Mike and Kat on tour

2007-07-21T09:51:00.000Z

And so it is with great sadness and gladness that I blog this last blog.

Sad that our round the world adventure of just over 11 months is over..... but glad that we no longer have to live out of a back pack!

http://www.travbuddy.com/widget_map_display.php?id=80188

You will see from the link above that through all of our travels we have still only covered 22% of the worlds countries! That is counting not just those countries seen in this 12 month journey, which amounted to 24 in total, but also travels previously. There is so much out there to see! Somehow I can't see us stopping there...

Life is for living! Enjoy.

2007-07-03T21:51:00.000Z

Siberia and Russia

A country 3x the size of Australia, a forest the size of India and a lake the size of Belgium. It’s quite easy to see why Russia is the biggest country in the world. We travelled across the breadth of Siberia all the way to St Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland yet this only amounted to the thinnest of tiny ribbons – there is a whole lot more out there!

We kicked off in Siberia having taken a ridiculous 8 hours to clear customs, underlining the suspicious nature that the Russians are famous for. The change from Mongolia was instant and dramatic. Replacing desert and grasslands with a huge expanse of silver birch forest, this was our introduction to the mighty Taiga forest, the largest uninterrupted forest on the planet. For hour after hour leading into days the scenery never altered from a mesmerising arrangement of these beautiful white trees. When we finally did stop it was at the Siberian capital city of Irutsk, the “Paris of the East.” The city really took off when wealthy aristocrats were exiled there following an uprising against the Tsar. Now, it is a delightful collection of multi-coloured old houses together with fashionable shops, internet cafes and hotels. It is also the traditional stop off for Lake Baikal, a lake that reputedly holds 20% of the world’s unfrozen fresh water. It is also very, very cold as Katherine’s mother discovered when she disrobed to take an afternoon dip, ably assisted by a few mouthfuls of chilli flavoured vodka!
And so back onto the train for three nights. Life on the Trans-Siberian was a lot of fun and very relaxing. Usually we would get up and read, listen to music before having another nap and maybe some gazing out of the window. Then, at about 6 we would crack open a few beers and anywhere from three to ten of us would get stuck into a game of cards, charades or anything else that we could make up. Sometimes we would get a local a little worse for vodka trying to join our card game, or we would wander down to the dining cart to be abused by the scariest looking waiter to be found anywhere in the northern hemisphere.

Suzdal was our next stop, a stunning oldie-worldy town of over thirty churches set in a delightful setting that incorporated flower meadows and a winding river. It is a place that attracts artists and we counted more than twenty in one morning stroll.

Moscow could not have been more of a contrast. From sleepy town to a city of nearly 10 million people and a very modern and expensive city it now is. A real treat for all of us was a trip to Red Square at night. I don’t think we have been to a more beautiful city centre. The four sides are made up of St Basil’s, the Kremlin, the national museum which is a former palace and Gum, a beautifully illuminated building that is home to an assortment of exclusive shops.

Moscow is a city rich on oil and this is reflected in the prices and the readily available luxury goods of all varieties. It seems to be a city hurtling forward at great speed, keen to put as much time and distance between its current state and the depressed times of the Soviet era.

And so to our final stop on our global voyage and, for me, it was a case of saving the best until last. St Petersburg is simply the most beautiful city I have seen. It was created by Peter the Great in the 18th century to be Russia’s “window on the west,” and it gave the country access to trade with the rest of Europe by acting as a port with access to the Gulf of Finland. It also became the country’s capital for some time. As it was an artificially built city, great care was taken to ensure that it was attractive and, being described as the Venice of the North, it certainly is.

A series of canals bisect the city and everywhere, gorgeous mansion homes can be seen in an assortment of reds, yellows, blues and whites. Landmarks include the Winter Palace, the Hermitage museum (housing the largest collection in the world) and the Church of Spilled Blood, a fantastic structure of onions, colour and swirls. And then there is the literary history. St Petersburg was the home to Dostoyevsky and Pushkin, the father of Russian poetry. Both have museums that are fascinating. Pam and Katherine had tickets to the ballet at the famous Marininsky Theatre for a performance of Don Quxiote which was thoroughly enjoyed.

A night cruise along the waterways provided the perfect send-off. A popular event, locals flock to the waterside to watch the opening of the bridges and it is also attracts many tourists with as many as sixty boats cruisng down the main canal to watch the spectacular at 1am with fireworks and fountains adding colour and illumination to the night sky revealing many locals, beer in hand, watching the opening of the mighty bridges.

An atmosphere you would expect of New Year that occurs every week!

2007-07-03T21:16:00.000Z

China and Mongolia

On flying into Beijing Mike and I were joined by my Mum who had decided to meet up with us for our Trans Mongolian adventure!

We had booked an organised tour through Intrepid Travel and were due to travel by train through China, Mongolia and Russia for 20 days. We were however a day early and were fortrunate enough to meet up with our old travel buddies from Tibet; Suz and Dave. We had a fantastic day enjoying the Summer Palace in Beijing with 'The Overlanders' http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/overlanders/before heading off to meet the rest of our new tour group.

Our group made up of 12 travellers from Canada, Portugal and the majority from Australia were led by our intrepid and fearless leader Natalia from Kygastan alias 'The Big Bad Wolf'.

We started with 2 full days in around Beijing exploring the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Two of the highlights of our stay there were the street markets and the acrobats show that I would highly recommend to anyone visting.

We then jumped aboard our first train to cross into Mongolia encompassing two days and 1 night. My mum celebrated her Birthday that first day and we settled into beer, cards and charades. Soon to become experts at all three!!

Mongolia provided a whole different experience! The Gobi Desert; watch out for the dinosaurs! Ger tents, horseback riding and fantastic national parks. The countries specialty is 'Mare's Milk' which, you guessed it, is made from the milk of mares. It can be alcoholic or non alcoholic; either way it tastes awful! Here you can see locals selling it at the train station stop.

One moment I will never forget is galloping along on horseback beside Mike with my mum who had only been on a horse once ever before not far behind us. Camels and yaks, horsemen with hats!

Next it was on to the Russian border for even more spectacular scenery and surprises.

2007-07-03T20:44:00.000Z

Hong Kong

Imagine India for a moment. The dusty, poverty stricken, beggar filled streets; the basic, soap-dodging accommodation; the constant noise and harassment; the filthy water and disembowelling food.
Then, imagine leaving all this behind to arrive to 5* luxury and friendly, welcoming faces in Hong Kong; a home overlooking the water; a gym, pool and spa downstairs and a fully stocked fridge!!!

For fear of encouraging a crowd to beat down their door to stay, I shall refrain from giving you their address. But a big thank-you to Chris and Sommer Dunham for showing us an awesome week in HK!
Most of what we did in HK (or Honkers as it is fondly known) was at night because through the day we indulged ourselves in the gym and pool, taking the opportunity to relax and keep the costs down. At night, both Chris and Soms were tremendous hosts and we explored the night markets, a fantastic restaurant district with top class cuisine from anywhere in the world and the famous races.

The Wednesday night horse races are a very big deal in HK and each week take in more money than the Melbourne Cup! The girls had a ball with their nags coming in first on a couple of occasions. The boys were less fortunate, but hey, nothing that a few cold beers couldn’t sort out! And in HK you have to drink quickly because your beer will boil in minutes if you don’t – the place was steaming. The temperature was far less than in Delhi which was well over 40 degrees but the oppressive humidity made it far harder to cope with – another good reason to enjoy the pool!

