Joakimsen.COM - Travel Blog

On our way home we made a couple of stops, primarily to visit old friends, who we haven't seen for a long time and new friends, who we met on the long travel. It was a smooth way of coming back to the 'reality'. The pace in Europe was naturally higher and we found ourselves walking very slowly compared to others. After arriving here, the tropical habit of watching out for falling coconuts didn't abandoned us immediately, when passing below trees. Malaysia 7 - 13 July Our flight to...

Total stay: 13 May - 7 July (55 Nights) The Philippines wasn't on our ‘to-do-list', but as our old friend was traveling in the country, we couldn't resist. The first thing that struck us when we arrived to this easy-going country, was the lack of tourists. Whichever place we visit, there were only a few tourists if any. That explains why many of the beach resorts weren't prepared for visitors, i.e. having food and resources available. The Philippines is perhaps not on the typical...

Total stay: 10 April – 10 May (30 Nights) Nepal (together with Myanmar ) was for us one of the most distinctive countries we've visited in Asia. It's very poor country with a challenging history (in 2001 the king's family was gunned down by the price it self), but the Nepali are proud to never have been colonized by the British, as the neighboring country India has been. The Nepali are very kind and easygoing people, eager to converse with travelers. That's how we found out that Aneta...

Total stay: 23 Feb - 21 March (26 nights) Myanmar is an interesting country to visit; it's one of a kind. The known brutal 'monk incident' in Yangon that happened a couple of months before we started our around the world trip, made traveling to Myanmar both unsafe and unmoral. Tourism has fallen down dramatically, they talk about 80% decrease since the 'incident'. But as time went by, travelers we met returning from the country had a different view than the rest of the world;...

31 Jan - 07 Feb (7 Nights) While our trip in northern Thailand was coming to an end and our friend's holiday was almost half way through, we tried to figure out our next destination. It was not easy to choose between Laos and Cambodia as both are very interesting countries. The ancient temples of Angor near Siem Reap made Cambodia more attractive - at least for now. A week is what we could afford to spend here, but we would like to come back and explore less touristic places in the country. Fast...

Total stay: 22 Dec - 12 May (On and off for 78 nights) Our around the world ticket expired just one day after arriving Thailand. On 23rd December '08 it's been one year since we left home and this was the second Christmas away from home. First Christmas was in Venezuela together with Andreas, Mabel and her family. Second was together with our new friend Celine, from France, who we met first time in Bolivia , then in Chile and now in Thailand and soon in France. Fast Facts Capital: Bangkok...

Total stay: 24 Nov - 22 Dec (28 days) We love Australia for several reasons; 1) Aussies are easygoing people and their no-worries attitude made us feel comfortable and relaxed. 2) Abundance of wild animals. 3) Great dining. 4) Endless beaches for yourself. Fast Facts Capital: Canberra Known for: endless beaches, Great Barrier Reef, kangaroos, koalas, venomous reptiles and spiders, Sydney Opera House, Wine Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia Flag Melbourne 24 - 30 Nov St. Kilda, were...

Tahiti Total stay: 9 - 15 Nov (6 nights) A Stopover in Tahiti was the only way out of Easter Island heading west, thus we thought we could make a short stop and have a closer look at the exotic place. The French Polynesia Franc currency notes were very decorative, but so large that we couldn't fit them in the wallet. Fast Facts Capital: Papeete Known for: black pearls, exotic islands Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahiti Flag (French Polynesia) Papeete 9 - 10 Nov We arrived at midnight...

Total stay: 30 Oct - 9 Nov (10 nights) Santiago de Chile 30 Oct – 2 Nov Before we flew to the Rapa Nui we had two days in Santiago de Chile. We met a 23 years old poet working in our hostel. Well done for a young writer to give out his first book at that age. Rapa Nui 2 – 9 Nov The 5 hrs flight started with an upgrade to business class as there was a double booking of our seats (who says that seats number 13 brings unluck...). We celebrated with champagne and tasty food. The Polynesian island is...

Total stay: 12 - 30 Oct (17 nights) Argentina is huge! It's world's eighth largest country, after India. Argentineans know how to enjoy their lives to the full. All you can eat buffets with juicy steaks, great wine and dining late is on everyone's agenda. We loved Buenos Aires so much and we wanted to spend more time here thus we sacrificed a short visit to Uruguay. Fast Facts Capital : Buenos Aires Population : 39 million Known for : tango, tasteful steaks, wines, Maradona, Wikipedia...

Total stay: 16 Sept - 11 Oct (24 nights) Chile stretches for 4300 km over half the continent. The country has to offer everything from the world's driest desert to volcanoes, geysers, glacier fields, beaches, lakes, steppe and plenty more. The comfortable busses made it easy to travel long distances. We usually chose bed busses where you could put your seat into a bed position just like in the business class onboard airplanes. The food is great here, especially the fresh seafood and BBQs. Fast...

This year has been a fantastic year with lot of experiences meeting both old and new friends along the way. We just composed a small clip with some of the people we have met on this trip - wishing all our family, friends and colleagues the best for the year to come. As you can see we are doing just perfect out here on our short world trip. Also some of you know we have extended our trip with a couple of months and we'll be traveling until the end of August 2009. Merry Christmas and Happy New...

Total Stay: 20 Aug - 16 Sept (27 days) This country gave us a lot of impressions and we collected a lot of material to post on this blog. It was time consuming and therefore it has been a while since the previous posting took place. As Guatemala, Bolivia wasn't on our list of countries we wanted to visit, mainly because of the increasing crime numbers. Fortunately, we met a lot of travelers who had positive and adventurous experience in the country. Since we were just a couple of hours drive...

Total Stay: 22 July - 20 August (29 Days) The first impression of the South America was - wow! What a different planet than Caribbean and Central America. The dominating color was red-brownish, like the soil that they use to create adobe bricks, to build houses and fences, which eventually gets wet and 'melt', as we've seen in many places both in Peru and Bolivia. Peru is full of historical mysteries and you can find temples and ruins, many still not excavated or even yet discovered....

Total stay: 27 June – 22 July Costa Rica is a very lush place with plenty of protected national parks and a rich diversity of flora and fauna. In many places we felt like walking in a zoo. Waiting at a bus stop turned out to be an eye bowling activity with iguanas and exotic birds. The monkeys are not so shy either - especially in Montezuma. Costa Rica is actually on top of the list of countries when it comes to number of species. The country is like a natural pharmacy, with all medical remedies...