Guatemala and Belize Itinerary

8.3.08
HKG -> LAX, stopover for 16 hours, LAX -> Belize City (BZE)

9.3.08 (Flores)
Arrived BZE in the morning. Took local bus to Benque Viejo del Carmen and then taxi to the border. Entered Guatemala. Shared a van with some foreigners and went to Flores. Joined a sunrise tour to Tikal.

10.3.08 (Bus)
TIkal sunrise tour departed at 3.00 a.m. Walked up to Temple IV under the dark. Rained rained and could not see sunrise of course. Left Tikal at 11:00 a.m. and returned to Flores. Rent a car in the afternoon to Yaxha. Stayed there till 6:00 p.m. and watched sunset after heavy rain there. Night bus to Guatemala City (advised by many ppl, don't take night bus in Guatemala except this one).

11.3.08 (Antigua)
Bus arrived at 6:00 a.m. Changed shuttle to Antigua. Plenty of guesthouse in this old colonial town. Relaxed atmosphere. Looked for guesthouse and arranged local tours occupied whole morning. City tour in the afternoon.

12.3.08 (Antigua)
Cont' city tour and went up to Cerro de la Cruz with a good view over the town (warned by LP, this was a hot spot of robbery and mugging in the past. you may ask the tourist police to accompany you. i saw some foreigners did but i dunno how to arrange). I joined a local tour (departed at 2:00 p.m.) to Volcan Pacaya in the afternoon. Hiked for 2 hrs to see the lava flow. Hot but great! Returned to town at around 9:00 p.m. Most of the restaurants have closed already

13.3.08 (Thu) (Antigua)
Took tourist shuttle bus to Chichicastenango (Thursday and Sunday Market). Should go on Sunday as more religious activities. Very disappointed. A tourist oriented rather than authentic market. If u look for authentic market, Solola at Lago de Atitlan may be a good choice.

14.3.08 (Antigua)
Bought a transport package to Lago de Atitlan. You may go to Panajachel after Chichi market. Then took the tourist boat at Lago de Atitlan (departure time 8:30 a.m.). We took same boat which would stop at 3 villages including San Pedro, Santiago and San Antonio. If you have time, stay in one of the villages and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. My friend told me it was very cheap also. The day I went was cloudy and affected my impression of Lago de Atitlan. It should be one of the most beautiful volcanoe lakes in the world.

15.3.08 (Antigua)
Took tourist shuttle bus to Monterrico. Had a paddle boat trip in the mangrove area. Visited turtle sanctuary there and enjoyed black sand beach.

16.3.08 (Antigua) (Sun)
Day of procession. A couple of days before Good Friday. Now it was Semana Santa (Easter Week). Though I can't stay till Sunday, I can still enjoy the rich religous atmosphere. Hundreds of ppl in deep purple robes, revered church sculptures, clouds of incense, cobble streets covered with colored sawdust and flower petals. I saw processions in both Antigua and Guatemala City. Morning in Antgua and afternoon in Guatemala City. Beware of your wallets.

17.3.08 (Coban)
Joined a 3d2n tour to Semuc Champey. First took 5 hours bus to Coban. Visited Biotopo del Quetzal in the afternoon. I saw Quetzal (national bird of Guate) in the exhibition hall . However, the cloudy forest air is fresh. Coban is just a small town and not many restaurants.

18.3.08 (Coban)
The view of Semuc Champey is great. Many turquoise lagoons form natural swimming pools. I had a great time in the pools also after tiresome climb to the mirador. Visited Grutas de Lanquin. I think Guilin stalactites caves are much better.

19.3.08 (Flores)
5 hours bus to Flores. Returned to the same guesthouse as we first arrived Flores. However, the room price increased by 40% because of Easter. City tour in this tiny town.

20.3.08 (Belize City)
Early morning bus to BZE. Heavy rain at the border. Took chicken bus to the capital of Belize -- Belmopan (perhaps smallest capital in the world), just a few blocks government buildings.

21.3.08 (Belize City) (Good Friday)
Dead city. All shops were closed, so did public transport. Rented a taxi to Altun Ha. Very expensive of course. Altun Ha is a tiny Mayan site. Returned to BZE in the afternoon. City tour in the dead city. Only Chinese ppl shops were open.

Safety of BZE is not good. Don't walk after dark esp near the local bus station (though we did). Many many Chinese in BZE. You can't imagine so many chinese restaurants there.

