michaelandsuzy's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries

michaelandsuzy's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member michaelandsuzy on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/michaelandsuzy en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:14:08 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com Adios Costa Rica — San Jose, Province of San Jose, Costa Rica http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1228775220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1228775220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1228775220/tpod.html Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:14:08 -0500 Michael & Suzy's world tour - from the plains of Africa to the depths of the Amazon basin with a few stops in between!

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San Jose, Province of San Jose, Costa Rica

Hola Senor & SenoritasI'm going to start with the weather. WET. If it's not been raining it's just stopped & if it's just stopped it's just beginning again! It's rained so much picturesque, inviting, calm streams have transformed overnight into angry, raging torrents sweeping anything that dares to stand or cross it, tourists, trees, 20,000 homes & locals all included. Even the engineering genius of the 757 didn't dare land/take off for a short time. But this morning after 17 days we´re sitting outside under blue skies in San Jose soaking up every ray on offer with fingers crossed that my blotchy skin will benefit. It turns out I'm allergic to something in CR, rain, rain forest or simply just CR, add to that an acute case of ¨travelers burn¨out, a broken into hotel room which rewarded them with our laptop, mobile, torch & my much needed rain coat & an increasingly cynical attitude, enforced greatly by the police as they requested a $200 ¨administration fee¨ for a crime report, which we turned into a $200 ¨reward¨, only for the safe return of our laptop. Sadly no return of the laptop to report but we did get a stamped & signed ¨fee free¨ crime report. And in case your wondering, all 10,000 odd pictures were backed up on our portable hard drive, which is now transported from safe to safe like gold bullion.Decision made. So now with VERY broad smiles we can confirm we land back in, what I read is a snowy, freezing UK, at 10.30am December 15th 2008 after spending 6 nights in San Francisco spoiling ourselves at the Orchard hotel, Union Square & paying some much needed attention to my neglected wardrobe! But it hasn't all been bad,- Michael´s had a fantastic time diving at Cocos, I think he´s blogged you on ALL the details!- I´ve taken myself off to Parque Nacional Cocorvado, on the Peninsula De Osa, southern CR. Famously described by National Geographic people as ¨the most biologically intense place on Earth¨. Squawking scarlet macaw´s were early morning visitors to the almond trees that fringed the beaches, along with monkeys, Baird's tapir´s, toads bigger than my fist, shy blue crabs, toucans, tiny hummingbirds, electric blue butterflies, a distant sloth, humpback whale, whale shark, giant trees & plenty of unpleasant biting sand flies!- I´ve slept soundly through CR´s largest earthquake in years. A sizable 6.2 on the Richter scale.- We´ve had great fun zip lining through the rain forest canopy at the base of Volcano Arenal, central America´s most active volcano.- Enjoyed eating huge amounts of gallo pinto, stir fried rice & black beans with fried plantains.- I´ve been to watch James Bond. Did not disappoint with the usual car, plane, street, roof top, opera, posh hotel fight scenes or Bond girls but what struck me was how very little dialect there really was.All we have left to do now is pack.....It will be a pleasure!See you all very soon,Lots of LoveSuzy & Michael¨The Gringos¨
]]> Michael's Cocos Island Diving Experience — Puntarenas, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1227531600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1227531600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1227531600/tpod.html Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:24:09 -0500 Michael & Suzy's world tour - from the plains of Africa to the depths of the Amazon basin with a few stops in between!

