TravelStream™ news feed for member grahamandrach on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/grahamandrach en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 10 Nov 2005 12:37:26 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1114283820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1114283820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1114283820/tpod.html Thu, 10 Nov 2005 12:37:26 -0500 Graham and Rachel's 18 Month Mystery Tour.

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London, United Kingdom

So pick the countries left to visit... hmmm Afghanistan ,Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina ArmeniaAustralia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and HerzegovinaBotswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi CambodiaCameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile Colombia Comoros Congo (Brazzaville)Congo, Democratic Republic of the Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire CroatiaCuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor (Timor Timur) Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia, TheGeorgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti HondurasHungaryIceland India Indonesia Iran IraqIreland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya KiribatiKorea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Monaco Mongolia Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua NigerNigeria Norway Oman Pakistan PalauPanama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia RwandaSaint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra LeoneSingapore SlovakiaSlovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan TajikistanTanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican CityVenezuela Vietnam Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1071124620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1071124620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1071124620/tpod.html Sat, 05 Nov 2005 03:20:14 -0500 Graham and Rachel's 18 Month Mystery Tour.

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Don Det, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Abstract:From Vientiane took bus to Savannaket, onto Pakse where we hired a motorbike to go to Champasak (Wat Phu), Elephant riding, and Tat Fan waterfall, then further south to Don Det Island.Nitty Gritty:We joined the express bus from Vientaine bus paying 15000Kip extra for the privilege, but the bus crawled at 40 mph for most of the journey and only got a move on when the driver realised we were being lapped by the standard service.. well that and the chance his passengers may rise up and seize control of the controls... Ten hours later we arrived at Savanaket an old colonial town on the Mekong with lots of charming crumbling French buildings, after a bit of a battle with the Tuk Tuk drivers we managed to get transport by marching off in the direction of town, a tactic that usually works but carries the risk if its too far of the drivers just laughing at you... We were upset to find out the Hotel we fancied the 'Auberge de Paradis', an atmospheric place starred in our guide had turned into the Thai embassy who certainly didn't fancy putting up two deshevelled travellers... I suppose the town functions only as a border post to Thailand across the river so it makes sence.. We got up extra early and caught the bus to Pakse (got the local charabang after our experiences of the day before..) it was fun three to a seat bags of grain, chickens etc, actually after five hours the fun starts to wear thin, but this was still more enjoyable than the go slow express... We arrived in Pakse in time to get the pick up/bus to Champasak but had to get to the South Station, we duely hired a Tuk Tuk, who drove slowly the took us to the wrong place and said he could take us. When I realised (Graham) that he had done this and done it deliberatly so we would miss our bus, for the first time I found myself having to control my temper. We gave him half the fare and marched into town.It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we decided to rent a motorbike and explore by ourselves, sporting snazzy red peeky helmets off we went. (actually graham had to drive round the block twice whilst he remembered how to ride a motor bike). We took the ferry over the Mekong to the anchient city (village?) of Champasak, where a khmer temple Wat Phu (a world heratage site) is situated, on a hill side with lots of ruins of temples, very atmospheric... after a long relaxed lucnch we heaed off to Tat Fan waterfall on the Bolivan Plateau, this is where all the gorgeous coffee from Lao (try it) is grown, yum, again best enjoyed with condensed milk! The waterfall was spectacular and we yearned for more time so we could trek down to it, I nearly did it the quick way after slipping trying to get a good photo...The following day we went off on our trusty Honda to a village where they still have working elephants, we arrived and asked the head man to take us for a ride.... actually, after our tuk tuk experience that was risky, so since he didn't speak English we showed him the convienient picture in our 'pointy book' with someone riding an elephant, I was concerned Rach may have shown him the Camel but after a while (we watched an elephant drag a log across the schoolyard whilst we were waiting) our elephant (a 45 yearold female) arrived and after some manovering we were on our way up a hill, for a view more Africa than Asia, a jungle with a clearing with a herd of buffalo and elephants!After a very enjoyable day (and a curry in town at the Jasmin - yum), the next day we were off again to Si Phan Don, specifically Don Det, these are sandy island in the Mekong at its widest part where one can rent a bamboo hut and do nothing but watch the river go by, it was our cheapest accomodation so far (25p each), and very relaxing, o much so that we met am Australian girl who had forgotten to leave (3 years and counting). We needed all the relaxation possible in preparation for what was to come...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1071470460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1071470460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1071470460/tpod.html Sat, 05 Nov 2005 03:14:36 -0500 Graham and Rachel's 18 Month Mystery Tour.

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Siem Reap, Cambodia

Abstract: After encountering bribery, corruption and extortion at the Lao / Cambodian border we arrived at Stung Treng via a screaming speedboat (50mph?), after shaking off the touts and hustlers we booked the slow boat to Kompong Cham, then a minibus via Skuon where we ate deep fried Tarantula (I kid you not), to Phenom Penh, and after another overnight, the ten hour bumpy bus ride to Siem Reap. We bought a seven day pass and are now half way through enjoying the 'Jewel in SE Asia's crown' the temples of Angkor. Together with a brief and very moving visit to the landmine museum.Factoid of the day: Whilst the west fussed about the 'SARS' epidemic and boycotted SE Asia, much to Cambodia's tourist economy's detriment (not one case was recorded within her borders), three childrens hospitals in Phnom Penh & Siem Reap recorded a record 9,000 cases of Dengue fever. We didn't get to hear about that though, why?, no westerners died! (see http://www.beat-richner.ch/ ) OK, campaining over....Nitty Gritty:The Lao / Cambodian border was.....an experience! We arrived by motorbike taxi (we rode pillion with each backpack balanced in front of the drivers seat)to find there were 9 of us trying to cross that day.Issue 1: Lao police / border guards charged $2 each to leave the country - this is not an official fee, we had our visas, it goes into their back pocket.Issue 2: We are now stamped out of Lao and the Cambodian immigration is on the opposite bank of the MekongIssue 3: Khmer mafia control the boatmen who run speedboats between Stung Treng in Northern Cambodia & the Lao / Cambodian border. There was a ring leader and his english speaking side kick & the opening offer from their side was $14 each!(A guesthouse in Stung Treng does the reverse journey for $3, so you get the picture)Issue 4: None of the boatmen would talk to us, so after 4 hours of stalemate, we had to accept that we would each pay $12! It was a gauling experience and the gloating look on the ring leaders face will stay with me for a very long time.....Issue 5: The lovely French speaking Cambodian border guard extracted a further $3 from each of us before we could take off at high speed to Stung TrengIssue 6: Would we make it alive, zooming down the Mekong at 50mph! Yes we did, I'm glad to say.Cambodia initially takes some getting used to, especially after laid back Lao. We were beseiged by hotel touts as our speedbaots docked and after the boarder experience we were loathed to trust anyone. Then there's the money issue - US dollar is the main currency, even though riel is the official one. You pay in dollars and get change in riel!We overnighted at Stung Treng where we met a great chap called Darin at the Riverside Guesthouse. He spoke really good english and had some terrible stories to tell.Caught boat south along the Mekong to Kompong Cham where we were husstled into a minibus to Phnom Peng. En route we stopped briefly at Skuon a town renowned for its fried spiders. As we sat in the minibus, lots of vendors surrounded us and one of them had spiders. Graham just had to try one - we all had a taste of the legs, but drew the line at the bulbous body!Spent one uneventful night in PP before catching the red eye express to Siem Reap & the temples of Angkor. The bus took ages as the road was practically dirt and potholes all the way. It was great fun though as we were the only westerners on board and it was packed with Cambodians going on holiday.Gave the touts the slip in Siem Reap and found a guesthouse which has been challenging as there is only a cold shower (SR is an expensive place to stay!), so various expletives emerge from the bathroom at shower time!It was time to hit the temples the next day and hit them we did, with the help of Mr Chen and his 2 seater chariot pulled by a motorbike. He was an older gent with a huge smile and a white sunhat that he would wave at us when we emerged from a temple. He showed us around for 3 days and it was sad when we said our goodbyes.Day 1 took in a sunset, day 2 sunrise & sunset, and day 3 an outing to an out of the way place plus a sunset, so we were exhausted but exhilerated at the same time and didn't feel templed out or rushed as we had a 7 day pass, so took our time.I cannot describe the place except to say that it touches your soul. It is incredible, moving, amazing etc........Today we hired two cheeky chaps and their motorbikes to finish off the temples and revisit those that we especially liked. We then treated ourselves to a final, wonderful sunset at Angkor Wat. The place makes your spine tingle.Angkor aside, Siem Reap has played havoc with our emotions as there are many beggars, many landmine victims and a lot of tourist money, posh hotels and ritzy bars, all of which we feel sit uncomfortably together.We have generally avoided these places prefering to eat in the market (although on one occasion, beans on toast with HP sauce was just what was required!).We visited the landmine museum started by an ex Khmer Rouge child soldier who has devoted his life to demining the Cambodian countryside and caring for children, the victims of landmine accidents. A very moving experience.Another moving experience was attending a cello recital by a Swiss Dr interspersed by footage of the plight of child health in Cambodia, especially Dengue haemorrhagic fever. 9000 cases this year, but this doesn't make the news as it affects the poorest children whose bodies are weakened by TB. The hosp in SR is state of the art, funded by donation, much of it the result of fund raising by said cello playing Dr. Interestingly, it costs $150 to treat each child with DHF, but he is told this is too much........by those who stay at the posh hotel next door to the hosp whose cheapest rooms are $320 a night! Food for thought indeed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1083199620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1083199620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1083199620/tpod.html Sat, 05 Nov 2005 02:29:46 -0500 Graham and Rachel's 18 Month Mystery Tour.

