a entry by Helene a Bamako from a trip to Didieni, Mali.
Aujourd’hui était la première fois que 2 taxis différents tombaient en panne en 24h! Par contre, ce n’était pas une première pour moi de se perdre 2 fois dans la même journée! Mon copain peut vous en parler. Pour ma défense, c’est tellement difficile de s’orienter ici et aujourd’hui c’était toute une aventure se rendre à des endroits de Bamako qu’on ne connaissait pas. Une chance que mon ami, le tailleur Touré, chez qui je suis allée porter le tissu acheté au marché, a pu nous aider!
Vous n’en croirez pas vos oreilles, mais la vie est chère pour beaucoup de choses au Mali. Par exemple, ...
a entry by To The Moon... from a trip to Durban, South Africa.
I'm writing this from home in Knoxville since Greg's hopefully sleeping in Durban by now and since he mentioned that he may not have internet for a few days. He phoned just after his arrival with the following news:
He arrived to Durban around 11:30pm (4:30pm EST). He missed his connecting flight in Johannesburg and had to take a later flight. After the 19 hour plane trip, he's tired, sore and a wee bit smelly. He still sounds excited to be there and his accomodations are beautiful and they overlook the beach.
He and some of the other conference attendees were taken by airport ...
a journal by To The Moon... from a trip to South Africa.
Welcome friends and family! Enjoy our blog and keep in touch while we are away! Greg will be attending a student conference in Durban, SA during the week of July 6th and our vacation begins July 12th. We hope to hear from you all!!!
a journal by Stinsons on Vacation from a trip to Italy.
So!! We're here!! We got in a little late; the plane left late from London as some people didn't make their connection and the pilots waited for a bit, then looked for their bags and took them off. So we arrived out of customs with our suitcases into Calvin's waiting arms (ha ha) around 11pm Rome time.
We have had our tour of the beautiful apartment, had a drink out on the terrace, and are heading for bed. Big day tomorrow - we're heading down to city centre to have some cappachino and croissants and see the Pope!! It's very warm and humid here; we'll need sunscreen, hats, and water ...
a entry by jfraz from a trip to Christchurch, New Zealand.
Okay so here i am Christchurch!!!! dun da da dun dun dun dun DAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! wooooooooooot! i get off the plane finally here no more flights for a while. in NZ you have to fill out a card stating your not taking in anything thats not allowed. items such as fruit, veg, hiking boots, wood, fur, loads of stuff your not allowed to take in you could get a fine from $200 to $100,000 i mean a high risk item is an apple!! pffffffffffft whatever so i say i dont have anything and hand then the card ( i had hiking boots but i wasnt gona bin them in the quarantine bins so i prayed and got through okay) ...
a entry by jfraz from a trip to Sydney, Australia.
so im in sydney i get off the plane and go through security, this security lady comes over to me when im getting my bags xrayed, shes like unlucky for you mate come with me! (what..) i go into this room and they make me read this leaflet. ( you have been randomly selected for explosive trace scanning??) so whatever i say yes, cos if i dont they wont let me continue my flight to christchurch. i get this weird tracer thing brushed over my hands then i get a feel up check. im approved then i move on.. lol okay so then i wait about 20minutes and continue onto my plane and make forth for ...
a review of Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, a thing to do in Cusco, Peru.
Trekking the Inca trail was to be one of the main highlights of our trip to South America. Every year it gets so booked out that you need to book this trip months in advance. For this time of year it was booked out 6 months in advance. But there is a good reason, trekking the Inca trail is an amazing experience. There is so much natural beauty in the area as well as interesting archaeological ruins that makes it well worth the cost and the forward planning.
The Inca trail took 4 days and 3 nights to eventually reach the main attraction, Machu Picchu. This is also known as the lost city ...
a journal by Baker Family from a trip to Brazil.
Business called in July to the Jungles of the Amazon
a entry by Suzie Barnes from a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
What a shame it raining whilst I´m in one of the most beautiful cities in the world! When it rains it pours here, so I really haven´t seen much so far.
