http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/goldentravelers/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from goldentravelers en-us Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:53:09 UTC Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:53:09 UTC It has been an indescribable six months since we last stepped foot in our homes. We have seen and done so much it is immeasurable. As we walked out of terminal 3 in Pearson airport a wave of familiarity rushed towards us. After 175 days abroad we are finally home. And we couldn't be happier.Thanks to everyone who posted their comments and messages and took their time out to read our blog. It wa http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Ontario/Toronto/blog-271993.html As a Christmas gift for Evan and myself. Our lovely mothers rented out an apartment flat for a week in the East side of Rome. We beat the mothers there and explored the flat. A beautiful apartment with two bedrooms a kitchen bathroom dining area sitting area and a stunning terrace. It was beautiful. Our mothers arrived shortly after seeing them was both a very exciting yet incredibly odd feel http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-270462.html We had wanted to visit Spain for awhile and when we got in touch with my cousin Keegan who was in Barcelona we decided to meet up for a few days. Keegan who is our age has also been travelling for some time around Europe and we agreed that it would be nice to see a familiar face and relax for a few days. The train ride from Venice to Barcelona was long and we stopped in Montpellier for a few http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-267316.html I had 30 euros in my pocket and Chris had 10 we we're flat broke and there was no way faking it. Neither of us had any money in our accounts to save us and we were in MontPellier France with no idea of what to do next. Suddenly a thought drifted through our heads Cydney and Molly Langill are staying in Florence and they just might let us stay with them. We sent the facebook message and trie http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-266985.html Ever since India where we cursed every layer we wore because of the boiling heat we've only been confronted with the cold. From Germany's blizzards to Italy and France's chilly wind...it's just been too much. We made a mutual agreement to go someplace where we could sit in the sand and take a dip in the ocean. We were in Barcelona where a warmth was beginning to submerge but it wasn't quite ho http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Spain/blog-264085.html It was 9am when we rolled intoVeneziatrain station. We had taken a night train from Paris and our plan was to spend a day exploring Venice and take another train out that night. After an hour of pure hassle and cues we had purchased our tickets for our upcoming train and dumped our bags in a locker. We were off to see the sinking city.As soon as you step foot out of the train station the beaut http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-262334.html We were on the tram on our way to our hostel only two minutes after stepping foot in the Netherlands most popular destination. The bicycles the buildings the cobblestone and canals...aaah this is Amsterdam. We walked the main street and crossed over one of the many beautifully built bridges towards the StayOK Youth Hostel. After making ourselves comfortable in our 20 bed dorm rooms we head http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-261918.html So obviously the perfect place for us. We arrived late and not wanting to pay for a hostel decided to sleep in the train station. Crashing in the station is not allowed but lucky enough for us we were never found. We slept right through to 730am when we awoke totally confused and lost with hundreds of people rushing past most of them lingering for a second or two at the sight of us. Waking http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/-le-de-France/Paris/blog-261904.html Finally The Europe leg of our journey has arrived. And it couldn't have come at a better time the harsh living conditions of India were starting to get to us. We landed in Frankfurt after flying back to Bangkok staying the night in the airport then flying to Singapore and then finally to Germany. We spent the night but agreed to get out as soon as possible because we would be coming back in http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Germany/North-Rhine-Westphalia/Cologne/blog-260348.html It was an 18 hour train ride from Kesinga to Kolkata. A trip that resulted in my ipod being stolen from my sleeping bag as I slept in it and a lady boy beggar punching me in the face and screaming what sounded much too much like a Jihad curse. It was an experience i'll say that. One Chris and I will not forget.Our first day in Kolkata began very early when we rolled in around 8am and immediatel http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-257890.html Once we were shown the sleeping arrangements of the children at the Orphanage we were horrified to discover the children slept on nothing but plywood. Chrisand I decided right then an there to make sure these children would have proper beds before we left. Unfortunately because there were only three volunteers including ourselves the project budget wasn't even close to enough for new mattresses http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jodhpur/blog-256986.html First time to India Good luck India oooh that's tough. It's a lot to handle.The words of IndiaExperienced travellers and they were right. As soon as we stepped off the plane from Bangkok in Delhi we realized India was going to be like nothing we had ever seen before. For those who dont know India is now the second country to reach the population of a billion and stepping off that pla http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/India/National-Capital-Territory/New-Delhi/blog-256957.html If you were to ask us to describe to you in exact detail the impact this experience has had on us we would be at a loss for words. There are so many things we see in this world that shock or touch us but to become a witness to those things in real life is truly inspiring. Two weeks ago Chris and I arrived in Muniguda Orissa state India. If you know you're facts about India you'd know that Or http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/India/Orissa/blog-256956.html It was 730am and we were hungover from our only night in Delhi. We'd met some local Indians and had a fantastic time in their office after hours. We had our bags packed and were waiting outside our hotel for our pickup to the train station set for our 30 hour trip to Muniguda a tiny town in Orissa no one goes to. We knew this would be fun. We were soon going to meet our team leader for the Or http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/India/blog-256939.html There were a few places we visited in Thailand briefly that we failed to mention in past blogs so we decided to add one last blog on Thailand that mentions all the places we haven't yet... to give you the full experience.The first was Patong Phuket. We stayed in Patong for three nights after Koh PhiPhi but before Koh PhaNgan. Patong was a pretty big city that ran along a beautiful and popular be http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Thailand/blog-256937.html Ko Pha Ngan the small island near Ko Samui that is famous for its Full Moon Party. Due to elections the party had to be moved from the 22nd to the 24th and that really screwed up a lot of peoples plans but not oursWe arrived on the island very late in the evening. We told our driver where we wanted to go and we were off to the Starlight. Little did we know there were TWO Starlights on the http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Thailand/South/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-250856.html A two hour ferry ride from Krabi to Ko Phi Phi through rough seas that rock you back and forth without mercy. It wasn't the most pleasant transport we've had so far but it brought us to one of our favourite places for sure. Ko Phi Phi is a group of two small islands. Phi Phi Don the larger of the two and the island that holds the entire tourist crowd including tons of dive shops pancake stands http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Thailand/South/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-247454.html 250 bahts for 24 hours Yes please. And out they came Mr.Kords two newest Suzuki scooters blue with a flash of silver and they were ours. These ones very fast the rental lady proudly pointed out. We were staying in Ao Nang a beautiful but touristy and expensive area of southern Thailand. Ao Nang mainly serves as a launching point to get to the beautiful islands so tourism is huge. There's http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Thailand/South/Krabi/blog-247444.html On arrival to the Islands of Thailand we knew immediately we had found paradise. White sand flowing palm trees boardwalks along the beach and the most beautiful sea green water you could ever imagine. We booked a 4 Island Tour of the nearest islands around Ao Nang where our guest house was situated. For the whole day including lunch and free drinking water it cost us 450 Baht 13.50CAN. A bit http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Thailand/South/Ao-Nang/blog-247441.html When we arrived in Chiang Mai at 5 in the morning all that we could think about was the trek we had booked for the following day. We were told that everyone who heads up to Chiang Mai takes part in one of its famous treks through the jungle. Once we found out it included Elephant rides and bamboo rafting we signed up without hesitation.We were picked up from our hostel at 9am and all ten of us we http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Thailand/North/Chiang-Mai/blog-243761.html