Our Travels- World tour

Photos: Hong Kong

colin_and_lou — Fri, 1 May 2009 19:43:00 GMT

HONG KONG ( Trapped in a lift )

colin_and_lou — Fri, 1 May 2009 19:37:00 GMT

Hi all,

We got stuck in the hostel's lift yesterday which Lou thought was quite funny for the first 5 mins.I started pushing all the buttons again hoping that would help, Louisa said that wont do any good! We pushed the intercom button and a Chinese man said something which we didn't understand .. so we waited a bit longer still nothing, I then thought about something very important to me FOOD !! All i had was one Snickers bar and half packet of polo's ( i didnt tell Louisa, every man for himself in a time of crisis)we didnt know how long we were going to be trapped, I then pushed the button again and said "HELP the lift is stuck" and the same man came back on and said something else we didn't understand,for all we knew he could have said the building was on fire. We thought the emergency services would have been called and a big crowd would have gathered by this time, When the doors did open for us eventually there was no one there at all it was as if it never happened !!! Did it really happen ??

China Tour - Part 1

colin_and_lou — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:10:00 GMT

We arrived in Beijing on the 4th and got to look round our hotel. China is amazing, not at all what I expected, the buildings are really very modern and seem well built and look nice. Lots of small supermarkets and takeaways, not at all like English ones but still with various food in. The Chinese seem to be very keen on dried fruit, I went up to this pick and mix looking counter only to find out it is indeed pick and mix, but of dried fruit not sweets :O(

We joined the tour after the introductory talk on the 5th at 6pm, the group is very nice there are 10 of us in all. There is Erinn the only American, Tony, Georgia, Lynda, Chris and his sister Melissa who are all from Australia and Rita and Mike from England. Our tour leader is Tracy, not spelt with the E aa ey means something odd in Chinese. Tracy's English is very good as she spent years in Oz and has an Oz boyfriend.

Our first day is one hell of an introduction to China, we go to the Great Wall, after getting up early and a 3 and a half hour bus ride we arrive at the wall. We get to see wonderful views as we approach the wall as well, we are very lucky it is a warm, clear day.

We start at Jingshanling where some of us get the cable car up the hill and others take the steps. Colin and I rather sensibly take the cable car, which is pretty cool a little 2 seater that has definately seen better days, but the views are fab. We then walk 4 hours to Simatai which is very quick as it can take up to 5 hours, so we all did really well. Also we where joined by Rita and Mike's daughter Mia who lives in Beijing and joined us as it is her 30th birthday.

The walk was amazing the wall seems to go on forever and ever, you can see it behind you and in the distance and we walked for a long time and it still goes on and on. The walk was long and it got very hot but absolutely amazing. Also I didn't realise that only some sections of the wall are maintained and so our climb was really hard in places climbing over broken wall and very steep.

Once we reached Simatai there are two ways to reach the bottom another walk or you can take a flying fox over the river and then a boat of course sensible us take the flying fox. It is amazingly high and we dangle suspended in the air by a tiny bit of fabric, we aren't even held on by a proper harness, very silly but pretty cool.

Next day is a free day which we need after the long walk in the heat but we have a lay in and then off to the Temple of Heaven, which of course we walk to. It is an amazing little Temple right next to all these modern shopping centers which are all designer and amazingly expensive as we discover as we have a quick look inside. We then join together for our first meal which is fab, Tracey orders lots of things thakfully none too gross as you can have very, very strange food in China.

The next day we are off to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, it is odd to see Tiananmen sqaure something we have seen so often in the news etc and we are there. The queue to see chairman Mao is incredible, it seem to go on forever I have never seen so many people queueing for something. Especially as we are told by Vivean the local guide that the body was long ago removed and replaced and now it is only his head left, I have to say I find that kinda creepy.

Forbidden city and its gardens is beautiful and is currently being renovated those parts that have been renovated are spectatular, very colourful and pretty. The difference between the renovated and the not is striking though with the peeling and faded paint very visible in comparison.

CHINA !!!!!

colin_and_lou — Sat, 4 Apr 2009 22:13:00 GMT

Just got here............... when flying out of Narita Airport in Japan saw the remains of the Plane that crashed a few days before we landed ... Tony i think i saw your parcel that was on the plane near what is left of the plane.....

