http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Shane-and-Emo/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Shane and Emo en-us Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:59:34 +0000 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:59:34 +0000 Now for those whorsquove asked why the heck would we want to visit Vietnam on a vacation these pictures should answer the questionshellipokay not the snake one.Arriving in the heavily populated Saigon we made quick plans to catch the city sights later and escape to the mighty Mekong river which supports a great deal of people throughout 6 countries. We visited the riverside towns of My Tho http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/Can-Tho/blog-415090.html Nha Trang gave us our first big beach experience since we've arrived in Vietnam and for many it appears to be paradise. We met numerous expats who are now calling this city on the water and sand..home. Lobster and seafood of all types are sold by pajamaed women slung with flexing bamboo rods over their shoulders and perfectly balanced baskets on each end. On one end 30 pounds of seafood the ot http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Central-Highlands/Da-Lat/blog-411136.html We staged most of our activities in the North from the Old Quarter in the bustling city of Hanoi. The Hoan Kiem lake near the center was a popular area for the locals and visitors alike with it's winding walking paths and shaded benches looking out on the water. The serenity of the calm water clashed with the waves of weaving chaotic mopeds zooming the surrounding streets. With Hanoi being the ep http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northeast/blog-403468.html A quick hello to our friends and family.... since we last wrote from India we have decided to join the ranks of the unemployed and spend some time exploring the exciting country of Vietnam....The hilly region around Sapa near the Chinese border was our first destination that we set out for from Hanoi. The overnight train delivered relative comfort for the 7 hour journey. Arriving at 5am we enjoye http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northwest/Sapa/blog-403212.html Hello to all of you who wersquove been out of touch with since our return from our year long travel of 07. We took root once more in Seattle WA and have been employed with a startup consulting firm. The travel bug biting throughout the year persuaded us to bank our vacation time and escape for some worthwhile time in India. As with most trips we did very little planning and the entire trip http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-361781.html Less than a two hour boat ride from Samos we arrived in Kusadasia cute town full of knockoff shops and affordable restaurants. The meager number of tourists offered us great shopping deals but we used some restraint knowing that istanbul was the true mecca of merchandise. A 2 hour ride to the small town of selcuk sits less than 10 minutes away from the ancient city of ephesus ruled by the roman http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Istanbul/blog-210015.html after albania we welcomed greece with open loving arms starting our exploration in corfu we relaxed on the beautiful island for just over a week taking in the sights beaches and fantastic food.....from corfu we toured the mainland enjoying the mountains rivers and gorgeous refreshing archeon springs. we drove to korinthos where we enjoyed perfect beachside camping....from there we took in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Thessaly/Meteora/blog-199495.html Our coastal driving of the adriatic sea continued down into the country of montenegro....the seaside stops to beat the heat continued here and it became tougher and tougher to find modes of communication or banks. we happened upon the huge lake skadarsko jazero. the small village on it's banks was too cute...the local fisherman hotel owner of the pelican hotel was so nice to take us on a tour of http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Albania/blog-195914.html Deciding to see the countries of eastern europe along the adriatic sea was as much about adventure as it was about escaping the summertime tourists. we were rewarded for it as soon as we crossed into slovenia from italy. we were treated to open roads with vast expanses of beauty through all three of the countries. slovenia sadly serves as more of a buffer of connecting roads for croatia than a tru http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Bosnia-and-Herzegovina/East/Sarajevo/blog-195915.html Apologies currently unable to restore. If you have a backup please edit this entry and savepublish.There is a small possibility that this entry will be restored only small. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-180820.html Apologies currently unable to restore. If you have a backup please edit this entry and savepublish.There is a small possibility that this entry will be restored only small. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Mendoza/Mendoza/blog-141929.html while sipping our mint tea and brainstorming our next destination we met a spaniard emilio the great who too was touring much of the world. he was nice enough to share his thoughts on seeing the high atlas mountains of morocco and the world famous sahara desert. it took all of two minutes for us to redirect our compass to eastern morocco. due to perilous cliffs on either side of usthe twisti http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-183910.html A quick thanks to all of our friends and family that have written the kind words of support typo corrections and resentment...keep them coming After a brief two days of flying from South America we touched down in Lisbon Portugal where once again our spanish did little to help us in the way of getting around. we toured around locally to the outlying town of Cascais which was clearly too ups http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Algarve/blog-175529.html We were lucky enough to be able to spend the month of Feb in BsAs as well as a second month in MayJune...the best of their summer and winter. The exchange rate of 3 to 1 allowed us to live as kings and we took full advantage of everything we couldnt afford in the USATP Tennis Tourney the Argentine equivalent to Wimbledon the race tracks oneonone spanish lessons 5 course meals with bi http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-143841.html Who were we to turn down an invitation to join the Geyer family at their beach house in Angra....it just wouldn't be right. Angra is two hours south of Rio and boasts 365 islands and 2000 beaches so finding a nice white sand beach for yourself isn't terribly difficult if you boat around the endless coves. A special thanks to the Geyer family and staff that made this visit so unforgettable. The d http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Angra-dos-Reis/blog-156124.html As you may notice the chronological order of our blogs are tough to follow and that is because while in brazil rio was our safe haven to take week long road trips from. Again the Geyer family took great care of us at their home on the very mountain corcovado stands. Surrounded by lush jungle on the hillside we were spoiled with a wonderful breakfast every morning complete with the strong brazi http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/blog-153966.html okay...and we are back thanks for joining us for another installment of Where have i seen that outfit before... yes yes..a backpacker rarely stresses over what to wear each day....lack of options remedy this...and luckily beach settings dont warrant much clothing. so enjoy the pictures of florianopolis which is a southern island of brazil that is actually home to a pretty good size city http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Santa-Catarina/Florian-polis/blog-153968.html ahhhh...brazil. for all of you that have never been to this unique country i suggest you rent the SIMPSONS IN BRAZIL episode or check it out here https25.quicksharing.comv8503513TheSimpsonsGotoBrazil.mpg.html thanks to Alberto...it gives you a glimpse of the stereotypical qualities that make this place so different from anywhere else in the world. After enjoying a short week in rio. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/B-zios/blog-147703.html With the southern most reaches of the world being so inaccessible and desolate at it is....we decided to jump aboard the Norwegian Crown on a two week voyage around the tip of S. America. We have aided you all in the geographical aspect of the cruise with an attached map and fun pictures and when you hear the cruise horn blow...turn the page... so read along kids bawoooooo all aboard..oka http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Magallanes/Isla-Navarino/blog-143776.html Recovering from the vineyards of Mendoza we passed back over the andes and welcomed the relaxed beach town feel of Valparaiso and its neighboring town Vina del Mar. atop the steep hillsides perched colorful houses and the winding sidewalks were fun to stroll around... we found ourselves laughing at the local traffic jams made up of horseback riders weaving their way through the cars and dogs o http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Valparaiso-Region/Valparaiso/blog-143852.html