http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/PeterandMaire/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from PeterandMaire en-us Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:15:02 UTC Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:15:02 UTC We've headed to the South of Thailand and spent the last 3 weeks Island Hopping. Its getting towards the end of our voyage so we were looking forward to finding a hammock on some deserted beach kicking back and relaxing. And believe it or not thats exactly what we've been doing. While its the middle of Monsoon season here we have been really lucky with the weather and nearly every day has been s http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Thailand/South/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-313830.html We arrived in Siem Reap with the intention of seeing the main tourist attractions in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh before heading back into Thailand to spend some time in the Southern Islands. Angkor Wat and the many other ancient Angkor temples outside Siem Reap are world famous and we felt we could not leave South East Asia without spending at least a few days exploring. We got a three day tourist http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-304286.html 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 d http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/South/blog-303089.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/North/blog-295660.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Thailand/North/Chiang-Mai/blog-293781.html 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 read http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Thailand/Central/Bangkok/blog-289869.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/blog-289845.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-286057.html 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 th http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Rio-de-Janeiro/blog-283060.html 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 wee http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Santa-Catarina/blog-279131.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Chile/Antofagasta-Region/San-Pedro-de-Atacama/blog-274826.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/blog-273627.html Arequipa is Perus second City known as the white city because of the many buildings made from the white volcanic rock of the nearby volcanic mountains. It was a place we were looking forward to visiting and chilling out in for a few days after the long trek to Machu Picchu. We found Arequipa to be a pleasant place to visit and a good bit less touristy than Cusco which was good. There are lots of http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Peru/Arequipa/Colca-Canyon/blog-270296.html We took an interesting 8 hour bus journey from Puno to La Paz the captial city of Bolivia and also the worlds highest capital city at 3650m above sea level. Bolivia is South Americas poorest city and this was certainly evident in the many very poor villages and towns we passed through until we reached the border crossing in the town of Desyourda. This was a crazy town full of taxi bikes and car http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/La-Paz/blog-270267.html We have been very busy since our last entry and it seems like a long time ago since we were in Santiago Chile. We spent a few days here strolling the streets and taking in the sights Santiago had to offer. Sanitago wasnt part of our orginial plan but after so many long bus journeys we decided to treat ourselves to a flight from Santiago to Cusco Peru. Sanitago was a pleasant enough city with a E http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Peru/Cusco/Machu-Picchu/blog-267157.html We arrived in Bariloche following a 32 Hour bus Journey from El Chalten. We had heard a lot of good things about bariloche and were really looking forward to spending a few days there. Bariloche is a picturesque town surrounded by lakes and mountains. It is considered the home of chocolate in Argentina so after a few days in the Fitz Roy Mountains in El Chalten we were looking forward to indulging http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/Mendoza/Mendoza/blog-263110.html It was difficult to leave Buenos Aires because we loved this city so much but we were also looking forward to flying to the end of the world literally the city of Ushuaia which means the bay that looks at West. It is the capital city of Provincia de Tierra del Fuego situated at Isla Grande Big Island and is the southernmost city of the world. It was beautiful to wake up and admire the grea http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/Santa-Cruz/El-Chalten/blog-260012.html Hello from Buenos Aires.We arrived in Buenos Aires after a very long flight on Sunday Morning 9th March 2008. We are staying in the San Telmo Region of the city. The last 5 days which we have spent exploring this great city have been a fantastic start to our 6 Month Trip. For Any of our friends who have told us how good the city is all I can say is that we were certainly not disappointed. It rea http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-255874.html