TravelStream™ news feed for member damiankeating on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/damiankeating en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 30 Mar 2007 06:33:47 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174814880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174814880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174814880/tpod.html Fri, 30 Mar 2007 06:33:47 -0400 Around the world in 140-something days

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Hong Kong, Hong Kong

The tourist office in Hong Kong had signs up around the place hailing it as 'Asia's World City' and to be fair it's not a bad description. Coming from Southeast Asia you're struck by the cosmopolitan nature of the place - Indian tailors hassling you to get suits made, European bankers in suits, and Nigerians on their beloved mobile phones. The Chinese are much more business oriented than the Thai's and there is a real air of capitalism about the place with billboards and neon signs everywhere. There is also a serious amount of wealth and every second car is a brand new top of the range Merc (complete will British-style yellow reg). All the clothes and watch designers have massive big shops there aswell. Wheras I felt positively loaded around Thailand and especially Vietnam I was very much a pauper here. There was no Faberge eggs for breakfast at Tiffany's!

The other thing that hits you is the scale of the architecture. When you head down to the ferry terminal in Kowloon and look across Victoria Harbour to the Hong Kong island the skyline is just magnificent (heading down again at dusk to watch the lights come on was a real highlight). They have some really world class skyscrapers there and I had a crick in my neck after spending a day walking around among them. Between that an the shopping buzz around the place it reminded me a small bit of New York. In reality though Hong Kong doesn't have the attractions that New York has. Apart from the History Museum which was good, the Star ferry and the tram up to The Peak for the view there isn't a whole lot to do in the city itself besides shopping and eating. For a couple of days though it's a cool place to walk around (at this time of year anyway when it wasn't too warm) as it's more compact than Bangkok say and the transport is excellent. The metro is really efficient so no need to run the taxi gauntlet (although I'm sure they're fine in a civilsed palce like this) and the buses to and from the airport were great.

With the dull and drizzly weather I got there (the tan was already fading fast!), the double decker buses, traffic, Chinese working in the shops and raging consumerism I reckoned it would be the perfect preparation for coming back to Dublin in the spring.....
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Dublin, Ireland

Back in the land of the big grey cloud.

In actual fact Hong Kong did nothing to prepare me for the Irish 'spring' as an icy blast of Arctic air hit me leaving the arrivals hall in Dublin airport. Should have waited another month to come back.... Better not complain though or I'll have people giving me dirty looks telling me that I missed the worst of it etc etc!

Well that's me done with the world tour - it's all over now. Had a great time. Saw a lot, did a lot, ate a lot, drank a lot, met a lot of cool people, met a few idiots. All the joys of travelling really with its ups and downs:

Weather on the Inca Trail (down)
Nightlife in Cusco (up)
Roads in Bolivia (down)
Death Road - with no death (up)
Chilean border crossings (down)
Argentinian steaks (up)
My cholesterol up (down)
New Zealand scenery (up)
New Zealand nightlife (down)
Asian street food (up)
Asian driving habits (down)

Now it's time to put it all behind me and get back to work and pay the credit card off!
In the immortal words of Soul II Soul 'Back to life, back to reality, back to the here and now...'
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174662180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174662180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174662180/tpod.html Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:54:45 -0400 Around the world in 140-something days

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Bangkok, Thailand

Third time in Bangkok airport and this time I actually went outside. By coincidence Paul's brother Colm was arriving from Ireland to spend a few weeks holiday with Paul before heading to New York for a while to work and, as our flights were in around the same time, we arranged to meet up there and head into the city together.

