Kanchanaburi was amazing! After a wonderful 2 hour bus ride in the AIR CONDITIONING (yes, we spoiled ourselves), we trudged across town to the Nita Rafthouse on the Kwae River. This place was pretty neat! The entire guest house was built on floating rafts tied together with strips of bamboo. There was also a huge, comfy hangout area with couches, books, and fans where we could relax and watch the kayaks floating past. Sitting outside, we had some friendly roosters that were a bit confused. They started crowing at 1 a.m. and kept up the good work till mid-afternoon. On our [View Full Entry]

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I've never taken so many showers in a 24 hour period! Five minutes after leaving the cold shower (which is complete heaven), and struggling into a tank top, you are almost ready for another one. The best moment is when you first wake up in the morning. In that short instant, before you begin to move your limbs or open your eyes, you are completely comfortable and "almost" cool. As much as I wouldn't mind sleeping a bit later in the mornings, it is best to get up and actually get stuff done. By 11 a.m., the shaded cafes are full [View Full Entry]

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I love, love, love, love, love, LOVE Thailand. I love the friendly, smiling people and the beautiful green lushness of the trees and grass. I love the mouthwatering aromas of the equally delicious food and I love the little ladies in the wide brimmed straw hats selling freshly sliced \ mangos from their tiny carts. I even love the cold showers. I am as happy as a clam nestled in the sand of a white beach. Of course, this is only Bangkok, my first taste of Thailand. However, it can only get better when leaving the big city behind. We are [View Full Entry]

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We are bidding farewell to India on Thursday as we begin the next leg of our journey in Thailand, the land of neverending rice paddies. Currently, we are visiting Pushkar to rest up before heading back to the hectic streets of Delhi. After a brief stop in Mt. Abu where we saw an amazing Jain temple, we spent two nights in Jodhpur. Except for the markets and ancient fort built high on the hills, there wasn't much too see in the 'blue city.' It was indeed a 'blue city.' As we stood on the rocky ridge of the fort, there was [View Full Entry]

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Who knew that you could spend an entire afternoon in the post office? Liz wanted to mail some of her special purchases home so we set off for the afternoon with the intention of quickly dropping the parcel off and meandering through the local shops. After waiting in a rather long line at the post office we were directed to a smaller office down the dusty street to have the purchases sealed. I sat in rapt amazement for the next 3 hours while a kind old gentleman and his eager young daughter bent over the table and prepared the parcel. They [View Full Entry]

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We are sitting on a rooftop overlooking the old city of Udaipur having our morning tea. The temple bells are chiming behind us, alerting the children to hurry to school and below us the shopkeepers are opening their stalls for business. Across the street, a young wife is hanging out her freshly washed laundry while her two young children hug her legs...the city is coming to life before my eyes. Speaking of laundry - ours is hanging in our room, drip drying in the sun. "You know you are a backpacker when you ignore the accumulation of dirt on your favorite [View Full Entry]

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Although I've only been traveling by bus in India for a very short time, I've developed a few conclusions. 1) Aisle vs. Window - It can be quite difficult to decide whether you want a window seat or an aisle seat. Of course, with the window seat, you have the option of an open window and fresh air. However, you are also within spitting distance of the many camels roaming around and get a lungful of exhaust from all of the other modes of transportation passing by the street. On the other hand, the aisle, which can be stuffy without the [View Full Entry]

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I've become addicted to chai, a yummy, sweet tea that I can seem to find everywhere. The past week has been a whirlwind as we are traveling our way west through Rajasthan. After two nights in Ajmer and an amazing tour of the Taj Mahal at sunrise, we hopped on a bus to Fatephur Sirki - a very local bus I might add, complete with chickens, thumping music, and a crazy ride though the twisty roads. The original city of Fatephur was built around 1571 during the reign of Emperor Akbar. The magnificent city is now a ghost city and lies [View Full Entry]

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On the road... 96 hours, 3 bumpy plane rides, 6 airline meals, 2 layovers, 7 hours wandering around the Bombay airport, 23 games of Rummy, and 4 near death experiences on the rickshaw rides - - Liz and I are finally settling into the life of backpacking...somewhat. We're still on Illinois time and have been waking up at 3 a.m. to play cards however! We survived getting lost in Delhi! Lesson #1 when traveling in one of the largest foreign cities in the world...always, always, always take a card with the name and address of the hotel in which you are [View Full Entry]

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Packing Not that I'm one to complain, but do you have any idea how difficult it is to pack everything that I need into one small backpack. Okay, I am actually lugging along a 5200 cubic inch, huge pack with multiple zippers, storage areas, and too many straps and buckles to count. However, when I am only allowed to bring along a handful of clothes, including items for hot, miserable weather in Asia and the freezing, snowy terrain of the Himalaya's, it is quite problematic to pick and choose what to bring. I know that I'll be able to buy items [View Full Entry]

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