TravelStream™ news feed for member meercatvinny on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/meercatvinny en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:23:05 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213868760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213868760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213868760/tpod.html Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:23:05 -0400 The Philippines

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Pandan Island, Philippines

We got to the island about 6.00, just as it was getting dark and were given a lovely welcome cocktail at the bar right on the beach. Went down well after the long journey we just had. They showed us to our beach hut, a little bit down the beach, which was lovely but very basic. There are salt water showers with a bucket and scoop for you to rinse with fresh water afterwards. And you have to pour water into the toilet yourself to flush. There are no windows or air conditioning, so it gets VERY hot at night. And the power goes off at 7pm with enough only to power a few small lights in the room, and even at the bar. But, despite all this the island has a certain charm and its just a really great place to be. Apart from the mozzies. Feckin mozzies....

Anyway, the reason we came here was to learn to dive, so the next day we donned our equipment and had our first lesson. In a classroom!! It was interesting enough to keep us awake, and then we had our first dive in the morning in about 3 metres of water to practice all the things we learned. There was a class and a dive every morning and afternoon for 4 days, which is about average to do the dive course. We were lucky to learn in such a great place, the island is surrounded by great corals in fairly shallow water and lots of life. Most places you learn in a pool and only get to do an actual dive after about 2 or three days in the pool. So it made us much more excited about the course when we could see fish swimming about as we learned.

After a few dives up to 6 metres we eventually went deeper into about 20 metres and saw some incredible stuff. The water was so clear here away from the wash of the beach. There were turtles, lion fish, jack fish, big trigger fish, everything. And the corals were beautiful too. I couldn't really take my camera with me while we were doing the course, which was a bit of a killer when you can see such amazing things just whizzing around you. But on the last dive I took it with me and got a few snaps. Its much more difficult than I thought it would be. The water is moving, you are moving, the fish are moving, so basically it takes a bit of patience and some skill (which I haven't quite gotten yet) to get a good shot.

So no we're qualified divers, and to make matters more interesting, I got an ear infection after my last dive which made my right ear really sore and my left ear blocked up completely so I couldn't hear a thing!!

Luckily we were leaving the next day, so hopefully I could get it sorted out and dive again soon.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213868640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213868640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213868640/tpod.html Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:38:40 -0400 The Philippines

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Sablayan, Philippines

So an early start from Manila for us today, a 400 Km Journey ahead.

We got a lift from Manila to a place called Batangas, about 2 hours south of Manila, to catch a 3 hour ferry to another place called Wawa on the big island of Mindoro. We made the ferry just in time, the ferry terminal was a mad place with people everywhere trying to sell stuff, help you with your bags for a few pesos, and basically doing anything to make a quick buck.

The heat was unreal, and we were dripping sweat walking to the ferry along the pier. An ice cold bottle of water over the head was the only solution when we got on board. And when we discovered there was an air conditioned room too we were in heavan!! The sea was like glass for the whole journey, and we passed by loads of little paradise islands on the way. When we got closer to Mindoro we could see why it was supposed to be impenetrable. There were sheer mountains the whole length of it, many of them impassible and unexplored. The whole of the interior is untouched jungle, mainly because its impossible to build a road through to the other side. The only roads on the island go around the coast, and even then they stop in the middle of nowhere because the mountains are too hard to pass and you have to get a little boat around to the other side and carry on your journey from there. Crazy place.

Anyway, we got to Wawa and were to make our way to the far side of the island and to the south to a place called Sablayan where we could charter a Banca (a local boat) to take us to Pandan Island off the coast. We negotiated with a guy to bring us there in his van for a good price, and the journey took about 3 hours along bumpy and scary roads through little villages with paddy fields and surrounded by unbelievable scenery, like something out of Jurassic Park. Beautiful.

And for such an isolated place there are a lot of people making thier way around on the roads, hanging onto all sorts of contraptions to get where they need to go.

We got to Sablayan just before the sunset and managed to get a boat to the island, which took about half an hour.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213089420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213089420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213089420/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:37:28 -0400 The Philippines

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Manila, Luzon, Philippines

I thought Bangkok was mad, but it hasn't got a patch on Manila. The streets are even noisier and more polluted, there are even stranger smells and sights, and there are prosititues absolutley everywhere. Its unreal!! I read the other day that over 600,000 people work in the 'industry' here. And on the flight here you couls see that there were loads of sleazy old men coming here for that exact reason, and for worse things. There was a guy arrested in the airport on suspicion of being a peadophile when I arrived. To be honest, he looked the part, but you just don't know I suppose.

