KTKARL
ktkarlfreeman Joined: September 26th 2007
Logged in: May 24th 2011
Logged in: May 24th 2011
Travel Blog Posts
Uluwatu Temple
We arrived in Bangkok on February 8th and left for Bali on April 8th. We had spent two months exploring Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. It was time to move on to our final stop on the trip, Indonesia. We were ready to stay put for our last month, surf the warm water and enjoy Balinese life. We had been to Bali in August of 07 for our honeymoon but only stayed for 10 days, so we were looking forward to exploring the area. We took side trips to Nusa Lembongan and Lombok. Nusa Lembongan is a small island off Bali where they cultivate seaweed for corporate companies to use in their makeup products. These small island people work all day long harvesting the sea weed and the pay is very small. While on Lembongan, we ... read more
Cruising Halong Bay
It was raining in Hanoi and we knew the weather would not be any better in Halong Bay, but to be this close and not experience the beauty of Halong Bay and the experience of spending the night on a "junker" would have been to miss out on a remarkable, beautiful experience. We took a bus in the rain to Halong Bay and boarded a junker where we would spend one night. It rained on the 4 hour bus ride up and was a bit cold, but it was great to get out of the city of Hanoi, if only for a night. We cruised in Halong Bay and went to a massive cave. We had a nice lunch and then went Kayaking around the gorgeous limestone Isles. Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site ... read more
Hoan Keim Lake
We were told we were insane to attempt to road travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, so we scheduled a flight from Luang Prabang, Laos and arrived in Hanoi late at night and did not have a very pleasurable first impression of the dirty city. We were robbed/scammed on the way to our hotel and by the time we figured it out, Karl had to make a choice between following the guy in this unknown city and leaving KT on the street at night, or letting him and our money go. He chose to let him go. Money is replaceable, our lives are not. It was a pretty tough pill to swallow since we're on a budget and he got away with enough money to last a few weeks, but we were determined to move on. In 8 ... read more
Karl as Tarzan
Laos has been one of our most favorite countries thus far. It was not on our original itinerary, but our tour guide in Egypt, and several other traveler's we met, insisted we had to visit this wonderful country. We flew from Bangkok to the small, sleepy capital of Vientiane and then took a local bus to Vang Vieng and got a flat tire on the way there. In Vang Vieng we participated in some unforgettable outdoor activities such as tubing down the river where you can stop at shoreside bars, have a beer and take a giant swing into the water or attempt the zip line which is intimidating but fun as hell, just hold on tight. We met a very cool couple from Canada and the four of us got caught up in talking and ... read more
Sunrise at Angkor Wat
From Bangkok, we took a minivan, bus and small open truck, to reach the Cambodian border. It took about 5 hours and then once we crossed over, it took about 3 hours via taxi and a dirt road to reach Siem Reap. The only airlines that flies into Siem Reap, pays the Cambodian Government NOT to pave the road so that people will fly instead. Hence, the road is in such bad shape that the three hour ride seems like 6. It was quite an adventure just getting there. We stayed in Siem Reap for 5 days and really enjoyed it. We spent every day exploring temples, but took one day off to enjoy a cheap massage and just explore the city. We watched sunrise at the majestic Angkor Wat. Our driver picked us up at ... read more
Ko Samui Resort
After Kelly left us, we went to Ko Samui and stayed in our good friend Steve McCalls nice little house on the island of Ko Samui. It was the perfect location for us to relax and heal due to a small scooter accident. No, KT wasn't driving. On our 2nd day in Ko Samui, we had a small scooter accident and KT had to be taken to Ko Samui hospital. She received 1st and 2nd degree burns on her calf due to the tail pipe. OUCH!! Karl had a toe injury, nothing broken, but we received excellent medical care and were sent home with lots of painkillers, supplies to clean and dress the wound, and orders for KT to stay out of the water for two weeks.. TWO WEEKS. but we were on an island. As ... read more
Moonrise
The main reason for our trip here was the infamous "Full Moon Party" but the island had so much more to offer and due to a last minute decision by the Thai government, we missed the party anyway. This is our 2nd time trying to attend this tourist celebration of the full moon and have decided it isn't meant to be. We stayed on the mellow side of the island called Thong Nai Pan Yai, a small slice of heaven. There were plenty of fun bars for wild, single Kellie to meet some New Zealand hotties. Wasn't he from New Zealand? We all had a great time and met some very cool people from all over the world, Fiona from England was straight out of a British sitcom. We had the intimate experience of the full ... read more
Phi Phi Island
Our good friend Kelly Reese met us in Bangkok and from there we traveled to Phuket and had a glorious time. Crystal clear blue water, good friends, cheap beer and a killer rock and roll bar in the heart of the "lady boy" disctrict, made our stay in Phuket a highlight of our trip. We flew from Bangkok to Phuket and stayed in the Benelux Inn in Patong Beach. The beach was beautiful, but filled with sunbaking tourists, so we took local transport to the less crowded, surrounding beaches. The water was blue, beautiful and warm. We took a trip to Phi Phi Island on the Andaman Coast where KT's boy Leo filmed "The Beach". Absolutely stunning even with the 50 tourist boats. We ate great food and saw the seedy unbderbelly of Phuket where "ladyboys" ... read more
Charlies Bar
After our last week in Bangalore, India surviving Karl's illness, we were anticipating our flight to Bangkok. We had previously traveled to Thailand and absolutely loved it, so we were looking forward to not only it's friendly people, but the chance to indulge in it's culinary delights since India had so little to offer us and we had both lost weight. We considered this a plus to the whole debacle. We used Bangkok for luggage storage and as our home base as we traveled to nearby countries. We stayed near Khaosan Road, but far enough away from the gentrified location to enjoy Bangkok's culture and it's friendly people. We loved exploring the city and eating Pad Thai from the street vendors for 40 cents a piece. They made a mean mojito at a quaint set up ... read more
Kingfisher
Upon arrival in Mumbai, India, we were completely exhausted from our misadventure in Nairobi, Kenya obtaining our visas. Naturally, we were detained by immigration officials at the airport because our India visas were stamped in bold, red: "Proof of Yellow Fever vaccination required" upon entry. This was because yellow fever is common in Kenya, but it was difficult to explain that we were confined to our hotel for our stay in Kenya due to the civil war that was going on at the time. We faced a two-day quarantine at the airport. Diplomatic skills ensued, and begrudged entry was granted. Whew! Next, we changed our flight to the earliest possible flight from Mumbai to Goa. We needed to see a friend, and quick! Inge is a great friend of Renee's and now a good friend of ... read more
