TravelStream™ news feed for member dfericks on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/dfericks en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:09:22 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/3/1208193300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/3/1208193300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/3/1208193300/tpod.html Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:09:22 -0400 World Tour 2008 D.C., Israel, Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal, China, Japan

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cairns, Australia

Ah, Australia. I haven't gotten around to making entries city-by-city, so I'll do it now all at once. We leave for Vietnam tomorrow, so this seems like the last best chance for writing about our experiences in Australia.

We flew into Melbourne on March 18th and took a shuttle to our hostel in St. Kilda, which is a funky, up-n-coming area in southern Melbourne. Much of Australia is suffering from sever drought, especially the south. We found Melbourne to be quite dry. The lawns are dead and there's much dust in the air. We walked quite about around the city, although the tram system is very good. We checked out the university, which has a good reputation. The library in the city centre was our favorite part of Melbourne, which tells you a bit about the city's offerings. It's a somewhat boring place.



We took an overnight train to Sydney and walked from the station to the cafe where Andres' friend Jonathan works. He gave us breakfast there and the keys to his house a couple blocks away. For the next several days we stayed with Jonathan and his roommate Holly, who were very good hosts. Holly was away at a Zen retreat during our first day at her house. We spent mornings and evenings together like a family and went out with Jonathan some days and on our own others. We especially enjoyed the Sydney Symphony performance of Shostakovich's 8th Symphony and a modern composition by Lentz "Monh for viola, electronics, and orchestra" at the Opera House.



Jonathan took us to see the Blue Mountains about an hour outside Sydney by rail. The area is very beautiful with good hiking.


Our friend Audrey moved from Los Angeles to Sydney about a year ago. She is a travel agent and did a lot of work on our trip through Australia. She planned everything for us after Sydney, so we are very much indebted to her for this. We also enjoyed spending some time with Audrey and her boyfriend and friends. She invited us to go sailing on a yacht on which her friend works. This coincided with Andres' birthday (27 March). It was the last race of the season, and the great racing yacht Wild Oats took 1st place. Our yacht, the Gnak Gnak (sp?) took after handicap consideration. Hamish and Michelle, our hosts on the yacht, were quite wonderful to us and made the evening a highlight of our trip.


Audrey joined us for surf camp at Crescent Head about 6 hours north of Sydney. We joined a tour bus full of backpackers with surfing ambition driven by a surfer dude instructor. We enjoyed a full day of surfing in the sun with Audrey before leaving on an overnight bus for Byron Bay. We stayed only one day, but we enjoyed the beach town very much.


From Byron Bay we went to Harvey Bay near Brisbane, again on the bus, for a trip to Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island. We loaded a Toyota 4x4 with 10 people and enough camping gear and food for 3 days and drove onto the barge on Fraser Island. After a 50 minute barge ride we arrived on this dingo preserve island, nearly uninhabited except by campers. Unfortunately an arrogant brit in our group decided that he should do most of the driving, schedule making, and patronizing. His friend, a british girl, provided all the requisite bitchiness with some to spare. I couldn't have tolerated another day with them. But we made several good friends in our group, among them an English girl named Anna, a German girl named Tina, a Swiss girl named Leonie, and a Canadian boy named Connor. We camped at the beach for two nights, took turns cooking meals on our propane camping stove, 4-wheeled about on the treacherous roads, and spotted very many dingos. The island has at least two beautiful lakes with huge sandy beaches and a good bit of rainforest.


From Harvey Bay we took a bus to Airlie Beach from where we took a sailing tour of the Whitsunday Islands. These islands are in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef. They contain the purest silicone sand on Whitehaven Beach; this sand was used by NASA for the Hubble Telescope. We sailed on a maxi yacht, the Matador with about 30 other tourists and a crew of 4. We were able to do one scuba dive with the on-board instructor and several scuba swims. We ate and slept on board. It was pretty cramped on board, but enjoyable.


From Airlie Beach we took a bus to Cairns for the highlight of our trip to Australia, diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Andres was already certified, so he relaxed in the hostel and toured the town while I did my two days of PADI Open Water Certification class in preparation for the open water dives on our 3 day boat trip on the Reef. Unfortunately, the company Pro Dive was more interested in selling gear than educating. Many of my fellow students bought $300-$2,000 worth of gear before even entering the ocean. I am greatly disappointed that the instructors thought my safety was less important than their extra profit. We skipped chapters so that we'd have more time at their local store. I waited bored outside the store for an hour while the rest of my class eagerly bought up snorkels and fins, all of which were provided on the boat. This all ate into our classroom time. Our instructor Jason gave us answers on the test so that we'd pass in spite of skipping material. We boarded the boat 11 April. Andres began his Advanced Certification and I began the applied portion of my Open Water Certification. After 4 dives, we had both achieved our certifications and were ready to dive as a pair for the remaining 5 dives. Andres had an extra couple of dives because of his advanced certification class. He did two night dives, whereas I did only one. We swam with turtles, sharks, stingrays, clownfish, tigerfish, cucumbers, and many, many other species. It was fascinating and magical, rather like shrinking down and swiming in a dentist office aquarium. The Pro Dive boat was very comfortable. The food was amazing, the best food I've had since Israel. The crew was very good. Our instructors were on the boat with us, finishing our training. In spite of their sales zeal, they were good teachers and very entertaining. Jason talked many students into signing up for Adventure Diver Certification. Among the perks, swiming with a huge turtle on a special training dive. He didn't mention that the $150 course would preclude its participants from taking part in one dive. Again, manipulative sales tactics.


