If your trip will include Asia, be sure to browse through all the Asia articles below. We at The Cheap Route have already done a lot of first hand research about Asia, we've been there done that when it comes to Asia, continue reading to gain first hand insight. Our goal is to to provide the hard to find information and photos about Asia.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
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A Monkey grabbing my camera lens and trying to eat it
If you were to take a survey of human beings and ask what the funniest animal is, the overwhelming majority would answer "Monkeys". They're so similar to us, but still so different. There's something strangely familiar about the monkey, but still so animalistic. They have no rules and rely purely on their instincts, which means they're constantly getting into trouble and goofing around, which is what makes them so funny to us. Below are the top 10 places to visit if you want to see monkeys in the wild.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
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A screen cap from the video showing Planet Earth from outer space
A time lapse video taken by Expedition 28 & 29 from the International Space Station during the months of August to October, 2011. You can clearly see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) as the station crosses over the top of the Earth. Because of the Earths constant rotation things look a bit different than we're used to on the map, it's tough to make out what countries you're looking at (when the clouds aren't hiding the ground), but I was able to identify a few regions. The person who posted this video claims they didn't do anything to edit colors or anything similar, it's strange to see the atmosphere so clearly visible, very cool.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
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My friend posing with the Ati Tribesman for a photo as they spit fire
When traveling through the Philippines, we found ourselves in Cebu for 2 days, waiting for a flight to the island of Siargao. We didn't really know what we wanted to do, and in doing a little research discovered the island of Bohol, just a couple hours away from Cebu by ferry. The island, pronounced very similar to "Butthole", is best known for the Chocolate Hills of Bohol. When we arrived, we decided to rent scooters and explore the island that way. One of our destinations, a lazy 45 minute scooter ride away from our resort in the Mactan Island area of Bohol, was the Loboc River.
Monday, November 14, 2011
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A view of Everest and the surrounding Himalayas
There are a lot of videos out there both climber made and commercial of Everest, Everest Base Camp, and the entire Himalaya Region. I spent a lot of time searching online and these were the highlights I came up with. Sadly there has been a lot of tragedy on the mountain over the years, so some of the videos are quite sad, but there is also some amazing scenery, interesting facts, and heart warming stories portrayed in these videos. If you know of other good Everest videos please post links in the comments and I'll add them to the collection.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
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Polonnaruwa Vatadage is believed to have once held the Tooth Relic (Budhas Tooth)
One of the major attractions in the Sri Lankan Cultural Triangle area, the ancient city of Polonnaruwa is a massive spread out area full of nearly 1000 year old ruins. There is a lot of variety in the UNESCO World Heritage site, with some of the best ruins in Sri Lanka, amazing temples, statues, and a healthy variety of wildlife (mainly monkeys). It's easy to spend a full day or two exploring this ancient city, rent a bike or hire a driver and get lost in Polonnaruwa.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
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Budha statues everywhere aroudn the Buddhist Stupahs
The Dambulla Rock Cave Temple is one of Sri Lanka's 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites. In the heart of the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka, the caves are located conveniently between Kandy and the Siguriya Rock Fortress. At the base of the Dambulla Rock sits the World's Largest Budha statue (golden), then you climb up a flight of stairs for about 10 minutes until you reach the entrance to the caves. Inside there are 5 caverns, the large cavern being the most spectacular with it's painted ceilings, but all of them are pretty cool. The first cave has a big laying Buddha statue which was one of my favorites of the entire temple.
Friday, November 4, 2011
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Prayer flags draped across Everest Basecamp with Phantom Alley in view
Climbing to Everest Base Camp does not have to be very expensive. In order to determine how much you should expect to pay, you'll first need to decide what type of trek you want to take, and how much time you have available. Another important factor in determining how much your trip will cost is the number of people in your group. With more people, you can share porters and a guide, cutting costs for each person.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
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The airport in Lukla, Nepal
There are a lot of sketchy airports acround the world, but according to the History Channel, none as dangerous as the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla. But if you've already climbed to Everest Base Camp or trekked anywhere in the surrounding Himalayas, you probably already know this. Nestled deep in the mountains, perched on the edge of a cliff with a tiny little uphill runway, you're crashing into a steep hill if the pilot can't stop the plane fast enough upon landing. That is of course assuming that the clouds aren't too thick and he gets the unassisted landing right so you don't crash into the mountain.
Monday, October 31, 2011
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Damage from the earthquake on 09/18/2011, luckily this was about the worst of it that we saw
There are a lot of hazards you think of when you imagine the Everest region and the elements that come with it, but we never saw this coming. While waiting for dinner on the second floor of our Namche Bazaar tea house, on the evening of September 18 (2 days into our trek to Everest Base Camp), a magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit the mountainous region diving India and Nepal. All of us coming from California, our first thought was "Oh, it's just a little earthquake"; and then it clicked. We were in a small village in the Himalayas, we had seen first hand how these buildings were constructed, they stack bricks and seal them with mud.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
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The last photo of our group as we arrive back in Lukla having completed the trek
The ATM was down in Namche so it took us a little while to get going in the morning, and we needed to pay the remainder of our tab with Boo. It's been surprisingly difficult to get cash since I've gotten to Nepal, but we got it all sorted. We finally got moving around 9:15 AM, and it was bright and sunny. We even got one more peek of Everest. Yesterday I tried to eat a normal meal, and my battered stomach didn't like that at all. I started to feel sick about an hour and a half into the hike, and I had to slow our pace way down.
