| Mendoza- land of wine |
[23 Feb 2009|07:13pm] |
Gabriele and I arrived in Mendoza, Argentina yesterday morning after a 13 hour bus ride (Ritcey is getting 2 root canals in Buenos Aires and meeting us in Salta on friday). The bus this time was NOT like 1st class airplane. We got a cheaper ticket and it was pretty bad, the seats were smaller and they didn't give you blankets or pillows so we were freezing the whole ride.
Mendoza is so beautiful. It's the wine capital of Argentina, a beautiful city right at the base of massive mountain ranges. Wine vineyards stretch across the desert-like landscape and snowpeaked moutnains rise in the distance.
We discovered the most incredible buffet yet! It's all vegetarian and words cannot describe the amazing deliciousness of it!
Yesterday we walked around the city and went out to an irish pub in the evening. Today we did a wine tour. It was such a great experience. We visited 2 Wine Companys, one big factory and one small family owned & run one. We also visited an olive oil farm, which wasn't as interesting. We got a tour of the two Wine Farms and learnt how they make/prepare/age the wine. It was very interesting! We also got to taste 5 different types of wine and learnt how to properly taste wine. The country side is mesmerizing. The warm sunlight on the hundres of vineyards (there are 150 approximately) and various crops, mixed with the beautiful homes/buildings and the mountains in the background.. it was beautiful.
Tonight we are going to check out a little music festival, watch a tango performance and then go out to a club. Tomorrow our friend who lives in Mendoza and is a tour guide here will come. I'm excited because he is going to show us around etc. Hopefully some trekking soon!
Much love
|
|
| Via Argentina |
[20 Feb 2009|10:06pm] |
Hola!
We are now in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We arrived here on Monday from San Martin (a nice town in southern Argetina that has a nice banff sort of feel) after a 23 hour bus ride. The buses here are so pimped! They are 2 storys high and have huge comfy seats that recline 150 degrees, it's like riding 1st class in an airplane.
Buenos Aires is an interesting city. The city has a totally different feel depending on which part you are in. We booked a room at a hostel for the first night then moved in with a friend (American) we met in Chile. He was staying in a new 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with a pool! So we each got our own bedroom and got to stay for free in a modern building, it was awesome! We´ve been partying quite a bit here and eating lots. We try at least 1 new resturant a day and walk/explore the city. We went to the most amazing cemetary I have ever been to and saw Evitas grave. The cemetary is unreal, it is like a town for the dead and the tombstones are more like houses-some extending 3 stories underground. You can see the coffins in most and there are elaborate statues etc. I took lots of pictures! Today we moved out of the apartment and are back in the hostel. Ritcey has to get some emergency dental work done (2 root canals) so he has to stay here until friday. Hopefully Gabriele and I are going to Mendoza on sunday to meet a friend who has an apartment there and works as a guide. Then off to Salta for carnival etc. I really want to leave Buenos Aires, I am sick of the city and it's pollution. It is so hot and sticky here.. I can't think clearly, I feel kinda constantly tired, dirty and irritable.
|
|
| SOUTH AMERICA |
[06 Feb 2009|06:54pm] |
Greetings from Viña Del Mar, Chile!
It is 31c here right now and I am sunburnt (painful). This town is very nice! It is built up on the beach and many years ago it is where all the richest chilians built their mansions, so there are HUGE houses everywhere! There is even a castle on the hill overlooking the ocean. Gabriele and I saw the most insane house we have both ever seen, serioulsy looked like one of those unreal houses from the movies. It is really beautiful here!
I have been indulging since arriving, and it is helpful to know that all the other countries we will be visiting are much cheaper because I have been going over my budget almost everyday since arriving. I cant believe its only been 4 days, I feel like I have been here for weeks!
The last 2 days we went to this big buffet which had pretty much every food you could imagine! We ate sooo much, I feel disgusting really. The wine here is so good! You can buy bottles of nice wine (cono sur, gato etc.) for $3! And the beer is so cheap too! Its fun because Gabriele and I get really special treatment when going out, like VIP access and stuff.
