Nepal to India

Hi there...
After our time in Pokhara when we last updated you, we travelled by aircon Greenline bus from Pokhara to Kathmandu - a mere 6 hour journey. Actually the aircon made it far more bearable than I think we had been expecting so at least that was something and the fact that the bus dropped us off 5 mins walk from where our other kit was stashed at the hotel also made life much easier. We got back to the (un-Holy lodge) and checked in/ got our remaining kit back from the deep storage and went out for a decent meal at a place nearby. We had already decided to stay for one night in KTM and then head on to a much nicer town not too far away called Bakthabar (about 45mins in a taxi - $5) so this was really just a pit stop on our way to better places and to avoid the skuzziness of KTM which was beginning to grate on us both given we had just been in the very picturesque surroundings of the Annapurna region. We did however manage to get in a tour of Durbar Square with a local guide who was very helpful in explaining to us what all the different tombs/palaces were all about and when they were built and what the signified - tip for anyone else travelling here is that its totally worth the token amount you pay the tour guides as it a) greatly enhances the experience and b) stops all the other annoying touts from approaching you to offer their services.

Bakthabar was actually VERY pretty - the Durbar square there (they are called Durbar Square all over Nepal) was great and the hotel (Bhadgaon Hotel) we had found on Tripadvisor and with recommendations from friends we had met hiking was well located - in the middle of what can only be described as a ancient historical town and in an ancient building itself - think of basically a hotel in a museum with efficient service, good food, and great views and you pretty well have it... We sauntered round the town taking in the local sights and sounds for a couple of days before we jumped in a local cab to get back to KTM airport for our Jetlite flight to Delhi. Whilst checking in at the airport two things of interest happened - 1) a massive explosion just outside the airport (still unconfirmed as to what it was but most likely just a tyre bursting) and 2) the goddamn Nepalese trying to fleece me into paying the airport departure tax (at "foreigner" rates) - as it turns out I did end up having to pay a departure tax but not after some wrangling with the official that insisted that I was just paying the same rate as all other "foreigners". Its one of those comical times when, as a foreigner who needs to catch a flight imminently, you know you are f**ked and have to pay something but quite how much is a mystery... ;-)

Jetlite was actually quite good, although the check-in and security procedures were remarkably inefficient and totally reminded me of "jobs for the boys" as everyone on the plane had their hand luggage manually checked three times (and twice by x-ray). The flight itself nearly turned into an Indian dating game as the middle aged Indian lady sitting next to me (who had said they were just coming from her son's wedding in KTM) moved to allow her daughter (probably about 25 and clearly unmarried and who was previously sitting about 10 rows in front) the pleasure of my company. The mum's cunning plan was remarkably undone when, just as the aforementioned young lady was about to engage me in conversation (and I am trying my best to read the magazine I had picked up in the airport) Erin leans across and asks to copy my landing/immigration card. On realising that I was probably not alone on the flight the young lady sat back in her seat and said nothing for the rest of the flight (she did try to contain some tears but I'm very certain that I was nothing to do with them...) MEMO note to self - maybe all girls in their 20s/early 30s are unstable).

Landing in Delhi on a hot (44 degrees) afternoon is never good for my sense of humour especially when taxi touts are clearly trying to fleece me into paying well above the going rate but the immigration and customs procedures were remarkably efficient and we exited the building pretty quickly and jumped in a prepaid cab for the prebooked hotel. Now here is a funny old thing... I had read an out of date Lonely planet when I was in Pokhara which warned readers about the taxi scams that taxi drivers try and pull... namely...:-

1. Give me the prepaid ticket up front as it tells me where to get to (it's also his payment for the trip so if you give it up before you get to the hotel he can drop you anywhere and you are up the creek without a paddle as he's effectively already been paid!)
2. There has been a shooting in the city and its best to stay at a hotel I can recommend as its in a safe area (taxi driver gets hotel commission)
3. That hotel does not exist any more (I had emailed them the night before to finalise a price and they had not mentioned a recent closure)
4. I cannot find the hotel as I don't know the streets round there, however my relative has a hotel nearby and maybe he can help (relative doesn't know directions to street three blocks away but unsurprisingly does have room at his hotel - yeah right!)
5. Insult to injury came when, after me insisting he asked the local traffic police (standing 20 metres away) where the hotel was located - he relented and finally "found" the way to the hotel remarkably quickly... then asked for a tip quite forcibly... so I told him to find passengers hotels quicker and walked off to the hotel reception leaving him dejected... NO TIP FOR YOU SUNSHINE!!!

The Hotel, Sri Nanek Continental was remarkably well contained and for a budget-busting $40 per night we were in comparative luxury. We grabbed dinner, went to bed and then, in the morning repacked our gear into small rucksacks for our Golden Triangle trip courtesy of Marshall Tours! (Guide and Tour leader - Al M.).

Prior to boarding the train for Agra we did a little sightseeing around Connaught Place and visited the Central Cottage Industries Emporium (recommended if you want to buy legitimate goods of quality even though you might pay 10% more than the market rate). Finding the train station wasn't too difficult - getting into it was trickier and we had to jump down and clamber across a disused train track and jump up onto a platform (under the guidance of a police officer I might add) just to enter the damn place. But finding the platform and train carriage was easy enough. The train ride was nice (first class and our own two person sleeper carriage for $15 for a five hour journey isn't bad value in my book - even if it is 4 times more expensive than 2nd class). Eventually we got to Agra and were met by a friendly Tuktuk driver who took us to our remarkably clean hotel called the Tourist Rest House - recommend it if you are in town but get a/c in your room for the extra Rp100 as its totally worth it when they have electricity (blackouts are a problem in Agra).

