Archive for March, 2008
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
“Wine”ding Down in Mendoza
On the 8-hour bus ride from Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina, you climb steep roads twisting their way across the Andes Mountains before emptying you into the heart of the wine region of Argentina. Shortly after crossing the high-elevation border into Argentina, we spotted a snow-covered peak that our bus driver identified as Aconcagua - [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Argentina by Derek
Sunday, March 23rd, 2008
El Norte Grande
San Pedro de Atacama is in the southeast corner of the area of Chile known as the “Norte Grande,” or the “Great North.” The moniker seems an apt description for San Pedro, where everything is, indeed, great in size: the desert stretches on for miles, the sky is immense, even the prices are huge. 1 Only [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Chile by Shanna
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
Starstruck!
Having lived in cities all of my life, I’ve rarely been in areas remote enough to really view the stars. Like many people, I’m fairly ignorant of space. Other than a basic understanding of how the earth rotates and the ability to point out a couple of constellations on a clear night, I’ve generally chosen [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Chile by Derek
Saturday, March 15th, 2008
Esperanza Rising
The following is our first GUEST BLOG, written by Shane (Shanna’s brother) and Leyna (his girlfriend), who met us in Santiago, Chile for four days
Pablo Neruda, the unofficial poet of Chile, was reputed to only write with a green pen, as green was the color of Esperanza (which means “hope” in Spanish). Once, presumably talking about one of [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Chile by Derek and Shanna
Saturday, March 8th, 2008
Coming to [the] America[s]
A few days ago, in the middle of our 50-hour, epic journey from Bangkok to Santiago, we had a layover in Detroit. In a way, we felt that we were coming full-circle in this, the middle of our journey: our trip had begun six months before with a flight out of the same airport. After [...]
No Comments » - Posted in RTW Travel by Shanna
Thursday, March 6th, 2008
Bangkok, Oriental City
Having spent a semester studying international business in Bangkok and passing through the city 5 or 6 times on various trips to Southeast Asia, I’ve spent more time in Bangkok than in any other city outside of Nashville, Tennessee and Durham, North Carolina. Many people arrive in the city counting the seconds until their departure, [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Thailand by Derek
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
A Slice of Pai A La Khao San Road
After several days in Luang Prabang, Laos, we caught a short flight to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand where we immediately boarded a minibus headed towards the mountain town of Pai (pronounced “bye”). The road from Chiang Mai to Pai is legendary - three hours of countless hairpin turns that combine to create one of [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Thailand by Derek
Sunday, March 2nd, 2008
Luang Prabang: Three Great Memories and One that Worries Me
As the true jewel in Laos’s crown of tourist attractions, Luang Prabang–with a population of only 26,000–is not a big city. Rather, it’s a small town with a lot to offer the ever-increasing number of tourists who come to wander its idyllic streets, dine in its French-influenced cafes and soak up its incredibly contagious relaxed [...]
