danicavp
danica van poele Joined: October 19th 2006
Logged in: February 10th 2011
Logged in: February 10th 2011
Travel Blog Posts
What amazes me is how much prospective can come from over 2 weeks in the mountains. I just got back to Delhi after 3 weeks in Nepal. What an unbelievable place Nepal is. After the Visa episode at the airport i found a room in Kathmandu and had a look around. The buildings in the city are so old that the doorways to shops and shop fronts only stand about 5.5 feet tall. it appears to be a small hobbit dwelling with miniature everything just to fit in these shops that have been standing (more or less standing) for over a hundred years, Plus. After a couple days exploring the city and taking the bus out to an amazing Tibetan settlement, i set off with 5 other travelers and 6 guides/safety kayakers and cooks) on a ... read more
Hello from the top of the world! Ill start back where i left off.... My time in Rishikesh turned out to be anything but routine. It still consisted of yoga, yoga and more yoga but instead of the student i was learning to teach. I started the extreamly comprehensive teachers training course with a strong focus on the philosphy and scientific aspect of yoga. It was a full on course starting at 7am every morning and going late into the night. I was extreamly fortunate that i found a teacher with such experience and depth of knowledge to pass along. By the second week i was taking on a class a day teaching under his supervision, i dont think i have ever been so nervous. The studio was beautiful. a greenhouse like building set on top ... read more
Another blog entry within 2 weeks of another!?!?! it cant be true. After Pushkar, Meredith and i made our way to Agra and the great Taj Mahal. The train from Ajmer to Agra is a story in itself as it left at 4am and we had to make our way to Ajmer from Pushkar (half an hour) to catch the train. We booked a cab with our hotel for 3am, it was on time (thankfully) and then got to the train station just in time to jump on and hop onto our top bunks for some (or in my case none) sleep. at 11am we arrived in Ajmer and found a decent hotel within a block from the Taj. you can sit on the roof and see most of the white marble! We caught up on ... read more
After waiting for 2 weeks at the hospital, to see what would come of all the political unrest in the Darjeeling district just north of us, we finally got word that the roads had reopened. this would mean being able to head north up to the state of Sikkim! The director of the hospital insisted that we go in the middle of our stay as not to chance a re-closure... We headed into town to apply for our "restricted access permits", and the next day headed on a 4 hour bus ride out from the plains of Siliguri to the mountains of Sikkim. First stop the capital. Gangtok. A 4 hour bus ride not so quickly became 8 and a half thanks to a landslide.. it was exhausting..For those of you not familiar, Sikkim is ... read more
After leaving Phnom Pehn I headed south to Shianoukville. Its a small beach city in the very south of Cambodia, that travelers say is how Thailand used to be before tourism took over. out the window on the the 4 hour bus ride we were shown the real Cambodia. Vast rice paddies and lotus flower farms. As we crept closer to the coast the rolling hills took over until we decended the last one and found ourselves there. I hopped on the back of a motorcycle and headed to the guesthouse. the most popular area for travelers was buzzing with people adn there ended up being a big group of us that had met along the way down Vietnam adn reconnected there. For the most part we explored the city, i had my first win (and ... read more
Well i know its been a while, and with the 50 cent beer and more Asian cities then i can count in the past month i hope this entry does it justice... After spending only one night in Hue we took off for Hoi An. its a small town right on the coast of Vietnam about half way down to Saigon. Its a old town that is lined with hundreds of tailors. When traveling around South East Asia you seem to see the same people over and over again, and all of the sudden the same travelers that you saw in the last town in unwashed tops and ripped pants are wearing suits.. and for a custom suit for 50 dollars i dont blame them. I opted to get a pair of custom sandals made, ... read more
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Hello All!! My journey from Bali to Bangkok was almost the most beautiful flight i have ever taken (second only to flying over the rockies on a crystal clear day), flying right up the middle through southeast Asia, the thousands of islands that make up Indonesia and Malaysia looked stunning from 30,000 feet in the air. I Arrived in Bangkok and waited a couple agonizing hours for 2 of my girlfriends to fly in from southern Thailand. They had come to Thailand one week before me and were flying back to Bangkok to meet me and travel together for the next 4 weeks. It was a VERY exciting reunion and from the first second it was hard to believe that 5 months had passed since i had seen them back in Vancouver. We found a place ... read more
Bali
Well Hello again! Its been a while, but im sure by now you have all realized not to expect weekly updates.. Im sure you noticed in the location of this entry that i have now left Australia. Traveling to Indonesia was a surprisingly short journey. I arrived in Denpasar (Bali) late at night and made my way through customs. The Indonesian customs has been given a bad rep among travelers to be a long waiting pain to get though. but i was off the plane, obtained a visa, collected my luggage, went through customs and was standing out side at the taxi stand in 15 mins. so for that reason i cant agree with anything i have heard negative about it. Bali is still struggling to get back on its feet, after the horrible bombings that ... read more
oh the flies
A bit of catching up: Its been just about 4 months since i left Vancouver. It is hard to believe, this trip is proving to me that time passes when your having a good time.... I have been working at the Bar downtown for the past 8 weeks. Every weekend my life consists of working until 4-5am in the morning, sleeping until noon and then going back to work. Its exhausting but still a lot of fun, and i'm still just so thankful i found a decent job. I am just finishing up my last weekend there as (can you believe it?) its already time to move on from Australia!! Just before my birthday in the beginning of March, Mum and Kevin got to Australia. They arrived in Sydney and did a completely insane, whirlwind tour ... read more
Hey everyone! Just an update on my whereabouts.... Im still in Perth. The weather is amazing. life is good. After weeks of looking for a job here i finally found one at a bar downtown. Its a British pub, Old Speckled Hen and "bangers and mash" included. Its been really good fun, and with my travel companion of the past couple weeks leaving its a good way to make new friends here in Perth. For those of you who do not know, my Mum and Kevin are coming down to Australia to visit! I am soooo excited. They will be here in 2 weeks and we have 2 mini road trips planned so see a little bit more of Western Australia while they are here. It will be an amazing adventure. I will write again soon. ... read more
