Paul Casey - & Nicola Keane

Here's OUR little story which covers the adventures, cultures, places and people Paul & Nicola encounter on their round the world journey.

In June 2009 after getting married we gave up our lives in Ireland and left on a world trip - and never looked back. Hopefully some of you may get a laugh or maybe just see and read about somewhere you'd like to go someday.

If you like what you see and want to be notified whenever I add a new entry, simply subscribe to this blog!

Any feedback (public comment or private message) is always welcome! It is not my intention in this blog to judge, but merely to share OUR experiences.

The first leg of the journey took us from Greece up though Eastern Europe, into Russia, across Siberia, through Mongolia, down though china, though Tibet, then Nepal and finally down into India; - mostly via train..!!

The second leg will take us through Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Singapore, The Philippines, Japan and down to Oz to see out the 2009 with a bang.

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Joined on: June 19th 2009
Last Login: November 25th 2009

Blog Entries: 22
Photos: 196

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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Paul Casey, order by Date newest first.

By Paul Casey
October 20th 2009

Hong Kong & Macau Asia » Hong Kong

View of Hong Kong
during the long, weary climb to the Peak!

Welcome to Hong Kong; home to over seven million people - all packed in like sardines on a few tiny islands! After disembarking the flight, filling in the by now pervasive swine flu forms, and a quick passport check, we found ourselves in an ultra-modern airport! Wow indeed..!! To get to the city centre we didn’t even have to put a foot outside the airport; the airport express train virtually comes right into the arrivals hall; the doors opened and we got in. Hong Kong greets you with a sleight of hand, outwardly it could not appear to be more western [View Full Entry]

By Paul Casey
October 6th 2009

India (part 2): Varanasi, Kolkata, Mumbai, & Goa Asia » India

Taking a wander about town!
Cows are sacred in Hindu

(Cont'd from New Delhi and Agra: India Part 1 ). We continued on our five week trip of India, heading east towards the cities of Varanasi and Kolkata, and then over to the west coast to Mumbai and Goa. Varanasi We weren’t sleeping soundly for long though! Life on Indian trains is a sight to behold and from 6am onwards there were guys up and down the carriage selling everything from biscuits to hot curries, water to newspapers. Up, down and up again; every 5 minutes, hour after hour, selling one thing or [View Full Entry]

The tradition of setting Lotus flowers adrift down the Ganges

By Paul Casey
October 6th 2009

India (part 1): New Delhi & Agra Asia » India

Ghandi memorial
(New Delhi)

India is without doubt the most diverse nation we have visited on our trip around the world to-date. Its population is the second largest in the world with well over a billion inhabitants, rivalled only to China. Within its geographical borders there is a mind-boggling variety of languages, cultures, ethnic groups, beliefs and lifestyles, that few continents possess, let alone any one country. India is indeed a powerful assault on the senses; noisy, frantic, vibrant, and fair to say chaotic; a land of incredible contrasts of rich and poor. It is overwhelming at first, yet if you look closely e [View Full Entry]

By Paul Casey
September 1st 2009

Amazing Nepal Asia » Nepal » Annapurna » Annapurna Circuit

Nepal road - a bit of a sticky situation..

It was only a few short steps across the Friendship Bridge from Tibet to Nepal, yet the change in faces, personalities and culture was dramatic. We wandered with the crowd down a narrow lane way. A taxi-tout pointed us into a building where we were supposed to get an entry visa. After 20 minutes, a few forms later and a quick temperature check for swine flu (with a thermometer you stick under your arm), we were APPROVED for a 15 day visitor visa. Excellent! We then organised a lift to Kathmandu in the back of a Land Cruiser. I think [View Full Entry]

By Paul Casey
August 28th 2009

Tibet - Hello from the roof of the world! Asia » China » Tibet

Our infamous Tibetan travel permit

Tibet is located in the southwest of China; it is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of over 16,000 ft. The Tibet Autonomous Region is known locally as the "roof of the world". It is without doubt one of the most remarkable places we have visited in Asia. It offers fabulous monasteries, breathtaking high altitude views of the some of the worlds highest mountains, as well as an insight into the remarkable culture of the indigenous Tibetan people. A line of spiritual leaders, the Dalai Lamas, ruled a large portion of the Tibetan region at various times from [View Full Entry]

People coming to pray at the Buddha mural on the mountain side

By Paul Casey
August 17th 2009

China - Xi'an - Warrior Territory Asia

An army fit for an Emperor

We finally boarded the train to Xi’an after a week in Shanghai. This was going to be interesting as we were the only westerns on the train. I'm guessing everyone else got the 12 hour train, except for us two eejits who ended up on the 24 hour train. Anyway we settled in with our new cabin mates - a Chinese father and daughter. For two people who had traveled all the way from Greece to China via train; this short train journey should have been a breeze, but instead it seemed unusually long and cumbersome. There were several kids in [View Full Entry]

The local farmer (Mr. Young) who discovered the 8th wonder of the world

By Paul Casey
August 13th 2009

China - Mad About Shanghai Asia » China » Shanghai

The New York of Asia

Damn!! - We had spent too much time in friggin’ STARBUCKS of all places and suddenly realised we were supposed to be boarding the train from Beijing to Shanghai in two hours. There was a bit of a rush back to the Hutong in the dark and a frantic attempt to get a taxi. Luckily this went without a hitch and we raced into the train station just in time. You need to get to the train station early in China. Everything from x-ray scanning machines, to the enormous amount of people who want to go places, all seem to delay [View Full Entry]

By Paul Casey
August 5th 2009

China - Beijing Madness Asia » China » Beijing

Boggie Wheel changing

Got a taxi with a bunch of others to the train station to board the train to Beijing at 8am. This was the final leg of the Trans-Siberia-Mongolia-Beijing train. We boarded the train, excited to see who the two lucky passengers would be that would be sharing our cabin with us. Two guys from Slovakia had the honour. Thankfully they had perfect English, and it wasn’t long before I was fully briefed on the history of Slovakia, the social and economic policies of the country and its future!! It was like mastermind in the cabin and by lunch time I think [View Full Entry]

By Paul Casey
July 31st 2009

Mongolia - The Wild East! Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar

DESTROY!!
Great place for a hair cut!

After boarding the train to Mongolia in Irkutsk, we bumped into a tour group; some of whom were Irish guys who were on a tour crossing Russia, Mongolia and China. We were all in the same train carriage along with some other people from the hostel we had just stayed in. We ended up sharing our cabin with a Russian woman who had no English and an American guy called Stephen. He was en-route to China for job interviews and was going via Russia and Mongolia for some distraction. Needless to say the atmosphere on this train was very different from [View Full Entry]

By Paul Casey
July 20th 2009

Siberia - Middle Earth Europe » Russia » Siberia

Breakfast table
on the Trans-Siberian train

Getting on the Trans-Siberian rail network was amazing. We got onboard and settled in for a 70 hour plus journey. Luckily we only had three in the cabin and not four. Space is always a premium especially on a longer journey like this. We had visions of drunken Russian soldiers swigging vodka and roaming the train, but this did not come to pass. Apart from two Germans in another cabin, we seemed to be the only English speaking people in the carriage; everyone else was silent! We were sharing our cabin with an old Russian lady; we called her ‘Biddy’ as [View Full Entry]

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Paul Casey - & Nicola Keane

Blogs & Travel Journals