TravelStream™ news feed for member antandrel on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/antandrel en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Sun, 22 Jul 2007 11:22:28 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/2007_trips/1185117300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/2007_trips/1185117300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/2007_trips/1185117300/tpod.html Sun, 22 Jul 2007 11:22:28 -0400 Short Adventures of 2007

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Europe, Kenya

suidgvduiroghe
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/2007_trips/1181184000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/2007_trips/1181184000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/2007_trips/1181184000/tpod.html Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:42:57 -0400 Short Adventures of 2007

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Mombasa, Kenya

Turning 30 really isn't that bad after all! I celebrated on the day with a group of friends in at Syrian restaurant, drinking champagne cocktails, smoking shisha and eating scrumptious mezes.

A week after my birthday Ant whisked me off on a surprise 7-day trip to Kenya. I had no idea we were going away, he'd even sorted out for me to have time off work.

So, destination Mombasa, Kenya! For those who haven't heard of Mombasa this is package holiday central and for the first time since we started traveling we became... one of them.

On arrival at Mombasa airport we were ushered to a waiting bus and taken to our accommodation. We stayed at The Plaza Beach hotel at Bamburi Beach, and although it was only rated as a 3-star hotel, it was one of the nicest hotels we've ever stayed in.

We spent our days lazing by the pool, reading, eating fresh fish and walking along the beach, though you couldn't walk along the beach without being hassled by the beach boys - "Jambo, do you want a key ring with name engraved" - okay so these guys sucked us in; "Jambo, come look at my shop looking is free" - yeah but so is hassling; "Jambo, have you got socks to swap" - they don't swap they just use them to make you feel like you got a better deal.

We did manage to venture away from our days of idleness by going on a 2 day safari in Tsavo East which is about 4 hours out of Mombasa. Tsavo East is part of two national parks which form one of Africa's largest wilderness reserves. Instead of booking your normal cheap backpacker tour - tented accommodation and a large group, we opted for a more expensive version - luxury lodge and small group. Well, what can I say! I want travel luxury all the time!

The safari was out of this world. Within an hour of entering the park we saw our first 'big' game, a lone giraffe walking gracefully over the plains toward our truck, they truly are stunning animals. We saw countless elephants, from adults with huge tusks that touched the ground to small babies being protected by their mothers. We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to watch a herd of elephants bath in a water hole. The lodge we stayed in was stunning, all rooms had balconies that looked out over the game reserve and a flood lit water hole meant you could sit and watch the animals all night if you wanted.

On our last day in Kenya we spent it at Bombolulu Workshops & Cultural Centre (a project of The Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya) - http://www.apdkbombolulu.com/EN/index.html. It was an amazing and a most memorable day. Our time was spent being shown around the workshops talking to people and watching various handicrafts being made, we watched traditional African dances and looked at how different African tribes built their homes. We ended the day visiting their gift store where you could buy the crafts you had seen - and of course I bought a heap of trinkets. If anyone visits Mombasa I can't recommend this place enough, it really is a nice experience.

For people who wouldn't usually do a package tour we had a ball! I definitely prefer backpacking though getting stuck into traveling!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/se_asia_2003/1058990820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/se_asia_2003/1058990820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/se_asia_2003/1058990820/tpod.html Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:43:29 -0400 8 Months of no work and all play

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Singapore, Singapore

Kia ora!

I know that it has only been one week but I am already bursting to write to you all, I promise to keep it as short as possible...

Okay, arrived in Singapore where we spent one night. Never seen so many shopping malls and a fantastically tidy city!! Everyone spoke English, so our first introduction to the 'asian' culture was easy.

Found a massive 6 storey techno geek heaven, 2 floors dedicated to cameras. Ant and I spent our day and a half in Singapore bartering with different shop snakes trying to get the best price for a camera. I tired very quickly to our excursion, but Ant was very keen to keep hassling these snakes... in the end we definitely won and we are now the proud owners of a Minolta Dynax 5 with standard lens and 75-300mm lens, all for a cool price of GBP200.00 each.

