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Itinerary |
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Depart Arrive
Chicago-Feb 11 to Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania)-Feb 13
Dar-Mar 10 |
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A long layover! |
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I realized on monday I had a 12 hour layover in Zurich and didn't need a visa to enter switzerland! I love unexpected good news like this.
Zurich was cold - about 20F without windchill - even with 3 layers of my warmest clothes on. They had a wind blowing from |
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East Africa |
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Africa, finally! I'd read a lot about Tanzania while planning the trip and thought I knew what to expect. I still had many surprises.
The heat, humidity and the really annoying touts were the first things I had to deal with. These things just have to be endured as they cannot be |
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In the days of the spice trade... |
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With narrow winding alleys of cobbled stone and dirt, old houses built in the Arab and Indian styles by the spice merchants, intricately carved wooden doors on houses once owned by rich merchants - the charm of Stone town endures even today. I got lost every time I wandered into labyrinthine |
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Full Moon at Bwejuu beach |
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I, who has always maintained that I'm not a beach person, really enjoyed a day and a half on the East coast of Zanzibar.
My friends dropped me off at the ideal rustic secluded beach resort. At this resort being full meant having 7 people stay!
I got a single room right |
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Black or White |
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You are wuzungu, teh guard insisted. 'Wuzungu' is swahili for 'white'. Puzzled, I thought perhaps that wzungu meant foreigner and not white. The guard explained that the word did indeed mean white. Maybe its too early in teh morning for this conversation...
I'd taken teh 8 hour night ferry back to Dar |
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The Thief - updated 3/9/03 |
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It had been a long day. I had just returned to teh YWCA and taken a shower. I got ready to go out to an internet cafe and then to dinner.
I heard a really loud commotion outside. My room was on the side of the building. There was a gated |
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Mt Kilimanjaro |
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I'm starting the Kilimanjaro climb tomorrow. Wish me luck!
It'll be atleast 8 days before I'll have internet access again.
Its been very hot here and I can't wait to go up and be cold again!
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On Safari - updated 3/9/03 |
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FInally! I've wanted to go on a real AFrican safari for so many years! This is really going to be a dream come true to see the Serengeti, Ngorongoro crater and all the animals.
My safari trip is a 5 day/4 night excursion with the following plan
Day 1 - Arusha town to |
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'The Small Hill of Good' |
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Kilimanjaro has many translations. One of my favorite has to be the above which is a translation from the language of teh Pare tribe. Small hill indeed!!! If I remember correctly the translation of Kilimanjaro in teh language of teh Chagga tribe is challenging. This is more apt.
Uhuru peak on Mt |
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An eating safari |
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I went to Nairobi for the weekend. Nairobi is vibrant and bustling with activity. It was a different experience after climbing Kili and being on safari.
A friend took me to Carnivore, a restaurant that specializes in game meat. There was no menu. Waiters just come around with huge chunks of |
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The Elephant's loss |
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We'd been on a couple of game drives already in the Serengeti and were enjoying the multitude of wildlife immensely. IT was time to go back to the camp since it was late in teh day and we had to be back before it got dark. I had also wanted to |
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Hello! |
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Hi everyone.
Thanks for all the posts and emails! Its great to hear from people.
I'm working on putting pictures up and it'll probably be done by this weekend. I was able to transfer pictures from my camera to a CD only a few days ago. I'll have access to high |
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My Hometown |
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Its good to be back in Bangalore. I lived here for 17 years and I feel right at home even though the city has changed so much.
I love walking down MG Road and window shopping. Commercial St is another popular place to go shopping. I keep searching for any |
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God's Own Country |
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Kerala's tourism board has done a great job selling Kerala as a tourist destination. It seems like every single brochure claims the Southern state to be 'God's Own Country'. Kerala is famous for its backwaters, Ayurvedic resorts, and beaches.
My family made the plans for a long weekend in Kerala and |
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Tanzania pictures |
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I uploaded some pictures from Tanzania. The picture upload utility on this site is very slow and drove me nuts. So I put the pictures up on www.ofoto.com. I'm supposed to send an email to the people I want to share my albums with since they're on a secure site. |
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In Search of a Prince |
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Rajasthan is a state in North India that shares a border with PAkistan. It is a former princely state of Rajput kings. Rajput warriors were known for their might, loyalty and honor. Rajput women often committed 'Sati' - a practice where the wife threw herself into teh funeral pyreof her husband |
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A living fort, Mr Desert, and Bhang Lassi |
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That was a looong ride from Udaipur. When we arrived in Jaisalmer, tired, and sleep deprived, we were met by teh intense heat and the aggressive hotel adn taxi touts (a very annoying combination). Our only consolation that morning were all teh beautiful peacocks and peahens strutting around just by teh |
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The Pink City |
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Well, we survived yet nother long bus ride and made it to JAipur. I don't thin kI'll ever travel long distances by bus again even though they're cheap and you save on accomodation for the night.