You have to be really careful when you walk around Rio, as there is a lot of crime. The murder rate here is 700 per month! You´re told not to carry any valuables on you and to handover anything if confronted, as they´re certainly not scared to use their weapons. Despite all the warnings though I´ve felt quite safe walking around at night.
Next stop Ilha Grande which has some of the best beaches in the world, then back to Rio de ...
a entry by coffee from a trip to Mammoth Lakes, California.
drove from berkeley to mammoth lakes... went to bed around 3am after checking in at the hotel.
a journal by coffee from a trip to United States.
Started out as a spontaneous 4 day, 3 night backpacking trip...
"Mais ce qui va nous manquer le plus sera probablement les fruits et les legumes qui goutent tellement"
a entry by MJB from a trip to Boquete, Chiriqui.
2 juillet 2008, mecredi, La bouffe a Boquete
On mange peu au resto depuis que nous avns loue notre maison. Et on mange bien ce qui nous a fait maigrir un peu depuis notre arrivee a Boquete. Il y a le Romero, un supermarche a Boquete, qui est ouvert 24 heures sur 24 et quelques petites boutiques de bouffe "pour les etrangers". Mais ce qui va nous manquer le plus sera probablement les fruits et les legumes qui goutent tellement. Ananas, tomates, bananes et carottes sont nos preferes. Ca fait longtemps que nous avons pas mange de pommes parce qu'elles coutent tellement plus cher que les ...
a review of DOCKSIDE GRILL, a place to eat in Sequim, Washington.
Dockside Grill is my favorite place to eat, anywhere! It is right on the water down at John Wayne Marina. What a beautiful marina, also.
We started off with the best Calamari appetizer that we've ever eaten, which had a spicy dipping sauce that was perfect. We had Almond Champagne that is now my favorite champagne, my husband doesn't like champagne, but he ordered another split, he liked it so much! They have a great wine selection, and also a great Martini called the "Blue Hole" which is too easy to drink. It was named such, because pilots would fly in a cloudy sky, and right below ...
a journal by Julie & Charlie from a trip to The World.
We thought we would put together a web page to make it easy to keep our friends and family updated on our travels! Enjoy!
a entry by 6Continents6Weeks from a trip to Battambang, Cambodia.
I really wasn't sure why we were going to Battambang or what there was to do in Battambang. It was a stopping point on the "dancing road" to Bangkok. Speaking of the highway, it turns to dirt and mud about 50 KM outside of Phnom Penh. We rode in a 12-seater bus and bounced and swerved and avoided oxen, goat, farmers, etc. At a certain point, I had to laugh it was so ridiculous. We were very lucky with the weather and no rain. For when it rains, the passengers get to step out in the mud and rain and push the bus. Alas, we arrived safely thanks to our driver Mr. Lucky.
There's not ...
a entry by Fretless from a trip to Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
Supposedly this first leg will be 670 miles/1075 km. Elizabethtown, a town of 24000, is the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky. Moreover, it is the Elizabethtown of "Elizabethtown" the movie. Who knew? http://www.elizabethtown .com/home.html
The innkeeper tells me it's a "dry" county. I could not imagine, in the state so famous for its bourbon, that there would be anywhere dry, but here it is, right here in E-town.
More to follow when I actually get there....
"il devrait a meme temps creer une loi pour proteger les femmes seules"
a entry by MJB from a trip to Boquete, Chiriqui.
1er juillet 2008, mardi, La quinceañera
Chaque semaine on peut ecouter un film (en espanol bien sur) dans la cuisine de notre ecole. Cette semaine c'etait "La quinceañera" un film americain dont l'action se passe a Los Angeles a Echo Park dans la communaute mexicaine. La quinceañera c'est en fait la fete de 15 ans d'une fille qui dans le monde "latino" a une signification speciale: c'est l'age auquel une femme passe de son statut de fille a celui de femme. Le film etait tres bien et nous etions contents d'etre restes tard le soir a l'ecole pour l'ecouter.
