http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Lily_and_Ohad_Levy/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Lily_and_Ohad_Levy en-us Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:32:18 BST Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:32:18 BST After 16 months off the road a short hop to the French Alps to the town of Chamonix this time without Lily who chose to stay home...After a week of work in Germany I took the weekend off and headed Chamonix at the foot of Mont Blanc the highest peak in Western Europe 4800m. After 6 hours cruise on superb German highways viva la GPS I arrived a winding road climbing up a high mountain pass http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Rh-ne-Alpes/Chamonix/blog-315377.html 'Grand Finale' ThailandThailand the last destination in our long journey has finally arrived. We knew the whole time that this will be the place to rest before coming back home and so it was.We started in busy Bangkok which was quite a cultural shock after 'shanty' India but from there it only got better. We started with Railay Beach a beautiful sand strip near the town of Krabi about which we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-134269.html Little Town of Luang Prabang Luang Prabang another town with a funny name lies on the banks of the Mekong river in the northern part of Laos. We arrived there after a short bus ride from Vang Vieng which took 6 hours. It might sound a bit weird to call it short a time in which one can easily make the MetulaEilat way but that's another interesting thing about backpacking time loses its co http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-118384.html Water Activities in Vang ViengVang Vieng a quite little town in north Laos was the right place at the right time. It was a return to the tranquile countryside after busy Bangkok and that was exactly what we needed. We found there a Laos that is rapidly growing to be the next north Thailand but still hasn't reached the same level of tourist masses that have destroyed the latter. Still we expect http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-117350.html Back To The Future In Urban BangkokLanding in a huge modern metropolitan such as Bangkok after spending more than eight months in real third world countries was a confusing experience for us. On one hand it was so much fun entering a brand new supermarket with everything from fruits to microwave ovens and see Lily with shining eyes and dazed smile running enthusiastically between its raws. On http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central/Bangkok/blog-115196.html Hampi is one of these places you know you'll get to when you still plan your journey. It came to my attention due to somewhat tragic circumstances an Israeli traveller drowned in its lake about a year ago. I remeber myself sitting to lunch with Shahar B. Inbar and Tali my excolleagues as I read about it in the newspaper. I later asked other people about it and was told Hampi is a quite pla http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Karnataka/Hampi/blog-112821.html Road Tripping in Kinnaur SpitiAfter relaxing in Dharamsala we needed a bit more action therefore arriving at Manali and hearing about the Kinaur Spiti tour sounded just the perfect option.While Kinnaur is a green valley rich of vegetation Spiti valley is a high desert in the Himalayas. During winter it is totally cut off from civilization incurred by the snow blocking the road passes. Ancien http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Spiti-Valley/blog-111273.html 'Very Royal Era' in RajastanThe Title is taken from Stone Roses song 'Elephant Stone'. We saw many such statues in Rajastan. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/blog-111272.html The Title is taken from Nick Drake song 'Northern Sky'. Dying at only 26 he was one of these geniuses only revealed after their death. His autumnal songs fit Ladak's atmosphere like a glove. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Jammu-and-Kashmir/blog-111263.html Tranquility in Kullu Parvati Vallies Coming back from Kinnaur Spiti we needed some rest from the dens we slept in during the tour. Manali was the right place for that. Probably the most spoiling spot in north India it is packed with nice guesthouses very good food great weather and good atmosphere. The Title is taken from Jimi Hendrix song 'Purple Haze' written under heavy influence of th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Kullu/blog-111045.html Tough Start in UttaranchalTraveling is not always fun. You experience great moments and there's nothing like the feeling of freedom but there are obstacles and less entertaining moments on the way. In India one of the less comfortable places for the spoiled visitor we had quite a tough start which almost brought us back home earlier than expected...After leaving Delhi we took a ride to Rishikes http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttarakhand/blog-110815.html Recharging in DharamsalaAfter our ordeals in Uttaranchel we just wanted a place to relax. By then we had enough of 'hardcore' India so we took off to Dharamsala a central destination on the 'bitten track' the popular route that most travelers take.Dharamsala is a small town in north India in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It was brought on the tourism map due to the Dalai Lama placing there h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Dharamsala/blog-110549.html InBetween Treks in Kathmandu Pokharacut the bulshit ktm is nothing about siteseeing. it's all about food fun and atmosphere..ye ye u can go see the stone bird cos of galit atariand even the temple of monkeys which we did and almost got bitten by them but...The Title is taken from Cat Stevens song Kathmandu a sentimental song we hummed every time we returned to the capital. In the 70's Ste http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/blog-110275.html A Vacation from the Vacation On A Goan BeachGoa is a place of pure fun. Frankly we didn't plan getting there due to its bad image but as often occurs in such trips plans quickly change. We soon found ourselves in the Israeli colony of Aramabol a small village in the north part of the state of Goa. It is Arambol where you find the RastaJarasEnfield type of Israeli guys. We're talking about 22 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/Arambol/blog-110271.html Backwaters of Kerala When few months ago Lily's dad told us he's about to arrive Bombay for a convention on November it seemed as a faraway dream that we would travel together but it all came true when Lily's mom decided to join the celebration as well. We met them in Bombay and took a flight together to Kerala a southern state in the Indian Peninsula Ha'Shpitz Shel Hodu and home of the famou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Kochi-/blog-109770.html Human Jungle of DelhiDelhi is the place where many firsttime visitors to India experience the unavoidable cultural shock. We were no exception to this arriving there after two futile weeks in strikeparalyzed Nepal and landing directly into a literally boiling city where the average temperature was 40C. Add this to the commotion dirt and crowdedness of an Indian metropolitan and you get the p http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/National-Capital-Territory/New-Delhi/blog-106940.html Everest Base Camp TrekAfter coming back from the tedious Around Annapurna trek we had serious doubts whether another long trek as the Everest Base Camp would fit in. It took us some time to decide back in Kathmandu time we spent eating like hogs filling our empty stomaches. Lily having read many crazy books about mountain climbers and their fatalities on the Everest was keen to go but we bo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Lukla/blog-105312.html Around Annapurna TrekWe began this 14day trek in Pokhara a small town residing Lake Fewa. After spending several days resting and enjoying the amazing chicken liver at Lima's she really managed to target the Israeli taste and hiring a nice porterguide we took the early morning bus to Besisahar the starting point.It took us 6 days to reach Manang at 3500m long days of 4 to 8 hours walks. Th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Annapurna/blog-102886.html