http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/ontheroadEandS/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from ontheroadEandS en-us Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:34:26 +0000 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:34:26 +0000 Well hello all. We just wanted to give you a quick update while we wait for our 14 hour bus and ferry boat to Zanzibar. Ok actually we are at the airport waiting for our hour long flight. We have spent the last few days in Arusha and on safari in the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarengire NP. We spent 2 days driving around the bumpy park roads and managed to see a plethora of wildlife. I won't lis http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/North/Arusha/blog-419667.html Roughing it in the great outdoors in search of wildlife. What could be better Well let me start with the singleprop four seat private plane that flew us deep into the bush. We landed on a dirt strip in legitimately the middle of nowhere. Our safari guide was there to greet us and take us to our camp. The riverside luxury tent camp just outside the Selous Game Reserve. Canvas tent with http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/North/Arusha/blog-418525.html Well it's Wednesday July 8 around 5pm here and about 10am east coast home time. We've been in the former capital of Dar Es Salaam Tanzania for about 43 hours now and are eager for the adventure to start. Of course that is not to say that some has not already occurred. Upon arriving at the Dar airport we waited about an hour to get our visas and were ever so thankful that the hotel shuttle s http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Dar-es-Salaam/blog-416481.html Well I know it has been a while. A week I think. It has been spent on the beautiful island of Ko Chang Thailand. I decided after Vietnam to go and hang out with a few of friends from home there. I arrived in Bangkok in the evening and decided to stay on the notorious Kohsan Road. What a scene. Everything for sale from buddha lamps to airline ID badges. Sidewalk stands of little plastic cha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/Changi/blog-313072.html Well it is early around 930am here. Not that early really but considering the condition of us when we turned in last night it feels a lot earlier than it is. We arrived in Siagon Ho Chi Minh City yesterday after taking in some western food and beach time. We ate pizza for dinner 3 nights in a row. One night we even went to 2 different pizza places. Sounds sickening now but it was a much n http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-310323.html Where to even begin. Haven't had internet for a while. When I left off I was about to get on the night train. It was a good 11 hour journey in a soft chair. There were 3 other options Soft Sleeper 4 bunks in a cabin Hard Sleeper 6 bunks in the same sized cabin and Hard Chair a wooden bench. The night went by quickly as Tristan and I wondered the train with our Vietnamese phrasebook http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-309224.html The past few days have been filled with beautiful sites to say the least. I arrived in Hanoi had a great meal on the street somewhere. We returned to my favorite place the Red Bar. It is run by a guy in his 20's that calls himself Mao how appropriate. It is filled with antiAmerican propaganda from the war and is totaly chilledout......until the brown out stuck and then it became quite wa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-307314.html What a strange 24 hours to say the least I got on a plane in Denpasar Bali Indonesia. Arrived at Novotel by the Bangkok airport around 2am.Took the best hot shower of my life.Slept in Bangkok Thailand.Woke up and had breakfast with my friends Kristin Christina Courtney and Mikalasp.Now I am waiting for my sister and her boyfriend Tristan so we can have dinner in Hanoi Vietnam.Ahhh...t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-306269.html First picture a 7 year old in Papua walking 5 hours to school and then 5 hours home. Motivated by the fact that her parents couldn't afford the medicine they needed to recover from illness and she dreamed of being a doctor. This is where the story begins.I must warn you. This entry is quite wordy to say the least. It really isn't even very entertaining. It is however a small window into some http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/blog-305852.html Ok so I'm not really in Kuta but I am right next door. The town is Legian for those of you following along on the map. Is the map even working At any rate. I came here yesterday after moving out of the resort. I have to say that I wasn't too sorry to see the last of that place. I came here to Legian and then realized my 8 a night options were limited. I also decided that to console myself http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Kuta/blog-304317.html The following morning in Mataram Saturday after nibbling on the American portions of the included breakfast we headed back to the scene of the Mataram Mall that Eric had ventured to the evening prior. And I must agree it was quite a sight. Very much a mall like any other mall. Multiple stories multiple shops kiosks a McDonald's cars displayed on the ground floor. One of the most strikin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Nusa-Dua/blog-303158.html Today was a marvelous day. We decided to get off of our well tanned lazy behinds and actually do something besides bask in the glorious sun and go for the occasional swimsnorkel. Don't get me wrong it is difficult to get rid of pristine tropical beaches on small islands that have no noise from cars or airplanes. However the time had come to go off adventuring for the day. Awan our guide an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Lombok/Mataram/blog-303164.html Well after eight days and eight nights of island life split between Gilli Meno and Gilli Air we are trading in the slow pace minimal change of clothes primitive plumbing including cold partially salt water showers and manual flush toilets the concept really did throw me at first it's a western toilet wo the flusher and tank and you have to fill a little bucket with salt water from a spi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Lombok/Gili-Air/blog-300959.html So here is the recap of EandS vs. the volcano as taken from my journal...Today was the first venture out of all the warm comforts of home. Ubud was easy. Spoiled us a bit but we loved it. Hippieyoga lunch place and all We said farewell to Sania's Place and hired a car to take us to Kedisan. Kecak was our driver for 150000 about 15. It was an uphill drive the whole way through artisa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/blog-299865.html Well before you go thinking that we got swallowed whole by the volcano rest assured that we are alive and well. The lack of new blogs is attributed to no internet at the base of the volcano followed by a whole day of traveling by bemo. ferry and small boat and a current acclamation to island time which includes not always knowing what day it is and learning to approximate time by where th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Lombok/Gili-Meno/blog-299070.html So it is 820 in the evening and we are about to go get dinner. We have just had the wonderful experience known as Traditional Balinese Massage. Yes twice in one week This was the real deal erasing any memory of the heinous crime against humanity that took place earlier this week. Ubud is a great place. It's a Little Europe in Indonesia as Steph refered to it today. Europe on 50 a day tha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Ubud/blog-296964.html Well I believe we left off on the morning of the rainy day. We spent much of that day which proved to be much more than a passing am shower in fact a twelve hour onoff downpoor roaming the streets in search of some warmer layers much more difficult than you make think as a majority of the apparel is prudent to the typical climate and our selection of American 'hoodies' very much limlited to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Ubud/blog-296793.html Disclaimer Contrary to Eric's last blog no children have been harmed on this adventure thus far. We all know how Eric's storytelling takes on a flare for the dramatic right Dad and MarkHere we are in Ubud known as the cultural heartland of Bali and yes still very much a tourist haven. However it does seem to maintain some cultural integrity as our guide books described. We arrived m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Ubud/blog-295852.html Only 15 min. so here it goesLet me start out by saying that I second everything that Stephanie had to say X2Well we deided to book it out of town after only one night in search of that perfect beach. I am already feeling a bit like Leonardo DiCaprio inThe Beach. I just hope it doesn't take some guy blowing his brains out in front of us for us to find it. Sanur...a sleepy little town with a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Sanur/blog-295507.html Well...There we were riding in our chauffeured car zipping through the backroads of Chelsea like only Kristin could. I was half asleep as we purposely stayed up late in order to sleep on the plane and try to get on SE Asia time. Got to the airport...no problem end Eric...boarded the plane...no problem...prepared for take off and after twenty minutes or so of taxiing...BIG problem. There appea http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Massachusetts/Medford/blog-294111.html