The Tuktuk driver was duly engaged to come and pick us up at 6am to take us to the Taj Mahal for sunrise and it was not a letdown - it is an awesome feat of engineering and creativity and a beautiful tomb to spend your resting days... absolutely stunning! a must see for everyone if they can! We also were taken to a few other places including the Red Fort, and a couple of bazaars that I'm sure the driver would have gotten commission had we not known market rates and qualities of carpets - we refrained from buying anything but the insight as to how things were made was pretty cool!

Next mission was the train to Jaipur - no great issues there either - and the prebooked hotel's driver was there to meet us off the train and take us to the hotel. Ali (the driver) was also instructed to take us around Jaipur the next day and a half and so we got a good sense of the place, saw the various sights and forts and also visited the local wholesale shops for better deals than the jewellery markets. Erin saw a 25ct stone she liked so we had it made into a big ring for her Xmas present - apparently its all the trend in America right now but what do I know - I try and avoid rocks and rings like the plague... ;-) too expensive... We also got one of her NYC friends a custom made wrist band made of solid 92.5% silver and saw it being made as well as finished/polished - all from an Internet design that we had printed out... very clever these silversmiths...!!!

Next came the train back to Delhi, which again was pretty painless, until the TukTuk driver in Delhi train station "couldn't remember his way to the hotel despite me having a card with the address on it and it only being 2kms from the station. Needless to say, when I'm giving a taxi driver directions and he is pretending to now know where he's going... I'm liable to lose the plot (and I nearly did especially given it was hot and 11.30pm at night). The endgame was that he was trying to get me to pay more for the "extra time he had to incur as a result of the effort he had to put in to find the hotel". I did end up paying him marginally above market rates but not before I had engaged the hotel manager to "discuss the matter" with him! ;) Erin found me nearly losing it to be quite amusing!!! I didn't as I hate feeling like I am being taken advantage of in these situations especially when we had already experienced taxi driver no.1 and had had all the chat from driver no1 that I could take.

So now we are back in New Delhi and have abandoned the idea of going to Corbett's National park for three reasons: 1) the train we were booked on did not have confirmed tickets (we were "Waitlisted") for us so there was no certainty we would actually have a ticket to get there (we did have one to get back however) and 2) the Delhi elections are on May 7th (our previously booked date of departure) and 3) Swine flu is causing a lot of headlines and for a couple of days I'd rather be back in GB to deal with any issues rather than quarantined in India (overcautious I know but there isn't much reason to hang around any further on this trip as we are out of time...). So tonight we head to Delhi International to board our last flight of the trip, British Airways back to London. Hopefully it will be on time and hopefully we will be met at the airport by mum - otherwise its a long walk home.... :-)

The trip has been great for both of us and we have enjoyed every minute of it, the ups and downs, the arguments and the resolutions, the hot and cold climates, the diversity and the racism but have learnt a lot about ourselves and about the different cultures and how they fit into the world as we are in today. I hope you have enjoyed the blog and please keep in touch:-

alastairmarshall@gmail.com

erinhelmboldt@gmail.com

Love

Al and E. xx

Nepal

Hi Everyone...

Well we made it to Nepal - via Hong Kong - don't like to make things too easy for ourselves but that's just the way OneWorld flies from Bangkok to Kathmandu. The upside was that we did get upgraded and flew in Business from BKK to HK. Nice!!!!

Once in Kathmadu ("KTM") we got met by our atxi driver who took us to a place called the International Guest house to find that they only had a more expensive room for the night - no choice so we had to take it... In the morning we got up, had a nice breakfast, and then I decided to chat to the hotel manager about the room situation and about advice as to how to get to Annapurna region and also about getting round it... Now for the uninitiated what hotels in KTM do is get you there and then sell you as many add on services as possible so that they get as much out of you as possible (and this hotel manager was no exception) - except I had done a bit of research and chatted to people on our trip about how much it SHOULD cost - not what he was selling me... Long/short - he basically told us we could leave his hotel as we weren't taking his chauffeur services nor taking his guide or porter (all way about market rates)... An unhappy Erin was then forced to move hotels (to a mere 3 mins away and a third of the cost) but when the situation was explained to her over much she agreed the guy was a d**k!!!

A few days in KTM were spent sorting out permits for the Annapurna Circuit (cost $25 per person), buying bus tickets to Besisahar (the starting point for the anticlockwise trek) and generally getting kit for the trek. We stayed in a place called Holy Lodge (the only thing Holy about it were the sheets but it was adequate enough although it didn't stop the tears from coming again when she saw it... KTM doesn't have that many decent affordable places - if any... and there is only 5 hours of electricity per day - if that!!! It is powered by Hydroelectricity so if the river isn't full enough there isn't any power - Simple huh!!! KTM is a capital city is hear you say... ;-) whatever!!!!!!!!)

So the next day we set off for Besisahar and arrive mid-afternoon, cleverly avoiding a 2 hour hike by jumping onto a moving minibus that navigates its way gingerly up the river valley and to Erin's great shock VERY close to the deathtrap that is a sheer ravine and river bed.

First time Erin sees the Tea Houses we are going to be in for the next 3 weeks she breaks into tears - what the hell did she think it was going to be like - a hotel!!!!!! Rooms are basic, think of two beds and a sheet on them... but they are cozy and I like the rustic feel to them... she of course, throws a tantrum so we have an argument and I tell her she can't do the circuit anyway... reverse psychology working she immediately changes tack and now wants to do it... so we set off for the Thorung La pass.