Following on from India, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan, the return to western civilisation was a welcome relief for both of us. The simple pleasures of making your own sandwiches, shopping for shoes with a friend and playing with Missy the super dog made us feel right at home.

Thanks again Soms and Chris when we get settled we would love to return the favour.

2007-06-01T08:10:00.001Z

Bhutan – A Switzerland in the Himalyas

5 days in Bhutan. Not enough. Nowhere near enough in fact. After the madness and instability of Kathmandu; the barren Tibetan plateau and disillusioned Tibetans and the sheer craziness of India, Bhutan really was the Shangri-La that it portrays itself as.

A few facts: It is only 150km wide and has a population of just over 600,000 making it tiny in comparison with its two neighbours: China and India. And yet into this small country is packed a great deal, the Himalayas for one. The flight form Kathmandu to Paro airport was the most scenic either of us has ever taken. On the way we passed Mount Everest and five other mountains over 8,000 metres.

The scenery in general was impressive. We spent most of our time in the valleys, surrounded by beautiful pine forests and chalet style housing that was beautifully painted with monasteric type design. The government encourage all citizens to build in the traditional style giving a neat and uniform appearance. However, on the sides of many houses are painted giant phalluses – believed to be a good luck symbol in warding off evil spirits by the Bhutanese!!!

Into this tiny country is packed some extra-special wildlife. They have tiger; snow leopard; common leopard; rhino; elephant; bears; 600 species of birds and the bizarre thakin – an animal endemic to Bhutan which is sort of a cow/moose/goat – see the pictures and judge for yourself.

The country is deeply Buddhist and it permeates every day living. The temples are beautiful and there are many monasteries throughout the country many dating back to the 7th century. None are more impressive than the “Tiger’s Nest.” Built 900 metres into a cliff face the setting it is nothing short of spectacular. It is said to have been founded on the spot that the great Buddhist teacher: Guru Rinpoche, flew to on the back of a tigress to meditate in a cave for three months. He sure got away from it all. The hike up to it was wonderful, through a pine forest dashed with colour from rhododendron trees. It is home to a small number fo devout monks and the monastery has been literally built out of the cliff, using the natural features to great effect.

Archery is the national sport and tournaments were taking place wherever we went. To the unskilled (us), it was mind-boggling to watch them fire arrows form 200 metres away and not only hit the target but fail to hit any of the spectators, many of whom were only standing a couple of metres form the target. Now, if we had been aiming … well, we did have a few attempts. One if us hit the target and one of us cracked a headlight on the car! I’ll let you guess which of us was responsible!

In many of the countries we have been to, women tend to observe traditional dress and men do not. In Bhutan, both sexes observe this custom. It was great to see the men and boys dressed in their gho; a kind of dressing gown like garment with knee high socks and white cuffs.

The food was good but not outstanding. Much is imported from India and so not always fresh. The national dish and obsession is chilies with cheese! Our guide had it at least twice a day. We tried it once or twice but not without the backup of a large glass of water on standby!

Both of us were tremendously sad to leave but at $220 per day each, we just could not afford to spend any longer. The overall impression that we came away with is one of peace and tranquility – it really is a relaxing country free of the hassles in many of the other countries we visited and it would be a great place to rent a chalet and simply spend more time there, exploring the temples, trekking, or just escaping from the usual everyday hassles of being a traveler. Perhaps another time, when it is cheaper?!

2007-05-22T09:27:00.000Z

Trekking in Nepal

It is not often that you would see word 'easy' and 'Himalaya' in the same sentence. This being Mike's third time to Nepal and my second we had decided to do a reasonably lengthy and bit more remote trek than the usual Everest Base camp or Annapurna Curcuit.

Being keen adventurers or suckers for punishment depending on which way you look at it we chose an 8 day trek in the Langtang Valley region north of Kathmandu. The trek climbs to a 4600m pass and is rated as medium to hard in the Lonley Planet. And let me tell you it was hard!

We did not make it any easier on ourselves however! After travelling on a local Nepali bus (more like a tin shed on square wheels!) for 7 hours we realised that we had forgotten we would need to pay the National Park fee and had not included this hefty cost in the money we had budgeted for the 8 days. Also we thought we would get the bus to the end of the line thinking it would be the best place to start the trek and were sat mouths agahst as we then dropped a winding 1000m further down the trail. So now we were not only short on money but also a 1000m downhill from our first day start point!

So, our first day consisted of a climb from an altitude of 1000m to 2900m and was a long 9 hour day through forests of pine, oak and hemlock. It was great to be out in the fresh air again although the calf muscles were not so appreciative! Being the end of the trekking season and just prior to the monsoon here the trails are quiet and the locals extremely welcoming.

Mountain views are what trekking in the Himalayas is all about. During this season the views are best at sunrise and early morning through until about 8am when the cloud roles in. So this means early starts and big days. On the the morning of the third day we were greeted with the most spectacularl views through the the west of Nepal and to Tibet where the afternoon before there had been nothing but cloud!

Ever uphill we climbed to one of the highlights of the trek and toward the pass of 4600m at Gosainkund. The Holy Lake at Gosainkund if one of 6 at this high altitude but is one that attracts many Hindu pilgrims who believe the head of Shiva is within the lake. Particularly picturesque at dawn!

Onward and upward to the pass where the snow blocked our path and the lakes were iced over. Glimpsing the grandure of the tallest mountain range in the world in the background.

What goes up must come down! A long way down! Day 4, another 9 hour day, as we condensed 2 days into one. Short on money, but also enjoying being outdoors rather than couped up in lodges (there's only so many games of cards you can play!) we pushed on. Our path was haphazzard. At times crawling on all fours up near vertical climbs of loose rubble and rock, traversing icy streams and encountering huge landslides we gained the respect of local villagers when they learned how far we had come.

Another 2 days of downward climb and on our last night we had another interesting experience. We stayed in a lodge checking in before the regular afternoon downpour. All that night and the next morning we could hear a funny 'meowing' sound. I thought it was a strange sounding cat and curious, in the morning, Mike asked about it. The girl said ' not cat, tiger!' Mike nearly fell off his chair, as you can well imagine! We of course asked if we could have a look and low and behold not a tiger but a leopard cub!!! Barley weeks old it was tiny. In halting english the girl explained that there were three (the others were in the village somewhere) and no mother. They were keeping it under a basket in the kitchen!

We are not sure how they came across them, if the mother was poached?, what they plan to do with the cubs? But even giving benefit of the doubt the cub was obviously distressed and would struggle to survive. What would they do with it when it got big?! They are also worth quite a bit of money on the black market and this is not uncommon in these parts in terms of poaching. On returning to Kathmandu we have been to the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) to report it and show them the pictures. They said it is probably a common leopard and not a snow leopard (protected species) and so therefore probably deemed as less important! They said they would contact the National Park in the region and see if they would take action.... so we will see. We have done what we can and I am hassling WWF International for follow up action. After all if they don't look after a species in the first place then this is how they become endangered in the first place isn't it!?

So...... action, adventure and wildlife presevation all in 6 days! No rest for the wicked!

2007-05-06T10:26:00.000Z

Tibet

After wussing out on a 24+ hour bus journey across the border to Nepal from Varanassi in India we took a flight into Kathmandu. It did take us a full two days though, even flying, as our first scheduled flight could not land due to bad weather and we had to be flown back to Varanassi, India where we were put up in a 5 star hotel for the night! A slightly better standard of accomodation than we had been used to! Once in Kathmandu we then set about the mission to orgainse our road trip into Tibet.

