Early on while backpacking through India and SouthEast Asia, my wife Carrie and I realized that there really wasn’t that much of a difference between a $3 hotel room and a $13 hotel room.

SRI LANKA - 600 Rupees ($4) - Healey Tourist Inn, Dambula

Sure, the more expensive hotel room might have a Western toilet in the room instead of a shared squatty potty, but neither had a comfortable bed or was especially pleasant to be in.

SRI LANKA - 600 Rupees ($4) - Healey Tourist Inn, Dambula... The bed and pillows were made of straw

For instance, the above room in Dambula, Sri Lanka, featured the gem-of-a-mattress  you see to your right. Filled entirely with hay and stray, it was about as comfortable to sleep on as you would imagine.

Yet we stayed there, because it was the best hotel room we came across. I don’t even want to think about what may or may not have been living inside that bale of hay. Sometimes it would poke through while laying on it, others it would just exist like a bed of cement. Needless to say, we were thrilled to get out of there first thing the next morning.

Another prime example of an awful bed can be seen in the below photograph taken in Ubud, Bali. For $8, we got what the hotel owner refered to as a “large bed.”

BALI - 80,000 Real ($8) - Ayu Bungalow, Ubud

However, upon closer inspection (aka, laying down on it), we quickly realized that it was made up of two twin beds pushed next to each other, alongside an even smaller third mattress and covered with a single sheet. And, because it’s what you do when backpacking, we stayed there for four days.

Port Blaire, Andaman Islands, India

Sometimes the rooms are big…with uncomfortable beds…

And other times times they are barely big enough to move around…with the same uncomfortable beds.

INDIA - 500rs ($10) Bombay

The most absurd part about the room above was that, because it was in Mumbai, India,  it was our most expensive room to date at a whopping $10. No real walls: just four thin pieces of balsa wood separating us from the room next door and a rickety fan perilously spinning from a communal ceiling.

Sadhana Forest, a hippie community in Auroville, India

The room above was in Sadhana Forest: an organic commune dedicated to reforestation in India. It was one of our favorite stops on the entire 9 month backpacking adventure…but the bed sure wasn’t comfortable.

Now keep in mind, Carrie and I willingly chose to stay at these places. Partly because we were on a budget, but also because they provided us with some of our most memorable experiences. These were the places that we got to meet the locals and learn about all the amazing places to visit from our fellow travelers.

Quite often, there was an idyllic scene just outside the door and had we not stayed in these budget guesthouses we never would have had the chance to explore the area. Take the below bungalow. While teeny, it also literally was less than a minute from the white sands of the Arabian Sea in Goa, India.

INDIA - 200 Rupees ($4) - Costello's Cabanas, Benalum, Goa

Of course, from time to time we found ourselves in an absolute hellhole like the Overstay: a whorehouse turned guesthouse in Bangkok. It was during Songkran – the Thai New Year – and Carrie and I found ourselves with little other option than to spend five nights there after we met some amazing new friends.

It’s amazing what one puts up with just to make it easy to hang out with people. (and no, the final photo below was not our room, but it was where dozens of other traveler’s slept in the Overstay).

The floor was a popular sleeping spot at The Overstay in Bangkok during Thai New Year, though we had a "room"

Want to read more about some of the absurd places that Carrie and I stayed? Then check out:

• The Most Disgusting, Slummy and Awful Place I’ve Ever Stayed…for Five Days
• Chungking Mansions: Bedbugs, Racial Tensions and Closet Sized Rooms
• Chasing a Naked Thai Thief into the River Kwai at 3am
• How Can I Possibly Sleep On This Bus?
• Making a Home in Hampi Next to a Tee Pee
• How to Stay in a Hotel for $4 – $6 Per Night in India
• Zip Lining, Leeches and Sleeping in Treehouses at the Gibbon Experience

OK, I’m done now. For the comments section…what is the most absurd place you have ever stayed in during your bargain holidays and why. Discuss :)

It took a little while, but soon we were parked staring face to face with a beautiful male leopard. At one point he actually came within two feet of our jeep before walking back into the forest to take a rest on a sunny rock. By this time, three other jeeps had stopped alongside us so we moved on to give them time in our prime viewing spots.

