Owner: Hobos in Love media URL:http://hobosinlovemedia.com Join Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:39:25 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Backpacking newlyweds take on the world armed with a camera and a laptop.
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Hua Hin to Chiang Mai 2007-09-18 05:07:39 Save between $20 and $100 on ALL Hotel Bookings Now!
The small seaside town of Hua Hin was special to the Hobos, it was quaint and romantic and we both felt the town had a fun energy about it. Many nights in Hua Hin were spent meeting the locals, having drinks, playing pool and talking to other travelers. We befriended a local pub owner named Paul and his wife Toon on the first night. They own a local bar called the London Bar. It may look like many of the other bars in town, but in this bar had none of the working girls harassing you for drinks and in fact we felt exactly the opposite. The girls were sweet and friendly and were only looking for friendship. We ended up staying at the London Bar guesthouse when we checked out of the Anantara Resort. The rooms are large and clean. There are king sized beds, air conditioning, TV and an ensuite bathroom. The prices were also quite reasonable. When we were invited by the owners of the London bar Paul and Toon to head north to Chia Read more:Chiang
, Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai Tour Dilemma 2007-09-18 05:05:30
Here is my latest dilemma, why did the chained up monkeys bother me so much when the elephants that were in irons did not? On our third day in Chiang
Mai we accompanied the family we are traveling with in Northern Thailand to a series of local attractions. The first place we visited was an elephant sanctuary, which both Alie and I were extremely excited to visit as both of us had fallen in love with the elephants of the Serengeti. This place was slightly different than a wildlife sanctuary because the animals are taught to work and perform tricks. Some of the tricks that we witnessed were playing soccer and painting pictures, which are then sold at very high prices. As we sat watching the elephants play soccer and stack huge tree logs I did not feel sorry for the elephants at all. It did not occur to either of the hobos that what we were watching was cruel and we enjoyed the show immensely. Please check out our photos from the show here The show then finished and we proceeded onto th Read more:Chiang Mai
London bar & Guest House, Hua Hin 2007-09-18 05:02:54
After we had spent a few days in Hua Hin, Thailand we had pretty much sized up a fair amount of the bars in this small seaside town. Our absolutely favorite spot to hang out would have to be an awesome pub called the London Bar. We met the owner, Paul and his wife, Toon on the first night and both of them were delightful and generous. Even in the small town of Hua Hin there are many sketchy bars and places where you need to constantly check your pockets. The bars in the area are full of pushy working girls that want drinks and more but at the London Bar there was none of that element. Sure there are working girls but there is no pressure to take that particular route and the atmosphere of the bar is very relaxed and enjoyable. The staff and the owner are welcoming and really go out of their way to please their patrons. In fact, the owner and his charming wife invited the Hobos to accompany them on a trip up north to visit Chiang Mai. The London Bar has a very nice and well-priced gue Read more:House
, Guest
A girl in paradise. 2007-09-13 05:39:47
endless pool
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
We were greeted with a smile when we entered the gates at the Anantara resort; it wasn’t until the guard was around half way around the car when I realized that he was checking the car for possible bombs. The King of Thailand and the Royal family visit the Anantara resort so security is of utmost importance. The reception alone at the resort was breathtaking, dark wood, warm lighting, local handicrafts and day beds with an abundance of pillows gave the hobos the impression that this was going to be an ultra relaxing place to stay. We stayed in a deluxe lagoon room and neither of us were disappointed. The large terrace with comfy cushions and dozens of pillows overlooking the lagoon was a highlight, however the two person bathtub with its’ sliding doors opening up into the room was something I took great pleasure in. Two baths a day didn’t seem excessive to me! The lagoon was filled with koi fish and every morni
Anantara Resort Hua Hin Thailand 2007-09-13 04:32:52
Anantara
What an amazing hotel the Anantara is to visit. We checked in and were shown around the property with both of us in amazement. Everywhere you look there is something beautiful.
Rooms-
The rooms were incredibly sophisticated and elegant. Both of us have seen pictures of hotel rooms that are gaudy and over the top with decorations and artwork but not here. As you can see from the pictures, the room was very tastefully done and extremely relaxing. My favorite part of the room was the balcony overlooking the lagoon; Alie was most impressed by the bathtub, which was surrounded by sliding screens that opened up into the bedroom. Both of us could not stop commenting on how nice everything was and how this was the nicest place either of us had ever stayed, by far!