The Chinese have such strict regulations on independant travel to Tibet that that make things down right difficult! We were incredibly lucky to meet up with a couple who were keen to do the exact itinerary we were hoping to organise. Meet Suz and Dave! Suz is a New Zealander who has been living in Melbourne and Dave is Aussie born and bred.

Our next mission was to find ourselves a guide and a land cruiser to take us across the Tibetian Plateau over 7 days. Meet Drongdup, our guide and our driver whose name sounded very much the same as our guide but I am not sure of the spelling!

And so we set off crossing the Nepali border into Tibet, climbing all the way. The scenery as we passed through the mountainous plateau was spectacular. We came across Tibetian farmers tending their fields with yaks! Prayer flags strewn across mountain tops. Earth colours reverberating against brilliantly blue skies and snowy capped Himalayas.

The Tibetian people really do live up to their reputation as being some of the most friendly on earth. The Dalai Lama has recently been quoted as saying that only 20% of the population in Tibet are Tibetians. Since the Chinese invasion in 1959 the Han Chinese have been moving there in droves. The new sky railway from Bejing to Lhasa which opened only recently brought in approximately 30,000 Chinese in the first 2 weeks of operation. The people of Tibet are becoming a minority in their own country. Communist China restrict what media they have access to, what music they listen to, how many people practice religion and the ultimate free thinking of the country. After nearly 50 years there will be no going back but the Chinese are making it incredibly difficult for Tibet to move forward.

The Tibetians do however boast access to the highest mountain in the world, something which the Chinese are desperately trying to reinforce to the world is now theirs. In our land cruiser in 3 days travel we climbed to over 5000m to stay at Everest Base Camp. There we were blessed with 2 amazingly clear days and gorgeous sights of this beast of a mountain.

After a sleepless night for all of us at such a high altitude we began to wind our way down to Lhasa. Passing through Shigatse and Gyanste we found the Tibetian old towns much more charming that the stark new Chinese developments. Again the people were welcoming and charming in the inquisitive way.

Heading into Lhasa, we had enjoyed our road trip immensly. Within Lhasa we found the juxtaposition of a city being built rapidly with western shops and facilities for an ever growing Chinese population and the never ending trail of Tibetians on their pilgrimage to some of the most famous Buddhist sites in the world. As ever I was facinated by the people and tried to capture their absolute devotion to their religion.

We found destinct similarities in people's appearance to that of the Bolivians and Peruvians in South America. The high altitude living which wears the face and skin, cracking and reddening the cheeks is the same from continent to continent.

The Potala Palace in Lhasa where the Dalia Lama ruled until he was forced into exile was amazing but deserted. Tibet has suffered a huge injustice to it's people and traditions by the Chinese. Tibet will sadly it seems never have the opportunity to return to it's free state. Let's hope there is hope for it to be allowed to retain it's customs, religions and traditions without fear of repression. .. Next we head back to Nepal for some trekking before heading to Bhutan! Stay tuned. K

2007-04-23T12:54:00.000Z

India bombards your senses. Some say it is like being assaulted by a beautiful woman! There is definately nothing quite like it.

From the dry arid landscape awaiting monsoon, to the vibrant and elegantly dressed women in the sari's, to the spice that greets you on every corner, to the toilet that is every street; India's constant horn blowing millions make their presence felt.

Apart from the wildlife and the exquisite palaces the highlight for me was the people. While they drive you steadily crazy with their constant requests of 'Where you from?'; 'You see my shop?' and 'You give me 10 Rupees miss?!; they have a quiet determination and whole heartedness that, if you allow yourself to stop and enjoy, will bring a smile to the face of the most hardened traveller.

Here are just some of the people we met along the way.

2007-04-23T11:13:00.000Z

It's just not cricket

I was thinking that India would be a good place to be during the Cricket World Cup. And then they unexpectedly got themselves knocked out in the first round and so it proved to be a very bad place to be, 1 billion mourners and all that. And then, it turned out to be a very good place to be after all because, not unexpectedly, England got themselves knocked out! And so, we mourned together.

I reckon I might be able to get a game at the next world cup and so I am preparing for it. It will be held here on the sub-continent and so I have been busily getting myself accustomed to the pitches and some unusual variables that I reckon are unique to India. For instance, where else in the world would your game be abandoned beacuse of a camel sitting on the wicket? And in full, magnificent, view of the Taj Mahal?

Compared to Varanassi, this was but a minor shower. Here, on the banks of the Ganges I have played two games late in the afternoon. The first I had to abort taking a quick single due to an onrushing large, Brahman cow that wasn't too keen to give way and which sent me periliouly close to the water's edge. During the second match, I went to take a catch only to be pecked at by a gaggle of geese, enraged at my having distubeed their sleep and then later, a goat headbutted my leg when fleeing from two foaming dogs.

Only in India.

2007-04-19T11:46:00.000Z

Indiaaaaarrggghhhh!!!!

A "love/hate relationship" is a phrase I reckon we've all uttered once or twice but never, in our experience, has it more appropriate than for India. It would be very hard not to love the Taj Mahal, watching an Asiatic lion on a kill and coming very close to a beautiful Bengal tiger.

There are many other delights such as the palaces of Rajasthan and the occasional culinary delight. BUT, nowhere else that we have been to has been such a challenge. Our patience levels have become thinner than tracing paper! Sometimes, unfairly, it seems as though 1 billion people are conspiring together to part us from our cash. And this puts into the shade mere trivialities such as trains running 4 hours late; coping with 100 degree hot buses, with the promised air-con just that, a non-existent con! Still, neither of us has been sick in our 3 weeks here and that must be some kind of record!

2007-04-13T11:11:00.000Z

Big Cat Safaris!

Greetings all. We've been inIndia for two weeks now, although at times it feels like much longer. Times such as spending 15 hours on a bus in 100 degree heat, 8 hours on a train with 9 million others and sitting in restaurants ordering with care usually reserved for dismantling a nuclear weapon for fear of sabotaging our intestines.

However, there have been some wonderful highlights, as good as anyting we have yet done.

Our first safari was in Gujurat, 9 hours north of Mumbai. The Asiatic lion was once spread across Asia. It is the lion of the Bible and the one the Christians were fed to. Now, it remains in just one park in Western India, at the Gir Forest. We got really close to this female.

She was busy feasting on a spotted deer kill and, amazingly, we were allowed out of the jeep to take a closer look. One snarl from her and we instantly knew our limits! However, curiousity got the better of this cat and she came towards us for a closer look, walking past our jeep no more than 5 metres away before settling down under the shade of a tree to relax.

Next up was Ranthambhore, a tiger reserve I had visited 6 years ago and where I was lucky to see many tigers. None quite as close as this stunning female. I don't think either of us have ever seen a more beautiful animal.

As with the lioness, she crossed the path in front of our jeep and gave us extraordinarily close views. Only 4 years old she is still growing, but already she is massive. The park is also home to much other wildlife including leopards, sloth bears, crocodiles, sambar & spotted deer, mongoose and over 300 birds. We took 4 safaris but were only lucky enough to see a tiger on one occasion.

2007-03-26T07:32:00.000Z

Sights, Sounds and Smells of Vietnam

Having had 3 weeks in Vietnam we have been thoroughly impressed by the variety this diverse country has to offer. Vietnam is an explosion to the senses from start to finish. With 84 million people this long country (1700km!) can be both hectic and idyllic at once.With beauty at every corner it is easy to see why Vietnam is one of the most photographed countries in the world. From the school girls riding bicycles in long flowing white Vietnamese dress, to the vibrant green of the rice fields, to the flower sellers in conical hats, to the incence makers rolling cinamon and sandlewood; the country vibrates in every possible way.

