TravelStream™ news feed for member martinakhaelss on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/martinakhaelss en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 04 Mar 2006 02:34:09 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1130419920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1130419920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1130419920/tpod.html Sat, 04 Mar 2006 02:34:09 -0500 Martina´s Round-the-world Tour 2005-6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cumbuco, Brazil

Cumbuco, Province of Ceara, Northeastern Brazil:

Well, I guess I finally found my perfect resting place, my little paradise, here in Brazil. I landed here because of kite-surfing. I knew from my Austrian friends, that there would be a kite-surfing training week in Cumbuco in November and I had planned to take part. It all worked out perfectly, I arrived in Cumbuco 2 weeks before the event and already met some nice Germans in the first couple of days and this was the beginning of a wonderful long holiday on the beach including kiting, relaxing in the hammock, drinking beer at the beach at sunset, driving with the buggies along the beach, going out for nice dinners, enjoying one or two or three (maximum four) caipirinhas at the one and only Reggaebar. Christmas and New Year were pretty quiet and it got even more quiet during January when I realized that 3 months in paradise also need to come to an end and I started looking forward to coming home.

Rio de Janeiro:

I spent two days in Rio on my way back home, did all the highlights one can do in that period of time, unfortunately the weather was not very favorable, it was raining a lot and the Copacabana and Ipanema beaches were deserted. So I couldn't see the famous Brazilian beauties .....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1126894140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1126894140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1126894140/tpod.html Mon, 27 Feb 2006 05:53:51 -0500 Martina´s Round-the-world Tour 2005-6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

New Delhi, India

Rajasthan, Northern India (e.g. New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur):

Here I am finally: at midnight I arrive in New Delhi and spend my first night in a very basic hotel where the staff is sleeping in the corridor. It will not be the last time to see this, India is heavily overpopulated, people are very poor and they sleep and live wherever there is space, be it on the corridor, on the roof, in the shop or in the street. Although it´s late, I am excited, walk up to the ´roof-terrace´ and inhale the city´s pollution. There is a smog in the air that you can feel and breath even in the middle of the night. My room is ok and I know that this will be my world for the next months.

The next day I meet up with my group from 'Intrepid'. Intrepid is an Australian tour organizer that offers a great variety of tours worldwide. For more details on the organization and on my tour specifically, please check www.intrepidtravel.com (my trip´s name is ´rajasthan adventure´). My tour mates come from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK and USA and I am very lucky to be in a nice and young group.

Our tour is basically a loop through Northern India ... through the desert of Rajasthan. Most of the villages and cities we visit were situated along the former trading route from Afghanistan to South-East-Asia. We see many 'Havelis', beautifully decorated houses formerly owned by trading families, most of which are now deserted as the trading families have moved to modern days' trading centers along the coast, such as Bombay and Calcutta. Most famous in Rajasthan are the forts and palaces of their former warriors, the Rajput's. Some of their 'Maharadjas' (´great kings´) still live in their palaces, many of them are now housing a museum or hotel in order to be able to maintain this impressive heritage.

For our travel through the country we use all possible kinds of transportation, starting from comfortable trains to over-filled and speedy buses, noisy and polluting tuk-tuks, bicycles without breaks, farting camels and huge elephants. Vehicles might be as old as the empire but you can be sure that there is one part that always works .... the honk. The streets are a mixture of noise, pollution, dirt and masses of people. The rules on the road are simple ... the strongest vehicles are the kings .... they only have to give in to the Holy Cow which peacefully walks in the middle of the most busiest street .... she knows her rights!

My highlights during the 3 weeks were:

Taj Mahal: entering the beautiful and peaceful park surrounding the Taj Mahal and spotting this building early in the morning was just breathtaking.

Lake Palace in Udaipur (despite the fact that the lake is presently dry due to the long lasting draught in Rajasthan).
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1126474560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1126474560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1126474560/tpod.html Thu, 23 Feb 2006 09:37:27 -0500 Martina´s Round-the-world Tour 2005-6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Mexico City, Mexico

Oaxaca:

From Mexico City airport I take the subway to the southern bus terminal where I catch a night bus to Oaxaca (6 hours) where I have registered for a two weeks Spanish course. I arrive at 3 am in the morning, take a taxi to my guest family where I stay during the first week. The second week I decide to move to a small and nice traditional hotel/finca as I realize that foreign family life including fixed times for breakfast and dinner is not my cup of tea although the family is very nice. Solexico, the Spanish Institute, is recommendable, the teachers are very motivated. I attend grammar lessons in the morning, conversation at lunch time and in the afternoons I enjoy a set menu at one of the many nice restaurants in the city. Oaxaca is beautifully located amidst mountains, the houses are colorful and the many tourists visit all the famous tourist attractions such as the very interesting Museo de las Culturas in a former abbey, beautiful Iglesia Santo Domingo with its impressive frescos, various other churches, the cathedral at the zocalo (main square), markets and the surrounding Zapotec ruins. After two weeks rest at one single place I should be traveling like mad during Mexico the next 4 weeks, mainly driven by bad weather and the approaching hurricanes which should hit the gulf of Mexico just shortly after I was there.

