candcthai's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries

candcthai's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member candcthai on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/candcthai en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:30:45 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com Two weeks in Bali — Ubud, Bali, Indonesia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1251357385/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1251357385/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1251357385/tpod.html Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:30:45 -0400 Clive and Carolyn's Travel Photographs

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Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

]]> Driving the Dien Bien Phu Loop — Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1250752263/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1250752263/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1250752263/tpod.html Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:13:12 -0400 Clive and Carolyn's Travel Photographs

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Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam

One week travelling from Hanoi to Sapa by train and driiving from Sapa to Hanoi
]]> Sapa 2006 — Sapa, Vietnam http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1250750853/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1250750853/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1250750853/tpod.html Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:54:18 -0400 Clive and Carolyn's Travel Photographs

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Sapa, Vietnam

]]> A couple of days in Mai Chau — Mai Chau, (VM16), Vietnam http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1250748042/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1250748042/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/3/1250748042/tpod.html Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:29:42 -0400 Clive and Carolyn's Travel Photographs

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Mai Chau, (VM16), Vietnam

]]> Montevideo - Beef town! — Montevideo, Uruguay http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1227558420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1227558420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1227558420/tpod.html Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:55:41 -0400 Clive and Carolyn around the world

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Montevideo, Uruguay

The bus takes us though countryside reminiscent of England  - rolling hills and lots of cows (at least England as I remember it as a child!).    We reach Montevideo bus station and our first job is to find a place to stay.  We go to at the tourist information office to enquire about a hostel only to find that every single hostels and hotels are booked up as there is a big convention in the city for the weekend.  There are 2 rooms left in the city and that it all.   They manage to secure one of these for us  -  it is a small and cheap hotel called Casa Amor - (loosely translated = Love House.  Interesting!!). We grab a cab to the hotel which is right in the centre of the city and fortunately it is not the brothel we were semi-expecting but a nice enough place and, after turning down one room because of the smell, we settle into one on the 4th floor which is reached by one of those old, french style cage lifts. Early the next morning, we are awoken at 4.00am by the sound of the TV in the next room.  It was unbelievably loud.  Being Saturday night we thought that maybe it was some students that wanted to carry on partying after getting back from a nightclub so I banged on the door and got some shouting through the door in response. Not being able to understand what was being said (mainly because the TV was so deafeningly loud) I continued banging on the door until eventually it was opened. Imagine my surprise when I was confronted, not by a drunken student, but by a little old lady in a hairnet and dressing gown!  Clearly hard of hearing, she apologised and turned the TV down. Montevideo is best described as a city of faded elegance. It has some wonderful architecture if a little run down in places and some great shops and restaurants. We spend our few days here just wandering around the streets and trying out a few of the local "delicacies" in the many restaurants. Determined to try something new in every place we stay, we pop in to one restaurant which specialises in the "chivito".  Not sure exactly what this is we order a Chivito para dos (i.e.for two), the waitress points out that we may be better off just having one portion between us, so we take her advice.  A very cold and very good Uruguayan beer arrives and a bit later our gigantic chivito on a steel serving dish.  Basically,  it consists of a huge pile of chips, salad, Russian salad, mushy peas which is then topped off with thin slices of steak, ham and finally grilled cheese -  a coronary on  a plate! Very nice it is too , although a salad would be nice now and again! We are really looking forward to cooking our own food in BA and start day dreaming about what we miss most....   Determined to see the best of the city, we head off to the market in the port area of the city which again, has some beautiful if crumbling buildings many of which seem to be in the course of renovation (this is probably one of our favourite cities in South America but, does not seem to get that many visitors (presumably because it is so close to Buenos Aires).  Being the port area prices are high as it is frequented by passengers from the cruise ships. We wander in to the covered market area and find not market stalls, but wall to wall parrilla restaurants.  Even in Argentina, we have never seen so much meat! These gigantic barbecues are literally covered in meat.  Mostly beef but also lamb chicken with the odd half goat thrown in for good measure. Unlike the rest of the world, Uruguayans and Argentines eat virtually all of the cow.  Not only are the cuts of the beef totally different from the UK and the US, but as an entree you also get to eat most of the insides and dangly bits (e.g. tripe, sweetbreads, intestines, pancreas and even the udders!)  The only part we have not yet tried is the udder which is considered a real delicacy and as such I think the Uruguayans keep it for themselves rather than waste it on foreigners (still we live in hope of trying it!).  We pick out the busiest parrilla, sit down and still being unsure of the correct names for each bit we simply point at what we fancy and a chunk of meat is delivered to our plates. My favourite of the achuras is the chichullines or intestines which are grilled until crisp on the outside - absolutely delicious but a bit like pate de fois, very rich! We like Uruguay as a country.  It is the most stable and, according to various international agencies, the least corrupt country in South America (often described as the Switzerland of South America) and has one of the highest literary rates in the region and certainly the best health service but I suppose it lacks the spectacular scenery of the surrounding countries (although it does have some wonderful beaches). Uruguayans, it seems love to shop. One of the most controversial shopping centers is Punta Carretas Shopping all.  It originally served as a prison up through the dictatorships of the 1970s and early 1980s and all tourist guides say that a visit is a must.  So off we go.  Getting there by bus was interesting as we pass through the upperclass area (Carrasco) where all the embassies are based, along with the wealthiest of Monetvideo residents.   The prison/shopping centre is in a beachside suburb of town and as we walk along the wide boulevard, which seems to run for miles, we feel that we could almost be in the South of France.   This area of the city lacks the colonial architecture but is a lot more upmarket than the centre with lots of wonderful house and apartments.  I can think of worse places to live!  Apparently the road streches many more kms to Punte del Este which is the Monte Carlo of South America and where many wealthy Brazilians and Argentines go for their holidays.  (We are also told this is the preferred destination of absconding Argentine Presidents and the like and that real estate in Punte del Estate is astronomically priced).  We are to find out later from other travellers that there are many other great places in Uruguay that we did not get to visit due to time constraints.     
]]> Temples of Angkor (10, 11 and 13th January) — Siem Reap, Cambodia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1200034320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1200034320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1200034320/tpod.html Sat, 28 Feb 2009 04:37:54 -0500 Clive and Carolyn around the world