Anyway, apart from all that its a great city. The people are really friendly and the foods good. And they know how to have a good time too, loads of pubs and clubs all over the place. And its hot. Very hot. Which is why Manilans seem to have a penchant for shopping malls. They are everywhere - monolithic, air conditioned, and really cheap. Most people are in them just because its cooler than outside, but they are as fun to walk around people spotting as the streets are.

And they have the strangest public transport too. They have buses and taxis like everywhere else, but they also have these things called Jeepneys. They're mad looking yokes, like old trucks with benches thrown into the back. These are what the locals use, and they're all decorated in strange colours and images. There are people hangin in and out of them and on the roof and eveything, all at 60 miles an hour!! Looks like a skill they've developed over the years. I'll stick up some photos when I get a better internet conectoin

The day afer I arrived I went to meet my little bro Ciaran in the airport, he is gonna travel through the Philippines with me for 3 weeks, which should be a good bit of craic. Needless to say we went and got sloshed that night, especially considering that a beer is on ly around 50cent!! Mad stuff. There was even Karaoke involved, always a good thing in my opinion!! Only problem is that its really popular over here and Philippinos can really sing, so you've gotta know what you're doing. Needless to say, one song from me was enough to permanently end my Karaoke career here in the Philippines.

No sight seeing here this time coz we'll be back in a few weeks, so its straight on to our next destination tomorrow.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1212916500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1212916500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1212916500/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:17:21 -0400 The Philippines

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Bangkok, Thailand

So, another trip begins. First stop this time is Bangkok for 2 days. After the flight I was jetlagged as hell, took me the whole 2 days to get into the rythym again.

I forgot how mad Bangkok was. Noise, dirt, people everywhere and all sorts of wierd and wonderful smells and sights. I had nowhere booked to stay here, so just jumped into a taxi and asked him to take me to an area I stayed before thats full of hotels and got a nice 4 star one with a rooftop pool. My room wasn't to be ready until 12, and I got there at 8, so Ijust went out and found some breakfast and saw a few bits and bobs.

Basically the main reason I came here to was to buy a new camera for the rest of the trip. So th enext day I jumped into a tuc tuc and headed over to Panthip Plaza, one of the best places in the world to buy electronics. After much browsing and trying to swindle some sort of good deal out of the salesmen, I ended up buying not 1 but 2 cameras, one with an underwater housing. And all for less than half what it costs at home. So, happy with my purchases I headed back to the hotel for some kip and got my flight to the Philippines the next day.

Thats Bangkok for the time being, should be back here in a few more weeks.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213868400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213868400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/6/1213868400/tpod.html Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:11:01 -0400 The Philippines

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Abra de Ilog, Philippines

Draft
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1147366800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1147366800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1147366800/tpod.html Mon, 14 Aug 2006 08:13:14 -0400 Where'd Vinny Go??

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Colonia Carlos Pelligrini, Argentina

Draft

Overnight to Mercedes, comfy bus
Arrive 5.30am, no bus to colonia til 12
Met a brazilian who works for a tour company and was checking out intinerary for new tours for rich Danes. He used to work in Denmark. arranged the car to colonia was for 5 but 2 cheapo backpackers said no. 2 hours and stopped along the way to wath sunrise and see capybara and wild boar
Colonia
Aftenoon boat tour, only people there
amazing home coked fodd and veggies
Horse riding next day
Night tour, full moon
Anaconda in the garden but we didn't see
Walk across brdge to see monkeys
lift back in back of a pick up truck with some ozzie girl
next day 4wd to Posadas via road accessible only whe dry, emus and matte
just missed bus to Igauzu
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1147452720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1147452720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1147452720/tpod.html Mon, 14 Aug 2006 08:02:21 -0400 Where'd Vinny Go??

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Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

Our journey from Colonia Carlos Pelligrini was a bit of an adventure. We decided to take the more direct (and more expensive route) directly north to Posadas and get a bus from there to Puerto Iguazu. The road north is only accessible by four wheeled drive, and then only if it is dry. If it rains then it is impassible.

Our guesthouse offered to bring us in their four wheel drive at a price that seemed excessive at first. But when you consider how long it would take on the alternative route and the fact it would take us an extra day too it was worth it. 9 hours was a lot better than 32.