Today we went to a neighbouring city of Valparaiso. A town that has gondola type things up the hills. The streets are kind of cobblestone like and the buildings are really cool and painted beautiful colours. I am constantly amazed by the archeiteture here, Jaymie I think you would like it. I had a bit of a scary experience here though. The guide books warn of theives and Valparaiso being kind of sketchy but it didnt seem any worse then any other countries I have been to so I wasnt worried. At one point Gabriele and Ritcey were walking a little bit ahead of me and I stopped to talk a picture of a dog with my canon camera and before I knew it a man ran up behind me and snatched the camera out of my hands. I griped it back and started reapeating no, no, no. The dogs started barking and Gabriele and Ritcey turned around to see what was happening. I wrestled with the man (who was more of a boy, probably around my age) for what seemed like a long time. We were fighting with the camera and I was trying to kick him. I just remember being really angry and thinking "No! There is NO way some stupid punk ass kid is going to steal my camera from me, especially while I am taking a picture of something as stupid as a Dog!". The kid saw Ritcey (who is a big guy) and realized I wasnt giving up without a fight and took off. It was quite an adreneliane rush! He ran away before we could catch him but we reported him to some very nice police officers. I have a little bit of scrapes on my knuckles, my arm hurts from my sunburn and him grabing it, my camrea view window was a little messed up (Its ok now though), I dropped my water and sunglasses but overall I am fine. We decided to stick really close when someone is taking a picture now. I am not worried, I am just more angry because I felt like this whole trip I have been so careful of my camera and it is frustrating for something like this to happen.
Anyways, I have having a great time! Tonight we are going out because its friday night and this is a very busy town so it should be fun! Tomorrow we are heading back to Santiago and then on to Cuico maybe.
|
|
|
[30 Jul 2007|03:13pm] |
Photos, as promised:
|
|
|
[30 Jul 2007|02:50pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 relaxed |
] |
I'm on Koh Tao right now enjoying the gorgeous beach (Although lately it's been a little dirty). My days consist of getting up, laying on the beach, eating, swimming, sleeping, reading and either watching a movie in the evening or watching the fire show. Tonight is the full moon party on Koh Phangan so everyone has headed over there and Sairee beach is slightly peaceful.
The other day I got a new body modification.. I'm not telling what it is, you'll have to wait to see when I get home.
I could stay here forever if it weren't for visas and such other issues.
Chuckdee
|
|
|
[13 Jul 2007|01:53pm] |
A lot of moving around in the last month.
From India to Bangkok to Cambodia and now in Laos.
Too much has happened for me to write it all out so I'll just make this short.
I'm in Luang Prabang right now. Missy left last night and the girls I was traveling with just left this morning so I'm doing the solo thing for a while. Some girls I meet are on a trek but should be returning tonight or tomorrow so I'll hang out with them for a day or two. On the 17th I am going to Vientene, spending one night there and then taking the bus to Bangkok. After spending one day in Bangkok I'll head down to Koh Tao for some (well deserved) beach time.
It's been strange lately that I've been missing home. I haven't missed home at all the whole 7 months I've been gone and somehow it just hit me. I feel like I'm missing the beautiful kootenay summer while I'm sitting here in the monsoon spending lots of money moving around. Getting e-mails from all my friends and hearing of all their lovely summer adventures doesn't help either..
When I'm back in thailand I'll post some photos.
Take care everyone.
|
|
|
[05 Jun 2007|03:41pm] |
|
A lot has happened since my last update and I typed out a big detailed entry including everything but just as I was finishing the entry the computer I was on shut off and deleted the whole thing. So this semi-brief description of current events will have to do.
I am 19 now. Craziness. My Birthday went awfully wrong but was still slightly enjoyable just because of how eventful it was. It just so happened that the only day there was a huge strike and protest while we were in Nepal was on my birthday. Roads were blocked and we had a water bottle thrown at us and sticks waved at us. My 19th birthday was spent on the back of a motorbike driven by a Nepali guy dodging strike lines, sitting alone in a tea shop on the side of a dusty highway in the middle of nowhere and in the hospital watching Missy get 7 stitches in her knee. The remainder of our time in Kathmandu was spent shopping then we took a local bus to Varanasi. The bus ride was awful, really.
Varanasi was great. I loved the city, the ganges and the narrow alleyways. It was hot though with temperatures reaching 48 degrees on the ghats.