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Simpson Desert and Alice Springs, Australia

Factoid of the day: The Simpson Desert is the worlds largest parallel dune desert- at least thats what the Aussies claimAbstract: Left Birdsville anxiously for crossing of Simpson Desert, suddenly find ourselves loving the dunes and orange/red sand, spend 5 nights crossing desert, ring Andy (Rach's Brother) on Sat Phone on his birthday, enjoy long soak in Dalhousie Springs' revitalising thermal pool, arrive Mt Dare Homestead in need of beer grateful to be across safely but sorry to leave desert, Spend two days driving 'Old Andado Track' Arrive Alice Springs...Nitty Gritty: Larry was stocked up with 190L of Diesel (Two tanks Two Jerrys) and 100L of Water the previous day and at the crack of dawn we were off... The track out of Birdsville was fine, a bit corrugated, but we were both a bit quiet as we were not sure whether we had 'bitten off more than we could chew'. This feeling was not helped by the doomsayers we had met, 'its lonely out there' 'that's very dangerous' etc etc, our guidebook describes the difficulty as 'extreme' in fact the only person who was relaxed about it was the aborigonal ranger for the national park on the Queensland side, who said 'you'll have a great time'. As we approached the start of the desert 'Big Red' as it is called, supposed to be the largest dune in the desert loomed ahead. We got out let the tyres down to 20psi as recommended to increase the 'footprint' and grip, and supposedly stop the vehicle sinking into soft sand. We climbed to the top of the dune and looked over the top and out into dune after dune after dune to the horizon... gulp...Larry was revved to 2500 rpm and we hit the bottom of the dune at about 55kmph and sure enough he cruised to the top. We swayed from side to side a bit but never seemed to be in trouble and he chugged down the other side. The west side of the dunes (due to the wind) is not as steep as the eastern side, this is why east to west is usually described as the 'wrong' way, as it is more difficult. Anyway, we were past the point of no return so carried on, it was 20 minutes later that we realised we had crossed 'Big Red' at the easy point and we watched as a chap in a landcruiser ute took 5 attempts to get over and made it., the noise his engine and suspension were making gave us no inclination to have a go as we had a long way to go and he was finishing... we turned west and travelled along the QAA line over lots of red sand dunes quite widely spaced but steep and tall, Larry was having a great time and as we crossed each dune our confidence increased...We spent some time erecting a tent pole and flannel as a flag should anyone be coming the opposite direction and need warning that we were there too. R wanted to attatch her bright purple bikini top to the pole, but G was too much of a prood!Inevitably, later on when Rachel was driving, we had our first refusal (to use showjumping parlance) stopping short of the top in a slow stall, the car starts to creep backwards as it sinks into the sand, gulp. Remembering our training course and yelling at each other, ignition off, footbrake on, brief clutch, into reverse low range, clutch off, slowly off the brake (will it hold? yes..phew) then with feet off all the pedals turn the ignition on and chug chug chug, slowly and safely back down. There is much rejoicing, after another abortive attempt we are over, having cut up the dune nicely for the poor people coming after us. The desert was empty, of people, but not life, when you take the time there is all kinds of small grasses, bushes and even trees here and there, how they survive is anyones guess... even more amazing were the dingos, camels and emus we saw, what do they eat? We passed ony one group of five vehicles coming in the opposite direction that day and they said they had seen only one other car during their crossing. At 4pm we pulled off the track and set up camp... the mosquito dome was erected and we looked forward to our first night in the desert, then the stars came out, millions of them and though there was no moon you could actually see by their light. The first day's scenery had composed of wide sandy creek beds intersperced with dunes and a surprising number of trees in the creeks.Before dawn we were awoken as two dingos sniffed around our tent, wow. The morning's dunes were OK apart from one which required 2 attempts, but we were gaining confidence in how to attempt them and learning about tyre pressures. We finally made it to Poepples Corner which is the point where Queensland, South Australia & Northern Territory meet, although they didn't have GPS' when it was marked and G spent some time finding the exact point which was some 200m away and he looked really funny striding around in his flynet holding his GPS pacing up and down, backwards and forwards.Saw 1 single vehicle & a 4 vehicle convoy and a 9 vehicle convoy before lunch. The latter group included a vehicle where all inside were off their faces including the driver rather worryingly who was smoking a joint and opening a beer when they stopped to speak to us!! Passed another group of 5 as we turned off the French line we had been travelling along and on to Knolls track. They carefully checked that we had enough fuel, water, communication, epirb (satellite beacon for emergencies) etc. and recommended easier routes to use. We had the bit between our teeth, if we were going to do it, we were going to do it by the french line, all the way (said to be the most difficult route) and that was that!The next stretch of the frenchline was like an assault course with dune after dune after dune, up and down, up and down and then the big ones came along! Gulp....We got up some really steep dunes, having a second attempt at one which had a huge scolluped out part towards the top and if hit too fast we could have ended up on our side. One another one, the wind had blown the sand free of tracks and as we zoomed up to the crest, we realised we'd overshot the track and had to reverse back down and have another go. Passed 1 vehicle today.By now the terrain had changed from dune interspaced by wide valley of a few trees of a clay pan to dunes very close together and treeless covered only by spikey spinifex grass. It was really desert and from the top of the high dunes there was nothing but red sand in the distance.Did some side trips to an abandoned oil well that G thought would be like something out of Dallas, but instaed was a capped pipe, and to lone gum which is a single gum tree in the middle of the desert and no one knows how old it is, where it came from, or more importantly, where it gets its water from. As we drove back up the track towards the French line, we saw a herd of camels which was an amazing sight. They are feral now, having escaped from the days when arabs took camel trains across the desert. That night we were in bed at 7.30pm as it's really tiring driving over dunes due to the concentration required, and we were exhausted.It had been a freezing night and can you believe it, we were wearing our down jackets in the morning as we packed up! Neither of us fancied b'fast this am which was a bad mistake as the next dune field was huge, the steepest dunes we'd crossed so far.These ones were tricky as they were not straight up and straight down, but had curves in them and swists at the top are it was tricky to get the correct speed and momentum when you had to keep turning corners.We nearly came unstuck when R powered over a dune and over ran the crest slightly and had missed the track and as we were pointing down hill, and there was lots of spikey grass in front of us, the only option was to turn the wheel and drive sideways slightly, which is what you are not supposed to do and we lurched over to the left and thought we would roll on our side, but luckily not. Our hearts were racing and we had to stop for an hour to have some food and calm down!The next days dunes were less steep, except for one which took 4 attempts to get over, but we did it! The really frustrating thing was that some of these steep ones were nothing on the other side, so we did realise then that west to east is less steep, but on some dunes, there was more soft sad on the west side so it was horses for courses....And suddenly we were at Purni Bore and had finished the main part of the Simpson Crossing. There was a waterhole here where we watched birds and studied tracks in the sand and more importantly had a shower and laundry.It was R's brothers birthday so the following am we rang using the satellite phone which had an amazingly clear line, but unfortunately he was on the phone! Drove the short distance to Dalhousie Springs where you can take a dip in a natural hot spring which was lovely and then set off for Mt Dare Homestead where we were to return the sat phone. We had travelled the road before and it was awful. It was 80km of gibber plain which is small rocks of fist size which you have to drive over slowly and the car shakes and vibrates and your fillings practically drop out.We were in need of a beer when we reached Mt Dare Homestead and cooked a celebratory meal of roast turkey and all the trimmings followed by treacle sponge - it's amazing what you can cook up on a camp stove!We left Mt Dare for the 450km Old Andado track to Alice Springs which turned out to be one of the most beautiful tracks we have travelled down and we are raving about it.The 1st section followed the floodplains of the Finke river and was really sandy with lots of trees which made a change from the desert. This was cattle country and we came across some lovely chocolate brown cows on the track and they thought they were being mustered so trotted along the track and we thought we'd be floowing then all the way to Alice.We emerged from this area to the edge of the Simpson and we were in dune country again although this time we were parallel with them which was nice and they were the colour of tomato soup. The next section was of small stones which were easy to drive on and similar to bitumen, so we made good progress.We stopped at a conservation park set up to protect a special type of wattle that only grows in 3 small areas of central australia. The trees looked like trees from the Cat in the Hat books and had spikes for leaves.We really felt like we were in the middle of know where out here as the land was now totally flat and isolated and somehow the dunes that we had been in had enclosed us, so we felt less isolated some how.We camped at the base of a 200m high mountain range that sprang up from the ground abruptly and continued the 230km to Alice Springs passing the aboriginal community of Santa Theresa on the way. Like other settlements we have passed, they don't seem to notice rubbish and litter like we do and the place was full of junk and rubbish!Finally we reached bitumen and it was time to pump up the tyres to the correct pressure and learn to drive on bitumen again. We booked into a camp site we'd stayed at before which is great and had the longest shower ever.We headed off to the land councils for both Northern Territory and Western Oz to apply for permits to cross some aboriginal land as we travel west from Alice, and booked Larry in for a service.....gulp. The timing belt needs doing and a few other things so we have a $900 bill to pay, but you take the rough with the smooth whan you by a vehicle!The plan......we will travel west from Alice to Warburton where we will refuel and then head on to Newman and up to Port Headland on the west coast and then to Exmouth for a spot of diving before heading north. It will take about 3 weeks to reach Newman, so don't expect an update until the end of May!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1082507820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1082507820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1082507820/tpod.html Sat, 05 Nov 2005 02:12:18 -0500 Graham and Rachel's 18 Month Mystery Tour.