We have travelled south to north. Taking a slow boat down the Mekong from Cambodia and visiting our friends in Ho Chi Minh we then embarked on a three day motorcycle journey enabled us to explore the cottage industries of the central highlands. A 2 day experience with the tailor shops in Hoi An left us well dressed if not with a hole in the pocket! We joined the circus merry-go-round that is Halong Bay and trekked up to Sapa walking the hills with the local tribes people. We enjoyed fine dining in Hanoi with thanks to the French Colonial influence. All in all Vietnam has been a highlight in culture, cuisine and country.

2007-03-17T11:24:00.000Z

Our Man in Saigon

Having sailed down the Mekong from Cambodia into Vietnam we have just spent 4 days in Saigon (Ho Chi Min City) visiting a friend from University days; Neil Fitzgerald.

Besides ensuring that we didn't get ripped off by the locals (which happens all the time!) we also got the 5* treatment featuring a full-english breakfast, top Thai meals prepared by Pui (Neil's beautiful girlfriend), as well as a few insightful tours and first class local eating!

Neil has been in Vietnam for two years teaching English as well as writing for local magazines and pursuing his own literary projects. He can still speak Nottingham-English but is more at home in Vietnamese these days (!) Many of the locals regularly comment on how well he speaks Vietnamese. A language notoriously difficult to learn. To our ears however, it sounds like bad dubbing on a kung-fu movie! Sorry mate.

We met many of Neils' friends and also came to see how easy it is to feel right at home in this city. One of his friends, Crispen, even cooked us a full roast dinner!!

We also had the opportunity to visit the college where Neil teaches and meet one of his classes. The class were very welcoming and practised conversational english by asking many questions of us and our travels. So to Mr Neils class that we met...(continue to) give your teacher hell!

A big thanks Neil, to you and Pui for taking time out to ensure that we had an excellent time. Keep well both of you and keep enjoying all that Siagon has to offer.

2007-03-07T07:39:00.000Z

Triumph and Tragedy in Cambodia

Just finishing up in Cambodia and I think it's fair to say that we've seen both the best and the worst of Cambodia's history.

First up was a 4 day stay in Siem Reap to see the magnificent temples of Angkor including the mighty Angkor Wat, the world's largest religous building. Built over an area the size of Manhattan there are many, many temples built mainly between the 9th and 12th century AD. Some have been consumed by the jungle that surrounds them and roots from giant trees have strangled the stonework and run amok across doorways giving certain ruins a Tolkien feel to them.

Angkor Wat itself is an obvious wonder. Surrounded by a huge moat crossed by stone walkway and then by a number of huge outer walls it retains a sense of order. The main building is massive but without an overwhelming feeling because the changes in level are subtle and gradual and it is only when you climb the ridiculously steep steps to the main towers that you realise just how high up you have come. Other enormous temples litter the site, intricate stonework a feature of them all.

We were lucky to see Angkor Wat for the first time at sunrise and on another day hired push bikes to explore the sites further.

Phnom Penn has provided a stark contrast to this and it is hear that we have been finding out more about Cambodia's dark past - the ghastly influence of the Khmer Rouge. Following civil war the Communist Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot took control of the country from 1975 - 1979 when Vietnam invaded. It is estimated that 1.7 million people died as a result of the Khmer Rouge. They tried to recreate Cambodia's glorious past by relying on a peasant economy and working the rice fields which they interpreted as having been the cornerstone for the mighty Angkor empire centuries earlier.
Thus, the cities were emptied and everyone in them marched into the country to commence working the land. Professors, teachers, diplomats, foreigners and many more were arrested as posing a threat to the regime. They were often tortured and mock-confessions forced out of them before being executed. We visited S-21, a former school turned prison where inmates were tortured and the Killing Fields where the prisioners were taken for execution, usually from bludgeoning to save bullets.

So in an effort to take the counrty back to Year 0 the Khmer Rouge succeeded in destroying much of the heritage and ancient culture of this once hugely powerful and prosperous land. What you see now is a land in recovery. Forty percent of the population are under the age of 15. The people cling to the heritage they have left, that makes them proud. Angkor is everywhere, on the flag, in shops, postcards. The people are friendly and resilient and smiling but there is an underlying hurt from what has gone before.

We had to put this last one in or you wouldn't believe us but they really do seel deep fried spiders to eat!

2007-02-25T07:58:00.000Z

Hello and Happy Belated Chinese New Year!

Well after travelling through mainland Malaysia and on to Penang our island hopping plans were somewhat scarpered by the oncoming of Chinese New Year. We had hoped to jump from island to island along the west cosat of Malaysia and Thialand however as there is a 4 day weekend this tends to be the time the Chinese (many of which now inhabit Malasia and Thialand) go on holiday. We could not find accomodation anywhere and the prices began to hike! I know many of you will not be feeling a great deal of sympathy right now... but there it is.

So we hightailed it up to Krabi in Thialand figuring there would be more accomodation there. Krabi itself is a small town and the main departure point for Ko Phi Phi, internationally reknowned island resort.We decided to stay in Krabi and do day trips from here out to the islands. The scenery was spectactular and the food amazing. Here are a couple of pictures from our island adventures.

This on is the beach where the movie 'The Beach' with Leonardo DiCaprio was made. Unfortunately there were about 200 other people there the day we were there!

We have recently spent a couple of days in Phuket at Kata Beach and tonight we travel to Bangkok where we will spend a couple of days before we head for Cambodia and Angkor Wat. Hope all is well. We love getting your emails so keep them coming. Kat and Mike

2007-02-14T06:58:00.000Z

Fun in the Sun in Bali

Prior to Malaysia we spent some time in Bali, Indonesia. We were hoping to head west from here to Lombok and Komodo for the Komodo Dragons however forfeited this plan in favour of Borneo. A good choice it was as well as you can see from the previous blog.

We had a total of 12 days in Bali. Apart from spending most days at the beach, surfing, relaxing, getting massages and pedicures we also explored the island on scooters some days. I thought I would include a few pictures from here as it was a very beautiful place with it's own distinct style.

2007-02-12T04:19:00.000Z

The Man of the Forest - Borneo

Slipping, sliding, occasionally sinking. We had wanted to get off the beaten track and after 3 hours along a track deep in mud we were. We are in Borneo. Sabah to be exact, the northern region. For those not in the know Borneo is the world's third largest island and is divided between Malaysia, Indonesia and the tiny sultanate of Brunei. We are in Malaysian Borneo and splendid it is too.

We had arrived at an eco-lodge adjacent to a huge river and barely 15 minutes after collecting our stomachs we were aboard a narrow boat looking for the local wildlife. Over the course of 2 days we were extremely fortunate to see many of the forest's jewels including the "man of the forest" itself, a wild orang utan hanging from the branches of a giant tree overhanging the river. Detecting our presence she slowly climbed down behind thick vines to peer out at us from behind the foliage. We were extremely lucky.

When not being poached these awesome apes are suffering from habitat loss. A combination of logging and the planting of palm oil plantations to be used in the cooking and cosmetics industry is depriving them of much needed forest in which they can thrive. We later visted a rehabilitation sanctuary where orphaned orang utans are taken and released into a protected area of forest and helped back to health by regular feeding before eventually (6-10 years) being released back into other forests in an effort to boost wild population numbers. Did you know that the orang utan has 96.4% the same DNA make up as humans!

