David S. Demarest

More than a few days have passed since my last post, and many more miles have been covered!  Those miles include, of course, the flight home on Monday from Vienna (12 hours in the air and a nine hour time change).  But those miles also include travel by train from Ljubljana in Slovenia to Salzburg […]

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Go ahead, try saying the name of this capital city of Slovenia five times fast! Flew to Zagreb yesterday with no problem, took the bus from the airport to the bus station, walked to the train station, got a ticket to the capital of Slovenia – and somehow missed the train even though I was […]

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Today I leave for Zagreb, after a very pleasant stay in the Old Town of Dubrovnik.   Comfortable lodging, good food, some wine and beer, history, people watching, music in the evenings, and the ocean.  What more could one ask for in a place to visit? Took a passenger ferry south to Cavtat for the day […]

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I have covered a lot of ground since my last posting in Sarajevo.  I took the bus from Sarajevo to Mostar, about a three hour trip.  The countryside was beautiful – high mountain, rivers, lakes, and sadly – lots of bombed out structures and cemetaries.  In looking at the gravestones anywhere I have stopped, there […]

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Spent yesterday wandering around Sarajevo, enjoying the old town with its expansive pedestrian walkways surrounded by shops and cafes,  and visiting the Museum of History which includes a compelling exhibit on the siege of Sarajevo back in the early 1990’s. In his guide book on Croatia and Slovenia, Rick Steves includes quite a comprehensive summary […]

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Left Istanbul this morning and am currently waiting for a connection in Belgrade.  Istanbul is a city I will very much enjoy returning to.  Spent yesterday visiting some more of the historic sites, and later in the afternoon took the tram along the waterfront and then the funicular “underground tram” that very successfully moves people […]

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First, and as promised, a couple more Darjeeling photos:      Mt. Kangchenjunga (28169 ft), world’s third tallest mountain, at sunrise from Darjeeling    Typical Darjeeling street scene     and a quiet Darjeeling lane    The famous Darjeeling (toy) train.  It runs on a 24″ track Before Istanbul, a bit more on getting out of Delhi.  […]

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This afternoon I felt the overwhelming urge to comment on a most enjoyable afternoon.  After wandering around Connaught Circle and surrounds for a couple of hours, I finally decided to go to the Hotel Rak International, a suggestion in my Lonely Planet guide book.  Walked up and got a room for 650 rupees – with […]

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Confession Time.  I am not a 20 something able to travel loosely and freely across this world…  At least not in India in this heat! Alright, perhaps it is a bit of an overstatement, but not entirely.  Traveling in Asia, especially with no advance planning, is not for the faint of heart.  And the heat […]

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The cool and damp airs of the Himalaya foothills.  So refreshing after the heat of southern India and Bangkok! But first, a few photos from Kolkata…    A street scene outside my hotel…      The hotel lobby       The hotel sitting room     My Kolkata room        A ricksaw I flew yesterday from Kolkata to Bagdroga, […]

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