So we said our good byes, threw the bags into the back of the pick up, and we were off. The road north goes right through the national park (it is really bad, mud the whole way) so we saw loads of wildlife, including some Rhea's (like a South American ostrich) which ran along for about a mile in front and along side our truck, and we even saw an aardvark, which was too far away to see properly and hid behind the huge termite mounds but it still counts as far as I'm concerned!!

We got to Posadas and just missed the bus to Puerto Iguazu and so had to wait 2 hours for the next one, which wasn't direct. Still, we didn't mind when compared to 32 hours. We got into Puerto at about 10pm and had to find somewhere to stay. Someone at the bus station recommended a lovely little place not far from the station. Nice, big and comfy rooms, and they even gave us breakfast in bed!! How cool is that?

Anyway, this entry is about the falls isn't it? So maybe I should start talking about them. We decided to go to see them from the Brazilian side first (they have a better view overall of most of the falls but Arentina got the better view of the big one) and hopped on the international bus which pops over and back across the border every half hour. The falls are so big that you can hear them a long time before you see them. And when you see them for the first time they are a magnificent sight. Absolutely collosal. And the bit we saw first wasn't even the big part!! The whole place has well designed paths so you can walk along with the falls directly across from you (avoiding the begging lemurs, possums and raccoons), eventually leading to the big one - Gargantum Del Diablo.

Now, if you look at the photos and think to yourself 'whatever, another waterfall' let me tell you that you ain't never seen a waterfall until you've seen this. I've seen Niagra Falls, and they impressed me no end. But they are like a pissing bucket compared to these falls. Iguazu falls are so big they are actually scary!!

We got our fill of the Brazil side and headed back across to the Argentine side for some lunch in the Sofitel hotel, which has great views of the falls and surrounding jungle with toucans and other exotic birds flying around the place, and great food. it was on the way back from the bathroom in the hotel that I came across a brochure for the 'Moonlight Tour', a tour of the falls by moonlight which is only given during a full moon. And guess what? It was a full moon!! So we booked it, headed back to the hotel to get some warmer clothing as it gets cold at night, and made our way back for what was a magical experience. We walked right out on a platform to the edge of the Gargantum Del Diablo which was, I must say, very intimidating (its HUGE!!!) yet incredibly beautiful in the moonlight, which was very bright. We even got to see a moon rainbow which was really spooky looking with its silver tint to all of the colours. Apparently we were very lucky to see it as it is a rare occurance. Even our guide had only seen it once before.

Back at the visitors centre we got an all you can eat carvery which went down a treat.

The next day we made our way back across the border to the Foz de Igaucu airport to make our way, somewhat indirectly, to Rio.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1146331740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1146331740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1146331740/tpod.html Thu, 20 Jul 2006 10:10:24 -0400 Where'd Vinny Go??

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Mendoza, Argentina

The journey from Santiago to Mendoza was spectacular. The bus made its way towards the andes and ascended gradually, eventually getting to parts of the mountains that seemed almost impassible. The roads were steep and winding, finding thier way miraculously to the peak of each mountain only to reveal another impossibly high peak for us to climb. At times I honestly thought we were going to go over the edge of some of them. When we reached the top of each peak it was amazing to look back down at the amount of twists and turns we took to get here.

At the highest point we reached the border with Argentina and went through customs with no problems. On the Argentine side there is a bunch of small shops. We had hardly any money, we didn't get a chance to get any out in our rush to get the bus, so we were rather limited in what we could buy. Limited being that we could buy nothing. However, a nice old man in one of the shops gave us a bottle of water with one third of the price. The smell of the burgers cooking on the barbie was a little hard to take...I was starving!!

We performed our usual trick of not booking anywhere to stay before we got there and ended up getting the busy tour office in the bis station to get us (as well as 2 other Irish blokes and a 74 year old American) the last few beds in the town. Don't know why it was so busy, but it was. The hostel was brutal, but a bed none the less, so we spent as little time as possible there. As soon as we got there we just threw the nags into the room and ran out for a bite to eat, the lot of us together. The first steak house we came across was good enough, and still jammed at 12 midnight. Steaks were ordered all around.

