TravelStream™ news feed for member lisajarrad on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/lisajarrad en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:13:52 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/2/1213808520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/2/1213808520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/2/1213808520/tpod.html Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:13:52 -0400 Canada

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Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

After returning to Vancouver from Victoria, the same afternoon we headed for Whistler on the mighty Greyhound bus. The drive was amazing through the mountains and we saw plenty of snow caps for the first time in Canada. We loved Whistler from the get go, apart from the long walk up the hill to the hostel. It was a bit out of town but it was one of the best hostels we've stayed at. It was an old log cabin style mansion up on the hill. Whistler is a fairly samll town yet very cool and modern located a couple of hours north of Vancouver and wedged in the middle of the Coastal Mountain Ranges. They were even skiing in the middle of summer. Crazy!We stayed 6 days in Whistler and on one of the days we hired bikes and cruised around the lakes and most of the local area. We even came face to face with a black bear riding along next to the golf course on our way back to the hostel. He was only small, but still big enough for both of us to cake our pants and hit reverse on our bikes. He didn't care about us one bit and just walked around us before we rode off. There are signs everywhere in Whistler about it being bear country so we were watching our backs all day every day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/2/1213075980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/2/1213075980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/2/1213075980/tpod.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:34:19 -0400 Canada

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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

OH CANADA! We finally arrived in Vancouver, Canada after spending 2 nights in a row on planes & a whole day at Tokyo Airport, but it was well worth it. We were back in the real world after 5 months of disarray in Asia & Vancouver was the change we needed. If you avoid the massive homeless population & the famous 'East Hastings St' Bronx, Vancouver is a very cool city located in the far south-west corner of British Colombia on the coast and near the US border.There was pizza by the slice on every corner, more Starbucks Coffee than taxis and a shortage of hostels. We had just realised how cheap Asia was after accommodation quadrupled in price! Those were the good old days. During our stay there, we wandered around Stanley Park, Downtown & the very funky Gastown & Granville Island areas. Not to mention a few days to sort out our new passports.The capital of British Colombia, Victoria was our next stop and it's on Vancouver Island so it was quite a mission to get there. 2 buses, a ferry and another bus at the other end got us to one of the nicest cities we been to so far. They say it's the most English city in Canada and it has a chilled out vibe with plenty of Sunday session style bars scattered around the harbour. Hostel International in Victoria was probably one of the nicest hostels we've stayed in and it's right in the heart of the city. Spent most of time there wandering around town and taking advantage of having a nice kitchen and a supermarket down the road. It had been a long time! It would have been a great place to stay and work for a while but it's a shame it's not on the mainland.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1213043820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1213043820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1213043820/tpod.html Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:11:42 -0400 Asia

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Asia, Vietnam

After almost 5 months of backpacking, passing through 8 different countries, travelling about 35,000km across the continent, spending plenty of money, meeting some crazy locals, eating every traditional meal in the book, partying with other travellers, drinking all the best beers each country could offer and putting up with all their wicked ways of living, our Asian adventure is officially over! Here's a short summary: Starting in Singapore we wandered backwards into Indonesia only to find ourselves heading back to Singapore once again. That led to Malaysia which went on to the most culture shocking segment 'India', which needed a follow up vacation with us spending an entire month on Thailand's islands. Cambodia came in next on the list before heading east over to the south of Vietnam. Heading up the coast we went off the track into beautiful Laos and then jumped back into Vietnam up in the north. We have had our fare share of good luck and bad including our Laptop go missing, and both Passports getting snatched but that's what comes along with the package that is travelling in Asia. We had some awesome times and met some real characters and got to see some of the most amazing sights on the planet including the Taj Mahal, Borobudur Temple, Mt Bromo and Angkor Wat. The good times definitely outweighed the bad and have permanently branded memories into our heads. 19 weeks is a fairly long time to spend in Asia but 18 and a half of them were amazing and very exciting and we would recommend it to anyone. We feel like we could now write our own travel guide on South-East Asia. We have both come up with a favourites list from our trip:                                                                                          (Lisa/Jazz) Food: Indian/Indian Place: Koh Lipe, Thailand/Vangvieng, Laos Country: Thailand/ThailandPeople: Cambodians/Cambodians Alcohol: Cheap cocktails/BeerLaos Restaurants: Sticky Fingers, Vientiane/Full Moon, Vientiane/Khan Kham, Vang Vieng/The Trio, India/Gulliver's, Bangkok Sights: Thar Desert, India/Ta Prohm Temple (Tomb Raider), Cambodia City: Singapore/Bangkok, Thailand Island: Koh Lipe, Thailand /Koh Lipe, Thailand Experience: Tubing, Laos/Camel Safari, Thar Desert Shopping: Hoian, Vietnam/Bangkok, Thailand Strangest place: Varanasi, India/Varanasi, India Cheers for checkin' out our travel blog throughout our time in Asia. Now that we're back in civilisation (Canada) you'll be able to read about the second half of our adventure.We have added some of our favourite photos from each country.. Enjoy!                                                               
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1212292500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1212292500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1212292500/tpod.html Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:06:30 -0400 Asia