Bangkok seems to have a bad reputation with travellers most of whom tell you they didn't like it or were glad to get out after a couple of days. I actually enjoyed it (no, you're getting the wrong idea already...) although three of four days probably is enough. Certainly it has it's sleazy side and you tire of being hounded about going to sex shows and massages. And that was just by Colm....! The whole sex industry is in no way discrete or hidden away here and is most evident in Patpong where shoppers at the night market stroll a few feet away from strip bars with wide open doors. There is a lively buzz about the place though and it's enjoyable strolling around the Khao San road at night haggling over knock-off designer gear and sampling the great street food. On the culural side of things we went to see the mostly gold-plated Grand Palace (unfortunately picking the hottest morning to do it and melting in the process) and the Muay Thai (Thai boxing) which wasn't bad though surprising expensive at more than twenty euro a ticket. The farang (Thai word for gringo) fist very much in evidence there. We played a bit of table tennis aswell of course, as is compulsory in these parts.

There was an ongoing debate between the two of us while we were there as to whether it was best to get the taxi men to turn on the meter (which they were reluctant to do) or go with an agreed fare. The matter was finally settled on the last night when we got a metered journey to the boxing which took about forty minutes and found on the way back that our agreed fare motorbike trip took five minutes! So either way they'll get you - it's just a question of whether you want to piss them off by insisting on the meter and have them drive you around in circles to make their money or whether you value your time more and pay the slightly dearer agreed fare but get there in quarter of the time...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174401300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174401300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174401300/tpod.html Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:01:44 -0400 Around the world in 140-something days

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Maenam, Koh Samui, Thailand

Hopped accross to Koh Samui just to get off Koh Phangan having been ensconsed there for so long. Didn't do much to be honest just a bit of swimming, reading and walking. Took full advantage of what would be my last bit of sun for a few months although annoyingly enough it was mostly cloudy on the last day. I stayed on the quiet side of the island where my recovery from fasting wouldn't be compromised by too many fast food outlets and bars! The beach at Chaeweng is supposed to be much nicer than Maenam but apparently it's very built up and commercialised there so I didn't bother even taking a look over that side.

The most exciting part was actually my journey back to Bangkok. I had booked a ferry and bus trip that I was told would get me to Surat Thani airport on the mainland at 11.30 an hour before my flight to Bangkok. Cutting it a little fine but I reckoned I'd be okay barring a disaster. I got to Surat Thani at 11.30 alright but it was to the town and not the aiport. I started asking in the agency office where we got dropped off how they were going to get me to the airport but they told me they had no car free and to wait. As this went on for about twenty minutes and my check-in time passed tempers were getting a little frayed! They told me not to worry that they had rang the airport and they knew I'd be late but it was okay. I thought this was a little unorthodox and when they eventually did get me into a car at 12 o'clock I wasn't too hopefull of being on any flight - especially when I asked how far the airport was and was told 30k! The lunatic of a driver put the pedal to the metal and drove manically weaved in and out of the traffic, at one stage hurtling through a narrowing gap that was about two feet wider than the car as he went through it. Got to the airport at 12.25 which was exactly five minutes before the flight. To my surprise I was quickly given a boarding pass and ushered down to the gate with my rucksack where I was put up to the to of the queue ahead of the parents with small children. Straight out on the tarmac where I handed the rucksack to the ground staff and up the steps into the plane. As the good Lord says 'Those that are last shall be first'......
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174300380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174300380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174300380/tpod.html Fri, 23 Mar 2007 10:35:23 -0400 Around the world in 140-something days

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Had Tien, Koh Phangan, Thailand

An epic journey from Chiang Mai to the Sanctuary resort in Koh Phan Ngan - taxi (car), plane, plane, bus, ferry, taxi (pickup truck), and finally speedboat. Took about 11 hours which was some top class flashpacking considering I was going from one end of the country to the other. Koh Phan Ngan is world famous for the monthly full moon parties that draw thousands of partiers to the beach in Had Rin. My business on the island was quite the opposite of this though - I was here to do some major detoxing. I had booked in for the 7 day cleanse at the Sanctuary resort in tiny Had Tien and partying was not included. After four plus months of indiscriminate eating and drinking it was payback time.