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Siem Reap, Cambodia

Our time in Siem Reap was all about the temples/Wats.   It is a massive World Heritage site, built in the 12th century.  It is somewhere that we have been before, but decided to revist on this trip as it was so awe-inspiring the first time.   Angkor Wat is a great source of Cambodian pride - it appears on the national flag and on all their currency and is the best preserved temple in the area. One morning, we managed to get up at 4.30AM to see the sun rise over Angkor Wat. However, decided to take photos of the hoards of Japanese and Koreans sitting in the dark (must have got there at least an hour before us). Decided that our previous trip yielded the best sun rise photos as so much restoration taking place this time.   Some nice restaurants can be found in Siem Reap, one night we had a very tasty Japanese beef meal at the Monopolose cafe ($6, including drinks), the best coffee was at the Blue Pumpkin and we had a great Fish Amok at the restaurant that Angelina apparently dined at when she was in town filming Tomb Raider. Sadly (from Clive's perspective) she was not around that night.Lots of photos here  and one day we will get around to filling in the details.Unfortunately, I can't remember all the names of all the places, among the places we visited were Angkor West Gate, Thom Man On, Chau Say Thevoda, Prasat Tob, Prasat Kraven and the Bayon Temple.We first visited Angkor about 7 years agoand it was quite shocking to see the massive increase in the number of visitors and the deterioration in the temples.  The Cambodian government, or whoever is responsible for running the temples is in severe danger of "killing the goose"Used the tin mugs (Christmas present) for the first time today !
]]> Accidents and other Statistics — London, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1199245860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1199245860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1199245860/tpod.html Sat, 28 Feb 2009 03:54:34 -0500 Clive and Carolyn around the world

