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Potosi, Bolivia

Well we arrived in Potosi´ early at 5.30am having decided to bypass Sucre due to the ongoing roadblocks and political unrest in that area. It was a bit sad to have to miss Sucre but we weren´t prepared to end up stranded in the middle of Bolivia.

We arrrived in the dark but as the sun began to rise we began to make out silhouette of the red Cerro Rico, the mountain that imposes itself over the city and its history. It was the source of Spain´s historical wealth, Potosi´s importance in the world from the mid 1500´s and the scene of 8 million deaths of Indigenous and African mining slaves. At one point Potosi was such an important and wealthy place that it was the biggest city in the known world! Bigger than London and Paris! Ok, sorry for the history lesson but it is an amazing story and it is obviously incredibly important for the people of Potosi. They seemed both proud of there history and today 15,000 miners still try to extract meagre amounts of silver, gold, lead, and tin in archaic conditions.

Well we got to the Koala Den hostal at 6.00am and woke the poor night porter who didn´t seem overly impressed we checked into the room. Now the Koala Den had a good write up and came highly recommended by others we had spoken too. They weren´t wrong. Heaters in the room, free internet (5 PCs), 4 pillows on the beds, hot water, a good breakfast and a great DVD collection. Little did I know at this point that I would be making full use of the ammenities, except the breakfast that is! Yes that´s right, within 24 hours of being in Potosi I was ill again. My stomach playing up unpleasantly!

On one hand I was gutted about being ill again as it meant that I wasn´t able to visit the mines. On the other hand it meant I didn´t have to visit the mines! George, however, had been keen to put herself through the ordeal and visit and on day she went off on the trip. I was jealous but if I´m honest I´m not sure I would have made it through the tour anyhow! If you want to read all about her adventure then visit her blog (username georgeharper), by all accounts it was quite a tough and emotional experience!

Anyhow, I rested up for a couple of days until I was well enough for a little outing to the Potosi Mint Museum. It was a good tour really interesting and poignant. The guide was good and seemed to have a bit of a dark snese of humour regarding the history of Potosi. I think he summed up the fate of Potosi, "once upon a time Potosi and Bolivia made money for the whole world, and now the rest of the world make Bolivia´s money" he just shrugged his shoulders "such is life" he said. It was quite sad really.

Of all the cities I have visited Potosi has been the clearest example of the exploitation of the continent by the conquistadors. However despite this, Potosi seemed to be trying to reinvent itself and from what I saw of it I thought it was bustiling, lively city full of ambition. I hope one day they find another vein of silver as rich as the last and they once again become a major city in the world!

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Manhattan Beach, California, United States

Arrived via Virgin Atlantic here in LA on Monday Sept 1st. Staying with Joan , Graham, Imogen (Guy's Goddaughter) & her brother Finlay in their lovely house in Manhattan Beach, LA.
Sunshine & blue skies, on the beach, cycled along the coast on a tandem for 13 miles to Venice Beach past amazing houses, oil refinery, LAX & huge RVs & endless wide sandy beaches.
Played with the kids, found big Grapefruit on the tree in the garden, been impressed by the Getty Centre - stunning building, but views limited by smog/haze! Done our first LA freeway drive - survived! Off to Hollywood today & then inland to the deserts to one of the hottest places on Earth, Death valley

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Osaka, Kinki, Japan

I am tired. Actually I'm beyond tired. I have no idea how or why I'm sitting here writing this blog, but I am.

But today was a great day.

Today was Universal Studios Osaka, and it has been another day that I would estimate that we have walked 12km+. Started off with the usual routine. Veronica goes downstairs with Charlotte for weird rice balls and miso soup, while Angela and I stay in the room. Angela watches (and now sings along with) the Japanese kids shows on TV at that time of the morning, and I do the last minute planning for the days events, such as working out train routes etc.

We set out from the hotel at about 9am, as Universal Studios does not open until 10am on Weekdays. We were worried about the weather, and according to the weather reports the chance of rain ranged from 30% to 70%, depending on which internet weather site you consulted. Not a cloud in the sky as we set off. And at 9am, I'd hazard a guess that it was already nudging 30 degrees. It seemed like just the right conditions to bring on afternoon showers, but I didn't want to think about that at that stage.

Onto the train at Shin-Osaka station, change trains at Osaka station, and catch the Sesame Street Bert and Ernie train to Universal City, home of Universal studios.
We got off at the station, and after a few quick photos of what must be the coolest looking trains in Japan, we made our way towards the Universal Studios gates. Along with 50 million other people. I was hoping it wouldn't be too crowded, but early signs indicated that I was going to be mistaken.

Eventually we got our tickets, and with 2 adults, 1 child (Angela was free) and 3 sets of "Express Passes" which for $37 per person allow you to show the middle finger to the entire queue of people waiting for the rides and jump straight to the front like a VIP. There are only a limited number of these express pass books issued each day apparently. These passes were money well spent, not only because of the time saving, but also so you can enjoy the look on the faces of the people in the queue who have been standing there for 70 minutes, while you take the side entrance to the ride and are admitted before them. That will teach them for being cheapskates.

Universal Studios Osaka is apparently a pretty close imitation of the U.S.A. version, with the exception that I couldnt understand a word that was being said in any of the rides, shows, instructions or warnings.

As we walked in the gate, while Veronica and Charlotte were looking through one of the shops, the usual Angela circus began. A group of about 20 Japanese people started saying lots of stuff in Japanese and waving their cameras around with hopeful and questioning looks on their faces. So we assume the usual "Photos with Angela" drill that we have all become very proficient at:
1) I signal that photos are fine.
2) I take a couple of steps back, but still remaining close enough for them to realise that I'm not going far, and that I'm still watching everything they do very carefully.
3) Angela poses with whoever comes and stands/kneels next to her, and smiles at whoever is holding a camera and making the loudest noise.
4) Lots of smiling, nodding, bowing, thanking and talking in Japanese ensures, to which I just smile and nod with a friendly "you're welcome" look on my face.

This circus actually came with a step 5) which has happened a few times, and which I'm not fond of. Step 5) involves one of the women in the group (and it is *always* a woman) giving one or both of the girls some lollies or chocolate. I realise it is a very sweet and very innocent gesture, but I still cannot let the girls eat what they are given by some camera wielding people we have never met before. Each time it happens I have to discretely tell the girls to hang on to the lollies until we are out of site of the camera circus, at which time I take the lollies and bin them. This never goes down well. Whoever came up with the phrase "...as easy as taking candy from a baby" have not met my daughters.

After we made it through the first camera circus, we were accosted by another, slightly smaller circus consisting of only 3 cameras this time. "So beautiful", "Photo?", "Thank you", "Cheese!", "So Cute", "Bye Bye!" is getting really old, really, really fast. After this, Angela's hat came out of the backpack. With the blonde curls hidden, they tend leave her alone a little more.

First ride was the Shrek 4D adventure, which was an identical film to the Gold Coast movie world, only dubbed in Japanese. It is basically a 3D shrek mini-movie in which you wear glasses, and the 4th dimension comes in the form of chairs that move or jolt in key points in the film, and water and air jets build into the seat behind, in front of, and below you, to spritz or blast you with air at the appropriate moment (e.g. when one of the characters sneezes). Not too bad, but Charlotte and Angela hated it.

Next onto the E.T. Ride, which was the favourite of the day with Charlotte and Angela. Basically we got onto mock bikes, and rode around through some pretty pointless, but brightly coloured and flashing E.T. themed scenery. Great ride for kids, but the adults who were standing in the already estimated 40 minute queue were going to be bitterly disappointed.

Then around to the Spiderman ride. Minimum height is 102cm to ride. Angela with her curls extended upwards is 101cm, so Charlotte and I went on the ride. It was excellent, and definitely my favourite for the day. Basically the ride sat you in a rollercoaster style car which twisted and turned and rose and fell through a building, and at each turn was a projector screen which also gave you the illusion that you were moving through the city and being thrown around and chased by the spiderman villians. Quite well done.

Onwards to a 50's diner style cafe, complete with a Japanese Marilyn Monroe with a bad blonde wig walking around sticking her obviously padded bum out and pouting for photos. $25 for 2 very ordinary cheeseburgers, 2 small chips and 2 small drinks and we were on our way.

