Trip: Dalama Round the World Journey 2007-2008
There are [381] stories from my trip: Dalama Round the World Journey 2007-2008
MYANMAR | Thursday, 17 May 2007 | Views [2538]
Today we met more beautiful people in the villages- I continue to be blown away by how welcoming, selfless, and generous the villagers are - despite their impoverished living conditions. They light up when we see them, their huge smiles, bright eyes, ... Read more >
Tags: Culture
MYANMAR | Wednesday, 16 May 2007 | Views [1381]
We headed out on a two day trek into the Hilltribes of the Kalaw region. En route, we were lucky enough to experience the local fresh market in Kalaw, that occurs only once every 5 days. The market was amazing. The streets were lined with hilltribe ... Read more >
Tags: Culture
MYANMAR | Tuesday, 15 May 2007 | Views [1144]
We sat, fully awake, yet exhausted and wishing we could sleep, until the first crows of the roosters woke up the villagers where we had stopped. All the men, in their macho strength egos, got out of the bus to literally "push" the bus to jump ... Read more >
Tags: On the Road
MYANMAR | Monday, 14 May 2007 | Views [2699]
In an effort to stick to a budget, and also not partake in the government transportation system, we opted to take the bus from Yangon, north to Kalaw. The difference in cost Bus- $10/pp; Train- $40/pp; Air- $100/pp. The bus was pitched as an "Express"... Read more >
Tags: Misadventures
MYANMAR | Sunday, 13 May 2007 | Views [4148]
After two fun nights in Bangkok with very little sleep, we left our friend Scott at the airport, as we parted ways for separate flights. He was heading back to San Diego, and we, onto Yangon, Myanmar on a 45 minute Air Asia flight. You don't ever hear ... Read more >
Tags: Budgets & money
THAILAND | Saturday, 12 May 2007 | Views [1060]
The majority of Thais are practicing Theravada Buddhists. Everywhere you go in Bangkok, you see the yellow flags of Buddhism flying proudly. There are sections of neighborhoods and street dedicated to vendors selling Buddhist paraphernalia. My personal ... Read more >
Tags: Shopping
THAILAND | Friday, 11 May 2007 | Views [906]
It's easy to see why there's a thriving black market for US dollars in countries where the local currency is weak. We're preparing for our trip to Myanmar, and we are only able to use US dollars there to pay for goods and to also buy their currency on ... Read more >
Tags: Budgets & money
THAILAND | Thursday, 10 May 2007 | Views [752]
The streets of Bangkok are alive, and crawling with street vendors. While there are formal restaurants, the bulk of people are walking the streets with their chopsticks and little styrofoam containers of pad thai and fried rice. Street vendors sell ... Read more >
Tags: Food & eating
THAILAND | Wednesday, 9 May 2007 | Views [907]
The day and age of real time travel planning from the comfort of your computer makes life so easy, and spontaneous. The well wired airport of Hong Kong is the bom; having run out of time to get a place to stay our first night in Bangkok, we had no worries.... Read more >
Tags: On the Road
HONG KONG | Tuesday, 8 May 2007 | Views [689]
We spent the evening catching up with our friends Nandita & Anant and their beautiful sons, Shiv and Valmik. They had been to San Diego years ago to visit us, and we had ventured down to Mexico for a lobster dinner at Puerto Nuevo... only to get ... Read more >
Tags: Friends
HONG KONG | Monday, 7 May 2007 | Views [901]
We have had the most efficient, easy experiences with embassies here in Hong Kong, making our visa and passport transactions quick and seamless. We got our Myanmar visa in 3 hours. It would have taken us upward to a week to get it done in Bangkok. ... Read more >
Tags: Travel Tips
HONG KONG | Sunday, 6 May 2007 | Views [2704]
It's been over 10 years since I spent really good time on the ground as an expat in Hong Kong, and only a couple of years since my last quick business trip back. Stepping off the airport tram, our pace was shocked into fast forward, as hundreds of commuters ... Read more >
Tags: Friends
INDIA | Sunday, 6 May 2007 | Views [794]
