Coca museum in La Paz, Lake Titicaca & Copacabana (3841 m = 12,602 ft.)

After our flight from Rurrenabaque on Thursday afternoon Verena and I arrived back in La Paz, checked into the Adventure Brew Hostel, went to the COCA MUSEUM (small, but very interesting and informative), and then met Kati and Daniel (from the Uyuni trip) for dinner. It´s always so nice to meet up with travelers one has met earlier – especially if they are as nice as Kati, Daniel, Eli and James

On Friday we took a bus from La Paz to COPACABANA (3841 m = 12,602 ft.) at the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. I LOVE it here! It is absolutely beautiful! In the afternoon we walked up the Cerro Calvario (3966 m) – a great viewpoint. We had to stop often on the way up – to catch our breath. The air is thin here

The hostel we are staying at,  ¨La Cupula¨ (Eli´s recommendation), is also great – really nice rooms and a beautiful view of the town

Today, Saturday, we´re spending a day reading our guide books and researching in the internet… planning day

Leaving Fiji, flying to NYC via LA

I’m a little sad to be leaving Fiji – I had such a wonderful time here     

But on the other hand I’m really excited that I’ll be in NYC next week - catching up with old friends, visiting my old school (Thu or Fri), and getting ready for the next part of my trip: South America – from Buenos Aires to Bogota   And I’ll also have to do my taxes!

PS: I uploaded more pictures to my flickr account, so now my 3 1/2 months in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand again) are complete; and I started New Zealand, but only did my first few days in Auckland so far. Enjoy the photos

Flying to Taveuni for 1 week

Yesterday was one of those days that went by quickly although nothing exciting happened: Back in Nadi, I simply did my laundry, went to the supermarket & ATM, wrote a recommendation letter for a former student, started replying to your emails (sorry, I seem to be backlogged all the time) and ended up chatting with Sonja – a good friend who is traveling in Central America with her boyfriend Christian - on the internet instead. …one of those days that one doesn’t necessarily think of when thinking about traveling, but which are definitley part of traveling if you travel for an extended period of time.

Today I packed my backpack, put some stuff in storage and checked out. Now I’m quickly updating my blog and at 2 pm I’m flying to TAVEUNI, an island in the northeast of the main island here in Fiji. I’ll be staying there for a week to pretty much only go scuba diving   Where I’ll be staying there is not much else to do and that’s why I’m going there: to dive at Somosomo Strait and the Rainbow Reef, hopefully including the famous GREAT WHITE WALL…

http://www.divetheworldfiji.com/taveuni-diving-sites.htm

http://www.taveuniislandfiji.com/guide/rainbow-reef-fiji.cfm

I’ll be staying at Dolphin Bay Divers Retreat and am not sure if I’ll have internet access there…

http://www.dolphinbaydivers.com/

I’ll get back to you by the end of next week before leaving Fiji and heading to New York City (via LA) on March 29.

I’m in FIJI :)

Got up at 5:20 a.m. this morning, went to the airport in Auckland and flew to FIJI  Compared to New Zealand, it’s really hot here – and also humid. It’s the rainy season which means rain AND sunshine alternating on an average day.

I’m staying at the Nadi Bay Resort Hotel, and although it’s called a hotel, it is not. I’m staying in a dorm room with 7 other travelers. Nice dorm, though, and with a/c (air-condition)   I met a lot of nice backpackers and we had dinner and drinks to celebrate the International Women’s Day – which I first celebrated in 1994 in the “Servitenheim” in Vienna – an unforgettable evening

I finally made it to NEW ZEALAND :)

I had let go of the idea of getting to New Zealand soon… So when I called Thai Airways yesterday around noon I could hardly believe when they told me that I had a seat on yesterday’s flight from Bangkok to Auckland The plane took off at 7:50 pm and I arrived in Auckland today at 1:20 pm The time difference here is +6 hours to Bangkok, so by now I’m 12 hours ahead of Austria and 18 hours ahead of New York.

The weather here is colder and rainy, but still warm enough (25 degrees Celsius). Although I have never been to New Zealand before, I feel very much at home here; so many things seem familiar – the people, the buildings, the streets, the food, the language, etc. It’s actually really nice to be able to communicate easily without any language barriers

I’m so happy to be in New Zealand and will be traveling here for 4 weeks On Friday I’m flying to Christchurch and will then travel on the South Island before coming back and do more traveling on the North Island.

I am flying: Hanoi-Bangkok-Phuket

Today I left Vietnam and returned to Thailand. My first flight was from Hanoi to Bangkok and my second flight from Bangkok to Phuket, in the Southwest of Thailand. I flew with airasia, a budget airline, with no assigned seats and a max. of 15 kg checked luggage which I didn’t know. (I should have read the small print.) I wish my backpack was only 15 kg – unfortunately it weighed 19 kg.

I had packed a book to read as I thought this was going to be a boring day – sitting around at the airport reading. And I still wasn’t in the mood to meet more new people for just a short period of time anyways – as I mentioned in the entry two days ago. Well, life doesn’t always go according to “plan”: on the first flight I met Nicola from Southern Germany and we had a lot of fun. Getting our luggage we then met Wolfi, also from Southern Germany, who was listening in on our conversation while we were waiting in line at the immigration. On the second flight I met Sandro, also from Germany, and we had a very nice conversation, too. – So that night just when I was about to fall asleep I thought to myself that it really isn’t such a bad thing to meet so many nice people – even if it is just a short period of time. I really shouldn’t complain; you’re right, Dianne!

From Hoi An to Hanoi

This morning I left Hoi An and flew from Danang to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. So now I’m in the north of Vietnam and it is quite cold here Not as cold as in NYC or Austria right now, but definitely the coldest on my trip so far…

I explored the area around Hoan Kiem Lake, a small lake in the center, and also the old quarter. I again met nice people, a couple from Australia and two women from Austria. The two Austrians are physical therapists and live & work here. – I’m at a point in my journey, though, where as much as a I am happy to meet nice travelers I am also tired of meeting new people… So at this point I’m really looking forward to going back to Khao Lak the day after tomorrow to go scuba diving in the Similan Islands (same company, same boat, same dive instructors) again – and seeing some familiar faces

Moving on…

I had been staying in Saigon for a week now and this morning I felt ready to move on – almost. On my way to the airport I stopped by the International SOS Clinic for a follow-up with Dr. Paquette: the blood test results are fine, the cortisone is working, and the reason why I still have some slight discomfort in my left shoulder – well the reason is not the joint, but the tendon – I think that’s what he said. (Ich habe eine leichte Sehnenscheidenentzuendung in der linken Schulter.) I am really happy to have found such an excellent doctor like Dr. Paquette and I feel a lot better :)

So then I went to the airport, flew – turbulences  - from Saigon to Danang and then shared a taxi with a British couple to Hoi An where I’m now. It’s a small, pretty town and I’ll be staying here for a few days…

PS: While recovering in Saigon I added a new page (not post) called “Books I’ve read on my trip” (4 books so far) which you can find underneath the heading and next to the page ”Header picture”.