The Little (and Littlest) Hobos Round the World Adventure

Photos: Wellington to Fox Glacier

kimbob26 — Wed, 1 Jun 2011 12:11:00 GMT

Wellington to Fox Glacier, Kiwiland

kimbob26 — Wed, 1 Jun 2011 12:08:00 GMT

After Rotorua we took the looooooong well longish road south to Wellington at the bottom of North Island. It was pouring with rain all day and so we couldn’t see the mountain ranges either side of the road which are meant to be stunning. But we eventually arrived to some clearer weather but it was blowing a gale.

We stayed at a lovely hostel right on the waterfront and paid a couple of dollars more for a sea view room which was worth every penny as you’ll see from the picture! We took a train into Windy Welly the following day which was a bit odd as it’s the first commute I’ve done for quite some time (sorry – not intended as a dig at you hard workers out there). We took a funicular railway up to the top of the hill to take in the views over the bay and managed not to get blown off and we had an amazing French meal in a funky little area which had tonnes of character.

The next day we got the ferry across the Cook Strait which was pretty rough for about an hour but neither of us succumbed to any sea sickness but our car was covered in salt when we got off! The last hour of the crossing is actually down an inlet or ‘Sound’ which is incredibly calm water and narrow channels inland with steep walls of green and deep blue water. We didn’t see any dolphins or whales but it is not unknown for people to spot them from the ferry.

We decided to stay put in Nelson for a few nights to plan the rest of our time in NZ a little bit more. It’s a pretty big place by NZ standards but you can see why people want to live there as it is beautiful and tends to get much better weather than further south down the coast. One night we went down to a huge beach and watched the sun set behind the snow capped mountains the other side of the bay. You all know how much I love taking photos of sunsets, I think I took around 80 pics in an hour. We met a really interesting guy in his 70s who’d emigrated from the states. He was a preacher in an earlier life and he was very interested in all the countries we’d visited and in imparting endless nuggets of information about his map of human character. Bless him, it went into incredible detail – we have yet to try it out on each other for fear of ruining our friendship forever!

From Nelson we drove a little while up the coast to stay in Motueka, a place near the Abel Tasman national park which is a protected piece of coastline. We went on a full day sea kayaking trip on a stunning day, I don’t think we saw a single cloud all day. Visited hidden coves with crystal clear water where the local Maoris used to hide their women and children when the ‘friendly’ Europeans visited many moons ago. We paddled out to sea and went to a little island which is a fur seal breeding ground. The pups are now about 5 or 6 months old and the only way to describe them is as fat puppies that have not been trained and can swim, leap into the air and jump onto the kayaks at will. Oh and did I mention that they like to chew…anything including your clothing or fingers. We loved every minute of our encounter and as we were leaving a particularly tenacious little dude hopped on and we just could not get him off our boat without a large amount of pushing – trust me we tried absolutely everything else we could. We got picked up by a water taxi at the end of the day and found out that some dolphins had been sighted….you guessed it, Kimbo decided it was worth jumping off the boat into freezing water with no wetsuit (the only one other than the guide to try it). These were common dolphins, however the name does not reflect that they are actually sighted far less frequently than the bottlenosed variety we swum with in North Island. Anyway I did not get hypothermia despite the captain’s concerns and went back to the hostel feeling very blessed and slightly smug.

After a couple of nights we went up the coast a bit farther to a more remote township called Takaka. I think the population is around 200 people but it was an interesting place. We went to the local market on the Saturday morning and saw the local manic lady dancing to her ghetto blaster and some Maori kids singing to get a bit of cash. I had a white bait fritter made by a darling old lady, mmmm. Whilst we were there we went up to see Farewell Spit a strange bit of sand that stretches 35 km around a bay and Wharariki beach. That beach was my favourite place in NZ so far and definitely nicest cold beach I have been to with sand dunes and craggy bits of rock and a seal colony but very scary seas.

That night we decided to go to the local inn which is known for good food and ales. It was fairly empty when we arrived (6 of us in the car!!) but within a couple of hours it was full to the bursting (literally, there were around 50 people sitting outside) with the strangest mix of people I have ever seen. Most were aging hippies (wonderful people) but there were young hobbit types in elf style hats and striped leggings, farm workers with mullets and drunken dancing ladies. We soon realised that it was a tribute to Bob Dylan as it was his 70^th birthday that day. So each act proceeded to perform 3 songs of his. Some were good and others just weren’t. We stayed until about 10pm but one of the girls at the hostel stayed until 2am and they were still going even though it was on a Monday night.

After our week in the sun the rain set in and once again we were in the car driving down to the west coast on the way to see some glaciers. We stopped off for the night at a tiny place called Punakaiki where little old mother nature has created a natural theme park for the waves out of the layers of rock known as the Pancake Rocks. There are a few weird and wonderful blowholes and as it had been raining all day there was a weird mist hanging down around everywhere as well.

