Around the World

Livin it Laos

adamkel — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:29:00 GMT

Went riding on elephants yesterday - through the Laos jungle. Capital A for 'amazing'. Hired push bikes the day before and did a fridge (pub) to fridge (pub) Laos style.

There is a peace in Laos that Ihave not discovered any where else in the world.

Taking it easy is Luang Prabang is well ... easy.

Exploring Egypt

adamkel — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:12:00 GMT

Friday, 23 February, off to Egypt. We will fly out from London Heathrow at 17.25 and arrive in what has been explained to me as ‘the filthiest city in the world’; Cairo at 20.45. I am expecting more than filth, I am expecting Cairo to be chaotic, churning the old with the new in one big messy, sensory city.

We arrived into Cairo just a little after midnight and the airport transfer that we had organized prior to leaving failed to meet us at the airport. Not ideal, but a small hurdle really and it does tend to be these experiences that generate the stories to tell friends and family on your return. This hiccup was eased by an especially friendly security guard that kindly found us a taxi. To my surprise we paid what I understand to be a standard price (unfamiliar for Adam and I as we are most often the ones getting ripped of despite our best efforts to avoid it). And other than the ominous back streets we drove down that made me somewhat nervous, and the fact that he held onto what should have been our change, we arrived safe and sound at our tour hotel. Tired and eager for food and sleep we approached the hotel reception. It may not surprise you, due to the nature of our arrival that the reception staff looked at us blankly when we explained we had organized pre-tour accommodation for the evening. It was certainly a relief that despite our lack of reservation they did not hesitate in allocating us a room for the evening.

Cairo is a rather confronting city on first meeting, seemingly more so for a woman. I do not intend for this to sound disparaging rather this was my personal observation.

To be continued...

I'm in London Still

adamkel — Thu, 8 Feb 2007 02:27:00 GMT

Someone came in overnight and painted the town white; they sneaked in silently and smothered it in sparkling, slippery, snow. The kind that changes the colour of the day, that makes everything glow. I couldn’t tell you how cold it was I was so mesmerized, so oblivious. Each time that I let my focus slip, literally, from each tentative step across the icy sidewalk, it was because my eyes and mind had been lured to another place. Where has … London gone and who is responsible for bringing me this magical wonderland of snowcapped cars and windowsills and oak trees? And so as swiftly and suddenly as it came, so to it leaves and here encapsulates my love hate relationship with the city that is London.

Twas the days before Christmas

adamkel — Thu, 4 Jan 2007 03:08:00 GMT

I arrived home on the Thursday before Christmas to a share house full of people and a crisp cold glass of bubbly; well, tis’ the season. Tonight we will have dinner with JB who is heading home for Christmas. Several bottles of champagne, loads of beer and some scrumptious Indian take away marked a perfect start to what would be a wonderful Christmas.

Adam's day ended much earlier than mine as he managed to find himself in a pub before 11am. Meanwhile I sat impatiently at my computer, watching the windows minutes saunter by. I managed to get away by 1:00 and headed out to brave the final Christmas shopping hours. After a fairly unsuccessful shopping venture I hopped back on the train with not much more than a headache to carry.

Friday December 22 was to be our last day of work before the Christmas break and we welcomed it enormously. For some reason the cold, damp, dark month of December seems to drag. Hmm… I wonder what they are doing in the warmth of the southern hempishere at the moment? Perhaps swimming or clutching a cold beer by the barbie.

We left very early Friday morning; we had six hours of driving ahead of us and the thought of bumper to bumper traffic was not at all appealing. Adam was feeling a little worse for wear and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious about sitting next to him in the back of the car; if for no other reason than the alcohol that was seeping from his pores smelt wretched. Adam and Ben had proved highly entertaining the night before when they arrived home full to the brim with beer. Adam persisted to tell us all, over and over again, that ‘I’m drunk I know I am. I’m not ashamed to admit it’. This was just in case we had failed to notice.

Driving out of London was an incredible feeling; I knew that it would be over a week until I had to return to the chaotic city. The week a head was going to be seriously relaxing and I couldn’t wait. Sing-a-long Johnny Cash and mint Aero chocolate certainly hastened the car journey. Before we knew it we had arrived to the small seaside town that would kindly host us for Christmas.

We collected the keys for our house from a nearby town, managing some how to get lost in a town so minute it would seem impossible. The house was absolutely beautiful situated within a new modern complex of houses. It lay alongside an open field and a mere hundred meters from the rocky coastline. Although the English country side is not reminiscent of anything from home for some reason I instantly felt at home, I felt comfortable; I think it must have been the space, the openness, the coast. Sometimes London can feel very small, so many people so little room to move.

Sarah and Andrew drove to Newcastle to pick up some friends of theirs that would also be spending Christmas with us. Adam, Tavis and I went for a walk through the muddy field behind our house down to the beach.

To be continued...