During my backpacking adventures, I keep extensive travel journals: all of which are archived on this site. What follows is an excerpt from Leopards, Elephants and Prisoners Two Feet From Our Face, written on April 30, 2009 in Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka.

The other jeeps began to drive away and no sooner than there was quiet again the leopard got up, walked right across the road in front of us and to the other side where a female leopard was waiting in the forest.

The two of them lay down facing each other and began to roar at each other and began the mating ritual. We sat there in the jeep, silent, snapping photos and waiting to see two leopards do it.Our tracker was pretty sure they would begin to mate as well until the roar of the other jeeps returning completely killed the mood for them. Frustrated at the voyeurs, they headed further into the forest away from our prying eyes to make little leopard babies…or at least that’s what I imagine happened…all we saw was them get up and walk away.

…read more…

An excerpt from The Hornets are Buzzing at Sigiria

When we arrived at the halfway point we had to wait for other tourists to be turned away from climbing to the top of Sigiriya before he asked us if we really wanted to proceed. His stories of people being carted away in ambulances due to a hornet attack did not deter us. Neither did his demonstration of what to do if we were attacked: cover our ears and run like hell. So up the stairs we climbed, past the hornets nests that looked completely intact and through air containing no buzzing.

The roof of Coit Tower in San Francisco, California

I’ve always loved shooting cranking up my shutter speed and pointing my camera directly at the sun to capture the deep blue skies and bold rays. Like when I pointed my 10.5mm fisheye lens into the air atop Coit Tower in San Francisco, California.

Tex Randall, the biggest Texan

In a state that likes things BIG, Tex Randall is the biggest Texan of them all. Located in Canyon, TX, Tex stands proud at 47 feet tall and seven tons heavy. He was originally built in 1959 when industrial arts teacher Harry Wheeler wanted to make “Texas’ Biggest Texan” to promote his Western curio shop. Today the curio shop has closed its doors, but Tex stands tall for all to see just off of historic Route 66.

A tree and sunburst in Kumili, India

Sunbursts are always a nice compliment to a nature scene, like this one I captured while on a trek through the mountains above Kumili, India.

Cherry Blossoms and a sunburst in front of the Washington Monument

The clouds parted and I was greeted by both the Washington Monument and a beauitful sunburst during a recent photo session on Washington, DC’s National Mall.

The Jaisalmer Desert in India

I had the pleasure of taking a camel safari through the desert of Jaisalmer, India, while suffering from a bad case of Dehli Belly.

A sunburst through a star in San Francisco

It was too good to be true…a sunburst shining through a star near San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf.

Prayer flags cover the sun at the Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba in Sri Lanka

The sun was in full force during my three day tour of the holy sites of Sri Lanka’s Ancient Cities. While it did a great job of lighting up my photos, it also made for a very sizzling experience as all of the sites had a no-shoes policy to go with their scalding hot stone walkways. Needless to say, there was a lot of hopping and burned feet.

A beggar at Dambula

Considering we’ve now been in Thailand for almost a month I figured it was time to get the second half of the bloggings on Sri Lanka up. This issue contains observations of life traveling during a civil war, getting brushed through military checkpoints with no hassle beacause we’re foreigners, hiking up more than a mile by steps to Eden, being face to face with leopards and elephants, tsunami stories and more.

Anyway, the trip continues to be amazing and, believe it or not, we have booked our flights home. We get to California on August 18 and I return to New York on August 24…just in time to catch a few games at Citi Field where, by then, the Mets will hopefully have clinched a playoff spot.

Enjoy…and as always, be sure to check out Carrie’s TravelPod for a completely different look at everything we do!