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Vietnam, Vietnam

Hanoi  -  Halong Bay  / Cat Ba Island  -  SapaHanoi: WOW! The traffic was mental. Our minivan from the airport stopped on one of the main streets in the Old Quarter in Hanoi City, and as soon as we stepped out of the van, there were scooters galore. This part of town has old style European buildings and very tight skinny streets. The noise, honking and stupid amounts of people made our first impression very different from other cities. Pepperoni's Pizza Bar was our best friend during this visit and all you can eat night for $5 was awesome. We were still travelling with our Canadian friends at this time and it was good to share some of these experiences with other people. The hotel we stayed at in Hanoi was a whopping $15 per night and was one of the nicest rooms we've stayed at on our trip. The same room in Aussie would go for $100 - $150 a night. Very cool! Halong Bay is an amazing part of north Vietnam and is well worth seeing. The touristy thing to do is book a night or 2 on a 'Junk Boat' which are old cruise type boats that sleep about 14/16 people and they have a restaurant and outdoor decks, and most packages include food and activities. We spent the first day cruising around this amazing bay and a bit of swimming and kayaking before spending the night on the boat, which was great value. Then the second night was spent at a hotel on Cat Ba Island after a day of sightseeing and cruising around the bay, then returning to Halong City the day after. Overall it was a good set up and there are hundreds of boats (depending on your budget) all doing the same thing.Everyone we have met along the way, that had been to Vietnam said we must go to Sapa, which is in the far north of Vietnam up near the border of China. We considered skipping it to save time on our trip but decided to go, and are very glad we did. The 8 hour overnight train up through the mountains was pretty easy and it led us to this beautiful town which reminded us of a Getaway destination. It was officially our last stop on our Asian adventure so we splashed out on a sweet hotel with a view overlooking the valley.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1211245620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1211245620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1211245620/tpod.html Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:12:40 -0400 Asia

