http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/simonandamy/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from simonandamy en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:03:16 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:03:16 +0000 A taste of France and Germany and an update from LondonWelcome to the inaugural edition of the European Excursions blog. Itrsquos been a while since the last entry of the Asian Adventure and it certainly feels like a lifetime since we arrived in England. Wersquove settled into a more regular pace of life and thoroughly enjoyed just hanging out with friends again. We haven't done too many http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-445521.html In Agra the incomparable Taj Mahal exceeded every expectation. Perhaps more surprisingly so did our final stop in Delhi.The final stretch of our Indian Odyssey took these weary travellers to Agra in the state of Uttar Pradesh and then on to the Indian capital Delhi. We had most certainly saved the best until last and as a result finished our Asian Adventure on an absolute high.We've had a w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Agra/blog-416232.html Our entry into Rajasthan the Land of Kings marked the beginning of extraordinarily hot India well over 40 fortunately it made up for this with some fantastic sightsThe cities of Rajasthan with the hilltop forts and palaces at their heart are synonymous with colour the white city of Udaipur the blue city of Jodhpur the golden city of Jaisalmer and the pink city of Jaipur in direc http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/blog-412943.html From the symbol of Modern India in Mumbai to the heart of Ancient India at Ellora......our visit to Maharashtra was marked by contrast obscene wealth and abject poverty aging colonialism and fierce nationalism rampant commercialism and serene spirtuality. All in all a place that was very very IndianFollowing a reasonable sleeper bus ride from Goa sweet sweet sleeping pills we were depos http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Maharashtra/blog-406426.html Drawn like moths to a flame package tourists and sunworshiping hippies have been pouring onto Goa's golden sand for decades We chose it as a place to have a holiday from our holiday where the beer was cheap the food was excellent and everything was removed from the horn beeping noisy crowded and lsquofor the third time no I donrsquot want a rickshawrsquo India.However before ensco http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/blog-403455.html Karnataka home to the Wodeyar Maharajah's royal city of Mysore and the ancient ruins of the Vijayanagar Empire at HampiThe change of state equaled a change of pace for us now halfway through our circumnavigation of the subcontinent. Picking up the pace from our lazy sojourn through Kerala we roared into Karnataka and the royal city of Mysore on an airconditioned overnight bus we actually g http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Karnataka/blog-400752.html Kerala's state tourism agency calls it God's own country as close to heaven as it gets......after switchbacking our way up the high eastern escarpment of the Western Ghats from the plains of Tamil Nadu and exiting the bus to discover temperatures more like a NZ summers day than monsoon India we're inclined to agree We didn't even have to use the fan at nightFrom day one in Kerala we were http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/blog-400208.html Tamil Nadu a land of beaches and temples where its ok for grown men to wear nappies hold hands in public and grow the most extraordinary moustachesAs we headed into our second week of eating off banana leaves using female urinals in Amy's case that is... and acclimatising to the Indian heat we splashed out on fancy air conditioned tickets for our 30 hour train trip from Kolkata to Chenn http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Tamil-Nadu/blog-394299.html From the Queen of the Hills to the infamous Black Hole the Indian Odyssey beginsAfter an eventful exit from Nepal we finally made it to India the land of cricket curry and catastrophically high temperatures... Our circumnavigation of the subcontinent began in the hills of West Bengal home to the town of Darjeeling and the finest tea on earth. Darjeeling is draped along a steep mountain r http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/blog-392668.html We didn't intend to write a blog about this but we thought the story was worth sharing...It was supposed to be an easy journey from Kathmandu to the Indian border near Darjeeling instead it turned into quite an adventure Sitting in a french cafe in Darjeeling the morning after we arrived eating eggs with chippolata's and listening to Fat Freddy's Drop of all things it kind of all felt like http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/blog-391522.html A Traveller's Paradise two of them in fact...Kathmandu what a wonderful crazy chaotic place We stayed in the tourist ghetto of Thamel where everyone stays with its narrow streets no footpaths hundreds of colourful rickshaws fighting their way past the tiny Suzuki taxis the locals and the tourists. Thamel is like a hectic paradise for backpackers. Crazy busy with people and horns cramme http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/blog-387799.html The Nepalis call the Annapurna Sanctuary trail the Heavenly Path after spending 12 days trekking we can certainly see whyFollowing in Sir Ed's rather large foot steps albeit in a totally different part of the Himalaya... we set off on our into the heart of the Annapurna Himal the famed Annapurna Sanctuary. Being hard core Kiwi backpackers we decided to do without the traditional army of Sh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Annapurna/blog-387803.html One World One Dream and just one more dumpling Beijing 2009...The final stop on our grand tour of the Middle Kingdom was Beijing a place where the list of must see sights pretty much stretches to an entire book We found Beijing to be a great city to visit and despite being huge it has a really nice and friendly vibe. The sheer number of ancient Chinese pagoda's pavilions and temples http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-382434.html A Taste of Ancient China.The next stage of our Intrepid Journey took us into the heart of northern China Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces apparently they look and sound different when written in chinese.... From Shanghai another overnight train complete with cup noodles chinese pop music and squatter toilets over the tracks brought us to Xi'an the home of the terracotta warriors all 8000 o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shaanxi/Xi-an/blog-381519.html One Big Modern City and One Tiny Traditional Village both freezing coldShanghai a.k.a the Pearl of the Orient or the Paris of the east. We had heard great reviews from many and we were looking forward to seeing this super city with an interesting colonial past and a mindboggling speed of development in recent years. Much to our disappointment we did not particularly enjoy the place and ge http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-381511.html We came to Guilin on the recommendation of Simon's grandmotherAnd we'll definitely be recommending it to anyone else who's interested Being located deep in southern China at least it feels like it we got here by overnight train from Hong Kong. Walking through customs between Hong Kong and China we instantly noticed differences between the two with China being much dirtier with basically no eng http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guangxi/Yangshuo/blog-376683.html The Adventure Begins...After a fantastic couple of days at Waihi Beach including one last final surf and a remarkably 'together' farewell at Auckland Airport we boarded a plane bound for.... Melbourne baby Yeah Not ones to run before we walk a couple of days in Melbourne stayng with Andrew and Kristy proved the perfect way to start our trip and work on our tans....We generally bludged som http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-375729.html Hong Kong. Well I'm not sure if there is another International City quite like it It feels safe has super duper and cheap transport systems and virtually everyone speaks English There are hundreds and hundreds of westerners walking the streets like they own the place probably because it wasn't that long ago that they did. This gives the city a somewhat bizarre yet familiar feel and makes it http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/blog-376087.html