TravelStream™ news feed for member whitneyhl on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/whitneyhl en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:22:40 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1227589200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1227589200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1227589200/tpod.html Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:22:40 -0500 Whitney on Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Bangkok, Thailand

I finally arrived in Bangkok. My flight got in 4 hours before Amanda's so I waited at the airport for her. While I was waiting I had no idea that the political demonstrations had moved to the airport. On Amanda's flight the pilot made an announcement before they got off. Once outside of customs we saw the demonstrations. There were not many taxis at the airport due to the conflict. Luckly we found one and found a Canadaian that was studying around to help us get a fair price. We shared to taxi in to town. We were not sure of the situation and were trying to figure out what was going on. We were safe in our hotel and safe in the city, the only violence that broke out was at the airport. We went to Khoa San road and found the Israeli travel agent that my friend had told me about. There are a ton of Israeli's in Thailand so it felt better be in a tourist area with many fellow Jews. We spent the day there booking a tour and shopping. We booked flights and a tour in the north. We also booked a trip to a city an hour away to go see the Tiger temple and some other things. The Tiger temple is a famous temple that is home to the monks where they look after tigers and have an animal rescue center. Before going to the temple we went to a famous WWII cemetary and to the bridge over the river Kwai. It was a famous moive many years ago. The bridge was built by the prisioners of war. Now that I have seen the bridge I think I should see the movie!

We are not sure whether the tigers are drugged or not. They look like they must be, I dont know any animals that would let you hold their head in your lap. Tell me what you think!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1227416400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1227416400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1227416400/tpod.html Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:06:39 -0500 Whitney on Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Doha, Qatar

I had to stop in Doha, Qatar for 2 nights on my way to Bangkok. It was a differnt experience especially being alone. The first night I was there I jumped up and almost fell out of bed because I was given such a fright. I had no idea what was going on I just heard this loud noise and chanting over a loud speaker. It sounded like it was right in my room. It was in arabic so I had no idea what they were staying and it was 4:30am so I was still half asleep. I looked out my window and saw that there was a Mosque across the street. After I realized that it was just the call to prayer I calmed down and was able to go back to sleep. I hadnt thought about that seeing as I was in a muslim country. I went to the big shopping center the next day and saw a little bit of the city. There is not much to see there. A large portion of the city is under construction. It is one of the wealthiest countires in the middle east, you can tell by the buildings and the cars that people drive. I was happy to leave and be on my way to meet Amanda in Bangkok.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1227157200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1227157200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1227157200/tpod.html Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:01:31 -0500 Whitney on Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Kruger National Park, South Africa

Kruger National Park is the largest game reserve in South Africa. Nikki and I rented a 4x4 so we could drive ourselves around the park. She was teaching me how to drive a stick shift when I almost hit an elephant that was in the intersection hanging out eating the trees! It was an experience! We saw many animals while we were in the park, elephants, giraffe, hippo, rhino, lions, zebra, lots of buck, crocodile, and many others! It was my last chance to see the animals in the wild and get as many photographs as I could. Seeing the animals in the wild is a much better experience than the zoo, but you also have to take precautions because they still are wild animals. After spending a few days in Kruger park Nikki and I drove back to Joburg. She flew home to Durban and I started my journey to Bangkok.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1226725200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1226725200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1226725200/tpod.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:01:00 -0500 Whitney on Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Maputo, Mozambique

Maputo is a sad city. It is very run down, looks like it was nice at one point but not many things are ruined and destroyed. The city is very dirty as well. Our hostel was digusting so we went to a hotel down the street. We had a little trouble finding a boat ferry to Inhaca Island but finally the hotel helped us and were set. The ferry left in the morning. It was a two hour ride to the Island. The tide was very low so a boat had to come retrieve us from the ferry to take us inland. Then we had to walk across the sea floor (the tide went out about a mile and a half) to our camp site. It was a cute camp with huts and outdoor showers. Nikki and I had the place to ourselves. It was low season and very quiet on the Island. We spend the day in the sun and then walked into town for dinner. The town consists of one restuarant a small clinic and a few shops. It is on one street and you can walk through the town in 3 minutes. Its very small but had a cute Island feel!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1226293200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1226293200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1226293200/tpod.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:52:21 -0500 Whitney on Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

St. Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Nikki decided to hop on the adventure with me and take the Backpackers Baz Bus with me! We headed to St. Lucia which is on the coast north of Durban. The first evening there we went on a boat cruise on the esturary and saw a ton of hippos. This time the hippos were awake and swimming around. Many of them yawned/growled, I am not sure what a hippo does when it opens its mouth. We were able to see their huge teeth. It was exciting. We walked around the town saw the Ocean and some crocidles in the estuary and then took a night drive. It was exciting zooming around in a jeep searching for animals with huge search lights. Our guide was fun and very informative. The next mornign we went horseback riding on the beach. Then we hopped back on the buz and headed to Swazliand for the night!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225883340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225883340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225883340/tpod.html Sat, 08 Nov 2008 04:43:56 -0500 Whitney on Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Nikki is an excellent game driver! We took her dad's car to Tala Game Reserve outside of Durban. The reserve hosts, rhino's, zebra, giraffe, wildebest, wharthog, ostritch, and many kinds of buck. There are no preditors in the reserve therefore the animals are not as scared and are more tame. Upon arrival we encountered many wildebest and zebra hanging out on top of the entry hill. I was much closer to the animals than I have been on any other game drive or walk. It was quite amazing. Rhino's are one of Africa's Big Five animals. I had not seen one yet and was very anxious to see one. We found a mommy rhino with two babies, they are not the most attractive animals. The best part of the day was spoting a giraffe after searching for quite a while. We were so happy when we found one big giraffe in the trees snacking. Slowly we crept out of the car and through the bush to get a closer look. The giraffe had her eye on us every step of the way. After I backed away out of the bush toward the road I heard something running across the road and into the bush, it was another giraffe. I looked over that way and with amazement saw 10 more giraffe in the tree's nearby. I motioned to Nikki to come look. We were both amazed, here we were suprised by this one giraffe meanwhile there was a herd on the other side of the road. We then started to sneak close to the herd to get better pictures. They all heard us and were starring us down, so we did not test our luck. To our surprise the origional giraffe that we found had a baby with her, must have been the reason she was keeping such a close eye on us. We continued to watch but let them have their space. The baby didnt notice anything and kept eating and walking toward the road. As she crossed the road the mommy followed her keeping an eye on us. They were only about 50 meters away. I have never seen a giraffe up that close. They are so magestic. Nikki made me take my camera away from my eye for a moment to take in the true beautfy of such an amazing animal. It really was huge!!! After they went back with the herd we drove up the path a little more to get a good look from the top of the hill. Then we could see the hold herd, all the parents and babies. Nikki and I sucessfully stalked our favorite animals!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225512000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225512000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225512000/tpod.html Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:08:46 -0500 Whitney on Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Sani Pass, Lesotho

Sani Pass is an insanly winding and rocky road that leads to the top of the Drakensburg mountains in Lesotho. Lesotho is a country in the mountains that is inside of South Africa. The people in Lesotho wear blankets due to teh extreme winds and temperatures. At the top of the pass there is a tiny border patrol as well as a small village. Sani Pass is the home of the highest pub in Africa. The views are amazing, if you do not get blown off the mountain! Some of the turns on the road are so sharp that we had to hold our breath as we went around them. On one particular turn we all thought we were going over the cliff! It was a funny experience!

That evening there was a lightning storm over the mountains. The view was incredible from the house. I did not have my tripod but I made one with my body and photographed the lightening over the mountains. I think I did pretty well for hand holding the camera with such a slow shutter speed. I've always wanted to photograph lightening, therefore I was excited with the results!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225425600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225425600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225425600/tpod.html Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:34:25 -0500 Whitney on Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Happy Halloween! Instead of celebrating Halloween Nikki and I were the special guests in her mom's 3rd grade classroom. The students are currently studying Native Americans, therefore it was exciting to have an American guest. We came in for the art lesson and had the students make Tipi's, totem poll drawings, and feather hand-bands that displayed the Native American name of their choice. In the courtyard the students proceeded to have their faces painted like warriors (very stereotypical I know), but the students had a great time. After we cleaned up it was time for show and tell. The students asked me many questions about Native Americans and American in general. They thought maybe I lived with Native Americans and had seen them hunting animals, I explainied that many of them live on reservations and are very modern. We made some comparions between Native Ameicans and the Native Bush people of South Africa. We concluded the day by singing two camp songs as loud as possible!

After school we came home, loaded the car and set off for a weekend in the Drakensburg Mountains.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1224993600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1224993600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1224993600/tpod.html Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:16:19 -0500 Whitney on Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Outside of a small town called Howick, Nikki and I embarked on a high flying adventure. We swung like monkeys up in the trees. After being harnessed and fitted with helmets, we loaded into the back of a pick up truck to head to the top of the mountain. To get back down to the bottom we took a series of 8 ziplines that went back and forth across the valley. The longest zipline was 180 meters long. One line had an obsticle where you have to go between two trees! After the canopy tour we went to a waterfall that was nearby. At the top of the waterfall some women were washing their clothes in the river while the little boys ran around and made a boat. I took some great photographs!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225080000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225080000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whitneyhl/1/1225080000/tpod.html Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:04:53 -0500 Whitney on Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The weather was beautiful today. Nikki and I headed over to the coast to spend time at the beach. After looking at the size of the waves we decided to rent body boards. The waves were a little intimidating at first. I am used to the Great Lakes not the Ocean! Nikki got me to attack the waves and enjoy them. A few waves were so big that they took us all the way into shore and we almost crashed into the sand bank. After taking a nap on the beach we went for drinks and sushi.
]]>