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Laos, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Welcome to Laos!!!!! We'll put you on a bus for 13 hours and make you sit on the floor because we try and sell as many tickets as possible without considering if there is enough seats for everyone. Well, we finally made it from Vietnam across the border into Laos to their capital Vientiane, only to get our passports stolen by some slimey Laos bum with nothing better to do! We spent most of our time in Vientiane travelling between the Tourist Police, Immigration and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Good times! Most of them were very helpful and sorted out an Emergency Passport for me (Jarrad) and arranged Lisa to be able to travel on her British Passport. The most annoying part of it was that both out passports were almost full of souvenir stamps and VISAs and now they're gone. Maybe they'll show up somewhere down the track. Apart from being pissed off during our visit to Vientiane we managed to have some of the best food on our trip. If anyone ends up out that way, you have to eat at 'Full Moon Cafe' and 'Sticky Fingers'. Food got us through our tough times!! Next station stop: Vang Vieng. At this stage we had met fellow couple travellers from Canada and Kiwi Land and spent most of our time with them. Vang Vieng is a quiet town but has an awesome activity called 'Tubing'. You hire a tube and they drop you up the river about 4km from town. You float down at a leisurely pace and there is bar after bar on the river front calling you in for drinks, so it's like a pub crawl on the river. The cool thing is that each bar has giant swings and zip lining that throw you into the river.. Some are as high as 10 or 12m in the air. It was one of the best things we've done on our trip and everyone had so much fun, so all our crew did it all again 2 days later. I know alcohol and water sports don't really mix but damn it was fun! The bruises and the scars tell the story. They have a few caves around the town which were amazing but I think it's the tubing that brings most travellers to Vang Vieng.Luang Prabang was our next place to visit and took about 6 hours in a minivan on very winding roads through the mountains, and was only about 165km away. It's a world heritage listed town and is beautiful but it gives all the locals a reason to jack up the prices and try and rip you off on everything. Hire a bike in the first 2 towns and pay about $2 then get there and they think the same bike is worth $10 or $12. Crazy! It was a cool town but we couldn't really find a decent restaurant that we could frequent. Without going too classy we tried plenty, but were very disappointed! It was approximately a 40 hour multiple bus journey to get over to Ha Noi in the north of Vietnam from Luang Prabang so we went with the 30 minute flight and payed the $100 difference. It was worth it.. Apart from the unfortunate incident with our passports involving a few of the dishonest people in this world, Laos was beautiful and has amazing landscape and very nice people. It's worth stopping in Laos if you're out that way just for the tubing alone. Very cool!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1210173360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1210173360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1210173360/tpod.html Sat, 31 May 2008 11:24:05 -0400 Asia

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Vietnam, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City   -   Nha Trang   -   Hoi An   -   HueHo Chi Minh City or Saigon (whatever they call it) in Vietnam was our next destination after Cambodia. HCMC is easily the most craziest when it comes to traffic, especially scooters! We haven't seen that many scooters in our entire lives. Crossing the road was like playing 'Froggo'.. No wonder our travel insurance is high. A lot of people dislike HCMC but we really enjoyed it. The main backpacker area has plenty of nice bars and restaurants and heaps to see when wandering around town. We spent a day out at the Cu Chi Tunnels which was amazing to see and learn about the history of the Vietnam War and the battle against the Viet Cong. We also took a day trip out to the Mekong Delta and roamed around the very traditional villages on the islands. The War Remnant Museum was very interesting yet very sad after realising what happened during the Vietnam War.We jumped on an overnight sleeper bus and headed for Nha Trang, located on the coast north of HCMC. It's a fairly quiet town with not a lot to see but seems to have loads of good restaurants so it became difficult choosing where to eat every night. It's suppose to be a great place for scuba diving so there is many shops offering cheap dives and courses. We spent a few hours at a natural mud spa therapy centre which was the highlight of this stop.Hoi An was next on the hit list and was also our favourite town in the south of Vietnam. It's heritage listed and has been very well kept, and has that old European style feel to it. Fresh glasses of beer for 4000 Dong (25c) kept me occupied for a couple of days without damaging the wallet! Verms, you would have loved it!! Lisa shouted a fancy hotel for Jarrads birthday and topped it off with an amazing Indian feed and some super cheap beers. Hoi An is a really cool town and feels like you're on a movie set. Every second shop is a tailor so you can get pretty much anything made. Lisa had some thongs made and also a winter jacket to get ready for Canada's sunshine. I had some old school high-top Nikes made for about $17.Hue was our last stop on the open bus ticket and only planned a short visit here, before making our way into Laos. It's a busy town located about the half way mark in Vietnam. We hired bikes for $1 each and cruised around town and to the beach for a couple of days before boarding the nightmare bus ride across the border into Laos...Until next episode.... Ciao 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1209019200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1209019200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1209019200/tpod.html Sun, 11 May 2008 02:43:49 -0400 Asia