Ca nous a permis aussi ...
a review of Blue Pumpkin, a place to eat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
While I am a huge advocate of eating the local ethnic food, the chocolate fondant cake with homemade vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce is perfection. I drool just thinking about that warm light little chocolate cake paired with cold ice cream all the time now. It's the best thing I ever put in my mouth. The restaurant is centrally located, air conditioned, extremely hip and cool with excellent Khmer and western (French influenced) food and free internet wifi. Around 4 PM, the bakery downstairs reduces the price on a selection of pastries that will otherwise go stale.
a entry by Peter/Gayle from a trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
hi everyone,
Last week we took to the road and headed to Pennsylvania. Now this is a pretty state with it's rolling hills, cornfields, and farms with silos and big red and white barns. Driving along highway listening to country and western music as riders on Harley Davidsons passed us by, was a great experience. I saw a dead skunk....and of course yelled out...'there's a dead skunk!' To which Peter responded by saying, 'was it in the middle of the road, stinking to high-heaven?' hehe.
We arrived in Gettysburg and visited the Civil War Battlefields on the 1st July. Our timing was ...
a review of FCC Siem Reap, a place to eat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
This setting for this club for foreign correspondents is an off white mid-century building with clean long lines, large shutters, and a great place to grab a cold beer.
On this particular day, Tim and I got caught in a quick but very heavy downpour. We were forced to go upstairs on the balcony to enjoy another round of Beer Lao - a Laotian beer. Our tuk tuk driver waited for us patiently on the sidewalk with an umbrella until the rain stopped and we finished our beer.
a entry by Eva.C from a trip to London, England.
well,this is my 3rd day in London. anyway,i just wanna express my feelings that i pass thru the immigration..ohh..i am so relieved.the flight for 12 hours are so boring.. my itineray on the plane was eating, sleeping( a little),writting letters, and daydreaming + watching alittle movies. then yesterday me and my sister are planning for our trip to europe and wow even the hostels are so espensive mainly because i converted it back to Malaysian dollars. but to some other travellers like US or Australia, it might be cheap, i guess.It's around 20-100 euro depending on which hostels or budget ...
a review of Freedom Hotel, a place to stay in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
By now, I really get what "responsible travel" is all about. It's about supporting local businesses and charities that are all committed to improving and making their community a sustainable and a better place to live and visit.
The Freedom Hotel is a reputable 3-star accommodation that is run by a local Khmer family. Aside from the delicious and inexpensive breakfast with fresh tropical fruit, I totally appreciated the pool on the premises. It was like a refreshing oasis for the group after hiking through the temples in the heat.
"Sunburns and Snowflakes on the 4th of July"
a entry by Traveling Kings from a trip to Red River, New Mexico.
Happy Birthday, America! We decided to celebrate in high style by attending two parades and a fireworks show.
Our plan was to leave the house at 9:00 for the 10:00 parade in Red River. We pulled out at 9:20 (we think we’re getting better with age) and pulled into Red River about 15 minutes later. We found a great spot at the starting line of the parade. The people are so friendly in Red River, not that we met any locals. We have heard that the population is 400, but all of the tourists seem very personable. We have found that when we wear our O-State orange, we tend to make a lot of ...
a review of Soup Dragon, a place to eat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Another advantage of going on a trip to such a remote place is going with a tour leader who knows the restaurant scene. Wednesday night is 2-for-1 frozen margarita night at the Soup Dragon which has a very cool roof top restaurant on "Pub Street". While we sat upstairs and enjoyed our drinks and authentic Khmer food, we watched a thunderstorm roll in and drop the temperature a munch needed 15 degrees.
The margaritas rival Lauriol Plaza in Washington, DC with a fresh tart lime flavor and quality tequila. After 2 long hot days at the temples, those margaritas were perfect, especially with ...
"A cooler, a suitcase and an i-Pod"
a entry by Fretless from a trip to Charlestown, Maryland.
Just how do you plan a 3000-mile (4793 km) road trip with an 86-pound/39 kg yellow lab and an 8-pound cat? There have been as many logistics involved with this task as there were when planning for my walk across Spain last summer.
Together the two pets weigh less than I, but they each account for about twice the baggage. Of course, I have the luxury of eating in restaurants, and don't usually carry around a 20-pound bag of Human Food, convenient as that might be.
And then, there are accommodations along the way. "Pet-friendly" is the key word. But, often, pet-friendly means ...