We made our way to the "backlot" of the park, and came across a waterslide style ride, with a long queue. The girls both begged and pleaded to go on it, so I first took Charlotte. Unfortunately the express ride pass didnt cover this one, so instead we had to standing in line like commoners and wait for the ride. We got to the top half an hour or so later, climbed aboard the stupid rubber raft, were given our vital safety instructions in Japanese, and were pushed down the stupid yellow tube.

At this point, I had my camera in my pocket, and my 1 week old Nikes on. First corner, the raft bites a rail, and a bucketload of water breaches the side of the raft and drenches us. We are no longer sitting in a raft, but rather something resembling a big yellow childs wading pool. Next corner, and dammit it happened again. Great. The sequence repeated for 6 or 7 more bends, until we finally got to the bottom, and my shoes, pants and bum were completely submerged. You know it is bad when even the ride staff point and laugh at you.

That ride sucked.

So I returned to Angela and Veronica, only to have lots and lots of other Japanese people laugh at me, especially when I took of my shoes and poured the water out of each one. On the plus side, I was now cool (my lower half was anyway) and the camera still works.

Next Angela wanted a turn. Great. And what made it worse was that the ride had grown. Who in their right mind would want to go on this stupid ride??? And what kind of idiot would turn around and do it again? Yep. Just me.
The second time I got just as wet, and the ride was just as bad. Apparently it was the girls favorite ride, along with E.T., so I guess it was worth it. Almost.

Next was the Jaws ride, on which a group of people got onto a boat, and floated around in a big circular pond, listening to a female boat "captain" who, at just after midday, was obviously already getting sick of being on that damn boat and giving the same stupid corny "oh look out, it's a shark!!!" act every 10 minutes. All of this while pretending to act scared of a giant plastic shark which was popping up so close to the boat that the hydraulics propelling it out of the water were clearly visible.
We should have just sat in a stationary boat which never left the dock while someone held up photos of sharks. It would have been similarly scary.

Jurrasic Park was next, and it was the typical ride where a group boards a boat which floats down a river, looking at all of the pretty stuff (in this case, nice dinosaurs like stegosaurus) until the boat makes a detour into some place dangerous, and ends up climbing a mountain somehow and plunging down a splash-down style drop narrowly avoiding disaster (a tyranosaurus rex on this ride). Basically people sit through the entire ride for the last few milliseconds of freefall. Not bad, but again I'm glad I had the express ticket, as the queue wait time estimations were now up to 75 minutes for these type of rides. Suckers. I had to wait 3 minutes.

Onwards to "Back to the future". Again Charlotte and I went on, and Veronica minded the 1cm too short Angela, and we jumped the mammoth queue again, which was a blessing as we found out later. We boarded the ride, and after we had the instructions and numerous safety warnings read to us in Japanese, we crammed into the ride car, which was styled a delorean from the movie. I was sitting the back corner seat, and unfortunately the door system to the ride was also styled after the gullwing doors of the delorean, but unfortunately they must have measured their dimensions based on a Japanese persons stature, because when the door came down, it came down hard. On my head. My skull must have registered a jam in the mechanism, so the doors rose back up, and a little Japanese man with a torch came to see what the blockage was. As he shon his torch in my eyes, to see that I was clutching my scone and grimacing, he said something in Japanese, which I assume was "duck next time" and again gave the thumbs up for the doors to be closed. Thanks for the sympathy. If I were American I would be on the phone to my lawyer. Needless to say I kept my mellon out of the way of the damn door, and we were underway.
Not a bad ride. Similar to the Batman ride at movieworld on the Gold Coast, the ride consist of the passengers sitting in a car that rocks back and forwards, and side to side, while a screen a the front of the car gives the passengers the illusion that they are moving. Relatively effective. Basically the car just flew around, bumping into stuff, and narrowly avoiding other stuff from dinosaurs and volcanoes to buildings and other cars, before coming to a crashing halt back in the original room, at which point the car fills with a pretty ordinary smelling gas, which is supposed to represent fire extinguishers being sprayed.

So we exited the ride, which is where we were met with the Perfect Storm. A torrential downpour worse than I have seen in a long time had somehow hit Universal Studios while we were inside in the ride. The ushers guided us out of the ride and into a small area out of the rain, but with no seating available. It was then that the thunder and lightning started, and the park shut down.
We were the very last ride which made it through Back to the Future before they switched it off for the storm. I have no idea why they needed to switch this ride, or any of the other indoor rides off, except for the fact that they were advising that nobody venture out into the rain as it was "dangerous", and perhaps if they pushed more people through the ride there would not be enough room to house them in the exit area. So basically we got comfortable and waited the 90 minutes for the rediculous deluge to stop. As we left the Back to the Future ride, the line was so long that a 100 minute wait was predicted. And when we walked away, they, had not yet started the ride back up again, so I almost felt sorry for those at the back of the line. Almost.

As least now I wasnt the only one in the park with a saturated undercarriage.

Back to the other side of the park, Charlotte took Veronica onto the Spiderman ride, as she was now a 1 previous ride veteran, while Angela walked me all over the park, and posed for 2 more sets of damn photos. When we go to Disneyland in a weeks time I'm gonna hang a 500yen per photo sign around her neck.

I then went on the Terminator 2 ride and wished I hadn't. I wont bore you with the details, but lets just say I had to put up with 20 minutes of over-enthusiastic Japanese acting before getting to the actual "ride", which was a show with both live actors (including a 5ft tall Japanese Arnold Swartzeneger which made me laugh out loud and draw attention to myself) and 3d screens. In the end the show was quite good, but the 20 minutes of filler before hand really ruined it.

Then onwards to the 4D sesame street presentation. Similar to the Shrek one, except with the Sesame Street characters with badly dubbed Japanese voices. Bert sounded Indian, and Big Bird sounded hoarse, and in need of a throat lozenge.

One last ride, as 7pm was approaching, which was Charlottes choice, so again we did the E.T. Ride. The Express pass again come in handy for one last time, as we bypassed the 200 or so people standing in line, and was immediately admitted. The same lame floating around on a pretend bicycle, but Charlotte seemed to enjoy it.

With that done, we checked out a few of the overpriced souvenier stores on the way out, before battling our way to the exit.

There is a Hard Rock Cafe at the exit, so we stopped and bought 2 shot glasses to add to Veronica's collection, as she did not have some from this location yet.

Onto a train bound for the very busy Osaka station. We've worked out a train station system too. If you pick a path to where you want to go, and dont deviate from the path as if you definitely know where you are going, people will avoid you and find their way around you, but if you hesitate or change direction suddenly, people tend to run into you, or you will cause a mini human pile up behind you (which is funny to watch if you aren't invoved).

Changed trains at Osaka to head to Shin-Osaka station, and then a short walk back to the hotel. All up that was a 12 hour day containing a lot of walking, and I'm not sure how I'm still awake writing this blog.

Tomorrow we are going to the Osaka Aquarium (which houses the whale shark tank) as well as possibly doing some of the other nearby attractions such as the IMax theatre, which is supposed to be the largest IMax theatre in the world. Not sure whether we will fit everything in, but if we have to leave IMax off the list I wont be too disappointed. It is in the "would be good to see" rather than the "must see" pile of things to do.

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Alicante, Spain

L'avion décolle et tous les passagers assis à l'arrière de l'avion applaudit.

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Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Today was our first day of getting into sight seeing, and boy what a way to get into it... We have heard more fancy names for 1 god and his many incarnations than we know how to remember, but do remember that there are 33 million Hindu gods!!! Not too bad for westerners.

We were driven around various parts of Kathmandu in peak hour traffic! Think terrible roads, more congestion than London, worse drivers than the Italians, not one air filter on any diesel car, and you are still nowhere close to what's going on here! We've had a four course meal of Diesel fumes served up with Knife and Fork.

Our first stop was to a Hindu temple in Kathmandu near the airport. We were exposed to leppers, the learning disabled and holy men all begging. The various hand bag and bracelet sellers favourite line was "only one dollar!" A good line in reposte is "Chai Dina!" which apparently means No Thank-you. In some cases it seems to do the trick. The temple itself was great, considering what we as westerners are allowed to see. We did get to see the various stages of a cremation - not in the correct order but hey! - from the opposite bank and were rather horrified, both by the spectacle, but more so by the various people taking photos. Our guide Sam managed to get Hindu basics into our brains but don't think we actually retained too much.

