Until I arrived in Pompeii I was convinced Italian people like to sleep in, here I was starting my days at 730 and not a person around for at least an hour. Getting to the admission booth at the ruins and realizing it doesn't open for two hours tells me Ive pretty much lost all concept of time. I cant even think how long Ive been running on the wrong time. Least Ive gotten used to getting up at dawn. Numb fingers and a sore bum, my only complaints so far about touring. The best part is eating your way through [View Full Entry]

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The Greek people talk with their hands, passion, waving about, I was wandering around the streets of Athens and caught a netted football match. They are worse than the English, more shouting and waving than playing. In my first three days here I saw two cab drivers get accosted for stopping in the median, several people slam payphones and men sipping coffee presumably to restore the vocal cords, but its not anger that drives it. But the kitty incident was too much, for a block and a half I followed behind two men vigorously shouting, screaming almost, waving hands furiously. One [View Full Entry]

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Walking the Stations of the Cross while hearing the Muslim call to prayer, stepping out of the Armenian quarter and into the Jewish quarter in a few quick steps, so much diversity into such a small area. Settling in and moving slow, travelling with six it would be theme that not all of us would make it to our chosen destination. Food seemed to be a reason for it, Israel has amazing food, it lead me off in strange directions constantly. Two pints of fresh strawberries for five shekels, (1.10us,) the supposed best soup you have ever tasted, felafel and sharwma [View Full Entry]

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I picked the wrong day to be daft. Crossing from Sinai to Israel then into Jordan and trying to catch a bus/cab/hitch to Petra in one day was ambitious, it helps to be on your best behaviour coming into Israel. I was little paranoid entering the security area, I was packing a knife in my pocket reading the huge weapons declaration sign trying to decide if it was important to declare a Swiss Army (its Israel right?) A Gucci sunglasses, M-16 toting, fantastically good looking young lady didn't like that I was apparently avoiding eye contact as she was matching my [View Full Entry]

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Egypt, not going to bore anyone with descriptions of places and artifacts we all grew up seeing, I'll bore you with something else. For all the following mock complaining, the Pharaonic sights truely amaze, with a little luck its possible to visit around the crush of tours, be warned though, visiting Egypt while not on a packaged tour still feels like a packaged tour. Cattle Car Tourism - Ah Egypt, home to package tourism, you don't see one pasty white tourist you see a thousand. Not one bus, fifty. On the bus, off the bus, into the museum, onto the boat, [View Full Entry]

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Nepal is full of two things, Mountains and misconceptions. Sorry for the people I met traveling in India and who wished to go to Nepal but didn't for reasons read in the news. True, everyday I spent in Nepal included reading a newspaper filled with Maoist related violence and killings. Uncomfortable to see bunkers, barb wires and all manner of guns slung over the shoulders of young police and army. But the glut of rooms and absence of people on the trails was a bit more disquieting. Confirmed on my flight out of Kathmandu which was full to the brim with [View Full Entry]

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In my last journal I mentioned visiting Varanasi but I forgot to post these photos. [View Full Entry]

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Feb 10 to Feb 15 Just off the train in Varanasi, I'm ducking the rickshaw driver, (I asked to be let off at St. Thomas church but I guess that meant a guesthouse of his choosing,) wandering towards the Ganges river when I get engulfed in a mass protest of the Danish Cartoons. Maybe a thousand Muslims blocking out traffic, with a lynched Bush effigy and Danish Prime Minister and several signs condemning America and the West. Peaceful, non threatening, of course, I merely was witness to something that seems to be playing itself out to various degrees of tolerance and [View Full Entry]

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Feb 4 to Feb 9 Karni Mata - Rat temple, for us, the Indian sideshow, something so completely different, to Hindus, sacred, important and auspicious. Drop the shoes, be respectful and step inside, just remember to scrub those feet at night, pigeon and rat poo are everywhere. Its good luck to: have a rat run over your feet, eat food a rat has partially chewed on and spot a famed white rat. Fascinating, they are so well fed they couldn't possibly be interested in you or your big toes, still I tread lightly. Bikaner wouldn't get too much tourist business if [View Full Entry]

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January 30 to Febuary 3 The western edge of India and close to Pakistan, daily, fighter jets ride low towards their rivals providing a little distraction from your supremely sore bum and legs courtesy of your drowsy camel. Yes, its about as touristy as you can get, booking a 3 day camel safari when 30 minutes would really do but I like to camp and eat sand with every meal. Loaded with an American, Australian and two Brits or rather one Brit and one Brit questioner or as Vijay later dubbed him, Britquizitive - questions ranging from days a camel can [View Full Entry]

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