It’s been some time we came back home. By now we have seen already most of our friends and life is slowly going back to normal. But there are still some stories to tell. Right after Vietnam we spent a few days in Bangkok, our central hub in Asia. 5 days of shopping, eating, exploring every single corner of bustling Bangkok. The result was an extra suitcase, full of fitted shirts, suits and pants.
We finally left Southeast Asia and headed towards one of the most expensive places on the planet: Hong Kong. 2 days in the city was enough for our budget. Hong Kong is beautiful, full of islands and bridges, impressive highways cutting through the mountains and the most organized public transportation system we have ever seen. It works so well, that is hard to believe that the 4th most densily populated “country” in the world has so few cars on the streets. We also have never seen so much commerce tailored to high-end buyers. There is a lot of money in that city and the prices are over the top. Especially when you come from Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. At night the skyline is breathtaking and three times a week there is a light show with music on the waterfront. A very disappointing show at the end of our trip in Asia. Bad music, too long and cheesy. Our last two days in Asia were hot and humid and most of the times it was difficult to see Hong Kong’s natural beauty. We had to imagine how was the scenary because of the intense fog on the city.
After Hong Kong our next stop was a lay-over in Chicago and finally Boston. On arrival in the US we already have forgotten how big and fat Americans were. After spending so many months in Asia we got used to their bio type and the typical XXXL American size was somewhat unusual for us.
And, then we were finally HOME. The first few days in Boston were hard core. Home is always the best place on Earth, right? But for some reason our place looked stale, somewhat empty, almost sad. The next day it was time to work and move our clothes, books, computer and personal stuff 4 flights of stairs from the basement. There were so many boxes that we were wondering what was in them. After spending so many months with a backpack only, why did we need so many things to live? And sure enough we had to get rid of some clothes, shoes, towels and linens because some of them were full of mold. We spent the next 3 days washing clothes with vinegar, laying in the sun and cleaning with products to get rid of the mildew. A complete mess!!!!!
The next morning we talked to our neighbors and the at night we had time to see some friends who organized a welcome party for us. It was great to see their familiar beautiful faces. A memorable night to remind us that we are finally back home.
But the trip was not over. We decided to get in our car and travel in the US visiting some friends and family. First in Cleveland and Iowa City where my good friends from medical school in Brazil live. After that we headed to Texas to visit Jason’s family and friends for a few days and finally New York City to see some other great friends. Of course we decided to do some tourism on the way and went to Niagara falls and visited Elvis Presley House in Memphis, which by the way was the touristic highlight of the American tour.
I have to say that blogging is not as much fun as before, but I will try to write sometimes just to document what has been happening in our life recently the days after we came back.
The final pictures are here.