http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/BnDxplore2006/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from BnDxplore2006 en-us Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:26:47 +0000 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:26:47 +0000 blog by Bronia DaveREMINDER Every blog has between 4080 pictures yet usually only 20 are displayed on the first page. To see them all make sure you click the NEXT button at the bottom of the page. Alternatively doubleclick on a picture to see the slideshow.To all you readers that have followed our journey around the world over the last year you will have probably realised that Jan 29th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/District-of-Madrid/blog-103932.html blog by DaveMendoza After figuring out a rough schedule for the remainder of our rapidly diminishing time we established that our first port of call in Argentina would be Mendoza which is Argentina's 4th largest city with 22 million inhabitants. This is a city that sits in the shadow of Aconcagua the highest peak of the Andes range at 6960m but yet the dry climate provides the ideal conditions http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/blog-103927.html blog by Bronia Happy New Year to all With Christmas now behind us and 2007 having well and truly begun the countdown is on for our return home to London. We entered Chile with 32 days left of our trip. Not much time to see Chile and Argentina and then travel home via a stop off in Portugal but we daren't complain to you all as we've already been spoilt with a complete year off to wander as http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/blog-103930.html blog by DaveBOLIVIAWe had no idea what to expect from Bolivia. It was one of those countries that we had pencilled in to our world trip whilst looking at the map without much thought really. It made a convenient short break en route between the mountains ruins adventures and exertions of Peru and the spectacular geography we would experience in southern Chile. There was a touch of the unknown http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/La-Paz/blog-103928.html blog by Bronia LimaWe arrived in Lima just for a short visit before we would have to fly on further south to Arequipa. We had arranged it that way as we'd heard that Lima was big dangerous and there was not much to see or do as said by our Rough GuideLonely Planet and a few travellers. So with only had 2 weeks to see Peru's highlights we thought it best to not stay too long. We booked a ro http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/blog-102732.html blog by DaveNOTE If you want to see all the pics we've taken you're best bet is to double click on any pic and from there you can get a slideshow through them all.Galapagos Islands When I was a little lad I used to be obsessed by wildlife programs. So much so that my family still think I missed my calling as the next David Attenborough. On demand I could name any animal that appeared on scre http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Galapagos/blog-101179.html blog by BroniaQuitoWith our easy 2 months of travel in Canada and the USA followed by a week of RR in the Caribbean now over Dave and I sat on the three hour flight from Miami to Quito and braced ourselves for a renewed stint of 'proper' travel for the next three months before we fly home to London. We speculated about the types of things we might be expecting to experience again on this port http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-101177.html blog by Bronia... so grab a cup of teacoffee cos you know it's going to be a long one... New York Where on earth do you begin describing a city like New York Famed all over the world the wintersummeranytimeofyear destination for thousands the city that never sleeps the big apple etc. etc. To try and describe New York would be to simply repeat the words that you've probably heard a t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/blog-95128.html blog by DaveToronto We were both very much looking forward to our excursion back into Canada this time the eastern side as even Bronia had never been this far across the country. Toronto the largest city in the country lying in the southern part of the province of Ontario would be our first stop. In 1998 Greater Toronto was created from an amalgamation of five smaller cities thus creati http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Quebec/blog-95126.html blog by Bronia Please note this site keeps changing it's format it's not us we promise so further picturestext may sometimes be hidden look for arrows or signs indicating 'next' to guide you.Seattle Going to Seattle signified for us being on the move again. Vancouver had been part of our trip but it had been a sort of 'trip hiatus' or luxurious break as staying with family and friends ha http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Seattle/blog-87133.html blog by DaveOK so why isn't everybody staring at us This feels very strange indeed. Also it feels a little odd that we can understand everybody and perhaps more perturbing they can understand us. One of the other things that is confirming our exit from Asia is that its been 10 minutes since we landed and no one has badgered us for cash or tried to sell us anything random. After a somewhat leng http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/blog-86136.html blog by Dave BroniaXi'an It didn't take us long to discover that there's more to this city than just the Army of Terracotta Warriors for which it is famed. It is surrounded by an ancient wall for a start which is in itself a monument that can be climbed and walked along. It is a spectacular vision as you approach the city limits with vast elaborate watchtowers dotted evenly along its length http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-83854.html blog by BroniaFor both of us arriving in China was a dream come true. Back in 2005 when this trip was still on the drawing board and we were tossing country names about in the same casual way you toss about what you fancy having for dinner that night. Many of those initial countries like Australia Russia Nepal Tibet were gradually scrapped from our world trip due to time feasibility pol http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-82316.html blog by Dave Hong Kong Part 1 Having left Hanoi Vietnam absolutely shattered by the relentless pace of our recent travel with Sid Kerry we were rather hoping that our first short stint in Hong Kong would be a little easier on the physical and mental side. We weren't disappointed at all. In fact we both commented on how clean and efficient the airport was in comparison to Hanoi as we trund http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/blog-71997.html blog by Bronia The one thing that you will have realised by the end of reading this blog is that South East Asia does not have a good bus system. A bus system it has. An extensive system it has. But a good one it does not. Since our departure from Thailand on June 11th with Sid and Kerry we have taken you through Laos and Cambodia on bus after bus as trains are relatively nonexistent a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-71996.html blog by Dave We thoroughly enjoyed travelling Laos with Sid and Kerry and so having figured out that we had similar itneraries we decided to stick together as a four through Cambodia and Vietnam. It's so much easier to find hotel rooms and avoid the general hassle as a foursome plus we all get on like a house on fire. This part of our travel is pretty hectic and it would be easy to rest for too http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/blog-71995.html blog by Bronia Laos is a truly fascinating and enticing country. Landlocked by five countries China to the north BurmaMyanmar to the west Thailand to the southwest Cambodia to the south and Vietnam to the east it has been subject to much invasion political influence and international nonchalance over its history.Its long history is complicated with various invasions by the Siamese Thailand http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-61277.html blog by Bronia DaveElephant Protection ProjectFrom the island of Ko Chang we moved on to the town of Pattaya that made its name and so called 'fame' during the Vietnam war. It was in this area under the welcoming support of the Thai government that the US Army troups were allowed to be based to fight the Vietnemese. The troups requiring rest and relaxation would head to Pattaya's coast for su http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-61275.html blog by Bronia Sawadeekakrap hello from Thailand formerly known as Siam. Well we are fully into Thailand and the Thai culture now. Our guide Lucky recently gave us Thai names for fun Bronia's is Pai Lin meaning a Thai red ruby and Dave's is Manop which means... wait for it.... handsome onegood angel don't know what went wrong there Our last blog left you in the north http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-62377.html blog by DaveFrom our luxury surroundings in the heart of Bangkok's business centre we moved on to meet our Gap Year project group at the fabled backpackers centre of Kao San Road. The hotel 'Thai Cozy House' was not quite five star this time being located above a variety of food and clothing shops but it was comfortable enough with most of the desired ameneties. The Gap Year Work Travel Com http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-53018.html