http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/nathan-jones/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from nathan jones en-us Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:55:42 +0000 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:55:42 +0000 Putting all of my worldly belongings on my back i staggered out of my bungalow suffering from a lack of sleep it was quiet and still dark with the sun just starting to creep over the horizon. The early morning start suited my mood there was no one around i was alone the island was dark and this part of the journey was dead in the distance the emerging sun was giving life to further adventure http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Kota-Kinabalu/blog-442767.html Next stop and final destination La Paz. We had to disembark from the truck to cross the Peru Bolivia boarder. There was a rather chaotic money changing and visa application process before finally going through custom control. The guard on the boarder flicked through my passport and noticed all the entry exit stamps for Estonia although I understood very few of the words i ascertained what he http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/blog-441811.html We stayed overnight in Puno where we all went for a big dinner steak and red wine wonderful before setting off for Lake Titicaca. We were up early in the morning where we had cycle style tuk tuks to take us to the harbour. It turned into a race as we all told our drivers that there would be a bonus in it for him if we got there first.At the harbour there were a number of food shops where we bou http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Puno/blog-441781.html As we arrived in Cuzco i was feeling a little ill not really sure if its mild altitude sickness a bug a fever or just feeling rub down i have not really been on top form since I arrived in South America. On our first night we all went for a beer in an irish bar on the main square inside you could have been in an Orsquoneils with the wooden panelled walls littered with memorabilia i looked http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Machu-Picchu/blog-441760.html lonely planet describes Cambodia's second largest city as 'an elegant riverside town home to some of the best preserved french period architecture in the country'. in reality apart from a couple of dilapidated houses with French style shutters over the windows near the river i didnt see any preserved french architecture the only possible link to its previous residence is one wide road that has http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Battambang/blog-441510.html KathmanduThe four of us suze Helen sanna and i headed to the airport to finally say goodbye to india. True to form the airport although small and relatively quiet was a mixture absolute chaos and confusion. We were helped by an Indian man who grabbed us as soon as we turned up and tried to direct us through the administrative mayhem and then of coarse wanted paying. He did successfully get our http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/blog-441508.html The way that Krabi is often reffered to you would think thatit is a beach destination instead it is a jump off intersection for people heading on two Kho Phi Phi Ray Lei Ao namg and several other favorites. The journey their was by tuk tuk boat coach and mini bus on one of the breraks for change of transport i got talking to two english Ladies in their 50's who were travelling around thailan http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Krabi/blog-419029.html I caught the boat from the Perhention islands to Kota Bhau at 7am with the sun rising over the larger Perhention Island. You have to catch a small boat out 20 meters to be picked up by a slightly larger boat to ferry you across the bay was littered with these as people sadly left the perhention to reach there next destination everybody as sad as the next to be leaving such a wonderful island. Ot http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Johor/Mersing/blog-438456.html The advice I received on Ko Phi Phi was that is a simple journey with a quick change easy really should take about 6 hours. The reality was that after 6 hours we were dumped in a bus station in south Thailand if in my previous posts I had complained that it was all a bit easy and how everywhere was populated by westerners I was getting my penance. The bus station was dusty and chaotic lucki http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-421753.html After a short ferry journey i walked along the pier of Phi Phi harbour and into the town with the people i had met on the way two of the girls had booked a place in advance so i tagged along with them. I was not sure what Phi Phi was going to offer on the one side it is refuted as being one of the most beautiful islands while on the other it is somewhere where everyone goes so i feared a heavily http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-419999.html ko toa is the quietest of the three major islands on that side thailand ko samui has mcdonalds and starbucks while ko phangan has its infamous moon parties and bar after bar on the beach playing loud music and selling buckets of alcohol. ko tao is lined with bars that are very chilled where people eat drink and dive with only a couple of party bars. its sounds the least developed the irony bei http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-414334.html Landed at 3 after an 11 hour flight where I had consumed several bottles of wine two sleeping tablets and not a wink of sleep. Apparently they are very concerned about swine flew and I had to fill out a health questionnaire they had a machine to check the temperature of anyone displaying any symptoms. I walked out of the cool air conditioned airport arrivals lounge into the humid hustle and bus http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-413081.html Varanasi Escape From India Late at night we arrive at our hotel it was fantastic a proper European standard hotel three four storey blocks surrounding a grass lawn which was littered with tables with people eating supper and joy of joy a pool. We checked in to our rooms and agreed to meet up to go to the near by McDonalds. The room is fantastic its like being in a Marriot two single beds an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Varanasi/blog-363036.html The final bush camp of the trip was in some wasteland in the shadow of the ancient temple of Orcha. On the way there we were given the option of instead of camping staying in a nice hotel just down the road with all the mod cons and a swimming pool although tempting I had enjoyed the previous bush camps and I didnrsquot want to miss the last one. A number of people were suffering with the famo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Varanasi/blog-362994.html Before arriving at our hotel we stopped of at Agra Fort which is a world heritage site although impressive it is yet another red fort where a sultan lived who had numerous wives ect perhaps I have been spoilt over the last few months but my interest level at seeing another fort was at zero. All i wanted was to get out of the sun a lay in an air conditioned hotel room. The constant long drives http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Agra/blog-348796.html As i crossed the boarder into cambodia it becomes obvious from the landscape and the peole outside their dwellings that the poverty in cambodia is greater then the other countries in south east asia on the boat crossing the Mekong there were gangs of limbless child beggars out of principle i never give beggars money but is was heart breaking. Much of the poverty is due to the catastrophic rule o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-308583.html flew into Ho Chi Minh City which is still Saigon to everyone who lives there the city is in constant fast forward and the traffic was as busy as Hanoi except the roads were bigger crossing the road either takes a long time or a lot of guts you have to accept that you are part of the traffic and the swarm of bikes rushing towards you at different speeds on on various sides of the road will just http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-308213.html before i talk about nha trang one last story from hoi an when ever you walk around south east asia or see pictures on the television you always see the women wearing masks that cover their mouths and faces to protect from pollution. while i was on the beach talking to the teenagers who wanted to learn english one of the girls was wearing such a mask i said 'surly you dont need this here' sh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-307806.html hoi an was an international trading port as far back as the 17th century and influences from chinese japanese and european cultures are well preserved in the architecture. it is a charming old town which still maintains a rustic feel mixed with the glow of busy restaurants and cafes at night. we travelled their by sleeper bus although the journey was only 5 hours or so arriving early afternoon. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-305502.html hue is an ex capial situated on the central east coast and is the forth largest city in Vietnam. we set out to explore the town on foot and bumped into a guy called archie who helen had met on one of the day tours she had gone on while i mooched around hanoi on foot. we walked over the Song Huong River and through the walls of the old town. as we entered there was the usual mob of tuk tuk offerin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-303472.html