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Puntarenas, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Hi there mi Amigos!I warn you this a long one, and for the non divers amongst you, you may just want to look at the pics. Otherwise enjoy!24/11/08 - The bus journey to the port was about one and a half hours with a stop for coffee at a souvenir store on the way, then a stop at a liquor store, far more important to stop here Billy and I thought as we bought our bourbon and vodka for our poker card game filled nights on the boat.  Got to the port and the 'Undersea Hunter' and thought that's a bit small for a 36-40 hour Pacific Ocean crossing, but hey it must be safe right? Cocos Island was formed approximately 1.9 to 2.4 million years ago, it is the summit of a sea mount that rises approximately 1,000 meters above the crest of Cocos Ridge. Discovered in 1526 by Captain Caberas and mapped for the first time in 1556 under the name 'Ile de Coques' (Nut-shell island in French) by Nicholas Desliens, it was then declared Costa Rican territory on September 15th 1869. Declared a National Park in 1978 and in mid 1992 a permanent Park Director and park wardens were stationed on the island. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in December 1997 and declared a Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance in 1998.  It is located 532/330 mls Southwest of Costa Rica and occupies an area of 2400 hectares or 10 square miles and it's wet, very wet, receiving 7000mm or 275 inches of rain per year! Eduardo from Columbia was our Dive guide and Team Leader on the boat who seemed very knowledgeable and with 4 years diving at Cocos we felt confident we were in safe hands. 26/11/08 - After about 'only' 34 hours we reached Cocos Island in the dark at about 10.30.  It was very exciting after all the open ocean with nothing but water to see, to be up on deck following the search light beams out into the gloom and see land and particularly the height of the island, the cliffs stretching skywards accompanied by the eerie calling of the seabirds and familiar clicking noises of crickets and insects. Even in the darkness I could understand why Spielberg had used Cocos as a film location for shooting Jurassic Park, I was ready for a Terra Dactyl to swoop at me any moment! I couldn't wait to jump in, I would've done a night dive there and then if offered.  The following morning we woke, well Billy woke us, at 5.30 and by 5.45 he had decided to get up. I on the other hand decided to just relax in my double bed bunk (Billy lost the coin toss this time and got the smaller top one, shame) and let the swooshing of the waves against the boat send me back to my slumber as breakfast wasn't til 7am.  At 8am Eduardo began his briefing which seemed to go on and on forever with all the do's and don'ts, rules for the Undersea Hunter, rules of the National Park but most importantly and a very sobering instruction was to really take care of ourselves and each other whilst on the boat and whilst diving as if there were any problems we were 36-40 hours away from any medical assistance or Hyperbaric Chamber the nearest being back in Costa Rica or in Panama. A couple of trips ago he told us of a woman that slipped down the stairs on only day 2 of the trip, she dislocated her shoulder and rather than terminate everyone else's trip by having to pack up and go home they had to put it back in, ouch! After all this we got kitted up for the first of our four dives of the day and had a quick dive briefing.  Excited, not much!!  The sun was shining, the water looked so clear and inviting, flying fish skimmed over the water surface twice as we waited to go.  Upon reaching the dive site we all back rolled into the water to first check our buoyancy and make sure everything and everybody was happy before making our descent. The site was Coral Garden and it didn't disappoint, beautiful, loads of fish a turtle or three and of course White Tip Reef sharks everywhere you looked.  No kidding there must have been a hundred or so of these little guys around us. The second dive was better and included two Hammerhead sharks at a cleaning station, one large Silky shark and one huge Galapagos shark - the dive sign for spotting a Galapagos shark is rather off putting as it is done by crossing yourself like a Catholic in church - how comforting I thought!  By the third dive I'd already decided that I would put my name and whatever deposit required down to return to this incredible place.  No wonder there is a 2 year waiting list to come here.  27/11/08 - Up at 7am for another hearty breakfast and the obligatory cup of Costa Rican Arabica, the food is delicious and copious in quantity, what with all the evening beer consumption so as to suppress Billy's digs about drinking like a girl I'm gonna put on a stone in weight over the remaining 7 days!  The first dive was at 'Dirty Rock', this dive was adrenaline all the way, a very jagged rocky pinnacle about a mile off the main island's coast.  We dropped down to about 30 meters, Billy and I were ahead of the pack which was rewarded by us meeting a large beautiful female Hawksbill turtle just dozing on the bottom - I then turned into DeMille mode and she was so obliging during her close up encounter until my com padres descended to take their places beside us - flash guns blazing and exhaust bubbles exploding all her were obviously too much for her as she took off into the blue - camera shy after all I guess.  There were also plenty of  white tips taking a  snooze on the bottom some even on top of each other like a wood pile.  We then made our way over to the huge boulder formations as Eduardo had told us to find a spot to 'cling on' and wait as this was often a Hammerhead cleaning station. Cling on, well he wasn't joking the current was ripping. Billy lost his grip at one point to be carried past me for about 10 feet before being able to get another hand hold. We were treated during our 15 minutes of hanging on to a couple of Hammerheads gliding by and also to an impressive Galapagos shark.  Also to our delight and great surprise two bottle nosed dolphins joined in on the parade of pelagic specimens, truly memorable,  the rest of the dive was no less spectacular with all the huge boulders to swim over and a tight swim through a small canyon to negotiate accompanied by numerous white tips and so many brightly coloured reef species as well as even a few Pacific lobsters.28/11/08 - Another amazing day, actually amazing doesn't really cover it! The first dive was a welcome return to Dirty Rock the outside edge of it was where we dropped in and met up at about 15 meters to get comfortable on our respective boulders and find our grab holds.  There were just so many thousands of fish, the schooling Jacks were so immense that they blocked out the little sunlight there was as they glided overhead.  We must have spent 15 or maybe 20 minutes just drifting between the shoals hypnotized and staring out into the blue and whilst doing so we spotted our first two Hammerheads coming towards us, big ones! A couple of minutes later a massive, probably 3-4 meter long Galapagos shark passed by flanked by two remora fish.  3, maybe 4 more Hammerheads passed by before we decided to drift off into the current and the blue but still keeping the pinnacle in sight as with this much current being swept away from the group and navigable landmarks is a reality - that's why your equipment is fitted with a GPS signaling and tracking unit as well - just in case!  After a few minutes I thought I heard a sort of clicking noise and then there they were - 3 dolphins headed towards us.  These curious and graceful creatures with their seemingly smiley faces must have spent 3 or 4 minutes with us zapping in and out of our group making for some great film footage and photos - there's nothing like diving with dolphins to put a grin on your face! Could this dive get any better I asked myself?Next dive was to 'Manuelita' on the outside edge.  This was not the planned site but after 15 minutes of being battered in the skiff by the large swells Eduardo decided to abort and about turn to a safer option and more sensible option considering the conditions. Let me just say that the words Safer and Sensible do not really apply to Cocos, the waters really are varying degrees of dangerous and when you're clinging on for dear life to the rocks in the ridiculously strong currents at 30 meters you wouldn't insert the word sensible to any sentence to describe your situation.  Still no sign of the 'Mega School' of Hammerheads or Silkies overhead yet but there was still 5 more days to it has to happen sometime doesn't it?  Billy was beginning to feel a little unwell after this dive so thought he would sit the next one out - big mistake!  After lunch and our dive briefing was to the 5 of us as the 3 others had also decided to take the afternoon off.So I and my 4 Mexican muchachoes namely, Jorge, Alejandro, Fernando and Alberto with Eduardo the Columbian guiding us once again.  We were told that 'Lobster Ridge' was to be our dive site, well as soon as I heard the word lobster mentioned I thought that sounds like a really crap site to go to and the others seemed to agree so it was agreed with little resistance from Eduardo that we return to Manuelita outside again instead. The dive, a couple of nice Hammerheads, a Galapagos and 5 yes 5 turtles.29/11/08 - Up early as routine now.  Sadly not feeling too expressive about the first two dives of the day, the first was more like rock climbing than diving due to the currents at 'Dos Amigos'.  This site is pretty much stand alone out in mid ocean like many of the others at Cocos but this one seems particularly exposed to cross currents and harsh swells so the boat ride was like many others before it - 'exciting''.  In fact I enjoy watching Billy's expression change now each time the skiff crashes into the waves he sort of tuts and gives me a look as if to say ''bloody hell a bit rough, should we be out here?" Anyway, usual mission operandi, down to 15 meters and hang on for dear life to the rocks whilst doing the 'superman impression'. A good dive nonetheless particularly with all the mating marble rays to be seen that are like flying dinner plates with tails only they are 1 to 1.5 metros in diameter.  After lunch Billy decided once again not to make the third dive - even though it was to 'Silverado'.   Silverado is the cleaning station found at the foot of a waterfall on Cocos that runs off into the ocean where Silver tip sharks gather to get a 'wash and brush up' from the resident Barber fish that pick off unwanted parasites.  The plan was to get down to about 12 meters and firmly plant ourselves on the bottom and wait for up to 40 minutes.  Fortunately we didn't have to wait that long as after about 20 minutes or so a monster of a Silver tip shark turned up - he must have been 3 to 3.5 meters in length so had a fairly intimidating presence as he swirled overhead, fortunately as he wasn't too shy photographic evidence was obtained of this monster size shark!30/11/08 - This morning was a welcome return to our favorite Dirty Rock followed by 'Alcyone' which is a deep dive whereby the boat moors up out to a surface buoy about half a mile out to sea and then you descend a line so as to avoid the strong currents to a depth of about 35 meters or so.  There is a great cleaning station vantage point on this one and sure enough the barbers were in abundance and their patrons the Hammerheads, although few in number, were also in attendance.  A great dive despite my head banging through a sinus squeeze but I'll keep popping the pills as can't contemplate missing any of this action.  After lunch another 'Dirty' dive with a couple of sharks worth mentioning a Galapagos and a large Black Tip, more entertaining though were the mating turtles, 5 of them!  I did feel a bit sorry though for one pair as our bubbles and our camera's flash guns seemed to put  the  female off much to her suiters frustration who took off in hot pursuit of her.1/12/08 - Bloody Hell it's December - not long now and this year of adventure will all be over, but what a great time it has been, so many wonderful memories to keep. As for today at Cocos it would make the whole years wait to get here worthwhile. We first returned to 'Álcyone' which would be dive site number two as well.  Why you may ask? Well for anyone who has seen the BBC's Blue Planet series and remembers the shots of the vast schooling Hammerhead sharks, yes we had now seen the same for ourselves.  We must have seen 200-300 sharks or more swirling overhead and it was magical.  Maybe you wouldn't think so, maybe you are thinking hundreds of sharks above your head in the open ocean is not for you, but I can't think of many other things I've seen in the natural world that are as impressive as this. You can keep your Serengeti herds!  Our group was dancing a jig in mid water we were so happy, we must have looked ridiculous punching the air like we'd scored in a cup final!Tonight would be the last chance to night dive and I didn't dare miss it - Manuelita coral garden I was told would be a dive I wouldn't ever forget and I can now tell you it was AWESOME. We were given a briefing that informed us that we would see White Tips in hunting mode tonight and that we were to make sure we remained 2-3 meters above the action at all times as otherwise you could get bitten in the frenzy - hmm I thought pitch darkness, sharks hunting, feeding frenzy sounds like a recipe for, no not disaster, an amazing dive and we were not disappointed. Even to the point whereby a 3.5 meter Galapagos shark decided to join us as well for 20 minutes of our 40 minutes underwater - just ask Alberto how big it was as he literally came face to face with it, I happened to be looking in his direction at this point and recall watching him jump in surprise as anyone would!2/12/08 - I woke this morning feeling excited in anticipation of a final day of great diving, the overnight rain had stopped, the sun was shining brightly.  First dive was at 'Alcyone'.  As we descended to depth you could see the rippling thermoclines and I shuddered a little passing through the colder water but glad that I had now taken to wearing my vest with hood under my wetsuit for insulation.  On the upside I knew that cooler water could mean more sharks and after a few minutes of waiting once again a squadron of schooling Hammerheads passed overhead.  A few Hammers peeled off at lightening speed after some schooling reef fish which was awesome to see, closely followed by a couple of huge yellow fin tuna about 2-2.5 meters in length no doubt excited by all the activity of the sharks and looking to share in the spoils.Finally we began to ascend the buoy line after about an hour to complete our safety stop to off gas the absorbed Nitrogen in our blood streams.  In fact I was the last one out this time and lucky for me as to my right side I saw a swirling mass coming toward me.  It was a huge gathering of White Tips about 4 or 5 deep and 100 or so in all circling around each other in mid water, what a fantastic end to another great dive and an amzing trip of a lifetime.After lunch I sat out on the upper deck in the sunshine to reflect on my trip and my time at Cocos - I'll certainly remember it for many years to come!Much love to all and see you very soon!Michael xx
]]> Isla De Pascue - Chile (Easter Island) — San Jose, Province of San Jose, Costa Rica http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1226870880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1226870880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1226870880/tpod.html Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:27:09 -0500 Michael & Suzy's world tour - from the plains of Africa to the depths of the Amazon basin with a few stops in between!