Zipolite (Pacific coast):

After a 9 hours bus ride I arrive at this little beach village at the Atlantic coast, take a taxi to my hotel which seems to be closed at first sight like everything as it is raining cats and dogs but finally Diego, the owner's nephew opens the gate. I am a bit disappointed about the weather, the spot could be really nice with hammocks all over offering a beautiful view on the ocean but the rain doesn't make a longer stay very inviting.

San Cristobal de las Casas (Chiapas):

After a nightly 13 hours bus ride, I arrive in this mountainous city (2200m) in the Chiapas region, a region that became famous a couple of years ago when the local indigenas from the Zapatista tribe revolted against the (white) government: the indigenas in Mexico have hardly any rights, their education is consciously suppressed by the government and some things remind of the apartheid policy in South Africa. I was shocked.


San Cristobal is a lovely little cities with many small streets, many churches, the usual Zocalo which is the center of all activities such as the mariachi groups, the souvenir sellers or tourist shops. From here I make some nice excursions, i.e. to the Sumidero Canyon (nice speed boat ride) and to the village of Chumla famous for its catholic church full with statutes of saints, each of them good for a different wish or prayer. The tiled floor of the church is covered with tree branches to keep those warm who knee, pray and sacrifice in front of their statute for hours. These non-catholic sacrifices consist of chicken (which is killed in the church in front of the statute), eggs, other food and Coca Cola. Why Coca Cola? Once upon a time, a local was returning to Chumla from his daily work in San Cristobal. On his way home he got stomach pain and stopped at a grocery on the way, where the owner gave him Coca Cola to drink. By the time he got home, his pain was gone and he praised Coca Cola as a holy medicine.

Palenque:

Around 4 hours north of San Cristobal ist he famous jungle ruins of Palenque. I stay overnight close to the ruins in a hippie jungle village with only a few wooden bungalows surrounding a central restaurant with life music in the evenings. Wonderful atmosphere, I meet one of the few Austrians who are crossing my path, we enjoy a lovely evening with pouring rain and hope for better weather the next day. We are lucky, the sun comes out in the morning but it is very humid. The ruins are impressive, it takes me half a day to see them all and finish just before it starts raining again. I decide to move on to the gulf of Mexico.

Tulum (Gulf of Mexico):

After another 24 hours bus ride, I arrive in the small village of Tulum, the southernmost beach at the Gulf of Mexico. The beach is beautiful, unspoilt, only a few wooden bungalows lay between the dunes a little back from the beach, hopefully the crowds north from here in Cancun will not discover it. Out of 4 days, I am lucky with half a day without rain, which I use to visit the ruins of Tulum right at the coast and to swim in the gulf.

Chitchen Itza:

From the coast I move again in-land to visit the famous ruins of Chitchen Itza. As with all the famous sights in the world, they are full of tourists like me, many of them climbing the steep steps up one temple and screaming and waving to their friends making it seem rather like Disneyland. After one hour I am done with all the sights and continue on to Merida in the north of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Merida (DO NOT BUY A HAMMOCK IN MERIDA):

I check into a nice hostel in an old palace along the Zocalo and decide to go for a quick dinner somewhere close by. Once again, a Mexican guy chats me up and my first reaction is to get rid of him as quick as possible as I am not in the mood for this again. But he is insisting and keeps a couple of event maps of Merida in his hand making him seem to be somehow official. As I do not want to be an unfriendly tourist, I stop and listen to him, he tells me about some cultural events and recommends me a place to eat. He joins me for a drink and asks about my further plans in Merida, I tell him about my intention to buy a hammock as Merida is famous for hammocks. He tells me about a Maya-shop that he can recommend and guides me there after dinner. There, he leaves me to the shop owner, a Maya, who tells me all about hammocks, how Mexicans are born, grow up, live, love, give birth to and die in hammocks, how they can accommodate whole families and about the long process of making and the good quality of it. In the end, all employees and I sit down in one hammock to show its quality. When it comes to the price, the owner first shows me all colors, when I decide for one he packs it and then tells me the price was the equivalent of Euro 250.-. I am shocked but after all these poor Maya stories he told me, I have a bad conscious as I have no idea how much a hammock is worth that I feel stupid to say it is too expensive for me. As I do not have so much money on me, I say that I have to get money, he tells me about an ATM just around the corner and accompanies me there in order to make sure that I do not escape.

Coming back home to my hostel, I chat with a German, tell him about my purchase, somehow I do not feel very comfortable about it, I have the feeling that I paid too much. When I tell them the price, he is shocked, he tells me, that he bought a similar hammock for Euro 25.- and I realize that I made a big mistake. During this conversation, another German girl joins in and tells me that the same thing with the same guy on the street and the same shop happened to her a couple of days ago. We decide to go to the tourism police the next day.