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Cambodia, Cambodia

<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">If you didn't already know, Cambodia has a very dark and disturbing history involving one of the biggest genocides on the planet. During 1975 - 1979 almost a third of their population (2 million) was executed by the Kmer Rouge in order to make a fresh start for Cambodia, killing all highly educated people, military, monks and anyone without hard labour skills. We have learnt about the history during our time here and found it very sad as well as interesting. All this tragedy aside, Cambodia has been one of our favourite spots on our trip.SIEM REAPWe arrived in Siem Reap after a long and scam filled trip from Bangkok! We paid $13 for our ticket but then they tried to scam money out of us at every point possible! First was the Cambodian Visas that they told they would get for us if we gave them our passport and $46. Funny they weren't impressed when we insisted to go with them...and surprise the visa only cost about $33! Then they told us that there were no ATMs in Siem Reap, so we should get money out at the border and exchange it from $US (what the ATM gives you) into reil (Cambodian currency) at their exchange place...which gives the worst exchange in the country...and they get decent commission! Lucky we didn't fall for that either, as you can only really use $US and there are ATMs everywhere! Lastly they drop you at a guest house...which pays the bus company commission and there are a good 10 people there trying to force you to stay at their guesthouse! We got out of there too!So... finally we were in Siem Reap, luckily unfazed by all the scams, and found a decent guesthouse with a Canadian couple we met! Siem Reap is a really cool town! It is created for the tourist, which people say ruins it... but after all, we are tourists and some restaurants and bars that cater to our weary bodies after 3 months travelling is always appreciated! We went on a day trip to Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. It was an awesome site to see! We saw the Tomb Raider temple and a few others which were all very interesting! The day was a stinker and we were tired so a few temples was enough for us but for the enthusiasts you can buy a 3 day pass!! With draft handles costing 60c and main meals for about $4, we spent most of the time in Siem Reap eating and drinking!... (that's not unusual!!) We really enjoyed our first Cambodian stop, but had to leave and decided to head to a place called Battambang...off the beaten track!BATTAMBANGNot much to tell! It's off the beaten track for a reason...there's nothing there! No where to eat decent food and nothing to see! We took a stroll through their local markets and checked out some traditional cuisine (spiders, insects, baby chickens, frogs, fertilised duck and chicken eggs). Sounds yummy hey! Spent a day relaxing, watching HBO and sleeping, and left the following day to head to the big smoke...Phnom Penh!PHNOM PENHIt's Cambodia's capital and it was a fairly busy place!! Tuk tuks and scooters everywhere with beeping horns all day long. It wasn't as crazy as we had heard but definitely the busiest town in Cambodia. They have a very cool river side strip with restaurants galore and cheap beer which suited us just perfect. We jumped on one of their day tours which took us to the 'Killing Fields' and 'ex-prison S-21' which is now a museum and were both unbelievable to see. They took us to a shooting range and I (Jarrad) got to shoot a 22 handgun and a AK-47 rifle. Now that was crazy! A quick stop at the Russian Market for some DVD shopping and a wander around the grounds of the Royal Palace filled up the rest of the day. After a few days in Phnom Penh we headed for the coast to a town called Sihanoukville.SIHANOUKVILLEIt's a pretty quiet chilled out town with plenty of Westerners that have set up camp here. Even though we had crappy weather the whole time, the beach is nice and there's plenty of coast line to see while cruising on a scooter. Once again there is cheap beer and heaps of food around so the bad weather just forces us to stay indoors and feast more. We relaxed most of our time here before heading across the border into Vietnam. Let the adventures continue......&nbsp;
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1207817460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1207817460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1207817460/tpod.html Sun, 27 Apr 2008 04:53:11 -0400 Asia

