Andy's travels
Former Doncaster Free Press reporter Andy Anderson kept a blog during his six month round the world trip.
He visited amazing countries such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and, last of all......
ARGENTINA - (March 19, 2008)
LAST TANGO IN... ARGENTINA
Before we set off to Argentina, we had a couple of days in the Chilean capital of Santiago to get over the jetlag from our long flight from New Zealand.
With not many real 'sights' here we were more than happy just to hang out in the main square, the Plaza de Armas, and enjoy a Pisco Sour or two in the sun.
This is the Chileans most famous drink, an alcoholic cocktail of pisco (a spirit a bit like brandy), lemon juice, sugar and egg white, that tastes a lot better than it sounds.
The guidebooks all say that Chile and Argentina are two of the safest countries in South America (way more so than Brazil and Columbia for example) and most of the time it didn't feel too different from walking around an average city centre back at home, although
we did overhear locals a few times telling tourists to look after their bags.
After a couple of days in Santiago, we headed off across the border to Argentina - the home of Evita, football worship, the Tango, sparkling glaciers, long desert bus journeys and, most importantly, big (and very cheap) steaks.
SOME LIKE IT HOT
We travelled by coach on a spectacular journey straight across the Andes mountain range which lines the border between Chile and Argentina.
It took us on a winding route, up and down steep roads, passing snowtopped mountains, including the mighty Cerro Aconcagua - at 6,962 metres, the highest peak in the western hemisphere.
Our destination, Mendoza, proved a great introduction to Argentina, a lovely city in the middle of the desert which was unsurprisingly very, very hot.
People have been able to survive here because of ancient open irrigation channels which burble along the streets carrying clear snow melt water from the nearby Andes. (Bet there have been a fair few injuries on nights out over the years!)
The scorching heat is made a little more bearable because the avenues and squares throughout the city centre have handily been lined with shady sycamore trees.
Not being all that touristy a place, we definitely needed our newly learned Spanish to try out on the locals.
STEAK-OUT
Mendoza is in the heart of wine country, famous for its red Malbec, and was to be our first introduction to those Argentinian steaks...
There were 'parillas' (grills) all over town serving HUGE cuts of beef, cooked to perfection and you could watch your steak sizzling on the barbecue from your table.
All the guidebooks mention how cheap Argentina has become since the economic collapse of 2001.
They say this turned the country from one of the most expensive in South America to one of the cheapest, and there's no doubt it's great value for money.
But things have definitely changed in the economy in the two years since our Lonely Planet was published and we often found things about twice as listed.
Then again, you'd have to be pretty stingy to moan when you're in a restaurant getting thick steaks the size of your head for about £3 and a good bottle of wine for the same.
FREE LUNCH
With many of the places we visited (particularly those with western-style governments), it was often staggering how big the divisions were between the haves and have nots.
In Buenos Aires, which we saw later, you'd see homeless people rummaging through the bins in the city centre to try and make some spare cash from recycling, just yards from posh restaurants and designer shops.
And while we were in Medoza (every bit the affluent city in parts) we saw a couple of homeless kids so hungry they were taking leftover food off uncleared street cafe tables.
While we were there they picked bread off one table, some pasta and leftover steaks off another and then grabbed two glasses of barely drunk juice to wash it all down.
When other diners saw what they were doing, instead of telling them to go away, they gave them plates of their unwanted food too.
It was great watching the waiters pretending not to see what the kids were doing so they didn't have to move them on, letting them have a good old feast.
IN THE CH-AIR TONIGHT
There's some huge distances to travel in Argentina - it is the eighth largest country in the world after all! - so unless you're absolutely loaded, that usually means a couple of overnight or all day bus journeys.
We did a marathon overnight trip on a pretty bumpy road south from Mendoza to a place called Bariloche, which is in their Lake District.
Used to the usual expensive, rubbish public transport we have at home, we were expecting a nightmare of a journey.
But no. We were made very comfortable on chairs which folded down into proper flat beds with curtains around them, pillows and blankets.
We also got an evening meal which was so big we thought the pile of sandwiches and salad we got first was it - until the chicken and rice appeared.
Then it was time for a game of bingo to win a bottle of Argentinian wine before a film and then bed.
The only downside to the journey was that they played a Phil Collins live DVD at night and then more of Phil to wake you up in the morning.
ICE SHOW
After days of wandering around in the 35C heat, we were glad to cool off a bit as we travelled further south from Bariloche to the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares.
The town where everyone stays, El Calafate, is a smart place (apart from the mad dogs running around in the roads) and although it was a lot more expensive than Mendoza and Buenos Aires, this is because you are just miles from one of the planets most stunning national parks.
Most people come here to see the mighty Glaciar Perito Moreno, a REALLY huge chunk of ice which stretches for miles off the mountains, stopping abruptly at the edge of a lake.
There's a sheer drop of about 60 metres from the edge of the glacier into the water and you can gawp at the gleaming blue and white ice from either a boat or vantage points from a boardwalk high up on the hill facing the glacier.
The glacier creaks and groans as it moves forward at a rate of about a metre a day causing huge chunks of ice to fall off into the lake.
The sound as the ice cracks is a rumble a lot like thunder, but by the time you've heard the noise a huge chunk will have already fallen and all you see is the resulting splash.
If you're worried that you're witnessing global warming in action though, fear not, as this is one of the few 'stable' glaciers in the world and there will be plenty more ice pushed along to replace the falling stuff.
All of which means you don't have to feel guilty about enjoying the show, which was probably the single most amazing thing we saw on our whole trip.
BA, GOOD FOR A DAY (OR TWO)
We had been looking forward to Buenos Aires for ages but heard different things from people we had talked to, ranging from "it's okay, but really dirty and full of rubbish" to "I loved it, it's amazing" so we weren't sure what to expect.
But after a couple of days in the capital we decided we were definitely in the latter category and had a great time wandering around its bustling, lively streets.
Parts of the city felt a lot like Paris with elegant old buildings and tree-lined boulevards full of bars and restaurants with outdoor tables.
Although there weren't as many 'sights' to see as the French capital, we found the people here a lot more fun and - shock, horror - they even had friendly waiters!
We had three days to explore, during which time we had a wander round the main areas of the city, from well-heeled Recoleta (famous for its cemetery where Evita is buried) to the working class suburb of La Boca.
BOCA SHOCKER
The Lonely Planet guidebook warns you to be careful of your personal safety in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of La Boca (home of Boca Juniors, Maradonna's old club) and we debated whether to go or not, as they didn't make it sound worth the effort.
But leaving our wallets and credit cards behind just in case - imagining an area similar to the Bronx - we hailed a taxi.
So it was a bit of a surprise that we found a quirky little part of town bursting with tourists arriving on big buses wandering round the brightly painted old buildings, splashing the cash in the many gift shops and street markets and enjoying lunch and a Tango show.
The guidebook is not your bible!
The colourful buildings came about because port dwellers in the neighbourhood used to splash leftover paint on the corrugated metal riding of their own homes after sprucing up the shipping barges, thus giving the neighbourhood the look that would make it famous.
All in all, a fantastic place to visit - if you dare.
FALLING FOR IGUAZU
In six months of travelling we have seen our fair share of waterfalls, but there is no doubt that Iguazu was the mother of them all.
Loads of people we met on our travels told us how amazing they were and we had left them until the end as our last big splash before returning home.
Measuring a massive 2km across, the 25 or so different waterfalls are definitely one of the must-see places in the whole of South America, if not the world.
They're found in the rainforests at the top of Argentina, right on the border with Brazil and you can - and definitely should - see them from both sides if you've got time.
On our first day we braved the almost unbelievable heat (even the South Americans looked to be struggling) to visit the National Parque Iguazu on the Argentinian side.
There are loads of trails to get you up close to the mighty falls and soaked by the spray at different heights and you can walk on catwalks over waterfalls and onto viewing platforms.
The highlight was the mighty Garganta del Diablo, the Devils Throat, reached by a short train ride from the entrance of the park followed by a stroll along series of walkways across the wide river.
