The latest Journal Entries from Bev and Larry at Footstops.com en-us Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:59:44 -0700 Copyright 2008, Bryan Rite @ Footstops.com Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:59:44 -0700 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 240 http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/ We really have come full circle back to the place where this whole adventure began, 14 weeks, 14 countries and 11,000 km. earlier. Before taking off north Etienne Zhand took us for  a wonderful hike in the mountains near Mulhouse. We ended th... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5767/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5767/ Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:11:13 -0700 We feel like we have come full circle now that we are back in Mulhouse. After leaving Baden Baden we spent a relaxing week in Alsace, one of our favorite regions in France. After all this travelling we realize why we like France so much. Here the tou... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5681/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5681/ Sat, 09 Aug 2008 18:13:51 -0700 It was interesting revisiting the Czech Republic a country we had previously visited in 2000and 2002. The country has progressed enormously and now very nearly resembles its western neighbours, Austria and Germany,  in many ways. Fortunately ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5622/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5622/ Sat, 02 Aug 2008 04:17:42 -0700 Love these small countries. With a little driving you can really move. Since our last post we have done three countries; Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic. We were able to do a couple more hikes with via ferratas before leaving Slovakia. We ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5545/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5545/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:43:23 -0700 We seem to be moving quickly again after all that downtime in Croatia. We stayed in Visebrad, Hungary an extra day to see the medieval fete happening that weekend. It was extraordinary! There were hundreds of people dressed up in very authentic co... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5397/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5397/ Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:05:14 -0700 Since our last posting we feel like we have been travelling again. Bosnia, Croatria and Hungary in such a short period of time. After leaving Sarajevo we drove through the Moslem part of Bosnia stopping in the towns of Travnic and Jajce. The damag... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5323/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5323/ Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:54:05 -0700 It wasn t easy but we pulled ourselves away from the Croatian coast. The weather the past few days has been sunny and very hot. So hot that it became difficult to do anything but lie on the beach. As well summer holidays are starting and the touri... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5243/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5243/ Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:52:17 -0700 We haven t moved a great deal in the last few days. Croatia continues to be a wonderful experience, uncrowded beaches, brillant sunshine and good food. We left our great camping spot on Korcula and headed for the hustle and bustle of Dubrovnik.It ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5201/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5201/ Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:57:20 -0700 The Dalmatian coast certainly has changed in the last 32 years! The drive down the coast is as beautiful as ever but the road is in much better shape. We bypassed Split as the rain was pouring down but by the time we were on the ferry to the islan... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5111/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5111/ Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:08:05 -0700 We have had to let the weather dictate our itinerary. The original plan was to head south in Italy and take the ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik. We battled stormy weather all week at the villa and the morning of our departure was the worst day ever s... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5058/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5058/ Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:44:21 -0700 Back in Italy after all this time. It remains as beautiful as ever. So far we have been able to explore some new places and some places that we have visited in the past. Cinque terre was for us a new experience. It is situated along the Ligur... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5001/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/5001/ Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:58:54 -0700 The trip from Mulhouse down to Provence was wonderful. We took a detour by way of the Jura mountains and spent an afternoon hiking around a beautiful area dotted with small lakes. We stayed at a lovely auberge and treated ourselves to a fondue f... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4879/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4879/ Sat, 24 May 2008 01:43:39 -0700 If it's Tuesday this must be Germany(or Sweden or Norway). On our first day of travelling we put some serious milage under our belts. We left Goteborg around noon and by dinner time we were nearly out of Denmark. We decided to keep right on g... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4811/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4811/ Sat, 17 May 2008 08:11:27 -0700 It's quite a change going from a mid range Third World country to a top of the line First World country (if you forget a little blip of a three week layover in Vancouver).Bangkok and Goteborg are certainly two very different venus. To start w... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4769/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4769/ Mon, 12 May 2008 02:58:43 -0700 We have spent the last three weeks opening mail, paying bills and visiting with friends and relatives. Now we have repacked our bags with warmer clothes and camping gear. First stop is Goteborg. Sweden to pick up our new Volvo V50 station ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4739/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4739/ Sat, 10 May 2008 22:59:06 -0700 We saved Bangkok for the last. That is not to say that we saved the best for the last. The city is a bizarre mixture of the ultra futuristic  alongside the time worn past. Here you see glass and steel shopping malls next to tarp covered stree... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4486/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4486/ Sat, 19 Apr 2008 21:41:09 -0700       It may seem a little shallow but after steaming hot Luang Prabang, super hot and polluted Bangkok, and an amazingly hot 4 hour journey on a diesel engine train car our wants boiled down to three things; a place with ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4362/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4362/ Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:31:49 -0700 What a difference a short plane ride can make. So far on this trip we have travelled on the ground and change comes slowly. Suddenly we went from noisy,crowded, busy and fairly polluted Hanoi to Vietiane the super laid back, extremely small and manag... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4202/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4202/ Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:22:59 -0700 What a change! Hoi An was touristy but at the same time sleepy. Hanoi,par contre, is a hive of activity. The noise , the activity, the traffic are unbelievable. Unfortunately the people of Hanoi have exchanged bicycles for motorcycles and the motorcy... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4088/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4088/ Sun, 23 Mar 2008 05:40:52 -0700 So far of the places we've been in Vietnam Hoi An is the place to stop for awhile. And we have for 8 days. Hoi An is a UNESCO  town which means that the old part of the city is protected from any commercial development. Also Hoi An is one of the few... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4006/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/4006/ Sat, 15 Mar 2008 21:03:41 -0700 Being city people we really enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City as the younger people call it). It was also fun as we were able to link up with a couple of friends from North Vancouver who were visiting their son. Of course w... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3909/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3909/ Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:58:39 -0800 What a huge change going from Cambodia to Viet Nam! This country is alive with the bustle of economic activity. It is called the tiger economy of Southeast Asia and rightly so. Everywhere you look there is some form of small or large enterprise go... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3797/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3797/ Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:41:51 -0800 We couldn't do this part of the trip without our tuk-tuk drivers. Saly drove us around Siem Reap and Ankor Wat . He phoned his brother in Phnom Penh who picked us up at the bus station, found us a place to stay and drove us around town. He then ph... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3705/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3705/ Sun, 17 Feb 2008 19:46:13 -0800 Our trip up from southern Thailand was amazingly hassle free. The night sleeper to Bankok was a dream. The best sleep we have had since leaving home. From Bankgok we took the train again to the Thai border town of Araynaprathet and then a 3 hour taxi... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3634/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3634/ Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:50:56 -0800 The sun seeking, island hopping part of our trip has come to an end. It's a good thing our visas are expiring in a couple of days or we may have been tempted to laze around here the entire trip. Life is easy.  You hop on a boat, sail to the nex... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3525/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3525/ Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:29:26 -0800 We haven't moved all that far since our last entry. About 15 km. We consider this to be the vacation part of our trip. We thought Koh Lanta was laid back and quiet then we got to Koh Jum. If you want to relax this is the place to be. We had a new bun... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3429/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3429/ Mon, 21 Jan 2008 03:44:22 -0800 This has been the most relaxing way to begin a trip ever and a great change from cold, gloomy Vancouver weather. Massages on the beach, great food and lots of fruit drinks. While apparently a lot of Thailand has been infested by large scale developme... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3359/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3359/ Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:25:39 -0800 Here we are finally, after close to 30 hours of travel. We had 6 hours to wait at the new Suvarnabhumi airport. Bev took advantage of the wait to have her first Thai massage. It was a great idea. She slept like a baby our first night, while I did no... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3331/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3331/ Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:40:43 -0800 We have never blogged before and are taking this opportunity to practice on a known computer on high speed internet. If we can't do it here what chance have we on a PC on a dial up connection somewhere in the jungle?I think we are ready: bags pack... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3245/ http://www.footstops.com/lamundsen/blog/3245/ Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:02:19 -0800