Anyway we finally made it to Franz Josef which is a very odd little place made up of one shop, a tourist tat shop and a couple of tour guide operations and then a few boring motels and backpacker hostels. Our room stunk of mould though we couldn’t see any anywhere and were glad to leave really. However it was all worth it when we went on an all day trip to walk up Fox Glacier. It was beautiful up on the ice and amazing to stand inside caves that have been formed when water runs through the ice. I will definitely make the effort to see another glacier – Austria here I come (well maybe next year)

North Island, Kiwiland

kimbob26 — Fri, 20 May 2011 20:26:00 GMT

Well I am now upside down and 11 hours ahead of everyone back home. Which takes a lot of getting used to I can tell you! Met up with Alex at our hostel in Auckland and ended up staying there for 3 nights whilst we tried to get our car hire deal sorted but in the end have a 1999 Nissan Sunny for 9 quid a day between us. Seems to be reliable so far but have everything crossed. It’s an automatic with the indicator on the wrong side so there have been some amusing incidents where I have indicated but put the windscreen wipers on instead or vice versa.

Auckland was fun though the shopping in the centre was pretty awful compared to cities of that size in most countries (I’m sure the locals would agree with me!). We stayed in an area called Ponsonby which is crammed with cute little cafes and shops and bars in the evening. The houses around there are all wooden and in the style of or originating around early 1900s. They are lovely to look at and very light inside and loads have big wide verandahs or porches to sit on. We were lucky to get some sunny weather for a few days so got the ferry over to Devonport for a wander and ate Fush and Chops on the beach. Snapper or Hoki are the regular choices instead of plaice and cod!

Finally we got the car and set off up north with it, stocking up on plenty of food etc on the way. We stopped off at Waipu (!!!!!) and Mangawhai where just beach after beach are abandoned at this time of year. Not even surfers on most of them. The colour of the ocean is so bright and everything is bright green.

Stayed in Paihiia in the Bay of Islands for a couple of nights. Managed to get a katamaran for the day with just 4 other people and sailed around. Watched a large pod of dolphins for a while with some young and then stopped off on an island for some lunch. The views from the top were just stunning, cliffs and big dark forests and sailing boats and turquoise bays. Eventually we found another pod and were told we were able to swim with them. This can be quite rare because there are strict rules to ensure the dolphins and us are protected. So you can’t swim with a pod where there are young, where they are feeding or sleeping. We were told to sing but I couldn’t stop screaming with excitement, for some reason the dolphins liked it and stuck around. I have to say that I was glad we had a very good reason for swimming in 18 degree seas. The captain described the water temperature as ‘Refreshing’. Hmmmmmmmmm

The day after we had a long drive down to a peninsula south of Auckland ‘Coromandel region’. On the way we stopped off at a few ancient Kauri trees. The biggest was around 9m diameter. The Maoris place great significance on these trees but they are really vunerable as their roots are very shallow in the ground so there are hundreds of rules about what to do and not do around them.

We finally arrived in Coramandel Town but only after Alex had driven along a very small windy coastal road in the dark with a sheer drop to the sea on one side. We went on a walk but had to drive for 30km on an unsealed windy narrow road which seemed to have landslides and holes around every corner but we saw some lovely birds and views across bays and hills. It’s quite strange to see normal trees like in England but with huge tree ferns and rushes and yukka plants dotted amongst them.

The next morning we got up super early in order to reach the ‘Hot Water Beach’ before the tide came in. Basically there is a hot water spring and you can dig a hole and sit in your own private spa pool. We arrived and went to hire a spade but the man in the cafévery honestly said there was no point as the tide had come in much faster then they thought and all the hot water had gone!!!! Ah well. It was a beautiful bay and on our way to the next stop the famous ‘Cathedral Cove’. We walked a little way around some coves to get to it but it was worth it, a church style arch in the rock and waterfalls at the other end of the bay. It was surrounded by limestone cliffs with lovely white sand. Bliss!

Yesterday we were in a place call Rotorua. It is on a fault line and so there is significant thermal activity. The local Maori tribes have been living there for hundreds of years using the hot water pools for washing, cooking etc. We saw some geysers spouting off. A Maori village still live there now and so we were shown round and told some history by a local guide (guiding is a tradition in this area) and also went to see a traditional show including the haka. I have to say I did get goose bumps watching it and it was still a family performing which was nice. Some of the shows are huge and very polished but this felt a bit more fun. The women do amazing things with Poi and there are dances where men and women throw sticks to each other in a pattern a bit like a game to see who will drop one first. It was really good fun. To finish off we ate some corn on the cob cooked in the thermal pools.