Now I know that most of you will not be remotely interested in hearing about this, but for those who like cameras I think you will agree we scored big time!

From Singapore headed to Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Because it was late we decided to stay for the night, word of warning - DO NOT STAY IN THIS TOWN! Stayed in a dodgy hotel (whore house as we liked to call it) on the 20th floor. Ventured out for part of the night, but quickly retreated to our 'haven' as you may like to call it.

Caught the first train out of the town and headed for Gemas (not in any guide books). We arrived in this quaint little village to find that there were only 2 streets... one of the local boys tried to help us find accommodation, but our chances were slim. We then met a Malay man who offered to take us to Melaka, and we jumped at the offer. Hairi (our new found friend) took us the back roads to Melaka and showed us the typical villages, it was fantastic!

Finally we arrived in Melaka, the trip that would take the average person 2 hours took us just over 6. On our first night in Melaka we were taken out for dinner with Hairi and his family, they showed us the night lights of the city and then took us to a small fishing village for a traditional meal, you couldn't ask for better hospitality.

We were only going to spend a couple of nights here, but a week later and still haven't left. We are staying at a wicked guest house and have views over the city (well our street anyway).

We've visited a crocodile farm and been eaten by pirana mosquitoes, taken a rick-shaw ride around the city, visited a traditional Malay house and were shown around by very old Malay lady that liked to say - I talk you now, went on a river cruise around the canals, saw massive crocodiles (okay big goannas) in the river, visited the Portuguese and Chinese night markets, have sampled some of the most fantastic local dishes and of course met great people!

Tomorrow we are going to Kuala Lumpur with our Spanish friend, will spend a night there before heading 2 hours north to see the fire flys by night... from there who knows, we may go to the beach or try our luck with white water rafting.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/se_asia_2003/1061410200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/se_asia_2003/1061410200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/se_asia_2003/1061410200/tpod.html Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:42:57 -0400 8 Months of no work and all play

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Kula Lumper, Malaysia

Hi There!

Here is just a little update on what we have been doing. Already having a wicked time.. and it's only just begun.

We are currently in Malacca, Malaysia and this place rocks, it's a big city, but not too big to feel uncomfortable. We arrived here yesterday after a hilarious day of ANT AND NARELLES RIDICULOUS ADVENTURE - TAKE ONE (emphasised as it was ridiculous).

We left Johor Bahru yesterday morning, and because we wanted to catch the 'jungle' train we thought that we would get off at a little village to say at. The village wasn't in the guide book, but that made it more interesting. Now to start with it was no jungle train... I don't think the Malays know the definition of jungle. Anyway we arrived in 'little' Gemas at about 2.00pm yesterday, god knows what we were expecting but it wasn't this. We first found somewhere to have a drink and whilst there in uncoherent Malay asked if there were any hotels in the town.. we were promptly told no, but there may be a guest house, we finished our drinks and this little boy started to walk us to this 'place'... as we were crossing the road a Malay man (later to be known as Hairi) came up and asked if we wanted to go to Malacca as there was nothing to do in this town, a bit dubious at first we decided what the hell, and made the 3 hour trek to Malacca with him.

Okay breath... sorry it's so long winded, want you to feel like you are here...

Continued...

Anyways it was fantastic, he spoke broken English but enough for us to understand and he told us all about the trees and houses of Malaysia, you couldn't pay to have a guide like this. The van was really funny, I sat in the front and Ant had to sit in the back, but there was no seat so he rolled around on the floor for most of the journey. We got to Malacca around 5.00pm and he even took us to a guest house. The best part about it, he invited us to have dinner with his family that night and they took us to a typical Malaysian eating place and we had a traditional meal...

We have definitely made a friend and he would like to come to NZ to visit us. Overall the people here are so welcoming and just want to talk and talk and talk with you.