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Flinders and Gammon Ranges and Birdsville Track, Australia

Factoid; Stuff Dave, we miss Timmy the dog!Abstract; Finally cut the umbilical & left Adelaide travelling north to the Flinders & then the Gammon Ranges where we walked our socks off, before taking a scenic flight from Marree over Lake Eyre and starting the Birdsville Track north to Birdsville, our first trip into Queensland and taking advantange of the great artesian basin en route by indulging in a jacuzzi in the middle of nowhere. Spent a day in Birdsville psyching ourselves up for our crossing of the Simpson Desert & hiring a satellite phoneNitty Gritty;Leaving Adelaide was hard as we'd been there for 3 weeks and Dave was making it too easy for us to stay - he should have been more mean! We finally left town about 3pm not accepting any excuses that it was too late in the day to go and that it would be better to leave tomorrow. By now it was the Thursday before Easter and the roads were busy with people hot footing it out of town. To say that we hot footed it would be an exageration as it was difficult to hot foot it anywhere in a Landcruiser carrying 170L of fuel & 75L of water and we trundled along at 85km/h.That first night was spent at Telowie Gorge where we knew there was a great little free campsite as we'd been there before, it being the first place that we had seen the rare and totally wonderful yellow footed rock wallabies. On our way there we saw a really cool landcruiser driving down railway tracks on special wheels. It was a maintenance vehicle and we thought it would be a great way to get around and beat the traffic as it was speeding along; wonder whether they get speeding tickets..........From here we drove to the Fliders Ranges in sweltering heat to find it stuffed full of holiday makers, so we avoided all and sundry by bush camping in a creekbed which was great as our 'camp' was close to a 'roo superhighway and during the night you could hear thump, thump, thump in the distance getting loader as they approached and then getting quieter again as they passed by and it made us giggle.We loved the Flinders when we were here before.....The scenery is mainly undualting hills / mountains with gum trees growing along dried up creeks inbetween and the hills vegetated with spiney spinifex grass and it's very dry and hot and wonderful. The hills are disected by red rock gorges every so often which are great places to walk (clamber along) and provide habitat for 'roos and yellow footed rock wallabies (YFRWs).From our camp we did some alfresco walking up the surrounding hills which was great for sunset and saw some rare mulga parrots on the way down - Oh god, we've become twitchers!!Did a circular walk from camp too starting at 7am as it was too hot to walk during the middle of the day. The only down point were the bush flies which were everywhere and spent ages trying to get into your eyes, ears and up your nose. We had to go eveywhere with our heads covered in a flynet, even when we were eating which was a challenge as you had to stick your sandwich up under your net to avoid eating fly sandwich.Decided to climb something so climbed Mt Olsen Bagge one of the mountains surrounding Wilpena Pound which is a huge flat plain surrounded entirely by a mountain range and is an awesome sight. The ascent nearly finished Rach off as it was really hot. The view from the top was well worth it though.Snuck into the campsite afterwards to have a shower..shhhhhh don't tell anyone!Next stop Chambers gorge on the way to the Gammon Ranges which is part of a huge cattle station, so there is not much wildlife around except for ferel goats but the gorge was superb and huge. It must have been about 5km long with huge cliffs along much of it and our before breakfast walk became a bit of an epic. We slept outside under the stars here as it was really hot and the stars were amazing. There definitely seem to be more stars in the sky in the southern hemisphere and with no light polution you feel as thought you can pluck them from the sky as they are so bright.The Gammon Ranges are north of the Flinders and more remote and wilder with hardly any trees and lots of dry scrub. Camped at the mouth of a gorge where we managed to see some YFRWs the following morning when we started a 19km walk at 6.30am to avoid the midday heat. They were as gorgeous as we remembered with golden feet and striped tails and boy are they agile, bouncing effortlessly over boulders. The creek contained a spring and further up the gorge was like an oasis with pools and reeds and herons, red rumped parotts and 'roos and goats drinking. It was very tranquill. The rest of the walk was wild, desolate and hot, but fab.At Nooldoo Nooldoona waterhole in Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctary (Part of the Gammon Ranges) we saw a YFRW in the late afternoon, who actually came down to the water to drink, whilst we hid behind a huge rock. It was wonderful to see them so close, and you could hear him slurping up water. We were lucky enough to see some more on another walk in Arkaroola. We had spent some time clambering up a gorge scanning the walls and had given up hope when we wandered back along the route of our walk, rounded a corner and there they were, 4 adults on a scree slope. They let us get fairly close and we spent nearly 2 hours watching them feeding and bouncing around. It was sooooo cooool! On our way to the gorge, we saw 2 huge wedge tailed eagles who had caught a rabbit for their breakfast and took off right in front of the car.Having decided not to do any of the 4WD tracks that had sprung up in the Fliders Ranges as we thought Larry would be doing quite enough off roading during the next few months, we inadvertently found ourselves on one in Arkaroola as we took a wrong turn and the track was one way so we had to continue. This seemed OK initially as it took us to a waterhole where we climbed up to a ridge and had a good walk in the morning. The road soon got pretty full on and rocky as anything and if I said that some of the descents were so steep that at the crest of a hill, we both had to stand up in our seats to see where the track was going! We were so glad to have done our 4WD course and Larry did great,especially his slow controlled speed on steep descents.Although we'd rather not have done it, it gave us a lot of confidence in Larry and ourselves.Arkaroola has an observatory which we didn't visit last time we were there so this time we had a visit and it was great. We looked at stars that looked like a single star with the naked eye and turned out to be 4 stars when looked through a telescope, a star surrounded by a hydrogen cloud, saturn which looked like a charactature & Jupiter.It was now time to head north as the Simpson Desert awaited so we headed for Marree at the start of the Birdsville Track and from where we took a scenic flight over Lake Eyre & The Marree Man (a huge aboriginal man carved out in the desert and whom no one knows who drew it). We had a female pilot who was great and the plane was really small and zipped along. The landscape was so huge from the air and every now and then you could see a bore hole surrounded by small specks which were sheep as the area comprises huge stations.Lake Eyre is a huge salt lake which actually had some water in the northern part which is very rare & is full of birds that unfortuanatley we couldn't see from where we were. All in all we were airbourne for 1hr 20 mins and it was spectacular.The Birdsville Track is about 500km long and we travelled it in 2 days. There wasn't much to see on the way except that the whole area sits on top of the artesian basin and we came to a campsite where there was your very own artesian jacuzzi. It was a huge plastic tub with 4 jets that shot water in to it and an outlet for draining it. It took about 30mins to fill it and it was backing hot which wasn't really refreshing as it was pretty hot outside, but it had to be done!Our overnight stop was a typical outback roadhouse that announced itself via signs on the track - thirsty?, cold beer, panadol etc. and when you approached there was a set of solar powered traffic lights on red and out the front there were parking meters although we were in the middle of know where!There had been a lot of rain in Queensland and as we appoached Birdsville several waterholes had filled and we finally managed to see pelicans in the middle of the desert which was quite a sight.At Birdsville, famous for its annual horse races and the finish / start of the Simpson Desert crossings, we started to get worked up about what we were about to do, that is until we spoke to a lovely aboriginal ranger who put our minds at rest rather than working us up by saying that we shouldn't be going alone as the campsite staff had. We also hired a satellite phone from the Police station which put our minds at rest.We spent a day prepaing Larry by getting fuel and water and preparing ourselves mentally about what we were going to do.We had met a couple, Steve and Jackie at Chambers Gorge and they were crossing the Simpson from west to east as a tag along tour and we met them at Birdsville and spent the night before our departure hearing their tales of their crossing which also helped to psych us up.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1068849780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1068849780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1068849780/tpod.html Wed, 02 Nov 2005 02:32:49 -0500 Graham and Rachel's 18 Month Mystery Tour.

