TravelBlog » PeterandMaire

PeterandMaire - Peter Gaffey

Hi and Welcome to our Travel Blog.

We are travelling around the world on a six month trip starting in South America and moving on to Australia and South East Asia.

Our first stop was Buenos Aires on the 8th March. We spent brillant months in South America and after brief stops in Sydney and Bali we are now travelling around Thailand and Laos.

We are posting blogs on the places we have been and our experiences there as well as some photos from our trip. Check out our Blogs so far.

Feel Free to post a message on out blog page at any time.
Peter & Maire.

Private Message Subscribe 2 Forum Posts Blog Map

Blog Comments Search Blogs Gallery First Entry Latest Entry

Joined on: February 20th 2008
Last Login: July 26th 2008

Blog Entries: 16
Photos: 223

TB Code: [blogger=61950]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by PeterandMaire, order by Date newest first.

By PeterandMaire
July 23rd 2008

Southern Laos

Asia » Laos » South

The Mekong River at Sunset

We took a flight from Luang Nam Tha in Northern Laos to the capital city of Laos, Vientaine. For a capital city it had a bustling but easy going atmosphere which is in keeping with the laid back lifestyle of Laos. After our overdose of sticky rice and eggplant up North we were happy to find some nice cafes serving western food delights that we haven't had in ages and so we indulged and washed it down with the complusory Beer Laos. From Vientaine we made our way to Bah Na Hin, a very small town which serves as a good [View Full Entry]

By PeterandMaire
July 13th 2008

Laos- Luang Prabang & Off The Beaten Track in Luang Nam Tha

Asia » Laos » North

Bathing Waters...!!!
Two Village kids making the most of the sun shine outside Luang Nam Tha, Laos.

During our 3 days of travel to Laos from Thailand (6 hours on a bus followed by 2 days on a very slow overpacked boat )we got a taste of the undoubtably slow pace of travel and the laid back lifestyle that the lovely country of Laos has to offer. We reached the pretty city of Luang Prabang which lies along the Mekong River and found a nice guesthouse by the river. Luang Prabang has many good cafes and restaurants housed in colourful french colonial buildings but after the 11.30pm curfew is enforced it quietens down and the only place you [View Full Entry]

An Ancient Buddhist Cave outside Luang Pra Bang

By PeterandMaire
July 1st 2008

Chiang Mai

Asia » Thailand » North » Chiang Mai

The two of us on the trek

We took a 12 hour overnight train to Chiang Mai, a city in Northern Thailand. After taking so many long bus journeys in South America the idea of getting on a train was a bit of a novelty. The overnight train was so comfortable and after sleeping in Bunkbeds for most the journey we were served a nice breakfast just in time for our arrival to Chiang Mai. Upon stepping off the train and into Chang Mai, it was noticeably much calmer and tamer than crazy Bangkok. We stayed in a guest house inside the walled city and spend the first [View Full Entry]

By PeterandMaire
June 22nd 2008

The Bangkok Experience.

Asia » Thailand » Central » Bangkok

A shrine outside the temple we visited

After spending about 5 days in Bangkok the first thing i will say is that its very difficult to sum up in a few paragraphs. One thing it certainly isnt is dull. We arrived on our flight from Bali at 2am and scrambled down the Khao San Road area to find somewhere to kip. After inspecting a few fairly dingy spots we found a half decent place and got a few hours kip. So, the next morning we were ready to tackle this crazy city. We decided to get straight into the action so we headed for China Town. It was [View Full Entry]

The giant Reclining Budda at Wat Pho temple Bangkok

Picture from outside the temple at the Grand Palace

By PeterandMaire
June 19th 2008

Bali

Asia

Kuta Beach Bali

Bali, an Indonesian Island was our next stop on our way to South East Asia. Bali was a place to chill out and we mainly spent our time lounging on the beach with the sun baking us at 30 degrees. We stayed in Kuta, the town where most backpackers stay but it wasn't the paradisical Bali of deserted white sand beaches and palm trees we had envisaged. The town itself is a concrete jungle full of neon signs and hawkers trying to sell you everything from transport, massages, sunglasses and marajuana, often the same guy offering all this in the one [View Full Entry]

Maire getting into the Spirit of things in Bali

By PeterandMaire
June 13th 2008

Sydney

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney

Opera House

We left South America after 3 months but not without one hairy moment just before we left. Heres what happened. When we crossed from Argentina to Brazil at a land crossing for our we gave our passports in at the border and they gave them back but we only realised after that the had not stamped them. In addition we were not asked to complete an immigration form at the border either. We thought that it was a bit odd at the time but didnt worry about it. So, when we were flying out from Rio on our Journey to Australia [View Full Entry]

Maire on Palm Beach, "Home and Away Beach"

By PeterandMaire
June 2nd 2008

Last stop in South America- Rio De Janeiro

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro

Sun going down over Rio

Rio De Janeiro was our last stop in South America and what a perfect ending to our 3 months in South America. Rio is known as the Marvellous city and with its world famous beaches, great nightlife, The Sugar Loaf, The Marcana, the endless beat of music and so much more its easy to see why. We spent over a week here making the most of what this city has to offer and left feeling a bit weary from the nightlife Rio has to offer. Our first stop was Copacabana beach to soak up some sun, just as well we got [View Full Entry]

A view of Rio from the Sugar Loaf mountain.

By PeterandMaire
May 27th 2008

Partay and Ihla Grande

South America » Brazil » Santa Catarina

A fishing trawler in Barra Da Lago, Florianopolis

Our final country to visit on the South America leg of our trip was Brazil and we were really looking forward to getting to some nice beaches along Brazils Atlantic Coast and relaxing. We found out when we arrived in Florianapolis on the Southern Coast of Brazil that conditions on the Atlantic coast here are a bit more conducive to sunbathing than on the Irish side of the Atlantic... we have 3 weeks to spend in Brazil so our plan was to travel up the coast in the direction of Rio De Janeiro. I dont want to bore ye with too [View Full Entry]

By PeterandMaire
May 16th 2008

San Pedro De Atacama- Salta-Iguazu Falls

South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » San Pedro de Atacama

Sunset on Valle De Luna

We ended our tour of the Bolivian Salt Flats by crossing the border and getting a bus to small town in Northern Chile called San Pedro De Atacama located in the driest desert in the world. Its quite touristy but nonetheless is a nice place to chill out for a few days and a great place to do some day trips. We took a trip to see The Death Valley and and the Valley of the Moon located in Cordillera de la Sal (Salt mountains), so called because the scenery is said to resemble the surface of the moon (well we [View Full Entry]

By PeterandMaire
May 6th 2008

Salar De Uyuni

South America » Bolivia

Maire on the Bottle Again!

In La Paz we booked a trip to Rurrenabaque to do a three day pampas Tour. We had heard great things about these trips to the pampas in the Amazon Basin where there was an abundance of wildlife to be seen. The landing strip in Rurrenabaque is grass and there was heavy rain fall on the morning of our flight so it was cancelled. Our flight was rescheduled for the next day but unfortunately it rained again and the flight agin did not go ahead. So after sittying around for two days we reluctantly decided to cancel our trip to the [View Full Entry]

Steam Rising from the Geysers just before Sun Rise