Wednesday, 7 December 2011

Fort Cochin, Kerala, India 8th-12th November 2011

After leaving Agra 3 hours later than scheduled we were only 2 hours late arriving in Kerala, south India. It was still a reasonable hour at 9.30am.

We were refreshed after our train sleeps x2 but glad to be stepping off the train after 40 odd hours!

We headed to the Tuk Tuk stand and bagged a driver to take us to our final destination. It took about 30 minutes to drive there and out driver was defiantly skillful in weaving through the traffic!

We found our accommodation which was a brand new backpackers. We stayed in a 6 bed dorm and were lucky enough for our entire stay to have no one else in the room with us! Binu the manager was awesome and helped us out a lot with our plans.

We went off to explore the town which was extremely cute. Slightly set up for tourists but still had its charm. We couldn't believe how clean the streets were however the tiny beach was a disappointment and filthy dirty! No sunbathing for me.

In India even though it isn't a religious requirement for a woman to cover up it is a cultural sensitivity. They advise women to wear clothing which covers the contours and curves of the female form. If anything i do it to prevent Indian men perving on me. However in Cochin i have the say the perving was at it's worst. Men will Lear at your chest just in case a slight movement will show a contour or the edge of a boob. They even stare when walking with their wives! It's quite unsettling. Western pornography is to blame as men will perceive any western woman as being 'up for it'.

The following day we decided to do a little Tuk Tuk tour of the area as there was quite a lot to see. It took around 3 hours. We went to St Francis Church which was just in the middle of restoration (it was definatly not safe to be inside!). We saw the manual fan's used to keep attendees cool on hot Sundays. Great invention.

We visited a Dutch Cathedral and then headed to Jew town. This place even had a street called Jew Street, it made Dave laugh! We went to a little museum which had some extremly old preserved murals on the walls which were beautiful. They even had some half finished ones too which had been preserved so you could see the workman ship. We also visited a Cochin Synagogue, a tiny building with not much in it.

Our Tuk Tuk driver unfortunately kept taking us to tourist tat shops and wen we walked in just for a browse we were met with pushy Indians offering us prices on things we just didn't want to buy! What would we do with a wardrobe! haha! He told us that if we visited just 5 shops the government would give his family 1kg of rice. I am all for supporting the community but i would rather just buy him a kilo of rice than constantly get harrased by Salesmen!

We found some really great cafes to laze away the day in. One was called Oy's and was our favorite breakfast spot. The other was Teapot which did the best cuppa i have had in a long while and the most amazing Death By Chocolate cake. One bit is never enough for me!

We thought we should book our on going trains before they got to booked up. The whole system was a joke and we were pretty much screwed for sleeper trains until December. We were initially supposed to get to Hyderabad (central India) to get a train back to Delhi but it was proving impossible to get a train there. Our Travel agent moved our trains to Goa which made it much easier to get to. There were still no trains but there was a 22 hour bus and as we had no other option we had to go with it. Worst part is that it's not a sleeper bus. It's a sit up bus. Another uncomfortable journey coming our way soon!

On our fourth day it was my Birthday. 26 years young! We decided to do something different than the usual lazing around. On waking up I opened my little present pile from Dave. I got a Twix, Toblarone, a pack of gum, a paint by numbers and a pack of UNO cards! Just what i wanted! Plus Dave now had to suffer my constant bugging to play UNO! We then headed to the little island next to Fort Cochi called Vypeen Island. We got the car ferry over which cost 2 rupees each (3p) and took less than 5 minutes! We then hopped on a local bus and headed to a secret little beach called Chenni Beach. There was no one around. perfect for a sneaky sunbath! After getting rather hot we decided to venture back and went out for a yummy home cooked tea and a giant piece of Death By Chocolate Birthday cake! YAY!! I have now had 3 consecutive Birthdays in 3 different countries!

We were looking forward to yet more relaxing in Goa and boarded the bus with gritted teeth!

Next Stop Palolem, Goa.............
To see our pictures from Kerela please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/KeralaIndia7thTo12thNovember2011#



Sunday, 20 November 2011

Agra India, 5th to 6th November 2011

After a 6 hour drive we arrived in Agra, we checked into our hotel and where once again treated to the biggest suite in the place!
We had no time to waste however and headed straight for the Taj Mahal in good time to watch the sunset. We arrived at the gate and realised that no cars are allowed within 3KM's of it as the pollution and heat do not treat it well. We bought our hugely over priced tourist tickets and waited for an electric bus to take us to the entrance. Once we where off the bus instantly we where hounded by touts and shop owners to buy cheap rubbish from them for stupid prices - obviously we refused.