Jaipur is the last stop on our short tour of India's desert state. With its |
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On Khao San Road |
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Its fascinating to watch the endless stream of backpackers and tourists on teh infamous Khao San Rd. Khao San Rd is in the Banglamphu area in central Bangkok. This area is a haven for bakpackers with good deals on accomodation and food.
Khao San Rd and its many alleyways and nearby |
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Too much sun |
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I'm alive and well...in Byron Bay on the east coast of australia. I haven't caught any deadly virus yet either.
I hope all of you are doing well as well.
I'm almosta month behind in my travelog. Its just that I'm spending all my time having these awesome experiences that I don't hae |
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Sore Feet |
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I found a nice Thai cafe on a quiet side street and stopped for a brunch. Its so hot that I haven't been able to eat much. I drink a lot of juices though. I love teh fruit juices here,- especially watermelon. Its hard to choose though since there're so many |
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Weekend Market |
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Willem adn Iwent to teh Chatuchak market or the weekend market as it is more popularly called. IT is a big market with 100's of stalls selling interesting goods like ethnic clothes, silk material and scarves, local foods, religious figurines, smoking pipes, old Thai currency adn coins, flowers, book, local arts |
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Wet End |
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It was my last day in Bangkok and there were so many places Istill wanted to see. I decided to visit some more temples.
Wat Arun was on teh other side of the river Chao Praya. Wat Arun is the Temple of the Dawn and has an impressive 82 m tower decorated |
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A Blast in Bali |
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Kuta, a popular destination on the island of Bali had been teh site of a bomb blast last fall. The Sari Club bomb had claimed 200 lives. So far some suspects have been identified but no one has been caught. The blast has left about a half a block destroyed. Despite |
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Mel in KL |
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A short plane hop and I was in KL. I was really excited because I'd be meeting my good friend Meling who I knew from Purdue University. Mel and his friend Wesley picked me up at the airport and pretty much looked after me for 3 and a half days. |
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Sunrise |
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I'd just arrived back in BAngkok from KL to continue on my trip to Australia and figured out that I had to spend 15+ hours in planes and airports before I made it to Sydney. I was already sick of flying and I'd made up my mind that the next time |
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Sydney Sights, Neon Lights, Grey Skies and Blue |
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Sydney is a beautiful city full of good looking people. I could sit for hours and just watch people (I was told later that most of these people are tourists). I did indulge and sat at a cafe in the Queen Victoria Building right by teh huge clock for a half |
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Happiness |
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I found a card with this quote at a bookstore in Bondi Beach which just perfectly echoed my thoughts that day. I hope you like it too.
For a long time it seemd to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle |
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Indulging in Excitement |
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I flew to Cairns from Sydney. Chen was already in Cairns having flown the day before. Even though we'd be doing different activities during the day, we'd be meeting up in teh evenings. Cairns is *the* place to arrange scuba dives from and do all sorts of other exciting activities.
Accordingly I |
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Mystical Byron Bay |
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I took a 5:45 am flight from Cairns to Gold Coast on monday. I even woke up at 4am without an alarm clock or wake up service! I was lucky enough to see another spectacular sunrise from the plane. Someone I met mentioned that teh colors are more saturated the higher |
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Place of the Big Banana |
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My cousin Harsha picked me up from Byron Bay and we drove to Coffs Harbour where he lives. Coffs HArbour is on the East Coast of Australia as well. IT is a popular place for Australians to visit. Scuba diving lessons at Coffs seem to be cheapest compared to other popular |
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Real World, Desi Style |
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We drove to Melbourne from Coffs Harbour. It was a scenic but long 10 hour drive with really bad traffic near Sydney. We got to Melbourne around 2am and to Harsha's old house where his buddies still live. This was a huge 5 bedroom house and 5 people live here. That |
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'Awkward' Rocks in The Middle of Nowhere |
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I'd seen a brochure for 'Annie's Place' at the hostel Id stayed at in Cairns when my friend Chen booked her camping trip around Alice Springs through them. Annie's Place is a hostel in Alice Springs and also organizes camping tours of Kings Canyon, Olgas and Ayers Rock. I'd arranged to |
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My Last Evening in the Land of Oz |
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My few days in Alice Springs and indeed my 1 month in Australia were at an end. After we returned to Annie's the evening before, the group dined together and went to the local club for one last celebration. The celebration went way past my bed time!
The time came to say |
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Taiwan? Are you crazy?! |
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That's was general response from most people b/c of SARS. But I was only going to be in Taipei for 2 and a half days and I'd have a long layover at the Taipei airport anyway even if I didn't choose to stay. The SARS outbreaks in Taiwan were in hospitals |
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Living on the Walk of Fame |
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Back in the US after more than 3 months!
IT was interesting to wait in line at customs at LAX airport. It was crowded with long lines at every counter. There were people from all over the world. A couple in their 30's in line behind me were commenting on how |
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And Now... |
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Its been a couple of months since Ive actually been back now. I feel like this trip happened so long ago and sometimes I wonder if it happened at all. Its amazing to me how quickly I'd adjusted to being on the road and in a different place almost every few |
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