Before starting the cleanse I needed to eat just fruit and salads for a couple of days as sort of prep work and to ease me into it so that I duly did. Then when Day 1 came around the manager Moon explained to myself and others starting off what the daily regime entailed. Basically it's as per below:
7:00 am - Shake
8:30 am - Herbs
9-10 am - Colonic session
10:00 am - Shake
11:30 am - Herbs
1:00 pm - Shake
2:30 pm - Herbs
2:50 pm - Fresh juice
4:00 pm - Shake
4:00- 5:00pm - Colonic session
5:30 pm - Herbs
7:00 pm - Vegetable Broth
8:30 pm - Herbs
Before sleep - Probiotic

The special shakes and herbs are designed to flush through the internal organs and and help clean them out. The colonics I won't describe! Basically the overall idea is that by not eating you're giving the body, and the internal organs in particular, a chance to take a break from having to digest so that they can turn their energies to detoxing themselves instead. That's the theory anyhow. The highlight of each day was in the evening when everyone doing the fast gathered for the veggie broth (which was just flavoured green water basically but a godsend when you're fasting) and compared notes. There were a really interesting range of people doing it from all over and of all ages including a sound couple from Belfast. The overall leaning of the resort though would be towards the new age sphere with lots of people being into alternative medicine and that kind of thing. I joined the yoga class the first day but quicly realised I was out of my depth as everyone around me was turning inside out at strange angles while I struggled to sit on my heels. The resort even had a resident shaman who gave classes in shamanic something or other which involved a drumming (for which I christened the chap Boss Drum). It was that kind of place!

The week went quick enough and I was never really hungry thanks to the psyllium shakes which really fill you up. I got though a load of books and did a lot of tanning and swimming. Had Tien is a small isolated cove though and towards by the end of the week I was almost getting cabin fever being stuck in the same spot. Luckily on the second last day a gang of us arranged a trip around the island in a long-tailed boat and that was great. We stopped off a few isolated little beaches and did some snorkelling. I had never snorkelled in tropical waters with coral before and it just blew me away. The colours of the fish and the sea plants was just amazing.

The fast ended on Paddy's Day so I went into the nearest bar and had a feed of pints to celebrate. I wish. In fact you have to slowly build up your food intake starting with only fruit for the first two days, then salads for another day etc etc. So it was a good old fashioned sober saints day for me - the man himself would have been proud. I was happy that the fast was over but glad to have done it and I felt good, although I was quite tired aswell. As well as that I'd lost the 5 or 6 kilos I'd put on in South America. Having said that it was a helluva lot more fun putting it on that taking it off!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174125840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174125840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1174125840/tpod.html Sat, 17 Mar 2007 08:22:43 -0400 Around the world in 140-something days

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Chiang Mai, Thailand

Whereas the flight from Hanoi to Siem Reap was full off Koreans the one from Siem Reap to Bangkok was full of elderly Westerners. I had again left the backpackers behind on the bus. Made a quick change in Bangkok airport for the flight north to Chiang Mai and very impressive it is too. All shiny, big and airy with loads of top class shops and cafes, not that I'd partuicaly want to be stuck there waiting on a delayed flight or anything. Luckily I wasn't.

First thing I noticed about Thailand when we got to Chiang Mai was cars. As in they had them. Vietnam is all motorbikes (98% I saw in a report on BBC Wworld when I was there), Cambodia had a few old Toyota Camrys but that seemed to be it. Thailand, though, had all sorts of fancy SUVs and I saw the odd Merc and Beamer - clearly somebody is doing well out of the tourists! I stayed in a hostel that was basically a converted mansion in an exclusive part of town. It was a bit away from the action but had a nice relaxed vibe and I met some sound people there.

