fight the tumor. Then again, maybe it’s God, or luck, or whatever other explanation you like. Maybe it’s just the result of a positive attitude or all the positive vibrations you have been sending my way. Either way, I feel well and hope it is a good omen for things to come.

Nicole and I on the Great Wall

As I mentioned, Nicole and I, along with my parents, recently made a quick trip to Beijing. My folks were in HK for Christmas and we had extra time so, after a scramble for visas, we flew up to Beijing for a few days just before Christmas day (got back to HK Christmas Eve). I think the opportunity to walk on the Great Wall was the deciding factor in getting my folks to make the trip, so we took advantage of clear skies (in Beijing?!?) on the first day to visit the Badaling and Juyongguan sections outside of Beijing. As you can see from the photos, it was an almost perfect day. Why almost? You may notice in the pictures above that we are all very bundled up. That’s because it was freezing cold with a stiff arctic wind for which none of us were really prepared. It was worth it though, as there were relatively few other tourists, and both my mom and dad were totally blown away (no pun intended). We also paid a short visit to the Ming Tombs the same day, though after the Great Wall it was kind of anticlimactic.

Above: The Great Wall, Below: Ming Tombs

Nicole with my mom and dad in front of Tienanmen Gate

The next day was spent seeing the sites in Beijing. We visited Tienanment Square, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, with myself acting as tour guide since I had been before. My parents were almost as impressed by the Forbidden city as they had been by the Great Wall, and they could not believe just how immense the palace is, with one huge courtyard after the other and endless thron rooms. Of course, we only really had the time and stamina to see the main halls and didn’t have a chance to see the many displays in the side chambers. Maybe next time. It’s also worth noting that everywhere we went (including the Great Wall) people want to have their picture taken with my mom and dad, who look pretty much like Mr. & Mrs. Claus. I guess 2 days before Christmas it was to be expected. I believe one of the soldier guards at the Great Wall even got in on the action, and one vendor at the Forbidden city was trying to get us to go into business “just 10 yuan per picture, we can make a lot of money”.

Santa & Mrs. Claus visit the Forbidden City

After the Forbidden City we paid a late-afternoon visit to the Temple of HEaven, which is one of my favorite site in Beijing. I guess I have a weakness for round, pointy temples and this one has 2!

The Temple of Heaven

We also stopped by the Beijing Grand Theater earlier in the day because I love crazy architecture. For those that don’t know, the theater looks like an enormous egg and generates a lot of strong sentiments in Beijing, both positive and negative. What I love about the building is that there are no visible entrances. The entrance actually passed under the ‘moat’ around the rest of the building, making for a memorable site.

Grand National Theater

Well, that’s it for me today. Tomorrow Nicole and I fly to Siem Reap to spend my birthday at Angkor Wat, then after another week in HK we are off for adventure on our way back to the states.

Thanks to all of you that have been sending me prayers and positivity, it’s clearly working!

-Ted

Happy new years to all!

I realized it’s been way too long since my last post, which contained a lot of un-answered questions. Since then both a lot and nothing has changed. After carefully evaluating the medical options (surgery, Avastin, other chemo, etc.) one fact became clear; none of the options could promise either a reasonable chance of a cure or a decent quality of life. All the options were low-probability and high-cost, financially, physically and emotionally. After thinking it through I decided to go with D, none of the above. Instead I am focusing on quality of life while pursuing traditional chinese medecine. TCM has delivered positive results for a lot of people and isn’t subject to a lot of unplesent side-effects. For those not aware, the guiding principle of TCM is to ramp up the body’s natural immune system to fight illness. While western treatments try to kill the tumour, usually doing a lot of peripheral dammage at the same time, chinese treatment boosts the body’s natural defences. Think of it as the difference between economic aid and military invasion to foil an enemy.

In addition to pursuing TCM, Nicole and I are going to move back to the USA to live with my parents for a while. Hopefully a change of scenery will help my body fight, especially a move to someplace with clean air and no stress. While there I will also do work for the Salesforce Foundation, starting with getting my mom’s non-profit school up and running.

With that decision, we’ve been pretty busy planning and packing for the move. We are leaving HK on the 23rd of January and stopping in Greece and Egypt for a few weeks on the way to fullfil a few lifetime goals of Nicole’s and mine. My folks have a nice place in southern Ohio and I hope many of my friends will come to visit while we’re there. I don’t know if it will be the place I recover or the place I die, but we remain optimistic and either way I know things will be OK.

Well, gotta get back to packing. While this isn’t the outcome I would’ve preferred, it’s the one I have and I am ok with it.

Take care of yourselves and each other, and hope for a 2009 full of miracles, memories and redemption.

-TC