Now, I'm not sure if you have heard about how amazing the steak in Argentina is meant to be. They say it is the best in the world. Well let me tell you here and now - its even better than that!! It is without doubt the best steak I have ever tasted, (and it only got better as we travelled throughout Argentina). Beautiful. In fact (and this is not a lie) one of the Irish guys who we met, Pat from Scartaglin in Kerry, was vegetarian for 2 years before he sat down at the table next to us. He could not resist having some. And he loved it. (actually, THE best steak I had was in a restaurant called Facundo in Mendoza. Fantastic. I can still taste it now...)

So what did we get up to in Mendoza? Well, its a very chilled out place. We spent a lot of time wandering round the town, stopping here and there for tea and cake (there are some great cake shops), sipping wine on the walking street, browsing through the markets and on our third night we changed to a different and nicer hostel who were able to organise a day of horse trekking (called cabalgatas over here) way up the the andes. It was great fun and beautiful up there too. We even had a lovely barbie in the back garden of a beautiful house after we were done (with some wine of course). We went on another wine tour. Mendoza is the wine capital of Argentina. There were 2 wineries and an olive oil factory on this tour, but some tours take you on a bike tour, which we didn't get a chance to do.

One other thing I did get a chance to do (while Aishling went shopping) was some white water rafting and river boarding. The rafting was cool and we sped down some river I don't know the name of and bashed through some massive rapids, getting tossed into the freezing cold water and trying to throw everyone else in at the same time. Straight after the rafteing I did some river boarding, which basically entails me lying on board with the sides curled up and with my legs dangling out the back with flippers on to steer myself down the same rapids i just did in the raft!! Sounds dangerous (and was) but it was probably one of the best outdoor things I have ever done. It was such a rush and a laugh at the same time.

Next stop Buenos Aires...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1146330480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1146330480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1146330480/tpod.html Thu, 20 Jul 2006 07:14:19 -0400 Where'd Vinny Go??

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Pirque, Chile

Being wine connoseurs (well, we prefer its effects to the taste) we decided to head to se one of the most famous wineries in South America, Concha y Toro, which was a little south of Santiago. We had booked it a few days earlier to be sure of getting on the Engligh speaking tour. Of course, we arrived fashionably late about 15 minutes into the tour, but we hadn't missed all that much.

We caught up with the group n the vineyard, where we were able to taste the different varieties if grape. The vineyard and the grounds were beautiful. We came in out of the sun onto a veranda for a tasting and the glasses were lined up and filled. It was really nice wine, a 2004 cab sav I believe. We were instructed to hang onto our glasses and were taken inside to one of the cellars to taste yet more wine, which was not yet mature so it tasted awful. The cellar was huge and full of barrells.

But the best part about this place is the 'casillero del diablo' or the devils cave. This is where they keep thier best wines and it is in a natural cave beneath the other cellar. W were escorted down the steps, wine in hand of course into the darkness of the cellar where we were treated to a light and sound show which somehow scared some american tourists half to death. It was about as scary as a glass of milk. Anyway, they explained to us the story of how the cellar got its name. Some bottles (and sometimes even barrells) of wine started to go missing from the cellar, obviously being taken by the workers on the sly. So the owner started to spread a rumour that the devil was seen down there. Of course, being devoute catholics they were all afraid to go anywhere near the cellar so no more wine was ever stolen. Hence the name.

After yet another tasting we were told that we could keep the glasses as a souvnier, which was nice as they had the name of the winery engraved on them. Myself and Aishling then decided in our slight drunkeness to stay for some lunch in the fancy restaurant and have yet more wine. 3 more glasses in fact. And the food was great too. Only problem was that we lost track of the time and the fact that we had to catch a bus to Mendoza in Argentina that afternoon. So we raced to the bus stop, caught a bus into Pirque (the local town) and the hopped on a train to Santiago. We got to the hostel grabbed our backpacks and tried to get a taxi, which of course we couldn't get. When we finally did get one we sped to the bus station, knowing alrady that we wre late to find that the bus to Mendoza had gone without us!! On no!!

So Aishling ran to the desk to get a ticket for the next bus. She was told not to worry and the clerk behind the desk made a couple of quick phonecalls and came around and gestured for her to follow him. She duly did with me in tow (to the surprise and dissappointmen of the clerk) and ended up with him ushering us into a taxi. We had no clue what was going on but decided to go with the flow to see what happened. While in the taxi he tried to explain to us as best he could what was happening, but we just nodded in pretence agreeing with what he was saying. After about 10 minutes we pulled in on the side of a motorway behind a big coach. They had called the driver and asked him to wait for us!! How nice is that? He got a big tip from us anyway.