22.3.08 (LAX airport)
Rented the same taxi to Belize zoo. Many exotic animals there. National cycling race and many roads were blocked. Went to airport 5 hours before because of road block. Left BZE in the evening. BZE -> LAX. Slept in LAX airport.

23.3.08
LAX -> HKG

Mexico Itinerary

19/12/2005 HKG to Mexico City
20/12/2005 Mexico City: Templo Mayor, Zocalo, Palacio Nacional, Nacional Monte de Pledad, Main Post Office (Night bus to San Cristobal)
21/12/2005 San Cristobal: Cathedral, Santo Domingo, Zocalo (Evening bus to Tulum)
22/12/2005 Tulum
23/12/2005 Tulum morning bus to Chichen Itza (arrived at noon), Chichen Itza, evening bus to Merida
24/12/2005 Merida city tour
25/12/2005 Join a bus tour from Merida to Labna, Sayil, Kabah, Uxmal (Evening bus to Campeche)
26/12/2005 Campeche city tour
27/12/2005 Join a bus tour from Campeche to Edzna plus Xtacumbilxunan (mid-night bus to Villahermosa)
28/12/2005 Villahermosa: Parque-Museo La Venta
29/12/2005 (Morning bus to Palenque). Palenque (Night bus to Oaxaca)
30/12/2005 Oaxaca: City tour
31/12/2005 Bus to Mitla + Oaxaca city tour
1/1/2006 Monte Alban + Oaxaca short tour (Night bus to Pubela)
2/1/2006 Bus to Cholula half day tour + Pubela tour
3/1/2006 Morning bus to Mexico City+Museo Nacional de Antropologic
4/1/2006 Tula+Mexico City city tour
5/1/2006 Teotihuacan
6/1/2006 Mexico City to Hong Kong
7/1/2006 Hong Kong

Turkey and Greece Itinerary

2005年6月30日至7月17日(共18日)

D1:HKG-->IST (土航；13小時 stopover bkk，票價5200未連稅)
D2:遊Istanbul (overnight bus to goreme)
D3: self trekking in rose valley and sword valley.
D4: local tour open air museum + goreme周邊景點
d5-7: local tour to mt. nemrut+urfa. (180usd全包宴)
d8: local tour to underground cities + Ihlara valley (overnight bus to pamukkale).
d9: 巴士只是往Denizli，於那裡轉車往pamukkale(有可能是免費車，約半小時)遊pamukkale/hierapolis. 黃昏坐公巴往Denzil再轉車往marmaris.
d10:坐船往希臘的rhodes island day tour，回marmaris.
d11: 坐車往selcuk，遊selcuk
d12: 遊ephesus，黃昏坐車往bregama
d13: 遊pergamum (市內完全沒有公交往景點，全部要搭的士或hitchhike)
d14: 坐車往Bursa
d15: 遊bursa
d16: 坐車回istanbul(約3小時)，下午ist市內遊
d17: ist市內遊，晚上坐機回港。
d18: 到港

Sri Lanka Itinerary

2004年曾作短暫旅遊7日，主要是culutral triangle，行程如下：
2004年1月20日至26日

D1: 夜機到，宿colombo第二區
D2: 坐長途車往Kandy，參觀佛牙廟，下午往遊elephant orphange
D3: 坐巴士往Sigirya，登山欣賞5世紀的壁畫，在山上等日落。
D4: 坐三輪車往Dambulla Old Cave Temple，觀光完後，坐巴士往Polonaruwa，包車遊Polonaruwa的遺址。
D5: 坐巴士往Anuradhapura，包車遊覧景點。黃昏坐車回colombo。
D6: 暢遊colombo，包括鐘樓、fort, Liberty Plaza等。但不太習慣可倫坡街上處處是沙包陣。
D7: 再見斯里蘭卡，直往機場。

Ecuador Itinerary

I visited Ecuador in 2006 (27.10.06 to 16.11.06)(21 days). My itinerary is as follows：

27.10 & 28.10
HKG --> LAX (via MNL) by PR
LAX --> Miami --> Quito by AA

29.10 to 5.11
Quito --> Galapagos (via Guayauil) by TAME
I booked a 8-day Galapagos cruise (including flight ticket to Galapagos) thro' a travel agent in Ecuador before my departure from HK. The boat I took was a tourist class boat known as Rumba.

