Blogs from Asia - page 13032

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Asia » Hong Kong March 11th 2007

Hello again. Well we've reached Hong Kong and its been fantastic. The hostel was very good, although the jet lag has been a bit of a problem. All the visas are now in the passport and its off to Beijing later on today Hong Kong itself is very similar to London. The underground is very easy to follow and the place is very clean and tidy. We have done all the touristy things: got the night skyline photographs, went to see the big buddah, looked in all the backstreet markets and did some people watching in soho. All in all very good. Off to China!... read more

Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Phuket March 11th 2007

Had a lie in for the first time in 3 days which felt good. Got myself a nice English breakfast and had a relaxing day. There were some FA cup games in the evening so I watched them. Watford were on last but I coudn't stay up late enough so set my alarm instead.... read more

Asia » Japan » Okinawa March 11th 2007

Japan won me over… in Okinawa! Earlier in the year I had contemplated visiting this out of the way tourist destination. I had heard about the sun, the beaches and the famed American military base that was so well-known for making its home on Okinawan soil. I have come to the conclusion that Americans sure know how to pick some prime real estate when choosing base locations. We traveled to Naha City first, described by a former ALT as “very much like Hawaii”. Indeed, the main street, “Kokusai-dori” was lined with Maui steak houses, restaurants filled with Japanese cowboys (they would make Alberta's cowboys blush), countless gift shops, and even a “gaijin” bar owned by two Canadians. Half Tokyo Disneyland, half Niagra Falls, Naha felt a little bit much, but in some strange way a ... read more
A whale of a time.
Biking around Zamami Island
Yoron-to

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh March 11th 2007

On the Sacred Banks of Mother Ganga... Asia » India » Uttaranchal » Rishikesh By PaulnKariMarch 11th 2007Enjoy these pictures of Rishikesh, where we spent time with the International Yoga Festival, washed in the famous and worshipped Ganges River, enjoyed devotional singing night after night, and got our kundalini a-flowin'! More pictures of Rishikesh to come within a few days....... read more
river2
framed foothills
snakey

Asia » India » National Capital Territory » New Delhi March 11th 2007

India - Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Delhi This place is NUTS!!! No matter how much you try, nothing can prepare you for some of the things you will see in North India, the 'touching' that goes on between males, pissing and spitting by everyone, anywhere, any time and the poohing that takes in the allocated areas (anywhere that isnt a road basically). The level of uncivilized behaviour out here is just incredible, its like stepping back into caveman days. What makes it worse is that there some truely amazing places and sights to be found right in the middle of these really grotty areas, the Taj Mahal is a perfect example, it really is breathtaking to see but Agra, the town that it is in, is probably the worst yet. The other most notable thing is the ... read more
Taj Mahal 2
Taj Mahal 3
Taj Mahal 4

Asia » India » Uttar Pradesh » Agra March 11th 2007

(or tajy marra for any cumbrians reading this) Ok, toot toot, we're on another sodding bus, and this one's sodden too! Lest we forget the weather we're leaving behind, our treacherous carriage came complete with damp seats to bear us south! No matter, as we were on the back seat which kept falling off...only a 12 hour journey. Fortunately, the driver had a genius idea for fanning the bus, perhaps with the intention of drying the seats. As we approached Delhi, he decided not to pull out whilst overtaking another truck. Time saving, maybe. Foolhardy, said I. And I was right, as our bus rammed the arse end of the truck, depositing the windscreen and some of the front panels on the heavily potted road. Mums, dads, worry not. The new ventilation failed to dry the ... read more
Us
funny angles
Trucks, which are also shrines

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane March 10th 2007

After the disappointment of the Plain of Jars, there was a temporary divergence of the Anglo-American alliance, with LA Woman heading to Louang Phabang (which she hadn't yet seen) and me going to Vientiane. We arranged to meet up in Pakxe a few days hence. The bus journey to Vientiane confirmed that Laos people will chunder at the drop of a hat. I watched bemused as pretty much every other passenger threw up at one point or another in the 9 hour journey. Even the guy distributing the plastic bags, who presumably does this for a living, puked. At each food stop the outside of the bus had to be cleansed of lurid streaks of windblown vomit. I have by no means the strongest stomach in the world but the ride was in no way bumpy ... read more
View northeast from Patouxai monument
That Louang at sunset
Street sign

Asia » China » Sichuan » Chengdu March 10th 2007

09/03/07 Today is another challenging day for the teachers. The students will be staying with their buddies for two nights after their afternoon lessons. In order to help them interact better with their buddies, we decided to give the students some ‘home’ work. We printed some English passages and asked our students to teach their buddies during their home-stay. Hence in the morning, our English teacher, Ms Hidaya, conducted an ‘English’ lesson for our students, teaching them how to teach English. The students were motivated and were taking notes during the session. Not surprisingly, our sec two students had problems understanding the supposedly easy sec-one passages. At 9 am, we set off to Deyang Stone Sculpture Park. It’s a typical tourist spot and we took some group photos. The students gained knowledge on some of the ... read more

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Udaipur March 10th 2007

We rose after our camel adventure the next morning to make our way through Rajasthan at a fast clip. From now on, the hotels and towns would come at us quickly -- one night in each for a quick taste of the neighbourhood. Our wonderful driver, Dallat (sounds like dollop), has been a real blessing. We will have had him for our sole pleasure for six days by the time we are done. This is much better than changing drivers and guides every day or two. In fact, not having a guide as well has been a bit of a welcome relief. Dallat practices his English on us and, we think, it is improving as he gets used to the four silly women. He laughs at his own little jokes ("That camel crazy." "Those monkeys crazy.") ... read more

Asia » China » Sichuan » Chengdu March 10th 2007

Here are some photos taken on Day 6... read more
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4




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