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 vehicles are heading straight for us with cows, goats and camels strutting in between. I like the peaceful train journeys so much more when [View Full Entry]

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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 not go anywhere in Agra without being asked...rickshaw? postcard? marble shop? jewllery? It was the first time we have actually experienced any hassle in [View Full Entry]

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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 they want to hear. We always have to say we are married and always practice religion unless we get some very disapproving looks. It is hard to [View Full Entry]

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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. Luckily we had met a friend named Biplob who lives in Kolkata so he met us at a metro station and we had a [View Full Entry]

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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 great place to stay because it was a mix of thai culture and few tourists. All the people were super friendly and it was a great [View Full Entry]

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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. It is pork burger that has a rice bun. It was actually quite good. I dont really eat Mcdonalds at home but it was cool to try something different. They also had icecream with corn. Another unusaul [View Full Entry]

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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 overwhelming..now it feels soo relaxed..even Bangkok! Well when we arrived in Koh Phagnan it seemed like paradise. The town itself is just filled with young people, bars, restaurants, [View Full Entry]

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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 recommend. We heard about so many bad experiences on the Halong Bay tours from people who paid the minimum amount needed. We decided to buy a midrange tour to try and [View Full Entry]

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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 Hanoi. Every corner we turned was filled with a new suprise. The sidewalks are so filled with motorbikes and street stalls selling so much random junk that you have to walk in [View Full Entry]

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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 bus we were followed by about 10 moto drivers, 15 cyclo driver, and 5 walking touts trying to [View Full Entry]

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