TravelStream™ news feed for member dunnsage on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/dunnsage en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 05 Jul 2006 04:30:22 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1121598540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1121598540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1121598540/tpod.html Wed, 05 Jul 2006 04:30:22 -0400 Jerry and Maggi's 6-month career-break trip trekking round Asia and New Zealand.

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Zood Khun, Pakistan

We were unable to do the Rakaposhi trek due to cloudy weather to decided to spend the last 2 days in the Chapursun Valley, where few tourists go, but borders Afghanistan. We enjoyed beautiful scenery on the way and best jeep tracked we'd been on, including scary bits for Maggi. We stayed at Pamir Serai which is a Wakhi style home - 1 room around a hole in the ceiling, run by an enterprising local Alam Jan, sadly away in Kabul. Luckily a German Stefan, who had been staying for 2 weeks, who acted as our guide telling us things to do in the area.We went for a fabulous walk up to the lakes at Yishkuk, which were incredibly clear with beautiful colours, before being invited into a shepherds hut for chai and lassi.The next day we went for a walk on the Yishkuk glacier, where there are some fantastic blue icebergs at the head - we broke of chunks of ice to drink from that were hard and crystal clear like huge diamonds.See the Pamir Serai website at www.geocities.com/pamirserai.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1135255380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1135255380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1135255380/tpod.html Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:43:02 -0500 Jerry and Maggi's 6-month career-break trip trekking round Asia and New Zealand.

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London, United Kingdom

So this is it, full circle and what a trip it's been. Thanks for all the emails and positive comments re. our travel blog. It made the upkeep worth it, despite frustratingly slow connectivity at times.We'd like to end with a poem that sums up our trip, written by my gorgeous husband Jerry (yes George he did finally keep the promise he made at your wedding) and our top 5's in various categories.TRAVELS AND TRAVAILSGasp! Free at lastAfter months of patient waitEscape! Forget the pastForward to the turn of fateHeat! Raging Indian sunIntensity of all the sensesYes! The journey has begunTo fantastic faraway placesInsh'Allah! Indus raging riverMajestic mountains, snowy peaksHelp! Paths that make you shiverAmidst glaciers, hear those creaksHawk! No manners has Chinese manMany people always shoutingYum! Strange tastes from frying panBest food there is no doubtingTashi Delek! Land on top of the worldThough not free, spirit never brokenWow! Potala palace, buddhas made of goldNot a word can Dalai Lama be spokenNamaste! Beautiful mountain kingdomUnique culture, hidden from the worldBirthday! Dressed in gho, what funLife begins at 40 so we're toldKiaora! Perfect trekking trampsStunning views all over Maori LandsCampervan! Take us far away from the campsVolcanic mountains down to hidden coastal sandsAsia! Back again for one last monthChilled Laos and beautiful Angkor WatSlow down! Time too fast it runnethSoon home as if I had forgotThank you! To Boo the one I loveFor sharing everything, though I may be a boreForever! Thanks to god aboveTogether, whatever future has in storeTOP 5 COUNTRIES1. Tibet2. Bhutan3. Pakistan4. NZ5. NepalTOP 5 HOTELS1. Dhood Gu - Lhasa, Tibet2. Mayfair - Darjeeling, India3. Grand Hyatt - Bangkok, Thailand4. Anchor Inn - Coromandel, New Zealand5. Japanese Guest House, Yangshuo, ChinaTOP 5 MEALS1. Mayfair - Darjeeling, India2. Logan Brown, Wellington, New Zealand3. Auberge Dab, Bangkok, Thailand4. Vanilla Sky, Chengdu, China5. Veggie Shack, Dali, ChinaTOP 5 TREKS1. Tongariro Crossing, New Zealand2. Fairy Meadows, Pakistan3. Everest Base Camp, Tibet4. Jommsom Trek, Nepal5. Thale La, PakistanTOP 5 SIGHTS1. Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet2. Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia3. Great Wall, Jinshaling, China4. Golden Temple, Amritsar, India5. Punaka Dzong, Punaka, Bhutan
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1134909240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1134909240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1134909240/tpod.html Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:42:25 -0500 Jerry and Maggi's 6-month career-break trip trekking round Asia and New Zealand.

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Bangkok, Thailand

We decided to spend the last few days of our trip in Bangkok for christmas shopping and to celebrate 15 years of marriage. Yes, time does fly.We treated ourselves to 3 nights of luxury at the Grand Hyatt, courtesy of hotel points and a cheap Motorola rate.The hotel was fantastic and perfectly located near all Bangkok's glitziest malls. We were thoroughly spoilt with the very high standards of service. Room cleaned twice a day, breakfast served in our room on fine bone china and a gorgeous cavernous lobby for enjoying drinks.We splurged on a gorgeous thai meal at the Four Seasons Hotel and opted for French on our anniversary evening, complete with great live music. The food was delicious and we enjoyed our 1st wine since New Zealand.Christmas shopping successfully accomplished we spent the last day visiting the King's Palace (amazingly opulent) and chilling out by the gorgeous pool.We enjoyed Bangkok but it was strange for both of us knowing that this also spelt the end of our fantastic trip.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1134114360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1134114360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1134114360/tpod.html Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:37:33 -0500 Jerry and Maggi's 6-month career-break trip trekking round Asia and New Zealand.