As well as the apes we saw long tailed macaques and the comical proboscis monkey. Native only to Borneo, this monkey has a nose that must be seen to be believed!!! Another treat was to see a herd of 20 wild asian elephants tearing up vegetation on the river bank - these animals eat around 200kg of food every day! Completing our wildlife showcase, 4ft long monitor lizards, freshwater crocodiles, hornbills, a sea eagle, wild boar and a big hairy spider. And that was in the toilet!

Two days later we visited Turtle Island to see .... yep, turtles! Green Tutles to be exact. We witnessed one huge female (shell over 3ft wide) lay 87 eggs which were then collected by the park ranger to be incubated safely away form predators such as monitor lizards. We then witnessed around 20 hatchlings be hand-released into the ocean under the cover, and safety, of darkness. As it was night time and flash photography was permitted unfortunately we cannot share any photos of this with you!

2007-02-01T08:13:00.000Z

New Babes in arms and another of Mike's Mishaps!

During our trip home we were lucky to catch up with a few new arrivals, a few 1st Birthday parties and a trip to the beach! Firstly we went to visit Matt who has now moved to Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast. We took a trip to the beach with Josh and Hannah (pictured below) his two little ones. We had a great time although I think Mike and I played with the toys as much as the kids. As you can see Matt is well and working hard having just finished his course to become a personal trainer. Work 'em hard Matt!

Once we got home we were invited to Georgia Katherine's 1st Birthday! Michelle and Matt hosted a lovely Birthday breakfast BBQ in the park in Lismore. It was a lovely morning and a great to see Georgia turning into a beautiful little girl with loads of perosonality~!

In between a belated Christmas, Mike's second Birthday, doctors appointments, booster injections, malaria tablets and many trips to the beach; Mike managed to have another little mishap! For those of you that remember the backpack incident in Europe - that was nothing! It goes like this... We had hired a car from Brisbane. Mike had been driving and we were at the beach for a surf... well who went for a surf with the keys in his pocket?! So, we now have a hire car at one of the most remote beaches with no key! What's more is the spare key was in Melbourne (please remember at this point that Australia is a very BIG place!) and it is Friday afternoon after 5pm. The upshot was that the hire car sat at the beach for 4 days while the key got couried down and we were charged the excess for the lost key! What am I to do with this boy!? All ok in the end with us getting the key and car on our day of departure! (nothing like cutting it fine!)

On our way out of Brisbane to Bali we stopped in to see Jade and Sim and their gorgeous little 4 month old Finn. Unfortunately we didn't get to see Sim but Finn was having a ball in his new Jollly Jumper and Jade looked a seriously competent and stunning new Mum.

On the way home we also got to see Greg and Ang in their place in Brisbane who were kind enough to put us up for the night. It was great to see them both well.

Also a big CONGRATULATIONS to Dom and Soumi who had a little boy, Ethan Morley Cheah on the 3rd January.

2007-01-18T09:42:00.000Z

Morning in Malibu

It's 7am, dawn in Malibu, when we leave our beachfront hotel and take a stroll along the beach. Katherine, as ever, has her camera over her shoulder with big lens attached looking like a typical member of the papparazzi as we gaze into the enormous beach homes that gaze out over a placid pacific. So placid in fact, that there are no surfers out at this legendary spot and so we alternate admiring glances between the palaces of the rich and famous and a pod of dolphins that are coasting only metres offshore, occasionally jumping clear of the water and seemingly having a lot of fun. A solitary seal puts his head above water to study Katherine and a dozen pelicans fly low over the water past a small flock of terns that are diving for fish. 2 hours later we're back at the hotel enjoying fresh muffins and coffee and enjoying the same view before strolling across the road to check out the surf museum.

If anyone has any spare millions there are far worse places to buy a house!

Photos taken at Santa Monica Pier LA. Where Bay Watch was filmed all those years ago!

2007-01-18T09:11:00.000Z

Peru - Christmas on a lake, NY on the Inca trail and a "taste of the Amazon"

In short, Peru was wonderful. 3 weeks did not really do it justice but we gave it our best and visited many of the places we wanted to get to and experience. Here are a few anecdotes:

1. For Christmas we stayed with an indigenous "Quechan" family on an island on Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake, more of an inland sea and shared with those crazy Bolivians. the family spoke neither English nor Spanish, only Quechan. Neither Katherine or I took that module at school so conversation was limited to humorous gesticulations and primitive grunts. Must of worked though as we got fed. Rice, chips, soup. Not turkey, chocolate and beer! Great experience but maybe not one to be repeated.

The lake itself is stunning and contains many islands natural and man-made. The latter are constructed entirely of reed, even the houses. The islands are 15 metres deep on average and float on the surface. Even the boats are made of reed whilst they live off fish, meat in the form of cormorants and herons and veggies from trade with the nearest lakeside town.

So, in the middle of nowhere, floating on a pile of reeds, speaking only an indigenous language and yet ... there is a baby named Beckham!

2. New Year was spent on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, a trail relatively straightforward and only complicated by the altitude which on the 2nd of 4 days reaches 4,200 metres. The day we completed this was also New Year's Eve and the people we were with really helped to make it memorable compensating for the lack of alcohol and festivity with strange "Happy NY" party glasses, party poppers and hats!

Machu Picchu, for us, lived up to expectation. It wasn't so much the ruins themselves but rather the setting that takes the breath away. It is nestled amongst huge mountains in excess of 5,000 metres with vast drops down to the fast flowing river far below on the valley floor. Covering the mountains are a mixture of tropical and sub-tropical rainforest lending the site a truly wild look that famous ruins such as the Pyramids, Acropolis and Coliseum don't have because of the close proximity of Cairo, Athens and Rome respectively.

3. Having had a couple of days in Cuzco, the gateway town to Machu Picchu and arguably our favourite city in South America for its wonderful mixture of colonial Spainish and past Inca ruins, we flew to Puerto Madronaldo in the Peruvian Amazon. 3 days gave us a taste, or rather the local mossies a taste of my flesh. Katherine emerged relatively unscarred with only a couple of bites. I was forcibly held down and had my blood removed on 33 occasions!!! Still, it was fascinating, despite being waist high in mud - rainy season - and being bitten on the arse by a piranha. No, really. We saw plenty of wildlife inlcuding tarantulas, caiman, toucans, monkeys, macaws, snakes and a piranha. We stayed in an Eco lodge on the banks of a tributary to the Amazon, a real treat to stay in our own cabin in the lodge's grounds surrounded by macaws and a semi-tame toucan that thought nothing of flying onto my arm and trying to remove my watch with its massive beak.

2006-12-29T20:01:00.000Z

Bucks Published Online!

If anyone is interested, 2 accounts of our adventures have appeared on the YHA Backpackers Essential site and the Times' "Your World" site. Both include accounts of our Rio favela tour and our encounters with whales on Argentina's Valdes Peninsular. The first features some of Katherine's photography, the latter just my text. Links below:

http://www.backpackeressentials.com.au/article/feature.cfm?objectID=1301

http://www.backpackeressentials.com.au/article/feature.cfm?objectID=1300

http://yourworld.timesonline.co.uk/ - search under South American options

2006-12-17T16:06:00.000Z

Bolivia - A Land of Riches

Our original itinerary had not included Bolivia. However as we travelled through South America everyone we met, strangers and friends, recommended it as somewhere we must go. We had not allowed time in our travel plans initially for a detour and so we had to make time and we are so glad we did!

Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. Economically that is, however it is in my opinion that it is one of the richest in so many ways.
Culturally - many Bolivians work off the land in a very hand to mouth existance farming llamas and have managed to retain much of their traditional culture. The women still wear traditional dress with their hair plaited, bowler hats, many petticoats, stockings and strapped shoes. It is also very common to see them in their typical dress lugging heavy sacks of produce on their backs and across the borders often carrying for many miles. This may often result in horrendous difficulties in old age. Also being exposed to the harsh environment with the strength of the sun and wind at high altitude weathers the faces of Bolivia well before their time.

Minerals - Bolivia is a country rich with minerals. Gold, silver, copper, sulpher are in abundance in the mountains and volcanoes of the south west. During the Spanish occupation many mining towns were established with Spains´ thirst for gold. When Bolivia gained its´ independance it continued to mine with limited resources and knowhow. As a result mining continues today but much is done by hand and with child labour. The locals consider working in the mines as having a ´contract with the devil´and an almost certain or early death.

A Land of Colours - As a result of the rich mineral content of that land at high altitude you are greeted by a country as rich in colour and diversity as the finest artists pallette. There are deserts and moutains sculpted by windswept plains. Lakes of yellow, red and green. Dali-like landscapes with ancient rocks scattered in procarious formations. Smoking volcanoes and thousands and thousands of wild flamingoes!

The highlight of our 4 day jeep tour across the southwestern corner of Bolivia was an early wake up call to watch the sun rise over the Salar De Uyuini. The Salar De Uyuini is an ancient lake that has over time evaporated to leave 12,000 km sq of mineral salt deposits. A huge salt desert! There are 27 islands within the salt pan many with cactus that are thousands of years old. (Did you know that a cactus can only grow 1cm a year? Which has the makings for some very old cactus!)

With the massive expanse of the salt flats and the white floor against the non existant horizon this gave us the oppotunity to do some creative photography playing with perspective. Here´s what we came up with!

By the way, not sure if you have figured this one out but, if you put your cursor over the picture and click you should be able to see an enlargement. Hope all is well with everyone. We are now in Peru on a 3 week tour. So, here´s wishing everyone a ´Feliz Navidad´! (Merry Christmas) and a Happy New Year!

2006-11-20T20:06:00.000Z

Having a whale of a time!

We´ve just returned from 2 days on Argentina´s valdes peninsular and are literally buzzing! We got lucky. Very lucky. We saw 2 orcas (killer whales) and were fortunate enough to see them hunting a sealion by beaching themselves on the shore. For those of you who have seen the David Attenborugh footage of orcas doing this this is what we saw at the only place in the world where this happens! Awesome.

We also got close encounters with southern right whales form a boat trip that we took. They were named right whales by hunters who classed them as being the right whales to hunt on account of the ease with which they could aproach them. In fact, so curious are they that they actually approach the boats. Happily, this now means stunning close-ups for many tourists. Each year between 4 and 600 whales come here to breed and we saw dozens of mothers with their calves. The hardest thing was trying to fit such large animlas into a single photo but as you can see Katherine didn´t do too badly!

We also saw a penguin breeding colony where the half a million penguins come to nest and breed each year. We were lucky enough to be there just as the first of the eggs were hatching! For me the most amazing thing was the level of committment of these birds. Each year they nest with the same partner in the same place. They share the responsibility of protecting the eggs taking it in turn to sit on the nest while the other goes after food. Due to the sheer volume of penguins on the site sometimes the nests are far from the sea meaning for the furthest away a 7 hour walk to the ocean and 2-6 days fishing before the return journey of 7 hours to the nest! Now that is love for the family!

2006-11-14T22:40:00.000Z

Action Adventure!

We are just back from El Chalten and the Fitzroy mountain range. We did two days trekking (5 & 8 hours) with absolutely perfect weather. We were able to see the famous Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitzroy peaks clearly and saw some great country.

Yesterday we had a 12 hour day and went on an organised hike with Fitzroy Expeditions. We trekked for 4 1/2 hours to a glacier in the park. We crossed a river by rope on a harness pulling ourselves across with our hands. We were then fitted with crampons and went walking on the glacier! It was such an amazing landscape! All crevices and valleys and peaks. Incredible! We were then given a chance to climb an ice wall in the gracier with ice axes and our crampons! So much fun and quite and achievement! Something I would definately recommend! We were on the glacier for about 3 hours and then had the 4 hour walk back out of the park! Huge day but well worth it!

We are off to the Valdes Penninsular tomorrow - a 24 hour bus trip! Hopefully to see lots of penguins and orcas!

Whats news out there anybody?

2006-11-09T00:34:00.000Z

Hola! We have just completed a fairly gruelling 5 day trek in Torres Del Paine National Park in Chile.
The scenery was incredible! Amazing granite peaks, snow capped mountains, surreal coloured lakes across a tremendously hardy but accessible landscape. The weather was forgiving considering it is notorious for high winds sweeping across the plains from the snow capped mountains and glaciers. We camped 4 nights in a 2 man rented tent in gale force winds and snow! All of which added to the experience.

We are now in El Calafate in Argentina and are off to see the largest glacier in the world outside Antartica tomorrow before heading off for another 4 days trek in the Mount Fitzroy region of Patagonia. Here is a link that will hopefully give you a taster of what we have seen this week and last week.
http://www.todocalafate.com/english/

Such an awesome experience! Have met some great people along the way too - hello to the W crew if you ever get to read this! Ultima Esparanza rules!

2006-10-29T18:40:00.000Z

Having just spent the week in Buenos Aires concentrating on tango, flamenco and some brilliant cuisine we have just arrived in Chile. Awaiting our flight to Punto Arenas to get way down south it is an anticipated O degrees where we are headed!

For the record I enjoyed Brazil immensley! Saquarema, a small beach side town 2 hours from Rio was really relaxing with the most amazing sunsets! ( oh yes there will be photos!) The Iguazu Falls, which took a full 2 days to take in, were one of the most incredible nature wonders I have seen. Argentineans are living up to expectation; immaculately dressed and proud. Can´t wait for Chile!

Email may be a little more erratic now we are headed south so stay tuned.
Hope you are all well! Keep the news and the photos coming!
K x