Trekking in the hills is one of the big attractions in Chiang Mai and I signed up for a two day trek. Two of the lads from the hostel, one Swiss and one English, singed up on the same one. Just as well cos the other people on it weren't exactly a barrel of laughs. Apart from two Danish lads who were alright there were two very strange Germans, a couple from Holland and a couple from Kazakhstan who I think were ethnic Russians (yer man was scary looking and probably in the mafia so I refrained from trying out any Borat material). We started off with the elephants. You get into a little basket on top of them and plod around for an hour or two up hill and down dale. Was a bit uncomfortable and the novelty had well worn off by the time we were finished. Getting to see them eating was cool though.

Because it was the dry season in this part of Thailand everywhere was parched and the locals were burning all the fallen leaves to make way for new grass growth when the rains came. This meant it was a bit hazy and the views weren't as clear as they could have been. We also had to beat our way through the flames on a couple of occasions! We overnighted in a village in the hills but in reality it was a camp purpose built for tourists and the song and dance routine the locals put on that night was also fairly underwhelming. In terms of getting a cultural experience meeting the minority hill tribes this trek scored a big 0 in that department and the Swiss lad was pissed off about that. I wasn't overly bothetred... what would I be saying to them anyway? Highlight for me was on the second day when after a couple of hours of hard trekking we came to some fantastic pools and waterfalls in the woods. The perfect way to cool off.

The other main thing I did in Chiang Mai was sign up for a cookery course to hone my culinary skills. Did one in a restaurant called Baan Thai (means Thai house hence such a common name) and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Some of the dishes are so simple but still really great. Having breakfast before I went was a tactical error though as you get to eat everythng you cook and I practically had to be rolled out of there. Will definitely be getting out the recipe book they gave us when I get home. Walked around the city itself and although it's Thailand's second city it's actually small enough and not that busy and is quite nice to stroll around with plenty of temples dotted around (not that I set foot in any of them!) and a good night market. Seemed like a pleasant enough place to hang out for a few more days but the countdown is very much on for me now so no time to dawdle.....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172909640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172909640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172909640/tpod.html Sat, 03 Mar 2007 21:15:47 -0500 Around the world in 140-something days

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Siem Reap, Cambodia

It was a strange flight from Hanoi to Siem Reap with the curioulsy named airline PMT air. It's not often you fly in something other than an Airbus or Boeing and the McDonnell-Douglas seemed a bit like the set from a disaster at 30,000 feet type of movie but I'm typing this now so it got from A to B no probs. There were only two other westerners on the flight which was also weird with the rest all seeming to belong to the same Korean tour group. I would spend the next couple of days battling my way around the ruins of Angkor Wat against the same people. Or at least I think they were the same, its hard to tell with the ridiculous visors they wear and sun parasols they carry around. The women in particular make the participants in the 1987 Chevrolet Michigan Classic WPGA tour event look like the height of fashion.

The tuk tuk driver who collected me from the airport said he'd drive me around Angkor the next day for 10 dollars (dollars are used here even more than the local riels - it's strange going into these little shops and handing over greenbacks) so I said fine. He came by in the morning and we headed straight for the big one - Angkor Wat. There are over 100 temples in and around Angkor Wat built about a thousand years ago and spread over a thousand square kilometres according to my guidebook so you probably have to be a bit selective. I'd seen loads of picture of Angkor before but the size of the place still blew me away - it really is enormous. That would be impressive enough were every inch not taken up with really intricate carvings depicting ancient Hindu stories (this area started off Hindu but is now Buddhist). The other temple I really liked was Ta Phrom because it hasn't been fully cleared of jungle and the roots of massive trees are still strangling the stones in the same way that all the other temples when they were rediscovered a hundred years ago. Because of the size of the place and all the steps there is a lot of walking around and when the temperatures are in the high thirties it's tough going. I would be covered in sweat minutes after stepping out of the tuk tuk.