I would just like to brag that last week when I was in England I was ID’d to buy some alcohol in Marks and Spencer, I was also asked by the air stewardess how old I was when I asked for wine with my meal on the way to NZ. Then yesterday I was ID’d in the supermarket here – I love being reminded how young I am :-D

Photos: North Island, New Zealand

kimbob26 — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:24:00 GMT

Photos: Borneo

kimbob26 — Mon, 16 May 2011 12:15:00 GMT

Beautiful Borneo

kimbob26 — Sun, 15 May 2011 07:09:00 GMT

p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay but I ended up having an unexpected trip back to the UK as my amazing Gran passed away (don’t worry, I’m doing ok). But now I have arrived in New Zealand so I thought I should update you all on my month in Malaysia before I start attempting to describe New Zealand.

So on 24^th March I said goodbye to Alex (she flew off to Australia) and then flew to Malaysian Borneo. I spent the night in Kuala Lumpur’s budget terminal, quite possibly the worst place to try to sleep and it was rammed full of people and benches with more arm rests than seats. There were also a little gang of workmen who kindly asked me to move at around 230am after I had just managed to get 30 mins sleep so they could maintain the ceiling. So by the time I arrived in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the northern part of Borneo, I was exhausted. I was really lucky to get a lift with the owners of my hostel. Kelly and Peter were so kind and looked after me very well as I spent a total of 6 nights with them during my stay in Borneo. They bought everyone icecreams (yam or durian flavour!) and an array of local pastries and cakes for breakfast which were available all day. If I ever go back to Kota Kinabalu I shall definitely stay with them. They also took me to the airport and to another hotel later in the trip and looked mortified if I offered to pay. Most places would have charged to make any transfers so it was particularly nice of them.

So initially I had 3 days in KK, as Kota Kinabalu is known. It isn’t a beautiful town to look at as most of it got blown up in the second world war but it is pretty interesting as most people are going about their daily business without worrying about tourists too much. There are around 10 malls full of shops, a huge fish market, another two story market for everything else and a few islands off shore. But there were also hundreds of options for cheap and very tasty meals, yes ladies and gentlemen ultimately it ALWAYS comes back to the food and Malaysia is a good place for food. Fresh seafood, lamb, chicken or beef satay sticks, noodle soup, pork belly, pastries, fried chicken in sauce, squid, prawns mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Anyway I then flew across the island to a little fishing port called Semporna. The guidebooks all trashed this place but it was great fun and soooo busy. Most of the people who live there are called Bajau. They are an ethnic group originating in Borneo and Philipines but most of the people in this part of the island are from the Philipines originally. They seem to be much poorer than most people in Malaysia and most do not qualify for education or any other government provided services as they haven’t applied for Malysian citizenship as they don’t realise they are eligible (others are technically illegal immigrants even though their families have been visiting the island periodically for hundreds of years).

So I stayed there one night and then got a boat over to the little island of Mabul. The dive office said I might get bored on this island. Never. I was meant to stay in the dive shop’s own accommodation but it burnt down a few weeks before I arrived so I ended up staying in a longhouse on stilits over the water in the village. It only took 5 minutes to walk from one side of the island to the other but I managed to get seriously lost on my first night to the amusement of the locals. I spent hours playing with the kids (most can’t go to school) and puppies in the little ramshackle village or watching kids fishing using string and a waterbottle from mini boats. The houses were made with anything the owners could get but often thin plywood sheets and a timber floor and frame.

The dive shop was really well organised and great fun and had a mixture of young brits, older expats and locals working there. Stayed 7 nights on the island but could easily have stayed far longer. The diving was brilliant and saw so many different creatures and corals but my favourites were the normous turtles, green and hawksbill and the little juvenile sweetlips that bumbled about trying not to be spotted but being awful at hiding. Oh and the frogfish with legs and feet that crawl around looking like a bit of wood or coral. Went back to KK after that for couple more to wait for Jon who came out to Borneo for a couple of weeks for his hols 

Didn’t do much in KK this time as I found out about my Gran when I got back and also had an ear infection which was pretty painful. Moved to a swanky hotel when Jon arrived but it was such good value. King size bed and amazing views of the bay from the 13^th floor. We left our bags there whilst we went to climb Mount Kinabalu. The day after Jon arrived we took a share taxi (minibus full of locals and bags) up to the base of the mountain. We stayed in a lovely little place with glass walls in the bedroom and the bathroom looking out over the valley. When we arrived the mountain was shrouded in clouds which made it easy to pretend it wasn’t really there! We signed in with all the companies we were using and booked a guide etc and got an early bed ready for the climb itself.

It took from 9am to around 3pm to climb to base camp which works out at around 1 km an hour! The altitude was noticeable from the start and it was raining most of the way. The guides and locals (who carry up to 40kg of provisions) wear rubber shoes called Kampung Adidas (Village Adidas) and plastic ponchos and don’t seem to notice the climb at all. We stopped frequently to fill up waterbottles and to rest. So glad we picked up walking sticks (the man had had to search for a Jon sized one as he is 6 foot 4) which really helped towards the end. We ate early at the restaurant and were in bed asleep by 830pm ready(ish) for a 1:30am alarm to start the final descent at 2:00am.

