http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/gigiyogini/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from gigiyogini en-us Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:12:17 +0000 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:12:17 +0000 Turning down the Colombian and his repeated begging to stay in Cuenca I was off to Guayaquil Ecuador's largest city. My friend Andrea lives there and I was so happy to be seeing her I was smiling and bouncing down the street when I finally heard her voice on the phone It just happened to be the perfect time for both of us and we had a lot of catching up to do. Andrea lives in the newly formed http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Lima/Lima/Lima/blog-337414.html Mancora is the perfect little beach town to rest a few days and even got a little bit of sunburn and a few mosquito bites just like home I met some hippiejewelry making types and was invited to a drum circle. haven039t been to one of those since Miami it was amazing and met people from as close as Chicago and as far a Australia. After spending too much time at the travel agent trying to f http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-323147.html Trujillo Peru039s third largest city is beautiful Spanish Colonial city with buildings painted in bright and bold colors amist numerous churches and street performers. The central part is easily walkable and dotted with many cafe039s and shops. I stayed in a great hostel called the Colonial Hostel right in the center and booked excursions for the next few days. The first day of sightseeing http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Piura/M-ncora/blog-322055.html Huaraz is the base for many adventures within the Cordillera mountain range some of the highest and snow capped mountains in Peru. The city of Huaraz is not so pretty but its people give it a certain charm and vibrant personality. And its the first time i have seen other white people in a while After finding the California Cafe run by a real Cali native and a yummy breakfast of pancakes co http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Ancash/Huaraz/blog-319117.html Leaving the curiosities of Nazca behind I headed toward the coast to a small beach town called Paracas. Paracas is famous for the neaby Isla Ballestras also called the poor mans Galapagos Islands. The islands have many birds and sea lions. Right now is nesting season and I was lucky to see hundreds and hundreds of birds dont ask me which types I couldnt tell you but they were awesome and t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Hu-nuco/Hu-nuco/blog-317715.html Even though trekking is not my favorite activity I decided that I should experience the worlds deepest canyon a little more personally.Signing up for a challenging 3 day hike for 50 dollars how can you argue with that price A 430 am pickup I met the guide Nestor. A short cute guy who is from the Colca Canyon itself. As we waited for the two Irish girls who slept in we danced some salsa in http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Arequipa/Colca-Canyon/blog-315134.html all week long the people of Arequipa Perus second largest city have been celebrating the 468 anniversary of their city. There were many parades and fireworks. One night Diana and I were able to watch the parade from a restaurant balcony where after some beers were joined by two nice ladies one local and one from Arizona At the end of the week it was time for Diana to start her journey back http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Arequipa/Arequipa/blog-315130.html Getting from Cusco to Puno is possible by bus or train. The train is actually longer so we decided to take a day bus 9 hours with a company called InkaExpress. For 50 USD you can get a bus with a tour guide and 4 sightseeing stops and lunch. Unfortunately for us our guide was crap in Spanish and in English He just seemed so bored that the whole bus became bored because of him. One stop we saw http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Puno/Lake-Titicaca-/blog-312615.html Im not exactly sure what day it is or how long I have been in Peru. Time is stretched here. And I couldnt be more pleased I think it has been a little over a week and already and done and seen so much arriving in Lima airport and having to wait many hours due to my own cheapness about flights to Cusco ended up paying the same price anyway so lesson one learned very quickly Cusco is hig http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Cusco/Cusco/blog-311818.html As many of us were looking to get to Chiang Mai earlier especially our tour leader Bom he is from there we traded our last day near the LaoThai border for extra time there. Crossing from Laos to Thailand is usually done by boat and then connecting to a bus. On the boat ride I was giving a couple of massages and then I was asked by Bom to say 'thank you' to the crew on behalf of the group. I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-214332.html Luang Prabang is such a lovely and relaxing place it would be hard to imagine spending only a few days here. The city itself is a UNESCO world heritage site allowing it to retain it's 'stepping back in time' feeling. There are many coffee shops massage and spa places temples and two markets. The day market is mostly fruits vegetables flipflops and machetes The night market is an amazi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-214324.html Arriving back in Hanoi from Halong Bay I thought I would have some time to do a little shopping and errands before I met up with my last Intrepid tour. Walking over to the hotel I was told that my Intrepid group were just there out front. I met the tour guide Bom from Thailand who told me we had a train reservation and we were on our way there. I literally arrived in the nick of time 5 minut http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vientiane/blog-212120.html Three airports and a car transfer later I found myself back in the Old French Quarter of lovely Hanoi after 3 years. I stayed in a new hotel called Rising Dragon which had an art gallery with work by locals in the lobby. The buildings in Vietnam are rather narrow and tall. My room was on the 6th floor top floor and no elevator Important not to forget anything to save various trips up and down http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-208708.html Due to the numerous bombings rioting protesting and general pockets of unrest in India they take various precautions. Every time you check into a hotel you have to divulge various information. Passport and personal info visa number last travel destination and the next travel destination. All of this info gets submitted to the police. Goa is a state on the west coast of India. It was once c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/Anjuna-Beach/blog-208704.html Meeting Slivia in Mumbai was like a breath of fresh air. One of my best friends from Miami and we have an entire week together. Silvia just starting her 2 month journey and mine finishing here in India. We find our driver and speed through the windy streets south to our hotel located in the Colaba area of Mumbai. Mumbai is a city transforming right in front of your eyes. As any other city it http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Maharashtra/Mumbai/blog-206009.html Arriving back in Delhi 3 hours behind schedule we left ontime I dont know how.. I went to the Emirates Airlines office to relocate my bag. It was in Delhi Airport the whole time The airline just never released it and even though I was not responsible I had to pay to spring it free This only took 3 hours and signing about 40 pieces of paper..Off to the hotel Michael had booked only to find tha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/National-Capital-Territory/New-Delhi/blog-203625.html leaving Kathmandu to Chitawan National Park at first seemed like a nice chance to see the real Nepal. Jungle animals village people not the singing ones. I arrived to a swarm of taxi drivers and found my contact and he took me to the hotel by motorcycle. I was the only one in the restaraunt upon arrival and the waiter just stood there and watched me eat. Later a group arrived and happily disc http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Varanasi/blog-200080.html After 4 days in Kathmandu big polluted muddy capital of Nepal which is the poorest country in Asia. Thanks to that I have a new wardrobe for about 16 dollars. Backpack still out there in the ether I have detached from any hopes about seeing it again. Today I visited a very important and holy temple for Hindus. The river it lies next to flows into the Ganges river. There are cremations held he http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-197622.html the worst leg of my journey starts here. late night flight to Dubai arriving 2am and 92 degrees of hot air blowing in your face. Awake enough for my 4 hour city tour which was really just an orientation tour pointing out things from a bus and visits to places not allowed to enter or take photos. Finally a trip to the Gold Souk market where I was completely uninterested. Blah. Dubai has been http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/United-Arab-Emirates/Dubai/blog-197615.html During my three weeks in Turkey I have been debating about what to write. Turkey is incredibly diverse and hard to describe in a few short words. It wasn't even until about the last week that I began to really appreciate and enjoy the country for what it is. I arrived in Istanbul to join my second of three Intrepid Tours. Our group was 11 people 2 Kiwis 1 English woman living in Turkey teaching http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Istanbul/blog-196166.html