We where them treated to a body search in separate male and female lines and I must say it was a little close to comfort! Even though there where thousands of people there the sight of the Taj Mahal is truly breath taking and you are able to find small corners where you can almost feel as if you have the place to yourself.

We walked around the grounds and viewed it from all angles, we decided to avoid the crowds who where close up to the building and find a quiet spot on the grass to watch it change colours with the fading light of the day- and even I have to say it was pretty romantic and I sneaked a kiss from Leanne.

The next morning we went to Agra fort, but it was a little disappointing but only in comparison to some of the other forts we had already seen. We still strolled in the grounds and enjoyed the views and the warmth of the morning sun - this was however briefly interrupted by the fact that we gave our driver a 50 pound tip and he said it was not enough!

We just laughed this off and made our way to the train station to wait for our 40 hour train to Southern India and the state of Kerela. After a really brief goodbye Girish was gone and we where on our own once again - it was sad that our experiences with him ended on a sour note but we still had a good time overall. Our next stop Fort Cochin.

To see our photos from Agra please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/AgraIndia5thTo6thNovember2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCLHY9OjRxc61Xg#

Jaipur, India, 3rd to 5th November 2011

After a good nights sleep and a relatively short 4 hour drive on pretty straight roads, we arrived at Jaipur with renewed optimism that our tour was back on track.
We passed through the bustling city centre (full of traffic) and made our way out to the other side of the city past the water palace and fort to our hotel. We where shown a pretty decent hotel room (for Indian standards) only to be told this was not our room and we feared the worst - instead we where taken to the suite on the top floor, the room was excellent but far too big for our needs - we even struggled to see the TV from our bed!

So we relaxed and went to the rooftop restaurant to enjoy a free meal (we made the most of this) and watch the light show taking place at the fort.
The next morning I was fully back in the game so we hit the sight seeing hard. First was an Elephant ride up to the old fort high up on the hill/mountain side. The Elephants where cared for by the government so they where in really good health which made us feel good about riding them up to the fort. They where colourfully painted and fed and watered at each end of the track so they where in good spirits. It was quite a weird experience riding on the back of the biggest land mammal and it felt both very safe and also very unsafe at the same time! The only downside to the ride was the driver who kept hassling us for a tip even though there where signs everywhere telling people not to tip as the people received a good wage for the ride.

After this we looked around the fort and realised we had to get back down on our own! So we asked some staff at the fort and they showed us a path that kept crossing the Elephant track so we where dodging Elephants and their droppings all the way down. On the way we saw a bedraggled looking man with a wicker basket and a flute and inside he had 2 huge King Cobras who where mesmerised by the musical instrument.

Once back on flat ground we headed over to the water palace which was a retreat for the old royalty to escape the relentless summer heat of the desert. It was quite pretty but off limits and we had to look at it from the shore, so after 15 minutes in the sun we decided to move on to the next spot, the 'pink' palace. For me personally this was nothing great to look at, mainly because this was in the centre of the city and had been enveloped by stalls and beggars but Leanne enjoyed snapping it. After this we went for some lunch and a rest before taking our drivers advice and checking out a Bollywood film.

We where a little sceptical but decided to do it and we went to watch 'Ra-One' which was the latest blockbuster film and we where not disappointed at all. The cinema was immaculate and inside the screen was huge and while the film was on people laughed and cheered out loud when something good or naughty was happening on screen - there is even a half time interval for a toilet break! Although the movie was in Hindi we still understood what was going on and we didn't feel out of place at all.
We retired for the evening and rested up for our next stop Agra and the Taj Mahal.

To see our pictures from Jaipur please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/JaipurIndia3rdTo5thNovember2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCISosoigtMXWTw#

Udipur, India - 1st- 3rd November 2011


From Jodphur it was a horrible 8 hour drive to our next destination Udipur. Not only was it long it was rough! The roads were nothing more than dusty tracks not a bit of tarmac in sight. With the little car that we were in it was not the best of combinations. Poor Dave still wasn't right and was sleeping in the back but every time we hit a big bump i would look to see him wedged between the chairs.

When we finally arrived at our hotel we were starving luckily the hotel had a roof top restaurant which had a magnificent view over the lakes and the beautiful Udipur Palace. We had some western treats including chips and a jacket potato yummy!

