http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Crazy-Canucks/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Crazy Canucks en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:39:03 +0000 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:39:03 +0000 It was a short trip no thanks to Cayman Airlines changing our flight from Thursday to Friday making our already tight timeline even tighter. After sitting on the tarmac for 50mins waiting for the CubanAmericans to transfer from their Miami Cayman connection to our Cayman Havana flight the ldquoSwamp Loopholerdquo the fun was just beginning. Capturing what Havana is in a sentence will http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-461706.html There is something about the West Coast that distinguishes it from the East Coast whether it is the ease of which one can eat sushi pho thai and fish tacos or the laidback lifestyle the two coasts are worlds apart. The West Coast is such a beautiful place especially SoCal with its beaches and sunny weather letrsquos not mention the traffic issues. The mere fact that English is still the p http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Diego/La-Jolla/blog-455147.html ScottsdaleHaving done a few golf trips to Myrtle Beach we decided to change things up a bit and head West. We thoroughly enjoyed what Scottsdale had to offer great golf good food awesome dry warm weather and a young vibrant university crowd. Why people choose to retire in humid muggy and wet Florida over warm and dry Arizona we will never begin to understand. What a great place 9 inches http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Scottsdale/blog-403127.html Well its been a year since we stepped foot in the swamp and its been a roller coaster of a year. The financial crisis is well underway and the financial markets and those that depend on them have their work cut out for the next year or two or three............. Having lived in Bermuda for seven years we have been asked many times how the two islands compare and we certainly do our fair share of http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cayman-Islands/Grand-Cayman/blog-230333.html After spending 11.5 months travelling the world and visiting the majority of the most famous cities in the world there is no doubting that Vancouver is in the top most beautiful cities in the world on a sunny day. By no means is Vancouver a world class city on the Financial front far from it but it is certaintly one of the easiest cities on the eyes and lungs.For visitors there are so many t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-192938.html Getting to the South Island was a like stepping back in time. Insisting that you arrive at the ferry terminal at 700am an 1 hr before boarding we did just that and then proceeded to sit in the car with nothing to do until the 800 boarding began at 815am. All this time the loading area could only hold approx 25 vehicles meaning the rest of the vehicles were required to wait in line and even http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Queenstown/blog-136110.html Well our trip is now over can't believe that we are done and no doubt all our subscribers are pleased that the emails from us are now ending. Calgary was fantastic for so many reasons. Thank you to Dale and Angel and Philip Daphne for being such great hosts. In addition we would like to thank all those that drove hours and in some cases across several provincial lines to attend our first annu http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Alberta/Calgary/blog-150084.html After an 8 hour flight we landed on the island so notorious for surfing sun and fun. However we would have to wait to see Hawaii a bit longer than anticipated as the US Immigration officer that we were to go through did not speak English and could not phalom the idea of traveling the world especially visiting such terrorists hot spots of Egypt and Morocco What a Joke. After standing at th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Oahu/blog-147699.html After a short flight from Christchurch to Brisbane and a good night's sleep we picked up our rental car and drove 5 hours North to Agnes Water. The sole reason for going to Agnes Water was to try our luck for a 2nd time to get out to the Great Barrier Reef. A month earlier we were unsuccessful from Port Douglas so we thought would use our 5 day window between flights to give the GBR another http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Agnes-Water/blog-140798.html After an extremely painful and costly time at the Melbourne airport we arrived in the land that reminds us of British Columbia Scotland and many other countries. New Zealand like most other countries in the world requires visitors to their promised land to have a return ticket to ensure you exit their country. However unlike 99.9 of all the other countries looking respectable and having onw http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-134686.html After a 3hr flight from Cairns to Melbourne we checked into the Formula 1 Hotel at the Melbourne Airport great little Hotel Chain sort of like a box but serves its purpose. Started the next morning by getting an Avis rental car which was a bit of a mess as their systems went down and they had to turn to the manual process of allocating cars. Needless to say we got a car that wasn't in the http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-132925.html After a relatively easy 8 hr flight from Singapore Airlines we arrived down under. Wow can't believe we have arrived in Aussie home of Aussie Rules Footy the saying of Good on you Mate and the land of politically incorrectness I love the tell it as it is approach.SydneyWe spent 5 nights at the Leisure Inn Suites in Kings Cross good location and inexpensive for Sydney just don't st http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-130160.html Took a 35 Min flight from Puket to Samui and arrived at the Bangkok Airways landing strip. The airport or shack is a bit of a joke but nonetheless it serves its purpose. Unfortunately Bangkok Airways owns the landing strip thus resulting in it being the only airlines that flies in and out of Samui.Before we start our blog we have decided to state our must see's in Southern Thailand1. Koh Ph http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-125943.html Phi Phi Don The Land of Backpackers and Day TrippersBoarded the ferry for the 1 12 hour trip. From the get go it seemed as though we were never going to make it to Phi Phi as long tails from Noppharat beach kept coming and coming and coming and the people kept boarding and boarding onto the ferry. By the time we were ready to go there was barely enough room for people to sit as the mounta http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-124492.html We were sad to leave Langkawi but knew that Southern Thailand is famous for its beaches and entertainment We caught the 1hr ferry from Langkawi Malaysia to Satun Thailand cleared Thai customs and then negotiated a car and driver from Satun direct to Koh Lanta for 1000Baht each. We had an American from Washington St. join us which cut our costs and at the end of the day we were in Ko Lanta http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Lanta/blog-119977.html After a 3hr flight from Bali on the cheap and cramped Air Asia we landed in Kuala Lumpur. We stayed 2 nights at the Number Eight Guesthouse great location and clean and then had to move due to availablity. We spent the next 2 nights at the Replica Inn great location good value clean but small rooms cheaper than the guesthouse.We did not have any expectations of KL and it really gre http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Kedah-and-Perlis/Pulau-Langkawi/blog-118113.html After a flight from HCMC via Singapore we landed on the Island of the Gods. The island is full of temples touts eroded beaches trashy commercialism and lush green scenery. Our first impression of Bali was not that good and the island of gods and paradise seemed to have turned into a tackytrashy beach destination. Having heard and read so much about this place we knew that we had to give it http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/blog-116446.html Caught a 1 hr flight from Hanoi to Da Nang and jumped into a taxi for a 20 minute ride to Hoi An the must see place in Vietnam. Stayed 5 nights at the Thien Thanh Hotel good location free internet friendly staff and very quiet. The hotel put on a really nice Christmas dinner that was a really nice touch.Hoi An is an ancient town that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-113077.html HanoiAfter catching a 2 hr flight from Siem Reap we arrived in Hanoi. We got quite a shock when we landed as the temperature was 20 degrees cooler than Siem Reap and was definitely not the temp that was posted on the net. Needless to say the jeans came out for the first time since Nepal. The city has changed a lot since our last visit in 2001 with a lot more cars and boutique shops now located http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-111211.html After a 2hr flight from Luang Prabang Laos we arrived in Siem Reap. From the moment we exited the airport we were treated like King and Queen. We stayed 5 nights at The Villa Siem Reap 5 service at guesthouses prices gigantic rooms great staff good food and great location. There is a reason why this guesthouse is 1 on Hostel World and Trip Advisor it caters to the tourist and does http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-109790.html