http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Ash/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Ash en-us Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:31:07 +0000 Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:31:07 +0000 There is a particular romance to travelling a tingly excitement and sensory rush to beginning a new trip. The evolution of a random idea as it spawns into an ironclad decision followed by the struggle of packing planning and finally cracking open that obscenely new Lonely Planet guidebook is a sinuous dance of emotions. Actually the later can be a bit daunting especially when thirteen coun http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-342685.html nn http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Vanuatu/Efate/Port-Vila/blog-332357.html Neiafu Vavau notorious for humpback whales mounds of taro root and a church on every street and country corner is nestled along the tiny Port of Refuge obscured from sight and protected from the ocean by towering hills and sheltered coves. The Kingdom of Tonga the only sovereign monarchy among the island nations of the Pacific Ocean is made up of a whopping 171 islands only 48 of which ar http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Suva/blog-331199.html Gangly girls hair tightly braided in plaits swinging the skirts of their checkered button down dresses giggle and clutch worn school books tightly to their chests. The boys shuffling along in dusty lava lavas carry crumbled cheeto's bags in one hand IPOD's in the other and bounce their chins to unheard beats of bass and drums. Nearby a cluster of weathered men and a chipped concrete tabl http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Tonga/Vava--u/blog-320276.html It's one of those traumatic childhood stories. We all have one. Moonlit graveyards sock eating monsters under the bed the Boogy Man fluffy bunny rabbits lumpy toads there is a spinetingling nemesis out there for everyone. Some are a bit more understandable than others such as my strapping 6 foot 3 Scottish friend who has an apprehension towards turkeys of the gobble gobble variety not http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Samoa/Upolu/Apia/blog-303851.html Slumbering bedding down bunking catnapping zoning out catching forty winks and hitting the hay. Normal people call it sleeping a state of inactivity or unconsciousness. Somewhere between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. individuals all over the world are sleeping and recharging their bodies and restless minds. Lucky them. I haven't completely slept through a night in several months for we http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Samoa/Upolu/Apia/blog-291048.html Life goal 132 Learn to shake my hips as swiftly and rhythmically as the dancing ladies on the Cook Islands. This ambition comes right after 131 which is teaching myself how to play the ukulele. Ahoy Rarotonga Another landing for Queequeg slapbang in the heart of the South Pacific ocean a startling sea side paradise and haven for the aspiring Jim Hawkinrsquos of the world two points http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Cook-Islands/Palmerston/blog-273970.html Five days later and ten pounds lighter. Who would have known that one could subsist on mashed potatoes and saltine crackers for so many endless days at sea. I read six books and slept for approximately 80 of the trip trying to put my mind elsewhere aside from the up and down topsyturvy motion of the boat. From my small porthole in my stateroom bedroom I went from seeing 6 inches of wat http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/French-Polynesia/Tubuai/blog-272969.html 039039039Nothing on Tahiti is so majestic as what faces it across the bay for there lies the island of Moorea. To describe it is impossible. It is a monument to the prodigal beauty of nature.039039039 JAMES MICHENERMoorea is by far the most gorgeous peaceful and tantalizing island I have ever been lucky to visit. Following a three hour sail from Tahina marina we sailed http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/French-Polynesia/Moorea/blog-248710.html The bustling capital of Tahiti Papersquoete is also known as the ldquobasket of waterrdquo our first and not very accurate glimpse into Polynesian life. No idea why it carries that nickname but Irsquom sure there is some island legend behind the idiom as there is with all other things here. The mountains have legends the lagoons have legends even the dances have legends behind them http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/French-Polynesia/Tahiti/blog-245280.html Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain Before you get too confused these beautiful pictures of paradise are from my stop in the islands on my way home back in May. I'm a tad late in pos http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Illinois/Champaign/blog-210414.html We were an hour late. The sun was setting behind insipid lifeless hills and a pale salmon glow highlighted the waters in our path. My partner formed a dim outline in front of me his urgent quirky paddle strokes creating fleeting shadows over my bare legs. The water was smooth and we maneuvered easily. The high tide came in over two hours ago covering the abandoned estuaries and sandy playgro http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Abel-Tasman-National-Park/Marahau/blog-154266.html Wandering in the Sounds It's lightly sprinkling as the sun makes a final dip behind the surrounding green hills and tranquil ocean basins. The windows are speckled with streaks of warm springtime showers the panes fogged from the comforting warmth of the log fire by my toes. Beyond pale reflections of tiger orange luminosity lie the striking cradles and ridges of Charlotte Sound a breathtaki http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Marlborough/Queen-Charlotte-Sounds/blog-144934.html Airports are distracting. To avoid interruption of the sheep herding phenomenon airports should be altered into concrete blocks consisting of no frills fancies or inflated monetary amusement. Case in point when I should have been sprinting across the main terminal to retrieve my battered luggage from carousal number 2 I was cleverly tricked into trying on hot pink eye shadow spritzing mys http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-114369.html Once upon a two day train trekI wrote a small tale to tell.Sit back and listen as the story unfoldsof our true train adventure from hell.A flight was just too much money.There was no road to follow by car.A train was the very last optionfor the distance to travel was far.Shanghai was our next destination.Two days by train it would be.Let's do it I said and our tickets we boughtThe decision http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-111256.html Lijiang is an oasis for the burnt out backpacker. After six weeks of nonstop travel endless bus rides late nights on the town and early morning rushes to pack rapid sightseeing tours and too much street food we arrived weary and drained into Mama Naxi's Guesthouse for some much needed nurturing and mothering. Mama has a reputation around the inner travelling circles of China. Her name is w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-110957.html We've officially done Hong Kong. We've climbed the 226 stairs to the top of Lantau's bronze Giant Buddha and grazed isle after infinite isle of claustrophobic market stalls we've dined on spicy Cantonese yum cha and tasted the salty spray aboard the Star Ferry we've strolled through the polished ambience of Louie Vuitton and gawked at luminous diamonds on display at Tiffany's. We traipsed down http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-108462.html My my my...time has sped by. I apologize for my lack of attentiveness since leaving you on a rainy afternoon in Yangshou. However with the big city awe of Hong Kong a timely visit by the police and practically quantum leaping over border crossings yes I admit that I've been negligent to my duties. If only to avoid the hassle of writing on bumpy buses or in the tea light lit murkiness of a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Kowloon/blog-107623.html I promise to feed it and cuddle it and take it for walks everyday and I'll love it forever and ever......On second thought I don't think the horses on the farm would cooperate with a lazy overweight bear sharing their stables. Sadly I won't be bringing home a giant bear from this China trip. Supplying the vast quantities of bamboo that they inhale on a daily basis would dwindle my already mea http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guangxi/Yangshuo/blog-104604.html Ice Mountain It was almost like staying at the Four Seasons. A few exceptions perhaps...The hard cold ground didn't quite resemble a double stuffed air mattress and the air conditioner seemed to be permenantly stuck in the on position. Room service also had an obscene obsession for oily noodles and potatoes for three meals a day...but I won't be complaining to reception. Four days of horse tre http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Sichuan/Songpan/blog-102885.html