Asaki Brewery Japan

colin_and_lou — Fri, 3 Apr 2009 21:25:00 GMT

After our early morning and a much needed nap, we head back out to the underground. After chasing across town and going to the various underground stations we finally find the one we need and spend the next 40 mins on a train to the outskits of Tokyo to meet with a bus that will take us to the Asaki Brewery. While we wait for the bus we meet 2 young Swedes who are holidaying in Japan for a couple of weeks who are also doing the tour and so we sit with them. It soon becomes apparent that some how we have missed the bus or it hasn't tunred up which is very 'un-Japanese' and so one of the Swedes luckily has the brewerys number and phones them to find out another bus is coming. Then he happens to look across the way and it is actually on the other side of the line and so all 4 of us have to run like idots to catch it, up the stairs and down again.

Finally at the brewery it is very Japanese, very modern and clean building with a pretty garden with a pond. Inside we have missed the start of our English tour and so after much apologising a lovely young lady gives the 4 of us a seperate tour. We get to see the hops and barley that is used, also the fermintation tanks and then we catch up with the others in our English tour which are oddly Cambodians and Japenese, no English in sight. We then get to see the bottling and canning, which is amazing so efficent. we can see only 4 people and lots of machines. It is also sooooo quick there is a little game machine with a start button and a stop button, this starts and stops a timer, Colin starts it and stops it after 1 second and it shows how many bottle and cans have been filled in this time, I can't remember the bottles, but it was 5 cans in this time amazingly quick.

We then got to try the beers, one 'dry' and then a dark, not enough time though before we are asked to leave as it is the end of the tour and we didn't get our third beer in, which was all included in this FREE tour brillant.

We then got to buy some souvenirs and take some pics before we left, although Col and the Swede did take some pics in the no pics section and so we now have some fab pics of our tour in the brewery itself.

Brillant to see, loved it, especially for free, well worth the effort getting there.

Japenese Fish Market and Sushi

colin_and_lou — Fri, 3 Apr 2009 14:25:00 GMT

Up early with colin waking me at just gone 4am, good job at least one of us is good at getting up early if left to me we would never have got up on time.

We then get a almost completely deserted tube to the market where we meet another English backbacker on the way to market as well. We join together as we get to the market and have a wander around. The market is full of every type of fish and sea animal ever imaginable. There is everything from massive tunas to sea cucumbers all available to buy. We get to see the tuna being chopped into huge pieces and also little delicate slices both frozen and freshly caught and there are hundreds of them. As we wander around some of the fish, crabs, sea cumcumber etc. are still alive so that they are 'fresh'. The amounts of fish here make you wander if there is any left in the ocean. The market if huge full of hundreds of stalls and each one brimming with fish and this happens almost every day.

Once outside we say goodbye to the backpacker we meet and head back in for another look and spend another half an hour here taking some pics. We then decide to brave and try sushi. We find a restaurant next to the market and wander in the chef behind the counter says a greeting and seems happy to have westerners in the restaurant as he seems very pleased as we walk through the door. We ask for a mixed platter that we will share, it includes tuna, eggs and omlette. I try but have to admit on not liking it much, even the look of the eggs put me off and I only manage to eat 2. Colin is much braver and eats the whole thing and most of the rest. Both of us agree that we will not be having sushi for dinner tonight :O)

We then get a extremely packed tube back to the hostel for a nap before our brewery tour.

Japan Overall

colin_and_lou — Wed, 1 Apr 2009 14:05:00 GMT

Japan is unlike any other country we have been to so far. First it is cold - bloody frezzing when we arrived in Tokyo it was 8 degrees from 40 degrees in Bangkok. Also the people are soooo different they have completely different mannerisms and social expectations.

Language - This is the first country where hardly anyone speaks any English.

Eating - I am finally manging to get the hang of chop stick as some places struggle to find cutlery. Slurping and burping is socially acceptable and so eating in a Japenese restaraunt is a noisy affair and a bit gross.

Food - I have to admit on not being fond of Japense food. It is completely different from most food I have experienced even in the rest of Asia, that with the complete lack of English and English menus we did stuggle a bit even eating MacDonalds for a couple of meals. We did however try sushi definately not my favourite, vinegar rice with tiny bits of raw fish. Have tried it before and kinda liked it, but the 'real' stuff is very different from the prepackaged stuff you get in England.

Mannerisms - To say the Japenese are curt is an understatment of the century. Also pushing and shoving is acceptable if someone is in your way you push them out of it, very unEnglish and very odd when little old ladies barely 4 feet tall are pushing and shoving you, definately not so nice when it is full grown men. Have to admit on at least one occasion being almost pushed over. Also spitting and weeing on the streets is acceptable and done by all which is really werid as you can only smoke in designated areas and not allowed to put your cigerette stubs on the floor as littering is not allowed in any form, except of course spit and wee.