About 8 or 9 days later and with a lot of pain and suffering (I'm carry two person's backpacks worth of kit as mademoiselle has issues of her own (her toenails are cracking...) we gain about 2,500m in height to reach Manang at 3,600m (11,000ft). This is our resting place for a day whilst we acclimatise to the lack of oxygen and get ready for crossing the pass at 5,400m. As fate would have it three things conspired against us - 1) it started to snow and did so for 2 days - thereby putting 3 feet of snow on the Pass 2) Erin's knees were not up to the challenge of the massive decent the other side of the pass (5,000ft of downhill) and 3) Erin gets vertigo so the decent the far side and the drops she would have to look at might have endangered more that just her life... Difficult decision and massively disappointed, we went down to a lower village and flew down to Pokhara for her 30th birthday...

After her birthday which remarkably passed without too many tears and blubbing about being 30 (who cares anyway??? It's just a number!!!) we both became ill with the sh1ts but I got them first and then got rid of them and then Erin got them and then got rid of them - however, we wasted 3 days recovering in Pokhara when we were supposed to be going back up to the Annapurna conservation area to do more trekking. On the upside, it rained one afternoon so we took ourselves off to the local market area and I ended up buying the entire James Bond collection, Series 1-6 of "24", 17 new DVDs, a 24-language DVD and Series 1-4 of the US "Office for $48 - who cares if half of them don't work at that price... its like going to the movies in NYC twice... bargain!!!!! Just have to see if Her Majesty's Customs let me in the country with them... hehe...

Forgot to mention this before but "challenge Al" came out again in Nepal - the rule is simple - I have to actually PAY for a haircut but it is to be as cheap as possible.... (Note: One of the lads we were travelling with got one free so that doesn't count - still not sure how he got that one but nevermind...) - prior to Nepal the bar was set by Cambodia at $1.50.... well Nepal just beat it with a $0.5 one in Pokhara.... funny but it really wasn't that bad and I got a neck massage included for free... game on!!!

Eventually, both of us feeling better we got into a cab and went back up to start trekking again, this time from Birithanti on the Clockwise part of the circuit. We had heard that a place called Poon Hill was THE PLACE to see the sunrise over the Annapurna range and 2,500m of height gain later and feeling a little woozy from the lack of acclimatisation we were not disappointed (Photos to come later when I get back to GB but it was amazing). Only trouble was that it was a bloody early start for me 4.30am and I just don't like getting up that early!!! so I went back to bed and slept for a couple of hours...

The next day I set my alarm early again and realised that I could get virtually the same view as the morning before but without a 45 minute hike up to the top of Poon Hill from my bedroom - why didn't someone tell me that the day before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We then set off via a few testing hills to a place called Ghandruk and stayed at the prettiest little tea hut I have been to called Snow Lodge (perched on top of a valley with amazing views and great food) - not that Erin could tell as she had had a dodgy soup at lunch and had vomited it all up....

A 3 hour trek downhill - Killer on the knees - and we were back to Birithanti and civilisation again... Erin is mow much happier especially when I negotiate a cab for us back to Pokhara (I had previously threatened the local bus again as the taxis were too expensive). So back in Pokhara we have now showered, shaved, are getting our clothes washed in the hotel and are generally recovering... I think Erin might have PTSD (look it up on Google ;-) ) but we are ready for the next phase of our trip - back to KTM and then off to India where the trains and hotels are already booked...

Will update you more when something happens...

Love

Al

Koh Tao to Bangkok

Hi Everyone

Firstly - lets get one thing clear - the Thai island of Koh Tao is possibly one of the best diving sites I have ever been to - 25m + visibility and teeming with fish. Especially funny was watching trigger fish attack an American diver who was trying to get photos of it. It just started nailing his head and actually drew blood it was that forceful - very funny as he had deliberately dived over the nest (to get a better photo) of the Trigger fish despite being warned of the consequences (they are VERY territorial).

Koh Tao itself is a nice, small island that is unpretentious with great soft, sandy beaches that are really only accessible by scooter (which we hired to get around) so lazing in hammocks and watching the waves drift in and out was on the cards for a couple of days whilst the British lads we were travelling with finished their diving certificates. We stayed at a resort called Ban's that was actually pretty good value and had a dive centre on hand to make life easy - it had also been recommended on Tripadvisor.com so when I negotiated free accommodation for the lads they were pretty happy...

With the diving out of the way and the the exploration of Koh Tao finished we celebrated the lads finishing their course with a night out and then got on a Songserm boat to Ko Samui (via Ko Pha Ngan). We were met off the boat by the hotel staff and taken to the hotel I had booked. It actually turned out to be quite nice bungalows with a/c (a rarity in cheaper accommodation) located on the Northern part of the island. After an initial "is this a gay resort" load of questions (there were lots of magazines to that effect in the reception and in the rooms) from the boys (they are all 18 and 19 ;-) ) they settled down having seen two or three couples frolicking in the pool... anyway, even if it was - it was great, and very clean... No more bed bugs...

A few nights out and a scooter ride of the island later we set off for the return leg to Bangkok, sad to leave the boys but as we were heading our way we had to press on - we will meet again though in London for the "Banoffee Pie Bake off" between Chris and Erin - Christ knows how that happened but if it means I get Banoffee Pie I'm willing to support it! haha

We took the Government bus ride back to Bangkok and can happily recommend it over the private tour operators for ease and safety - if anyone else does this trip make the extra effort to get the decent government bus like the Thais do! Its the same price as well so no excuses... lots of thefts apparently happen on the private buses. They even threw in dinner for free as well (although by this stage Erin is sick of rice and complains all the time about food - on the upside she is looking even trimmer now).

Back in Bangkok the ritual tension between dodgy taxi touts and the tight Scotsman continue with a close runoff between the Scotsman being pretty insulting and the Thai gentlemen at the bus station trying to fleece the inexperienced travellers - net result - win to the Scotsman as he pays the same price as a local!