The police confirms that the price we paid is too high and that some shops are known for bribing. We drive in the police car to the shop, the owner is not there yet, we arrange with the police officer to meet there again two hours later. When we get there, the policeman is there already, I tell the Mayan owner about our problem, that we think that the hammocks are not worth the price and that we would like our money back. The guy is so fantastic that he manages once more to convince me of the singularity of his hammocks (special material, old Maya ladies working on them for months, etc) that I tell him, I would like to verify this with some other shops in the city. He agrees and accompanies us to some other shops in the surroundings, everywhere we get the same answer: wow, this is a good hammock, the best quality, it is at least worth Euro 300. After 4 shops, I am satisfied and we decide to accept the fact that we bought the most expensive hammocks on the market.

On the same evening, we sit again in our hostel and chat to the owner of the hostel, somehow we mention again our hammocks, tell him the whole story and he confirms that we are victims of a Mafia. He confirms once again that the price we paid is far too much and that probably the police officer who went there with us today was corrupt. Later on we should also find out that all the shops we went to to verify our good hammock belong together. I do not sleep well this night, I am furious about the Mayas and more so about myself and the only thing I want is to return the hammock as the one I bought is so big that I do not even want to think about the hassle to have to carry it for the rest of my journey.

The next day I get up early and decide to go to the Tourism office as the owner of our hostel told us about the right in Mexico, to return goods and receive back your cash. The three persons at the Tourism office cannot believe the price I paid for a hammock (it really is a fortune for Mexico) and a very helpful young gentleman offers me to accompany me once again to the shop and promises to take some other policemen. He tells me that this shop is already on their black list. I agree but only after I make sure that I would not make a fool out of myself once again. So there we go again, in the police car, the owner of the shop is not there, we wait one hour, then the policemen get impatient and tell the employees that if the owner does not show up within 10 minutes they would close the shop. Uups, suddenly he is there, fortunately this time I do not have to talk to him, he does not even look at me this time, discusses with the policemen, it takes one hour, I am scared he might turn them over as well but at the end there is a happy end and we receive our money back! What a nightmare! Before we leave, they manage to tell us that we better leave the city as soon as possible and I have no problem doing this.

Campeche (Atlantic ocean):

Around 2.5 hours further south from Merida, on the Atlantic coast, I find this beautiful village of Campeche with its nice colorful houses, its peaceful and relaxing Zocalo and a huge boulevard along the coast which seems a bit too much fort his little town.

Veracruz (Atlantic ocean):

Another long bus ride of 14 hours brings me to Veracruz, also situated on the Atlantic coast but much bigger and louder and less attractive than Campeche with a huge port. I walk the streets as usual, spend some time in the Internet cafe and relax in my hotel as it is boiling hot here.

Puebla:

The next morning I take a 4 hours bus ride to Puebla, my last stop before getting to Mexico City. Puebla is a young, lively and international city due to ist VW factory and university. I feel very comfortable, walk the streets and make excursions to the surroundings, i.e. to Cholula, a small village where you climb a hardly recognizable pyramid on top of which there is a church and from where you have a wonderful view on two snow-covered volcanos, one of which is the Popocatepetl. I visit two other little villages famous for ist churches, Tonantzintla and Acatepec.

Mexico City:

My stylish hostel is right in the center of town, next to the cathedral of Santo Domingo and the National Palace. After 1 month in Mexico, I do not find Mexico City as dangerous or overwhelming as it might have appeared in the beginning of my trip. It certainly is a huge city but the pollution is not as bad as in Asia, the metro system is very well organized and there is a lot to see in two days. I take the metro to the VARIG office to book my flight to Brazil in two weeks and then walk to the famous Antropological Museum where I spend a couple of hours (it would actually need 2 days to look at everything), then drive back downtown, walk the streets, visit the cathedral, watch the famous Diego Rivera murals at the National Palace and the Secretaria de Educacion. The next day I make a tour to the moon- and sun pyramids at Teotihuacan.

San Miguel de Allende:

Around 4 hours north of M.C. lies beautiful San Miguel de Allende, a lovely artisan city, home to many US Americans who buy local houses here, retire here and attend any of the many artisan workshops. Due to this fact, there are many exclusive restaurants and shops here.

Guanajuato:

I get there right during the Cervantes festival, it is very busy, I manage to find a room with a women that I chat up on the street. I walk the busy streets and visit the ?Museo de las Mumias? which is very interesting.

Zacatecas:

A lovely and lively city, very good atmosphere, I walk the streets and visit a shut-down silver mine.

Chihuahua:

Just a stop-over for a couple of hours on my way to Creel, where I start my Copper Canyon train ride. In Chihuahua I visit the Pancho Villa Museum.

Copper Canyon Train ride from Creel via Posada Baranca via Urique to El Fuerte:

Creel is already high up in the mountains, it is pretty cold in the mornings but gets warm during the day. I make a one-day mountain-bike tour and the next day catch the train to the next stop along the Copper Canyon which is called Posada Baranca. I am the only one to exit the train here, most people go without stop from Creel to El Fuerte on the other side of the Canyon (or the other way around). At the train station, a local who is renting out rooms waits for tourists and takes me to his posada. In the afternoon I talk a walk and next morning do a horse-back ride along the canyon. The next stop is Urique where I take an endless long bus ride down to the bottom of the canyon only to decide upon my arrival there that I will leave again the next day. So, all the strenuous bus ride back the next day up the steep sandy streets to the train. The next day I exit the train at El Fuerte, where I spend a nice evening with 2 Austrian men.