From there we went to Bahktipur, which is the old city just east of Kathmandu and rather spectacular. Buildings are all made of mud and brick, with Intricate woodwork doors and windows. It felt quite medi-evil from our point of view with people probly living in the same state as 500 years ago. One stop in the town was the Dubar square where the royals resided. The one palace had 55 windows which we were told was one for each year the king who commisioned it lived.

From there we were driven back to the Tibetan refugee carpet making center. The work is very intricate and beautiful, with one carpet in particular, of Tibet which was spectacular. Unfortunately travelling for 6 months and living in a one bedroom flat doesn't call for a large Tibetan rug!

Our last stop was the Budhist Boudha Stupa, apparently the largest in the world. It was very peaceful and with the prayer flags flapping in the breeze, it all adds up to a memorable place.

Once we got back to Thamel (Tourist spot in Kathmandu) we went trawling the stores for last minute trekking supplies. Mostly cheap knock-off North Face clothing. Tomorrow morning we set off at 6:15 for the start of our great trek round the Annapurna Circuit. The next news you hear from us will be after 300km's of hiking and climbing to 5400m!!!

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Beijing, China

Mon 1st - We arrived in Beijing safely after spending 16 hours on a train. We were expecting the train to be quite uncomfortable as we were in a hard sleeper cabin and these were not good on the Vietnam trains. But the cabins were surprisingly good. The beds weren't too hard and there was a fair bit of headroom on each of the bunks. The carriages were open too which was good as the air circulated more easily. We quite enjoyed the train trip!
Once we had checked in to our hostel we headed off to the Mongolian Embassy to apply for our visas. After queuing for 2 hours and being second in line to the window, the guy decided to shut up for the day! As you can imagine we were not happy, especially as we were last in the queue and so there was only 2 applications left. We voiced our anger and told the guy we were going to sit outside the office until he came back from lunch an hour later, which we did. We refused to leave until he had taken our applications and eventually he agreed. But we had been sitting outside for over an hour while he had been on his lunch, and the whole time there was an office inside we could have gone to. How frustrating.
Since most of the day was spent at the Embassy, we didn't have much time left, but we went to the Silk Market to try to get a Chinese dress. Ed managed to get a warm hoodie too. They wanted over $200 at first but Ed managed to bargain them down to $8! He was there a while though as the girl took hold of his arm and wouldn't let him go! I also got a silk dress which Ed bargained for - he got them down from $220 to $25! He is very good at bartering and he loves it! The Chinese are really good fun when you barter with them as they don't get annoyed, they just have fun. But they start at ridiculous prices!

Tues 2nd - Today we went to the Temple of Heaven. This is a big park with a Temple inside, in which people used to go to pray to Heaven for good harvest. It has a 3 tier roof and is very colourful. Inside the park there are lots of grass areas and several pagodas to see and there are 2 flower gardens. It was really nice for the few hours we were there. Then it was time to go to collect our visas, but would you believe they had lost our passports?! We had to wait around for ages while they found them and did our visa for us. Then we walked back to the hostel, stopping for dinner on the way. Tonight we went for a drink in the hostel bar. Everything was fine until one guy from the hostel started laying in to another guy from the hostel. He was really punching him - it was horrible. Ed did the first aid bit as the guy was bruised and bleeding under his eye and then we decided to leave. The atmosphere was very tense and we felt a bit uncomfortable being there. As it was all in Chinese neither of us have any idea what the fight was about either.

Wed 3rd - The guy who started the fight last night seems to have been fired as when we went to breakfast he was packing up his gift shop. We are still not sure what happened though.
Today we have walked miles! First we went to Tiananmen Square and had a look at all the Olympic art work they have there. They have made lots of Olympic carvings from plants which look quite cool.
Next stop was the Forbidden City, which is a huge area within a wall surrounded by water. Inside the walls are lots of temples. Apparently, this whole area was off limits to people for 500 years and so is a big tourist attraction now. There was lots to see too in terms of the furniture and carvings that remain inside the temples and "houses". There was a museum displaying old clothes and pictures of royalty from the Qing and Ming dynasties. That was interesting to see, although a lot of it was written in Chinese and so we weren't sure what that said! We also saw 2 fantastic art exhibitions from uni students. We wanted to buy some of the paintings but we just can't carry them, and we have nowhere to put them. Maybe in the future.
The Forbidden City is a really large area and so it took several hours to walk around. Then we walked all the way back to the hostel so we are both pretty tired now. We had a lovely dinner on the way back too. Even Ed said the vegetarian stuff was good! Oh and we had a new toilet experience! I have to say that I think I have got much better about the toilet situation, accepting the fact that I have to adjust my standards of cleanliness and also accepting that many "toilets" are holes in the floor, with no toilet paper and no soap or water. I have learnt to arm myself with toilet roll and hand sanitiser! But today, I went to use a public toilet and to my horror the public toilets consisted of a row of holes in the floor with no cubicles or doors to separate them - a whole new meaning to communal toilets! I decided to hold it in and find a nice hotel! I can do toilets that don't lock but I draw the line at toilets you share with others, quite literally! Ed had the same experience in the men's but urinals are never private really anyway so not a mega problem! Can't wait for nice toilets again!
Off to bed now as we are up early for a trip to the Great Wall tomorrow!

Thurs 4th - We went on our trip to the Great Wall. We had a few stops on the way - all part of the commission for organised tours - but some of the stops were really good. First stop was an enamel factory where we got to see how enamel pots and vases are made, from the initial vase to the intricate designs to the painting and firing and finally the polishing. It was interesting to watch but the finished products were too expensive for our budget. The second stop was at the Ming Tombs, where 30 Emperors and Empresses from the Ming Dynasty are buried in the hills, some with memorials inside a Temple like building, and one with a Mausoleum inside the Temple.
Stop 3 was a Jade Factory where we saw lots of statues and carvings made from Jade and were taught how to tell the real Jade from the fake. We were also taught how to put on a seemingly too tight bracelet using a plastic bag. That was fun as I thought I was going to be stuck with the bracelet on me!
We had lunch at a restaurant attached to a second Jade Factory. The food was really good and we had lots of Chi tea which is really nice. Then we went to see The Great Wall at Badaling. It is amazing. It is so well built and goes through some beautiful countryside, although the views were not totally clear due to a little bit of smog - the first we have seen since we got here. Some parts of the wall are exceptionally steep and hard work to climb but it was good fun getting to the top of our section and touching the top wall! Altogether we walked about 4km along the wall and felt the pain afterwards! Ed felt like he was famous too! People kept stopping to ask for him to have his picture with them, and one guy even asked if Ed would sign his cap! That blonde hair is certainly a hit with the Asians! I must look normal by their standards as no-one is interested in mousey hair! I'm quite the photographer now though and Ed is quite the poser!
Once we had finished our walk on the wall we went to the Great Wall Museum where we saw a reconstruction of the wall and how it was built, and learnt how the bricks were made so long lasting and durable. It was very interesting.
The last stop of the day was at a Chinese Medical Clinic where we were given a free foot massage and medical. We had to soak our feet in hot water and herbal stuff and then had a foot massage with oils. It was lush after a hard hike! Then a Doctor came over and took our pulse to establish if we had any weaknesses in our system. His diagnoses were spot on too, so we were very impressed. That was a great way to finish off our day!
By the time we got back to the hostel we were all shattered so it was a case of dinner, a quick drink and bed. Hopefully all that fresh air will make us sleep well!