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Lijiang, China

Factoid of the day: Tiger Leaping Gorge is 16km long and 3900m from water to summit - that was one fit tiger, much fitter than us anyway....Abstract:Leave Kunming on (late) hard sleeper train arrive New Dali, Get bus to Old Dali (fairly pretty), hike up mountain to temple, Cycle around lake and local villages, visit largest market in Yunnan, get bus to Lijiang (world heritage city) (VERY pretty), laze around town for couple of days.. Walk Tiger Leaping Gorge, (Fabulous three day trek), Visit Yak Meadow (near Tibet border, in Chinese terms!) at 13,000 feet, via horse back.. off to Jing Hong tomorrow..Nitty Gritty:Graham Writing:Having managed to secure tickets for the late hard sleeper to Dali from Kunming we had to hang around till 11.00pm so sat in the hotel lobby rather than get kippered (smoked alive) at the train station. After using a cab to get to the station we were approached and offered better bunks on an earlier train so of we went... when we arrived at our bunks on the non-smoking carriage a group of blokes were busy creosoting their lungs and after Rachel loudly opened the window for air they all rather sheepishly went off to the end of the carriage to smoke, no doubt cursing the 'foreign devil', however it did mean a more pleasant journey for us and the women who seemed to rather take to Rachel after her gentle persuasion. No problem getting bus to Old Dali, where we nearly missed our stop and in our haste to get off I left my sit mat on the chair, so my backside will suffer until I can get a replacement... We were immediately joined by an collection of touts horse guides, moto riders and local women offering everything from 'silver'jewellery to hashish, in our haste to get away we set off in completely the wrong direction, and all but the most tenacious tout gave up, via a 'scenic tour of the town' we found steamed buns and soup for breakfast for about 15p, and it was delicious. and whilst the touts were watching me eat, Rach sneaked off and booked the hotel, much pushing and shoving amongst the touts ensued as they had been swindled out of their commission...The hotel was nice (called No 5, as it was the fifth hotel in town allowed to admit 'aliens) set around a courtyard. Dali is a pretty place set between lake and mountain, unfortunately it has been 'restored' as only the Chinese know how, so is a bit shiny and new, with piped music and local ethnic costumes if you get the idea. However it is still charming and has attractive gates and walls. That afternoon we set off up a (higher than expected) mountain to a Buddhist temple, once again with 'horsey ride' moto and touts in tow, one tout nearly had a heart attack following us up the hill to the cable car in the hope of a commission only to see us trek off unaided. The path was pleasant through wooded cemeteries and the monestary was a bit of an anticlimax, but a group of visiting local old women where having a great time and were great fun to watch, especially as they were all in traditional dress.Rach writing....Fell out of love with hotel as room around courtyard so couldn't sleep until film shown each evening finished around 10pm and were woken at 6.30am as breakfast things were laid out - I ask you, I'm supposed to be on holiday!Hired bikes for a day and spent most of the day on cobbled lanes and farmers fields so we could hardly walk by the time we got back. Some of the villages had gorgeous old buildings and archways although a lot more developed than in Yuangshuo. Came across a group of pink piglets sunning themselves by jumping on to of each other in a heap - very sweet, all snouts & trotters.Next morning took a local bus to Youshuo market, the biggest in western Yunnan. We love the local buses = a husband and wife team, he drives and she collects the money and they pass through villages collecting people en route. As long as you show the Chinese characters for your destination, you're away. What we saw on the way: 3 pigs in a small bicycle trailer, ornate old doorways, brickettes being made from coal dust, rocks being ground to make lime, a huge circular saw used to cut marble - safety equipment, what's that!The market was fab; piglets for sale, baskets, matting, ironmongery, pulses, rice, chillis plus chilli grinding machine, butchers (they eat everything and anything!), cheese, veg & fruit, clothes, food stalls and sugar.We were the only westerners and spent ages squeezing through the throngs of people, poking our eyes on umbrellas too low for us and sharpening our elbows. Stuffed ourselves on fresh flatbread stuffed with apple and sugar.Was bedlam at 'home' time as each village appeared to have it's own transport home, generally trucks and tractors all of which were stuffed full of people, pigs and produce. The women were carrying huge weights on their backs by looping a decorative strap around their forehead and the bag of rice etc.- and I thought my backpack was heavy!Next stop bus to Lijiang, the old town of which is gorgeously old with cobbled streets, sadly lined with souvenir shops, but off the beaten track it was fab. Stayed in the south of the old town away from the tourists in a lovely (and cheap) guesthouse where we had a room overlooking the rooftops. Took ages photographing the city at dusk and bumped into a Chinese couple we'd met on a train a week ago, they were on a tour judging by their regulation red caps.Got up at 7am to beat the Chinese tourists to the views, but they all had the same idea, so had to act quickly. Did manage to see naxi women cleaning their teeth whilst their husbands hung out the songbirds in little cages. The sharpened elbows came in use when getting breakfast = freshly cooked flatbreads slathered in chilli relish - yum! Decided to cheat by flying to south China instead of a 2 day bus trip so booked our tickets.Tiger leaping Gorge - about 2 hours north of Lijiang beckoned. Most people take only 2 days and one night to walk, but we decided to take longer and were mighty glad we did as it was beautiful and very like the Canadian rockies. The mountains were a breath of fresh air as there were few people around which is rare in China where you can even nip behind a bush for a pee without a head popping up close by.Stayed at a Naxi guesthouse called Tea Horse Trade GH on the first night where there was a 10 foot high forest of a plant of a medicinal nature if you get my meaning. We sat on the terrace with a fab view and ate fresh walnuts from the tree and drank mint tea. The place was fab and we could easily have spent a week there as the 'mama' was so friendly and the food was fab.Hired a driver with a Chinese couple and an englishman to take us from Daju at the end of the TLG trek to Yak Meadow at the foot of Mt Yulong or Jade Dragon Snow Mountain which is 35km north of Lijiang. We had a hilarious time going up to the meadow by mule instead of cable car and getting even more saddle sore. he meadow was beautiful, however in traditional Chinese style it had been spoilt by walkways, yak rides complete with genuine (synthetic) local dress, a mock village and entrepreneurs selling bottles oxygen to chain smocking Chinese! Poor Graham suffered terribly with the altitude and felt dizzy and sleepy and looked like a goast.We stopped at another place which took the biscuit for kitchness and sent the kitchometer way off scale.....north of TLG there are a set of calcite terraces similar to the ones in Turkey. The Chinese had recreated these in a river and were leading tourists across on yaks to have their photos taken - they could even dress up which many did - it was hilarious and we found ourselves taking photos of them being photoed.Engerland, Engerland, Engerland!!!!!!!!!!Will have to find somewhere to watch the final - have arrived in tropical Jinghong in southern Yunnan and have booked a guide to take us trekking for the next 3 days before we head south to Laos.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1072269540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1072269540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1072269540/tpod.html Fri, 02 Sep 2005 03:25:57 -0400 Graham and Rachel's 18 Month Mystery Tour.

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Kampot and Kep, Cambodia