El Fuerte to Los Mochis to Mexico City:

The bus ride from El Fuerte to M.C. takes 26 hours and is only the beginning of a 3 days travel until I reach my next stop, i.e. Cumbuco in the north of Brazil.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1121559180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1121559180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1121559180/tpod.html Wed, 22 Feb 2006 11:36:37 -0500 Martina´s Round-the-world Tour 2005-6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Singapore, Singapore

I arrive at Singapore airport and take the MRT (Mass Rapid Train), Singapore's very effective and cheap metro, downtown. I check into my hostel and get ready for discovering Singapore by foot.

As I am walking through the streets, I have a strange feeling, don't know what it is until I realize: after having spent 4 months in India and South-East Asia, I am not used to the silence, there is no traffic jam in Singapore, there are no people living on the street, no street vendors, no people starring at me .... to me it seems as if Singapore was sleeping .... like a ghost city.

I do all the touristic hot spots including Chinatown, Little India, a drink at Raffles (no, I don't have the Singapore Sling) and some of the shopping centers.

Hmmm ... should I mention that when trying to leave and check-in for Bali the next day, I am advised at the airport that I can't fly as I don't have a visa (only a recent requirement for Austrians) .... funnily, I have to laugh about this rather than being annoyed ... well, I guess I am not really under time pressure ... I return to the city, check into my hostel again and the next day I manage, with some pribing, to get the visa within the same day rather than having to wait for three days ... does this tell you something about the corrupion in Indonesia .... the next couple of weeks in Indonesia I should be hearing many complaints from the locals about Indonesia being the most corrupt country.

Summa summarum: a nice stop-over for shopping.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1125865920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1125865920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1125865920/tpod.html Wed, 22 Feb 2006 11:04:22 -0500 Martina´s Round-the-world Tour 2005-6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

San Francisco, California, United States

San Francisco:

I stay in a hostel just above the harbor of San Francisco with a beautiful view on the island of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge - I am just sitting and enjoying this view, find it hard to realize that I am here now, in this famous city - hard to realize that I have been in Sydney just two weeks ago and hard to realize that I have just been to Cooks Island and French Polynesia - all this within only 2 weeks.

San Francisco is certainly a very special place with it´s up and down streets, it´s nice houses, the cable car, touristic Fisherman´s Warf and Pier 39, the famous island of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The first day of my stay is Labour Day, a big holiday in the States, my hostel organizes a barbecue in the garden, we design our own BigMacs and I must admit, it tastes delicious. At the party, I meet Regina from Germany, and we end up spending the next couple of days traveling together. We rent a car for 2 days and drive around Napa Valley for some wine tasting and then to Yosemite National Park for some hiking. In the evening we cook steaks, drink red wine and enjoy our TV-like lodge in the woods just outside Yosemite. Sadly we have to say good-bye after this nice trip, Regina continues onto Peru and my next destination is Mexico.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1125075420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1125075420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1125075420/tpod.html Tue, 06 Dec 2005 11:49:00 -0500 Martina´s Round-the-world Tour 2005-6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Papeete, French Polynesia

Bora Bora:

I arrive at the huge airport of Papeete (capital of Tahiti). From the travel reports I have received, it was recommended not to stay in Papeete or on Tahiti as it is very busy with a lot of traffic, it has lost it´s island charm.

Therefore I make my way from the airport to the harbor where I enter the small office of a cargo company and ask them whether they take passengers on their cargo ships to Bora Bora. They do and a couple of hours later, me and my backpack are on the passenger deck which is a huge covered room on top of the cargo ship where I share the next 15 hours with mostly locals, everybody trying to sleep during a rough night on sea: laying on the floor, I once see the stars in the sky and seconds later the huge waves through the window, I am sliding from one side to the other until I finally barricade myself between my backpack and the wall. A great adventure which I certainly wouldn't want to miss.

Arriving in Bora Bora is like a dream, the colors of the water are incredible, an American starts crying, he says it has always been his dream to come here and now he finally made it. A public bus takes me to my guesthouse with a small beach in the most beautiful bay right next to an exclusive hotel with water bungalows. During my 4 days on Bora Bora, I enjoy the beach and the sea, walk around the island and climb the small hill which gives a great overview over the island and it´s fantastic blue bays. Other than that, I don´t do much, everything here is super-expensive.

Moorea:

After 4 days, the cargo ship brings me back to Papeete, from where I take a ferry (around 40 minutes) to the island of Moorea. Moorea seems wider than Bora Bora but not as colorful, it reminds me more of the Cook Islands, there are no big hotels, mainly basic local houses, only a few narrow beaches, the water is mostly to shallow to swim. You can go hiking or mountain biking.