2006-10-26T18:32:00.000Z

A Walk on the Wild Side - Part 2. Walking the favela
We hadn´t planned to take a tour of one of Rio´s favelas. Not through fear, although this was a factor, but because we saw no reason to see the poverty at close quarters. Fear of a guilty conscienmce perhaps. Reading the Lonely Planet changed our minds as responsible tours give back to the community in many ways not least through education.We took a tour of Rocinha, one of Rio´s largest and like many, an area controlled by a drug lord. The public image of the favelas is not good to say the least and yet Christina, our guide assured us that we would be 100% safe within Rocinha as crime is totally prohibited by the drug lord and any acts dealt with severely. Surprising as this first sounded it made perfect sense when Christina explained that the drug gangs wanted as little pólice intereference as possible and also to create a safe environment in which to attract the wealthier classes into the area to buy drugs in confidence. The official figure for Rocinha is a population of 60,000 but this is a massive underestimate. The electricity board estaimates some 127,000 people living in this city-within-a-city and yet even this may be inaccurate judging from the many instances of illegal tapping into the wires, just one example of the local population keeping costs to a minimum in order to survive. The need to do so is perhaps best explained by the contrasts surrounding the favela. Opposite to the entrance to Rocinha is Rio´s most prestigous school, the American School. Here, the monthly fee for pupils is some 4000 Reis, the minimum wage in the favela just 350 Reis per month. With such disparity it is all too easy to understand why children look to drugs as a way to lift themselves out of poverty. To act as a lookout, the lowest rung in the gang hierarchy, brings in 800 Reis a month, way more than the minimum salary. And yet drugs are not the only option and many schemes are now in place to offer children an alternative. We stopped to view the artworks of a number of both children and adults who are encouraged to develop their skills and sell to the turists who visit Rocinha each day. Typically the colourful paintings depict famous Rio views or landmarks such as the Maracana football stadium or the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corvocado hill. Showing both an inventive as well as creative streak, stylish bags are made from magazines and hats from plastic shopping bags. Not that we would have been any the wiser had we not been told.The very location of Rocinha is staggering in itself. Nestled in amonsgt the Rio hills it is surrounded by remants of the Atlantic rainforest, a serious rival to the Amazon for biodiversity. The views across the city are spectacular and take in Corcovado and the Sugar Loaf. On the hill opposite, one of Rio´s most fabulous homes whose owner has his own private island south of the city and is a world famous surgeon who has operated on Sophia Loren and Jacques Chirrac amongst otherr famous names. He has endeared himself to the people of Rocinha and beyond by performing free operations for the poor each Friday. It is philanthropic acts such as this that provides hope of a better future for the people of Rio´s favelas.Walking the streets we were lucky to hit upon market day and Rocinha was buzzing with produce as varied as you might expect to see at Borough Market on a weekend. The houses look poorly constructed and the wiring positively lehtal yet we were assured that there are no instances of collapsing buildings, fire or any records of electrocution. Indeed, many of the electricians working for the electricity board live in the favelas which would explain the extensive wiring that is everywhere.Amongst the impression of close cooperation, the emphasis on a crime free favela and the communty projects springing up the problems that a favela like Rocinha faces should still be highlighted. They receive hostile press, strike fear into the hearts of most Brazillians who wil not venture inside and receive little help form politicians who ignore the poverty and are either unwilling or unable to tackle the powerful drug lords. The drug lords themselves are part of the vicious circle. Few last long, sometimes only days and the average life expectancy for somebody involved with a gang is 30 we were told. Later we visited a much smaller favela called Para Ti numbering a mere 2,500. Here we visited a community school partly funded by the money we paid to take the tour. It has 80 attendees, 40 in the morning and 40 in the afternoon and amongst other features it has 8 computers with free internet access and also produces its own handicrafts which it sells to visitors.Taking a short 3 hour tour may only provide a limited insight and it certainly does not give a full comprehension of the difficulties the inhabitants of a favela face. But it does break down illusions, false assumptions and fear that bad press creates for the favelas. The tour was certainly one of the highlights of our trip so far. Mike

2006-10-26T18:14:00.000Z

A Walk on the Wild Side - Part 1

Apologies in advance ... I'm now having problems with Argentinian keyboards!
As most of you probably know I'm interested in natural history so I thought I would relate a few animal encounters ...
Highlight has been the Tamarins that we have seen at various points whilst in parts of the Atlantic rainforest. These dudes are small monkeys but way cuter than your average Bubbles. Long tails, smaller than Koalas and kinda like gremlins before they become gremlins! Seeing them leap out of trees and onto a fence to be hand fed banana on top of Rio's sugarloaf was a highlight!

The Iguazu falls were packed with wildlife. Thousands of swifts hunt insects around the falls and overhead dozens of great dark vultures wheel away in the sky. More fun or terrifying if you're Katherine are the large 4ft lizards that regularly cross your path. I was yanked back in dog-on-a-leash fashion when trying to pursue one into a thicket. I'm told they're harmless ... Not so are the coatis that you literally have to step over. Racoon like, these little critters scavenge everything they can from the zillions of daily tourists and they don't mind having a full domestic in front of everybody either. Or taking the occasional pop at an intrusve tourist.

We're gonna experience the Amazon in Peru. So far we have mostly encountered the remnants of the once equally impressive Atlantic rainforest now cleared heavily to make way for Brazil's coastal cities. What we have seen has been impressive though. My plant knowledge is non-existent but we have seen some stunning trees and flowers and some giant butterflies, particularly near to Iguazu where they flock in their 100s and land all over you. Amazing.

Okay, enough for now. Hopefully Katherine will post some pictures to properly do justice to these words. We're off to Patagonia on Sunday for 6 weeks trekking and whale watching on the valdes peninsular. For those of you in the know this is where the killer whale phenomenon of beaching themselves to catch seals occurs. Wish us luck on witnessing this! All the best.

2006-10-07T19:30:00.000Z

When my baby, when my baby smiles at me I go to Rio! (Peter Allen - Aussie songwriter! - blame him not me!)

Well, Rio has been awesome thus far! We arrived on Monday and managed to find our way to Ipanema minus my backpack which BA had convieniently misplaced! (I really was starting to think maybe someone was trying to send me a sign about travelling either that or I have done something bad to a backpack in a previous life!!) Ipanema is the more upmarket side of Rio and the beach next to Copacabana beach.

Starting to settle in and get more of a feel for Rio itself now. Tuesday we went to the beach and Mike had a go at surfing the pitching shorebreak which is hard and fast on his first go of a short board. An experience shall we say! We went up Sugarloaf mountain on Wednesday and the views of Rio were spectacular! Kind of Byron Bay crossed with Sydney but more mountainous and more populated. Yesterday, we went to St Teresa which is the area behind Rio centre and quite bohemian in atmosphere. We caught the street car (open tram that looked about 50 years old) with people hanging off the sides and had lunch in a funky little restauarnt with bright colours, paint peeling off the ceiling and a live 6 peice jazz band!
The weather is not so good today so we have spent time planning the next leg of the journey. Tonight we hope to go to a Samba club and tomorrow we are trying to organise a guided tour of a favela (one of the many shanty towns) that also contributes money to that particular community.
We are probably heading out of Rio Monday and onto Saquarema and the Isle de Grande for more beach and trekking. The off to the Iguacu falls and Argentina.

The food here has been excellent! I actaully don´t think that much of Copacabana to be honest! The beach, is the beach and the area back from it is hustle and bustle but not so nice. Ipanema, where we are staying is much nicer with great bars and restaurants. The beach is just as nice with a younger crowd and the scenery surrounding is spectacular! Definately more safe than some of the other areas surrounding.

My bag arrived yesterday and all intact thank goodness! We recieved some compensation from the airline on the day we arrived and can claim things on our insurance although I think that may be more hassle than it is worth!
Anyway I will leave Mike to the next installment down the track - photos may be a while as I need to get them to disk before I can eduit the site! Sorry!
Hope all is well with everyone! Let us know your news!

2006-10-01T08:24:00.000Z

I think I am becoming a novice web designer! This IT stuff is doing my head in! Anyhow if you would like to see more photos then on the right hand side of the blog and on the side in green is a link - if you go to 'lots of photos' then this should link you to all our albums! Just to really bore you!

By the way if anyone can tell me how to get this green side bar back up the top of the page onto the top left of the screen where it should be!! then please help (Andrew/Prue this means you)! I have spent hours!

Hope all is well with everyone.

2006-09-29T14:51:00.000Z

Fly by Australia! With a short stop to validate Mike's Australian visa and see my family we spent a total of 5 days in Australia before flying back to the UK. True to form we managed to squeeze quite a lot in! It was great to see Michelle and Matt and their beutiful little girl Georgia. Fantastic to spend time with my awesome sister! Who we saw in both the brass band she plays percussion in and at gig in a cocktail bar where she plays acoustic guitar.

