http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Jazzermine/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Jazzermine en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:48:25 +0000 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:48:25 +0000 Well I have not been able to update my blog or have any access to internet for the past 10 days because we were in Burma. The government there is a crazy military dictatorship and does not allow any outside news and most websites on the internet are banned. So basically the people that live in Burma have no idea what it is like on the outside world because their governement does not want them to k http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/blog-138126.html From Phuket we took another overnight bus to get to Bangkok. It was probably the best bus trip and best service we have had yet. It was nice big seats that fully reclined and we had our own stewardess delivering wash clothes snacks and water throughout the trip we even had a washroom on board...that is very unusual on any of the buses here.We arrived in Bangkok at around 430 am..luckily we have http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-134957.html Well after about 2 months we finally got back to the beach for some much needed relaxation We left Penang about 7am and finally got to Krabi at bout 6pm. It was a very long ride but we met some fun people to hang out with for the following days. We had been to Krabi before so we knew exactly where we wanted to stay when we got there. Unfortunatly it was full along with the other 20 places that w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-133298.html Well I have not been updating my blogs as regularly as normal..it is starting to get quite annoying but thought I should just write a quick update to let some family and friends know that I am still alive. From singapore we are basically just making our way back up to bangkok stopping at all the different cities and beaches as we go along.So after Singapore we crossed the border into Malaysia and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/blog-130948.html Well we got on an early flight from Bangkok to Singapore. We had to wake up at 330 to catch our flight so only got about 4 hours of sleep. The airport was one of the nicest ones that I have ever seen. Once we got through immigration all we had to do was get right on to the metro that takes you to the city center. Talk about easy travelling This was a very welcome change from all the hard travell http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-128624.html The last few days have been alot of travelling and staying in useless cities. India is such a big country so all the travel is long hot and uncomfortable. From Udaiper we took a 7 hour bus ride to reach Ahmedabad. The only reason we were stopping in Ahmedabad was to catch a train the next day because every other city was completly booked up. We were lucky we even made it on a train in the first p http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Maharashtra/Mumbai/blog-126006.html The bus trip from Jodhpur to Udaiper was probably the best one we have had yet. It wasn't filled to the roof with people it stopped for bathroom breaks and was ONLY 2 hours late Not bad After we arrived in Udaiper we checked in to a hotel call Hotel Anjani my friend recommended. It was a huge beautiful room that I was happy to settle down in for a few days.Udaiper is known as one of the most r http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Udaipur/blog-124600.html Well unfortunatly it was our time to leave Jaislamer. I will definatly miss it. We bought a bus ticket from our hotel and im pretty sure they ripped us off. We paid 5 to be on a local bus that everyone else paid about 50 cents for. We were told it was a deluxe bus and it was far from it It was so disgustingly dirty and it was packed to the roof with people. Usually the bus stops every couple hou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jodhpur/blog-123657.html Well our journey from Pushkar to Jaisalmer was probably one of the most uncomfortable and frustrating journeys that we have had in four months. After the wedding our friend from the hotel walked us to an area out of town that we were supposed to catch a shuttle to our bus. First of all the shuttle didnt come for about 2 hours after expected and it was freezing cold. When the shuttle finally came w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jaisalmer/blog-123007.html After another exhausting bus ride we arrived in the small town of Pushkar. It is a cute town set in the middle of the desert with a lake in the middle and 300 temples. Dave is set on the idea that a lotus flower was dropped in the desert and that is how the lake was formed..im still not convinced. In this town meat eggs and alcohol are forbidden which makes all the menus a bit different from anyt http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pushkar/blog-121209.html We took our first bus trip of India from Agra to Jaipur and it was quite the experience. After these few months of travelling I have decided that the horn is the worst creation EVER made. Out here they put their hand on it and maybe keep it on for 20 kms WHY It leaves me everyday with a constant headache. Besides the horn they are suicide drivers Racing down the highway on the wrong side while http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jaipur/blog-120346.html Well we arrived in Agra about 5 hours later than planned by another overnight train. We are actually finally getting used to India time and that whenever someone gives you a time it is always at LEAST 2 hours later than they say After we arrived to Agra we found another nice hotel. It was set in a nice garden away from the city. It was a nice change from the constant noise and hassle. You could n http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Agra/blog-119286.html Well we arrived in Varanassi after a 15 hour overnight train ride that was actually on time. We met lots of great people on the train to drink chai with and talk. The people always ask us so many questions about religion marriage children income and employment. They don't understand that the western way of life is very different from the Indian way of life so we have been told to tell them what http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Varanasi/blog-118970.html Well we have always heard that the wheels of India turn very slowly. We arrived at the airport 2 hours early only to discover our plane was going to be two hours late. Great way to start. We arrived in Kolkata around 11pm and were very nervous to be arrivng late at night but it was suprisingly no problem. There were even prepaid cabs at the airport so that we would not get ripped off right away. L http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-118444.html Well from Koh Samui to Krabi we took a ferry and a 5 hour bus ride. The travelling in southern Thailand is very easy but very expensive. Everywhere else travel has been super cheap. We decided to stay in Krabi town and do day trips to all the surrounding beaches. All the accomadation on Railay beach and Ao Nang was all super resorts and the restaurants were very pricey as well. Krabi town was a gr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Krabi/blog-117574.html Well Koh Samui is definatly different from Koh Phagnan. Koh Phagnan was all backpackers and undevelopled. Koh Samui was filled with rich package tourists and was overdeveloped. All the beaches were lined with beautiful resorts restaurants and bars. There were even Mcdonalds Burger King Pizza hut and Starbucks which are rarely seen anywhere through south east asia. We even tried a Mc Rice burger http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Samui/blog-116372.html Well after 28 hours of travellling from North Vietnam to Southern Thailand we made it We took every mode of transport possible from plane taxi boat train bus and tuk tuk. We were in Vietnam for about a month so we got used to all the bikes honking culture random sales people and touts. Upon returning to Thailand everything seemed so calm to us. The first time we were in Thailand it was ove http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-115689.html Well we booked a great Halong Bay tour. Usually we are against booking organized tours but this time was an exception. It is quite difficult to do on your own and the tours are great value. We spent 65 for a three day tour including all entrance fees guides transport food kayaking and accomadation. We booked it through a tour company called Fansipan or VEGA travel which I would highly recomme http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-113449.html Well our first day in Hanoi was definatly exciting It was the most chaotic and cultured city we have been this far As we walked through all the different streets they were all dedicated to a certain item. For example clothing street shoe street herbal medicine street christmas street etc. There were about 50 of these different types of streets. We got lost walking through the old quarter of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northwest/Sapa/blog-112463.html From Hoi An to Hue we were blessed with a nice short 5 hour trip with about 2 hours of lunch stops and bathroom stops. These short trips are a nice change from our horrible overnight buses. When we arrived in Hue it was the usual routine of the bus dropping us off at a Hotel that will pay commision that is out of town. So we decided we would try and find our own hotel. As we set off away from the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-111511.html