http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Shermtastic/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Shermtastic en-us Fri, 24 May 2013 04:18:14 +0000 Fri, 24 May 2013 04:18:14 +0000 About 60km outside Barcelona is Tarragona home to a number of ruins from the Roman empire. In the middle of the town we visited an ancient amphitheater which hosted gladiator battles. Next we found the Circ Roma the site of the Roman circus which also included a number of underground hallways which were used for both the circus and later as a prison during the Spanish Civil War in the mid http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/blog-626810.html After a fun morning of getting robbed in the subway and spending hours making a pointless report in the not so helpful police station we headed to Barceloneta the local beach. We hung out in the sun for hours watching the Indians selling beer and various drinks the Asians selling massages and the Africans trying to braid your hair. There were also the frequent drug dealers walking around sel http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/blog-626804.html We spent the day reading by the pool looking out over the Agean Sea and venturing into the town. The town is right on the water and consists of many neighborhoods like little Venice. In town throughout the small and narrow streets are a bunch of fun landmarks like the classic Greek churches windmills and a couple piers. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-624333.html We left Mykonos at 730am and arrived at our hotel in Athens at around 3pm. The subways exit for our hotel was Syntagma Square across from parliament and the site of all the rioting. Fortunately all was quiet as the bill passed early that same morning. Somehow leaving Mykonos we managed to find the only boat that would be allowed to arrive in Athens since the port employees were all stri http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-624329.html After spending a couple days recovering in our hotel room in Delhi we flew to Varinassi home of the Ganges River. Upon arriving we walked around our immediate vicinity finding only a small shopping mall. We ventured inside and watched a large Indian family attempt to ride an escalator for the first time. Many of them were frightened of the escalator and would jump on and off. The boys http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-624328.html Generally I like to avoid waking up before the sunrises however this day was an exception. We woke up and walked for about 30 mins until we reached the Taj Mahal. The area consists of 4 entrances north south east and west we entered through the main South entrance. Each gate is 30m and is designed with ornate carvings and inscriptions of verses from the Koran. Walking through the ga http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-624326.html After a day of Sarah shopping for clothes at the local bazaars we headed out to see the sights of Jaipur the pink city. Along with our driver we had a guide who over the course of the day explained about all of the history in each sight. First stop was a beautiful marble temple devoted to the Hindi goddess Lachme spelling probably wrong wife of Shiva who is also the goddess of money. N http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-624325.html We spent the first part of the day hiding from the heat in our hotel room. As late afternoon came and the temp dropped slightly we headed out to the main section of the town that surrounds the holy lake. Having been warned by lonely planet our driver and past visitors we expected an onslaught of corrupt Brahman clergy rushing to us to bless us and take our money. When we arrived we wer http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-624321.html After driving seven hours from Udaipur we made it to Pushkar the Holy City. An hour after checking into our hotel we were riding on camels towards the desert. For the first half hour we walked along the road with the honking cars and buses. We eventually made it to the desert and the sand dunes where we hung out and watched the sunset. Coming back riding on the camel wasn't quite so c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-624320.html Udaipur named after the founder of the city named Udai is known for its beautiful lakes. A fun fact we learned on a tour of the City Palace is that Pur is the Hindi word for city while bad is the Arabic word with the same meaning. All the cities the end in pur Jaipur Udaipur Jodhpur were all founded by the Hindi Kings. Before heading to the palace we stopped by the Jagdish Temple http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-624318.html On our second day on the beautiful Island of Santorini we took a boat tour to the hot springs and the volcano. The water for the hot springs enters the sea at about 40 degrees celcius 104 deg F mixes with the much cooler sea water and ends up about 75 deg F. Its not a particularly warm hot springs and the swim to the spring is in cold water but it was enjoyable none the less. Due to the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-624310.html At 4am we headed to the main ferry port in Crete. We decided to take the early morning slow ferry it was much cheaper to Thira the port in Santorini. Santorini considered the most beautiful of all greek islands was created by the largest volcanic eruption in history it is said to have been the cause of the Minoan cultures downfall King Mino of Crete's people. After our hotel graciou http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-624309.html Knossos the reconstructed ruins of King Minos' palace in Crete stands about 5km away from the main city of Iraklion pronounced Iraqleon. Midway through the day we took the local bus and visited the famous ruins. The ruins are impressive in size and the restoration of the original palace was done very well. Pillars and a random assortment of rooms were found throughout the entire giganti http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-624308.html After two flights and eight hours of travel we arrived in Crete around 9pm. We checked into the hotel and headed out into the city for a late dinner. However we discovered that in Greece 9 or 10pm is standard dinner time as the restaurants were extremely crowded. At these water front restaurants in particular they are also not keen on letting you leave without being completely hammered fi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-624306.html Delos one of the most important archeological sites in Greece is visited by daily ferries from Mykonos. This site first established by the Athenians in the 8 century BC is currently and permanently uninhabited to protect the ruins and relics of ancient Greece. The island of Delos covers about 5 square kilometers. Thousands of ruins spread across the island make the site extremely impress http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-624305.html After 4 hours of travel and bus rides we arrived at the ancient archeological site of Delphi. Delphi is most famous for having an oracle in the temple of Apollo who foretold the future accurately. It is said that at one time Alexander the Great frustrated from the Oracle withholding his future dragging her outside where she admitted he was unbeatable. The ancient sites three in total a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-624304.html Several hours outside Jodhpur is the small town of Ranakpur. There's not much in the town except the largest and most important Jain temple in India. The Jain religion believes in life and forgiveness above all else and because of this many devotees where masks over their face to ensure they don't accidentally swallow bugs. Due to these beliefs shoes and leather products are not allowed in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-616959.html The previous day held nothing but driving as we made our way west from Mandawa to Jodhpur called the blue city. Typical of India during this time of the year the temp was about 100 degrees when we left our hotel and peaked at 104 degrees around 4pm. Its funny that India doesn't wake up early. When we were in Vietnam the locals rose before the sun since before sunrise it is much cooler. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-616958.html Before leaving Delhi we drove to the Chandni Chowk bazaar. Our trusty lonely planet book revealed the importance of this bazaar over the last hundred years and how it continued to operate in current day. However Im not sure Id classify it as a bazaar it seemed more like a street with a bunch of shops on it. Although Im slowly learning that bazaar in India tends to mean just that http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-615986.html After the 12 hours of traveling from Thailand to India we decided to make traveling through India easier by hiring a car and driver for the next ten days. Our driver picked us up around 930am and we headed towards the Red Fort first stoping at Jama Masjid India39s largest mosque. The mosque consisted of several minarets about 40m high and a big court yard. It was here that we first disco http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-615575.html