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London, United Kingdom

Clives Accidents<i>6.   Pending5.    Hit head on trunk lid of minibus whilst retreiving my back-pack in Hat Yao (Thailand)-- result, cut & dented  head and (unwilling)star attraction for locals to point at. (Driver was extremely concerned that "he almost killed a farang!" 4.     Been showered from above by welding sparks in whilst walking along the street in Bangkok - result minor burns and a feeling of, why me?3.     Hit by a motorbike on middle of pedestrian crossing in Saigon (Vietnam)         -   result gashed and bruised on leg (and extreme anger) 2.    Slipped on a wet kerb and fell headlong into the even wetter gutter, whilst avoiding a motorbike in central Hanoi (Vietnam) - result: bruised and humiliated (again!)1.    Tripped backwards over some stone blocks in Angkor Wat (Cambodia) whilst attempting to take the 'perfect photo" result - bruises, grazes and again, considerable emabarrassment (but at least he didn't damage the camera.         Number of Scrabble games won:Carolyn :   156Clive     :   71Types of Transport used http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p6R53B3d3EaYChJAUPpEXYQ
]]> Buenos Aires - Part 2 — Buenos Aires, Argentina http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1229605620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1229605620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1229605620/tpod.html Sat, 27 Dec 2008 12:23:13 -0500 Clive and Carolyn around the world