From Varanasi we planned to take a train to Agra to see the taj mahal and then go to Delhi. We found out when we got to the train station with all our luggage (we each have 2 backpacks and a massive shopping bag that could fit each of us in it) that our train was canceled due to the situation in Rajasthan. We ran around the station trying to arrange a last minute train to Delhi but all seats were taken except in the woman's carriage- the lowest class. We decided to go for it and endure the 12.5 hours in the lowest class. The benches were hard wooden and the fans were minimal, it was an overnight train expected to arrive in Delhi at 7:30am the next day. The night was pretty bad but nothing compared to what we were about to endure. At 7:30am the train stopped in the middle of nowhere. No one in our carriage spoke english so they couldn't tell us what was happening. Missy and I sat in the hellish compartment for 7 hours not moving, not knowing what was going on, without food or water, in the hottest part of the day (serious heat!), under fans that barely worked. We wet our face clothes and put them on our neck and face to cool down a bit but it was so hot that the water was warm. When felt dizzy and were afraid we were getting dehydrated so we got the husband of one of the women in our carriage to get us water from a nearby source and we used water purification tablets to make it drinkable. It was absolutely awful. When we finally arrived in Delhi we had to get our mass of luggage to the hotel, another hassle.
We have been in Delhi awaiting news on the situation in Rajasthan. We planned to go to Jaislmer, Jodpur and Pushkar but because of time we are only able to do Pushkar now and no Camel Safari, a serious disappointment. The riots in Rajasthan have been resolved as of yesterday, this is promising news.
Here are links to the news in Rajasthan:
BBC
Rajasthan calm
Yesterday Missy and I got dressed in Sairees and took a day trip to the Taj Mahal (slightly dangerous we realize now with the Rajasthan situation going on). I have never had so many pictures taken in my life, not even at grad. It was exhausting but, once we were finally left alone for a few seconds and could look at the Taj, it really was a surreal experience.
Tomorrow we meet with an Indian woman for a few days then it's off to Pushkar. My bank account is getting dangerously low, this worries me.
|
|
|
[19 May 2007|11:16am] |
Right now I am in Pohkara, Nepal. I just returned from a 4/5 day trek in the Annapurna Himilayan mountain range. It was so incrediably gorgeous! It is very moving to be in the valley's and on the ridges with such massive mountains cradling you. The trek was not easy! We did 5-7 hour days of straight trekking waking up at 7am. The trials are not like those in the mountains at home either, they are made with rocks (which is stupid because it is much harder to walk up the rock paths than it is to walk up a dirt path) and go straight up very very steep for one whole day then the next day you will be walking down a really steep path into the valley. Going down hurts just as much as going up because it is so steep. It was exhausting but over all an amazing experience and on the last night of trekking we went to some natural hotsprings which were sooo nice. Kris and Sarah are doing a few more days trekking but Missy and I came back to Pohkara yesterday.
So the plan is for Missy and I to spend a few days in Pohkara then we're heading to Kathmandu for some shopping and then we are going back to India. I am excited to go back to India but soo nervous because the temperatures will be absolutely ridiculous esp in Rajastan which is a desert. It's off season though so hopefully we'll be able to get AC rooms cheap. We are looking at temperatures in the high 40's, around 46-52 degrees! To make this worse women in India have to cover up and wearing a Salwar in that heat is going to KILL! We will probably spend about 3-4 weeks in India and then fly to Thailand and go into Loas, Vietnam and Cambodia then back to thailand to hang out on the beach for a little bit before flying home.
The more I see the more excited I get. Lately I have been thinking a lot about home because the town I am in is around the temperature Nelson is in the summer and it's on the lake. I'm not missing home I'm just reminded of it. I've been feeling really excited lately. I just can't wait to move more and see more!! Different landscapes, archietexture, faces, cultures and climates.
