http://www.statravelblogs.comMost Popular Blog Entries from STA Travel BlogsenFri, 20 Nov 2009 00:01:14 GMTFri, 20 Nov 2009 00:01:14 GMT60http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1dc7777/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cnikki74740Cblog0Cargentina0Cel0Echalten/story01.htmOn Saturday we flew down from Boneus Aires on a reasonably undelayed flight for South America and landed in El Calafate - luckily the pilot could see the runway as we couldn&#180;t spot it! The amazing senery was just a taste of what was to come over the next couple of days with beautiful snow capped mountains and crystal clear lakes. After the best nights sleep ever in my own room with a double bed - think I&#180;m going to like this this tour we headed down to El Chalten by bus. We&#180;ve quickly discovered we are the only people on the tour and are yet to find the tour guide! A taxi dropped us at a bus station and after being asked for more vouchers we don&#180;t have we found a bus that seemed to have our names on a list! The drive was beautiful with our first view of Fitzroy Mountain a spectacular peak we were going to hike to the next day. There really is nothing in El Chalten it exists merely to serve the hikers and climbers who come to the Fitzroy range. On our first day in the town we were picked up by Pepe our hiking guide. Certianly was not loving his hello kiss on the cheek with his massive scratchy scary beard! He&#180;s definately of the traveller way with his dreadlocks under a tea cosy, sexy clingy walking trousers and chewed nails - eugh! Really nice guy though! He led us off on our first ever hike - a mere ten miles of hilly mountain terrain. Pepe did seem a little concerned when he asked how much hiking we&#180;d all done and got a unanimous reply of this is our first! We headed (well I tripped and stumbled most of the way) to the base of Fitzrtoy mountain seeeing a pecking woodpecker, a giant hare, an eagle, and condors. The viewpoint we made it to was spectcular and we were lucky to have a beautifuly clear day with no clouds obstructing the mountain. On the way back we headed off the walking trail along the horse trail - pushing through bushes and mud we made it to a cool waterfall which made a beautiful photo with the mountain in the background. We also stopped off at a amazing (running out of awesome words) lake which was perfectly clear. Every stream and puddle is crystal clear and apparently perfect drinking water - although gave that one a miss personally. That evening we collapsed and watched a film! The second day saw our second hike - safe to say 13 hours hiking in two days has definately killed us. Especially as i&#180;m refusing to eat the pre packed sandwiches - managed a little bit after Lisa opened it and wafted the yucky aeroplane smell away! Living on cereal bars at mo. Today the trek was much more up and down and pretty tiring - especially when Pepe pointed out where we were heading an hour in - on the horizon! We made it round to the side of Mount Fitzroy to a frozen lake with two glaciers stemming from the base of the mountain to the lake. Despite the ice it wasn&#180;t deep enuogh to walk on the lake, so we entertained ourselves trying to get the perfect photo of each of us in front of the glaciers! Given our complete lack of photography skills this took quite a while! On the way back Lisa had a small incident with a log but made it through relatively unscathed, given her rather dramatic slide down the stairs to dinner last night she&#180;s beating me in the falling stakes - sure my time will come as soon as we try and walk on ice!<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1dc7777/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/nikki7474/blog/argentina/el-chalten&link=El Chalten, Argentina" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/nikki7474/blog/argentina/el-chalten&link=El Chalten, Argentina" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386014/f/7277/c/321/s/31225719/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386014/f/7277/c/321/s/31225719/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMTnikki7474_92008-09-10T23:00:00Zhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/d0d9d5/story01.htmComing out of the hotel (more properly, casino resort) this morning, a guy walked past with a slogan on his T-Shirt which I thought nicely summed up many people's experience of Las Vegas: "One Casino, Two Casinos, Three Casinos, Poor." Actually, though, Vegas it quite an easy place to visit on a budget. The casinos seem to make something of an assumption that anyone coming here is going to be spending tons of cash and therefore should be enticed into doing so with lots of freebies. I found that it was quite easy to walk into the restaurants within the casinos and tuck into three course meals for silly prices - the longer they get you to stay under their roof, the more the casinos will make out of you in the long run. Or so they figure. Hang around long enough and stand in the right place and eventually a pretty girl with a tray of drinks may well come up and give you one for free. I probably could've phrased that better, but you get the idea. If you're looking for free entertainment, you can do a lot worse than check out the range of shows on offer to anyone simply walking the length of the strip - every hour or so, most of the casinos put on some sort of spectacular display outside their main entrance to draw the crowds in. In fact, with Vegas being the size it is these days, I reckon there are probably enough free attractions outside the casinos to keep anyone occupied simply walking from each one to the next for a couple of days - I can only hope to list my favourite two or three here and leave the rest for you to discover for yourself. The Mirage, for example, has a giant volcano in the middle of the forecourt surrounded by ponds and covered in vegetation, palm trees and cascading waterfalls. Every hour or so, there is a deep guttural roar from within the volcano followed by a full scale eruption - flames leap high into the air, the waterfalls turn to steam, lava pours down the sides of the volcano and turns the water in the ponds into a lake of fire. This is all quite a shock if you happen to be walking past at the time and aren't expecting it! The Treasure Island Casino stages a mock sea battle hourly in which the British Navy takes on pirates on a large lake next door. The ships, which are each probably several times the size of a car, sail out onto the lake and start hurling cannon balls across the water at each other for about eight minutes before the pirate ship suddenly bursts into flames and the British ship splits in two and sinks out of sight beneath the waves. My favourite free attraction, new since my last visit, is the fountain display in front of the Bellagio casino. This really is one show which it's impossible not to stop and gawp at. Every fifteen minutes or so, to the sound of various well known tunes, a line of coloured fountains begin to shoot jets of water over two hundred feet into the air in time to the music. It really is spellbinding to watch the quarter mile of jets pulsing with colour and creating intricate patterns in the air to the sound of popular hits. The best way I can describe it is to compare the fountains to the visualisations that come with computer music players such as Windows Media Player. Except that you're watching an actual live visualisation right there in the air in front of you - it's like fireworks made out of water. The Bellagio fountains cost over forty million dollars to construct, contain one thousand nozzles from which the jets can be shot to any pattern or any height by specialised computer software behind the scenes, and five thousand multicoloured lights to bring it all to life. They were built by the amusingly named WET design who specialise in fountains and are also responsible for my other favourite water display - the leaping fountain at EPCOT centre in Florida, where a jet of water from a nozzle appears to repeatedly bounce at various angles across lily pads on a lake and over the heads of passers by the disappear down a hole on the other side. Also worth a visit in Vegas are the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. This massive shopping mall has been constructed as miles of Roman roads underneath the casino itself, and entry is via a moving walkway which quite literally makes you feel as though you are being transported back in time into the days of the roman empire - except that there weren't quite so many branches of Planet Hollywood open back then of course. Wandering the authentic streets below the casino, the most striking thing you notice is that the ceiling is curved and painted to look like the sky - or at least, you think it's painted until you realise that it's all done with clever lighting which changes throughout the day so that the sky always feels like the sky and not a static image. As with all things in Vegas, the Forum is hard to describe without seeing it. There are streets of cafes, market squares dominated by roman statues within circles of pillars in the middle of each market square and stretching up to the sky that isn't a sky, paved walkways and roman pillars along the walls. The effect is simply mind numbing and it really is easy to forget that the sky isn't real and that you're not in some old town that has been carefully preserved for two thousand years. The Forum is also home to a fifty thousand gallon saltwater aquarium where you can watch divers feeding the sharks twice a day. And there's even a free show at the Forum. Using unbelievably real robotic characters, the story of Atlantis is told right in the central square by the statues of King Atlas and his children, scaring the willies out of everybody in the area. The voice of Atlas booms out without warning, echoing across the courtyard and causing people sitting at coffee shops to choke on their cappuccinos and small children to dive behind the nearest statue. Unfortunately, these statues then begin to move and creak into life, an arm twisting here and a leg lifting there until they appear to be under their own free will as though in a scene from Jason and the Argonauts. The children argue over who is the better ruler and, unable to decide which of his greedy children should govern over Atlantis, Atlas orders the destruction of the city and we watch it first burn to the ground (Vegas seems to like fire illusions) and then sink beneath the waves as a twenty foot animatronic dragon appears over Atlas shoulder to watch the destruction. Lasers, steam and fountains are used to great effect to create the impression that Atlantis is sinking into the depths, and then another disembodied voice announces that the next show will be in one hour and everything returns to normal. Or at least, as normal as anything can be in Caesar's Palace. Today, I