Blogs from Atlantis, Atlantic, Oceans and Seas - page 33

Geo: 20.4816, 99.9383Its my turn to go for the breakfast again this morning and I am up and out about 06:00. Being a bit earlier than usual all of the monks are still wandering around collecting their alms. There seems to be a lot of very young, 10-13 year old, monks here at the moment and their alms bowls are nearly as big as they are. I am standing outside Kong Court just after 7:00 and the minibus arrives on the dot of 7:15. He only has 6 passengers today not the usual bus laod of 12+ that always used to be onboard so we have plenty of room. I sit up front in the comfy chair but as we are collecting the others the driver tells me that someone has specifically booked this seat and ... read more

Geo: 47.1415, 9.52154 We finally found a place to do some laundry. Stacy came up with the idea to try a campground. Sure enough, they had a washer and drier there. We had to wait for someone else to finish their wash and then put in ours. It took a while to figure out how to work the machines, but we did it. Hooray, no naked American tourists! We then walked around St. Moritz for a while and then headed for Samedan. It is smaller than St. Moritz and cheaper, but more authentic. This morning, we left Pontresina and headed over the Fluelapass to Liechtenstein. We are staying for 2 nights. Hopefully we can take the bus to Mulban and catch a ski lift to the top of the mountain for a great view of Liechtenstein. ... read more

Geo: 43.8607, 18.4214Cafe culture - in my short time here, that's what I've found to be the most interesting and vibrant part of Sarajevo. That's not to say there isn't incredible history here, because there definitely is - it's just that this city offers even more than that. As far as I can tell, there definitely is a method to partaking in Bosnian Cafe Culture - here's a quick little primer I've put together:Step 1: Location - select the spot according to factors such as levels of shade and breeze (important in a hot country such as this), ambiance, comfort, price, and most importantly, views of the lovely Bosnian women. This final item is by far the most important factor.Step 2: Refreshment of choice - hot or cold. If hot, go to Step 2a, if cold, ... read more

Geo: 42.4918, 18.7028Montenegro, specifically the town of Kotor, has inspired me to write a fairytale - a variation on "The Princess and the Pea", it will be entitled "The Princess Who Slept on a Giant Thumping Speaker". How exactly was I inspired to write this story? Well, last night was of course the biggest festival of the year in Kotor, Boka night - so the entire Stari Grad became one giant nightclub, with one of the busiest squares being right outside the hostel. There were at least 4 or 5 bars in the immediate vicinity. The windows had to be opened for air circulation, as it seems like the night time temperatures here don't drop below 25 C until 3 or 4 AM - but not like that really mattered, since the bass was pumping so ... read more

Geo: 42.6542, 19.0242Up at 7 AM ... ugh ... early tour up to the Ostrog Monastery. The good thing about being up so early is that for once, it doesn't feel scorching hot here. At least, not until about 7:45, when the sun poked up over the mountain, and I started to feel like an ant under a magnifying glass. Once again, I was the only English-speaker on the tour bus but unfortunately for me today, there was no English translation. It was a long ride out to Ostrog, about two hours, followed by nearly three hours there. While nice, it was WAY too much time there ... especially being the guy following a tour that was completely done in Russian and Serbian. It would've been way too much time even had the tour been in ... read more