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Sihanoukville, Cambodia

We chose to break our journey en route to Thailand at the beach town of Sihanoukville, not expecting it to be as nice as Thailand but hoping for a relaxing couple of days anyway.Having been taken round potential places to stay by moto-taxi drivers we finally opted for a nice Bungalow within walking distance of the beach. The beach itself was quite nice though a bit dirty and with quite a few people walking up and down trying to sell you things or offering massages.It was nice to get a bit of sun anyway.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1134217320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1134217320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1134217320/tpod.html Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:33:28 -0500 Jerry and Maggi's 6-month career-break trip trekking round Asia and New Zealand.

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Ko Mak, Thailand

We had hoped to meet up with some good friends, Bryan and Sheila, who were due to be staying in Koh Chang a few days after our arrival. However, Koh Chang didn't prove to be a chilled quiet beachy resort, which was what we were after for our last week. It was very busy and more resorty than we wanted.So knowing we would see Bryan and Sheila on our return, we headed off to Koh Mak 2 hours south on the inter island ferry.Thankfully this island turned out to be the exact vision of what we wanted for our last week. A palm fringed island, with white sand beaches, turquoise seas, small bungalows and huts and hardly any people.The resort wé'd chosen turned out to have the best location on the island, on a bit of a promintory with lots of nooks and palms with swings out over the water so everyone could have their own bit of paradise. Bliss.We'd found our bit of paradise but unfortunately not perfect weather to go with it. The south of thailand was having torrential rain, which had a knock on effect to our area. Thankfully it didn't rain much but it wasn't nearly as hot as normal. I guess this stopped us burning and we both have lovely golden tans.Our prayers were answered and we had perfect weather on the last day, so at least our piccies are showing it in its best light.Anyway we loved it and enjoyed many walks along the beach and a beautiful sunset on the last night. We were very sad to tear ourselves away.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133699520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133699520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133699520/tpod.html Sat, 17 Dec 2005 02:43:48 -0500 Jerry and Maggi's 6-month career-break trip trekking round Asia and New Zealand.

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Siem Reap, Cambodia

Having survived the Lao Aviation flight, we arrived bright and early in Siem Reap in Cambodia, the 11th country of our trip.We picked up a taxi from the airport and we were taken to a number of different guest houses and hotels. The weather was significantly hotter and more humid than Laos and so we finally decided to stay in a new hotel that boasted a lovely swimming pool. After nearly 6 months on the road our comfort threshold must have gone down a notch or two!Our taxi driver Bo lost no time in entreating us to use his services to transport us round the famous Angkor ruins over the next 3 days and we managed to negotiate a good rate with him.Both decisions proved very sound as Bo turned out to be a lovely man and the pool was a godsend after sweaty tours tramping round temples.We also noticed a big difference in the pace of life and standard of living compared to Laos, which was so chilled and peaceful. Siem Reap is a bustling town purpose-built for the thousands of tourists attracted to Angkor. It is full of motorbike and tik-tuk drivers, hawkers and beggars with missing limbs from landmines and civil war, all competing for the tourist dollar.Juxtaposed with all this mayhem are lots of brand new boutique hotels and shops, which could have been plucked out of Paris or New York. It must be quite a culture shock for the poor Cambodians who come here from all round the country.We planned our 3 day exploration of all the major temple sites that are spread over a large area of jungle to start with the sunrise over the most famous temple, Angkor Wat. Luckily for us the first day was the only largely clear morning and we (with hundreds of other tourists) enjoyed an amazing dawn, slowly revealing the mysterious spires in front of a deep red sky.Most of the temples are very badly ruined, though very atmospheric, and include one where Tomb Raider was filmed with giant Banyan trees growing over and through the walls and roofs. It was quite reminiscent of the Mayan ruins of Tikal in the jungles of Guatemala.By the end of the 3 days we were pretty templed-out, but Angkor definitely rates as one of the highlights of the trip.On the last day Jerry donated 600ml of his precious blood to the local children's hospital in return for a T-shirt and a packet of biscuits. The hospital is run by a Swiss-German who gives free classical concerts to encourage tourists to donate blood or money to keep the hospital going.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133352900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133352900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133352900/tpod.html Sat, 17 Dec 2005 02:25:11 -0500 Jerry and Maggi's 6-month career-break trip trekking round Asia and New Zealand.