went along to see the new Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton, something I had seen advertised on television before I began my trip and had then totally forgotten about until I got here and saw it being advertised everywhere. In true American style, this is another attraction which is so fabulously over the top that I don't really know where to begin. Stepping through the back of the ticket office, you find yourself rather spectacularly standing on the promenade deck of the Star Trek space station Deep Space 9, complete in every tiny detail and curving off in both directions - it was actually like being in the show. Strange creatures scuttled up and down speaking gibberish, and the windows looked out into space. In Quark's bar, I had my evening meal from the Star Trek menu, served by a Dabo-Girl (sexy casino hostesses from Star Trek) and surrounded by Ferengi waiters and bartenders. Of course, if you've never seen Star Trek: Deep Space 9 or have no interest in Science Fiction then this will all mean nothing to you, but just take my word for it that it's all totally immersive and one hundred percent realistic in every detail. And if you happen to be engaged to a fellow Trekkie, and the two of you really have stepped across the fine line between fan and fanatic, you can actually get married at the Experience - they'll set you up with alien witnesses, you'll be married by a character from Star Trek, and you can even have your reception at Quarks bar. But let's be honest, if any of this really gets you excited then you're probably not likely to be getting married any time soon anyway. When I had taken my fill of the Promenade with its shops and restaurants, I was led through to board my shuttle for a quick ride around the galaxy - and this is where things really got seriously good. Before boarding the shuttle, my group of sixteen people were led into a small, square, unremarkable room with four doors in the opposite wall and a single television monitor mounted in the corner. Anybody who has been on a motion simulator ride at any of the major theme parks in America will recognise this setup: they line you up in four rows of four in front of the doors, and then after watching a brief introductory film on the monitor, the doors open and you shuffle forward into four rows of seats inside the simulator to begin your ride. However, something quite different and unexpected happened at the Star Trek Experience - something so remarkable that I'll probably spend the next ten years trying to work out how it was done. As our group stood in our four neat rows in our bland little square room watching a guy dressed in a Starfleet uniform telling us on the monitor about what a fantastic shuttle trip we were about to have, all hell broke loose. Mid-sentence, the monitor suddenly flickered and died. A second later all the lights went out, plunging our featureless little room into pitch blackness. Immediately, there was a jabber of voices in the dark: "Emergency. Get those people out of there." We felt compressed air shoot across our legs and faces, followed by millions of blue twinkling lights all around us and the sound of a Star Trek Transporter being operated. The lights came back on. Less than five seconds after the lights had gone out, we were all now standing in the transporter room of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The grey featureless walls and the monitor had gone, the doors had disappeared, and the room we were in was much larger than the one we had been in five seconds previously. More to the point, we were now standing on a totally different floor - something which could not possibly have been changed without lifting us from it. With a swish, the transporter room door slid open and a bridge officer came in. He explained hastily that we were no longer in the 20th century and were instead on board a Starship in what we would call the future. He told us that the commander would explain things, and proceeded to lead us out of the transporter room and along the corridors of the enterprise to the actual bridge from Star Trek: The Next Generation. As bridge officers bustled about, we were lined up around the room and told to watch the viewer. Riker, the Enterprise first officer from the television show, appeared and explained that one of our group was an ancestor of captain Picard. The Klingons, it seemed, had attempted to kidnap us from Las Vegas in order to change history and the Enterprise had rescued us. The crew would attempt to return us to the temporal rift from which we came in a shuttlecraft, and so get us back to the 20th century. When the message had finished, an officer led us to the turbolift where an exciting ride to the shuttle bay ensued - including a mid-ride lights-out power failure which caused the lift to go into freefall and drop several floors, tilting on its axis and throwing us all around. We were then taken into the shuttle bay and placed on board a shuttle where the motion simulator ride we had been expecting in the first place began. I'll say it again - the Americans don't do things by halves! Las Vegas really is a compact entertainment oasis in the middle of an otherwise forbidding desert. People either love it or hate it. Some people talk endlessly about what a den of vice Vegas is and how anyone coming here is a terrible person, others cannot resist the pull of its bright lights. Whatever you think, the idea that Vegas is all about throwing your money away on Craps tables and Slot machines is old fashioned - the strip contains more entertainment venues and shows than you can shake a stick at, and you can easily spend as long as you want here without seeing half of what it has to offer and without spending a penny on gambling. There's even a Wet and Wild water park here, so you could spend a day riding the flumes and ignore the rest of the town completely. On the other hand, if you like a bit of a gamble, they don't exactly stop you - there are slot machines in the toilets, slot machines on your table at breakfast, slot machines in the car parks for people who can't wait to get inside. The casinos don't have any windows or clocks, because if you knew what time it was you might go home. Photography and videotaping inside the casinos is strictly forbidden because the management is scared that you might capture on film somebody whose wife doesn't know he goes to Vegas, and he might get in trouble and not come back. Seriously. And it is possible to win - a woman with whom I used to work came to Vegas once, put a quarter in a slot machine and was immediately surrounded by flashing lights and the sound of running feet - she'd won ten thousand dollars. There is, of course, a seedier side to Vegas as there is in any city - but it's easy to ignore. To see what I mean, just walk along the strip at night and accept every magazine, flyer or brochure that is offered to you by guys standing every couple of hundred yards along the way. By the time you get to the other end, you'll probably be holding about three years worth of pornography, courtesy of Vegas - mainly adverts for massage parlours, out of town ranches and any other vice you can think of. Although prostitution is legal in Nevada, it seems that it's not legal to do it within the city limits - so everywhere you go you'll find guys peddling places out of town. The first time I came to Vegas, I naively assumed these peddlers were handing out leaflets for fast food restaurants and electronics shops or the like - and as you can imagine, my jaw nearly hit the ground when I realised what they were actually doing. http://www.vegas.com/http://www.startrekexp.com/<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/d0d9d5/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/globalwanderer/blog/nevada/las-vegas&link=Las Vegas, Nevada" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/globalwanderer/blog/nevada/las-vegas&link=Las Vegas, Nevada" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386013/f/7277/c/321/s/13687253/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386013/f/7277/c/321/s/13687253/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/globalwanderer/blog/nevada/las-vegas2008-03-29T00:00:00Zhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860e/story01.htmHello. Today is our last day in Cusco. We've been here for what seems like a long time - about 9 days - primarily because I was diagnosed with amoebic dysentry, which has somewhat slowed us down! Anyway, I'm fine (having caught it early), and Simon has taken great delight in telling me that I have eaten someone else's poo...! Argh!Onto more pleasant topics...(!), we've done some lovely things here. We know the centre of Cusco, the Blueberry Lounge and it's menu, and this internet caf&eacute; just nextdoor to the Backpackers Family House where we've stayed with Carola and her family all very well...!! But we have managed to venture beyond the city, too. We had a cracking day in Pisac, north of Cusco, visiting its very colourful and happening Sunday market where we decided to do a bit of Christmas shopping! The ruins perched high up on the hill behind Pisac are brilliant too, largely because of their position (Simon has a much greater appreciation of what we're actually looking at at these archaeological sites!)... and the paths that are cut into the hillside that run between the various parts... the fort, the temple, the old village... We really enjoyed our day there...We also had an afternoon walking up to Sacsayhuaman (you can work out&nbsp;how the non-Quechua speaking tourists pronounce it!), the nearest ruins to Cusco, just up behind it on the hill, and where there are enormous rocks (weighing up to 120 tonnes) forming part of the remains of the old Inca fort. We also that same day wandered around the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art... also very good with lots of intact beautiful ceramics, including one that reminded me of you, dad!For various reasons including illness, expense, knowing that we'd done the best of the treks already in Peru anyway(!), we opted out of doing the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu (perhaps a tinge of regret will always hang over that one for me), and instead went up in a day on the train yesterday. The train takes four hours from Cusco (even though it must only travel about 30 miles!!!) up to Aguas Calientes, from where you get a bus up hairpin bends to Machu Picchu. The train we got was 'Backpacker Class', the cheapest one that tourists can get and it was FULL of us! Tens of coaches met us off the train to take us up to Machu Picchu and my suspicions that this must be one of the most touristy places on earth were all confirmed! There were crowds and crowds at the entrance once we got up there, too... Nonetheless, Machu Picchu has left a lasting impression. Its setting is incredible, perched on a ridge and falling away extremely steeply on both sides, all the way down to the tiny river and trains at the bottom on one side. The famous picture of Machu Picchu has Waynapicchu rising in the background and&nbsp;I was determined that we would climb it, knowing that Pete, Cal, Jo, Jonny&nbsp;and Graeme all had! It was well worth it: a hard climb up to sit at the tippy top, knowing that in several places you really had to watch your step so as not to just fall off the mountain. It happens, apparently. If it was England, nobody would be allowed up. Fortunately, it isn't (even if I do wish the restaurants here were all regulated by our health and safety laws!!). The views were fantastic and it was exciting being up somewhere so scarily high!We're back now and just about finished here in Peru. Tomorrow we're catching the train to Puno on Lake Titicaca. For once we're travelling during the day (the journey is supposed to be lovely). Yesterday we met a German-Austrian couple on the train who had hired a car and driven around Peru and got to see a lot more of the landscapes than perhaps we have on the night buses! (But then they hadn't been to the Cordillera Huayhuash!)Lake Titicaca lies on the border between Peru and Bolivia, our third country, and our fourth month. See you there. Lots of love, L &amp; S &nbsp;xxPS If&nbsp;it makes you feel better at this the beginning of November, the weather reports for Puno and La Paz are as cold and rainy as they are for you!!!