Darrin, fully confident with his braggable accomplishment of not having fallen ill to the city spoils, is stricken with the stomach bug during the wee hours of the morning, and I come down with it a couple of days later (delayed reaction as I had already ... Read more >
Tags: Misadventures
INDIA | Saturday, 5 May 2007 | Views [777]
The streets come alive and are crawling with activity. We're staying in a local neighborhood of Karol Baugh, northeast of the city center. People hurry to their street jobs; rack of clothing are set up on the streets like a Nordstrom sale, advertising ... Read more >
Tags: On the Road
NEPAL | Friday, 4 May 2007 | Views [1309]
I've been in some pretty bureaucratic airports, but I'd have to say Nepal takes the cake for king of bureaucracy. We leave for the airport 3 hours before our flight, which in normal traffic, the ride should take about 20-30 minutes. Lucky for us we ... Read more >
Tags: Airports
NEPAL | Thursday, 3 May 2007 | Views [1128]
Uma's sister Rama is another woman creating an exciting niche for her and her family. Her husband, Mr. Bishop Joshi from the Kanti Children's Hospital, has the opportunity of taking on foreign students at the Institute of Medicine and working residency ... Read more >
Tags: Culture
NEPAL | Wednesday, 2 May 2007 | Views [2552]
I am humbled today, as I spent the day with two women who took their time to share with me their world here in Nepal. First, I must mention, that these women understand and have sought to rise above the cultural and societal barriers to women in Nepal.... Read more >
Tags: People
NEPAL | Tuesday, 1 May 2007 | Views [1232]
Before leaving on our trip, we registered with several international security information sources to ensure we would have access to good information to make informed decisions on trip routing, and course corrections or changes needed along the way. Nepal ... Read more >
Tags: On the Road
NEPAL | Monday, 30 Apr 2007 | Views [2634]
Today was temple tour day... we headed out to the Bodhnath Stupa, a famous Buddhist stupa built after AD 600. We saw Buddhists and Hindus here, circling the stupa in a clockwise fashion. It was interesting to see the different types of worship... there ... Read more >
Tags: Culture
NEPAL | Sunday, 29 Apr 2007 | Views [1746]
A point of realization - traveling in developing countries is not a bargain deal, unless you get yourself out of the thick of the tourist area. Prices are quite often quoted in US Dollars, and no cheaper than what we'd pay in the states. However, seeing ... Read more >
Tags: I should have known better!
NEPAL | Saturday, 28 Apr 2007 | Views [804]
We take the bus from Pokhara to Kathmandu this morning, with about 25 other passengers. The bus rides are scary here, as we wind around the steep cliff-sides. It often feels like either the bus will topple over the edge, or, we will hit one of many ... Read more >
Tags: planes trains & automobiles
NEPAL | Friday, 27 Apr 2007 | Views [793]
It's always really fun to get familiar with the bargaining rituals in a new country. Initially, it can be a bit overwhelming, but once you do a few "practice" bargains, it becomes rather entertaining. One aspect that is especially humorous, is how the ... Read more >
Tags: Shopping
NEPAL | Thursday, 26 Apr 2007 | Views [919]
We have crossed the finish line yesterday afternoon, and are resting our weary bodies in Pokhara. In the scuba diving world, before rising to altitudes after being far below sea levels, we take staged decompression stops, to allow our lungs & oxygen ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
NEPAL | Wednesday, 25 Apr 2007 | Views [879]
Village life is a tough life. Most of the guest houses are second homes for rich Nepali Gurkhas. Gurkhas are soldiers are the creme de la creme of the British army, who still to this day, maintains a recruiting center outside Pokhara. The guys who ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
NEPAL | Tuesday, 24 Apr 2007 | Views [869]
One would think the descent from ABC, to the place we finally call the finish line (Phedi), would be pleasingly downhill and relieving. Not the ABC trek. At points you plunge 1000M, only to go back up another 1500M. Today was especially brutal. The ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
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