Feb 29, 2008 Today was a long 6 hours drive to Agra. I enjoyed the countryside and the experience of seeing the local towns and villages along the way, but the drive was very long on a road that appears to be under a continual state of construction. With the “no rules” driving in most of India it is quite an adventure in itself just to take a drive in the country. Arrived safe and sound in Agra after a visit to Fatehpur Sikri, a deserted sandstone city that was built to be the capital of the ruling empire in the late 16th century. Water problems eventually led to the capital being moved back to Agra and the city was basically uninhabited ever since. The government has done a lot of renovations and restoration and it ... read more

Feb 26, 2008 Osian- The Camel Camp. We enjoyed a very nice breakfast with the sun coming up over the sand dunes before embarking on our 3 hour camel ride through the desert and back through a small farming area and local village. 3 hours was enough. We enjoyed the ride and the countryside but believe me 3 hours on a camel is enough. We enjoyed a stop at a small farm to water the camels and we had a chance to visit a local farm house and the desert houses the people live in. The locals seem very happy with a few goats, sheep and some small plots of vegetables and millet. The government is trying to improve the water supply to these villagers with more wells and closer access as some carry water 2 ... read more

Feb 24, 2008 Had a pleasant evening at the Hotel after a late evening arrival last night in Mumbai. ( some still prefer the old name of Bombay ) Our adventures in India started today with a city tour of Mumbai. This morning we took a 1 hour boat ride to Elephant Island a small island ( With no elephants ). This was named for elephant carvings found by the Portuguese a few hundred years ago and is close to Mumbai. This island is famous for the very large caves carved out of the stone that are religious temples and contain many carvings and Hindu religion artifacts. It is a short climb up to the caves but a fairly impressive place to see and worth the trip. This island is home to many monkeys who have ... read more

Feb 10, 2008 Today we left Laos for Thailand via the Friendship Bridge. With the very good help of our Lao guide we were able to complete the paperwork for travel visas and entry documents in a relatively short time and were met on the other side in Thailand by our new guide for the next 4 days. Our adventure in Thailand started with a visit to Wat Kaek, a Temple in the city, Nong Khai, you come to first when you cross from Laos. We visited the large temple complex that includes some very large ( up to 30 meters high ), and some bizarre, sculptures that were created by the same man who built the Buddha Park in Vientiane. This man left Laos when the revolution took place and continued his work in Thailand. ... read more

Feb 5, 2008 Short flight this afternoon to Luang Prabang, Laos. Spent the evening exploring the city night market and relaxing in this small city. Feb. 6 City and area tour of Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang city is a Unesco World Heritage site. Lots of history here with ancient temples and the former National Palace, home for the royal family until the early 1900’s. Visited a typical village of one of the ethnic minorities. Lots of poverty here and the economy has little to offer most people. Most are rice farmers or have small vegetable gardens and catch a few river fish. Tourism is helping with many backpackers and treckers and the government is really promoting this eco tourism business. If you’re not going first class you can travel very cheap here with “guest houses” for ... read more