<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860e/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/lindsandsimon/blog/peru/cusco&link=Cusco, Peru" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/lindsandsimon/blog/peru/cusco&link=Cusco, Peru" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386011/f/7277/c/321/s/11699726/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386011/f/7277/c/321/s/11699726/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/lindsandsimon/blog/peru/cuscohttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860d/story01.htmWe spent a couple days in Paris before we jumped on a flight back to the US.&nbsp; We stopped here once before over a month ago on our way from London to Interlaken.&nbsp; Over a month ago, that seems so weird to say.&nbsp; When we stopped before we spent the day at the Louvre and the Touleries?&nbsp; There are a lot of beautiful parks in Paris.&nbsp;This time we went to the Eiffel tower and took a trip to the top.&nbsp; All in all about two hours of waiting in line.&nbsp; You wait at the bottom, then at the second floor elevator, then to go back down, then one more time for the next elevator.&nbsp; Worth it for the best view in Paris?&nbsp; I think so, Lindsay would disagree.&nbsp; We walked down the Champs Elysee (though most of the stores were closed on Sunday) to the Arc de Triumph.&nbsp; We ate at a restaurant that Lindsay loved along the Champs called L'Entricott.&nbsp; Good steak frites with bernaisse sauce!!&nbsp;I got tickets for the Moulin Rouge.&nbsp; A little pricey since the movie came out, but it was a lot of fun and included a bottle of champagne.&nbsp;&nbsp; Before the show we had an amazing dinner at a little cafe that we found near the Moulin Rouge.&nbsp; Awesome duck and scallops for dinner and creme brulee and chocolate truffle for dessert.We're actually back in the US now.&nbsp; It feels really weird.&nbsp; It's a little bitter sweet, there are some things we missed while we were gone (like Gator Football), but now we're sad that it is over.&nbsp; If only&nbsp;I could get paid to travel!!!&nbsp; I've settled back into work and look forward to returning to several of the places we went someday, but not all at once.&nbsp; For now, I'll have to just look forward to seeing everyone and watching the Gator's and Bears have tremendous seasons.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860d/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/bporak/blog/france/paris&link=Paris, France" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/bporak/blog/france/paris&link=Paris, France" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386009/f/7277/c/321/s/11699725/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386009/f/7277/c/321/s/11699725/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/bporak/blog/france/parishttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860c/story01.htmToday was my last full day in India and I packed a lot in! I woke up early and jogged over to the queue for the Taj Mahal&nbsp;bright and early. Of course this is India so randomly one of the three gates (the one I picked to go to) was closed so I ran over the other gate but it made no difference - 6:00 or 6:05 there was no way I was going to be first inside as the book suggested (so you can hear the silence in the tomb - supposed to be stunning). There were tons of people in line. But we were all still in early and it was still nice to be there before it got too hot and while the light was still beautiful from the recent sunrise. The Taj Mahal is much hyped in all the books and poetry. I have to agree its beautiful and it is very obvious how much thought went into the design (like putting&nbsp;the Taj on a&nbsp;raised platform so when you look at it all you see behind it is blue (theoretically) sky or building the&nbsp;towers&nbsp;surrounding it just a little turned out so in case they fall they won't hurt the main mausoleum) and the detail in the marble and inlaid stonework is impressive. But it is just a mausoleum and a nice garden. Maybe I have a hard time feeling romantic about a gift of love build by a man who killed his older siblings to obtain his position. Call me unromantic. The Taj is worth seeing if you are in the area and a relaxing and tranquil place compared to the surrounding city. After a hearty brunch and a relaxing morning by the pool, I headed out for more sightseeing. Agra was the capital&nbsp;long before Delhi and has some great sights. I hired an air conditioned car and&nbsp;driver which made a&nbsp;huge difference.&nbsp;Much less hassle by hawkers and I came back not feeling totally exhausted. First I went out to Fatehpur Sikri which was a city built by Akbar who was the great architect and statesman who rule India in the 1500s (and the&nbsp;grandfather of Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal). Akbar&nbsp;designed many of the great temples in the area (including a tomb for his father which is said to be the inspiration for the Taj - it is located in Delhi), was the first to use marble (which is much cooler than red&nbsp;sandstone, by the way - good&nbsp;choice here Akbar!) and who moved the capital to Delhi eventually. Before&nbsp;moving to Delhi, Akbar built the city of Fatehpur Sikri outside where Agra is now. It is build entirely of red sandstone and is lovely. But&nbsp;the&nbsp;city's location was Akbar's one big mistake - there was not enough water to sustain teh city and it was abandoned after only 14 years. Today it is in great shape. You can see much of the palace, the outdoor parcheesi board where the emperor played with live 'pieces' and learned much about his guests by how they played, and the mosque which is still actively used. It was beautiful and interesting&nbsp;at Fatehpur but extremely hot. I see why the city was abandoned. I&nbsp;was so hot&nbsp;that I didn't even sweat, I was just dehydrating from the inside out like a prune =) I think the only time I've been hotter was in Chitchinitza, Mexico. But&nbsp;I had time to cool off in my air conditioned car (good choice today!) before we returned to Agra and I went to the Agra Fort.&nbsp;From this location many rulers ruled India over the years, most recently and famously were Akbar, his son Jahangir (apparently his&nbsp;wife really did the ruling though, he was reported to be a&nbsp;bit of a drunk), his grandson Shah Jahan (who built the Taj) and then his great grandson Aurangzeb who killed his siblings and imprisoned his father in Fort Agra for the last few years of his life. He was imprisoned in a tower in the fort so that he had a&nbsp;view of the Taj Mahal and could&nbsp;mourn his wife every day. - Great family stories huh? Makes Shakespeare look boring. Tonight I&nbsp;take the train back to Delhi but I won't even be in town for 6 hours before I head to the airport in the wee hours of&nbsp;the morning. I'll post some pictures&nbsp;and write one last journal with some memories of my trip when I get home. I do have fond memories of&nbsp;my time in each country and loved&nbsp;traveling to all of them. I learned so much from my trip, about myself (like that I don't really like traveling alone that much =) and how to be more patient) about&nbsp;the politics, geography, history, and social dynamics of this part of the world, and even about Australia and America. One thing about traveling is that although you go to see the interesting&nbsp;things abroad, you also learn alot and appreciate home. So its time for me to go home. I can't&nbsp;wait!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860c/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/stefanie/blog/india/agra&link=Agra, India" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/stefanie/blog/india/agra&link=Agra, India" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386007/f/7277/c/321/s/11699724/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386007/f/7277/c/321/s/11699724/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/stefanie/blog/india/agrahttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860b/story01.htmHi, We are in Koh Phi Phi now which is like paradise! It is a tiny little island and is it is really cute. The sea that surrounds the island is an absolutely amazing colour and it is surrounded by large rocks like the pic above. The film 'The Beach' was filmed on the other part of the island so if you have ever seen that you can imagine how beautiful it is here. The island got absolutely wrecked by the Tsunami but there doesn't seem to be much evidence of it now as everything has been built again. There is a lovely relaxed atmosphere to this island so it is only fitting that we are relaxing! We are staying at a nice resort that has a pool and is right on the beach front - the view takes my breath away every time I see it. Basically I love it here! Our last day in Chiang Mai was an interesting one. We got a tuk tuk and headed off to an area where they sell all the goods that are made in the area. We weren't exactly sure where we were going but the tuk tuk driver seemed to have an itinerary set out for us! Our first stop was the worlds largest jewellery shop - Mum would have been in paradise! There were people there making the jewellery and then they took us to the showrooms. Me and Caroline in our backpacks were looking decidedly out of place as we were followed round by the thai saleswomen. Some of the jewellery was ridiculously large and over the top and everytime