Summa summarum: I was deeply impressed by the blue colors of the sea in Bora Bora and I am sure one can have a fantastic holiday there on the condition that you go there with your beloved and that you have enough money to spend.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1124642100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1124642100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1124642100/tpod.html Tue, 06 Dec 2005 10:43:01 -0500 Martina´s Round-the-world Tour 2005-6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Rarotonga, Cook Islands:

The small airport of Rarotonga welcomes us with traditional life music played on the Ukulele, the traditional guitar. Welcome to the Pacific - I feel like in a James Bond Movie.

Rarotonga is a simple island, the beach of my guesthouse is nice but the water very shallow and swimming is not possible. The activities offered on Rarotonga include snorkeling (by boat or kayak to one of the small islands around), hiking (due to rainy weather the famous island walk is not possible) or diving. I decide to escape the rainy weather and book a flight to Aitutaki for the next day - Aitutaki which is supposed to be the most beautiful lagoon in the world.

Aitutaki, Cook Islands:

Aitutaki´s lagoon is really stunning, the blue colors amazing, nevertheless, the water is also very shallow for swimming or snorkeling; therefore, there is a couple of tour organizers on the island who offer snorkeling trips to some small islands outside the bay and this trip is really breathtaking. We spend the whole day on a small and comfortable boat, stop twice for snorkeling in the most blue water I have every seen, stop on two small islands for bird watching and barbecuing ... the most beautiful snokeling trip one can imagine ... a must for every visitor.

The next day I try out the scuba diving on Aitutaki. Onu, the big diving instructor picks me up from my guesthouse in the morning, drives me to his house that also operates as his diving school, me and two Japanese gentlemen select our diving gear, then Onu drives his tractor with his diving boat from his garden down to the small harbor. We just dive on the riff outside the harbor, it is not thrilling, not easy for me after having seen so many other exciting diving spots in the world.

On my last day I rent a mountainbike and discover some more of the small island. In the evenings, the various restaurants on the island offer the very touristic 'island nights' including a buffet with local specialities and a show by locals (some of them just kids and not as professional as expected) performing their traditional dances and songs. I was a bit disappointed as it was so obviously touristic and the locals seemed to be quiet bored by what they were doing.

Summa summarum: The Cook Islands are very simple islands, the houses are simple as is the life of the locals. They are friendly, the rhythm of their lifes is not a very fast one, tourists don´t bother them, nothing seems to bother them much, they enjoy eating, drinking, singing and dancing, they seem happy, most of them are heavily overweight.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1124030820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1124030820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1124030820/tpod.html Sun, 04 Dec 2005 12:32:31 -0500 Martina´s Round-the-world Tour 2005-6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Sydney, Australia

Sydney, Australia:

Why only Sydney, why only 1 week? The explanation is easy: I travelled Australia and New Zealand in 1991 and therefore decided to skip them this time as my goal is to see parts of the world I haven´t been to.

I know the beauty of Sydney and don´t want to stay longer than 2 or 3 days (enough time in a big city for somebody like me who prefers the countryside) but in the end a whole week is gone.

One day I meet up with Greg and Karolin Piper, Greg is a former colleague from the Agency, he drives me around the northern suburbs of Sydney, beautiful beaches and countryside, we have a beer in the famous Marina of Newport (this info is just for my dear neighbor Manfred, a dedicated sailor, I guess now he really envies me - but I shall make him even more jealous in my report on Bora Bora ....), in the evening I am invited to their lovely house, I enjoy a wonderful meal, the first real meal in a long time.

Other than that, I walk the city, take bus rides to some of the beautiful beaches like Maroubra Beach (only 30 minutes from the city center), from where I take a long walk back to Bondi Beach along the breathtaking coastline. The weather during this one week is fantastic, another reason why I stay so long, it´s a little bit like our European autumn (or what it used to be), blue sky, cool and fresh air which I really enjoy after all the hot and humid weather in Asia.

Australian people are very friendly, I meet some people, we drink coffee at the harbor next to the Opera House, very nice ambience, life Jazz music on Sundays, one evening I am invited to a hip In-Club on Bondi Beach, I feel really 'in'.

On the weekend, Michi, a friend from Austria who has just moved to Melbourne, visits me in Sydney, we spend two days walking, chatting, do a boat trip in the harbor and do some shopping for my further travel (Michi is also a globetrotter and gives some very good shopping hints; by the way, she advised me to go to Indonesia/Sulawesi for diving - dear Michi, I will never forget!!!).

Summa summarum: To me the special attraction of Sydney is the harbor with the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge, the breathtaking skyline of Sydney, the huge botanical garden right next to the city center where people relax or do fitness during their lunch break and the fact that the most beautiful beaches are just a couple of minutes away from the city - that´s life quality.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1116982140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1116982140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1116982140/tpod.html Mon, 10 Oct 2005 14:19:49 -0400 Martina´s Round-the-world Tour 2005-6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Bangkok, Thailand

Laos' capital Vientiane is not far from the border to Thailand, it's just a short bus ride to the 'Friendshipbridge', then by foot through pass control and another short bus ride to the Thai border where taxis and tuk-tuks wait for further transport.