From a distance you see spray rising up over the water and then at the cliff edge you see the Garganta del Diablo itself, where unbelievable amounts of water rush over the vertical rock face on three sides, creating a thunderous noise and producing so much spray you can't see anything but mist below.
Because the viewpoint is right on the edge with a huge drop below, it actually feels a bit nerveracking, all of which add to the experience.
´HOME TIME´
And so ended our six months of travelling.
The next day we packed our big rucksacks for the last time and headed to the airport at Iguazu to begin our long journey home back to South Yorkshire (and the real world).
It's been one hell of an adventure!
AND FINALLY...
In our age of 'best of' lists and 'places to see before you die' books, I thought it only right and proper to single out a couple of great places from our six months away.
So here you are, in no particular order - My Travel Highlights.
1) First up (because it was the place we started our trip) I would definitely have to go for Hong Kong and it's famous skyline.
The view of the skyscrapers lit up at night on the river as we strolled from one bar to another made Hong Kong a great place to kick things off for us.
2) The whole of the South Island in New Zealand.
If it wasn't the other side of the world, I'd hire a campervan every summer and just drive round with a fridge full of beer taking in the amazing scenery.
We couldn't believe how great it was out there. Hardly any traffic, friendly laid-back people, good weather, great food and wine, I could go on and on.
3) We learned loads about so many different countries while we were travelling, but one place we found fascinating was Cambodia.
It's such a beautiful place and we were amazed at how friendly and warm its people were when you think about its recent tragic history and the awful poverty there.
Even though many people have absolutely nothing, they still seem happier in a way than many people living in 'rich' western countries like our own.
4) As I said before, the glacier at Perito Moreno in Argentina was probably the greatest single thing we saw.
I managed to get some amazing pictures of the huge hulk of blue and white ice, which I'm planning on getting framed. I'd love to hike on it if I ever get the chance to go again...
5) Last, but not least, I'd have to go for Thailand.
If I was to recommend one place for a holiday (bearing in mind New Zealand is probably a bit too far for a two week break!) it would be here.
It has the lot - an amazing capital city, world-class beaches, hill tribe trekking, some of the best food in the world, plus it's ridiculously cheap and the people are lovely.
What's not to like?
Published Date:
19/03/2008
Modified Date:
19/03/2008
Andy's travels
NEW ZEALAND (SOUTH ISLAND) - (February 1, 2008)
During Andy's round the world tour, he will be travelling through Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia before flying to Australia and New Zealand.
His six-month journey ends in South America - travelling overland from Chile to Argentina.
THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH
Although we enjoyed the sights (if not the smells) of the North Island, it was the spectacular South Island we had really been looking forward to, and it definitely lived up to the hype...
In our five weeks out here we did our first New Zealand tramp, sailed through Milford Sound, visited the adventure playgrounds of Queenstown and Wanaka, relaxed in one of the most laid-back cities in the world (Christchurch), strapped on the crampons for a glacier hike, and to cap it all, did our first skydive.
We also became veteran campers as we joined the hordes of tourists holding up the traffic on the campervan trail.
Here´s a couple of the hundreds of pictures we took in the South Island to give you a taste of what we saw...
SUPERTRAMP
Long before Lord of the Rings cemented New Zealand's position as one of the most desirable tourist destinations on the planet, people were coming to see the spectacular scenery and to hike in it.
With many trails counted as among the best in the world, there's no excuse not to get on the hiking boots and get stuck into the famous Kiwi outdoors.
There's a huge range of 'tramps' to tackle, from ten minute scenic strolls to full-on mountaineering, and for the most part they are well maintained and signposted so you don't need maps.
Even in the height of their summer, they're not so busy that you're bumping into people all day long as you pass through relatively untouched wilderness.
There are plenty of campsites for hardcore walkers or camping huts for those who don't find the idea of lugging a tent around too appealing.
If you really want to do it in style though (or you're just feeling a bit lazy), you could always opt for one of the multi-day tramps where you can stay in hotels, get a packed lunch provided and best of all get your rucksack carried for you.
Given the size of our rucksacks, and for a Christmas treat, we went for the easy option on the Queen Charlotte Track.
This 44 mile four-day walk meandered through the Marlborough Sounds at the top of the South Island, starting at Ship Cove (after an hours journey there by water taxi) where explorer Captain Cook anchored his ship on five occasions between 1770 and 1777, making it his main New Zealand base.
The Sounds are famous for their jagged coastline of bays and inlets rising steeply from the clear water, and we were lucky enough to have some great weather for most of it (although we did finish the first days walk just as a hailstorm started).
The views over the Sounds were fantastic and the locations of the hotels, some of which could only be reached on foot or by boat, were something else.
MORNING CAMPERS
Having some kind of transport makes getting around a cinch - and for many people that means a campervan.
This may sound a bit of a middle-aged thing to do but everyone is at it, from families in huge six-berth monsters to young backpackers in their smaller individually spraypainted Wicked vans.
Although the latter aren´t anywhere near as comfortable, they do give you a choice of having an eye-catching Guns N' Roses or a Beatles themed number.
My mum and a mate had flown out to join us for this part of our travels and in the three weeks they had in New Zealand we really crammed in the sights.
Having been travelling for so long we did a lot of the planning, while they spoilt us with very un-backpacker food like homemade cherry crumble!
The guidebooks all say that January (when we were travelling) is the busiest time for tourists in New Zealand and that everywhere is crowded, so you´ll need to book ahead.
But once you're out on the road it's possible to travel for miles at a time hardly seeing any other traffic at all.
Booking campsites a few days ahead was also no problem and sometimes we just turned up and found plenty of space left. And this is supposed to be their silly season...
The first bit of driving we did was across to the west coast from Christchurch on the Arthur's Pass road, which heads out through the Southern Alps and gave us a taste of the kind of breathtaking scenery we'd be enjoying on the route ahead.
We soon got used to our new world of 'hooking up' to the electricity at each campsite, filling the water tank and feeling smug that we didn't have to empty a toilet at the 'dumpstation' every couple of days because our van didn't have one (though we weren't quite so smug when we were busting in the middle of the night)...
Best of all, the campsites had the kind of views you'd pay a fortune for in a hotel.
Most nights we'd BBQ some tasty New Zealand lamb and wash it down with a bottle of Mac's beer or New Zealand wine as we sat out in the evenings...
KICK ICE
If you're in the South Island, it would definitely NOT be cool to miss out on seeing one of its famous glaciers.
The two largest and most impressive of the 60 odd of them off the South Island's backbone of mountains are the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers.
Near to each are two small villages of the same names which survive almost entirely on tourist traffic, offering a variety of scenic flights (either by plane or helicopter) and guided glacier walks.
Giving the helicopter ride the cold shoulder, we did our Ranulph Fiennes bit by joining a large tour group for the full day walking trip.
After following a riverbed for about an hour we came to the foot of the glacier - a huge mass of ice which stretches up the valley towards the snow covered mountains.
There we learned how to strap on our crampons before setting off onto the glacier itself, snaking our way up steep steps cut into the ice by our guides.
It was pretty hard work on the thighs but an amazing sight as we passed huge crevasses where the ice had melted and fallen away, holes in the floor where the melt water had found a weak spot to escape through, and naturally formed ice caves.
We passed through some pretty narrow gaps and at one point even clambered up a sheer face of ice using a rope and just a few holes cut out of the face.
The ice got bluer and clearer as we got further up and even though there were a lot of people up there (together with the helicopters flying past) most of the time all you could hear was the crunching of our footsteps and the sound of our guide hacking his way up the glacier.
WHY JUMP OUT OF A PERFECTLY GOOD PLANE?
Even those with no intention of parting with huge wads of cash to jump out of a plane or dangle upside down on the end of a thick strand of rubber before getting to New Zealand often find themselves breaking the budget to do just that.
A combination of advertising, peer pressure and the stunning surroundings eventually persuade most people to skydive or bungy.
And we were no exception, so after LOTS of agonising, we decided to go for the tandem skydive.
