Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Safe and sound in India
...Just want to let folks know we are safe and sound...there are some concerns about us being here while there has been some bombings recently,
We are in south india near the beach town of Cochin. This state, Kerela, is not politicaly involved with much of the rest of the country. We are fine here...staying in a cabin on a lake for a week. We aren't going to do much but fish and go on a boat safari...maybe see elephants? Hopefully not much more than that. On Aug. 1 we will fly to Delhi, We will leave India on the 4th. During our stay there we plan to go to Agra to see the Taj Mahal...but will change that if there are any signs of danger and fly out from here.
We are in south india near the beach town of Cochin. This state, Kerela, is not politicaly involved with much of the rest of the country. We are fine here...staying in a cabin on a lake for a week. We aren't going to do much but fish and go on a boat safari...maybe see elephants? Hopefully not much more than that. On Aug. 1 we will fly to Delhi, We will leave India on the 4th. During our stay there we plan to go to Agra to see the Taj Mahal...but will change that if there are any signs of danger and fly out from here.
Elijah's thoughts
We got off the cruise a little over a week ago. The cruise was really fun. My favorite place that we whent to is Turkey. The bad thing was I left some of my things on the cruise, like my journals and stuff.
I liked egypt, but there are a lot of hustlers. We rode a camel up tp the pyramids. It was fun and the pyramids were awfully big. We went to the oldest one in the world.
We are now in India. Today I caught my first fish and then my second one.Our cabin is like it's floating on water, but it's on stilts.
I liked egypt, but there are a lot of hustlers. We rode a camel up tp the pyramids. It was fun and the pyramids were awfully big. We went to the oldest one in the world.
We are now in India. Today I caught my first fish and then my second one.Our cabin is like it's floating on water, but it's on stilts.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Egypt
Egypt...Going I didn't even have any expectation really...except for that I thought it would be cheap...I couldn't have been more wrong about that! :( The first place we went the couple leaving warned us that the owner there will get every cent we have out of us...and he tried...we actually had to make a run for it after shoving some money at an employee there for the one night we stayed. The city is huge with a sea of old dilapidated (most half finished concrete buildings With all the roof tops piled with trash and satellite dishes mounted on top...including our hotels. We switched hotels 3 times and ended up trying "the 4* hotel in the tourist area"...the place had it's day once I'm sure...In 1950 it was probably the place to stay, but they hadn't even upgraded a thing since...still the original carpet and several floors (that the rickety elevators would randomly stop at) were dedicated just to dumping garbage. There was a big pool there, so at least we had a little respite from the heat, so we stayed. (And swam in my bikini despite the stares from the muslim women covered from head to toe) The city of Cairo just really had nothing appealing about it besides the pyramids (that are in the city) Every alley, rooftop, vacated building or any open space is piled with trash. The air is so thick with pollution and dust when we would take a picture at night all you can see it the dust reflecting off the flash. All of that aside, the worst part was the hustlers...they are everywhere. You may think they are just being friendly to point you in the right direction, but they want money, and even then, as it happened to us several times, they will point you in the wrong direction to make you walk by a shop where the next person tag teams to hustle you in. But in the end things did get better :) (but it came with a hefty price tag) The bell boy found us a faithful driver that waited for us everywhere we went and our last three days were nearly hassle free. We visited the big pyramids...They were amaZing. 4aw mummies ans went into tombs. And although the pyramids were littered with what seemed like could fill a dozen or more dump trucks, it was a once in a life time site to see...incredible really. So, to make the most of I gave in to the hustlers and splurged for a camel ride through the dessert around the pyramids...we are still "walking like Egyptians". ;) We also took a dinner boat cruise up the Nile river...with great entertainment. When we finally got a little out of the city to see the oldest step pyramids and we were able to see there is a much prettier side to the county. And yes, I realise it is a third world country and we stayed in one of the largest cities in the world (20+ Million people!)...I realise it wasn't going to palm springs or anything...but I at least thought it would be far cheaper because of it, so I'm a little bitter. Well, now we're on the plane to India! I look forward to getting to the area of Kerela (south India) "God's Country" they call it. We have a cabin on a lake/back-waters at the beach. And if we face hustlers and pollution in India we are well prepared...after Egypt, no matter what it has to be better :)
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Greece and TURKEY!
So we headed out on our med/small cruise ship about 5 days ago. The ship is nice...nothing too fancy, but there's a pool, good food, a happy hour every day and our room is bigger than I expected. The best part is that we stay at port for a whole day and night. We cruise between the islands in the early morning hours (usually between 6-10 am) Our days are spent cruising around the little towns and looking for sandy beaches...so far the one I am laying on now as I write from Mykonos is the first one so far! Greece just doesn't have good beaches??!...they are mostly gravel...the kind we use for driveways)...a disapointment and ouch:( This is also the only island with the white houses along nerrow hilly roads...the ones I pictured. The rest are nice as well, but Turkey was AMAZING! The next best place to Jamaica! We all loved Turkey :)
We ported at the town of Bodrum. A nice resort town with a great nightlife. Eveverything was so much cheaper and nicer in Turkey...including the men. I resited the urge to jump ship and stay with the 28 year old guy from the bar who nearly didn't let me go. We had turkish baths too!...where they heat you up in a sauna, scub you down, then lay you on a big marble slab and massage you down in a cloud of suds (done by big hairy greek men in surongs...uhg) followed by a massage...at least the younger men at that point had less hair! It was quite an experience! And I don't want to forget the beach...although it was grevel we were waited on hand and foot all day while laying around on cushy lawn furniture (in the pics). Every body loved us because we are americans...even gave us discounts. (Mostly because they were tired of the european travelers that are typically there) They loved us and we loved them back!...just not too much...no husband...it was close though ;)
We ported at the town of Bodrum. A nice resort town with a great nightlife. Eveverything was so much cheaper and nicer in Turkey...including the men. I resited the urge to jump ship and stay with the 28 year old guy from the bar who nearly didn't let me go. We had turkish baths too!...where they heat you up in a sauna, scub you down, then lay you on a big marble slab and massage you down in a cloud of suds (done by big hairy greek men in surongs...uhg) followed by a massage...at least the younger men at that point had less hair! It was quite an experience! And I don't want to forget the beach...although it was grevel we were waited on hand and foot all day while laying around on cushy lawn furniture (in the pics). Every body loved us because we are americans...even gave us discounts. (Mostly because they were tired of the european travelers that are typically there) They loved us and we loved them back!...just not too much...no husband...it was close though ;)
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Rome
Wow...We all loved it so much!...Amazing history, spirituality, good food and cheap wine. (oh ya, and the hottest men too) I'm definitely coming back some day ;)
Going to the Vatican was really a wonderful experience, but the Pope cancelled on us :( (I guess he didn't get the news we where coming) Regardless St. Peters & the Museum were beautiful.
So much more, but we got go to Greece now...our flight leaves in 3 hours!
Going to the Vatican was really a wonderful experience, but the Pope cancelled on us :( (I guess he didn't get the news we where coming) Regardless St. Peters & the Museum were beautiful.
So much more, but we got go to Greece now...our flight leaves in 3 hours!
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