Nong Khai, East-Thailand at the border to Laos:

I don't travel far this day, I stay at Mut Mee Guesthouse in Nong Khai, very close to the boarder along the Mekong River. Mut Mee is a very atmospheric, somehow jungle like oasis directly above the Mekong river with a beautiful terrace amidst plants and trees. I stay for 5 days in a beautiful room, enjoy the nice and relaxing atmosphere, the excellent food, the beautiful surroundings such as a very interesting sculpture park, (fishermen's) villages and a beautiful countryside.

Bangkok, Capital of Thailand:

5 days and a night train ride later, I arrive for the second time during this travel in Bangkok, a city that I liked from the first moment when arriving from India and that becomes like a home or base during my time in South-East Asia as I keep coming back several times (the hotel personal and the street vendors know me already and I know where to go for a good cup of coffee, Thai noodles and other goodies). My nice, clean and reasonable hotel with swimming pool on the roof is around the corner from famous Khao San road, the bustling backpackers' quarter in Bangkok. I enjoy Khao San road for its many opportunities, its street market, many travel agencies for organizing my onward travel, food vendors and cheap and excellent Thai massage. Furthermore, it is close to many sights and means of transportation, such as bus and boat and consequently to the sky train which brings you conveniently to other parts of the city.

Prachinburi, 2 hours drive northeast of Bangkok:

After 3 very enjoyable days in Bangkok, I am ready for a challenge: I have registered for a 10 day meditation course (a la Goenka) in Prachinburi, a little village a 2 hours bus ride from Bangkok.

The meditation center consists of 4 buildings: 2 basic wooden houses that accommodate the women's and men's 'cells' and bathrooms, a spacious room serving as eating room - one side for women the other side for men and a huge meditation hall surrounded by individual meditation cells.

We arrive in the afternoon of day 1, register, deposit any valuables, mobiles, books, pens, cigarets, music, etc - anything that could distract your mind - with the organizers and check-in to our cells, our home for the next 10 days. The cells are small wooden boxes (with windows !) with enough room for a basic bed, table and stool (and a very important mosquito net). Outside the individual cells, there are communal showers and toilets in each house.

After check-in we attend an introduction (one in Thai for the majority of Thai visitors and one in English for the about 20 foreigners): we are advised that 'noble silence' will commence this evening and that further to not speaking are we also not allowed any eye contact with anybody nor are we allowed to leave our area (women/men) when going for a walk.

From now our daily schedule is as follows:

4:30-6:30: Meditation in our cell or in the meditation hall
6:30-8:00: Breakfast and break
8:00-9:00: Groupmeditation in the meditation hall
9:00-11:00: Starting with group meditation in the meditation hall, sometimes we could retreat to our cells
11:00-13:00: Lunch and break
13:00-14:30: Meditation in our cell or in the meditation hall
14:30-15:30: Groupmeditation in the meditation hall
15:30-17:00: Starting with group meditation in the meditation hall, sometimes we could retreat to our cells
17:00-18:00: Teatime
18:00-19:00: Groupmeditation in the meditation hall
19:00-20:30: Discourse by Goenka (video session)
20:30-21:00: Groupmeditation in the meditation hall

As this is a voluntary exercise, I am convinced to comply with the schedule and rules, but it doesn't take long until I realize that I will have to amend my schedule slightly ... Although I am a morning person, I manage to meditate as early as from 4:30am to 6:30am only for the first two days, as of day 3 I decide that I just need to sleep ....

The breaks for breakfast, lunch and tea are a nice break from meditation, but as you can neither talk to nor look at anybody, it is a weird situation.

During group meditation in the meditation hall, we are supposed to sit still for one hour in the lotus position on pillows on the floor: you are supposed to train your mind to not feel any positive or negative sensations anymore, i.e. pain is not negative and as such it is no pain anymore.

How can you train your mind?

During all these endless hours of meditation, you concentrate your mind only on your body, starting from the hair on your head, all parts of your face, all parts of your body down to your toes. You concentrate on each part of your body individually until you manage to identify any sensation in this part (e.g. tickling on your nose). Once you identify the sensation, you tell yourself, that whatever sensation it is (e.g. tickling, pain), that this sensation is neither negative nor positive but neutral. In such a way, you should learn to get rid of any negative thoughts in your mind.

It is unbelievable how difficult it is in the beginning to concentrate, hundreds of thousands of thoughts are coming to your mind, but it gets better every day as you don't do anything but meditating (no talking, no reading, no watching TV, etc). Nevertheless, I just can not manage to sit still in the lotus position for more than a couple of minutes, so I ask the teacher whether I can change to a chair at the back of the room like some others are doing. The teacher refuses, he says that ignoring the pain is a very important part of the meditation. But it doesn't work with me. I cannot concentrate on my meditation because I constantly concentrate on my pain, it is incredible hot, we are all sweating heavily and finally on day 7 I can convince the teacher that I need a chair. From now on, it is better, I can concentrate my mind, I have some very strong feelings but I am counting the days to my first cup of coffee in freedom.

