http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Snowfrake/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Snowfrake en-us Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:11:44 +0000 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:11:44 +0000 Sometimes we find happiness at strange times. The other day while being stuck in a snow storm in Seoul I blatantly walked right into a pole and bumped my head. A little stunned and embarrased I held my forehead for a minute until I looked up and found three little Korean ladies at my side with friendly and concerned expressions on their faces. I had to laugh after all I did walk into the po http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/blog-136657.html After looking at the social and political situation in Cambodia a traveller could be left with a disturbing perception of this tiny country. After all Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world. So poor in fact that over 40 of the population lives under the poverty line at less than US1 per day. There is over 1200 street kids in Phnom Penh alone and many more that are street w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/blog-122388.html I wrote a long entry about my time on Koh Phi Phi but I erased it because nothing can do justice to the time I had there. The people I met were amazing and everyday was too much fun for you to even imagine. I can't write about it so Im just posting some pictures of my little paradise on earth... http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-116294.html I recently experienced the first episode of cultre shock on my trip. Sweaty palms...feeling faint...spinning walls...strange sounds and foreign smells. Hot dogs rotating in a heater and pop machines humming that faint hum the 'beep' when the door opens and the flourecent lighting. Sound familiar I was in one of the 4000 7 Eleven's in Thailand in the Northern city of Chiang Mai. Everyone s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-102104.html We all have preconceived conceptions of travel destinations. For Laos I pictured wateralls jungle and wonderful people. Usually my immagination gets the better of me but this time I seem to have got it right. Since Vientiene i have headed North into a part of the country which has exceeded my every expectation. I have visited places from the tops of mountains to deep under the ground. T http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Bokeo-Nature-Reserve/blog-97984.html Just when I thought life couldnt get any better along came Laos. Well I guess I came along to Laos. Either way I've got a whole lotta love for this country...I shared the bus on the way to the border with a bunch of ducks. This I have done before but this time the ducks were pretty angry who blames them and they got loose in the van flying around in quite the panic and pooping on the se http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/South/Savannakhet/blog-96163.html Dear Vietnam oh my dear Vietnam I'm sorry to say goodbye. It has be so pleasant visiting you this past month except for when you rip me off. My last stop in your great land has been Hue a city of great history. I have also rented a bike and explored your backwaters. Weaving in and out of small suburbs...stopping in the shade of your trees...goofing around with young stud http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-94184.html So i write this blog as about five kids surround me saying hello hello and Xin Jao. THey are also pulling my arm hair which actually hurts because I am so sunburnt. One girl is so cute and she has the curliest hair and a big smile. Anyways that sums up the people of Quy Nonh a fishing town that I've been in for a week now. It's one of those places where one day turns into six and then y http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-92482.html It's easy to travel with the flow in Vietnam taking the tourist busses to all the cities that have highlights in the Lonely Planet. Leaving Dalat one of the reccomended places and quite lovely we headed to the wonderfully secluded and rustic Jungle Beach resort. Here it was just sunning and burning on an empty beach swimming in turquoise water and eating the most delish food. This was http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-91669.html Toilets seem to be a big topic among travellers in China. We seem to focus around the issue several times per week and they often remind us of just how adventurous we have become. This blog entry is my ongoing documentation of Chinese toilets and the nightmares they cause. There have been much worse toilets on my travels with feces and urine coating the entire floor but i've decided to leav http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-73788.html Soft seat train rides in Vietnam are luxury. I splurged on a soft seat for the trip from Hanoi to HCM city and i was pleasantly surprised with a reclining chair did you say reclining Kristen Yes i did and free food well it was included in the ticket price. However crappy Asian pop music transcends boarders and I was not pleased to once again be deafened by the endless aray of cheesy so http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-89287.html In just the nick of time I made it out of China before my Visa expired. It took 80 consecutive hours on train and bus to get there from Lhasa...not something I ever want to do again. Saying that I'm sure you'll understand why I dont feel like writing anything. I know you all just look at the pictures anyways http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-88737.html Tibet has certainly caught my attention. It is definetly a place where time does not stand still things are changing so fast it's unreal. A few weeks away from Lhasa and new buildings have sprung up throughout the city people have gotten scabies from the Pentoc guesthouse and there is a rumor that tourists cannot take the bus to Shigatse anymore. I want to do many things... visit monasteries.. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Lhasa/blog-86386.html Yes they make cheese at Everest Base Camp. It's not the cheese you think of Ghouda Motzarella Edam that is the dream of all backpackersbut it is the cheese you find when your grandmother pinches your cheeks or the greetings from a Hallmark card. First of all i need to vent about the difficulties of travelling in Tibet in order for you to understand the cheese. It's not that it's difficu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Shigatse/blog-85059.html Mt Kilashprobably one of the most sacred mountains in Asia or perhaps the world. Millions of pilgrims make the journey to the mountain and Asia's most important rivers also begin here such as the Indus the Sutlej and the Humla Karnali leads to the Ganges . I kid you not this is one special mountain...and so I had to see itI met four other crazy Israelies and we rented a jeep which wa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-83372.html With hardly any sleep I managed to make it to Lhasa in relatively one piece. The flight here was the best ever as we passed over the mountains and onto the Tibetan plateau. Lhasa is a great place friendly people and a totally different vibe than the rest of China. However it's not the magical and exotic place people make it out to be as you can feel the Motherland's colonial attitude everywhe http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Lhasa/blog-79865.html Tashi dalek from TibetI have come a long way since my last entry and there is so much that I want to share Since everyday in CHina is a great adventure i have no choice but to only give you the highlights of the last 2 weeks...leaving Xinjiang province was hard to do as it is such a wonderful place with wonderful people. I made my way down to Lanzhou where I met a group of people working for http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Sichuan/Chengdu/blog-79860.html After a 24 hour bus ride my new travel friend Nadir and I have made it to the end of CHinaKashgar. It has been a significant trading post along the Silk Road for ages and it seems that it is still a place for testing your bargain skills. Here there is a large mix of ethnic groups from all over central Asia such as Uyghurs Tajiks Kyrgyz Uzbeks and the good ol Han CHinese. In fact becua http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Xinjiang/Kashgar/blog-74883.html So I am in Urumqi now pronounced Wulumuchi. It is by far my favourite of favourite places in CHina. Saying that I must mention that it's not really chinese as it is a Uyghur and therefore muslim part of the contry. ALso to mention that all they eeat here is Kebabs which isnt that great for me. I've gotten by though...I am wondering where to start my stories. I guess it would be with g http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-73777.html Hello again my dear family and friendsAs I have said before another day in China brings many interesting stories I was just in a small town called Zhongwei which is actually quite large but the Chinese think it's a town It is situated in a very unique convergence of desert and lush agricultural land as it is next to the Yellow river and Tengger desert. The first day I arrived I stayed at a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Gansu/Xiahe/blog-70692.html