TravelBlog » WW Wanderers

WW Wanderers - Daniel West

After almost five years of being happily married, relocating to a different country and many years of continuous work and study, we (the World-Wide Wanderers, Daniel & Janice West) have decided to take some time and go see those parts of the world that we either haven't been to or haven't spent nearly enough time in!!

I look forward to "reporting" our adventures to you over the coming months as we travel South and Central America; South, West and East Africa; the Middle East and Holy Land; India and Nepal; South East Asia; Australia; and Eastern and Central Europe.

I hope you enjoy reading about our travels as much as we're (hopefully) going to enjoy doing them!

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Joined on: August 30th 2007
Last Login: May 12th 2008

Blog Entries: 44
Photos: 593

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Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by WW-Wanderers, order by Date newest first.

By WW Wanderers
March 1st 2008

Chitwan National Park

Asia » Nepal » Chitwan

Indian Rhinoceros
This rare one-horned Indian rhino let us get very close - we were on the back of an elephant when this shot was taken.

Our last stop in Nepal was the Royal Chitwan National Park, home to the endangered one horned Indian Rhino and the regal and rarely seen Bengal tiger. The National Park is in the Terai district of Nepal and is believed to be Nepal's third most popular tourist attraction. The reserve preserves 932 square kilometres of sal forest, water marshes and rippling grassland. We were supposed to stay at a lodge inside the park, but due to a government strike going on we were forced to stay in the nearby village of Sauraha. On arrival at the almost abandoned hotel (tourism is [View Full Entry]

By WW Wanderers
February 29th 2008

Trekking the Himalayas

Asia » Nepal » Annapurna » Manang Mustang

Fish Tail Lodge, Pokhara
The hotel we stayed at in Pokhara had a unique entry way - you had to be taken across the river by barge or canoe to reach the hotel

Following an indeterminable wait at Kathmandu airport (it wasn't clear that anyone knew when or if our flight was supposed to depart), we arrived in Pokhara and were met by our local guide to be taken to our accommodation for the night; Fishtail Lodge. This was a property at the luxury end of Backpacker friendly Pokhara, but had clearly seen its glory days as "THE" place to stay, come and go some years before. Nevertheless, it was nice with its most interesting feature being the method of entering the hotel - the only way to get to the property was via [View Full Entry]

By WW Wanderers
February 29th 2008

The Kingdom!!

Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu » Lazimpat

Buddhist Monk, Bodhnath
This female monk sat in front of the altar while worshippers walked by and turned the prayer wheel at Bodhnath Stupa

Nepal....just saying the word conjures up all sorts of images - vistas filled with sparkling white mountains, monks winding their way through hilltop villages chanting buddhist mantras, tigers stalking their prey through overgrown jungle and strangely painted Sadhus wandering on foot along dirty, dusty roads. While many of these images are accurate (and some of them we even saw), there is also a different side to Nepal - people will calmly wait in a queue for several hours or days to fill up their car, tuk-tuk or motorbike with petrol; people are welcoming, friendly and hospitable despite the fact that the [View Full Entry]

By WW Wanderers
February 26th 2008

A Gastronomic Interlude - Hong Kong

Asia » Hong Kong » Hong Kong Island » Wan Chai

View of Hong Kong from The Peak

Arriving in Hong Kong from Israel, we proceeded to get ripped off by a taxi driver on the way to the hotel - so much for being seasoned world travelers!! Our few days in Hong Kong was essentially a rest stop before we headed off to our next major destination, the Kingdom of Nepal. Although it was a brief stop, we were able to get Janice's new Hong Kong ID card, hang out with Kevin (my brother in-law) for a few days and sample some fantastic Cantonese cuisine - which we did at every opportunity. Then a few short days later, [View Full Entry]

By WW Wanderers
February 23rd 2008

In the Footsteps of Christ - Galilee and the North Coast

Middle East » Israel » North District » Tiberias

Sea of Galilee
This is the famous sea of Galilee where Jesus fished, fed the masses and walked on water