Pool-
There is one major pool that has all the fun islands and fountains. There is a swim-up bar, which Alie loved, and they have a bunch of pool features for sun bathing while having water rushing over you, as you try n Read more:Thailand
, Resort
We have arrived in Hua Hin! 2007-09-05 20:59:12 We arrived safe and soundly, everything on the flights were great (minus the food the 2nd flight *shudder*) We got in at 5pm local time, in bed at 8.30pm local time and up this morning at 4.30am local time. LOL Rich had the most amazing surprise waiting for me when we arrived in Hua Hin. Check out where we are staying www.anantara.com This is the most amazing 16 acres I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure what I have enjoyed here most so far, the terrace off the bedroom overlooking the lagoon, the traditional Thai furniture throughout the entire room, the 2 person bathtub that opens up in the room, the endless array of flowers, the exotic fruit and the bed…..gawd! I could go on for hours about the King size bed that swallowed us whole last night. Oh! I know what the best part of this is, being able to be here with my best friend and husband. I truly am the luckiest girl in the world.
Waiting at the gate 2007-09-04 02:35:24 Sitting at gate A08…pretty much waiting anxiously. Just left the Duty-free shop…more on that later. Giddy about the impending journey and already missing the dogs. Thanks to the Fam for the ride to the airport and the last three days of dinners and all the extra help. Just remember, Tito needs lots of love and CHEESY FINGERS!!! The hobos will post again once we reach the hotel.
Hobos out
Read more:Waiting
WarProtestInMadrid 2007-08-31 01:06:46
WarProtestInMadrid5
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
This was a fun afternoon. It was the only day we didn’t have any thing planned, which was a good thing. The hostel we stayed at had cable, so we got to see the TV reports and watch in Real time the protest. This hostel was right down the street (maybe 3 blocks) from the train station that was blown up just a year later in 2004 by Islamic fundamentalists.
Tram View of Gibraltar 2007-08-31 01:01:18
TramViewGibraltar
1
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
This was the view from the tram. It was so absurd to me that I can stand in the UK, look at Spain in Europe and also at Morocco in Africa all at the same time. Where else in the entire world can you do that?
Gibraltar, UK 2007-08-31 00:58:03 Gibraltar
1
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
This is what the Rock looks like, from “la linea” in Spain. We took the bus to the very border of Spain and the weather was hot, like 90 degrees at 10am, so we went into the McDonalds in “la linea” and got an ice cream cone. We walk out of the McDonalds and this was the view. Breathtaking.
The Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania 2007-09-27 04:20:28
Looking into Crater
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
The Ngorongoro Crater is on the eastern edge of the Serengeti in northern Tanzania
. The crater is 8,000 square kilometres of pure safari bliss. It is also the largest unbroken ancient cadera in the world. To get to the bottom of the crater for wildlife viewing we had to drive down 2000 feet. The Hobos were amazed at all the wildlife! We saw herds of Thompson’s gazelles, water buffalo, hippos, lions, eland, cheetah and a hyena lurking around about 1000 flamingos. The crater is home to some 25,000 animals and you can see the “big 5″ there as well. Lion, rhinoceros, leopard, elephant and water buffalo. The one thing the Hobos were surprised about was the amount of Maasai that were living in the crater, raising their cattle. Herds of cattle grazing next to elephants is truly a unique picture! We were approached by some local Masaai and although they seemed very friendly we were not allowed to
Zanzibar, Tanzania 2007-09-27 04:18:54
beach view of Zanzibar
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
This is the beach where the Hobos spent a few days over the New Year 2005. This is on the north coast of Zanzibar, the beach is called Sazani Beach. We spent about one week on the island (a few days in Stone Town and a few days here). We enjoyed ourselves very much. (how could you not?) On New Years eve we were told by some locals of a beach party, so our group went down to the beach to have a celebratory dinner and then went over to the bar for drinks afterwards. The bar we went to was a replica of a pirate ship. The front of the ship was cut away to make room for the actual bar. It was huge and had four or five different levels. There were about 75 other people partying on all of the different levels and everyone was having a great time. We then heard that our driver Roy, who was still in Dar es Salaam, was put into the hospital because he had malaria. We were all worried about him because it was t Read more:Tanzania
Hobos in Phuket 2007-09-27 04:17:39
On the 22nd of September the Hobos flew from Chiang Mai to the amazing island of Phuket. We had a very tense flight due to the horrible and very unfortunate crash of a similar plane trying to land in a storm just a few days earlier. The flight was full of scary turbulence and white knuckles. We flew Thai Airways and I highly recommend this airline because the food was great and the staff even better.