When we check in to the hotel at 5am we get a couple of hours sleep and then go out for some food. We are not 20 metres from our hotel when we bump into the Irish contingent we left in Siem Reap who had also just arrived and were hoping to meet us as well... very random but very welcome as we got to spend the whole day and evening with them... and hear all about how 18-25 year-old Laos is - Jack - if you are reading this we recommend you go there next!

Another trip to the Patpong night market to purchase some boxer shorts and a few polo shirts later and we are crammed (6 passengers) back into a taxi for the ride home as Erin and I had to pack before our 6am start the next day.

Packing over and early start commenced we are now at Bangkok airport in the Cathay lounge waiting to go - and happily a lovely young Thai lady has just told me we are being upgraded to business class so GAME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chat soon

Al & E.

Bangkok to Koh Tao

Bangkok - what a place - dirty, bustling busy, interesting and fun all at once.

We had some beers on a street bar - just think of a few chairs on the side of 5th ave or Piccadilly Circus and you've pretty much got it and a farewell dinner for some of the guys we have been travelling with for the last month.

We took it easy the next day and visited the Thieves market, the textile market and a few other random ones. In addition Erin went to the Royal palace and I went to the Bangkok aquarium which bills itself as being the biggest in S.E. Asia - It was huge and we got to witness, shark feeding, stingray feeding, all the weird and wonderful sea creatures above us as we walked through the underwater tunnel and also from above as we got a glass bottom boat trip. We then went to a 4D show about prehistoric sea life which was amazing as the sensations of having your seat moving in time with the show really brought it all to life (and scared the girl behind us to death).

One of the more interesting markets we visited was the Patpong night market where I picked up a few decent polo shirts for under $10 that will see me through for the next couple of weeks... As it happens the Patpong market also has certain "shows" so if you are averse to any of the following don't go there.

• Douches
• Ping pong balls
• 3 inch sewing needles
• Flowers on a string
• coke bottles being opened
• Bananas flying across the room etc etc

As this is a PG rated post I won't go any further but you get the picture... Queue the tears from her majesty to go home.... so we left... by Tuk Tuk as none of the cabs would take us home - actually this turned out to be a much more fun way of doing it as we needed two TukTuks to get 6 of us home so the TukTuks ended up racing each other and ended up with one of them "getting air" it was going so fast - it actually beat a Mercedes Compressor off the line at a traffic light... Erin's TukTuk won though so my driver didn't get a tip!!! ;-)

We got a night bus from Bangkok down the Gulf of Thailand and then a fast boat to and island called Koh Tao where we are currently holed up and we expect to do a bit of diving as it looks like a great place to do it... all will be revealed in next post.

Hope you are all well

Al

Saigon to Bangkok

Hi everyone....

Well it has been an eventful time since I last wrote - some of it shocking - to be explained later...

As I wrote before I was heading out to the Cu Chi tunnel system to check out how the Vietnamese used to resupply their frontline troops to combat the Americans - fascinating place and the tunnels are tiny - I fitted in the ones that have been specially widened to fit Westerners (for clarity here none of the current Vietnamese can fit in the old tunnels as they are all fatter than in wartime so whilst I have been ribbed mercilessly by email by various "friends & family" I don't feel that bad as I made it to the end of the network with three other travellers whilst our local Vietnamese guide only went about half way...

After another night in our dodgy accommodation we set off by public bus for the Cambodian border - pretty uneventful journey and the crossing was relatively harmless - we then carried on our journey by public bus to Phnom Pehn ("PP" from now on....)

In PP we had a cyclo tour of the city which ended up with the more competitive of our group actually changing places with the drivers and racing each other through the streets - now there are no gears on these bikes so the effort factor is multiplied heavily - sweat was dripping off some people when we finally made it to the restaurant for dinner. We chose the restaurant as the profits went to support local orphans - good food though... After dinner some little kids (maybe 5 or 6 years old) came up to us and offered us some travel books and then started playing around with us.... (memo note to self - don't play with the little sh*ts as they pick pocketed me for $20) - in the end I had to give in as the little tikes did actually succeed where many have failed in the past all round Asia so I have to hand it to them - they did well and I wish them all the best with my $20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next day we had a bit of time to visit the stunning Royal palace and surrounding buildings built for the emperor of the day... although Erin was forced to make herself more "decent" - hence the grow-bag you might have noticed on the photos I published on Picassa... haha

In PP we went on a tour of S21 ( the forboding place that many a Cambodian was detained for questioning and torture prior to being taken to the Killing fields) The photos show the horror of the place but even being there you cannot get a true sense of just how evil it was!! Afterwards we were taken to some of the "Killing Fields" themselves although we maybe saw about 30 of them there are more than 800 know about and it is estimated that there are another 3-400 unknown ones... It must have been a horrible time and the genocide just made me think about whether this is going on today and we are turning a blind eye to it just as we (as an international community) did between 1975 and 1979.

From PP we headed down towards the coast but stayed at a Cambodian homestay with a local village family - think rustic hut in the middle of nowhere with a straw roof and just a mosquito net for protection from malarial mossies... The two older Canadian women travelling with us had clearly not experienced things like this before and one resorted to drinking beer (she never usually drinks and certainly not beer) and the other restarted smoking after 30 years of quitting... it was pretty funny watching the two of them after a few drinks... I think one fell of the log she was on... The village community was actually very hospitable to us and showed us around their lives and their extended families so we got a good idea of how they lived... very subsistence farming existence...

The next day we woke up and we off to Sihanoukville ("S" from now on). This is a properly weird seaside town that I can only basically describe as a place where weird foreigners (excluding us) come to take advantage of the local young girls (and boys). I actually got asked if I had a boyfriend!!!!!! Thinking it was a translation issue I tried my best to explain that Erin was my girlfriend - in retrospect I think I was being naive!!!!