5.11
Flied from Galapagos to Guyayail
Guayauil to Cuenca by bus

6.11
A.M.
Cuenca --> Ingapirca by bus
Sightseeing there
P.M.
Ingapirca -> Cuenca
Visit a Panama hat factory in Cuenca

7.11
A.M.
Sightseeing around Cuenca including Santo Domingo, New Cathedral, Rio Tomebamba
P.M.
Cuenca --> Alausi by bus (Alausi is really a very very small town)

8.11
A.M.
Bought train ticket (from Alausi - Sibambe - Alausi) in the morning and toured around the little town Alausi. Alausi is only a stop over station. So the trained arrived at 11.00 a.m. was already full of ppl on top of the train (no one will sit inside the carrier), that's the selling point Sibambe is actually a disuse station at the bottom of Devil's nose.
P.M.
We returned to Alausi around 1.40 p.m. We left Alausi for Riobamba by bus in the afternoon. We changed bus in Riobama for Latacunga in the evening.

9.11
A.M.
Took a bus from Latacunga to Saquisili at 6.30 a.m. Enjoyed the traditional animal market there (Thursday market). Spent whole morning there.
P.M.
Returned to Latacunga. Left Latacunga for Quito in the afternoon. Toured around Quito in the evening including Santo Domingo, Independence Plaze, Presidential Palace etc.

10.11
A.M.
Continued our sightseeing in Quito including San Franciso, San Agustin, Cathedral, La Compania
P.M.
Visited Mitad del Mundo. Took bus to Otavalo at 5.00 p.m.

11.11
Visited craft market in Otavalo (Saturday market). Spent whole morning and afternoon there. Bought lot of souvenirs there. Took bus back to Quito in the evening.

12.11
Visited El Panecillo in the morning to have a view of Quito. Sightseeing again around Quito in the afternoon including Museo del Banco Central.

13.11
Morning flight from Quito to Miami. Miami to LA

14.11
Stayed in LA for one day with relatives.

15-16.11
From LA to MNL, MNL to HKG

Tunisia Itinerary

I just spent 7 days in Tunisia in 2004. My itinerary is as follows:

D1: Tunis --> Sousse by train

D2: Sousse -- Visited Sunday market. By bus to Kairouan and visited Great Mosque, 3-door mosque, Barouta, Zaouia of Sid, Abid el-Ghariani, Maison du Gouverneur, Aghlabid basins, Zaouia of Sidi Sahab, Zaouia of Sidi Amor Abbada. Returned to Sousse by train.

D3: Sousse --> El Jem by bus. Visited Colosseum. Took louage to Mahdia. Visited Fatimid Fortification, Jewish cementary. Returned to Sousse by loage. Went to Ribat, Zaouia Zakkak, Museum Koubba.

D4: Sousse --> Mohadir by louage. Visited Ribat and Mausolem. Took bus to Sfax. Visited medina there. The medina I like most coz it is a vibrant rather than touristic community. Returned to Sousse.

D5: Sousse --> Tunis by louage. Visited Bardo Museum. Took train to Sidi Bou Said, a high class residential area. The houses here look like those in Greece with many colorful and well decorated doors! yes doors, the main attraction here. Returned to Tunis by train.

D6: Took train from Tunis to Carthage. Spent a lot of time in this UNESCO site. Returned to Tunis by train. Paid a visit to the medina of Tunis, another UNESCO site.

D7: Left Tunisia for Morocco by flight.

Jordan and Syria Itinerary

15 Dec 2006 to 7 Jan 2007 (24 days)

One of my most memorable journeys till now. Not only because of getting a Syrian visa at the border, but also the hospitality of Syrian people and superb historic sites. Though the weather was cold and daytime was short (sunset was around 4:30 p.m.) and many sites were closed at 4:00 p.m., you rarely met another tourists even in some world heritages. You can fully spent whole day to travel and no need to hide from the sun during midday as in summer.

D1-2: Doha and Amman (Hotel Palace on D2)
Flied from HKG to Doha by Qatar at 6.30 p.m. 12 hours transit time. Slept at the airport and waited and short city sightseeing in Doha. Took flight at 12.30 p.m from Doha to Amman. Arrived Amman at 4.00 p.m. Resided at Hotel Palace (Recommended by LP as author's choice). But no hot water for bathing :<

D3: Amman (Hotel Palace)
Called a taxis to Syrian Embassy and tried to apply visa there. The embassy is located in high class residential area. Mission failed. We were turned away in less than 5 mins. Great! Took taxis to Wahadat bus station and took a bus at 11:00 a.m. to Mahada. We spent half day there and took our dinner at Haret Jdoudna in an old traditional house. We took bus back to Amman after dinner.