We returned from our diving trip yesterday and went directly to sleep. Today is our last day in Australia. We leave tomorrow for Vietnam.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/3/1206462960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/3/1206462960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/3/1206462960/tpod.html Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:39:20 -0400 World Tour 2008 D.C., Israel, Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal, China, Japan

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Washington DC, District of Columbia, United States

A wonderful three days with Andres in the power center where he's been interning for Mayor Villaraigosa's office.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/northamerica06/1155336840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/northamerica06/1155336840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/northamerica06/1155336840/tpod.html Fri, 11 Aug 2006 20:24:29 -0400 Rainforest, beach, overpopulated city, hometown, and lake resort

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

San Cristobal las Casas was a charming town. Churches are everywhere. Vendors intercepted us at every corner and cafe to sell us bracelets, belts, candies, ets. A young boy washed Andres' running shoes while we ate at a cafe in the zocalo while watching a jazz band play an open-air concert. Many of the souvenier sellers on the streets seem to be Mayan women who wear a very specific costume that looks very warm for the hot climate. We heard languages that we assume to be Mayan as well.

From San Cristobal we took a tour to Palenque. We used the Sol tour company, which I highly recommend. Our guide was excellent. We were a total of 12 tourists in the van, which picked us up at our hotel door. We drove through some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever experienced. I'm glad that I took a full dose of Meclixine HCl, because the winding mountain roads were adequate to cause motion sickness. Vendors approached our van as we passed the small villages along the roads. They tried to sell us the corn that was growing where the rain forest was cleared. Looking out at the hillsides, we could see that about 60% of the forest had been cleared for corn fields.

We stopped at two waterfalls where we got out to swim and take pictures. This was a highlight, as swimming in a tropical rainforest waterfall is quite a beautiful experience. Agua Azul was first, it is a series of small falls surrounded by lush vegitation. We found an out-of-the-way spot where we were alone with a nice Mexican family who was kind enough to take pictures of us. Misal Ha was second, it is one large fall. There is a path behind the Misal Ha waterfall that leads to a water-filled cave with bats and a waterfall of its own.

On to Palenque we explored the most ornate Mayan ruins. Here we were able to walk through the stone hallways that provided welcome shelter from the sun. The ruins at Palenque are surrounded by forest, but the areas between the ruins are developed for tourists with groomed pathways and planted lawns.

In the city of Palenque we said goodbye to our tourmates and caught our overnight bus to Tulum. The bus was about 2 hours late. Even after planning for the excessive air conditioning I found myself too cold to sleep. We arrived in Tulum at about 8:00 a.m. and took a taxi to our hotel on the beach where we met our friends Aimee and Karrie who are on their honeymoon. The hotel/resort in Tulum was astoundingly idealic. Simple huts with palm frond thatch roofs and no electricity. We had running water in the huts, but it was salty. Our 180 degrees of windows looked out at the ocean and beach. The water here is turqoise, just like you see in postcards from the Carribean. The sand is pale. Our resort had a private beach with swinging beds under thatch shades. The restaurant had live entertainment at night with simple music and a young girl doing a circus-style act on a long cloth hanging from the ceiling.

From Tulum we took two daytrips. The first took us to more Mayan ruins where we did some hiking and climbing in the sweltering heat and then drove to the Grand Cenote where we swam and cooled off. The next day we drove to more ruins just a few kilometers from our resort. These made for the best pictures, as they looked out on the turquoise ocean.