The problem with S is that it has amazing beaches and marine life that we saw by day boat trip to some outlying islands... so it is a complete contrast to the seediness of the main part of the city.. shame really as it made all of us feel a bit creepy.

I did also manage to have a pizza that I "mistakenly" thought was normal - as it made me want to go to sleep after about 30 mins... ;-) won't be doing that one again...

Next we headed back to PP for the public bus to Kompong Cham - a major gateway town to Northwest Cambodia and actually quite pretty rested on the Mekong river... On the way the bus stopped for a rest stop and we got off... to be greeted by deep fried tarantulas and crickets - I tried both and they both tasted a bit like prawn crackers from a chinese restaurant - I have photos to prove it too!!! ;-)

Here we only stayed a couple of nights but managed to fit in a bike tour to the local river islands which involved cycling over a 300 metre bamboo bridge (and paying for the privilege). Once on the island though we got taken to a tobacco farm and saw how they cultivated the leaves, dried them out and then harvested them ready for sale to companies like British American Tobacco. We then weaved our way back to the bridge via the local village community and little 3 or 4 year old wanting to give us "high fives" all the way back - lots of fun...

We then went by bus to Siem Reap ("SR" from now on). The hotel we stayed at was probably one of the nicest so far and the town itself is clearly geared up to the hoards of tourists that fly or bus in to see Angkor wat and the surrounding temples... although a trip to the Irish bar on St Paddys day led to some pretty sore heads on the bus the next day... Erin even managed a "blind massage" here - for blind people it is one of the few ways they can earn a living here...

Going round AW is an awesome place - it is magnificent for the architecture, the scale and the engineering that must have been involved as well as the religious significance... WOW! Photos on the web when I get round to it will probably still not do it justice but may show some of it... We also visited the Tomb Raider tombs with the trees that have grown over them - these are VERY picturesque as you will see...

We also managed to visit a charity that helped poor people learn a new skill - silk weaving. We went to the silk farm and saw the silk worms hard at work and then cultivated into the end product - as I had an order from mum it was nice to buy some of their efforts and support the charity. From the silk farm we went on to the local floating lake community where we saw crocs and snakes being harvested (not sure if this is legal but its certainly happening). This part of Cambodia is very poor and it also felt pretty malarial too so plenty of DEET was applied...

On the way back to SR we stopped off at a hammock bar and had a few beers whilst the sun went down. Our guide Sam introduced us to turtle (chewy and hard to get meat from) and snake (too much cartilige) but at least I gave it a shot...

Back to SR and then private bus to the Thai border and then on to the 7eleven. You;d be surprised how excited everyone got when they found they could finally buy Cadburys chololate again.... and then we finished the journey to Bangkok to stay in a bed bug ridden hotel (not nice as I killed one when I got into the room and Erin killed one about to attack me at 2am). So I paid for a much more expensive hotel close to the Koh San road the next night that at least had decent sheets and no bed bugs.

Next post will have Bangkok.

Hope you liked it so far

Al

Sapa to Saigon

Firstly sorry it has been so long since I last posted but the computers in Vietnam have seemed to have some sort of firewall that hasn't allowed me to log in to post a blog until now... so here goes...

As we left the lovely hilltop village of Sapa by minibus we descended down a windy mountain road at breakneck speed to a little town with a train station that serves as the focal point for the north of Vietnam and out exit route to Hanoi... via 12 hour overnight train.

The train was a bit dirty and not like the Chinese trains we had become accustomed to so it was a bit of a letdown for the team - the food wasn't up the Chinese par and a couple of the team also contracted scabies... NICE!!!! Luckily Erin and I had some scabicide and liberally dosed it on the poor victims before they infacted the rest of us.

We arrived in Hanoi and got driven to a shocking hotel - cockroaches, droppings, dirty sheets (some with blood drops on them - we assume from bites) and the a/c not working in some rooms - picture our lovely NYC blonde entering this situation with style and panache - OR NOT - and the tears opened up again... anyway, our room was actually fine and we left it to the others to sort out theirs.... ho hum!

Hanoi is a bit of a dump - very busy, pretty messy and scooters everywhere and guys constantly hassling you to make a dollar (who says this is a communist country!). We visited Ho Chi Min's mosuleum, the musuem, the Army ("I hate America" as Erin put it) Museum and also the highly recommended Enthology museum on the back of a scooter (again at breakneck speed - why won't they just slow down). For those interested they have photos and the flying suit of John McCain in the Hanoi "Hilton" Prison during his time here.

From Hanoi we took a bus on a two day trip to Halong Bay. After boarding a dinner boat we were taken to Haong Bay island - a UNESCO World Heritage site reknowned for its caves - great place to take photos of colourful stalagmites and stalagtites in a huge cavern. We reboarded the boat and were taken to another island where we stayed the night whilst purchasing some pearl earrings which grow in the Bay itself - Happy Birthday Mum for the 30th! - South China pearls - as requested!

From the island we took a JetCat back to the mainland and our two hour bus ride back to Hanoi to the lovely cockroach hotel - I can tell you everyone was filled with dread to go back there but it was a roof over our heads so can't complain too much.

From Hanoi we boarded an overnight train to Hue - a great town with lovely friendly people (in contrast to Hanoi). We went to a restaurant (highly recommended in the lonely planet) run and owned by a deaf and mute guy - GREAT FOOD and dirt cheap - so we went back for lunch and dinner and ended up writing all our names on the wall at the request of the owner - in return he gave us all home made bottle openers - his party trick was opening five beer bottles at once. Bear in mind all communication was by sign language and you will understand the duration of some conversations. Anyway, we did find out he was an ex-soldier and fought against the US, the Cambodians, and the Chinese despite hating fighting - he was doing it to pretect his family. Fascinating guy and lovely to chat to - even for Erin as an american!