Empty souvineer stands like this one by the Samadhi Buddha in Anuradhapura were a common sight

Every tour guide, souvenir salesman or monument caretaker is quick to let us know that the civil war in Sri Lanka has caused a dramatic decrease in visits to every single tourist spot in the country. As such, when we arrive anywhere we are instantly bombarded by people anxious to show us around, give us a full tour or provide information about what we are looking at. While we love the knowledge, it is usually the same info our book provides and very rarely requested by us.

The worst are the old men and women who latch onto us and, in broken and heavily accented English, proceed to tell us the same things we heard at the last five sites. Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of them is to be stern and downright mean, which is very tough when they begin giving us the sob story about the lack of tourism and when we just want to pinch their cheeks they are so cute.

Of course we can’t be mean so we let them continue, knowing full well that when their shpeal is done the donation is expected. If we have it we give them a few rupees, if not we quickly walk away with our heads hung low. In the end though it’s not about the money: usually it’s only a few cents and helps them more than it helps us. The problem we have and what bugs me the most is that their service is completely unsolicited and we really can’t say no…and they know that.

A souvineer seller at Lanka Rama told us a story about how his father created all his wares.

The souvenir sellers are also ruthless. After the 75 year old is done talking and gets his tip, they come over with the same replica statues we have seen everywhere else. Amazingly, everyone tells us that their fathers made these and they are not available anywhere else. They are also happy to give us a very good price because tourism is so bad and they have to feed their families.

We don’t doubt that tourism is bad and that business is down, and we honestly do feel bad for all of them and want to help out every single one. But the fact of the matter is, we just can’t help an entire country ravished by the effects of a civil war, no matter how much we want to.

Even when we get away from archaeological sites and temples, the guilt trip continues. Hotel owners throw it at us when we try to haggle; three-wheeler (taxi) drivers use it to justify a price triple what the locals pay. It just never ends.

Signs like these are found all over the country, enticing people to join the army

Eventually a soldier would come on and start checking the documents of the other passengers who didn’t get off. We have no idea why some got off and some didn’t. Anyway, the soldier was always stern and gruff with the locals but full of smiles when they got to us. “What is your country? How long in Sri Lanka? Do you like it?” These were the most common questions. I don’t think we had to take out our passports once, though one time I did get off and walk through the checkpoint just for fun. While others were being searched, I got smiles and chuckles from the soldiers and was waived on.

Our theory, which was backed up by talking to locals, is that everyone knows that it’s not the tourists who cause civil unrest. Sure, they might be a day or two over on their visa, but they still have thrown caution to the wind and come to a country that most dare not enter. Why would the Sri Lankans want to cause trouble with the few of us who are willing to come spend our hard earned money in their economy!

We had similar experiences with checkpoints when we hired a private driver to take us up north to the Ancient Cities. While other cars were stopped left and right at checkpoints, our driver just slowed down and let us wave to the army officer who quickly sent us on our way. When driving at night he had us turn on the inside lights when we approached the checkpoints in order to assure our speedy continuation. Usually, when driving locals, the driver has to stop at every single one and wait for the whole car to be searched. It really did make us feel like a sort of royalty at times.

• Hotel Room: 500 – 800 rupees ($4.50 -$7.25)
• Local Brand Soda: 30 rupees for 400ml ($0.25)
• Coca Cola Brand Soda: 70 rupees for 500ml ($0.62)
• Extra charge for a refrigerated drink: 5 – 10 rupees ($0.04 – $0.08)