Fri 5th - We have had another busy day today! We walked to The National Theatre and looked all around the outside. It is a dome shape made of titanium and is surrounded by water on a partly glass floor, so the reflection of the sun makes the water look really green. We got a ticket to look around inside and started in the museum section. Here there are lots of pictures and details of different big Theatres and Opera Houses from around the world, and then there are models of the proposed National Theatre (proposals 1 and 2) Proposal number 3 is the one that was agreed upon and so there are then photographs of the construction process. It looked very complex as there was so much to achieve. We were then able to go and look around the Theatre itself. It is a huge building but is even more impressive from the inside than the outside. The light and the way the sun reflects inside the building is beautiful and the design of the inside is amazing. There are 5 different floors, each holding different sections of the Theatre. The Opera House, Theatre and Concert Hall are the three main sections, but then there are the smaller practice rooms, an art gallery and a press conference room, among others, not to mention 2 cafes and a record shop. From the outside you wouldn't think all that would fit but it does! We weren't allowed to go inside the main halls but we were able to wander between floors and check out the smaller rooms. The architecture is fantastic.
Opposite the National Theatre is the People's Building so we stopped to take pictures of this on our way out of the Theatre, then we went on the tube up to the Olympic Village, where we saw the Birds Nest Stadium and the Aquatics Stadium. The Aquatics stadium has 3D bubbles all over the outside and looks really cool. The Birds Nest Stadium, funnily enough, looks much like a birds Nest with an awesome design. Needless to say we couldn't get particularly close to the stadiums as the Paralympics starts tomorrow and some of the athletes are inside the stadium now checking it out. But we could stand behind the railing and got to take some good pictures, so all was ok.
It was quite a long walk from the tube station to the stadiums and so by the time we got back it was getting quite late. We stopped in at Wumart, the local supermarket, to stock up on provisions for the train tomorrow and then we got the tube back to the area near our hostel. We intended to go to a famous duck restaurant for dinner but it turned out to be closed for refurbishment, so instead we found a nice Thai/Indian restaurant, which incidentally was better for vegetarians!
On the way back to the hostel we passed a park where we could hear music playing. On closer inspection we saw that there was a dance class going on, and couples were using the park as a dance floor. The park itself was lit up and the atmosphere was very romantic. It was lovely to watch all the couples dancing so openly.
It has to be said that Beijing has been a total surprise. It is a very modern city with some beautiful buildings, but the most surprising thing is the lack of smog. We were both expecting the smog level to be quite high, but surprisingly, it has been very low and we have been able to do and see a lot. We could stay here for another 2 weeks and not get bored! We have decided that we both really like Beijing and definitely wan to come back. The list keeps getting longer!
Tomorrow we start our stint on the Trans Siberian so we are really excited. Let's hope it's as good as we are anticipating! First stop will be Ulaanbaatar, travel time 30 hours. Will keep you posted .....

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Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany

Well this is where we are all supposed to come together and get on the same plane to Kiev - hopefully I will get to Internet and be able to let you all know what happens.

So, we have laded Safe and begun to look for our next terminal and my sister. Wow the airport is confusing to someone who doesn't speak the language (or maybe to everyone, who knows..) and huge, or maybe just really long. We went through hallway after hallway and had to clear security like 12 times!!! (Okay it was only 4) but each time we had to go through scanners etc and no liquids could be brought through. They sold water etc after each check point an didn't mention how many check points there would be. We bought water for big buck so figured we would down the whole bottle before going through the second to last check point -we sowed them, he he (just made for quicker bathroom stops). Oh, yeah, we stop at McDonald's for a little breakfast after getting of he plane and for breakfast they had 5 different combinations of eggs and bacon...mom's croissant was gooey -yum,not really.... but we saw an Olympic team there getting breakfast -not sure which country though, will have to keep an eye and will let you know if I can figure out based on their uniforms (male team, not very big, the team that is). They have these cool recliner chairs that people were sleeping on, looked like a great idea (as long as you didn't over sleep) we should get those in our airports.  After standing outside th second to last check point to finish our newly purchased bottles of water, my sister beat us into the terminal, she some how got to keep her water! different door...).  We met up and hung out waiting for our next flight together :-)

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Montréal, Quebec, Canada

(english translation will follow)

Et voilà ! Le jour J est arrivé ; dans moins de 40 minutes, Pierre-Luc et moi prenons le bus vers l'aéroport de Dorval, où nous quittons pour Paris via le vol 901 de Corsairfly à 17 heures et 50 minutes. De là, nous atteindrons la capitale française à 6 heures 20 (heure locale), et après un petit repos bien mérité, nous irons explorer la ville demain matin, une heure où la plupart d'entre-vous dormirez encore. Bref, le départ est lancé, nous n'avons plus qu'à attendre, se laisser porter et espérer le meilleur...

Je vous rappelle que nous tenterons le plus souvent possible Pierre-Luc et moi de vous donner des nouvelles de nos aventures sur ce blogue. La méthode employée sera la suivante : tous les deux ou trois jours (autrement dit, à toutes les fois que nous aurons accès à un poste Internet), nous viendrons sur ce blogue effectuer une mise à jour, non seulement pour la journée en cours, mais aussi toutes les précédentes qui n'ont pas été mises à jour depuis la dernière mise à jour. Comprende ? Bref, vous verrez bien... quand vous recevrez une notification dans votre boîte de réception de courriel, vous saurez que vous aurez un peu de lecture ! Nous essaierons aussi, autant que possible, de mettre quelques photos, histoire de vous illustrer nos récits de façon plus tangible.

Voilà ! Nous espérons, PL et moi, que vous apprécierez de vivre un peu avec nous nos péripéties, et sachez que nous penserons à vous tous, chez parents, proches et amis, à chaque jour de ce trip de notre vie !  Bye

Jon


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D-Day has arrived, my friends ! In less than 40 minutes, Pierre-Luc and me are going to take the bus that will lead us to the Dorval airport, where we will take the Corsairfly flight (901) at 5:50 PM. From there, we will reach Paris, France, at 6:20 AM (local time) tomorrow morning. After a few minutes to relax when we arrive, we will go and explore the city, at a time when most of you will still be asleep. So, it's happening, all we have to do now is wait, let it all flow and hope for the best...

I'm reminding you that PL and me will try, as often as can be, to give you some short feedback about our adventures on this very blog. That's the way it will work : every two or three days (or should I say, everytime we will have access to the internet), we'll come on this blog to update it, and not only for the day being, but also for every day passed since the last update. Comprende ? Anyway, you'll see... when you receive a notification in your email inbox (if, of course, you suscribed to my blog), you'll know you got a little reading to do ! We'll also try, as much as possible, to weave some photos in, so you can see rather than just read  :)

So that's it ! We hope, Pierre-Luc and me, that you will appreciate to live, to a certain extent, our trip with us. And know that we will think about you all, parents, friends and close relationships, each and every day ! Byebye