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!!!Abstract: Leave Siem Reap via motor boat across Tonle Sap lake and down river to Battambang, Get Vietnamese visa in 10 minutes! (had to grovel for 30 days tho), go on day moto trip to Monastery on Hill, Sampeau Killing Cave and another Angkorian temple. On way back put bikes on 'bamboo train'(a bamboo platform on railway track powered by tractor engine), Return to Phnom Penh by 15 hour train (270km- slowest, but most interesting in Asia). Visit Tuol Sleng camp (Khmer Rouge torture/genocide site - VERY moving), Royal Palace, etc. Share taxi to Kampot, Moto to Kep, fall in Love with run down charm, decide to take a holiday from our travels for 7 days and spend new year there with our french host and great cooking. Return to Kampot to discover posh hotel treat has messed up, BUT manager invites us to stay at his fabulous riverside house! Off to Bokor NP. on Xmas day, old hill station. Nitty Gritty: Our final morning in Siem Reap started at an antisocial 5am in order to be picked up at 6am for the boat to Battambang in NW Cambodia. As we waited for our lift, we saw a man we'd seen the day before begging in the market with a 'false' leg, hurry past us with his 'false' leg slung over his shoulder - Siem Reap we have you sussed!The area of Tonle Sap lake where we caught the boat was really squalid with putrid water and little stilt houses over the waters edge, and lots and lots of people. Interestingly although the conditions were poor, most 'shacks' had a TV aerial poking out the top.There was some confusion over our boat as we and about 10 others were ushered away from the lake worthy vessel that everyone else was swarming around, to a very unlakeworthy vessel with 2 outboard motors. We were somewhat concerned about this mode of transport, but soon changed our minds as we hit the lake proper and the engines opened and the nose of the boat lifted out of the water and we shot across the lake at record speed. This was indeed the fast boat which would take 3 hours rather than 5+.Battambang is on a river off the lake and the only problem with the speedboat was the wake it caused and the upset it caused to the locals who live along the narrow riverbank in boats. They were pretty disgruntled with the boat driver but waved at us! They fish using huge nets supported by bamboo that they lift and lower on a pully system.Battambang was thankfully totally opposite to Siem Reap and was delightful and we liked it very much. Having arrived at 10.30am, we managed to find a hotel, get our clothes washed (pure luxury), get a Vietnamese visa in 10 minutes for $30 (usually takes 4 days and costs $20 more), although the Consol only wanted to give us 15 days rather than 30 days, so G did a bit of grovelling and once he'd seen our passports were full of his communist neighbours he agreed to 30 days!, G had a haircut, we walked around town, fended off some street kids with prying hands, bought fruit in the market, used the internet and changed money, all by dinner time.The following day we hired 2 motorbike taxis to take us out for the day which was great. They were very knowledgable, especially G's who was an educated man, the son of 2 teachers who were killed by the Khmer Rouge and he had had to pretend he was illiterate etc to survive. All 7 siblings were separated and to this day he is still searching for them...The tour started at a Monastery & temple on a hill, built at the site of one of the Khmer Rouge's 'killing caves'. We then had noodles at a village stall and boughts some dustmasks in the market (to protect our airways from the dirt roads!) and visited a pre Ankorian temple which having been to Angkor was a bit naff to be honest, but what was lovely was a group of earnest young english speakers who asked us to help them go through a chapter of their text book, a great experience esp as they were so quick to learn.We then threaded through gorgeous countryside, through small villages where children rushed to give you small flowers they picked as they saw us coming, saw peanuts growing - now I (R) thought they grew on trees, but they grow on bushes in sandy soil, under the ground - picked fresh Tamarind from trees and picked seed pods that exploded when you spat on them!The greatest part of the day was the bamboo train we took back to Battambang. There is only 1 train and 1 track in Northern Cambodia and it travels to Battambang from Phnom Penh on one day and in the opposite direction the next. The locals take full advantage of the tracks by using bamboo platforms on train wheels and powered by a tractor engine with a fan belt to transport themselves and produce to market etc along the train tracks.Our train took us, our drivers and 2 motorbikes, and 2 others so we were OK when we met a bamboo train coming in the opposite direction - the lightest 'train' is lifted off the tracks to allow the other to pass. They travel really quite fast and it was a real buzz.The next day we caught the train from Battambang to Phnom Penh, a real experience...Got to station in the dark, got on train and by the time it was light, decided to check out why all the locals were sat in another carriage - simple..ours had holes in the floor, some big enough to fall through and was generally more rickety than the others - we moved! Train set off at 7am and arrived in Phnom Penh at 9pm, taking some 14 hours to travel the 270km!! It was great, we got to meet loads of locals, especially by leaning out of the train (there are no windows) and waving to various people in other carriages and buying food when we stopped. When we stopped, there was a frenzy of chucking planks of wood onto the top of the train in record time, much of it fallng off and missing the train. Our carriage was shared with a load of illegal timber that looked like teak and at one point loads of police got on to extort bribes from the smugglers for turning a blind eye. There was a great sunset which G watched from the top of the train with one of the policemen. Just outside PP we stopped for the timber to be hurried away under cover of darkness. Once it was dark, you had to watch where you trod as there were no lights on the train.It was by far the best travelling experience so far.Whilst in PP went to Tuol Sleng, a school in PP that the Khmer Rouge used as a genocide camp. It was an extremely moving place and neither of us left dry eyed. We also saw the ex US embassy where the mass evacuation of 1975 took place when the KR took PP. For lunch we went to a restaurant that supports street kids which is a charity we are keen to support and nipped into the oppulent Royal Palace where King Sianouk still lives. Had a feast in our room that night - rice, chilli sauce and a whole roasted duck from the market - yummy!Leaving PP, we took a shared taxi to Kampot in southern Cambodia, near the sea. On reaching Kampot, we took 2 motocycle taxis to the little seaside town of Kep where we booked into a guesthouse run by a french chap and his Khmer wife. We had been intending to spend christmas/G's birthday & new year on the Vietnamse island of Phu Quoc, but as the place we wanted to stay was full, we decided to take some time out in Kep instead. As the Vietnamese had 'stolen' Phu Quoc from the Cambodians during the war, we could see the island from Kep anyway!By now it was christmas eve and we headed back to Kampot to spend 2 nights at a colonial hotel there - a bit of a splurge, only to find that they had no knowledge of our booking and the hotel was full - great. The english manager had a great house and invited us to stay, which we did, spending a boozy evening with him and his girlfriend and waking up on christmas day feeling terrible!We took a jeep trip to Bokor National Park which is a hill overlooking Kampot which has an abandoned French town on the top. Travelling up the twisty turny 4WD road in an old jeep, with a hangover is not to be recommended, but it was a nice way to spend G's birthday. Had an early night that night...On Boxing day after a seafood lunch on a bamboo platform over the sea in a little fishing village, we headed back to Kep and spent 6 nights 'holidaying' which for the first 3 days meant not leaving the terrace of our woodern bungalow except for meals at the restaurant - bliss. Towards the end of our stay, we did venture out taking a day trip with our french host and his parents to a pepper plantation and some caves and to rabbit island just off Kep where we went for the day, but it was too hot to stay in the sea for long without getting frazzled.All in all, we stuffed ourselves on crepes, prawns, fish and great cooking, but no crabs for which Kep is famous for as it was full moon and not good at that time.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1070632020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1070632020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1070632020/tpod.html Fri, 02 Sep 2005 02:51:48 -0400 Graham and Rachel's 18 Month Mystery Tour.

