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Erin
Your life is what you make of it...never did I think, I would be where I am now!!Rin
After my undergrad, I went to Australia on a work program traveling throughout the country and to New Zealand and Fiji. I learned a lot about myself and what lies beyond the USA. Coming back to USA, I worked and had an opportunity to study my Masters in England. On the way there I traveled with my boyfriend, Joe, stopping off at Iceland, Scotland and over to meet Joe's family in Ireland. I continued my studies in Bournemouth, England and had an amazing time. Once I handed in my thesis, Joe and I traveled on the train through Europe. And then THE train journey happened: 5 day train ride from Russia to Mongolia and China then down to Vietnam and Cambodia and over to Bangkok. Now I'm back in Chicago and working. But, traveling has introduced me to different cultures, people and beauty of other lands and I hope someday to continue the journey across the world.
Travel Blog Posts
July 14th 2007
I am sitting here in my Chicago apartment feeling the breeze come in through the window and listening to the busy city....a nice scene to be in at the moment..but, there is another scene when you enter WAR. I don't want to be 'political' but had to discuss my views on the destructible chaos. No family members or friends have been taken from the war, but that does not excuse all of the innocent people and other families that have been destroyed and deprived of life from the consequences of war. My first personal experience involved visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau, which was one of the largest concentration camps in Poland. Standing in the middle of a gas chamber, observing the cramped living quarters and walking through the prisons of the concentration camp sent chills down ... read more
February 11th 2007
Cambodia is an amazing place, especially after its resent Khmer Rouge massacre. This country was our favorite spot in all our travels having gracious people and a relaxing way of life. Nearly everywhere you travel in Cambodia, there is a hammock tied up; whether it is a tour bus driver waiting for his group or a shopkeeper taking a break. However, you forget sometimes how easy you have it, when you see many children in the streets begging for food or young children already starting to work. Still, Cambodia has an atmosphere where you never want to leave... The war in Cambodia ended in 1979 and was a war of brutal killings and extinction of Western influence. When the Khmer Rouge came into power, many Cambodians were imprisoned and executed resulting in 3.3 million deaths. We ... read more
January 21st 2007
Arriving in Vietnam was probably my first real culture shock. Just driving from the train station to the hotel in Hanoi was a labyrinth of motorbikes, bicycles, women balancing baskets on their heads, and non-stop action on every corner. Vietnam's tours are developed just the same as many countries but it's still 'different.' We first set off on a 3-day boat journey in Halong Bay; driving to the dock we discovered that Vietnamese tour guides love to talk and mopeds are the main means of transportation, even if you need to bring a pig to someone. Taking off from the dock is done without speed waiting for the rest of the 'junk boats' to depart out of the way. The 3000 islands are not unspoilt but we had the chance to tour a couple of caves ... read more
January 16th 2007
As the song states "There are 5 Million Bicycles in Beijing"...However, in the past few years Beijing has changed-for the better or the worse is the question?? Known as the city with rambling bicycles and intertwining markets, it is now becoming a booming world trade center and a massive Olympic development. I will admit that the city exudes charm with smiling Chinese mingling in the streets, opportunities to bargain with anyone, and a night market that still sells exotic foods of scorpion, worm, and sea creatures. However, its uniqueness has been spoiled from the development, restoration, and knocking of "old Beijing" and its original beauty. Expecting to see bikes galore, more people are driving or taking taxis continuing to change even with the increasing gas prices. But, memories of Beijing are my first impression of the ... read more
November 1st 2006
7 days without a shower, in the same clothes, and sand and dust covering everything...a girl's worst nightmare and a trip to the Gobi Desert. The Gobi covers a third of Mongolia's land consisting of sandydunes, rugged landscapes and stoney plains. Gobi meaning 'desert' can get as hot as 40c and as cold as -40c. Although it was cold during our adventure, the sund was always shining creating a contrast to the dry neutral desert tones. The Gobi is the least populated land per Kilometer with gers and tiny towns scattered troughout. We had a chance to stay in a few of the Nomad's gers, which are circular in shape with felt lining the walls and a furnace posted in the middle. The first day was a bit blury with little sleep form the night before ... read more
November 1st 2006
"Erin, this train trip is going to be a culture schock. You're going to see different people and the changes of people throughout the days"...a real eye-opener...will let the pictures tell the story about a 5 day train journey from Moscow to Mongolia...no shower, noodles and soup for meals, lots and lots of vodka, stressfree days, random stops to haggle food and drink, and backpackers party...... read more
November 1st 2006
What sould happen if you were taken from your home told you could bring a bag with 25 kilos of your things and taken on a journey for a better home...for these people it was Auschwitz...a long journey on a wagon with 1 barrel for a toilet and another for water having such brutal conditions that people didn't survive the trip; a place where once people arrived they went through a selection process those who were fit and healthy to one side and those sent directly to death and other brutalities; a place that meant 'work for your freedom;' a palce where children underwent experimental procedures with shots of drugs and poisons; a place where people being sentenced to death believed they were being disinfected until posionous gas filled the rooms and screams from mothers, babies, ... read more
November 1st 2006
Italy exudes a combination of history, spectacular architecture, good food, crazy drivers and chaos. Our first impression was made by a crazy woman speaking Italian to us on the train and a night in sketchy Geneova where the hotel clerk resembled 'Roadtrip's' strange motel receptionist. However, Italy created a lasting impression as we traveled down to Rome and Naples. In Rome we toured the Colleseum, Vatican City, and Cistine Chapel and filled our stomachs with Italian cuisine. One of the goals in Italy was to get the Chinese visa, but I didn't have enough pages in my passport and the embassy was closed. So, plans changed traveling down to Naples to stay with a friend, Valerio. Naples is much different from the rest of Italy. We soon realised that scooters are very popular with almost everyone ... read more
November 1st 2006
All the walking and touring built up a thirst once we arrived in Barcelona. It just so happened that Barcelona's biggest festival, La Merce, was going on. Meeting some people in our hostel we indulged in 98 pence bottle of red wine and wondered the streets of Las Ramblas. There was stages set up in the Plaza Real and throughout the centre playing music until the late hours. Las Ramblas had acts and spectacles of every kind with people dressed up as skeletons, trees, statues and other random figures. Especially on the weekend and during the festival, we didn't have to walk far to see the energy and liveliness of the city. Taking advise from a hostel friend, we took the train to Montpellier, south France. Our hotel gave us some privacy and had a balcony ... read more
November 1st 2006
Traveling from Amsterdam, an intimate, romantic setting was far from our thoughts. Some people say Paris is the city for lovers or as an American yelled out at the top of the Eiffel Tower, ‘city of lights.’ For me, I just wanted to see the Eiffel Tower as it has been built up in America as a monumental landmark. For Joe, Paris could have been seen through the train’s windows. So I won and we ended up in a hostel far from romantic with separate rooms. Attempting to walk towards the Eiffel Tower, we saw the famous Notre Damn Cathedral. Both Joe and I found it to be quite a church with its detailed architecture and stained glass windows. As Joe tried to figure out which way to the Eiffel Tower, I tried to pick out ... read more
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