Okay this is short and sweet, but we will write to you again real soon.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/brazil_2003/1047301140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/brazil_2003/1047301140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/brazil_2003/1047301140/tpod.html Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:40:44 -0400 Our free 2 weeks in Brazil

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Rio, Brazil

Well as you can read we have arrived safely in Brazil. The journey to get here was long and tiresome. The plane ride to Sau Paulo took 12 hours, and then thinking we were smart we decided to head straight out of the big city to head to Foz Iguaçu, tried 2 different ticket agents to say that there were no flights out until the next day, finally we found a flight out, but we had to wait another 6 hours before departure. With not that much to do around the airport, we just ate and ate and ate a bit more.

The flight to Iguaçu was interesting, the seat in front of me had no support so during take off I had the guy in front of me basically sitting on my lap, we were sitting at the back of the plane, and as most of you know I hate flying, so I was not very impressed by the whole affair. After 36 hours of travelling with about 4 hours sleep we finally arrived in Iguaçu, tired and fed up of flying we had no idea what we were doing. While waiting for our bus, a little old Portugese man sat beside us and starting asking where we were staying, wadda, wadda, turns out he is some kind of tour guide and he gave us a brochure of a really cheap hotel. 8.00GBP per night for a ´luxo´ double room, and the place even had a pool and including breakfast. This place was totally wicked - all and more then we could ever want.

Our first day our ´guide´ met us in reception at 7am and took us on the bus to see the spectacular Iguaçu Falls, first we took a boat ride to go right under the falls, the guide neglected to tell us that we would get absolutely saturated, but it was the most amazing experience (almost as good as whitewater rafting). They guys that took us out on the boat suggested that Ant and I sit right up the front to get really good photographs (and to get really really wet), much to their delight they watch us disappear in the water falls, they also enjoyed doing stunts, one of them had this massive wave hit me and throw me onto the man behind me - doh! After the boat ride we went Ant and I headed to see the falls from a different angle (something where you didn´t get so wet). I can´t explain what we saw as it was so amazing, we were able to walk across this bridge and had the falls within a few feet totally around you - mind blowing.

Today we decided to go to Paraguay, just to add another stamp in the passport... hmmm I thought Victoria Falls was a bit rough but this place was madness. We caught the bus from Brazil and drove straight into Paraguay, we didn´t know this at the time, but we were suppose to get off the bus to go through immigration - doh. We went into Paraguay and were almost speechless about the whole place, you couldn´t take cameras, bags or anything and we could see why. Everywhere you stepped someone was trying to sell you either an electric razor or an abb flex thing, no matter how much you said no they would follow you. We even got offered cocaine and opium, which we both kindly refused. Right in the middle of the town is this massive store called Mona Lisa (somewhat like Marks and Spencers, but nicer), outside this place were all these guards with pump action shot guns, we were even a bit scared to walk into the shop. We didn´t stay there too long, actually only an hour, but because of traffic it took us 1 1/2 hours to get back, the bus driver was a crack up he kept hopping out of the bus to talk to people or to smoke a cigarette, little kids as young as 6 would hop on the bus selling garlic or cold drinks.

I really don´t know where to start from, so much has happened since I last wrote. For some of you who are only receiving this for the first time I am in Brazil... and loving it!

Okay, last e-mail I was being dragged away from the internet cafe by Anthony because we were about to miss our 9 hour bus ride to Curitiba (like I would have complained). Anyway, we arrived in Curitiba at 6am, feeling a bit tired and cranky from the long bus trip we had no idea where or what we were going to do. We tried to buy a ticket on the scenic Serra Express train, but by 7.30am they had all sold out, so our next option was to stay put. We found a cheap hotel for GBP 2,50, and it wasn´t too shabby at all, we had a view of an industrial site, and when you had a shower to get the hot water to stay on you had to flush the toilet and keep the tap running in the sink, but beside that it was really good. We spent the day looking around the town and at markets, the towns seem to close down on the weekends, so there were many people around. At one stage while we were a bit lost a couple of guys started following us, we think they were after our camera (don´t worry Ced they didn´t get it), feeling a bit uneasy we thought the safest option would be to catch a cab back to the hotel.