Unfortunately the hotel wasn't what it seemed and we woke up covered in ants! We phoned our travel agent and we were swiftly moved to another hotel which was much better and had very comfortable beds!

We spent the day strolling around looking in the various tourist shops and buying odds and ends. The move with the hotels took up a lot of our time as even though it was just a couple of streets away from our original hotel the one way system meant a tricky half hour drive to reach it!

But we made the most of the time we had left. We also found a great cafe that sold beans on toast! Dave was in Heaven!

It seemed as just as we arrived it was time to leave again!

Next Stop Jaipur....

To see our pics from Udipur please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/UdipurIndia1stTo3rdNovember2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNmO4eeg67PmbA#

Wednesday, 16 November 2011

Jodphur, India 31st October to 1st November 2011


Just a three hour drive from Pushkar was perfect for poor Dave as he still wasn't feeling to well. He slept in the back the whole way. We arrived at what looked like a half finished hotel and i put him to bed while i went our exploring with our driver Girish.

I was lunch time and Girish said he would take me to a restaurant that all the tourists love. I know full well that this means the food is not great and extremely over priced. So instead i asked him where he would eat for lunch. He looked baffled that a westerner who could afford much more would want to east in a local place. I explained to him that i preferred local places and the food was not fussy and tasted so much better. He laughed at me and was chuffed that i wanted to eat with him. We headed to an all Indian eatery and i stuck out like a saw thumb. I told him to order for me and again he looked shocked! He ordered 2 Thalis which is a common meal for locals. It basically a platter of all sorts of Curry's, lentils, Vegetables, yogurt, chapatis, rice and lime pickle. It was the best one i have ever eaten! I finished the lot too!

We then headed to Mehrangarh Fort which is a giant fort very famous in Jodpuhr. It was an amazing sight sitting right above the city. The Views from the top were spectacular. The entire city is coloured Blue 80% of the buildings are painted all different shades of blue. I did an audio tour to pass the time while Dave was sick in bed. It was actually very interesting. I was also very interesting to many Indian's I think i was asked to have my photo taken with people at least 10 times!

After the fort Girish took me for a treat - Makhania Lassie. This is a special local treat. It is a thick yogurt which tastes of lemon and lime. It was Delicious and i told Dave that the 3 hour drive from Pushkar would have been worth it just for that yummy treat!

I saw the town clock tower and then we headed back to the hotel. We spent the evening relaxing in the room and i chatted to my friend Anil about the upcoming wedding that me and Dave are going to in Punjab. Exciting stuff!

Next Stop Udipur...

To see our pics from Jodpur please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/JodpurIndia31stOctoberTo1stNovember2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCICv3Zfmr6SSyQE#

Pushkar, India, 29th to 31st October 2011


We arrived in Pushkar after a horrible 10 hour drive. Annoyingly just 30 minutes away from our hotel there was a road block due to an accident and we were forced to spend another hour and a half going around the houses on a diverted route!

Our driver Girish was great we chatted most of the way and he was telling us all sorts of story's about previous clients good and bad. The car was the perfect size and because there are only 2 of us it meant we could take turns having a sleep in the back. Air Con was defiantly a godsend Phew it was hot.

The first evening Dave wasn't feeling to well so we didn't venture far. We headed up to a roof top restaurant to get a great view over the Holy Lake. We ate Felafel's and pitta bread which was a nice change to Indian (not sick of it yet though i have to say!).

After a terrible nights sleep for Dave we decided it was best for him to spend the day in bed. Actually he didn't have much choice as the Delhi belly had caught up with him!


So i went out to explore the town. I had heard that Pushkar could be a bit pushy so i prepared myself by not taking much money out with me. I headed down to the lake and the touts must had seen me coming and immediately my shoes were removed, I had a Hindu priest on one arm and a metal plate with flower petals, red and yellow powder, rice and a hairy coconut in my hand. The Priest got me to repeat after him and finally added bright red Hindu spot, with his thumb, slap bang in the middle of my forehead. Before it dried he also added some rice! He tied a white and red band around my left wrist which is know as the famous Pushkar passport. Then the inevitable happened, he wanted money. Not just 100 Rupees either he said that if i didn't give him 1000 (nearly 20quid) Rupees for each member of my family that is alive then bad luck would come to them. I pretty much laughed in his face and asked if he thought i was stupid. I soon walked away from that one.