Vegetable and rice curry...the most popular dish in Sri Lanka

• Veg Rice Curry: 75 – 550 (at a restaurant) rupees ($0.66 – $4.90)
• Fried snacks: 25 – 40 rupees ($0.22 – $0.35)
• 1.5 Liter Bottled Water: 50 – 65 rupees ($0.45 – $0.58)
• Private Driver Per Day: 2,000 – 4,000 rupees ($17 – $34)
• Train Ticket, Second Class: 160 – 210 rupees ($1.42 – $1.87)
• Hour of Internet: 40 – 60 rupees, 120 in beach towns ($0.35 – $0.53 or $1.07)
• Tuk Tuk Taxi: 50 – 100 rupees minimum, even for a few second ride ($0.44 – $0.88)
• Pay Phone: 5 – 20 rupees per minute for local calls ($0.04 – $0.17)
• Local Bus: 5 – 25 rupees to get around town or just outside ($0.04 – $0.22)
• Long Distance Bus: 30 – 75 rupees ($0.26 – $0.66)
• Long Distance AC Minibus: 200 – 400 rupees for the same distance ($1.78 – $3.57)
• Temple Entrance: 100 – 600 rupees ($0.89 – $3.57)
• Beer: 110 rupees at the store, 300 at a restaurant ($0.98 store, $2.67 restaurant)

Starry Night at Adam's Peak, which we hiked to the top of in time for sunrise

Depending on which legend you believe, Adam’s Peak is either the original location of where Adam was exiled from Eden, the spot where Buddha left his footprint en-route to paradise or where butterflies go to die. In any case, pilgrims from around the world have flocked there for more than 1,000 years to to climb the 5,200 stairs reaching more than a mile into the sky. Well, put us on the Mayflower and send us to Boston because we wanted to climb up as well.

According to our guidebook, a 2:30am start would get us to the top with plenty of time to spare to catch the sunrise. What it didn’t mention was that the start was around 30 minutes from our hotel and that we would get lost multiple times en-route. So, after a few false starts we finally begun our ascent. The beginning was easy enough; the stairs were short and had long flat areas every dozen or so. Not that we took advantage, but every few minutes there were also lines of vendors and shops where we could rest, get a drink or even take a nap. This would have been nice to know before we packed nearly four liters of water for the hike thinking we need it all.

Up we went: climbing and climbing, sweating and sweating some more. Every few minutes we would see pilgrims on the way down. Some had shaking knees and others were being helped by friends and family. Ages ranged from babies asleep on their parent’s shoulder to elderly men and women who probably know every step by heart. Not once did we hear an encouraging, “you’re almost there.”

The sunrise view from Adam's Peak

After what seemed like an eternity of climbing and increasingly steep stairs we saw a railing and assumed that we were almost at the top. “Only 1,500 more stairs,” a local told us. Uuuugh. We refused to believe him but, as we hiked for another 30 minutes, at times physically pulling our bodies up using the rail, we realized he was telling us the truth. It seems that in addition to the 5,200 advertised steps there were thousands of little rocks, hilly areas and other things to climb that didn’t get counted.

Our final time to the top was a little over two hours and the view was well worth the effort. However, we were not prepared for the bitter cold winds that cut through the thin shirts we had on. We finally saw why all the locals were climbing up with hats, jackets and other warm clothes. So we stood there, shivering, waiting for the sun to rise. I snapped some photos, we saw the sacred footprint and then we hunkered down in a less windy area.

Woman praying early in the morning atop Adam's Peak

The top itself had a small shrine area, corridors for sleeping and staying warm (that were completely filled with head to toe sleepers), more shrines and rows of toilets. The actual footprint was covered by a gold plated footprint that was then covered by a piece of cloth covered with donations from pilgrims and tourists alike. Carrie and I both sounded a bell to let the world know that we were up there and watched as night became day over foggy and cloudy mountains that went on for miles.

As the sun was now up, it was time to begin our descent before the same sun that felt so good on our cold bodies began beating down on us. We were very worried about our knees and how we would handle going down, as it is often harder than the climb. However, we wound up chatting with a British couple for most of the walk and before we knew it, we were back at the base. Every time we stopped to snap a photo, get blessed by a monk or just take in take in the view we got all wobbly, so there was not much time to pause.

All in all I would say it is the second hardest hike I’ve ever done behind climbing a volcano on Isla Omatepe in Nicaragua. But well worth ever one of the 10,000 (by my completely non-scientific or accurate estimate) steps.

For more on Adam’s Peak, check out Wikipedia