NIKKO Japan

colin_and_lou — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:38:00 GMT

Nikko is a small city at the entrance to Nikko National Park. It is most famous for the Toshogu, Japan's most lavishly decorated shrine complex and mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Nikko has been a center of Shinto and Buddhist mountain worship for many centuries, and Nikko National Park continues to offer scenic, mountainous landscapes, lakes, waterfalls, hot springs, wild monkeys and hiking trails.

Hi all , we have been here for a couple of days now, very different from Tokyo ... Even colder !! only about 5 degree s .. after the months of warm weather we have had it has been a little hard to get used to .. We have been visiting lots of shrines and today we walked up a mountain to see a waterfall.... We are back to Tokyo tomorrow for another 3 days then back to the airport to go to China !!!!!

JAPAN

colin_and_lou — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:39:00 GMT

WE made it plane landed ok -- and i was right we are freeezzzzzinnngggggg

more about japan when we thaw out !!!!!

Onwards and upwards

colin_and_lou — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:38:00 GMT

Japan here we come .. Yes its time to pack up again and catch the bus to another airport .. This time it is Narita Japan , you may have heard of it on the news yesterday its the airport where the Fed Ex plane crashed on the runway ! The runway is closed at the moment so not sure if we are still taking off at the planned time , wont know until tomorrow .. !! Oh well all part of travelling ...

We have loved it in Thailand but time to move on and anyway if i heard another guy say tuk tuk to me i may have lost it !!!!1 , Its 30 degres here in Bangkok and about 15 in Tokyo so we re going to FREEEEEEZZZZZZZZEEEEEE ....

Chiang Mai

colin_and_lou — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:04:00 GMT

Hello

We just had a fab weekend we left early and got a truck to a village, via a market where we brought bananas, at the village we had lunch. The local kids had little bracelets we brought from them for 20p, one little girl got Colin and just tied it on so he couldn't escape and she was sooo cute so anti-jewellery Colin now has a little bracelet. Then we wandered around the village and I gave the local kids some of the bananas which they loved as the local trees in their village aren't ripe at the mo so it was a bit of a treat. It was a lovely little village and everyone was really nice saying hello etc, one tiny little boy in particular to a shine to us and followed us on his little trike through the village, he must have only been about 2, but he was wandering all over the place.

Then the trek began, the guide said there would be two uphill climbs we did 2 fairly steep climbs and reached another village and I said that was the uphill bits done and he said no he didn't even count those and there are two more on the way to the next village that we stayed in and these really where an uphill climb, no wonder he didn't count the first two little ones. It really was hard going, thankfully Melissa and Rachel are as unfit as me and us four stick together with the guide and Hungarian couple who don't even seem out of breath far out in front of us.

At the village it was just a family in their hut and another for us, no electric and no running water unless of course you count the near by river where the drinks are stored to keep them cool. The toilet was a little squat toilet in a bamboo hut up the hill on the other side of the river.

We walked/climbed over the hill to a near by waterfall where we got in, but it was freezing, I was amazed at Colin as he was the first in, l think it may have helped that we where with 2 gorgeous English girls and he obviously didn't want to seem a wimp.

We then had dinner that they cooked in their hut, yellow curry and sticky rice with a bean dish, really scrummy we sat around a big table eating it together in the dark with only candles for light. There where six of us Rachel, Melissa, two 22 year old English girls and a Hungarian couple. Also a local little boy called Jowa who took a shine to Colin and spent some of dinner sitting on his lap or cuddling him.

After dinner we sat around a fire in front of our hut, Jowa only 8 years old starts our fire for us and shows us magic tricks with a piece of string, his English is amazing, especially when we ask if he goes to school and he says NO, even his magic tricks are really cool and numerous. Jowa then plays cats cradle with Melissa, but Melissa is soon left behind as Jowa knows far more.

Our guide then comes out and we sing songs around the camp fire, the Hungarian couple have left us but Melissa is cool and has a good voice and she knows the words better then us three. Jowa is mesmerized by the guitar and even sings along with some of the songs he knows. He keep our fire going and even goes and collects and breaks more bamboo too put in it.

