http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/SailAwayWithMe/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from SailAwayWithMe en-us Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:37:46 +0000 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:37:46 +0000 406 days in the rear view mirrorSouth America Jan 12April 26 Africa April 26May 25 Turkey May 26June 10 Europe June 10Sept 15 Asia Sept 15Jan 15 Australia Jan 15Feb 23As I look into the rear view mirror on the 406 days on the road during the past year itrsquos an amazing kaleidoscope of memories dramas feelings and experiences that blur past my thoughts as I put it all http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/blog-139789.html Manly Beach Melbourne Sydney Honolulu Final days Feb. 523During my final days I tried to forget about the expense of Austrlia and not fret that I would soon be ending this journey. More noteworthy though were the days spent throughout different parts of Victoria and New South Wales getting a different perspective from the drive and heat of Queensland. Australia had proved to be an eas http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/St--Kilda/blog-133111.html Hip Cool Australia Sydney Jan. 1521 Cairns Port Douglas Townsville Airlie Beach Byron BayThe land of Oz has long been an enchanting destination and the one furthest east along my route back to the US. After some initial struggles with the visa I anxiously awaited the use of my native language in that funky accent we love and have come to enjoy a few new phrases lsquogood on yarsq http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/blog-125910.html Rio is that beautiful woman you saw in the distance and finally approached. She is most of what you dreamt of when you saw her but shersquos lived through a sorted past and accepts the failings of a society most only catch a glimpse of. Ahhh Rio......... Such as beautiful yet unsettling place at times.I feel like I have spent more than 11 days there because of all the different experiences I http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Rio-de-Janeiro/blog-42567.html Phuket Thailand Dec. 27Jan. 3 Bali Gili Indonesia Jan. 312 It was back to backpacker travel as I boarded the flight from Manila to Phuket to meet with Alex for a few more days in the paradise of the Southeast Asian beaches again for aqua sports curries and budget travel. There was a sort of comfortable feeling of going back to Thailand even if it was bloody hot and I wouldn't be spoile http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/blog-118336.html Philippines Manila Dec. 1012 Ilo Ilo Boracay Dec. 1219 Manila Dec. 1927 This special journey began a long time ago much further back than when I climbed into a Bangkok cab for the airport. This trip began in 1938 in the municipality of Calinog provincial Philippines where my dad was born amid the heat of the landlocked tropics and the threat of invasion from Japan. But through http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Manila/blog-114378.html Seoul Nov. 1722 Japan Tokyo Nov. 2226 Kyoto Nov. 26 Dec. 2 Bangkok and Cambodia Dec. 210 It begins with things like the toilets the differences in Asia that is. Coming from Laos and Vietnam and heading straight for Korea and Japan is a stark contrast possibly humorously described by toilet experiences. Even in pretty decent Vietnamese restaurants there is a hole in the ground http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/Gion/blog-108151.html Laos Vang Vieng Luang Prabang Oct. 1623Vietnam Hanoi Halong Bay Nha Trang Ho Chi Minh City Oct. 23 Nov. 16 Laos and Vietnam to me they were a contrast in heart rates. You can feel your pulse slow to an almost monklike relaxation in Laos where the days tick slowly by and modern progress seems to be another day away. In Vietnam with the buzz of scooters honking and generally night http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-105376.html Thailand Bangkok Oct. 14 Phuket Oct. 48 Phi Phi Oct. 812 Ko Samui Oct. 1218 Chiang Mai Oct. 1823Chicken pad thai 2.50Beach bungalow 35Singha beer 1Tuktuk you gotta negotiate that but itrsquos part of the experienceLunch on Khao San or Samui beach 3Thai massage 5 hourSunshine sandy beach and crystal blue water includedShades and flipflops not.Thailand.. i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Samui/blog-95959.html China is amazing but can be hard.Itrsquos hard to capture the thousands of amazing crazy things that happen every day.It's hard to sift through the vast history of one of the most ancient powerful civilizations in the world.Itrsquos hard to capture the struggle of daily life for the millions of people of the most populous country as they toil to survive.It's amazing to take a stroll