Initially we expected to visit Kenya in East Africa, and maybe cross over to Tanzania. We also decided early on that we would spend some time in some volunteer organization in Africa and chose to participate in an Earthwatch expedition. Once we got our Earthwatch dates and expedition settled, it turned out that we would start in Tanzania, and then possibly visit Kenya and Malawi. As it turned out, we spent the entire two months in east Africa in Tanzania, visiting a fraction of that vast country!

We deferred making a firm itinerary for the latter half of the trip until India. Cheri was firm on visiting Vietnam and Myammar was also a possibility. In India, after conversations with family, we decided against Myammar, but picked up Cambodia and Laos, with the remaining time in Thailand. Of course, we ended up with visa extensions in Vietnam and stayed our full allowed time in Laos, cutting Thailand to just four days in Bangkok!

We spent a lot of time on the move - changing location almost every three days on the average. In Turkey, Vietnam and Laos we moved almost every other day!

Routes Traced

Belarus Arrival (Minsk): 2/6/00 Departure (Minsk): 9/6/00 Based in Minsk, day trips to Vilnius and Khatym, with 1 night in Naaraj
Turkey Arrival (Istanbul): 9/6/00 Departure (Istanbul): 8/7/00 Starting and ending in Istanbul, we traced a counter-clockwise route through the Aegean and western Mediterranean coasts visiting Eceabat, Troy, Bozcaada, Selcuk, Pammukale, Datca, Dalyan, Pattara then headed inland from Olympos to Cappadoccia (Goreme), then northeast to the Black Sea coast and the lower Kashgar mountains near Rize including the Hemsin villages of Ayder and Uzongol before heading back to Istanbul.
Egypt Arrival (Cairo): 8/7/00 Departure (Cairo): 31/7/00 Based in Cairo, we took a train to Aswan, then flew to Abu Simbel for a night. From Aswan we drove in a police convoy to Kom Ombo and Edfu, then on to Luxor. From Luxor back to Cairo by train. From Cairo, we did an overnight trip to St. Catherine'si monastery in the Sinai peninsula.
Tanzania Arrival (Dar Es Salaam): 1/8/00 Departure (Dar Es Salaam): 7/10/00 From Dar Es Salaam, we went to Tanga and then Amani for the Earthwatch expedition, ending back in Tanga after two weeks. Then to the west Usambara villages of Lushoto and Mtae before heading to the base of Kilimanjaro in Moshi. Then on to Arusha where we based for safaris to the Arusha, Serengeti, Tarangire and Lake Manyara national parks and the Ngorongoro conservation area. Then we headed back to Dar Es Salaam and a few days in Zanzibar before heading south by train to Mbeya where we based for trips to Tukuyu and Matema on lake Malawi. Heading back north via Iringa and a trip to Ruaha national park, then on to Mang'ula and Udzungwa national park, Morogoro and back to Dar Es Salaam.
India Arrival (Delhi): 9/10/00 Departure (Delhi): 25/2/01 New Delhi was the base of travel in India. We headed home to Dehradun, then on to the Garhwal hills and the source of the Ganges at Gangotri, ending with a white water trip on the Ganges. Then on to Rishikesh and to Delhi and Agra. Heading east to the Himalayan foothills at Darjeeling and the Sikkim where we toured around for about 10 days before heading to Calcutta, Jamshedpur and tiger tracking in Bandhavgarh national park. Back in Delhi, we headed for Rajasthan, visiting Jaipur and Ranthambore national park. Then meeting up with family in Delhi, we headed east to Calcutta to attend Siddharth's wedding. After Calcutta, we took a train south to Chennai, visited Tirupati and on to Bangalore and Mysore. After a brief stay in the Kabini river lodge, it was the fishing camp on the banks of rhe Cauvery. Then we headed to the west coast and Kochi, visiting Munnar and the tea estates before heading for the backwaters at Allepuzha. Then south to the tip of India at Kanyakumari, back north to Kannur, Payyanur, and finally the long train ride back to Delhi and Dehradun.
Cambodia Arrival (Phnom Penh): 25/2/01 Departure (Siem Reap): 7/3/01 After a few days sight seeing in Phnom Penh we took the 5 hour fast boat to Siem Reap on the Tonle Sap river where we toured the magnificient ruins of Angkor Wat before flying to Vietnam.
Vietnam Arrival (Ho Chi Minh City): 7/3/01 Departure (Hanoi): 15/4/01 Starting from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), we did a few trips nearby and to the Mekong Delta near Cantho, before heading north along the skinny country. We stopped at Dalat, Nha Trang, Hoi An and Hue before catching a night train to Hanoi. Basing in Hanoi, we visited Ha Long Bay, CatBa island, went northwest along a counterclockwise loop visiting Sapa, Lai Chau, Dien Bien Phu, Son La and Moc Chau.
Laos Arrival (Vientiane): 15/4/01 Departure (Vientiane): 13/5/01 Following a very inefficient route due to circumstances beyond our control, we ended up doing two loops from Vientiane. First north to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang. Then a northwest loop via OudomXay, Luang Namtha, Houie Xay and then by boat on the Mekong via Pakbeng back to Luang Prabang. Then south from Vientiane to Savannakhet, Pakse and Don Khong in the 4000 Island region of the Mekong, back north via TadLo and Savannakhet to Vientiane.