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Nam Ou, Luang Prabang and Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Factoid: Cheddar cheese has been located but so far no Branston!Abstract: Left Jinghong on bus not boat, crossed border into Laos PDR - please don't rush, via Oudomxai to follow the beautiful Nam Ou river staying in idyllic village of Muang Ngoi and floating down to the Mekong to the wonderful Luang Prabang, a world heritage city with dozens of Buddhist temples. Took VIP bus to Vietiane, the capital.Nitty Gritty:After our disappointment of the cancelled boat trip we took the bus to Mengla one and a half hours north of the border with Laos. No sooner had we left the bus station, when our transport to Mohan, on the Chinese side of the border, found us(as transport often does in China) in the shape of a chinese 'dad' who locked our bags in the boot and jollied us to the border. Mohan may be a dusty one horse town, but we had a great hotel room, even if a cokroach shot across the bed when Rach pulled the covers back - best yet in China, and despite the odds some great food.The Chinese, all bustle and parades for the national anthem and raising of the flag are working on a six lane super highway to Thailand, resulting in yhe border looking like a building site. By contast in the customs hut on the Laos side, the guards yawned and burped their way through our admission and waved us through to a single lane dusty potholed road - so much for the super highway!. We had to take a tuk tuk accoss no man's land to Laos.For info our average spend in China and Hong Kong was 15 pounds per person per day including expensive HK and mainly ensuite rooms.We had checked the exchange rates before leaving China, 947Kip to the yuan, and were therefore happy to be offerrred 1000kip at the border, and not so happy to find out that it was 1200 at Oudomxai. That's what we call inflation! At least 10 & 20,000 notes are now available so we can avoid the backpack full of notes we had heard about.We waited in a noodle shop for several hours for our 'ute' pick up with 2 rows of seats in the back a 'sawngthabw' litterally meaning 2 rows. This 'bus' took us to Oudomxai. At Oudomxai we were delighted to discover a french influence - gorgeous baguettes, we were initially sceptical of the condensed milk topping, but we are now converts - try it!Met our first 'earnest young english speaker' who had taken the day off school as he was feeling sad, well it was Monday, not that we care anymore! We had been warned about the Laos work ethic....it certainly takes some getting used to being in a relaxed country after China.Next morning took sawngthabw to Muang Kwa a dusty bumpy 4 hours down a graded but un tarmacked road. It was only 100km. We have discovered the best way to get to know the locals is to get cosy with them on a bus, have them sit on your legs and feet, have their farm yard at your feet and their children vomit on your shirt. It's one big happy family. United in suffering for a common goal. Graham gave up and stood on the footplate - easier on the butt, but being launched skyward over each bump and covered with dust is wat you call character forming.On arrival Graham dashed to the best guesthouse ahead of the other westerners on the bus to bags the best room in the house with a gorgeous river view. The Nam Ou (a tributary of the Mekong) is very beauitiful as it windes its way through limestone peaks and cliffs.Within half an hour the nice American (not an oxymoron) Jackson arrived grinning from ear to ear, he had taken a 50mph suicide speedboat dowm from Phonsaly and was on an adrenaline high - it was good to see him again. He spent the next few days travelling down river with us via Muang Ngoi on the slow boat, much more serene and peaceful (stunning scenery) but not quite so exciting.Munag Ngoi was idyllic (definitely too many backpackers), no cars or roads, guesthouses made from bamboo and rattan and occassional US army bomb casing. The little village was over run with resort style guesthouses and bars and must have been great a few years back. About an hours walk from the village is another village beyond the rice paddies. This village had a guesthouse and we wished we'd satyed here, still lunch gave us a good feeling for the place and it's friendly people. As it was rice harvest time, a very communal time of year, the villagers gather to thresh and winnow the grain by hand - after a day in the fields they hit the moonshine.All of this area of Northern Laos was very heavily bombed during the US 'secret' war. Laos had the greatest tonnage of bombs dropped on it per capita of any country. One of the restauranters told of how for 9 years from age 11 he lived in a cave with 50 other families. Bombing lasted from 7am to 10pm and they searched for food at 4am. Indeed these UXO (unexploded ordinance) still kill and mame hundreds each year (mostly children). The sight of children playing on the fences and staircases made from bombcases (often with english writing on the side) was enough to break your heart. Despite this the people were incredibly welcomng and kind.Graham and Jackson spent an hour swimming and wading though water and mud in the very caves used as airraid shelters. Geat fun till they lost their way, exiting via a different route to their entry relieved to see Rachel who then told them of a travller who had entered the caves alone and got lost spending 2 days in there after his torch failed.Rachel spent the second night in the rattan 'hotel' chasing rattans and mice around and trying to stop them chewing through our packs in search of food. Luckily a Milo carton in the bin kept them occupied for quite some time. Graham slept though it all and Rachel had very red eyes in the morning as did most of the other guests who also sported various nibble marks.It was however our cheapest room so far at 30 pence each per night.We managed to get a group of 6 togther to charter a boat to take us all the way to Luang Prabang after some hard bargaining to reduce the price. The 7 hour journey down the Nam Ou to the Mekong was lovely, river life, fishermen, children playing and spectacular peaks.After a brief stop at Pak Ou caves ( overated caves filled with Buddas) we arrived at Luang Prabang, a world heritage city.Whilst walking to our hotel we noticed a big crowd of onlookers watching about 50 monks in saffron robes unloading an enormous budda statue from a barge on the Mekong. We discovered a street of great food vendors and had tofu and a large BBQ fish for tea, not to mention BBQ bananas, pancakes, spring rolls and coco\nut cakes - we hadn't eaten since breakfast and were starving. Also the food in the north had been bad esp compared with China and the night market in LP was excellent.The next morning, whilst Rach caught up on some post rattan sleep deprevation, Graham got up at dawn to watch the most amazing scene of hundreds of monks silently walking past devout kneeling alms givers collectingsticky rice and food in bowls. The bright orange robes in the morning mist all added up to a fabulous experience.When rach got up we set off on an ambitious walking tour of the city but ended up spending the morning talking to a monk in the first monestry we visited, he was a delightful 18 year old and we came back at sundown to walk around the stupa with him and then he wanted to share his breakfast with us, so the next day we where there eating sticky rice and seaweed with him... Laos has a way of slowing you down.We decided that we should go off andsee something of the city so bid farewell to 'our' monk and went to the museum and some fabulous wats. Sunset on the Mekong and up Phousy Hill were other highlights... oh and Indian curry and other street market food!We got the express bus (10 hours) to Vientiane (the capital) and the road between LP and Vang Vieng was stupendous a bit like Guilin. Vientaine is more like a country town than a capital, and we hired the cronkyest bikes yet to get around, very pleasant...First job was Cambodian visas and after descovering they couldn't be done same day (despite Rach's best offer of an extra 5 dollar present- seems not everyone can be bribed) we explored cambodias 'arc d'triomphe' and the shiney gold wat, cant remember its name... we have decided that Beer Lao (7/10) comes in a close second to Dali beer (8.5/10) in our exhaustive testing, we will continue our valient attemptto discover a 10/10 and keep you posted. We also went to the market to buy a Beer Lao t-shirt and sunscreen, and ended up buying a watch for Rachel and some noodles hmmm.. markets have a way of doing that to you.Then, shock horror, we found a shop selling New Zealand cheddar!!! Baggettes at the ready we ecstatically enjoyed our cheese in the fountain square, we could have been back in Europe!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1067833560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1067833560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1067833560/tpod.html Fri, 02 Sep 2005 02:36:32 -0400 Graham and Rachel's 18 Month Mystery Tour.