Our guide then goes to see the 'doctor' and leaves us promising to be back, the doctor soon comes out and offers us a try of opium, strangely enough we all decline and sit talking around the fire instead. Unfortunately when our guide return he is ready for bed not up to singing any more, not blumin surprised.

We then go to bed which is actually a mat and blanket on the floor, a blanket for a pillow and a blanket for over us, we then spend a freezing night in this semi open hut with bats and bugs flying over us. Obviously not the best nights sleep.

We are woken at 8ish by a very happy and rather hyperactive guide we have breakfast of scrambled egg with toast and jam and coffee and tea which you drink out of old jam jars. Jowa again joins us eating my scrambled egg and takes Colin's camera which he just picks up and uses instantly without being shown how and looks through all the old pics of our trip pointing out in English various creature etc. Again cuddling Colin.

We are soon off on another trek out of the village to the elephant trek apparently only 30 mins, but actually the trek is well over an hour again uphill in places. The elephant trek is cool. We are on the largest elephant a big male, while the others are on smaller female elephants, although one has a small baby which follows its mum. At the end of the trek we feed the elephants the rest of the bananas and the elephants are not as well behaved as the elephant in Krabi and I am soon pushed around as they are trying to find more even though they have eaten them all.

Again another trek to the truck taking us to the bamboo rafts another 30 mins that again is well over an hour with a large uphill section, over river etc so we end up we wet and muddy feet. We are soon at the truck and meet another couple who have been on a different trek and are dropped off at the bamboo rafting place. The rafts are literally pieces off bamboo tided together and we float down the river Colin, Melissa and I on one raft, the Hungarian couple, who stream ahead on another and the new couple, Rachel and a guide on another. The rafting is cool, but quite hard going as it is hard to balance and the river is very shallow at some points and we go aground and crash and quite deep at others. Me I fall over onto my bum, with Colin laughing :O(

We then get a truck back to the guesthouse after a noodle dinner, very tired, dirty and wet.

Gallery: Chiang Mia ( Trek )

colin_and_lou — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:43:00 GMT

Bangkok

colin_and_lou — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:03:00 GMT

Now in Bangkok been here for a couple of days , we got a bus from Siem reap Cambodia , well it was a large bus from Siem Reap to the thai / Cambodian border then all off the bus through customs Cambodian side the walk 800 mtrs to the Thai border and get another 15 days on our Thai visa so that we can carry on our travels around Thailand . We then were squeezed into a mini bus for the rest of the journey to Bangkok. We hadnt got a place to stay in Bangkok but as soon we arrived we found a place only 4 pound each for the night. We've had better but we have had worse.. We now plan to travel to Chang Mia which is in the north of the country and spend 4 or 5 days there before coming back to Bangkok before flying onto Japan.

Gallery: Cambodia

colin_and_lou — Sat, 7 Mar 2009 00:57:00 GMT

Cambodia

colin_and_lou — Sat, 7 Mar 2009 00:39:00 GMT

wow what an eye opener Cambodia was - A country so poor. We really do not know how lucky we all are...

Krabi

colin_and_lou — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:33:00 GMT

Hi All having a great time in Thailand ,people here so friendly..

We have been working our way up from the south weather very warm ,today we went on a trip to ride some elephants for the second time( first time was in Malaysia) was great this time the handler jumped off leaving both Louisa and i on the elephant on our own ,the guy jumped off and started to take loads of photo's of us with our camera , Will be uploading soon ... The internet is cheap here 50 Bart an hour ( 1 uk pound), we are in a place named Krabi near the east coast. Yesterday we took a day tour on a boat to visit 4 islands including the one from the James bond movie.... Lou got a little red as we also went scuba diving at each island .. Amazing place .. Tomorrow we are moving on to Phuket , where we will stay for maybe 3 days. Watch this space .....

Gallery: KL Pics

colin_and_lou — Sat, 7 Feb 2009 00:38:00 GMT

Kuala Lumper

colin_and_lou — Thu, 5 Feb 2009 22:52:00 GMT

Hi all,

We have now arrived in Kuala Lumper came from Malacca this morning on the bus only cost about 3 pound each for a 2 hour drive .. Hostel very good cost about 7 pounds each a night for private room air con etc, free breakfast loads of free films to watch.. not bad at all, Oh yes there are 2 cats here as well , Lou's not that keen on cats , The moment we arrive one of them started to claw at her bag , i thought it was funny , ( She didnt ) ..

Day 2 in Kuala Lumpur,

We got up early to get a ticket to the twin towers of Petronas Tower Standing 452m above street level it is currently world tallest twin towers.

