http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Larluv/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Larluv en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:29:48 +0000 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:29:48 +0000 My buddy Steve and I embarked on a twoweek 6482mile ride from New York City to Banff Canada and back. Our route took us throught the Adirondacks to Montreal then along the northen coasts of the Great Lakes to Thunder Bay then accross the plains of Manitoba and Saskatchewan to Calgary. After a weekend in Lake Louise Alberta we rode south along the Canadian Rockies to Montana and then Wy http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/blog-442043.html I arrive back in the US on Independece Day I catch a cab to my parent's house in NJ to find my family enjoying the holiday in the back by the pool They were all surprised as they thought I was still in Israel.The following weekend I surprised the rest of my extended family by showing up unannouced at my cousin Marc Robin's 40th Birthday party in Kings Point NYIt's good to be back in the US http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/blog-295379.html Steve Grey and I took a 8day motorcycle ride to enjoy the Ozarks and riding in Arkansas. 3000 mile journey took me throughNew JerseyDelawareWashington DCVirginiaNorth CarolinaTennesseArkansasMissouriIllinoisWest VirginiaMarylandPennsylvaniaNew JerseyBack to NYC http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/blog-295377.html Tarmar and I arrived in Tel Aviv and we got to her apartment on Jabotinsky where she lives with her sister and dog Fudge. I spent the next few weeks enjoying the life of a big city much like NYC. I watched all of the World Cup games and had wonderful dinners. I got to know Tamar's family and even took a day trip to Jeruselum. I even got to meet up with my cousin Marc Kraemer who was in Israel http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Tel-Aviv-District/Tel-Aviv/blog-72582.html We caught the night flight from Cairo to Luxor. Upon landing we headed to the Happy Land hotel which was recommended to us by other travelers. It's a clean good hotel but the owners can be a bit pushy about using their tour services. We partook of dinner on the roof of the hotel and then called it a night.The next day we set out late and across the river to the East Bank to take in the many T http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/blog-60634.html Kirk and I caught the train to Alexandria for a day trip. There was food on the train but of course I did not eat most of it as it was suspicious. Kirk on the other hand having only been traveling for a few days decided it was ok to eat the cheese. He spent the rest of the day feeling sick.Kirk was able to manup and we visited the Catacombs and Pompei's Tower. We then headed to the seafront http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/blog-60632.html I had to take Iberia Airlines to get to Cairo so I first flew to Madrid and then on to Cairo. I was detained shortly at Egyptian immigration but it was nothing...although for a brief moment I thought about Midnight Express and I began to sweat. But I was cleared to enter and off I went....into the wild busy world that is Cairo. I was immediatedly accosted by the very aggressive cab drivers wh http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-59571.html I decided to take a day trip to Rabat the capital which is only an hour ride by train from Casa. It started out a bit rough as I went to the wrong train station Voyagers instead of Casa Port and when I got to Casa Port I missed the train by one second. No worries as they leave every 30 minutes.I planned out my attack on Rabat during the train ride and upon arrival I bounded up the stairs an http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Rabat-Sal-Zemmour-Zaer/Rabat/blog-58451.html Landed at midnight and tough getting cab. We all headed to the Pigeon House in Na'aama Bay. Everyone was tired but I got the team to rally and hit the town at 2am. Ended up at Little budha for a few hours of partying and the to sleep at 5am.The next day Kirk and I hit the beach and discovered that the majority of visitors are Russian...and the women wear very skimpy suits. No complaining from http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/blog-60636.html Shared taxi from Pigeon House to Sharm bus station...lots of cops and the driver still tried to steal from me. For those interested there are a few daily buses from Sharm to Dahab and they only cost about 2 USD.Easy bus ride as it took a little over 1 hour through baren landscape of Sinai. I land in town and search for a place as I walk the boardwalk and find the prices are too high especially http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Sinai/Dahab/blog-61670.html Took the bus with Tamar up to the border of Egypt and Israel. We went through the border where I was asked how long do you plan on staying in Israel. I answered not sure and that led to a lengthy delay. But I was finally able to explain my loose travel plans and they let me enter the country. Tamar and I hitched a ride to Eilat to meet up with our friend Julio a Spaniard we met in Goa. W http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/South-District/Eilat/blog-72569.html Been trying to get a lot of motorcycle riding in before I sell my bikes and head around the world. Changed my plans from starting in South America to heading straight to Japan and heading West from there. This gives me more time to enjoy Asia South East Asia and India before I have to meet my family in South Africa in January. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-5548.html I caught the morning train to Casa and found myself sitting among five Moroccans in a 2nd class cabin. Two heavy ladies seemed to be upset that I put their luggage up on the shelf to make room so I could sit while an elderly lady and a fiveyear old girl smiled. I took a few moments to play with the child using my camera as a showpiece. I then settled in for the 3.5 hour by listening to music w http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Grand-Casablanca/Casablanca/blog-58072.html Caught the train from Fes...I was a bit hung over from having a few drinks at a nightclub the night before.I arrived at the train station already having purchased my ticket and found two Aussie travelers having a caffe noir at the cafe immediately outside the station. I had 20 minutes to kill so I sat next to them and chatted. I found out they had recently been in Meknes and recommended the To http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Meknes/blog-57756.html The morning bus ride 9hours in total with the CTM bus line took me north to the legendy town of Fes. On the bus I met Adilson a 67year old Brazilian man who was traveling around Western Africa. Upon arriving in Fes in the late afternoon Adilson and I tried our luck finding accomodation in the Center Novielle area of Fes. We quickly learned that the Youth Hostel was sold out as were many o http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-57124.html During my two flights to Morocco London to Madrid Madrid to Marrakech I had images of what it would be like. Exotic foods wonderful smells traditionallyclad people. And the country did not dissapoint. From the moment I landed I was thrown into a mixture of visual stimuli including a desertesque landscape traditionallydressed muslims and extremely white Europeans in town for the weeken http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-56604.html I left Uganda and headed for London's Heathrow Airport knowing it would be my first time in an English speaking country in one year. I was looking forward to a day back in civilization and to see my friend Maria.The 8hour flight was easy and I found my way to the London Underground and towards Chelsea Harbour. It was a bit strange to see so many white faces after spending the last four months http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-56002.html Took a morning flight from Kilimanjaro airport to Nairobi Kenya and then caught a connection to Entebbe. The one thing on my mind was the Israeli rescue operation years ago in Entebbe. Other than that I did not know what to expect from this African country...although if it is anything like the others I had visited I was going to find a mixture of modern living with the poverty one expects in http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/blog-53423.html Well it has been ONE YEAR since I boarded my first flight of my roundtheworld journey for Tokyo Japan. I won't bore you with too many thoughts but I wanted to post a few1. The trip has been outstanding and has exceeded any expectations I had....from the crowded subways of Tokyo to the Great Wall in China to the heights of Tibet to the majestic peak of Everest to the hustle of Kathmandu http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/blog-56344.html Had two great flights on Precision Air....first from Zanzibar to Dar and then on to Kilimanjaro Airport up north. Funny thing was my flight to Dar was a bit late due to weather so upon arrival there were Precision Air employees holding signs with my name who then rushed me through the airport and out onto the tarmac to get onto the connecting flight to Kilimanjaro Airport. It was the first tim http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/North/Arusha/blog-51174.html