The first day was a pure dive trip to Sail Rock, which is considered the best site in the region. The guys at 100 Degrees East proved their the best dive shop on Koh Samui by getting us there earlier than all the other companies. We got a quiet dive to ourselves and then the underwater traffic jam started while we relaxed on the boat for our surface interval. Then, we’re back in for our second dive right as everyone else gets out again.

The visibility was poor below 12 meters, but I’d rather be shallow and see stuff. When you get certified, everyone wants to go deeper, but that’s not often where the action is.

The first thing we saw the moment we jumped in the water was a school of barracuda. Unfortunately, they were gone before I had my camera ready, so I missed out. There were whales nearby, because we could occasionally hear them singing. As we headed back to shore we briefly saw a back break the surface, but that was it… just a glimpse.

For the second day, I convinced Beth to come along as well. We did a day trip to the Angthong National Marine Park, which is definitely a highlight of any visit to Koh Samui. The chain of islands is absolutely magnificent and offers great opportunities for snorkeling and diving.

Beware the stairs on your way to the Emerald Lagoon. The steps are sometimes only a couple inches wide and are damn near vertical at times. It was a serious workout getting up and down, but well worth it for the pristine landscape which awaited us.

We started with elephant trekking near a waterfall. It was a neat experience, but definitely a bit tourist trappy. We weren’t really “trekking” anywhere, but instead following a well defined loop through a fenced off area. Elephants are also oddly uncomfortable to ride. You’re sitting on the shoulders, so unlike a horse, your seat is moving a lot, and things get squeezed and jostled around.

Our other stops on the island were mostly different colorfully decorated temples. Ko Samui has a couple of mummified monks which are tourist favorites. The most popular changes his sunglasses everyday.

Beth and I returned from India with the soccer team on January 24th. We got home at about 2am. We went to sleep, got up the next morning, repacked our suitcases and got on a plane and went to Thailand. It was a vacation we planned with almost no notice. Beth found a fantastic hotel on Jetsetter.com and we were on our way.

We could not have been much happier at Elements Boutique Resort and Spa. Situated on the less-populated southern side of Ko Samui, it offered a relaxing and comfortable place to unwind and enjoy our vacation. As usual, we took full advantage of the resort’s spa by enjoying several different treatments. I don’t particularly recommend their hot stone massage (due to a surprising lack of hot stones), but they staff and quality of their other treatments were very good.

One other random comment about the spa… There are some semi-feral cats which roam around the resort. One particular cat and her new kittens seemed to have taken up residence in the spa and would regularly serenade our treatments with their meows. I’m not always the biggest fan of the cheesy massage music you get in spas, but I’ll admit, I the cats were a bit distracting. They sounded like they were in the room with me, and I kept thinking one of them was just going to jump up on the massage table at any moment.

Beth and I arrived at the resort just in time for lunch on our first day. I ordered a spicy thai beef salad, that upon arrival, it looked delicious. To my shock and surprise, it was probably the single spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. I could feel two particular areas on the bottom edges of my tongue actually catching fire as I continued to eat. No amount of water (or margarita) seemed to staunch the flames in my mouth. I normally do well with spicy foods, so I was fairly embarrassed with how I handled the situation. The waiter noticed my distress and began to tease me. This shaming went on for a few more days when each morning he would ask me if I wanted my pancakes “spicy or not spicy.” In an effort to redeem myself, I ordered another spicy thai beef salad at a totally different restaurant and had almost the same reaction. I actually began to wonder if I might be allergic to those particular peppers.

We also enjoyed two dinner performances during our stay at Elements. Our first night featured a group of traditional thai dancers entertaining while we sampled signature thai dishes on the beach. The ladies changed costumes between each song and it made for a very nice evening. Another night, the hotel served a bbq buffet on the beach followed by another performance. You’ll have to watch the videos to really understand what happened, but basically these two guys juggled and twirled blazing torches and ropes in hypnotizing patterns of light. The finale (see the second video) had Beth seriously worried that something was going to catch fire.

If you go, go early. Get there just as the sun is rising, as the soft morning light brings out the beauty of the white marble stone. …And, it’s not overwhelmed with tourists.

A couple of interesting things we learned from our tour guide:

• The Arabic calligraphy inscribed on the building outside the Taj Mahal appears to be the same size as you look up at it. In fact, the text is significantly larger at the top than it is at the bottom, but this creates an illusion of uniformity to the eye.
• Similarly, the four minarets which border the Taj Mahal are actually tilted just slightly outward. If they had been built perfectly vertical, visitors would begin to feel them tilting inward as you approached closer to the building. By building them just off vertical, they actually look straight.
• There are building on either side of the Taj Mahal that you rarely see in pictures. The one on the left side (as you face the Taj) is actually a mosque. The one of the right is an exact copy of the mosque on the other side, but is just a “guest house,” because it cannot point towards Mecca.

One of our students, Abhishek Mehra, wrote a summary of our trip for NYUAD’s Salaam Blog. He did a wonderful job of chronically the teams soccer experiences and captures the spirit of our adventure. Read the full story here.

Our adventure in India, however, did not have the most auspicious start. When we arrived at the Abu Dhabi airport with students in tow, we were told by our airline upon check-in that four of us would not be able to board the plane. They quoted some improbable rule that set a limit on the number of travelers who could fly into New Delhi each day. While it seemed totally impossible to accept such an explanation, the players later confirmed that the flight was not simply oversold, as there were lots of empty seats on the plane. In the end, Beth and I, along with two other staff members traveling with the team, were required to drive to Dubai and take a later flight on our own. Head coach Pete Dicce went on alone with the students and we hoped to catch up in Agra with everyone safe and sound.