Next stop was a woman who grabbed my right hand and started applying a henna design to my palm. I said i had no money and told her to stop but she said "it's OK...just a small one for free." I didn't want a half finished flower on my hand so gave her a few seconds just to make the petals even and then i pulled away. Stupid woman then started demanding money and when i said no she smudged the design so it was ruined and i was left with a messy orange mark on my palm. More fool her as she got it all on her beautiful Sari...Karma!

After being constantly hassled in the street i found refuge in a high up cafe and had a lassie (Yoghurt drink) and an Aloo Paratha (potato bread). Yummy! I just sat in away from the heat and watched the world go by.

Because Pushkar is a religious place there were lot's of regular pilgrims as well as tourists which made the most colourful show of people i had ever seen. The small alleyways were filled with pinks, purples, oranges, blues and red's of the bustling ladies. Like a rainbow!

I headed back to Nurse poor Dave for the rest of the afternoon. He really was in the wars and not well at all. Unfortunately for him the power had gone out in the hotel which meant that not only was he minus Air Conditioning but also without a fan! Not nice in +30C especially when your ill!

That evening i went on a Camel Safari (more like a camel ride actually). My Camel was called Romeo and i know why, he was a romancer and loved all the lady camels! I hopped on and when he stood up i realised how high i was! It was a bumpy walk through the town but i felt like a queen and all the locals were waving up to me! We joined a convoy of other camels and headed out of town and into the desert. I saw the most magnificent sunset and was really sad that Dave wasn't there to see it but i took lost of photos to show him. My Camel decided to have a lay down in the sand on his side and then had a roll around which was a sight with his gangly legs all over the place. After the sun had set we headed back into town and i was dropped back at my hotel where i scoffed my face with curry!

Next stop Jodphur....

To see our pics from Pushkar please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/PushkarIndia29thTo31stOctober2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKPYo7vV4JuTzAE#

New Delhi, India, 26th to 29th October 2011

After a quick one night stop over in Kuala Lumpur we caught our early morning flight to Gandhi airport in Delhi. As usual I was slightly nervous about flying and the fact that there where at least a hundred Muslims (we have had amazing experiences with Muslims in Asia) in full Burk ha on the flight, plus add the fact some people starting yelling in Arabic at the back of the plane as we where taking off! I was not full of confidence at this point. Having said that the flight was really smooth and we landed in Delhi ahead of time which was nice.
We had landed on the day of Diwali, this is basically the biggest Hindu Festival of the year
(kind of their version of Christmas), we arrived at our hotel near the main bazaar and the streets where already completely full of people getting ready to start the celebrations and people exchanged gifts with each other on the streets. We decided to go for a walk to get our bearings and it was so busy that it was a little uncomfortable at first (we had heard some horror stories about Indian streets and pick pockets- which are false) so we decided to head to the roof restaurant of our hotel to escape the hustle and bustle. Once on the roof the full extent of the celebrations unfolded before our eyes - the streets had people partying and celebrating and on the skyline as far as we could see there where fireworks erupting and lighting up the sky - it was a truly special evening and we where lucky to be a part of it. Also that night we saw a few men taking their monkeys for walks on leads around the streets!

After a good nights rest and a great Indian breakfast we hit the streets and explored all the little ally ways around the bazaar. We had heard that India can be difficult to travel independently so we decided to see if a travel agent could offer us a decent tour or package and we didn't have to go far before every man and his dog was offering us a tour! We opted for a government approved travel agent to save any hassle and after some bargaining and discussions we got a decent deal for a private car with a driver and tours and hotels for Rajhastan for 8 days- plus a tour of the ancient sights of Old Delhi. pleased with ourselves we headed for an amazing lunch we both had Thali for 1 pound 20 pence and wandered the streets for the rest of the day.

A day later we headed on our tour of Old Delhi, but no matter where we went we could not escape the heat or dusty haze of the day (which is partly from the desert and partly pollution) but we headed out and the first stop was the giant mosque where we had to cover up and wear clothing given to us by officials (we also had to pay for somebody to watch our flip flops which we where not to happy about, but we got over it. The Mosque was huge and we noticed Delhi's homeless problem right in our faces as people where constantly begging - even when we returned to the car kids would tap on the windows at traffic lights and beg for money! On the way to our next destination the 'Red Fort' we noticed that India is quite old fashioned as all advertisements are hand painted and there are no neon signs on shops but the biggest difference was that the rubbish problem here is huge.

