http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Waderlusting/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Waderlusting en-us Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:50:29 +0000 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:50:29 +0000 Being that I've really grown fond of Lebanon and Syria it was dispiriting to leave Lebanon while at the same time exciting to head back to the wonderland of old city Damascus. On the morning of the 6th Chi and I woke up in Beirut toying with the thought of finding our way to a Palestinian camp in northern Lebanon. But after much contemplation regarding time we ended up walking to a bus station http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/East/Palmyra/blog-282165.html Yesterday is but today's memory tomorrow is today's dream. Kahlil GibranMy plan was to transit through Lebanon to get to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus but as usual my plans changed and I decided to just stay in Lebanon. I just kept my fingers crossed that the consequences of an expired visa wouldn't be too serious. Everything always seemed to work itself out so my plan http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Lebanon/Baalbek/blog-222055.html Yousef Omar Aarti an American girl we met in Damascus and I managed to get a share taxi in Beirut for probably the best deal we could ever get 400 Syrian Lira per person which is roughly about 8. It's still a considerable about being that we are in the Middle East the land of oil A Lebanese man also joined our taxi and he turned out to be one of those friendly grandfatherly types. He http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Lebanon/Beirut/blog-205082.html Coming from a country with fairly poor diplomatic relations with so many countries have had it's downs and downs. For one individual travel is banned from several countries like Iran Sudan and North Korea. Another is the enormous amount of antiAmerican conversations I've had yawwwwwn along my travels. So the experience at the JordanianSyrian border was just another friendly reminder of the w http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Damascus/blog-204901.html Warning... I've been in Egypt for 3 weeks and saw a million sites hence the photo overloadEgypt At this point of my travels it is a sign that this past year of being a nomad has finally reached it's expiration date. I was nervous about Egypt because the stories of sexual harassment cases against travelers are endless and I know that countries always have one scary story about them but http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/blog-194762.html While I've been here in East Africa I've been exposed to the world of NGOs... where everyone talks in acronyms and comes together for a good cause. Well the second part is up for debate because in the past month and a half I've started to develop some mixed feelings about NGOs and whether some countries are better off without its help. I can't help but wonder if NGOs and aid work is actually de http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Western-Province/Bingoma/blog-190020.html India is the cradle of the human race the birthplace of human speech the mother of history the grandmother of legend and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only. Mark Twain Being that India inventedfoundeddeveloped the number decimal system Algebra trigonometry and calculus yuck Sans http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Varanasi/blog-138927.html I came in and out of Uganda three times and will clump it all into this blog. The first time was mentioned in my Lamu entry which accounted my rafting adventure at the source of the Nile with Chi... which was just awesome and one of the most exciting things I've ever experienced in my life. Part of the fun had to do with the fact that we had a great raft guide a freelancer named Gram who mad http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Central-Region/Kampala/blog-180074.html I know that Rwanda as a country has more to offer than being the country where an atrocious genocide recently took place but it's really hard to look at the country and not immediately associate the genocide with it. The Bradt guide book on Rwanda lists a UNICEF National Trauma survey of '95 which stated that 99.9 of children witnessed violence 79.6 of children experienced death in t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Rwanda/Ville-de-Kigali/Kigali/blog-180071.html When I first arrived in to East Africa I came jampacked with a mental list of things I wanted to do. Tracking mountain gorillas was not on the list as it costs 300500 just for the permits alone and I justified my decision with the thought how special could it be... with 97 DNA similarities and weighing in at 200 kg 440 lbs they're just bigger hairier and nicer versions of us. A day http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Congo-Democratic-Republic/blog-172661.html Off the coast of Kenya is Lamu Archipelago teeming with a vibrant Swahili People of the Coast or coastal dwellers communityan example of what happens when two distinct cultures infuse together over centuries time without warring land stealing and having power struggles. The Swahili people are descendents of the Arabs and Bantu Africans which occurred when the Arabs started trading wi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Coast-Province/Lamu/blog-169282.html Thanks to Parasar's relations with Emirates I got hooked up with a discounted ticket to Nairobi via Calcutta and Dubai. Just when I was starting to get a fondness for trains busses and bumpy roads... I wasn't planning on coming to Africa but ended up coming here on a whim. Actually what had happened was I came across an internet ad for a flight from Kathmandu to Nairobi... and i thought http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-164211.html I have a garden of my own Shining with flowers of every hue I loved it clearly while alone but I shall love it more with you ...is the quote gracing the first of four fancy goldscripted wedding invitation cards with a gorgeous contemporary Ganesh on the envelope a preview of the elaborate wedding receptions and ceremonies that is follow in the coming week. I arrived in Kathmandu on Frida http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/blog-159386.html Coming back to Nepal a second time was a different experience than the first time I was here. Maybe it was because I left a chaotic diverse contradictory rollercoaster of a country India for a laidback predictably calm country Nepal. But definitely it's GOOD to be BACK Elad and I took off from Rishikesh on Mike the Bike and covered a mere 80 km to a city called Dhampur where we wer http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/blog-154682.html From Mumbai I had a 550 a.m. train to Ahmedabad from which I had connecting train to the romantic city of Udaipur. So imagine my shock and disbelief when I woke up at 550 a.m. Somewhere in my sleepy brain I actually envisioned that by some stroke of luck I would make it on time. I grabbed my prepacked bags see I'm not all that irresponsible and bolted down the stairs and tumbled into t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Mcleod-Ganj/blog-154681.html I wasn't going to write a blog about Mumbai let alone do anything here but WOW I have to write a short blog well knowing me it'll get long. I was only here for 2 nights but my eyes and ears have seen and heard so much The sleeper bus wasn't so bad...but from now on I'm sticking with trains. The inconvenient thing about the busses is that you share your sleeper bed with someone else... http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Maharashtra/Mumbai/blog-148426.html I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to change my plans and go south. I had originally planned on just going north from Agra which makes logical and practical sense but the beach was screaming my name so I had to follow the voices in my head and get on a 36hour train ride to Goa one of the smallest states in India. Goa has an interesting history as it was the first region in Indi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/Palolem/blog-148424.html From Orchha we drove to Gwalior and spent one night there. They have a fancy fort and palace yawn but we were not in the sightseeing mood plus Orchha had spoiled us with its abundant supply of them. At Gwalior I saw the first mansion in India and there were plenty of them with their armed guards at front. I was confused Is this India Then duh I remembered there are many India's in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Agra/blog-145435.html There is nothing like traveling on a motorbike the wind in your hair the sun piercing and aging your skin the smog in your face the smiles you get 80 of the time the waves you get 50 of the time the confused is that really a traveler on a motorbike and not a tourbus stare you get 20 of the time the sexy farmer tan you get from your sneaker capri pants and tank top the freedom to sto http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Madhya-Pradesh/Orchha/blog-144414.html It's a small world after all it's a small world after all it's a small world after all it's a small small world... The day before I left Varanasi for Khajuraho I was at an internet cafe talking with one of the workers when a guy asks Hey are you American Grace Yea. Are you Him Yea from the LA area. G Really Cool Me too Where in LA H Redondo Beach. G Oh really I'm from http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Madhya-Pradesh/Khajuraho/blog-142475.html