we pointed at it to show the other one the salespeople would think we wanted to try it on! We didn't think we would buy anything in a million years but then the salespeople starting showing us things in our budget and i somehow ended up with a blue sapphire ring! It is lovley though and was cheap! Next we went to a place where they sold Parasols and umbrellas. That place was realy fun because the people that paint the umbrellas could also paint things on you. So I had a lovely elephant painted on the top I was wearing and a elephant at sunset painted on my backpack - it definitely adds a certain something! The painters were so talented and so quick, they look really cool. Then Mr Tuk tuk ferried us around to a few more places before we convinced him that we had had enough and managed to escape! After that we had our 12 hour overnight bus journey to look forward to! Luckily it was quite empty so we got 2 seats each so could spread out. We arrived back in Bangkok at about 5 in the morn which was weird as people were just going to bed after there nights out. We were dropped at the Kao San Road and it was really weird to see it so quiet without all the street vendors. After this we went to the airport to get our plane to Phuket which is one of the islands in the south of Thailand. We were pretty wrecked when we got there so we just had a relaxing afternoon by the pool and then headed out in the eveningi for a bit to see Patong. The beach looked nice and the place looked cool but we didn't really have the energy for it. The next morn we got a ferry over to Phi Phi and since then as I said we haven't been doing much. Loads of people tried to dissuade us from coming down here as the weather is supposed to be bad on the west islands at the moment but we have been lucky so far and have had two days of mainly sun. We are off on a boat trip tomorrow around the islands and to do some snorkelling so the weather is sure to take a turn for the worse for that! xxx<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860b/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/sarahmatthews/blog/thailand/koh-phi-phi&link=Koh Phi Phi, Thailand" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/sarahmatthews/blog/thailand/koh-phi-phi&link=Koh Phi Phi, Thailand" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386005/f/7277/c/321/s/11699723/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386005/f/7277/c/321/s/11699723/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/sarahmatthews/blog/thailand/koh-phi-phihttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28609/story01.htmWow, we're back in Canada. It's hard to believe that we are now embarking on our Canadian stint of the Fantabulous Trip. We lived out February 15th twice, as we boarded the plane for the 7pm take-off on that day. Of course, it was Air Canada, so we were late leaving :) We arrived in Vancouver at 7am on Feburary 15th. Just like the movie Groundhog Day! We had a nice time in Vancouver and got to see our friends--Carly, Fadi and Lucia. We also got to drink good wine and eat some delicious cake. mmmm...cake. The next morning we were off to Ottawa and we arrived at about 4pm. We're still catching up on sleep, but I think we've done quite well to get back on Ottawa time. It's been odd to be back in a city where we know the transit system, know places to eat, and can recognize the street people (although that last thing is a bit disconcerting, to be honest). Seeing the street people in the same places we saw them before we left has made us both realize how much we have been able to see and do over the past 10 1/2 months, while so many people lives didn't change at all. It's hard to describe the feeling. Since our arrival and recovery, we have been out searching for apartments. It's exciting, as it's the first time the two of us have actually looked together for a place to live! Can you imagine? But, that makes it just a bit more stressful as well. Luckily, we are having no problem finding potential places. The hardest part will be deciding which one we take! The housing market has opened up a lot in Ottawa, which is good news. It also helps that we're more grown up now (supposedly) and are willing to pay a little bit more. We also have a better idea of where we'd like to live. All of that helps. Hopefully by the end of this week we'll have our lease signed. Other than apartment hunting, we've just been visiting and going to all of the restaurants that we sat and drooled over while we were eating beans in Lesotho :) There are still more on the list, but that's okay. Something tells me we'll get around to visiting each and every one of them. Tonight Joel is going to a hockey game. *gasp* that means that we have to be apart for more than 10 minutes! I can hardly remember the last time that happened. On Saturday we head to Halifax for a couple of weeks. We come back to Ottawa for a few days to drop off stuff we had stored in Halifax. Then we'll load up on souvenirs and head West. If anyone wants to get in touch with us, e-mail is probably your best bet since we're sleeping here, there and everywhere over the next month and a bit. Hope to hear from you soon! :) m&amp;j<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28609/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/coteselig/blog/ontario/ottawa&link=Ottawa, Ontario" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/coteselig/blog/ontario/ottawa&link=Ottawa, Ontario" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386003/f/7277/c/321/s/11699721/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386003/f/7277/c/321/s/11699721/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/coteselig/blog/ontario/ottawahttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28608/story01.htmSo the last blog entry - On Mel's birthday we went to the pyramids. We took 2 camels around the pyramids and Mel wore her bellydancer headdres birthday present. As the camels sat down and stood up we both tried desperately to stay on! For dinner our lovely egyptian guide took us for a buffet at a restaurant where they were making a movie. We met Fifi Abdul - the most famous belly dancer - everyone was very excited she was there and we tried to be excited as they made us have a photo with her. &nbsp;We also visited a perfume makers befiore watching the sunset over the pyramids. Our last day saw us do some shopping around the market and finish reading our books in the park. It was sad it was all coming to an end. On our last day we got a cheap taxi to the airport and checked in 2 x 23kg bags, and had 2 x 10kg hand luggage but they didnt seem to mind. However they did mind that our ticket had the wrong date on. Despite us changing it online they said it had expired. Mel looked weepy and they finally did let us on the plane. The 6 hour flight was boring with no films or even a screen with our flight path. We arrived above london an hour early and then circled around the dome for abother 40 minutes! And then we were home after: 16 countires, 5 pairs of flip flops, 44 scuba dives, &pound;17,122 spent, 1 theft and 277 days away, Mel and stu x<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28608/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/melandstumissingyou/blog/egypt/cairo&link=Cairo, Egypt" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/melandstumissingyou/blog/egypt/cairo&link=Cairo, Egypt" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386002/f/7277/c/321/s/11699720/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386002/f/7277/c/321/s/11699720/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/melandstumissingyou/blog/egypt/cairohttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28607/story01.htmenough said. read the journal, enjoy<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28607/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/rachelklein/blog/spain/wish-i-was-in&link=Wish i was in, Spain" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/rachelklein/blog/spain/wish-i-was-in&link=Wish i was in, Spain" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386001/f/7277/c/321/s/11699719/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386001/f/7277/c/321/s/11699719/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/rachelklein/blog/spain/wish-i-was-inhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28606/story01.htm&nbsp;Had a great few days in Tokyo and now feel like I know the city pretty well! Had a great time when we went down to Tokyo bay! It was a fantastic sunny day so we had a great view over to the rainbow bridge and the Tokyo tower! Getting around Tokyo was pretty easy and Jo and me are now experts on the Tokyo subways and I think we must know most of the stops off by heart...the walking between tube stations has helped keep us fit anyway!Found that in Tokyo there is a&nbsp;definite&nbsp;trend with people's cats and dogs wearing clothing...yes CLOTHING!!! We even came across some shops which sold outfits for cats and dogs and these included fireman, squaddie and FROG outfits...BIZARRE but made us laugh alot!! Have even put a picture in the photos section to show one cute doggie we saw in fluffy pinky combat clothing!!! Enough on cat/dog clothing...We took a train to the Mount Fuji region where we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of the mountain and its snowy top on our&nbsp;way there...sadly as soon as we arrived the weather turned "Bognor" cloudy and the mountain disappeared behind dark clouds! Never mind we had a good day and&nbsp;when we did see the mountain for a fleeting second we were amazed how huge it actually&nbsp;was!!! A fab site!Today was my favourite day and I call it "Jens Japan day!!"..Got up&nbsp;very early and went to a fish...yes a fish market!! Was actually a real laugh and it was the biggest fish market in Asia (A fact there for you!!),&nbsp;so was a real experience.....never seen so many huge fish/crabs/lobster!&nbsp;The fishermen were even&nbsp;cutting up massive tuna fish bigger than me! And there were squid as long as my arm.&nbsp;Also watched sumo which was&nbsp;amazing and when&nbsp;I get back to Bognor perhaps we could organise sumo events.....just a thought!!!Looked around Shinjuku which is&nbsp;where you find the designer shops&nbsp;of Tokyo...was loving the Gucci shop and still cant believe we went looking around their lovely shop in our smelly travel gear!Loving the Japan vibe and the fun things they do! We travel back to Shanghai tomorrow by ferry (fingers crossed its smooth!)...we will next travel&nbsp;up to&nbsp;Beijing by&nbsp;over night train. In Beijing&nbsp;where we hope to visit&nbsp;The great wall of lovely China!!Send you more news and photos very soon!