along a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Forbidden-City/blog-92316.html Moscow St Petersburg Aug 31Sept 15Russia started a bit rough but I think I can finally look back and laugh well maybe not. I was held in Moscow airport for 6 hours and then deported to Prague for 5 days awaiting my Russian Visa from the consulate there. Donrsquot ask they wouldnrsquot do it in Moscow airport.. oh well I still got there. As Churchill said Russia is an enigma wrappe http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-90324.html Budapest Hungary and Krakow Auschwitz Poland Aug. 1425Going further east into Europe for me was like reading Heart of Darkness the further along you get the more eerily dark things become as the history of past events shows a dark side to the human condition. Hungary and Poland today are vibrant recovering countries that have joined the European Union and keep with the fashions of the we http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Poland/Lesser-Poland/Krakow/blog-83870.html Florence Milan Croatia It was hundreds of years ago in the southern parts of Europe that the lsquomedieval timesrsquo of armed conflict disease and poverty started to change and it was Firenze Florence in the heart of Italy where the businessmen powerful families and clergy started to fund the arts and sciences. Florence today houses some 20 of the worldrsquos classical art an am http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-82385.html Rome Athens Mykonos Lausanne July 11Aug 2Europe in the summer.. there isnrsquot anything quite like it especially as you head to the south. With the thermometer increasing steadily forcing me into the shade during the day I spent a few days in Rome before moving on to the hype of Greece.In my third trip to Rome I was determined to see the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums as my previ http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/South-Aegean/Mykonos/blog-78187.html Prague Bratislava Brno Cesky KrumlovFollowing the World Cup being disappointed not only by the US but then that Argentina lost as well I headed east to the Czech Republic Slovakia and Vienna in the final days of June and early July. Things were clearly picking up on the eastern front the weather was great and summer tourism was getting into full blossom.Prague my first destination is the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-74624.html Turkey Istanbul Capadoccia EphesusMay 24 June 11Jamming rock concerts. Women wearing covered scarves on their heads. Night life that pulsates through the night. Greek mythology conversion to Christianity and some of the largest Muslim Mosques.. itrsquos Istanbul and the Turkiye of today.Turkey is a country overflowing with a vibrant life today and a history that dates back to the dawn of http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-65319.html Germany The World Cup June 1227Munich Nuremberg Frankfurt Kaiserslautern Koln and more7 matches 8 cities 14 days a few 30 year old men and an RV. What a great time I had hoped the title of this blog would be lsquoUSA stuns the world in footballrsquo but our hopes were crushed a few days ago in Nuremberg when the Black Stars of Ghana sent our boys packing. Even though I was tho http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-71200.html The last 2 weeks of the safari was an amazing collection of seeing the worldrsquos greatest wildlife pumping adrenaline out of my body being threatened by the most dangerous animals on the planet and having incredible nights with what had become some great friends. After a long weekend in Swakopmund to wrap up the first week we packed up and headed to get more involved with game and found it http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zimbabwe/Victoria-Falls/blog-61946.html Capetown South Africa and the beginning of the safari April 25May 7Capetown... it conjures images of incredible natural beauty and the hope of a new South Africa. But it also lives with the scars of being home to apartheid and the scorn of the world not but 20 years ago. I was incredibly excited to get there and could hardly rest on the flight but did hit the ground running wandering around http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Cape-Town/blog-57488.html Reflections on South AmericaAs I think back on 3 and a half months on this continent a flood of memories comes to mind and I wanted to create one last blog entry as a reflection on both the continent and my last week in Buenos Aires. Itrsquos been an incredible whirlwind of experiences and cultures that is both difficult to differentiate and put into perspective. Traveling several places thro http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/blog-57338.html