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Thailand, Thailand

KOH SAMUIAfter leaving the west side of Thailand we hopped on a bus and then a ferry to get us over to Koh Samui, just off the east coast. It took almost all day to get there but it was well worth it! It's another fairly busy and touristy place, especially if you stay at the most popular "Chewang Beach'' - but that's where all the action is! There are so many good restaurants and bars to choose from, you could stay there for a long time! On Chewang beach most resorts have a restaurant set up on the beach...which is pretty awesome! We got to watch our first Afl game of the season at a sports bar called 'The Islander'..The Bulldogs wiped up the Bombers!One of the days we hire a scooter and rode up and around the island all day to get our money's worth. The nightlife is pretty wild there and would recommend any partygoers to visit!KOH PHA NGANA short ferry ride and we had arrived on Koh Pha Ngan. The home of the full moon party, the black moon party and pretty much every other party you can think of. Everyone seems to go there to sunbake and party! &nbsp;Hat Rin Nok, one of the nicest beaches we have seen draws up to 30,000 people in high season for the monthly Full Moon Party!It is a beautiful island with awesome beaches and plenty of action. We stayed in the Hat Rin area which is the main traveller's town on the island, where you can buy a great schnitzel sandwich for about $2 - yum!!We arrived a day after the half moon party and left about 5 days before the full moon party but had to make it to Bangkok via Koh Tao before our visas ran out, or they sent us home!!KOH TAOAfter a few days chilling out we went to Koh Tao which is a small island north of Koh Pha Ngan. The majority of the people there are divers cos it's supposed to be one of the best dive spots in Thailand. We managed to fit in a snorkelling day trip around the island into our busy schedule and we think it's the best snorkelling we have ever done! The water was crystal clear and there were millions of tropical fish and coral reef everywhere. Sadly, the island life was officially over! We left Koh Tao after visiting about 7 of Thailands beautiful islands and made our way to the crazy capital city...Bangkok!BANGKOKAfter an overnight bus ride we arrived in Bangkok at 4:30am and went straight to the hostel for some sleep!Over our 4 days there we checked out a few of their massive shopping centres and the weekend markets. We visited all the major temples and spent a night wandering around Pat Pong markets in the red light district. (26 offers of a ping pong show....that we counted!)We went on a day tour to the famous floating markets, where people do their fruit and veggie shopping from their boats. From there we headed to the Bridge on the River Kwai and saw the death Railway. The Tiger Temple is the main attraction for tourists...and that was next! We got to sit and pat the tigers and have our photos taken. Apparently the tigers are calm because of the calm nature of the monks...but we're sceptical and think some drugs may have to be involved! Bangkok was our last stop in Thailand so it was off to Cambodia!...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1206434640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1206434640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1206434640/tpod.html Sun, 27 Apr 2008 04:47:25 -0400 Asia

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Thailand, Thailand

KOH LIPEAfter leaving India, one of the most intense and exciting adventures to date we stumble across one of the most amazing islands we've ever seen. You probably haven't heard of Koh Lipe but it's a tiny island near the southwest corner of Thailand. Perfect sandy beaches, no roads or cars, only a handful of places to stay and that means not many people! Lady boys galore but no touts bothering you or shop owners pissing you off! Just sunshine, awesome sunsets and topless sunbaking!!! We planned on staying two or three nights but had to twist our own arms to stay 5 instead! We kayaked around the island and chilled out by the beach most of the time. It's definitely worth a visit!...google it!!KOH LANTAWe spent 3 hours on a horror ferry ride to mainland Thailand then another 6 in a minibus waiting for the car ferry to get us to Koh Lanta! Checked into a place called Coconut Bungalows and had to move rooms 3 times! The first room had no bathroom light, the 2nd had a broken fan and half a toilet seat. We settled for the 3rd with a door that didn't close properly and successfully let the cockroaches in! So the next day we were out of there and found better accommodation with a pool and enjoyed some luxuries! We hired a scooter and took a look around the island. One side of the island is packed with resorts and restaurants, the other is beautiful and untouched! Saw some great beaches though not as nice as Koh Lipe!! After 4 days by the pool it was time to leave. Went to a toga party on the last night with some English and Aussie people we had met and had a great night drinking and dancing at the beach bar!KRABIWe went back to Krabi for the second time and stayed for longer this time! We stayed at Krabi beach which is a bit more exciting than Krabi town. Once again we jumped on a scooter and cruied up and down the coast and into town. Checked out their Tiger Temple and viewpoint lookout - 1200 stairs to the top - eh!&nbsp; We had an awesome buffet dinner a t a place called Bernies - $9 each which tied us over for a few days!PHUKETTaxi Sir? Suit for you? Tuk Tuk? Massage? Taxi? Braid your hair? G'day mate...you Aussie? There is only so much you can take!Phuket is easily the biggest tourist destination in Thailand if not on our trip so far and the locals know this, everything is more expensive in Phuket than everywhere else in Thailand. They try and rip you off on everything! All that aside, Phuket is beautiful with awesome beaches and heaps of restaurants, especially seafood! We stayed at a great hotel called Sopita and just relaxed most of our time down on Patong Beach.So many choices when it comes to food, shops and bars...cool spot for a party holiday!&nbsp;&nbsp;
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1205237640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1205237640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisajarrad/1/1205237640/tpod.html Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:48:37 -0400 Asia

