http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/The-Palest-Guy-On-The-Beach/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from The Palest Guy On The Beach en-us Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:04:58 +0000 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:04:58 +0000 Now I've heard of and gone through with some pretty bad ideas in my time. Running in a throng of Spaniards dressed like idiots being chased by bulls certainly ranked right up there near the top though. I guess I really had no idea what exactly to expect before I got there. I just planned on showing up to Pamplona running like I was being chased by death or death with horns laughing at the end http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Navarre/Pamplona/blog-417756.html Oh yeah I'm supposed to be writing a blog.When I last wrote I was up in Sweden. Wow pretty much the whole continent away. The heat up there was incredible for some reason but luckily there was a beach pretty much in downtown Stockholm. And a beach filled with Swedes is worth the heaightened expense of the country anyday.From there it was on to Copenhagen for Canada Day. And I thought Sweden was http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-417452.html Sorry no pics. I haven't been anywhere that I could take generic shots of. I've actually just spent my time going from concert to concert across Europe for 5 straight night of shows. After my last blog posting I went to see prog masters Dream Theater in Olympic Park in Munich. It had been raining hard for 3 days so not exactly an ideal venue for a show but luckily it kept the crowds away. Norma http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Stockholm-County/Stockholm/blog-413373.html Budapest certainly ended with a bang. Stayed out all night even past hostel check out yikes to say a goodbye to the city. The advertised ska band we were going to see turned out to be a ska inspired rave. Oh well sometimes being disappointed isnt quite disappointment.Next move was on to Croatia for some beach time. My train ride from Budapest to Zagreb was perhaps the most excrutiating of lif http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-411492.html At least somewhere in Europe knows how to treat a hockey game. Prague had all the bars open allll night long to watch the Cup final. Very much worth the stupid amount of traveling I had to take from Greece to get there. The team I was quasi hoping for won and I got to smash cheap Czech beer until sunrise so I really cant complain.Prague in itself was a super cool city too. As in it was cold and r http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Hungary/Central-Hungary/Budapest/Pest/blog-409499.html I haven't written anything here in almost 2 weeks. Wanna fight about it Despite advertising free internet most hostels I've been staying at really only give you about 15 mins which gives enough time to type a fewq sentences and maybe upload a pic or two. And well between trying to find a place to live upon my return to Ottawa informing people that I am not in fact dead and the exhorbited pr http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/Old-Town/blog-407841.html Ummmm never have any time to update. But here's a few pictures. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Istanbul/blog-405570.html Been a few days but hello again.After my precarious situations with cabbies in Cairo I thought I would be enterprising and take the public bus around for my last day here. What a rush that was. Should be an Olympic sport actually. My hotel was situated a little of 26th of July which is a fairly major road here where cars and apparently public buses stop for no one. In the distance all you se http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-403868.html Well I arrived in Egypt yesterday. I guess I chose it as one of my few around the horn stops because I'm a history nerd and what better place to see some unique history. I took a redeye into Cairo international and don't really know what's going on due to drinking on the plane and not really sleeping. I didn't get an Egyptian Visa at home because I heard they were easy to get at the entry point. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-402333.html Wow what a couple of nights.I left off in Djemma in Marrakech to hit the hammam. Well as expected it wasnt my cup of tea. I left after about 10 of my cultural experience. In Casablanca I got quite a few 'what are you doing here looks' but it was all good in Marrakech until the hammam. There havent been many moments quite so awkward as being naked and hqving 20 naked men staring at you like yo http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-401420.html Well well its been a bit. Im finding internet much harder to come by and keyboards much more difficult to cope with. My choices here are arabic keyboards or english keyboards where infuriatingly enough every key is in the exqct same place except for about 5. Arrrgh.Anyway my family and I never quite made it up to Venice due to a bum train schedule so we did Florence insteadd. Pretty cool litt http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-400790.html The Eternal CityWell the past two days have been filled with some incredible architecture and art in The Eternal City with the family. First we went off to the iconic Coliseum of Rome. Irsquove found that being on the road Irsquom frequently disappointed by the size of historical monuments since Irsquove grown up in North America around skyscrapers of which there are none here. The Colis http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-399256.html And what time is itWell when I last wrote I had about two days left in the magical land of Thailand. Which pretty much meant that I had to spend ever last Baht I had on cheap knockoff goods. When I walked out of the internet cafe I realized that the streets were quite empty. This never really happens on Khao San Road. so I knew something must be abrew. I decided to walk a few streets over and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-398463.html Well well well. Back in Bangkok for like the 4th time this trip.When I last left off I was off to Laos for a brief visit before I fly out to London on the 10th. Well I arrived in Laos after paying the highest border fee of all foreign natives what did Canada do to you Laos send you some rotten food in aid packages a few days ago and quickly bypassed the capital Vientiane after I've heard fr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-396478.html Well what a colourful time I've been having since my last blog posting. When I left off I was sitting in a rainy beach town in Vietnam. Due to the rain I decided to change plans and take an immediate flight to Hanoi so I would actually have something to do. When I arrived at the airport in Hanoi I decided on a motorcycle taxi. This has to be my new favorite method of transportation. Cruising t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-395367.html Well I'm acclimating myself to Vietnam quite well. My first stop in the country was Ho Chi Minh City which has to be my favorite city I've visited so far in Asia. Despite the hectic pace of life and the deathdefying road crossings I loved the food and nightlife of the place. Only one problem though after filming a crazy intersection no traffic lights here in Ho Chi Minh my camera went dead. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-394820.html I have to keep you on your toes I guess.I have to keep this short because I'm typing on a ridiculous Vietnamese keyboard. So a few days ago I jetted on up to Siem Reap. I was quite impressed by the town after seeing what Phnom Penh had did not have to offer. The downtown was almost like a little slice out of Europe. People sitting around cafes drinking wine or listening to a cello concert. Wei http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-394042.html It feels like it's been so long since I've written for some reason. Shortly after my last post Todd and I jetted out to tour around Ko Phi Phi's two islands. Well the main point was just to get to Maya Bay but we were pleasantly surprised by Monkey Beach....if monkeys climbing on you is your sort of thing. We really lucked out on Maya Bay though. The winds that day were very high leading to many http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-393209.html Alright I think I finally have a few minutes to write a bit of what's going on.When our company split to two Todd and I decided to hit Railay Beach on the recommendation of MANY people. And am I ever glad we did. The place is probably the most picturesque place I've ever been. It's a beautiful beach surrounded by massive limestone cliffs making longboat transportation the only option. When you s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-392320.html Sorry no time.......check out some pics http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Railay/blog-391787.html