Photobotic: Vanessa Oguchi Photography @photobotic - Tumblr Blog

RTW TRIP ANARADHAPURA, SRI LANKA DAY 137-138: CYCLING AROUND RUINS

Compared to India, I thought taking local Sri Lankan buses was pretty painless. There always seems to be red buses going in your direction, and the cost is cheap. The only thing you need to worry about is getting your big bags on board, and getting seats for long rides if the bus is busy. Our next destination was going to take us around the ancient ruins of Anaradhapura by bicycle. We had read…

View On WordPress

#Anaradhapura #ancient ruins Sri Lanka #Backpack Lanka #backpacker travel #cheap travel #hoppers #hostel in Colombo Sri Lanka #how to get from Colombo to Anradhapura #Pollonaruwa #riding bikes around ruins #Salgado Bakery #sri lanka transportation #Sri Lankan Breakfast #sri lankan buses #Travel Lodge Lake View Tourist Resort #travel on a budget #what to see in Sri Lanka

RTW TRIP COLOMBO, SRI LANKA DAY 136: THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT INDIA

Today was spent meandering the city of Colombo, and recovering from food poisoning from the kottu roti. Poor Greg had it worse than me! First impressions of Sri Lanka: It is so clean! There are sidewalks! Cars let you pass as you cross the street! We ventured over to the Fort Market area where we saw vendors selling all sorts of fruit and produce. I always love going to the market areas, as I…

View On WordPress

#Anthony Bourdain #backpacker travel #Colombo #food poisoning in Sri Lanka #Fort Market #Galle Green #kottu roti #old City Hall #Pilawoos #rtw trip #Sri Lanka #Sri Lanka versus India #travel around the world on $50 a day #What to do in Colombo

RTW TRIP COLOMBO, SRI LANKA DAY 135: A SURPRISE VISIT TO SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka was not on our original itinerary for our around the world trip, but after we talked to our friend in India about it, we decided to make a detour. I can say we were very happy we did! Saying good-bye to India with their version of Coke. Incorrect spelling with a terrible taste. People described Sri Lanka to us as a cleaner, and slightly more expensive India. Since the country is so…

View On WordPress

#Anthony Bourdain #Arrak #Backpack Lanka #best snack in Sri Lanka #Cheap places to stay Colombo #Colombo #fort #Hitchcock #kottu roti #Mahesh owner Backpack Lanka #Parts Unknown #ravens of Sri Lanka #rotis #samosa #Sri Lanka #Sri Lanka isa #where to stay on a budget in Colombo

THE COOL KIDS SAY INDIA IS AWESOME! A TWO TO THREE MONTH ITINERARY

Why go? So many people are discouraged to go to India for so many silly reasons. You hear bad things on the news about India, you are afraid of getting sick, you are worried you will be the only non-hippie, you are worried it is really dirty. Well, if we all thought like that, we would stay cooped up in our house watching TV and surfing the net. Out of all the places I have been to in my life,…

View On WordPress

RTW TRIP CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA DAY 132 – 134: FAREWELL INDIA!

Our final stop in Southern India was a sad one for me, mainly because I wasn’t charmed by Chennai, and also because it was the only place I got sick in all of India … on this trip at least. We were flying out of Chennai, and decided to spend a couple days in this city to say farewell to India. We stayed at what I am convinced is the best place to stay in Chennai… at least on a backpacker budget. …

View On WordPress

RTW TRIP MAMALLAPURAM, TAMIL NADU, INDIA DAY 130 – 131: MOVING INTO BACKPACKISTAN

A surprisingly charming stop was Mamallapuram. When we first arrived to the town also known as Mahabalipuram, all we saw were a lot of stone carving stores, guesthouse after guesthouse, and clothing shops carrying elephant print harem pants. I was very worried that Lonely Planet’s description, calling this place Backpackistan, would make it a not-so-great stop in Southern India. But as we got…

View On WordPress

RTW TRIP PONDICHERRY, TAMIL NADU, INDIA DAY 127 - 129: WHEN YOU WANT TO BE IN FRANCE WHILE VISITING INDIA

RTW TRIP PONDICHERRY, TAMIL NADU, INDIA DAY 127 – 129: WHEN YOU WANT TO BE IN FRANCE WHILE VISITING INDIA

We took a cheap bus ride from Thiruvannamalai to Pondicherry for a mere 115 rupees. Pondicherry is another one of those charming towns, with French colonial buildings with cute little stores, trees along the roads, with spacious roads by the water. Some people may even go as far to say that it feels like France without ever leaving India. I will let you be the judge of that! I will say…

View On WordPress

RTW TRIP THIRUVANNAMALAI, INDIA DAY 125 -126: MEETING PILGIMS AND CATCHING A GREAT VIEW

We hopped on a local bus from Vellore to Thiruvannamalai. We didn’t know what to expect really, but knew some tourists come here to see the temples. Arunchala Temple When we arrived, we were hot and tired and not in the mood to look for lodging. The first choice in the Lonely Planet wasn’t available. We looked at several other places, a few that even had squat toilets or no showering…

