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Map Legend: 8%, 23 of 263 Territories

Green

Countries visited.

I'm a mid-west kid who outgrew his home long ago. I have been "on the road" for a little over 10 years. A few years spent here and there in WA to get that coveted degreee and a side of fries, then I was on my merry way. Up and down the west coast all the way up to Alaska and along the southern border to Texas studying birds and plants. Spent two periods in Hawaii with an aloha here and a mahalo there. Traversed the better part of Central America from Costa Rica north to the forbidden isle of Cuba. Hand rolled organic cigars and cheap rum, now that's what makes me tick. Finally my most recent travels took me through beer laden Prague, the Eastern reaches of Turkey to within spitting distance of Iran (ok maybe with strong tail-wind), the Serengeti Plain among lions, cheetahs and giraffes on my 29th b-day, two amazing months in India, SE Asia and finally my home for now, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

India 2007/08 to be continued soon.....
October 18th 2007 -» February 22nd 2008

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Joined on: October 16th 2006
Last Login: March 17th 2010

Blog Entries: 12
Photos: 389

TB Code: [blogger=24730]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Wanderlust8, order by Date newest first.

By Wanderlust8
January 18th 2010

Nepal Asia » Nepal » Annapurna » Annapurna Circuit

Annapurna Range

O man, why am I so lazy to write! The weeks haven't exactly flown by, but I am now in N. Thailand. So I apologize for any lack of fluidity in this blog. Less I digress any further......... Pokhara is an easy place to fall for. The traveler scene is based around lovely Lake Tal. You can find all that food your homesick for and wash it down with a tall bottle of Everest, my favorite Nepalese beer. But the mountains beckoned and I was ready to get up there as soon as possible. I was thinking about doing the 17 [View Full Entry]

By Wanderlust8
January 11th 2010

Varanasi and the First and Last Footsteps of the Buddha Asia » India » Uttar Pradesh » Varanasi

The Holy Ganges

Varanasi was a city I thought possibly best avoided. The city has a reputation based on the chaos of river boat touts, beggars galore, public cremations and fairly recent bombings. Actually the most recent attack was when I visited India in 2007, a bomb detonated in a courthouse killing 20 and injuring more than 100. But there was no tension upon arrival and in fact it seemed rather calm after the mass of humanity in Bodhgaya. I was traveling with Jamie and her friend Christina, whom she met at a recent Tibetan Buddhist course in Nepal. We also hooked up with [View Full Entry]

By Wanderlust8
January 4th 2010

Bodhgaya, India Asia

Mahabodhi Temple

Bodhgaya was incredibly wonderful and equally chaotic. A lot of the chaos surrounded His Holiness the Dalai Lama's visit and teachings. He doesn't teach in Bodhgaya often, the last time being in 2003. This is where the Siddhartha Guatama attained enlightenment and is therefore the epicenter of Buddhism. There are temples representing all the major and many minor traditions here. Mahabodhi Temple is the crown gem and a place of pure devotion and serenity. A sapling of the original Bodhi tree was brought back to here from Sri Lanka. This is now a massive old growth fig and it's binomial is [View Full Entry]

By Wanderlust8
December 26th 2009

Lake Toba Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba

Parapat to Samosir Ferry

I arrived at Lake Toba on December 22nd. Lake Toba is the largest volcanic lake in the world. It is 100k by 30k and goes down 505 meters at its deepest point. After a 30 minute ferry ride I arrived at Samosir Island, the largest island within an island in the world. Sumatra is the 6th largest island in the world and Indonesia is the largest island country in the world with more than 17,000 islands of which 922 are inhabited. The Batak people who inhabit Samosir Island are a Christian lot fond of singing, dancing and "jungle juice". I stayed [View Full Entry]

By Wanderlust8
December 17th 2009

Gunung Leuser National Park Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra

Jungle River with Hot Springs

I rolled into the small village of Ketambe after a 9 hour windy, bone rattling bus ride from Takengon. The bus driver dropped me off at the wrong guest house, but it didn't matter. As soon as I met Ahmed I was at ease. He has those kind eyes that you know can be trusted. Ketambe is a great base for trekking into the park, offering a serene alternative to the tout shakedown at Bukit Lawang. Rates there have soared to $80 a day in the last 6 months. I linked up with a lovely Australian couple, Paul and Gemma, and [View Full Entry]

By Wanderlust8
December 12th 2009

Takengon Asia

Lake Tawar

Takengon is in the Gayo Highlands and is rightly famous for its coffee (i'm on my 3rd cup). 100,000 people and I was the only foreigner in town! I got more than my fair share of attention with "hello mister" everywhere I went. I actually didn't do much as I was exhausted from the previous journey and needed to catch up on internet stuff. One afternoon I walked part way round the lake and snapped these shots. Probably the most amazing thing was the fish dinner I had that night. I was invited to sit with a group of locals. They [View Full Entry]

By Wanderlust8
December 11th 2009

Pulau Weh, Indonesia Asia

Wow, I can't believe I'v been in Indonesia for a little over a week. And I can't believe my new bloody camera has already taken a crap on me! So these photos are all from my camera's small internal memory. Aiyo!!!! Anyways, Banda Aceh. This is the region of Indonesia that was devastated by the tsunami in 2004. 60,000 died in the city of Banda Aceh alone. Banda is an extremely devout place and the only building over 2 storeys remaining after the tsunami was a mosque. There is limited self rule here after almost 15 years of fighting for a [View Full Entry]

By Wanderlust8
December 1st 2009

Snapshot of Malaysia Asia

Who you lookn at?

Well every summit has its descent and mine from glorious Mt. Phuket was treacherous! The Emperor and Retodd got in a taxi for there 30 minute ride to the airport. I boarded a crowded mini bus that was suppose to take me to a proper bus station. Nope, never happened, instead I switched mini buses 3 different times and somehow arrived in Penang Malaysia 12 hours later. I might have been bitter if a fellow passenger had not subdued me with a few valium. But things took a turn for the utter worst upon my arrival to this culinary capital. The [View Full Entry]

By Wanderlust8
November 7th 2009

So it begins Asia

Taiwan's S. Cross Hwy

Well I thought I would send out a little message to my global community. I have been stationary for the last year and 8 months. Teaching English and living in Kaohsiung has been an awesome experience. So awesome that my travels will lead me back here in a little over a years time. My free time has been largely committed to my football team the Kaohsiung 100 Pacers (www.100pacers.com). When I first arrived I was told team was named after the most deadly snake on the island and was also a reference for about how far some of our aging [View Full Entry]

By Wanderlust8
October 27th 2009

My 1.5+ years in Taiwan Asia

Taipei

Well it's hard for me to believe, but I'm almost 8 months over my expected stay in Taiwan. It's been a year and a half of intense highs and a few depressing lows. At the end of the day I have found another "home" away from home. Taiwan is an incredible place on many levels. My 1st perceptions were based on a landscape level. Taiwan is richly endowed with forests running the mountainous spine from Taipei to Kenting. It boasts 15 endemic bird species and 60 endemic subspecies. Black bears still roam the forest and maybe, just maybe there's a clouded [View Full Entry]

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