http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Lynch-Mob/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Lynch Mob en-us Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:28:41 +0000 Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:28:41 +0000 Cairo is more hectic than Bangkok and possibly dirtier than Delhi but no one really goes to Egypt to visit Cairo...its Giza they want to see...My driver was a bohemith 6'5 275lb boy of 20 years old who boasted that he had only been in as many accidents as his age. This was a fact that he was legitametely proud of which naturally scared the hell out of me. His car was something out of an Adam Sand http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-74044.html The first time I crashed my motorbike I had to check and see if my right foot was still attached to my leg. The second time I crashed my motorbike I had to check and see if I still had all ten fingers. The third time I crashed my motorbike well I didnrsquot actually crash it but that dog still has three good legshellipItrsquos been an interesting last few days cruising the Ho Chi Minh Trai http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Central-Highlands/blog-58000.html Therersquos no good reason to have Run with the Bulls other than it seemed like a good idea at the time. Hemmingway must have seen something genius and manly about the festival of San Fermin and wasnrsquot old Ernest considered a Man among Men Either way it really wasnrsquot as scary as the Blooper reel yoursquove seen on TV would indicate. Can you die while running with the Bulls Yes. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Navarre/Pamplona/blog-72341.html The Dignified Freak Show in Barcelona is known as the street of Las Ramblas. Its most definately a freak show as evidenced by the thousands of tourists walking at a snails pace stopping every twenty feet to take picutures of the Living Statues that line the sides of Las Ramblas. The street runs from Plaza Catalunya all the way to the water but there is are distinct districts set up to keep the fl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-73442.html The Ferry to Ireland was completely unnecessary due to the fact that I had a plane ticket that would have taken flown me from Frankfurt to Dublin but the overwhelming novelty of it all made the sea voyage inescapable. For my first visit to Ireland I thought itrsquod be ironic to come by boat even if it was from France.Winterlike weather in Dublin was a cold reminder that I hadnrsquot been an http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/blog-71783.html I broke two toes in a barefoot pick up soccer game on the lawn at the Museo Square. They're only toes they'll grow back. Considering some of the other injuries I've had and the amount of my own blood I've spilled accidentally I was happy to learn that they were likely only cracked up a bit and not pointing in the wrong direction. There's a reason I took nearly 100 pictures of this soccer excus http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-68124.html As am Irish American I could think of no better place to spend my 25th Birthday than Dublin. To be more specific I spend a great deal of the day wandering around the Guinness Storehouse. For anyone whos never been to the Guinness Storehouse its the original Brewery that has been converted into a living museum and churns out the brews it did years ago. On short its a Mecca for beer. The interi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/blog-69462.html The calendar didn't exactly read 74 or even 1225 but for what its worth my return to land of sit down toilets was both all in one. I got a little bored hanging out with myself in the Philippines so I switched around my flights and headed to Germany where I knew the USA still hadn't been eliminated from the World Cup. As I write this we're halfway through the finals and its good to see the Ita http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/blog-68120.html Ok so this one's for Papa John Anyone who has been to the house I grew up in or for that matter anywhere my father has lived since the 90s are sure to recognize some of the artwork in this blog. Oddly enough Papa John has never been to Willi's Wine Bar and anyone who knows him is sure to immediately learn about his love of fine wine and upon getting to know him a little better might learn t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-68128.html ldquoSoayou wanna go to NepalrdquoldquoUmyesyes I dohelliprdquoldquoSoayou wanna hike EverestrdquoldquoYesyes I dohelliprdquoDone and done.I canrsquot recall who asked who these important questions but it was unanimous. Nepal. Everest.A week later we were on a plane out of Delhi and into the highest parts of the Ihmalayas. Now the complete and utter lack of planning http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Namche/blog-49947.html These quotes were taken from the grounds of Wat U Mong http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-45234.html John Thomas Lynch my grandfather has been an enigma to me all my life not only because he is the man I was named for yet never had the opportunity to meet but because no one besides my Uncle Kevin ever had a conversation with him about his war experiences.Itrsquos hard to write this particular blog without going into too much history about the U.S. military campaign in the Philippines mainl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Bataan/blog-65735.html Vientiane was like a city on sedatives. Spending one afternoon drinking too much BeerLao while watching a monsoon rear its ugly head was relaxing enough but when I learned that the most exciting aspect of the city was the gun range in the center of town that I most definitely visited it was decidedly time to head to the hills.My new traveling partner Sean good guy its just a shame he went to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-65579.html I've wanted to retailate in good humor to Royal's blog entitled Fral for some time now but seeing how we decided to go our own separate ways last month I figured I'd just let some of these pictures do the talking...Final Statistics of our TripNumber of Countries Traveled Through 10Number of Punches Thrown 0Number of times Royal attempted to reattach my toes 2Number of times I convinced he sho http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-58517.html Irsquove never been anywhere that I legitimately thought that a poisonous dart would be shot out of the mouth of a statue if I stepped on the wrong stone. This all changed the moment I stepped into the ruins of Beng Mea Lea fifty five kilometers southeast of the main temples of Angkor Wat. Its funny how most people are so completely enamored with the main temples of Angkor the temples that have http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-54583.html Upon reaching Bangkok I made a new goal for myself to get invited into an Opium Den and play poker with some old Thai gangsters. Why would I want to do this Why wouldnrsquot I want to do this is the better question.Irsquod be taking a stroll down the Ko San Road minding my own business possibly with my head phones in quietly bumping along to some Kingrsquos of Leon or maybe even The Ki http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-54997.html I've been dragging with this blog because I didn't want to start it by telling everyone that I got so sick I thought I'd need an IV to rehydrate myself. But there that's out of the way and I never had to go to the hospital...If I were to get married tomorrow my honeymoon would be in Sri Lanka. For the first time since I've been traveling I really wanted to be with a significant other instead o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-54319.html The third and final part of the Golden Triangle ostensibly became a travel casualty. With the remainder of rupees in my pocket no ATM card and an overnight trip ahead I packed up and left paranganj and headed south via autobus. To Agra we joined up with a package and a private bus this would be my first public transport in India and their bus system is notoriously sketchy. Alas we wouldnrsquo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jaipur/blog-51180.html Delhi Jaipur and Agra and commonly known as the Golden Triangle because their relation to each other on a map can be traced to form a triangle. Genius. For that reason most tourists tend to take one direction and follow the triangle back to their initial starting point which more often than not is Delhi. The travel agent that worked with the Clinton Foundation whom with Royal worked out our pla http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Agra/blog-47671.html A still shot. A missing eye. A missing appendage. A missing limb. A twisted limb. A filthy mother. A starving child. A dazed beggar. A sweaty beggar. A drunken beggar. A man kicking a dog. A starving dog. A dog missing a limb. A dog missing an eye. A starving pack of puppies. A filthy pack of puppies. A rabid pack of puppies. A pile of human feces. A painted cow. An emaciated cow. A holy cow. A co http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/National-Capital-Territory/New-Delhi/blog-51314.html