http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Hello-World/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Hello World en-us Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:06:08 +0000 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:06:08 +0000 You may think that a forty hour train ride isn't a particularly exciting thing...and you would be right it was horrible and extremely boring. We have decided to write an entry on it however for a few reasons. One reason is that forty hours is actually longer than we have spent in some of our stops so it kind of deserves a blog of its own also it was an important journey for us as it took us back http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Maharashtra/Mumbai/blog-402252.html We decided to escape the heat and humidity of the backwaters and run to the hills to a place called Munnar. The bus trip there took us along a long and winding road up into the mountains and it seemed to take forever. It was dark when we arrived and with our new friend Mauritz who had decided to join us we went looking for a guesthouse. Unfortunately for us it was high season in Munnar as every http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Munnar/blog-401381.html We decided to stop to Allepey to see some more of the world famous Keralan Backwaters. Allepey itself didn't hold much appeal but we did manage to scope out a branch of the Indian Coffee House where we could fill up on cheap dosas. We booked a six hour canoe trip on the backwaters for the very next day through our guesthouse so we didn't have to hang around.We were joined on our canoe by a nice Ge http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Allepey/blog-400442.html From the description in our guide book we were expecting Kollam to be a tranquil and picturesque little fishing village however this wasn't the case. It was a grubby noisy town with no asthetic appeal whatsoever. Luckily we weren't here to explore the town but rather to take a trip along the backwaters which snake their way from the sea into the surrounding countryside. We checked into a overpric http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Kollam/blog-399934.html We originally wanted to flyget a direct train from Rajasthan to Kerala but the flights were too expensive and the trains were fully booked for weeks due to the Indian holidays so we knew it was going to be a long slog all the way to the extreme south with only local buses to take us there one sweaty cramped smelly mosquito ridden journey at a time. The stops we made along the way allowed for s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-399056.html We had to take another three local buses to make the journey from Palolem to Gokhana. We were far too English when it came to boarding the first bus we waited while everyone got on and when it came to our turn there was no room people were hanging out of the doors. Luckily the conductor let us ride up front with the driver which worked out to be rather more comfortable than being squashed in wit http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Karnataka/Gokarna/blog-399047.html Having made a final last minute decision to go to one last beach before the end of our trip we took three hot sticky buses from Panjim to a tiny beach town called Palolem.Palolem isnt meant to be one of the most idyllic beaches in Goa due to it being a little too discovered by tourists however now that we are in May it is classed as 'outofseason' for this part of the country so when we arrived http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/Palolem/blog-397218.html We had to make a stop in Mumbai on our way south to Goa. We just spent one night here before heading off as we fly home from Mumbai so will be returning to do some sightseeing. We had some problems finding affordable accomodation one place we looked had about 30 beds crammed into a dark grubby room with half naked sweaty Indian men lying on them. No thanks We did eventually find somewhere that http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/Panaji/blog-398323.html The Lonely Planet describes Udaipur as '... the Venice of the East...' because the city is built around a handful of huge lakes. The centrepiece of the city is the Lake Palace which was built in the middle of one of the lakes also known as 'the floating palace' because it appears to rise right out of the water with no island around it. With thoughts of fairytale palaces in our heads we arrived in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Udaipur/blog-396646.html Jaisalmer is on the far west of India close to Pakistan. It rises out of the surounding Thar Desert and its mighty sandstone fort built in 1156 towers over the town like a fairytale sandcastle. This is the land of turbans where the men have large curly moustaches and look like characters from Aladdin and the women dressed in bright sarees have faces decorated with golden piercings. Jaisalmer i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jaisalmer/blog-397045.html Peace at last After three consecutive stops in three busy and manic cities we were relieved when we arrived in Pushkar. This small Hindu pilgrimage town is a beautiful desert edged place built around a mystical lake. It's full of milky coloured weather touched temples and has a very relaxed vibe and little traffic or crowds. A perfect antedote to the conjestion and mayhem of our previous stops.W http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pushkar/blog-394584.html The bus from Agra to Jaipur took 6 hours including the usual 4 million stops that were made on the way. As we're finding with most bus journey's in India we are more often than not the only tourists on the bus so we always get the Mr Googlies staring from all directions this bus was no exception. On one particular stop during the journey we went to grab a cup of Chai when a couple of Indians fro http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jaipur/blog-394589.html Agra is not a pretty sight. It is a congested dirty and smelly industrial city the sort of place that makes Hull seem like a nice place for a Holiday. Luckily for the city and its inhabitants it has one major draw which has made it one the most visited places in India... the Taj Mahal. However the Taj isn't a stand alone sight and the grubby city has various other monuments and tombs scattered http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-391735.html I think everybody who comes to India gets royally ripped off at least once and we were expecting it to happen somewhere along the line. Unfortunately we managed to get screwed over after being in the country for just five minutes. We stumbled over the NepalIndia border after an eight hour bus ride from Pokhara wide eyed in wonderment and excitement. INDIA They obviously saw us coming and we we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Varanasi/blog-388649.html 'They say in heaven love comes firstOoh heaven is a place on earth' Belinda Carlisle Coming to Nepal had never been a definite part of our trip Foreign Office warnings jealous STA Travel staff and of course our ever dictating budget all at some point played a part in our uncertainty of visiting this country. Once our flight from Bangkok was booked however there was no turning back the next dec http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Annapurna/blog-390163.html We were disapointed when we first arrived in Pokhara. We were hoping that once we left the capital the air would clear and we would see our first views of the mighty Himalayers. However the air was still hazy and visability was shocking. On clear days there isn't a part of Pokhara where you cant see one or more of the huge snowy peaks jutting into the blue sky. We were brightened up though when t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Pokhara/blog-388133.html We were so excited to land in Kathmandu and start the next leg of our trip Nepal and India. Kathmandu airport is the most decrepid airport we've ever seen. It is a small grubby red brick building that looks like a disused school and doesn't seem like the sort of place capable of dealing with international air traffic. The security was equally poor. We didn't have enough cash to pay for our visas http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/blog-387227.html We arrived in Siem Reap to much the same reception we had in Phnom Penh tuk tuk drivers elbowing each other out of the way to claim as many tourists as they could. We were accosted by a driver who took us to a guesthouse and offered to take us around the temples the next day. With time on our hands and after a long day on a bus we were in no rush to start exploring right away so we got some rest http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-386946.html We decided to go and check out Cambodias beaches in the seaside town of Sihanoukville. We were pretty excited as we hadn't seen the sea since Christmas. The beaches here are less famous and less beautiful than their Thai counterparts but unlike Thailand it is still possible to have the beach more or less to yourself here and the vibe is pretty laidback. This may not be the case for much longer as http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Sihanoukville/blog-381797.html A four hour bus ride from Phnom Penh we arrived in Kep. From the early 1900's until the 1960's Kep was a thriving resort town for the French and Cambodian elite. During the Khmer Rouge years much of Kep's French colonial era mansions and villas were destroyed. Many of Kep's villas are abandoned but some of the town's former splendour is still apparent. King Sihanouk built a home here overlookin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Kep/blog-381791.html