The next day we got up at the crack of dawn and headed on our trip on the Serra Express to Morrettes. The views were spectacular, surrounded by lush green mountains with the tip covered in clouds, at times there was a couple of hundred metres drop and you couldn´t even see the sides of the track. The ride to Morrettes took just over 2 hours, but just as we came into the town it started to bucket down - neither Ant or I were pleased at this stage, because our main aim to come here was to go tubing down rapids in an inner tube. We met an Argentine couple at the train station who had also come for the ride, we found a hotel with them, right on the river for GBP 3,00 including breakfast (you can´t get much better than this).

As we arrived at the hotel we asked the owner about the tubing, she said that the weather was okay and that we could go down if we wanted, before we could off load our bags though she was sitting in her car beeping the horn for us to go - too bad if we had changed our minds. The first thing the lady asked was if we could swim, when we all said si, she said that we wouldnt need life jackets. All of us were feeling a bit unsure of what lay ahead but went along anyway. We arrived at our destination, were kitted up with our inner tube and an optional helmet (we all opted to take it) and taken to the river. The guy gave us a crash course in Portugese and then hopped in his car and drove off - you guessed it no guide, just 4 idiotic inexperienced people ready for a thrill seek. The Argentine guys tried to give us instructions as best he could, but we all figured that the best way was to jump straight in the river. At first we were all a bit nervous, but after the first couple of rapids with everyone still in tow we started to get into the swing of things. Just as we got into it, the Argentine guy said to us that he ´thought´ there was a rapid coming up where we had to stay on the left as there were over hanging trees - a bit too late we think, just as he told us we were going down them, I was first and hit a rock on the right hand side and then was pummelled into an overhanging tree, just as I was getting my feet up to kick myself off, Ant hit me and I was thrown into the tree, under the water and out the other side, I didn´t see it myself, but Ant will tell you it was hilarious ha! ha! 2 hours of total adrhelanin and it was all over, all 4 of us walking away with only a few bruises - phew!

After our first few days of no rest and relaxation we thought it would be nice to head to an island, we caught a bus to Paranagua and hopped onto a boat for Ilha do Mel. We found a pousada (hostel) right on the beach for GBP 5,00 including breakfast (sorry for all the prices, but want you to see how cheap it is here). What an out of it place, no cars or roads on the entire island, it was either beat the feet or hire a push bike. We caught up with a French and Portuguese couple who we´d met in Curitiba and went on a boat ride out to see the dolphins, we saw a couple of schools, but they didn´t seem that interested in us. We asked the guide if it was safe to swim out where we were, he said yes and laughed a bit. All of us went in for a little dip, the water was so nice, I think the only time we panicked was when the boat started drifting away, but beside that it was pure bliss. The food was so nice, we have been living on fish, shrip, rice, fritas and salada, all for a measily GBP 2,00 and it feeds 2 people. We also had a go at surfing, hired a surfboard and umbrella and headed for the beach. After a couple of goes on my stomach I thought I was now experienced enough to stand up, the first time was a total balls up, but I was able to stand up a few times after that... and even rode the waves for about 10 seconds - I am thinking of quitting my job in London now and becoming a professional (fall off stunt man).

After a couple of days of lazing in the sun and getting really sunburnt we decided it was about time to head to Rio, seeing as we only have 3 days left. The biggest journey yet, 4 hours to Curitiba and then 13 hours to Rio - ahhh! Caught a bus from Curitiba at 7.30pm last night, paid a bit extra for a Luxo bus, oh my god this was even better than buisness class on the planes (well almost), we got given a little goodies bag as we entered, the seats were like lazy boys and there´s more, we got blankets and pillows - worth paying the extra we say. Ant and I took a couple of sleeping pills and had the best sleep ever, all refreshed for Rio!

We are now in Rio, not too sure where we are staying on the map, but have been told that it is a safe area. Were off to find Copacobana now, so we can both perve at the beautiful people (sorry Ced won´t be taking any pictures with the camera, not safe to carry around - will buy you a post card!).

Alrighty, thats about it! Hope you are all well, and for everyone in London - see you sooner than later!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1138444020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1138444020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1138444020/tpod.html Wed, 26 Apr 2006 12:02:13 -0400 Where to from here? As far as our dosh will take us! 6-months on the road, no committment other than to find shelter and to feed ourselves...