I give the temples the best part of two days and even though I had a day to go on my three day pass I was happy that I'd seen enough and taken sufficient photos to knock it on the head. The time not spent trekking around ruins was passed in the great massage parlours they have here (no, not those kinds - no happy endings here!) and eating. A body massage for 8 dollars or a foot massage for 6? Dammit I'll have both! I though the Vietnamese food was pretty good but the food in Cambodia is much better again. Much closer to Thai with more spices used and all cheap enough that you can afford to try anything and everything knowing that in the extremetly unlikely event of it being crap you could just order something else. The only downside here, apart from the heat, is the amount of begging, most of it by young kids. It ranges from the 'you gimme dollar' merchants to those who after asking you where you are from proceed to reel off a string of facts about the country such as the Bertie is the Taoiseach and the population is 4.5 million, capital is Dublin etc. One girl even had the whole conas ata tu bit learned off. These kids know their stuff. It would have been nice to have spent some time in other parts of Cambodia but time is against me so its off again to Thailand next and the northern city of Chiang Mai. Flying of course.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172810460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172810460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172810460/tpod.html Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:56:01 -0500 Around the world in 140-something days

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Hanoi, Vietnam

People back in Ireland won't thank me for saying this but the first thing I liked about Hanoi was the fact that it was cloudy when we arrived and nice and cool, well when I say cool in mean mid twenties. Having been sweating my ass off for the past week that was a nice change. Needless to say the overnight bus to get there was another painful episode. I swore there and then that I would be discarding my backpacker's hat immediately and donning a flashpacker's one for the reamined of the trip. What I'll spend in airfare will more than be made up for by the savings in chiropractor's fees down the line!

Even though it's the capital, Hanoi is smaller and a good bit more relaxed than Saigon and has a warren of narrow streets in the old town that are full off shops selling touristy stuff, fake cds and dvds and knock-off designer clothes as well as a few restaurants and bars. It's a cool place to wander around and because of the temperature you can actually do that in comfort which is nice. Got myself organised the first day before the strolling around bit and forked out a flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia and then booked a two day tour of the famous Ha Long Bay.

The boat trip was the real highlight of Vietnam for me. We were quite lucky with the weather because the day before had been raining and as it turned out the day we were returning was really misty and you couldn't see much. That's the norm at this time of year but thankfully on our main day there visibility was fairly good and the sun came out at times and we even got a deccent sunset. I met a sound bunch of people on the trip; two Kiwi lads and a Danish girl travelling with them and also two Canadian girls who were living in China teaching English. I had initially planned to spend the night on the boat but because the others had opted for the hotel on Cat Ba island I changed plans in order to have a few pints with the gang (a good move in hindsight as some Dutch people told us the next day that there had been loads of rats in their cabin on the boat!). Our first port of call was an island where we were told we'd see 'The Amazing Cave' which I cynically assumed was named by the Vietnamese tourist board to get punters in to look at an uninspiring hole in the ground. Walked in and that's how it looked until you went around the corner and this huge cavern opens up - the place was massive. For sheer size alone the name is actually deserved. Just after sunset we stopped and some of us did kayaking. This was great - paddling on the calm waters in and out of the little islands in perfect silence. Hard to imagine you were in Vietnam with not a horn to be heard and nobody shouting 'motorbike sir?' at you. Bliss.

Those of us staying on the island decamped to our hotel and we ended up playing cards and getting the beers in after dinner. I've never been a cards man but having been taught some games and getting a bit of beginners luck I was really getting into it. We went out and hit a few more bars but they were mostly dead. At the end of the night the suggestion of jumping into the sea was raised but was voted down due to pollution fears - clearly the rum and cokes had been avoided! Next morning I woke up late, must have slept through the alarm which isn't like me but a combination of the beer and two previous sleepless nights, first on the hated bus and second in Hanoi staying up to watch Ireland hammer England, must have taken their toll. Ran downstairs and out the door just as everyone was getting onto the minibus to bring us back to the boat.