That was the worst part for me. Climbing in the dark wet with a torch and the air got thinner and thinner. I was feeling really nauseous for about 2 hours of the climb that morning and I very nearly decided to wait for the dawn on the upper slopes but I managed to keep going by counting to 10 over and over again – and the guide Anndy grabbed my hand and kept me going bless him. Parts of the climb you have to drag yourself up with rope or on hands and knees. Near the top (3 and a half hours later) I suddenly found my legs and felt much better so seemed to have more energy than most people on the last bit much to Jon’s amusement ( I had done the same thing on a training run for my half marathon last year). It was stunning up top and it was such a relief to have made it in one piece and without throwing up like lots of the Japanese ladies seemed to do.

On the way down we engaged in a rather scary sounding but in reality fairly easy activity of Via Ferrata, well at least it would have been easy if we weren’t already exhausted hehe. Basically you climb down and across a sheer rock face but you are attached to a line which is securely (apparently) fastened to the mountain side. It was good to do something else for part of the climb down and I realised that I was not as scared of heights as I previously imagined. Anyway we arrived back at base camp at around 830am and spent the next 7 hours stumbling and staggering down the mountain. My legs gradually lost all coordination so that I would aim for the small step down and my foot would land on an entirely different and more tricky rock. Fortunately I only fell once on a slippery bit of rock and managed not to injure myself particularly.

We finally arrived at the bottom of the mountain where we had originally intended to get a public bus back to KK but we decided to get a private cab straight to the doors of the hotel. We then washed and ordered room service (which was ridiculously cheap by western standards) and collapsed by about 8pm. The following day we lounged by the side of a pool but to get there on the way we had to traverse a number of normal sized kerbs however due to extreme stiffness and quite a lot of discomfort I found it easiest to use a roadsign pole to heave myself up and down much to the amusement of the locals. It took me and Jon around a week to walk with no pain whatsoever. I shall consider carefully if I shall ever repeat the experience on some other mountain but it was completely unforgettable.

Anyway in Malaysia it seems to be cheaper and far quicker to get cheap flights around Borneo rather than buses so the following day we flew to a rather grotty place called Sandakan which seemed to be full of shady looking guys on street corners doing dodgy money exchange deals from Malaysian Ringgit to Philipines Pesos (the nearest Filipino island is just 20 k from Sandakan). We got an ancient public bus to the famous Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary where we joined the throngs of people crowding around a wooden platform in the hope of seeing some orang-utans. A number live around the area and return to the sanctuary for the snacks. We waited and waited and just when everyone thought we might not be lucky a young male arrived. He stuck his head in a bucket and stuffed his face with fruit before stealing large handfuls of long beans and dangling off a wire above us all. As everyone was watching him a much larger male rocked up behind us all. It was a bit of a shock. He strutted through the crowd as though we weren’t there. The rehab centre is highly controversial as some conservationists believe they have not fully rehabilitated any orang-utans however when you see the extent of the destruction of the rainforest on that island you can’t help but think that anything that keeps the gene pool going and that encourages locals to look after orangs to ensure tourist income has to be positive really.

The following day we went to stay at a safari camp on the banks of the river Kinabatangan. It’s actually a pretty sad place because the rainforest has been decimated to within a few hundred metres of the river bank and that is why it is relatively easy to see such a wide range of wildlife in such a small space. Anyway we decided to go because we are hoping what little rainforest that is left remains there to keep the tourist money rolling in. To get there we had to get a bus for around an hour on the road and then on the palm oil plantation track to the little village to get a boat to the camp. Unfortunately there had been heavy rains the night before and so the road had turned into a quagmire. Hence we moved from our comfortable coach into the back of a pick up with all our luggage and proceeded on our way with a lot of churning noises and mud spattering onto our faces. We saw different kinds of hornbill, storm storks, monitor lizard, snakes including a python, many many macaques, some probiscus monkeys and eventually a wild Orangutan. It was astonishing how easily he merged with the tree. Even though you knew he was there you couldn’t see him at times!

When we got back to civilisation we arranged a taxi to go to a protected bit of forest where a number of groups of Probiscus monkeys live. They are hilarious and the locals originially named them ‘Dutch monkeys’ – the Dutch were in control of that part of Borneo at the time!!!! Incidentally they have red hair, huge droopy noses, fat pot bellies and the men have enormous erections permanently. Hilarious but also amusing to watch for hours. They jump from tree to tree and you often are convinced they will fall but they rarely do.