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Matakeri, India

More to come soon:

This place rocks!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1140613560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1140613560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1140613560/tpod.html Wed, 26 Apr 2006 11:58:21 -0400 Where to from here? As far as our dosh will take us! 6-months on the road, no committment other than to find shelter and to feed ourselves...

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Pushkar, India

PUSKAR

From Bangalore we spent 4 days travelling up to New Delhi. We lasted only 6 hours in New Delhi before catching a train out - it was all a bit chaotic and busy... after weeks of relaxation.

We caught 2 dodgy trains to the desert village of Nawalgarh. For the first time on a train during this whole trip, I got touched up by a dirty Indian man... not once but three times urgh!

Nawalgarh is renowned for its exquisitely painted havelis - haveli is the term used for a building of personal residence in Shekhawati and Marwar regions of Rajasthan, India. The word haveli is of Persian origin, meaning "an enclosed place". The village was what I have imagined a wild west town would look like... this village didn't even have a restaurant. We spent our days walking through the nearly deserted streets, and visited a couple of the havelis, they were simply amazing. Just so you get a bit of a feel, the havelis were centred aroun a small courtyard and were 2 stories high. There were balconies around the courtyard with doors leading off to dancing halls, bedrooms, dining rooms - all the rooms were elaborately painted (photo's to follow). Because there were no restaurants we ate all our meals at our guesthouse... thankfully the wife was a great cook!

We ended up staying in Nawarlgarh 4 days there as I got crook, this time we had to get the good old doctor to come around to fix me.

From Nawarlgarh we caught a bus for 7 hours to Pushkar, during the first 2 hours of our ride I was almost certain that we weren't going to come out of the trip alive. Within half an hour of us being on the road our bus driver almost had 2 head on collisions with a bus and truck. I think the bus driver must have received my telepathic message I was trying to send him - "I am going to strangle with my hards and suffocate you, if you don't slow down you bastard!!" Half way through the journey we got off the one-lane highway and found ourselves driving through the middle of the desert. All you could see for miles around was sand. At one point a local got off the bus in the middle of this desert plain, where he was going is anyones guess... we spent about an hour driving across the desert, and it was such a fantastic experience.

We spent the last 4 days in Pushkar, and to be honest we've done a whole lot of nothing - we haven't even done any of the sightseeing musts! All we've managed to achieve is spending heaps of money buying up large - Pushkar is one of the cheapest places in India to by trinkets and the like... hence us spending a fortune!

Yesterday there was a Festival of the Sand Dunes, organised by the local government to try and attract more tourists - to be honest I think enough tourists haunt this place... but who am I to say. Anyway we are told that they had a similar festival a couple of months ago, but most of the people got drunk on bhang lassies (marajuana shakes) and ended up dancing naked in the desert - for those who've been to India will know that nudity is a definite no-no. So, the local government decided to try again!

The festival was free for all, and would involve a camel sunset walk and local music dance. The guy that owns our hotel had arranged for everyone staying there to be escorted to the festival by way of 3 men beating large drums. There were about 10 of us, he gave us all flowers for around our neck (men included) and sent us off behind these men. Although the thought was terribly nice and we felt humble for the effort he made, it was rather embarrassing to be walked through the town of Pushkar with everyone stopping to see what the commotion was. Once everyone knew that we'd arrived the drumming stopped and we were finaly able to hide within the crowd. We followed the procession for a good half an hour and then some policemen offered us to hop onto one of the camels. So, up we got on this poor camel and were walked the rest of the way up into the desert... this time we felt like celebrities, children running up to say hello and the adults smiling and waving (there were about 20 camels with foreigners on their backs).

We'd been told by our hotel guy that everything (including the camel rides) were being funded by the government. But in true Indian fashion, once the guy let us off our camel he tried to sting us for 150 rupees... knowing that he was trying a smooth one we told him we'd get the police over, funnily enouh he soon went his own way. Another couple of people we ment didn't know it was free and paid 100 rupees - bastards!

