Nomadic Gravies - Daniel & Rozita Shortell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 0 Comment(s) | 4 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=291568] | 2008-06-27 19:15:31
 Nomadic Gravies | Daniel & Rozita Shortell | Travel Blog |
Nomadic Gravies - Daniel & Rozita Shortell
Countries We Are Visiting
Map Legend: 4%, 13 of 263 Territories
Yellow 
High level view of the countries we plan to explore
Our lives are a compilation of the many experiences we have as we blaze our own unique trail through the continuum of time.These experiences define who we are, chisel our behaviours, and influence how we blend into the increasingly complex world around us. Our daily routines provide us with the comfort of stability, a known outcome, a rhythm to follow and a cage we grown to love and hate.
In the US, an intensely capitalistic society promotes a lifestyle of consumption and imbues in the masses a continued sense of deficiency unless we have the latest fashion worn by Paris Hilton or the latest iPod released by Apple Computers. These notions of consumerism reinforce our belief that the cage is our safe place and we should work harder to furnish it well with the latest trappings whether it is an expensive new car to better articulate our societal position, a healthier, greener lawn to compete with the neighbors, or a bigger house to store all the crap we have accumulated over the years. All the while, we often forget that we are only blessed with a limited amount of time and a diminishing amount of energy with which to experience the vast reaches beyond our cage. This may sound trite, however, its importance should be underscored as our uniquely human intellect and desire for knowledge and understanding cannot be satiated with a constant cycle of work, buy, sleep and eat. There must be something more… experiences that challenge our beliefs, expose our limitations, and enlighten our perspective. For us, this “something more” is travel.
With this in mind, we have set out to explore a small fraction of the many countries, languages, cultures, and lifestyles that permeate the globe. We are in search of adventure, knowledge and an experience that can further round our perspective of the world in which we live. With nothing more than 2 backpacks, 2 spongy minds and a host of technological gadgetry, we will travel ‘round the world for six+ months starting from our current home, Australia, and returning to our next home, USA.
So please, join us on our travels and let us know your thoughts as we roam around outside of our cage to experience life from just a few of the many different perspectives on this massive rock we call earth.
Joined on: November 23rd 2007
Last Login: August 22nd 2008
Blog Entries: 46
Photos: 765
Recommended by 1
Last Login: August 22nd 2008
Blog Entries: 46
Photos: 765
Recommended by 1
Status: BLOGGER
Blogs & Travel Journals
by Nomadic-Gravies, order by Date newest first.
We boarded yet another night bus with the sort of enthusiasm typically reserved for a visit to the dentist. As we had come to expect, a clean cut, well dressed man happily served us refreshments upon take-off, and, promptly freshened the air inside the bus as we set off on our trip to Antalya. Meanwhile, the child seated behind us commenced her evening long complaint session, crying at every conceivable opportunity. Her caretakers, seemingly deaf and possessing absolutely zero parenting skills, did nothing to calm her or her flailing appendages which spent most of their time slamming into the [View Full Entry]
By Nomadic Gravies
May 30th 2008
May 30th 2008
Before the Dawn of Civililization
Middle East » Turkey » Southeastern Anatolia » Urfa
Saban is 22 years old and just recently graduated with an English degree from a university in Tokat, Turkey. Outgoing, friendly, and eager to practice his English a bit, we bumped into this remarkable young lad in the spotless new bus station (which really felt more like an airport) in Keyseri. He approached us as we finalized our ticket, asking if we would like to hang out together to kill the 5 hours before the bus to Urfa left. We happily accepted his invitation for a rendezvous and settled on a cafeteria in the station to get a bite to eat [View Full Entry]
Nomadic Gravies - Daniel & Rozita Shortell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 1 Comment(s) | 8 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=291163] | 2008-06-25 11:55:45
By Nomadic Gravies
May 26th 2008
May 26th 2008
Goodbye Reality
Middle East » Turkey » Central Anatolia » Cappadocia
It has been about five months now and Rozy and I have experienced, discussed and analysed the many differences (both subtle and extreme) between the transport systems of 6 different countries. Our travels in Turkey bring us closest to some of the most economically developed countries in the world, and, one would probably expect a jump in the quality of the transport system given this proximity and other factors. Turkey’s transport system (specifically the bus system), much to our pleasant surprise, trumped all others we have experienced on this trip by a rather significant margin, and, o [View Full Entry]
Nomadic Gravies - Daniel & Rozita Shortell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 1 Comment(s) | 34 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=289171] | 2008-06-19 14:07:42