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San Jose, Province of San Jose, Costa Rica

Isla De Pascue, Chile.(Easter Island)Hola,Easter Island certainly deserves it's reputation for being one of the Worlds most isolated, inhabited Island's. A tiny speck of volcanic, dry, barreness in the vast blue of the Southeastern Pacific. Over 2,000 miles from Tahiti & Chile. It's an Island surrounded in mystery & controversy, with only one fact - they have no facts. The people of Easter Island are called the Rapa Nui & famous for reasons still guessed upon for carving giant statues out of volcanic rock called the moai. The moai range from 2 - 21 meters in height, weighing up to 100 tonnes. Erected on an ahu, a ceremonial platform. Some bearing top knots. Thought to be the hair style's of the day, carved out of reddish volcanic scoria. Moai lay scattered all around the Island. But the one thing most people tend to agree on is that their population peaked at around 10,000. Resources become scarce turning the once lush forests into the dust bowl it's struggling to recover from today. Passing seafarers delivered disease - smallpox, TB & the rat, adding to the rapid demise of the Rapa Nui. So, now that the history lesson is over - we loved it. Loved the fact that men cantered bear back up & down the dusty streets as we tucked into melt in the mouth yellow fin tuna sushimi & perfectly pink tuna steaks whilst sipping Chilean red. That Michael's packed ice-cream cone was akin to holding up the Olympic torch. That the Welsh may well be responsible for the European look of the Rapa Nui people. That there are more horses than people living on the Island. That spaceships & layers of yams & mashed sweet potatoes assisted in transporting the moai into place - maybe. And finally, that there are no real answers.And now we're in Dallas for a 36 hour stop over, thanks to American Airlines & there air hostess, who all looked like retirement is a definite by the end of the week, along with a hip replacement for one. Costa Rica Monday!!!!Lots of loveSuzy & MichaelOff to feast on some Texan steakxxxxxxx
]]> Last 24 hours in Thailand and onto Cambodia — Phnom Penh, Cambodia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1212177600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1212177600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1212177600/tpod.html Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:22:17 -0500 Michael & Suzy's world tour - from the plains of Africa to the depths of the Amazon basin with a few stops in between!

