http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/A-Travel-Story/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from A Travel Story en-us Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:57:50 +0000 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:57:50 +0000 Rio de Janeiro Brazil. The travel books all give many warnings about being mugged or robbed in Brazil. Donrsquot believe the hype. If you have any street smarts at all or if you have lived in any large city you probably already know how to reduce your chances of being a target. The travel guides recommend using a guide to go to the soccer game. We went and were fine 15ticket. Just g http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Rio-de-Janeiro/blog-453318.html We stayed in the historic center of Salvador known as the Pelourinho Pel. In English Pelourinho means whippingpost. It was named as such because it is where Africans were sold into slavery upon arriving in Salvador. Most of the buildings in the Pel were built while Brazil was a Portuguese colony. Brazil was the seat of the Portuguese Monarch during the period that Napoleon's Army possess http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Bahia/Salvador/blog-450908.html Machu PicchuWe are on the airplane flying from Peru to Salvador Brazil. We were in Machu Picchu yesterday.Tomorrow is Halloween at home in the USA. Halloween has been my favorite holiday foras long as I can remember. Kim and I both love dressing up and staying in character for the evening. One of my first memories was dressing up as the Riddler one of Batman's enemies. I think I was in the f http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Machu-Picchu/blog-449890.html We have been at Dharmarsquos and Ananthyrsquos house in Lima Peru since Saturday. They live in a very nice area called Miraflores just a few blocks from the Ocean. We met Ananthy and Dharma in Delhi a few years ago. They are both from the USA. Dharma is an English teacher and he was working at the American School in Delhi before moving to the American School in Peru this summer. Ananthy http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Lima/Lima/Miraflores/blog-448358.html We have been in the Brazilian Jungle about 3 hours from Manaus for the last three days. It took two boat rides and two vehicle rides to get here. There is no cell signal or Internet. The only electricity is by generator. We found a guy named Vincente Thomas through Lonely Planet he was listed under Manaus jungle trekking and he met us at the airport in Manaus. He delivered us to a floating http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Amazonas/Manaus/blog-447916.html We are in a neighborhood called Palermo Viejo in a studio condo 300 USDweekfound it on Craigslist.com. Think Hawthorne District Portland Oregon but older and edgier. It is a ridiculously charming city in the European sense. Visually it is like mixing San Francisco Portland Oregon and Madrid Spain but it is cheaper to be here. A four course dinner for two with drinks costs 50 http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-445501.html Last night we got off a plane in Iguau Falls in Brazil after 33 hours of traveling from Delhi. We are in a town called Foz do Iguau in the Brazilian state of Paran and tomorrow we will be on the Argentine side of the falls in a town called Puerto Iguaz. After checking in at our hotel we walked three blocks where we found a strip of restaurants. They were all watching the soccer match betw http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Paran-/Foz-do-Igua-u/blog-445038.html Kim and I are heading to Brazil Argentina and Peru. If you have any 'must sees' please let us know. Here is our schedule so far2 Days in Iguazu Falls 6 Days in Buenos Aires we got a condo in Palermo 5 Days in the Amazon jungle with 4 days trekking departing Manau 3 Days in Lima Peru and 2 Days at Machu Picchu5 Days in Salvador Brazil10 Days in Rio de Janeiro Brazil staying in a condo at http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/blog-443117.html Our friend Tina from Chicago who we met in Delhi moved to Mumbai about a month ago. We had a three day weekend from work so we headed over there to see her and Mumbai. It was our first visit to Mumbai. We loved the place. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Maharashtra/Mumbai/blog-440600.html Hello Dalai LamaWell Hello Dalai LamaIt's so nice to have you here while China's doing wrongYou're looking swell Dalai Lama We can tell Dalai LamaYou're still glowin' you're still crowin'You're still goin' strong.We feel the World swayin'While your Monks are sayin One of your old fav'rite songs from 'way back when ....Can you picture a Mel Brook's musicalKarita Kim Farah James and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Mcleod-Ganj/blog-438711.html I am not sure what to say about Budapest. It is so many places all at once. It reminded us a bit of Prague in terms of the ornate nature of its architecture but it seemed a magnitude in size bigger and the old buildings were generally in poorer condition. We walked for hours looking at what could be some of the most beautiful buildings if anyone was willing to restore them. Clearly this city w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Hungary/Central-Hungary/Budapest/Pest/blog-430106.html The Italians ate all the ToastIf you haven't heard Kim and I are vegetarians. As vegetarians you often look for Italian food first when you travel. It is one of the most prolifically traveled delicious foods in the world that includes vegetarian dishes. Since we can get Indian and Thai at home easily we look for Italian when we travel.Is 'prolifically' a word That is the beauty of World http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Croatia/Dalmatia/Dubrovnik/blog-428448.html We are traveling south along Croatia on a ferry in the Adriatic Sea. We took a 2 hour bus from Rovinj to Rijeka. The driver was smoking below a nosmoking sign so we didn't feel guilty about eating and drinking below the no eating or drinking signs. We then took the ferry. The overnight ferry from Rijeka to Dubrovnik was sold out of private rooms so we slept on deck. It departed at 8pm and a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Croatia/Istria/Rijeka/blog-426990.html Rovinj Istra CroatiaWe spent 2 days in Rovinj Croatia. Nice place. Small and peaceful. Cobblestone streets and a beautiful little harbour. The first night we stayed in a hotel about a mile out of town. I am beginning to see a pattern here in the unwired world. The only hotels online in a place like Rovinj are big monstrous modern aberrations or old world palaces catering to people who are http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Croatia/Istria/Rovinj/blog-426978.html August 5 2009. We have been in Venice since the 2nd. Amazing place. She is a bit haggered around the edges as you will see from the pictures. All the better for wear and tear. She ages gracefully as she sinks slowly into the sea. Much of the excitement of exploring her is walking about aimlessly with the map snugly in your pocket. Often your choices end in deadends but in Venice the way http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-426981.html We are on the train going from Milan to Venice. We flew into Milan from Delhi arriving Saturday morning and did a little sight seeing in Milan before catching a train to Venice on Sunday at 130pm. I didn't get my normal early morning walk because my neck is giving me trouble. I hurt my neck weigh lifting about 2 weeks ago and they don't have chiropractors in Northern India so I will try to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lombardy/Milan/blog-425215.html The executive management team for the CPA Global office in India headed off to Shimla this weekend to align ourselves around our common purpose. When you have goals as big as CPA Global you need to be in the highest state of trust and communication. Fortunately our country head in India Bhaskar Bagchi not only understands this but he takes his team out on corporate team building exercises to as http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Shimla/blog-421917.html We flew from Boracay to Cebu on Day 5. We were a bit disappointed upon arrival at Costabella Tropical Beach Resort in Mactan Island. There was nobody at the place the beach was very small and there were large fences between the resorts so you couldn't walk down the beach and people watch like you could in Boracay. The place was hurting due to the economy. Magellan the Spanish explorer met h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Cebu/Moalboal/blog-397750.html Our first stop in Manila was the Mall of Asia. We heard it was the largest mall in Asia and it was certainly the largest mall that we have seen in Asia. I am simply guessing but it was about 10 times the size of Select City Walk in New Delhi. I have been wanting to pick up a traveling sized computer and I found an HP Mini there for about 480.00. That is about 100 more than I can get one for in t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Boracay/blog-396695.html This past weekend Kim and I and a few friends headed off to Orissa. Caitlin works for a nonprofit organization NGO that feeds malnourished children in rural India. Basically they take very poor children who are dangerously underweight for their age and feed them a highly nutritious liquid food supplement that fattens them up. She fattens kids up for about 8 each if you would like to pitch http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Orissa/Puri/blog-390679.html