As the sun went down over the desert we were entertained by girls dancing with firepots on their heads; Western chicks performing a risque version of traditional indian dancing (with Indian men whooping to boot); Indian men doing fire pois and almost catching the stage and spectators on fire - loosing control of his fire stick and it catapalting into the crowd. All in all it was just a really nice, mellow festival and when your not expecting anything it's quite special.

We will spend one more night in Pushkar before heading off to Jodphur and Jaisalamer for a few days. Our hotel guy has talked us into coming back to Pushkar before flying out to relax a few days... we've agreed, mainly because we've purchased about 10kg worth of junk and don't fancy carrying it.

Just a footnote about celebrity status, and cow encounters.....

During our time in Pushkar we had 2 little cow experiences, the first was when we were having lunch at a curbside cafe, this cow decided that he wanted our food. He was right by our table and looked at us for a bit, and then... decided to come over and threw his head on our table, trying to eat our food. The cafe owner chased him away, and in retaliation the cow peed all over the road right in front of the cafe.

The second encounter was during the festival, we'd all been given a flower garland for our necks. Whilst walking in the procession this calf cornered me against a motorbike and proceeded to eat the garland from my neck, I really didn't have much choice then to let him have it... all the locals found it extremely funny (photo's to follow).

Now the celebrity status, again at the festival. Somehow we (well mainly Ant) got our photo in the local paper. The hotel owner was over the moon, showing it to all who cared. Unfortunately the paper is written in Hindi, so we have no idea what they are saying about us.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1137660660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1137660660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1137660660/tpod.html Wed, 26 Apr 2006 11:57:38 -0400 Where to from here? As far as our dosh will take us! 6-months on the road, no committment other than to find shelter and to feed ourselves...

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Goa, Arambol, India

GOA

Welcome to Goa!! After arriving in the small town of Pernim Ant, Linds, Nick and I had a shit fight trying to get a taxi to Arambol, after arguing with a guy for about 10 minutes we finally came to an agreement and were on our way. We hadn't ventured more than a kilometre when the taxi stopped and in jumped the drivers 'dad and brothers'... at first we were a bit freaked - being 8.00pm at night, but there was nothing to worry about, he dropped them off 20 minutes into the journey.

We asked to be dropped at a certain guesthouse and told him that we'd already had a booking - though we hadn't. Trying his luck, after dropping us off he kept following us (another mug trying to get commission)... we tried to loose him, but 20 minutes later we were still walking around in circles and he was attached to us like bee to honey. A local hotel owner ended up coming out and told him to go away... finally we could get ourselves into a room.

As we were to soon find out, Arambol is a popular place. The only room the 4 of us could get was a 'hut', a kind of bamboo wall thing. With one bed, we were given a couple of mattresses for the floor... it was a cosy couple of days.

There's not much to really say about Arambol, as there's not a lot to do but relax and eat! I've been filling in my days with 2 hours of yoga, yummy salads for lunch, swimming, sunbathing, more eating, beer, more eating and most importantly RELAXING. The beach isn't the greatest I've been to, but you can swim and that's all that matters. We've been told that there is another beach and a lake somewhere around here, but we've to venture out so far - the only place we've been is the Anjuna markets.

Each Wednesday there's a market in the neighbouring village of Anjuna. It took us about 2 hours by bus to get there, a taxi would take around 40 minutes. These markets were huge, though most of the stuff on sale was repetitive. We spent 6 hours at the markets, and came away with a huge quilted blanket thing (all different shades of blue), some jingly anklets, Ant bought 5 tops (Ripcurl, Billabong etc.)... and that's about it. Most things were over-priced - thanks to the package tour Brits and the like!

We've been here now for 7 days, and plan to leave in 3 days time. Nick and Linds have gone off to Hampi, and we'll meet them down the line in a week or so.

Well this has to be the shortest blog I've done in ages, but when you've been doing a lot of R&R's there's not much else that you can report!