D4: Amman (Hotel Palace)
Joined a local tour to desert castles in eastern Jordan including a world heritage Qusayr Amra with superb frescoes. Returned to hotel at 5:00 p.m. My friend from Hong Kong joined us at the hotel.

D5: Damascus (Ai Diwan Hotel)
As told by hotel owner, it is easier for those w/o visa to get a visa on arrival at Dera/ Ramtha border rather than Jabir/Nasib. We took a bus to Ramtha and changed for a service taxis at Ramtha. We were asked for only a few questions and waited at the arrival hall of Syrian border for 0.5 hour. Our service taxi driver dropped at the border bus station. We took a bus to Damascus. We toured around old city in the afternoon. We watched Casino Royale (007) at Cham Cinema (next to Cham hotel) for 3 USD only!

D6: Damascus (Ai Diwan Hotel)
We went to Syrian Air to buy ticket to Aleppo but was full today. We bought the air ticket to Aleppo for around HK$170 only. 'Shopping' at general post office. Then we visited National Museum and Suleimaniyya (handicraft market). Old city again, we visited Chapel of Ananias.

D7: Aleppo (Hotel Hanadi)
Our flight was at 7:00 a.m. and our passport was 'detained' by airline staff when boarding (strange practice). Perhaps the reasons was the final destination of the flight was Paris. Hanadi Hotel as mentioned by LP was a Barbie hotel, pink in color. We visited the souq again and then Citadel. After sunset at 4:00 p.m., we returned to souq again and visited Great Mosque (Omiyaad). The atmosphere of souq was great, not touristic at all.

D8: Aleppo (Hotel Hanadi)
We joined a tour (actually a car with driver) through hotel. We visited Ebla, different dead cities: Jerada & Ruweiha, Serjilla, Al-bara. Returned to Aleppo at 5:00 p.m. Dined at Al Jdeida (Christian area).

D9: Hama (Hotel Cairo)
Rented a car (Benz) again thro' hotel, we visited Mushabbak, St. Simeon Basillica, Deir Samaan, Ain Dara. The driver dropped us at the bus station and helped us to buy the ticket to Hama. Our bus left at 4:00 p.m.. The boss of Hotel Cairo was a classic businessman with fluent English. Afterall, I think we got a fair deal with him.

D10: Hama (Hotel Cairo) 24/12
Rented a car thro' hotel. Visited Apamea in the morning and then Musyaf. In the afternoon, we visited Krak Des Chevaliers at 2:30 p.m. Only 1.5 hours left before closing. We left at 4.20 p.m. (if we didn't leave, we would be locked up there). Happy silent night at a nice restaurant in the traditional old house! Restaurant is also owned by the hotel boss. We bought some Hama favorite brand chocolate: LEE.

D11: Hama (Hotel Cairo)
Benz again and visited Beehive villages (Sarouj village). Then Qasr ibn Wardan and Rasafa (a very raw site under excavation). We passed thro' Euphrates River with military checkpoint. Today's our final destination was Qala'at Ja'abar. We left at 4:20 p.m. and returned to Hama at 7:00 p.m.

D12: Hama & Lattakia (Al Hayat Hotel)
We visited the norias in Hama. However, because of the rain, the view was so and so. We walked to the citadel and then lunch. We took a 3:30 p.m. departed bus to Lattakia. Lattakia is actually a container port. We had a full meal at a high restaurant near the port.

D13: Palmyra (Palace Hotel)
We rented a taxis thro' Lattakia Hotel. We visited Qala'at Saldin. A feeling of Great Wall because of the overgrown. We took a bus from Lattakia to Homs at 1:00 p.m. It was snowing at Homs. However, we were stuck at Homs new bus station at 3:30p.m. So many soldiers took bus. We could only get the bus ticket to Palmyra which bus departed at 12:00 a.m. With the help of a nice lawyer, we took a taxi to old bus station to get the bus to Palmyra. Not only the station was old, so did the bus. Interior of bus turned into a disco after departure with loud music and crazy lightings and naughty little passenger. Fainted! With 4-hr bumpy ride, we reached Palmyra at 7:00 p.m. We dined at Spring Restaurant and then chit chat with some French customers till midnight about political system in Hong Kong and French.