I had been thinking about doing a bungy jump as it sounded a lot easier, but most people we talked to told us it was over too quick and jumping out of a plane was the only way to go.
If you're spending time in either of the two main tourist playgrounds of Queenstown and Wanaka, which pretty much everyone does, you really can´t get away from the adverts.
To give you an example, one of the skydiving leaflets for a company in Queenstown says:
"The personal challenge is immense. Immense, because the only thing preventing you from enjoying this, one of the most primal life shaping experiences, is your own mind.
You must choose. To go through life able to say ’yes, I did it’, or to go through life knowing that you had the opportunity, but you turned it down and walked away from becoming the complete person you could have been."
Very Paul McKenna!
TIME FLIES
On the day of our jump we woke up to clear skies and realised that the jump was not going to be cancelled due to bad weather.
We were half wishing it would be at that point, slightly regretting our rash decision the previous day to go for it.
As we were waiting to do our skydive, we got chatting to a guy from Manchester who had just done his jump and who looked a bit shaken.
It turned out his smaller parachute which is supposed to come out at the start of the jump during freefall to slow it down hadn't, so his skydiver had to go straight to the bigger main chute - which meant he was in the air for absolutely ages.
When he realised we hadn't jumped yet he felt a bit bad for telling us, but I don't think we could have been any more nervous than we already were!
We had chosen to jump from the highest height (15,000 feet), thinking we might as well go the whole hog, and after dropping some Americans missionaries off at a 'mere' 12,000 feet, the bit came which we had been fearing.
Luckily, the professional skydiver you're strapped to the front of doesn't give you much choice once you're up there and he quickly steers you to the plane's tiny exit door.
A quick wave at the camera on the plane's wing and before you know it you're falling.
Once you've stopped spinning and open your eyes, you experience 60 seconds of freefall at 125mph.
Falling at such a speed with the wind screaming in your ears is an incredible feeling, more like floating on air than hurtling towards the ground.
The adrenaline is racing like never before and it feels strange even moving your arms around, almost like you're in slow motion.
As we're falling, my instructor is waving the video camera he's got attached to his left wrist in my face, getting footage for a DVD of the whole jump.
Then suddenly the pace changes dramatically as the main canopy is opened, pulling us suddenly upright with a jolt, and the frenzy of a moment earlier has turned into (almost) complete calm as we slowly float downwards.
My skydiver pointed out Lake Wanaka and the mountains in the distance as we came down, but even though it all looks amazing, I didn't take too much in.
Then, before I knew it, we were on the landing field, skidding back to solid ground.
Not quite life changing, but without doubt one of the biggest buzzes ever...
RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING...
Next up was a trip to one of New Zealand's most iconic and photographed areas, Milford Sound.
In all the pictures you'll see, it's always shown on a sunny day, although I knew from reading about the place that it gets a hell of a lot of rainfall, three out of four days we were later told.
It wasn't a surprise then that it was absolutely chucking it down as we made our way out there early doors in our campervan to avoid all the tourist coaches that arrive later in the day.
The rain was so heavy it was causing huge ribbons of water to plunge down the steep cliffs on all sides of the road which was an amazing sight in itself.
By the time we got to Milford it was still raining and when we got on the boat for our cruise on the Sound they belted out Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, ha ha!
The cruise was definitely one of the highlights of our trip, and not to be missed, even if it's gloomy weather.
The boat takes you up close to the almost vertical cliffs, carved out by glaciers many years ago, and if you're on one of the smaller boats (as we were) it can go right under the waterfalls where they play some Maori music to add to the atmosphere.
One of the crew was made to stand under the raging fall with empty glasses on a tray which get filled with the water running off the cliffs.
Then we all got to sample the water which was slightly yellow, they said Chardonnay colour, we were thinking of something else...
As we sailed back to shore the sun came out and we were treated to Milford Sound at its postcard best.
TIP OF THE ICEBERG
We thought we'd seen it all scenery wise by the time we made our last trip out to Aoraki Mount Cook (so impressive they named it twice) New Zealand's highest peak at 3,754 metres.
The mountain Aoraki (which means 'cloud piercer' in Maori) has its own tiny village nearby, but while there's not much to the place itself there are lots of walks which get you closer to the mountain and the nearby glaciers.
We fitted in two walks, the first out to Lake Tasman, which after an easy 20 minute trail, arrives at a grey lake formed with melt water and ground-down rock from the Tasman Glacier, a dark grey hulk of ice covered in stone at the far end of the lake.
There were icebergs the same dull colour as the glacier, not sparkling blue as you´d imagine, but still stunning.
We also walked the popular Hooker Valley track in the baking sun out towards Mount Cook, crossing swing bridges over more grey rivers to arrive at another iceberg strewn lake below the mountain, and because we were lucky, a jaw-dropping view all the way to the peak of Aoraki which is often hidden by the clouds.
After two months in New Zealand we were sad to leave.
I has been so easy to travel here, with great weather, laid-back hostels, super friendly people and as I've mentioned a few times above, the scenery wasn't bad!
You can see why people emigrate from the UK, there is such a great quality of life out here - it´s just a shame it´s such a long way from home.
Now we´re on to the final part of our trip in Chile and Argentina, so we'll see how far our newly learned Spanish gets us...
Published Date:
29/02/2008
Modified Date:
29/02/2008
NEW ZEALAND (NORTH ISLAND) - (January 4, 2008)
KIA ORA (a Maori welcome)
From Sydney we flew into another harbour city, Auckland, to begin our two month Kiwi journey.
New Zealand's largest city houses one million of the country's four million inhabitants, but it's still a bit on the quiet side compared to what we're used to in England.
We arrived in the run up to Christmas and although the bars and restaurants were busy, they were nothing like as mad as ours during the festive party season.
And they're not that big on Christmas decorations either.
We hardly saw any homes with trees in the window and you could actually walk down the high street on the run up to the big day without Slade or Band Aid blasting out.
A lot of people pass quickly through the city impatient to get away to the great Kiwi outdoors, but there's plenty of stuff to do here if you decide to stick around for a few days.
They have a Sky Tower and Harbour Bridge climb like Sydney (although probably not as good!), the Auckland Museum, boat trips in the harbour, together with nightlife and cafe culture out in the suburbs of Ponsonby (or Ponsnobby as some of the locals call it) and Parnell.
There are trendy bars by the harbour including Minus 5, a bar made completely of ice, from the seats and decorations, to the glasses you sip your vodka cocktails from.
The temperature is kept below freezing and you only get 25 minutes in the bar, plenty of time to start us shivering, despite the thick coat and boots, plus two pairs of gloves they made us wear...
ON THE ROAD
AFTER relying on buses and trains to get around for the past three months, it felt good to get back behind the wheel in New Zealand in our hire car.
First up was the beach resort of Piha, less than an hour west of Auckland, where city dwellers head at weekends to chill out or surf.
When we got there, the car park was full of campervans and the sea was teeming with surfers.
But come 6pm the place was almost deserted, just us with our fish and chips, a girl horseriding and a family playing cricket.
We also had a drive up the coast later that evening to nearby Karekare, the setting for the beach scenes in the 1993 Holly Hunter film The Piano, with its stunning sweep of black sand surrounded by steep hills.
And again we had it almost to ourselves...
The next day we took a small detour in the car so we could pass the Nobilo winery to pick up a bottle or three before setting off along the winding scenic coast road up towards the Coromandel Peninsula, where you're never far from a view of the blue.
There are some great driving roads out here in New Zealand, but this one will definitely take some beating (although we've not seen the mountainous South Island yet).
With hardly any traffic, big open highways, plenty of passing places and miles of stunning scenery, it's the kind of driving you dream of back at home when you're sat in a traffic jam on the M1.
Unfortunately, the Kiwi radio stations we could pick up were pretty dodgy and we only had a choice of local radio (with VERY long ad breaks), Christian rock, gangsta rap or classical as our soundtrack.
TOWN OF DISTINKTION
We knew we'd arrived in Rotorua by the faint whiff of rotten eggs in the air...