Soon enough though we'll be back into the swing of things and will be travelling once again in the real India - it's nice to have a bit of a break though.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1131320820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1131320820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1131320820/tpod.html Tue, 25 Apr 2006 04:03:48 -0400 Where to from here? As far as our dosh will take us! 6-months on the road, no committment other than to find shelter and to feed ourselves...

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Luxor, Egypt

LUXOR :

Right, I remember leaving you in Cairo... Well Greg couldn't have been a better host - from taking us horse riding by night around the pyramids (more about this later), showing us some of his favourite haunts around the city, to introducing us to the shisha! Sadly all good things must come to an end, and after spending a wicked week with Greg, we had to depart for our tour.

Now before I go on about our adventures outside of Cairo, I'll take you back to our horse riding by night. One of Greg's favourite pastimes is to take friends up to this wicked little oasis, to ride horses through the desert - overlooking the pyramids. We had to catch a cab about 30 minutes out of the centre of Cairo, and as we were driving all of a sudden these huge, majestic shadowlike images appeared. It took a little while to realise that they were the pyramids... we were totally in awe! We were then met by a guy on a donkey, and he took us to the stables. I haven't seen anything so funny in ages - a large man galloping on a donkey who looked as if it were going to collapse under him. Our horses were selected (mine was quiet as I was being a chicken), and we headed into the desert. It was amazing, we rode over sand dunes with the moon and stars to guide our way, the only sounds were the horses striding along, and our whispers of amazement. The pyramids stood in the distance, huge yet eerie - every now and then they would light up, making the moment only more magical. After an hour and a half of riding were back at the stables... already I know this is going to be one of the highlights for this trip. Now, upon starting our evening I had no idea that I had an allergy to horses... though once I had come off the horse I was sneezing, my eyes were swollen and I had come up in some kind of rash. The worst thing for me was I had to wait another hour before we got back to Greg's so I could take an antihistamine - thankfully I didn't have a worse reaction... otherwise it could have been a short trip.

So... we joined our tour, 24 of us in total - Kiwi's, Aussies and a few token Brits, the ages range from 19-31, and the group is awesome! On starting the tour, we were greeted by our tour leader (Jo) saying she was about to send out a search party. There had been some confusion, and she had us down as staying at their hotel the night before... Good start!

Our first day was spent exploring the pyramids, and they were just as amazing by day. We caught camels from the smallest pyramid down to the largest. The ride lasted about 10 minutes, and to begin with it was a frightening experience - I had never realised just how high up a camel was. We had an opportunity to enter one of the pyramids, though I became claustrophobic and had to turn around before getting to the end. Ant managed to make it to the end, and has told me that there was only a big room - nothing much interesting. We also visited a perfumery and a papyrus making factory. Both were nice, but overrated and too pricey - it was like being taken around by a tuk-tuk driver in Bangkok he! he! Our first night was spent on a night train to Aswan. After having to fight to get on the train, it was then a bigger fight for our seats. The locals who had beaten us on thought they'd take the seats, and some weren't happy to move! After settling in though, we managed to have an okay sleep... though with it being Ramadam and people only eating during daylight, by 3.00am all the locals started gathering together to eat, and talk (loudly I might add). But we made it to Aswan all in one piece.

We had a couple of days in Aswan, where we spent our time checking out the local markets, and smoking shisha at a local cafe. On one of the nights we had a huge meal with our tour, and some local dances performed for us - what a wicked evening. After showing us some of their traditional dances, one which included a guy spinning continuously, with a huge colourful skirt spinning with him... they all got us up to dance. They spun us round and round, and made us some strange moves. It was a great night, for me a good icebreaker - allowing me become a little less shy.

We have visited Abu Simbel - a set of two temples near the border of Egypt with Sudan. Constructed for the pharaoh Ramesses II who reigned for 67 years during the 13th century BC (19th Dynasty)... To visit Abu Simbel you have to go in a police convoy, which leaves at 3.30am I might add! Abu Simbel was amazing (photo's to follow), though there were too many people... to try and imagine, how people back in this time were able to build things to such a scale, are beyond me...