Jon

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Cuzco, Peru

I have spent the last four days undertaking the classic Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu which was absolutely superb and met all my expectations as one of the world´s great treks.  It was pretty physically demanding ... to the point that some people said it was the hardest thing physically they have ever done ... not sure I would go that far but it was certainly tough going at times due to the combination of altitude , steep gradients and for me three pretty sleepless nights. Overall we walked 42km (26 miles) over the four days with 15km on day 1  , 12km on day 2 , 9km on day 3 and 6km on day 4 culminating in our arrival at the awesome Machu Picchu ... and of course there were some major climbs and downhill sections along the way. We had eleven trekkers in our group and once again , as with previous multi-day group activities I have undertaken on my big trip I´m pleased to report we had a great bunch of people - it´s so good how you can bring together randomly people from different parts of the world and they can get along & pretty quickly bond as a group - I guess travellers are a fairly like minded bunch so maybe it´s not that surprising. We had five Americans , two Brits , two Germans , a Kiwi and an Aussie in our group and in addition two tour guides and eleven porters made up our complete trekking party. The fabulous Peruvian porters are undoubtedly the absolute heroes of the Inca Trail - these guys lug 28kg of gear along the trail ... the food , tents , cooking equipment etc that are needed by the tour groups. Apparently in years gone by they used to take up to 50kg of stuff , which is absolutely incredible but thankfully things are more regulated these days . To see the porters in action , bent over with their load but rapidly sweating their way along the trail is  both awe-inspiring and also humbling - they cheerfully lead such hard lives ... apparently  , especially in high season , some porters finish the four day trek and then start again back on the trail the following day without a day off to rest ... amazing. We heard that the record for covering the Inca Trail (which is basically a marathon distance but with the added factor of the gradients and the altitude) in 3 hours and 45 minutes ... puts our 4 days somewhat to shame :) It´s possible if you want to pay extra to get a porter to carry your rucksack and some people opted for this (having felt the weight of their rucksack I can see why) ... although there was a bit of discontent that these extra porters weren´t actually available on Day 1 which was the hardest day. I wanted to carry all my own stuff along the trail so I packed as light as I could into just my daysack and tied my sleeping bag/mat to the outside ... satisfying to lug my own gear but with hindsight it might actually have been better to take my more comfortable big rucksack as my little daysack has no waist straps to take the weight from my shoulders to my hips - hence I had aching shoulders most of the way. The other stars of our group were the tour guides , especially Sol the main tour guide who was great and the cook who consistently produced fantastically tasty food which was so much appreciated after the efforts of trekking. So then , the trek ... we had a briefing on the Friday night before to get all the info for the trek and then we started at 4.30am on the Saturday morning from Cuzco. I was picked up from my hotel along with a couple of German guys who were also doing the trek and staying at the same hostel as me ... as we walked down to the plaza to catch the bus it was amusing to note some of the nightclubs were still pumping with people still partying ... no Friday night in the bars and clubs for us we´d all got an early night. After we picked up some others from different hostels we drove for about 90 minutes to the village of Ollantaytambo , arriving about 6.15 am for breakfast in a local cafe. Here we were also recommended to buy cheap plastic ponchos in case of rain , walking sticks to help along the trail and coca leaves both for us but also as presents for the porters ... the porters all love to chew the coca leaves as it staves off the effects of altitude and fatigue. After breakfast we drove further for about an hour along a bump y road with great views of the valley until we reached the famous KM82 (from Cuzco) start point . Here we spent maybe 15 or 20 minutes getting loaded up and organised before finally we set of walking. It´s a relatively short distance to a control point where passports get stamped (we get Inca trail & Machu Picchu stamps) and permits checked before you cross a bridge over the river and get cracking along the trail. The first morning is about five hours walking but it´s pretty gentle going without any steep gradients and the scenery is very nice as you walk through the valley with hills on either side and pass some minor Inca ruins along the way. At about 11am we reached the first major set of Inca ruins "Llactapata" (altitude 2650m) which we could see from high above on a little mirador - these were used as a storage site and set of agricultural terraces which were basically a support centre for the citadel of Machu Picchu. Here we got our first "history lesson" on the Incas / Quechuas from Sol the chief tour guide , herself a Quechua , and took some photos before continuing onwards. We stopped for lunch about 1.30pm at Huayllabamba , which is actually where the majority of groups stop for their first night which makes for them an easy first day but much harder second day ... when you talk to other travellers who have done the Inca Trail they all say the second day is the "killer" day. The reason is that after this campsite there is the notorious climb of 1200m altitude to Warmiwanusca ("Dead-Womans Pass") , which these other groups do all in one go on the second day. Our tour operator , United Mice , chooses to carry on in the afternoon on the first day and climb 700m altitude (ie. over half-way) towards the first pass , which made for us the first day the hardest of all and the second day easier , aswell as meaning we camped in a much better spot ... so to me our approach made a lot more sense. The porters always rush ahead to get to the lunch and camp sites ahead of the group so as to set up the equipment and make food ... it was just so well organised ... so when we arrive the hot drinks and food are always pretty much ready. After a nice lunch at about 2.45pm we set off on the dreaded climb , which is scheduled to take about 3 hours , up a steep gradient (including hundreds of Inca stone steps) to the first pass. Having walked together as a group in the morning the nature of this climb means that people go at very different paces so we were told we can choose our own speed rather than have to stay together. I really wanted to get this worst bit out of the way asap so together with the two German guys we decided to crack on at a good pace and not stop too much for breaks ... we walked steadily , not what I would call rushing , and it was hard work with a fair bit of sweating and puffing but we reached the campsite in about 1hr 45 mins at just before 4.30pm. Was really satisfying to get this climb done and I think we surprised some of the porters by passing them en route (they are carrying a lot more weight than us) so understandably the camp wasn´t ready when we got up there. Over the next hour and 45 minutes the rest of our group arrived in ones and twos , the last ones at about 6.15pm when it was really getting cold and dark. The campsite "Llulluchapamap" (altitude 3700m) was a superb spot with amazing views both up and down and various animals such as llamas and alpacas wandering around the campsite , making for some classic South American images. We had hot drinks and a very hearty dinner before retreating to our tents to get some much needed sleep ... or so I thought. The biggest challenge of the trek for me personally was the lack of sleep at night in the tent which became a pattern over the three days . I would be really tired and fall asleep quickly upon going to bed at around 8.30-9 pm but then be awake at 11pm , realise how cold & uncomfortable I was , have to go outside for a pee and then be kept awake by the infeasibly large number of snorers in our party . No escape from the loud snoring noises when you are all in tents pitched close together and it´s my one pet hate when I am dorming ... I can sleep through most things but snoring really drills into my head and it´s impossible to block out even with earplugs. I think I finally drifted off to sleep about 4am and at 5.30am Sol was around all the tents waking us all up to get started again. Soon shrugged off the tiredness with the superb early morning views and a nice breakfast before we had a little meeting where all the porters introduced themselves to us and us to them ... we took some nice photos and then set of again on the second half of the climb to Dead-Womans Pass (so called because the mountain looks like a woman lying down rather than someone having passed away there). The scond part of the climb worked up a sweat & got us puffing a little but it wasn´t as tough as the first day and once again myself and my German amigos cracked up there pretty quickly in maybe 1hr 15 minutes to await the others who arrived during the next 45 minutes or so ... this is the highest point of the Inca Trail at 4200m and it was immensely satisfying to have got the hardest climb out of the way without suffering too much ...                                 

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Ho chi minh city, Vietnam

OK!  This entry is to help new and existing travelers that want to go to Saigon. IT is the restaurants that WE thought was good or the shopping that we enjoyed.  It is not the most comprehensive and everybody's tastes are different.  But, I think that it will help the average person to enjoy Saigon.

We left with two guides: Lonely Planet and the Voyager Pratique from Michelin.  Both guides are equally good and are a good complement to each other. The Lonely Planet is very good for day to day activities, cheap restaurants.  While the Michelin Voyager Pratique has a very historical view of the Vietnam and good walking tours.  They were a big help in preparing the trip.  I can't stress enough that the key to traveling so far to adopt is PREPARATION.

RESTAURANTS

We have gone to good, bad and Excellent restaurants and French Delis.  You can find ALMOST everything that you want or need in Saigon. 

The new thing are cafes, there are ALOT of them, JAVA, Highland Coffee (a chain), Paris Deli etc...  OF all of them, the one we liked the most was PARIS DELI in Saigon Center, 65 Le Loi Street.  There are 3 cafes in that littlle mall.  We had Croque Monsieur and pasta.  It was very good and the service was excellent  DO NOT GO To the CAFE DE PARIS, next to the Canadian Consulate.  It is quite dirty. 

TOUS LES JOURS bakery has good cakes, croque monsieurs, donuts and is excellent for a quick bite, you can get treat at the Diamond Square (34 Le Duan Blvd, Ben Nghe ward, Dist 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) during your shopping.  Highland Coffees (www.highlandcoffee.com.vn) are good lunch eateries, you will find them everywhere and they have good french fries and excellent fruit juices

Santa Lucia,  on 14 Nguyen Hue street in front of Hotel Duxton, is the best italian restaurant in Saigon and we tried two.  The Santa Lucia and Haleteria on Le Than Ton street, near Hoi An restaurant.  Santa Lucia had a great menu and our favorite was their Lasagna, their Chocolate mousse and Tiramisu are also very good.  I dare to say that it is even better than Buon Gusto in Laval, sorry Dominic and Nathalie!.
You have alot of fancy french and international cuisine, but they are quite pricy and do they justify the price tag...probably. The guides has them all.

For the Vietnamese restaurants, the choices are ENDLESS!!!  From the sidewalk seller to the fine cuisine restaurant and the prices and atmosphere vary.  It all depends on your personal thresholds and interpretation of cleanliness. I will enumerate where we have been and give you our impressions.

Lemongrass (4 Nguyen Thiep): at the heart of District one, off Dong Khoi street.  The restaurant is good and tastefully decorated.  The food is good and proportionate to the price.  It is centrally located.

On the corner of Dong Du, there is a restaurant that offers chineese and vietnamese food. Very good with set menus, $15 per person.  The garlic shrimps are excelent with a cold Tiger beer!

Right across from the restaurant, on Dong Khoi street, at the Bong Sen Hotel (www.hotelbongsen.com)  You will find the best buffet in town, Buffet Ganh, you have to book seats in advance.   The buffet is an assortment of all foods from Vietnam, from the North to the South, with a Grill station and Sea Food station.  You can drink fresh sugar cane juice, freshly pressed in front of you.  The price is around 15$ per person.  Very good quality for the price. 