Once we had landed and began to slow down the entire plane applauded and let out loud sighs of relief. I must tell you how spooky it was to see the crash site of the plane off on the side of the very runway on which we had just landed. Both of the Hobos were speechless and very happy to have made it safely on the island of Phuket.
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We found our flights on Travelocity and ended up saving a bunch of cash. I would highly recommend using them for any upcoming travel.
Milking a Cobra 2007-09-27 04:15:58
Milking a snake
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
This photo was taken at the snake park in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was actually a pretty intense show and the Hobos tok some amazing photos and video. The snake handlers displayed cobras and pythons, as well as a few smaller and less deadly snakes. The show was informative as well as entertaining. We learned that snakes usually only have one of any organ that most other animals have in pairs.
I had not known that snakes only have one kidney and one lung, it makes sense when you examine the construction of a snake.
The highlight of the show was when the handlers described the next snake they were going to bring out of a basket as a “jumping snake” and that it was very dangerous. Then they flung a short rope into the crowd and everyone screamed and ran. I have yet to view the video (yes the hobos are a bit behind on the video editing) but I hope we captured the moment.
The Hobos would recommend seeing the s Read more:Cobra
Anantara Resort review, Hua Hin Thailand 2007-09-27 04:04:59
Anantara
What an amazing hotel the Anantara is to visit. We checked in and were shown around the property with both of us in amazement. Everywhere you look there is something beautiful.
Rooms-
The rooms were incredibly sophisticated and elegant. Both of us have seen pictures of hotel rooms that are gaudy and over the top with decorations and artwork but not here. As you can see from the pictures, the room was very tastefully done and extremely relaxing. My favorite part of the room was the balcony overlooking the lagoon; Alie was most impressed by the bathtub, which was surrounded by sliding screens that opened up into the bedroom. Both of us could not stop commenting on how nice everything was and how this was the nicest place either of us had ever stayed, by far!
Pool-
There is one major pool that has all the fun islands and fountains. There is a swim-up bar, which Alie loved, and they have a bunch of pool features for sun bathing while having water rushing over you, as you try n Read more:Resort
, review
, Thailand
Arrived in Hua Hin 2007-09-27 04:02:46 We arrived safe and soundly, everything on the flights were great (minus the food the 2nd flight *shudder*) We got in at 5pm local time, in bed at 8.30pm local time and up this morning at 4.30am local time. LOL Rich had the most amazing surprise waiting for me when we arrived in Hua Hin. Check out where we are staying www.anantara.com This is the most amazing 16 acres I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure what I have enjoyed here most so far, the terrace off the bedroom overlooking the lagoon, the traditional Thai furniture throughout the entire room, the 2 person bathtub that opens up in the room, the endless array of flowers, the exotic fruit and the bed…..gawd! I could go on for hours about the King size bed that swallowed us whole last night. Oh! I know what the best part of this is, being able to be here with my best friend and husband. I truly am the luckiest girl in the world.
Going to Patong beach for the day 2007-10-02 07:12:36 It rained all morning and when the sun finally appeared the Hobos decided to check out the next beach 5 km’s away called Patong Beach. Most people have heard of Patong beach because it was severely affected by the Tsunami in 2004. Today there are few if any signs of the great wave that killed thousands. The Hobos decided to go into Patong because it’s a larger city and there is much more to do than in Karon beach. Instead of paying 300 baht (approx. $9.44 USD) each way for a Tuk Tuk, the Hobos rented a scooter for 24 hours, for only 150 baht from the main office of our apartment building. The Hobos were excited about the idea of heading to Patong on our cute little ‘pink’ scooter that we very quickly decided to name “The Pink Hog”. The ride from Karon beach to Patong is quite hilly and there are signs posted along the way about keeping your speed down and to watch for on-coming traffic. Of course, and why wouldn’t/shouldn’t the road signs all be posted in Thai?! Read more:Going
Where should the Hobos go next? 2007-10-02 03:12:30 The Hobos rented our awesome pad for a month and our lease will up on October 23. We still have yet to decide where to go from Phuket. We want to get out of Thailand because the busy season is coming and so are the high prices.
We are thinking of heading to Bali for the surfing or perhaps Borneo to visit the orangutans.
Any suggestions? As always we are looking to meet up with other backpackers and make memories. The people we have met so far through our site have been super cool and we look forward to all of our future friends.
Shoot us an email or a comment and give the Hobos a tip.