From Aswan we spent 2 days sailing down the Nile on feluccas. For those who don't know what feluccas are, they are traditional Egyptian sail boats, that have a cloth cover for the night, a huge mattress where about 10 people sleep - there are no cabins, you sleep on deck. Not much to really report we just relaxed, relaxed, drank beer, swam, ate, slept... hmmm and that's about it really. On the first night of our ride, our group gathered around the camp fire and told tales of their most embarrassing moments... though mine was a crappy peeing on my shoe, there were some funny as stories. We also were entertained by Stacey (a wicked Ozzy nurse) teaching our felucca boat boys some classic Austrlian tunes - G'day, G'day; Give me a home among the gum trees... ha! all class and brilliant!

I've now had Egyptian belly for 5 days, I've been blocking it up with Imodium, anti-nausea pills, nurofen and some Egyptian anti-bacterial pills. I don't know how good it is for my system, but there was no way in hell I was going to have the runs whilst on the feluccas. I'm planning to go solo when we hit the beaches at Dahab.

We are now in Luxor, where Ant will enlighten you on the next leg of our journey.

So far the tour has been better than I could ever expect. In the first few days I felt like I was being herded around like a flock of sheep, but now as we get into it... all is good. It's just like travelling with 24 of your buddies from home, only you don't have to worry about arranging your own travel or food. I would still like to travel independently, but for a tour I can't complain.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1131609780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1131609780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antandrel/desert_to_delhi/1131609780/tpod.html Tue, 25 Apr 2006 04:01:56 -0400 Where to from here? As far as our dosh will take us! 6-months on the road, no committment other than to find shelter and to feed ourselves...

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Dahab, Egypt

DAHAB :Hey! Well we are here now in Dahab and the last 3-4 Days have been a blur so please excuse me if I am little vauge....

Also, we are miles from the bombs in Jordan so nothing to worry about:)

So we left the fellucas and went to Luxor to see the Vally of the Kings and Queens, (Pics last entry). We did about 2 hours donkey riding which was great fun, except my bloody donkey chucked me off 3 times. The temples were great but it was a long hot day. I started to feel a little queasy at 5pm and by 7 am I had vomited the colours of the rainbow (if you include dark grey)into our toilet. It was to my great selfish delight that I was not the only one and there were 3 others in the same state. Role on a 4 hour police convoy with one stop. I chucked back the motion sickness pills and managed to make it to the next hotel. I pulled it together, which was great as we had a 13 hour day in the back of the truck leaving at 2 am.

The trip was ok and we only had half of the usual rubbish of a police convey (waste of time, its there for looks only....) The highlight was seeing 2 ships in the Suez Canal - Ships of the desert - it was amazing, these massive ocean vessels sailing through the sand. Cant take a picture as there were sniper posts at every 50 metres protecting the place, they were very nice and the snipers waved at us...... (how strange...)

So we got here, had a snooze for 3 hours and proceed to climb Mount Sinai to see if the commandments were up there somewhere. The stars were amazing and we saw a couple of shooting ones as well. Just as we lay our weary heads from climbing 2000m on little sleep the sun came up from below. It was fantastic and Kodak made a lot of money from all the pics being taken, there was probably more light from the flashes of all the tourists cameras than the sun! We staggered down and went past the oldest monastry in the world. Didn't look inside as was too tired after all our lack of sleep.....

So we came back to our lovely room, had a nanna nap and then proceeded 30m to the big lights of Dahab. We started off with sisha and ended up at this great bar with an open fire and 80 egyption men keen to get it on with anybody with 2 legs (ratio of chicks to guys 1:10 - Scary). Narelle was itching for a fight if they touched her but the Egyptions luckliy survived the night. So off to bed at 2am and here I am after a big english breakky for 80 pence. (Flys were free........)

Notes so far...

It has been amazing, we have a great group of guys - (Actually 19 Girls and 7 Guys) Only one single guy - Go Woza go - he's gotta score!!! The tour is very busy and tiring but with the great bunch of people loads of fun. I am very over being sick but we are supposed to be thru the worst of it, all the tour talks about is bowl movements -Its very bonding!

See you next time and thanx for reading!
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