The city is one of the world's most active geothermal areas where steam drifts out of natural vents in the ground (hydrogen sulphide gas, hence the smell), most of the hotels and hostels have a hot pool, and you can hear the sound of boiling mud plopping in the park.
While there are definitely more fragrant places to visit in New Zealand, there's few better for travellers to the North Island - especially if you're looking for some daredevil action.
The place is a mecca for the kind of adventure tourism for which New Zealand has become famous, with rafting, kayaking, sledging, mountain biking, skydiving, bungy jumping and zorbing (where you can dive into the centre of a huge clear plastic ball and roll down a 200-metre hill) all on offer.
Saving the more adventurous stuff for Queenstown in the South Island, we hired some mountain bikes and got out to the nearby Whakarewarewa Redwood forest about half an hours ride from Rotorua.
The forest was home to the 2006 Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships, something the guy in the hire shop proudly told us about when we picked up our cycles.
Luckily any standard of biker can enjoy the trails here and as soon as you get out to the forest (a feat in itself given the Kiwi's less than helpful signposts) you can see why it's considered one of the best mountain bike areas in the world.
There are over 40km of well-maintained trails here which weave through the forest, some with little (and not so little) humps, bridges, steps and other obstacles to keep things interesting.
The first track we did was so good, we cycled right back up the hill to do it all over again...
Apparently some of the hardest routes have massive jumps, definitely only for the pro's or overconfident adrenaline junkies...
BUBBLING HOT
Most people come to Rotorua to see one of the many nearby geothermal areas which make the town famous.
One of the favourites is the Te Puia thermal reserve where you can watch and get soaked by Pohutu ('big splash') geyser, a 20 metre jet of water which goes off spontaneously about once every hour.
You also get to see a Maori cultural performance with music and dancing, and a traditional welcome by a warrior twirling a taiaha (long club) and sticking his tongue out at you.
You're warned before the warrior starts that it's insulting to laugh at him, which makes it even harder for you to keep a straight face...
A bit further out from the city is Wai-O-Tapu, another impressive geothermal area where a path leads you on an hour or two's walk around boiling mud pools, sulphur terraces, and multicoloured pools of steaming water with names like the Champagne Pool and Artist's Palette.
There's also a geyser here, but this one is made to 'perform' at 10.15am every day by a member of staff pouring soap powder down the vent...
On the way back we stopped off at Kerosene Creek (we were told by a local how to find it as there's no signpost off the main road) where you can pick your spot in a pool in a natural hot stream and lie in the relaxing waters under a small waterfall.
The creek gets its name from the smell of the water, which when you dry off leaves a faint smell of kerosene. Not great, but better than rotten eggs....
CROSS WITH TONGARIRO
After (reluctantly) dropping our car off, we booked ourselves into the Youth Hostel in Taupo for a couple of days where we had hoped to tackle the volcanic badlands of the famous Tongariro Crossing, described as one of the best one-day walks in the world.
Unfortunately, the weather was rubbish and for four days we waited around to see if the bus companies who shuttle you out to the crossing were going to go, but every day the trip was cancelled.
After exhausting the other wet weather options in Taupo while we waited, and having seen Dodgeball in the hostel's video room for the 300th time, we decided it was time to move on...
THE GRAPE ESCAPE
Next stop was sunny (at last!) Napier in the Hawke's Bay region, famous for it's wine and Art Deco buildings.
Although the town is good for a quick wander round, we were definitely more interested in the vino so we booked ourselves on a half day trip being driven around the wineries along with some other equally novice winetasters.
Our guide Greg was a typically friendly and down to earth Kiwi guy who definitely knew his stuff and with his microphone headset booming in the van he explained a bit about the 30-odd wineries on the Hawke's Bay wine trail as we whizzed past the vineyards.
At the first winery we had a quick run-down on the best way to taste wine:
"Basically guys, you wanna swill the wine round the glass, stick your nose in it and take a big sniff, then take your nose out and take a glug, let it settle on the bottom of your mouth, breathe some air over it and then slosh it around your mouth."
You can spit it out after you've had a taste if you want - if you were doing the full day tour that's what you're advised to do in the morning - then you can start enjoying it to the full in the afternoon...
At each of the wineries we went to, we sampled from a selection of four whites and four reds, with most priced between 5 and 15 pounds each.
By the end of the afternoon we'd tried over 30 wines so it was lucky we had a wine expert on hand to explain a bit about the taste of each, the variety of the grape and what food it might go best with.
We tried whites such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier and reds such as Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Even as beginners it was definitely possible to taste how different the varieties of wine were, but we were helped by our guide saying things like, 'smell the coconut in that!' and 'can you taste the black pepper?', and sometimes we actually could...
We all bought a few bottles on the way round, but unfortunately (or perhaps luckily) we were a bit limited by the space in our backpacks.
We also stopped at a roadside stall by an orchard on the way back to buy freshly picked apricots and cherries, after all, as Greg said, 'you backpackers need your vitamins, right?'
SHAKY GROUND
WHILE we were staying at the Youth Hostel in Napier we felt the earth move under our feet - literally....
It was about 9pm and we were in our room when all of a sudden a rumble started, a bit like a washing machine on spin cycle at first, then as it got stronger it sounded like someone had started a bit of DIY next door.
Then as the walls really started shaking and making a loud knocking sound we realised it was probably an earthquake and legged it downstairs.
The receptionist was telling everyone to get outside, only to be corrected by the manager who told us to definitely stay inside (someone needs earthquake training!)
It went on for about 15 seconds in total, but the manager said that there could be more to come and told us to find a doorway or table to shelter under if there was another tremor, as if you're outside you're more likely to be killed by falling debris.
We were a bit scared (okay, quite a lot scared), especially as we'd just been reading in the Rough Guide about the massive quake which destroyed Napier in 1931... Gulp!
The next day we read that the quake in nearby Gisborne had been the biggest the North Island had experienced in the last 20 years, measuring a whopping 6.8 on the Richter scale and could be felt nearly 900km away on the South Island.
A CAPITAL TIME
"As a visitor, you never know what you're going to get because the weather is often crap, but fortunately Wellington has loads of entertainment if you're staying for a couple of days."
After reading that insightful description of the 'windy city' in Backpackers News it's fair to say we weren't expecting great things.
As it turned out, New Zealand's capital was a great place to spend a couple of days - and we were lucky enough to have good weather while we were there.
Situated right at the bottom of the North Island, Wellington is a compact city making it really easy to get around on foot.
Tight hills circle the bay where villas and apartments spill down to the bustling waterfront with its beaches and marinas.
There's the unmissable Te Papa national museum on the waterfront, the parliamentary district with its quirky beehive building, and the famous red tram which takes you up a steep hill to the Botanical Gardens for a stunning view of the city and harbour.
Lord of the Rings fans will love it here too as many scenes were filmed nearby, the cast and crew were based in the city during filming, and of course director (and all round New Zealand legend) Peter Jackson is from here.
Although most of the film sets have been dismantled, you can still explore Middle Earth with 'The Rover Ring Tour' which 'uses movie stills and elf ears to recreate key scenes from the films' - although this one is probably only for hardcore LOTR fans. Surely most people would just feel a bit stupid?
From Wellington we caught the Interislander ferry on Christmas Eve to the South Island, laden with cheap decorations, Roses chocolates, turkey sandwiches and wine (yes, we did end up buying too many bottles on our wine tour)...
Published Date:
04/01/2008
Modified Date:
04/01/2008
Andys travels
Published Date:
18/12/2007
Modified Date:
18/12/2007
AUSTRALIA - (December 6, 2007)
AUSTRALIA - (December 6, 2007)
SYDNEY
It was strange arriving back in a country so similar to England after two months in south east Asia - a bit of a culture shock really.
Gone is the bustling streetlife full of food stalls, 6p beer places, hawkers, beggars, children running around playing and being cheeky to the tourists, mopeds and tuk-tuks.