My birthday is also approaching soon. I am the last one of the group to turn 19 (we all had our birthdays while travelling). I am slightly excited to turn 19 but nervous because it feels like such a big change. 19 sounds so much older then 18. I am hoping I am not somewhere too hot for my birthday, I'm not sure what Missy and I will do for it yet, depends where we are.
|
|
|
[10 May 2007|06:12pm] |
I meet up with Missy and Jaymie and the three of us explored the Kathmandu valley a bit. It was nice but unfortunately we didn't see much of the views because it is not the season. So I am back in Kathmandu with Sarah, Kris (It's his 19th today!), Rob, Polly and Missy. We were planing a rafting trip for tomorrow but the plan fell through because of cost and thrill issues. The current plan is for Missy and I (maybe Kris and Sarah too) to head to Pohkara tomorrow. From Pohkara we will do a trek to some hot springs and maybe go rafting. Shopping is too good here.
My camera is full so I got all my photos put onto 3 disks. I am going to delete them off my camera now but I am nervous because all my photos are on these disks that I now have to pack around and hope nothing happens to them. I am working on posting some of the photos but it's not working out so far.
|
|
|
[03 May 2007|03:11am] |
A lot of travel has happened since I last updated in Kolkata. I won't get into describing it right now but the gist of it is that we went from Kolkata to Darjeeling. It was so nice to get out of the intense heat and be in the mountains. For Sarah's birthday we stayed at a fancy hotel and had a big picnic, then the next morning everyone except Sarah got bad food poisoning resulting in us not leaving our beds for a few days. From Darjeeling we got a permit for Sikkim and went to Gangtok and Yuksam. Sikkim is absolutely beautiful and so preserved. You don't feel like you're in India when you're in Sikkim. We did some hiking and did an intense trail from Yuksam to Khecheopari lake and back. We spent one night at the lake (it is considered a buddhist holy lake) which was really peaceful until the Indian tourists showed up.
After a 7 hour jeep ride and 17 hour bus ride from hell, Sarah, Kris, Rob and I have arrived in Kathmandu. It's so nice here, it's like India but mellowed out and the shopping is amazing! Let me tell you, driving in the Himilayans requires a lot of trust.
My camera has ran out of space so I'll be getting the pictures transferred to a disk and then post some.
Right now I am working on meeting up with Missy and Jaymie. Keep you all posted.
|
|
|
[03 Apr 2007|04:58pm] |
|
Kolkata "alone" has been so amazing. I have meet so many beautiful people, it is truly inspiring.
I sleep in a dorm room with 3 other women at the moment. The building is very old and the paint chips off the walls at night so in the morning I wake up with little chunks of paint stuck all over my face. The heat here is getting unbearable. In such a heat every smell on the crowded streets is intensified. It was 42 degrees today and the humidity is so intense that you are always sweating. I don't remember the last time I actually felt "clean".
I've starting to volunteer at Mother Teresa's home for the dying. I spend the morning from 8am to 12pm at Kalighat (home for the dying). Mother Teresa converted an abandoned Hindu temple into a free hospice for the poor that called Kalighat-home for the dying. Working here has been beyond words. I have tried to think of the correct words that would describe Kalighat but no words can truly describe a home full of the broken, torn, weak, deformed and struggling poor who come from the streets to die. At Kalighat I work with other volunteers to wash laundry, beds, dishes, feed people and distribute food. You wouldn't believe the physical states of some of these people, it's incredible.
In the evenings I, along with a few others, climb to the top of an old hotel on Sudder street in Kolkata where we do an evening yoga class on the rooftop. It is so relaxing and the perfect wind-down to the day. After yoga I normally go out for dinner and a lassi with Rob and Pablo (the yoga instructor).
It's too hot to think clearly right now, this is all I can manage to write at the moment.
Love love love to you all
|
|
|
[27 Mar 2007|07:00pm] |
India
Cha tea cups litter the streets, walls are stained red from men spitting, the smell of urine, sidestepping human waste and garbage, beggars grabbing your arms, crowds of people constant crowds, heat, honking, honking and more honking.
I am getting used to it and I don't go to bed extremely exhausted from it anymore.
We went to the Kali temple yesterday and wow, was that ever interesting! We were so confused but luckily a very sweet young Indian woman saw us and, after watching us for a while, helped us. We threw 3 flowers in the gate at the Kali goddess (one for us, one for our mother and one for our father). It was so narrow and crowded-chaos. In this semi-organized chaos we were dragged around by an India man and this sweet Indian lady (she had already seen the goddess but she can again to help) walking in dirt, water and colours in our barefeet (no shoes allowed). It was an intresting experience and I am very greatful to the sweet Indian woman.