&nbsp;Lots of love to all,&nbsp;hope your all&nbsp;fine and cool,&nbsp;from Jen xxxxx&nbsp; &nbsp;<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28606/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/jenniedean/blog/japan/tokyo&link=Tokyo, Japan" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/jenniedean/blog/japan/tokyo&link=Tokyo, Japan" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386000/f/7277/c/321/s/11699718/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386000/f/7277/c/321/s/11699718/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/jenniedean/blog/japan/tokyohttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28605/story01.htmNy lyckades vi fa ihop det till att vi befinner oss i Cairns. Sa tekniska ar vi. Hur som helst har vi slagit oss ner i Thailand nu. Och till och med lyckats p**** in regnperioden. Men det gor oss ingenting. Har dragit med oss var hollandska van Anne som vi traffade nere i Melbourne. Tillsammans har vi inga problem med att fa dagarna att ga. Det blir mycket kortspel och paraplydrinkar nar regnet oser ner. Det galler att gora vad man kan. Och varannan dag har faktiskt solen skinit och vi stekt pa beachen. &nbsp;Om du trodde att Australien var avslappnat hade du fel. Eller ratt... det ar i alla fall annu mer chill har. Landade i Bangkok&nbsp;och&nbsp;akte dagen efter till Koh Samet, mycket trevlig o. Kostade oss hela 300 bth, med andra ord ingenting. Priset ar helt klart den storsta skillnaden nar man backpackar runt. &nbsp;Nu har vi hamnat i Koh Phi Phi. Har ar det lite mer party. Vilket ar bra. Vi gillar verkligen buckets, hinkar med drinkar. &nbsp;Efter detta blir det Koh Samui, Koh Pah-Ngang och Bangkok igen. Vi har totalt tre veckor pa oss. Very niiiiice. Det ar perfekt med ett litet stopp halvvags innan hemkomsten. Anne har tva veckor mer an oss och ska upp till Laos och Kambodja. Hade inte bangat men nu ar vi ratt glada att snart vara hemma. &nbsp;Tjing Tjong Langkalsong<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28605/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/mathandfrie/blog/queensland/cairns&link=Cairns, Queensland" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/mathandfrie/blog/queensland/cairns&link=Cairns, Queensland" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001385999/f/7277/c/321/s/11699717/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001385999/f/7277/c/321/s/11699717/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/mathandfrie/blog/queensland/cairnshttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28604/story01.htmThe name of the park sounds nice-Knotts Berry Farm, but they have some crazy rides there!! The ride in the photo is the silver bullet, and when we came off of it, i nearly fell over as i was so dizzy its crazy! We were dropped from 252ft which definately scares the crap out of you, and we went from 0-80mph in 2.5 seconds!They have a ride like that at thorpe park which is wicked, but this one has an extra rollercoaster bit on the end, just to scare us even more!We bought a photo which is funny, i look like im about tocry, and frank looks pretty normal! They had a few water rides, the best of which was perilous plunge, when you are in a boat and you go down a vertical slide thing, we got drenched! Looked like we'd been swimming! There was a ride called ghost rider which was good, but im not even kidding, i thought it was going to break! It was a wicked theme park, never been on such crazy and scary rides! It was only when we got back that Kyrstie told us about all the people that had dies on those rides, so don't think we will be going back there in a hurry!!It was good though! Yeaterday we went to Kyrstie's Grandparents house as they have a swimming pool and a diving board! It was wicked, but think we need to work on our dives, specially me as i was pants! We are off to a football (soccer) game this afternoon, so we will see if they are any good out here! Franks played a few times with Shane and his friends, and he says there not too bad, so we will have to see what this team are like today! Only a few days left till were back, ive seen the weather in England and its raining, not very impressed, never mind though!<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28604/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/franknbex/blog/california/knotts-berry-farm&link=Knotts Berry Farm, California" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/franknbex/blog/california/knotts-berry-farm&link=Knotts Berry Farm, California" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/franknbex/blog/california/knotts-berry-farmhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f0d/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cgrubi0Cblog0Cnew0Esouth0Ewales0Csydney/story01.htmHallo Leute, Mittlerweile bin ich nun auch schon zum Sightseeing in Sydney und Umgebung gekommen.Gestern war ich bei den Botanic Gardens, einem wunderschoenen Park in der Naehe des Opera House... Hier gibt es jede Menge bunter Voegel und eine tolle Pflanzenvielfalt direkt an der Pazifikkueste. Anschliessend waren wir beim Sydney Opera House und natuerlich bei der beruehmten Harbour Bridge, die wir am Mittwoch erklimmen wollen (ca. 200 Hoehenmeter, also ein ordentlicher Anstieg!!!) Anschliessend sind wir zum Whale Watching in See gestochen und mit einem Speed Boat auf den Pazifik hinaus gebrettert.Um diese Jahreszeit ziehen die Wale naemlich an der australieschen Kueste entlang richtung Arktis, wo sie ihre Jungen zur Welt bringen. Leider kann man diese &#34;Walwanderung&#34; im Vorhinein aber nie genau berechnen und deswegen kann es auch vorkommen dass man leer ausgeht (so wie wir). Wir konnten leider nur einmal kurz einen Wal zu Gesicht bekommen, der aber dann sofort wieder abtauchte. Dafuer haben wir aber jede Menge Delfine in freier Wildbahn gesehen, die neben dem Boot mitgeschwommen bzw. mitgesprungen sind. Abends haben wir dann das Nachtleben von Sydney erkundet und waren beim Darling Harbour, Sydneys urspruenglichen Hafen, der aber aufgrund der Groesse irgendwann ersetzt wurde. Heute (2.11.2009) haben wir den ersten Ausflug in Hinterland Australiens gewagt - zu den Blue Mountains (also den blauen Bergen). Die Blue Mountains besitzen ihren Namen von den riesigen Eukalyptuswaeldern, von denen sie umwuchert sind. Denn durch das in der Hitze verdunstenden Eukalyptusoels entsteht ein ganz eigenartiger blauer Schimmer (=Luftreflexion) ueber dem Hochplateau. Dort haben wir auch schon die ersten Kaengurus und Wallabys in freier Wildbahn gesehen. Fuer alle die vor meiner Abreise wissen wollten, ob Kaengurus (so wie in den Zeichentrickfilmen) boxen: NEIN! Die Tiere sind eigentlich ganz zahm und lassen sich (obwohl sie in freier Wildbahn leben) nicht aufschrecken. In den Blue Mountains hat man einem atemberaubenden Ueberblick ueber das Australische Buschland und die Eukalyptuswaelder. Wir waren bei den &#34;Three Sisters&#34;, einer sehr beruehmten Felsformation in den Mountains. Anschliessend sind wir mit der steilsten Schienenbahn (52 Grad Gefaelle) in Richtung Regenwald abwaerts gefahren wo wir eine Menge exotischer Voegel und Tierarten sahen....In einer Stunde hat es ca. 3 bis 4 mal geregnet (immer nur so ca. 5 Minuten). Darum heisst es wohl auch &#34;Regenwald&#34;.Ausserdam hat uns ein waschechter Australier gezeigt, wie man mit einem Boomerang zum jagen benutzt. Wenn man es richtig anstellt kommt der Boomerang wirklich wieder genau zurueck und man kann ihn mit etwas Gefuehl sogar wieder fangen (Mit eigenen Augen gesehen!!!). Ich will euch dieses Kunststueck natuerlich nicht vorenthalten und habe deswegen ein Video gefilm - siehe unter Videos... Tja...Das wars fuers erste wieder mal.Morgen geht es ab zum Royal Nationalpark und am Mittwoch steht SkyDiving am Programm... :-) Bis dann und G'Day mates -Andi<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f0d/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Sydney%2C+New+South+Wales&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fgrubi%2Fblog%2Fnew-south-wales%2Fsydney" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Sydney%2C+New+South+Wales&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fgrubi%2Fblog%2Fnew-south-wales%2Fsydney" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTgrubi_38http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f0c/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Csimonzach0Cblog0Cbelize0Ccaye0Ecaulker/story01.htmTekst mangler..<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f0c/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Caye+Caulker%2C+Belize&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fsimonzach%2Fblog%2Fbelize%2Fcaye-caulker" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Caye+Caulker%2C+Belize&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fsimonzach%2Fblog%2Fbelize%2Fcaye-caulker" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTsimonzach_4http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f0b/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Ckatia0Cblog0Cohio0Cperrysburg/story01.htmSaa er vi her igen :) Er dejligt naar der er en computer i huset vi kan skrive fra, saa skal vi ikke side og putte dollars i hele tiden. Vi kan dog ikke laegge billeder ind fra denne computer, men efter weekenden vil vi proeve at komme til en anden computer, saa i kan faa set vores billeder fra Perrysburg, Canada og Niagara Falls. Siden vi skrev sidst har vi spist dejllige kanel/rosin bagels med cremecheese i en bagelshop, faaet koebt billetter til oplevelser ved Niagara Falls, snakket med en dansk kvinde som har boet her i 12 aar og som arbejdede i den AAA foretning hvor vi koebte vores billetter. (Hun var godt nok overrasket over lige pludselig at hoere nogen snakke dansk...det sker vist ikke saa tit paa disse kanter!). Vi har vaeret i en kaempe stor butik som har alt hvad hjertet kan begaere (Target hedder den), hvor vi fik koebt en masse &#34;underligt&#34; men laekkert slik...og en masse andet vi ikke engang kan huske! Igaar (8.7.09) var vi ude og besoege min tidligere Highschool (Perrysburg Highschool) og det var en meget maerkelig foelelse at vaere der igen. Ingen af de andre havde jo vaeret der foer, og isaer for mor og Katrine var det sjovt at se det sted jeg har talt om saa mange gange. Der var sommerferielukket paa skolen saa vi kunne ikke komme ind, men vi gik rundt om hele skolen og kiggede ind gennem vinduerne. Om aftenen skulle vi vaere frivillige medarbejdere i en madshop til en baseballkamp mellem Toledo's The Mud Hens, og et hold som hed The Bats. Vi skulle hjaelpe Joan og Mike med at saelge mad og drikke saa de kunne samle penge ind til Mikaelas rohold. Vi ankom kl. 17.15 og skulle igennem staffindgangen. Allerede ved indgangen fik jeg (Katia) at vide at jeg ikke maatte arbejde da jeg havde sandaler paa, og man skulle have lukkede sko paa for at staa i en af boderne. Trist for mig :) Vi kom alle ind bag ved og de 6 andre fik forklaeder paa saa de var klar til at arbejde. Jeg startede med at blive hevet ud bag ved boden i koekkenafdelingen for at lave og pakke hotdogs (Troede ellers