Hello McDonald's, Starbucks, anonymous shopping centres, expensive cars, million dollar apartments and skyscrapers.
And sadly, no more noodles for breakfast.
Once we'd gotten ourselves acclimatised we set about exploring Sydney.
THE CITY
For our first week we stayed at a Youth Hostel in the Sydney suburb of Glebe, which turned out to be a great place to base ourselves.
It's on a bus route into the centre and had its own collection of cafes, bars and quirky shops to keep us occupied.
We decided to cook for ourselves most nights in the hostel to save cash, but then we discovered 'Bring Your Own' wine restaurants (which are everywhere out here)...
In our first week we ticked off all the main sights - the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the 300 metre high Sky Tower with its sweeping city and harbour views.
Sydney Aquarium was brilliant, the highlight being a huge tank with underwater walkways where massive sharks and rays swim over and around you, almost too close for comfort.
Along with the tanks of poisonous blue-ringed octopus and jellyfish, it did put us off going swimming in the sea for a while!
The Opera House on first sight wasn't quite what we were expecting - in postcards and on telly it's gleaming white, but in reality it's a bit, well, beige...
But it's still pretty impressive - probably best seen from one of the many ferries which cross Sydney Harbour.
There's also a great viewpoint in the Botanical Gardens where you can photograph the Opera House with the Harbour Bridge in the background.
And if you're brave enough (and got plenty of cash to spare) you can join the ant-line of people on the Harbour Bridge climb for the ultimate view.
We got out and active too - doing the Manly Scenic walkway, a 10km trek from the Sydney suburb of Manly around the stunning coastline.
As well as taking you through the upmarket neighbourhoods (with small harbours full of gleaming yachts and speedboats), it passes Aboriginal rock engravings and a few secluded sandy beaches, just right if you fancy a dip along the way.
We passed through a few beachside parks too, where we saw families enjoying a post-school barbie while the kids splashed around in the sea. Different world eh?
We also ended up spending a lot of time around Darling Harbour which is home to some of Sydney's other big attractions.
As well as the aquarium, you can visit Wildlife World (get your koala photo here!), museums, the huge IMAX cinema and some smart restaurants and bars with great views of the water and skyscrapers.
Whenever we passed through there was some kind of outdoor entertainment going on -photography exibitions, live local bands, carol singers...
One night there was a big celebration for the Thai community for the King of Thailand's 80th birthday, everyone was wearing yellow (the Thai royal colour) as a mark of respect and enjoying some jazz (nice!) in one of the huge open spaces by the harbour.
We also managed to catch a free Christmas concert there to try and help us get a bit more into the festive mood - quite difficult when you have no presents to buy and the sun is shining. And Santa arriving on a jet-ski didn't quite feel the same somehow!
SOCCER
We managed to catch England's final Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia in a 24-hour pub in the centre of Sydney at 7am with a handful of other Brits, plenty of Aussies on their way to work and some excitable Croatians, although the less said about the match the better...
Of course football's not the biggest sport over here - it's all about Aussie Rules mate - but while we were in town one man arrived on a mission to try and change all that.
As you may know, David Beckham was over with his team LA Galaxy to play a friendly match against Sydney FC in a bid to boost football's popularity here.
Not sure how much it will help "the soccer" (it seemed to be more about the cult of Beckham) but the Aussie's definitely loved him.
He was all over the radio and TV the day before the game and over 80,000 people went to see the match at the Telstra Stadium, with loads more watching at home.
And he didn't disappoint, somehow pulling it out of the bag to score one of his wonder goals from a spotkick. LA Galaxy were rubbish though.
BLUE MOUNTAINS
One of the most popular trips out from the city is the Blue Mountains National Park where we spent four days staying in the cosy Youth Hostel in Katoomba.
They're called the Blue Mountains because they're covered in eucalyptus trees which give off an oily vapour that causes a blue-ish haze in the atmosphere.
Our first day there it was so cold, damp and misty we felt like we were back in a wintery Peak District and couldn't see any of the famous view of the Three Sisters.
This is the best-known sight in the Blue Mountains - a rock formation of three pinnacles at the end of a cliff with far-reaching views over the Jamieson Valley and hills.
The first day we braved the soggy weather and had a walk in the rainforest under the cliffs and passed loads of 'lookout' points - although we could only see more mist and trees.
Next day we had a clear blue sky and headed out to the views by cable car and the world's steepest railway, which at 45 degrees was like a ride at Alton Towers without the safety harness.
One of the cable cars goes a couple of hundred metres right across the valley with a huge drop below, which you can look at through the glass floor if you're not afraid of heights.
You get great views of the Three Sisters from here and can walk to a busy viewpoint known as Echo Point for a closer look.
There's also a boardwalk through the rainforest telling you all about the plants and wildlife which means you can have a wander without even getting your feet dirty.
And if you're feeling a bit more energetic there are a lot of great treks out into the valley with few other walkers around.
We did our 'I'm a Celebrity' bit (minus the bush tucker challenge) with a six hour walk through the valley seeing parrots and a tiny snake along the way and ending up on a big rock called the Ruined Castle for more staggering views.
Katoomba itself was a great place to hang out with its trendy art-deco buildings housing cafes and restaurants.
As a place it was a bit short on pubs but we managed to find one bar with a big range of Aussie wines and beers.
No Fosters in sight as usual, the Aussies keep all their best stuff and send us the rest!
On our last night I tried kangaroo steak for the first time.
Although it looked like beef, I felt slightly guilty eating it, unsure whether I really enjoyed the taste or not. Just glad I hadn't seen any hopping around the outback earlier in the day... To see Andy and his girlfriend Becky in the Blue Mountains, click here:
http://www2.doncastertoday.co.uk/Andy/PB250866.JPG
POLITICS
We landed in Sydney right in time for the last week of the general election (just as it was getting nasty) - so posters everywhere and wall-to-wall coverage in the TV and newspapers.
Many people out here seemed to welcome the landslide victory for the Labor party (their version of our Labour) over outgoing Prime Minister John Howard's Liberal's (our Tories).
Most of the papers highlighted the environment as being one of the key factors in bringing about a change in government as Howard is a self-confessed global warming sceptic.
The election result seemed to show that ordinary Australians think otherwise.
The war in Iraq was also key in getting Howard the boot, yeah, whatever did happen to those WMD?
BEACH LIFE
We tried to get into the Youth Hostel at Sydney's Bondi Beach for a couple of days - but the surfers and beach-lovers had beaten us to it.
Instead, we opted for Cronulla (a short train ride from Sydney) another surfers paradise and popular in summer.
It's the sort of place that makes you green with envy.
Instead of going home after work or school people here hit the beach to surf (or watch the surfers), swim in the ocean, sunbathe or jog.
If the ocean's too rough for swimming, there are two salt-water swimming pools built on the beach full of clear blue water, and changing rooms and showers dotted along the esplanade.
Just like an episode of Home and Away!
Next up, New Zealand for Christmas and New Year. Hope they do a good turkey dinner out there...
Published Date:
10/12/2007
Modified Date:
18/12/2007
CAMBODIA - (November 21, 2007)
INTO CAMBODIA
Once we'd had our passports checked at the Vietnamese border, we continued upriver on a chugging old tank of a boat into Cambodia.
Although the scenery hadn't changed much, once we crossed the border it was obvious how different things were here.
Houses were replaced by wooden shacks, there were animals (mostly skinny cattle) and children (mostly naked!) running everywhere.
As we made our way up the river, the kids ran along the banks to wave at us, and we sat on the roof of the boat with the sun beating down, waving back.
Once off the boat it was a cramped bus ride along the mainly dusty unmade road through villages and fields into Phnom Penh.
One of the guidebooks describes Cambodia as a country where extreme poverty and beauty can be glimpsed in the same blink of an eye and I'd say that pretty much sums up what we saw on this journey...
PHNOM PENH
Our guesthouse was right by the riverfront surrounded by western-style bars and restaurants.
When you walked out onto the streets there were noticeably more beggars than we'd seen elsewhere - many of them amputees injured by the landmines left over from recent wars.