Day 10 is the most happy day in my meditation career, we are allowed to talk again. It is very interesting to finally hear all the people talk that you until now only know from seeing, that you have been living with for 10 days. Until then everybody was very serious and trying not to look at each other, now everybody bursts out laughing, chatting, especially the Thai ladies cannot be stopped chatting anymore. We listen to some stories of 3 foreigners who wanted to leave the course earlier (on day 1, before the noble silence starts, everybody is introduced to the timetable and routine of the following days and everybody is encouraged to leave at this stage if he/she thinks that he/she will not manage to stay for 10 days. We are warned that it will not be possible to leave during the course). Obviously one girl had problems to leave after 3 days, the organizers locked her in her room and did not want to let her go.....

Summa summarum: a very hard, very interesting experience. I am obviously not yet ready for regular meditation (you are supposed to continue meditating 2 hours daily) and at the moment I would rather say: never again ... but who knows ....

I enjoyed the following two days in Bangkok in freedom, went shopping and had a fantastic Thai massage ... wow, how strong hands can be sooooo soft as well .....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1119815280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1119815280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/martinakhaelss/tourmartina2005/1119815280/tpod.html Sun, 09 Oct 2005 11:15:21 -0400 Martina´s Round-the-world Tour 2005-6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Saigon, Vietnam

Hanoi, Northern Vietnam:

I arrive late at night and take a minibus from the airport downtown. As I don't have a specific hostel where I want to stay I accept that the minibus driver drops us (me and four Norwegian girls) in a hostel in the center of town. The location is very good but the hotel staff annoys me as they try to make business with us as soon as we arrive, i.e. in the middle of the night, tired and sweaty as it is very hot: tourists coming to Hanoi usually make two very famous excursions, one to Halong Bay (a beautiful bay around 2 hours bus ride from Hanoi famous for its lime peak rocks in the water and famous from a James Bond movie) and the other one to Sapa, a village in the mountains in northern Vietnam close to the Chinese border and famous for its hiking trips to local tribes. Every tour operator and every hotel is offering these tours and naturally making a good profit on selling them. I reject to book anything in the middle of the night but rather check the next day with other tour operators. I realize that the price quoted by my hostel seems fair and therefore book with them. What I don't know at this stage is, that although every tour operator/hostel is obviously offering the same tours, it is NOT the same standard they are offering, i.e.: there are differences in the mode of transportation, the standard of accommodation, the standard of restaurants, etc.... (After the tours I have some argument with the hotel and get some money refunded which leaves a bit of a bad taste. Therefore, I recommend to compare carefully and only book with travel agents).

Hanoi has a pretty center with many artisan shops and small roads but the traffic makes it loud and polluted. Traffic in Vietnam is crazy, there is an enormous amount of motorbikes and I just wonder what happens when all these people eventually change from their motorbikes to cars ... let's hope this will not happen! Each street in the center has a specific kind of street stalls, i.e. in one street there are only stalls selling towels, in another street you can find shops with underwear, another street offers shoes ... this was very useful before the time of supermarkets, as people knew exactly which street they had to go to find what they were looking for.

I stroll around Hanoi with a girl from Holland, and one evening I visit the famous Waterpuppetshow which I really enjoy and recommend.

Halong Bay, North-East Vietnam:

The next day in the morning, my 3-day/2-night tour to Halong Bay starts: a minibus picks us up from our hotels (the 4 Norwegian girls and I, furthermore 2 girls from Australia, 2 guys from UK, 2 guys from Canada, 1 guy from Denmark). I am really lucky, as the group turns out to be real fun. We arrive at Halong Bay after a 2 hour bus ride, everything is impressively organized, once we leave our bus we are rushed to our beautiful wooden boat (there is about hundred boats in the bay that look alike - I am a bit shocked about this touristic aspect) and immediately leave the harbor and soon my fear of having landed in a touristic trap are gone as we enter the magical Harbor Bay Natur Park, an incredible huge bay with many limestone rocks, the Bay is so huge that we hardly see any of the other tourist boats. As soon as we leave the harbor, we are served a delicious meal and afterwards enjoy the beautiful landscape in the sun chairs on deck of our boat. We visit an absolutely stunning cave (I have already seen a lot of caves, but this one named 'Surprise Cave' is really special), anchor for a swim in a very quiet place, enjoy a beautiful sunset, a good dinner and wonderful night drinking beer and red wine on deck under a fantastic sky full of stars telling jokes and chatting until late ....

The next day we are rushed off the boat right after a nice breakfast, we are now on 'Cat Be' Island where a minibus collects us and drives us to our hotel (the second night unfortunately is in a hotel and not on board) which is by far not as nice as our boat. A soon as we leave the boat, another group that spent the night before on the islands boards our boat which brings them back to Halong city. It's incredible how perfectly everything is organized here. After check-in into our hotel, we go for a short hike to the top of the island, are being served lunch in a basic eatery and in the afternoon we go kayaking in the bay. Dinner is served in the small entrance hall of our basic hotel, afterwards the group splits up to visit some of the few bars around the hotel.

