http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Gunga/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Gunga en-us Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:04:33 +0000 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:04:33 +0000 Flying Lao Airlines was like revisiting the 1960's. The first time I ever flew was a short flight from Newark to Boston. The stewardesses that's what they were called back then were all young and beautiful even for a short hop you were served a snack you walked out on the tarmac and up a flight of stairs to get into the plane and the plane had propellers. All of this happened on my flight f http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vientiane/blog-379273.html I have been in Cambodia since Feb. 26. Arrived after two short flights from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City formerly Saigon and then on to Siem Reap. If Vietnam was hot then Cambodia borders on hell. The temps hover between 90 100 and the humidity is so high that just walking at a slow pace produces copious waterfalls of dripping sweat. We found some wonderful Khmer neckerchiefs that you soak i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-378478.html On this my second trip to Vietnam the first being in Dec. 2001 I noticed many changes but also many similarities. The following are just my observations and opinions. I am by no means an expert or historian just a traveler.There should be a new synonym added to the word 'resilient'Vietnamese. These are people who lived with conquerers and war for over 1000 years the Chinese the Fren http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-378165.html Hue has more than 300 pagodas and no I didn't visit them all. I concentrated on two sites in his former capital city where so many architectural and cultural relics have thankfully been preserved. After Hanoi I found Hue to be much quieter and well kinder. The city revolves around the Perfume River. since this trip is not the usual kind that Val and I take living on the cheap we were http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-376596.html I was sailing along on HaLong Bay.......an experience that I had in 2001 and one of the things that I wanted to repeat and yes I'd do it again and again. And there aren't that many experiences I would repeat over and over. Machu Picchu is one and the town of Oaxaca is another but I digress. So let me first tell you a bit about this UNESCO World Heritage sight. The name means Dragon Descendin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Halong-Bay/blog-375542.html I saw this quote from Paul Theroux in one of the airline magazines on my way to Vietnam and it struck me as perfect for this particular trip. He said ldquoTravelers don't know where they are going and tourists don't know where they have been.rdquo That was so true last Sunday when our airport greeter Tien picked us up for a day tour to see one of the hill tribes. All we knew was that we we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-374818.html Hello allOne of the things I most wanted to see again in Hanoi was the water puppet show. I know that sounds a bit wacky for a um senior citizen to go 9000 miles to see a puppet show but this is a truly unique experience. Over a 1000 years ago rice farmers in the Red River delta would put on shows using the flooded rice paddies as a staging ground. This experience is recreated now in a theat http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-373866.html Dear family and friendsHello from Hanoi Vietnam. A country who's very name brings up a visceral feeling of some sortdepending on your age. So I thought I'd do a little class of ' Vietnam 101' with credit given to James Sullivan author of the National Geographic book ldquoTraveler Vietnamrdquo.Vietnam is about the size of New Mexico with a population of 84 MILLION It has a 93 literacy r http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-373273.html Really this is the last I hope housekeeping detail that I have to take care on this site before leaving....1. If you no longer want to receive the 'blog' then write me an email at gunga5juno.com I will delete your address.2. Some people have said they have not been able to access the blog. You must have the addresswebmastertravelblog.org in your address book or else your server m http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/Memphis/blog-371650.html Dear FriendsMy teacher is having me try to do this task myself. so here goes.... http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/Memphis/blog-371609.html Hello friends trying to upload photos...getting ready to leave tomorrow for SouthEast Asia http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/Memphis/blog-371598.html I left Cusco on Sat. saying sad goodbys to all my friends there. Friday night all our guides Washington Dianna and Eddie took us out for hot chocolate. Olinda our landlady had taken us to a show of authentic folk dances so she came along for the farewell party too. This is a show in the Cultural building on Av. de Sol it is free with the Touristico Billeto. I would advise anyone who has t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Ica/Ballestas-Islands/blog-278354.html There are 3 choices for trains to Aguas Caliente the last stop before Machu Picchu. 1 is the Backpacker. For obvious reasons I did not choose this one. While I greatly admire those hardy souls who trudge up the Inka Trail for 4 days I do not want to sit next to them for 4 or more hours on an enclosed train. Eewww 2 is the Vista Dome. It has windows on the roof panels so you can see all t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Machu-Picchu/blog-278075.html Ive now been in Cusco for three weeks. It has been great to live in an apartment away from the tourist area of the city. For one thing you learn about the pace of life very fast and see how people go about their everyday chores. One of the things I like about So. Am. is the organization of the retail neighborhoods. All the same type stores are on the same street making comparison shopping pret http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Urubamba/blog-276385.html But first a little about Pisac market. It is one of the largest in So. Am. and certainly one of the most confusing to walk through. If youve ever been to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul well this is like it without the marble floors and the touts offering you mint tea. You can buy just about anything from vibrant colored towers of fruits and veggies to live animals to any kind of hat glove scarf http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/blog-274342.html Ok. So you know about Washington my 1 guide and Eddy my 2 guide but let me tell you about Cesar. When I came in 2003 he was a 20 year old Univ. student who was a bit undecided on his career choices. Eddy asked him to be an asst. on the trip that I took with Val Raelene and Fred. He spoke very little English was a bit shy and followed Eddy around waiting to be told what he should do. I have http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Pisac/blog-273680.html Finally after 5 days I was able to stop taking my Diamox for the high altitude. I continue to drink massive quantities of water a must in high dry climates and huff and puff when walking any distance. The good no great news is that I havent had even one headache The other day on a school field trip our teacher got one. I was so surprised to learn that people who have lived here all thei http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/blog-272334.html Hola amigosIt is with great joy that I write to you from Cuzco Peru. This is my 3rd visit here and each time is more wonderful than the last. This time my travel pal Val and I are here by ourselves with no tour guides no schedules no big special events or have tos' to run to every day. We truly are perfecting the new art of 'slow travel'.We have rented a sweet apartment in the heart of a no http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Cusco/blog-270027.html Puerto Natales was founded in 1911 and has a population of about 19000. Although where they all were is beyond me. It is located near Ultima Esperanza the Last Hope fjord. The fjord was discovered in 1557 by a desperate Juan de Ladrillero who was trying to find the western exit of the Strait of Magellan. It was colonized by German and English immigrants who turned this area of Patagonia into http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Magallanes/Puerto-Natales/blog-219118.html Entering Patagonia was like being on another planet. The skies were bluer the mountains higher the winds windier and the animals saucier and fearless.Leaving Puerto Arenas the southern most town in Chile I got my first glimpse of the Straights of Magellan. It gives me chills to see things I only read about in my elementary school geography book or heard as a query on 'Jeopardy'. But there the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Magallanes/Torres-del-Paine/blog-218369.html