The pic i uploaded here is us on the skybridge that joins them on the 41st and 42nd floor which is the highest 2-story bridge in the world. The bridge is 170m above the ground. We are going to see some elephants tomorrow.......

Kuala Lumpur is the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia, making it the country's legislative capital.^[7] The city was once home to the executive and judicial branches of the federal government, but they have since moved to Putrajaya starting in 1999.^[8] Some sections of the judiciary remain in the capital. The official residence of the Malaysian King, the Istana Negara, is also situated in Kuala Lumpur. The city is also the cultural and economic centre of Malaysia due to its position as the capital as well as being a primate city.^[9] Kuala Lumpur is rated as a gamma world city, and is the only global city in Malaysia.^[10]

Gallery: Malaka

colin_and_lou — Tue, 3 Feb 2009 23:27:00 GMT

Malaka or Malacca

colin_and_lou — Tue, 3 Feb 2009 23:19:00 GMT

There are some interesting legends surrounding the foundation and naming of Malacca. According to the 16th century Malay Annals, the city was founded by Parameswara, a descendant of Alexander the Great. More likely, he was a Hindu prince and political fugitive from nearby Java. The legend goes that Parameswara was out on a hunt in the region and had stopped to refresh himself near what is now the Malacca River. Standing near a melaka (Indian gooseberry) tree he was surprised to witness one of his hunting dogs so startled by a mouse deer that it fell into the river. Parameswara took this as a propitious sign of the weak overcoming the powerful and decided to build the capital of his new kingdom where he stood, naming it for the tree under which he had been resting. Another account says Malacca is derived from the Arabic word Malakat, meaning market. Malacca had a navigable harbor sheltered by nearby Sumatra across the narrow straits, ample supply of fresh water, enjoyed a prime location relative to the shifting monsoon winds, and had a central location in regional trade patterns, all of which soon made it a prosperous trading town. Its fortunes increased with its official adoption of Islam in the 14th century. The Sultans of Malacca were soon attracting Arab traders from far afield. However, Malacca continued to trade with merchants of all races and religions.

After the visit of the Chinese Muslim Admiral Cheng Ho in the mid-15th century, contact between China and Malacca intensified. In exchange for protection against Siam, Malacca became a vassal state to Ming China. To ensure Malacca's safety, a new powerful kingdom was founded by the Sultan of Samudra-Pasai.

The power of the Malays began to rise through the 15th century. In the Malay Annals,the sultan Mansur Shah was mentioned as having 6 wives and the fifth was stated to be a daughter of the Ming Emperor. However, in the Chinese chronicles, no such event was recorded.

Things started to change with the arrival of the Portuguese in 1509. They were at first welcomed, but Indian traders soon turned the sultan against the Portuguese and they had to flee. In 1511 the Portuguese returned, and at their second attempt seized the city. This marked the start of the formation of a large Eurasian community. The Portuguese turned the city into a massive walled fortress complete with a tower bristling with cannon. It was believed that such fortifications could withstand the encroachments of other European powers eager for a slice of the Asian luxury goods trade.

An alliance between the Dutch and the Sultanate of Johor Bahru saw the loss much of Malaccas power. In 1641 the Dutch navy put a blockade on Malacca and they seized the city after six months. During the siege much of the Portuguese city was destroyed.

Only after 150 years did the Dutch lose their hold on Malacca. In 1795 The Netherlands was conquered by the French, and the British were keen to take over the Dutch holdings in Malacca. By that time, Malacca had lost most of its former importance although it remained an important part of Asian trade routes.

The A Famosa gate is all that remains of the old Portuguese and Dutch forts. As the Napoleonic Wars wound down the British knew Malacca would be returned to Dutch control. In order to make the city indefensible the city walls were blown down. A last minute intervention by a British officer saved the gate. Shortly after its return to Dutch rule, the Dutch and British governments swapped colonies - British Bencoolen in Sumatra for Dutch Malacca.

Malacca is a center of Peranakan culture. When Chinese settlers originally came to Malacca as miners, traders and coolies, they took local brides (of Javanese, Batak, Achenese, etc descent) and adopted many local customs. The result of this is an interesting mix of local and Chinese cultures. The men are addressed as Babas and the women Nonyas by their servants meaning Master and Mistress.

A small group of Eurasians of Portuguese descent continue to speak their unique creole, known as Cristão or Kristang.