View On WordPress

RTW TRIP VELLORE, TAMIL NADU, INDIA DAY 124: A NON-MEDICAL VISIT IN MEDICAL TOURISM TOWN

We overestimated our stay in India, so we spent a few days here and there in small towns eating good food and just hanging out. Colors of Vellore We stopped off in Vellore, only because we were on our way to Thiruvannamalai. Vellore, is known as a city with excellent medical services, so there were plenty of accommodation, mostly geared towards medical tourists. We looked at several of places,…

View On WordPress

#around the world trip #Arthy Restaurant #backpacker travel #cheap accommodation Vellore #cheap travel #dhal #how to quit your job to travel #india #Ismail Residency #Jalagandeswara Temple #medical tourism India #medical tourism Vellore #rtw trip #Tamil Nadu #Thiruvannamalai #Vellore #Vellore Fort

RTW TRIP BANGALORE, INDIA DAY 117 - 123: What To Do in Bangalore

RTW TRIP BANGALORE, INDIA DAY 117 – 123: What To Do in Bangalore

The next few days in Bangalore were surprisingly very chill and relaxed since Greg was sick in bed at our friend’s and since one of our friends was in India with crutches. I welcomed the down time! The sights in Bangalore There was this great little local place called Apu’s Kitchen that had some great idlys, curries, parotas, and a dessert-like item called ‘baths.’ They were basically sweet…

View On WordPress

RTW TRIP BANGALORE, INDIA DAY 116: THE BANGALORE BLAST

We were excited to head to Bangalore, as we were meeting up with some New York friends here. After a long and pretty comfortable sleeper bus from Trivandrum to Bangalore, we arrived at our friend’s apartment early in the morning. Our NY friend was in India the same time as us, and her boyfriend split his time between Bangalore and NY. His apartment was big, modern, and beautiful, so we felt…

View On WordPress

#around the world trip #authentic western food in Bangalore #Backpacking #bangalore #Bangalore explosion #budget travel #cheap travel #craft beer #explosion #how to quit your job to travel #how to travel around the world on $50 a day #how to travel when you are broke #india #quit your job #rtw trip #sleeper bus from Trivandrum to Bangalore #the Biere Club #wanderlust

RTW TRIP TRIVANDRUM, INDIA DAY 110 TO 115: THE IMAGINATION FOR 'LIFE OF PI' STARTED HERE

RTW TRIP TRIVANDRUM, INDIA DAY 110 TO 115: THE IMAGINATION FOR ‘LIFE OF PI’ STARTED HERE

We were going to head to Madurai for a few days over Christmas, but Booking.com and Agoda.com had zero hotels available online. We thought a good workaround would be to head to Trivandrum, and then just show up at Madurai and look for accommodation on foot. We found out Madurai was a big pilgrimage site, and realized we didn’t want to compete with mass crowds, so we forfeited our already paid…

View On WordPress

RTW TRIP VARKALA BEACH, KERALA, INDIA DAY 104 TO 109: GOA'S BUDGET FOODIE COUSIN

RTW TRIP VARKALA BEACH, KERALA, INDIA DAY 104 TO 109: GOA’S BUDGET FOODIE COUSIN

Goa seems to get all the attention when it comes to beach time in India, but our next destination was just as good, if not better, depending on what you like about beach towns. waters of Varkala Varkala is a small town catered to mostly western tourists, with a decent beach with strong waves. Hovering over the beach is a giant cliff with a bunch of restaurants and small shops. We spent a lot of…

View On WordPress

RTW TRIP MUNROE ISLAND, KERALA, INDIA DAY 102 TO 103: A REAL HOMESTAY IN THE BACKWATERS OF KERALA

One of the top experiences we had in Southern India was spending a few days at a homestay in Munroe Island. This was the first homestay that actually felt like a homestay. While it was difficult to get to, we were able to experience local life with an Indian family in a remote area, staying with one of the two families running homestays on Monroe Island. Around Munroe Island: workers along the…

View On WordPress

RTW TRIP ALLEPPEY, INDIA DAY 99 TO 101: TO HOUSEBOAT OR NOT TO HOUSEBOAT?

From Kottayam, there are public ferries that can take you through the backwaters of Alleppey (also known as Alappuzha). Most people head to Alleppey, a great town filled with backwater streets, farm life, and the quiet river life on the houseboats. This area is definitely a highlight of South India. Different houseboat designs We found out that usually the ferries departed from Kodimatha Jetty…

View On WordPress

RTW TRIP KOTTAYAM, INDIA DAY 98: PIT STOP TO THE BACKWATERS OF KERALA

Our next stop was to head to the backwaters of Alleppey. Since Fort Kochi to Allepey was quite a bit to travel in one day, we broke it up by staying in Kottayam for the night. We had to take a rickshaw, then a ferry to Ernakulum, then another tuktuk to the bus terminal, then a bus to Kottayam. In a way, we were glad we arrived late in the day, as there really wasn’t anything in Kottayam We…

View On WordPress

RTW TRIP KOCHI, INDIA DAY 94 TO 97: EATING AND DRINKING YOUR WAY AROUND COLONIAL TOWN

We were looking forward to our visit to Kochi, as we had read that Fort Kochi had colonial buildings with some nice streets with cute little cafés and restaurants. A lot of travelers were telling us it is quite the charming place! Sadly, our first impression of Fort Kochi consisted of us arriving at the Ernakulam bus station at 3:30am, when we thought we would arrive closer to 5am. Our bus was…

View On WordPress

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Photobotic: Vanessa Oguchi Photography