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Kunming, Yunnan (and Guilin and Yangshuo), China

Factoid of the day: China makes up 20% of the worlds population but smokes 30% of the cigarettes..... it seems most of those are smoked on our bus, train or cafe....Abstract: Left Hong Kong after collecting Visa, took express train to Guangzhou, then 'Hard Sleeper' train to Guilin, then minibus to Yangshuo, stayed four nights in 'Riverside Retreat' enjoying karst (limestone pinnacle) scenery and cycling around, left on Saturday 1 Nov on 'Hard Sleeper' train to Kunming (South West China), Staying at Camelia Hotel, applyed on Monday for Visa for Laos.Nitty Gritty:Graham writing- After leaving our hotel in Hong Kong not quite as early as planned, 8.30am, we trekked over to the chinese visa place and collected the visas with no problems. Caught the almost empty Star Ferry between Wan Chai and Hung Hom, which is where the KCR (Kowloon/Canton) railway station is, or at least that's where the guide book says it is, as it turns out there is a huge industrial/shipyard in the way, after careful negotiation of the under/over passes we arrived for our 11.30am train to find it full, so had to pay an exhorbitant amount for the next 'express' train. Anyway it was very comfrtable and deposited us in Guangzhuo, lucklily as the trade expo was on there where lots of english speaking fresh faced meeters / greeters, they where a bit dissapointed to learn we were grungy backpackers but did point at the entrance to the metro, which, only weeks before had been completed as far as the main railway station.This was a result for us especially as we had acquired a map of the metro from a glossy mag on the 'express' train. We could therefore take the shiny new underground (Tube bosses should see this system) all the way to the train station for Guilin. We nicely avoided therefore the notorious traffic and congestion of the city.We have discovered a new phenomena we have christened 'critical mass'. When there is no pedestrian crossing a group of maybe 50 or so people gather at a likely spot and when one plucks up enough courage to cross (therefore taking point) the entire mass crosses as one, josteling each other to avoid moving towards the traffic at point, the mass of cars part, Moses style, and you safely get across, stragglers (ie the old) are left behind to fight on alone...The main train station had 90 ticket booths with a massive 'queue' at each, melee being a better description, we decided (after being shooed away at one booth) that we would go in search of a ticket agent, thereby living to fight another day. (now we are more confident rach is keen to have another try - NB I am surprised at how cowardly Graham can be at times!!). We found CITS (the travel agent) after lots of pointing at books and charades, and wonder of wonders secured 'hard sleeper' tickets for that evenings departure to Guilin. There was much rejoicing! We had avoided the dorm rooms at the youth hostel in Guangzhou that we had booked just in case we were unlucky enough not to get same day tickets, which are hard to come by in the high season (luckily we are off season!)After a trip to the bank, a bakers for provisions and water, we made our way to the gargantuan railway station, after being herded through waiting rooms and along corridors we arrived in a seated area packed with fellow passengers. After waiting around for a bit, Rach decided to pay a call, and it was at this stage the gate opened with railway workers using loudhalers (and batons) herding the hords to the train, we took the English approach and queued, therefore being practicaly the last on board. Tip one: in china, elbows are very useful.Our first trip on a 'Hard Sleeper' was very enjoyable, firstly it wasn't actually that hard, and secondly everyone was very freindly, (or amused at the mad westerners, not sure which). Our provisions however where whofully inadequate, everyone else had instant noodles (there is boiling water at the end of the carrage in a help yourself boiler) or just bought something from the constant stream of vendors passing along the train. (chicken feet, frogs,(this is a bit of an exageration Graham!) and many other food stuffs, socks, toothbrushes, DVD players for rent etc etc). At each station there is a frenzy of buying of consumables from vendors on the platform... the debris from all this gets chucked/ spat on the floor, however cleaners come and dutifully sweep it up.The sleeping arrangements are three story bunks in compartments of six, much like a european couchette, except that there is no door or wall on the compartment, it is all open. We had the top bunks, no headroom but more privicy, the 13 hour trip passed rather aggreeably.Rachel Writing-I didn't sleep too well as for some reason I kept thinking about being propelled from my bunk if the train crashed! Took a minibus from Guilin train station to Yuangshuo which is a town about an hour away with amazing limestone pinnacle scenery. Our Chinese guesthouse was 4km from town on a river so we negotiated a motorcycle taxi to take us there - basically a bike with a side car and driven by a women - girl power!! Once at the questhouse we were welcomed by a cheery 'hello' and shown to our room. The plumbing or lack of it was histerical. The bathroom consited of a) a western style loo b) a french style loo c) a sink, with no waste pipe, just a bucket underneath d) a shower hose attached to the wall. It too me a while to work out that one flushed the loo by filling the bucket with water and sloshing it down and the shower drained in to the french loo! We had some lunch on the veranda overlooking the river and wonderful view and headed back into town, this time flagging down one of the small minibuses that was heading there. The bus in question looked full, however they made room for 2 more. We wondered around the touristy part of town, the main street in this area being known as 'West' street for obvious reasons, booked some train tickets and a tour to see the famous cormerant fisherman of the area.The guesthouse's website is http://www.abstraction.org/rr/ take a look at the piccys.The next day was utterly perfect.....after a hearty noodle breakfast, we hired some cronky mountain bikes and followed the dirt track up river from the gusthouse. We passed farmers gathering in the harvest by cutting the rice by hand and threshing it using a machine which they powered by pushing a bar at the front with their feet, before hand tying bundles of hay to dry in the sun. We saw ducks and ducklings being herded by a duck shepherd, woman carrying pales of water, rocks, vegetables etc in two buckets held from a piece of wood across their shoulders, vegatable farming, men ploughing fileds using plouighs pulled by Ox etc - it was a rural idilic sceneWe finally found the Dragon Bridge after 3 hours of cycling. The bridge dates from 