Kris and Isaac leave tomorrow which mean I will be alone for 9 days. This will test me but hopefully I will come out stronger in the end.
On the 6th we go south to the Sunderban tiger reserve. Then on the 20th we (minus Isaac) go north to Darjeeling and then into Nepal to Katmandu.
I want to take pictures of everything here. It is all so colourful, new and beautiful is a strange way. I haven't taken many pictures yet though, I've been too overwhelmed and self conscious of my camera. Here are a few I have taken:
|
|
|
[23 Mar 2007|06:50pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 excited |
] |
I've arrived in India! The airport went smoothly and I didn't even have to show them the copy of the credit card or anything, just the e-ticket. I am very impressed with jetairways. I am currently in Kalkutta with Kris and Sarah. It is so nice to see Sarah! It's way hot here and the worst part is that I have to wear long pants and a long shirt. The culture shock isn't bad at all, so far it's a lot like Bangkok but dirty, older and culturally different. People urinate in the streets and today Kris and I saw a man walking around completely naked downtown. The pollution here is pretty bad and I never feel clean. There is so much honking and the driving is crazy. So far I am really enjoying India, the beautiful colours and new things to see. It's so cheap too, cheaper than thailand.
Mmm, you can get such good samosas here for only 5cents canadian.
I am sleeping on such a dirty bed. I hope my hair doesn't catch anything (Sarah has lice).
Yesterday Jasmin, Isaac and I went to MBK mall in Bangkok and took a tuktuk. The drive was madness. I swear we were going to tip or get pinched between two cars, and on the way we witnessed a motorcycle crash.
Oh yeah, I've stretched my ears bigger (20mm now) and I am now losing my tan (I had quite a nice one from the south).
|
|
|
[21 Mar 2007|11:50am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 frustrated |
] |
I have just spent a great 4 days in Pai. We hung out with great people, meet loads of new people and made some really nice connections. It was a great to be back in Pai and while I was there I meet two people who are flying to Kolkatta around the same time as I am. I have their e-mail addresses so I will probably meet up with them there.
Right now I am in Bangkok with Jasmine and Isaac. I am just waiting on my India ticket and getting more and more frustrated with it. It just doesn't seem to want to work out! I finally receive what I think is the e-ticket and now it won't let me download the ticket so this means I can't print it. I am not sure what's going on but I don't have much time left and it's really frustrating me. Kris is meeting me in the airport in Kolkatta on the 23rd so this ticket has to go through. Argh! Why won't it just work?
|
|
|
[16 Mar 2007|12:20pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 annoyed |
] |
Pai has a way of sucking you in and holding you there. I finally escaped after 8 days and now I find myself going back again for another 3 days. It's tricky that way, just when you think you're done with it it somehow pulls you back. Valleys have a way of doing that to you.
I have now spent 9 days traveling by myself. It's much more expensive not splitting room costs with someone. I am done with it, I want to join the group again. What I'd really like to do is go to Sukhothai but no one is into traveling there at the moment and I only have 6 days until I plan to fly to CCU, so that will have to wait until another trip. Isaac, Rebeca, Sydney and Emily are in Pai so I am going back until the 19th when I will come back to Chiang Mai and then bus down to Bangkok for the 20th or 21st. I have a lot of traveling ahead of me for the next few days.
I am really concerned about costs. argh.
Furthermore I have learned that people are unreliable. You can really only trust yourself. But I think I already knew that.
|
|
| Visa run (long entry) |
[14 Mar 2007|08:25pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 exhausted |
] |
Today was not easy on my wallet.
I did my visa run with a mini tour bus which was expensive but I figured it would be the easiest. I caught the bus at 7:30am this morning with 3 other tourists. After a 4.5 hour drive we arrived in Mae Sai where we were to do our border run, however when the driver pulled over in the busy street he said "You have 1.5 hour" and nothing about our visa. Among the tourists was a 24 Canadian guy I befriended and we thought this was a 1.5 hour lunch break before the instructed visa run. We were wrong. We got back in the bus 1.5 hours later and drove about 5km out of Mai Sai when I realized we were supposed to do the visa run ourselves! We got the driver to pull over and the canadian guy and I got out. We caught a taxi to the visa gate where we did our run. So now we were stranded in Mai Sai after we had payed 600 baht for a one way ride! We decided to go to the bus terminal and catch a bus to Chiang mai. We caught the cheapest bus back and arrived in Chiang mai at 7:30pm. It was a long day..