D14: Damascus (Ai Diwan Hotel)
We left hotel at 6:20 p.m. I believed it was below 0 degree outside. We were just able to see sunrise at the site. Having breakfast at hotel after sunrise. Return to the site and visited some tombs also. We took bus at 2:00 p.m. back to Damascus and arrived at 5:15 p.m. Of course, we stayed at Ai Diwan hotel again. Ai Diwan was not targetted for backpackers, so they did not offer any local tour/ car rental. We looked for a car to visit Seidnayya,Maalula and Mar Musa. We finally found a car with driver at one of the budget hotels. However, whether we could go still depended on the road conditions (coz snowed a few days before). It was below 2degree at night in Damascus.

D15:Damascus (Ai Diwan Hotel)
Our nice driver with his new car was waiting us at 8:00 a.m outside the hotel. We visited Seidnayya and Maalula and Mar Musa. We were invited for having free lunch at the Mar Musa monastery, on the road back to Damascus, our car hitted a dog suddenly run out of the highway. We were safe except the bumper broken. The dog ... sorry. Back to hotel at 5:00 p.m., tomorrow was the start of Islamic holiday(Eid al-Adha). Though Friday, the souq would open till midnight, just like our CNY's eve. We also tried the highly recommended ice-cream shop in town Bekdach. Yummy, though temperature might be below zero. Very crowded souq.

D16: Damascus (Ai Diwan Hotel)
Today was Eid al-Adha. We took bus to Bosra. The Roman theatre was really huge and with good acoustic design. Great basalt rock and fine carving. We met 4 Chinese in Bosra. They were working in a glass factory in Aleppo and travelled around Syria during holidays. Returned to Damascus and enjoyed a great meal at a Chinese restaurant in Christian quarter (recommended by those Chinese guys). You rarely encountered a person at the souq. Great contrast with last nite.

D17: Amman (Hotel Amman Palace)
Wandered along the Straight Street. Most of the shops were closed because of new year. Visited Azem Palace and Omayad Mosque. It rained heavily :< After mosque, we visited some old house i.e. Aqqad House (now Danish Institute in Damascus). Final stop was St. Paul's chapel where Paul was hung out in a basket when he fled from Damascus. Time to say goodbye to Syria this hospitable country. We had a little farewell with staff of Ai Diwan Hotel (they treated us a nice lunch after stayed in their hotel for 5 days). We went to take bus to Amman. They Duty Free shop at the border looked no difference with any one in developed countries. So many cheap alcohlic drinks to buy. Great temptation. However, we encountered some problem at Jordan immigration office. They required us to buy visa for HKSAR passport which supposed to be visa free. Because of our insistence and with the help of the nice bus staff, we 'succeded'. No visa required! Jackie Chan's movie was shown on board. wow even in Syria/ Jordan.

D18: Amman (Hotel Amman Palace)
Took a bus to Jerash and spent 5 hours in the site. The weather was nice and we left when the site closed. As no bus returned to Amman coz it was too late, hitchhiked a van back to Amman (of course we needed to pay).

D19: Petra (Rose City Hotel)
One of my friends left for Hong Kong today. I and the other friends went to Qatar office to reconfirm our ticket and took a bus to Petra in the afternoon. Today was mainly occupied by logistics and transportation stuff. The hotel we resided just provided accommodation. We looked for travel agent around the town and finally got what we wanted in a backpacker hotel Valentine Inn. We booked a tour to Wadi Rum there.

D20: Wadi Rum (sleeping under the stars and moon in a Bedouin camp (5-star hotel in Wadi Rum - romantic!)
We took a jeep to the desert with the big boss of the camp, Zidane, a very tall guy and two drivers. Our group had 9 ppl in total mainly Asians, koreans, japanese. Wadi Rum view was fantastic, superb. I liked the rock bridge most! Zidane's camp was superb comparing to my previous stay in desert (Egypt, Morocco, India). Not only beds but pillow ... what can i say? But it was very cold at night. I saw nice sunset and sky with many many stars and moon there.

D21: Petra (Valentine Inn)
Picked our stuff and returned to Petra after breakfast. Went to Petra by ourselves and bought a 2-day pass. The weather was very bad with rain and strong wind and mist. The first day, we just walked till theatre and did not go further. We bought tickets for Petra by night. We walked through the siq four times in a day. Tired and boring show.