We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Abishek’s father who helped arrange a private car to drive us from the airport in Delhi to Agra. It was a long six-hour journey, but we were glad to have the peace of mind that we were well taken care of. Ironically, the students still encountered travel problems of their own, as their train from Delhi to Agra was significantly delayed and even with a 6+ hour head start, only managed to arrive in Agra about an hour before us.

Once reunited, we took an evening visit to the Mehtab Bagh Gardens which are directly across the river from the Taj Mahal. It was cool to see the Taj from a distance as it definitely whet our appetite to see it up-close the next morning. Like any good tour guide, we were taken immediately afterward to a local craftsmen’s shop who make carve and inlay marble in the same manner used on the Taj Mahal. Beth and I made up for the students’ limited budget through our multiple purchases and our poor bargaining skills.

We spent the next 36 hours in Gwalior, a city slightly further south, where we were guests of the Scindia School, the alma mater of one of our NYUAD students. Our hosts were the most gracious and generous people you could possible imagine. I think it was by far the highlight of my time in India.

The Scindia School did not consider our visit a simple friendly match. It was treated like a serious international match. Our players were escorted on to the field by the school’s primary students and we had a play-by-play announcer to call the match. The only element missing was the playing of national anthems. Of course, it would have taken about 30-45 minutes to do so, as we had players representing so many different countries. After the match, the Scindia School presented customized pennants to each of our players and staff which has been printed with the two schools’ logos as well as rosters. It was a very special souvenir for a very memorable occasion.

Beth and Hazel Raja, NYUAD’s Career Development Center also got special treatment during our visit as they were invited on a special tour of the Scindia School and got to share ideas with school administrators. While visiting a Sikh temple on the school grounds, Beth was also invited to guest star in the family portraits of a local Indian family.

We rounded off the trip back in New Delhi, where again Abhishek’s family went above and beyond the call of duty by inviting us all to their home for dinner. I think we all thoroughly enjoyed their hospitality and their company.

One final story… After our last match in Delhi, we had only a few minutes for the students to take a quick shower at the American Embassy School before going directly to the airport for our flight home. In my urgency to keep everyone moving, I accidentally took a pair of headphones I mistook for one our players which actually belonged to a local student. Luckily for us, the school’s soccer team was scheduled to be in Abu Dhabi a few weeks later for a tournament of their own, so we were able to return them to their rightful owner.

A special thanks go out to our friends at Omeir Travel. We were already excited to get a Junior Suite for less than the price of a regular room, but were especially surprised to learn we had been upgraded to a Villa upon arrival. Our room (really it was a house) was literally palatial.

The safari was a fantastic experience. Our guide got us quite close to all variety of gazelle and oryx to by found, but the highlight was getting to see two cheetahs. One cheetah was being kept in an enclosed area (the size of several football fields) while recuperating from an injury. His cousin, however, regularly comes to visit and we certainly enjoyed seeing them both.

They don’t “feed” the cheetahs. The cheetahs hunt for their own food and we almost got to see him catch his lunch right before our eyes. Just as we got our hopes up, however, he decided to take a nap instead.

Representatives from something like 75+ countries were in attendance with their falcons, hawks, eagles, vultures, owls, and all manner of predatory birds. We got to see the British delegation demonstrate how they hunt with falcons from horse-back, as well as how the eagles of Mongolia can be used to hunt fox. The culmination to the day, however, was a parade of nations where all of the falconers (and their falcons) walked around the ground so that everyone could get a good look at the birds.

Just like every other day we spent in Milan, it rained throughout the match. Luckily enough for us, our seats were just far enough back that we were securely covered by the roof and so we actually got to dry off for a bit. And while the stadium was far from full, the dedicated local fans still came out in full force with their flares, their smoke bombs, and their love for their team.

The result was never in question. Within 7 minutes, Milan had already been awarded a penalty which Ibrahimovic easily converted. Robinho then took over the game and put on a serious show. He bombed down the left side and was at the point of every attack. The reward came on 21 minutes when he lashed home another fantastic goal for the home side. Two more goals in the second half sealed the deal. The other player who really impressed me was Clarence Seedorf. For a guy who’s 35 (I know that’s not really old, but for soccer he’s practically ancient), he still completely dominated the midfield and bent the game to his will.

Rather than staying in a hotel, we tried a web service called www.airbnb.com. People post their own homes and apartments and you get the benefit of a fully functional home with a bit more character than a corporate hotel room. We lucked out and found a great host and a great apartment. We were located close to the metro and the main train stations inside a neighborhood with some very nice restaurants.

Unfortunately, the quality of Italy’s weather did not live up to the quality of its food. It rained all day, every day we will in Milan. More often than not, it was a light drizzle, but it was just enough to damped the mood as well as the streets. We also go to see a little less than would would have liked, simply because some sites are closed on Sunday or Monday.

We started our visit of Milan at the Duomo. It’s the central point of the city and by far its most imposing landmark. Inside, there must have been a dozen glass tombs for religious leaders who seemed to have been mummified. While some wore silver masks over their faces, others were fully exposed for everyone to see.

We spent our second day in Turin and we didn’t even get to see the Shroud. But then again, apparently no one gets to see it. Inside the cathedral, they have a short 5-minute video describing the shroud and theirs a picture of part of it, but that’s it. Since we were supposed to be in Egypt, we felt that a visit to the Egyptian Museum (apparently one of the best in the world) was fitting. The collection was impressive and was a nice excuse to get out of the rain for a bit.