Loza's Travels his is it! I am finally getting my chance to travel the land of Europe! Starting with Turkey and the Greek Islands including ANZAC day at Gallipoli before making my way to work in London. Then hopefully earning some money to fund more travel experience

I have made it to the lovely city of Kunming in Southern China and have some spare time so i thought i would fill you in on my travels so far...

Lets start from the start: the flight Thai airways were able to change us to the proper earlier flight from Melbourne so all good there! Someone told me that Thai had t.v's in the back of the seat but no dice however they had bombay Gin free so all good! Arrived in Hanoi a little late as plane from Bangkok delayed but all good then at the Hotel a sister of a work friend had booked us in to said they didn't have a room but took us to the SPORTS hotel next door! Not so good a hotel very hard bed for the first night. The sister Minh and her work friend took us out for dinner and we rode there on the back of their motorbikes, such fun on the back of a motorbike in the crazy streets of Hanoi! Clare and i had a lovely dinner with them and they even gave us gifts, such lovely people!

Walked around Hanoi's old quarter and found the hotel georgie was booked into so booked that for the next couple of nights. Much much better hotel and beds! Anna arrived next day so Clare and i lets her sleep and got lost in Hanoi before finding the lake an hour later (really only 5 min walk from hotel if we had have gone the right way)

Day 3 Wednesday sent taxi to pickup georgie from airport and even then it took her to the wrong hotel however we later discovered that we were at the wrong hotel as we thought it was the hotel the tour started from however it is Van Xuan 2 and up the road was van xuan! Oh well our hotel staff were lovely. So for anyone that has been to vietnam and seen the water puppets what a strange starnge show! picture freaky looking
ventriquilist dolls controlled from under green murky water moving randomly to blaring loud speaker traditional music, very Interesting experience!

Day 4 took day trip to Nihn Binh provence to ancient capital of Vietnam and to Tom Coc were we took boats through rice fields surrounded by limestone rock formations similar to Ha Long Bay, very beautiful, lots of photos.

Day 5 start of Geckos tour, went outside Ho Chi Mihn's musoleum as his tomb was closed for maintance so didn't get the chnce to file past. Then also couldn't go the the temple of literature as it was closed for a new student celebration so bit pissed off but them's the breaks!
Clare, Jason(part of tour group) and i decided to kill some time with a vietnamese massage in the hotel... well lets just say it was interesting as my lady didn't speak a work of english was half nake dmost of the time got stood on, ears massages and neck cracked among others! Didn't feel that relaxed after just a little freaked out!
Had our last dinner in vietman and a beer at beer corner in the evening. This is a cross road in the old quarter where the beer is only 15cents a pot and you sit on little plastic chairs spilling out into the street. On this night we got interrupted by the police who all hoped out of a truck and started yelling at everyone and basically they just wanted us off the road but was quite a panic there first! Funny looking back now. Boarded our first sleeper train to take us north to border.

Day 6 arrived Lau Cai train station 6:30 am and got a little bus to border with our vietnamese giude who promptly left us at immigration and run so this group of 5 Aussie and 2 americans are standing in the middle of the vietnamese immigration centre with this pile of bags dumbfounded.. what to do now we hand our passports in and finally get them back after an anxious 10 minutes!
Walk across bridge to much more organised China immigration and get through reasonably easy to meet our China guide Keith. 1st experience in  China our bus to Kunming was cancelled! so wondered around border town and had some lovely banquet lunch for $1.50 per person. We finally get on the bus and settle in for the 10 hour ride and they start up the t.v and on comes some karaoke music but not any top 40 stuff dubbed in chinese its old 50's millitary style communist propoganda karakoe, such a laugh. (by the way they are trying to bring in a law that stopps the people from spitting in public but i don't think it has reached the south yet)
The bus driver certainly knew hoiw to handle a bus as he was hooning up and down round blind corners in the mountains. such beautiful scenery that i wasn't even sick! Finally after 10 hours and a very interesting toilet stop at an unused petrol station we arrived at Kunming And the camellia hotel which they only call 2 star here but would easily equal some 31/2, 4 stars at home! And went straight to sleep didn't care about bed hardness.

Day 7 sorry so long guys but were almost there! Kunming the spring city.
morning with keith our Geckos guide, flower market was gorgeous then the pets market where they sell animals for pets not for eating! Then we were let loose in Kunming so we wondered the clean wide streets down to the green lake. There we stumbled upon the Sunday tradition of the local ethnic minority groups playing and singing their music which was just wonderful. Dinner in locals restaurant for less than 10 for 4 of us

Day 8 Unfortunately Clare has gotten sick so no fun for her today. but i think she is on the meand as she has finally managed to keep something down just now. Got up early to go watch the locals do their morning TaiChi in the city square. But found people doing ballroom dancing, other dancing, aroebics, running, shuttle cock, and some taichi. Was fantastic watching them then they finished and we hung around their for a bit where we were the show they just couldn't stop staring at us! then finally one little old man got up the courage and came close and i said nin ho(hello) and that was it we were surrounded by them! Trying to communitate with our little phrase book and lots of gestures have great photos! Probably best experience of trip so far!