We spent the last 3 weeks in northern and central Italy, arriving in the south of France a couple of days ago. Here are some of our impressions of Italy. Much of the landscape appears dry and rocky, but it’s still green. Not the rich, dark, rainforest green of British Continue Reading
Impressions
Impressions of Germany
Germany has a lot of similarities to Austria. After about a week in Germany, here are some of the things we’ve noticed. Germany is a financial powerhouse of Europe, despite spending a fortune to re-integrate East Germany since 1989. There are still considerable economic differences between the former East and West. Germany Continue Reading
Impressions of Austria
The first country in Europe that we’re traveling through is Austria. Here are some things we find interesting about Austria. Because it’s our first foray into Europe, we can’t be sure whether these items are unique to Austria or more common throughout the continent. Among other things, Austriais famous for Continue Reading
Observations about Vietnam
The government here is communist (or heavily socialist), but the economic system is capitalist. Vietnam has been repelling invaders for the last two thousand years — the Khmers, Chinese, French, and most recently the Americans. They are fiercely proud of this fact. Vietnam is one of the largest rice exporters Continue Reading
Observations about Cambodia
Here are some things that we’ve noticed about Camdodia: Cambodia is officially a democracy, but the Cambodian People’s Party seems to control the place. They have signs up in every village and then win every election. Much of the country is flat. It is covered with rice patties as far Continue Reading
Observations about Laos
Laos is a communist country, but like most communist countries today, capitalism is alive and well. Communist flags fly from the front of many buildings. The major tourist locations are quite developed, providing most of the services of Thailand. There are far more tourists in the northern part of Laos Continue Reading
First Impressions of Bangkok
Bangkok is a very different place than when Patrick traveled here twenty years ago, and very different than the other large cities we’ve been to on our travels. The city is very modern looking. There are a lot of sky scrapers. The shopping area looks like a futuristic version of Continue Reading
Observations about Nepal
The majority of people in Nepal are Hindu rather than Buddhist as we had expected. In the mountains, the majority are Buddhist. Prayer flags and prayer wheels are common. Almost the entire Nepali royal family was killed in a murder suicide by one of the crown princes in 2001, leading Continue Reading
Observations about India
Men where pants here, regardless of the temperature. Usually only boys (and tourists) wear shorts. Indian women typically wear a sari (a single piece of cloth that is wrapped without pins or buttons) or a salwar kameez (a long shirt and trouser combination). Younger people prefer jeans, despite the fact Continue Reading
Observations about East and Southern Africa
People have a vague understanding of Canada, and a generally positive impression. Some think it is part of the US. Many know that it is cold there, and can quote the city names of ‘Toronto’ and ‘Vancouver’, even though they have no idea where these are. The majority of the Continue Reading