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I'm relieved we've left Thailand although Michael has a far less jaded view of the Country than I do. It felt like the majority were just after the 'easy tourist quick buck'. The scams, deceit, the twisted truths became quickly tiresome and draining as I tried to view the people and Country without cynicism. But alas the final straw for me came when our locked and padlocked hotel room was broken into. I have to give them credit, in fact a Lloyds TSB and Barclaycard. They skilfully un-picked three of our combination padlocks, helping themselves to our 'emergency credit cards' buried deep within our rucksacks. They neatly re-packed and re-padlocked our sacs and finally re-locked and padlocked our hotel room. There only mistake-my hair conditioner was in the wrong place! But on the up our final hours in Thailand were far more positive as we.....made it into an 'airport lounge"! We feasted on mini savoury pastries, salmon sandwich squares with crusts removed,tiny wedges of decadent dark chocolate brownies, drank fresh pineapple juice, booked some much needed Olympic week accomdation in Beijing, courtesy of the free fast internet access all whilst taking in the smell of fresh roasted coffee beans and finally grabbing ice cold mineral water minutes before our flight-Thank you very much Bangkok Airways. I almost leave Thailand with a smile. And than we landed in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Cambodia is beautiful. It's fertile, lush, there's dense, dark green tropical foliage, bugs and butterflies look like they've been on a course of steroid enhancing drugs and it's laid back, we instantly feel relaxed. But evidence of the Khmer Rouge days are easy to see. Roads still bear the deep grenade scars, the railway is in ruins, the back of our hotel room door warns that "child prostitution is not tolerated" (what ever happened to a fire evacuation plan), limbless people hobble around and there is strictly no straying from the path as land mines still lie undiscovered. Cambodians are tirelessly welcoming, friendly and are eternally optimistic. Cambodia also makes me feel very emotional. With sadness at the abhorrent atrocities the Cambodians endued within my lifetime. And with happiness thanks to hope, humanity, generosity, and human spirit.  We also like Cambodia because, the relief we get from the torrential afternoon monsoon rain showers, known as "mango rains", the locals that feast on giant sized fried grasshoppers like they're a packet of crisps, our tuk-tuk drivers that re-fuel from street stalls selling fuel in 'Johnny Walker Black Label' and 'Coca-Cola' bottles, our taxi that kept cutting out because he'd re-fuelled at the street stall, the perfect stranger sitting next to us on the bus, who offered us some of his mango followed by the salt/pepper mix to dip it into, the moto's that speed by with 3, 4 and 5 people squeezed on them, the 10-15 piglets comfortably nestled together and balanced perfectly on the back of moto's, in their cylindrical palm weaved cages, Michael being denied his mango smoothie because the mangoes dangling over the pool were green and un-ripe that day, the stilted palm houses that stand 10 metres from the ground awaiting the monsoon rains and finally because Angkor Wat did not disappoint. But we're not so sure about their delicacy the 'swimming duck' - a duck egg containing a feathery, fully formed duckling that they whoop back, that also goes for the fried big, hairy, black tarantulas! Keep in touch, we miss all the news at home. Lots of Love Michael and Suzyxxxxx
]]> Relaxing in Tahiti — Papeete, Society Islands, French Polynesia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1226449920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1226449920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1226449920/tpod.html Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:56:13 -0500 Michael & Suzy's world tour - from the plains of Africa to the depths of the Amazon basin with a few stops in between!

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Papeete, Society Islands, French Polynesia