D22: Amman (Nansy Hotel)
Petra again and no improvement on the weather. Walked up hill to monastery and high place sacrifice. supposed to have a nice view there, however, the dust storm and mist hm.... Returned to Valentine Inn, we booked Nansy hotel thro' Valentine Inn already. The boss of Nansy hotel just there and offered a free ride to Amman. Not only free ride but free beer. He said he had taken 12 beers since this drive from Aqaba. The speed of the car is over 100 km and also the road surface was with snow. Nevertheless, I safely arrived Amman in 3 hours' time. God bless me. The boss and his brother were very hospitable, not only free beer, free vodka in the hotel with all guests, but also free second hand smoking. anyway they prepared dinner for us also (need to pay this time) yummy meal. His brother learnt cooking in Beirut for a couple of years.

D23 & 24: Plane
Rained again. We went to Roman theatre and Citadel in Amman for a half day sightseeing. We went to the airport in the afternoon. Long long queue outside counter, we feared we could not check in on-time. but all the ppl in the queue were having same flight as us. I didn't understand why I needed not pay JD5 departure tax. Save a new banknote then (which is HKD60 almost). Journey was over. Flied from Amman to Doha and Doha to HK.

I really missed Syria and wanted to revisit sometimes in future. I missed the people, their chocolate and biscuits, and meals everything. I missed everything there.

My travel photos of Jordan and Syria (Yet to be finished)

Venezuela Itinerary

11 July to 1 August 2007

The main destination of this trip was Venezuela. However, I'd made a short stopover in both Costa Rica and California.

D1: From HKG to Manila and Manila to Los Angeles by Philippines Airline
D2: From Los Angeles to El Salvador and El Salvador to San Jose by TACA. Arrived San Jose in the morning. Sleeping: Tranquilo Backpackers. City tour in the afternoon including Central Post Office, National Theatre, Catedral Metropolitan.
D3: Museum Day in San Jose. Visited 3 museums: Museo de Jade, Museo National de Costa Rica, Museo de Oro Precolombino y Numismatica. Sleeping: Tranquilo Backpackers.
D4: From San Jose to Caracas by TACA. However, a 3-hr flight has been delayed for 3 hours. My arrival time to Caracas has been deferred from 1530 hours to 1830 hours. I decided to sleep at the airport and waited for my friend's arrival from US in the early next morning. However, I found out that there is no chair neither in departure/ arrival hall. Wonderful!
D5: My friend arrived at 6.30 am. Bought night bus ticket to Ciudad Bolivar. City tour in Caracas. We visited Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), World Heritage Site (however, I really don't know how to appreciate this site. It just looks like CUHK). We also went to Estadio Olimpico Universitario which Copa America just took place here last night). Other sights including Historic Centre (Panteon Nacional and Plaza Bolivar) etc.
D6: Arrived Ciudad Bolivar (CB) in the morning. We booked a 3-day tour to Angel Fall and would be departed tommorrow. Wandered around the little historic town with fancy color colonial buildings. It looked like a ghost town after 7pm. All shops got close and we were only able to find a restaurant still operated after 8pm!
D7: Took a 3-hour van ride to La Paragua. We chose a cheap tour instead of flying directly an hour from CB to Camina, the tour departed from La Paragua. We saved 40 bucks. Got stuck at the 'airport' La Paragua and waited for the little plane returned. We finally arrived Camina at 3.00 pm. Took jet boat to our camp site (basic) and slept in hammock with mosquitoes around me!
D8: 2-hr jet boat again to the base of Angel Fall. Walked 1-hour up to the mirador and swam at the base of the fall. Cool! Returned to the camp at the base of fall. Rained rained rained for the rest of day!
D9: Visited Sapo Fall and got a big wash behind the fall. Cool experience! Had a look at the other 4 big falls, Ucaima, Golondrina, Wadaima, Hacha. Said bye to Camina in the afternoon and returned by flight to La Paragua. Finally, we arrived CB at 1700 hours. We booked another tour to Los Illonos. Because of bus problem (i dunno the real cause), I took another night bus back to Caracas.
D10: Bus day again! We arrived Caracas at 0400 hours. We went to West terminal of long distance bus station and found out there was no day bus to Mantecal. We went to San Fernado instead and used 7.5 hours daytime to travel in a supposed to be A/C bus. Hot! We changed bus at San Fernado to Mantecal for another 3-hr bus ride. We arrived Mantecal at 2130 hours and met our host there. After having a late dinner at this little town, we got another 1.25-hr jeep ride to his camp. We unloaded our luggage at mid-night!
D11: Relaxed countryside life. 2-hr boat tour in the morning. After lunch, free time till 1600 hours and walking and looking for anaconda.
D12: Relaxed day. Jeep tour for 2 hours and lunch and jeep tour again in late afternoon and continued the anaconda mission. Mission failed. We saw lots of capabara and even river dolphins.
D13: Just taking 5 mins to look for anaconda and mission completed! A very big one! Horse ride and relaxed. The host sent us to bus station in the afternoon. Got on a bus to Caracas, however, we were kicked off at Aghaguas. Changed bus for Caracas there.
D14: Arrived Caracas in the morning. Failed to find a hotel room in Altamira and we resided in Sabana Grande. Because of short of Bolivar, we used almost whole afternoon to look for black market money changer. Mission failed. Revisited historic centre again. Today was public holiday, it was Simon Bolivar's birthday. We finally got to change money with a Korean (the only Asian tourist we met in Venezuela) in a hotel. However, the rate was not good but still far much better than official rate.
D15: Taking Teleferico but very misty at the top. Visited El Hatillo in the afternoon and bought some expensive souvenirs there! Bolivar exhausted again!
D16: My final day in Venezuela. I visited central post office and bought a set of Copa America stamps! Left for airport at 1200 hours. Goodbye Caracas and my friend (coz we took different airlines, she would leave tmr morning). Flight from Caracas to San Jose, San Jose to Guatemala, Guatemala to Los Angeles by TACA.
D17: Arrived Los Angeles at 12.35 am. Waited for my flight to Sacramento at 6.45 hours. My friend waited me at the airport. We went to a 3d2n camp at Lake Tahoe.
D18: Camp
D19: Packed stuff and returned to Sacramento in the afternoon. Rest!
D20: Sightseeing at Sacramento (actually not much to see). Took an afternoon flight back to LA. Flight back to Manila and Hong Kong.
D21: Arrived HK in the morning!