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India, India

Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Pushkar - Udaipur - Jodhpur - Jaisalmer - VaranasiIndia..... WOW! Words alone cannot explain India - it was a sensory overload of terrible smells, beeping horns, knee high rubbish, lepracy, public urination, millions of sacred cows and stray dogs, beggers, touts and staring men! Thats what happens when you have a population of over 1 billion...All that aside, India was amazing. Food was awesome!!! Curry and naan 3 times a day. So many great sights to see and not enough time.A brief recount.....DELHI. We arrived in Delhi and Jasmin and Lee met us at the airport. The best thing about Delhi was leaving the next day! It's rated the most polluted city in the world and we can see why.AGRA was another big and dirty city, saved by the fact that its the home of the Taj Mahal. We saw the Taj Mahal at sunrise which was a surreal experience tainted by fog.JAIPUR... Ahhhhh get us out of here! Crazy town but had an amazing fort &amp; palace (Amber Palace) up in the mountains.PUSHKAR was the next stop and it was the first place in India we enjoyed. Plenty of restaurants and markets along the small towns main road leading down to their holy ghats on the lake. We would of been happy to stay there longer.UDAIPUR. After 6 hours on the road we arrived in Udaipur which was probably our favourite place on our Indian adventure. A casual laid back type town on a lake with rooftop restaurants &amp; markets galore. The shops kept Lisa &amp; Jasmin happy!JODHPUR was the next visit on the list. Another fairly busy town packed with markets and wandering cows. The Mehrangarh Fort on the hill was well worth checking out. Very cool!JAISALMER. We headed for the Thar Desert and stayed in Jaisalmer for night 1 and camped out in the desert for night 2. Jaisalmer was a small town with mud hut buildings. Was nice to be out of the hustle and bustle of the big cities. The night in the desert was one of the best experiences of the trip so far. A cool guy named Karim took us to the desert. We rode camels and watched Indian gypsies dance around our campfire. Slept in tents and drank plenty of chai!VARANASI. After 2 very long train rides, 34hrs in total (got to know Jas and Lee very well!) we arried in Varanasi. Varanasi is one of the oldest sties in ythe world and the holiest city in India. The holy ghats are the main attraction that bring many tourists and pilgrims&nbsp;here...and we can see why! The ghats are located on the festy ganges/river and locals go there to wash, pray, swim and to do their laundry because of the 'holy water'. It's also where they pump their sewerage, dispose of rubish, urnate and traditionaly burn the deceased! We were lucky enough to see a dead body taking a stroll down the river! Must be a common event as no one seemed to care.2 weeks in India was enough. We saw so many awesome sights and had the experince of a lifetime but were happy to leave. Thanks Jas and Lee for joining us..wouldnt have been the same without you! Have you had a curry yet?!?
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