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

Coming into the last two weeks of our trip and our stay in the apartment, our thoughts have been turning to what to have for Christmas Lunch.  We have been to a few supermarkets and local stores and so far turkeys have been eluding us. It is a toss up as to whether we go for the traditional English turkey, or the Argentine staple of beef, although the shops do seem to be filling up with whole and half goats and lambs, so perhaps that is what Portenos go for?We take another walk out to Recoleta, this time to visit the famous cemetery, surely one of the worlds more bizarre tourist destinations.  The cemetery itself is very large covering 4 blocks and it is packed with over 6000 mausoleums and is almost like a small barrio of its own.  The tombs are a bit of an architectural free for all with many styled like greek temples.  Some are in great condition and some are literally falling down and we see more than a few broken coffins with their contents exposed!  The dead however, are not the only residents as the entire place is teeming with cats and we see a few local women setting out bowls of food for them all around the cemetery. The dead buried here include the great,the good and the not so good of Argentina including many ex- presidents whose names are familiar from the street names, bank presidents (surely not the most popular at the moment!) and strangely the past presidents of the Argentine Automobile Association, Jockey Club and Taxi Drivers Associations.  The most famous resident is of course Evita herself whose husband Juan Peron had her buried here covertly at the dead of night, in her families tomb, allegedly against the wished of BA's high society.  She is buried under 27 feet of concrete as her body has been dug up and stolen on several occasions! As cemeteries go it is certainly one of the most impressive in the world not that we have made a habit of visiting many.Last night we visited our first Tango show and Cafe Tortoni, one of the oldest tango cafes in Buenos Aires.  It is just as we had imagined with waiters, all in their 60s buzzing around with trays of drinks and foods the only thing that is missing from the 1930s is the smoke filled room as BA restaurants, whilst not completely smoke free, do at least segregate smokers.   We both like live music but have never really listened to any tango music before so this is a new experience for both of us.The tango orchestra consists of a pianist, a violinist, a bass player and a guy playing a bandoneon (a bit like an accordion).  We had popped into the cafe a few days previously and booked the 9.00pm show and as we were first on the list, we got the best seats right at the front on a table of four that we were to share with two others.  We had chosen the smaller, more intimate of the two rooms and this was certainly intimate as we were virtually sitting on the stage! I had my fingers crossed that there would be no audience participation. We ordered a bottle of champagne (at 10 pound a throw it seemed rude not to) and settled down in anticipation of the show. We were shortly joined by a German couple who didn't seem to happy with the table arrangements and the guy tried to arrange a seat for his wife on the table next to ours by stragetically placing his bags around (much to the annoyance of the people at that table!) I am just surprised that he hadn't arrived at breakfast time and thrown his towel over his preferred seat - sometimes national stereotypes are just so true!The show commences with a tune from the band and then the dancers arrive. Now, we have watched Strictly Come Dancing (I am embarrassed to admit!) but seeing this dancing up so close and in such a small space was incredible.  Both of the dancers were incredibly fit and flexible (how many women can touch the back of their head with their stilettos whilst still wearing them? The male dancer was just how I imagined a tango dancer to be with slicked back hair, wide lapelled suit and the tango shoes that were falling to bits just added to the overall, sleazy look.  The music too was excellent and all of the musicians were incredible.  Then came the tango singer, who, judging by the reaction of the Argentines in the audience was well known and a bit of a comedian was a real character and held the whole show together.  At the end of the show the concertina guy, a real virtuoso and well into his 70s got the longest ovation by far and seemed a bit overwhelmed by it. All in all a great night and so much better than at least I was expecting.Not long after we arrived in the city we met up with some Argentine friends, Alberto and Teresa, with whom I had been corresponding via a travel website when planning our time in Buenos Aires.  Alberto has lived in BA all his life and has proved a mine of information.  We arranged to meet up for lunch on a Sunday and prior to lunch he took us , along with some friends from California, on a whistle-stop of the city.  The drive around the main areas on BA took around 30 mins and Alberto showed us the main landmarks so that we could get our bearing.  This later proved invaluable as, although the city is built loosely on a grid system it is immense and all of the maps seem to be oriented differently (i.e. north is not always at the top - or anywhere else for that matter).After lunch at Fervour, an upmarket parrilla in Recoleta, Teresa (Alberto is not driving himself because of a very recent knee replacement op), drops us of at the Sunday fiesta in San Telmo.San Telmo is all about tango and antiques and  is one of the city's oldest neighbourhoods. It was once  the home of the very wealthy until and outbreak of yellow fever in 1877 caused many to flee to newly developing areas north of the city center. At the heart of San Telmo is Plaza Dorrego, where a few of the buildings still date from the colonial period. Again, it is one of the most touristy areas in Buenos Aires but it does have a sort of decaying grace.Tango-themed bars make up much of the entertainment in this area and  Calle Defensa, the main street is  lined with antiques stores and runs from north to south. It takes its name from the route Argentina's colonial army used to defend itself from a British invasion in the early 1800s (is there anywhere we haven't invaded??). As we are here on a Sunday the San Telmo Antiques Fair is in full swing.  Not really interested in antiques we wander around watching the street theatre performers and street tango dancers and jazz bands. We happen upon one tango dancer who is well into her 80s and still performing every Sunday here (complete with slit skirt and fishnets) we recognise her instantly as she is pictured on many of the postcards we have seen around the city.Many Porteños still think of the neighborhood as dangerous, based on crime dating back to the 1990s, but the gentrification has changed the area completely. Having said this,it was allegedly in this neighborhood that President the Bush twins were robbed (its a wonder he hasn't invaded the place in retribution!). When we get back to Palermo, we happen accross one of the ubiquitous dog walkers in the city and, for once we have the camera with us to capture it on film.  Most Potenos seem to have dogs as pets even though they live in small apartments.  They seem to outsource the exercise of their dogs to professional dog walkers, some of whom walk as many as twenty dogs at a time! This one only has about 10 dogs.  Clearly a novice! He does however offer to pose for a photo.On our penultimate night in BA we are booked into Opera Pampa, a sort of opera on horseback,  charting the history of the Argentine nation. Opera Pampa is held at La Rural, a big exhibition and conference centre, about a ten minute walk from our apartment.  As we wander alongside the Botanical Gardens to the opera, Carolyn decides to count the number of stray cats living in the park and stops at 56, cats seem to be abandoned here and are fed by local women who are out in force with trays of food and bowls of water.  clearly cats are not as popular as dogs here!The opera itself is nice, but not as big a spectacle as we had been expecting, apart that is, from the horse riding which was amazing as the participants sought to recreate all manner of battles, between the colonial Spanish, Indians etc... The event was somewhat let down by its lighting (btw - apologies for  the photos) which made it difficult to see parts of the show but it was enjoyable nonetheless. On the way back there are even more cats in the park (79). It has been a great month in Buenos Aires and, apart from seeing family and friends, I can't say we are looking forward to our flight back to England tomorrow......
]]> Buenos Aires - The Last City on Our Travels — Buenos Aires, Argentina http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1228072320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1228072320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1228072320/tpod.html Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:00:48 -0500 Clive and Carolyn around the world