Anyway we waved goodbye to Sabah and flew down to the other end of Malaysian Borneo to Kuching (it means Cat in the local tongue) in Sarawak. Plenty of good food court meals and we wandered around town for ages looking at beautiful artefacts in the shops. Managed to not buy any which is a minor miracle. We then went on a 3 day 2 night homestay trip at a Bidayuh longhouse. The Bidayuh are an ethnic group who originate in that area (read were there many many moons before the Malays) and they are doing really well at promoting their way of life to tourists. We went on guided walks to hot thermal springs, ate meals steamed in huge bamboo tubes, treks through the jungle, music and blowpipe workshops and repeated rice wine tastings….I still have a small amount in a miscellaneous glass bottle at home 

Finally we left Borneo and flew to Singapore. We made the most of my last few hours and walked for miles and miles. My favourite area was Little India. Roads and roads of tiny bustling shops and curry houses. We ended up in Raffles, the famous hotel and had a number of Singapore Slings (they were invented at that hotel).

Phew, I am exhausted just writing about it but it was a truly amazing month and I shall miss Borneo.

Photos: Vietnam

kimbob26 — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:02:00 GMT

Hanoi back to Ho Chi Minh City

kimbob26 — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:26:00 GMT

Time has started to go by much faster now! I'll be back before I know it so trying to soak up every last second. This is a mammoth chapter I am afraid...here goes

So we had a few days together in Hanoi before Alex jetted back to the UK for a week. One of my loveliest friends from uni, Sarah came out to Hanoi by chance around that time so it was really really nice to spend some time with her as she lives in Germany and so we hadn't seen each other for around 18 months. And also one of her friends Tom lives and works in Hanoi so it was a lot of fun exploring with him and his girlfriend, Shandy.

I stayed in a fantastic backpacker hostel and met loads of fun people - a girl and 2 guys from Scotland on their way to live in Australia for a while, another Londoner called Buffy and hooked up with an Aussie couple we originally met in Siem Reap! It's always amazing to me that you meet the same people in a completely different part of Asia but it seems to be pretty common. Needless to say staying round the corner from the best late night lockins and hundreds of restaurants and spending lots of time catching up/getting to know people meant I ate and drank considerably more than previous destinations in Asia. In Hanoi the bars are supposed to close at 11pm so all the bars stay open with their shutters down and doormen outside - means you have to kind of know where to go but it's enormous fun. Also ate lots of western food as they have real cheese there!!!!!!!! So my asian weight loss has slowed slightly ;-)

Hanoi itself was fascinating but cold and wet. 14 degrees average when I was there and rain most days. Somehow it managed to feel cold and humid all at once. No real tourist sites up there and most people stayed for one night on their way to Sapa for hiking or Halong Bay. We didn't go to either as so many people found it too cold/misty to see anything. I spent most of my time wandering the streets without looking at my map and watching everyone and looking at everything. Cafe stalls there are great, tiny little plastic stools about 6 inches high if you are lucky selling hot or iced coffee and iced tea. As I tend to avoid caffeine I explored me other options and decided that natural yoghurt on ice with cocoa powder mixed in a bit or with honey was yum. In the old quarter the roads are really small and crowded and you can be too busy avoiding getting hit by taxis or motorbikes to see the buildings but they are skinny and go back miles. Was always worth finding a bar or restaurant with a balcony so you could watch from safety! Got a tour of the Chinese Medicine shops from Tom's girlfriend...longevity mushrooms make you live longer and eating seahorses helps skin complaints and asthma apparently! Eeek Also lots of familiar remedies like ginger and ginseng.

Once Alex came back we moved on to Hue, travelling by train overnight. There were no ssoft sleepers available so we plumped for hard sleeps and were pretty anxious about what this would entail. Actually it was great fun. 6 people to a cabin with around a foot between each bunk and despite the name had an adequate little mattress pad on it. We shared the cabin with a truly sweet family. Mum worked for an NGO to support people with visual impairment and Dad plays violin in the Vietnamese National Symphony Orchestra. We only stayed one night as we wanted to soak up the delights of Hoi An for as long as possible. Hue was pretty interesting as it is primarily a bustling Vietnamese town. We walked around the ancient citadel and along the river where a man offered us an extra souvenir, his grandson (hehe the vietnamese seem to have a much drier subtler sense of humour than other people we have met, sits well with me). Stayed in another backpacker dorm but unfortunately shared it with a large group of loud 17 year old Essex girls who after 2 drinks were agruing and competing for boys attention. Oh dear...me thinks I am starting to feel old. Little sleep had by either of us!

From there we travelled by train and taxi to Hoi An, a very touristy but charming place by the sea. The train journey was spectacular with green mountains on one side and the sea on the other. They have round little boats there which are really cute. Hoi An just grabs you, so many old buildings on a gentle hill down to the river. On one night all electric light was switched off so people used candles and lanterns. Locals sold candles for people to float down the river and it was beautiful. A choir competition was also being held there so occasionally you would stumble across a choir in the street. Had amazing food at a little stall with great little chewy noodles and crispy pork. Mmmmmmmm can still taste it! One day we hired bikes and cycled to the local beach which was virtually deserted. So nice to lie on the sand without being hassled by people trying to do pedicures or threading etc.

Then we got the train down to a beach town called Mui Ne. Incredibly windy place known for kite surfing. Basically lazed around for a couple of days in our luxury digs and ate plenty of squid with lemongrass and chilli. Sadly place slightly overun with fat sleazy russian men so wouldn't go back as sure there are far nicer beaches in Nam.

We took a bus back to Ho Chi Minh City which was hilarious as we had booked a sitting bus only for it not to arrive so we ended up laying at the back of a sleeper bus in a tiny space with a 48 year old copper who had been motorbiking around the country and had many stories to tell. When we drive into HCMC a ginormous downpour occured so that all the roads were flooded. People were huddling under bridges. Needless to say we had to wade through around 20cm of water with our backpacks and down a flooded alleyway where I nearly lost my flipflops. Thank goodness we had accomodation booked with same family who got us warm and dry.

Ate at our favourite noodle soup place only to find price had doubled in 3 weeks! Hah tourist inflation in Vietnam is a truly fascinating study. Fortunately it was still around 2 dollars for a meal so not a costly exercise. Felt really sad to leave Vietnam but excited to be going to a new country........

Photos: Laos

kimbob26 — Mon, 7 Mar 2011 23:11:00 GMT

Lovely Laos and Hectic Hanoi

kimbob26 — Sat, 5 Mar 2011 18:36:00 GMT

Ok so Laos...how on earth can I describe it and do justice? Cambodia and Vietnam are fascinating but Laos just got me hooked. In fact if I don't go back I will be very surprised! It's stunningly beautiful, rolling hills and steep mountains with limestone cliffs and rivers and when you are out of the town people just call out 'Sabaidee!' enthusiastically to greet you (and not because they want your custom either).

The flight from Cambodia to Luang Prabang was scary to say the least. It was a fairly small plane with external propellers that seemed to have to fight for every inch that they moved us but we made it in the end and quequed to get our visa plus 'processing fee' of course.

We were incredibly lucky with hotel owners and they really looked after us. So much so that even though I was bitten alive by bed bugs in Luang Prabang we went back (we did ask for a different room though!).

We spent a lot of our time in Luang Prabang. It's a pretty touristy place in the centre but in a sort of gentrified way! And like with most places you can get away from it to normal markets and streets anytime. I think because it is a world heritage site they have rules about how signs have to look so they are all wood etc. It's surrounded by rivers and mountains. Needless to say we ate massive amounts of beautiful food, though Alex discovered that stew made with a peppery wood bark is not her thing, nor is cold spicy chicken salad made from minced chicken that clearly did not contain any chicken breast. I have discovered a deep love for sticky rice and shall be looking for a decent supplier when I return!

We did a 5 hour trek through some ethnic minority villages (Hmong and Khmu for those of you who are interested) to a beautiful waterfall with loads of levels and bright turquoise water. It was good to see some villages where the people ignored us or peered curiously and the children didn't have any experience of begging for sweets. We saw cotton and another similar plants that they use to stuff mattresses and pillows, the grasses that they use to make brooms and sticky rice still in the husks.

One morning we went on a cooking course including a guided tour around the market. Saw loads of strange and wonderful ingredients including river weed which is dried and served in sheets with sesame seeds and chilli, buffalo hide in strips to chew and fresh fish in buckets. The most interesting for me was the meat section. Basically they just slaughter a whole animal but use absolutely everything. I still don't know how they make large cubes of blood solid, well jelly like anyway. I have photos of the goriest stuff.

We decided to get out of town for a few days and arranged a minibus to a little place called Nong Khiaw. Journey should take about 3 hrs but we were the first to be picked up (and early I might add, no sign of Asia time here). After going around the town for an hour to gether tourists we then proceeded to the bus station where the driver changed shirts and exchanged the tickets for money from an office. He then stopped twice more to pick up his lunch and to drop a package off at a friend's shop. When we arrived in Nog Khiaw a couple asked for Phonsavan. The driver cracked up laughing as Phonsavan was 4 hours in the opposite direction from Luanga Prabang. I think they got the same minibus back to Luang Prabang and tried again the next day. Fortunately they realised the bus driver had told everyone where he was going and that they were mainly to blame.

We stayed in a bamboo hut with a hammock. Fortunately Alex doesn't like hammocks so I mooched in there reading for many hours. We also did a kayaking tour from a place upriver called Muang Noi. We were given a sit-in kayak but without a cover so unfortunately we capsized in some rapids. I think the quote of the day as Alex and I were hanging on to the boat and trying to swim to shore was 'If we have to choose between us or the boat the boat's going'

We thought we would get the boat back to Luang Prabang for a change and to see some beautiful landscapes etc. They packed 20 of us plus backpacks into the boat so some people got soaked occasionally. Twice we had to get out as the river was too low for us to plow through with our weight! Once we got a tuktuk and another time had to walk down the riverbank. It took a while for our bums to recover from the 7 hours of sitting on a wooden bench but it was certainly memorable and worth it.

We arrived in Hanoi no problems and managed to get our taxi to Hanoi. We pretty much collapsed and then explored the town a bit to find some grub. It's a fascinating crazy place. Everyone is busy and hooting their horns and trying to fight through the little roads around here. The pubs are meant to shut at 11 but they just close their shutters and everyone carries on unless the police close it. We had a great night out on our second night and got home at 330am. Lots of fun had by all.

The streets are all named (in Vietnamese) after the products they sell e.g. 'legging street' and 'iron street' etc etc which is fine if you understand but not great if you know there is a towel st but you can't remember where it is.

Unfortunately Alex got some bad news from home whilst we were in Laos so she has had to fly home for a few days this week. So I am going to stay here and meet up with some friends, one lives here and another arrives on Wednesday. I have lost weight whilst I have been in Asia but I think this week it will all go back on as there is some very very good food here too!!!

I have booked a dive course and some diving in Borneo but unfortunately the bad luck that is hitting everywhere that we haven't been yet (boat sinking in Halong Bay, earth quake in NZ, cyclone in Australia, forest fires in australia) has hit once again and a fire burnt down the nice accomodation I was going to stay in so now I will have to stay in a more basic arrangement with a local family as can't afford the swanky places. Right now I shall try and put some photos on here for you!

PS I am very well and feeling very lucky to do this :-)

Templing - a new word but perfect to describe the deed

kimbob26 — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:21:00 GMT

What a week...

Ok so I left you in Phnom Penh. We were just about to move from our luxurious hotel with a pool to a basic guesthouse. The guesthouse was fine just very spartan but the man who owned it was so nice. He was brought up in Paris so he has a slightly different perspective than most Khmer people. We went out for a lovely meal at a restaurant called friends where street children or I should say ex-street kids are trained to work in the hospitality trade. Chatted to a couple who were older than our parents for hours!

Unfortunately that night I got a V+D bug so I spent the following 24 hours in said spartan hotel room but I am fine now. It was very very difficult eating plain rice when there is so much cheap lovely food around. Every person we meet has had their fair share of Khmer tummy trouble. Think it is just normal for Cambodia. Perhaps it should be called the Cambodian Curse?

We then got a bus to Siem Reap, the little town near to Angkor Wat and all the other temples.When you are on the bus you pass village after village of wooden houses on stilts. People store their water in massive clay containers. You pass buffalo and cows, puppies and scrawny chickens. And hundreds of children running around laughing. Old men on bikes held together with bamboo and women carrying huge quantities of fruit or dried fish on their heads.

Siem Reap is small and very touristy in parts but it has a nice feel to it at the same time. We've had some lovely meals here (surprise surprise). Blue Pumpkin cafe and the Khmer Kitchen to name a few and a little shack by the market served amazing spring rolls.

We bought a 3 day temple pass and took a tuktuk at 5am to Angkor Wat for sunrise. The sunrise was terrible (it's been hazy every morning we have been here) but it was amazing to sit in the dark and gradually make out this enormous building. It would be mind-boggling if they built it now, let alone all that time ago. And the carvings take your breath away.

We then went into an old city boundary and wandered around a few buildings there. Our favourite temple was Bayon, much smaller than Angkor Wat but like a maze with staircases and huge carved heads everywhere. We then decided to get back in time for a late breakfast much to the tuktuk drivers surprise (most people cram as much into one day but we didn't want everything to end up in a big blur).

The next day we went for a massage at a place set up by an NGO here for blind people to make a decent living. They are well trained and then given a property to use for the massage. Well we went down a little alley and someone called out and a guy came dashing out of his flat to talk to us. We were both a little surprised that they were men as nearly all massage therapists are women here. However we thought well at least they can't see our naked bodies. I don't think he was used to bras like mine though as I had to help him undo the clasp - very embarassing. I then got the best massage I have ever had.

We went for a walk up the river the other day to escape the centre of town and were invited into the local wat, cemetry and school by a monk. He wanted to ask lots of questions about English like 'What do you call parts of the eye?'and 'What do you call this? (pointing to roof tiles). We had an interesting look around but he then invited us to his house at which point Alex and I realised we really had to get back to town for something.

Then yesterday we got up slightly later to go to some other key temples. One was quite far away and very cold in the back of the tuktuk before the sun was up properly. It was so small and had really intricate carvings. Then we went to a famous temple which has been left with trees growing out of it. Quite interesting but incredibly frustrating with hoards of Japanese and Korean tourists all taking 100 photos of each person at each turn and seeming not to have any awareness that maybe other people may want to take a photo without them in it. Next time my strategy will be to stand in their photo until they leave hehe

The hostel here is a perfect mix of clean spacious hotel and friendly hostel with chillout areas on balconies and a little pool. So we have met a few guys and been out for dinner with them a couple of times. Been nice to have a different dynamic to our travels!

My big news is that I have started to drink beer...WEIRD! I shall update you on my progress with this characteristic but I sense it will save me money in NZ :-)

Tomorrow we are flying off to Luang Prabang in Laos. The flights were really expensive compared to other low cost airlines round here but so worth it. We have heard many stories already about crossing the border between Laos and Cambodia and terrible buses etc. We have saved the money for a cooking course in Luang Prabang so really looking forward to going to market etc.

Photos: Cambodia: capital and temples

kimbob26 — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 01:26:00 GMT

Diving on a little island and back to Pnomh Penh

kimbob26 — Tue, 8 Feb 2011 22:03:00 GMT

Hi everyone,

Time is going by really fast. We had a great little holiday within a holiday last week, just relaxing by the sea and pool and making the most of really good value barbeques and cocktail happy hours. Not that any of the cocktails were like the ones we have at home but a fresh mango daquiri is wonderful. You could get 3 pork chops, rice or chips and salad for $3 - brilliant

We booked on a little one night trip to an island about 2 hours by boat from the mainland at Sihanoukville called Koh Rang Samloem. So I got back into my diving a bit (though it was nowhere near as beautiful as in Thailand - think I was spoilt by learning there). And we stayed on a little peninsula in a very basic wooden hut on stilts by the sea. The dive instructor took us into the little fishing village where we had our first taste of real cambodian life. The villagers were all dancing round a living room in a circle. Although it was only about 4pm some of them were seriously under the in fluence of the local moonshine which I am glad to say we didn't try. They wouldn't let us sit down and were devastated when we had to leave for dinner :-) I didn't take any photos as I thought it would spoil the mood but apparently they do this 3-4 times a week!

Then we came back to our hotel and spent a couple more days chilling out before we got a bus back to Pnomh Penh. We are currently staying in a very very posh hotel with a pool but changing to a more basic hostel tomorrow (still with AC though).

Went to the Genocide Museum yesterday. It is truly shocking seeing the way people treated each other with no apparent reason and amazing again how people have somehow moved on and put it behind them. Will always remember it.

We are off to Siem Reap on Friday. On the agenda are seeing the temples at Angkpor Wat and maybe do a cookery course and have a massage. We'll see. We'll be there just over a week before we fly to Luang Prabang in Laos.

Hope you are all good. Please send me updates with how you are getting on. Missing everyone very much

xxxx

Kim

Photos: Asia part 1

kimbob26 — Tue, 1 Feb 2011 00:40:00 GMT

Saigon, Pnomh Penh and Sihanoukville

Saigon, Pnomh Penh and the beach

kimbob26 — Tue, 1 Feb 2011 00:24:00 GMT

So we made our way to Ho Chi Minh City last week and stayed at a lovely hostel down a tiny alley in the middle of the busy backpacker area. The couple who ran it wouldn't let us leave the house without saying 'Be careful' and they changed some of our larger dollar bills into little ones (most locals would never give you one dollar bills!)

We wandered around the city and saw some stunning preparations for their new year which goes on for two weeks but culminates on 3rd Feb. Also went to the War Remnants museum which was pretty shocking stuff. It was presented in a very typical propaganda type way but it's amazing that the country has recovered so well. I sense they are putting all their efforts into moving forward rather than focusing on the past but there are some very clear ways certain countries could help individuals.

Managed to arrange a two day Mekong delta tour so we were packed off with a rather interesting bunch of folk to explore the region with the help of a range of guides who kept getting on and off the bus with no explanation! We stayed overnight in a floating hotel (rather ancient and dirty but we were fine). Saw some locals making coconut candy and rice paper - I could have watched that for hours. And also saw some fish tanks under the floating houses where people keep and feed thousands of catfish and carp type fish.

We decided to pay extra for a fast boat to Cambodia and spent 8 hours travelling up the Mekong to Pnomh Penh. We have learnt not to follow any time line as invariably they say 1 hour more and that actually could mean 1 hr 30 or 2 hours or 4 hours. We will just get there when we arrive.

In Pnomh Penh we managed to get a tuktuk to a monument near to our guesthouse and settled in for one night to recover from our two day journey. Seriously luxurious place with a pool but well worth the expense for a good night's sleep, fluffy towels and a lovely breakfast before we got another early bus to the beach town, Sihanoukville.

So now we are in Sihanoukville and surrounding area for about a week. Went out for dinner and a few drinks by the beach. Today we could muster only the energy to sit by the pool and bake slightly but it was well worth it. So now planning on maybe going to visit an old colonial town nearby or maybe a night on a little island or a trip to a national park type area. I shall update you soon.

Oh and I would like to introduce you to a lovely little fellow who has tagged along with us. He is called Lance (the Lion) and will feature regularly in photos from now on ;-)

PS New malaria tablets seem to be going down well with no clear side effects at moment, phew

Photos: South Africa

kimbob26 — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:32:00 GMT

Bush and Wedding