ikke at jeg maatte lave noget, men det maatte jeg saa aabenbart godt lidt alligevel!...de er lidt maerkelige de amerikanere). Imens fik de andre &#34;nye&#34; altsaa Mor, Katrine, Petre og Nils-Ole en guidet tur rundt i klamme hotdogs med maerkelige navne, ulaekre pommesfritter og en masse andet friturestegt mad. Mor skulle staa ved kassen og betjene den, paa trods af det hele foregik paa engelsk og at hun aldrig havde proevet det foer. Nils-Ole skulle staa for at skaenke Oel og sodavand op, Katrine var runner og skulle hente al det klamme mad som blev bestilt, og Peter stod for at skaenke sodavand op (Han maatte ikke staa med oellen som Nils-Ole da man skulle vaere over 21 aar). Efter at have faaet lov til at lave hotdogs, gik jeg ud og var saa heldig at faa en rundvisning af en soed dame som var en af cheferne. Hun ville lade mig faa gratis billetter til kampen og endda give mig en plads i en af boksene. Hun viste mig rundt oppe i VIP loungen, ind i boksene, ned i kaelderen til spillerne og deres batting range, deres kontor hvor jeg hilste paa de andre chefer og saa gav hun mig et fint saede og gav mig en kupon saa jeg kunne faa gratis sodavand, hotdog, chips og popcorn. Ret god behandling synes jeg, naar man taenker paa at jeg skulle have vaeret frivillig medarbejder og ikke havde betalt noget for at komme ind :) Men det var noget af en oplevelse for os alle...baaede for de 4 som stod i boden og knoklede, og for mig som saa hele baseballkampen (dog lidt kedeligt naar jeg sad alene). Der var plads til ca.11.000 mennesker paa Toledo's baseball Stadion, men de plejede at saelge 15.000 billetter til de store weekend kampe. Mange stod op hele tiden, saa derfor kunne de proppe flere ind end der var siddepladser til. Der var nok ca.5-6000 igaar, saa helt fyldt var der ikke, men stadig nok til at de kunne heppe igennem :) Idag sov alle laenge undtagen mig. Selv mor sov da jeg kom op, saa jeg blev helt bekymret for om der var sket noget. Hun var aabenbart traet efter at have staaet i kassen hele aftenen igaar :) Hen ad formiddagen koerte mor og Joan til The Quarry (Den badesoe vi var ude ved forleden dag), for at bade og faa lidt sol. Alle vi unge blev hjemme hvor vi gik ned til floden for at hygge og slappe af. Nils-Ole og Peter havde koebt en slangeboesse forleden dag i den store undendoersbutik vi var i, saa den skulle selvfoelgelig afproeves :) De satte et lagen op mellem to traer og haengte til formaalet indkoebte skydeskiver op som de skulle proeve at ramme med de kugler de havde koebt til at skyde med. De havde det rigtig sjovt og skoed og skoed baade paa skydesikver og paa tomme sodavandsdaaser. Katrine og jeg havde taget nogle blade med som vi hyggede lidt med inden vi gik op til huset for at lave nogle sandwiches til at tage med tilbage. Efter vi havde spist lagde katrine sig i solen med et blad og peter var traet saa han faldt i sovn ved siden af. Imens laerte Nils-Ole mig at skyde med slangeboessen og jeg blev faktisk ret grebet af det! :) Kl.15.30 gik vi tilbage mod huset for at goere os klar til at tage paa Farmers Market i Perrysburg. Det er et lille marked hvor folk staar i smaa boder og saelger groentsager, frugt, is, kager, broed etc. Det var rigtig hyggeligt og vi fik koebt lidt forskelligt ind til vores aftensmad. Vi var gaaet ned i byen og det var en god lang tur paa ca. 1 time. Da vi skulle hjem igen og var kommet lidt over halvvejs, kom Mike fra arbejde og samlede Peter, Katrine, Nils-Ole og mig op for at koere hjem. Han skulle have de to drenge med ud og skyde paa en bane i Toledo, saa vi skulle skynde os hjem og lave noget mad saa de kunne komme afsted. De naede dog aldrig maden inden de koerte, men stoppede paa en Mc Donalds paa vejen for lige at faa stillet den vaerste sult. Det varede dog ikke laenge foer de igen var tilbage hos os, for de skulle have haft ID med, og det havde de ikke...saa ingen skydning idag alligevel! :( Det var lidt synd, men nu haaber vi at det kan blive til noget paa tirsdag i stedet. Nu er klokken ved at vaere 23, og vi har brugt hele aftenen paa at smoere sandwiches til imorgen hvor vi skal tidligt op for at koere til Toronto i Canada. Naeste gang vi skriver har vi baade vaeret i Toronto og ved Niagara Falls, saa der bliver helt sikkert noget at fortaelle :) Vi satser ogsaa paa at i kan faa lidt billeder efter weekenden, saa det maa i gaa og glaede jer til :) God weekend.. Mange Knus Hanne, Katrine, Peter, Nils-Ole og Katia<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f0b/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Perrysburg%2C+Ohio&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fkatia%2Fblog%2Fohio%2Fperrysburg" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Perrysburg%2C+Ohio&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fkatia%2Fblog%2Fohio%2Fperrysburg" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTkatia_5http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f0a/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cstinahoulind0Cblog0Cphilippines0Cmindorro/story01.htmSå sidder jeg her på Coco beach hotel og venter på at komme afsted på HC Andersen (båden). Den har jo været stødt på grund og lægget i drydock indtil nu, det er første togt i et par uger. Så det bliver spændende:o) Men vi var jo på vulkan vandring i onsdags... Vi var afsted kl 5 om morgenen, og ligesom vi satte os ind i jeepneyen begyndte det at småregne! Vi var optimistiske og begyndte vandreturen op af vulkanen.. men regnen tog til... Så vi blev hurtigt gennemblødte! Vi nåede kun til base camp 1 i 900m hoejde efter 2,5 time og måtte så vende om igen! Vi nåede lige at have 20 min tørvejr og kunne sidde og slappe lidt af og tage nogle billeder før turen ned igen.. Fra base camp 1 - 2 vandrer man i en vulkanflod som I kan se på nogle af billederne, og det var mega glat! Så guiderne sagde at det ville være for farligt at gå videre! Skide ærgerligt, men sådan er det... Vi kom tilbage til vores hotel og jeg gik hen i centret og fik en ansigtsbehandling og en bodyscrub, ahhh... det var skønt!! Igår morges fløj vi til Manila igen og mig og Julie fandt en lokal bus, og med The Scorpions på karaoke anlæget, gik turen til Betangas, hvorfra vi kunne sejle til Puerto Galera. Vi tog en nat i Pueto Galera, som ved første øjekast var en super hyggelig lille havneby... Lige indtil vi lagde mærke til at der ikke var andet end hvide mænd med deres lille Filippino pige ved siden... Aaddr... Her til formiddag tog vi så en båd til Coco beach, som er et sted med KUN danskere... baaaa... selv tjenerne kan lidt dansk! Og stranden her er ikke noget at råbe hurra for heller! Vi er blevet enige om at det er godt vi ikke skal være her længere! Vejret her er et kapitel for sig... Øv, det er kun omkring 20 grader... og helt overskyet og små regner lidt ind imellem! Og blæser... Så der er nogle ordentlige bølger! På sejlturen hertil igår nåede jeg at blive lidt dårlig allerede:-( hmmm... det tegner ikke godt! Og det ser desværre ikke ud som om det kommer til at ændre sig de næste dage:o( Så kryds lige fingre derhjemme for at det bliver bedre;o) Nu vil jeg tage på krydstogt en uges tid:o)<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f0a/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Mindorro%2C+Philippines&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fstinahoulind%2Fblog%2Fphilippines%2Fmindorro" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Mindorro%2C+Philippines&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fstinahoulind%2Fblog%2Fphilippines%2Fmindorro" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTstinahoulind_9http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f09/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cstinahoulind0Cblog0Cphilippines0Cmanila/story01.htmSå er jeg tilbage fra cruise og har i dag vandret alene rundt i Manila. Lidt mærkeligt, men meget sjovt! Jeg var inde i et kæmpe shoppingcenter, og fik selvfølgelig købt tøj... lige lidt ekstra overvægt til flyveturen til Bangkok om 3 timer! Det er bare en kort blog nu, da jeg skal ud til lufthavnen nu. Men det var et fantastisk cruise og vejret var godt... der skal nok komme lidt mere herom senere! Men jeg har lagt lidt billeder fra de første par dage af cruiset, resten må I have tilgode!<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f09/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Manila%2C+Philippines&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fstinahoulind%2Fblog%2Fphilippines%2Fmanila" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Manila%2C+Philippines&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fstinahoulind%2Fblog%2Fphilippines%2Fmanila" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTstinahoulind_7http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f08/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cstinahoulind0Cblog0Cnepal0Ckathmandu/story01.htmSå sidder jeg her på kontoret efter min måske sidste yoga time i Nepal. Jeg har gået til Yoga to gange om ugen det meste af tiden hernede, simpelthen for at få rørt mig lidt… Da det ikke er nemt bare at løbe en tur hernede! Yogaen vare 2,5 time, hvor ca den første time er meditation og bøn, så er der vejrtrækningsøvelser og opvarmning, som læreren kalder ”vibrating dance” i 10 min, hvor det ellers gælder om at hoppe rundt og få alle dele af kroppen til at ryste, man ser ikke specielt smart ud… hihi og har lidt svært ved at holde masken når jeg ser på nogle af de ”garvede”, der lever sig 100% ind i dansen;) Men så er der ellers ca en time med forskellige yoga strækøvelser, og til sidst 20 min med relaxation (total afslapning). Her nævner hun dele af kroppen som man skal slappe af i, til man til sidst er helt afslappet. Der er en af de to andre der plejer at være der, hun falder i søvn hver eneste gang..hehe.. det slår ikke fejl, efter 3 min så sover hun:) Og vores lærer er lidt træt af det tror jeg… hun bliver ved med at sige ”Please focus your mind, do not fall asleep” (koncentrer jeg om det, fald ikke i søvn). Men hende her plejer at vågne igen når det er tid til at sætte sig op… meget mærkeligt! Men i dag vågnede hun ikke… da vi to andre sad op i meditationsstilling lå hun stadig og boblede videre.. hehe, der gik et par minutter, hvor læreren hævede sin stemme lidt inden hun vågnede. Ej, lige nu spiller de Abbas ”I have a dream” i butikken nedenunder… og den minder mig bare så meget om gamle dage hos mormor og morfar… og jeg ser morfar for mig skrue så højt op for højtalerne, at de er ved at sprænge… og så danser han ellers rundt med os:-) Tænk at jeg med det samme sangen startede, blev mindet om dette… Her i Nepal:-) Det er bare skønt, det måtte jeg lige skrive ned! Nå, men nok om Yoga. Jeg er glad for at høre at I kan lide at læse mine blogs derhjemme, det motiverer mig til at få dem skrevet… så har jeg også dem at læse når jeg kommer hjem. Jeg skriver desværre ikke dagbog, men her kommer nogle af mine små anekdoter ned