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

Our last day in Uruguay so we check out of the B&B in Colonia and heave our backpacks the 500m or so along the waterside to the ferry terminal and check in for the 1 hour ride to our "final" destination of Buenos Aires.  The immigration process is remarkably quick, in fact the quickest I have ever seen anywhere in the world!  On one desk there is the Uruguay chap who stamps us out of the country and immediately slings our passports along to his Argentine counterpart at the next desk who stamps us in.  If only crossing all borders could be this painless. An hour later, on the very comfortable and spacious ferry we are across the Rio del la Plata and disembarking in our "final" destination of Buenos Aires.  A 20 minute cab ride later and we are in our apartment in Palermo checking in with the apartment owner Christine. Finally, after a year on the road we get to unpack completely.  It seems really strange to completely empty our backpacks rather than thinking - do I really need to change my clothes today or is it just too much hassle?  We are really glad we took the decision to spend our last month of traveling in an apartment rather than continuing to traveling around.  It is surprisingly cheap by comparison with hostels and guest houses, particularly when you factor in the fact that we now have the facilities to cook our own food.  The apartment itself is in a great location about a 2 minute walk from Agenda Santa Fe and the Linea D Subtle station. We bought stored ticket Subtle cards @ 9 pesos for 10 trips and found the Subtle very easy to use and great for getting around town. The apartment is also very close to a lot of parks (including the zoo). One is only about 100m from the apartment and is populated by hundreds of cats which are apparently fed by old ladies in the district. The one negative thing I have to say about the area is that there is dog crap everywhere (nearly as bad as Paris!) so you really do have to watch where you walk at times!  Dogs are in great evidence here. Everyone seems to own one despite the fact that most people, at least in central BA seem to live quite small, high rise apartments (hence the reason for all the dog crap I suppose).The Palermo area also has lots of shops in which to by groceries etc. and there are also a number of Carrefour  and Disco supermarkets where we can by pretty much most things we need. As we are here for a month we head off to the biggest supermarket in Palermo which is a 15 minute walk away and stocks a huge variety of foods and other stuff  (it even has an international section - in case you are missing anything from home! no English section though and hence no Marmite! ). As we have been on the road for over a year now (BA is our last stop on an around the world trip) it is nice to start living a comparatively normally life for a while so we hold back on the sightseeing for a while in favor of just wandering the streets and getting a feel for the city.The Sunday after we arrive we take a walk through the deserted streets to Recoleta which takes us about 20Min's. We have a look around the Design Centre and continue our quest of visiting the Hard Rock Café in each country we visit.  This one was a an absolute disaster. After three attempts get our food served hot we gave up and walked out.   So much for the "Love all Serve All" signs you see in every one!The walk through Palermo to Recoleta is nice as, being a Sunday, there is very little traffic around and we get the chance to have a good look around the streets . On balance we feel we have made the right choice location. Recoleta is nice and seems a bit more upmarket, but it seems to have a very high concentration of tourists (maybe it was just that day) and the prices in the restaurants seemed a lot higher in the restaurants. Our first impressions? What an amazing city!Although we do intend to cook our own food a lot of the time we do not want to miss out on the gastronomic capital of South America.  At one restaurant we noticed the following dish on the menu on which they had kindly provided English translation;<i>"Aromatic tomato and cardamom flan with sauteed mushrooms and a parmesan tuile " written in Spanish was instead translated as:<i>"Aromatic tomato and cardamom custard warm skipped of fungi crispy of parmesan roofing tile." Hmmm - maybe there is a business waiting for us in English menu writing? If only our Spanish was good enough.One restaurant we have been to which is quite close to the apartment is La Payuca, a typical parrilla (meat) restaurant.  We decided to share a bife de chorizo (rump or sirloin steak) between us.  