Thanks
The Berritz 2007-10-02 02:47:52
The Berritz
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
This is our wonderful dog named Tito aka Tito Burrito, The Berritz, Le Berritz, Private Pineapple or Sgt.Penticton!
He is a Manchester Terrier and 1 1/2 years old. He is awesome and has the biggest attitude. We also have two other dogs, olde english bulldogges, he runs the house though.
Sorry, we miss all of them so much that we just had to post a pic of him.
He is also known as “The steaming hot beanbag” when he burrows under the covers and wakes his dad up with his heat worthy of smelting! When Berritz does become a “steaming hot beanbag”, that’s the best for Alie, because then I can take him from the bottom of the bed and have him curl up by my stomach, he keeps me warm and he loves to snuggle. So cute! We miss Berritz but know he is being well looked after!
The Lanna Palace Hotel in Chiang Mai 2007-10-02 02:35:22 Where to stay in Chiang
Mai?
The Hobos had the pleasure of visiting Chiang Mai
a few weeks ago. We stayed at the LannaPalaceHotel
. I must be honest with all of you; this place was not really worth the cost. Sorry, but this place ended up being about $37 a night and it was not really worth it.
Maybe for business travelers this would be a better choice but for backpackers it was not really a value. The room was big but who cares if the bed is super uncomfortable and dirty? There was breakfast included but it was a buffet of stomachaches. Both of us felt super ill after every breakfast. The staff was not very friendly, which is odd for Thailand because everywhere else the people are wonderful, even in budget guesthouses.
The “pool” or I like to refer to it as an in-ground ice bucket. This thing was as small as a hot tub and freezing because it is always completely shaded by the building. Not enjoyable at all for the Hobos.
The reason why we booked that hotel is because we were tra
How do I make money while traveling? 2007-10-02 02:21:30 “How do I travel without burning through savings?”
One of the most frequent questions that I get asked while I travel comes from other young backpackers. It happens almost every time when I speak with young travelers from the USA. “How can I improve my financial situation and sustain endless travel?” Well, maybe not that well-worded, usually it is more of a slurred mumble but the intention is the same. I always respond by telling them that the first step to getting your financial affairs in order is taking control of your credit. This three digit number determines what credit cards you are offered, which has everything to do with how much you can charge and what interest payment you will be responsible for. (Sorry mom, I know I shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition)
Most young people have pretty bad or at least limited credit, which translates into a low score. This results in very high interest rate, this means that that $1200 balance you rang up is going to cost you
Sunset at Karon Beach, Phuket Thailand 2007-09-30 10:37:00 Sunset
3, Karon Beach
, Phuket Thailand
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
The sunsets in Phuket, particularily where we are in Karon beach have been (as you can see) beautiful. We’ve been on the island of Phuket for a week now. The Hobos are loving the island lifestyle. We’ve only had about 4 days of sun though so far. Last night the wind and the rain woke both the Hobos up, the wind was so strong that it shook the apartment. It was very scary, especially for Alie who thought the entire building would fall over. It has been raining off and on all day long. But when it isn’t raining it’s amazing, especially when we have views like this from our deck! The beach at Karon is quite long and has squeeky sand (yes! squeeky). The waves are very big and the undercurrent is quite strong. The Hobos have already found their favorite coffee shop only a few minutes walk from the apartment and every night we eat at a local restaurant where the owners
The Hobos are here in amazing Bali! 2007-10-14 22:27:14 After an awesome flight on Air Asia we are in Bali. It is absolutely amazing and the temperature is actually bearable. We arrived at the airport close to 8pm with no hotel reservations (not for lack of trying), only to find out that we are smack dab in the middle of a holiday season. Every hotel is booked solid in the areas we wanted to stay! Such is part of the fun being a wandering hobo (I guess We were very lucky to find a kiosk that booked tours and they were able to book us into a room on the outskirts of a city called Ubud. The hotel is amazing and very affordable.
The hotel is part of a school for children from low-income families. The kids work at the hotel and in return go to the school free of charge. Everyone is super nice and welcoming. The grounds are amazing and it looks like a set from a Mel Gibson movie (Alie is laughing at me right now, I figured everyone would get the Apocolypto reference) We will post photos soon, hopefully tomorrow.
We have taken more pics in the
Elephants playing soccer! 2007-10-13 22:31:13 Well the Hobos are off to Bali but we wanted to leave you with a funny video that we shot while in Chiang Mai.
Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 2007-10-13 04:25:01 PetronasTowers
, Kuala LumpurMalaysia
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
So the Hobos have made it to Kuala Lumpur after quite a bit of troubles. We had to pay a hefty fine in Thailand because we had overstayed our transit visas. We had thought all along that we were traveling on tourist visas, which allow stays of up to 60 days. We were actually on transit visas which only allow 30 days! We had been told by the US Embassy that if a police officer had asked us for our passports for any reason and saw that we had overstayed our visa he would have taken us to jail. Needless to say we were quite freaked out and sought the fastest way out of the country.
We then heard that if we could make it to the airport we would only have to pay a fine per day because the immigration officers are easier to deal with than the regular police. So then we booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur and had to forfeit the deposit on our apartment due to an early checkout. Needless to say, overstaying
Fun with the Thai Bar Girls! 2007-10-08 09:11:21
Fun with the Girls
!
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
The Hobos went out a few nights ago and were absolutely mobbed by the girls at this bar!! It’s called the Forgetter Bar! Kaw who is in the middle is a really nice girl who was very welcoming and played games with us all night. Connect 4 was a real hit and Rich of course won all the games. I however gave up very early on because strategy is not my strong suit (which may explains a few things!) The one faux kissing me is Tuk, she is also very nice but we found it hard to communicate with her because she doesn’t speak english at all. May has her eyes closed, she was nice and loved to dance. In fact, all the girls are very good at dancing and playing games. May’s sister also works at the bar. That night the owner also came up to us and played Connect 4 with Rich. We had a lot of fun that night and it wasn’t until the next morning we realized that Beer Chang is 6.4% Ouch! My head still
Scary conversation about Islam 2007-10-05 05:56:19 I must blog about one of the most frightening conversations I have ever had. It took place last night at a girlie bar outside of Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand.
“The world would be a safer place if every Muslim died tomorrow.”
That was the stupefying statement that came out of the mouth belonging to a very misguided British person. I was completely stunned. Not to say that I am fully righteous or devoid of my own American biases or mistrusts but how could someone say that? I asked this fellow Westerner to explain himself and he replied that “the world is in danger from Islam
and it is not possible to separate the fundamentalists from the ones that offer consent by remaining silent”. I asked him if he really believed that every Muslim were evil and deserved to die to ensure that none would perhaps one day become a danger to the West.
He said,” Does it matter? Why risk it? Our society is on top at this time in history and we should do what every other ruling empire has done Read more:Scary
Our expired Thai visas! 2007-10-08 06:23:45 It wasn’t until I was organizing our travel wallet and looking at our passports when I realized that our visa for Thailand had already expired! Expired by four days!
“Oh sh@t!”
I explained to Rich what I had discovered, Rich quickly went online and googled the length a tourist visa was in Thailand. Sure enough it was 60 days, that was exactly what we thought. But, as we anxiously read on, we read that we were only stamped with a transit visa, which gave us only 30 days here in Thailand. We will be fined 200 baht each every day until we leave. Ouch!! That turns out to be almost $300 US!!
“Now what?” I said.
“Well, we could go down to Malaysia for a visa run” Rich replied.
Frustrated with myself I said, “How much do you think that will cost?”
We scoured the net looking for flights, trains and busses and the approximate prices of each mode of transportation to head to Malaysia to renew our visas.
“Wait a minute” Rich said “Do we really want to go so
We became millionaires in Bali overnight! 2007-10-15 05:48:02
Bali Millionaires
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
The currency exchange rate is so much fun here in Bali. Check out our photos from walking around on the first day in Ubud, Bali. Sorry for not posting more on this one but it took over an hour to upload the nine pics to flickr.com and we are heading to dinner!
Read more:overnight
Local restaurant, Kuta Beach 2007-10-22 05:14:06 Localrestaurant
, Kuta Beach
Originally uploaded by hobosinlove
Here is a picture of the local eatery where we have dined for the last few nights. It offers classic Balinese dishes that you point at and hope it was what you thought you were ordering. The guy who runs the place is not a huge fan of us and we know this because the price has gone up drastically every time we order. It may be because Alie orders first but we are not sure exactly. The first afternoon we went there was for lunch and the price was 35,000 Rupiahs, the next night we went there for dinner and it was 38,000 Rupiahs. Last night we went there and it was 57,000 Rupiahs. It’s also strange because we haven’t ordered anything different. Rice, 2 Pieces of spicy beef, 1 piece of fish and veggies. Every time the same thing and every time a different price. The food is good, but because the price rises every day, we have decided to dine else where. Too bad, the food is good!
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