Well, it's been a while since I posted on this blog. Mainly because I have been too busy to travel. Those of you who might still be subscribed to recieve e-mails on these blogs can remove their subscription at the bottom of the e-mail. I moved to China a little over a week ago. I have a job as a researcher/lecturer at Dalian Maritime University. This semester for the most part I am just doing research. I had a bit of a rocky start getting here, all of my bags (even my carryon) were lost by the airline. But it turned out fine because everything made it the following day. While I have been too busy to do much sightseeing, I have had a chance to wander around the campus. It is full of green spaces ... read more

I started my adventure in Laos with an eventful bus trip from Bangkok, Thailand to Vientiane, Laos. The overnight double decker bus was exceedingly nice and only 1/3 full. At our midnight stop I was informed by a couple sitting in the back that one of the bus drivers/attendants had attempted to unzip their bag sitting near them on the seat. Luckily nothing was missing. They complained to the drivers/attendants about this attempted theft, but they acted like they could not understand what we were talking about. Later on the bus trip, I woke up as I heard someone run very fast and loudly down the front steps of the bus into the driver's compartment. This was followed by a yell from a guy sitting across the aisle from me. He had woken up and saw ... read more

Route in Vietnam From Cambodia I took a riverboat down the Mekong river to Vietnam and then into Chau Doc, a large river delta town. The Mekong river in Vietnam is a spiderweb of canals form the lifeblood of the region. The delta, I saw, was a densely populated region with farming on the islands and aquaculture and fishing in the canals. While the region did not appear to be overly rich, it was much more prosperous than Cambodia with many new bridges and well paved roads. From the river delta I traveled north to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon, as the locals still refer to it), which is still somewhat in the delta. The town is rapidly developing with many high rise apartment buildings. I did not see too many of the sights in ... read more

Myanmar, or Burma as the United States refers to it, is a very interesting country. For those who do not know, the country is a military dictatorship. The elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for the majority of the years since her election in 1990. The United States and the EU (I believe) have implemented full economic sanctions against Myanmar pending the release of the elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The current government is known for forced labor of its citizens, imprisonment and execution of political dissidents, and rampant corruption. However, they encourage tourists and it is a rather safe country for tourists. Using my guidebook I traveled as much as possible with non-government owned means. All trains and boats are government owned and some guest houses. The bus system ... read more

Hello from India, I have been in India for about 2 weeks now. So far, it has been increadible. My introduction to India was in the backpacker district near Old Delhi. This area is near the very center of Delhi, the roads are at the most, only wide enough for 2 tuk-tuk's (about 1.5 cars). They are lined with shops selling everything you could need and most things you don't. The roads are always crouded with people, bicycles, carts, wagons, dogs, and every 20 feet or so, a cow. Being miles from any grass, the cows appear to be fed carrots, and luckily they are very tame. Because this area is crouded with backpackers, everyone on the street tries to sell something. If you stop, they will croud around you trying to sell you their ... read more