http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/CaminoGirl/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from CaminoGirl en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:18:39 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:18:39 +0000 3 Days in New York City http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-415205.html IrelandBecause of my hair color most people assume I'm from Ireland. Obviously I just had to go there. As far as I know I don't have any Irish in my heritage but while I was there I felt right at home... http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Cork/Carrigaline/blog-413921.html ScotlandFrom England Whitney and I continued by train to Edinburgh Scotland. This was Whitney's second visit to Edinburgh and my first. Very impressive city And I'm so glad we took a bus tour of the Scottish Highlands. We even got to see the Lochness Monster... http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Edinburgh/blog-413555.html The English CountrysideI'm back home in Seattle now and just now uploading photos from the remainder of my trip After Austria Whitney and I flew to England and took a train down to Devon in the south. The countryside there is just how I imagined it... rolling green pastures quaint stonebuilt cottages and winding cobblestone roads.Our first stop was to see Whitney's other grandfather Frank http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Devon/Dartmouth/blog-407685.html Finding my roots in AustriaMy grandfather was born in a small village in Austria called Gebharts. Back in 1899 when he was just a baby his family decided to immigrate to the United States to start their new life in Nebraska. Times were tough in Austria back then and America was the land of milk and honey.I've always wanted to go to Austria and see the village where Grandpa Polt was born. Whi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Vienna-State/Vienna/blog-392144.html In Love with Lisbon http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-395147.html BarcelonaNow I know why everyone raves about Barcelona... It's clean fun and has interesting architecture. It's located in Catalonia next to France on the Mediterranean Sea. The weather was cold windy and rainy while I was there but there was so much to look at http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-393319.html LondonAfter three months in SE Asia I flew from Bangkok to London in 12 hours. New continent new culture new weather. Luckily I was carrying a fleece jacket hat and gloves. As for the rest of my thin Thai clothes... I put them all on in layers. An American redhead walking the streets of London with baggy Thai clothing interesting combo. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/London-City/blog-392135.html Phnom Penh CambodiaI made the ultimate travel photography mistake... lost my memory card in an internet computer somewhere. I can't find it in my luggage and I don't have a backup of my photos from Phnom Penh Here are the only two photos that I have... found in my sent email files. Anyway I was lucky enough to spend a week with a beautiful Cambodian family in Phnom Penh. The connection was m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-392367.html Volunteering at the Elephant Nature ParkWhat an amazing week unlike anything I've ever experienced before Last month I volunteered at the Elephant Nature Park ElephantNaturePark a sanctuary for Asian elephants in Northern Thailand. While I was there over 20 volunteers from all over the world worked together on projects ranging from clearing elephant night shelters to digging elephant mud pits http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-386185.html Northern Thailand Pai and Chiang MaiPai is a village in the mountains of Northern Thailand along a scenic winding road. At the higher elevations here it was cold at night 40F but very hot during the day 95F. The first two photos are from Pai.The rest of the photos are from Chiang Mai the largest city in Northern Thailand... http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-383331.html The Little Library Boat for Lao ChildrenBefore continuing on to Northern Thailand I decided to return to Luang Prubang in Laos for a day or two since the flights stop there on the way. Xuyen had arranged for me to make a quick visit to the Orphanage School of Luang Prubang one of her husband's projects in Laos. She connected me with Chantha the city libarian who coordinated my visit and also http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-384006.html Volunteering in VientianeI'm not much of a city girl but I travelled to the capital of Laos for one reason... to experience volunteer work with children. It's something I've been looking forward to since I started planning my trip around the world and it was a fantastic experience I was pleasantly surprised that the city of Vientiane Laos was more calm and quiet than the other capital cities i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vientiane/blog-383080.html Laos Luang PrubangThis city has been granted World Heritage status. It has retained its charm over the centuries with its Frenchera architecture mixed with tradional Laostyle villas. Despite all the tourists it has a relaxed attitude which I noticed right away when I arrived. It's not a party town probably due to the 1130 pm curfew and I really appreciated that. There are 34 temples and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-378969.html Serene and Mountainous LaosDon't worry be happy could be the national motto for Laos. And no wonder with all of its natural beauty. This is SE Asia's most relaxing destination and a welcome reprieve from the traffic congestion of the more developed countries.The official name is Lao People's Democratic Republic PDR. In Laos the s is not pronounced the spelling comes from the French w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-378982.html North Vietnam Hanoi Halong Bay and SapaThese photos were taken in January while I was in Vietnam. Soon afterwards my memory card got a virus at an internet cafe while getting the photos copied to a DVD As a result I lost most of my photos from Vietnam. Fortunately Dave was travelling with me and was able to email his photos to me when he returned back to Seattle. Thank you DaveSince we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northwest/Sapa/blog-375460.html Angkor Wat in CambodiaI was in Angkor Wat back on January 16th and I finally got the chance to update my blog now. The internet connections here are painfully slow but it's worth it to share these photos with you. My friend from Seattle Dave joined me in Bangkok and we flew from Thailand to Siem Reap in Cambodia the city nearest Angkor Wat.Angkor Wat is only one of several hundred temple rui http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/blog-367041.html AyuthayaFrom Bangkok I took a train 112 hours north to get away from the pollution and traffic for a few days. The town of Ayuthaya was actually much larger than I expected and had its own share of traffic and pollution. However the historical ruins were well worth it.Ayuthaya was the capital of Thailand then called Siam for 400 years. With a population of 1 million at its peack it was actu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ayuthaya/blog-360053.html Happy New Year from Bangkok http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-358768.html Happy Holidays from SingaporeI arrived in Singapore just in time to celebrate Christmas with my American friends the Sauer Family. It was exactly what I needed after almost 3 months away from home. The Sauers live in Singapore with their 3 kids and Christmas was a blast with them. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/Bukit-Batok/blog-357182.html