Later we went to Gandhi's resting place and memorial garden before heading to Humayun's Tomb who was a Persian who had a kingdom in and around Delhi about 600 years ago - his tomb was a nice oasis in the middle of the Delhi Chaos.

Later we visited an 800 year old temple complex which was really cool before our final stop at the Lotus Temple. This as you might of guessed is a giant lotus shaped temple, it is also unique as it is open to every faith, which means people can go and pray to which ever God they believe in without prejudice or segregation - which was nice.

We hit the Delhi food scene once again before heading back to pack our stuff for our Rahjastan adventure - our next stop is Pushkar.

To see the pictures from our trip to Delhi please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/NewDelhiIndia26thTo30thOctober2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCN_Tg5mi_ZzBTA#

Vietnam Part 2 -30th Sept -25th Oct 2011


Words cannot describe how excited we were to arrive back in Vietnam. Having a bit of familiarity again was just what we needed. We arrived stupidly early at 4am and for some reason were dropped off on the railway lines??? Not even at a station!...Asia continues to baffle me. There were plenty of taxis waiting, 2 of which offered us a ride to our accommodation for 300 Euro!! We ended up paying 3 quid (welcome back to Vietnam) Luckily our $5 a night accommodation was excellent! We ended up staying there a whole week. For the price we got a bed, air con, breakfast and FREE BEER from 6-7pm! Bargain.

While waiting for our Indian Visa's to be processed we hung out in Hanoi. Unfortunately the weather was terrible it just didn't stop raining for a week. But will such a massive choice of cafes we were content with just relaxing with tea, coffee and plenty of Pho! Heaven. After the stress of China it was just what we needed!

We had a couple of random nights out at the Bucket Bar on MA Mai, those things are strong! It's amazing how easily you can get pick pocketed too in Hanoi and some old women tried to get into Dave's pocket (the language Dave used is not suitable for this blog!).

From Hanoi we headed back to Hue where we had visited before for a night with our Canadian friends Jess and Rachel. Bucket Bar the night before our 12 hour trip was not a good idea. Me and Jess actually had to ask for a late checkout from our dorm because we were glued to the toilet.....getting to old for hangover's now!

The girls introduced us to a new card game called Skip- Bo (made by UNO) we played it every night without fail!

We then went to Hoi An mine and Dave's favorite spot. The weather was starting to clear up and we did get a few nice days. Dave finally got a couple of shirts tailored at the famous Kimmy's and the Girls got a whole new wardrobe!

We rented mopeds and again went to Hang out at An Bang Beach while the weather was lovely. We went back to our favorite vegan restaurant and did another Cooking class which actually turned out to be a complete let down. But we were still happy with our previous cooking class. Plus it was fun to do it as a little group.

From Hoi An we got another night bus to Nha Trang. Shitty journey but it was the last one we were going to have to do.
Nha Trang turned out to be the loveliest part. The weather was amazing so we ended up staying 5 days this time. We had some great nights out and spent most days just lazing on the beach topping up our tans! We found a little street vendor who made amazing Vegetarian sandwiches. I think at one point we all ate 3 in one day! We made friends with a dog called Neigh Neigh too she was a Dalmatian and had just had puppy's!

We went to a Hot springs resort just outside nha trang which we missed last time. We were a bit dubious as the weather was stupidly hot that we didn't thing that hot springs and mud baths would be a good idea. We were very wrong! Rachel didn't come as she had been stung by a jelly fish a couple of day's earlier and didn't want to aggravate it. So Dave, Jess and i went anyway. It was super cheap. We had a private mud bath and a mineral rinse off. The we all treated our selves to a Vietnamese massage with FEET! It was actually really great! After that we had a long steam and went and chilled out under a fast flowing waterfall to get rid of all our dead skin. Finally we relaxed in a warm jacuzzi before heading back to Nha Trang for our dinner. and the price? each? 7 quid!!! hahaha!

We were sad to leave Nah Trang but we had to get moving. We decided to head inland and up to Dalat which we had missed out on our previous trip. Just 6 hours on a bus was nothing but it was the smallest bus possible!not that comfortable. Dalat was lovely and we found a really great deal in a hotel where we stayed for 2 nights.

We decided to to a famous Easy Rider tour for the day. This rent motorbikes! All four of us had our own drivers and they took us on an amazing road trip all day! We saw some beautiful scenery. We visited a Coffee plantation (did you know it grows on trees? ) and also a fresh flower farm and rice wine factory. We saw how they make Weasel coffee too which is famous in Vietnam. They give the coffee beans to weasels to eat and when they are passed through into their poo the re-collect them and roast them into coffee beans. Apparently it gives the coffee a unique flavour! It's very expensive!

