http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/LivingTheDream/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from LivingTheDream en-us Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:56:12 +0000 Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:56:12 +0000 Day 1091 on the road OK I know that I have ended my trip before and that I have already written the final blog of my journey back in October 2010 before returning to the road for a few more months. But I promise that this time it is really over. Safe from a possible HighlightBlog in a few months39 time this will be my last entry. It is a sentimental feeling to know that this t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Darjeeling/blog-589527.html Day 1081 on the road Holi cow I knew that the ecstatic Indian Holi festival was going to be great but nobody could have prepared me for what we were about to experience. It was a simply mad and we had a blastA little background Holi is celebrated in India to welcome the spring and say goodbye to winter. Basically people take to the streets and throw bright colour powder called gulal at each http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-588171.html Day 1078 on the road A long time ago I made a list of 50 places in the world I wanted to try and visit during my life. I have already managed to see a fair bit of these but not yet the lesserknown backwaters of Kerala. Together with betterknown places like the pyramids in Egypt Angkor Wat in Cambodia or indeed the Taj Mahal here in India Kerala has always been on that list. Not surprisingl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Kochi-/blog-588168.html Day 1071 on the road And then things got better. The further south we moved the less hassle there seemed to be. After we left the northern Indian states behind and headed for the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Ellora Caves Mumbai and Goa things turned decidedly more relaxed. Of course there were still the constant Hello sir auto rickshaw cries from the drivers in the streets but they http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/Palolem/blog-586327.html Day 1058 on the road Sir what is your good name When I first heard this question here in India I was somewhat puzzled. What indeed was my good name Did I have a bad one as well Do Indian people have two names one good one bad Might I in the end have to adopt a second nameLike these little encounters there are many things that are just that tiny bit different here in India than else http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Udaipur/blog-582954.html Day 1045 on the road Let39s have a vote. A vote for the dirtiest country on this planet. The rules are simple 1 You need to have been there yourself and witnessed the situation firsthand and 2 Airpollution does not count sorry China. After careful consideration and an assessment to all the countries I have been to in the past my vote goes wholeheartily to India. Anybody who sec http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Agra/blog-573446.html Day 1034 on the road Now what exactly am I doing here My last blog entry was supposed to be the final one marking the end of my 2 12 year world trip. But at the end of December after a short interlude back home in Germany I decided to move to NorthEast India initially for three months for the time being to join Jasmin and Luc. Jasmin is doing her PhD at the NIT university in the smallis http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Orissa/Rourkela/NIT-Rourkela/blog-556447.html Day 940 on the road How do you even begin writing the final blog entry after over 2 12 years of travelling I am struggling. Writing my blogs along the way over the last 31 months has always been something I was looking forward to. It gave me the time to pause and reflect to address issues that have been on my mind to choose the best and most meaningful pictures to consider what has been rea http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Florida/Miami/blog-528926.html Day 929 on the road My final ten days in Central America after over five months of travelling across the region have also been my wildest and weirdest by far. They left me with beautiful memories that I will never forget in my life and it was an incredible experience. I am talking about a visit to the wild stretch of jungle in eastern Panama that is the Darin Gap.With Tino gone and me once ag http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Darien/Mogue/blog-538389.html Day 920 on the road Leaving the peaceful island of Boca Brava behind we once again found ourselves on the PanAmerican highway going east. Our next stop was Isla Cana off the southern coast of the Azuero peninsular. We had hoped to get here in one day but a massive and colourful party in the tiny town of Guarare which we stumbled right into by pure chance along the way meant we had to spen http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Panama/Panama-Canal/blog-535869.html Day 905 on the road Enter Panama the last remaining country in Central America that I havent visited. It will also be the last new country for me during my travels. After Panama all that remains of two and half years of travelling is ten days in Florida where I have been previously many years ago before it is time to go home at the end of October. Better not think about that right now.The http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Chiriqui/Isla-Boca-Brava/blog-534319.html Day 894 on the road Let's start a little offtopic Travel guides especially the most popular publications like Lonely Planet and Rough Guide are notorious for glorifying sights and attractions. At times it seems that everything in any chosen country is the most beautiful this or the largest that. I have over time grown quite tired of these grand claims and have always longed for http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Limon/Puerto-Viejo-de-Talamanca/blog-531814.html Day 889 on the road We had been a little apprehensive about Costa Rica the Rich Coast as he name translates named so for the gold found here during the Spanish occupation in the 16th century. All we knew was that the country was in comparison to the other countries in Central America overrun by tourists most of them vacationers from the USA and Europe who are attracted to the country by i http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Cartago/Turrialba/blog-528927.html Day 880 on the road Let's start this blog with a guest paragraph written by my dear travel companion and friend Tino giving us the definition of what we have termed hiluxing hiluxen or to hiluxTo Hilux Hitchhiking at the most comfortable level on the back of a massive and powerful Toyota Hilux pickup truck A legendary workhorse built for the toughest jobs. A Hilux is commonly http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Southern-Pacific-Coast/San-Juan-del-Sur/blog-527799.html Day 870 on the road Even by Central American standards it seems that Nicaragua has had to endure more than its fair share of misery in its troubled past. The country's history may sound familiar to anyone who has spent some time in the region with a few noteworthy twists and turnsDictators and elected presidents corrupt to the bone lining their own coffers at the expense of the people. US mi http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Capital-Region/Managua/blog-525175.html Day 866 on the road OK first things first I have booked my flight home for the end of October. Puh It might not sound like much but it is a big no a huge deal for me. Making plans to go home was one of the very last things on my mind for the past two and a half years. Of course I knew the day would arrive eventually but I didn't image just how much the simple act of booking a flight home http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/El-Salvador/Eastern/Perquin/blog-523262.html Day 858 on the road One thing that you won't see in Honduras are other tourists. After the very touristy Bay Islands on the Caribbean north coast we were expecting tourists all over the rest of the country but to our surprise there were almost none at all. During our whole final week in the country we met only a handful of other travellers three German students and a US family at Lake Yojoa.A http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Western/Gracias/blog-522962.html Day 851 on the road In travelling a companion. In life compassion.I am not much of a philosopher most of times but can't help to be utterly fascinated by this ancient Japanese proverb. In travelling a companion. In life compassion. In Japanese Tabi wa michizure Yo wa nasake. There is so much in this short saying that it i http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Bay-Islands/Roatan/blog-517726.html Day 841 on the road When a country doesn't have its own currency but uses the US dollar you suspect that something is not right here. When you then realise that the country holds the sad fourth place in the category highest murder rate in the world this feeling gets stronger. Then your guide book tells you that 95 of the forest in the country has been cut down you start to get even more wo http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/El-Salvador/Central/San-Salvador/blog-515013.html Day 832 on the road And so my time in Guatemala was coming to an end. From the great market in Chichicastenango see last entry Tino and I embarked on our last few days in the country the natural wonders of Semuc Champey near Lanquin. One American guy I talked to a few weeks ago had called Semuc Champey the most beautiful thing in the world. As anticipated my resulting high expectations coul http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Verapaz-Region/Semuc-Champey/blog-514783.html