The next day we opted to not follow our tour leader and instead cobble together a trip of our own. This started with hiring the cheapest pushbikes we could find that worked (there were nine of us and two of the bikes failed the "round the block" test) after some minor alterations we were off - well, at least until the river where some deft negotiation with a riverboat captain saw us ferried 7 kms downsteam to three massive temples, pagodas and the tomb at Tu Doc of the Vietnamese emperor - all very impressive... and then we cycled back through the rice padis and rural roads guided by a wrist mounted GPS I used to use for running - very handy in bumblefuckVietnam...

After Hue we took a four hour bus to Hoi An - the suit making place for Vietnam where there are over 200 shops in VERY close proximity all vying for your business which pushes prices down to the very floor - and I mean the floor! I ended up getting a couple of tailor made suits made in Cashmere Wool for $100 each! and then went on to get six pairs of shoes made in leather for $150. The postage back to GB was nearly as much as the cost of a new suit! Bargain! I got Erin a couple of nice dresses made and also a big Winter Jacket that she saw on Neiman Marcus's website that they knocked up overnight for her.... Hoi An is definitely a great place to hang out and sit in the restaurants as well and I think it is the top city in Vietnam so far! We celebrated two birthdays here with one 25-year old in the group and one 50 year old Candian (who tried to keep her birthday a secret but her friend spilled the beans to me so I went out and got them both birthday cakes) Memo note to self - I may have indulged a bit too much in the free Rum and Coke's when, at 2am, yours truly, the 25 year-old Ozzie "birthday" girl and an 18 year old gap year student from Wimbledon were seen racing across a pedestrian bridge..............naked apart from the obligatory trainers - Lynn Helmboldt would have been proud! ;-)

From Hoi An we took a 4 hour bus to Nh Trang - pretty uninspiring place but we managed to get a boat cruise to a local snorkling place and visited a local fishing village on a nearby island that had the biggest lobster I have ever seen - in their fish farming nets! I t must have had a body of about 18-24 inches and woudl have some serious meat on it if they ever pulled it up to eat it.

From Nh Trang we got on the Reunification Express railway to Saigon (or Ho Chi Min City if you are being politically correct to the Vietnamese). The train was surprisingly good quality, comfort and clean so a great place to celebrate one of the girl's (May Yee) birthday with cake, local vodka and beer. In fact I think we partied so hard that we actually took one of her friends "out of play" today for the day trip to the Mekong Delta. Although the 4am arrival into Saigon may have tilted the scales against doing anything too much today...

Erin and I did manage to drag ourselves out to go on a day's excursion to the Mekong Delta as she really wanted to go see where her Uncle had been shot in the US-Vietnam war and where her was awarded a Purple Heart (Go Uncle Don!!!). We visited a few of the islands where we saw where the locals make coconut candy and also where they catch fish in the funnel nets. We also got taken on a random electrical horse and cart tour to a bee farm and then went on a flimsy paddleboat back to the main riverboat and the way home via lunch at an island restaurant where they served us Elephant Ear fish???!!!! what the hell kind of fish is that anyway!!!!!!!

Back in Saigon now and about to head out for dinner at the local Bintang market which we have been told is great for cheap, local, quality food - we shall see ;-)

Next on the agenda is the Cu Chi tunnels and then Cambodia - I will have to see if I can fit in the tunnels ;-) no comments Andy!

Al

Hong Kong to Sapa (Vietnam)

Hi everyone,

I know its been a while since we last wrote but here's the update...

Having left Flores by Merpati (Indonesian local carrier) - not too bad actually... we arrived back in Bali for about two weeks where we decided to just chill out at a place called Seminyak just north of Kuta (the drunk ozzies hangout) and I interspersed lounging by a pool with surfing lessons for $3/hour and doing general admin like washing clothes and catching up with news and the latest copied Western films (for $1). I swear we have now seen most of the films that are inthe cinemas in the UK and US. ;-)

After our lounging around we flew out to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific (nice carrier as they let us go into the business lounge whilst we waited for the departure)...

Hong Kong is a place of complete contrast - some parts are very western and others are very Chinese. (we went for dinner at one place and the entire menu was in Chinese so a very helpful waitress just told us to circle some things on a chit of paper and then hand it back to her - it ended up being excellent and pretty cheap (for HK)).

Whilst Erin had her hair done (something that she had been complaining about for about three weeks) I went for a wander around Hong Kong island and ended up on a tram to the Peak overlooking the city. There were fantastic views and the typical skyline that you see on photos. I also managed to navigate the subway system to get to a historic temple on the outskirts of the city that had been recommended to me by Louise (one of my uni friends). It was pretty bizarre as the temple had a whole load of people praying and burning so much incense that you could barely see the other side of the room. We also visited the Stanley Market and had a good tour of HK island. For dinner we met up with Clarissa (one of my London friends who now lives out in HK and she took us to an authentic Chinese restaurant where we gorged ourselves on food - thx Clarry). We also made it (via a local ferry and bus ride) to the Big Buddha on the hill (the largest freestanding one in the world) and then got the bubble car and subway back to the hotel for the start of our overland trip.

Having picked up the Intrepid group in HK we got the first of many buses to the Chinese border which passed without incident - in fact very smoothely. First impressions of China were how modern it was and how many new buildings there were (some still built with bamboo canes though :-) ). We then got an 18 hour train ride to the countryside where we visited a moiux (sp.??) minority community. It was very interesting to see how a chinese indigenous population still exists in the middle of nowhere... We ended up staying at a homestay in the village with some local families and whilst the food was great (as was the local "rice wine" (think neat vodka) - I had too much and ended up seeing it again at about midnight but was luckily supported home by two GAP year lads from Reid school in England - thanks lads) the state of the toilets was not (Erin has now adopted a whole new threshold of cleanliness - going through two logs into a tin can apparently changes you for life - something you can't come back from) - hahahaha

After leaving the homestay we ventured back onto the trains and buses and eventually crossed the Chinese border into Vietnam near a place called SaPa. The border crossing was (again) remarkably easy although slightly intimidating as the crossing was a bridge over the river (it still begged the question as to who paid for the upkeep of the bridge)...

