http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/downwithd/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from downwithd en-us Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:56:36 +0000 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:56:36 +0000 Are you happy you did itMoria Absolutely. It was an excellent way to spend six months and the lessons I learned were priceless.Kate Yes of course.Do you have any regretsMoria Nope.Kate I regret not doing yoga in India. Who knows when I will have the chance againWhat was your favorite placecountryMoria We can't choose one. Sorry. We can't even choose a favorite country from each reg http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Pennsylvania/Chester-County/West-Chester/blog-141934.html Hogar de San Francis de AsisnbspSouth America raquonbspPeru raquonbspLima By downwithdMarch 22nd 2007Down with Dysentery http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Lima/blog-140999.html Kate somehow neglected to tell you about our funnight out with Roberto our Machu Picchu guide after the trek. Roberto had handed us performance feedback forms at lunchtime on the final day and Sarah took the opportunity to vent her frustrations as she should have. However when we were saying goodbye to Roberto he asked for the forms and Sarah and I were too wimpy to give them to him. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Lima/blog-139007.html Since we are not your average travellers we decided to take it up a notch and do a more difficult trek than the wimpy Inca Trail. We chose the harrowing journey through the Salkantay Pass. We were looking for more jungle more mountains and more intensity. That is what we signed up for and that is what we got.Sarah a mutual friend of ours that I have known since I was 5 and Moria has known sin http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Cusco/blog-138323.html Its amazing what a line drawn in the sand can do the conditions of the people living on either side of it. When we crossed from clean freshly paved Thailand into dusty and muddy potholed Cambodia the change was dramatic. Crossing from Argentina to Bolivia was almost as equally dramatic. When we stepped off the bus in the Argentinian border town of La Quiaca it was clear we were about to ent http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Cusco/blog-136281.html I really don't know where to begin. Since last you heard from us we were in Santiago. We left Santiago for the driest place in the world the Atacama desert. Being experienced travelers we thought nothing of the 24 hour bus ride. Shortly after the ride began and I was sidled up next to the window I realized that there was no air circulation. I asked Moria to ask the bus driver if he could eit http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Salta/blog-134375.html Moria's JourneySteph and I have had a lovely week in Chile. After Valparaiso we checked out a northern beach Rueca for Stephs ImvisitingfromNewYorkwhereitscold benefit and then roamed the botanical gardens in Via del Mar. Then we traveled south to Talca and what is perhaps the nicest hostel ever. I had to remind myself our dorm beds were only 12 so I wouldnt feel like a spoile http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-130150.html Because it took so long for us to add photos to our past two entries please check them out I was going to treat you to an entry with nothing BUT photos. However the photo gods continue to hate us and I cannot post Tahiti photos at this time so Ive given up on the photosonly idea altogether.Tahiti in a nutshell Air Tahiti is a dream and if you ever go to French Polynesia try to score a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Valparaiso-Region/Valparaiso/blog-127075.html Sorry for the delay. This is all my fault that it has not been updated and I am sure most of you have been dying to hear about our jourey through Middle Earth. First I must saying that bidding farewell to Dr. Chris in Sydney was difficult. He is the nicest kindest and best celebrity vet in Australia. He even did us the honor of sharing a piece of his work called Bondi Vet with us. It's a hi http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-123773.html QueenslandWe left the big city of Brisbane in order to get in touch with nature. Our first stop was the Australia Zoo accompanied by Brian Natalie and their wonderful nephews and niece hi Corey Tayla and Jarod. We were excited to experience the zoo with kids but most importantly I was pumped to see Mr. Irwin's creation. In case you don't know this already I was a Crocodile Hunter sup http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Bondi-Beach/blog-119152.html DisclaimerPhotos of New Year's and Brisbane will be added later as there has been some techinal difficulties so please check back at another time to view us rockin' out to the smooth stylings of Silverchair and relaxin' in Brisbane.Part 1 NewcastleI want to say one thing before I move onto New Year's is that anyone who is looking for a good laugh should watch the Australian miniseries We can be h http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/blog-116696.html That's right kids. The Australians want you to know that they'd never slip another shrimp on the barbie. Paul Hogan's got you all confused. Rather they'd throw another prawn. Please correct yourselves the next time you're tempted to say it the Australians are quite upset.We've had another few lovely days in Newcastle. Some of you will be happy to hear I've seen my first batch of koalas http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Newcastle/blog-114812.html So we have arrived in Australia. Our lovely friend Brad and his lady Lara picked us up from the airport drove us to see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House and then we moved north to Newcastle land of the O'Haras and Silverchair. Our first night was pretty tame and involved going to bed.Christmas Eve was a different story altogether. Brad and his amazing girlfriend Lara picked us up at 1 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Newcastle/blog-113897.html Kate has far surpassed me in hospital visits. Unless South America hits me with multiple parasites or cases of malaria she may have the win. She's only been sick twice though so I might contest her total. It's not my fault it takes two hospital visits per illness before a doctor correctly diagnoses her. The latest illness was strep throat so Kate is recovering at a steady pace. Do not fret http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Newcastle/blog-112571.html TrekkingAfter the trauma of crossing the border from Laos to Thailand I couldn't handle doing much more planning so I booked us on a trek for three days. The trek was by far the easiest of all treks physically but the constant complaining of some Dutch and Irish women put a damper on it. The trek began with squeezing 11 of us the 2 of us 2 Dutch women 2 Irish girls 2 boys from Essex UK a c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-111225.html We survived a semiharrowing journey from Laos to Thailand highlights including1 A speed boat ride against the current of the Me Kong. This consisted of six hours spent crouched in the fetal position wearing a life jacket helmet ear plugs and sunglasses to keep bugs out of your eyes. Luckily we had the company of three lovely men a Swede a Brazilian and an Italian to cheer us up at http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-108542.html Vang Vieng seems to be a backpackers haven. There are tons. And for the first time on our trip it is filled with dudes. Not couples and chicks but dudes. That being said I think it has a fraternal feel to it. The town in and of itself is quite small and seems to have more tourists than Laos but it is beautiful. The scenery is lush it is how I would imagine Vietnam would look without the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-107402.html This keyboard is screwy so forgive any questionable punctuation.We thought Hanoi was a beautiful city and enjoyed our daily strolls around the lake. Thumbs up to Hanoi. Perhaps our favorite major city in SE Asia. However I have to give its museums a lukewarm review. First I'll preface my reviews by saying that Kate and I were devastated we could not view Uncle Ho. We suspect his body migh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-106698.html Our Journey to Ha NoiSo we left Hue on Wednesday evening for an overnight bus ride to Ha Noi to be in a big city where we might possibly be able to have a proper Thanksgiving feast. The bus ride was something that I am now thankful for not having to do again. Our hotel was the last on the bus pick up list and because of that our seats were chosen for us not us getting to pick them. Moria sat ne http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-105506.html Vietnam continues to be super. We are currently in the beach town of Nha Trang waiting for our bus to Hoi An. To catch you up on our last few days in HCMC and Nha Trang...Caodai Holy SeeI had an unhealthy need to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels and get the typical tourist photo of myself popping out of the tunnel with the lid held over my head so Kate indulged me. One of the day trips to the tunnels http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-103859.html