On Dong Khoi, you have numerous other restaurants that we did not have time to try.  I mean there is a restaurant every 50 meters. 

If you like fares from the center of Vietnam, from the region of Hoi an and Hue where the food is a little spicier.  We went to 3 really good restaurants with 3 different price points.

First, there's Ngu Vien, at 40 Ky Dong, District 3.  This restaurant was very good and very Vietnamese.  It was very clean the Hue specialty were excellent.  You have to get the Ban uot Thit Nuoung, grilled pork rolled in Rice paper.  The small Ban Xeo, a mini version of the regular Ban Xeo.  This is typical Vietnamer place so don't expect much, but it is very clean and very good and very cheap at around 200 000Dong for two or approximately 13$ for appetizer, main course and soft drinks.  That will not bust your budget but WILL fill you up with excellent food!

Second, we have Sen Hue, on Nguyen Hue street at number 48.  This is more upscale, in the center of Downtown, so you pay the price...mind you the price is around 300 000 Dong for two or less than 20$US.  The dishes are typical of Hue and its region but not as good as Ngu Vien.  What you lack in taste, you make up for in location.  If you are downtown and want a quick bite.  This is fine.  You are close to Dong Khoi, the Tax Center, Ben Thanh and all the shopping.

Down the street, at 44 Nguyen Hue, you will see Tan Nam, with upscale look and non upscale price.  Very reasonably priced for excellent food.  The service is great, the wine list is very good. 

Last, we have HOI AN,  11 Le Thanh Ton.  This is the very upscale version.  The food is excellent and there are degustation menus that will have you taste all the different foods that the central region has in store for your pallet!  From the service to the decoration, there is nothing out of place.  The decor is fabulous and the food excellent.  Of course, all this comes at a price.  The menu has no Vietnamese prices, only in US.  Budget 230$US for two with a decent bottle of wine.  It is worth it, if you have something to celebrate or want to impress your date. 

Fast food places are the in thing in Saigon and apparently all over major cities in Vietnam.  You will find alot of KFC and Pizza Hut all over and Vietnam's own version of Mc D's, Loteria.  I mean if you are homesick, then maybe a visit to KFC is the thing.  We never had the chance to go, but looked at the menu and the chicken comes with rice instead of Potatoes.  Rice covered with Gravy.  I don't know....

But if you want fast food, then I recommend Wrap & Roll (www.wrap-and-roll.com).  My brother introduced us to this great little eatery.  It is fast, excellent and really inexpensive and EXTREMELY CLEAN!  We went there with my brother, his daughter and their friends.  It only cost us 30$US for 10 people and we all ate and drink until we burst.  From the name, you have gathered that alot of the food are rolled up in some kind of wrap!  They have and excellent Cha Gio (imperial rolls), Goi Cuon (spring rolls) and other specialty.  But they also have Fried Rice and other typical food. There is nothing bad to say about this place and they DELIVER!  We went there 4 times!!!

SHOPPING

There is SO much to say that I don't know where to start. Even when you don't like to shop, you will always find something that you thought you would never need, that's how I can describe Saigon's shopping experience.  I will tell you what I have seen and where I have bought things. I am not saying that they have the best price or anything.  It was the best that I could find. I am sure that there is better or cheaper.

First we will start with the clothes.  Well, there is a huge amount of tailors where you can make your suits, silk dresses etc...

For those of you that went on CNN and found Tricia and Verona, 49 Dong Du street.  Don't go there, they are overpriced for the quality.  I had one suit made there and it is just ok.  For men's suit, we were referred to Tailor Son (226 Tran Quang Khai st.)   These guys are extremely professional, one fitting and that's it!  I had a suit made of Cerruti Cashmere (100%) with Cerruti silk lining for only US$400.  The average suit is 240$ for italian cashmere-wool cloth.  Shirts are 30$US.  The quality of the workmanship and details is top notch at Taior Son.  The owner and all the employees are first class.  They even deliver to your hotel NO CHARGE.

For women's silk dresses and accessories, go to KENLY SILK, www.kenlysilk.com, and ask for Mme. Sa .  She is the best to advise you on what will or will not fit. They are nice, professional and willing to negotiate.  We had alot of things done there, and there was only one fitting for Annie. 

Of course, you can find cheaper or nicer, but for the quality price ratio, these two are the best.  Do not go on Dong Khoi street, the shops there are more expensive because it is a touristy area.

For the watch lovers, you will find an array of fake watches or refurbished watches.  Most of the fake watches are made in China with a chineese movements are not that reliable.  If you want to invest on a GOOD swiss movement imitation worth 800$ on the internet.  Go to SAIGON SQUARE, at the entrance, at the first kiosq in the middle, in front of the Video.  There is a guy selling watches.  Ask for the swiss movement ones.  He will take them out of a metal box.  You will have replicas of ROLEX, OMEGA, PANERAI etc... from 150$ to 400$ for the Chronograph Omega.  I am a collector and know watches...and these are very high quality replicas that will last a long time.

Also, at Saigon Square, you will find Clark shoes, KARBON ski suits, North Face Jackets.  Some of the North Face are fakes and are easily recognizable.  But most are real and are excellent deals, especially the Karbon suits that can be found in this particular store, straight in from the entrance to the end and on the right. 

Alot of stalls have Polo Ralph Lauren shirts, Burberrys t-shirts, Tommy stuff...these are fakes but pretty good quality.  It is a fun place to go to and find good deals.

TAX CENTER on the corner of Nguyen Hue and Le Loi is a great department store where it is supposed to be cheaper because you don't pay the taxes.  IT has four floors and you can find almost everything that you would need for the appartment, the baby etc..  THere is a supermarket that has all the baby stuff.  There is a North Face Outlet on the 2nd floor, next to baby stuff.  GUARANTED real stuff from the factory, they don't negotiate but at 80$ for a 3 layered GoreTex jacket....ON the last floor, you can find toy stores. 

Diamond Center, behind the Cathedral.  Just say Diamond Center and the cab driver will take you there.  This is just like home department store.  Very upscale with upscale prices.  For the homesick ones, there is a Pizza Hut and a Kentucky Fried Chicken.  There is an excellent food court and bakery on the 2nd floor, next to the mini super market.

And lastly, there is BEN THANH market or better known as Saigon Market.  The sight, sound and mix of odors in this market can not be described but experienced.  If you want the typical wooden shoes that vietnamese wear...this is the place to go.  For all your little souvenirs (wine holders, table mats, statuettes etc..) this is the place to negotiate. They are much cheaper than anywhere else.  YOu can also buy fruit there, they are fresh and excellent.   IT IS A MUST TO GO TO!!!!
I hope you enjoyed this entry and that it will help you during your stay.

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Cairo, Egypt

Since I still had not bought any presents for my friends and family I went to Khan Al-Khalili to buy some things. In the evening Amr took me to the Jazz Up in the Hilton hotel, where they finally played good Salsa music and where I could improve my Salsa knowledge. Later on Alexandra, Yasemin, Alfredo, Roxana from Romania and Michele from Italy joined us in this place. The boys were happy, that they sold beer and performed the "Pharaonic dance". One after the other tried to dance Salsa, though the boys stuck more to the "Pharaonic" or freestyle version.

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Ras Mohammad National Park, Egypt

The current was even stronger at Ras Mohammad, and if anything the wind and waves had picked up. We were told to gear up and wait on the platform at the stern of the boat until we were told to dive in. Someone obviously screwed up the signal - someone shouted "Dive, Dive, Dive!", but I hesitated for a moment. "Go on, dive!", then a second two late, "Stop, wait!". Myself and another diver were already in the water, but the boat had started to drift dangerously close to Yolanda Reef, and powered up its engines. Next minute we were alone in the water. We looked at each other and just kind of shrugged.

The boat came back a couple of minutes later and disgorged the rest of the divers - we had to fin hard against the current to rejoin the group. Looking down I could see that we'd been dropped almost directly on top of the wreck of the Yolanda. It's far less glamourous cargo of toilet bowls was strewn over the reef. Hovering above were big shoals of what I think were some kind of sea bream, plus some ghost pipe fish at the bottom.