Bonjour,At last we can stand up straight for as long as we want, stretch out our arms without windows denying us & be untidy & still find what we are looking for. The all too frequent moments of weakness when torching Kodos & upgrading to 5 star luxury have subsided & no longer does the sound of one another's breathing motivate us to reach for a pillow!You might read this & think that we haven't had a great time - but we have, just platowed. I also know for sure, that I suffer from 'Cabin Fever', it's only cure, a 5AM wake up, scraping the ice from Kodos & tramping 18.5 k's along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Advertised as "NZ's best one day alpine hike" & we have to agree. We'll let the pictures to the talking.We've occupied ourselves;- Zorbing. Basically a giant sized, see through golf ball thing, with me & warm water inside, set free from the top of a very steep hill along a zig-zag course. Why did I do this - I don't know! It's lead me to the conclusion that the Kiwi's are excellent marketeers.- Fly fishing on the "Wai Punga", east of Lake Taupo with nymphs (a type of replicated water insect for the non-fisher's amongst us). Fantastic. Michael takes credit for catching a very nice looking rainbow trout, about 50-cm's long. I take credit for frying the fillets up, butter, salt & pepper with a big squeeze of fresh lemon - yummy. There is also nothing more bonding for the men of a campsite than filleting a trout.- Michael has been diving at the 'Poor Knights', which was well worth surfacing with chattering teeth & blue, unfunctioning hands. I went snorkelling, lost the ability to breath for the first few minutes due to the cold & freaked out at snorkelling in what I can best be described as a 'sea of thick jelly'. Zillions of plankton blooms. I made a hasty retreat back to the boat with a load of them left in my hair - deck reading for me only from now on.-  We've educated ourselves about Maori culture at Te Papa museum in "windy" Wellington. Gail force is more accurate. I watched Michael chase his cap down the street for 5 minutes.-  I've taken a helicopter ride over to White Island - a marine volcano. A living, breathing, untamed, geological giant. One of the best trips I have ever done. We landed in the crater, surrounded by towering steam columns, the Earth's heat could easily be felt through my trainers, violent bubbling mud pools, a simmering acid lake, the colour of 'coldgate' gel tooth paste, deep red trails of iron leached from the ground, sulphuric rocks lay around, canary yellow in colour. The smell of rotten eggs was so over powering at times I donned my gas mask & the sulphuric acid droplets in the air stung my face like millions of tiny pin pricks. Thankfully, it's obviously somewhere the "Health & Safety" men haven't got to yet! We've also, relaxed in 40 degree geothermal hot pools, visited geysers, champagne pools, starred up in wonder at millions of brightly shining glowworms at Waitomo, seen Kiwi's at a bird park, sampled the "best fish & chips in the World" at Mangonui, so good in fact we made a detour on the way back to sample them again. Michael has dived the "Rainbow Warrior" whilst I caught a very handsome, decent sized snapper in the pouring rain all by myself. And finally a big thank you to Tony & Chez for their hospitality & run of their home as we reacclimatised to the everyday luxuries that homes & houses provide. And that about does it for NZ.And now, I'm gently swinging in a hammock at the Intercontinental in Tahiti. Surrounded by the calm, crystal clear lagoon, white breakers at it's edge, crashing in the distance, blue skies, coconut trees & sunshine with only Jeremy Clarkson, SPF 30, sunglasses, bikini, a pen & a few fat Americans as company. And Michael? He's gone diving for black tip, white tip & grey reek sharks. I must point out that we are not staying at the Intercontinental just taking full advantage of the vast infinity pool, raked white sands, the men that exchange your towels the minute you sweat & a golf car that chauffeurs you around. And how do we do this? With fingers crossed, a great big smile & a "bonjour" when we stroll confidently through the open air reception. But there is one minor draw back - a can of cold, local beer & a fresh tropical juice, which I'm hoping is "organic, fair trade" for the price, costs a staggering £14.80 again £14.80! Today we have visited the supermarket.But before all this, we crossed the International date line. Taking off in Auckland Saturday 8th at 9 a.m, landing in Tahiti 5 hours later on Friday 7th at 3 p.m. I also became a 'millionaire' during the flight thanks to Chris Tarrant & Michael with the answer to the million pound question. I almost have the confidence to say, dust off the Genius Trivial Pursuit, Back family! Tahiti makes me feel 'eyes wide open'. It's colourful, vibrant & upbeat. Women stroll around with cerise pink hibiscus tucked behind their ears, Hawaiian shirted men play bass on up turned black dustbins, the chef plays the spoons, french sticks are filled full with anything & everything - fried chicken & chips, chow mein, occasionally ham. The tides are "solar" tides. The local bus driver takes your money with 5 cm of cigarette ash skillfully hanging from her mouth. The fish market revealed blue parrot fish, unicorn fish & massive tuna, marlin steaks. It also revealed Tahiti style 'ladyboys'! Apparently families who have a 4th boy are so disappointed they raise him as a girl anyway! I have to say, they are far better at detail than the Thai's. Shell accessories, Sunday best hats, hibiscus necklaces but it's always the size 12 feet that give it away! Lots of loveStill swinging in hammocks!Suzy and Michaelxxxx
]]> Cape Town-Hooray! — Cape Town, South Africa http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1204564380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1204564380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1204564380/tpod.html Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:42:02 -0500 Michael & Suzy's world tour - from the plains of Africa to the depths of the Amazon basin with a few stops in between!

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Cape Town, South Africa

Well folks at last we've made it to Cape Town after, at times a long, dusty and bumpy 42 days of 'overland Africa'-and what a very welcome sight table mountain was-hooray.I'll quickly fill you all on Botswana and Namibia.BotswanaMassive improvement in the roads. Roads become very important to you when you're on a 'truck' for 10 hours a day. Girls now daring to wear bikini tops and my pedometer has stopped counting potholes. We did however feel very sorry for the cyclists. Regardless of their 5 crates of coca-cola stacked worryingly high or the cycles heavily laden with the weeks firewood or the cycling equivalent to people carriers, the only warning they all got was a long blast on the air horns right up there backsides sending them wobbling hazardously into the verges. Herds of goats, donkeys and cows faired no better.Little Fact fileCapital-GaboronePopulation-1600,000Currency-PulaMain Attractions-Okavango Delta and Chobe National ParkWe both really enjoyed Botswana but also feel it was 'uneventful', which I think has also lead to a "Botswana Blog Block". We arrived during there summer/rainy season, not at all the best time, but we were lucky enough to experience hot, often stifling, sunny, humid days.Okavango Delta1430km, the Okavango delta river rises in central Angola, making its way across N/W Botswana stretching out like an "open palm" across the flatlands. Its the only African river which doesn't make it to the ocean, its sucked dry in the Kalahari desert. We plumped for a 2day, 1 night camping in the wilds trip. We met our guide, "Company" who insisted on being called "C" with his Mokoro-its a shallow dug out canoe which C punts along at the back. He'd dug our mokoro out of a sausage tree several years previous taking him 3 months. We sweep along the labyrinth of waterways effortlessly. The still sparkling waters reflecting perfectly the tall dark green reeds, which occasionally whipped us in the face, and the numerous pure white water lillies. Wildlife was very hard to spot due to adequate water supplies-no need for them to venture into the delta-disappointing so its definitely on the re-visit list between July-September months some day. We continued gliding past many hippos carefully tracking our course, feeling really relaxed almost sleepy until C came out with a real gem-he told us that his cousin had met an untimely death when a massive hippo had tossed him from his mokoro, bitten him and finally drowned him in 1997-Oh great not so sleepy now! Other Botswana ExperiencesWe took a 45min Cessna plane ride over the delta at dusk. It was quite an experience not one that we will ever forget mainly due to our pilot-Bruce from Devon. Bruce explained that this was his last flight before his well earned days off and felt a little risky-what could his mean.....we soon found out.....all I can say for those of you who have watched Top Gun you'll understand.....we did a Top Gun stylie fly by over the ground, I swear the wheels of the plane brushed over the reeds, we were so close to the ground I could almost see myself smile in the shadow of the plane! Elephant AdrenalineThis is quite simple...we went on a sunrise bush walk, stumbled across a massive bull elephant who was not too pleased to see us. He curled his trunk, threw out his ears and raised his tusks whilst peering over the top of  an acacia tree. C hardly instilled confidence as he waved his arms, clapped and whistled a little and then another C gem-"not good to wear white top Suzy" and  "not good I'm in red top"-oh great! I'd hatched my plan, rip off top and run in a zig-zag pattern across dusty plain. Luckily it didn't come to that, we walked on by.Namibia"An annual quota of  a minimum of 300 days of sunshine"Capital-Windhoekpopulation-2,055,080Currency-Namibian DollarAgain we both really enjoyed Namibia, again on the re-visit list during June-October months.Etosha National Park, 23,175 sq km"Great white place of dry water"Far from dry. We hit Etosha during there summer/rainy season. We were lucky not to experience any daytime rain but at night we experienced fantastic displays of distant pink lightening storms and the constant rumbling of threatened storms. Everywhere was very green and lush with water holes filled to there brim. We arrived after a 'tense' 8 hour truck journey, music to loud, who hasn't done the washing up and the growing frustrations evident in our guides use of their air horns with quick blasts becoming more frequent and prolonged. Wilting in the 3o'clock, 38 degrees fierce sun camping site dust hole, M asked me to deal with the tent slowly and then he was off...Oh. 15 stifling minutes later a could see a distant SOS stlylie hand waving and there it was.....the key to our chalet upgrade! Hal-a-lu-ya.Air conditioning, double bed, duvet, mini-bar,bug-free power shower, pristine white cotton towels (sorry Vix as much as I like the giant pink shamy leather it has absolutely no place when 100% cotton is around), 2 nights and as much as you could eat fresh fruit, good old English style breakfasts-WOW. We checked out the sighting diary, not much at all in the previous 5 days. So we sacked off another hot, dusty 3 hours on the truck that same afternoon in favor of ice cold white wine spritzers, numerous refreshing dips in the pool and challenged the laundry lady to 4 weeks worth of grimy African soil laden cloths-result! Not one once of regret. We spent the following day doing much the same, watched weaver birds busily weave, strolled over to the Ecology centre-all very interesting and continued with the spritzers. We did have a little poolside excitement-The Snake Man. He turned up mid afternoon with rifle under one arm, whilst the other held an extended arm tool and a very large white cotton sack with an equally as large black skull and cross bones printed on it. It turned out that the poolside gate that M and I had passed happily through numerous times that day, delivering ice cold spritzers to each other, was in fact the sanctury for a very venous spitting cobra!We are now in Cape Town sitting back and enjoying the 30 degrees of clear blue skies sunshine, its wonderful. Tomorrow we are venturing into the winelands for a day of cheese and wine tasting and today as the weather is clear we are heading up table mountain.Must dash, lots of  loveSuzy and Michael xxxPS. M has managed a couple of pics but it was painfully slow, we are having a re-think, bear with us. They are on the first blog entry-enjoy.
]]> NZ - South Island — Blenheim, South Island, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1224304500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1224304500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1224304500/tpod.html Sun, 19 Oct 2008 03:03:49 -0400 Michael & Suzy's world tour - from the plains of Africa to the depths of the Amazon basin with a few stops in between!