We managed to squeeze in some surfing however my board sustained an injury on the flight over and had to be sent for repairs so I didn't really get a look in! And just to prove he really can do it here he is!

I also had a quick trip down to London to visit Prue and celebrate her and Williams engagement! We spent a lovely afternoon sipping champagne by the Thames having a leasurley late lunch. As you do! After popping in to work for 2 hours to catch up on the gossip I headed back to Cheshire. We are packing again but this time just the back packs and fly out Sunday for Rio!

2006-09-15T20:23:00.000Z

Back in Blighty

First part of the trip has now finished and we arrived back in the UK yesterday before jetting off to Oz this Sunday to validate my visa. The Euro-trip climaxed with an awesome 2 day trip to Barcelona where wannabe footballer here experienced the wonder that is the Nou Camp and then 5 days in Biarritz where wannabe surfer here got to dip his toes with his awesome surfer-girl wife.

Continuing to build more linguistic barriers than I have broken down I have now manged to fall foul of the Italians and the French. On the autostrada in Italy we learnt that the Italians really are more expressive. Having been harassed for the 27th time in 3 minutes I lost patience with one horn-blower and flipped the finger only to be met with more gesticulations than I could ever decipher. Pretty sure they weren't tokens of peace though. Then, in France I copped some flak in the water. I had ben told that the local surfers were cool just so long as you don't drop in on their wave. Fair enough. I didn't mean to, was actually looking closely to learn from him but somehow got in the way and then copped a right earful before foolishly trying to explain why I had stuffed up. In my non-existent French. C'est la vie.

But, all in all, an excellent end to the trip and some awesome memories. Highlights for me being the Swiss Alps, Florence, Barcelona and Biarritz. Hopefully Katherine will get some of her photos on the web soon which are fantastic - I think she should have her own website, really, they're great.

Big public shout of congrats to Prue Greentree soon-to-be-Blamey & William and to Jade and Simon on baby Fin.

Hope all are well

Mike & Kat

2006-09-02T17:25:00.000Z

Italian Drivers and Gellati!
Well we have really got down to it in Italy!The last instalment was logged in Siena after having had a glorious time in the Swiss Alps only to embark on a mad adventure into Italy in the summer holidays. Crazy timing I know! We are now not sure if we love it or hate it! We love what we see and there is so much to see; Verona, Venice, Siena, Florence, Tuscany,the Amalfi! - but we hate getting there! Italian drivers are the pits! The further south you go the worse they get. There are no rules, no indicators, no signs, no courtesy and only one speed: fast! Italian drivers only think of number 1.They will go to extremes to get thqt one place further ahead in the cue; they do not wait their turnand their systems are ludicrous!! Ok rant over but just for the record I dont think that applies only to their driving!

We have seen some amazing sights.

We spent 3 days camping in a small town in Tuscany - Barbarina Val Delsa - a beautiful town with a great deal of atmosphere right in the heart of the hills. Strategically placed between Siena qnd Florence it madea great base and a relaxing and peaceful place to co,e back to. We managed to see Michealangelos David who lived up to expectation - an extraordinary artwork in any time period! Among other things we also managed to buy the biggest gellati in the world! in Florence. Tiring from all the walking we decided it was gellati time - my mum has a rule of a gellati a day when in Italy! - In most other places the price has gone on how many scoops so as usual we requested 2 each. To our surprise we were handed the most enormous cone of gellati we had ever seen! Only to be even more surprised when we got to the cash register thqt these gellati went on the size of the cone and cost E16 for the 2!! I dont know if Mike was more embarassed by the cost or by being seen in public with the biggest gellati ever! I was doubled over with laughter! Stung!

We have since been down to the Amalfi coast, Capri qnd driven up via Portofino; all stunning in their own right however Potofino a personal favourite! Now on our way to Spain and Barcelona. Glqd to be in France at the moment and away from the crazy Italians!

2006-08-24T10:44:00.000Z

2 posts covering the same thing. Sorry, REALLY cant suss these Italian computers.

Language barriers have been an issue. When in Switzerland and looking at a group of 3 Ibex (long horned goat type tings) I said to a German Naturalist "Was vogel hast du seen?" which I thought meant something like what birds have you also seen? Apparently not as she and 2 colleagues started to laugh pointing at the Ibex as though I thought they were birds. Oh well, not as funny as seeing a 50 year oldGerman then try to do an impression of a flapping Eagle with her arms outstretched and doing some weird puffing noise. Bizarre.

2006-08-24T10:33:00.000Z

Hello All

Its now day 14 but after only 2 nights I was already in danger of being kicked out of the big brother tent having managed to lose Kats rucksack containing all her jewllery, personal items and some clothes. That coupled with shocking weather and a flooded car menat for a vey dodgy start! all well now though except for the weird Italian computers that I havent got a clue how to use!

So, good stuff. The Swiss Alps lived up to and exceeded expectations. Unbelievable how close you can get to the giant mountains without actually climbing them and such a great feeling fo space. Hhikinbg in the Jungfrau region definitely my favourite so far - for Katherien it is probably the paragliding she did there.

Now in Italy in Tusancy having already been to Lake Garda, Verona and a stunning but packed Venice. Currently typing this in Siena and about to be kicked out of the computer whcihs its been trying to do since I logged on. Next time i think Ill get Kat to do thisd as shes far more IT friendly. More to tell but another time. Hope all are well
Mike and Kat

2006-08-22T19:55:00.001Z

hello all

well, after only 2 nights in the big brother tent i was already up for eviction. after a gentle introduction to the road with a tour of one of frances champagne houses we had moved onto annecy, a lakeside town in the alps, where it proceeded to lash it down into the night - not a problem for the tent but it was foir the car which wasnt sealed becxause of the dodgy fiiting of the surf roof rack* meaning thast a small puddle of water had collected in the passenger seats. not good. of coourse i lept into action(!) and started bailing but only after leaving katherines** on the side of the road. where it remained. and maybe does to this day with all her jewellery, expensive beauty products, some clothes etc ... not a cool move!

onto better things. the alps were awesome. chamonix took the breath away but the swiss alps around lauterbrunnen and interlaken were just about the most beautiful places i have been to and i canb see why kjatherine has raved aboiut them so much, certainly lived up to the billing. so much space and yet intimate all the same as you trek through grassy meadows with these imposing and stunning snow capped mountains keeping you company by your side all the way.

katherine went paragliding in interlaken and was buzzing for hours afterwards and for both of us it was very hard to say goodbye. now, we are in italy and io think the whole country is on holiday judging by the congestion, switzerland it aint! lake garda okay, verona charming, venice stunning. tuscany next...

will close this first account now, a combination of time running out and heabutting mosquitos trying to syphon my blood is more than my meagre literary and physical powers can take

all the best one and all

mike and kat

* yep, feels daft having surfboards in the alps ... role on san sabastian and biaritz
** sorry for useless spelling and grammar - cant work the itlaina computer!!

2006-08-05T10:26:00.000Z

On the move! Have packed up the house and handed over the keys! We are homeless! Have headed to Cheshire for a few days to unwind. For those of you wanting more details of our itinerary all you need to do is log into this website https://www.checkmytrip.com/ITN/LoginServlet?SITE=ITN&LANGUAGE=US with the reservation number 2oh9l7 (make sure it is a letter o and not the number 0) and Buckley and you will be able to see all our flight details and dates! Come join us somewhere along the way!?

2006-08-03T14:54:00.000Z

Test blog. Final day and counting ...