http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Mr--and-Mrs--Smith/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Mr and Mrs Smith en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:25:49 +0000 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:25:49 +0000 Wersquove acquired some pretty handy travel skills in the last year the most wellhoned and particularly important ones being 1 packing 2 bartering 3 getting along with each other on travel days the most fightworthy day of them all. A close fourth would be our ability to find cheaper flights. It was a cheaper flight that led us through South Africa rather than Australia on the way http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Playa-del-Carmen/blog-391153.html When my brother Tyler told me about his trip to Machu Picchu with his girlfriend Jolene last year my mind wondered Matchoo what Where Peru Who goes to Peru Almost one year later we went to Peru hitting Cuzco and the capital Lima with the fourday Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in between. Machu Picchu is probably the most recognizable symbol of the once mighty Inca Empire which for all its http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Inca-Trail/blog-384493.html Due mostly to my backtoback bout with a chest cold and then travelerrsquos diarrhea we didn't do much during the rest of our travels through Bolivia and into Peru. We spent time in the cities of Potosi La Paz Copacabana and Puno see pictures leaving the hostels rarely. These circumstances left us with little to talk about but home and the activities of the other people living in the roo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/blog-383436.html At first crossing from Argentina into the dusty Bolivian border town of Villazon was largely uneventful. There were the usual line crashers and moments of confusion when we canrsquot read the signs. There was a bit of a stir among the tourist contingent when news spread that Americans and only Americans were being charged 135 to enter Bolivia while the rest of the world had free admittance. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/blog-379190.html We spent 18 days in Argentina getting a healthy dose of urban Argentine life by stopping in Buenos Aires Mendoza Cordoba and finally Salta on our way north to Bolivia.We were surprised to learn that 90 per cent of Argentinarsquos population is European only three per cent of which is half European half indigenous. If we were dressed appropriately we could pretty much blend in with the loc http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/blog-376189.html Sometimes a lack of planning lands us in a money pit of a situation like arriving at Koh Samui with no hotel reservation. Other times planning too far ahead is the most expensive mistake like purchasing Baz Bus tickets in South Africa. We've suffered the consequences of both and striking that delicate balance between them is really starting to become an art.Our trip to South Africa was by f http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Free-State/Drakensberg/blog-370452.html Africa is famous for itrsquos diversity in animals plants and landscapes. One of the main reasons we extended our layover here to 20 days was so that we could go and see these things. Only 3 days after we arrived we packed up and went on a fourday camping safari in Kruger National Park. The goal was to see the ldquoBig 5rdquo elephant rhino leopard lion and buffalo. We slept in tents http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Mpumalanga-/Kruger-National-Park/blog-366531.html ldquoIrsquom from the United Statesrdquo said the Black youth surveying our reactions. I flinch at this introduction considering our surroundings. Irsquom standing in Kliptown a shantytown of sorts a miniscule corner of Soweto just outside Johannesburg. Irsquom confused as to how an American teenager of any creed or culture could end up as one of the four million people living here http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Gauteng/Johannesburg/Soweto/blog-366530.html We have been in South East Asia now for over a year and it has had a huge influence on our lives and identities. We will soon depart maybe forever and Bangkok is the last city we will see. In the spirit of reflection we asked our friends to give us a series of questions about the differences between where we come from and where we are and how our experiences have affected us as individuals. W http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-366533.html ldquoTurtle tattoo on right footrdquo is now something to add to the list of Marcrsquos distinguishable features. If our raving review of Chiang Mai didnrsquot sell you on our love of Thailand the fact that we permanently branded ourselves with bamboo tattoos should thoroughly convince.While the decision was largely spontaneous I admit we have talked about getting these very tattoos for http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-363940.html We saw and did so many things during our 10day stay in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai that our adventures start to read like a travel brochurebull Oneday cooking class includes seven dishes plus market visit and vegetable carving demonstrationbull Renowned Chiang Mai Zoo and Aquariumbull Centuries old temples and watsbull Daily night bazaar and weekend street marketsbull Exce http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-356312.html To all our family and friendsWe wish you a wonderful Christmas holiday and good luck in the new year.Thank you for reading our blog and offering so many words of encouragement support and humour throughout the last year. We hope to keep entertaining you with our travels and we truly look forward to coming home in 2009.LoveMarc and Krysta http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-356870.html After not having the perfect time in Phnom Penh when Krysta and I left the city I felt more a sense of relief than of excitement. We didnrsquot know what we were in for. Some people dedicate their entire lives to the study of Angkor and surrounding area. We arrived having done no research knowing only that it was something we should check out. Ignorance aside over the last 10 days Siem Reap h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-352638.html On November 26 we finally left Vietnam.After a lowsecurity Visa approval process and a quick lunch at the Cambodian border crossing we got back on the bus and headed for Phnom Penh. As we drove through the watery countryside and into the dustbowl of a capital city I was immediately consumed with VietnamCambodia comparisons.The conical hat had been replaced by the krama a checkered scarf. The http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-351993.html We needed to remain in Saigon while Krysta was recovering from dengue which gave us the opportunity to go and see the city in greater depth. One of our stops was a theme park called Suoi Tien essentially the Vietnamese Disneyland. While not the same in quality it is the same in scale and offered an excellent day of lifethreatening cultural entertainment we will not soon forget.It was beautiful http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-347735.html We thought it might be hard to leave Vietnam after living here for 10 months but this is getting a little ridiculous...Itrsquos been almost six weeks since we finished teaching but a pair of unfortunate incidents finds us stuck in Saigon and in need of a new travel plan.First our computer broke down the day after we finished our contracts. We knew from previous experience with our Mac it wou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-344240.html The alarm goes off at 7 a.m. on our day off. It takes me a moment to A register the snappy cell phone ring tone is not part of my early morning dream and B remember that wersquore committed to a daylong motorbike excursion through neighbouring Quang Nam province with our Aussie friend Quentin and his girlfriend Chau. Itrsquos a plan we excitedly hatched over a bucket of Heinekens on the be http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Da-Nang-/blog-321629.html The size and speed and orderliness of vehicles on the road. The abundance of large boxlike retail outlets restaurant franchises rectangular minimalls bank machines and convenience stores. The stature and diversity of people. The food and the serving sizes. The faces embraces laughter and music. The wealth. The English everywhere. The familiarity of it all yet the strangeness of seeing i http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Alberta/Edmonton/blog-314264.html In the few weeks prior to our trip home blog posting to follow we played hosts to my brother Tyler and his girlfriend Jolene. Danang was the final stop on Tyler and Jorsquos threemonth travels that included Argentina Peru London Paris Amsterdam Greece and Thailand.During their visit we tried our best to show them the highlights navigating through traffic on a motorbike shopping for t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-309259.html We have been away from home now for six months we have been on many adventures had many lazy days and have established a few relationships. While the trip so far has been well worth all of the struggles and challenges we have overcome some of the biggest lessons we have learned are about the relationships we left behind. Now that our vacation from our vacation return to Canada is imminent and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Da-Nang-/blog-292238.html