The last few weeks have been a whirlwind in terms of traveling. I've been trying to see certain places in time to go to Sardinia and Rome, where I'm trying to coordinate visiting friends amid their vacation season. This blog might not be as personal as some of the others. The Baltics, Russia, and Scandinavia run off of cafes and restaurants and just walking around. Though I did meet some great people, I didn’t have the close interactions I had with people like I did in Asia. I suppose it’s because a lot of the people just live there normal lives and let the tourists do their thing. Lithuania: Vilnius – After spending a day in Warsaw I headed to Vilnius in Lithuania. The train ride took about 8 hours total. I had to switch trains ... read more

The Balkans is one of the most war torn area of Europe. It is the crossroads of empires and religions. It also has some of the best scenery in Europe as well from the mountains to the Adriatic Sea. My trip though these former Yugoslavcountries were a bit rushed. Mostly the places I stayed were 2 days at a time. Macedonia: Skopje - The capital of Macedonia seems to be going though a revitalization. The downtown area is full of cafes and restaurants and feels like half of it is under construction. It's a very relaxing town. I got into the main bus station and walked around a bit before getting my bearings straight. Skopje has a walled fort and many statues of url=http://en.w... read more

After two weeks in India I was ready for a change. This was probably the biggest culture shock to date - going from a developing country like India to some of the most affluent places in the world. Qatar, my first stop, has a GDP per person over $180,000. I just made it out a day before the monsoon season started. To be honest it would have been nice to see some rain. I can't remember the last time I saw that. Qatar: Doha - Given a few logistical issues I was facing in terms of meeting people on my trip I decided to head to Doha first, since it's only an hour flight west of the UAE. On of the first thing you'll notice is the number of women wearing abayas. I took a cab ... read more

Nepal: After a month in China I was looking forward to getting to a new country. My attempt to go to Tibet was not to be. I wasn't able to find 3 other Americans to sign up for a tour group (a new law that went into effect that week). I did fly though Lhasa, so I was able to see a bit of Tibet. Getting off the plane to switch to my connecting flight, I could feel the elevation difference. The land looked arid until the snow capped mountains. Kathmandu - One of the main reasons I came to Nepal was because I wasn't able to get a visa for India in China, due to time restrictions I had in Beijing. It was also on the way to India and made for a good stop ... read more

Taiwan: Since it was on the way to Shanghai, I figured I would stop in Taiwan. I was only planning to spend a few days there but ended up staying for a week because I couldn’t get a reasonable flight to Shanghai on the days I wanted to go. I got to Taipei late on Wednesday night and took the bus from the airport to downtown. I’ve mixed up my hotel schedule. Some days I’ll book in advance, others I’ll find something when I arrive. Since I was getting in late I thought it would be prudent to book ahead. I got downtown late with an address and phone number of the “hotel” I had book on hotels.com. It was really more like an apartment. The girl sitting next to me on the bus asked where ... read more