There were also loads of really young kids trying to sell you books and postcards, all of them had been taught English phrases like 'Lovely Jubbly' and 'G'day Mate' (depending on where you came from) to try and charm you into buying something.
But it wasn't just literature I was offered on the streets...
On the first night when I popped out to the shop without my girlfriend I was offered dope, heroin and girls within a matter of minutes!
Unsurprisingly, when we were both out together the next night I didn't get offered anything more than a tuk-tuk...
Actually Phnom Penh, just like the rest of south east Asia, felt really safe to wander round -even at night - and the people were some of the friendliest we'd met.
They generally spoke good English too which was a surprise after some parts of Vietnam.
Our travels here turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip so far, partly because of the Cambodian people and the scenery, but also because we met up with my girlfriend's sister and her husband, spending ten days travelling through the country with them.
Now we were a four, it got even cheaper to hire a 'tuk-tuk' (mopeds towing a carriage) for the day to get around the sights, although you have to haggle the price down a bit.
Two of the sights most travellers try to see while in Phnom Penh are the Killing Fields and S21, the genocide museum.
Both were made infamous by the Communist Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s, led by Pol Pot, which killed more than a million of its own people.
To begin with they forced everyone to leave the cities to go and work the land, then they killed anyone suspected of being an 'enemy' of their regime.
More people died of starvation and poor medical care.
Generally, it was the more educated people who were tortured and killed - even wearing glasses was a sign of 'education'.
'Enemies' were tortured at the S21 prison (an old school in Phnom Penh) before being taken to the Killing Fields just outside the city where they were killed and buried in mass graves.
Today, the site of the killings is a memorial, with a stupa at the entrance containing hundreds of skulls of the many innocent victims.
As you walk between the mass graves you are walking over small bone fragments and clothes of the victims which haven't been excavated.
It was a very chilling place to see and left us all a bit shell shocked.
Then we got back on our tuk-tuk and our driver said cheerily, 'now you go shoot guns?' as there was a shooting range on the way back to the city. No, not today thanks!
On a lighter note, we spent a day at a Khmer cookery school which was a brilliant experience - and we ate everything we cooked, so no dinner needed that night...
After a trip to the market where we saw skinned and headless frogs, blocks of congealed pigs blood and deep fried tarantulas, we learned how to make less disgusting dishes like green curry and the local speciality Fish Amok, a white fish in a spicy coconut sauce steamed in banana leaves.
It's going to be a bit tricky trying to find some of the ingredients back home though - not seen banana leaves or fresh turmeric in our local Tesco's recently...
KAMPOT AND BOKOR NATIONAL PARK
A few hours away from the capital is the riverside town of Kampot, near the misty mountains of Bokor National Park.
It was a good break from the bustling Phnom Penh and a chance to see more of the countryside.
The town is pretty small and quiet, but has some good guesthouses and laid back bars on the riverfront.
Someone told us Cambodia is a bit like Thailand was 20 years ago before mass tourism hit and you can imagine a place like this really taking off in the next couple of years.
There was a great cafe run by deaf and disabled people serving amazing homemade cakes and also a massage centre where the masseurs are all blind, to ease the aching shoulders.
We found a restaurant over the river popular with locals which served fresh fish, crab and jumbo prawns for next to nothing and we ended up eating there both nights we were in town.
The main reason most people make the bus trip down here is to get out to Bokor National Park to see the deserted hill station - a boneshaking four hours from Kampot by 4x4 truck up into the mountains.
The hills are covered in jungle and there are still tigers out there somewhere, but they're rarely sighted.
Bokor Hill Station was built by the French in colonial times as a place to escape the heat and to relax in its hotel and casino.
Now abandoned, you can explore the eerie buildings and take in the stunning view which if you're lucky takes in Cambodia's south coast as well as the jungle-clad hills.
We had our lunch by this viewpoint and the main question on everyones lips after the rocky road to the top was 'how on earth do the trucks not break down on these roads?'
As it turns out they do. Quite regularly in fact.
On our way back down we passed a 4x4 with a flat tyre. Thank God that's not us we thought...
Further down the hill there was a strange noise from under our truck and we ground to a halt, just as darkness fell.
Luckily one of the group found a torch, and even more luckily our driver was able to fix the problem.
It would have been a really long walk otherwise and the thought of snakes and tigers out in the jungle wasn't comforting...
Once back in Kampot, we headed straight out for a bite to eat and a Angkor beer or two to calm the nerves - a great end to a brilliant day.
SIEM REAP
Our arrival in Siem Reap was a bit more dramatic than we would have liked...
We took the boat from Phnom Penh and our captain must have had one too many the night before, because as we came into the dock he took the turn too sharply, the boat tilted precariously to the right and two people fell in, much to the amusement of the locals...
Then everyone crowded to the right side of the boat to have a gawp and the boat tilted even further and threatened to topple over completely.
Once safely on land we picked up another tuk-tuk into the centre. This ride was free because the driver wanted our business while we were in town to take us out to the temples. As he was friendly and spoke good English we hired him and his mate for a couple of days which turned out to be a good move as it made sightseeing really easy and good fun.
The reason so many people head to Cambodia is to see the mighty temples at Angkor, and Siem Reap is the nearest town to this, lying just a few miles away.
This small town is by far the most touristy place in the country and the road from the town out towards the temples is lined with expensive hotels and posh restaurants.
For our first glimpse of the temples, we dragged ourselves out of bed at 4.30am and waited in the pitch dark for Chang and Arong our tuk-tuk drivers to pick us up to make the short journey out to Angkor Wat, the most famous of the temples, to watch the sun rise.
Because it was so dark when we arrived, you could only just make out faint traces of the famous building so it was a great way to build up a bit of suspense as the whole area slowly lit up.
It was definitely worth missing out on a lie-in for - the view of the mighty temple mirrored in its moat was pretty stunning and worth a photo or 50...
We hired a guide for one of the days and he was able to explain what was going on in all the intricate carvings on the inner walls of the temple of Angkor Wat.
The pictures were really well preserved and all told a story, which I'm pretty sure we'd have missed completely if we hadn't had them pointed out to us.
The temple where they filmed Tomb Raider was also impressive with huge ancient trees growing all over it and through the roofs of the ruins.
Another highlight was the walled city of Angkor Thom, with its centre piece the Bayon temple which had hundreds of faces carved into its towers which looked down at you...
To combat temple fatigue, we had booked into a guesthouse with a pool so we could chill out when we got back each day.
We only did two days at the temples, but you could spend a week or more travelling round the vast area and seeing them all properly if you're really into your Indiana Jones fantasy.
There are plenty of other things to do in Siem Reap though, including the busy Bar Street (exactly what it sounds like), markets, spas, massage, the new Angkor National Museum, and evening shows of traditional 'Apsara' dance.
A lot of tourists also try to catch a weekly concert by a European doctor who runs the children's hospitals in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.
Every Saturday night he plays his cello and talks about the health situation in Cambodia (we'll spare you the details but it's pretty shocking).
It's free to get in but he asks for money donations from the older people, blood from the younger people and both if you're in the middle.
The children's hospital is desperate for blood donations and we went to give blood a bit nervously the next day, but the needles were definitely sterile and it was just like doing it at home except you get given a t shirt with the hospital logo on it as a thank you.
And that was Cambodia...
We flew from Siem Reap straight to Bangkok (avoiding the overland route which we had been warned could take 16 hours on a terrible road), and then on to Sydney.
All in all, south east Asia has been a brilliant experience and a real eye-opener.
It was easier to travel round than we expected and felt very safe.
The people were friendly, the weather just right, the food delicious and it was all so cheap.
We are definitely going to miss it.
Published Date:
26/11/2007
Modified Date:
26/11/2007
Vietnam - November 2, 2007
During Andy's round the world tour, he will be travelling through Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia before flying to Australia and New Zealand.
His six-month journey ends in South America - travelling overland from Chile to Argentina.
