http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Andy and Christine/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Andy and Christine en-us Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:49:59 BST Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:49:59 BST It was odd when we crossed from Italy into France on May 5th. One second we were hurtling along on the train in Italy and all of a sudden we were in France and didn't even know it. The scenery slowly started to change the houses were slightly different and the coast was beautiful with long empty sand beaches and the bluest waters. The train stopped and some guys dressed in plain clothes as http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d--Azur/Nice/blog-279746.html It's a strange thought knowing you're on your way to Venice. A place that you've heard of all your life but are not sure what to expect. A city containing 118 islands and 400 bridges. Our train finally pulled into the last stop so we got off and went to find out. As we walked through the train station on Apr. 28th we were approached by a couple different guys wanting us to stay at their hotels http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-276278.html Our journey now continued on to Tuscany a region known for it's beautiful landscapes medieval towns and delicious wines especially the famous red Chianti. Images of warm colours old world doors and balconies terra cotta pots filled with gorgeous blooms and rural ripe pastures filled our minds. What better a place to be heading off to and our first stop was Siena whose historical town centr http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Siena/blog-274101.html We arrived in Bari Italy on Apr. 14th well rested after a wonderful sleep. For this we were thanking our wise decision to stay in an actual bed in a cabin on the ferry from Greece to Italy. No more stiff deck chairs that were impossible to get used to our usual level of ferry comfort in Greece. We said goodbye to the ferry and hello to Bari making our way to the bus station to buy a ticket to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Naples/blog-270000.html The time had come for us to start making our way up to other parts of Greece. The only difficulty was deciding where next because there were so many great destinations. After lots of thought we set off on Apr. 7th for Delphi a small majestic town of 1500 people where Alexander the Great once sought advice at the Oracle. We left Athens in the early afternoon to try and catch a local bus to the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Central-Greece/Delphi/blog-265930.html Where had the time gone What had just happened There we were on Mar. 24th finally arriving in Europe. We had a quick layover in Amsterdam where it was snowing It was so odd to see the snow falling and feel that icy chill after being in a hot place like Egypt. Luckily it was just a layover since none of our clothes could withstand that cold. What wimps we had become already missing the heat http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Attica/Athens/blog-260048.html Willie Nelson said it best...sometimes you 'just can't wait to get on the road again'. So we hit the road again on Mar. 14th back up north to Lower Egypt back to Cairo. The ten hour train ride was right on time and with the help of a British couple chatting with us the ride went pretty quickly. We desperately tried to find a different hotel this time around but the ones we wanted were either http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Mediterranean/Alexandria/blog-258940.html Leaving Luxor and heading off south to Aswan on Mar. 7th started out very well. We had our complimentary breakfast at our cheapie hotel then sped out the door on the way to the train station. Five minutes later we were there snacks in hand all ready for a quick three hour train ride to Aswan. Things were going too smoothly to be true and sure enough nine am our departure time rolled around http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Aswan/blog-256992.html We were off on our way to see the Taj Mahal in Agra a must see location on any trip to Northern India. Just another easy night train on Feb. 12 this time from Bikaner to Jaipur since we wanted to break up the long train trip and spend one more day wandering Jaipur. It was an interesting stopover and we liked the city much more the second time around. We got a much better hotel and strangely e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Agra/blog-256684.html The plane arrived on Feb. 25th and there we were in Cairo Egypt. We bought our visas with minimal problems then had to buy a chocolate bar to get some change for the bus. ATMs seem to love to spit out bills that are too high to change. After a little confusion with the bus as all the numbers were in Arabic we met a kind gent who wrote out the number to catch to downtown Cairo.A man on our bu http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-250742.html As predicted when we arrived in Dubai on Feb. 18th we were in for quite severe culture shock. How could we not be coming from a place like India to this. The huge luxury hotels an indoor ski slope the massive modern shopping malls all situated near the blue waters of the Persian Gulf. Dubai seemed to be the place that everyone has heard of but few know more than these details before visit http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/United-Arab-Emirates/Dubai/blog-249166.html It was dark cold and way too early when we arrived by train in Jaisalmer on the morning of Feb. 5th. We had decided to call ahead and reserve a room since we would be getting there at six am and it was a wise decision. Our hotel offered to pick us up at the station for free which was just fantastic. It was a bit scary waking up on a train in the dark wondering if we were at the right stop a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jaisalmer/blog-247255.html We got onto the overnight train to Udaipur on Jan. 26th without having any idea what to expect. It was great we left at 1030 in the evening climbed into our bunks which also included sheets and blankets since we were travelling on the two tiered ac section and fell asleep. A perfect way to travel you wake up in a new place ready to go. A short and simple prepaid rickshaw ride took us to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Udaipur/blog-245122.html India seems to be one place that when people know you're going there they say one of two things. Either 'Wow you're going to India that's great how exciting' or 'You're going to India why would you want to go there'. Well we were on our way to the place where people are usually quite intimidated to visit for the first time ready to expect the unexpected bring on the challenges and say http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/National-Capital-Territory/New-Delhi/blog-243023.html After a very easy and short bus trip from Laos across the ThaiLaos Friendship Bridge we arrived in a place called Udon Thani Thailand. It was smooth sailing getting through the borders other than the odd line jumper that seemed to be a fairly common thing in Southeast Asia. We got over it pretty quickly though since we were one step closer to seeing one of the wonders of the world the magnif http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-241810.html It was Jan. 7th as we walked down a dusty hill in Chiang Khong Thailand to the side of the famous Mekong River to climb into a small boat and cross the river to the Laos side of the border. The water was surprisingly dark and murky and we wondered how deep it really was trying not to fall in with our packs strapped to our backs. We carefully climbed into the tipsy little river boat and in fiv http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-238617.html Morning rolled around on Jan. 2nd and we headed off to the bus station to hopefully meet up with our new friends and head north to Chiang Mai. It was very easy and straight forward that is until we found out the brutal news that every single bus to Chiang Mai was already full. Again 'Happy New Year' was to blame as it was the day after New Years and everyone was returning home after their hol http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North/Chiang-Mai/blog-238272.html To get to the temple filled city of Ayuthaya we decided to enjoy our first Thailand train experience. After picking up our passports the evening before we headed off on Dec. 29th to make our way north. Getting to the Hualamphong train station and buying our tickets was fairly easy first the bus then the sky train and then the subway with our bulging backpacks. Luckily it was earlier in the d http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central/Ayutthaya/blog-235503.html Remember the old eighties song it went something like 'One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble...one night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble'. Well we were about to find out if there was any truth to the lyrics.December 18th and there we were in Bangkok After a mini flight of 2.5 hours and a couple of evil women at the Thailand customs who gave us a hard time we arrived in the so cal http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central/Bangkok/blog-234553.html We boarded the bus on Dec. 12th and headed off from Melaka to Singapore the famed island nation and citystate. It was a 5 and a half hour ride which included crossing the borders. At first we were a bit intimidated about going there since there are many punishable offences some that one can get caned for. For example it is illegal to chew gum or take photos at the border crossings. But surp http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-230735.html