Hot. Very Hot. Boiling infact. That would have to be the first thing that comes to mind to describe our past ten days in Cambodia. Bring on the rainy season, which is apparently just days away! Something happened to raise the already-high temperature as we took a boat from Chau Doc on the Mekong Delta (a very pleasant, oddly un-touristy spot) to cross the border into Cambodia, arriving in Phnom Penh right in the midday heat. We spent 6 days in the Capital, part of the time sorting out our visas for the next bit of the trip. Stepping off the [View Full Entry]

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Barcelona to Nimes The morning started with a neighbor/camper who was traveling across Europe walking/backpacking. He is from Auckland, New Zealand, and is raising money for SOS, a charity. He does charitable work with children that have AIDS, etc. After making a contribution, we invited him to join us for breakfast. It must be lonely to be traveling by tent, in and out of towns and know no one. He was a admirable young man with a good heart. It was a long drive from Barcelona, Spain into Nimes, France, and the tolls were many. It was hard to keep track [View Full Entry]

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As mentioned in our last blog, after the scamming and thieving in Cambodia we decided to head to Koh Chang in Thailand a few days earlier than we originally planned. We booked our transport through the hotel we were staying at as they offered a free drop-off to the bus station for our 7:30am bus. We weren’t looking forward to the journey as last year when we did it the road was still being constructed and we had to use a series of ferries to cross the 4 rivers along the way which meant getting on and off the bus in [View Full Entry]

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From Cusco we took a bus to Peru's capital city Lima. This was just a quick stop off for 2 nights before moving on for more trekking. Lima is a massive metropolis and we weren't there long enough to get to grips with the whole place. Instead we spent most of our time in the posh Miraflores district next to the Pacific Ocean. We went shopping, sipped pisco sours by the sea and cooked ourselves amazing meals after we found a supermarket with gorgeous fresh produce and plenty of European treats (proper cheese and ham!). We also took an afternoon trip [View Full Entry]

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Mop up the tears. Put down the gallon of ice cream. Stop the prozac. I'm Back! I have finally returned to fill the empty feeling that all of my loyal followers have suffered through for the last 2 years. You will all be excited to know that more Paul Nevin blogs are headed your direction. I’m headed out on another adventure and this time I’m dragging my girlfriend Courtney with me. I’m uprooting her from her comfortable life and throwing her into the mix of chaos that I consider fun travel. We are planning to spend 6 months volunteering with the [View Full Entry]

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I was walking around the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul when I got the idea to come to Syria. The bazaar gave me memories of Tabriz in Iran, not because of any similarities, but because of the glaring differences - the mass of tourists, the relatively dour Turks, and the hard-sell. My original plan had been to potter gradually along Turkey's Black Sea coast and on to Georgia. However, leaving the bazaar that morning, it's fair to say the prospect didn't really fill me with excitement. I remembered hearing from various people about the bazaars, or souks, of Aleppo and Damascus, and [View Full Entry]

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Both of us would tackle the same Inca Trail and both have our own challenges in doing so. It seems only fair that both of us should outline these personal challenges and highlights to you. Before we do this, we will give you an overview of our route and some of the things we saw along the way. We left our hotel in Ollyantambo at 7am, after a light breakfast and our customary cup of coca tea. The coca leaves are used to give energy and help with the affects of altitude sickness. The starting point of our 4 day Inca [View Full Entry]

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As we sail across the Pacific Ocean towards Los Angeles, Alan and I have six days to enjoy life at sea. A flurry of activity fills the days…lectures, naps, Pooch (a card game), naps, Pooch, wine tastings, naps, dancing in the nightclub, Pooch, exercise, shows, naps, well, you get the picture. Those who’ve never crossed the equator are initiated into the club (our third time crossing the equator). The crew hosts the country fair on the pool deck and of course, the Krew Kapers, with entertainment from the talented crewmembers, brings down the house. But, a dancing contest turns out to [View Full Entry]

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