VIETNAM - (November 2, 2007)
HANOI
We were woken at 6am on our first morning here by the honking of moped horns and strange oriental music playing at full blast - Good Morning Vietnam... *
Hanoi is the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and is like a smaller, less modern, slightly less frenetic Bangkok. But only slightly...
In the Old Quarter - where most of the backpackers stay - there's a non-stop stream of mopeds flying through the narrow streets beeping their horns continuously.
And for the most part you have no choice but to take your chances walking on the streets among them as the darned things are also parked all over the pavements.
There are women in conical hats balancing poles on their shoulders holding baskets of fruit at each end who chase you down the street trying to get you to take their pole and hat for a photo opportunity (for a small fee of course)...
After running away from them the first few times, we realised it would actually make an amusing picture and gave in. Never mind that we ended up getting charged a small fortune and landed with a bunch of bananas we didn't really want thrown in!
All around town there are street stalls with their miniature plastic seats and tables selling ridiculously cheap bowls of noodles and best of all, the 'Bia Hoi'...
This is where locals and travellers sit around a big barrel of beer by the roadside - inches away from the mopeds whizzing past your feet - drinking home brew beer costing 6p a glass. Beats even Wetherspoons!
If you're wanting culture there's plenty to see - with many of the sights connected to the former Communist leader of the country, Ho Chi Minh.
There's the Ho Chi Minh Museum, Ho Chi Minh's house and Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum - the latter being where the great man himself lies in state for people to file past (even though he requested cremation in his will).
Unfortunately, 'Uncle Ho' wasn't there when we called by - he was on his annual three month holiday to Russia having essential 'maintenance'.
* Apologies for that one folks...
HALONG BAY
Only a few hours drive from Hanoi is the stunning Halong Bay - an unforgettable place in which thousands of limestone islands jut out from the emerald sea.
The best way to see this World Heritage site is by doing a tour from the capital and staying for a night or two on one of the many wooden 'junk' boats.
There may seem to be hundreds of other tourists and boats when you arrive at the main dock, but somehow once you get out to sea the bay doesn't seem all that busy.
You can relax with just a few other tourists on the top deck of your boat, sunbathing, taking ridiculous numbers of photos, eating fresh seafood and watching the amazing scenery drift by.
INTO THE COUNTRYSIDE
We also managed to get out into the rural areas around Hanoi on a bike trip - a trip which proved to be a real eye opener.
There was plenty on the surface to enjoy as we cycled through paddy fields and villages, dodging chickens on the way, waving at the local kids and stopping off to watch a lady washing her water buffalo in the river (even cleaning its ears).
However, we also witnessed police corruption first hand.
After cycling for about ten minutes along dirt tracks, we ran into the local village cops who made Hoi our guide pay a bribe to let us pass through.
We thought we'd shaken them off, but just half an hour later the first policeman's mate came to find us on his motorbike so he could get his cut...
Although we were all a bit annoyed by this Hoi just shrugged his shoulders and paid up. Apparently, bribes are a part of life here and the traffic police are renowned for being the worst.
They stop people for trumped up reasons and demand money - often confiscating mopeds if they don't get paid - and then spend the cash on a big lunch and a few beers...
MOVING ON
We caught the famous 'Reunification Express' train twice during our stay in Vietnam.
A train journey from Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City in the south of the country takes an epic 40 hours - though each of our trips was a far more manageable nine hours.
Just like the other long journeys we've done, these were pretty entertaining too.
Being the only westerners in the carriage we got stared (and giggled) at quite a bit, especially when we were eating our chicken and rice for tea - maybe our chopstick technique wasn't up to scratch!
But then we were staring back at some of their snacks.
One in particular caught the eye - it seemed to be an egg with a partially formed bird in it, but we couldn't quite believe it.
Later we read in the guidebook that 'hot vit lon' - steamed, fertilised duck eggs - are a common snack. Glad we stuck to the spring rolls...
HO CHI MINH CITY (SAIGON)
HCMC (as it's abbreviated) is Vietnam's second city and a bit more modern than Hanoi. There aren't quite as many sights to see here, but it's a good place to hang out, with a bustling backpackers area and plenty of knock-off shopping if you don't have a problem with copyright violation.
From here it was easy to arrange trips out to the Cu Chi Tunnels and into the Mekong River Delta in the south.
The Cu Chi tunnels are famous for the role they played in the Vietnam War and make a popular half day tour.
There are over 200km of underground tunnels in the Cu Chi area alone where Viet Cong (VC) soldiers planned attacks and hid out from the Americans, sometimes for weeks at a time.
American troops tried their hardest to destroy the tunnels and the jungle covering them, first using bulldozers and defoliants (chemicals used to kill all plant life, including crops) and then by sending soldiers known as 'tunnel rats' down the holes in a bid to flush the VC out.
However, when all this failed, they sent in their B52 bombers to flatten the area.
The tunnels were incredibly narrow - we were told the smallest were only 40cm high and 40cm wide in places.
During the trip, tourists got to go down into one of the larger tunnels, which had thankfully been widened by 40 percent to allow us westerners to fit through, but it was dark, hot and very claustrophobic and several people had to turn back and get above ground.
When you've experienced the tunnels for even five minutes it's amazing to think people lived in them for such prolonged periods and held off the American attack.
Later, we went to the War Remnants Museum in the city which showed harrowing photographs of American atrocities committed during the Vietnam War and the lasting effects of the defoliants used - children with severe birth defects for instance.
Although the museum was obviously one sided, it would be hard not to be appalled by America's devastating use of chemical weapons on rural areas which killed so many innocent civilians and caused lasting damage to the people and the land...
MEKONG DELTA
Many people head off from HCMC into the Mekong River Delta area in the southernmost part of Vietnam from where you can easily cross the border into Cambodia - our next stop.
We booked on a three day tour taking in local floating markets and passing through villages built on stilts before crossing the border on the last day.
The first floating market we saw however was a bit of a disappointment as we missed all the action.
The locals start at 5am and because we didn't get there until 11am we only saw a few boats leaving with the odd watermelon left on deck!
However, the next day we had an early start and saw one of Vietnam's biggest markets in full swing.
The locals piled their boats high with whatever crop they were selling and had a tall bamboo pole on the front deck with, for example, a pineapple hanging off to show what they had.
We also did a couple of stop offs on the way calling in at a local fish farm - basically a wooden house floating on the water with fish kept in cages underneath - and a rice processing plant which had a sideline in selling potent rice wine.
The latter was worth a look just to see how basic the machines were and how a lot of things out here are still done by hand.
After a quick look at a floating village on the last morning, it was a couple of hours further on a chugging old motor boat to Cambodia .
We sat on the roof chatting with other travellers, enjoying our last look back at Vietnam.
Published Date:
12/11/2007
Modified Date:
12/11/2007
LAOS & THAILAND (October 7, 2007).
ONLY ten years ago Laos was largely unknown to western travellers.
However, since this former communist country reluctantly reopened its doors in the 1990s, a steady flow of tourists have made their way across the border.
After two weeks in the backpackers paradise of Thailand, we were unsure what to expect of its quieter and less westernised neighbour.
Also, our first destination - the French-influenced town of Louang Phabang - was a two day journey away by slow boat.
Then again, it's slow to get anywhere in Laos...
Unless, that is, you fall for the chat from the 'tour guides' who lie in wait as you arrive at the border checkpoint across the Mekong River.
They tell lots of tall tales/lies to try and get you to change your mind and go on a speed boat instead which only takes five hours.
Good idea you may think, but there are reasons most tourists don't jump at the offer.
Speedboats crash on the rocks fairly often and a number of people have died in recent years...
We saw a couple of speedboats flying past on our first day as it poured with rain.
We were nice and dry, drinking our first Beer Lao and being entertained by some drunk American girls, while they were wet, cold and beerless (and probably a bit scared!).
One tough Aussie lad we had met earlier in Thailand got off the speedboat half way and joined us on the slow boat. Enough said!
However, the slow boat certainly wasn't a comfy option. We were on hard seats, very cramped together with about 80 other (mostly) tourists, but it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip so far.