We visited a rice sorting factory and the giant Elephant Falls (we got a bit wet). After an amazing and extremely filling lunch we had a drive through the mountains seeing all sorts of wildlife just hanging in the roads! Needless to say our bum's were a bit sore! We were extremely lucky with the weather too as it was sunny all day!

From Dalat we took an 8 hour bus back to Ho Chi Minh City. It again was nice to be back somewhere so familiar. We booked on a 2 day 1 night tour of the Mekong Delta which we also missed last time. It was pretty cheap but wasn't as amazing as we thought it would be. Just a lot of driving at least 20 hours in a 48 hour period. They rest of the time was spent on a boat! We did however have an amazing meal in a place we stopped off to sleep. This little street kitchen was right on the river front and we all ordered BBQ meat and seafood (for the veggies). We thought it would just arrive ready BBQ'd but they brought 3 giant terracotta flowerpots filled with white hot coals complete with a grill on top. Then they brought our raw marinated meat and seafood and we got to cook to our own liking right at the table! Plus we had some really Yummy Ochre! Was just the perfect meal.

We headed back to Ho Chi Minh and said our goodbyes to the girls :( we were sad to leave but they were off to the Philippines and we had to fly to KL before heading to India. We finished out trip with a session at the 12p Beer Hoi stand. No better way to enjoy Vietnam. Now after spending over 2 months there would we go back?? Again and again and again and again!

Next stop India!

To view our pics from Vietnam please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/Vietnam2ndTime29thSeptemberTo25thOctober2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrno8yx9cm5Yg#

Tuesday, 15 November 2011

Hong Kong and Macau, 22nd to 28th September 2011


Welcome to Hong Kong or HK as the locals call it - A huge sprawling Metropolis of sky scraper after sky scraper.

We arrived after the overnight train from Guilin to Shenzhen and then we had to walk across the border to the Hong Kong side. It was not as painless as you might of thought! because Hong Kong is a SAR and not technically part of mainland China the foreign passport queue was full of Westerners, Indians and thousands of Chinese trying to cross the border (some of them unsuccessfully). in the queue we where greeted with warning signs about avian flu and also that the was a potential outbreak of Scarlet fever - so welcome to Hong Kong!
Once on the other side we got onto a crammed train and headed to Kowloon and our accommodation within the Chunking Mansions. Do not let the name fool you the 'mansions' are a warren of dodgy dealings and fake outlets selling anything and everything- there are 5 towers located above the ground floors the house 'hotels' and lots of restaurants, especially Indian restaurants.
So we found the correct lift and waited in the huge queues and there are only 2 lifts for each tower - one serving even floors and the other odd floors. Leanne got in the lift first and I had to wait a further 10 minutes for it to come back down 17 floors so I could join her on the 9th floor.
When I got there we hit our first problem! the accommodation we had booked and paid for online had now fallen through! the lady was not willing to help so Leanne basically grilled the lady until she got her husband who eventually gave us our money back. So we had to walk down 9 floors with all of our bags and then start a search for new accommodation. unfortunately for us there was a massive conference on in HK so there was no accommodation. After walking around for 5 hours we found a room for $600 HKD (about 50 quid a night) which was really central but not in the 'mansions' which proved to be a good choice but the owners had little English and it was up to a Filipino lady to help us.

We needed to head to the Indian consulate to apply for our Indian Visa's so we had a shower and ran there before it closed at 5.30pm, but we hit another problem! Online it said it would take 5 days for the visa's but when we got there the guy said it could take 7 days which wasn't good for us as we had flights booked to the Philippines before then. So a little disheartened we took the decision to wait until we got to Manila before we got our visa's for India.

After our drama we headed into the city and decided to stick to the Kowloon side of the harbour it is definitely a hub of frenzied activity. people offering you everything from bags to watches and everything in between - we managed to refuse and headed to the water front where things where just as busy but luckily we could escape the constant hassle of the touts.

That night we headed back to the mansions and found an amazing Indian restaurant on the 5th floor- we also arrived at a good time as we got 20% discount and the meal was amazing.
Afterwards we walked around the neon lined streets before heading back for a well earned sleep.

the next day was just a slow day with more sight seeing and web searching as we had to alter our plans so we decided to move our flight to Manila closer so we would have more time to get the India visa's in case anything else went wrong.