Rozy and I licked our mental wounds caused by a horrendous time in Egypt by taking turns being uber positive about our expectations of Turkey. This was a bold move as overplaying such a hand could result in unreachably high expectations, which, if unmet, could render the last portion of our travels a perceived failure. Throwing caution to the wind, we traded oddly pumped-up enthusiasm as if preparing for a workout with Richard Simmons. We touched down in Istanbul ready to receive Turkey in all its glory, but still subconsciously prepared to flinch at any indication of a scam as we [View Full Entry]
Nomadic Gravies - Daniel & Rozita Shortell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 1 Comment(s) | 17 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=288881] | 2008-06-19 10:05:10
So the plan was to make our way along the highly fragmented Egyptian transport network from Siwa to St. Katharine’s Monastery and Mount Sinai in far eastern Egypt. Three bus rides and a full day later, we arrived in Suez full of hope that we could catch the next bus out to St. Katharine’s in order to summit Mt. Sinai like our good friend Moses. Upon our arrival, I spoke to the ticket salesman (only after elbowing my way through a small crowd of people standing around the ticket booth) who informed me that I could purchase a ticket to Sinai [View Full Entry]
Nomadic Gravies - Daniel & Rozita Shortell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 0 Comment(s) | 34 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=278775] | 2008-06-01 08:30:17
By Nomadic Gravies
May 11th 2008
May 11th 2008
An island in the desert
Africa » Egypt » Western Desert » Siwa Oasis
Disconnected is one of many words that could be used to describe the Egyptian transport infrastructure (hopelessly inefficient is another good way of describing it). We were lucky to score a night train ticket out of Luxor and into Cairo although we had to pay extra to catch the train originating in Aswan (even though we were boarding in Luxor) as the train originating in Luxor had been sold out (makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?). Regardless, we were fit to say our goodbyes to Luxor and hustle our way to Siwa along what amounts to a big “L” shaped series of [View Full Entry]
Nomadic Gravies - Daniel & Rozita Shortell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 0 Comment(s) | 46 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=278415] | 2008-05-29 09:48:28
By Nomadic Gravies
May 5th 2008
May 5th 2008
The undisputed king (or pharaoh, if you will) of baksheesh
Africa » Egypt » Upper Egypt » Luxor
One would think that finding the central bus station for a city of 20 million people would be a relatively straightforward task, unfortunately in Cairo, nothing is straightforward. From our guidebook, we knew that the main bus station was called “Turgomen” and it was located near Ramses Square, however, the book stopped short of providing a precise address since “the bus station is prone to relocations”. Confused, Rozy and I mulled the idea of a roaming central bus station but couldn’t connect to the logic or reasoning behind it. Anyhow, we set off to find the elu [View Full Entry]
Nomadic Gravies - Daniel & Rozita Shortell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 1 Comment(s) | 38 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=277614] | 2008-05-23 15:54:44
Arriving dead tired into any new city isn’t exactly the ideal situation…arriving dead tired in Cairo is simply a bad idea. After a long night in the airport in Mumbai, a 3.5 hour flight to Bahrain, a 2.5 hour layover in Bahrain and finally a 3 hour flight from Bahrain to Cairo, we arrived zombified and ready to find the nearest bed. Instead, we played the immigration game and got our first introduction to the Egyptian way of life…tacit knowledge reins supreme. In this instance, I queued for immigration checking as everyone else, however, when I reached the immigration offic [View Full Entry]
Nomadic Gravies - Daniel & Rozita Shortell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 0 Comment(s) | 29 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=277558] | 2008-05-19 21:10:34
By Nomadic Gravies
April 25th 2008
April 25th 2008
From Bhuj to Mumbai via Ahmedabad and on to Cairo via Bahrain
Asia » India
Another comfy A/C bus delivered us back to Ahmedabad from Bhuj where we spent the majority of the next day in a stuffy little cubicle in an Internet café waiting for our next bus departure to Mumbai. Evening finally came and we prepared to board yet another (hopefully comfy) Volvo A/C sleeper bus, only, it didn’t arrive. Instead, about an hour and a half late, a crap-mobile of twisted metal (with no A/C) arrived to grudgingly drag us down to Mumbai. We had paid for an A/C sleeper bus and were given a non A/C bus, so naturally, it was time [View Full Entry]
Nomadic Gravies - Daniel & Rozita Shortell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 1 Comment(s) | 6 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=276331] | 2008-05-14 23:49:06
By Nomadic Gravies
April 22nd 2008
April 22nd 2008
Kachchh me if you can - Day 2 exploring villages
Asia » India » Gujarat
Our last day in Kachchh was supposed to be one of adventure and a final attempt at purchasing handicrafts from those who produce them. Prior to setting off for the day, we covered every square inch of our skin to prevent burn from the beaming desert sun, and purchased 5 litres of water. We were planning to ride 90 km north to the southern edge of the Great Rann of Kachchh to view the salt plains, and, stop in a couple of villages along the way to hopefully spot some more artisans at work. We set out early and baked in [View Full Entry]
Nomadic Gravies - Daniel & Rozita Shortell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 0 Comment(s) | 28 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=275140] | 2008-05-11 20:40:33