The steak was big, but not as large as some we have seen, but was quite simply the best steak we have ever eaten anywhere in the world. The waiter delivered the steak to our table and then proceeded to cut it into two with a spoon! Now that is just showing off! On another day we visited the docks area of BA known as Puerto Madero - This is the comparatively new development which was modeled on London's docklands. It is a mixed used development of residential offices and restaurants it is very modern with lots of skyscrapers and is set between the docks (digues)on one side and an eco park and the river on the other. We spent a long afternoon here looking around and looking at some of the apartments for sale (very impressive!). In some respects it reminded us of our old home back in the UK and we felt very much at home here.There are lots of very nice restaurants along the docks and strangely prices seemed lower than in places like Palermo. We did return the next day to look at some more apartments and stayed for lunch at Siga la Vaca (translates to 'Follow the Cow') an all you can eat parrilla restaurant (45 pesos weekdays). Like most all you can eat restaurants this is not Haute Cuisine, but the meat was excellent and provided the opportunity to sample the various different cuts and achuras (innards) at leisure. Included in the price is a bottle of wine - EACH!, water and a dessert. The place was very busy but service was good and my only complaint was that they did not provide a place to lie down after the meal! It would be wise not to eat for a week before visiting this restaurant.  I have never seen so much meat being eaten in one place.  The restaurant was very large  but was still packed and with a large queue waiting.  They must get through a whole cow an hour here!Buenos Aires is a huge city, I think with something like 15 million inhabitants (i.e. twice the size of London).  Bus travel is cheap and buses are ubiquitous but the problem is finding out where each of the many routes go!  So far we have stuck to walking and the Subtle (underground) which, unlike the London Underground or NYC subway, has only 5 lines all of which end up in Plaza de Mayo in the Micro Centerer.  But the system is efficient, cheap and clean, but incredibly crowded in the rush-hour.  It is much the same as my old commute on the Northern Line in London, except that the people are a lot friendlier and more polite!  The men actually get up to offer their seat to women getting on the train regardless of age etc. Carolyn was particularly please to be offered a seat twice  in one day!  This was on our trip our on Linea A which is the one line remaining which runs the old wooden cars.  We get on at Peru and ride to the end of the line at Primera Junta and back all for 90 centavos - 20p. The cars are wonderful, all old wood paneling and seats and brass fittings. The plan is to replace them with modern carriages which seems a real shame. One interesting feature of these old cars is that whilst they close automatically, they have to be opened by the passengers which they often do whilst the train is still moving at speed!  This can be a bit disconcerting if you happen to be standing in the vicinity of the door in rush hour with people pushing all around!Yesterday we decided to check out La Boca, home of the Boca Juniors that Maradonna played for (he is still worshiped here and is second only to Evita in popularity. We have heard many different reports on the area, most saying how touristy and overpriced it is. Not being a a great fan of "touristy" places we don't hold out too much hope of being impressed but we jump on the #29 around the corner from the apartment in Agenda Santa Fe. This is a great bus to use if you want to see the city on the cheap (1peso=20p), the journey takes 45 Min's and winds through Palermo, Centro, Once, Monserrat,Puerto Madero, San Telmo, most of the key areas of the city before we arrive at the end of the line in La Boca.Touristy it may be but we really like this place, the buildings are VERY colourful and many have mannequins hanging out the windows, murals on the walls etc. There are tango dancers in the streets and cafes all very picture postcard and pretty much most peoples idea of what Buenos Aires is like I suppose. We are glad that we came on a Monday afternoon when it was relatively quiet and not at the weekend when I am sure it must be mayhem!We head back to Palermo on the same bus but this time it takes a different route and twice as long as it is now rush hour. The bus gets really packed (and very hot) as we pick up passengers along the route and we finally arrive at our destination 90Min's later more than a little "moist"!
]]> Koh Libong (9th to 12th March) — Koh Libong, Thailand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1205299680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1205299680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1205299680/tpod.html Sun, 21 Dec 2008 10:31:25 -0500 Clive and Carolyn around the world