On the third day we found cheaper accommodation in a hostel which was a little further back from Kowloon and in a more authentic part of HK - and we where not disappointed! we booked a 6 bed dorm but the guy kindly gave us a private double at no extra charge (lucky us). We found we where sharing with a Dutch guy called Helmert and a Brazilian Chinese guy (weird I know).The only down side was that it was on the 9th floor and there where no lifts, but we burnt 38 calories every time we walked up the stairs. So we dumped our bags and caught the MRT (metro) over to Hong Kong Island to visit the zoological and botanical gardens which where amazing and had free wild life exhibits such as a huge aviary, Orangutans, turtles, lakes and other wildlife which was totally free! the parks are awesome and there was no sign of damage or vandalism which puts the UK to shame!

After this we headed over to the 'tram' to Victoria Peak' which is just know locally as the 'peak' to get amazing 360 degree views of the Island and the skyline - unfortunately it was a little hazy on the pictures but we got some amazing views and enjoyed a nice lunch up at the top before heading back down. We decided to cruise back to Kowloon on a local ferry which reminded me a little bit of getting the Mersey ferry with my Dad when I was little and made me feel happy inside. That night after much deliberation we dined on some amazing Japanese food (Ramen I think?) and we had a window seat into the kitchen where we could watch the food being freshly made, truly an amazing sight.

The next day Helmert asked us if we wanted to join him for some lunch with some friends he met in Finland who where from HK - so Leanne and I said yes and off we went on a awesome day seeing parts of HK we would never have seen! visiting temples and using fortune sticks, to visiting a delicious Dim Sum restaurant.
That night we met back up with the guys and Nana and Ian (our new HK friends) treated us to an amazing seafood dinner on the street near Ladies Market and the night ended with us trying intestine kebabs! After the food we headed to a roof top bar for a night cap which resulted in me paying $160 HKD for 2 drinks for Leanne and myself!!!!

The next day was another relaxing day after a night of food and drink so the following day we headed to Macau. We took the high speed ferry which took 1 hour and when we arrived we where greeted with another cool mini nation. Macau seems to seamlessly blend it's old colonial past with a modern skyline and architecture, although this is not to every ones liking. The fact that Macau has opened itself up to gambling means that there is a lot of modern developments and huge casinos and resorts - it has sort of become the Asian version of Las Vegas. For those of you who don't know Macau is a collection of small islands which has now been connected with huge causeways which are similar to those in the Florida Keys and also by land reclamation (another hot topic in these parts). We spent the day visiting the colonial heritage with old Cathedrals, Fort's and Portuguese inspired cobbled streets before heading to the 'Grand Lisboa' the biggest casino and resort in Macau which was immense!