på papir:-) Nu har jeg gået rundt her i over 2 måneder, og stadig står den samme irriterende sælger nedenfor trappen ved highlander og begynder på sin smørre… ”Trekking madam, how about rafting, jungletour, flight tickets!?” Tænker om han er blind eller bare har en dårlig hukommelse… jeg har gået op og ned af den trappe så mange gange, og har endda fortalt ham at jeg arbejder i highlander.. og alligevel bliver han ved! Utroligt! Tirsdag og onsdag var jeg på landet:o) Det var så dejligt! ”Søbogaard” som producerer saft osv derhjemme, de startede for et år siden en produktion i Nepal. Så en der hedder Heidi, har denne her gård, som minder om en gammel fransk vingård. Her bor hun med et par lokale nepalesiske familier, og sammen laver de økologisk landbrug og forsøg med, hvilke danske planter som kan gro i Nepal. Så de havde urtehaver med adskillige danske grøntsager og frugtbuske. Det var bare så hyggeligt og dansk… og så alligevel ikke dansk. Men jeg var derude fra tirsdag middag og til onsdag formiddag hvor jeg tog videre til Bhaktapur, som er den bydel jeg stadig manglede at besøge. Indretningen på Søbogaard var bare så dejligt, små hyggelige værelser og med fokus på økologi. Sengetøjet var lavet af soyabønner, blade fra bananpalmer og brændenælde. Det var så gennemført… og maden fantastisk, en masse slags grøn salat med nye kartofler i og kogte friskopgravede grønsager. Alt fra haven… Skønt! Det er i det hele taget ikke meget kød jeg spiser hernede.. der kan gå dage mellem jeg spiser kød, de har så meget lækkert vegetarmad! Onsdag var jeg så i Bhaktapur, så selvfølge det royale palads og alle dets templer… men jeg må indrømme at jeg er ved at få nok af alle de templer… så jeg var ikke helt god til at høre efter hvad guiden fortalte mig:o( Men da vi bevægede os væk og ud i gaderne, var det helt fantastisk… Så spændende at gå rundt i de smalle gader, med bygninger tilbage fra 1400tallet, og se hvordan de lokale levede. Og ingen biler og larm… SKØNT. Så det var rigtig dejligt at komme lidt væk fra Thamel. Nu her hvor det er min sidste uge jeg kører på har jeg brugt alt for mange penge… på især tørklæder. De har de lækreste tørklæder hernede! Og så regner jeg med, at jeg skal ud på et par børnehjem inden jeg tager herfra, det ene ejer en dansk kvinde, og bor der 5 mdr om året. Det andet er ejet af nogle tyskere, og jeg skal ud og besøge det med en 66årig dansk kvinde som også bor/arbejder hernede 5 mdr om året. En mega sej dame, hun arbejder med at hjælpe de aller fattigste i samfundet. Ved at stille garanti for dem, så de kan få lov at låne penge til at komme i gang. Så hjælper hun dem typisk økonomisk med at få bygget et lille ”hus” og giver dem en ged og en høne. Når hun er hjemme i Danmark samler hun så penge ind, bla ved at holde foredrag. Fantastiske mennesker jeg møder hernede, håber jeg får lyst til det samme når jeg bliver 66 år:o) Højst sandsynligt bliver min næste blog fra Thailand:o) Hav det godt så længe derhjemme….<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/7409f08/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Kathmandu%2C+Nepal&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fstinahoulind%2Fblog%2Fnepal%2Fkathmandu" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Kathmandu%2C+Nepal&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fstinahoulind%2Fblog%2Fnepal%2Fkathmandu" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTstinahoulind_3http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73b51c0/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0CBlaaSolskin0Cblog0Cspain0Clas0Epalmas0Ede0Egran0Ecanaria/story01.htmØv ... ja altså ikke til det her med at bo på en ø og hygge sig, men mere til det at jeg havde skrevet et dejligt langt indlæg om turen herned, som så forsvandt idet jeg postede det . Det er jeg ret træt af. Jeg ville jo gerne fortælle om den fantastistiske afskedsmiddag/Jettes fødselsdag, som vi holdte dagen før jeg tog afsted og om hvor nemt det hele gik på vej her ned. Om min overraskelse da jeg i flyet fra Madrid til Las Palmas (med Spanair :S - men statistisk var det vel det mest sikre selskab lige der?) besluttede mig for, at jeg da godt ville betale 9 € for dagens varme ret og stewardessen sagde &#34;It is Frikadelle&#34; jeg må nok have set en smule overrasket eller undrende ud, i hvert fald tilføjede hun &#34;Yes, that is a kind of hamburger&#34;, jo tak, det ved jeg da godt, stik mig sådan en satan - hvorend I så har fundet dem henne. Så jeg fik den mest kønsløse frikadelle jeg længe har smagt, med tilhørende brun sovs, som til gengæld var så salt, at man nok kunne bruge den som krydderi i sig selv (paella med safran og brun sovs?). Vel fremme i Las Palmas, med en bagage der ankom lige i det jeg kom ind i ankomsthallen, hviskede en lille stemme i mit baghoved &#34;Det er da godt nok gået lidt nemt denne gang, er det ikke?&#34; hvorefter min underbevidsthed gav stemmen ret og besluttede sig for, at jeg godt kunne undvære min telefon et par timer. Vi (min underbevidsthed og jeg) efterlod den på bagsædet af taxaen ind til byen, for spændingens skyld lod vi være med at opdage indtil 3 timer senere, hvor vi så i samlet flok gik lidt i panik. Jeg fik ringet rundt og til sidst kom et stk. meget flink taxachauffør tilbage med mobilen - det er pænt ærlige de Canariske chauffører, min flatmate Inês, fra portugal, har prøvet det samme. Og apropros flat, så er lejligheden rigtig dejlig, bygningen er gammel og vi har bittesmå myrer, men som Inês siger, så er det da bedre end Kakerlakker. Mit værelse er stort og pyntet med forskellige spøjse grønne ting som hende der boede her før efterlod, her er det som jeg skal bruge og jeg tror allerede jeg føler mig lidt hjemme. Måske er det alle ikeamøblerne, der gør tricket. De første par dage har jeg brugt på at komme på plads og vade byen tynd - så tynd at jeg på nuværende tidspunkt er bange for at lægge mig til at sove, i angst for at mine lægmuskler eksploderer i kramper, idet jeg lukker øjnene. Jeg har fået spansk nummer i djævlens tegn (666 til 200 tak) og så har jeg købt et dejligt kamera. Første indtryk af Las Palmas &#34;Gud, hvor er her grimt!&#34; - men den vinder ved nærmere bekendtskab, der er nogle virkelig smukke steder ude i byen og selvom jeg ikke så solen de to første dage, så har det nu vist sig at den rent faktisk eksisterer (og kan brænde mig igennem et lag faktor 25 - &#34;jamen Mette, så skal du jo huske at smøre noget nyt på igen efter et par timer&#34; &#34;Umf, jamen ja... det husker jeg så til en anden gang&#34;). I går var jeg på lang vadetur til den anden ende af byen hvor jeg blev hentet af Mette, en anden dansk pige, som er her i forbindelse med håndbold og studier (jeg tror også jeg vil til at spille professionelt håndbold, hun har jo bil og alt muligt til rådighed), vi tog en tur ned på sydsiden af øen og dasede i solen, indtil den anden Mette igen skulle til træning og kørte mig tilbage igen hvorefter jeg kunne vandre en ny vej hjem. I dag har jeg fundet Campus Tafira hvor mine 3 timers spanskundervisning dagligt begynder på mandag, det ligger ca 45 minutter med bus fra hvor vi er nu. Jeg endte med at tage derud med en polsk fyr, som overraskede mig ved at ringe i formiddags og præsentere sig som min kæreste i Las Palmas - det starter da godt. Men vi fandt hvad vi skulle finde plus en lækker Ferrari :D I morgen ved jeg ikke, hvad der skal ske, men jeg tror jeg får selskab af en ungarnsk (sig mig staves det sådan?) fyr, som kommer og sover på mit gulv inden han søndag skal ud og bo på campus. Dagen kan måske bruges på at ligge på byens strand som ligger 200 meter væk, solen er i hvert fald begyndt at vise sig og de siger det bliver bedre og bedre indtil engang i oktober. Det var vist det - jeg har sikkert glemt alt det interessante, men det kommer nok.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73b51c0/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Las+Palmas+de+Gran+Canaria%2C+Spain&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2FBlaaSolskin%2Fblog%2Fspain%2Flas-palmas-de-gran-canaria" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Las+Palmas+de+Gran+Canaria%2C+Spain&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2FBlaaSolskin%2Fblog%2Fspain%2Flas-palmas-de-gran-canaria" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTblaasolskin_10http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73b51bf/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Ctineoganders0Cblog0Cphilippines0Cpuerto0Egalera/story01.htmHejsa Saa er der mere nyt fra oestens sol og sommer. Vi kom vaek fra bjergene og det viste sig at det var et passende tidspunkt, da der kom en kraftig storm ind over den nordlige del af hovedoeen sammen dag, som vi tog derfra. Vi blev sat af i Manila af vores guide og derfra tog vi en bus til Batangas, hvorfra vi kunne tage en baad til Mindoro, hvor vi rigtig skulle slappe af. I Batangas var der regn og blaest og besaetningen var ved at aflyse turen pga. det daarlige vejr. Heldigvis havde vi soesygepiller - dette viste sig at vaere en god ide, da turen var et marreridt. Inden vi sejlde fra land, skulle de lige have fikset baaden for de skader den havde faaet paa den seneste overfart. Da vi kom paa baaden blev vi beordret til at tage redningsvest paa. Inden vi kom afsted havde en asiatisk kvinde naer os allerede 'ofret' sig 3 gange :o) Naesten alle, eller i hvert fald mere end halvdelen maatte toemme maverne paa den 2 timer lange sejltur, som normalt kun varer 55 min. 1 gang blev vi for alvor bange, der fejlbedoemte han en boelge. Baaden var oppe paa siden og kvinderne skreg. Det eneste Tine kunne taenke paa var, at hun havde lovet mor at hun ikke ville sejle, hvis det var daarligt vejr (undskyld) Vi kom i havn, gennembloedte men i god behold og med fulde maver...vi naede at sige tak for alt, saefremt vi ikke skulle nae frem..... Efter vi endelig kom i havn tog vi til vores nuvaerende resort - Campbells. Det ligger i en dejlig lagune, hvori vi snokler og nyder stranden. Det er lidt et dansker omraede, idet der ligger flere resorts som er ejet af danskere eller svenskere. Vi har i dag rekvirerede en lokal baad, som sejlede os ud til en oede oe, hvor vi har snorklet og badet - dejligt. Vi overvejer at tage videre, men indtil videre bliver vi her, da vi er meget usikre paa vejret. Haaber alle har godt og nyder ferie (dem der har det). Kh. Anders &#38; Tine.