As soon as you arrive in the boarder town you are approached by women in rags with small children on their backs holding their hands in a prayer-like position begging to you. There are also little boys who follow you begging saying all the english they know (hello, good morning, thank you, 25 baht) and occasionally they hit your arm with their dirty hands. Most people don't acknowledge them, an effective way to get rid of them, however I find I can not do this. I feel so horrible not acknowledging another creatures presence that I have to at least look at them or say "no sorry" which doesn't do me any good because them they beg even more to me.
My eyes are in constant pain. They are always watering and they feel as though I haven't slept in days (when in actuality I have been getting plenty of sleep).
For the first time since recovering from food poisoning my last time in chaing mai (dry heaving and all that good stuff) I can finally eat thai food again!
The smoke from the burning here is starting to bother me. I can really feel it affecting me so I think I will head to Sukhothai on the 16th and then to Bangkok on the 20th. My plan is to fly to Kolkatta on the 22nd. I am planning on meeting Sydney and Emily in the next day or two and travel with them until bangkok, it will be nice to be in a group of familiar people again.
|
|
|
[09 Mar 2007|10:08pm] |
I am still in Pai, my stay has lasted much longer than I thought it would. Gabriele has left and I am alone for a few days. It's nice to get a bit of space but I am also looking forward to being with a group again. Besides, you're never really alone here, every time I leave my bungalow I meet people and hang out with them.
My plan is to leave Pai on the 11th for Chiang Mai and hit up the night market. On the 12th I will stay in Chiang Mai and arrange a minibus for my Visa run (I will try to do it in one day, a round trip). On the 13th I'll do my Visa run and have to pay 500 Baht for staying over one day- yikes! Then on the 14th I will meet Emily and Sydney in either Chiang Mai or Pai and from there we will travel for a few days and I will work on my India ticket (I may have to buy it online, in which case I'd need your help Mom).
I am starting to worry about my money situation. I have been spending way more than I planned to. If I am not spending money on food (it's so cheap here it's hard to resist) then I am shopping and buying so many things I don't need. I hope India will balance out my spending because the way things are going my trip won't last as long as I'd hoped!
This is Pai:
 
|
|
|
[06 Mar 2007|08:58pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 anxious |
] |
Right now I am in beautiful Pai
The Nelson of thailand where you can hike through the jungle for a couple hours and end at a beautiful waterfall that is not infested with tourists and enjoy the river, live music, open jams, dreadlocks and run into an elephant walking down the road.
Gabriele is heading south tomorrow or the next day and I will spend a few days to a week by myself. I am nervous but kind of excited to do this.
I am really enjoying the north of thailand, it's so nice to be surrounded by some culture and people who actually want to see thailand not just party like in the south. I do miss the beaches though!
My passport is in Bangkok right now working on my Indian Visa which poses a bit of a problem because I need to do a Visa run on the 12th into Myanmar but I don't have my passport until the 13th.
I am also having trouble booking my flight to India because of price issues but thankfully Kris has agreed to help me out and hopefully I will get a cheap ticket. I will probably be around the 22nd of March or so alone into Calcutta where I will meet Kris.
Much love to you all! Watch your mailboxes for the postcards I sent!
|
|
|
[28 Feb 2007|02:50pm] |
Quick update:
Tonight Gabby and I leave Bangkok for Chaing Mai! Exciting!
I am trying to work out my India plane ticket but it's tricky. I don't want to arrive in India alone but I am not sure I can cordinate it with the boys (they each have a different ticket date).
|
|
|
[27 Feb 2007|07:35pm] |
I am in Bangkok with Gabriel and David right now.
I am still exhausted from the 13 hour bus ride. I was the only white person on the bus (it was full) but luckily a thai woman who spoke english and helped me (and bought me "thai fruit"). The taxi ordeal in bangkok was heel but it doesn't matter because I am here now.
Today we went on the river taxi, skytrain, to a shopping mall and the imax.
I will write more later and respond to comments but now I am tired.
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
|
|
|
|