We took the fast ferry back to Kowloon and decided to change some currency into Filipino Peso and for some random reason we decided to check our emails - and it was a good job we did! Leanne had a message from a Filipino nurse friend from back home asking if we where still going to Manilla because of the Typhoon that had caused lots of damage and killed several people - we didn't know what to think! We checked the local news and sure enough there was a massive typhoon causing havoc in the Philippines. Which much sadness we decided it was not safe for us to visit when we wanted to so we had to come up with a new plan and fast!
We decided to use our double entry Visa back into China and head back to Hanoi overland - as last minute flights from Hong Kong are super expensive.
We went to change our Peso's back into HK dollars but news had hit the exchange rates and the Peso had dropped in value quite dramatically - we had no choice but to change it and unfortunately we lost about 60 quid in about 90 minutes of having the Peso's. Feeling quite sorry for ourselves we decided to have a curry that night and a few drinks to cheer us up.
The next morning we packed our bags and headed to Hong Kong island to get a same day Vietnam visa from the embassy and after about 90 minutes of waiting and people watching we got them. Next we rushed to HK train station to get a direct Guangzhou in China, which we made just in time. On the train we met a creepy American guy who kept telling us places to have 'massages' in Guangzhou even though we told him we where just passing through!
Once in Guangzhou the whole language barrier was back - so it took us 20 minutes to find out where to try and buy our next tickets to Nanning from, we turned up in a sweaty and sticky ticket hall with no English signs and had to randomly pick a queue and wait. Out of the corner of our eyes we saw 2 other Westerners waiting in another queue but we didn't know if they where going somewhere different so we just left them and waited. After about an hour we reached the window to be told that we had been waiting in the refund line! extremely frustrated we where told we needed to go to the other side of the hall and get in the end queue.
I waited in the line with the bags being constantly stared at by the Chinese while Leanne went over to the 2 white girls we had seen waiting in another line in case they where also in the wrong queue. We decided to all wait in separate lines in case one of us got served first - luckily Leanne had the mandarin phrase book handy and her and one of the girls got our tickets. Quite pleased with ourselves we all headed to KFC to cool down and have a drink. We found out the girls where called Rachel and Jess and they where from Canada.
On closer inspection of our tickets we realised that they where for 'Hard Seats' and we feared the worst after our Kunming to Chengdu nightmare - luckily when we got on the train we asked one of the conductors if there where any sleepers available and he sold us 4 for 100 yuan (10 pound) extra each so we where all happy - we ate some noodles and drank some beers with our two new best friends and chatted on our way to Nanning.
When we arrived in Nanning things did not go according to plan either! We tried to get the bus to Hanoi but Jess and Rachel's visa's did not start until the 30th of September and it was only the 29th and we did not want them to be turned away at the border (we had heard reports of this happening) so we needed yet another plan. We decided to get the night train and hopefully it would be late enough that we would all get through the visa checks without any problems. So we spent the day dragging our backpacks around Nanning waiting for the train.
Once on the train we had a 4 person cabin to ourselves which was nice and we passed the time with noodles, beers and recording chin videos on the cameras. We reached the Chinese border at 11.30pm and we where all relieved that we would get across without any hassles, we re-boarded the train and carried on for another hour until we reached the Vietnamese border checkpoint. Straight away we realised we where no longer in China as everything looked older and poorer compared to their Chinese neighbours. Luckily because we where westerners we had to wait until the end to get our passports back and we crossed into Vietnam without any drama's we went to sleep on the train with our Canadian friends excited that we would be back in Vietnam and one of our favourite cities, Hanoi.

Our next stop is back to Vietnam and Hanoi......

To see our pics of HK, Macau and our brief return to China please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/HongKongAndMacau22ndTo28thSeptember2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCLrZpNDwoMySFA

Sunday, 13 November 2011

Guilin, China 18th - 20th September 2011


After quite an uneventful train ride we arrived in Guilin, our last stop in China. We had arranged for our hostel to pick us up from the train station. This turned out to be a waste of time as the guy who met us just walked us to the hostel which was about a kilometre and as my back had been bad the last few days it annoyed us.

The hostel was actually one of the better ones we had stayed in, 4 bed dorm with air con. It was also very close to the town which was ideal and had a nice view over the river.

We had a walk around the town and found a nice little street cafe for lunch. We had the famous Guilin Rice clay pots. Rice is coked to a sticky consistency in the bottom of the pot and then you pick and choose your veggies and sauce to go on top. At just 20Yuan for both (2 quid) we were laughing. We also found a great little juice booth which did amazing fresh mango juices.
As the sun went down on the first night I couldn't believe the change in temperature. It was actually a nice change. A little bit of bite in the air but still fairly comfortable. I have to wear my Scarf!!

The Chinese staff in our Hostel were very cool and they taught me how to play the traditional game of Mahjong. I remember Nannie teaching me the electronic version on the computer years ago. The Chinese game is played with big ceramic tiles. It's so much fun and doesn't take long to learn. I got addicted! The Chinese generally use it as a gambling thing but we were just doing it for fun.

We did a lot of walking over the next few days. We also ate a range of food. Guilin unfortunately is proud of it's meat eating which is very in your face. Most restaurants like in Malaysia have seafood and fresh fish on display. We don't mind this at all. BUT...when they also have cage upon cage of live animals, rabbits, chickens, ducks, snakes, giant rodents, turtles it is a little to hard to handle. The cage's are very small for the amount of animals in then the poor rabbit at the bottom of one cage actually looked like it was suffocating. It really put me off meat for a while and Dave felt a re-newed gladness for this vegetarianism. We tried to avoid walking past them but it was every other street!

We found a great pizza restaurant where we were able to have a half and half pizza was yummy and we also found a sneaky Donut shop which we kept returning to. Have to admit the Chinese do donuts very well!

Guilin is probably one of the cleanest cities we have visited and a nice way to end China. We have really loved our journey however hard it has been at times. We are looking forward to the new sights of Hong Kong.

Next Stop Hong Kong

To see our pictures from Guilin please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/GuilinChina18thTo21stSeptember2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCK-e8_H1-OmUIg#