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Koh Libong, Thailand

After leaving Had Yao we headed off by boat to Koh Libong where we spent a few days in a bungalow right on the beach at the Libong Beach Resort.  The beach once again was fabulous  (sandy and empty) and the sea was extremely clear.  The restaurant also served really good food and the time spent on Libong felt like a 'holiday.  One day we decided to walk across the island to find the largest village - and the pier that the local water taxis use.   On the way we walked through many rubber tree plantations  (this is the main source of income for residents of Libong and indeed, most of Trang province).  We tried to walk past the local rubber processing "factory" ( a corrugated iron roof on some wooden poles!) where they were processing the sap from the trees into latex.  The workers seemed delighted to see us and insisted that we take a closer look -  the gooey white sap was somehow made into big think squares and then put through a mangle to squash it into thinner sheets and then put out to dry, by which time it looked quite leathery (who knows where it will end up).    The walk was a long and very hot one (15 kms in 34deg C).  We never did find the village, having taken a wrong turn, but we did see some fabulous countryside scenery.   Hey ho. The weather here was consistently hot and sunny- in the 30's, but not too humid.  It was a shame to leave (and an effort to get the energy together after relaxing so thoroughly), but we did so by local boat back to Had Yao and then caught the Tigerline Ferry to Langkawi.  This was a rusty looking boat with no aircon and I think I lost at least 10lbs not so gently perspiring in the first hour on the boat before we picked up some speed and a breeze along with it.  The cost of the ferry was about the same as the budget airline Air Asia, but offered the easiest route for us.    Initially, we had intended to come to Libong to stay at the Libong Nature Beach Resort  -  like the sister resort at Had Yao, this is also supposed to be a nature resort, protecting the environment and supporting the local community, but this was even less eco friendly than its sister resort in Had Yao.   Not only were the roofs asbestos, the concrete was even more in evidence (not only as walls, but as square patches in the lawn for sun bathing on), there were also rusty iron grids on the lawn and lots of plastic furniture. Advertised in the centre of the resort were new chalets for foreigners to lease for long periods (upto 50years) and these were being built all around the resort in the area that had previously been rain forest, but which was been cleared by heavy plant machinery.      The machinery was also using the beach to load the felled trees on to a huge rusty iron barge which were being  transported and sold on the mainland.  Not only was the machinery noisy, it meant that that the beach was totally un-useable as the tractors/diggers were assuming right of way over the small stretch of sand.  The chain-saw started at 5.30am,a long with the caterpillar diggers.       Ecologically sound principals were listed in a long document left in the room for guests to read, (which the Libong Nature Beach Resort also used on their website), but we did not see any of these green practices being adopted on-site.   The website claims they use organic vegetables grown on their own farm, but when we asked about it, it turns out the farm is many, many miles away on the mainland.    When another guest expressed interest in the farm, he was told "there is some morning glory growing, which might be ready in 2 weeks!"   
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