1427 or something around that and was wonderfully medieval looking with all kinds of commerce going over it. From here we returned to the GH (another 3 hours) by the most beauitiful path along the river - got a bit lost at one point and had to carry our bikes around some rice paddies. We were exhausted and covered in dust!Had dinner in the night market for 75p - freshly made dim sum which were really yummy. Joined the fishing trip which was really naff to start with but then when we joined the fisherman, it was amazing. Before tourism, the fishermen of the area used (and some still do, as we later saw some) cormarents to fish for them by tying grass around their gullets to prevent them from swallowing all but the very smallest fish. The birds are amazing underwater and darted around catching fish. When their gullets bulged the fisherman scooped them out with a pole an masseged their gullet until they regurgitated the fish.The next day we did a river boat trip down a rather lovely part of the Li river - did it ourselves rather than paying a guide. We took a bus to Yangdi and once there arranged a trip with a local boatman via a chinese chap who spoke some english. Boatmen are not allowed to take tourists so the first part of the trip involved avoiding the police by hiding in the boat which had mirrored windows. Once past them, we all got out front and marvelled at the limestone scenery. The boat dropped us off about 1.5hours walk from where we caught the bus back home - another wonderful day.Next day, climbed one of the limestone peaks for a great view of the area and chilled out for the day and had a slap up meal at the guesthouse in the pm.Following am got up early and caught a bus to Guilin and stocked up on instant noodles for our 23 hour train journey to Kunming in Yunnan,south west china. The time went really quickly as we read a lot, and while Graham had a snooze, I did a bit of Mandarin homework. Our fellow travellers were OK - a group of business men mainly, although we were treated to our first real experience of chinese spitting. A women who had the bottom bunk to mine, cleared her throat very loudly and spat (thankfully into a tissue) every 15 mins for the whole journey and by the end of it it was really starting to get on my nerves!Kunming is a great city, clean, modern, and has a great atmosphere, especially if you go off the beaten track. We lunched on more superb dim sum before wandering through the markets and buying Graham some pants in Carrefore of all places!We are off further north tomorrow, this time by sleeper bus to do some trekking before heading south to Laos.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1067163900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1067163900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grahamandrach/great_escape/1067163900/tpod.html Fri, 02 Sep 2005 02:32:27 -0400 Graham and Rachel's 18 Month Mystery Tour.

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Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Todays Factoid:Hong Kong residents eat more oranges per capita than anyone else, come to think of it they eat pretty much anything, snake, dog, toad.... lie down for too long in the park and it could be you turning up in those fried noodles...Abstract (for those too busy to read all of our drivle):Arrived Hong Kong, went to Happy Valley races, Star ferry, Victoria Peak, Kowloon, Mong Kok, Lamma Island, Aberdeen etc etc.. off to Guangzhou tommorrow.Full Text:(Graham writing)After an uneventful flight (not good, not bad) with Swiss Air we arrived, I didn't sleep, Rach slept like baby, as usual. The films where awful, avoid Charlie's Angels 2 and Bullet proof monk like the plauge... even the typical airline censorship couldn't add any amusment, you know 'forget you' in place of you know what etc...Hong Kong Airport is great, no crush, helpful transport office, bit different to Heathrow's surly employees. Took bus (UK3) to Causeway bay to Noble Hostel, nice Double with shower & WC for UK30, right above Armani and Max Mara, We're on 17th (top) floor... not bad I have a feeling our luck will change soon, because there is a trade fair in Guangzhou we have had to book dorm room beds in a YHA miles from town for tommorrow... anyway on with Hong Kong...That evening in an attempt to stay awake we went to Happy Valley races to watch the horses, massive 15 storey stands surround the track, and literaly millions on dollars where being bet on each race... I managed to avoid loosing my shirt, mostly because I couldn't work the automated betting machines... so my wallet was only HK$10 (80p UK)lighter for the admission. Got up early to try to get our Chinese visa from the China visa office in Wan Chai, only HK$150 (UK12) but won't be ready till Monday (3 days) there is a faster service but costs $400, so being a cheapskate decided to risk it being ready on the morning our train departs to Guangzhou. (for a little extra it is probably worth going to CTS), we only got 30 days as well despite asking for 60....Spent the next 6 hours trying to book a none existant 1) Ferry to Wuzhou and 2) bus to anywhere but Guangzhou. In the end gave up and resigned ourselves to the crush at one of Chinas most notorious train stations... I will not give you the excrusiating detail of trapsing from 'travel agent' to 'travel agent', I use that term loosly as the only place they can book to is, yes you guessed it, Guangzhou! (or a thousand pound tour)That evening went on Star ferry and on the Tram (HK$20) up to the Victoria Peak, which even for the most anti-city outdoor type, I have to say was impressive... On Saturday went on a walk to Lammas Island, over nice beaches and hills, back to Aberdeen then up to Mong Kok (worlds highest population density), the bird market, ('it is an ex-parrot' monty python levels of healthyness in the population of birds here), the flower market, not too much suffering here, the aquarium fish market, complete and utter disregard for fish-rights here (i'm suprised they weren't all dead), the 'ladies' market, fake Louis Vitton anybody? the other night market (knocked off VCD's Rolex, and Bloody David Beckham paraphinalia), and the (fake) Jade market, all this left us rather jaded ah-hem sorry about that... so we thought nice dinner will sort us out, only raw crunchy prawns and raw egg on rice wasn't quite what I had in mind, I tried to point out it is traditional to fry this particular dish, but either the waiter was deaf or I was transparent...We are on our way to Yangshuo tommorrow, but may have to overnight in Guangzhou, if we can't get an overnight Train/bus, we have booked the last two beds in the town at the yha (UK5pp), but hope not to have to use them.Will write again from the classic karst peaks of Guillin, hopefully get there on Tuesday...Take careGraham (Rachel says Hi)
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