I was looking forward to going home especially since I realised from the many times I had to describe my hometown, Vienna, to the locals and fellow backpackers, just how much it has to offer. Summer in Vienna is especially great with so much energy and things to do. Likewise in winter, with the skiing, christmas markets and oh too romantic surroundings from the castles to the town hall. I was in desperate need of a holiday - so I'm going to Vienna for a 3 week holiday before work starts (hopefully I still have a job!) My round the world [View Full Entry]

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My plan had been to travel from Amritsar to Haridwar and then to Rishikesh, and back to Delhi on Sunday. I woke up at 5am, to go to the train (6hr) from Amritsa to Haridwa, in order to catch a one hour bus then to Rishikesh to relax. Rishikesh is the yoga capital of the world, and also where The Beatles stayed and composed a whole album. I got to Haridwa, and thought it would be smart to settle the train ticket BACK for Sunday from Haridwa to Delhi, because I still hadn't gotten one. So immediately i went to the [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Amritsar in the night, and slept IN the Golden Temple. Amritsar is in Punjab, and the Golden Temple is considered the mecca for the Sikhs. Sikhism is an interesting religion - I find their religion to be honest, and they are out to help the less fortunate. This is why no matter what race or religion you are, if you need a place to stay, you can always stay IN the Golden Temple for free. I was brought to the Golden Temple, and when I arrived I saw people lying absolutely everywhere on the floor. I turned to [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Delhi at stupid o'clock (2am), and was immediately overwhelmed by the heat. At this point, I would like to state that I am still trying to figure out what the hell possessed me to travel to India in Summer. Stupido, stupido! The hostel I stayed at was by far the worst hostel I have stayed at on the trip. Rude staff. Rude, rude. At breakfast - the room consisted of only Indian men - two of who turned their chairs to stare at me eating. Sigh. After breakfast I walked out of the hostel only to encounter another [View Full Entry]

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I arrived first thing (7.30am) by train in Beijing, after a very refreshing night's sleep in the sleeper wagon. It was nice to use another mode of transport after all the buses and flights, and the train was very good! Once in the station, I was met by the entire population of China, and pushed my way through to the big 'I' for 'Information' in order to find out where a particular street was. I asked the guy in Chinese, and he simply said: 'Don't know, ask someone else' and looked away. Nice. Love you too. So I went to the [View Full Entry]

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Before I even set foot into the country, I was reminded by the China Embassy of being an Alien. 1. Aliens who do not lodge at hotels must go through registration at police station. 2. Aliens holding visas z, x, or J shall within 30 days of entry, apply for residence permits to the ... blah blah 3. Aliens shall not be employed in China (bummer) without permission of the competent authorities of the Chinese Government. 4. Aliens who reside or stay in china shall carry with themselves passports for possible examination. Anyway, I let this incident slip, and since I [View Full Entry]

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Still hungover, I went to Kyoto on the rainy Sunday morning. I figured since it was raining in Tokyo, it may be nicer in Kyoto. So I took the bullet train - 'Shinkansen', which took roughly 2 hours, and was a nice change from my constant bus rides from the previous trips. The bullet train has a long loooong pointed nose, which in my hungover state amuzed me for quite some minutes, so I took almost 20 photos of the train. The seating rows where generously far apart, about 80cm leg room. Not bad! Each time the conductor entered or left [View Full Entry]

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I couldn't WAIT to get to Japan, this new part of the trip (ie new part of the world) would allow me to indulge in my favourite cuisines being sushi, Chinese and curries (when I get to India) - although I would prefer Malay curry, but beggers can't be chosers. Oh. Before I start, I must mention the Swine Flu. The Japs at the airport took things very seriously (a good thing too), and they handed out questionnaires - 'do you have symptoms such as cold, runny nose, cough, sore throat'. Unfortunately for me, I had all those symptoms since I [View Full Entry]

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Since I'm in the 'land of opportunity' - the internet access is wonderful, and I have added photos to ALL blogs (as requested). Enjoy. I'm off to Tokyo tomorrow. See you there. [View Full Entry]

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New York, the big apple! wow. This place is so busy, so much, so fast, so loud, so daunting, so ....everything! For the first time during the trip, a listened to the little voice in my head (or as AR would say, my 'angel'), and actually took other people's advice - being NOT to take the cheaper option and stay in Harlem, but to stay in the more decent part of Manhatten. Apparently Harlem is as dangerous as it gets, with drive by shootings, and well ... really dodgy neighbourhoods. So I stayed in Manhatten, just a few minutes on foot [View Full Entry]

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