As happy as we were, the other passengers were not happy at all and gave us peircing looks as we got on. Not that we cared...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1146157620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1146157620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meercatvinny/round_the_world/1146157620/tpod.html Thu, 20 Jul 2006 06:42:14 -0400 Where'd Vinny Go??

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Santiago, Chile

So, remember at the end of the last entry I said we had a long journey ahead of us? Well, I meant long in terms of distance. We didn't get the bus back from San Pedro to Santiago, we flew instead. Although, we nearly didn't get to do either!!

The night before we left we managed to discover a low cost Chilean airline on the internet. We couldn't book online because we had no Chilean Credit Cards so we rang them. After about 20 minutes tryig to explain what we wanted the girl on the line finally copped on and booked us our tickets - for €20 each!! We asked her again and again to confirm it and she told us that we could collect our tickets in the airport in Calama, about 100 miles north west of San Pedro. What else could we do but believe her? The flight wasn't until about 5.30 in the afternoon so we had plenty of time to make it, but just to be safe we decided to go there early to get the tickets and if it didn't work out we would always be able to make a bus.

So we got to Calama on the bus, negotiated an extortionate price from the taxi driver to take us to the airport and noticed when we got there that the airpot was pretty much deserted. There was no one there excpet for us and a guy snoozing behind the desk. Odd. So we eventually found out that the firts flight to anywhere from here left at 5.30 i.e. our flight but there was no one here from the airline to give us our tickets as they arrive with the plane we are to leave on. So we decided we would wait for someone to show up before we threw in the towel and got the bus. The showed up at 4pm (we were there at 10am - bit of a wait) only to tell us that they had no record of our reservation. And they nearly laughed in our faces when we told them that we were quoted €2o each for the flight. We were dutifully informed that the price was actually €80 each minimum, and thats only if you book way in advance, so we must have mis-understood the lady on the phone.

Needless to say we were seriously pissed off. Not only were we not flying, but because we had waited so long we might need to stay an extra night in Calama because we may not even get a bus. So out came the annoyed and helpless customer act, and after some persuading (mostly by Aishling I must say) they gave us the flights for minimum price!!

So even though it cost us more than a bus in the end we still got a whole extra day in Santiago as well as some airplane food (which I inexplicably love) and a journey that was a whole lot less than 24 hours.

We decided to stay in a different area of Santiago this time and chose Bella Vista, a vibrant and busy student and arts area with lots of restaurants and galleries and beautiful people everywhere. The hostel was fun, although abnormally full of waster backpackers with no money and all the time in the world to spend lazing about the hostel for days on end until they decide to laze about in another hostel in another town. It seems all they have is bus fare and enough money for a dorm bed for a few nights. This they call 'seeing the world' ( seriously though, they are very annoying and irritating and spend every waking moment of thier lives annoying me specifically. I can't explain it).

The food in this area was top notch, and there were tonnes of bars everywhere full of students boozing. All in all a good fun place to be. There were less stray dogs aroun than there were in the ast area we stayed, but it was just as smoggy. We went for a wander around the area the evening after we arrived in town and stumbled across a fairly big hill called Cerro San Cristobal. We knew nothing about it and it was mentioned only in passing in our guide book. It turns out it was home to the national botanic gardens, the zoo, a 60 foot statue of our lady at the peak and a funicular (kind of hill-side tram) and cable car. The zoo was closed so we took the funicular to the top and discovered a beautiful open air chapel as well as the statue which we know nothing about until we saw it for the first time. There were monks singing hymns and creating a seriously spiritual atmosphere. Now, I'm not a religious person, but I can genuinely tell you that I felt something that I never felt before at this place. It was very, very....wierd. Can't really explain it. Up next to the the statue (which was designed by the guy who designed the Statue of Liberty, apparently) is a little area where you can light a candle and say a little prayer. We had no candles so this little old man who was cleaning and touching up the paint around the statue gave us a pack out of his own pocket and smiled at us. We took the pack, thanked him and lit a candle for my gran, who died last year. And here's where it gets even spookier. The candle was lit and burning away and suddenly it went out. I reached out to re-light it and low and behold it just lit up again itself!! It has been extinguished for at least 10 seconds. And whats more, the old man who gave us the candles was nowhere to be seen...

We spent some time wandering around the Sunday markets and bought some second hand books, came across a gay pride parade, had a few menu del dias and went to see the national museum, which was mostly in Spanish but still good. A nice city.
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