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Blenheim, South Island, New Zealand

Haere Mai,Get a large glass of vino for this one!It's true; New Zealand is every guide book superlative you can throw at it. It's plentiful fresh air, acres & acres of rolling green hills with hardy sheep, cows & deer, imposing snow capped mountains, azure blue lakes, miles of unoccupied highways, wild sea's, remote town's & outdoor adventure. It stands up to it's motto of being "green & clean", local papers even specifying "oil free chain saw's" & "poo pots" are for sale at counter sides. Kiwi's are welcoming & friendly & the wine is excellent.Rather than the de rigour, gin palace, winnebago stylie motor-home, Michael & I plumped for a "spaceship" called "Kodos". Kodos is a bright orange Toyota people-carrier, who after many nights of practice can be converted into a double bed, boasts a fridge, 2 burner gas cooker, water storage, CD/DVD player with 15cm screen, 2 cup holders, 196+++ kilometers on his clock, so many stone chips it was impossible to mark them all off at the pick up inspection & a missing hub cap cover. Needless to say, we now suffer from a serious form of camper-van envy! New Zealand's famous weather has not disappointed & it's fair to say, "4 season's in 1 day", sums it up perfectly. We've been rained on, hailed on, snowed on, rocked to states of full alertness in the middle of the night by 90kph. NE's, leaving us wondering whether blown over 'Spaceships' is included in our insurance small print. We've purchased hot water bottles, swaddled ourselves in highly unflattering tramping gear (that's Kiwi speak for walking, hiking or trekking), we've counted clearly the 7 colours of a rainbow & sadly "no pot of gold" to report but most of the time the sun has shined, bringing out with it our Aussie impulse "Oakley"-shades.So far our adventures have taken us;- To Queenstown "Adventure capital of the World" for a shot of aviation fueled jet boating adrenaline. 35 minutes of hurtling along Skippers canyon on the Shotover river at speeds of up to 85kph. Skimming & swerving around boulders, towering rock faces brushing past our cheeks with numerous 360 spins - WOW! On a more relaxing note, we've hired mountain bikes spending the day exploring Lake Wanaka, surrounded by the stunning backdrop of the "Remarkables & Eyre" snow capped mountain ranges. Checked out the views of Queenstown from on high courtesy of the gondola & then raced along the 800 meters of luge track - We've learnt that our hand-brake was no match for the "Worlds steepest Street", Baldwin street- Spent a rainy day sampling the "Pride of the South" at Speight's brewery, eventually pouring our own!- We decided that bungee was for wimps & a 15,000ft (4575metres) "ultimate" tandem skydive with 60 seconds of free fall over lake Wanaka at 200kph was more the NZ adrenaline buzz we were seeking. Well, now that my feet are back on terrafirma & time has softened the almost overwhelming feeling of nausea & returned my hearing as my ears failed to equalize I can actually smile & say "yeah, that was OK!" And Michael - loved it, Awesome, lets go again-20,000ft!!!! And me, I know that my comfort zone is all about being firmly strapped into all small air crafts all of the time!- Managed some tramping at Milford sound, despite the weather & Michael's mantra - too wet, too muddy too cold! It would almost be disappointing if it didn't rain in a place that has given up measuring annual rain fall in MM preferring Meters! - Taken an over night cruise of Doubtful sound. Our journey in was perfect, it had snowed all night & the sun was now shining but as soon as we entered the fiord mist began to cling to the sides of the cliffs obscuring views & scale, bringing with it deathly silence only fractured by our kayaking in water that looked like strong black coffee but tasted mildly salty. I also especially enjoyed the unlimited flow of electricity, steaming hot showers & the ability to stand up straight until I fell asleep- Visited Glenorchy - population 215 today. Remote is what Glenorchy is. Sat in a lush valley at the head of lake Wakatipu surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery. But what truly touched me, was amongst all the timeless beauty & isolation there still stood a monument to all the men of Glenorchy that lost there lives in WW1. I felt small.- Taken a de-tour to deserted Cannibal bay. Our luck was in, as lazing on the beach were 7 massive hooker sea lions. Amazing. We spent several hours watching. Michael had one adrenaline moment which caused him to turn & run VERY quickly - those massive bulls can shift! I have to admit to a little giggling!   -  Made hay whilst the sun shined in the form of a 40 minute helicopter flight over Fox, Franz Josef glaciers & snowfields, Mt Cook & Mt Tasman ranges with the addition of a snow landing above the ice falls - I'll let the pictures do the talking. Decadent - definitely, worth it - hell yes! - And finishing off our glacier adventures with a days tramping on Franz Josef. Donning several layers, crampons & heaps of enthusiasm we headed up the glacier field. As they say in Kiwi - awesome. And for the romantics within us, the Maori legend - "the tears of the Avalanche girl", goes that the beautiful Hinehukatere so loved the mountains that she encouraged her lover, Tawe, to climb along side her. He fell to his death & Hinehukatere cried so copiously that her tears formed the glaciers (courtesy of the Lonely planet)Finally rounding off Sound Island in Marlborough - wine country, developing our Sauvignon Blanc palettes.Our only complaint so far, not enough time!We head for North Island Monday.Lots of loveThe 'happy' & 'reluctant' campers!
]]> Australia, G'day all Bruce's & Sheila's — Sydney, Australia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1222826280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1222826280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1222826280/tpod.html Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:47:36 -0400 Michael & Suzy's world tour - from the plains of Africa to the depths of the Amazon basin with a few stops in between!

