http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Ritchy/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Ritchy en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:19:35 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:19:35 +0000 Had I not woken to her humming a tune that stayed in my head all day. Had the sun decided not to shine. Had we not taken a walk through memory lane on the beach where we first fell in love. Had we not had that third gin and tonic. Had that raggedy dog not made me smile. Had Michael Jackson not been singing ABC. Had she not looked so beautiful. Had the clouds not parted when she said What will be http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-416059.html There is nowhere in the world quite like India. At first the chaos was overwhelming and we struggled with the congestion cleanliness and cultural differences. But once you accept that resistance is futile and you allow yourself to become consumed endurance becomes enjoyment...and you fall in love with your former enemy.That said there is still a catalogue of differences that confound and con http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-424935.html No sooner had we arrived in the safe haven of Pushkar when Flo fell ill with food poisoning. All of our meals have been served with a dressing of doubt and despite being careful it was probably only a matter of time. While Flo battled against bum wee I spent days running errands and replacing toilet paper.In the absence my fair skinned friend I can walk the streets without the usual clamour f http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-420275.html They say In India...anything is possible...although this seems to exclude cleanliness social etiquette personal space honesty sexual equality and a healthy stomachWednesday 27th MayWe were relieved when the pilot informed us that the current local temperature in Delhi International Airport was 33C until we realised that it was only 2am By midday the mercury would rise another ten degr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-411761.html We arrive at Hong Kong airport. It's raining. It doesn't stop raining for the three days we are here The fair weather is provided by Sarah. And her Little Miss Sunshine KatieWe take a train into the city. Ask a taxi driver to take us to 'Lobinson Do'. That's apparently Mandarin for Robinson Road. Arrive at Sarah's apartment. She's gone up in the world. She lives on the 19th floor.A blonde b http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/blog-410039.html You climb now said the man pointing upwards in the direction of an intimidating rock face. I had met my socalled instructor only minutes earlier. During our brief relationship he had handed me some strange shoes taught me how to tie a single knot and explained how he was still suffering from the night before. This and the useful pointing of which direction to head was all the guidance I h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-409066.html Most of you will remember the infamous Mr. Paul Smyth from a youth largely misspent at a grand house in suburban Surrey. Hersquos since been living in Thailand for the past eight years and the opportunity to meet with an old friend in the southern island of Phuket is unmissable.Some things will never change Paul can still be more flaky than a snowstorm has the attention span of a senile goldfi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-405151.html We held some reservations over Thailand. It may be the most popular destination in SE Asia but that title usually carries inflated prices crowds of tourists and cutthroat touts. However arriving in low season presented a far more relaxing proposition that would come to exceed all expectations although there was an inauspicious beginninghellipNew entry regulations ruled that travellers cro http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-405147.html The original talk was to head for the hills and trek through the mountainous north of Laos. Instead we take a whistlestop tour of the region without actually walking the walk. This is down to unexpectedly high prices Flo's enduring foot injury and some difficulty waking the locals from their opium induced stuporFrom Luang Prabang we take a bone jarring bus to Nong Khiaw which only breaks down http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-401651.html We arrive in Luang Prabang and unexpectedly walk straight into a war zone. No street is safe and practically everyone is armed and dangerous During the course of three days the picturesque town descends into absolute mayhem while the locals wage an unrelenting war on each other. And it's impossible to escape the conflict.While sat outside a restaurant we are approached by a group of menacing tee http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-397648.html It's a measure of how chilled Laos is when...you have to wake drivers from hammocks strung inside their tuktuks...the breakfast you ordered arrives at lunch...and the unofficial national dress appears to be Hawaiian shirtsAs we've willingly slipped into slow motion since arriving we decide to extend our visas it may take the ten extra days for the next meal to arrive We rise up from the sle http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-394867.html If I was to compare SE Asia to a compilation of musical genres...Vietnam's chaotic energy with undertones of cynical agression would scream punk...Cambodia's persevering struggle to overcome loss would be singin' the blues...And Laos' laidback attitude would have to be reggae.We had absolutely no preconceptions about this small country congested between dominating land masses in every direction. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-392903.html We celebrate six months travels with sad smiles. Still appreciating every moment but aware we're now half the world away from...whatever happens next. Thoughts of home have gradually faded with time nostalgia...it's not what it used to be And we've come to realise there are few things that we actually miss. The exception of course is family and friends. We've sorely missed family occasions http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/blog-388079.html At first crossing the transparent border that separates Vietnam from Cambodia feels like a seamless transition between two countries cut from the same cloth. Our boat meanders a course against currents of Mekong River that have migrated all the way from Tibet passing similar tropical landscapes thriving in the moist heat and familiar figures crowned in conical straw hats. But as we travel inlan http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/blog-384915.html Samesame but differentWe put a great divide between north and south Vietnam that exchanges anagrams from Hanoi to Hoi An. Like many countries there's a disparity between the two poles that smiles more brightly on the south the weather and the people feel instantly warmer.Really old skool Hoi AnHoi An is an historical old town steeped in centuries of Vietnamese culture. The streets are decora http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-374819.html Good morning VietnamAs we step out of Hanoi airport in the early hours of the morning we are greeted by two assaults to the senses that will become synonymous with SE Asia. The thick aired humidity which feels like a thousand strangers touching you at the same time and the deafening sound of an overcrowded city. I immediately get the horn...That is the ear piercing alarm that echoes relentless http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-370619.html We leave New York on a Tuesday morning and arrive in Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon having sacrificed sleep for films and a free bar. What immediately strikes us about Japan is the peaceful serenity especially having come from the chaos of Rio and NYC.Manners maketh JapanThe people are impeccably polite and the city is immaculately clean. Passengers sit in virtual silence on the ultraefficient t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/blog-367633.html I got chills they're multiplyingIt's hard to believe that we were sunning ourselves on Copacabana Beach only hours before we land at JFK Airport the F stands for fucking freezing. It's 3C in New York and my tan starts fading as soon as we step off the plane.We're staying on Manhattan's Westside where else but since we've arrived too early to checkin we're forced out into the cold breach. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/blog-367557.html Rain it on RioWe leave the Bahia sunshine for a rainy day in Rio...again It's our second visit to the socalled Cidade Maravelosa but in Dickensian terms our Great Expectations fall on Hard Times.With the weather crying down on Christ's statue we seek santuary in a Churrasco restaurant. It's an all you can eat BBQ that raises the steaks even Chris would struggle to stay the endless courses of http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/blog-366227.html Episode Three TrancosoTrancoso is a magical village which centres around a grassy common that could easily be mistaken for a typical English country green...straight outta Trumpton During the day unbridled horses graze on the square leading to a whitewashed church settled on a cliff edge which even a blind man could see is a bluff overlooking the ocean. Stand at the end and you can see a tri http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/blog-363542.html