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Vang Vieng, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Another long 7 hour journey, though this time on a VIP bus and therefore quite comfortable, took us via windy roads and pretty mountain jungle scenery to Vang Vieng. We passed through many primitive villages with wooden houses on stilts.Vang Vieng is a picturesque small town set on the Nam Xong river and is a popular backpacker haunt for those interested in caving, kayaking, mountaineering and other adventure activities.We managed to find a great place to stay, where we rented a hut with air conditioning right next to the river with a view to die for, for just $14 - a bit more than average but well worth it.We opted to just have a couple of chilled days and didn't even manage to cross the bridge over the river or rent bikes to explore the nearby villages.It's only taken 5 months, but we can happily report that Maggi has finally relaxed!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133959860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133959860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133959860/tpod.html Thu, 08 Dec 2005 08:06:41 -0500 Jerry and Maggi's 6-month career-break trip trekking round Asia and New Zealand.

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The bus journey to the capital Phnom Penh was only 5 hours, but proved quite an ordeal as the bus was filthy and plagued with clouds of mosquitos - a big test for Maggi's new-found cool temperament!Phnom Penh is a bustling city and full of motorbikes and streetkids sniffing glue in plastic bags. We managed to find a smart new hotel with cheap introductory rates that gave us a comfotable haven from the madness outside.We visited the Royal Palace, full of golden roofs and beautiful artefacts, but the main "attraction" of Phnom Penh is to visit the Genocide Museum housed at the site of an old primary school converted into a security prison during the Khmer Rouge period. Under the cruel dictator Pol Pot from 1975 to 1979 and estimated 20,000 victims were tortured here for no reason and sent to their deaths in the Killing Fields mass graves outside the city.Remarkably the population of Phnom Penh (now around 1.5 million) went down to only 15,000 during this period as Pol Pot sent the people to work in the fields.As you can imagine, the prison was a very disturbing and gruesome place to visit - thousands of moving pictures of the victims, cells still with blood staining the floor and walls, torture instruments and biographies of both inmates and guards. Hardly a word was spoken by the tourists walking round.We followed this by visiting the major killing fields site where there is a memorial containing hundreds of skulls that were excavated from the mass graves there.A truly sobering morning.Eventually we felt up to having some lunch at a non-profit-making restaurant set up to help street kids who train as chefs and waiters. We felt better after a delicious stir fry and fresh fruit smoothies and at least felt we were doing a small thing to help the terrible poverty in Phnom Penh. We also managed to pick up some Xmas pressies in the shop they run as well.We ended the day at the Russian market. In its heyday you could buy Kalashnikov rifles, but it now peddles little more than tacky souvenirs mostly from China!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133440080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133440080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133440080/tpod.html Thu, 08 Dec 2005 07:31:19 -0500 Jerry and Maggi's 6-month career-break trip trekking round Asia and New Zealand.

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Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Our plan was to spend a couple of days in the capital Vientiane, but when we arrived we took an instant dislike to the place so we changed the date of our flight to Cambodia to first thing the next day.Vientiane is very small, hardly feeling like a capital city and the central district is quite seedy, though the bars and restaurants set by the Mekong river have OK views.Nothing to do so why hang around?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133241420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133241420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dunnsage/asia_trek_2005/1133241420/tpod.html Wed, 30 Nov 2005 01:21:08 -0500 Jerry and Maggi's 6-month career-break trip trekking round Asia and New Zealand.

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Phonsovanh, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Having travelled pretty comfortably through Bhutan and New Zealand, we once again had to brave an uncomfortable bus journey from LP to Phonsovanh. There is only one public bus a day and it was very cramped, but we weren't alone as we were joined by about 20 others backpackers on the 8 hour journey (despite reports the bus had been shot at twice in the last 2 years). Thankfully we made it with no problems.We were pounced on by guest house touts as soon as we arrived - the stand of accommodation was pretty awful compared to LP but cheap.Phonsovanh was bombed heavily during the Vietnam war, as it was a major communist supply route to North Vietnam and the whole area is pock-marked with bomb craters. The local people have made use of much of the bomb material too which can be seen on some of the houses.The reason people visit Phonsovanh is to see the famour Plain of Jars - a number of different sites full of 2,000 year old huge jars carvd out of rock. There are lots of theories about what they used for (funeral probably) but nobody really knows. We hired a local guide to show us round the 3 main sites. There's not really much more he could enlighten us about the jars though he told us quite a few Laos fables, which were amusing. Even 30 years after the war ended, Laos still suffers terribly from lots of unexploded ordance bombs (UXO) and we had to take care not to leave the marked paths - earlier this year the sites had been cleared and one massive bomb had been found right in the middle of one of the sites people had been visiting for years!!Apart from the jars, Phonsovanh was not great and we were glad to move on.
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