http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/sprucemoose/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from sprucemoose en-us Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:03:13 +0000 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:03:13 +0000 Central Asia is a big blank for most people and was for me too until I came here. A few years ago I one day looked at a map and thought to myself rather literally What on earth is that And in that that no country emphasised this blank like Uzbekistan. The mere name connotes nothingness Even just weeks before I left home my friend pointed at Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent on a map we were http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Uzbekistan/blog-460847.html Buzkashi is awesome.Horseriding is an essential part of daily life for the nomadic Kyrgyz and they never hesitate to display their skill in competitions. The best of these is Buzkashi a game only possible in a region as crazy and quirky as Central Asia. It is called buzkashi in the sport's home of Afghanistan and in Kyrgyzstan is ulak tartysh or kok buru. But buzkashi sounds cooler It http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Kyrgyzstan/blog-445174.html Here I am heading into the heartland of the Kyrgyz I had four days off from my school and I decided that I would use this precious time to do a simple but notofttrodden hike from a village called Kyzart to Lake Song Kol through a couple of valleys. The only downside was that I had to do this 3day hike by myself because no one else wanted to go and I'd rather go by myself than not go at all http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Kyrgyzstan/Song-Kol/blog-439046.html Put simply Tibet is one of the most fascinating and captivating places I have ever visited. So far anyway. And although some of my friends who shall remain anonymoushellip often mock me for such exaggerations I assure you this is one not without justification. The people are the warmest I have encountered the culture the most devoted and unique the nature amongst some of the grandest and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-417365.html Yunnan has to be one of the most interesting provinces in China. From tropical jungles to rice terraces to glistening lakes to towering mountains to remote villages to quaint old towns it has everything bar deserts Additionally the everpresent Han Chinese are underrepresented for once having only 50 of this province8217s population. Relatively underrepresented anyway. The remainder compr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Yunnan/blog-412535.html Nervously I had another look at my shotglass once empty but now filled with a thick cloudy red liquid and the shadow of something small and solid at its bottom. I knew what it was but I was in denial. I couldn't help but doubt my infamous audacity. I quickly glanced around at my 3 comrades daring men and women who had joined me in this quest to the shady outskirts of Hanoi Vietnam. Their face http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-379247.html I loved Shanghai from the moment I arrived. I had just stepped off a train left arm in a sling thanks to my snowboarding mishap in New Zealand. With my obvious disability I was a helpless lamb ready for slaughter to any sneaky taxi driver. China is full of them and instantly I was hounded by four drivers each trying to rip me off. It was one of Shanghai's hottest days in 60 years 39C and with http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-198869.html No Ralph Jesus did not have wheelsBut I bet you He has a snowboard. For snowboarding must surely be something done in Heaven.It's amazing how much can happen in just 6 days. What started off as an exciting time merely thinking of going snowboarding in New Zealand peaked when i did some of the coolest snowboarding yet and then rapidly disintegrated into me returning home prematurely battered http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Queenstown/blog-193766.html So there it is ladies and gentlemen. Thirteen and a half months later i arrived at Perth International Airport on a 42 degree Australia Day. It contrasted well with the 2 degrees and snow i left in London. I had left Perth a young boy at 19 all to return a man at 21. I was disappointed that my fun exchange student and travelling lifestyle was finished for now. But i was looking forward to seeing http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Perth/blog-147401.html SarajevoOne always walks down the cobbled streets of the great Ancient city of Rome imagining how life must have been during those times. You see the Colusseum on the right Palatine Hill on the left Trevi Fountain in front of you. All the grandeur all the glory all the prosperity that was Rome. Whilst walking the streets of Sarajevo in Bosnia I tried to imagine the exact opposite. A bulletri http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Bosnia-and-Herzegovina/East/Sarajevo/blog-141807.html Yeah so I'm going back to New Zealand this winter. Oh I see. So do you love sheep A stupid comment by a stupid person. Sheep are not the only attraction that New Zealand has. What about the diverse and stunning natural scenery The cool easygoing yet comparitevely less intelligent inhabitants What about all the fun activities that cost heaps of moneyAfter an exciting 2006 my need t http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/blog-151845.html ViennaNot again. That was one of the many flurrying thoughts quickly running through my mind as my body was running around the streets of Vienna at 1150pm on December 31 2006 New Years Eve. Yes I know this blog is VERY ate but hey I'm VERY lazy. So moving on our moving around aimlessly reminded me of my first 2hrs in Vienna during last summer where I got hopelessly lost for 45min followin http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/blog-128266.html I lost count on the times that I have been asked this question. I could almost sense when someone was about to ask it. People asked me Why choose to study in FINLAND so many times that my travelling partner Joel could not help himself but laugh everytime someone asked me that question. It was really absurd.So one would think that after hearing such a question so often that I would have a perfe http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/blog-128267.html No visit to Finland is complete without visiting the part above the Arctic Circle Lapland. Lapland embodies everything that is about Finland unabound stretches of untouched white velvet pine forests gracefully carpeted in snow rolling hills and dotted lakes. And don't forget that it is above the Arctic Circle. It is a fine example of an Arctic wonderland and for a sunbred Australian Lapland http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Lapland/Levi/blog-117413.html Some people say you know you can't believe Jamaica we have a boblseigh team.We have aone Derice and aone Junior and a...... Sanka.The fastest of the fastest of Jamaican sprinters go to Olympics to fight for Jamaica I and my confident elite and highly trained teammates Annya and Stephen could not help but recite this uplifting chant repeatedly check the video as we eagerly anticipated our http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Latvia/Riga-Region/Riga/blog-111875.html KrakowMy time in Krakow was thoroughly enjoyable largely thanks to the awesome hostel I was staying at. I don't know what it is but there is something about the really good hostels that give them a sort of aura or charm that is unforgettable. The Flamingo hostel was one such hostel. It was a relatively small very modern and clean hostel with prime location right off the main square. But what pro http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Poland/Lesser-Poland/Krakow/blog-99411.html What's better than lazing about and drinking beer in an expensive country Lazing about and drinking beer in a cheaper country. So with 2 weeks off from university I decided to implement this rather simple logic by spending my 2 weeks in Poland instead of Finland. Best decision ever along with all my other great decisions as I had a ball. I spent the first week on Poland's northern coast with m http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Poland/Pomerania/Gdynia/blog-99410.html Finland is known as the land of a Thousand Lakes. This is quite inaccurate as there are actually 187 888 lakes no joke. Finland is also known as the land of a Thousand Islands 179 584 to be exact... again no joke due to the many islands that litter these lakes and also in the Turku and Aland archipelagos. Finland's real beauty and charm is in its untouched and pristine nature but thanks to t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Satakunta/Ulvila/blog-92289.html I was stuck in a boring lecture on International Commercial Arbitration on a perfect clear and sunny evening in Turku Finland. After 3.5 months of exciting adventures beautiful places and interesting people this new and old way of life just was not going to stick for too long. I was back into routine study and normal life. Of course I am still happy after all exchange is awesome. But the un http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Stockholm-County/Stockholm/blog-89714.html LjubljanaIt was love at first sight. What I will remember most about Ljubljana was the heavenly angel in human form who was the receptionist at my hostel. I fell head over heels almost instantly. I lost all composure and levelheadedness. It was as if I had been cast under a spell with my judgement and thinking just completely thrown out the window at the hands of this merciless sorceress with he http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovenia/Upper-Carniola/Ljubljana/blog-85413.html