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73b51bf/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Puerto+Galera%2C+Philippines&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Ftineoganders%2Fblog%2Fphilippines%2Fpuerto-galera" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Puerto+Galera%2C+Philippines&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Ftineoganders%2Fblog%2Fphilippines%2Fpuerto-galera" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTtineoganders_8http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73b51be/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0CANJO0Cblog0Csweden0Cmalm0E1/story01.htmFärdigpackad. Har blivit mer och mer, att jag alltid väntar med packning till in i det sista men nu ligger allt på sin plats i min ryggsäck. Vandringskängor, termobyxor, underställ, fleecetröja, jag är redo att möta riktig kyla. Har lånat en dunjacka och laddat med kortlek, yatzi, böcker och proviant inför tågresan. Vad kan gå fel? Har en släng av resfeber och kommer ha svårt att somna, trots att jag måste stiga upp och ta tåget till Kastrup redan 04.22 imorgon bitti. Har inte hunnit tänka på den stundande resan förräns igår när passet kom med alla visum klara och stämplade. Är ganska bra att inte ha byggt upp några förväntingar, det brukar oftast bli de roligaste och bästa resorna, men jag är ganska säker på att detta kommer bli den mest annorlunda resa jag hittills gjort. Tror det är dags för lite kvällsmat och sen försöka sova. Ses i Moskva / Anette<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73b51be/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Malm%C3%B6%2C+Sweden&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2FANJO%2Fblog%2Fsweden%2Fmalm-1" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Malm%C3%B6%2C+Sweden&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2FANJO%2Fblog%2Fsweden%2Fmalm-1" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTanjo_128http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73b51bd/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cstinahoulind0Cblog0Cthailand0Cbangkok/story01.htmHej Derhjemme... Så fik jeg endelig tid til at skrive lidt igen:) Det er sgu et noget presset program jeg har her de 14 dage i Thailand... Men jeg skal ikke klage... får oplevet en masse! Det kan være jeg stopper lidt bræt hvis tiden pludselig er løbet fra mig - skal afsted med natbus kl 20 op nordpå til Umphang og på en 5 dages trekkingtur:-) Jeg vil lige starte med det der er klarest i hukommelsen, min tid i Bangkok indtil videre... Jeg bliver bombarderet med nye indtryk hele tiden, så det kan være lidt svært at holde styr på det hele:o) Men jeg ankom sent om natten sidste torsdag til Bangkok. Dagen efter havde jeg faktisk fri, og jeg var sammen med en anden serviceguide Ronni ude og spille badminton, og derefter smed vi os ved en pool... Så det var en super god start. Lørdag var jeg på sejltur rundt på floden Klong i Bangkok, det tog en halv dag... Det var en god tur, hvor vi sejlede rundt i Bangkoks flodsystem og så hvordan Thaierne lever deres liv ved floden. Vi så hvordan de boede, lige fra luksus villaer til 30 millioner bath (ca 5mio dk kr), til middelklasse, og ned til de aller fattigste der havde fundet nogle blikplader og banket sammen til et lille hjem. Det er utroligt populært at bo langs floden! Vi så hvordan de lokale sejlede rundt i deres små kanoer fra &#34;hus til hus&#34; og solgte hvad de nu havde at byde på... Nogle havde lidt bananer, andre et helt lille køkken ombord hvor de serverede nudler eller stegte ris... Super sjovt at se hvordan de lever og handler! Efter Klong turen tog jeg med Jack som er en lokal Thai serviceguide på Jysks guesthouse til weekendmarked. Enormt, kæmpe kolosalt marked, hvor man ikke kan andet end fare vildt! Alverdens ting blev der handlet der... Da jeg kom hjem til kontoret/hotellet om aftenen var det så tid til en bytur i Bangkok. Vi var 15 danskere der tog til Khao San road (som er stedet for fest, farver og backpackere) og festede natten lang:-) Lige til jeg skulle op næste morgen og afsted til Sea safari i Koh Chang Nationalpark. Jeg nåede at få en times søvn, inden jeg blev hentet kl 6 om morgen og kørt til Trat hvorfra turen startede. Sea Sarfari var også spændende... (synes jeg gentager mig selv lidt!?) Det er en fiskerbåd hvor der er plads til 16 personer, og man sover i opdelte senge med kun et tag over hovedet, ellers er der helt åbent! Lå på dækket et par gange om aftenen og kiggede op på den smukke stjernehimmel:-) Ellers var der ikke så meget andet at lave end at slappe af og bade og snorkle og se smukke strande! Det kunne dog ikke helt leve op til standarten fra Filippinerne:o) Brugte meget turen til lige at kople af og læse... det var rigtig deligt! I går aftes kom jeg så tilbage til Bangkok igen, og brugte aftenen til at prøve at få styr på min baggage og få pakket til de næste dages strabadser... I dag har jeg været på Cykeltur rundt i Bangkok i 5 timer.... Ja min første tanke var at det kan man da ikke... Og min anden tanke da jeg kom derud var hvorfor jeg aldrig har haft en cykel uden fodbremse.... Hi, det tog lidt tid at vende sig til at man skal bruge hænderne!!! Men det gik altsammen rigtig godt og det var en fantastisk måde at opleve Bangkok på:-D Vi cyklede kun meget kort på de helt store trafikerede veje, så kom vi ellers ind og cyklede på helt små gader hvor folk boede og havde deres små forretninger. Vi kom igennem hvor de aller fattigste bor, under en motorvejsbro... og en rakte ud og tog fat i min arm... det er aldrig specielt rart! Så sejlede vi over floden og kom hen i et grønt område hvor luften pludselig var frisk, der var kokos, og bananpalmer alle vegne og en rigtig dejlig park med en sø... det var fuldstændig stille, og man kunne slet ikke fornemme at man var midt i Bangkok!! Så der kommer jeg helt sikkert til at tage ud en gang imellem! Det har måske nok været lidt hak hak hak det jeg har skrevet... men nu havde jeg lige lidt tid, så måtte jeg få skrevet så meget så muligt:o) Cruiset i Filippinerne får jeg nok ikke skrevet så meget mere om... men har lagt billeder ind, og de siger jo det meste:-) Nu skal jeg afsted og kommer tilbage om en uges tid til Bangkok... Jeg skal på lake safari direkte efter de 5 dages trek! Hvor jeg skal sejle(for en gangs skyld) rundt på en sø i nord thailand og se nogle forskellige ting undervejs! hav det rigtig godt derhjemme!!!! Varme tanker herfra... Især til Kenneth der har fødselsdag:o) Tillykke med det brormand!!<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73b51bd/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Bangkok%2C+Thailand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fstinahoulind%2Fblog%2Fthailand%2Fbangkok" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Bangkok%2C+Thailand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fstinahoulind%2Fblog%2Fthailand%2Fbangkok" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTstinahoulind_2http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73b51bc/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cneki0Cblog0Cdenmark0Ccopenhagen/story01.htmHej Alle. S&#229; er vi hjemme i Danmark igen! Vi ankom ig&#229;r den 2.1.2008 kl.21.40 i Kastrup lufthavn, og hele vores dejlige familie var m&#248;dt op, og s&#229; Anne og Jesper, som havde v&#230;ret s&#229; s&#248;de at tage hele turen fra Hiller&#248;d til K&#248;benhavn :o) Vi havde en fin, men lang, flyvetur hjem fra Beijing, med et mindre stop i Wien. Da vi n&#229;ede Kastrup, begyndte vi at blive rigtig sp&#230;ndte p&#229; at komme ud og sige hej til de fremm&#248;dte, som ville tage s&#229; godt imod os :o) Desv&#230;rre blev min (Katias) bagage v&#230;k p&#229; vejen fra Beijing til K&#248;benhavn, s&#229; det var ikke s&#229; sjovt...is&#230;r ikke nu hvor det var g&#229;et s&#229; godt med at f&#229; vores baggage hele jorden rundt. Men v&#230;k skulle den alts&#229; blive, og et eller andet sted er det vel ogs&#229; at foretr&#230;kke at det blev i k&#248;benhavn, s&#229; er der da en chance for at den snart dukker op igen. Det h&#229;ber vi i hvert fald!!! Men det var dejligt at der stod s&#229; mange og tog imod os, og det var en m&#230;rkelig, men ogs&#229; dejlig fornemmelse at v&#230;re hjemme igen. Tusind tak til alle jer som har fulgt med herinde...det har virkelig v&#230;ret en forn&#248;jelse at l&#230;se alle jeres beskeder, og kunne se at i har kigget p&#229; billederne. Vi siger tak for denne gang, og h&#229;ber at vi med tiden kan udvide bloggen med flere billeder fra den store verden :o) Mange knus Nils-Ole og Katia<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73b51bc/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Copenhagen%2C+Denmark&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fneki%2Fblog%2Fdenmark%2Fcopenhagen" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Copenhagen%2C+Denmark&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fneki%2Fblog%2Fdenmark%2Fcopenhagen" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTneki_6http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73055aa/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Capaulhac0Cblog0Cnicaragua0Cleon/story01.htm12 fevrier 2009 Depart de Granada tot le matin pour arrivee sur Leon apres 3h de trajet et un changement de bus a Managua, la capitale. Leon est une jolie ville situee au nord du Nicaragua, elle fut longtemps la rivale de Granada. Ville coloniale egalement, la cathedrale au centre de la ville est la plus grande d Amerique Centrale. Et un charme certain se degage de l atmosphere ambiante. La ville fait plus authentique que Granada, certainement du au fait que les renovations sont un peu moins &#34;tape a l oeil&#34;. 13 fevrier 2009 Journee luge sur le volcan Cerro Negro non loin de Leon. Les paysages lors de la montee sur le volcan sont vriaiment magnifiques, la vue portant a l ouest jusqu au Pacifique, au nord et au sud, sur la chaine de volcans traversant le Nicaragua. Une fois le briefing termine, c est parti pour qq minutes de descente. La pente est assez raide et la vitesse grimpe assez vite.... Heureusement pas de chute, car sinon, gare aux brulures... Retour sur Leon pour une bonne soiree avant de prendre le bus demain matin, direction El Salvador.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73055aa/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Leon%2C+Nicaragua&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fapaulhac%2Fblog%2Fnicaragua%2Fleon" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Leon%2C+Nicaragua&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fapaulhac%2Fblog%2Fnicaragua%2Fleon" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTapaulhac_65http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73055a9/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Capaulhac0Cblog0Cfrance0Clyon/story01.htmRetour a Lyon le matin du 24 avril apres 2h de TGV depuis Paris. Ca y est la boucle se referme avec des souvenirs et des rencontres pleins les yeux et la tete. A quand la prochaine????<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/73055a9/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Lyon%2C+France&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fapaulhac%2Fblog%2Ffrance%2Flyon" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Lyon%2C+France&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fapaulhac%2Fblog%2Ffrance%2Flyon" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTapaulhac_61