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Sydney, Australia

G'day all Bruce's and Sheila's,We've had a great time 'down under', albeit at our usual insane pace! Just to fill a few of you in briefly - Michael & I arrived in Oz beginning of September after a month in raining, chilly Blighty. So I could for fill my "Chief" bridesmaid duties, as my sister Vicky got married.We landed in Sydney after a very looong & tiring journey. Despite managing to snatch some much needed Z's in our hire by the hour beds in Beijing airport & raising a smile at the Chinese translation for fire evacuation plan  "FLEE FOR LIFE ROUTE".Sydney welcomed us with blazing sunshine, highs of 24 & cloudless blue skies. Unfortunately our hostel welcomed us with a mild whiff of boys boarding school & kitchen t-towels that looked like they'd been dragged around the back garden of Fairfield (Back family home) by Reilly & Connor (Back family Labradors) for several days. We also quickly learnt that our breakfast plan of scrambled eggs & fried mushrooms was optimistic as the utensils & cleanliness left me feeling like I'd regressed 15 years of my life - student living!Our insane pace has taken us, *   Up the Sydney harbour bridge climb. Donning our regulation blue jumpsuits, been primed, prepped, breath tested & finally clipped on for our 3 1/2 hour tour. We negotiated narrow walk ways, ladders & girders, summiting 134m above the harbour waters on a perfect spring day. Awesome. *   Lunched at Sydney fish market on battered basa & the best calamari I've ever tasted whilst the impatient sea gulls dived in & stole our prawn tails. Finishing our Gourmet day dining at the infamous "Harry's cafe de wheels" - pie cart, Wharf side, Woolloomooloo. Tucking into a traditional Aussie pie topped with regulation mash & ladle of gravy. Highly recommended. *   Strolled through the Botanical gardens, surrounded by towering eucalyptus, tea trees & wattles, screeching cockatoos & sea sparkle, whilst a marathon of locals jogged around us. All with Sydney's modern high rises glistening in the back drop. *   Been to Hervey Bay, whale watching. Unfortunately our boat was 1 of 3, instead of the usual 19 that decided to battle the strong south-easterly's, 2 meter swells & driving rain. Fortunately the migrating humpbacks did not disappoint & put on a close encounter show of tail slapping, fining & distant breaching. M & I then set about eating our $200 worth of "free" muffins as few others looked keen! *   Snorkelled & dived the Great Barrier Reef, whilst rainbow coloured fish the size of me casually swam by. *   Spent 3 days sailing around the turquoise seas of the Whitsunday's on Kiana, 16.4 meter yacht. Relaxing on the white silica sands of White Haven beach, diving, snorkelling, soaking up the sunshine & spotting turtles, dolphins & distant whales.  And finally we've cuddled a Koala, spent a day walking in the Blue mountains, cruised 2,200 k's effortlessly along the "Bruce" Highway from Cairns to Brisbane, although we have to admit to some minor one-way street map reading tensions in Brisbane!, eaten plenty of Vegemite & nearly all the time the sun has shone.We must say a big thank you to Jane & Chris & Jay & Helen who's hospitality was unwavering. We left feeling full, clean & rested. It was great to catch up with you guys, keep enjoying. And tomorrow we head in the direction of Christchurch, New Zealand, to pick up our car called a "spaceship" - we'll keep you posted!lots of love"The Pommes"
]]> China - The year of the Rat, 2008 — Beijing, China http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1218208500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1218208500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1218208500/tpod.html Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:55:58 -0400 Michael & Suzy's world tour - from the plains of Africa to the depths of the Amazon basin with a few stops in between!

