Delhi

The same street in New Delhi (Main Bazaar), the picture is taken from a rooftop café.
I thought about writing a post about Delhi, but I'm not quiet sure about that yet. For a city of more than 16 million, a blogpost might not be a sufficient setting.

My favorite... beach!

Playa Espandilla (a lot of people call it Playa Manuel Antonio)/ Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

During the summer months (let's say July to September) it is a good beach for surfing. On some days you can get waves up to 2,5m high, but the current is usually not that strong so it is not dangerous to swim. Try not to visit this place during October, as it is raining season (also refered to as "winter"). The sea will get very rough during this time of the year, only very few "brave" locals go surfing then, and most shops and restaurants close because tourism is at it's bay. Raining season also means that it is likely to rain for weeks none-stop and temperatures fall down to 25°C. Air humidity rises up to around 95%.

 December is the busiest season in terms of tourism for Costa Rica, only followed by the weeks around the Easter holidays.

The sea gets a bit calmer around December, and the temperatures rise to around 35°C.

I like beaches that have a bit of infrastructure. You have a little market and a variety of restaurants at this beach, that allow you to take a break from the beach and the sun!!! and take a stroll around those little shops or a cold drink at a restaurant. There are different restaurants that serve different types of food in different price ranges, so there should be somthing for everyone.

The sunsets at the Pacific coast are some of the most beautiful. This picture does not even do them justice. The picture was taken from a restaurant that is famous for it's view over the bay. (El Avion) In my opinion, food is ok but what you pay for is the view (at least that was the case 2008 and still 2009). 

Barcelona

Thought I'd quickly share a picture taken on my last trip with you.
This was taken at the port of Barcelona, where La Rambla de Catalunya (usually refered to as La Rambla) ends, at around 6pm. I think it has a very peaceful atmosphere.

Taking the train in... India

Boarding an Indian train for the first time I was excited and unsure of what to expect.

I want share a bit of my experiences with the Indian trains. The train system in India is quiet good. You can travel the whole, gigantic, country by train. (going from Delhi to Trivandrum e.g. from north to south will take about 48 hours)  It is fairly cheap, even in the better classes. I paid about 45€ for more than 800km in A/C 2 Tier Class on Tatcall (Emergency Tickets, which are sold at a certain time, are not refundable and a lot more expensive than the usual ones), going from Kochi (Cochin) in Kerala to Madgaon (Margao) in Goa. Although the trains are named “Superfast”, and “Superfast Express”, which is a bit faster, they are not that fast by western standards. With the Superfast Express it took about 14 hours for the 860km from Kochi to Madgaon. (btw: this is just an example, I took trains several times during my vacation in India and the best one by far was the 7:00am train going from New Delhi to Aggra)

But, infrastructure in the trains is great, and vendors are passing by every 5-10 minutes offering you food and tea/coffee you can buy (at very reasonable prices). If I were you, I would avoid ordering the food the railways company sells. Once you boarded, an employee of the company will come to your seat/bed, if it’s an overnight train he will bring you sheets and a pillow. If the railway company sells meals, someone will go around taking the orders. I ordered vegetable Biryani, but I found it to be rather dirty and bad quality. However, I’m sure you will know for yourself if things are safe to eat or not.

I would always try to book the highest class available, especially on train rides for several hours. All A/C classes looked fine to me, but the Sleeper classes were rather dirty, at least to sleep in.

Keep in mind that the A/C classes can get relatively cold, so bring enough clothing. Long pants, a pullover and a scarf are not too much, in my opinion. When in very crowded places I sometimes liked to cover my head with the scarf. Prevents the omnipresent staring. In general, especially when you are backpacking in India and will use local busses and trains, I recommend women to dress accordingly. No tight clothes, no clevage and at least the shoulders covered.

So, make yourself comfortable and enjoy the ride!

PS: Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of the trains nor trainstations.

El Peñón de Guatapé - Colombia

El Peñon de Guatapé, also called El Peñol, is a giant monolith located 86km northeast of Medellín in the province of Antioquia. It can be easily reached by taking one of the local busses that leave from Medellíns “Terminal de Norte”, and the bus ride will take a bit more than one hour. The climate in this area is at about 20 to 25°C on average troughout all year.

So what can you expect?

Once you climbed up el Peñón, you can expect one of the most beautiful sceneries I have seen until now. I’m really not too much into scenery but this place is truly amazing. Keep in mind that at about 2,2 thousand meters above sea level, climbing up the stairs of the over 200 meters, from the ground, high Peñón is more exhausting than you might think.

I guess it’s best to let a few pictures speak for themselves.

El Peñol

This is what the surrounding area of El Peñol looks like - picture is taken from the top of El Peñol

To sum it up, I think El Peñón and the Town of Guatapé make a really good day trip if you happen to be in Medellín. Especially if you find Medellín stressful, which I don’t but I can imagine some people will, this will be a great way to take a break from the city and escape to the beautiful nature of Antioquia. You can round it up with a trip to the nearby picturesque town Guatapé where you can order the typical dish for this region: the “bandeja paísa”.

World Earth Day

What better day to start a blog about traveling than on World Earth Day?
So what can you expect?
To be honest, I do not know myself. But like every good trip, at least in my opinion, you never know where it might take you.
English is not my native language, nevertheless I decided to write in English.
Wanna know why?
Because I believe in English to be the languge of the Internet, and the Internet to be the future.
Please excuse any mistakes I might make, and please tell me if you encounter mistakes - and I'm sure you will.

You might ask why I want to write about traveling?

I have been interested in traveling as long as I can remember.
All kinds of traveling, really.
I love back-packing (makes you feel free but down to earth at the same time) as well as staying in 5* hotels (well, who does not like to enjoy a certain amount of luxery?).
I love hotels and the hotel and tourism industry.
I did an internship in a british travel agency and in a costarican hotel, but I did not chose to study tourism. This way it remains my hobby only, which is probably for the best.