The scenery along the Mekong river was amazing - miles upon miles of mountains covered with jungle, the odd group of wooden huts or a lone fisherman.
As we pulled into villages along the way, children would race out down the hill to meet us and gawp at all the tourists.
And Louang Phabang was well worth the wait.
This cultured small town - once the heart of the ancient kingdom and now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site - is now the country's most popular tourist destination.
After seeing only tiny villages on the boat, we were amazed to find such an upmarket place - full of restaurants, cafes, spas, and handicraft shops - many of them housed in original old French colonial-style houses.
There were plenty of temples to see of course (although we were starting to suffer from temple fatigue at this point), hills to climb for views across the Mekong and easy day trips to caves and waterfalls.
Failing that, many people opted to simply sit watching the world go by, drinking another Laos coffee or Beer Lao sitting in one of the French bakery cafes.
We stayed more days than we originally planned (most people do), then it was a nine and a half hour bus journey to the capital, Vientiane.
And what a bus journey it was.
The road climbed high into the mist-covered mountains as our bus dodged chickens, goats, dogs, cows, people and even two men on elephants in the road.
We saw villages of wooden shacks and kids splashing under the communal water tap, as well as chilli's drying in the sun and men skinning animals by the side of the road.
It was all such a contrast to the more westernised town we'd just left behind and more representative of how the majority of the Laos people live.
The country is one of the most bombed nations in the world, and suffered heavily (and quietly) in America's war against communism due to it's border with Vietnam, so maybe it's no surprise many of its people are still living in such poor conditions.
After a short stopover in Vientiane (a more modest capital city you would be hard pressed to find) we set about organising our journey to Vietnam.
Our options were a 20-hour bus journey or a cheap one hour flight, so we took the easy option. Next stop Hanoi...
THAILAND (October 7, 2007).
After two weeks here, we're moving on, so here is my 'Top Five' of Thailand....
5. BANGKOK
Most travellers begin their Thai travels with a few days in Bangkok - a pretty full-on introduction to the country.
This city of nine million people can be chaotic, exhausting, noisy and polluted, but also exhilarating and fascinating.
It hits you as soon as you come out of the airport - with taxi drivers queueing up outside to speed you off to your hotel. And 'speed' it is.
We were clinging to the seats as our driver wove in and out of the traffic, often taking both hands off the wheel to adjust his collar!
He had his floral lucky charm hanging from the rear view mirror though, so we took some small comfort in that...
Most backpackers head to the Khao San Road, made famous by the novel/film The Beach, and a great place to meet other travellers and chill out with a beer and get your bearings.
It's pretty handy for all the famous sights too - which in Thailand usually means temples.
Wat Phra Kaeo (the holiest temple in the country) and the Grand Palace are both unmissable with their brightly
coloured, dazzling buildings and statues.
Next door is Wat Pho, Bangkok's oldest temple, famous for housing an enormous reclining Buddha and where you can get a Thai massage at the famous massage school.
If you want to see a different side to Bangkok then a cycle tour with the Amazing Bangkok Cyclists is worth doing.
You start off in the middle of the city and cycle through small lanes and indoor markets before crossing a river by boat to a rural area, well away from the madness of Bangkok.
Then you cycle over raised narrow concrete walkways (trying not to fall into the swamp below) between wooden houses surrounded by trees.
Then you cycle back through rush hour traffic to where you started - scary but brilliant!
After a couple of days in Bangkok, most people head off to somewhere a bit more relaxing...
4. THAI FOOD
You may think you've tried Thai food in England, but over here all the usual dishes taste completely different.
The flavours and ingredients (some of which you don't even recognise) are really fresh and the food is cooked so quickly you hardly have to wait any time for your meal to arrive.
Best of all there are loads of cookery classes to join so you can learn how to make your favourites and impress family and friends when you get home.
And it's all so cheap you can afford to eat out all the time and try the whole menu.
Wash down all that fantastic food with a cool Singha beer and you're in heaven!
3. KANCHANABURI (Bridge over the River Kwai)
Set in the jungle a few hours from Bangkok, this small town made famous by the Bridge over the River Kwai is a great backpackers hangout.
Lots of cheap bars, restaurants and internet places line the main street next to the guesthouses.
Most of the accommodation is in wooden huts next to the river, some on stilts and some actually floating on the river.
Being so near the water meant lots of mosquito's, so out came the mossie nets and repellent for the first time...
There's a lot to do around the town, mainly linked to it's World War II history.
The Thailand-Burma Railway Centre was definitely worth a look.
It tells the story of how Allied prisoners of war and many Asian labourers lost their lives building a railway for the Japanese through the jungle to link Thailand with Burma.
They were half starved, had no medical care and worked incredible hours - often through the night - being beaten by the guards if they didn't work quick enough.
It was fascinating and very moving...
You can also take a train ride on the 'Death Railway' and see the Bridge over the River Kwai.
It's nothing special though - just a bridge to carry the railway and nowhere near as spectacular as in the film of the same name.
Then there's a walk through Hellfire Pass - a huge cutting through solid rock which the POWs had to break through using hand-held tools.
It got its name from the 'hellish' lights of the fires they lit at night so they could see to work.
2. BUDDHIST MEDITATION
Thailand is about 90 per cent Buddhist and everywhere you go there are brightly coloured temples, Buddha images and monks wearing orange robes.
And if you're interested in learning a bit more, there are several retreats you can go on to learn about Buddhism and meditation.
Some of the courses are a minimum of ten days, but we opted for an overnight course just to get a taster.
You have to leave the beer and cigarettes behind though and a lot of the time you have to be silent.
The monks who ran our course had really good English and a great sense of humour - explaining how your 'monkey mind' (ie when your brain is racing from one thing to another) can be calmed by learning to meditate.
We then learned different ways of meditating - from 'walking meditation' where you had to concentrate on walking very (very!) slowly, to sitting meditation where you counted prayer beads, to lying meditation where we all promptly fell asleep!
1. HILLTRIBE TREKKING
The highlight of Thailand for me was without doubt the three day trek we did from Chiang Mai out into the jungle to meet some of the local hilltribe villagers.
It was brilliant - a real experience.
There were eight of us including our guide, Doh, who came from one of the villages himself.
On the first day of the trek, we drove out to the middle of nowhere seeing no other tourists and started walking.
For about three hours we trekked through rice paddy fields and through (not always
over) rivers and streams, passing tiny villages until we reached our village for the night.
The view was spectacular overlooking a lush green valley with no other houses in sight.
A local family cooked our tea over an open fire and the whole group slept on a wooden floor (not as uncomfortable as we first thought) in a wooden hut.
Second day we were woken by someone practising their wooden flute -- Jingle Bells sounded very strange out there...
We looked round the village and saw people preparing rice from their fields, making (very strong) rice wine and smoking cigarettes made from rolled up banana leaves.
Before setting off on the walk, the group was given the chance to eat crickets fried in butter - not as bad as they sound!
The villagers had collected lots from around the camp the night before. They eat them a lot apparently.
Then it was a long day of trekking up some massive hills with stunning scenery all the way.
At lunchtime one of the guides accidentally cut himself with a machete and had to be taken to hospital.
He didn't seem that bothered by it though and showed us a big scar on the other leg where he'd done the same thing before.
Got to our next camp by a river and washed in the river before tea.
We had a few beers and Doh found some bongos and a guitar from somewhere and we sat around the campfire singing and playing badly...
Next day we were woken by the sound of Doh hacking us all cups for our morning tea out of bamboo..
Then it was bamboo rafting. You had to stand up on the 20-foot long rafts and balance, using poles to turn.
At first the river was calm, but it soon got quicker as we went on.
There were a few mishaps when we crashed into rocks and got hit by branches from the riverbank (hurling one of our group off the back) but we all loved it.
Could have done another few days of trekking, but a shower and comfy bed were calling...
Shame we only had two weeks in Thailand as there was so much to see, but we are now heading for the unknown, Laos...
Published Date:
08/10/2007
Modified Date:
04/01/2008