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Beijing, China

Ni HaoNever have I felt so tall or so foreign! We've divided our whistle stop 10 days, spending 3 days in Xi'an, marveling at the Army of Terracotta warriors - 1000's of individual life sized clay warriors which have stood guard over China's first Emperor for over 2000 years, soaking our dust caked feet in the 43 degree natural hot springs & realising just how very ancient China is whilst starring down at 6000 year old skeletons. And the other 7 days in Beijing.Is China polluted? Xi'an - Definitely. A canopy of thick smog constantly hung above us, distorting views & smothering the suns rays. Choking fumes & dust hung around stubbornly, drying our eyes, reddening our throats & coating us, cars, trees & colourful glazed tiles generously. And Beijing - well I'm pleased to report that closing factories, construction sites & alternating daily between odd & even number plates must have improved the much reported air quality greatly, because we don't at all feel like we're smoking the equivalent to 70 cigarettes a day! Beijing is hazy bordering on smoggy, a massive metropolis congested by hustle & bustle, cars, bicycles, high-rises, colossal concrete flyovers, multi lane highways & immense numbers of people. People that have traded Flip-flops for trainers, bicycles for Buick's, home cooking for fast food giants & traditional courtyard hutongs for curvy architectural wonders. Beijing is alive & exciting. Buzzing with Olympic spirit, passion, pride & Chinese control. Police, security guards, army, 500,000 volunteers, dogs, helicopters, x-ray machines & surface to air missiles surrounding the bird's nest are all easily evident. Locals are curious & friendly, sporting their newly learnt skills - broad smiles & "al ello's" & as for the much reported spitting, babies & toddlers toileting street side - well, nothing prepares you for a Country like India does! That said I was totally unprepared for completely communal toilets!  We've also managed to pack in, - Been wowed by 10 kms of the great wall as we walked, sweated, stumbled, scrambled & sweated a whole lot more from Jinshanling to Simatai, whilst the locals trotted past like mountain goats. But China's race to catch the West is all to easy to see as an impending super highway, toll & concrete bridges carve their way through ancient green valleys.  - Feasted on our own homemade dumpling & toasted our success with a bottle of Chinese red, which was surprisingly good, we've eaten at a restaurant so local they didn't understand "coca cola" & we've sampled the national institution - Peking duck - highly recommended.  - Been to the theater to watch the legend of Kung Fu, which left me wanting to be a Kung Fu master. - Joined the crush of 1000's on the streets, watching the Olympic torch pass by. - Exhausted ourselves visiting, the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City & Tian'anmen Square causing quite a stir whilst entering into the Olympic spirit donning our Great Britain, GBR 08 t-shirts & caps.  And tonight we're back in our GBR uniform's, waving our flags in Tian'anmen square joining 1000's of others at the count down clock.  Can't wait to see you all,Lots of love Suzy & Michael"One World, One Dream"Olympic slogan
]]> Hong Kong - "The pearl of the Orient" — Hong Kong, China http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1217425020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1217425020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michaelandsuzy/rtw_in_2008/1217425020/tpod.html Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:56:34 -0400 Michael & Suzy's world tour - from the plains of Africa to the depths of the Amazon basin with a few stops in between!

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Hong Kong, China

WOW. We've definitely caught the HK vibe. She's a jostling mass of concrete, steel & glass, dazzling bright lights, towering architecture, East meets West with 24 hour hustle & bustle. She's ultra high tech & modern yet committed to tradition & superstition. She's dim sum & burgers, tea houses & starbucks, tram's & Ferrari 430's. It's also stiflingly hot & humid, umbrellas poke you in the eyes but not because it's raining & the air quality index is bright red & reads "hazardous". We've not found it difficult to burn our cash & keep ourselves very busy;  - Unblocking our energy pathways & soothing our aching feet with some reflexology. As well as spending an entire afternoon 41 floors above HK, Indulging in 5 star spa treatments leaving us squeaky clean & calm.- Visited 'Master Ng' for a glimpse at my future through a palm reading. Turns out I'm a Tiger -  confident, generous, courageous, leader, protective, noble, magnetic & passionate, I like the sound of me! And Michael a Rooster - frank, observant, perceptive, cautious, sincere, conservative & stylish.  I'm going to live well into my 80's with some minor health concerns in my mid-50's. Have my own successful business & 2010 will be the year. I have to choose my business partners well, recommended laid back, easy going person as my character is head strong, VERY clever -  of course I instantly warmed to Master Ng & believed every word from that moment forward, independent , hell will have to freeze over before I change my mind after I've made a decision & he may have said stubborn on occasions. I marry for love, have 3 children, spend money as quickly as I earn it. I have a protector & Buddha is on my side, but I must learn to control my emotions (Back family - do you think he's talking about hard shoulders in Belgium.....) And Michael's palm reading "full of crap & too expensive" I think that covers 'frank'  nicely.- We've tried out & mastered every form of transport HK can throw at us, trams, buses, MTR (like the London tube but far better), funiculars, cable cars, upper & lower decks of the Star ferries & we've pitched & yawned around HK harbor on an authentic Chinese traders Junk called the Duk Ling.-  Michael has failed to keep me out of the shopping malls despite his minor success in Singapore, consequently I'm now the very proud owner of a Dior handbag which I'm going to accessorize with every outfit I wear for the rest of my life!- We've joined the locals for a dim sum breakfast, eating the best ever spinach & pork dumplings, wantons & rice rolls. Dinned at the 'Jumbo' floating restaurant, surrounded by a cityscape of  bright lights, high rises, worn out fishing boats & multi-million pound sun seekers. And the highlight, taking afternoon tea at 'The Peninsular'. Sitting amongst 1920's elegance, I felt like I was on a Miss Marple set whilst tucking into our delicate smoked salmon rolls & scones with strawberry jam & clotted cream.- Joined Mr ip Wing-Chi for a Chinese tea appreciation class, sipping 1000's of years of distillation whilst learning the intricate Chinese tea drinking etiquette. As Mr ip Wing-Chi says "Life is like tea. The longer it steeps, the richer it becomes". It also meant we were able to order our tea with total confidence from theentire A4 page of Chinese teas on offer at the Peninsular.And today we have made it safely into China despite several passport officers scrutinizing the different hair colour on my 5 year old passport! Currently in Xi'an for the Terracotta Army, moving onto Beijing Sunday.Keep in touch & really looking forward to seeing you all very soonLots of loveSuzy & Michael"Aliens" the Chinese reference for tourists - welcoming huh!
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