The next day a minibus picks us up from our hotel and brings us to the harbor where we board another boat which brings us back to Halong city. There, our minibus awaits us and we return to Hanoi.

The excursion was amazing, full of different impressions: the stunning bay, the impressive cave, the perfect organization and touristic aspect, the peaceful and chilling day on the boat with wonderful meals in a nice and relaxed atmosphere, the impersonal hotel the day after, nice kayaking but somehow not the same atmosphere on day 2.

Sapa, Northern Vietnam at the border to Cina:

The next day, my second excursion (2-days|1-night) brings me with a night train to Sapa, a little village that actually has been booming in recent years and became a touristic hot spot for hikes to the surrounding villages and mountains. We arrive the next morning at the railway station just across the border to China, it's raining quiet heavily and a minibus brings us to Sapa (around 1 hour drive).

We arrive at the hotel, our rooms are not ready as the group from yesterday has not yet checked-out: again everything is very touristic but well organized. We leave our luggage in the store room and a local guide, a young girl from a local tribe, takes 5 of us on a short tour around Sapa to one village and a waterfall. This is the standard tour that every group is doing on their first day and along the way we are awaited by local kids trying to sell souvenirs and handicraft. The landscape is beautiful, the hike not very challenging, the weather rainy. We return after two hours to our hotel where we get a simple lunch, the afternoon we stroll around the small town, sit in a coffee shop and chat.

The next day is raining again, those who didn't bring a raincoat have to buy one, different group and different guide, today's hike is a bit longer than yesterday's but it's also very easy, we just walk along the street to the next valley where we visit some villages. Everywhere, locals are awaiting us, accompanying us and trying to sell us their handicrafts. Again, every tour guide seems to be doing the same tour in intervals of 15 minutes, as we are walking very fast we catch up with 2 other groups. We arrive back early afternoon to our hotel, we go for a drink and in the evening a minibus drives us back to the train station where we catch the night train back to Hanoi. Funnily, on both train rides I share the compartment with a gentlemen from Scotland, who used to work as a consultant for the IAEA ....

Hoi An, Eastern Central Vietnam (south of Hue):

From Hanoi I take a train to Hue and from there the 'Open-tour bus' to Hoi An. The 'Open-tour bus' is basically a bus service (offered by several bus companies) that runs from Hanoi to Saigon and stops in-between at several destinations such as Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, etc. The whole stretch costs around US$ 22 (I recommend to buy the ticket directly from one of the bus companies as everybody else charges high commission; I met a couple who paid for the same trip around US$ 50 at a travel agency).

Hoi An is lovely, it is the highlight in Vietnam. There is nobody who doesn't like it, the small streets in it's center full with artisan shops and tailors, full with delicious restaurants, cosy and stylish bars and very close to a wonderful white almost deserted sand beach. I stay in a wonderful small family hotel, stroll through the streets, enjoy good food, bike to the beach, attend a cooking course in the wonderful 'Red-bridge Restaurant' and just chill and enjoy.

Nha Trang, Eastern Central Vietnam:

From Hoi An I take the Open-tour bus to the beach village of Nha Trang. I arrive there early morning (around 6 am) and am surprised by the masses of locals being in the park along the beach side and making all kinds of exercises, such as jogging, walking, badminton, stretching, swimming, etc. The next days I should learn that the locals occupy the beach early morning (as of 5am) and then again in the evening .... outside the hot and sunny hours when the crazy tourists are out there.

I am not sure whether or not to stay in Nha Trang, the first impression of the city is not so nice, I am strolling around looking for an open cafe to enjoy my vital morning coffee and happen to drop by a diving school run by a German couple. I start a conversation with them and decide to stay for at least a day and do some diving. The diving is not very special but the atmosphere at the diving school is nice, there are some nice people, furthermore I meet the 4 Norwegian girls from Halong Bay and I end up staying in Nha Trang for 5 days.

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Capital of Vietnam, Southern Vietnam:

I arrive HCMC early in the morning, a local shows me various cheap accommodations but I don't like neither of them, he gets very angry with me and eventually I get very angry with him as he wouldn't let me alone. I have to start shouting at him to make him understand that I don't need his help but that I need a cup of coffee and then will continue looking for accommodation. Meanwhile, the coffee shops start opening up and I find a nice place called 'Eden Club' where I then also happen to get a nice room. Although I was warned from HCMC, I actually like it. I walk through the city, visit the War Museum, make an excursion to the Mekong Delta and enjoy some good restaurants. After 3 days in HCMC and 3 weeks in Vietnam I am ready for my next destination: Singapore.

Summa summarum: A beautiful country with the mountains in the north, beautiful Halong Bay, fantastic beaches (my favorite: Hoi An), nice cities (my favorite: Hoi An), good food, very good infrastructure and easy travelling. Vietnam is still reasonable cheap but beautiful and touristic places like Hoi An are getting expensive in high season.
]]>