Given that this was supposed to be a drift dive it was a bit annoying that the first thing we did once we descended was to swim hard against the current. It was very hard to make any headway, and I was sucking down my air pretty quickly. Our patience was rewarded by getting a close look at some blue-spotted stingrays, a turtle and a huge lizardfish. As we started to drift with the current we saw a moray eel bigger than my thigh poking its head out from under some coral. We drifted out to where the reef dropped away sharply, then swam along a reef wall to our right. You could tell the reef was in far better condition than at Dahab - there were far more fish and soft corals and the visibility was better.

The dive was annoyingly short - I finished with a full 90 bar left in my tank. I think this had something to do with the fact that most of Mohammad's group seemed to have joined ours for some reason, and our divemaster was stressing out since he suddenly had about 10 divers to look after rather than just six. I would have liked to stay longer at Ras Mohammad, but I guess I can't really complain about value for money...

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Kathmandu, Nepal

Kathmandu is crazy!! To drive you need to have arrogance, sided with nerve, and a constant hand on the hooter. No-one waits for anyone and there don't seem to be many pavements which makes things interesting. Thai airways is fab. The food great and could teach Gate Gourmet a thing or two. The airport is reminiscent of Maputo though I think Maputo had more shopping opportunities from what we could see. The immigration officials were surly which luckily seems to be the antithesis of Nepalis in general. It is incredibly poor and I think could take on Africa in that respect. Luckily we were collected which took out some of the stress.

THis afternoon has been spent scouring the trekking stores, avoiding Hashish, tiger balm, musical instruments and bag sellers. We then had a welcome dinner at a local restaurant with our guide for the trek. It was quite an interesting place with about 3 waiters per patron and singers and dancers there for a private show. Luckily towards the end of the evening a few other drifters arrived taking the pressure off us! Think Zulu cultural experiences on steroids!!!

Fallling into bed the rain started and cooled everything down beautifully.

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Bangkok, Thailand

ok. minor minor motorbike accidentin Phuket. and yes the driver was sober, just inexperienced.
I sustained some lacerations to my right leg and unfortuneately also banged up my pretty big toe.
one month later... i noticed as I removing my red polish that my toenail was, well... not really attached to my toe. so I go in there with the manicure set and end up removing most of it. dee-sgust-ting. but actually pretty painless believe or not.

Being the girly girly I am but the "ok I can deal with it traveller" at the same time, I carry-on my day to day life minus a pedi. after six days of flip flops and dirty streets, (which are now flooded by the way up to my shins)
I decide I can no longer stand the sight of my nailess nub.

I venture to various nailbars in search of cover (they're r so so many in ban) but to no avail. or nail in this case.
I decide to upscale my search in hopes of finding some english speakers and I manage to get what I need at a celebrity nailbar located actually in the mall where I teach. and at the low cost of only $200 Bhat for 1 unpainted toenail. which on the streets of Ban would buy you 5 manicures, which totals 50 nails and painted to boot!

happily I leave unpolished but fully nailed.

I reach into my while in taxi transit and realize I had left my phone at the salon! In a panic I exclaim to the driver...Bpai (which means go in thai) Crystal (where I work) Bpai Crystal!!! Mai (no) phone!!! Mai Phone!!!

just another blank face as per usual when speaking any english here. so he drops me off at home and I run to our local "Family Mart" where cheap booze and cigarettes are a plenty to get some change to call the salon in hopes of catching them before close.  I locate a apyphone a ways down the street and dial the number. Of COURSE its not that easy...its Thailand and I am an ignorant fur-rang.
starving a peeved I stopped on the way back to grab some street version pad-thai.
This is acheived by waiting for a local to order, then pointing and mustering out a Roo Ka (yes please)

Its now about...8:00pm or so and I head bak to a lil cafe near the FM and ask if they can help me make a call to try and organize a phone retreival.  no answer. ok. fine. let the frustartion roll away, like melting butter on a steamy cob of peaches and cream corn...mmm...

I beam up eight floors in B1 and flop onto my bed in my 100 degree condo. flipping da AC switch I remebered I had some deicious padthai waiting to be devoured in my plastic travel bag.  i flip it onto my delux Big C plastic dinner plate, rip open the sauce packets, sugar and peanuts. oh ya baby. the real deal! I chopsticl my first batch of noods and realize it wasn't peanuts i had plastered all over my din but CHILLI FLAKES!!! of crap. no fantasy cob of corn can save me now.

In a huff and padthai puff i slid the noods into the trash and....splat! I miss. as I grab the pasta between my fingers I reminisce about the good old days of eating spaghetti with my sauce covered hands in highchair. this is clearly not the same. same same but different. for all of you that are unfirmilar with this saying, it.s the most commonly used phrase over here on this side of the world. they have a whole line of clothing based around the idea in fact.

still stavring I walk back to my friendly Family Mart and purchase some creamy cookies to soothe my post chilli burn.
you know what? why the heck do they call them "chilly" peppers anyways? they're not chilly at all!

phoneless, bookless, TVless, webless and friendless...what to do...what to do.l..a I got it! laundry....ya.
doomed out of boredom unto the dom duties.
I head down to building C with my soiled drobes only to find all the machines are full and not only are they full but on a timer for 55 minutes!!! 4 cigs, 128 stars in th sky, 45 windows times 6 buildings....later I pop my bhats and swish swash goes the wash. staring at my new toenail i am alterted by something approaching in the darknesss...

oh my Buddah.....its a white boy! only the third one I've ever seen since arriving in Bangkok
Thank my lucky 128 stars, I'm not alone!




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Sámos, Northeast Aegean Islands, Greece

Samos isle across Turkey

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Kotor, Montenegro

POLSKI:
Rano musielismy przejsc jeszcze kawalek, zanim dotarlismy do restauracji Cetinje, ktora okazala sie byc baza wypadowa autostopowiczow. Stala ich co najmniej czworka, w rownych odstepach od siebie. My zrobilismy sobie napis "Kotor" na kawalku kartonu, przez co wygladalismy bardziej profesjonalnie i... niemal od razu zostalismy zabrani. Pan dostawca-furgonetkarz zabral nas prosto do Kotoru, po drodze zapraszajac na cole i zatrzymujac sie w zapierajacych dech miejscach. W Kotorze czekaly na nas same niespodzianki. Starowka, calkowicie otoczona murami, byla absolutnie fenomenalna. Czules sie tam jak z powrotem w XV wieku. Bladzilismy uliczkami, napawajac sie widokiem kotow wylegujacych sie w sloncu i spadzistych dachow. Potem poszlismy nad przystan. Juz z pewnej odleglosci widzialam, ze ktos mi machal, ale nie bylam pewna, czy to faktycznie do mnie. Pomyslalam tylko "facet wyglada jak Goran". Gdy podeszlismy blizej, okazalo sie, ze to... Goran, moj serbski wykladowca, we wlasnej osobie! Obok niego stala jeszcze jedna Pani Doktor, z ktora mialam zajecia na uczelni. Myslalam, ze sie posikam ze smiechu. Ten swiat jest jednak cholernie maly! Po malym posilku, ja i Marcin wspielismy sie tez na twierdze. Tylko, ze weszlismy tam od, ze tak powiem, d... strony. Bylo stromo i niebezpiecznie. Po wejsciu na gore, bylam cala mokra, ale warto bylo - widok byl fenomenalny!
O 18:30 ruszylismy z plecakami (zostawilismy je wczesniej w kafejce internetowej) poza miasto, ktore zdawalo sie nigdy nie konczyc. Nie pozwolono nam rozbic namiotu obok kosciola. Udalo nam sie za to znalezc geste krzaki na wzgorzu, a wsrod nich betonowy podest, na ktorym rozbilismy namiot. Kotor zaskoczyl nas absolutnie pozytywnie!

ENGLISH:
In the morning we`d had to walk a certain distance, before we got to Cetinje restaurant, which we found out was a place of departing for hitchhikers. There were at least 4 of them there, standing apart from each other. On a piece of a cardboard we`d make a sign saying "Kotor", which made us look more professional and... we were taken within a couple of min. The guy driving a delivery van took us straight to Kotor, inviting us for a coke on the way there and stopping by in the most stunning places. There in Kotor we were awaited by many surprises. The old town, completely surrounded by the city walls, was absolutely phenomenal. You felt almost as if you were back in the XV century there. We were wandering in between the narrow streets and watching cats laying down in the sun as well us admiring steep roofs. Then we walked to the harbor. I could already see from a certain distance that someone was waving towards me, but I was not too sure if it was to me actually. I only thought "that guy there looks like Goran". When we came up closer, I found out that it actually was Goran, my Serbian tutor, himself! Next to him there was standing another (female) academic teacher that I used to have some classes with. I thought I`d pee in my pants. This world is so small!
After a small meal, me and Marcin climbed up a fortress there. The thing is that we took a wrong way there, which was steep and dangerous. After we got to the top, I was completely wet, but it was well worth it - the view was phenomenal!
At 6:30pm we grabbed our backpacks (we`d left them at an internet café) and walked out of the town, which seemed to never end. We didn`t get a permission to pitch our tent next to a church. We found some proper bushes in a hill instead, and among them a concrete platform, where we pitched our tent. Kotor surprised us absolutely in a positive way!