We then picked up a minibus and got transferred to the hotel in SaPa and the start of our trekking (via four lovely little villages) to another local minority village where we stayed with a local family in their house. This time they at least had a "western" toilet so Erin was much happier - in fact so happy that she had the "happy water" whilst doing karaoke that made her so drunk she passed out beside two other lads (who ultimately also passed out).

I then trekked back to our local hotel whilst Erin got on a local scooter to save her the trek uphill (I still maintain it was the effects of the night before and not the hill that forced her to get the scooter ;-) )

So this afternoon we are heading for a 12 hour train ride to Hanoi and in the meantime are visiting the local markets to see what trinkets we can pick up... I think Erin also has her eye on a local massage (although hopefully not one with a happy ending :-)

Hope you are all well - send emails if you get bored..

A & E

Flores and the Komodo Dragons

Flores is a place to wonderful contrast - bloody difficult to get to (and around) and absolutely stunning... and it is also the starting point for any non-painful (and less dangerous) trips to the Komodo islands. The reason the trips can be dangerous at this time of year is that it is the rainy season and the seas get rough... Whilst we have been here two major passenger ferries have sank in the seas around us killing well over 200 people (notably not one of the captains)... so we opted for the slightly more expensive but safer route of starting from Labuan Bajo.

Labuan Bajo is basically a rural Indonesian port that serves as a gateway to the Komodo islands. We found what turned out to be the best little boutique hotel in Flores as the two dutch women that ran the Golo Hotel we not only very knowledgeable about the area but also put us in touch with one of their workers (a guy called Piter) who set us up on a safe boat to the Komodo islands and then subsequently set us up on out 5 day overland trip across Flores with a good driver (Gusti) and english speaking guide (Mikhel).

There is nothing really to say about the Komodo islands (both Rinca and Komodo itself) other than they are absolutely stunning and it is a real Jurassic park!!! The photos I will post on Picassa will tell the story.

We saw the Komodo dragons on both islands in the wild although the ones on Rinca were noticeably larger (over 3 metres long and weighing in at a mere 250lbs). That is world record length and weight. We were also told not to go too near them as they had killed a boy about 6 months previously who was in the village... Note to self - don't go near the big f****rs!!!

The boat ride wasn't too bad barring an indident where the sea got a bit rough with the swells and I was catapulted across the boat to the other side and my chair was upended - minor wounds ensued and the boat captain and crew (3 of them to our 2 passengers) were given a lesser tip as a result...

Highlights of the Komodo trip were definitely the Komodo dragons, snorkling with 3 Manta rays and defending the boat from marauders (local fishermen who purport to sell you trinkets but actually come to scope out the boat for stuff to pinch) - I'm not sure they have seen a white person stare them down for 30 minutes but Erin found the whole incident very amusing. They even came back at night to try their luck again on our boat but to no avail...

Having got back to Labuan Bajo we took a day out to just chill out then hired a driver and Kijang (air con car) to take us to Maumere over a five day trip.

Along the way we managed the following:-

• Staying at a catholic nunnery which has got to be one of the cleanest and nicest places I have stayed at in a while
• Saw various different strata of rice padi fields ingeniously constructed wherever the l0cals can think of to get any land use out of it - and these can be on some pretty steep slopes I can tell you...
• We also saw the spider fields that have been constructed in such a way due to clan rivalries and historic ways of separating usable field space amongst local clans. It looks very interesting when you see it from above.
• We also went on two walks to see various different volcanic lakes (the Emerald Lakes near Moni/Ende and the Volcanic lakes near Bajawa that were created only 5 years ago when it last erupted. All very different colours.
• We saw various different tribes in their natural setting and went inside a few of the "king's houses" whilst the kings were not at home... thank god - imagine walking into my mothers place if you were a total stranger unannounced just for a snoop round... ;-)

Anyway, after the early morning rise (4am) to see the sun coming up and hitting the Emerald lakes we moved on to Maumere and to a hotel called the Sea Water Hotel - run by a retired priest who has an albino monkey as a pet (it doesn't like women as Erin found out!)

The latest medical report is that Erin has blonde(ish) hair but mow has a rash that has broken out and is causing her untold amounts of irritation, and crying (and unsightliness - think of lepers ;-) ) so I have come the 10kms back into Maumere to find some antihistamine medicine for her... on the back of an Ojek (scooter) and have taken my life into my own hands as the rider is weaving his way through the traffic dodging minivans and other riders along the way. I think it must be strange for foreigners to use this method of transport as the locals I pass all seem to find it VERY amusing and stare at me... Oh well - maybe its my good looks - then again - maybe not!

A & E

The Gili Islands

Well after the escapades in Ubud and the Kermit the frog episode, Erin (after not just a little waterworks) managed to get her hair fixed back to a slightly more normal shade of blonde (second time around and after much shouting at the hairdresser who profusely apologised for making it MORE green the first time he tried to fix it!!!)

We then set off in a Perama bus from Ubud to Padang Bai (on Bali) to get the Perama boat directly to the Gili islands - this cut off about 5-6 hours of travel time as we would have otherwise had to have gone via Lombok to get to the Gili islands via public boat.

When we arrived at the Gili islands (three small but beautiful islands in between Lombok and Bali) we found the locals very charming and friendly - and all of them wanted us to go into their bar to try the "magic mushroom milkshakes" - guaranteed to send you to the moon - no ticket required - is how they are billed.... you can imagine what the real ingredients are...

