December 19-20, 2009 – Day 359-360 – Chennai, India

To do a bit of last minute souvenir shopping we headed off to Pondy Bazzar and found a few neat things. The market is not a touristy place since it caters more to locals than foreigners. You can find street stalls lining the road in front of stores selling endless kinds of sari fabric, household wares, a supermarket or two, and so on.

Fortune teller bird in the market

December 8, 2009 – Day 348 – Alleppy, Kerala, India

Today was another travel day but we stumbled into a bit of luxury when we arrived to Alleppy. As usual, there were touts waiting for us when we got off the bus but today we were lucky to be greeted by one who had a great place on offer.

Empty bus

July 14, 2009 – Day 201 – Hong Kong

Whoa, talk about a great day! After a rather uncomfortable 12 hours in the Beijing airport, we were terribly eager to get on our flight to Hong Kong. To our great surprise, the airline made a mistake and overbooked our seats with another couple. To remedy the situation, we were bumped to first class! We were as giggly as two schoolgirls the entire flight!

Ahh... the easy life

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July 8-11, 2009 – Day 195-198 – Budapest, Hungary

We have been taking it pretty easy in Budapest so instead of boring you to tears with 3 sentence long dreadfully boring daily posts we have lumped them into one medium sized boring post! Budapest has fit our needs very nicely. Turns out our flight from here to Hong Kong (flying out Monday) will be pretty cheap and it gives us a chance to enjoy some western comforts before jumping into China.

What are you lookin' at?

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June 19, 2009 – Day 176 – Pammukale, Turkey

Sitting in a gritty calcium pool is a surprisingly nice way to spend an afternoon. After an over night bus and most of the morning spent traveling we arrived in Pammukale to see the famous calcium deposits. The views from the natural pools are amazing, with mountains lining the horizions in all directions. Despite the massive tour groups and sagging, sun-wrinkled bodies wearing smaller than desired bathing attire, Pammukale is actually a fun place to visit.

Lindsey enjoying the pool

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May 4, 2009 – Day 130 – Tinos, Greece

Stepping off the ferry onto Tinos, we quickly sized up the tiny isle. It was perfect for us. Despite the cold weather and fierce winds with clouds threatening rain at any second, we were ecstatic at everything that lay before us. It was the white buildings with classic Greek blue shutters and rich pink flowers in the window sill, small streets winding uphill and between buildings, the absence of people and thus, the absence of noise. Everything came together to make us forget the crummy weather and appreciate the misty fog passing across the highest mountains and ancient stone walls and the numerous dovecotes left over from Venetian rule around the 18th and 19th centuries. We spent the day driving around in our tiny rented Yaris admiring the charming countryside of the island.

Our hotel

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Day 114: Lima, Peru

After a delightful spot of luxury (as delightful as any 18 hour bus ride can be, 1st class or not!), we arrived early in Lima and struggled to find a place to stay. Luckily, we found a taxi driver who knew a bit about some hostels and dropped us in the lovely Miraflores district. We discovered Che Lagar, a new hostel only open 3-4 months just a few blocks from the better known Loki hostel. It’s immaculately clean, very modern and a bit funky with its classy black and lime interior.

Larcomar at night

We spent the day wandering around Miraflores, enjoying the delights of the Larcomar (the massive shopping and entertainment center down by the beach–you can’t miss it!), and revisiting our old friend Bembo’s for dinner after we had exhausted ourselves playing arcades games meant for 10 year olds!

Day 112: Aguas Calientes, Peru

After a breakfast that can be called no less than utterly insipid, we checked out of the drafty (understatement!) hostel. Passing police in full riot gear and shields ready for some wicked deflecting action, we made our way to the bus station.

Peruvian countryside from the bus window

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Day 85: Bonito, Brazil

After a much too long bus ride last eve, we were frustrated to discover that the hostel we where were planning to stay was fully booked. It was 9:45pm and we just wanted to crash after a long travel day. Luckily, the hostel guy knew a guy with a pousada nearby for only $2 more. He even drove us over there to meet the guy since it was getting so late. Read the rest of this entry »

Day 65: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Today was the day to be in Botafogo (a small neighborhood in Rio) and we were lucky enough to be there. Today was the big futbol match between Botafogo and some unworthy opponent. It was a requirement that we go. We headed toward the stadium in a swarm of black and white (Botafogo´s colors). There were fans of the other team there somewhere but they dare not show their faces. Botafogo is one of the largest teams in Rio and thousands of fans had came to see the regional finale. Unfortunately the opposing team was rather small and only had a limited (few hundred) fans show up.

Action at the stadium

As we entered the stadium the crowd was already a buzz. Chants and black and white balloons filled the air. This is the epitome of Rio, futbol on a Sunday in one of the largest stadiums in the world. Read the rest of this entry »