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Cairo, Egypt

I had a really good sleep last night. I woke at 7am and got ready for my sightseeing tour today. I took me awhile to find where breakfast was being held. This hotel is spread out as apposed to being a high rise. Breakfast had been moved to the first floor of the main reception as apposed to the building at the other end of the resort. Nevertheless I eventually found it and made sure I was well fed.

My guide for today is Randa. A lovely egytian women who is married with two children of her own. She is also observing Ramaddan and said she finds it hard to fast when she is working, but just does it. It's her way of life.

First, it's off to the Pyramids in Giza. Like I said before, I saw them last night under the veil of the light show, but now I get to see them with my own eyes and when I finally do I am not disappointed. Beautiful, grand, ancient structures, thousands of years old and still here for all to see. All have been damaged by the winds of time, but still show an awe of majesty that is timeless. Since I can remember I've marvelled at their splendour and have been amazed by the cleverness of the the ancient egyptians, to have the ability to build these structures. Randa said that each Pyramid took approx 25 years to build, working only during the rainy season, which was 3 months of the year. No slaves were employed, all those that worked there were paid.

I even went inside one of the pyramids, it was the second tallest one. Don't ask me what it was called, I'm having a information brain overload. You can go inside to the burial tomb. Beware! The corridors down to the tomb are low and you have to bend down to walk. It's also a fair distance from the entrance, and very hot inside. Take water with you. You can dehydrate very easily.

Once in the tomb the ceiling is high and there is plenty of room to stand. All the artifacts that were inside had been removed, but the stone tomb was still there. I've been inside a Pyramid and I am absolutely amazed at how it was built. Just incredible. I spent about ten minutes before I had to leave because of the heat. By the time I returned to the surface, I was drenched in sweat, and had completely drunk all of my water. For 25 egyptian pounds (about $8 NZD), I thought is was worth it.

I didn't see Randa at the entrance so I went for a wonder to find her. Eventually I returned to the van, after having a good look around, and the driver said she wasn't there. So I went to the entrance to find her there looking very worried. She was relieved to see me safe and thought that something had happened to me in the tomb. She had sent some men down to look for me and when they returned they said I wasn't there. She was very puzzled. I told her what had happened and she laughed. I must have come out when she was distracted by a phone call she got.

We then went up to the Upper plateau and from there you can get a great view of the 3 pyramids. Great photo opportunity. It is there that she got a camel ride for me and now I have pictures of me on a camel with the pyramids in the background, all just for you Crystal and everyone else who told me I should do it.

Next it was down to the Sphinx. I had always imagined it being really huge. At 57 metres in length and 20 metres high, it is huge. I just though it was bigger. I'm not disappointed that it wasn't as big as I thought, I'm just not that surprised that the Pictures etc that I have seen have distorted my view of it. Randa said it was made of one big limestone rock and is completely solid.

Next were off to Memphis to see the open air museum with many artifacts of Ramesus II. It's not as big and grand as the Natural Museum of History in London, but it does boast a huge statue of Ramesus II and several other smaller ones. There is also the Sphinx of Memphis there. It is a very small version of the one in Giza carved from Alabster stone or Egyptian Marble. It still has it's nose.

Finally we went to Sakkara to see the First Pyramid ever built in about 3200bc ( I think that's right??) It's a step pyramid, or in other words it was built in stages and resembles six steps that lead to heaven. It's an incredible sight and from a certain advantage point you can see, in the south, more pyramids, and in the north some more too including those in Giza. It's amazing that these monuments were built so long ago and they still survive to this day.

All in all, I had a wonderful day visiting the last remaining wonder of the ancient world, a ride on a ship of the desert, and being in presence of incredible history.

Tonight, I'm off to a Dinner and Cruise, and then off to Luxor tomorow.

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Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Taxi from Dahab to Sharm at 11:00pm, then grab whatever sleep you can on an old nylon sleeping bag on the deck of the dive boat at dock. The engines start rumbling at 5am and you get underway, and soon the boat is pitching up and down in the waves. The engine breaks down and some guy in a greasy t-shirt gets it going again. By 9am you can just about make out the destination by the cluster of white dive boats on the horizon. Breakfast is hearbreakingly crappy - some fuul paste, hard bread and bully beef that tastes like catfood. The divemaster who is missing the tip of his thumb gives a briefing of the first dive, then you gear up whilst he is tying the boat off against the wreck underwater.

The sea is ROUGH - there is a 50 day wind this time of year (called the Khamsa I think) and the descent line jerks violently as you edge down it. The rope is tied off close to the bridge of the boat, but it is rubbing afainst the sharp metal edge of the superstructure, and you can see its strands fraying and snapping, which is pretty worrying. On the way up you find out that it did, indeed, snap, and the dive boat has spun 180 degrees whilst still held by the line at the stern.

The wreck is huge - a WWII British cargo ship carrying war supplies sunk by a bomb from a German long-range bomber. The bomb fell in the ammunition hold, tearing off the stern. The contents of the ammo hold are a jumble of metal boxes. A crate of shells protrudes, and the divemaster wipes the algae off the bright brass firing plate to reveal the serial no. and date (1921). At the stern are two large encrusted AA guns, guarded by a fat stonefish the size of my forearm. The propellor is considerably taller than me. On the deck to either side of the front cargo hold two railway wagons are laid up. At the bow there is a series of doors that give access to the winch room - you go in then exit through a narrow hatch in the ceiling. The divemaster's sign for "the bow" is a parody of the scene from the Titanic - arms spread out and head thrown back. Apparently some Israeli guys insisted on recreating the moment on a previous dive.

The water is so rough on the way up you have to hold on with both hands to the ascent line which wrenches you up and down through the water. Your mask starts to leak and you must let go of the line with one hand to clear it. Some guy further down the line loses his reg.

After a break, plus a much more appetising lunch (not all of the Muslim staff are observing Ramadan that strictly...) it's time to go inside the wreck. Despite the tons of metal over your head it's fairly easy to move around the cargo holds due to the sheer size of the space. There are racks of motorcycles, the glass of their headlamps encrusted but still intact. Although the roofs of the trucks and jeeps have rusted away, and their seats reduced to bare metal, their windscreens are largely in one piece. A dislodged inspection panel allows you to stick your head in to find that the engine and radiator complete with tubes and wiring are still inside the hull of a submerged tank.

Weirdest of all you find a pile of rubber thigh-length boots in almost mint condition. If you rub the algae off the sole you can see the tread pattern is brand new, and the writing reads "Made in Canada", a size 10 (It would probably fit me). Looking out from the bridge is like looking out from a submarine - you can watch schools of basslets and other divers passing by outside the portholes. Back at the bow a large moray eel has taken up residence in an exhaust vent near to the anchor winch, grinning malevolently at you as you pass by.

Altogether a pretty awe-inspiring dive, though I later found out the other dive team had some issues with their divemaster. Mohammad from DDU had apparently let one guy in his group run out of air - despire the fact he had even signed only 30 bar left. That sort of thing just shouldn't ever happen, and unsurprisingly the guy who ran out of air didn't feel like entering the wreck on the second dive; I wouldn't want to try an alternate air source ascent from inside a wreck at 30m either! Ah well, on to Ras Mohammad...

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Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Last day I will go whalewatch , mayflower , aquarium

then fly back home via Paris
6.50 pm  5 am paris
9.40 am - 11.00 am Amsterdam
Maybe meeting with Gofrung and/or cnfds


Laatste dag

Walvissen kijken , Het schip de Mayflower, Aquarium en misschien Bibliotheek ????? met hele apparte dingen een wereldbol waar je doorheen loop.

Misschien ontmoeting met Golfrung en/of cnfsd

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Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro