Sarah and Jason's year long honeymoon

Europe so far...

pommie51 — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:06:00 GMT

Where were we up too... well after Greece we stayed with my grandad for another couple of weeks until we found a suitable campervan for our European road trip. Unfortunately when we were looking there was nothing that we wanted and then there was also the debate about do we get one with a toilet and shower or not. Well the decision was made really simple when we looked at our finances and realised we didn’t have quite as much as we’d hoped, so we opted for the shower in a bucket/can and pee in a bottle option! So with Frank the Tank in the driveway and after visiting some rellies and raided their cupboard of all the camping gear we could we were set.

So the weekend of the Notting Hill Carnival, we headed up to London to see Julia, Corrine and Rachel as well as my uncle before heading to Dover for our ferry crossing to Dunkirk, France. So after staying in the van in the main street in Dover, we got the ferry and shortly arrived in France before heading off to Belgium (yes 3 countries before 9am is what we are all about!) Driving through Belgium, on our way to Ypres, within minutes of crossing the border, we got pulled over by a police man which was fine except when Jase reached in the back to open the side door of the van, the policeman got rather flustered and wondered what the hell Jason was reaching for. Anyway we continued onto Ypres and then that night stayed in Bruges and were really impressed how easy it was to find a park in the city centre... sadly that hasn’t been the case in other cities.

Had a few nights in Bruges which we absolutely loved – much better city than movie! Then onto Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent all of which were very pleasant but we were so excited about seeing Amsterdam, we couldn’t wait to leave the country. On the way out of Belgium, we realised that is was not only Aussie Fathers day but Annette’s birthday and both Jason’s Mum and a aunt’s birthday so had to pull by a Maccas for a few hours to Skype the entire family. Anyway a few hours later, we headed for Amsterdam to stay with Imogen, a mate we met on the vodkatrain who kindly let us crash at her’s for a few days. On the way there and after detouring a million times trying to find a place to leave the car safely for 3 days, we received a message saying that Imogen had a hair disaster and was sick as well, so we felt we may be slightly imposing on her by crashing at hers but as we were nearly there, we weren’t going back. So we arrived at her place, 4 hours later, only to find her door buzzer doesn’t work so Jase and I are stuck yelling from the street to the second floor window for 10 minutes hoping Imogen would hear us! Luckily she did and she poked her little smurf looking head (blue hair dye) out the window and we were all sorted and even managed to score her double bed! Amsterdam was great and saw all the main sights including Anne Frank’s house, a tour of the Heineken brewery, the infamous Red Light District which we had to go to 3 times just to make sure we had taken it all in and a few good nights out and about!

Not wanting to leave, we made it back to the car in the god awful weather and drove to Berlin, via Hamburg for lunch. Although we expected it to be a pain in the arse parking in central Berlin, we managed to find an open air car park near the ICC stadium and the metro and just parked up for 3 nights which was perfect and only 8 stops from central city. A few times security drove past and we often got a few interesting looks when we stepped out in the morning brushing our teeth in the car park but we never got booted! We loved Berlin, so much history, culture and great food! Even managed to dodgy the German metro tickets which helped keep us under budget, although we have had a few tantrums from the hubby about the lack of food he has been getting and how life isn’t fair etc but he now knows that if we want to stay travelling, he needs to zip it J He has actually approached me and suggested 2 new career ideas both for one when we are away and another when we get back. Apparently his current job is going to include bag snatching from old ladies but I have yet to see him approach one and even more concerning outrun one! The other job when he gets back to Australia is to become a male escort for the elderly, then snatch their purses...righto! On one of our the last days in Berlin, we managed to get up early (10am) and make it to the free walking tour which was really good and we had a great guide showing us around, who even cried at the coming down of Berlin wall part of the story. Anyway the next day touring the city we bumped into 2 Aussie girls who we met on the day before’s tour and met up for dinner and a few drinks...we even had a shower in a bucket for them so we looked presentable.

Next day we headed out to Poland and within minutes of crossing the border, a Mercedes was flashing his lights and demanding we pulled over, so in the torrential rain Jase, assuming it was cops pulled over. Within seconds, the driver was at the window, saying he has a baby in the car and has no fuel but if we took his “gold” rings could we give him 20 pounds...a scam if ever I saw one! So we quickly drove off and so did he surprisingly even with no fuel! So the plan was to see Krakow for a day and then head to Auschwitz (which for some reason we thought was in Germany!?!?!) so managed to find a park at the bottom of the main tourist attraction in Krakow and wandered up to the castle which we thought was rather boring and nothing like we expected. Anyway got back to the van and noticed the side door lock was slightly bent, but then thought nothing of it (you haven’t seen the rest of the camper!) and tried to set up the GPS to figure out how to get out of Krakow only to find the GPS, 2 iPods and a camera had been stolen from the glove box. Luckily though the thief had put back neatly the playing cards in the glove box (phew!) but meant we were stuck and had no idea where to go or what to do. So after quizzing a few taxi drivers, English REALLY is not common in Krakow, we managed to find a police station and report it. A full afternoon later with very uncooperative police, we had the report in hand and made a bee line to the nearest Harvey Norman style store so we could buy a new iPod and GPS so we could leave this awful country! A few hundred dollars later, and after being very pissed off we headed out of town to the only thing that felt safe to us – a petrol station with truck parking!

As soon as we arrived in the Czech republic things seemed a little nicer and calmer, so much so that I often got told off by Jase for having my head in the book and not looking at the country side... think someone is a little cranky that he has to do all the driving in Europe on his own as I still haven’t mastered the art of using a clutch especially on a prize winning van like Frank. On the way to Prague we stopped at Kutna Hora, which is a really small cobblestoned town that has a church made of bones. The church was built on a graveyard and the owner decided to use all the 40,000 bones to decorate the interior with them creating Chandeliers, crest of arms (which uses a bone from every part of the body)... really amazing stuff. Coming into Prague and half the van rattling from the cobblestones, we decided to splash out and stay at a caravan site for a few nights so we could recoup and get washing done etc and honestly it was pure luxury having access to internet, toilets and a shower 24/7 even if it was 1/3 of our daily budget. That night we popped into the city for a meal (schnitzel, of course) and couldn’t believe how stunning Prague was at night, it literally blew us away. Next day we decided to explore the city and buy a new camera replacing the one that was stolen and of course ran around the city for half a day trying to get the best price and find shops that were open but as much of a rush as we were in, we HAD to stop by the local Hooters and buy a T-shirt as this was one wish list item for Jase... big dreams hey ;-) On the way home on the train, a lady approached us and showed me a card/badge of some sort, so assuming she was poor and trying to flog me something I shooed her away only to find out she was a ticket inspector. Opps! Needless to say, my Czech isn’t exactly fluent yet...

Next day we did the free walking tour and learnt a fair bit about Czech history and then headed up to the Castle which overlooked the city which was again just amazing especially the church. We were really pleased we had our new camera to take some great shot, just a shame it now takes us double the time to see these sights as we have an up and coming professional photographer in our ranks who has to line up every photo and make sure it’s perfect! That night we just wandered through the city again soaking up all the architectural beauty before we headed off to Cesky Krumlov in the morning. After a few long hours in the van, and again deceived by Jane the “lying bitch” GPS, about how long it would take to get there, we arrived at Cesky Krumlov and in world record time found a park and went to explore the little town. We were so pleased we made this little detour as the town was just amazing with cobble stoned streets and lovely houses then we walked around the castle and just sat in a pub on the river for the afternoon planning our next few weeks... and then of course followed up by another pork knuckle! That morning we left for Austria and after driving the “Fast Route” through Czech we encountered a farmer who in the middle of nowhere and speaking no English told us to stop and wait. Now there were no cars in sight, no trucks, no roadworks...nothing so after 5 minutes where we could have gone, Jase starts revving the car and abusing this poor old farmer when all of a sudden we hear this massive boom. As it turned out they were bombing the countryside and obviously was a huge safety risk for drivers, the poor guy must hate tourists who have no idea yet rev the car at him! A few hours later, and via a Maccas (again) and a Park and Ride too small for Frank, we arrived at Rest Stop/Service Station not too far from town so we parked up. On the pro side there is a Maccas with Wi-Fi which we can pick up from the van and a free toilet BUT on the con side, we are parked opposite a factory that produces really bad eggy fumes all day so getting fresh air in the van isn’t really an option! And to legitimise our hours online and in the toilet, Jason has gone on an all McDonald’s diet – what a sacrifice hey!

In the morning, and after hours of research, we set off to explore Vienna and have to say think this is one of our favourite cities. Around every corner there is another beautiful and ornate building and we got a little camera happy, let’s just hope we can remember where we went! The only issue as that all the tourist attractions were either being updated or had advertising plastered all them which ruined it slightly but, never mind. After 5 hours we had pretty much seen most of the city and were totally pooped so headed back to the van, of course via a pub for a quick beer before crashing out. Of course, being in a another city meant another metro/public transport scam where we just get the lowest priced ticket and then claim ignorance being tourists, although the bus drivers seem to be letting us on for free rather than having to understand English, so works in our favour!

So to sum up our past few weeks of the trip... Frank is awesome and let’s hope he continues to stay that way, although the cracks are showing! Jase is getting hairier by the day and I am afraid I will lose him at the zoo. Carbs and Maccas are the only things in our diets and yes, we are still in love and happily married – just gone 6 months now! We are enjoying the trip, but feel the best of Europe is still to come with Oktoberfest in Munich next week then heading on to Italy, the South of France and Spain before returning to the UK.

Photos: Europe so far!

pommie51 — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:55:00 GMT

Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic and Austria

Photos: The Greek Islands and Turkey

pommie51 — Mon, 9 Aug 2010 01:56:00 GMT

Istanbul, Crete, Santorini and Mykonos

Istanbul and the Greek Islands

pommie51 — Mon, 9 Aug 2010 01:54:00 GMT

The next few days consisted of us staying at granddads whilst we looked for campervans, ate like pigs as well as doing all the things that we needed to sort out whilst we had free accommodation and internet. Plus rejuvenate ourselves for a couple of weeks with Ben & Jackie whom maybe are a little more active than us so we needed to prepare ourselves as much as we could. We had a rather early start to make sure we were up in time and we kindly woken up by grandad yelling “get up, get up” walking past our room in his underpants! Finally made it to the airport in record time as sat around for a few hours waiting for our flight to Istanbul where Ben and Jackie were going to meet us.

We landed slightly later than we thought and were really hoping B&J were waiting for us to get a taxi into town as we had no idea where we were staying or anything and knowing us, our hotel would be in the backstreets of nowhere. Luckily as we walked out, we saw blondes sitting there and knew everything would go to plan. After an intense taxi ride, we arrived at the hostel which was in the old town of Istanbul and really close to major tourist’s spots... even the top of the hostel looked out over the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sophia. So after unpacking a little, we decided to head up to the bar and catch up on the goss before we planned to go out for dinner. Needless to say, some people might have hit the beeries slightly harder than expected, which might have included Jason spitting beer out all over Jackie, so dinner ended up being at the hostel followed by a few shih’s, some yogurt choc (hey yog’s) and then some Russian vodka in the room just to end the night on a high note! Well that was until we woke up to find Ben had unknowingly stolen Jason’s pants and put them on his bed.... thankfully Jase wasn’t wearing them at the time.

Next day we were awoken to B&J coming home from a run at ridic o’clock so we had a nice early start to the tourist sites. First of all we headed to the Blue Mosque, then to Haghia Sophia followed by the Palace. Just as we arrived at the palace, the rains set in and we were stranded in the gardens getting soaking wet whilst in more a less a white t-shirt – real fun! After that and attempting to dry ourselves off we made our way to the Grand Bazaar to get some food and have a look around. However before we arrived I managed to walk under a restaurant umbrella just as a guy walked past and knocked all the water sitting there onto me. Just great! We grabbed a feed from a restaurant in the bazaar, Ben bought another poof and then we decided to head over to the spice market to grab some authentic Turkish delight for everyone detouring by the University so we could all find somewhere to pee. After the Spice Market and Jackie demanding that she taste test as much as she could, we headed over the bridge to go and try Baklava at a famous cafe as I had never had some before. After a rather intense day of sightseeing, we headed back to the hostel to recoup and prepare ourselves for a night out. Ben did all the research into finding out where this bar was and after 30 mins of getting the tram and then train, we ended up in the slums of Istanbul with locals staring at us, can’t speak any English and me slipping on a dead rat in the middle of the street. We really didn’t think that this expensive bar would be in the area so managed to hail a cab which then took us back more or less to the starting point – for this we will never forgive Google maps! The bar was lovely and had some great views overlooking the city, especially at sunset. Knowing how expensive the drinks were at this bar, we weren’t game to eat there, so headed out to a restaurant recommended to us - however clearly this wasn’t our night and after 45 mins of walking up and down this one street, a few arguments and a bruised knee later, we decided to eat at any old place which of course just happened to be the one of the crappest places on the road.

Next day we got a morning river cruise to take us around and across to the Asian side of the town which was really nice and a great way to get some sun, and read a book that I just wasn’t able to put down. We then decided to end the relaxing morning with a Turkish bath so we randomly picked one out that was close to the hostel and headed there. As we entered the bath, we saw pictures of Kate Moss and other celebrities hanging on the way so Jase and I knew we might be in for a rather expensive arvo. We then had to choose which package we wanted and the girls choose a wash, bath, scrub and massage whilst the boys just opted for the steam and scrub. All I can really say is what I experienced was waiting 20mins sitting in the bathing room, a fat lesbian whale with no bra on and granny pants with holes and a rash walked in and started washing herself. She then donned this black swimsuit, getting naked in front of us, and then yelled at me to lie down whilst she continued to throw water over me and strip me naked in front of everyone (Jackie being 2m away) and then washed and scrubbed me everywhere... nothing was sacred! I finished slightly earlier than Jackie and was led to a room to get changed and sat their quietly in the room for 10 mins reflected on what had just happened. Jackie then came into the room and without saying a word we broke out in laughter wondering what experience the boys had just been put through. We then walked out to find the boys giggling and drinking beers on the step, reflecting on their man love experiences! All I can say is that for 40 Euro I want my next Lesbian rub down to be slightly less violating! On a high after the day’s activities, we continued to have a few beers and shisha’s and decided that a quiet night in the hostel might be the best option as we were flying out the next morning. A quiet night was an understatement as we drank litres of beer, messed with the hotel staff and then continued to take over the bar in a major karaoke session led by Jase and Ben plugging their iPod up to the stereo, standing on the steps yelling out at everyone! This was whilst Jackie and I played a game with some other travellers where she was voted the most likely to have Herpes! J

Surprisingly enough we all woke up feeling like crap and a few had an odd spew so as we had to wait a few hours before the taxi came, we all decided to do a group outing to find a McDonalds and get a grease fix to sober us up. We then got the airport and flew to Crete via Athens which more or less took up most of the day. The next day was a early start (5.30am) as we decided to walk Samaria Gorge which is a 16km walk and to ensure we weren’t walking in the height of the summer sun we decided to go early. The walk itself wasn’t too hard at all just long and a little boring although very pretty, however at the end of it we had planned to sunbathe at the local beach for a few hours before the ferry left so we knew we could relax after a hard day’s work. The beach was very pretty however rocks that were burning hot and as we only had trainers on getting to and from the sea proved to be problematic, I actually had issues getting out of the sea due to the rocks and walking so far, so at one point Ben and Jase had to drag me out... a great sight I assure you! Jase on the other hand decided not to wet his trainers so sat in the sea for the entire 5 hours which seemed like a great idea until we caught the ferry and saw just how sunburnt he was.

Next day we wandered around Chania and then got the bus to Rythmno which was again another old town in Crete. Nothing much happened here other than us going to the wrong beach and ended up swimming at the sewage hole outlet rather than the white sands which was located just another 5 mins up! The next day we headed to Iraklio which was where we planned to catch the ferry to Santorini however as we hadn’t got the tickets already and planned to go the next day we decided it might be a good times to start looking into ferry times and prices. This ended up being a disaster as all the ferries were booked out and after panicking we decided that maybe doing a day trip tour might be our only option... which it was and luckily we snapped up the last 4 seats on the boat, at a premium of course however at least we were all booked. That afternoon, B&J went off to Knossos so Jase and I wondered around the town and toured the fort before catching up for dinner and having a early night as everyone was worried about getting sea sick.

We got on the ferry nice and early and honestly it was lucky we weren’t hungover as within 10 minutes of departure, the sea got rather rough and then the vomiting started to happen. It started with one little boy near B&J which then flowed onto everyone in the vicinity heaving into paper bags and chucking up in the sinks as all the toilets were full. We were seated by the toilets, and this made for hours of entertainment watching over 50 people go green and Ben having to listen to his iPod with his eyes closed for fear of hearing people vomit. We then arrived in Santorini and did a one day bus tour seeing a few of the local towns before getting dropped off at our town and checking into our hotel. At one of the towns we had 3 hours and as it was so hot we decided to walk down to the old port for a swim and then walk back - yes it was fine walking down and then going for a swim but walking back up quite steep 350 steps... I was back to being just as hot as before! The hotel was really nice and just a few metres from the Caldera which meant we got great views of the sunset whilst having a few drinks/a bottle of gin at the hotel before heading out to dinner.

The next day we had a look around the town in the morning and then had booked a boat ride to the Volcano and Hot Springs. As we arrived at the Volcano the plan was to walk up to the top, however as we arrived and feeling the heat Jase might have commented that it’s the same scenery at the bottom as it was at the top and really do we need to hike it, however after seeing B&J more or less run up there, we felt that we really should. We then went to swim at the hot springs which would have been refreshing other than the fact you’re swimming around in warm water that was brown, so we quickly swam in and then swam back out to the cold water which was a lot nicer. That night we decided to hire some ATV’s and we headed to Oia to watch the sunset whilst having an amazing dinner and fabulous view just us 2. The night was going so well until the ATV decided not to start and it took Jase nearly 15 mins to get the thing going but at least we made it home.. Well just really, as I managed to lose an earring and burn the side of the helmet as it slipped off the back and I didn’t notice until we started to smell something burning!

As we had the ATV’s, the next day we decided to do some beach hopping and drove across the island in the slowest ATV’s possible, leaning forwards as much as we could going uphill to try not to slow down every man and his dog trying to overtake us. After a few wrong turns, we finally arrived at Red Beach which was very nice however there really wasn’t that much red, and after scrambling over big rocks to go for a swim we decided to move on to another beach and get some lunch. Although Jackie did refuse to take off her helmet on most occasions which resulted in us calling her the special kid and window licker as she just sat there on the ATV with the helmet on, her sarong cape and a big grin n her face. The next beach was a lot nicer but the sand so blisteringly hot which meant you had to be really hot and need a swim if your feet were going to brave the sand. We then decided to stop off at a few wineries and taste test some of the local produce which was really nice, well it was until we saw this obese American woman sitting there with no knickers on, and of course Jacks and I were conned into buying some wine for our last night in Santorini. We then stopped off at another winery, a slightly larger one, where we got a tasting plate with 6 glasses of wine and some cheese whilst overlooking the caldera which was truly stunning. A great way to finish off the last day and so we went back to the hotel and had some drinks and a bottle of our new wine overlooking the sunset. By this point the wine’s effects were starting to catch up with Jacks so we went in search of dinner and found the best lamb Kleftiko in a cheapish restaurant in town. Of course on our way home I had to look in another shoe shop, well that was until Jackie came in yelling that all the shoes were ugly in there and we had to leave and go to a pub, exactly what we needed, where we were promised free shots and when the hostess didn’t deliver, Jackie wasn’t impressed!

Next day we got the boat to Mykonos which unfortunately wasn’t as eventful as the previous ferry however loved the town with all the little side streets filled with very expensive clothes. Shoe shopping certainly wasn’t an option for me! We walked around a little and then had a quick swim in the sea before meeting up with B&J for dinner and some ice cream whilst watching the Aussies pour out of the local Walkabout Bar chanting “Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi”... they really didn’t showcase us in the best light. We then attempted to head home, however the girls and boys got slightly spilt up and of course us girls made it home sooner than the boys (even after a touch of shopping) as we asked for directions! Though I’ve since found out Ben and Jase just holed up in a bar for a little while before coming home!

The next day was a sunbathing day and eventually caught the bus to Paradise beach to sit with all the beautiful people and get our tans on. The day was very interesting with plenty of topless sunbathing and even 2 men sunbathing and swimming totally naked. The beach was packed and even as we arrived we saw a few people there from the night before passed out on lilos. So, ready for our final night in Mykonos we headed home and donned our posh frocks for a night out on the town. After having a few drinks in the garden, we staggered out to find a nice restaurant in Little Venice where Jase and Jackie decided to have ANOTHER feast of Lamp Chops and Greek Salad respectively whilst bantering about who had their meal the most often. We then wandered to a bar with cheap shots and had a few before Ben decided he needed another Gyros (3^rd one for the day). Unfortunately the night turned a little sour after this as B&J went to get some food and I left thinking everyone was behind us however with the crowds and Jase’s great orienteering skills we all got separated. We all managed to find our way home, however some (no names Jase) managed to be a little later than some and so wasn’t the happiest of campers. Oops!

We then we off to Athens, again by boat for B&J’s last night in Greece before they had to head off back home. So we finally made it to the hostel, no thanks to the Rail maintenance which meant we had to get a bus most of the way and just hoped we were on the right one. Made it to the hotel and had our last meal overlooking the Acropolis with Ben playing with a stray cat and Jackie following every South American man hoping to find a cheap handbag for the 7 Euros she had in her pocket! We then went via a really cool Ouzirie, after sitting in the street having a few beers of course, where we drank away some expensive Amaretto and smoked some cigars.

We really had a great 2 weeks and although Yog’s and Cracky might have waited around for James and Rudey a little, we hope you had a great time and can’t wait to see you in May for the Wedding! We must admit that when we smell a lemons we cant help but think of you both layering it on everytime we looked at you.

PS: Greek Salads officially suck, who the hell eats them 5 days straight! And yes a Santorini salad is going to be classed a Greek Salad. I have the last word! ;-)

Photos: TransMongolian

pommie51 — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:33:00 GMT

Best 2 weeks ever!

The Vodkatrain!

pommie51 — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 19:59:00 GMT

The next day which was supposed to comprise of us going to see the Summer temple actually ended up being a friggin around day buying all the noodles, plastic wear and earplugs Beijing had to offer, as well as watching a movie in our own room whilst we still had some sort of privacy! That night we had organised to go and see a Kung Fu show at the Red Theatre with Imogen (one of the group) which was certainly watchable but not nearly as active as we would have thought and was based on a poncy story which soon bored us. Luckily Jase waited til after the show to buy the DVD. The highlight of the show must have been when a random Chinese kid decided to pee in front of an actor who was posing for shots... the kid just went there and then!

Next day and with the rest of the group (2 from the UK, 1 Swiss and 3 Aussies) we headed to the station all geared up for our Chinese/Mongolian train ride which was to take 36 hours. The group split into the Singles and the Honeymooners which apparently worked out well as the singles clearly had different priorities such as making a bombsite of their cabin whilst us honeymooners had everything organised, packed away and reading our books. We all got to know each other over a few drinks whilst wearing the bare minimum on the train as the A/C was turned down half the time due to the cold frog of a stewardess. Jase then took it upon himself to get to know stewardess, chatting her up with lines such as “come here and I’ll give you a low dip with a bit of sugar”, going into her private cabin and fiddling with the train buttons (marked in Mongolian language) so we got some A/C over a bottle of Jim Beam. Jase’s efforts weren’t in vain as Clive took it upon himself to block the toilet (and then blame me) and without Jase’s effort who knows what would have happened. Clearly she had no idea what any of us were saying but made for an entertaining evening until midnight when we had to get off the train for the border crossing. After 2 hours on the platform we finally we allowed back on to continue on with the partying however as toilet breaks weren’t exactly planned for the 8 drunks on the train, our 2 cabins were screaming at the hostess to open the toilets and turn on the a/c. “how am I supposed to operate under these conditions” was continually chanted by Jase in-between singing Jordan Sparks song “No Air.”

The next morning, everyone was slightly hungover and very quiet but luckily we only had a few hours left before we were in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and luckily we had enough noodles to satisfy any craving for real food. As soon as we hit UB and met our Honcho (tour guide) Chimba, we all demanded a hot shower and a decent Mongolian pub feed. That night we went to a Mongolian Cultural show and then tried to find a semi decent pub to watch the UK vs. Germany world cup match. Needless to say the 2 Brits in the group were unimpressed with the score, I think Clive nearly had a breakdown and continued to analyse the game days after, whilst most of us were watching Alan play off 2 girls against each other on the other table (far more interesting!)

The next day we headed out to a Mongolian Ger Camp where we would be staying for the next 2 nights. After STOCKING up at the supermarket (buying as much soft drink and Vodka as we could carry) we drove via a massive Genghis Khan monument situated in the middle of nowhere with a museum with an entry fee of $50! Once at the camp, Chimba had organised the afternoon activities of Horse Riding on supposedly crazy Mongolian horses. The horses we tame donkeys to be generous and the hour ride was everyone trying to get their horse to go the fastest whilst avoiding the death stares of the guides. That night we decided to have another party in the “Singles” Ger (so that our Honeymooner Ger and Mark and Lisa shoes which were neatly put away under the table next to each other, weren’t disrupted). To help get to know each other we all played “Drink Assign” (which everyone knows is my fave game) which everyone hates bar Lisa and Alan who were well on their way to being pissed. The night then continued to go downhill with several drinking games and finished when Osama Baraka, the ghost of Alan, a horny Frenchman, a boy band, a tea bagging and a severe dose of bum chaff made an appearance at the party. We wondered why the Vodkatrain Ger’s were situated behind a hill away from all the other tourist Gers.... now we know why ALAN ALAN ALAN ALAN ALAN ;-)

Waking up the next day to wild horses (not donkeys) outside the Ger was amazing and the views over the hills helped cure some of the hangovers! With little motivation and a very hungover Jase, we managed to muster up some energy to go a see a rock that looked like a turtle, do some archery and even dress up as traditional Mongolians. I think that’s all Chimba could get out of us for the day and even in the night we watched a interesting movie about Ghengis Khan which included some made Mongolian love making. That at least cheered us up enough to play a few traditional Mongolian games with sheep ankle bones.
The next morning we returned to UB for 2 more nights. The decision for the night activities was to go to Karaoke as Claudia the Swiss had never done it so we donned our nicest outfits and went out in downtown UB. The night started off fairly well and Alan and Clive aka The Professionals (who can only be described as a queer boy band) took the lead signing as many 80’s songs as they could. Everyone had a go and even a Jewish song made an appearance until the wire form the microphone fell out and the owners wouldn’t let us leave until we paid $5 to replace it. Clearly a scam as $5 wouldn’t cover the cost of a new mike but I wouldn’t tell that to 8 spice girls who were rudely interrupted whilst singing Stop! Some of us might have attempted to do a runner only to find the doors locked and being yelled at by what seemed to be the Mongolian Mafia as well as me falling down the stairs which might not have been the most covert operation! So we decided to take the party back to the hotel and on the roof outside our window where we danced the night away. Again somehow the night got slightly out of control with Imogen donning all of Clive’s clothes and the boys baring their bums only to find a surprise bout of chaff on an unsuspecting victim.

Again being hungover, tired and slightly bruised from the night before we attempted to visit the Mongolian National History museum which wasn’t the most enjoyable experience and only an all you can eat Mongolian buffet would fix us. Jase, Alan and I decided however that we would go to a viewpoint remembering the Mongolian soldiers in WW2 (cos they played such a big part in it!!??) where I decided to hold an Eagle on my arm... as you do! Although we were very hungover a Finish couple we met in Beijing met us for a few drinks, only what we had left from the party the night before as the 1st day of every month in Mongolia is Alcohol free and you can’t buy it from anywhere. So we raided as many mini bars we could find and sat on the roof in the sun recovering!

D Day had arrived (5 day/4 nights nonstop on the train) and we were all running around town frantically trying to buy as much food and drink as we could as we had heard the train food was expensive and sparse. Settling on the train was rather interesting with Mongolian women popping their heads in every 5 mins trying to shove shoes, sausages and skanky tops into our compartment. Only by slamming the door in their face did they get the message, or well that was Jase’s approach! We met 4 other Westerners on the train including 1 German who Imogen might have fallen in love with and whilst trying to woo him in his cabin (along with a Mongolian woman in there) found tens of sausages hiding behind the curtain and even jeans stuffed into his pillow and in his mattress. We had read lots about the journey from Russia to Beijing with lots of Russian Soldiers being part of the trip but nothing about Mongolian custom scams. Needing a break from all the hustle and bustle of the traders, we headed up to the dining cart and somehow order a beef stroganoff which turned out to be $25... Needless to say we didn’t head back there in a hurry! We then had our first stop and were all very excited to get some fresh air however with the mad rush of traders running through the cabin with mannequin dolls everywhere, we were totally in awe of what was going on. Hundreds of Russian women were on the platform bartering with these traders for the tackiest clothes you have ever seen.

Shortly nights turned into days and the whole trip became somewhat of a blur however some of the highlights include:

* Meeting a few kids on the train who we decided to call Genghis (10yr old Mongolian kid), mini Genghis (6 year old kid) and chubby Genghis (Jase loved scaring the fat kid!)
* Wetlands... a book that was the most disgusting read of my life and was continually referenced throughout the journey
* Watching the outsiders we met on the train try and join in on our games and totally not getting any of it
* Mark getting felt up by a Mongolian guy who whilst playing the Vegetable game continued to say “cucumber cucumber” whilst running his hand up and down Marks leg
* The girls doing their nails only to find Ghengis demanding to paint the girls nails which was then taken over by a Swiss guy who continued to invite everyone and anyone into the room to use our stuff.
* Preparing for the Dress Up party on the final night whereby the whole days stops were dedicated to finding the worst outfit you could find from the sellers for $5 as well as finding as much Vodka as we could from the shops on the platform.
* Dressing up on the final night in all the awful outfits
* Finding over 20 empty bottles of Vodka when packing up (all in the singles room I might add!! Ahahahah)

And those points aren’t even the half of it! We just had an amazing time and I think we only read 2 books as we were too busy having a blast and getting to know each other. As much fun as we did have though, we were all very over the noodles and lack of shower facilities so was pleased when we arrived in Moscow ready for the last 3 days of our trip.
As we arrived in Moscow we were greeted by our new Honcho Anastasia who for some reason had lost the driver to take us back to the hostel so after a 5 day train journey we had to wait nearly an hour before we arrived at the Hostel. Luckily we were all in the same dorm and the first thing that any of us did was have a good hot shower. Secondly we went to the nearest pasta joint and ordered as much food as we could, yes it might have been Moscow the most expensive city in the world but after 5 days of noodles nonstop, I think everyone in the group ordered a 3 course meal to make up for the lack of sustenance over the previous days. Although I think this might have caused some shock to the Honcho who had never seen anyone eat so much but also as the menus were in Russian, we demanded a lot of translation which often seemed too hard for the girl! That night we decided to hog the entire common room and watched hours of Gavin and Stacey until we fell asleep (in the 37 degree heat of Moscow!)

The next day and slightly more alive we headed out to buy Ballet tickets which again proved to be problematic as our Honcho ordered the tickets for the wrong day and to be difficult, as well as wanting to watch the footie, we stood there for over a hour whilst she fixed the problem. We then attempted to visit Lenin’s mausoleum before it shut but because of our Honcho not knowing the way, we missed the opening time. Very angry at this stupid woman, we made her show us where the Kremlin was and told her we wouldn’t be needing her for the rest of the day or the day after and to go home. After that we all could relax slightly and had a great afternoon wondering around the Kremlin and even conquered the Moscow subway, well maybe not the ticket gates but the stops at least, to get us to the River Cruise where we sat and drank warm beers for a few hours looking at the sights. We then quickly headed back to the hostel where we went out to dinner and then attempted to find a pub which was showing the semi final. Possibly not the best idea when we had no idea where we were going and it was starting to rain!

The next day was officially our last day together but lucky most of us had extended the trip a few days so most of us headed out to see Lenin again as well as St Basils Cathedral. For lunch we went to this little food court nearby where Jase and I got a Chicken kebab which looked like it would cost 80 Rubels but later found out when paying that it was 80 Rubels per 100g and we ended up paying $30 for 2 chicken kebabs! In the afternoon we all met up again and went to an Underground Cold War bunker which ended up being lots of fun and very interesting. We then had to quickly rush back as us girls had tickets for the Russian Ballet. It was really very beautiful watching it although we later found out it was the Youth Russian Ballet (ANASTASIA screwed up again) and unfortunately I don’t remember the story of Sleeping Beauty having a sexy cat and mouse scene in but us girls certainly liked watching the Male Russian dancers... who knew tights could be THAT tight! As it was Claudia’s last night, we then met up with the boys (who had a real macho night watching TV in the room with some beers) and had a few drinks to toast the past few weeks.

Wanting to learn a bit more about Russian history, the boys and I went to the Russian History museum to learn a bit more about the Cold War as well as who the hell was on which side in WW2 as not one of us could remember! Obviously we went via the biggest McDonalds ever first and then checked out this museum would have been great for tourists but unfortunately was all in Russian! That afternoon we decided to chill out and watched a few episodes of the Inbetweeners whilst saying bye to Clive and to get us in the mood for our last evening with Imogen at the local Mexican restaurant.

With only Lisa, Mark and Alan left, we headed to a local Saturday market to buy a few souvenirs including a Jewish babushka doll for Lisa’s family. Of course we stopped at the local Shiska restaurant and ordered a massive Lamb kebab which luckily was cheaper than the chicken one from the day before. We then split up and Alan, Jase and I went to see the Heavenly Christ Cathedral and a Russian version of the wharf Bar. We didn’t get to go into the Cathedral as 1. We couldn’t be bothered and 2. The boys wouldn’t have got in wearing shorts (well that’s what we like to tell ourselves) so on the way to the bar we stopped off on the bridge where we had a lock in hand whereby the tradition is to put a lock on this bridge which will bring your new marriage good luck. So after a almost photo shoot with Jase, me and this lock (thanks Alan) we continued on to the bar only to come across 5 weddings on this bridge which were so extravagant and hideous it was almost cute. One wedding in particular had the bridesmaids in luminous orange dresses (see I was kind to you Marils and Jackie as I could have made you wear those :)) after a few drinks to discuss the day’s events we went back to the hostel for a final dinner with Lisa and Mark at a local restaurant picked out by a mate of Alan’s which had heavenly food and was finished with a few more episodes of the Inbetweeners! A perfect night to end a great trip.

The last day in Moscow was fairly uneventful as we had spent way too much money and gorged ourselves on too much rich food, so in one last bid to go out on a bang and say bye to Alan we had a nice lunch to get us through the rest of the days travelling. All I can say is you can’t backpack in Moscow! Finally made it to the airport, dripping in sweat from carrying the bags in 38 degree heat and ready for our flight back to the UK which we were really looking forward to, just a shame we landed during World Cup final!

Photos: China - Beijing and Xian

pommie51 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:04:00 GMT

China...better late than never!

pommie51 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:01:00 GMT

The flight to Beijing wasn’t as luxurious as the plane from India, as we had planned our film viewing for the flight only to find it was a set schedule :(... That’s ok, I couldn’t hear the TV over the old Chinese woman coughing up phlegm every 5 mins and fighting me for the armrest. Arrived slightly later than expected as the weather in Beijing was stormy and we couldn’t land so we diverted to another airport a few hundred kms south only to find out when we were just about to land there that Beijing had cleared up and that landing in a storm with lightening both sides of the plane was safe!?!? We were slightly wary when we got in the taxi to the hostel as not only did the driver not speak a word of English, drove around at 140kms per hour in torrential rain but had no idea where to go. By pure luck we were dropped off assuming we were on the right street and thanks to watching the “walk to 1 Hai Inn” on YouTube (a video of someone walking to the hostel) we managed to find the place in 5 mins which was amazing! The hostel was great and immediately met people out the front however as this was our first night in a dorm room we were slightly unsure of what to expect as well as the customs (eg if you put on a light when you arrive at 2am and if it’s hot and smelly can we put on the free A/C) so we walked in and luckily only 2 people were in the room - 1 fat Asian who snored his arse off and the other an American who was naked and VERY hairy and had his arse hanging out from under the covers... Made us laugh anyway and finally, after a few hours (time difference screwed us a bit) managed to get some sleep.

Next day we decided to do our usual and suss out the place a bit and get an idea of where we were staying but before we even left the hostel we ran into a young Aussie who was very friendly who we started getting chatting to about the Great Wall trips and what to do and before long we were heading out to get some lunch and beers with him. The funny thing is lunch and a few beers turned into a few more beers and pool, well for Jase anyway, and someone even managed to lose a game of pool and run around the bar with his pants by his ankles... well the justification was that it was a bet, however I say a few beers might have helped. Either way the Chinese waitresses were slightly distressed but Jase certainly got a reputation at the bar for being a “fun” guy! That afternoon, and after a few more beers and with our new Aussie mate , we headed to the local Aussie bar to watch a few games of footie as well as get some Russian food. The food was great and the bar was a hole in a wall, not that Jase would remember as I seem to remember that he was falling asleep at the table insisting he was fine, didn’t need any water (even though I forced him) and even order a double bundy and coke which cost $18! Thats exactly what he needed :)anyway as if by magic Jase was fine and we headed out to a local Drum and Bass club where a French band was playing. It was really interesting although not our type of music so decided to head home and sober up for the next day of sightseeing.

Next day was a mission and a half as we had to get our Mongolian visa so we headed to the embassy ( a little later than expected) only to find the queue was about 50 people long and they just turned everyone away at 11 as they were closed. So very annoyed at another bodged visa application we decided to conquer the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square hungover which wasn’t too bad until we got to the Forbidden City and saw just how large it really is. The square itself was just so large and packed with a million tourists and locals with their umbrellas trying to stab you in the eye at every tourist attraction. Unfortunately we missed the open time to see freeze dried Mao so headed straight to the Forbidden City which was just beautiful. We walked around for a few hours attempting to be interested and as beautiful as it was it was very repetitious and all the temples looked exactly the same. We then headed to Jin Shao Park and climbed up the hill to give us a view of the city and the entire Forbidden City. Starting to feel slightly better we decided to get some Peking Duck for dinner so headed to Ghost Street, famous for its duck, which was a awash with red lanterns, buzzing red signs all in Chinese and locals trying to get us to eat at their restaurant. Found one which had an English menu and decided to get the Duck, over the “do a burner on the duck head,” duck head soup and “fried blowfish with no result.”

Temple of Heaven was planned for the next day and we decided to act like locals and take the subway around town instead of hailing cabs with non English speaking drivers. The park was again huge which is funny considering it is plonked right in the middle of the city and the temples again were beautiful to look at with some amazing colours. Again the umbrella brigade were out in force so we had to be careful but it was a great place to just relax and watch the locals playing cards and dancing without a care in the world. On the way home we went via the Pearl Markets which was 5 floors full of traders selling anything and everything and was a lot more intense than shopping in Thailand or even India as they barter but grab you which was rather confronting. The Australia game was also on that night so we headed, of course, to the Irish Pub to watch the game along with every other Expat in Beijing although due to severe frustration at how badly they played we headed home at half time!

The Great Wall of China was planned for 6am the next day which we both just couldn’t wait for although in hindsight when you walk 8kms its best to eat something for breakfast. Anyway the tour bus picked us up along with 6 others and in 3 hours we arrived to a heard of Mongolian farmers standing at the site where we were going to start climbing up to the wall, all pointing at us through the van window. As we got off the bus, each farmer kindly assigned themselves to each tourist as a self appointed guide that didn’t necessarily do anything other than follow you around like a hawk. Walking up to the wall was a mission in itself and was really hard, to which we found out that the 50 yr old Mongolian farmers do everyday... that made us feel real good. One lady even demanded she went back as she just couldn’t climb up which we later found out she had a good sherper as he took her on a shortcut! The wall itself was breathtaking and just the vastness of it all just can’t be explained. We decided to go to the less touristy part of the wall and hike the old parts rather than the newer parts as well so walking was often more climbing up and down broken rocks/steps. After about 8 towers and getting to the Chinese border, our sherpers decided that they have had enough of us and pulled out their souvenirs which we were guilt tripped into buying although we did get a good price compared to some of the others in the group! We then headed to lunch and back home after a really long but rewarding day of walking.

Next day we HAD to get our visas lodged so we made sure we were there on time as we were heading to Xian that night so didn’t have any other option. Luckily we were one of the first in the what seemed like a queue and even met a Swiss girl who we later found out was going to be on the Vodkatrain with us to Moscow. That day we were rather tired so just hung around the hostel trying to recover from 3 months of travelling which we reckon hit us all that day.

That night we had booked an overnight sleeper train to Xian to see the Terracotta warriors which ended up being very nice and we got a great night’s sleep charged and ready for a full day of sightseeing or so we thought. Unfortunately as our Passports were with the Mongolian Embassy our hostel in Xian wouldn’t let us check in without proof of whowe were and our visa so gave us the only option of going to the Police and get them to print out our Visa details. So we arrived at the police station finding no one really speaks English and trying to explain our situation was a mission in itself. Finally we found the right floor and someone who vaguely understood English who once heard our story, insisted on telling us we were breaking the law, we were wrong and the penalties were fines, jail and kicking us out of the country to which Jason then laughed at the police officer, which didn’t go down well! After a while and us having to read the rule book on illegal aliens he printed out our details and called the hostel so we could check in and after the 12 hour train ride, we were gagging for a shower. So we checked in and surprisingly we weren’t very motivated to go sightseeing so just did the local sights like the City Wall and Goose Pagoda just so it wasn’t an entirely wasted day.

Next day we headed to the Terracotta Warriors by local bus, trying to do the budget thing, and went to the sites which were packed with tourists but just amazing to look at. I must admit we were really surprised at how large it all was as well as how it was only found 30 years ago and how did anyone not know where it was. The soldiers themselves were great to look at and the detail of the faces was incredible. That night we had arranged the night train back to Beijing as we had one more day left before we started on the Vodkatrain and also had to pick up our visas. Didn’t sleep as well as the first train and again encountered the check in issues without having our passports on us so had to walk around Beijing smelly and wearing the same clothes we had slept in until 4pm when we picked up our passports from the Mongolian office. We were cutting it fine as we had a Welcome meeting with our Vodkatrain guide at 5pm but surely an hour would be enough to pick up a passport and get back to the hotel??!?! Well yes you would think so but of course the pick up office decided to open 30 mins later than expected and all the cab drivers decided to go on strike just as we needed a cab! We arrived 30 mins late to the meeting, which of course made a great impression, checked in and then went out to dinner with our honcho and group to get to know each other. Must admit we had the best Chinese food in Beijing with the local ordering everything and then went for a quick walk to the night market to see all the weird and wonderful food that they eat including Starfish, seahorses, scorpions.

Photos: Dubai

pommie51 — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 02:10:00 GMT

Dubai... not India, Thank Christ!

pommie51 — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 02:03:00 GMT

The flight was great and for us simpletons it made our day that we could watch a movie before the plane had even taken off! Anyway Tom picked us up from the airport and we went to Gwen’s for a few catch up drinks and bed ... was great actually talking to Gwen for more than 5 mins which I think is all we got at the wedding!

Next day we did the grog run which apparently can take up to 2 hours each way through the desert, driving alongside some random camels to a resort where a massive “Dan Murphy’s” is to stock up for the week ahead. We then went to Tom’s local mall, to show us the shops which were so big that Gwen and I got lost and then headed home to prepare for the UK vs. USA world cup match where we went to a pub with a massive footie themed tent to watch the game and meet a few of Tom’s mates. After watching the very disappointing game and sinking far too many $10 promotional beers which entitled you to a few World cup t-shirts (aka new PJ’s), we headed home.

Unfortunately the next day Gwen had to work so Jase and I raided Tom’s movie and TV collection and topped up our hard drive over beers, a bbq and of course another trip to another mall. (Must admit during my trip to Dubai, I have an apparent addiction to Glee, which is awful and every waking moment consists of fitting in an episode or 2!). Finally on day 3 we decided to act a bit like tourists and went to Dubai Mall to see the Burj Kailifa (tallest building in the world). We got there not realising you have to book, so booked for the next day and had a quick visit to Bloomingdales and more importantly Magnolia Cupcake shop for dinner as Gwen was cooking us a Roast (we love you Gwen!!). Went home via the 7 star hotel and beach hoping to see some local women in their “burkini’s” though we were out of luck we got some great photos and then the cooking and drinking commenced... I now have to say that everything that happened the night of the 14^th is under lock and key between us 4 and never to be discussed but all I can say is Gwen, you’re on fire!

Next day, and as Tom said “an early start of 12pm”, we headed for the top of the Burj Kalifa which was really amazing and truly showed the contradictions of Dubai’s extravagance vs. the desert/construction country that it is. We had a quick look at the Fronds, Atlantis hotel and then headed home to spruce ourselves up for a night out at the Marina with Gwen, Tom and Ben (a friend of Tom’s) for our last night in Dubai. Great food, good company and crazy taxi drivers made for a wonderful night. Tom and Gwen, we really had an amazing time catching up over way too many drinks and too many Fat Burgers “Fat burger!!!” Thanks so much for your hospitality.

Mumbai... 1 pervy, 2 pervy, 3 pervy Indians!

pommie51 — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 01:56:00 GMT

For our last night we headed to Hungry eyes once again for a Muglai feast and a million or so beers. Had a great night with the owner Dodi, discussing Indian culture, Goa, Bollywood stars as well as the MTV awards until about 2am which would have been fine but we had to get a cab at 4am to catch our flight to Mumbai. As you can imagine we were somewhat worse for wear (an understatement) and barely could keep our eyes open which didn’t make for a productive trip to the Chinese Visa Application Centre where the attendant laughed at us when we produced the documentation for our application. Not realising we needed to give them all the info about us including our waist sizes and whether Jase dresses to the left or right - we went back to the hotel to catch up on some sleep, movies and internet and so we could recover and get the application ready for tomorrow.

Next morning, up bright and early in our $50 a night hostel (!!!) we went to the Visa centre again to submit our application just hoping we had everything. That afternoon, we decided to have another R&R day and then met the 2 Germans girls who travelled with us from Hampi to Hospet in the taxi for dinner and a few drinks. We met them at Leopold’s bar which is a very old (1875) a famous bar for the Pakistani attacks in 2008 and even had bullet hole marks and a hole in the floor where a grenade went off. We had a great last night in Mumbai and slightly hung-over the next day went back to the Chinese Visa place (for the third time)to pick up our visas. No surprises that the security staff recognised us... when we got our passports back even the attendant who laughed at us the first day, came out to “congratulate” us for getting it! Anyway following our tradition of not seeing Mumbai we opted to go to the movies instead of going to Elephant caves and watch the new Karate Kid. I think we were one of the first in India to watch it... weren't we lucky! After that we made it to the airport to head out to Dubai and see Uncle Toppy.

Photos: South India

pommie51 — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:38:00 GMT

South India - Kerala, Goa & Hampi

pommie51 — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:53:00 GMT

We ended up taking a bus to Jaipur which again had its ups and downs... firstly you couldn’t purchase a ticket until the bus was docked - even though there were 100 people waiting, so we tried to line up at the ticket counter in an orderly fashion which Indians are not used too! Luckily there was a male and female queue but when the counter opened, that didn’t matter and you were pulled and pushed every which way. I made sure we got the tickets and we managed to score an A/C bus which was great until 45 mins outside of Jaipur the A/C crashed and every man and his dog on the bus complained demanding refunds (it was really hot) until we pulled over at a mechanics and got it fixed there and then. After an agonising trip we made it to Jaipur and even before we got off the bus, we were being yelled at by rickshaws touts who just wouldn’t leave you alone! Back to city life... although as painful as it was we made sure we had a meat feast that night to compensate for all the veggies we had eaten in the past 5 days!

We headed off to the Kerala Coast the next day and after a 12 hour door to door trip we were in Fort Cochin which was exactly what we wanted, old buildings with character, great food and friendly people. Slightly more expensive than we’d hoped for, we decided to be good and opt for just a fan room, which we later found out was a stupid idea with it coming up to Monsoon season as it’s the hottest time of the year. We ended up spending 4 days in Fort Cochin, not that there is really very much to do there but we visited a few churches and temples, local spice markets and the iconic chinese fishing nets which they have been using for over 600 years! It was so nice though to be in one place for longer than a day and we enjoyed the fresh Seafood on offer. We also took a day trip to Alleppey to explore the back waters and enjoy some traditional Kerelian food and I wrestled a baby goat! The backwaters were quiet beautiful - even on the world’s slowest boat being “pole driven” by two very old local guys for 7 hours. While in Fort Cochin we were also able to see a traditional Kerelian Kathakali musical story, which some fellow travellers recommended to us the previous night. The play itself was only a short story but the entertainment also included a 1 hour pre make up application show, which the guy the night before raved about but honestly was boring as hell. The play itself was good and very different to what we are used to but it was in dire need of some editing and Jason even went to the toilet for a break from the noise and came back to find the same thing still going on!

Leaving Fort Cochin we had another early start to fly to Goa, Jason again encountered another annoying child that vomited all over its family and the tray table, which with Jason’s weak stomach made for a rather funny flight of him gagging! Slightly unsure of where to go in Goa, we followed my uncles advice and went to Calungate which is a fairly touristy part however that wasn’t before being abused by the local taxi drivers for going with a unlicensed driver and not lining up at the govt stand... honestly we were hounded by about 12 drivers all yelling at us. Arrived in Calungate with no accommodation so wondered around for a while trying to find a cheap place and luckily found someone’s house close to the beach, with A/C and a TV... we were totally stoked especially for only $12.50 a night, although a three day wedding ceremony was being held next door and music went all day and even started at 6am the next morning.

Goa was very similar to Kerala in that we didn’t do much other than eat, drink and sunbath. Going to the beach was an experience as not only do the locals come right up to you and check you out in your swimmers but watching them frolic in the sea either fully clothed in jeans and Sari’s or in their daggy undies made for a fun afternoon. The sea itself was rather dirty and the beach was nice minus the millions of water bottles, cows walking up and down it and dogs shitting on it. God we miss Manly beach! We managed to find a cheap restaurant which has the best Chicken Muglai in the world so in total we have been there 9 times in 7 days... addicted slightly! Jason’s birthday finally rolled around and with his “love” for the country I had to try and make it somewhat special and the only thing that came to mind was finding him a steak. The next few days we hired a motorbike to go down to Old Goa and Fort Aguda to visit the old Portuguese churches and the local Fort which was a great day out of Calungate but the sites weren’t that special, although driving on the Indian road, made the day rather eventful. While in Old Goa we stopped at the tourist quarter for lunch and I ordered a mutton Biryani not realising that mutton in India is Goat...needless to say my tastes have diversified. I guess I was trying to get back at the baby goat for beating me in the wrestling match! Knowing that we had another 6 days in Goa and with low season rolling around things were closing down so we decided to go inland to Hampi to look at the boulders and ruins so we went to a travel agent to help us book the 9 hour train ride. All was going well until, the horniest and stoned guy decided to not only help us book the train but insisted we sit, drink Fenni (a locally made coconut spirit) and listen to him talk about how many women he had been with. It was funny at first but after 3 hours and drinking the worst tasting drink in the world, we escaped. The only problem was that the next morning we realised with the Indian holidays getting a train back from Hampi might be an issue... which we shortly found out that it was and had to visit Sunny the drunk agent again to help us get back from which we also learnt was another meat and booze free zone! So we went back to hungry eyes the night before we left for Hampi to eat as much meat as we could preparing ourselves for 3 days of nothing but Coca Cola and veggies!

After a horrible night sleep as the neighbours decided to stay up til 5 cooking, banging pots and pans and having the blearing music turned up load, we made it to the train which actually wasn’t as bad as we expected and was fairly clean and cool, hopefully preparing us for the Transsiberian in a couple of weeks. Arrived in Hampi only to find it was an utter shithole and with no meat, booze and power, Jason again wasn’t a happy man. We later found out that they have scheduled power cuts 3 times a day for a couple of hours which isn’t too bad but it’s so fricking hot there that having no fan and no light at 9pm means you have to sit out on the street watching the cows and dogs running by and the Indians spitting every 3 seconds. Next day after finding a new hotel for $3 a night, we hired a bike to tour the local ruins and boulders which was great sightseeing and even posed in a couple of family photos with some randoms of course! We also went to visit the local waterfall which required a 2km walk through a banana plantation and muddy fields and turned out to be a river running over some oddly formed boulders. It was still good to visit however the fact that my thongs broke, Jason had to walk bear foot along burning hot stones – who says chivalry is dead! Luckily though the self volunteered guide very generously offered Jason her manky shoes to borrow which of course was added to the “tip” which we were forced to pay. Having no shoes in the middle of nowhere was slightly an issue but luckily MacGyver aka Jason found some toothpicks and mended them! Next day we had to make our way to Hospet to get the 4 hour train to Hubli so we could get the bus back to Goa, the only way we could get back to Goa in time for our flight to Mumbai. So after waiting around in Hospet for 5 hours for the train, get to the train station only to find the train was delayed by at least 2 hours which wouldn’t be too much of a problem but the later we boarded the train the later we arrived in Hubli and had to find a hotel, of which we didn’t have a map. So we were contemplating getting a taxi for $50 when luckily 2 Germans turned up and had a connecting train to Goa later that night so we shared the 4 hour ride with them. Typically for me and Jase, the taxi was going to cost 1800rps but for 4 people it was going to cost 2200 as we needed a bigger car for more people and baggage; however the funny part is the bigger car was smaller than my Yaris just with a luggage rack, with no ropes to tie on the bags! Anyway we made it safe, just, to Hubli and found a decent hotel and even splurged on beer and pappadums for dinner just to end a perfect day! Next day at 6 we had the bus organised for Goa, and after 6 hour journey and not eating for 24 hours, the first thing we did was head to Hungry eyes and get our Muglai chicken which arrived after an hour as someone lost our bloody order.. Grrr! Happy to be back in Goa and at the same guesthouse, we slept, had steak again and my delicious apple vodka to celebrate being back from Hampi and in civilisation.

So today has been a rather nothing day as after a few travel days and knowing we have Mumbai coming up, we slept in til 11.45 (well I did), research how the hell we are going to get our Chinese visa and watched crappy movies whilst Jason sings the theme tunes in a foreign language... sorry forgot to mention its Jackie Chan month on one of the movie channels so we have to be back in time to watch the movies so Jason can recite word for word the dialogue and songs just in case I was interested! J

Photos: India

pommie51 — Mon, 24 May 2010 03:06:00 GMT

Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Pushkar

India - Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Pushkar

pommie51 — Mon, 24 May 2010 02:36:00 GMT

The flight to India was awesome with most of the seats empty so although we got up early I had 3 seats all to myself to stretch out and sleep whilst Jase had his one ;-) we were rather nervous about arriving in Delhi as the guide books tell you how the taxi drivers try and scam you every which way they can. In hindsight the whole experience was really easy but the biggest thing was the 2 ATM’s at the airport were broken and after leaving the customs hall, we were advised that we could get a cash advance from inside customs hall. Well that I can say was a fun experience running through the airport back and forth getting the wrong card, forgetting the passport, whilst persuading armed Policemen to let me back in and having to use the staff entrance to get our money.

Found a hotel really quickly in the main backpacker area but we just weren’t prepared for the shock of the country. Parts of SE Asia really were bad, especially Cambodia and Vietnam but this was a whole new level. We decided not to waste the day and walked to the Red Fort and Jama Masjid Mosque which was a few kms away. Bad idea... I got eye raped the whole time with what I was wearing which made Jase get defensive and angry but walking in the non tourist parts really opened our eyes to the city. The traffic is just 10 times worse than Vietnam; the smells weren’t too bad although when you walk past a public toilet (tiles on a wall in public view) then that can really mess with the senses. We even saw one poor guy passed out 3m from the toilet on the main road with his frank and beans hanging out lying in the road... bet the Athletes are looking forward to the Commonwealth Games later this year!

Both the fort and the mosque were amazing to look at but everyone is trying to charge/scam/sell you and nothing is ever free which along with the staring just wore on us both. After a rather gruelling walk to the sites, we decided to get a rickshaw back to the hotel and being good on money, opted for the cheapest option which was this 60/70 year old guy cycling me and Jase for about 1 hour straight up and down hills and weaving and out of the crazy streets all for 60 rupees! ($1.50). We did give him a tip although at one point Jase got out of the rickshaw and helped the old guy push the thing!

As we hadn’t done any planning at all for India, we spent most of that night and the next day figuring out the route and how the hell to get out of Delhi! At 4 we decided to go and see Humayun’s tomb which was a relaxing haven from the city and then see Ghandi‘s grave as we were too late for the museum. On the way home we went past the local horse and goat fair, as you do, and I swear had the craziest, scariest, funniest tuk tuk ride back to the hotel through the main bazaar which was just around the corner. It’s all fun to laugh at NOW but really it was totally insane and we had to stop and think about what we had just been through for 5 mins before we headed inside to have an early night before we headed out to Agra the next morning.

The train was reasonably decent, other than the fact they don’t announce which stop you are at! We arrived in Agra to a mad group of 100 drivers all fighting for our business and being off season, it was fierce competition. So we decided to hire a guy for the day to take us out to Fatephur Sikri and then to the Taj Mahal. The drive to Fatephur Sikri was nearly as interesting as the place itself with cars driving on the wrong side of the road and our driver just laughing going “That’s India, don’t they do that in Australia?!” The ruins were really well maintained and we decided to splurge on a guide to give us some more info about the place but also to help fend off the beggars who are infamous at this site. The guide was fairly funny and informative when you could understand him and to be honest brought more attention to us with the touts than if we were doing it alone.

After Fatephur Sikri, we headed back to the Taj Mahal in the 47 degree heat and we must admit weren’t looking forward to it as much as we might if the weather was cooler. The price for tourists was extortionate at 750 rupees where locals only need to pay 20 but as soon as we got in there we were in utter awe of the building, it truly was breathe taking and hard to believe we were actually there. After taking a million photos with all the locals getting in the way, we headed to the hotel ready for a very early start to Jaipur at 5.10am! On the way back, we encountered all the touts we had heard about and did well at avoiding them except this one little girl who for about 500m followed me and Jase demanding that we buy something off her. It wasn’t too bad at first but after the first 300m, Jase’s patience had snapped only to find him yelling at the girl telling her “You’re just a pest - get a job” and “someone needs to tell them so they don’t end up as adults touts”...lucky Jase is here to share his wisdom with India! We didn’t stay at the nicest hotel but as it was so close to the train station we put up with the urine smell that you could just taste every time you went into the toilet! We decided to eat out of the hotel, a smart move we thought, and go to one of the restaurants overlooking the Taj Mahal but so found out that we were in a very dangerous area an couldn’t even step outside the hotel without the Station Master pulling us back in and telling us to wait because we were his responsibility... doesn’t a station master look after trains! Agra turned out to be just as shitty as Delhi, if not worse, which didn’t encourage Jase to start liking the place.

Next day, and up at a ridiculous time we raced to the train station as we were running a little late and of course had to cross a few train tracks, without the help of some old homeless guy laughing at us, to get to our train. We arrived in Jaipur to again another mass load of drivers all wanting our business and for a measly 30 rupees our driver would take us to the hotel, not realising that his charming story of his Aussie friend who had come to India to help with the caste system and give them jobs and freedom meant a trip to the factory so we could buy a load of crap and he would get his commission. When we demanded that we really didn’t want to go, he then muttered “but why”, Jase again flipped and yelled at the driver. So far I think Jase has argued with every Indian we have spoken to here!! That afternoon we headed out to the Sun and Monkey temples to watch the sun set. A bit of a hike up to the Sun temple but it was a great view over Jaipur until the lady in the temple was yelling at us telling us that the monkey had stolen Jason’s thong and run away with it. Luckily we managed to retrieve it minus a few chunks out of the back! On the way down we went to the monkey temple, which apparently housed over 3000 monkeys (they were either hiding from us or the driver was lying...hmmm) and were constantly followed by groups of teenage boys which was really odd. Not feeling rather motivated to do much the next day, and Jason constantly saying he hates the place and wants to go, we managed to make it to the City Palace and did a quick tour around there before heading back.

Next day we had arranged a bus to Pushkar to do a camel safari. We had planned to go to Jaisalmer but it was a 12 hour train each way for the same thing so we settled for the shorter bus ride. In saying that we had no air con and to start the bus 3 guys had to push the bus 10m for it to kick over... lucky we made it to Pushkar. As were we checking in to the hotel we saw a sign on the wall saying “No Meat, Not Alcohol” only to find out that we had arrived in one of the most religious places in India and it was illegal to eat meat, drink alcohol and eat eggs (50,000 rupee fine). Guess I missed that bit in the book... as you can imagine Jase was not a happy man, neither was I actually as my fondness for veggies is still at an all time low! Anyway we decided to have a couple of lazy days, which timed in quiet well as I got a little sick, so we just lazed around eating with quick bursts to the loo. At one restaurant we ate at, very touristy, we were offered beers and of course jumped at the chance but we had to hide them from view of the other restaurants around in case they dobbed them in. We then met 2 Irish girls who have been coming to India every year for the past 8 years and travel heaps, so picked their brains as well as organised a walk up to the temple the next morning.

Finally the day of the camel safari turned up and although it was only an overnight trip at the tour guides farm it was great and 3 hours on the camel that afternoon, was plenty. We arrived at the farm and we greeted by the very friendly family and some crazy Indian kids who just loved playing with us. It got rather tiring especially when they were snotty and the little girl found her comb, which I swear she uses on the rabid dog, to comb my hair! Then we had a home cooked VEGGIE dinner followed by drinks on the roof with the guide with candles and incense. We learned a lot about Indian culture and even got some wacky mustard oil massages from the guide before we passed out on the roof under the stars. I managed to get a visit at 4am from the rabid dog who wanted to play but was covered with fleas and didn’t realise that when I smacked it with my thong that meant piss off, I’m trying to sleep!

Next morning we said goodbye to the family and went back into town with our camel drivers: Balu and 11 year old Black commando! It was a really good experience to see how they live and they were so friendly even though there was the language barrier.

Really enjoyed Pushkar, considering it is in India but needed an urgent meat fix so it was time to head back to Jaipur to make our way South.

Photos: Cambodia

pommie51 — Mon, 24 May 2010 02:28:00 GMT

Phnom Penh and Siem Riep

Cambodia

pommie51 — Sun, 23 May 2010 02:07:00 GMT

So after a long and bloody hot journey on the Mekong we finally arrived in Phnom Penh which at first seemed a lot more developed than some of the places in Vietnam. When we arrived we were utterly swamped by a gang of Tuk Tuk drivers who were on a serious mission to get some cash out of us. Being on a tight budget (or realising we might be spending a little more than we should), we decided to go to the cheaper hotel rather than splurging on riverside location. Well bad move! Not only was the place not prepared to offer discounts but the room was swarming with moving objects which love the taste of a la Sarah. After a successful extermination mission, we headed out to get some food walking past kids eating out of the bins, 2 yr olds pooing in the streets, disabled beggars, ninja tuk tuk drivers and even a begging kid get carted away by the cops. The riverside area was pleasant but it certainly was an eye opener to the Cambodian culture.

Next day we headed out to the Killing Fields and Toul Slang museum which was all about the Khmer Rouge and its affect on the Cambodian people. The killing fields were very moving especially the tree where the officers of the Khmer Rouge used to hold babies by their feet and then bash the kids against the tree killing them. A very solemn place. We then headed to the museum which gave more information about past 30 years, photos of the victims who were housed there until they were sent to the Killing fields. Very disturbing to see the cells, weapons of torture and even crazier was the total ignorance of other countries to what was going on.

After realising that the journey from Cambodia to Thailand was going to be a rather long journey, we booked a flight from Phnom Penh to Bangkok which meant we would leave the next day to Siem Reap. After a fairly interesting and early bus journey with the locals, we arrived in Siem Reap to rather hot weather so made sure we got a hotel with a pool. This actually ended up being the best hotel we have had in a while and surprisingly the cheapest so we were very happy. That night we went to see one of the temples and watch the sunset, which was lovely but VERY busy!

Next day we got up nice and early to see the main temples and ended up seeing about 9 in total which compared to some of the people we spoke to, that was impressive! Slightly over all the temples by the end of the day but they were just amazing. So much fun exploring them, climbing up them, getting abused by the locals for not wearing the local attire and avoiding the mad rush coming down the temple from locals trying to sell you stuff... we’re still up the fricking thing so no we don’t want a postcard!

One day and a night was enough for us at Angkor Wat so we had a few extra days just sitting by the pool and exploring the town itself. Siem Reap itself was awesome and probably one of our favourite places. Obviously Angkor Wat is a main attraction but the town itself was full of trendy restaurants and bars, which as you all know, Jase and I love to eat and drink and even had an authentic Khmer BBQ with Crocodile, Emu and Snake which was really good!

Next day we headed back to Phnom Penh on the bus journey from hell. Annoying kids everywhere, really bumpy roads which we must have blanked out on the way there and stupid women bashing me in the face with their hands when I’m trying to sleep as my chair was reclined too much! This time in PP, we stayed at the Riverside and actually enjoyed the one night we had a lot more as we found a awesome English pub with just amazing food. Also watching a group of Cambodian teens trying to learn a backstreet boys type dance on the riverfront was rather amusing and finished off the night perfectly!

We only had half day left in PP so we quickly went to see the Palace after a rather long sleep in, only to find the bloody thing was closed for lunch. So as usual we found the closest Irish pub and sat there drinking a few too many beers whilst we waited for the flight to Bangkok.

Everyone knows what Khao San Road is like so we won’t bore you with the details, other than after drinking all the beers during the day, I felt like poop so we didn’t really have the true Khao San road experience, but we got the jist of it. The following day was set aside for posting the care package home and running around getting stuff we needed before heading out to India. A rather crazy day, and of course someone (no names) demanded we buy some more DVDs to add to the collection so we have all we need to have for the next year...umm yeah right! That night we booked a hotel near the airport so got to hang out with the locals at the restaurant, which was all well and good until I decided to throw half my curry over my new white shorts and then had to head to the shops and then home with about 7 massive yellow stains on me! Watched a few episodes on True Blood (utter mind numbing crap) before we went to bed as we had a rather early start for our flight to India (4.45am)

Photos: Vietnam: Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh and the Mekong Delta

pommie51 — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:31:00 GMT

Vietnam and charlie in the twee...

pommie51 — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:24:00 GMT

After a tiring day on the bus we arrived in Hoi An around 6:30pm and were pleasantly surprised to find a very quaint, French styled village filled with little restaurants and bars and hundreds of tailors, shoe makers and clothes shops. That night we had a great night catching up with the English couple we had met from the Halong Bay Boat cruise for dinner and were then literally picked up off the street and taken to a local bar on the back of a staff member’s scooter – after too many cheap rum, vodka, red bull and sprite buckets (honestly who comes up with these drinks!!) we gradually took over the bar – choosing the tracklist for the night on the bar’s laptop, writing our names all over the walls (and some of the other patrons), singing at the top of our lungs and dancing on the pool table far too many times to “Sexy Back.”

Needless to say the next morning we were a little delicate so decided to do very little (or couldn’t move for fear of vomiting), walking around town and getting our bearings. By the afternoon and some greasy food, we felt a little better so we jumped onto the back of a scooter with a small, sweaty old local guy to go to the beach – while he didn’t speak much English he understood we were on our honeymoon based by his responses of “boom boom in bed!” Always our luck, we chose to go to the beach when the heat eased off and the rain came but still were happy to get our beach fix since missing it through Laos and Vietnam thus far.

The next day we ventured to the My Son ruins about an hour and a half from Hoi Ann – the ruins were very good though had been significantly damaged by bombs during the war. Returning in the afternoon we visited some of the local temples and the Japanese covered bridge.

Though we really enjoyed Hoi Ann and could have stayed later we were running out of time on our visa so decided to skip Na Trang and fly direct to Ho Chi Minh City.

We landed in Ho Chi Minh early evening and had a crazy cab ride with a guy who spoke little to no English and actually didn’t know where he was, constantly stopping to ask for directions – after going in circles one too many times we decided to get out and walk to where we wanted to stay – with the light rain it was actually really refreshing after the heat we’d had so far. Eventually we found a great little guesthouse with a fantastic restaurant underneath in the main backpacker area.

The next day, after another of Sarah’s “small lie ins” (till 11:30am...) we ventured out in the heat and walked to the war remnants museum. It really was amazing to see all the photos, weapons and hear a lot of stories about the war –even though they were all extremely one sided the majority of the time. It was quite confronting seeing pictures of victims of Agent Orange, and the continued effects on the generations since the war. After the museum we visited a local hindu temple and Sarah got ripped off on a pair of shorts after a wander through one of the large markets.

The following day we took a day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels used by the Vietcong during the war, which were amazing. Honestly, the size of the tunnels and their entries was tiny and a lot of the tunnels ran for hundreds of metres intertwining with one another – they really were crafty little bastards! There were also some exhibits of traps they used against the American soldiers on the jungle which were surprising to see also. In the afternoon I went bar hopping and fought off local prostitutes (male and female) while Sarah spent three hours+ having her hair permanently straightened again for only $28 (can’t be too permanent since this is the third time she’s done it!).

The next day we refer to as “Oxfam trailwalker day” as we walked for hours attempting to find a temple which was incorrectly addressed in the lonely planet, after finally finding it we visited a few more temples and got a cab back to our area as we could walk no more. Dropped off near our guesthouse, we sat in the park and laughed at the group of 50-60 women doing “lazy aerobics” together to really bad techno music. We had an early start the next morning for our two day Mekong delta boat trip to cross the border to Cambodia.

While being advertised as a two day boat trip to cross the border to Cambodia – three quarters of the journey was via a very old mini bus with a vegemite smear of brake pads left and near to no rear suspension, but hey this “is part of the experience.” Along the way we visited a local coconut candy manufacturing “plant”/room and a rice paper, rice wine and rice whiskey makers “plant.” Here they sold bottles of whiskey with snakes, scorpions etc the bottles – one bottle even had a snake and a snake eating bird – which looked disgusting! We then went further down the river for lunch where the local delicacy is the Elephant ear fish!

Back on the bus we eventually hit some traffic for no apparent reason, as we got further along we came across a man who had fallen off his scooter and died from massive head injuries – it was quite confronting, particularly since dozens of people just stood around him watching the thick, bright red blood gush run from his partially caved in skull.

Later we made it to our floating hotel for the night and met some more nice English tourists that we had a few drinks with. The next day we had an extremely hot boat journey, on and off the boat to obtain our Cambodian visas and to cross the border to Phnom Pehn.

Photos: Hanoi, Halong Bay & Hue

pommie51 — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:57:00 GMT