Author Archives: dtravelsround

Escape of the Week: The pyramids of Giza, Egypt

Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post from Endri of Trip and Travel Blog. If you have an Escape of the Week you would like to contribute, please send me a message. Thanks! There is an allure to Egypt – the hazy sun high in the blue sky, above a sea of desert and history.Continue reading “Escape of the Week: The pyramids of Giza, Egypt”

Volunteers and a vet: an afternoon of healing elephants

I stand, along with three other volunteers, watching one of the Elephant Nature Park’s veterinarian’s squirt antiseptic into the mangled foot of Sri Prae. It is purple, covered in medicine to keep it from getting infected. And, it’s disfigured, partially blown off after accidentally stepping on a land mine years back when she was inContinue reading “Volunteers and a vet: an afternoon of healing elephants”

Escape of the Week: Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Less than a two-hour drive from the rolling hills of Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, is Volcanoes National Park. Also known as Parc National des Volcans, it spans 77-miles in the Virunga Mountains. Bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, Volcanoes National Park is made up of lush rainforests, volcanoes … and gorillas. It was the firstContinue reading “Escape of the Week: Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda”

Up-close with elephants: a photo essay of life with a herd

//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js // <![CDATA[ (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); // ]]> Thick, leathery gray legs covered with a layer of thick, wet, chocolate-colored dirt, surround me. At first, I am apprehensive. On all sides of me are six-ton elephants. Capable of plowing me over. I look over to Lek, the founder of Elephant Nature Park, withContinue reading “Up-close with elephants: a photo essay of life with a herd”

Escape of the Week: Outdoor Art in Prague

Prague, considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is a smorgasbord of style ranging from renaissance to gothic to baroque, contemporary and more. It’s easy to spend days just wandering the city, taking in the hundreds of churches with spires that pierce the skyline, the colorful buildings on quaint tree-lined streets, theContinue reading “Escape of the Week: Outdoor Art in Prague”

The A-Z of D Travels ‘Round

Happy 2012! Well, Happy 2012 a few days early. While everyone is either dragging themselves into work for the short week, or spending time on a lil’ holiday, I figured now is the time for some fun travel stories. I’m not doing a “Best of” this year, but when the opportunity to participate in theContinue reading “The A-Z of D Travels ‘Round”

Escape of the Week: Radovljica, Slovenia

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Dayna at Wanderlusting. Do you have an Escape of the Week you’d like to contribute? Let me know! Dtravelsround [at] gmail [dot] com. Your Escape could be the next Escape! I expected to enjoy Slovenia.  A year ago, I looked up photos and videos of Lake Bled, theContinue reading “Escape of the Week: Radovljica, Slovenia”

A trip to a Thai elementary school: a photo essay

Most of the time at Elephant Nature Park is spent at the park, caring for elephants and helping maintain the facilities. However, our calendar of volunteer activities clearly shows that on Thursday, we are heading out of the park to do some volunteer work at the village elementary school with the kids. I love myContinue reading “A trip to a Thai elementary school: a photo essay”

Escape of the Week: Sintra, Portugal

A quick train ride from Lisbon lies the hilltop town of Sintra. It’s a quaint little town that conjures up memories of times when fairytales were quite possibly real, with its maze-like cobblestone streets, castles and palaces. Once the summer home of Portugal’s kings, today Sintra offers a place for history buffs to roam theContinue reading “Escape of the Week: Sintra, Portugal”