http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/trippin/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from trippin en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:26:37 +0000 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:26:37 +0000 It's been months since I left Asia and months since I've looked at this blog but hardly a day goes by when I don't think of my time spent there. I wish I could say my life changed dramatically and all the personal and spiritual insights I felt while traveling have been easily applied to my 'real life' but it's so easy to fall back into routine. However life in Vancouver is good and it's nice http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-95626.html Moving from beach Tioman to jungle Taman Negara I was forced to stop in the lessthantouristy city of Kuantan apparently some distances really are too far to travel in a day despite what look like teensy distances on a map Kuantan was alright though rainy but it was quite obvious that it doesn't receive the same number of Westerners as other places... I'd gotten used to be being invisibl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Terengganu/Perhentian-Besar/blog-44780.html Irsquove discovered that while traveling you have a tendency to miss the silliest things. For instance while in Georgetown I felt like I missed the cold and the rain maybe itrsquos my Vancouver heritage shining through so was quite excited when we left the heat for the misty Cameron Highlands. The highlands are duh high in the jungle and have an average daily temperature of only 22 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Pahang/Pulau-Tioman/blog-42002.html photos will be uploaded in the next couple of daysKo Lanta my las Thai beach stop for a while was divine. Phi Phi had left me reeling you know you're travelled out when a beach resort even a beach resort like Ko Phi Phi can leave you exhausted so it was incredibly nice to get to a place a little more relaxed. Met up with Vanessa and arranged a bungalow a lovely bamboo cabin with the most http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/blog-40695.html It proved rather difficult to tear myself away from Ton Sai not only because I'd made myself quite comfortable there but because my next stop was to be Phuket a plac on which I wasn't overly keen. To many people Phuket and Thailand are synonymous and as the country's premier tourist desitnation it encompasses the very best and the very worst elements of Thailand's mass tourism industry. The http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-39479.html Life is hard. I've spent the last week on one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen and my plans for the next month are much of the same... Hope the happy sunshiney thoughts of the blog and the beachy photos don't depress anyone in rainy Vancouver too much On that note before I forget exciting news Landing at YVR March 18th yayCruised down south on the luxe overnight train that's be http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Railay/blog-38028.html I left Vientiane for Vang Vieng entirely unsure of what to expect everyone I've met whose been to the latter either absolutely loves it or absolutely hates it. It can apparently be described in three words BeerLao tubes and Friends please note the capital it's an important distinction Regardless I was excited to move on after spending entirely too much time in bed in my previous two lo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-36123.html apologies for the lack of linguistic finesse I'm reeling from the aftereffects of laolao Lao homebrew tastyGetting to Thailand was exquisite. Nepal had been lovely but even there the constant military presence made me uneasy and I found it quite difficult to meet people again a million thanks to Ben for saving me on Christmas... I was incredibly eager to get back to tropical South http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vientiane/blog-35437.html Happy holidays everyone Before this brief entry I want to apologize to those I've been meaning to email and haven't been able to connections here are quite poor and expensive and I've been busy busy busy arranging travel details I WILL have more time as soon as I get back to Thailand so expect emails Sorry againLeaving Kathmandu I travelled to the small town of Bandipur a place only briefly http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Pokhara/blog-33102.html sorry for the double whammy of entries it's just that I've stumbled upon a decent connection oh miracle of miracles and figured I ought to do it now I'll even try to upload some photos tonight but no guaranteesNepal has made me breathe easier. The stress accumulated from exactly a month of travel within India melted away the second the air felt fresher and I returned home to a country where http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/blog-32190.html Leaving behind my cozy little routine in Pushkar it had gotten to the point where I was so wellknown around my haunts that the local waiter gave me a bracelet I returned to the mayhem of Delhi to join up with my next Intrepid tour which would take me from Delhi all the way to Kathmandu. Delhi felt a little different this time a little less threatening but it was still a wild experience and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Varanasi/blog-32185.html ... oh what a week.My last 12 hours in Jaipur were interesting to say the least. I got thoroughly yelled at perhaps 'chastised' is a better word by a stranger on a street corner which opened my eyes to how I've been seeing this portion of the trip. V and I were racing around the city in our usual avoidance march of blank stares and brisk pace when a man whose hellos we'd been ignoring sud http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Pushkar/blog-29335.html I've officially survived my first 10 days in India praise be India is a manic place hectic and noisy and frenetic and just allaround intimidating... But I've survived I think joining up with the Intrepid tour has a lot to do with that India is not a place I would want to brave alone. I arrived in Delhi and the representative of my hotel pickup service was nowhere to be found so I tagged al http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jodhpur/blog-28133.html backdating to pretend I'm keeping up on thisKo Phi Phi is the quintessential island paradise. White sand beaches swaying palms beautiful limestone cliffs dropping off into waters so clear you can see 30 ft to the bottom while dangling your legs off the side of a boat and cruising by islands straight out of The Beach. It is not however a hidden paradise but rather one of the most touris http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-28128.html Hoi AnHurtling towards my next stop on yet another bus of death driving in Vietnam is an adrenalin sport I had visions of silk dresses and custommade suits dancing in my head as tiny beautiful Hoi An is THE place to get tailormade clothes... However I quickly discovered that I'm not a pressureshopper and being manhandled by little Vietnamese ladies trying to coerce me into their shop is http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-26112.html DalatMui NeNha TrangDalat is the kitsch capital of Vietnam a Europeanstyle city founded by frenchmen up in the mountains. Although going somewhere cold or at least somewhere where I could maybe put my fleece to use seemed like a quaint idea the novelty quickly wore off as along with the cooler temperatures came rain. The city itself was also nothing particularly special it did have windi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-24706.html Welcome to Vietnam Leaving Cambodia was a little hard to do but I've read so much and heard so many great things about Vietnam I was excited to get started on that portion of my trip. Spent a couple of days in Phnom Penh seeing the last few things I wanted to but mostly getting the logistics arranged for getting to Vietnam. There's essentially two ways to get into the country either take a lon http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-23611.html Cambodia is without a doubt one of the most emotionallyrivetting places I've ever been. Traveling here over the last two weeks has been a roller coaster of highs and lows hurtling me from one to another with only moments in between.There are moments of delight in face of the beautiful scenery lush vistas of green grass red earth blue sky mirrored waters and simple but beautiful thatched http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Kampot/blog-22436.html apologies for the late entries computers in Cambodia leave something to be desired plus the last week has been a little hectic.Leaving Bangkok I was I thought prepared for what innumerable travelers had told me would be the hellish path to Angkor Wat. In a country of bad roads the road from Poipet the border town to Siem Reap remained infamous. Leaving the guesthouse at 730 am I arrived http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-22433.html It was with a bit of trepidation that we approached Ko Pha Ngan an island infamous for its fullmoon parties. It's all well and good to be considered a backpacker haven but as any morally superior traveler meandering around Thailand discovers if Khao San Road is the first and foremost backpacker destination... You'd do well to avoid any places that try to follow in its footsteps. However des http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-20755.html