Vietnam Itinerary (Southern Part)

I did the following trip during this Chinese New Year (29 January - 4 February 2006). This was my third visit to Vietnam.

D1: Night flight: HKG --> HCMC
D2: Saigon -- join local tour to Tay Ninh (Cai Dao temple) + Cu chi tunnel
D3: Saigon -- join local tour to Mekong Delta, NIGHT BUS to Nha Trang (450 km from SGN)
D4: Nha Trang sightseeing
D5: Day bus (from 0800 hrs to 1430 hrs) to Dalat, which is 220 km from Nha Trang. Rush rush sightseeing around Dalat. I took a train tour at Dalat train station. Visited Dalat market in the evening.
D6: Day bus (from 0800 hrs to 1700 hrs for 300km ride) back to Saigon. Wandered in the city centre and enjoyed the last nite in Vietnam. Went back to guesthouse and had several hrs sleep. Then got up at 0300 hrs in the early early morning to catch the flight at 0600 hrs!
D7: Home again!

Turkey Itinerary

I visited Turkey in the summer of 2005 (30 June to 17 July 2005). My itinerary is as follows:

D1: Hong Kong-->Istanbul (By Turkish Airline)
D2: Quick sightseeing in Istanbul and overnight bus to Goreme, Cappadocia
D3: Self trekking in Rose Valley and Sword Valley of Goreme.
D4: Joining local tour to open air museum and scenic spots around Goreme.
D5-7: Joining local tour to Mt. Nemrut and Urfa.
D8: Joining local tour to underground cities and Ihlara valley (overnight bus to pamukkale).
D9: Visiting Pamukkale/Hierapolis. Taking public bus to Denzil in the evening and getting change there to Marmaris.
D10:Taking jet boat to Rhodes Island, Greece. Having day-visit there and returning Marmaris in the evening.
D11: Taking local bus to Selcuk and touring around.
D12: Visiting Ephesus and spending one full day there. Taking evening bus to Bregama
D13: Touring Pergamum.
D14: Taking bus to Bursa.
D15: Visiting mosque in Bursa.
D16: Taking bus back to Istanbul and visiting Grand Bazzars
D17: Visiting the Palace and taking flight back to Hong Kong at night.
D18: Returning home.