Yesterday we took a bus with Aimee and Karrie to Playa del Carmen, which is a huge tourist city close to Cancun. Here a huge prominade full of tourists is the main attraction aside from the resort-lined beach. Snorkeling, scuba, parasailing, waverunning, etc. are available in abundance, but prices are high. Aimee and Karrie came here to be closer to Cancun for their flight today, but Andres and I wished we had stayed in Tulum. We found some pleasant time here though. We ate and drank at a beach resort until we were asked to leave, as the facilities are exclusive for hotel guests. The beach here is even (not rocky like the beach in Tulum), and the water is calm. Our hotel is air conditioned, which is very nice after the hot huts in Tulum. But it does lack the charm of beach huts and the serenity of a simpler town. Tonight we will borrow our hotel's bycicles to tour the town. Tomorrow, more beach. And then we are off to Cancun to catch our flight back to Los Angeles.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/northamerica06/1154835060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/northamerica06/1154835060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/northamerica06/1154835060/tpod.html Sun, 06 Aug 2006 00:49:31 -0400 Rainforest, beach, overpopulated city, hometown, and lake resort

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico

On our last day in Mexico City Andres and I went to the National Museum of Anthropology. The museum is amazing and in a nice part of town by a park and a zoo. We were surprised to find Reforma Blvd. blocked even that far down. The campers have parked their tents for miles along this artery of Mexico City.

We just arrived from Tuxtla Gutiérrez to San Cristóbal de las Casas. We took an overnight bus ride (about 13 hours) to Tuxtla Thursday night. The idea was to sleep on the way, thus saving hotel money, but the air conditioning system dripped on my head, keeping me awake. The bus was very nice with reclining seats, baño, movies, & air conditioning ;) Our hotel let us check in early, so we took a nap and then went out to explore the town. Tuxtla has a good bit of live music during the daytime. We came accross 3 or 4 restaurant/bars away from the city center where live bands played under thatch roofs to relatively full houses. What a surprise for early on a Friday afternoon. Food was free with drinks, and the band where we were was very good. I still have "What´s Up," the 4 Non-Blondes song, going through my head after hearing it here. A clown was making balloon animals for the kids and the ceviche was pretty good. From the restaurant/bar we walked to the eastern (I think) end of the town where it meets the hills. We saw a double rainbow and got a good bit of exercise climbing the hills.

We awakened early this morning to make our way to Chiapa del Corzo from where we took a boat through the Sumidero Canyon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumidero_Canyon) which has the most amazing waterfall called El Chorreadero (see my pictures). The Cañon del Sumidero national park is quite an amazing rainforest park. I was not expecting it to be so luxurious nor so beautiful. It is well developed with a restaurant, swimming pool, aviary, a couple caged large cats, ziplines, kayaking, etc. Regardless of all this, the natural environment is mostly unspoiled (except for the thousands of plastic bottles floating in the river). We spent several hours there. We took the zipline, which was a lot of fun. The pool was fantastic. We then kayaked back to the El Chorreadero Waterfall to get a closer look. We weren´t supposed to go that far from the dock, but we couldn´t resist. We road back to Chiapa del Corzo in the rain and had dinner. Our waitress was exactly 11 years old. We ate while watching a procession, we think in veneration of a saint. There were loud fireworks and horse-drawn carriages. Then a large group was assembled to watch a very good performance by a xylophone quartet in the central park. We returned to Tuxtla by 7 or so and took a microbus to San Cristóbal de las Casas.

San Cristóbal de las Casas is a lovely, happening town. Just walking to the hotel at 10:00 we saw a good number of people in the central park, lots of open restaurants and bars, live music, and lots of people in the streets. The buildings are old, mostly from the colonial days. Our hotel is charming at an amazing price. Tomorrow we plan to relax and explore the town. Then we will move on to see more ruins in Palenque (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palenque).
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/northamerica06/1154564160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/northamerica06/1154564160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dfericks/northamerica06/1154564160/tpod.html Thu, 03 Aug 2006 15:30:54 -0400 Rainforest, beach, overpopulated city, hometown, and lake resort

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Mexico City, Mexico

Loving Mexico City! Andres and I are staying at the Mision Hotel Zona Rosa. We walk to a promenade with restaurants, shops, nightclubs, etc. Further, on Reforma Blvd., there are protests in support of Andres Lopez Obrador´s appeal for a recount. These protests are blocking traffic and slowing business, but they are making for interesting tourism. We had lunch today at a restaurant above the zocalo in the Centro Colonia where the old presidential palace and the main church are. There pictures of communist leaders hang over the marching protesters. The buildings there are very grand, especially the Catedral Metropolitana, which is the largest cathedral in Latin America. Earlier today we took a bus to the ancient city of Teotihuacan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teotihuacan). This tired us out pretty well, as the area of these ruins is quite large.

Mexico City has many beautiful places, and its streets are filled with pedestrians, vendors, and performers. The subway system is surprisingly luxurious. The trains are very quiet on their rubber tires and the station floors are mostly marble. Some long corridors we walked between trains today were lined with photos of human fetuses at different stages of development, microscopic organisms, and various reptiles, mammals, and birds. One section was dark and the ceiling had images of the major constellations. I´m surprised by the public luxuries in this city. The food is very good and inexpensive. The computer keyboard is confusing.

Hasta la vista!
]]>