About four hours later when we had sailed back to Ha Long City and were in the bus bound for Hanoi a guide said that someone had left their passport in the hotel (you need to leave it at reception when you're staying and you get it back when you check out) on Cat Ba island. Yep, it was yours truly - clown! Wouldn't have been such a big problem if I wasn't due to fly the next day - otherwise I could have waited for the corresponding bus tomorrow to bring it back. After a few frantic phonecalls the guide told me he would get it to me in Hanoi that evening but that because it had to go on a different boat to X and another bus to Y etc etc that it would cost 30 dollars. My bargaining power was clearly limited in this situation. In the end I got it back that eveing alright and handed over the cash which was actually more than I had paid for the trip in the first place!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172490060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172490060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172490060/tpod.html Mon, 26 Feb 2007 07:24:47 -0500 Around the world in 140-something days

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Hue, Vietnam

Had originally planned just one day in Hue (pronounced oo-a) but was stuck there for two as the bus I wanted was full. All these delays mean I'm going to have skip Laos which is a pity as everyone I've met who has been there really liked it. Hue is an old city that was once the capital of Vietnam and so has lots of old palaces and mausoleums of the rulers who lived there. There wasn't anything else to do so I decided to overdose on old buildings and then make sure I avoided them like the plague for the rest of my time in the country. Took a walk around the old citadel the first day which is in the centre of the town and surrounded by a moat and big walls which are quite impressive. Inside was once a huge complex of hundreds of temples and palaces of which only a few remain. It's a nice place to wander around although it was a bit too hot and humid when I was there. Looking forward to the slightly cooler climate in the north.

Day two I took a boat trip down the Perfume river which wasn't bad. Along the river the old emperors tried to outdo each other having a bigger and better tomb. A couple of them in particulary were really nice with landscaped hills and lakes and yet more temples. But it was another humid day and not ideal for trekking up and down steps. By the fifth tomb nobody wanted to get off the boat but we dutifully trudged around and got the few token photos. I got the overnight bus to Hanoi that evening having definitely looked at my last temple/pagoda/mausoleum in Vietnam.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172036400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172036400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/damiankeating/30ontheroad/1172036400/tpod.html Wed, 21 Feb 2007 01:23:33 -0500 Around the world in 140-something days

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Hoi An, Vietnam

Absolute nightmare bus journey from Nha Trang. From 7pm to 6am the next morning to go a mere 550k thanks to pointless stops every couple of hours. Was wedged into the seat beside some big English bloke and despite breaking out the Xanaz didn't get any sleep at all. First thing I did on arrival was to head to a travel agent and try and get a flight the rest of the way to Hanoi but no dice. All flights still full so there'll be a repeat of this joyous experience on the way to Hanoi. Funk that.

Hoi An is famous for it's taloiring and I'd been given a recommendation for a tailor (not Quigley's) so, having got a few hours kip, I made my way ther to see if I could get a tin of fruit. Looked at lots of little stips of material and eventually settled on two, got measured up and was told to come back in two days. Did that and I think the end products look okay although maybe I'll get them home and they'll look completely ridiculous and never be worn - hope not. So if you see me on the wedding circuit wearing what looks like a cheap suit, then that's exactly what it is!

As well as tailoring Hoi An is popular because it's one of the only places in Vietnam where much of the old architecture has survived and in the historic centre you can mixtures of Vietnamese, Chinese and French styles. It's a UNESCO world heritage site and they've banned four wheel traffic from the old streets so it's much nicer to walk around than most other places over here. The local speciality cao lau, a kind of noodle soup with pork shavings and croutons, is excellent and was had for lunch and dinner the first day. There was a carnival in town for New Year so had a go at some of the games and not surprisingly the darts are as wonky and the tin cans as hard to knock down as at home.

The second day I had enough of old buildings and touristy shops so rented a bike and headed out to a nearby beach. It's always nice to get out of the towns and into the countryside where, even though its still quite built up, there is some nice scenery. The beaches I've seen so far have been great aswell although it is a lot dirtier around than somewhere like New Zealand. You get what you pay for I suppose!
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