Crossing the border from Jordan into Israel, again proved a frustrating experience, but after another long interrogation we finally made it outside and rejoined Dvir, our Israeli guide with whom we would spend the remainder of our time in the country. As we had lost several hours due to the delayed border crossing, we immediately left for Beth She-An an ancient Roman city built in the Byzantine era, though the area has been occupied for the last 5,000 years. This is where we had our first introduction to the concept of "Tels" - a tel is a large mound or hill [View Full Entry]

By WW Wanderers
February 21st 2008

Jordan - Lost Cities and Crusader Castles

Middle East » Jordan » South » Petra

Bab el-Siq
This narrow gorge opens to reveal the greatest monument at Petra - The Treasury

It's six-thirty A.M on Valentine's Day and we get picked up at our hotel in Eilat to be taken to the Jordanian border. After leaving Israel and walking across the two hundred metre "no mans land", we arrive at the Jordanian immigration desk (staffed by one person) and get caught up behind a very large Eastern European tour group which delayed us forever...eventually we are able to enter Jordan and head to Aqaba to meet our guide and begin the two and a half hour drive to Petra. Following a couple of photo stops en-route (at which point we realize just [View Full Entry]

By WW Wanderers
February 20th 2008

A Jaunt in the Holy Land

Middle East » Israel » Jerusalem District » Jerusalem

View of Jerusalem
Scenic view from Mt of Olives - from here you can see the places where Jesus spent his last days.

After arriving from Cairo we settled into our hotel in the central area of Tel Aviv known as Dizengoff Square and the next morning after a late start went off to the Diamond District to try and get my camera serviced - several months of traveling through harsh environments was starting to take its toll!! Negotiating our way through a protest (demonstrating against the Israeli government's lack of action against the Palestinian rocket attacks) we made our way back to Dizengoff to prepare for dinner that evening with my good friend's Sasha and Oren. During an excellent dinner (thanks again guys), [View Full Entry]

By WW Wanderers
February 16th 2008

One Last Thing - Saqqara and Memphis

Africa » Egypt » Lower Egypt » Cairo

Step Pyramid of Djoser
Built by Imhotep, this pyramid was the prototype for all later pyramids

As our flight from Cairo to Tel Aviv was not until late evening, we decided to do a day trip down to the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. Designed and built by the high priest and architect, Imhotep, in the 27th Century B.C this structure was the first pyramid and set the trend for all tombs, temples and pyramids that followed. Before the 3rd dynasty, tombs had been built underground and covered with a mastaba - a mud brick structure. Imhotep decided that this wasn't good enough for his King and built a tomb comprising six stone mastabas on top [View Full Entry]

By WW Wanderers
February 15th 2008

A Brush with the Holy Land - Luxor to Cairo

Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab

Waiting for the Dawn
Taking photos at the summit of Mt Sinai - it was cold!! Photo courtesy of Craig Goldsmith.

Leaving Luxor by bus convoy, we drove through a barren, featureless landscape for several hours before arriving at the soulless, characterless city that is Hurghada. On the shores of the Red Sea, this city is a major destination for low budget, package tours from Europe, particularly the former Soviet Union. The city is filled with plain, ordinary looking resorts and hotels, which is a shame as the sea and coastline are quite beautiful. After lunch we had a walk around town, but as I was starting to feel unwell headed back to our hotel for a rest. That evening I apparently [View Full Entry]

By WW Wanderers
February 14th 2008

Edfu to the Valley of the Kings

Africa » Egypt » Upper Egypt » Valley of the Kings

The Temple of Horus, Edfu

The next morning Janice's condition had improved slightly, the fever was down and she was able to make it out of bed to visit the Temple of Horus at Edfu. Dave, our tour leader, had 'arranged' (read bribed) the guard to let us in first so that we could get a few minutes to ourselves and look around in relative solitude. The temple was built in the Ptolemy period, but is important because it closely imitates much older temples and it is incredibly well preserved - it is also the site of the legendary battle between the gods Horus and Seth [View Full Entry]