Anyway, we spent about a week on the Gilis whilst Erin got her Open Water and Advanced Diving certificates. Annoyingly, on her first dive she saw more than 12 turtles... (I hadn't seen that many in my life...) and then on her Advanced dives she casually mentioned that she had been swimming with 3 Manta rays - again, something that is very rare... she just didn't know how lucky she was.... I had a bit of diving but spent more of my time figuring out what the islands had to offer and meeting locals.... I also met a girl there who lives 100 metres from my place in London - another random meeting as she was my dive buddy for one of my dives...

If you are a diver this is definitely a great place to be - and quite easy to get to!

Incidentally - DVDs of new movies here at $1 !!!! Bargain if you want to see what has just come out in the U.S.!

When we finished up in the Gilis and decided we wanted to go to the Komodo islands we got our hotel (the Beach House if anyone needs a good recommendation) to book the flights from Lombok and a speedboat from the Gilis to Lombok - all very painless indeed...

We then stayed at a great beach hotel before jumping on a turboprop to Bali and the onward flight to a place called Labuan Bajo (on Flores) - the starting point for most trips to the Komodo National Park.

Next blog on Flores...

Sydney to Bali (via Jakarta)

Sydney - all I have to say is awesome city - we stayed in the RAC club's overseas cousin and it was about 200m from the Opera House overlooking the park - by this stage Erin has high expectations as to what is to come... damn....

As we were only here for one night we were intending to have a nice dinner overlooking the harbour (which we managed) and then meet up with Shane (which we failed as he got stuck drinking at his accommodation ;-)

We then exited SYD and headed on a 7 hour flight up to Jakarta.

Jakarta is an interesting place to start as it is cheap but we could stay in a decent (ish) Western hotel whilst Erin becomes accustomed to being stared at for having blonde hair.

We took the opportunity to wander around the city centre and went to the Central gardens, the Jakarta Museum (has some nice artefacts from the pre-English and Dutch times) and also has an ancient remains beleived to be the missing link in the evolutionary chain between upright man and monkey.

We also went to a proper Indonesian market where Erin was introduced to negotiating 1.01 (Indonesian style) - needless to say that tears ensued but a smile was had when she got the bargain she wanted - two nice modest (Muslim country) Indonesian shirts. We also decided to see how the other half lived so snuffled out the Gucci store in the "posh" designer building. Cab ride - $2!

On reconfirming our flight that was supposed to leave on December 31st and get us to Kupang on West Timor, I discovered that there was no flight (despite having paid for it) and we ended up seeing the New Year in Jakarta-style...

Booking with another company this time (Air Asia - nice one! no wonder you are the best Low-cost carrier in Asia) we ended up in Bali on January 1st. Slightly out of plan and nowhere to stay (and also finding that all the Ozzies had a monopoly on accommodation we headed into Ubud (Bali's answer to a spa resort) rather than Kuta (party hangout). Our villa couldn't be nicer - air con, view overlooking padi fields and little geckos that come and say hi whilst you are having afternoon or morning indonesian coffee (strong).

We visited the nearby Monkey forest where, just as one of the monkeys was trying to eat its way into my shorts to get my wallet, Jo and Jules from New York bumped into us!!!! Random!!!! so we had lunch with them in the middle of Bali!

We then spent the afternoon walking to the nearby Elephant Temple and cave - very hot and humid out but very random to see how the Balinese people in ancient times carved out some pretty big caves so that their priests could sleep and meditate in them.

It was all too much to take in so we went and got massages (for $8 for an hour) - the only nasty bit about this for Erin was that they may have been using some chemicals to rub her down that seem to have reacted slightly badly with her hair - so today I am now traveling with Kermit the Frog! (update on hair will be forthcoming)

Last night we went to a fantastic Balinese dance performed by the local dance troupe and this morning we went to a Balinese cookery class - Erin now has no excuses - haha! although she did dart off to the toilet pretty quickly so I'm guessing there may have been an aftershock! oops!

The current plan is to head to Lombok for a bit of diving on the Gili Islands so we may head there tomorrow or the day after (whichever day of the week that is anyway).

Hope you are all well - email us if you get bored.

A & E

Christchurch to Queenstown

Sorry its been a few days since we last checked in but it was all a bit manic over the Christmas period - we met up with Dad in Christchurch then Andy and Jo flew in from the Uk for their 3 week holiday and the fun began...

A lovely (and very scenic) three hour trans-Alpine railway journey across the mountains to the West Coast of the South Island brought us to a hire car and we continued south to the Franz Glacier and subsequently the Fox Glacier.

We stayed at a motel place and had an interesting time trying to cook a meal for 5 on a camping stove (subsequently downgrading expectations from previously purchased Steak to Spaghetti Bolognaise).

Next came the helicopter trip to about half way up the glacier and our trek around the glacier to find out how it was formed and how it is actually expanding in contrast to many round the world today (global warming anyone???).

We then headed down some very scenic roads to Queenstown (aka the centre of adventure in the South Island.) Very kindly my sister had bought my brother and I bungy jumps off a 134m bridge over a river - if you want to see someone scream like a girl look at the youtube and picassa photos of my brother and I and you will find out who it was! ;-)

We also managed the following:-

• Jetboating up into the National Park where Lord of the Rings was shot
• Luging on Christmas day against my brother (don't know where he gets that competitive streak from)
• Walking with Dad up to some veiwpoint that overlooked Queenstown.
• Feeding deer, goats and other furry creatures in a local reserve
• Randomly bumping into a university friend of mine - Sarah Gilchrist - on Christmas day who was just heading north in a bit of a daze (see you in London Sarah!)
• Lovely Christmas day with the family
  

Anyway - getting kicked off computer now so will update again later

A & E