Succumbing to Wanderlust
About this blog
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain
I've quit my job, sold most of my possessions, and said my goodbyes. Now I'm ready to see and experience the world (or at least a slightly larger subset of it).
Trip Start
May 06, 2007
1
166
Trip End
Jul 24, 2008
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There are 166 entries in this blog
-
1
Getting ready -
2
The first couple of days in Quito -
3
Spanish Classes in Quito -
4
The Market in Otavalo -
5
El Dia de la Mama -
6
La gripe -
7
Museo de Guayasamin -
8
A friend of a friend of a friend -
9
Mitad del Mundo -
10
Leaving Quito -
11
Baños -
12
La Selva (aka The Jungle) -
13
La Selva - Day 2 -
14
The last day in the jungle -
15
The goal of the day - clean clothes and rest -
16
Riobamba -
17
Cuenca -
18
My first couchsurfing meet-up -
19
Stuck in Cuenca -
20
Still stuck -
21
Leaving Cuenca, southward bound -
22
Hiking and relaxing -
23
The Mandango Loop -
24
Fish juice and border crossing -
25
Tuk-tuks, road closures, and a random guy -
26
Pre-Inca ruins and a lot of time in a mini-bus -
27
Overnight buses make me tired -
28
Meeting the bro, moving south, and catching a cold -
29
Catcalls in Hebrew and no more fishpack! -
30
Couchsurfing, salsa dancing, and a jazz club -
31
Islas Ballestas and Paracas Reserve - one big yawn -
32
A very strange party and sandboarding -
33
Aliens, astronomical calendar, or water prayer??? -
34
Getting ready to trek into Colca Canyon -
35
Hiking down and then all the way back up -
36
Road-blocks galore and an unexpected hike -
37
The protests and marches continue... -
38
The buses are running! Hip hip hooray! -
39
I made it to Cusco in one piece -
40
A small town and a collection of random people -
41
Vomiting on a world wonder, literally -
42
The return to Gringo Hell (aka Cusco) -
43
My last day in Peru -
44
Lola's not in this Copacabana -
45
The stomach strikes back and Isla del Sol -
46
Is it really Bolivia if everything's in Hebrew? -
47
Capibaras and anacondas and pink dolphins, oh my -
48
In the jungle, the mighty jungle... -
49
Back in La Paz for a couple of hours -
50
A market, a train station, and a marching band -
51
A long train ride -
52
Volcanoes, hot springs, geysers, rocks, and salt -
53
No shaking for me -
54
La ciudad blanco (the white city) -
55
Altitude sickness, stomach problems, and a fiesta -
56
My last days in South America -
57
I survived the Death Road -
58
Adios South America -
59
Two weddings and lots of family time -
60
A short stopover during a long flight -
61
Arrival in Germany and a castle -
62
Stefan's house -
63
A cute, little town and a castle -
64
Another cute town and another castle -
65
A lazy Sunday -
66
A long train ride, a very rainy day, and some fun -
67
Munich Lindy Exchange and a funny Ghost tour -
68
A cross between a carnival and a huge frat party -
69
David Hasselhoff saved the world from communism -
70
Country #8 (for this trip) -
71
Copernicus gingerbread -
72
Couchsurfing again -
73
A concrete city -
74
Chocolate pomegranate clusters invade Krakow -
75
Polish food and other observations -
76
October Snow -
77
Back to Krakow -
78
Mozart's murder and the Free Masons -
79
A quiet little town with a big castle -
80
A one-night stopover -
81
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... -
82
The next Prague? Really??? -
83
I like thermal baths -
84
A dinosaur or a city in Romania? -
85
Searching for Dracula -
86
"Brava America!" -
87
Entering Tito's territory -
88
Remnants of a war -
89
A destroyed and rebuilt bridge -
90
All Croatian men do not look like Dr. Luka -
91
An incidental tour -
92
An illuminated old fortress with lots of goats -
93
Waiting for an early bus -
94
Entering Albania, the land of car washes -
95
Cold weather, power outages, and litter -
96
Brittany Spears and Albanian conversations -
97
A frustrating day -
98
Finally reaching my destination, sort of -
99
More Tirana time and general Albanian observations -
100
Out of Albania, into Macedonia -
101
A laundry fiasco -
102
Christmas Eve with missionaries -
103
Warmer(ish) weather, finally! -
104
An ancient city, a small village, and a creepy man -
105
A low key New Year's Eve -
106
Yummy boreks from a master -
107
Surrounded by fairy chimneys -
108
My last hurrah in Europe -
109
Family time and a much needed haircut -
110
I heart rugalah -
111
A stop on the way to Sinai -
112
Climbing Mt. Sinai -
113
Eating our way through Tel Aviv -
114
Corporate America can be good sometimes -
115
Long live the king! -
116
Wat-hopping -
117
Why did the wild elephant cross the road? -
118
Wat hopping, part 2 -
119
Eating yummy food and chilling with monks -
120
I think my stomach hates me -
121
Last stop in Thailand -
122
From Thailand to Laos -
123
A very long boat ride -
124
Bowling and cooking -
125
Treking with mud (but without stomach problems) -
126
Squat toilets in the most populous country -
127
Buy smoke? Hash? -
128
"Tiger Leaping. You go, come back." -
129
Some news -
130
Mandarin ducks are all different -
131
Bike ride, dancing, and massages -
132
Hostels, Warriors, a Goose, and Dumplings -
133
The Great Wall and Olympic fever -
134
Consumerism and unexpected couchsurfing -
135
Happy birthday to me! -
136
Atomic bombs are bad and my return to the US -
137
The first a-bomb -
138
Two onsens and a castle -
139
Temples and geisha -
140
"Copy watch, copy handbag, tailor, ladies' tailor" -
141
Vegas of the East? Meh -
142
Like a banana pancake for mosquitos -
143
One year on the road -
144
Bad tourist -
145
Rainy beaches are not so exciting -
146
Millions of motorbikes and memories of war -
147
Floating markets -
148
A sunny beach, finally -
149
Hiking in the mountains -
150
Another beach, waiting for the bus -
151
The night bus, custom clothes, and a cooking class -
152
Bicycle riding, avocado shakes, and che -
153
Finally, a proper backpackers hostel -
154
Halong Bay -
155
My last stop in Vietnam -
156
KL - briefly -
157
Breaking out the fleece -
158
Back to the heat -
159
Smoothness on the beach -
160
Recouping from island life -
161
Dodging leeches -
162
A sleepy beach town -
163
The real Bali Hai -
164
Smuggling stuff into Singapore -
165
Last stop on the world tour -
166
The end
