The caving opportunities that surround Vang Vieng is in one word, awesome! There are many many small unexplored caves, and the ones that have been explored often have minimal facilities...usually just a guide who carries a small lead acid battery hooked up to a head light. If you are lucky the guide will have extra lead-acid headlights. Unlike more "developed caves" the caves near Vang Vieng are not improved inside at all. Rarely will their be … [Read more...]
Biosphere, AZ – July 2002
Near Tucson, Arizona is the Biosphere II, a modern-day $200 million dollar tightly sealed ecosystem. It was originally constructed to determine if people could live for a particular length of time in a sealed environment. Now its used for research, education and public outreach activities. General tours are given daily except on Christmas Day - Reservations are recommended for the "Under the Glass Tour." The general tours take about 2.5 hours … [Read more...]
Bangkok, Thailand – Parks
Sometimes you need a respite from the chaos of of Bangkok's urban world - and fortunately one does not have to go very far to find any of a number of Bangkok's green spaces. Despite being surrounded by buildings and busy streets, often these spaces feature much cleaner air then the nearby surroundings, are often quieter and sometimes offer a variety of activities for all ages (paddle boats, picnicking, exercise equipment and playgrounds). … [Read more...]
Bangkok, Thailand – Massage
There are seemingly thousands of massage parlors and day spas in Bangkok ranging from the very cheap to the more luxurious. Districts such as Khao San Road are loaded with cheap massage options. Parts of Sukhumvit also feature an extensive range of massage parlors. FOOT MASSAGE usually lasts from 30 to 120 minutes. Your feet are initially washed in warm water - it is a good idea to show up at the massage parlor wearing shorts instead of … [Read more...]
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania – The Climb
Mountain Madness guides its clients up Kilimanjaro on the Shira Plateau or the Fisher route. The route Dave chose had about 80 climbers from various companies. To put this into perspective the other side of the mountain (which included the other routes) had 2000 people attempting the summit. Usually the client/guide-porter-cooks ratio is about 4 to 1. This means that for 2000 clients there were 8000 guides, cooks and porters. In summary, there … [Read more...]
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania – Route Itinerary
The following is a list of camps and descriptions that we stayed at while hiking up the Shira route. Base Camp is located at 6500 feet among lush vegetation. During certain times of the year elephants and herds of animals can be seen in this area. During clear days, there are stunning views of Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro. Several small roads and trails are in this area - some of the trails lead up to small mountains from which there are … [Read more...]
Guadalajara, Mexico – Restaurants
From personal experience visiting other Mexican cities including Guadalajara, I have found that the cleanest restaurants and the ones with generally very good food are located in larger hotels. However, one should not overlook the smaller restaurants - do not rely solely on online ratings, ask locals for recommendations. Any prices listed are rough estimates for the cost of dinner for one person. However, most of these restaurants serve lunch … [Read more...]
Gold Country, CA – Twain Harte
Twain Harte is located about 20 or so minutes east of Sonora two miles off of Highway 108. This is a nice place to stop for either lunch or a relaxing break on your way to Sonora Pass as there are a surprising number of small restaurants in and around the 'center' of town. In the mood for mini golf? A seasonable miniature golf course is located near the center of town. Very family friendly. The feel here is different then some of the … [Read more...]
San Francisco, CA – Restaurants
More then most cities of its size, San Francisco contains a culinary delight of restaurants specializing in cuisine's from around the world. On one block one can find a mix of Chinese and Italian. On another block in the same vicinity one may find a Thai restaurant located next to an Ethiopian restaurant. Several distinct areas in San Francisco are known for certain types of cuisine. North Beach is known for its Italian food, Chinatown for … [Read more...]
Nepal – More Info
Books There are many, many books written on Nepal. Some of them are listed below Nepal Handbook by Kerry Moran is probably the best all around travel book written on Nepal. You should be able to find it at a good bookstore. It sells for $18.95 Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen is his written account of his trip to Nepal to track the elusive Snow Leopard To the Navel of the World is a book by Peter Somerville Large which chronicles … [Read more...]